#lol I done told y'all these were rushed

[sea-dukes-assistant]

King Charles III Coronation 2.0

I forgot some stuff the first time: my collection of fancy boxers has garnered more appreciation that I thought, apparently, so there's that, and my CVO medal for *ahem* personal services to Late Ma'am's husband. Also, *wears 'Merican chest candy HARDER*.

I TOLD Y'ALL. DRESS BLUES.

OK so some context here, first: Amongst the fics I have (still) sitting in my drafts, Sir has seen fit to give me the honorary rank of Lieutenant Commander in his Navy because, well, *gestures vaguely at the entire headcanon* this is entirely self-indulgent bullshit I share because Sea Duke gets laid and we all like when that happens.

MOVING ON. *ahem*

Yes, so, Royal Navy dress blues (No. 1B dress). I don't have ceremonial day dress because that's reserved for Vice Admiral and above. Shaving cream and cologne are Truefitt & Hill's "Trafalgar." Chest candy is my own, and, befitting of any occasion where the Royal Navy is doing stuff, there is Pusser's Rum/grog involved because, by Sea Duke, we finna get litty titty after the ceremony. Camilla will of course try to crash the party and we'll let her. Go on Ma'am, twerk dat ass; IT IS UR DAY TOO, QUEEN (LITERALLY).

Oh also the "SUCK IT, HAROLD" sign to hold up while I'm on the balcony, because I, too, can be petty on international TV.

[goldfades]

✮ 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡, jack hughes

♡ ─ word count | 10.7k (WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. UM?? MB?? got a bit carried away with this one sorry y'all)

♡ ─ summary | y/n had always been in love with jack since she was a kid, but he had always chosen everyone else but her.

♡ ─ warnings | kind of mark estapa x reader as well but guess who she chooses in the end??? unedited (i'll edit in the morning y'all i just wanna get this out ASAP) SOOO MUCH ANGST OML, childhood best friends trope, unrequited love (for the most part), description of sex (like two sentences u could blink and it's gone), lots of cursing, fighting (sm of it), asshole!jack, idk they may be more but i'm lazy (promise they're not bad if i'm not mentioning them rn)

♡ ─ taglist | @valluvsu (check link in navigation for taglist form if you are interested!)

♡ ─ ev's notes | WHOOOHOOO! it's finally done yayyaa, i got this done in like two days bc i was so excited. jack hughes is very much gold rush coded, pls argue with the wall if you disagree. but anyway! this is a long one, so strap in!!! so much feelings in one fic lol i'm done, but i'm actually very proud of myself. as always, i'm open to respectful critics as i love to improve my writing for you all!! anyways, pls enjoy this fucking novel LMAOO, and let me know your thoughts!!!

Jack Hughes had always been the most beautiful person you'd ever seen.

Not just physically, he'd always been one of the sweetest people you'd ever met. He genuinely cared about how you were feeling and listened attentively when you spoke. His kindness and compassion were qualities that drew you to him from the very beginning.

But it wasn't just his sweet personality that captivated you; it was the way he looked at you with those mesmerizing eyes, filled with warmth and kindness. Whenever he gazed into your eyes, it felt like he was seeing straight into your soul, understanding you in a way that no one else ever had. But never in the way that you wanted.

Every time he smiled, it lit up the room any room he was in, and your heart simultaneously. His laughter was infectious, and being around him brought a sense of joy and happiness that was unparalleled.

He'd always been the special one in the room, with his skills on the ice or his undeniable beauty. It wasn't Jack's fault that he had such an effect on people; it was simply a consequence of his charm and charisma. What sometimes made you feel inadequate was the way other girls looked at him, with admiration and longing in their eyes.

Every time you saw him with those adoring eyes gazing at another girl, it was like a dagger to your heart. What hurt most though, was the way he looked back at them. His gaze held a attraction and desire that you craved, but it was a warmth he reserved for them, not ever for you.

You couldn't fault him for it; he couldn't control where his heart led him. You watched him from a distance, silently cheering him on in his pursuits of happiness, even when it meant seeing him with someone else.

Yet, despite the pain it caused you, you couldn't help but be there for him when he needed it. Whenever he faced heartbreak or disappointment, you were the one he turned to for comfort and understanding. It was bittersweet, being the person he leaned on while secretly thinking how you could never ever hurt him the way those other girls did. Your heart ached every time he told you about his the girls, and you would listen attentively, offering advice and consolation. You wanted to be the one to mend his broken heart, to make him see that you were right there, loving him in a way no one else ever could. But you kept those feelings locked away, hidden beneath the guise of friendship.

And you knew he loved you, he truly did. He would just never love you the way you'd always wanted. You felt selfish for wanting more. He was already yours in some regard, others would dream of being that close to the Jack Hughes. You were already an important part of his life, someone he trusted and cared about. Being close to Jack Hughes in any capacity was a dream come true for most, and you felt incredibly fortunate to have him as a friend.

But deep down, you couldn't help the longing that tugged at your heartstrings. You couldn't help the desire for something more, something that went beyond friendship. It was a complex mix of emotions, and you grappled with the guilt of wanting something that might change the dynamic between you two.

It was hard seeing him repeating those mistakes over and over again, and him running back to you wishing he had someone to love him fully and truly, for who he was. You often found yourself on the verge of screaming, wanting to shout, "What about me? Don't you see what's right in front of you?!" But you remained silent, as you always did, playing the role of the understanding friend who listened without judgment.

And each time he came to you with a broken heart, you wished he could recognize the depth of your love, the unwavering support you offered, and the fact that you were right there, ready to love him fully and unconditionally. But it seemed that he was blind to your feelings, or perhaps he was simply too caught up in his own search for love to notice what was right in front of him.

It seemed everyone else saw how much you loved him, Quinn giving you sympathetic smiles and Luke giving you advice. They saw the way you looked at Jack when he wasn't watching, the way your eyes held a mixture of adoration and hurt. They noticed how you were always there for him, ready to offer a comforting word or a reassuring hug when he needed it the most. It wasn't just your words or actions that revealed your love; it was the unwavering presence you provided in his life.

And so, you continued to sit still and listen, even when every fiber of your being screamed for him to see you, to love you, and to choose you. Your love for him remained a silent, unspoken truth, buried deep within your heart as you watched him repeat his relationship mistakes, hoping that one day, he would finally realize the love that had always been right beside him.

He was always grateful for your presence and care until he wasn't. Until he started taking you for granted, choosing his shiny new friends over you.

The pain of unrequited love was compounded by the feeling of being cast aside, as if your friendship and support no longer held the same value they once did. You couldn't help but wonder if he had forgotten all the times you had been there for him, the countless moments you had shared.

It was a painful realization that the person you loved so deeply was no longer the same person who had once cherished you. And yet, you couldn't bring yourself to walk away, holding onto the hope that one day he would remember the bond you had shared and the love that had always been there, waiting for him to see.

──

"Where have you been?!" Ellen, Jack's mom, exclaimed as you walked into the Hughes' lake house. She immediately walked over to you, embracing you tightly.

Over the past couple months, you had declined numerous invitations to Hughes family events over the past couple of months. You had told them that school was taking up most of your time, which was partly true. In reality, you just didn't want to see Jack.

"Just busy with school," you replied, returning her embrace warmly. Ellen Hughes had always been like a second mother to you, and her genuine concern warmed your heart.

Ellen held you at arm's length, her kind eyes studying your face. "You know, you don't have to disappear just because of school, sweetheart. You're always welcome here, no matter what."

Her words tugged at your heartstrings. You knew the Hughes family cared about you deeply, and it pained you to distance yourself from them as well. "I appreciate that, Ellen. It's just been a hectic semester, but I promise I'll make more time for you guys."

The bond between you and the Hughes family ran deep. You had known Jack and his brothers since childhood, and your connection had only grown stronger over the years. You were there for them through thick and thin, and they, in turn, had become an integral part of your life. You'd been close with the family since you were young, you'd been there for the brothers since day one.

From building sandcastles at the beach during summer vacations to sharing secrets by the campfire during family camping trips, your memories with the Hughes brothers were countless. Ellen and Jim Hughes had always treated you like one of their own, and you felt a sense of belonging that was unmatched anywhere else.

As the years passed and feelings grew more complex, you found yourself at a crossroads. You had always been there for Jack, offering your support and friendship without reservation. However, as your feelings for him had deepened, it had become increasingly challenging to hide your true feelings. You couldn't risk damaging the close-knit relationship you had with the Hughes family, especially when you knew Jack didn't share the same romantic feelings.

So, you made the difficult decision to take a step back, to create some distance in the hope that you could regain control over your heart. It wasn't an easy choice, and it meant missing out on moments with the family that had become a second home to you.

Ellen smiled, her eyes twinkling with understanding. "We've missed you, sweetheart. And I know someone else who's been missing you too."

Your heart skipped a beat at her words, and you couldn't help but wonder if Jack had noticed your absence more than you had expected.

"Luke! Sweetheart, look who's decided to show up!''

Oh, you've gotta be kidding me. Of course it wasn't Jack.

Your heart sank as Luke, Jack's younger brother, bounded into the room with excitement. You were confused, you loved Luke equally as Jack (you tried to convince yourself), but Luke wasn't exactly the most enthusiastic person when it came to you. Now, you knew something was up.

"Hey, you," Luke said with a warm smile, giving you a bear hug that nearly squeezed the air out of your lungs.

"Hey, Lukey," you replied, returning his hug with a raised eyebrow. Luke's behavior was unusual, and you couldn't help but wonder if something was going on.

As Luke pulled away, he scrutinized your expression. "You've been MIA for a while. School must really have you swamped."

You nodded, not trusting your voice to betray the mix of emotions you were feeling. Luke was perceptive, and you wondered if he had picked up on your recent distance.

Thankfully, Ellen chimed in, rescuing you from the awkward moment. "Well, we're just glad she's here now! Dinner will be ready soon, so you two catch up while I finish up in the kitchen."

With that, Ellen left you and Luke alone, and you couldn't shake the feeling that Luke's sudden warmth and attention meant that something was amiss in the Hughes household.

"What's up?" You cleared your throat, looking at Luke with a knowing expression.

"Well we all know why you've been really gone," Luke sighed as he glared at you. "You don't have to cut us all of just because Jack got a girlfriend."

"Jack got a girlfriend?" That felt like a dagger to the stomach. Luke's expression, once irritated, softened into one of sympathy as he nodded slowly.

"He didn't... tell you?"

You shook your head, struggling to find your voice. A whirlwind of emotions swirled within you – hurt, confusion, and the sting of betrayal. Jack hadn't confided in you about something as significant as this, and it hurt more than you cared to admit.

"Who is she?" you finally managed to ask, your voice a mere whisper.

Luke hesitated, as if debating how much to reveal. "Her name's Nicole," he began cautiously. "They've been dating for a few months now. It's been pretty serious, which is probably why he didn't want to... you know, complicate things."

You listened to Luke's explanation about Jack and Nicole while a storm of emotions raged within you. The pain of knowing Jack was in a serious relationship was difficult to bear, and the fact that he hadn't told you himself only added to your hurt. You felt like an outsider in his life, someone he had pushed aside.

But then, Luke's words took an unexpected turn, and your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "But that doesn't matter now, you have to move on and I have the perfect guy for you," he said, his tone surprisingly enthusiastic.

Oh, now everything made sense. It was clear that Luke had an ulterior motive, and you couldn't help but feel a little exasperated. "Luke, I appreciate your concern, but I don't think I'm ready for that kind of thing right now," you replied, trying to be polite even though you didn't appreciate the idea of being set up with one of his friends.

They were all fuck-boys from what you've heard. Luke would go into great detail every time you'd call him for an update. You had heard enough stories about Luke's friends to know that they were often more interested in casual relationships than anything serious.

"They were all fuck-boys from what you've told me," you said with a wry smile. Luke had a tendency to share his escapades in great detail, and you couldn't help but be amused by his candidness.

Luke chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, well, they can be a handful sometimes, but I promise this guy is different. He's actually a pretty decent guy, and I think you'd get along. Would I ever set you up for failure, Y/N?"

You raised an eyebrow, still skeptical. "And what's in it for you, Luke? Why are you so invested in setting me up with your friend?"

Luke's expression shifted, and for a moment, he looked genuinely serious. "Because I hate seeing you like this, distant from the family and hurting because of Jack. I just want you to be happy."

His words touched your heart, and you couldn't help but soften a bit. Luke may have had ulterior motives, but it seemed that his concern for your well-being was genuine.

"And um, well, I have a thing for his cousin." Luke cleared his throat and you couldn't help but playfully roll your eyes.

A playful smile tugged at your lips as Luke admitted his own motives. "Ah, I see how it is. A bit of matchmaking for both of us, then?"

Luke grinned, his boyish charm on full display. "Exactly! We help each other out, and everyone's happy."

You chuckled, feeling a sense of warmth and camaraderie with Luke. "Alright, fine Luke. Jeez, the things I do for you."

Luke laughed, appreciating your willingness to humor him. "You're the best, Y/N. You won't regret it, I promise."

──

Dinner had been ready and Ellen decided dinner would be fun outside. The sun was setting, casting a warm, golden glow over the lake, and the sound of crickets filled the air as the family gathered around a long, rustic wooden table set up on the deck, the same one they'd had a decade ago, when you were children.

You took a seat next in between Luke and Jim, Quinn across from you two and Jack nowhere to be found. Before you could ask, your question was answered.

"Where's Jack?" Ellen asked as she sat next to her husband.

"With Nicole," Luke and Quinn had mumbled in response as they both took knowing glances at you. You couldn't help but sigh, would you always be known the girl who's helplessly in love with Jack?

"Wow, you really outdid yourself, Ellen with this chicken. What did you do?" You tried to change the topic with a smile, as you ate dinner.

Ellen beamed at your compliment, clearly pleased that you appreciated her cooking. "Oh, I found it on the TikTok, it was amazing and so easy! You should start making it, it's so easy for school."

The conversation shifted towards discussing recipes and school, and you found it easier to participate in the lighthearted chatter. As the evening went on, you made an effort to focus on the present moment, enjoying the warmth of the Hughes family and pushing aside thoughts of Jack and his new relationship.

After dinner, you and Quinn helped Ellen with the dishes and you found yourself in deep conversation with them. The warmth of their company, along with the shared memories and laughter, made you realize that distancing yourself from the Hughes family wasn't the right course of action. They had been a significant part of your life for so long, and you cherished the bond you shared with them.

You were so engaged in conversation that you didn't hear footsteps that entered the kitchen.

"Hey,"

The sound of the familiar voice calling out "Hey" made your heart skip a beat. You turned around to find Jack standing there, a somewhat sheepish expression on his face. It had been a while since you'd seen him, and the mix of emotions stirred within you once more. And next to him, you assumed to be "Nicole." She looked sweet and you forced a smile at her.

"Hey," you replied, your voice friendly and polite as you acknowledged both Jack and Nicole. You couldn't help but notice the way they stood close to each other, the subtle intertwining of their fingers, and the affectionate glances they exchanged. It was a painful reminder of the gap that had grown between you and Jack.

"Hi, I'm Nicole," she introduced herself with a warm smile.

"Nice to meet you, Nicole. I'm Y/N," you replied, extending a hand for a friendly shake.

"Yeah, I know. These two don't ever stop talking about you." She laughed playfully and you felt heart start beating faster at the prospect of Jack talking about you to his girlfriend.

"Well it was mostly me─" Quinn tried to intervene before you laughed along with her, he was trying to soften the blow.

"Really? Well that's sweet," you replied with a warm smile, even though a small part of you wished Jack would stop talking about you to his girlfriend. It was a complex blend of emotions, wanting to be close to him but also wanting to distance yourself from the heartache.

Ellen smiled, "Well now that you're here, you all can finish the dishes and catch up,"

You nodded, "Okay, sure. Go relax, Ellen."

"Yep, and me." Before you could protest, Quinn left. He certainly didn't want to be there once you started "catching up." You cursed at Quinn in your head as he left the kitchen, alone with Jack and his girlfriend.

The clinking of dishes filled the kitchen as you, Jack, and Nicole worked together on the task at hand. You decided to break the silence with some light conversation.

"So, Nicole, how did you and Jack meet?" you asked, genuinely curious about their relationship.

Nicole smiled, her eyes lighting up. "We actually met at one of his hockey games. My friend had an extra ticket, and I've always been a fan of hockey, so I decided to go. I didn't know I'd end up meeting Jack Hughes in person but now, here we are!"

Jack nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it was a lucky coincidence. We hit it off right away."

"That's so sweet, right out of a book." You laughed and she nodded, blushing. You couldn't help but smile at their story, even though it felt like a bittersweet reminder of what could never be. You were genuinely happy for Jack, and yet, a part of you couldn't help but wish for a different outcome.

Nicole blushed at your comment, clearly smitten with Jack. "Yeah, it does feel a bit like a fairy tale sometimes," she admitted.

"So, Y/N, what have you been up to lately?" Jack cleared his throat, breaking the conversation away from their relationship. You both gazed at one another and you suddenly felt empty. It had never been like this between you two, he never asked what you'd been up to because he always known.

You forced a smile, your chest feeling heavy as you replied, "Oh, you know, just keeping busy with school and spending time with family." It was a vague response, deliberately leaving out the part about missing him. You didn't want to make things awkward, and you certainly didn't want to burden him with your own emotions.

Jack nodded, seemingly accepting your answer. "That's good to hear. School can be pretty demanding, I bet."

"Yeah, it keeps me on my toes," you replied, trying to keep the conversation light. It was becoming increasingly clear that the dynamic between you and Jack had changed, and it was going to take some time to adjust to this new reality.

Before he could respond, Luke came into the kitchen and he immediately looked like he regretted it. He forced a smile, "Um, is there any ice cream in the... fridge?"

You couldn't help but chuckle at Luke's somewhat awkward entrance. It was clear he was trying to give you and Jack some space, even though the tension in the room was palpable.

"Luke, you know where the ice cream is," you replied with a knowing look, amusement dancing in your eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I just... thought I'd ask," Luke stammered before quickly retreating from the kitchen, leaving you, Jack, and Nicole alone once more.

As the last dish was placed in the drying rack, you couldn't help but glance at Jack, his profile highlighted by the soft kitchen light. He turned to you with a smile.

"Anyways, Trevor and Alex are coming tomorrow, you excited to see them?" Jack added with a friendly tone, trying to bridge the awkward gap that had formed during your conversation.

You nodded, appreciating the effort he was making to include you despite the new circumstances. "Yeah, it'd be nice to catch up with them. I haven't talked to 'em in a while."

All three of you exited the kitchen and you went to go find Quinn to give him a lecture. That was until you felt your phone buzz with a text message,

luke my friends are here they wanna meet u

Before you could type your answer, Luke gave you another text.

lukejack and his gf aren't here. just come 😑

You rolled your eyes at his attitude and quickly went to go find him and his friends. You quickly found them by the pool and you opened the sliding door, his friends whipped their heads to take a look at you.

"Hey, Luke," you greeted him with a smile, momentarily ignoring the curious glances. "You wanted me to meet your friends?"

"Well you said yourself you wanted to meet 'em earlier," Luke nodded and you got the memo.

You nodded and smiled, deciding to go along with Luke's plan. After all, it was a chance to distract yourself from the complicated situation with Jack and his new girlfriend. Luke's friends seemed friendly enough, and you were always open to making new acquaintances.

"I'm pretty sure you've met Ethan and Dylan before,"

You nodded politely. You had met them when you had helped him move in a few months ago and they were nice enough. "Yeah, nice to see you guys again."

"Yeah, you too." They replied in union, making you laugh.

"And this is Mark," Luke glanced knowingly at you and you instantly knew that this was the guy who had developed a crush on you.

When Luke introduced Mark, you couldn't help but notice the subtle shift in his friends' expressions. It was clear that Mark's crush on you wasn't a well-kept secret among their group. You offered Mark a friendly smile, wanting to make him feel comfortable despite the awkwardness of the situation.

"Nice to meet you, Mark," you said, extending a hand for a handshake. "Luke's told me a lot about you guys."

Mark's cheeks turned a faint shade of pink as he shook your hand. "Yeah, he's talked about you too."

Luke sat back down and you took a seat next to him, right across from Mark. "Oh does he?" You teased him.

Luke, attempting to play it cool, shrugged nonchalantly. "Just mentioned how nice you are, no big deal."

Ethan and Dylan exchanged knowing glances, trying to suppress their laughter. It was evident to everyone at the table that there was more to Luke's mention than he let on.

"Nice?" You couldn't help but laugh and exchange glances with Mark, a grin on his face. He was cute, you had to admit that. He was exactly your type, he looked sweet and had a cute smile. Maybe Luke was a pretty good matchmaker, so far.

"Yeah, he told us how cool you were. And then he showed us your instagram and all of us fell in love," Ethan mentioned, quickly pausing and glancing at Mark before continuing. "Well not in love but we all thought you were pretty. Well, I mean you are but like-"

"I get it," You laughed at his nervous rambling. You took another glance at Mark and gave him a smile, his cheeks turning even redder (somehow).

The table erupted in laughter, and it was clear that everyone was having a good time. Even Mark seemed to have settled into the friendly atmosphere, and you couldn't deny the chemistry you felt with him. It was lighthearted and fun, a welcome distraction from the complicated feelings you had for Jack.

As the night wore on, you noticed that Ethan, Luke, and Dylan began to exchange glances and sharing quiet conversations. It was clear that they had some sort of plan in mind, and you couldn't help but wonder what they were up to. You decided to play along, knowing that whatever they had in store was likely meant to bring you and Mark closer and anything would help to make you forget about Jack.

"Hey, Mark, do you want to check out the lake?" you suggested, giving him a sweet smile. The lake house had always been a place of fond memories for you, and it would be a great opportunity to spend some time alone with Mark.

Mark's face lit up. "Sure, that sounds like a great idea, let's go."

You excused yourselves from the table, and as you walked towards the sliding glass door that led to the lake, you couldn't help but notice the mischievous smiles on Ethan, Luke, and Dylan's faces. They were clearly up to something, you tried to ignore their expressions.

Once outside, the two of you made your way down to the edge of the lake. The moon reflected on the calm water, casting a romantic glow.

"So, Y/N, tell me more about yourself," Mark began, his voice soft and inviting.

You smiled, feeling a sense of warmth in the cool summer night air. "Well, there's not much to tell, really." You chuckled before continuing, "Just trying to finish up school and move to Europe."

Mark's eyes widened with curiosity. "Europe? That sounds amazing. What's drawing you there?"

You gazed at the shimmering reflection of the moon on the lake, lost in thought for a moment. "I don't know, these past months have been hard. And I never thought about moving out of the states but recently, I just wanna let go and start fresh, you know?"

Mark nodded, understanding what you meant. "I get that, a change of scenery can help with that feeling."

You sighed, feeling a sense of relief in opening up to Mark. "Exactly. I just want to explore new horizons, experience different cultures, and maybe find a new perspective on life."

"I've always wanted to go to France, I know it's basic but I heard they had good hot chocolate and had to try it." Mark smiled down at you and you couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.

"That doesn't sound basic at all," you replied with a grin. "I would love to visit France, even if it is every person's dream."

Mark chuckled, his eyes locked onto yours. "Maybe we can both make our way to Europe someday. Who knows, our paths might cross in a cozy café in Paris."

The idea painted a vivid picture in your mind, and for a moment, you allowed yourself to indulge in the possibility. "That sounds like a dream."

A sudden breeze began to pick up and you felt yourself shiver and Mark noticed. Without saying another word, he took off his jacket and quickly wrapped it around your shoulder.

It was a cliche, you know that. But as you looked at Mark, you felt a sense of warmth that had nothing to do with the jacket. His kindness and consideration made your heart skip a beat, something you hadn't experienced in a while. You smiled at him gratefully, the cool breeze forgotten as you were wrapped in his warmth.

"Thank you, Mark," you said softly, your eyes meeting his. In that moment, under the moonlight by the lake, you felt a connection that was unlike anything you had experienced in a long time.

Mark smiled back at you, his eyes holding a glint of something more. "Anytime, Y/N."

As the night wore on, your conversation with Mark flowed effortlessly, you found yourself drawn further into Mark's world, and the thought of Jack and his complicated situation faded into the background even if only for that night. In Mark's company, you were starting to feel a glimmer of hope for the fresh start you had been yearning for.

──

You awoke with the sound of laughter. Your eyes opened groggily and you felt your back scream in pain and it took a minute to realize exactly where you were.

You laid on Mark's chest, a blanket laid out on the both of you. You were on the couch and the memories of last night quickly flooded back into your head.

"Aww, Marky, you got yourself a girlfriend finally!" Ethan exclaimed as Mark tried to cover your face with the blanket, an (failed) attempt to not to wake you. They hadn't noticed you were awake.

"Ha ha ha, so funny." Mark mumbled in false amusement as he yawned.

You decided to remain quiet, pretending to still be asleep, curious to hear how Mark would handle the situation. A smile stretched your lips as you continued to eavesdrop.

"Seriously though, Mark, she's pretty," Dylan chimed in. "You two looked really cozy last night."

"Yeah, yeah," Mark replied, his tone still somewhat defensive. "We were just talking. You guys are reading too much into it."

"Sure, Mark, whatever you say," Ethan teased, and you could practically hear the grin in his voice. "Just talking, my ass."

"My clothes are still on, right?" Mark groaned quietly. "Could you guys be quiet, she's sleeping."

"Awww, Marky!" Ethan let out a booming laugh and you took that as your cue to 'wake up.'

You let out a yawn and pushed down the blanket from your face and they all quieted down. "Good... morning?"

"You have a good sleep last night?" Ethan teased and you tried to ignore the warm feeling in your cheeks as you got up from the couch. Mark frowned as you got up, feeling his body get cool.

You stretched your arms and stifled another yawn before responding to Ethan's teasing. "Yeah, it was quite comfortable here, actually."

"I bet," Ethan replied as he wiggled his eyebrows and you rolled your eyes.

"Okay, well, I'm going to brush my teeth."

"Wait, let's go eat first." Mark quickly replied, making Dylan and Ethan exchange glances.

"Before... brushing my teeth?" You smiled at that. He was cute, for sure.

"Yeah, Mark, let her go brush her teeth. Knowing what you two did-"

"Shut up," Mark groaned as you let out a chuckle. "Yeah, go brush your teeth."

You nodded and walked away from the living room, quickly ascending up the stairs and into the bathroom. The smile hadn't left your face and you felt like absolutely nothing could ruin your mood.

Well, you were wrong.

As you brushed your teeth happily, you heard the familiar noise in the next room other. The rhythmic banging, the moaning─

Oh no, you thought to yourself. You felt your stomach twist in disgust as let out an audible gag. The room next to the bathroom was Jack's and the only couple in the entire house was Jack and Nicole. You connected the dots and you suddenly felt nauseous.

You spit your paste and quickly rinsed your mouth. You needed to get out of there immediately. As you walked out of the bathroom, you bumped into one person you did not want to see.

"Oh shoot, sorry."

You looked up to see Nicole. She looked tired, her red hair messy and her neck filled with marks. They were obviously busy last night and you tried to push the visual of them having sex out of your mind as you forced a smile. "No, you're totally good."

She smiled and gave your shoulder a pat before walking to the bathroom. You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding and let your shoulders fall as you walked down the stairs.

You smelled hash browns in the air, your favorite, but somehow you still felt sick to your stomach. The imagery was still stuck in your head, you felt disgusting.

You made your way to the dining table and took a seat next to Quinn, crossing your arms and he immediately knew what was wrong. Your disgusted facial expression, your annoyed attitude, everything.

"They're like fucking bunnies," Quinn mumbled to you and you looked back at him with a nod. He looked tired, too. It looked like they kept him up and you were suddenly grateful you slept downstairs, even with the ache in your lower back. He put a hand on your shoulder in comfort. "Hey, if it makes you better, he lasts about a few minutes. You wouldn't want that."

His unusual teasing tone still didn't make you better, you knew Quinn was trying his best to make you feel better. You forced a smile and nodded, "Yeah. That's gross."

"What's gross?"

You turned your head to see Jack; his disheveled appearance making you gag internally, knowing what you know. You made eye contact for a few seconds before averting your gaze to the table.

"Nothing, buddy." Quinn responded with a smirk and they both exchanged a laugh. Jack then, took a seat right across from you. Now you literally couldn't move your gaze anywhere else without making it obvious.

Quinn seemed determined to keep the mood light, though, and he continued with the banter. "I heard you and Mark spent the night together last night."

There was a pause and a few awkward glances before he continued, "Um, not like that."

Jack looked directly at you and he had unreadable expression on his face. Confusion? Annoyance? Jealousy? Maybe a mix of all three.

"Well, we just-"

Before you continue you heard Ethan and Dylan's booming laughter as they entered the dining room, plates in their hands. They immediately exchanged glances as they realized who was in the room before putting sitting down with their plates.

"Your mom has food in the kitchen, if you guys... want any." Ethan tried to diffuse the tension as he smiled and looked at Dylan. "Mark's in there, Y/N."

As you got up to find Mark, you couldn't help but exchange a glance with Jack. His expression was hard to decipher – there was a mix of emotions, but it was clear that the mention of you spending the night with Mark had affected him in some way. You couldn't dwell on it for too long, though, as you headed to the kitchen to find Mark.

In the kitchen, you found Mark helping himself to some breakfast. He looked up and gave you a warm smile as you entered. "Hey, good morning."

He quickly noticed your expression and he turned to you with confusion, "Everything okay?"

You nodded, trying to shake off the lingering discomfort from the dining room. "Yeah, just... things got a bit awkward in there. Thanks for last night, by the way."

Mark chuckled, handing you a plate of food. "No problem at all. It was fun."

As you both made your way back to the dining room, you couldn't help but wonder what the day had in store for you, especially with the lingering tension between you and Jack.

You sat down next to Quinn as Mark quickly made his way to the empty seat next to you. Finally, everyone started piling into the dining room and everyone started eating.

The atmosphere in the dining room remained tense as everyone continued eating. Nicole was sitting next to Jack and noticed the slight change in him, he seemed more... moody. You tried your best to focus on your plate and engage in conversation with those around you, but it was hard with Jack's presence so close.

As the meal progressed, you felt Jack's gaze on you, a burning sensation that you couldn't ignore. Finally, after a while, Jack spoke up, his tone casual as he said, "So, Y/N, Mark seemed like a nice guy. How long have you known him?"

Mark exchanged a glance between the two of you, choosing peace and continued to eat.

His seemingly innocent question struck a nerve. You knew he was deliberately bringing up Mark to gauge your reaction, and it irritated you. Trying to maintain your composure, you replied, "Just met last night."

Jack's eyebrows raised slightly, a hint of surprise in his expression as he processed your response. It seemed your terse reply had caught him off guard. Mark continued to eat quietly, not wanting to get caught up in the tension.

After a moment of silence, Jack cleared his throat, attempting to sound nonchalant but failing to hide a hint of sarcasm. "Well, you two certainly seemed close for people who just met." Before you could respond, he continued under his breath, "Didn't know you were that easy."

Quinn kicked Jack's leg under the table and Nicole seemed distressed, too.

You bit your tongue. You clenched your fork tightly, your frustration mounting. "We were just having a conversation, Jack. Is that not allowed?"

Jack's gaze didn't waver as he replied, "Of course it is, Y/N. Just making conversation here because apparently I don't know anything about you anymore."

That really struck a move. He didn't know anything about you anymore? Jack's words hit you like a dagger to the heart. The pain and frustration were evident in his tone, and you could sense the turmoil in his emotions. It was clear that your distancing had affected him more than you had realized.

The tension at the table was palpable as everyone watched the exchange between you and Jack. Quinn cleared his throat, trying to mediate. "Guys, can we not do this right now?"

You felt yourself get more heated as you heard Ellen say something but you couldn't even comprehend it, that's how angry you were. Without thinking, you pushed your chair back and got up from the table. Your voice was strained with anger as you addressed Jack.

"Do you have no idea what it's been like for me, Jack?" You couldn't help but raise your voice, your pent-up emotions pouring out. "You just assume things and make stupid comments, but you don't know the half of it. This distance isn't just about you, it's about me trying to protect myself too."

The room was now filled with an uncomfortable silence, and it was clear that your outburst had taken everyone by surprise. Nicole placed a comforting hand on Jack's arm, silently pleading for him to let it go. Mark, too, looked uncomfortable, not wanting to be caught in the middle of this argument.

Jack's expression had shifted from surprise to a mix of anger and hurt as he absorbed your words. He clenched his jaw, clearly struggling to find the right response. Nicole's gentle touch on his arm seemed to be a calming influence, and he took a deep breath before speaking, his voice more controlled.

Ellen, sensing that the situation had become too tense, interjected again, her voice gentle but firm.

"Let's all take a step back, please? Y/N, sweetheart, maybe you could use a little breather, and we can all reconvene when things have calmed down."

You felt embarrassed as you looked around the room, all eyes seemingly on you and Jack. Feeling the weight of everyone's eyes on you, you nodded, your initial anger having dissipated into a mix of regret and awkwardness. You understood that your outburst had been uncharacteristic and uncomfortable with everyone there. With a forced smile, you mumbled an apology.

"Yeah, maybe I do need a little breather. Sorry about that, everyone." You turned away from the table and quickly exited the dining room. Outside, the fresh air greeted you, and you took a moment to collect your thoughts.

As you stood there, lost in thought, you couldn't help but wonder if there was any way to mend the growing rift between you and Jack, or if it was time to accept that things might never be the same again.

You stayed outside and spent the most of the day alone, outside in the pool trying to get a tan. The boys had all been playing pool inside and you were glad alone.

The sun beat down on you as you lounged by the pool, trying to soak in the warmth and forget about the tension from earlier. The sound of laughter from inside the house was a stark contrast to the solitude you sought outside.

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, trying to clear your mind. The cool water of the pool offered a refreshing escape from the heat, and you decided to take a dip to cool off and clear your thoughts.

As you swam in the crystal-clear water, you couldn't help but replay the argument with Jack in your mind. It weighed heavily on your heart, and you wondered if there was a way to make amends and rebuild the bond you had once shared.

"Hey,"

You let out a yelp as you heard Mark's voice and he let out a soft laugh as he walked over to the pool, dipping his legs into the pool.

"Hey," you laughed, pushing a wet strand of hair out of your face. "Sorry, you scared me there."

Mark chuckled, the sound light and soothing. "No worries, didn't mean to sneak up on you. Just thought you could use some company."

You appreciated his gesture and nodded. "Thanks, Mark. It's been definitely been a... day."

He nodded in understanding, his gaze sympathetic. "I could tell. The argument with Jack didn't look fun."

You sighed, the weight of it all still pressing on you. "Yeah, it wasn't. Sorry about him throwing you in the middle of it, I don't know what's going on with him."

He stayed quiet as he listened and nodded. You looked at him, waiting for some kind of response. He looked like he was weighing something in his head. "Well... it seems like he's jealous."

Jealous? You blinked in surprise, not expecting Mark to say that. "Jealous? Why would he be jealous?" You knew why, but it hadn't even seemed like a possibility in your mind.

Mark had a thin-lipped smile as he continued, "I mean why else would be an absolute dick about me spending the night with you?"

You stayed quiet, you had no idea how to deal with this. Of course this would happen to you on what was supposed to be a peaceful lake-house trip.

"Can I ask you a question, Y/N? But you have to be 100% honest with me." Mark's tone seemed serious as he spoke and you felt your heart drop. "Have you and Jack ever hooked up? Or like, dated?"

"No," that was the true answer but it looked like Mark hadn't bought it. "Well, I've always liked him." It felt weird to admit that and Mark's expression looked hurt as you continued. "That's why I stopped talking to him. I realized it would never go anywhere and I was still living in my head, it would've never worked out with me and Jack."

Admitting it out loud hurt more than you expected. You would never work out with Jack, no matter how hard you wanted it to.

"You still like him?"

You weighed your options but as you looked at Mark and everything that could happen, you knew the right answer. "No."

──

"Y/N!"

You heard Trevor's excited shout and you turned around, you felt Trevor embrace you tightly. You let out a laugh as he continued hugging you tightly, it had been a couple months since you'd last seen him.

He was always just as close to you as Jack, he was your true best friend. He had been there for you when Jack wasn't.

"Trevor!" You returned his hug with equal enthusiasm, feeling a surge of warmth and happiness at the sight of your close friend.

He pulled away with a big smile on his face, "Wow, why do you actually look good?" He said with a playful flirty undertone, making you laugh.

"Don't know, maybe it's the lack of Jack." As you turned to look behind him, you locked eyes with another close friend, Alex. He smiled and walked up to you; he was definitely the calm one in the friend-group. He gave you a hug before Trevor continued.

He rolled his eyes, "You still on that? Come on, Y/N."

You chuckled at Trevor's playful teasing, realizing that his presence had indeed lifted your spirits. "I can't help it, Trev. It's like a curse or something."

Alex joined in with a gentle laugh. "Well, we're here now, so you don't have to think about Jack for a while."

With your friends around, the atmosphere lightened even further, and you felt grateful for their presence. It was a chance to forget about the tension with Jack and simply enjoy the reunion with your closest friends.

"Oh shit." Alex mumbled, "I forgot my phone in the car,"

"Oh no worries, I'll come with you," you offered, eager to catch up with Alex and have a moment away from the group.

As you both headed to the car, Alex spoke in a hushed tone, "How have you been, Y/N? I know things have been tough."

You appreciated his concern and gave him a small smile. "I've had my ups and downs, but I'm good now. I'm glad you decided to come to the lake house, I've missed you two."

Alex nodded, his expression thoughtful. "We've missed you too. And I know things have changed with Jack, but we're here to support you no matter what."

As you arrived in the hallway, you had no time to respond as you heard yelling in the garage. You and Alex exchanged confused glances as you tried to listen in.

"What, Jack?! What's the excuse now, she literally said she's liked you forever!" You heard Nicole's voice and you felt your heart drop. She heard you in the pool?

You and Alex exchanged concerned glances as you strained to hear the conversation in the garage. Nicole's voice had a tone of frustration, and it was evident that she was upset about something. The mention of your feelings for Jack made your heart race.

Jack's voice responded, his tone defensive. "Nicole, it's not that simple. Y/N and I have a complicated history, okay?"

Nicole sounded exasperated as she retorted, "Complicated history? Jack, she's moved on. Why can't you?"

Their voices grew louder, and you could feel the strain in their relationship even from a distance. It was clear that your presence had stirred up emotions and issues between them, and you couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt.

As you leaned in closer to the door, it suddenly opened and you and Alex jumped.

The sudden opening of the door startled both you and Alex, and you found yourself face to face with a frustrated-looking Nicole. Her eyes widened in surprise at seeing you eavesdropping on their argument.

"Y/N..." Nicole began, her voice trailing off as he seemed at a loss for words.

You quickly glanced at Alex, who was equally taken aback by the unexpected confrontation.

"I'm so sorry, Nicole, I didn't know that you heard me and I promise you I would never, ever try anything while you were with Jack-"

She cut you off with a forced smile, "I get it. It's not your fault." She sneered at Jack before continuing. "It's not your fault Jack can't get over his childhood crush."

"Nicole, let's not do this here," Jack said, his voice tinged with frustration. He glanced at you and Alex before turning back to her. "We'll talk later, okay?"

"There is no later! I'm done." She yelled back at him, her eyebrows furrowing in utter anger. "You already made your decision, it was either me or her and we all know your choice. I won't be a second choice, Jack. I've been second to her our entire relationship and I just met her, can you imagine how I've felt?"

The raw pain in Nicole's eyes was impossible to ignore, and it was clear that she had reached her breaking point. Her outburst had laid bare the insecurities and frustrations that had been festering beneath the surface, and it left everyone in the room with a heavy sense of unease. You could see the hurt in her eyes, and it was clear that their relationship had reached a breaking point. You couldn't help but feel guilty, was it your fault?

While you knew you weren't responsible for the choices Jack had made in his relationship, it was impossible not to wonder if your presence had somehow worsened the situation. You had never intended to come between them or cause any harm.

You exchanged a glance with Alex, who looked equally uncomfortable with the situation. The unease in the room was palpable, and there were no easy answers to the complex emotions and dynamics at play.

Jack's shoulders slumped, and he looked defeated. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but no words came out. It was a painful silence, and you could feel the weight of the history and emotions between Jack and Nicole.

Finally, he managed to speak, his voice soft and filled with regret. "I'm so sorry, Nicole. I never meant for any of this to happen-"

Nicole didn't respond. She simply turned and walked away, leaving Jack standing there, his face etched with a complex mix of emotions.

Jack ran a hand through his hair before he quickly pushed past you and Alex to run after Nicole. "Fuck, baby please listen!"

You and Alex exchanged looks before he sighed heavily, "Wow. What the hell did me and Trev miss."

"You have no idea," you sighed as you began walking to his car for the thing you had came in there for.

──

You sat next to Mark as you both dangled your feet in the water, everyone was outside and it finally felt like relaxing trip. It finally felt like the lake house; no drama (for the most part), cool summer air, and all your close friends in one place.

Sitting by the water with Mark, you felt a sense of calm wash over you. The drama from earlier had dissipated, and you were grateful for the opportunity to unwind with your friends. The cool breeze, the soothing sounds of the lake, and the laughter of your friends created a serene atmosphere that allowed you to momentarily forget about the complexities of your relationships.

You turned to Mark and offered a genuine smile. "Thanks for being here today, Mark. It means a lot."

He returned your smile warmly. "Of course, Y/N. I'm here whenever you need someone to talk to or just hang out with."

As the stars began to twinkle in the night sky, you found yourself leaning in closer to Mark. His presence felt comforting and reassuring. You locked eyes with him, and there was a shared understanding between you.

In that moment, you realized that Mark had become more than just a friend. He was someone who had been there for you, who had listened, and who had shown you support when you needed it, something you hadn't experienced from any partner. And perhaps, in the midst of all the chaos, you had found something unexpected: the possibility of a new beginning.

As your faces drew nearer, the world around you seemed to fade away, leaving only the two of you in that quiet, starlit moment. It was a moment of choice, a moment where you could let go of the past and embrace the future.

With a gentle, lingering touch, your lips met Mark's, and for that brief, stolen moment, it felt like the world was right where it should be.

Then it felt wrong. You pulled away and you turned your head almost instinctively and there he was. Jack, standing there, watching the scene unfold.

The shock on Jack's face was undeniable, and it was as if time had frozen in that moment. His presence shattered the tranquility that had enveloped you and Mark, leaving an awkward and tense silence in its wake.

Mark pulled away from you slowly, his expression a mix of surprise and uncertainty. You could feel your heart racing, caught between the past and the present, between the familiarity of Jack and the newfound connection with Mark.

Jack scoffed and walked away, leaving your heart shattered; like he always did. As you began to get up, Mark gripped your arm. You looked down at him and found yourself at crossroads.

Mark or Jack? Mark or Jack? Mark: the sweetest boy with the sweetest smile, or Jack: the person you'd loved your entire life.

You knew the answer. Everyone knew the answer. You moved your arm from his grip and got up, leaving him seated in the pool. You ran after Jack and it suddenly hit you. He'll always have this power over you, his beautiful smile always had this effect on you.

It made you nauseous as you tried to find where he was, like you always did. He would always pick someone else and you always had to pick him, that was just how it worked.

You ran after Jack, your heart pounding in your chest. The familiar ache of chasing after someone who always seemed just out of reach gnawed at you. It was a pattern you had repeated countless of times, a dance of longing and rejection that you couldn't seem to break free from no matter how hard you tried.

As you searched for him, you couldn't help but feel a sense of desperation. You knew that choosing Jack meant choosing the same cycle of heartache, but it was a choice you had made so many times before. His smile, his presence, his history with you—it all had a hold on you that was impossible to shake.

Finally, you spotted him by the edge of the lake, his silhouette illuminated by the moonlight. He turned to look at you, his expression a mix of surprise and uncertainty, as if he couldn't believe you had chosen him once again.

You didn't say anything as you approached him. Words felt meaningless in that moment. Instead, you simply reached out and took his hand, intertwining your fingers with his, and with that simple gesture, you made your choice.

It might have been the same old pattern, the same old dance, but it was your choice to make, and for now, it was the one that felt right.

As you looked into his eyes, the same ones you'd adored since day one, you felt deja vu. You felt angry; how could one person have such control over you? In the depths of his eyes, you saw a reflection of your own emotions, a turbulent mix of desire, frustration, and longing. It was a maddening feeling, to be so deeply ensnared by someone who seemed to hold all the power in your relationship.

The moonlight cast a soft glow on both of you as you stood by the lake, hand in hand, the weight of your choice settling in. It was a choice that defied reason and logic, a choice that defied the very patterns you had tried to break free from. But for now, it was your choice, and you would face the consequences, whatever they may be, with Jack by your side.

You felt an unexpected sob ripple from your chest and you ripped your hand from his, covering your mouth with your hand. You closed your eyes and you felt Jack pull you closer, into his chest.

As the sobs wracked your body, you felt Jack's arms around you, offering a comforting embrace. It was a mixture of relief and hurt, the weight of your choice bearing down on you. You had chosen to follow your heart, even if it meant stepping into the same cycle of uncertainty and longing.

Jack held you tightly, his own emotions undoubtedly conflicted, but in that moment, it was a silent understanding between the two of you. The night was still, and the moon illuminated the path you had chosen, as well as the challenges that lay ahead.

"It's okay, shh. I'm... here now, I'm sorry." He mumbled as he planted a kiss on your head.

You felt such anger in your stomach as he said those words so easily. Was it okay? Was he really here, with you? Was he truly sorry. You pushed him away and you saw him fumble back, hurt in his eyes as you fell on to your knees, taking a seat on the cold sand of the lake.

The anger, the hurt, the confusion, it all swirled within you as you sat there on the cold sand, tears streaming down your face. You couldn't make sense of your emotions, and Jack's words, well-intentioned as they might have been, didn't provide the solace you needed.

Jack remained a few steps away, watching you with a pained expression, unsure of how to bridge the gap between you. The silence between you was heavy, filled with unspoken words and unresolved feelings.

"Do you know..." You sniffled, looking up at him with tears in your eyes. You didn't even know where to begin. "I've spent my entire fucking life pining after you. Every single moment has been dedicated to the great Jack fucking Hughes, did you know that?"

Your bitter words felt like a dagger to the heart to the both of you. You continued, "I always choose you. I always fucking choose you!" You screamed out angrily, as Jack flinched. He'd never seen you this angry in his entire life.

"Why do I always choose you? You're like every other guy in the world." Your tears streamed down your face. "But you're special to me," you mumbled as Jack's breathing became heavy with emotion. "You always choose everyone else but me. I never knew why." You were just rambling at this point but you would be lying if you said it didn't feel good.

You looked up at Jack. "I watched you fall for people who didn't see you the way I did, who didn't know you the way I did, and I stood there, invisible, as you gave your heart to them."

Your words cut deep, each one a painful reminder of the years of unrequited love and longing.

"And then," you whispered, your voice barely audible, "when I finally thought it might be my turn to finally be with someone who actually liked me, who wanted me, I choose you again." Your voice cracked as you mentioned Mark.

You wiped away fresh tears, and the pain in your eyes was palpable. "It hurts, Jack. It hurt more than I can put into words. But I still chose you, again."

A sob caught in your throat, and you continued, your words heavy with emotion. "I've cried myself to sleep, wondering why I wasn't good enough for you, why you never saw me the way I saw you. And every time you got hurt, I was right there with you, helping and being there." You paused. "And when I was hurt, where the fuck were you? Probably with some girl who never knew you like I did. Who will never know you like I do."

Jack's eyes were filled with remorse, and you could see the pain in his expression, but you couldn't stop now. You had to let it all out.

"I convinced myself that if I just kept waiting, if I just kept choosing you, someday you'd see me for who I was, you'd choose me. But it never happened, Jack. It never happened, and it broke my heart a little more every day."

Your voice broke again as you sniffled, "I've missed out on so much because of you," you continued, your voice trembling with emotion. "I've given up on amazing opportunities, on people who genuinely cared about me, all because I thought someday you'd choose me too."

Jack took a seat beside you, the weight of your words sinking in. You didn't fight it, you were too tired.

The lake's gentle waves lapped against the shore, providing a soothing backdrop to the turmoil of emotions swirling around both of you. He didn't say anything for a while, the silence between you heavy with unspoken regret.

Finally, he broke the silence, his voice soft and filled with remorse. "I didn't know. I didn't mean to... hurt you."

You turned to look at him, your eyes meeting his. You saw the sincerity in his gaze, but it was accompanied by a sense of helplessness. It was as if he had finally realized the depth of the pain he had caused you.

"I couldn't like you, Y/N." It sounded harsher than it actually was as he continued. "I just couldn't. You were too good, Y/N, you are a sweetheart. I was scared to taint you, and I would've never forgiven myself if I did..."

"Taint me?" You scoffed, pain in your tone. "You tainted me the moment you met me, Jack."

Those words hung in the air as he swallowed, taking your words into consideration. "I'm so sorry, Y/N," he whispered, his voice filled with remorse. "I never meant to hurt you. I never wanted any of this."

You sighed, the anger and frustration slowly giving way to a sense of resignation. It was a complicated situation, and both of you had made mistakes along the way. "I know, Jack. I know you didn't."

In that moment, you both shared a painful understanding of the past and the choices that had brought you to this point. You would always choose him, and he'd always choose them. But as he put his hand on top of yours, your body entire body felt like it was on fire.

As you looked into Jack's eyes, you saw a mixture of emotions - regret, longing, and a hint of hope. It was as if he, too, was wrestling with the undeniable connection that had always existed between you.

"I'm not saying it'll be easy, Y/N," he murmured, his thumb gently tracing circles on the back of your hand. "But maybe... just maybe, we can find a way to make this work."

His words hung in the air, and for the first time in a long time, you allowed yourself to entertain the possibility of a future with Jack, a future where you didn't have to choose between him and anyone else.

Maybe all of that pining wasn't for nothing. Maybe in the end, he would have chosen you. But would you choose him? Could you finally resist him?

As you sat there, the gentle breeze ruffling your hair and the quiet waters of the lake before you, you contemplated Jack's words. The years of pining and longing, the heartaches and frustrations, all seemed to converge in this one moment.

Maybe, just maybe, this was the moment where the tides would turn, and you could choose a different path, one that didn't revolve around Jack. But the choice was yours to make, and it wouldn't be easy. You knew the allure of Jack, the history you shared, and the magnetic pull between you two would always be there.

For now, you decided to savor the night, knowing that the future held uncertainties and challenges, but also the potential for something beautiful. As you gazed at the moonlit lake, you couldn't help but wonder what lay ahead and what choices you would make when the time came.

-> make sure to check out my navigation or masterlist if you enjoyed! any interaction is greatly appreciated! <-

thank you for reading all the way through, as always ♡

[kazutora-kurokawa]

Simon Says, Fuck Me

♡ NSFW, fem reader, smartass!reader, oral->male receiving (more like face fucking lol), spitting in someone's mouth without warning, established relationship, reader can't stop interrupting Baji but Baji likes that about her, Baji is just straight up nasty in this one y'all ♡

Characters: Just Baji (my little arsonist)

note: this lovely little idea was given to me by my equally lovely moot @i-literally-cant-with-this

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You were just laying on your bed relaxing. Your thumb lazily swiped across your phone screen as you scrolled through social media, when all of a sudden your boyfriend ran through the door, out of breath and panting.

"What the hell? Are you good?"

He looked at you and took in a deep breath before speaking.

"Yeah I'm fine! The real question is, do you wanna play Simon Says?"

"Really Kei? That's why you came rushing in here, do I look like I feel like playing?"

"Pretty please y/n? With black cats wearing cute hats on top?"

The look on your boyfriend's face was just too cute to resist. The way his little fangs poked out while he pouted was the kicker, you had no choice but to agree.

"Okay fine! Just out of curiosity, what do I get if I win?"

"Whatever you want. Name it and it's yours!"

"Okay, I can get down with that."

"But if I win-"

"Oh God, why did I agree to this?"

"Babe shush, I'm not done. If I win, I get to tie you up tonight~"

"Absolutely not."

"Too late! You already agreed, now lemme explain the rules to you doll. First off, I'm Simon-"

"No really? I thought you were Edward?"

"Y/nnn!"

"Okay I'm sorry, please continue."

"Okay so I'm Simon, I'm going to tell you what to do-"

"Yeah no shit, that's how the game goes."

Baji loved you wholeheartedly, but sometimes he just wanted to choke the hell out of you because why are you such a smartass? Nevertheless he continued with the rules.

"Yeah but there's a difference. When I tell you to do something, you have to do it. If you don't, then you automatically lose and I win. Got it?"

"So if I don't do everything you say then I lose? That sounds so unfair."

"If you're too much of a wimp to play then we don't have to."

"A wimp? You're tryna egg me on to play aren't you?"

"Is it working?"

"Unfortunately yes, let's just start the game please."

Baji mentally highfived himself before thinking about all the things he could ask you to do, he decided to start off slow and simple though.

"Simon says, touch your nose."

You tapped your finger on the tip of your nose, trying not to giggle at how serious he looked right now.

"Simon says, don't talk for the rest of the game."

You took your hand and made a zipping motion across your lips, signalling silence.

"Simon says, get on your knees."

You were about to say something before you realized that if you talked you would lose, so you once again reluctantly listened to your boyfriend and slid off the bed to get on your knees.

"Simon says, open your pretty little mouth~"

You looked at him as if to say "really?" before opening your mouth and sticking your tongue out. He walked over to you, admiring the irritated look on your face before leaning down and dropping a glob of spit in your mouth. You held back a gag as you felt his spit hit the back of your throat and promised yourself that you'd punch the shit out of him for catching you off guard like that.

"Good job angel! I really thought you were gonna fold on that one, guess I have to try a little harder."

He looked at you with a smirk that just told you how fucking cocky he is and how confident he was that you were gonna lose. His hands latched onto his pants, undoing them and whipping out his thick cock. You felt choked up just at the thought of him in your mouth right now, but you couldn't help but find how he was acting extremely attractive. The way he could take control of you so quickly made you melt and he knew that. He slapped the tip of his dick on your outstretched tongue, lining it up perfectly with your throat. His hands cupped your face before he gave you another command.

"Simon says, don't gag."

It was evident he wanted you to gag and lose the game by the way he rammed into your mouth, yet you didn't falter. Not when his calloused hands were gripping your face a little too tightly, not when he grabbed fistfuls of your hair, not even when tears threatened to form in your eyes.

"Look at that, you're taking me so good darling. You might just win the game."

He groaned as your throat clenched around him, and between a string of praises and curses he uttered one more command.

"Simon says, make me cum ♡"

If anything it was less of a command and more of a statement considering that he was about to cum anyway. You dug your nails into your thighs as you fought the urge to grab at him. Taking deep breaths as he shot his load down your throat, desperately trying to stay quiet. His grip on your face softened and he pulled out of your mouth. A mix of satisfaction and disappointment could be seen on his face.

"Well darling, I guess you win. What do you want as your prize?"

"I have a few ideas~"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, but first I wanna clean my face off."

He looked down at your messy face, and the grin he had only got bigger as he saw how you were covered in drool and some of his cum.

"Yeah that sounds like a good idea."

He helped you up off the floor and watched as you started walking to the bathroom before you suddenly stopped in the doorway of the bedroom.

"Hey Kei, one more thing."

"What?"

"Remind me to never play a game with you ever again."

He chuckled as you walked out, knowing that no matter how many times you say that, he'd rope you into playing another game.

❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀

Taglist

@arlerts-angel @trevengersprincess @giugiette @katshimizuu @happy-trenchcoated-impala @kazubarbie @drunkcheesecake @darkstarlight82 @reiners-milkbiddies

[libraryofloveletters]

A Visit To Santa

Jude Bellingham x Fem!Reader

Warnings: jobe is being treated like a kid, pranks from you and jude, miss denise gets new photos for her house, childhood coded lol, jobe is like your little brother too, miss denise thinks y'all finna crash her bmw lmao

Word Count: 768

Author's Note: this one is for bookie @themandaloriansdiaries - our favourite brothers :)

--

Jude decides now that you two are back home in England to take his brother to do the one thing they always did as kids; visit Santa.

England welcomed you two home, a change from the Spanish sunshine was welcomed; though you missed it the moment you got off of the plane.

You and Jude were spending the holidays with his family, both Bellingham brothers, you and their parents were at home. Mark and Denise were making dinner or something of the sorts in the kitchen, Jobe was in his bedroom and you and Jude were in his room.

Jude's head rested on your belly, your fingers tapping on his forehead as you scrolled through your phone with the other hand.

"I'm bored," your boyfriend announces.

"Congratulations," you tell him, as if you were supposed to do something about that.

Jude rolls his eyes, "let's go do something."

"Like what?"

"I don't know," he sighs, sitting up. You look over at him, "how about shopping? Or we could go for a drive or something?"

"The shopping mall?" he asked, looking over your shoulder. There's a look on his face that you've seen before, pure mischief. Your brows raise, waiting for him to continue. "Yeah, let's go."

"What're you up to?" You asked him, Jude pulls you off of the bed.

"I'll go grab Jobe."

You stop your boyfriend, grabbing his hand. "What is this? What's all this excitement? You hate the mall."

His eyes crinkle as he chuckles, "let's take Jobe to see Santa."

You can't help the laugh, letting go of his hand. "Okay babe. Go get him, I'll get the car keys from your mom."

Jude and Jobe meet you downstairs, Denise hands you her car keys. "Be careful please," she warns her sons, not you. She knew you'd handle them.

"We'll be back for dinner," Jude tells his mom, kissing her cheek before grabbing your hand.

You shout a bye to her and Mark as you three are out the front door and pile into the car. You drove of course, Jude doesn't drive and Jobe was a designated back seat driver. Jude had told his brother that you wanted to go shopping and he agreed to join you, saying he could use some fresh air.

The mall was a madhouse, it was T-minus 2 days to Christmas and everyone was rushing to get last minute shopping done.

You made a B-line for Santa's workshop in the mall, making it seem like you wanted to take a couple's photo of you and Jude with Santa.

Jobe shakes his head, "this is ridiculous," he tells you, waiting in line with you two.

"Do you not believe in the magic of Christmas, Jojo?" You teased him, pinching his cheek gently; you looked at Jobe like your little brother as well, teasing him the same way his brother would, having your own little nickname for him.

Jude smiles, watching as Jobe swats your hand away, making you laugh.

It takes a few minutes to get to the front of the line, the woman dressed as an elf calling you up to take your photo.

Jobe feels a light shove, Jude pushing him to Santa. "What?" he asked his brother, looking a bit lost.

"Go take your pic, mate."

"What?" Jobe scoffed, "I'm not going."

You take his coat from him, "go on, Jojo. Santa's waiting." You tell him, lips pressed together so you don't laugh. Jobe grumbles under his breath, something about hating you guys as he begrudgingly walks over to Santa.

The younger Bellingham sits beside Santa, the fakest smile you've ever seen on his face as the camera flashes.

Jude takes your hand, bringing you over to Santa. The two of you joined in. Jobe and Jude on either side of Santa and somehow you ended up on Santa's lap.

"On three, say merry Christmas!" The woman behind the camera says, counting to three before it flashes.

You let Santa speak to Jude and Jobe while you went to the counter to get the printed photos. You got two prints of the photo with the 3 of you, one for your home in Madrid and one for their home here in England. You also got a printed version of the solo shot with Jobe and Santa for the fridge at home.

The boys met you by the counter, Jude handing out his card so you can pay. "I can't believe you made me do that," Jobe mumbled, huffing.

You laugh, kissing his cheek. "It's okay, buddy."

Jude holds your hand, the bag with the photos in hand. "You're still a kid to us, mate." He laughs, pulling you into his side. "Let's go before we get in trouble for being late to dinner.

[dumbasslesbi2]

But I Thought You Had a Girlfriend? ~ Chapter 5 (Agatha x Rio Students AU)

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

Summary:

Agatha and Rio are finally finishing their senior year! It defiantly wasn't easy but they made through it!

Notes:

IT'S DONE!!! IT'S OVER!!!!!!!!! Just kidding y'all but this is technically the last chapter lol. This was super fun for me and it's the first time I've ever finished a multi chapter fanfic. There will be a post after chapter but besides that I'm pretty much done and happy with how this mini series came out. As always please tell me if there's any misspelling or grammatically incorrect stuff, I have dyslexia so sometimes I miss some stuff.

It had been months now since Agatha started living with Rio’s grandmother and cousin, slowly but surely it took a bit to adjust but she started to fit right in. Rio even began teaching Agatha some Spanish since Agatha wanted to understand her grandmother better. She regretted only taking French now instead of Spanish in school but Rio says it wouldn't have helped her anyways. Agatha even started watching some of Rio grandmother's novelas with her. Even though she couldn't understand them, she could still tell what was going on and sometimes Rio came in just to translate some parts to her. Even though the pair had now been not only living together but sharing a room together, they actually fought a lot but it was never that serious. They would always fight and then make out, the two were definitely not a regular couple. It had been getting closer to prom and even though Rio always told herself that she would never go, now that she had Agatha she wanted to go. Agatha honestly didn't care either way until she heard Rio was going to be in a suit. The two kept it like a wedding and didn't show each other what outfits they would wear, Agatha even went to Wanda's to get ready and then from there have Rio pick her up. 

“I don't know Wanda, do you think Rio will like it?” Agatha questioned, curling the ends of her hair. “Agatha shut up, you look gorgeous and Rio thinks you look hot in anything. She literally clings on you when you come to school in your fugly sweaters” Wanda said, putting on eyeliner. “Hey! My sweaters are not fugly! Rio said - oh wait ok, I see your point” Agatha told her, groaning. Wanda couldn't help but laugh. Agatha heard a ding and knew it was her phone so she checked it to see Rio was texting her.

Hi sweetheart, you almost ready? I'm thinking of heading out in 20, is that enough time? 💚

Hi baby, yeah 20 works. Wanda’s finishing up her makeup and I'm finishing my hair so you should be good

Perfect, te veo 💚

Agatha couldn't help but smile at her phone. “Stop smiling at your phone weirdo, I don't need you having wet dreams in my bathroom” Wanda said giggling. Agatha acted shocked, “I was not having wet dreams! You just wish that you had a loving relationship like mine” Agatha said with a huff. “I do, we're just not freaky like you two” Wanda said with a deadpan tone. The twenty minutes went relatively quick for the two and before they knew it Rio was already at the door. “Ok you wait here and I'll go get it, I'll call for you to come out. You look grog” Wanda said, rushing to open the door. Rio was semi disappointed to see Wanda greeting her at the door but she understood they wanted to make a bigger deal out of the outfit reveal. “Hey Rio, let me go get Agatha. She's gonna love you in this”Wanda said, rushing to call for Agatha. “Agatha! You can come out!” Wanda yelled from the bottom of the stairs. Slowly but surely Agatha came out and stopped when she saw Rio. She had her hair up in a messy bun with a suit that snatched her curves perfectly. Rio was also just as stunned by Agatha, she had a perfect purple dress that made her look like a princess. Agatha finally made it down the stairs to which Rio took out her corsage. “Surprise, my lady” Rio said, holding out the flower. “Thank you sweetheart” Agatha said, taking the flower and pinning it to her dress. “Awww you two are so cute. Here let me take a pic” Wanda said, pulling out her phone. The two posed and knew they were going to have to take a bunch of pictures later. “Well we're gonna head out, speaking of, where's Vision?” Agatha asked, realizing he still hasn't shown. “Well about that, he-” Wanda was interpreted by a car horn from outside. When they went to go look they saw Vision coming out of a limousine. “Holy shit. No way” said Agatha, in clear shock. “Yes way and you can come with us” Wana said giggling. “Oh my God, please baby please can we go in the limo” Agatha pleaded to Rio. “Fuck yeah” Rio said, still in shock that her friends got a limousine. The limo ride wasn't that long but they got to take a lot of pictures with it at the school and bumped music the whole way to the school. 

Prom was fun for all of them and they were all happy they could spend it with each other. They eventually found Jen and Alice together, the two had shown up late due to “Alice's makeup being difficult” but Rio already knew that it was cause they were fucking or something in that vain. As the night came to a close the prom king and queen was announced to be Wanda and Vision. Agatha couldn't have been happier for her best friend and cheered for the two. As a small celebration, the group went to go party at Alice's after the prom. So here they all were, drinking and sitting in Alice's garage. “So do you guys know what or where you're going after highschool?” Alice questioned, fiddling with her hair. “Well I already told you but I'm going into skincare and beauty products for sure” Jen said, nudging Alice. “That makes so much sense, no wonder you have such perfect skin” Agatha groaned, never connecting the dots. “What about you, Harkness?” Alice asked. “ Well I thought maybe some high end four year but now I'm starting to realize that I never really wanted that. I'm thinking of being a detective so I might just go to community to start with criminal justice” Agatha said, putting her arm around Rio's waist. “Really babe? Are you sure you wanna do community” Rio asked, knowing how bad Agatha had wanted to be accepted into a university. “ Yeah baby, it's cheaper and plus I get to go with you” Agatha said , kissing Rio on the cheek. The friend group couldn’t help but awe but Alice and Jen decided to fake gag which caused Rio to hiss at the two. “Welp, I guess my cat is out of the bag. Community college for moi” Rio said dramatically. “We get it Rio”Alice said with a groan. “Alice, why don’t you tell the group what you told me” Rio said with a smile. “Of course you would do this to me. I’m going to the police academy to become a cop” she said, awkwardly looking down. This caused Wanda and Agatha to almost spit out their drinks. “Wait! You wanna be a cop despite what we’re doing right now is illegal” Wanda questioned, looking around for cameras. “Hey! I’m not a cop yet! Plus people can live a little” Alice protested. “Trust me, I found it funny as fuck since when she told me we were skipping second period and were getting high” Rio said with a laugh. “What about you Wanda?” Rio asked, still laughing a bit. “Oh I’m aiming to become a veterinarian and Vision wants to become a lawyer” Wanda said, giggling looking at Vision. “Yeah it’ll be a lot of work for the both of us but we’ll make it work” Vision said, putting an arm around Wanda. The group continued to discuss their future plants while also just joking around. It didn’t take long though for the time to pass and next thing they knew it was time for graduation.

Agatha was fixing her shawl and pins before ready to leave with Rio. “I’m sorry we have to leave early babe” Agatha looked back apologizing to Rio. “It’s fine, plus we have to make sure Miss Valedictorian is all ready for her speech” Rio said, sneaking in a kiss on the cheek. “Mmm thank you sweetheart” Agatha told her, turning so she could kiss her on the lips. “Alright I think I’m all set to go now” Agatha said, looking again in the mirror to make sure she looked good. “You look perfect baby, come on let’s go” Rio said, dragging Agatha by the arm. Once they got there all their friends were already there since Wanda and Jen were also high achieving students. “Can you guys believe this is real?” Wanda asked, still shocked how fast the time went by. “Eh, it was going to happen eventually, if you wanna have a real dilemma think about when you’re gonna die” Rio said jokingly but shocked Wanda and made her traumatized. “Rio” Agatha groaned, knowing how Rio loves to traumatize people. “Wanda she didn’t mean that, don’t think about that. Think how we’re graduating and how happy you were about that!” Agatha said, basically shaking her friend. Before they all knew it, it was time for the ceremony. Agatha gave her speech and honestly Rio couldn’t remember a word she said but she could tell you how beautiful she looked giving it. Since Agatha was Valedictorian  she got her diploma first and sat back down at her seat at the podium. When it was Rio’s turn to go up she gave zero fucks and after getting the diploma instead of walking down the stairs, she went to go kiss Agatha to which the whole stadium cheered. After getting her kiss she walked down the stairs after the teachers got upset at her, Agatha couldn’t help but laugh. Once they finished and turned their tassels, Agatha went running down from the podium. When she saw Rio she basically flung herself at her and Rio caught her. The two lovers spun for a minute before kissing in the crowd of graduating high schoolers. They weren’t sure what the rest of the future would bring the two but they did know one thing. “I love you Agatha Harkness” Rio said after separating from the kiss. “I love you Rio Vidal” Agatha said giggling, giving Rio another kiss.

[papichulomacy]

Make me cry

Pairing : Yuta nakamoto x reader (exes to lovers, forced proximity, enemies to lovers)

Summary: whereas event planner reader gets her big solo project after years of working beneath her superiors, the only problem? It's her ex-boyfriend's wedding who also happens to be the father of her twin children.

Word count : 7528 words, kinda long but y'all will live

A/n: I was feeling angsty while writing this lol, even made a playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0K5bqgnpr1gKNITHBDeek3?si=7xSbPUlEQcuc6dmncVln0A&pt=8f0b8fd0de7b29d8e83096b4009ed6d5

"Mommy, wake up" an overly excited Seiji yelled jumping on top of his mother's bed "Huh?, What time is it" mumbled the 27-year-old as she rubbed her eyes "It's 10 Am Mommy" whispered shiho which caused Y/n's eyes to widen almost comically as she quickly got out of bed.

"Oh god, oh god" she yelled running around her bedroom, quickly grabbing whatever work outfit she could find throwing it on the bed and running out straight into the twin's room to grab their clothes.

Which luckily she had put together the day before, "Time for a bath you two" she mumbled filling up the bathtub as she quickly bathed the twins who happily obliged, "No time for duckies i'm afraid" she told them as Seiji pouted and shiho looked like she was about to burst into tears "but, mr quackles" she whined as y/n sighed grabbing the dumb looking duck and throwing it in the tub.

After 10 minutes they were done she quickly dressed them and showered herself while they ate cereal and watched Bluey on the TV.

After she was done she quickly did her makeup and got ready herself "OK babies, grab your overnight bags i'll be dropping you off at Granny's" she shouted putting on her flats.

Scrambling the twins put their cereal bowls in the sink and took their bags, locking the door she and the twins went downstairs and she quickly unlocked the car and strapped them in their baby seats.

Pulling up into her mother's driveway she rushed out and helped the twins out who as soon as they both were out of their seats ran straight towards the door, They adored their grandmother, and sometimes y/n joked they loved her mother more than her.

"There are my favourite grandbabies" Mrs. Kim Baby talked as the twins threw themselves at her, "Mom, they're your only grandbabies" She playfully rolled her eyes as she went into her childhood house and put down their bags.

"Now remember, don't trouble your grandmother too much, i'll be back tomorrow afternoon to pick you both up okay" She kissed their foreheads and hugged her mother goodbye.

After a 10-minute drive she practically ran towards her boss's office, "miss kim, just in time" smiled her boss, Mrs Martin, She was a woman in her mid-40s, who y/n greatly admired due to her work as an event planner.

"Since you've been working with us for almost 5 years it's time you get to plan your very own solo event" "You're not saying..." "Yes y/n, i'm assigning you a solo project" "Excuse me" she squealed due to how excited she got as Mrs Martin laughed. "I'll take that as you agreeing" "I've been waiting for a solo project for 2 years, of course, I agree. What is it," she asked sitting down.

"Well it's a wedding and not just any wedding, it's the wedding of the year apparently" she spoke as y/n gasped "Shut up" "No joke, it's the wedding of the CEO of Nakamoto corporations with his fiancè of 4 years" y/n's smile instantly dropped at the mention of the surname

"Is... Is something wrong?" Questioned Mrs Martin as y/n quickly put on a fake smile, "Nothing, I'd be more than happy to plan this wedding" she stated as her boss smiled "Lovely, here's the address of their house, they want it to take place on their property so you'll have to go there to check it out to plan and hear their suggestions" taking the binder she curtly smiled as she exited.

(T.w: mention of v@mit)

Walking into the restroom she felt bile go up her throat as she rushed into a cubicle, she threw up her entire breakfast until she was left dry and heaving until she felt someone gently grab her hair putting it aside.

"Feeling better?" Asked Sora as Y/n nodded getting up to wash her face and rinse her mouth "Here, take these mints" She thanked her as she put them in her mouth.

"Now are you going to tell me what happened? Are you sick?" She questioned sitting down beside her as she put down two coffees on the table.

"I got my first solo project" she stated, voice void of any emotion as Sora's eyebrows jumped up "That's something to be celebrating over, not throwing up over " she joked as y/n groaned slamming her head on the table.

"Oh, what am I going to do!!, Should I like quit? Yeah i'm gonna write a resignation letter" she rambled confusing her cousin even more who looked at her like she had gone crazy "And why the fuck would you need to do that?!" She questioned getting frustrated with her cousin/best friend who looked to be on the verge of a breakdown.

"They're getting married Sora..." She whispered trying to keep her emotions at bay as Sora sighed "Whose getting married hmm?" She asked rubbing her back as y/n's lips quivered "Yuta and Jieun, they're getting married "As soon as those words left her mouth she broke down and her cousin's expression softened as she tried to console her.

~~

Taking in a deep breath she rang the buzzer as the intercom beeped followed by a voice asking "Name and business with the Nakamoto's ?" "I'm kim y/n and i'm here from Eden Springs, to work on the wedding" she stated.

The huge gate opened revealing the huge manor as she tried not to gap at it "This way miss" stated a polite butler who gestured for her to follow him, which she gladly did, he sat in the driver's seat of the golf cart as she sighed in relief "thank god, I thought I would have had to walk to the front door" and in a matter of 3 minutes they stood in front of the huge dark oak door.

Gulping down her nervousness she prepared herself to face whatever was behind the door, "Ah you must be Miss. Kim, I've heard a lot about you from Mrs Martin, i'm the groom's father if you have any questions please feel free to ask me or mrs sim, who'll be in the kitchen I suppose" he smiled at her politely as she bowed.

"Is the wedding planner here? Oh good, come with me as I tell you about the theme my daughter wants" spoke Mrs. Sim in her snobby posh voice which irked y/n but put on her best people-pleasing smile she went out following the old woman towards the huge backyard.

"This is where the aisle is supposed to be" "I was thinking we make it longer you know, the bride can enter from the back door directly? As the music plays" Mrs Sim looked at her with a sickeningly sweet smile "Is this your wedding? No? Then keep your suggestions to yourself" she stated as y/n pursed her lips and nodded.

~~

"I'll come back tomorrow with my team to start working if you'll excuse me" She left the manor and went straight home. As soon as she did she broke down feeling broken and tired.

The next day she picked up the twins and called their nanny to look after them "Pumpkin, now I want you to behave with seolhyun ok, take your meds right after lunch " she told shiho who pouted "But they taste bitter" Y/n smiled as she kissed her forehead "I know they are baby, but please, for mommy?" "Okay, for you" She stuck her pinkie out which y/n linked with her own.

"Look after your sister," she told Seiji who nodded as she kissed his forehead. "Bye and the food is in the oven, I made lasagna" She waved them goodbye. Getting in the car she drove off.

When she got into the manor her team followed as she started ordering them to start working. An hour or so went by and they started working on the lighting arrangement.

When they were putting on the lights she noticed the servants of the house scrambling around due to god knows what she shrugged thinking it was none of her business until she was harshly spun around by someone.

"What the hell-" "What do you think you're doing here" he hissed standing there while having a tight grip on her shoulders which was hurting her as she tried to pry his hands off "My job, ow, Mr.Nakamoto can you let go that hurts" she whisper-yelled as his eyes softened for a second when he realised how tight his grip was letting go his scowl was unfaltering.

Dusting off her shoulders she glared at him "You can't just go around grabbing people, what manners!!" She hissed as he rolled his eyes "Oh please, manners are the last thing I want to talk to you about, I don't want to talk to you at all" he barked as she smiled at him, her work smile not the genuine one he used to get when they were together.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I need to work on your wedding" she hissed walking passed him, Meanwhile he rubbed his forehead already feeling a headache forming.

Y/n tried to avoid him at all costs at the manor, but seeing as he was everywhere she was it was impossible. But lucky for her he was resting in his room for the most bit due to the jet lag.

After hours it was 7 pm and she pulled up in her building's parking lot. When she got in she was greeted by her kids running up to her "Aww I missed you too" she cooed pecking their cheeks.

"Did you take your meds on time? Hmm." She asked as shiho nodded eagerly "That's my good girl" She smiled as she bid their nanny goodbye and quickly freshened up.

"Can we sleep with you tonight?" Asked Seiji looking down as she cooed picking him up "Of course, come on bedtime, tomorrow you have school okay". The twins rushed into their mother's room and lay in bed, keeping space for her.

"bedtime story!!" They yelled at the same time as y/n sighed, Despite the exhaustion she nodded as she started telling them a story, which in the middle of it she realised they had both nodded off, Seiji holding his bear plushie and shiho her racoon plushie.

When they were asleep she got out of bed to collect her thoughts, after all, he was the father of her kids and the man whom she once loved dearly.

Pouring herself a glass of wine she settled down by the window sill not being able to control her thoughts which were plagued by him, seeing the look of absolute disdain and disgust on his face made her heart feel like it was stuck in thorns.

The very same eyes that once used to look at her like she held the universe in her eyes.

(6 years ago).

They were both lying in bed cuddled up together while having talks about the future Despite being young they talked about marriage and kids of course y/n brought up the topic "How many kids do you want in the future?" She whispered, chin on his shoulder as he hummed.

"Well I was thinking two, a beautiful girl like her mother and a handsome young gentleman like me" he spoke while smiling as she too couldn't help but smile herself "That sounds perfect, ooh Can we name the boy Seiji? I love the name," she asked hopefully as yuta laughed softly. chest vibrating as she rested her head on it.

"Anything you want my love" he had stated and kissed her forehead, she had gotten up and kissed him, the innocent kiss turning more heated by yuta who just couldn't keep his hands to himself.

"What you say we start making one already" he had joked and she had hit his head "Dream on" she laughed trying to run away but had ended up getting trapped in his muscular arms "noo we're not done cuddling" he had then nuzzled his nose into her face, both ended up falling asleep holding each other.

~

(Present).

Sighing she washed the glass and got in bed with her kids "I wish he could have been there to see you guys grow up like this" she whispered kissing their tiny foreheads as she too let sleep consume her.

Days had gone by, and she had planned everything and made arrangements for the wedding and had done her best at trying to stay neutral around yuta who made her job harder than it was.

He had somehow found ways to sabotage everything she was arranging the flowers. He doesnt like them. the lights? Thinks they should be brighter, the alter? Should be placed in another direction.

She sighed as she held a bunch of fake peonies in her arms trying to get them to the decorators to put them near the back door. "You aren't good at this job, if I had known they'd be picking someone this... Incompetent I would have told them to change the wedding planner" he taunted as she rolled her eyes trying to go past the pool while he stood there with a smirk that made her want to slap him across the face.

"Can you move? I need to go past this way" she whispered as his smirk widened "Oh do you? i'm sorry here" he barely gave her any space as she grunted trying to move past him and the chairs as he rolled his eyes "Yeah well I don't like this either " she hissed as she pushed at his chest as a way of telling him to move which him being the hardass that he was he didn't.

She lost her footing and fell backwards right into the pool as he walked away.

"It's kinda funny how you're known for being on our high school's swim team while I don't know how to swim" she had said laughing as they both sat at the edge of the pool soaking their feet in, "well Why don't I teach you?" He had suggested while she hummed.

"Too slow" he had pushed her in and had jumped in straight after and held her up, keeping her afloat "You're such an ass" she whined hitting his chest as he laughed kissing her "i'm sorry".

His eyes widened when recalled that memory not missing another second he sprinted towards the pool while unbuttoning his coat jacket. Which he discarded while running and jumped straight in. She had stopped thrashing and was sinking to the end of the almost 8-foot-deep pool.

Grabbing her by her waist he swam up when he had gotten out he laid her down on the grass while she gurgled and coughed as she spat out water, she was beyond terrified, not because she wanted to live for herself, but rather for the two little kids that were at daycare at the moment, waiting for the time to be up so they could be picked up by their mother who'd take them to get ice cream.

It terrified her since she knew that she was the only parent they had ever known, and this caused her to feel horrible as a thousand thoughts ran through her mind while the water consumed her body whole, " I haven't even told him" she thought but when she felt him grab her shaking body she was forced out of the trance she was in while all these racing thoughts.

"Y/n!!, Are you okay?" He asked trying to get her attention She stared at his face calming down from her frenzy as she started tearing up, Looking around she saw all the servants and the decorative workers looking at her and she quickly got up.

She grabbed her bag and ran out of the house, She couldn't care less that her clothes were soaking the seats of her car as she drove back to her house, heart hammering she couldn't stop the sobs that raked her body and broke out like a terrible beat of unsteadily loud drums.

After all, it hadn't been like this for them, they were so in love If you had asked either of them about their future they both would have answered the same thing "Everything about my future, I can't picture without him" is what s/he would have said.

Not sure about that now she thought as she put her head against her steering wheel, She remembered that day so well like it was yesterday, she had repeated it over and over again in her head, not being able to forget the way he had looked at her then.

(6 years ago).

His mother had invited her over for dinner which was unexpected since the old woman made it clear that she didn't approve of their relationship.

Y/n sat in front of yuta's mother as she cut into her steak trying to keep her nerves at bay, after all, anxiety wasn't good for the child she was carrying that she wanted to tell her boyfriend about today.

"I'll cut to the case and tell you straight forward, I never really approved of this relationship, plus I can see that he's getting tired of your presence too" words thick with venom the older woman drank her wine as y/n gripped her fork and knife.

"I was a fool thinking that you called me here to apologise for treating me like shit for all these years but I guess some things never change huh, and for your information he loves me he is not tired of me" she seethed as Mrs Nakamoto smiled that devilish smile of hers that made her feel uneasy.

"Aw he loves you?, Are you sure about that? To me, it looks like he'd rather spend time with Jieun than with you" she spoke in a taunting voice as y/ns lips quivered, with both sadness and anger.

"You're lying!!" She yelled slamming the utensils on the table as the older woman wiped her mouth and pouted faking sympathy, Taking a tablet from her assistant she slid it over the table "Look for yourself" she stated as y/n hesitantly took the tablet in her hands.

And what she saw made her heart feel like it was squashed by a rock, for on the tablet were pictures of him with her, the pictures made them look like a couple "The last pic is of them at a jewellery shop" she fake gasped putting a hand up to her lips as y/n's grip on the tablet loosened "oh imagine if it's to get her a ring, I'd love to have her as my daughter in law" she stated.

Reeling back from her chair she stormed out of the house as she let anger cloud her mind and take over her actions, reaching their shared apartment she got in and was faced with a rather angry-looking yuta.

"Oh, you're back already?" He asked voice lacking any emotion She felt her heart fall as she realised the situation"I should be asking you that" she said accusatorily as she scoffed.

"I can't believe you " he yelled as she furrowed her brows "What do you mean?!" She asked calmly as she was practically fuming and she was trying not to lash out in her condition.

"Was I not fucking enough!!?, I gave you everything, my time my love heck I even stood with you when everyone told me you were just using me for money, guess I was a fucking fool" his words were like a slap to the face as she looked at him dumbfounded.

"What the fuck are you on about!?, You think I cheated on you or something!!" she yelled now getting angry How dare he accuse her of something he is the one guilty of

"Don't act dumb, My mother saw you, she saw you with the other guy you've been sneaking off to see" he unlocked his phone to show her the pictures which she looked at confused because they were of her with her cousin's husband, and heck she wasn't even alone with him sora was there with them just not in the pictures.

She wanted to explain that it wasn't what it looked like but all that came out was "What the fuck, she spied on us!!?" She scoffed as yuta looked at her as if she was crazy "You have no shame, does he know you're two-timing him? That youre such a slut opening your legs for every guy-" she cut him off with a harsh slap across the face which sent his face to the other side with the impact, red-faced he turned it around glaring at her with hatred.

Which she mirrored, while she felt more hurt than angry "How dare you ... I- can't believe it I should have known" Laughing incredulously she gripped her hair "You are just like your mother, the apple doesn't fall that far from the tree huh" "DON'T FUCKING TALK ABOUT MY MOTHER LIKE THAT!!" " fuck you" she yelled as hot tears poured down her face.

Storming into their shared room she quickly pulled out her suitcase and took out her clothes which she dumped into it and all her other useful belongings before leaving him.

Not forgetting to look him in the eye as she spoke "hope she makes you feel whole, since apparently, I failed to do so, goodbye yuta" Confused by her words he looked at her, not finding it in himself to call out to her, to beg for her to stay.

~

The whole pregnancy was a weird and lonely experience for the one she thought she'd be experiencing it with wasn't even aware she was carrying his child.

She remembers the way Sora had been there for her and so had jaehyun, her husband and their childhood best friend, the three had been inseparable since they were kids y/n thought of him as the older brother she never had and when he married Sora it was official.

And she was so thankful to them for putting up with her, she had refused to burden her mother by staying at her house, her being too old to stress about her daughter's condition.

Sora and jaehyun welcomed her with open arms and had been there for her throughout the 9 months every checkup she was accompanied by both of them.

And during her first checkup when she found out she was having twins she was beyond terrified taking care of one kid as a single mother was one thing, but taking care of two was beyond compare.

But now she could only laugh at the fact since she wouldn't trade either of them for anything, they were her world.

The day she went into labour was both funny and excruciatingly painful to remember, she had been quietly sitting in the living room, binging random romcoms as jaehyun walked in and sat down beside her.

"Watchu got there" he spoke licking his lips while eying the candy and popcorn on her side as she eyed him warily "Don't even think about it Jeong" she warned taking some popcorn and popping it in her mouth as jaehyun rolled his eyes "don't be such a hoarder, gimme some" "HOARDER?!? Mind your fat ass I'm eating for three, so fuck off and go bother your wife" she smacked him upside the head as he whined.

"Wait is that Sora holding muffins?" He whispered, loud enough for her to catch on as she whipped her head to look behind her which jaehyun took as an opportunity to grab a fistful of popcorn as she gasped.

"You did not.." She whispered staring at him as if he had just kicked a puppy "Oh yeah I did" he spoke with a mouth full of popcorn as she frowned deeply. Suddenly a painful contraction hit which caused her to grip his arm.

"Ow- fine, i'm sorry LET go- oh." His eyes shot up in worry when he heard her breathing pick up "Are. Are you okay?" He asked as she quickly got up.

"Fuck, this hurts" she cried out trying to walk to the nursery of her nephew where she knew Sora would be but halted when she felt liquid go down her legs.

"What's all the commotion about, jaehyun You better not have made her cry again- oh my god honey" Sora quickly rushed to her side as she cried out in pain.

"What the fuck are you looking at, go ready the car you dunce" she yelled at her husband who was standing there panicking "The car, yes!" He yelled rushing out.

As Sora quickly took the baby bag they had prepared for this moment and helped y/n into the car.

"Drop Chan at my mom's, and come to the hospital straight after," she told him as he nodded bidding her goodbye.

When Y/n was rushed inside she kept asking for yuta, god he was all she could think about at that very moment, "sora Please... Call him" she cried as Sora pursed her lips nodding.

"Pick up damn it" she hissed at her phone as the call went straight to voice mail "What is it is he not picking up?!" wailed out y/n as she looked at her cousin desperate.

"No, it keeps going to voicemail" "fucking hell, try his mother tell her to give him the phone" Sora quickly dialled the number and after a few tries she picked it up.

"What is it you, idiotic girl" came the shrill voice of the woman over the phone as Sora greeted her teeth "Where is yuta?!" She asked as the annoying voice laughed mockingly over the phone "At his engagement party, where else" she taunted as Sora yelled "Well tell him to come to the xxx hospital this instant it's y/n shes-" "Oh get over yourselves as if he'd like to see the face of that idiotic girl, don't ever call this number again or i'll have my lawyer on your good for nothing asses" she snarked hanging up on sora's face.

"Is he coming?" She asked staring at the older with a small bit of hope which disappeared seeing the look she received "Oh god!" She wept.

"Honey, I think it's time we take you to the operating room" came her doctor as she kept crying. Not being able to answer Sora nodded at the doctor "It's okay you can start now" and with that, she was wheeled away for the c-section.

When she had woken up the nurse brought in her son who had been crying She outstretched her arms as if on instinct to hold him and soothe his cries.

"Does he have a name yet?' Asked Sora as she looked at her sleeping nephew in her cousin's arms as y/n smiled tiredly yet tenderly "Seiji,.. Seiji Nakamoto" she whispered the baby stirred in her arms making a small noise that caused them to coo at the cuteness.

"Where is my daughter?" She asked the nurse who looked at her sadly which caused her to furrow her brows. "Your daughter, she is in the NICU" Y/n looked at her confused "Why is she there?" She questioned handing a sleeping Seiji to Sora.

"Your daughter when she was born didn't cry so we were doing a series of tests and checkups on her, the doctor found that her heart seems to have a defect" she continued as y/n sucked in a breath feeling lightheaded.

"Wha-what do you mean, I- I was sure both of the babies were healthy, I made sure of it Why" Just then the doctor came in as the nurse explained to him what was happening.

"Ms.kim, you see your daughter has a defect called Coarctation of the aorta a critical congenital heart defect, it's when a part of the aorta is narrower than usual. The defect occurs when a baby’s aorta does not form correctly as the baby grows and develops during pregnancy."

All she could do was cry as she took in the information "Can I see her?" She asked as the doctor tilted his head as if in sympathy "Please?!" She begged as he sighed "Okay, prep her and take her to the NICU nurse Jang" The nurse nodded and helped her off the bed, she was still in recovery from the c-section after all.

When she went to the NICU looking at her baby attached to all these wires made her almost lose her balance as she sobbed at the sight of her "Mommy is sorry for not being able to make your heart properly" she whispered as the nurse looked at her in pity.

"Your name is shiho, and i'll make sure nothing breaks your heart" and with one final look, she went back to her room.

~~

It was the day of the wedding and y/n stood in the garden as it was filled with the chattering of guests as they arrived, greeting Yuta's father and him and congratulating him.

She felt overwhelmed and the fact that she stood here on the sidelines waiting for the wedding to start, to watch the man she still somehow loved swoop another in his arms and say vows to.

She couldn't take it, feeling nauseous She went inside, trying to find the restroom she wandered off, Opening random doors she stumbled into a bedroom, where sat his mother in a wheelchair, looking out the window straight at the altar where her son stood.

Hearing someone walk in she turned around and was faced with her standing there "I-I was just leaving" she stated turning around "No, wait, please" Hearing the pathetic tone of the woman whose voice used to make anyone cower caused her to halt.

"I want to talk" "Well I don't" She once again went ahead, almost out the door but stopped hearing the words that left the woman's mouth "i'm sorry" she cried out as Y/n stormed in, fuming as angry tears stung her eyes.

"You're sorry?!! For what? Huh, for treating me like shit for 4 fucking years, making me feel so fucking small just because I didn't have a father, or enough money to be deserving of your son?!, yeah well it's too late for that"I seethed as if the old frail woman in front of me pursed her lips.

"I didn't know about the kids, I swear whatever I did it was for the good of my son and his future " she cried out as y/n's lips trembled.

"Yeah well your actions caused my kids to grow up without a father, just like their mother, I hope you're fucking happy" Her voice was filled with all the pain she was feeling right now as the woman in front of her could only look down in shame.

After all, it was after 4 whole years did she showed up wanting to meet her grandkids, begging for her to hear her out but y/n's wounds were fresh and she wasn't going to let her rub salt all over them.

She had heard about her accident, and a small part of her thought she deserved it but the part of her raised by her mother that was taught nothing but love and empathy felt awful for thinking so.

Exiting the room she was faced with everyone running around the house "What happened?!" She asked one of the maids "The bride has run away, and we can't seem to find her " Worried she looked at yuta's father whose eyes found hers.

"You!" He bellowed as she looked around pointing to herself confused as he approached her "Please help me out here, and from the looks of her letter she isn't coming back, The garden is filled with guests, and this would be bad for my son's reputation as the new CEO".

"You can't be suggesting, what I think you are suggesting" She laughed incredulously but stopped when she saw the look on his face "Oh you're serious ..." Confused she looked at the older man who took her hands as a way of appealing to her as she pursed her lips.

"That is ridiculous, I can't just marry your son, I mean what if im already married!!" She screeched, her voice getting high-pitched and squeaky as the older looked down at her hands "Are you?" He quirked a brow as she looked away embarrassed.

"No" she answered as he sighed "So please, I- i'll give you anything you want, money, a house ANYTHING just please save my son a lifetime of embarrassment" She was going to decline straight away but the desperation in his eyes and the shake of his voice caused her to give in.

"Oh thank you dear," he gave her hands a thankful squeeze as the maids quickly rushed her into the room Jieun was supposed to be getting ready in.

When yuta looked at the back door of the house open he let out a sigh of relief seeing as the guests had started murmuring amongst themselves, which had caused him to get anxious.

But seeing as she was walking down the aisle beside his father confused him, after all, they weren't that close and the veil was rather heavy, shielding her entire face.

When her soft hand grasped his firm one he found out that the woman in front of him wasn't his fiancè but rather the woman who still owned his heart, his father quickly whispered something to the officiant who furrowed his brows but nodded nonetheless.

There weren't any heartfelt vows exchanged aside from the mandatory ones "Do you nakamoto yuta take Kim y/n as your rightfully wedded wife?" Yuta felt his heart jump hearing that as he felt a lump form in his throat until he felt his best man nudge him.

"I- I do" he managed to let out as the officiant looked at her "Do you kim y/n take Nakamoto Yuta as your rightfully wedded husband?" "I-" she paused staring at his face which was void of any emotion, feeling a whirlwind of emotions she contemplated if she did the shiho could have better treatments that she couldn't afford on her own.

Sucking in a deep breath" I do" she let out shakily as the officiant nodded "I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride" and she felt her heartbeat pick up abruptly.

She was about to make an excuse, anything to get out of this but stopped as her eyebrows jumped up feeling her veil being lifted as yuta's hollow eyes stared right into her shaky ones.

Gently he grabbed her chin and captured her lips in a direct kiss as her heartbeat slowed down, she didn't even realise that she was tearing up until she felt him wipe away the ones that escaped.

Everyone clapped and congratulated the newly married couple as they both thanked them all with fake smiles "When are you going on your honeymoon?" Questioned his friend's wife as she came to congratulate them y/n pursed her lips and looked at him as his grip tightened around her waist, his fingers digging into her flesh as she tried not to show the fact that it hurt.

"Oh, we already have our tickets to our flight to Milan, which is in 2 days" The woman cooed at how romantic that was as y/n nodded along, excusing herself as she went to sit down as his father approached her.

"I don't know how to thank you, really" she sighed looking at him "Well you can start by paying for my daughter's treatment" She gave him a tight-lipped smile as he looked dumbfounded "YOU HAVE A KID?!" He whispered yelling as she rolled her eyes "Yell it out to the whole world why don't you" she hissed as he smiled apologetically.

"I have two kids, twins a boy named Seiji and a girl named shiho" she added smiling softly remembering her kids "Damn, I indirectly got grandkids..." He whispered to himself but she caught it and felt her heart pinch Ohh only if you knew" she sadly smiled looking at her "husband" who was conversing with the guest, stiff as a board, "god doesn't know what to do with that boy, he acts like he's 50" grumbled the old man as he looked at his son.

Y/n snorted "he wasn't always like that" she stated but seeing him whip his head in her direction she widened her eyes " I KNEW IT!!" he yelled triumphantly as she looked at him horrified.

"You do know each other" he wiggled his eyebrows as she stumbled over her words "You're hallucinating-" "I have 55 years of experience on you girl, don't test me" he fixed her with a stare which meant "spill the beans willingly or I will get them spilt somehow, and it will be hella messy" rubbing her forehead she stared at the old man pouting "you guy's are so alike, it's kinda annoying" "oh and so I've been told" he gave her a shit-eating grin as she started telling him about everything, minus the fact that Seiji and shiho were yuta's kids of course.

"Wait, wait... So you're the ex-girlfriend that cheated on him?!?" He gasped out as she bit her lip to stop the exphrastated scream that was building up at the back of her throat.

"Yes?, But for your information, I didn't cheat, I left. he just assumed the worst" she scoffed as the old man looked at her confused "But... My wife told me that you guys broke up due to you cheating-" "Yeah well your wife also made me believe that your son was in love with Jieun and wanted to break up with me".

"That's not- oh oh my god what am I supposed to do with that woman" he sighed avoiding her eyes as she pursed her lips "im so sorry" he whispered as she could only give a strained smile "It's in the past now". " but you- you guys are married" "yeah well, I can already feel a storm coming from his direction, and i'll be waiting for the divorce papers that your son will be arranging to get rid of me" she half-joked as he sighed rubbing his forehead.

"Looks like it's time for the dance for the bride and groom" he whispered to her as she listened to the song playing, Make You Feel My Love by Adele, the very song they once danced to in their shared apartment on a long winter night, both clad in sweaters as they embraced each other, swaying softly.

The very night they shared unspoken promises about a future they weren't so sure of, too in love at the moment to care as they smiled feeling each other's warmth as they stole a few chaste kisses.

Her train of thoughts was interrupted by a hand being extended in front of her face, and she looked at the owner, "People are expecting us to dance" he whispered, in a tone that meant she didn't have much of a choice, looking at his father who gestured for her to take his hand she shakily grasped it.

His grip not being soft to calm her nerves down, unlike all those years ago the embrace wasn't warm, and the man in front of her wasn't whispering sweet nothings into her ear as he swayed her gently.

"What are you pulling hmm" he whispered against her ear, his hot breath fanning it as she felt shivers go down her spine, gulping she looked him in the eye "What are you thinking? For someone whose bride ran away, you sure are being a stubborn git" she gritted out as her arms around his neck tightened.

He smirked, not the slightest bit amused "How much is he paying you? im sure it must be a hefty sum for you to agree to be tied down like this, after all, you aren't the loyal type" he taunted as she felt her blood start to boil at his audacity.

"Hah!, So you do know how insufferable you are, of course, Your daddy dearest offered me a lot just for me to put on a show tonight" she purred bringing her face dangerously close to his as his smile faltered a little as he felt his neck get hot.

"Oh, would you look at that, the song is over, i'll get myself a drink now, later, husband~" Pecking his cheek she walked away straight towards a server holding the champagne glasses, as yuta stood there both turned on and angry as he watched her walk away from him.

"Yeah no wonder you never introduced your fiancè to us, she's so mother" whispered a tipsy Johnny as he swung his arm around yuta who fixed him with a glare which at the sight of him, he pinched his lips together and walked away.

"Kim, y/n you are treading dangerous waters" he mumbled, A smack at the back of his head caused him to hiss turning around to yell at the culprit, probably cussing them out to blow off the steam he was feeling on the inside.

"Oh spare the poor girl, she's just doing what I asked her to do, You should be grateful to her, not act like a barbarian. Interrogating her like that " he berated as yuta's stoic expression didn't falter, but hardened even more "You seriously trusted this girl enough to present her as my bride?!" he whispered and yelled as his father rolled his eyes rather sassily.

"Don't play with me boy, i'm not the one, I know of your history together. The past is in the past I feel like you both have a lot to talk about, maybe some truths to unveil, besides that don't act like you still don't have feelings for her, and from the looks of it, so does she" all yuta could do was listen as his father talked, after all, he respected his father a great deal.

It was later that evening when all the guests had left y/n had found herself standing in the middle of the huge manor, beneath the magnificent chandelier that looked like it could crush a dozen people in a heartbeat.

"Are you going to stand there looking like an idiot the whole night?" Came yuta's booming voice as he came down the stairs, now in a pair of sweats, most probably to get himself something to drink after a long day.

"Well you can't really expect me to prance around in this god-awful dress as if I know my way around" she hissed as he snorted obnoxiously "Ah right, I forgot you don't belong, here, don't worry you'll leave as soon as my attorney gets our divorce finalized " he spoke, words flowing out of his mouth as if he didn't really care if they did any damage, or maybe he was doing it to hurt her.

He did, the fact that he could barely stand the thought of having her as his wife felt like she had been stabbed and had bled out of all her worth, his words causing her heart to shut down as her mind went into protection mode.

"I need clothes," she told him as he finished his glass of scotch slamming it down on the counter he looked at her up and down, then swiftly turned around to go up the stairs, "Are you coming or not?!" He yelled over his shoulder as she ground her teeth from irritation.

Following him up the stairs she was faced with a long hallway at the end laid his room, stepping in he went straight towards his walk-in closet as she tried not to gape at the size of it "Here" he tossed her a random Tshirt and sweatpants, hitting her in the face.

"Real mature Nakamoto" She rolled her eyes as he gave her a shit-eating grin, similar to his father as she rolled her eyes "This dress has a really low zipper help me with it if you're gonna just stand there" without another word exchanged he approached her back.

Gliding his hand down her back, along her spine she sucked in a shaky breath causing him to smile slightly as he bought down the zipper torturously slow causing goosebumps along her body.

When the zipper was down she held her dress from the front in case it was going to fall off "What?! Turn around" she barked as she felt his eyes over her body, drilling holes "Awh, insecure?" He taunted as she seethed letting go of her dress as it pooled at her feet.

If he was surprised he didn't dare let it show as he gulped the building lump in his throat, quickly grabbing the sweatpants she wore, She turned around to pick up the shirt.

When she picked it up she started pulling it over her head "What is that!?" He yelled approaching her as she looked at him confused as she continued to wear the shirt until she felt him lift it to reveal her stomach.

"That scar, what the fuck is that and where did you get it!?" He questioned as she pushed him away "It's none of your business" she hissed as he scoffed "Right, I forgot you don't deserve people caring for you" Trying not to cry she bit her lip.

"Where am I supposed to sleep?" She asked trying to keep her voice from trembling as he looked at her figure clad in his clothes, which still seemed to affect him as he resisted the urge to grab her by the neck and kiss her hard until she was begging for him.

"The room beside mine" he mumbled waving her off as she didn't spare another second in his room, Walking out she went straight to the room beside his and sat down on the bed, just when her phone rang.

"Mommy!!" Yelled an excited seiji bringing a smile to y/ns face and replacing the sour expression on her face "What are you doing awake bub" she whispered as he pouted "shiho was annoying and wouldn't stop crying over every little thing" he whined pushing his face close to the camera as she cooed.

"Where is your sister now? "Asleep, she was having pain where her heart is" he spoke sadly, feeling his twin's pain as she felt herself go into panic "Chest pain? How bad was it? Give the phone to your grandma Bub" His tiny feet padding against the wooden floor of her mother's house could be heard from across the phone as she waited.

"Y/n, I heard the news ... Are you okay?" I'm okay ma, how is shiho, seiji told me she was in pain?" "She's better now I asked my neighbour Mrs Shin who's a doctor as you know, and she told me it was just because she was worrying herself so I gave her the pain meds you gave her and she's sound asleep now, Are you okay?" Giving her mother a small smile she nodded.

"Lemme talk to her granma" fussed Seiji causing the woman to chuckle as he took the phone "Mommy I made pizza with Aunt Sora today!" "Really? Did you save me some" he smiled sheepishly at the camera as Y/n fake pouted "Don't be sad Mommy i'll make a whole pizza just for you!" He spoke promisingly as she smiled softly.

A yawn broke out of his small mouth as she couldn't help but coo at him "Go to sleep bubs" he rubbed his eyes nodding "Goodnight Mommy, I love you" "I love you too" he ended the call as she waved.

"Wow didn't think the word love was in your vocabulary" came yuta's mocking voice as she pinched her eyebrows "It's too late for your bullshit, go sleep or drink to your fake ego' she hissed as he gritted his teeth.

" don't be such a priss" Gaping looked at him "Does he know how unloyal you are? That love doesn't mean shit to you" he barked "You don't know shit okay!" "Oh but I do know you, you're a materialistic bitch who's so selfish she'd choose money over love" "Take that back!!" She hissed as tears gathered in her eyes.

"The truth hurts doesn't it" "No wonder Jieun ran away heck any sane woman would, you're unbearably suffocating to be around" she laughed incredulously "HOW DARE YOU!!" He yelled "HOW DARE I?!!, no, HOW DARE YOU" she yelled as the tears she had been holding in started streaming down her reddening face "HOW DARE YOU, you- you act like you're such a perfect person when you can't even fight to keep the people you love in your life, you're just so unbelievably fake, it's pitiful, I feel bad for you. No wonder your mother felt like she had to set a path for you, heck she even chose the woman for you to marry, but you screwed it up too" she pouted faking sympathy as her frown deepened.

"You- you didn't even take one moment to consider that maybe it wasn't true, that I love you, gosh I wish you fought for me, for us, yuta All you had to do was ask!!" She broke down as his eyes softened, he tried to approach her but halted when she raised her hand signalling for him to stand there.

She picked up her ringing phone and brought it to her ear "Y/N honey!!, It's Shiho...GOD she- I went to put Seiji to sleep and to check up on her in case she was running a fever and she was barely breathing!!" "MOM!! what!?, Can you calm down and tell me what happened to shiho?" She whisper yelled trying to stay calm as her mother sobbed on the other line "i'm at the xxx hospital, they rushed her into the emergency room- please hurry Seiji won't stop crying" The call ended abruptly "Mom!?, MOM" she yelled.

"Oh god!!" Frantic she looked around the room, spotting her purse she took it and wore her shoes She tried to run out of the room but stopped as yuta grabbed her arm "Woah woah woah, where are you going in this state What happened!?" He asked in a softer tone than before seeing her panicked state.

"My- ... Our daughter she's at the hospital GOD yuta I have to go" she wailed as his grip on her arm loosened "Our... daughter?" He trailed off in question as she looked at him desperately.

Deciding to drop it he nodded "Let's go" Without question she let him take her to the hospital, The car ride was silent, she was silently crying the whole way while a thousand questions were running through yuta's mind.

When they reached the hospital she rushed in, going to the receptionist She asked "Nakamoto shiho, where is she-" "She's in room 503" replied the receptionist "And your relation to her?" "I'm her mother' With that she ran to get to her daughter.

Yuta stood there trying to process the bomb that had just been dropped on him "Nakamoto shiho...." He felt his heart squeeze painfully as he didn't know how to feel.

When y/n reached the floor she went towards the room stopping as she faced her mother who was trying to calm down a crying Seiji "MOMMY!" he yelled as he threw himself into his mother's arms sobbing uncontrollably.

Yuta finally got out of the elevator and was faced with the sight of Seiji crying in your arms as you were trying to calm him down "is shiho gonna die?" He asked while sniffling as his mother sobbed shaking her head as she kissed his forehead wiping his tears.

"No no, she's a strong girl you know, just like her brother, She'll be all better and we'll finally go on that trip you both wanted to go to" she promised as he stopped shaking.

Yuta felt his heart tug at the sight of the little boy who looked like a perfect mixture of him and you, Seiji pulled away to stand next to his grandmother as Y/n went to the approaching doctor to discuss her daughter's condition.

Seiji peeked from beside his grandmother at yuta who was already looking at him, slowly The young boy approached him "You're him" he stated looking up at the man towering over him.

Curious yuta bent down to be at eye level with Seiji "And who do you think I am?" He inquired softly while drinking in  the sight of the smaller boy who was looking up at him with a deep frown etched onto his face.

"You're my dad, I know because every time I saw mommy cry she had your picture in her phone. She doesn't keep any man's photo" he stated as a matter of fact as yuta felt winded.

This little boy spoke like he was in his 20s, maybe he was more of a man than he was, standing up for the ones he loved, At least he got that from his mother.

"I am" he spoke, more to himself than to Seiji who looked at him angrily "Why did you not call my mommy, You made her sad" he spoke with such anger that he felt small under the little boy's gaze.

"I was an idiot, I took your mother for granted, but i'm willing to make up for the lost time," he spoke determinedly Seiji's frown dropped as he looked at his father with starry eyes.

"You will!?" He gushed "Even if it takes me a lifetime" he stated as Seiji threw his arms around yuta who held him securely, he felt all sorts of emotions all at once, peace, contentment, sadness and love.

Love for this little boy he had never met nor knew the existence of a few hours prior, oh he was confused yet delighted, walking with Seiji in his arms he approached a rather upset y/n who was close to lashing out at the doctor.

"What do you mean the catheter needs to be changed ?, She just got it changed 2 months ago, " "i'm sorry Ms.Kim but the catheter we installed isn't working well for her, Pay the amount so we can start the surgery".

Frustrated she gripped her hair as yuta approached her "What's wrong" he asked as she looked at him, red eyes filled with tears "They want to change the catheter even though they did it 2 months ago, I- saved up for that catheter god where am I supposed to get the money-" "what do you mean where" he asked confused as she looked at him baffled "hold him" handing Seiji over to her he stalked over to the doctor "i'll be paying for her treatment whatever she needs, make sure she's situated in the best room this hospital has to offer" "and who might you be?" Questioned the doctor eying him oddly.

"Nakamoto yuta, her father" The doctor visibly paled as he nodded ushering the residents and nurses along to rush the girl into surgery.

Y/n couldn't help but pace around in worry as yuta watched silently, Seiji had gone home with his grandmother when Sora had arrived, "You're gonna tire yourself out, quit pacing around" spoke Sora as she held the girl by her arm as she looked at her "you can't keep pacing around it's a 3-hour long surgery" she stated as y/n sighed nodding.

She sat down as yuta stood against the wall, Sora went to call jaehyun about their son, leaving a fidgety yuta and an angry y/n alone. yuta opened his mouth "SAVE IT!" she hissed as he pursed his lips looking at her eyes filled with guilt and worry "If you had just listened IF YOU HADN'T JUMPED TO CONCLUSIONS i- if you hadn't put me through so much pain throughout my entire pregnancy my daughter would have been healthy!" She hissed as he tried to calm her down.

"Y/n please, calm down you're going to pass out at this rate" he whispered trying to reach for her as she held up her hand "Don't act as if you care, for fucks sake when I was giving birth I still tried to call you, I wanted you to be in their lives even if we weren't together but you were too busy throwing a party after proposing to jieun!" She yelled enraged.

All he could do was listen as she talked, "I was the one who was there for my kids, not you! I was there when shiho was diagnosed, I was there for her monthly doctor's visits, and I was there when Seiji wanted to join an Academy for Soccor you told me YOU promised me that if we ever had kids you'd be there for me and them and YOU WERE NOT THERE" she wailed as he quickly hugged her cradling her head as she shook with violent sobs.

"I was so alone" she whispered against his chest as he couldn't stop the tears that escaped his eyes "I am so sorry, i'm so sorry my love, please don't cry, not over me please i'm not worth crying over, i'll do everything I can to make sure shiho is better okay, she'll be on the top priorities of the donor's list, i'll make sure you and the kids go on the trip whether it's with or without me just. Please don't cry" he hushed her as she stopped shaking.

After a while when he was sure she was better and Sora had come back, he excused himself to go back home for an urgent matter

Barging into his mother's room he found her sitting and reading a book, being a terrible insomniac caused her to stay awake for odd hours until she was too exhausted to keep her eyes open.

"Why did you do it" he calmly said as she took off her glasses and put her book aside, "What do you mean?, What happened" she asked confused as he gritted his teeth together.

"Why did you play such a cruel game with me and y/n I- I could have been there for her and my kids" he spoke hurt and guilty as his mother's eyes became teary seeing her son in so much pain.

"Why!! WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME MOM" he yelled hurt and betrayed as his mother sobbed "I'm so sorry" "My daughter is going through surgery right now, I could have been there for her from the start making sure she was the closest thing to being fully healthy there is!!" He sounded so defeated.

His mother looked away ashamed "I thought what I was doing was the best thing! I- you're my only child I was consumed by greed of having to shape everything about your life to the point I didn't realise I was ruining it for you instead! i'm so sorry" she cried out as he couldn't find it in himself to look at his mother.

"Yeah well you're right about ruining my life" he bitterly smiled as he left her room, bumping into his father who had heard it all, he looked at his father's worried gaze for a second before exiting.

When he went back to the hospital he didn't waste a second being by her side as she was alone due to Sora having to leave. Unknowingly she rested her head against his shoulder as he held her hand, rubbing reassuring circles on it.

20 or so minutes later the doctors came out as they both got up "How is she doc?" Questioned y/n, still holding his hand that tightened in hers. "She's a strong miracle girl, the surgery went well and we were able to successfully take out the catheter that was causing her discomfort and replace it with a new one, we're moving her to a private room now per her father's request" he smiled patting yuta's shoulder as he left.

She exhaled shakily as she tried not to collapse on the floor, Thankfully yuta was there to hug her close as she breathed in his scent, the same mixture of body wash and cologne he used back then due to them being gifts from her.

The next day when shiho woke up she was greeted by her mother's face which lit up at the sight of her small smile a rather excited Seiji barged into the room, "Dad and I bought shiho so many raccoon-themed things, and a wife for her raccoon plushie" he gushed as yuta walked in running behind him.

"Woah, goodness those short legs sure can run" he panted as y/n tried not to smile at the sight of the two, Seiji already being open to yuta was something she didn't bother trying to understand, "You're just old" teased Seiji as yuta huffed "oh i'll show you old!" He said as he swooped Seiji off his feet, "Noo" he giggled as Y/n laughed.

"Look who's awake Ji" Seiji's smile widened as he approached his sister, Putting her new raccoon plush beside her old one he softly kissed her cheek "That tickles" she giggled as he did it again "I love you Shi," he told her as she smiled wide "I love you to ji" and the parents couldn't help but coo at the soft display of affection.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" He gestured for her to walk outside the door, following after him she stood in front of him as he fidgeted with his cufflinks, "I don't know where to start, I- know I messed up so much, I was blinded she's my mother you know. I always trusted her blindly maybe thats why I couldn't even find it in myself to even for a second think that she might have lied" Inhaling he looked at her emotionless face he continued.

"To be honest I was gonna propose, jieun had been helping me look for rings, and I wanted it to be perfect, I spent days looking for the perfect ring, and when I did Mom just dropped that bomb on me- I know me being anxious and insecure isn't an excuse but please if it takes me the rest of my life to make up for the lost time i'm more than willing i-" he got down on one knee as she looked at him both surprised and touched.

"I know we're already married, that our wedding wasn't filled with the passion it was originally supposed to have. Despite all that I want you to wear the ring I've kept all these years with the thought that if you came back I wouldn't care about what happened and was more than willing to spend the rest of my life with you one-sided or not I would have done it, that's how crazy I am about you, please my love give me a chance to be the father shiho and seiji deserve, and the husband you deserve" he finished off eyes glossy with tears, a small crowd of hospital staff had formed.

Y/n looked into his glossy eyes as hers welled up with tears "You're such an idiot" she whispered as he looked at her, they communicated through their eyes as he smiled taking her hand and sliding the ring onto her finger, it fit perfectly as  said.

"Oh thank you" he whisper-shouted picking her up as the crowd clapped, "I love you so much" he stated as she smiled pecking his lips "I love you, I always have" She smiled "OHMYGOD, I DIDN'T JUST MISS MY CHANCE OF SEEING THE GREAT NAKAMOTO YUTA ON HIS KNEES?" came sora's loud voice as jaehyun and y/ns mother followed after her.

"Haha, very funny snotty" he stuck his tongue out at Sora who gave him a middle finger, they were well acquainted. "You must be jaehyun" he spoke bashfully as jaehyun smiled his usual dimpled smile "Yup, i'm the supposed man she cheated on you with," he said while smiling, but his tone carried a warning meaning "Do that shit again and i'll have your head" all yuta could do was smile and shake his hand that gripped his rather hard.

(2 years later)

Sora stood in the kitchen helping y/n make dinner "Genuine question, what happened to make him grovel you know" she asked gesturing towards her baby bump.

"The man has his ways, he can be very convincing" She grinned sleazily as Sora made a disgusted face "Gross, keep that information to yourself" she scoffed as y/n rolled her eyes at her dramatic ass.

"Do you all have a package deal with the kids or what, You're having twins, AGAIN" she inquired as y/n laughed "Is the booger monster bothering you, my queen?" Questioned Yuta as he came to stand beside her, instinctively putting his arms around her stomach as she couldn't help but smile.

"You!!, Out of the kitchen before I light you on fire like a firecracker" she hissed pointing the ladle in his face as he blew a raspberry "She's mean" he stated as Y/n laughed at their bickering, jaehyun came in dressed in a pink tutu and glittery eye makeup.

"What drag show do you perform at?" Asked y/n seriously trying not to laugh, but hearing yuta and Sora cackle like hyenas caused her to laugh too "Oh, that's a good one" Sora cried wiping her eyes as yuta held his stomach.

"WHY DOES HE GET TO BE THE KNIGHT, WHY AM I THE PRINCESS" whined jaehyun stomping his feet as Sora tried to catch her breath "Hush princess, go back to your tea party" stated Sora shooing him away "Princess Jaeya, knight yuyu" came the voice of shiho as jaehyun was dragged back inside by an overly enthusiastic yuta.

Y/n and Sora looked at each other and laughed "idiots" they snickered.

The end .

[gurugirl]

I love stepdad Harry! Always brings a smile to my face when i see youve posted (guilty pleasure yum). Thank you for the last one!

but i cannot get enough of stepmom reader. You’ve made that one into something really special. In fact I told someone about it last week and they were like ~ nope. Not into stepmom stuff or older yn. Nope ~

but then guess what? they wound up reading it and binged all three parts and admitted to me that they were wrong 😂 I’m like ‘yeah I know’

just wanted to share that with you! Your stepmom fic is so shockingly good (not shocking bc you’re not a good writer, shocking bc it’s a trope most of us were not interested in) that it’s quickly become my top 5 all time favorite.

i cannot wait for part 4! I adore them and you so much. Do you have any idea when part 4 will come out? Any sneaky???

ps.. sorry for the weird capitalization stuff going on there. My phone decided when to capitalize randomly and I’m too lazy to fix.

A Good Boy sneak peek under the cut below!

🥹 thank you so much, babe. Really glad you liked the stepdad!harry from yesterday! That was a quick little fun thing to write.

As for stepmom!reader - wow! I really love that you're liking it so much and talking about it with other people and that your friend changed their mind 😂 Seems to be the theme for that fic. So many of y'all didn't think you'd like it based on the trope alone but I'm surprised that you guys did enjoy it anyway! Makes me smile.

So, I'm almost done with part 4. I think I can have it out by Thursday? Maybe? I'm super busy today (well, busy for me LOL) and gonna try to write but I've also got something I'm working on that someone paid me to write so I'm prioritizing that. Thursday at the earliest I'll post part 4 but I'll let y'all know.

And the random capitalization? My phone does the same. 😂 The words can't, can, and don't often get capitalized in the middle of sentences and it's a crapshoot on when the beginning of a sentence will be capitalized or not. I need to turn it off so it just leaves everything lowercase. So no judgement from me!

Sneak peek below !! (just remember this is literally copied from the word doc I'm writing in and hasn't been proofread or edited so some changed may be made before I post part 4)

Y/n was wearing her newly altered peach silk dress. The alterations were simple. The straps and hem were adjusted and the back column was dropped down a bit to drape to her low back. Her strappy nude heels were well-worn but comfortable because she was just simply not in the mood to wear the stiff, new heels she’d just bought.

The estate of Rebecca Manera was impressive. Probably equally as impressive as Leonardo Styles’. Most of the guests had already arrived by the time the Styles’ walked through the front door a little late.

Leo scolded Y/n for taking so long to get ready and making them run behind but in all honesty, she didn’t give a fuck. They could be half an hour late. No one would care. Why rush to go to a party? It’s not like they needed to clock in and earn a paycheck.

“It’s rude, Y/n. That’s why it matters. You’re so goddamn rude sometimes. You only think about yourself.”

She turned sharply to look at her husband in shock. That was the first time he’d ever said such a thing to her. Normally he had no opinion on how she conducted herself. She was chronically late. Yes, she could admit that was a flaw in her character but she was on time when it really counted. But to get so worked up over a party? And to insult her on top of it?

That had set the whole mood for the night. And now she was even more suspicious about this Rebecca.

But when Rebecca did make her appearance and introduced herself to Y/n she was taken aback. The woman had to be in her 50s. She was pretty, sure, but not quite Leo’s type. If Y/n were any sort of indicator of a type.

Servers walked around with trays and served the couples in attendance. There were only ten couples there as well as Rebecca’s two daughters, Y/n learned. Quite the intimate affair really.

Leo brought a glass of wine to Y/n as she chatted with Mrs. Topman (she never learned her first name, as the woman literally introduced herself as Mrs. Topman).

“Here you are darling.” His green eyes shined down at her before searching the room casually. She was on to Leo. But she found it odd that the woman he was with in the Hamptons was Rebecca. She was intrigued.

She watched Rebecca mingle and sip wine and laugh and there was nothing there that made Y/n think Leo would be interested in her sexually. But maybe that was it, Y/n thought to herself as she cocked her head to the side watching the woman speak boisterously. Maybe it wasn’t sexual. Maybe it was a woman he felt a deeper connection with than he did with Y/n. Perhaps it hadn’t started sexual but led there.

The snack table was set up with decadent treats. Y/n picked up a toast smeared with something pink, topped with heart-shaped tomatoes on top as she scanned the room for Leo, wondering where he’d gone off to. It hadn’t been that long but knowing about Rebecca being with him made things feel like she was in some kind of true crime detective story and was trying to get to the bottom of a mystery. Though there was no crime being committed, she could entertain herself with that thought.

“Are you enjoying your time tonight?”

Y/n turned her sight to Rebecca who was next to her picking up the same toast with pink schmear.

“It’s amazing. Your home is so lovely, Mrs. Manera,” she smiled and noted the woman’s massive diamond ring in addition to her massive diamond wedding ring.

“Why thank you. Phineas has put in so much work to make this large shell into a lovely cozy home.”

Y/n nearly spat her bite out. The home was anything but cozy.

“It’s incredible. Where is Mr. Manera tonight?”

“Oh, just over there,” she pointed to a man in tweed with thick black-framed glasses, “You haven’t met yet?”

Rebecca led the way as Y/n walked in her wake to meet Mr. Manera. She had still not spotted her own husband.

“Phineas, dear, this is Mrs. Styles. Leonardo’s wife.”

The man held his hand out, “Very nice to meet you, Mrs. Styles.”

“Likewise. You can call me Y/n.”

 “Well, Y/n. We’re happy to have you here. Where’s Leo anyway? Haven’t seen him.”

Turning around quickly to look over her shoulder she shrugged and faced the man and his wife again, “Not sure actually. I haven’t seen him in a bit myself,” she laughed. And before she could even think about what she was implying she spoke to Rebecca, “But I’m sure you’ve seen enough of him since you saw him in the Hampton’s this weekend.”

Rebecca and Phineas’ smiles dropped as they looked at one another and then back to Y/n, “I haven’t been to the Hamptons in over a decade. Are you sure you’re not mistaking me for Parker? Our daughter? She was just there all weekend with her girlfriends.”

A Good Boy Masterlist

A Good Boy tags: @becauseheartsgetbroken-hs @shishcabobsworld @daphnesutton @spinnerswife69 @holy-macncheese-balls @cookielovesbook-akie @lilfreakjez @itsgigikay @amateurduck

[alovesreading]

Constant Repeat | Part 10

Summary: Having worked at Focus Creeps for a year, Ella knows that as a production assistant and part of the crew, there’s one important rule: don’t interact with the talent unless it’s needed. But once she meets Arctic Monkeys, and the recording of the music videos for their upcoming fourth studio album starts, the band seem to become her exception. Not only because they treat her more like a friend than just someone else they’re working with but when Alex continuously makes her blush with his flirting, so enthralled by her that he forgets he’s got a girlfriend, Ella finds herself growing closer to him. As videos are filmed, wrapped and edited, the friendship lines become blurry. Situations unfold, secrets are told and others are kept under lock and key, but how long can Alex and Ella endure being stuck in each other’s minds on constant repeat.  

Word Count: 27.4k

Story Warnings: Throughout this series there will be suggestive talk, jealousy, cheating, alcohol and drug use, angst, smut.

A/N: Okay, you better buckle up because I'm telling you this trip is wild and real ride starts here. I'm giggling like an idiot typing this right now and realizing how this chapter perfectly falls on the start of June, what a way to start Pride month (happy pride month btw, love y'all my fellow queer babes xx), you'll understand why I say this when you read. Anyway I wanted to thank imagine-that-100 again because in this one, she gave me the incredible honor of getting my lovely Alice in here so I can introduce you to her and you can grow excited about the fic she's gonna be the main character of which is called 'Nightmare'. Alice is based on Heather from Pale Waves by the way! All I'm gonna say is that Alice is a fucking legend and when N eventually puts that fic out, y'all will die cus it's really fucking hot. I cannot wait for you to read this lol, remember the story warnings that are in the description of this story! (I think you can make out why I'm saying this right now) Enjoy!!!!!!

Masterlist

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 11 | Part 12 |

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

After spending the day before walking, it was obvious to Ella that she'd be sleeping in, but she had made sure to set at least three alarms in order to not miss breakfast time at the hotel restaurant. That hadn't worked though because she managed to sleep through them and wake up only thirty minutes before breakfast was over.

She'd rushed through the hallways to get there in time, barely having gotten presentable enough to show up at the place next to the lobby, but she made it regardless.

The lady who showed her to a table had been very obviously forcing a smile at Ella, making her wince and nervously promising that she wouldn't take long. And keep her promise she did, for she was done and back upstairs in her room getting ready for the day only twenty minutes later.

That day would have to be done without Alex, due to the band having a meeting at Domino Records in anticipation of the album coming out soon.

Ella had gotten a full update on it all from Flo, who had designed the cover art and the merch, and also helped the guys come up with a better name for the record than 'The New Black'. So 'AM'would be coming out in September, and only two months away from release day, things were busy for the lads.

When Alex suggested rescheduling the meeting, claiming they still had all of August to handle everything, Ella had turned him down with a laugh.

"Alex I won't have your label getting angry at you because you're pushing things back to hang out with me. I can spend the day with Bre and we'll see each other later—plus, didn't Jamie say we were all going to that pub tonight?"

Jamie had been adamant of going to this pub, somewhere Ella had no clue it was but looked pretty, and everyone would be following him to the place that night.

Just because of the plans the guitarist had already made for everyone, Ella had been conscious to take it easy that day. That's why she and Bre had walked around London, being mindful of not tiring themselves too much for the early afternoon, to then go back to Ella's hotel room and just chill about the place until they had to get ready to leave and meet up with the rest of the group.

Alex and Matt had picked them up from the hotel and taken them to the pub where Jamie, Katie, Nick and Kelly were already waiting.

Thankfully, the ride to the place was only fifteen minutes long so their friends weren't waiting for too long and when they got there, they could see they had bumped into a friend and been stuck in a lovely conversation with him.

Ella smiled at the sight of her friends, waving eagerly at Katie and Kelly who waved back just as enthusiastically when they spotted her by the door.

She walked over to the girls with Bre in tow and hugged them hello. She wasn't short in showering them with compliments since they looked stunning and they had done just the same to her.

Ella blushed and thanked them shyly, taking off her trench coat and placing it over the back of a chair to greet Jamie and Nick.

She silently made her way around the table and went to hug them, excusing herself when she interrupted the man she didn't know who was speaking with Jamie.

"So sorry to interrupt. I'm Ella, nice to meet you." She would've waited for Jamie to introduce her but the truth was that the lad was gorgeous and she had promised herself this trip would be the one to let go of the insecurities she'd been left with from her latest relationship and maybe put herself out there, even if it was just for some fun.

The guy waved her apology off with a smirk, one that fit his face so well it had Ella biting the inside of her cheek lightly, "Oscar. Nice to meet you Ella." He shook her hand delicately and let it drop slowly back down.

Everyone saw the way Ella had blushed, the girls had wanted to shriek at her reaction and the lads had wanted to giggle but they held themselves back. Alex, on the other hand, had wanted to pull Ella from Oscar's side because he only wanted to see her react like that to him, just like she had done many times the day before.

They all settled at the big table after Alex greeted everyone, Oscar included, Katie sitting beside Jamie, Nick and Kelly next to each other as well, Matt had his arm wrapped around Bre's waist as she sat on his lap despite having a free seat next to them, and Alex had Ella sat close next to him.

Soon enough, Ella found out Oscar was in a band called 'Pale Waves' and they'd been friends with the Monkeys for a few years. He had lazily pointed at the two other band members that had come with him and said that the third, who was their drummer called Zara, had stayed at home because she was ill.

Ella had barely caught that, because when Oscar had pointed towards the pool tables where his two other bandmates were, she swore her heart had skipped a beat.

There stood a man, waiting for his turn at the game but the one who had Ella hypnotized was this woman bent over trying to make a shot at a striped ball. Ella watched the smirk growing on her face when she made the shot with ease and watched as she stood back up straight, only losing her breath a little more.

Her black hair cut in a bob with the long bangs framed her face perfectly, and Ella appreciated her beauty deeply but what she was wearing had the American gulping at the sight. Her legs were on full show due to her short plaid skirt but covered in fishnets, her white crop top clearly showed the lack of a bra, she stood tall in her red heeled platform boots and her neck was adorned with a black leather collar that tied together with a metal A.

Suddenly, Ella felt so insignificant in her square neck green dress that covered up to her knees and her simple black chelsea boots.

But that feeling of inferiority died when the girl caught her staring and she had to make it seem like she was talking to Katie. It hadn't worked at all, because the girl's smirk grew bigger at the sight of Ella's flustered expression as she spoke to Jamie's fiance.

Alex had noticed her pink cheeks but had been in conversation with Nick and Matt, therefore missing what had happened, so he brought his hand to Ella's face and cupped her jaw just to feel how warm she was.

"Are you okay?" He asked with a tinge of worry. He knew she didn't do well in the cold and the last thing he wanted was for her to become ill whilst on holiday.

Ella gulped at the feeling of his hand on her face, so delicate and warm. "Yes, uhm–, who's that?" She shyly asked, pointing towards the woman with a slight raise of her chin.

Alex's gaze quickly fell on the other two members of Pale Waves and with a soft frown, he repeated what Oscar had said a few minutes before. "Oscar's bandmates."

She let out a small sigh, "I know– but, who's she?"

Alex missed the way Ella looked at the girl then, because he just had to roll his eyes as he was completely overcome with annoyance and anger towards the woman playing pool. He shook his head, not really wanting Ella to meet such an appalling person. "You don't wanna know."

That answer had Ella frowning, his face had completely fallen just at the sight of the girl and if that was Alex's reaction to just being in the same establishment as that woman, then she was intrigued about who she was and what her personality was like. She was curious to know about what had happened to make him react like that but she and Alex were brought back into conversation meaning she couldn't get answers just yet.

Matt and Bre came from the bar with drinks for everyone, placing a tray in the middle of the table. Breana had bought a round of shots for everyone along with their drinks, so that was the first thing they did to start off their night.

Ella winced at the burn of the vodka, quickly grabbing her old-fashioned to soothe her throat. Alex wrapped his arm around her waist, softly rubbing circles over her dress as he softly smiled in amusement at her reaction to the alcohol. The need to close her eyes so she could catch her breath again made Ella miss Oscar's bandmate making way to their table.

She opened her eyes and saw the lad waving at everyone and introducing himself to Bre and Ella.

"Hi, I'm Connor. Y'alright?"

Both of them greeted him sweetly and introduced themselves to him, falling into a quick small talk that was then interrupted as the mystery woman now came from the bar with two drinks in hand.

Ella felt her gaze burning on the side of her head from all the way there, that was the only reason she had noticed where she had disappeared to, and she'd had to turn back around slowly as she felt the blush creep on her cheeks again.

But then her platform boots hitting the wooden floors had Ella turning back around to watch her approach them. The girl took a sip of one of the drinks, the glass leaving her lips just a few seconds later and they formed a grin as she got to them.

"Well hello," The girl said but it wasn't to everyone, her gaze was stuck on Ella who grew hot under it and almost shifted in her seat. Alex's hold grew tighter by the second, and that was making her head spin too.

Ella was beyond herself at the way she was feeling about the woman so she could only mutter a quiet, "Hi." as she raised her eyes to return her stare, trying to smile at her without blushing but it was becoming difficult.

"I'm Alice." She said and offered her hand out for Ella to shake, "What's your name beautiful?"

That fully made Ella's cheeks heat up again—her voice was so sweet and her accent only made Ella's knees go weak—but Alice had barely a chance to see her flustered because Alex was quick to say through his teeth, "Fuck off Alice.", making Ella whip her head around to glare at him.

She had never seen him be anything but kind to everyone, and Alice had only said hello and introduced herself so there was no need for the defensive reaction.

Alice seemed to be used to it though, because she only raised her eyebrows at him, gave him an unimpressed, "Rude." and then turned back to Ella with a soft smile and asked again, "What's your name darling?"

Ella didn't know if it was the way Alex squeezed her waist after hearing Alice call her that, or if it was hearing Alice call her 'darling' that had made her squirm in her seat.

Nothing compared to the feeling in her tummy whenever Alex called her by that nickname but what she had just felt from being called it by Alice was the closest she could imagine it would feel from anyone else that wasn't the singer.

It was embarrassing how much of an effect a gorgeous woman could have on her but she would blame it on the lack of sex for the past six months and the instant attraction she felt for Alice.

"I'm Ella." The American finally answered, placing her hand on Alice's and praying she didn't feel how they had started to sweat.

"Well Ella..." Instead of shaking her hand, Alice turned it so she could lean down and kiss the back of it, "Lovely to meet you."

Ella wanted to say that it was a pleasure to meet her as well but after that, her words were completely stuck in her throat. Ella barely registered Alex's exasperated sigh at Alice's antics because she watched Alice notice her 'Pure Desire' tattoo on the back of her hand and how she seemed entranced by it, even if it was only for a mere few seconds.

Ella wouldn't lie and say that it didn't feel nice to see Alice acting like that towards her, especially when she seemed to really not want to let go of her hand and leaving her with a faint squeeze to it.

It had been so long since Ella felt anyone actually showed some genuine interest in her—she knew any flirting from Miles was a joke, and that the flirting from Alex wasn't something he actually meant—, that it had her feeling giddy and smiley.

"Oscar, wanna play the winner?" Alice offered her bandmate with the whole group watching her. "Hello everyone by the way. Looking gorgeous as usual ladies and I've missed you three." She added, only giving a smile to Nick, Jamie and Matt, completely excluding Alex from the greeting and even though Ella was still confused by it, she knew Alex had started it.

"Sure," Oscar stood up and then turned to his other bandmate, "Come on Connor."

"I didn't win." Connor hung his head a little, making Matt laugh at the bassist's defeat.

Ella's gaze was drawn onto Alice, she truly couldn't stop looking at her and when she let her gaze drop to scan her look again, she noticed her nipple piercings peaking through the thin fabric of her top. Ella almost groaned at the sight, her legs clenching together and biting her bottom lip.

Alice caught her looking again but this time Ella only gave her a big smile. However this might finish, I should go for it tonight, Ella thought then, with her mind made about Alice and what could happen. The night was young and she felt it was reciprocal so she could try to let go and have fun that night.

About an hour later, and after two more shots and a third old-fashioned in hand, Ella was well on her way to getting drunk. She was very tipsy, only a couple glasses left for her to fall over the edge of drunkenness so she made herself the promise of having a glass of water after she was done with her current cocktail.

Her eyes had been magnetized to Alice's figure, just like Alice's to hers because they had both caught each other staring a fair few times and the last one had ended with Ella blushing after Alice winked at her.

Ella went to the bar once she had finished her drink, promising Alex she was fine and was only going for some water so she could last a bit longer without getting absolutely shit-faced. Alex reluctantly nodded and turned back around to talk to Jamie and Katie once he saw her almost at the bar.

Alice had been waiting for the perfect moment to approach Ella so she could get to know her without being stared at by the rest of their friends and without Alex being an absolute prick to her.

So seeing Ella sweetly smile at the bartender and ask for a glass of water, Alice walked up beside her and greeted her again.

"What is the pretty lady drinking tonight?" Alice asked with a sultry voice that made Ella brightly smile.

"Got some water for now 'cause I refuse to get wasted and go back to my hotel room before midnight." Ella explained swiftly, playing with her fingers.

Alice hummed with a smirk on her face, "Awh baby, are you a lightweight?"

Ella giggled shyly, her already pink cheeks heating up even more at the pet name, "I have that reputation, yeah."

The Brit smirked at her, "Don't worry, I'll take care of you."

"Thank you, Alice." Ella replied with a faint blush on her cheeks.

Alice found it so adorable how easily she blushed but she didn't want her to stay quiet so she started to test the waters to see her chances. "You're not from here from what I can hear."

"The gossip or the accent?"

"The accent," Alice chuckled at her banter, "Quite like it, always been a sucker for an American accent."

Ella hummed softly and decided to just push through her shyness to flirt back with the stunning girl. "It's a British accent in my case."

"Is it?" Alice smirked, she wanted to keep talking to her just to see how she was once out of her shell. "Shall we go sit over there?" She pointed at a booth by a window, not too close to the bar but not too close to their friends either.

Ella nodded, "Sure. Let me get you a drink first though."

Alice just couldn't hold her tongue so she smirked to reply, "Spoiling me already? Was hoping you'd save that for later."

And she was pleasantly surprised when Ella flirted right back, "I'll have more left in me, don't worry."

Completely satisfied with her reply, Alice hummed and gave in, "In that case, I'd love a gin and tonic."

Ella quickly ordered and paid for Alice's drink, handing it to her once the bartender pushed it towards her and after a sweet 'thank you' from Alice, they made their way to the booth.

"Whereabouts in the States are you from?" Alice asked right after they'd taken their seats, sipping on her drink slowly as she waited for her to answer.

"Tennessee, but I live in Los Angeles."

"Ohhh," Alice let out in realization, "Is that how you know them then?"

Ella nodded with a soft smile, "I'm a production assistant in this company that has been working with them since 2011."

"Fucking hell. Two years dealing with them? I applaud you." Alice exaggerated a bit, knowing that they could be annoying but when it came to work they were professionals.

The American girl chuckled, "They're great. I love them, the four idiots."

"Yeah, but you know..." Alice pushed further, playfully. "Men."

"Ugh, don't even get me started." Ella groaned and that was enough to spark some curiosity in Alice.

"Oh no. Bad experience?"

Ella took a few seconds to think before answering, but even then she stumbled, "It's... complicated."

"Do you mind if I'm nosy and ask about it?" Alice was gentle, not wanting to make her uncomfortable.

Ella was feeling very at ease with her though so she didn't find it hard to say, "I actually feel like a drunk rant about the whole thing will be great right now but I apologize in advance for oversharing."

"Nothing to apologize for, baby." Alice quickly reassured, smirking when Ella pressed her lips after being called by the pet name.

After taking a sip of water, Ella started, "So, my last boyfriend cheated on me. And I would love to say that the whole relationship was shit and it was the worst experience of my life but that'd be a lie."

That didn't make Alice feel better about the situation though, her frown deep as she commented on it with a stern, "What a fucking twat."

"Yeah..." Ella agreed, "Now, when I think back to it, I just get annoyed at how he played me. We had agreed on starting a family and trying for a baby at the start of the year and I was over the moon about it so imagine how shattered I was when his parents found him on a date with someone else when he'd told them he'd be out with me."

"You're joking..." Alice's jaw dropped at the brief story, for it sounded utterly devastating.

"He hadn't even wanted to tell me himself to start with so his parents called me to tell me themselves. Apparently they'd been together for a whole month by then." Ella winced as she thought back to it, still not believing that had happened to her.

"I'm so sorry, that's the worst fucking thing." Alice apologized like she needed to but then tried to bring her spirits back up joking with, "You should've fucked his dad. Or his mum, I don't discriminate."

Ella cackled and nodded, "Yeah, that threesome would've made him hate me."

Alice smirked, slightly satisfied by the subtle confirmation of the girl's sexuality. "Definitely."

The alcohol was already impulsing Ella to word vomit though, that's why she continued saying, "Now I have this awful feeling that every relationship I have will end up with me getting cheated on because the first one did it too."

And the British girl didn't miss a beat to reply, "I will batter him after I batter the last one."

"Oh it was a she." Ella felt the need to clear up, looking straight into Alice's eyes just to watch her reaction to the confirmation of her sexuality. "My first relationship. She was my best friend since we started high school but I'd always liked her, so we became girlfriends with two years left until graduation and we were gonna go to college together. Well, that was until she met someone else and fell in love with her, and then left me to go to college with that other girl."

Softly gasping at how cruel things had been to Ella, Alice said, "What the fuck? That is so unfair."

Ella could only nod, "I was left scarred from that one so I just didn't do relationships. Julian was my second official partner, everyone else in between was just a casual thing or a one night stand."

And that was enough for Alice to know that she'd make the night memorable for Ella, "You know what? Fuck them both. Tonight we're gonna have fun and we're gonna forget all about them, so let me change this," She grabbed Ella's glass of water and stood up from her seat, "For an actual drink. Tonight you're getting the treatment you deserve, baby."

Alice winked before leaving to the bar, leaving Ella to stay at the booth, fiddling with her fingers from how nervous she seemed to have gotten. It had been so long since she'd done something casual and she was so scared of fucking up.

No more than two minutes later, Alice was back with two gin and tonics. She left Ella's in front of her and sat back down across from her in the booth.

"Thanks very much." Ella's voice was shy, making Alice feel the need to relax her some more.

"It's nothing, Ella." Alice promised with that sweet voice of hers that had Ella already feeling some type of way.

"You can call me Ellie." She offered her quickly, it was weird to hear someone who wasn't from work call her Ella now.

Alice smirked and stood back up from the booth, grabbing her drink with her left hand and extending her right out to Ella so she could stand up too. "Ellie, let's go dance then."

But that had Ella hiding into herself, "M'not a great dancer."

"I seriously doubt that." Alice insisted, wiggling her fingers which finally made Ella take her hand and let her pull her up from her seat.

"We can dance when I have more alcohol in me." Ella negotiated, knowing she was too sober to dance in the middle of the pub.

"Should we get some shots then?" The singer suggested with that mischievous smirk of hers.

A smirk that Ella matched as she thought, "I probably shouldn't, 'cause it gets me quick but I'm feeling some tequila shots right now."

Alice hummed, amused at the information. "You're looking for trouble."

"Maybe I am." Ella flirted this time, before taking a sip of her drink with her eyes still on Alice's face.

"I like that." Alice winked at her, "How about some shots and playing pool to warm up?"

That sounded like a solid plan to Ella so she eagerly nodded, "Sounds wonderful."

"Alright, go get a table and I'll get us some shots."

Just like Alice had told her, Ella stood by the chosen table after setting it all up. She was leaning on the table as she watched Alice and Matt talking by the bar while they waited for their drinks, but it soon seemed to have turned bitter as Alice's smile changed to a frown that made Ella want to go over and fix whatever had happened.

"Was Matthew annoying you?" Ella had been quick to inquire once Alice was back beside her.

Handing her a shot glass, Alice shrugged with an eye roll, "He's being a dickhead."

"Typical Helders." Ellajoked before raising her glass and clinking it with Alice's to take it.

Ella winced at the taste, going straight back to her still half full gin and tonic to make the tequila burn subside a little bit.

"Do you know how to play?" Alice asked, grabbing her cue and already itching to start playing.

Ella scoffed playfully, "'Course I do."

Alice laughed and said, "Alright." letting her go first.

But halfway through the game, when Ella was missing shots consecutively, Alice had noted her poor form. "You're doing it wrong."

"Why?" Ella asked, slightly defensive.

Alice went to stand behind her, pushing her back down so she was still bent over the table and she could fix her stance. Alice had smirked at the position though, her brain going places already. "If you keep leaning like that then you're gonna mess up your shot."

The Brit leaned her cue on the side of the table and used both her hands to grab at Ella's hips and reposition them. "Keep your hips here, and don't slump over the table like that." Her hands softly fixed her shoulders, making Ella smile at the touch. "There we go. I thought you knew how to play." Alice teased with a smirk.

But Ella took the chance to flirt a little bit, "Maybe I needed a little help." wiggling her ass a little bit before hitting the white ball to shoot at a striped ball.

"Well, I don't mind helping some more." Alice's hands were still resting on her hips as Ella stood back up straight.

With her back pressed to Alice's front, Ella leaned back to say, "Sure you don't."

And Alice didn't let up when she squeezed her hips and whispered in Ella's ear. "I truly don't, but I'm still gonna win."

Ella laughed once Alice had left her with the ghost of her touch on her skin, and turn after turn, she was growing fonder of the singer's company.

Between giggles the game ended and just like Alice predicted, she had won and left Ella to play the next game with Oscar, making her way to the bar to get a new drink for herself.

Alice only let her eyes leave Ella's figure when she had to order her drink, turning back around to look at her bent over the pool table as she giggled over the things Oscar was saying. She wanted to hear exactly what the guitarist was telling her but the music was louder than the chatter.

Ella stood back up and met Alice's gaze with rosy cheeks and a soft smirk, mouthing "I'm winning" proudly to her.

Smiling brightly, Alice winked at her and mouthed a "Good job." back to her, before turning around when the man behind the bar handed her drink.

Alice thought she'd let Ella have some fun by herself, only so she didn't feel suffocated by her flirting because she truly couldn't be fucking it up with her.

So she walked to the booths on the other side of the room, to the one that gave her the best view of the place where Ella stood with Oscar, and it wasn't a surprise that a certain someone had beat her to the best seats in the house.

She smirked at the thought of pushing Alex's buttons, especially knowing that Ella seemed to be very important to him and how she had completely gotten her attention the whole night. Alice could see the fact eating away at Alex's insides.

"Your friend is fit as fuck," Alice sighed as she dropped herself into the space beside Alex, "Thank you for bringing her... Here, and to my attention."

"Stop flirting with her." Alex immediately scorned, "You're making her uncomfortable."

"If I'm making her uncomfortable then you're fucking Einstein." Alice shook her head, sarcasm thick in her voice, "She's flirting back or are you blind as a bat and can't see that woman blush?"

He scoffed, his patience wearing thin already, "She doesn't deserve to be played about by the likes of you."

"Christ Red, I'm already sick of the sound of your voice." The feeling is mutual, Alex thought but before he could even say it out loud, Alice continued, "And it's rude that you think I'm trying to play her about. I'm genuinely interested."

Alex didn't care to believe her words, still pushing for her to stop her behavior. "She's just had her heart broken and she doesn't need you to-"

But Alice had had enough, "To what, Alex? To break it again? To use her? Why do you automatically assume I'm going to be a bitch?"

"Because you are a bitch."

Alice let out a dry laugh at his attempts, "You can do better with your insults, Turner."

"She's only just herself again and I don't want you fucking that up." And truly he didn't want Ella to get hurt, he'd do anything in his power to avoid that but he was biased and in denial, not wanting to see how Ella was reciprocal to Alice's intentions.

"Very noble of you Red I've gotta say. But I have absolutely no intention to hurt that stunning woman." It was one of the very unusual times that Alice didn't use sarcasm when speaking to Alex, her words screaming honesty but the singer was seething seeing it all unfold in front of him.

"Stop trying to fuck her too," was the only thing he could say, completely ignoring Alice's tries to make him understand she wasn't playing the American girl.

She was completely fed up then, so she just said, "I think she wants to fuck me too, so why would I stop?" to mess with him a bit more, have him more angry at the fact that the night was simply not going how he'd expected.

Alex groaned in response, his hands coming up to rub his face in frustration. He desperately needed a smoke but if he went outside after this talk, he knew Alice would take Ella back to hers in a second and there'd be nothing he could do about it.

"I've never seen you so defensive. Not even over Arielle when I used to flirt with her." Alice was taking the opportunity to continue annoying him, but at the same time she was trying to find some answers, just so she could use the information to her advantage in the future.

Alex didn't give her the pleasure though, only glaring at her with murderous thoughts running through his mind. Alice brought the worst in him every time.

"What's that look for?" She teased, knowing she'd break him in no time. "Ohhh, you like her don't you?"

"Fuck off Loveless." He cursed through his teeth, really grasping tightly the last bits of patience he had left.

Alice rolled her eyes, truly amused at the fact that he kept trying to tell her what to do. "Oh Red, you've already told me and I didn't listen to you the first time so I definitely won't be now. Save your breath."

"Do you ever just get fucking tired?" His question was hostile, his gaze matching the tone.

"Not really." She purposely answered knowing that it would make him want to scream in frustration, "Do tell, how long has it been since you've liked her?"

"Shut up Alice." She truly didn't need to know, because the true answer was gonna be enough for Alice to laugh until the end of time over his 'lack of game'.

But she wouldn't budge, now she was just purely curious to know the real answer because it seemed like it'd be an entertaining story. "C'mon, let's try and be civil once." She kicked his feet under the table, only getting him to grumpily shift his legs away from her.

She laughed as Alex gave her an ultimatum for her to stop trying to get an answer. "We're not going to sit here talking about my feelings Alice. We're not friends."

"No we're not. But Christ, I'm jealous you've been her friend for so long. Since 2011 she said, you fucking lucky bastard." She really couldn't believe he had seen a girl like that for two years and not tried to make her his girlfriend.

"Please stop." He begged, making Alice's eyes widen.

"Damn you beg for this woman. You're down so bad." 'Please' was a word she never heard coming from Alex, so this meant it was very serious for him.

"Loveless, I'm being serious." His eyes narrowed as he glared at her once more.

That only had her trying not to laugh, "Don't threaten me with a good time Alex."

"Kill me now." Alex sighed, looking up to the ceiling as if begging for lightning to strike him down.

"Don't tempt me." Alice pushed further, fully just jumping on everything he said because he put it so easy for her to get him angry.

Alex was done with it so he just said what he wanted to say, not caring about what Alice may think, because he was finding her cruel—not just to him but to Ella—and he hated it. "Don't, because I know exactly what you're doing and you know it's working so just please stop."

Alice frowned, not really understanding what he meant. "What is it that I'm doing?"

"You're trying to fuck her to get one up on me for our little vendetta we have against each other. You're trying to get with her to annoy me. And yes, it's working." He stated like it was obvious, a patronizing look on his face that made Alice want to punch it right off.

Alex watched as the singer visibly deflated then, her eyes got less hard and some emotion he'd not seen in her before seeped through the cracks. But before he could comment on it, Alice's hard expression came back, "It pisses me off how you think I'm such a stone cold bitch. I have fucking feelings too, I just don't when I talk to you because you're always a cunt to me."

Her glass landed with a loud thud on the table in front of them but it wasn't loud enough to hide her scoff, "I'm not a monster Alex. I'm not trying to use her. Especially in any way to get back at you."

Alice's playful smirk had long left her face, making Alex start to panic inside thinking about what he should say to make it better, maybe even try to apologize. If Alice had paid attention to him, then she'd seen the cogs turning around in his brain, smoke coming out of his ears with how hard he was trying to make it up to the singer but when Matt came over to check on them—knowing they had a reputation to ruin each other's nights from their arguments—, he took it as he'd been saved by the bell.

Thankfully, Matt had been a sort of mediator between them because about five minutes later, when they were back alone, they stayed there in a comfortable silence rather than the awkward one before.

So they continued watching Ella playing. Their eyes followed her every move, which were ever the slightest bit calculated since Ella had caught them and could feel them staring at her.

So, with a mischievous mind very much induced by the alcohol in her bloodstream, she slowly leaned down to pick her glass from the floor, making a show of her barely covered ass and swaying it to the sides slightly, just enough for them to notice but for everyone else to take it as a normal thing.

And if that wasn't enough, when she came back up, she made sure to stroke up and down the cue she was using to play. Her fingers flexing around it, her tattoo stealing the spotlight and drawing their eyes in.

"Fucking hell." Alice hissed quietly before biting her lip and taking her own drink to have a long sip of it as she looked away from the American. Her brain was racing with thoughts that had her eager to get the night moving.

As Alex was the only one who could hear it, he looked at the singer and breathlessly asked, "What?" as if he hadn't seen that too, as if he hadn't had to bite his tongue and clench his fists to not groan.

"I want that Pure Desire tattoo wrapped around my neck like a pretty necklace." Alice said truthfully, not really wanting to keep it to herself because it was Ella and she knew now that he'd agree. "Take this choker off me and give me her hand."

Alex hated so badly that it was Alice saying it, he didn't want to share Ella with anyone, much less with the woman he hated. "Oh my fucking god Alice."

Alice rolled her eyes, "Oh don't tell me you've not pictured exactly the same thing. Just because I'm the only one ballsy enough to say it out loud."

"Come on," Alice nudged his shoulder with hers, "Admit it."

"Loveless." He told her like a warning.

Alice leaned in a little closer, prompting him again, "Admit it, Red." And only to see his reaction is that she allowed herself to think of a dirty scenario, "You've definitely thought about that hand around your throat, probably around your dick too, but knowing your lyrics, the throat one probably has you finishing in seconds when you think about her."

"You're being loud." He warned once more.

"And there was no denial in sight. Kinky bastard." She raised an eyebrow at him, challenging him to admit to having done that. But he was quick to avert his eyes and look back to the pool tables. "Don't go all shy, she's hot. Why wouldn't you want her? I know I do."

He still gave her silence as an answer and that was enough for Alice to know it all. Alex was so easy to read, and having received nothing but hostility, indifference and defensive comments from him, it was easy to know when he felt the complete opposite towards someone.

They watched as she made her last shot, making it perfectly and she jumped in her spot in celebration. Oscar laughed at her actions, his smile staying on his face because Ella was just so adorable to him. So he took a step towards her and in one swift motion pulled her in by the waist, making her crash into his chest and fling her arms around his neck for stability.

Oscar had seen the two staring at Ella for a while, so he found his friends' eyes and smirked at them in an attempt to tease them.

Oscar's smirk only grew bigger when Alice and Alex flipped him off at the same time, the jaws locked and their stern looks on him as he swayed with Ella in his arms and squeezed her tight before letting go.

"How you nearly fucked him I don't know." Alex quickly reminded Alice, trying to see if that'd push her away from trying anything else tonight.

"We were very drunk and my standards were lower."

"You sure?" He back chatted, without missing a beat and the way her face fell in annoyance.

"You're a dick." She sighed, her 'Alex Turner tolerance' levels were running very low, "I'm sorry but out of me or Oscar, who would you rather take your friend home?"

"Can't believe I'm saying this but you." He felt sick just admitting that aloud.

She hummed in satisfaction, "Exactly."

Ella moved to hang the cue she'd been using, hearing Breana call her over from the table the group was still at. So she walked in a slow pace over to her best friend, smirking at the attention of Alice and Alex she could still feel.

Alice sighed in content, watching Ella's legs peeking out from the fabric of her dress, her ass so perfectly hugged by it. "She's so perfect from every point of view... Just one look from her is more than enough for me to believe god is real and she's just as gay as me." She backtracked on her statement and felt the need to clarify, "God, I mean, not Ella. I know Ella is just as gay as me."

Alex shook his head, trying not to give her the pleasure of hearing him actually laugh because he'd found that funny, focusing on the way Ella got to Bre and hugged her from the back and over her shoulders.

They could see Breana had ordered some sort of dessert, but they weren't quite sure what it was. It didn't matter though, because watching Ella take the spoonful that the model was offering her was far more important, and it had them completely entranced when the whipped cream that was over it fell out of the corner of Ella's mouth and down her bare neck.

Ella laughed, struggling to swallow between the chuckles and Breana, who was trying to wipe the sweet from her neck with her finger, couldn't do it correctly due to how she couldn't stay still from the laughter.

A few seconds later, Bre had managed to wipe most of it with her index finger and offered it to Ella as a joke to lick clean but that was exactly what Ella needed to have the two people who were gawking at her, completely lose it.

So Ella stuck her tongue out to lick Breana's finger from base to tip and then wrapped her lips around it to sink her mouth on it. It got even filthier when Ella's eyes met theirs and she let them roll back in satisfaction.

Both Alice and Alex were struggling to breathe. In the middle of that Alice's head had fallen on Alex's shoulder and she'd fully groaned into his neck. Alex was going into overdrive, and Alice felt herself getting worked up from the whole thing.

"That was thigh-clenching-ly hot. Fuck me..." And Alice wasn't lying because when Alex distractedly dropped his gaze down, he saw her thighs pressed together and he had to hold himself back not to groan in response.

But Ella wasn't done, not when she'd just seen them react that way. She had made it seem like she'd gotten distracted by Jamie and Nick laughing at Matt's comment on Ella trying to steal his girlfriend, but she'd been watching the two out of the corner of her eye.

That's why, to seemingly keep the joke going in front of the lads, she asked Breana to lick the rest off her neck and her best friend did just that.

Alice wanted to be Breana so badly in that moment, to have Ella sit on her lap as she licked her neck. Alex tried not to moan when he saw Bre purposely start sucking on Ella's neck and Ella's mouth opened slightly in pleasure.

"They're gonna start shagging on the table!" They heard Nick yell, Matt was separating the American girls as everyone laughed their asses off, especially when they pointed at the small bruise already showing faintly on Ella's neck

Alice had been sure she'd be shagging Ella later, but that just made her a thousand percent sure that it'd be one of the best decisions she'd make. "I won't fuck her against the shared wall, don't worry." She stated, even though she certainly knew that'd happen, because all she wanted to do now was fuck Ella in every corner of her damn flat.

Alex stood up then, completely done with her, still breathless from the whole situation and just wanting to go home so he could properly get off to the thought of Ella. "Time for another drink."

"I'll have a Negroni Sbag–"

"Wasn't asking if you wanted one Loveless." Alex leaned down and whispered into her ear, "Especially if you fuck my Ellie."

Alice smirked up at him and whispered back, "I'm going to make your Ellie cum on my tongue."

Alex pretended the image hadn't made him want to burst right there. He was sure he'd hate Alice even more after that night because of how much he'd be thinking about them both. And it was awful of him, he knew, but how could he not. That made him also want to kick himself in the head because it wasn't only Ella involved, it was Alice of all people. Fucking Alice.

Alice downed whatever was left of her drink, taking the empty glass with her until she reached Ella's side and wrapped her arm around her waist.

"You're a tease, aren't you?" Alice whispered into her ear, making Ella shiver in her hold.

Ella played innocent, "Me? What makes you say that?"

But Alice could see straight through her and if she was right about her suspicions then it would be a very fun night. Alice hummed, letting her hand drop slowly and then grabbing a handful of Ella's ass and squeezing it, making Ella whimper softly only for her to hear. "I'm very observant."

Ella had enough alcohol in her to fully be blunt and not care that she was in public and in front of all their friends so, with her eyes filled with lust, she said, "And are you liking the view?"

"Very much." Alice replied looking at her hungrily and not being able to hold back any longer.

Alice quickly placed her glass on the table and grabbed Ella by the neck to pull her in and kiss her. It was a hungry kiss, and neither of the girls cared to be seen, if anything Alice thought it'd be better for everyone in the place to know she was the one taking Ella home. Alice believed she was the only one in the place that could treat her the way she deserved.

Ella's arms wrapped around Alice's shoulders, making sure to tangle her fingers on the singer's hair and pulling her in impossibly closer. Alice had one of her arms around Ella's waist, holding her tightly to her chest, and her right hand was still wrapped around Ella's neck just like she'd wanted to do all night.

Now, Alice wanted to test her theories, so she put some more pressure around Ella's neck to see if she was truly into it and when the girl moaned into her mouth, allowing their tongues to taste each other, Alice felt like the luckiest woman alive.

Their kiss went on until they ran out of breath, pulling away as they panted, not even caring about how their friends had all gone silent. All the girls could focus on was the big smirks on each other's faces, certainly satisfied by the kiss.

Somewhere in the background they heard Matt saying "Fucking hell, they were eating each other." but they couldn't be arsed to say anything back because Alice was now rubbing circles on Ella's neck and she was enjoying the touch way too much.

Ella's gaze fell on Alice's swollen lips and that only made her want to taste them again so, letting one of her arms drop from around her shoulders to her waist, Ella pulled Alice back in for another kiss.

Alice moaned as she felt Ella's tongue instantly teasing her lips so that she could open them up for her, making Ella grip her waist tighter and pushing her hips against Alice's. That only made the British girl tighten her hold around Ella's neck, and that's when Ella knew that if she didn't live in a different continent, then she'd do anything to feel Alice's lips on hers all the time.

This time they didn't kiss for long, because now their friends were causing ruckus and they'd rather not have them ruin the night for them by being loud and forcing them to leave early. Not that it would be bad for them, as they could get down to it sooner but they both knew they wanted to stay and enjoy each other's presence a little more at the pub they were in.

So Ella left a bunch of pecks on Alice's lips, which made Alice truly melt at how fucking adorable she was.

When Alice let her hand drop from Ella's neck, she noticed once again the bareness of it, so she undid her own choker and wrapped it around Ella's neck instead.

Ella bit her lip, feeling Alice's fingers brushing the skin on the back of her neck—it was such a simple touch but she was suffocating in the tension between them, it had her tummy fluttering.

Alice finished locking the leather piece, and leaned backwards to see it in all its glory around Ella's pretty neck. "Definitely suits you better." She said, her mouth watering as she thought of marking her up all over. "That feel alright?" She asked, just to make sure Ella was comfortable.

But Ella made her breath hitch in her throat when she whispered, "Kinda wish it could be tighter."

And once again, Alice just couldn't help herself. She deeply groaned as she hooked her finger on the A that tied the choker together and pulled Ella in to attack her lips again. Thankfully, seeing that the two girls had been ignoring them all, their friends had gone back to what they were doing and left them to it.

They were also thankful for the music in the place, loud enough so it could drown the moans they were letting out into each other's mouths.

Alice brought one of her hands to tangle in Ella's hair and pulled on it ever so roughly to make her whimper. Ella had left the hand that was on Alice's waist drop to grope her ass, fingers roughly kneading the barely covered flesh, and the singer stopped the kiss to let out a breathy moan that had Ella smirking.

Alex had come back from the bar right after Alice had put her choker on Ella and he found it a miracle that the glass he had in his hand didn't shatter from how tight he was holding it.

He knew Alice was determined but how he wished she'd set her eyes on someone else because seeing all that was just making his chest twist in a knot. He had imagined tonight going so differently: getting to have a drink with Ella and chat to their heart's content, dancing around with her, sharing smokes and maybe taking her back to his just so they could cuddle.

The longer he thought about it, the more his anger towards Alice bubbled inside him.

He got to the table right when the girls let go of each other, not before Ella gave Alice's ass another cheeky squeeze, making Alice laugh and leave a kiss on her neck. Rolling his eyes, he started gulping down his drink, making a mental note to make it a double next time he went to the bar.

Ella went to sit with Breana again, leaving Alice to chat with Oscar and both conversations seemed to be about the same topic.

Bre kept teasing Ella, and she could only blush as she said how much she was looking forward to later in the night. The model had hugged her tightly and shaken her in her arms, making Ella giggle away.

And Alice watched all that with a loopy smile on her face, matching the one on Alex's face who was looking at Ella's happy state with pure adoration. Yes he despised seeing it be because of someone else but her happiness was contagious and he couldn't help feeling warm inside whenever she smiled.

It was about ten minutes later that someone from the staff had pulled the projector screen down in the corner of the room and set everything up for karaoke. A handful of people ran to the book to pick a song to perform.

They all suffered three very drunkenly performed songs and a decent rendition of one of the best ABBA songs. And as a man very passionately sang an Adele song, a tipsy Ella who had been peer pressured into participating stood up to grab the song book.

If it wasn't for the alcohol and Alice's gaze on her, she would've done anything to avoid it, but then she found a song she loved by one of her new favorite artists that had her brightly grinning and quickly telling the man in charge of the songs what it was that she'd be singing.

When the man singing Adele was done and stepped out of the small stage, Ella grabbed the microphone with shaky hands. Everyone at the table whooped and cheered, wolf whistled and clapped seeing her walk onto the stage, making her blush.

The song started, she was deeply regretting agreeing to it until her eyes landed on Alex's and he nodded at her encouragingly, giving her thumbs up and smiling wide at seeing her on stage for a change.

Ella smiled back at him, scrunching her nose and in no time she started singing along.

She had a sweet, hush voice that sounded amazing even when she was drunk. People at the pub started cheering for her as she'd been so far the best to perform. But it was when she got to the chorus that her eyes met Alice's and she just had to put on a little show for her.

Fuck yeah, give it to me, this is Heaven, what I truly want

Ella sang teasingly, making sure to get a little breathless to accentuate how she wanted to be chanting that line, Alice crossed her legs to aid the ache between them.

Alex had let out a groan, one that left his throat without him wanting to. If he closed his eyes every time she sang that line, he could paint a picture in his mind that was enough for him to cum in his pants at any second.

It was in the second verse that Ella leaned onto the railing that separated the stage and stared right into Alice's eyes as she sang.

In the land of gods and monsters

I was an angel looking to get fucked hard

Ella sent a wink Alice's way and the singer bit her lip, eyeing her up and down with a hungry look on her face.

And after that look, Ella just filled up with this confidence that had her hips swaying and really feeling every line of the song.

Alex was quite literally dying in his seat. His heart was going a thousand miles per hour, every movement of Ella's body getting branded to the forefront of his mind. But all of Ella's attention was on Alice, making him want to scream.

Alice had made a point to be the loudest once Ella got off stage and she was pleased to see Ella go straight to sit on her lap and give her a quick kiss.

"That was so embarrassing." She'd said in Alice's ear.

Alice shook her head, "You did amazing, baby. T'was fucking hot."

Ella gave her no time to react when she cupped her jaw and kissed her hard. Ella's hands cupped her jaw eagerly and Alice's arms pulled her impossibly close, and because of how she'd forcefully pushed her hips into hers, Ella had moaned at the friction.

"God– Please, sit on my face." Alice said under her breath, already obsessed with the noises Ella made.

Ella's thighs clenched together, "Thought you'd never ask." was what she said back and Alice would've taken her right there if she could've.

Another hungry kiss started, their tongues meeting straight away making them dizzy from want but it was cut short because of the person who was now on stage quite literally screaming 'Living On A Prayer'. Ella rested her forehead on Alice's and they both started laughing into each other, absolutely loving the way the night was turning out to be.

Alex was forcing himself to focus on the butchering of the Bon Jovi song, just so he could keep the little sanity he had left.

He was sure it'd be worse once he'd go home and had to try to find sleep whilst he knew that the girls' would be shagging next door. He would just have to try and stay way longer just to avoid arriving at his flat.

A few more people went—including Katie and Breana who had sung 'Head Over Heels' by Tears for Fears—, and after a fair fifteen minutes, Ella had stood up from Alice's lap so she could go sing.

When Alice got on stage, Ella wolf whistled at her, earning her a wink and a blown kiss. Alex felt himself dying a little bit when he watched Ella's massive smile on her face at that. Jealousy was such a weird feeling, his chest tightening at the sight of her happiness and knowing someone else was the reason for that, was killing him.

And it only became worse when Alice's chosen song started and the people around the place started cheering for her as she sang straight to Ella.

So one, two, three

Take my hand and come with me

Because you look so fine

That I really wanna make you mine

I said, you look so fine

That I really wanna make you mine

He wanted to be the one making Ella blush as she giggled by having a song basically serenaded to her.

Well, I could see you home with me

But you were with another man, yeah

I know we ain't got much to say

Before I let you get away, yeah

I said, are you gonna be my girl?

Alex drowned his thoughts in whiskey, staring at a giddy Ella hypnotized by Alice. It was painful to see not only their group of friends enjoying the performance but everyone in the establishment cheering and singing along, clapping and hyping Alice up. That only had the singer more confident to lay it on thick on Ella as she sang to her.

Once Alice was done and off stage, seeing Ella so eagerly kiss her had Alex standing up from his seat and going to the bar.

He ordered himself a double whiskey on the rocks, downing it faster than he should've and ordering another one right away. He sat at the bar until the karaoke stopped and even though his ears hurt, he wished the obnoxious noise was still there so he could distract himself from his thoughts.

Once he was finished with his second drink, he made sure to get a third one and when he got it, he went back to sit at the booth he and Alice had been sitting at earlier when watching Ella.

Time had moved quicker than he could process as he wallowed in self pity in a corner and, in a moment when her attention wasn't completely taken by Alice or the rest of the group, Ella made her way to him.

She was truly elated, the night had turned out better than she'd ever expected and to find someone she actually wanted to fuck, who she felt so comfortable with already, was a massive win to her.

So Ella let herself drop beside Alex with a happy sigh. He turned around quickly, knowing it was her from just her scent, and smiled softly.

"You okay sweets?" She asked with a soft frown on her face, the last time she'd seen him was when she was on stage during karaoke and he'd been smiling so she wondered what had happened for his mood to fall down completely.

"Yes darling, I'm fine." He gave her a tight lip smile that she instantly knew was forced.

She shook her head, "You don't look it, sweetness. Come here." She opened her arms for him and Alex sighed.

He stared at the A around her neck, held by the leather band of the choker and he wished with everything he had that it was A for Alex instead of Alice. Ignoring the growing jealousy inside him, he accepted her embrace and relaxed instantly by nuzzling in the crook of her neck.

She giggled at the tickling feeling from his hair, which made him only do it more in order to hear her laugh louder. His hand managed to go around her side to tickle her there and that's when she dropped her arms to cackle as she tried to push him away from her.

"Stop, stop, stop. I'm too drunk for tickling." She pleaded, really feeling like she'd fully pee herself from laughing with her state.

Alex stopped, opting for properly wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her closer into his side.

"Are you having fun?" He asked softly, only she was able to hear him from how close she was to him.

Ella showed a loopy grin, her eyes closing at how wide it was, "Lots."

"I'm glad, darling. You deserve it." He was being honest, because despite how he hated everything that had gone on—except for this very moment—, he was so damn happy she was happy.

She cooed, letting her head fall on his shoulder. "Gonna make me cry, sweets. Remember I'm an emotional drunk."

He chuckled and left a kiss on top of her head, making her skin erupt in goosebumps. "You're a clingy one as well. You'll be asking for cuddles in a bit."

And he was about to suggest taking her back to his so they could cuddle all night, a last attempt to stop anything from happening between her and Alice, when aforementioned suddenly appeared beside her and pounced on Ella's lips.

Ella leaned back into Alex due to the force and the lack of space, and since the singer had his arm around her waist, he was stuck between the seat and Ella's body.

He tried his best to avert his eyes, not wanting to watch the way Alice's tongue disappeared into Ella's mouth but what he couldn't do was mute the noise so he fully froze when Ella let out a loud moan at the taste of Alice.

A moan that earned her one from Alice and soon enough both of them were whimpering messes which had Alex completely going insane.

Alex tried pulling his arm out slowly but Ella kept leaning back, meaning he was more trapped by the second. He watched around him in search of any type of help, he needed a way out, but everyone was still at the table, so engrossed in the conversations that he couldn't even catch anyone's attention from where he was.

He cursed in his head, fully panicking as Ella continued to lean back into him and now resting on his chest, Alice starting to bend over on top of her. And then the girls' hands started to wander and Ella's right hand disappeared under Alice's top. He could see her fingers inching closer to Alice's nipple and he knew that if he didn't get out of there soon, then he'd be in serious trouble.

So Alex cleared his throat loudly and continuously, enough times to have them separating with their chests heaving and cheeks flushed. Not as flushed as his, but definitely giving him competition.

Alice held her hand out for Ella to grab, which she accepted instantly and watching Alice go over to the table to grab her coat, Ella turned around slightly to apologize.

"Sorry sweets. I'll see you tomorrow?" Ella tried meeting his eyes to see if their plans still stood, but it was a failure.

Alex could barely meet her eyes as he nodded his head. "Yep. See you tomorrow, darling."

Ella gave him a tight lip smile that he missed but he was left with the picture of Alice helping Ella put her coat on and then intertwining her fingers with Ella's as they waved everyone goodbye.

"Have fun Eleanor!" Oscar yelled suggestively as the couple of girls walked away.

Ella was gonna flip him off when Alice beat her to an answer, "Oh she most certainly will." She assured, to then make a V with her fingers and stuck her tongue out through it to flick up and down in a quick motion.

They heard their friends laugh behind them, Ella's cheeks bright red as they walked out but her heart leaped on her chest from anticipation. 

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

The walk back to Alice's was about fifteen minutes long which she'd find short in any other circumstance, but standing right there with the need to have Ella to herself had her deciding to just take a cab back to her place.

Only a few minutes later the girls were sitting inside a car, the red light on and the lights flashing as they drove the city's streets.

"So I hear you're in a band?" Ella started the conversation, feeling Alice rubbing her hand tattoo with her thumb.

She nodded, giving Ella her undivided attention, "I am."

"What do you do?" Ella asked, her words a little slurred, and she felt slightly bad for forgetting what Oscar had said she did earlier.

But Alice smiled amused, "I sing."

"Like Alex?" The American grinned, forgetting how both singers seemed to hate each other.

"Yes, but I'm better than him," Alice stated confidently and when Ella laughed a little she added, "I'm sexier too."

Ella hummed softly, not really knowing if she could fully agree on that because if she took a moment to think about it, then she'd greedily choose them both.

"Why does it seem like you two don't like each other?" She felt the need to ask.

"That's because we don't... At all." Alice didn't hesitate to tell her.

The information confused Ella because she truly couldn't understand why Alex couldn't stand such a sweet and funny girl like Alice.

"Can I ask why?" She asked curiously.

"I don't know why to be honest with you." Alice told her truthfully, "The first time I met him he was horrible to me for no reason. And then it progressed to what it is now... Always getting under each other's skin."

"He's not a bad person, I swear." Ella felt the sudden urge to defend her best friend, maybe even give Alice another view on him that could make her try to change her mind. "I've actually never met anyone nicer... He's the one who got me through all the shit my ex put me through, got me being myself again."

"I'm glad he's got a soft spot for someone. Nice to see some human qualities come through" Alice only smiled back, her eyes clearly wandering around Ella's face, which made her blush. "And it's really fine that it's not for me. We get under each other's skin, it's entertaining a lot of the time to be honest."

Ella got lost staring at Alice's features, half a minute going by before her brain caught up with what was said so she offered a solution, "Maybe if you spent time together then you both could-"

But Alice shook her head with a sad expression on her face. Only sad because of not being able to give Ella the outcome she wanted in the situation. "We're going on tour together the rest of the year and the next baby, and we've just done a festival run together. I can't see anything changing. And I've already tried with him and nothing's ever come of it. So I'll just have to learn to live with him."

"You're touring with them?" Ella asked with a sparkle of excitement in her eyes.

"Pale Waves supporting Arctic Monkeys across America and Europe and festivals in Australia. Can you believe it?" Alice smiled sweetly at her, really appreciating her obvious elation at the news.

"I feel bad that you're touring with them and I've never heard your music." Ella's voice sounded very apologetic then, as she played with Alice's fingers.

"Don't worry baby," Alice waved off, letting go of Ella's hand to let her own wander over her knee and slowly up her thigh. "You'll get the best seats to any and all shows. I'll be very pleased to see your pretty face there."

Ella blushed harder then, letting her head drop slightly. Feeling the urge to tease Alice back, she let her hand brush over her fishnet covered thigh, and let her fingertips ghost over the tattoo she had there. 'My Mind Makes Noises' it read, and if she focused enough, Ella could see the goosebumps breaking out on Alice's skin from the touch.

"It's the title of my first album." Alice told her with a small smile.

Ella's fingers kept tracing the words as she asked, "Your first?"

"Yes, I'm writing my second now." The singer nodded, trying not to react to the tingles that Ella's fingers were causing her to feel go up her thigh and reach her center.

"Nice." Ella smiled but she couldn't help but wonder, "Why 'My Mind Makes Noises'?"

"Mental illness, baby." Alice chuckled as a joke, but she went on to explain, "I'm okay now but I struggled with how I looked and what my body looked like when I was younger. Wrote the song Noises about it and 'my mind makes noises' is the first line of the song."

"Proud of you for getting through it." Ella smiled, fully resting her hand over her thigh then as she made a mental note to remind Alice as many times as she could just how fucking drop dead gorgeous she was.

"Thank you Ellie." Alice smiled back at her, her hand coming over Ella's and tracing her hand tattoo again.

For a brief second, Ella felt bad that she was flirting with the singer when she'd just told her about her personal trauma. So going a little shy, she withdrew her hand from the singer's thigh and put it back down on her own.

This however was written all across Ella's face and Alice could already read her like a book. So smirking a little, Alice picked Ella's hand up and placed it back on her thigh over her tattoo, then crossed her legs trapping the American's fingers so she could keep her there.

Ella's mouth opened up slightly, her breath shaky when she met Alice's gaze. The action made her lean back into the seat as she cursed under her breath. "Fucking hell."

Alice smirked at the effect and she was grateful to see they only had a few blocks left to get to their destination.

It was all a blur from the moment they got off the cab to when they made it upstairs and into her flat. Their minds were quickly shaken up by their lips clashing again as soon as the door to Alice's flat closed behind them.

"Fuck." Alice cursed on Ella's lips, "I can finally have you all to myself." She inhaled deeply through her nose, so glad to be in between four walls meaning that she could freely drop her hands to grab Ella by the ass and push her hips into hers.

Soon enough, after Ella's coat had been thrown onto the floor, they were on the settee. Ella's legs on each side of Alice's hips as she straddled her. They couldn't stop kissing each other, only when they were overcome by the friction of their hips meeting and they couldn't stop moaning into each others' mouths.

Ella was drenched already and Alice hadn't missed that, not when Ella's dress was bunched all the way up to her hips and she had a full view of her cute lacy thong already ruined. Alice let one of her hands in between their bodies to push Ella's underwear to the side and rub her clit with enough speed to have Ella whimper and stop kissing her.

"Alice–" Ella was barely able to say, breathless from the kiss and now her fingers.

And Alice had loved how she said her name so much that she went ahead and dipped two of her fingers into Ella, slipping so easily inside of her because of how wet she was.

"All this for me?" Alice asked teasingly as she slowly pumped her fingers in and out of her.

Ella could only softly moan at the stretch of Alice's fingers inside her, feeling so much better than her own after so long of having had to get herself off.

But since Alice didn't get an answer, she stopped her movements which made Ella whimper in despair. And in a desperate attempt to continue with what had been happening, Ella lifted her hips up and back down Alice's fingers, fucking herself on them.

Alice groaned as she watched her fingers disappearing inside Ella's cunt and when she looked back up, she noticed Ella's eyes rolling back in pleasure.

She didn't let her have fun for much long because she took her hand away and before Ella could even protest, Alice gave her left ass cheek a hard spank, leaving her to let out a gasp that turned into a moan.

"You need to answer." Alice scorned, a smirk on her face when she watched Ella's dilated pupils focus back on her.

Ella nodded desperately, missing the feeling of her fingers inside her, "Yes, baby, all for you." And in an attempt to get some mercy from Alice, she connected their lips again with need.

Alice knew exactly what she wanted Ella doing first, so without breaking the kiss, she guided Ella's right leg in between hers and forced her hips down onto her tattooed thigh. Alice's hands gripped at Ella's hips tightly, guiding her to move on her thigh, to ride it until she came.

Ella hummed in pleasure, biting Alice's bottom lip as she pulled back and letting it free after a few seconds. That had Alice squirming in her seat, her leg accidentally shifting in between Ella's legs, making the American girl cry out in pleasure.

Watching Ella ride her thigh was a picture Alice wouldn't forget in a while, her soft sounds echoing in her brain and making her want more from her. So when Ella fell forwards, caging Alice between her arms as she rested them on the back of the couch, Alice took advantage of the skin she had right there to bruise.

Her choker stood perfectly in place still and that only encouraged Alice more. She started kissing her way down her neck and started her attack on her chest. Alice sucked love bites on Ella's tits, biting her nipples softly over the fabric of her dress and that only made Ella move faster on her thigh.

Ella got increasingly louder with the more sucking Alice did, and it turned into desperate whimpers when Alice found that spot right over her collarbone at the base of her neck that made her go absolutely insane.

The rhythm of her hips grew erratic and messy, Ella's moans falling straight into Alice's ear and she couldn't do anything else other than encourage her to reach her climax.

"That's it, good girl." Alice said against her neck, leaving a trail of pecks as Ella got louder, "Come on, baby, I wanna hear how good you sound when you cum."

Alice's hands went to grab harshly at Ella's ass, helping her with her movements and it was her touch along with her words of encouragement that had Ella tipping over the edge and trembling as she orgasmed on top of Alice.

The singer watched her in awe, taking a mental picture of her pretty face scrunching up in pleasure, continuing to help her shaky hips as she came down from her high.

Ella let her forehead drop on Alice's shoulder, her shallow breaths loud as she tried to get oxygen back in her lungs, her legs still shaking slightly besides Alice's thigh.

"You look so fucking pretty when you cum, baby." Alice started, leaving open mouthed kisses on the side of Ella's neck which was on show to her.

When Alice licked a bold stripe up her neck and started sucking right under her ear, Ella's breath hitched on her throat and that had her coming out of her trance.

She sat back up straight, dipping her head to give Alice a brief messy kiss and then saying, "Let's go to your room, Allie." as she carefully stood back up on wobbly legs and offered her hand for Alice to take.

Alice wasted no time, intertwining their fingers and dragging Ella towards her room.

Once inside, Ella quickly pushed Alice onto bed and dropped to her knees right in front of her. Alice felt herself grow breathless in anticipation, her cunt dripping at the sight of Ella so innocently staring up at her through her lashes.

But Ella wanted to tease her, so she got a hold of one of her legs and slowly took one of her red boots off, making sure to kiss from her ankle up to a few inches above her knee, really making it feel like she was going to her inner thighs but leaving right when Alice got her hopes up.

She repeated the process with the other leg, this time teasing her a bit more and licking her inner thigh up until she was close to the edge of her underwear.

Alice watched as Ella's head disappeared under her skirt, but whined when all she got was a couple of open mouthed kisses over her clothed core.

Ella pulled back to take Alice's fishnets off, so painfully slow that almost had Alice wanting to complain—she only didn't because she was enjoying Ella's methods, it turned her on impossibly more.

The American got on the bed then, straddling Alice and slowly pushing her backwards so she was fully laying on the bed. Alice cupped her jaw and brought her in for a kiss, another steamy one that had their breaths shaky in no time.

Their hips met once again, over and over, the friction so good that it made them stop kissing just so they could moan into each others' mouths. But Ella wanted Alice to cum under her first, just so she could also fully see how she came undone without being distracted by chasing her own high.

Ella's lips trailed down Alice's neck, slowly starting her attack on the singer's neck, leaving open mouth kisses and softly sucking her skin which earned her soft moans from Alice.

It was when she got to her clothed chest that Alice got louder, as Ella licked over the fabric on her nipples and then blew on the wet spot, sending surprising shocks of pleasure down Alice's spine.

"Ella, fuck–" Alice could barely mutter.

Ella did that for a minute, Alice felt like she was agonizing already and she was surprised at the confidence Ella had to tease her like that.

Soon, she started lifting Alice's top until it was off her and forgotten somewhere on the floor of the room.

Seeing Alice's nipple piercings made Ella moan as she bit her lip, "So fucking stunning, baby." She complimented before leaning in to suck her tits, purposely leaving her nipples abandoned to her touch.

Alice squirmed under her, and when Ella's fingertips started to ghost over her inner thighs up until they got to her cunt but never touched her like she wanted, Alice started rolling her hips as if that'd help her.

Chuckling, Ella kept her teasing going, this time abandoning Alice's legs to softly touch all over her chest and abdomen as her mouth stayed busy marking her up. And Alice could feel herself going insane when Ella's fingertips faintly rubbed on her pebbled nipples, feeling all the heat going down in between her legs.

Her breaths grew shallow when Ella took it a step further and used her fingers to pinch her nipples. Alice was whining in a high pitch, feeling a new type of pleasure that had her head spinning. And it only got more intense when, after kissing up the side of her neck, Ella found Alice's sweet spot right under her ear.

Mixing the feeling she got as Ella intently sucked on that spot she loved so much and the way her fingers kept pinching and twisting her nipples, Alice felt herself fastly reaching her orgasm.

Ella knew it, from the way she sounded and how ragged her breath had gotten. The more obvious sign was Alice's hand dropping between her legs to help alleviate some of her frustration in that very spot.

But Ella was quick to stop her, letting her skin alone with a pop and taking the hand she'd been using to play with Alice's nipples under her skirt.

Her left hand went to pick up the work she'd been doing and her right one dipped right into her cunt, pushing Alice's underwear to the side.

"Needed me right here?" She teasingly asked her with a massive smirk on her face.

Alice's face contorted in pleasure at the feeling of Ella's fingers filling her up and curling inside her. "Yes– Ella, baby–"

She continued pumping her fingers in and out of her, her thumb rubbing her clit as well and her other hand still playing with her nipple.

"What is it Alice? What do you want, babe?" Ella's mouth opened slowly as she watched Alice quickly approaching her climax. So to help more, she changed her fingers for her mouth to suck on her nipple and that was enough to have Alice lose it.

"Oh fuck!" Alice cried in pleasure, "M'gonna cum, gonna cum!"

Ella hummed enthusiastically with her mouth still sucking Alice's tit, and the vibrations from that were the thing to push her to her orgasm.

Her fingers pumped in and out of her in a constant pace that she kept up until Alice couldn't take anymore and pushed her hand out and away from her cunt.

Ella let go of her tit with a pop, smiling down at a dazed Alice who was trying to get her breath back, and the little she had managed was taken away once more when Ella brought her hand up and licked her fingers clean.

Humming in pleasure, Ella felt herself clenching around nothing as the taste of Alice's arousal fell on her tongue, "You taste so damn good."

At that Alice wrapped her hand around Ella's neck and pulled her down to kiss her. She moaned, tasting herself on Ella's tongue, already thinking about the infinite ways she wanted to have her.

It was a brief kiss because of how breathless Alice was, but Ella took the chance to gather more of Alice's cum on her fingers and bring it up to her lips again. Once again she moaned as she wrapped her lips around her own fingers and tasted Alice on her tongue.

Alice watched it all in adoration, in complete awe of just how erotic it all was. Her mouth went dry when Ella dipped her fingers back down to gather more of her slick but this time telling her to, "Open up." so she could taste herself.

And how could she just not oblige when Ella was looking at her with those hungry eyes. So Alice wrapped her lips around her fingers and sucked them clean eagerly, moaning around them to then release them with a pop.

That made something in them unleash, desperately kissing again as they got rid of their other clothes. They both stood up from the bed and while Alice shed herself off her skirt and underwear, Ella took off her dress along with her bra and thong.

"Keep the collar on. I love seeing you branded as mine." Alice said, eye fucking Ella as she stood so perfectly naked in front of her.

The comment had gone straight in between Ella's legs so she basically threw herself at Alice, both of them falling back on the bed with shrieks that turned into giggles that they swallowed into a kiss.

Maybe if they hadn't laughed so loud, they could've caught the sound of the next door neighbor arriving home.

Alex had slammed his front door closed, dropped his keys on the little table he had by the entrance and toed his shoes off. He was drunk and knackered, already dreading the fact that he'd had to come home earlier than expected because his mind was too distracted to focus on the rest of the group, growing too bored of hearing their chatter and of mindlessly drinking so he felt the urge to leave.

In retrospect, he probably should've walked home just so he could waste more time and avoid hearing anything, but he had been truly just craving his bed and unfortunately his cab had taken way less than anticipated.

He was glad to hear absolute silence once he got to his room, wishfully thinking that Ella wasn't enjoying whatever Alice was doing and therefore it was all completely silent but, as he took his own clothes to get in bed, on the other side of the wall something completely different was happening.

"I meant it when I said I wanted you to ride my face." Alice reminded her, making Ella's ache between her legs grow.

The girls wasted no time going further up the bed and getting comfortable. Alice started a devastatingly slow trail of love bites on the insides of her thighs, making Ella breathe shallowly in a matter of half a minute.

Another excruciatingly long minute went by, Ella feeling every bruise that Alice was leaving in her wake, before she could finally ask her to go where she needed her. "Allie, baby, please– I need you."

The British woman smiled hearing her plead, "Come here then Ellie." She encouraged, and Ella didn't need to be told twice.

She slowly came down to have her cunt hover over Alice's mouth and a loud moan left her throat when Alice licked from her entrance to her clit and then sucked it harshly, making her see stars.

"Alice!"

That noise had made Alex freeze one foot away from his bed. He stayed there for a minute, trying to sharpen his hearing to see if it was real or he was imagining it but his questions were answered when he heard the unmistakable voice of the girl he fancied screaming the name of the girl he hated.

"Oh fuck! Alice!" Ella cried out, Alice fucking her with her tongue as she very quickly rubbed on her clit was making her go absolutely insane.

A minute later Alice changed her tongue for her fingers, seeing how Ella was practically dripping all over her face, being able to easily fit three inside Ella and then letting her mouth give her clit all the attention.

Ella's right hand quickly tangled in Alice's hair, pushing her closer to her center and tightly pulling at it encouragingly, her hips moving erratically on Alice's face and the whole thing had Alice humming in pleasure—Ella shaking over her as she got closer to her orgasm.

It only took Alice's fingers going faster and sucking harder on her clit for Ella to fall forward to grab a hold of the headboard as her legs trembled beside Alice's head.

Ella loudly moaned Alice's name like a chant, followed by profanities that were barely understandable as her orgasm left her completely breathless.

Alex's mouth and throat was dry, all he could feel was pure jealousy and himself growing hard in his boxers as he sat there on his bed with his back leant against his headboard.

He wished he could be the one hearing all that in his ear and not through the bloody walls. He wanted to be the one making Ella fall apart under him, yet he had to know it was Alice doing that.

His blood was boiling out of rage, his body extremely hot from how turned on he was thinking about the whole situation. But he'd have to be strong this time, so he let himself close his eyes and ignore the way he was dying for some release.

That didn't work though, not when his eyes stayed open as he stared at the darkness in his room and minutes later was startled by another round of moans from the girls.

Alice was already overly sensitive, only slowly recovering from her last orgasm, when Ella had cum all over her face. Watching Ella come undone on top of her had Alice clenching her thighs together, it had been such a pornographic view that had her wishing somehow she could replay it second by second, over and over in the future.

Not wanting to waste any of Ella's sweet taste, Alice had lapped at every bit of her arousal she could get, making an overstimulated Ella cry out as her tongue continued working on her cunt.

She only stopped when her whines got louder and Ella desperately shifted to go back down and straddle Alice again, "Jesus fucking Christ," She watched her slick all over Alice's chin and neck so she just couldn't help but lick it all up for her and then catch Alice's lips in a hot kiss.

It wasn't the long kiss Alice had wanted it to be, because Ella desperately wanted more of Alice and she just couldn't wait longer. So she kissed down Alice's body, making sure to suck more bruises on her skin and enjoying every sound the singer made under her.

But Ella just needed to have a taste of her again, so in no time she dove between Alice's legs and started eating her out.

Alice's back arched off the bed in pleasure. Her center had been aching from just watching Ella that the feeling of her tongue flicking at her clit and lapping at her entrance had Alice not able to control her whimpers.

"Ellie, oh my–" She shivered as she grabbed a hold of Ella's hair and pulled on it tightly as she fisted it to bring her closer to her cunt.

Feeling Alice so desperate already made Ella the more needy to make her cum hard so she went up to Alice's clit and wrapped her lips around it to suck on it as she moaned into her.

The sucking and the vibrations made Alice's legs shake and instinctively close around Ella's head.

That had Ella smirking to herself, changing her mouth to use two of her fingers to quickly rub at the singer's clit and making sure to lick all of the arousal that had wet the top of Alice's inner thighs.

Ella made sure to look up to see Alice's face, and that was just a portrait she wished she would have captured with her camera. Sweat was making her face shine and her makeup the slightest bit messy, her cheeks and chest were flushed, chest heaving and littered with bruises that were already darkening.

She was proud of her work so she went back to finish her task, but when she let her eyes drop again to Alice's cunt and saw how she was clenching around nothing, Ella groaned.

"Where are your toys Allie?" Ella asked, knowing there was no way she wouldn't have a wide variety of them.

Alice couldn't answer, not when Ella kept quickly rubbing on her clit so when Ella realized that and stopped, Alice whined in complaint before answering, "Second drawer, over there."

A satisfactory smirk appeared on Ella's face when she opened the drawer and she was met with being right about her suspicions. She tried making a quick decision but there were many toys to choose from and she was feeling indecisive.

That was until she heard Alice mewl in the background and when Ella turned to see her, she was playing with herself. Ella couldn't even find it in herself to warn Alice not to continue doing that because she just looked so fucking gorgeous desperately trying to reach her climax.

In a quick decision for a safe bet, Ella grabbed a dildo and made her way back to the bed.

Alice let her hand fall from her center and raised on her elbows to look at what Ella had chosen. Ella looked her right in the eye and brought the toy up to her lips, to spit on it and once it had dribbled down the length of it, she sank her mouth down on it.

Alice swore she died seeing her like that, as if she couldn't get any fucking hotter. And for a second a cursed thought ran through her mind, of how she'd love to watch her fuck someone else and if she was desperate enough for that show then she'd definitely choose her next door neighbor to be the third in the party.

Out of convenience, of course.

Ella broke her out of her trance when she kneeled on the bed between her legs and prompted them to open further. Bringing the toy to Alice's entrance and teasing the tip in and out of her.

"Baby, please–" Alice begged breathlessly, "Don't tease, Ellie, please."

Her wish was her command so Ella pushed it slowly inside Alice, letting her jaw drop as she watched it disappear inside her with ease. Alice moaned loudly at the stretch, which got easier when Ella's thumb came to rub soft circles on her clit.

"You always take it so well, don't you, gorgeous?" Ella started properly fucking her with the toy, slowly picking up the pace, "And here I thought you couldn't get more beautiful."

The 'thank you' Alice had wanted to say died down in her throat when Ella leaned back down and started sucking her clit again as she continued to use the dildo on her.

"Fuckkk– Ella!" Alice mewled as her back arched in pleasure. One of her hands went down to tangle on Ella's hair, while the other started playing with her own tits.

Alex tried his hardest to control himself but, at the end of the day, he was still human so his hand traveled down his boxers and he slowly started faintly touching himself.

He was well aware the one screaming was Alice but, as he closed his eyes, picturing what could be going on on the other side of the wall was driving him mad.

Alice bit her lip harshly, the pain feeling almost null compared to the heavy pleasure she was feeling, and the stronger the waves of pleasure came, the more she'd bite on her bottom lip.

Ella tutted when she noticed Alice going silent and stopped her sucking to scorn her, "Uh-uh, I want to hear you."

Alice was so focused on the tightening feeling in her belly that she barely heard her so Ella used her free hand to spank her clit, making her jump and drop her hand from Ella's head. Alice yelled from the sensation that pushed her closer to her orgasm and Ella smirked satisfied from it.

"You liked that? Yeah?" Teasingly asked Ella, rubbing slow circles on Alice's clit.

Alice hummed and it sounded almost like a purr, so Ella spanked her again and the gasp that Alice let out turned into such a sweet moan that had Ella needing to hear more of her like that.

Ella hoped the use of a choker meant more about Alice, so she brought up her right hand and wrapped it slowly around Alice's neck.

A massive smile broke on Ella's face when Alice made eye contact with her then only to let out a guttural moan and roll her eyes back in pleasure. So Ella tightened her hold, feeling Alice moan even more under her hand, and continued fucking her with the toy.

Wrapping his hand around his cock, Alex found himself already leaking precum and he groaned, applying a little more pressure around himself. Soft strokes was what he was relying on as he got harder in his hand to the sounds of the girls shagging. He was biting his lip, only letting out soft hums of satisfaction but when he heard Alice yell at Ella to go faster, he let himself moan out loud.

"I'm so close! Faster– faster, please!" Alice begged, feeling herself so close to reaching her high.

Ella listened to her straight away, letting her hand wrap even tighter around Alice's neck and picking up the pace with her left hand as she pounded into her with the dildo.

In no time, Alice's legs started shaking uncontrollably as she came with loud moans of Ella's name, 'baby' and pure gibberish. Ella had her seeing stars as she kept pumping the toy in and out of her with a slightly slower rhythm but kept her hand wrapped tight around her neck.

Alice was getting so overstimulated that she felt the tears pricking her eyes, her legs ached from how they wouldn't stop shaking and she felt like she was about to explode.

But that was exactly what Ella was looking for, so she took the dildo away to solely focus on her clit then, rubbing on it as fast as she could, wanting to see if she could do what Ella had in mind. Ella kept her relentless pace until Alice was cumming all over her again, squirting all over Ella and herself.

Alex died a little hearing how loud Alice had gotten, and thinking about what Ella could be doing for the singer to be almost screaming her name made him fail at trying to stay quiet. He picked up his pace, smearing the precum down to make it more comfortable for him and he fully just pictured them two in front of him, having fun as he watched.

He grew hotter hearing Alice's sounds continue until they ended in her choked up words asking Ella to stop.

"No more– Can't– Can't take more." Alice chanted over and over, making Ella loosen her hold on her neck and start rubbing Alice's thighs soothingly while leaving pecks on every inch of her skin.

Alice was gasping for air, absolutely mind blown by what had just happened and despite wanting to get rid of the mess as soon as possible, she had to show Ella the appreciation she deserved for all that.

"You..." She started, reaching out to get a hold of one of Ella's hands and pulling her up to her, "You are a fucking dream."

The singer attacked Ella's lips hungrily, and it was messy as she still was trying to catch her breath but that only made it better, because it was a clear sign that they were enjoying each other that much.

"That was so fucking hot, Allie." Ella said between kisses, having to hold herself back from going down on her again.

"You're skilled," Alice smirked, breaking the kiss and wrapping her hand around Ella's neck, "Only a few people have been able to make me do that."

Ella laughed, the noise vibrating under Alice's palm making her squeeze tighter and causing Ella to moan.

"As much as I love your hand around my neck, we need to clean this mess." Ella was quick to say, pecking Alice's lips in between words.

Alice agreed, trying to stand up along with Ella but she plopped back on bed when her legs were too weak to do it without help.

The American girl laughed as she offered her hand out for Alice to hold, which she appreciated and stood up slowly.

"I can take the duvet over to your washer while you clean up, if you want." Ella offered, pulling Alice in by the waist and rubbing circles on her lower back.

The singer leaned in to give her a soft kiss and nodded, "Okay. It's the last room at the end of the hallway." She pointed out the door and to the hallway on the other side of the flat.

With a kiss, Ella left Alice to get cleaned up in her ensuite whilst she balled up the duvet from the bed and walked to the laundry room.

It was good for Alex that they had left the room, because if they'd stayed then they would've definitely heard his grunts as he replayed all that he had heard like a broken record in his head as he continued to get himself off.

He was so close when he noticed the silence, and maybe it was that which had made him snap out of it. Realize what he was doing and just how wrong it was.

The next ten minutes were filled with an internal debate that had Alex wanting to pull his hair out of his head. One part of him told him that he'd done that before and why would it matter if he did now, so desperate for relief, and the other told him he should be a bigger person and learn to have better self control.

His inner monologue was rudely interrupted then, by a loud gasp and all Alex could do was let his head hang as the girls started back up again.

After going to the bathroom, Alice had made her way back into her room and seeing her drawer still open, she let herself choose what she was gonna use next on Ella.

The singer was tired but she needed one more from Ella, one more look at her face while she fell apart for her, one last taste of her sweetness.

So when Ella walked back into the bedroom, feeling so bare only wearing Alice's choker, and saw Alice standing there with a smirk and four things in her hand, she bit her lip already feeling herself getting flustered again.

"Thought we were going to bed." Ella blushed as she approached Alice, shy steps but eyes brave as they scanned her up and down with lust.

"I need you to cum for me one more time and then we can do whatever you want, baby." Alice raised her eyebrows, putting the things on the bed to turn around and pull Ella into her by her waist.

Ella hands came up to cup Alice's face, "How do you keep getting hotter by the fucking minute?"

Alice leaned in softly laughing, "I could ask you the same thing."

Kissing again, Alice walked Ella backwards until she was sitting on the edge of the bed and grabbed two of the items to start her plans.

Alice started making her way down, sucking down Ella's neck and chest—really enjoying her whines when she played harshly with her nipples—, leaving open mouthed kisses on her tummy and bruising more of her thighs.

By the time Alice came to where Ella wanted her most, she only got to feel the blow of her hot breath over her because Alice wanted to tease her this time, wanting to hear her truly desperate.

In her hands, the singer had two leather wrist to thigh cuffs, meaning that once they were on Ella, she'd have her legs up and wide open at Alice's mercy.

A few minutes later, that's how Ella ended up with her feet plated on the bed and her knees up, her wrists pressed on her thighs and her legs open to show her glistening cunt to Alice.

Her mouth watered at the sight, the need of having a taste of her before everything taking over and making her dip down to intently lick up and down her core.

The whole setting had Ella already whimpering, being so exposed to the singer made her shiver from lust and looking at the vibrator and the new dildo beside her was only making the ache between her legs grow.

The vibrator coming alive with its buzzing made Ella squirm in her place in anticipation, an action that Alice noticed, making her smirk.

"Are you ready, baby?" She crawled back to Ella with the white buzzing object in her hand.

"Mhm," Ella mewled, "Yes, Allie."

It was excruciatingly slow that Alice moved the vibrator down to Ella's cunt, so much so that when it finally came to meet her clit, Ella gasped loudly.

Like he'd come alive, Alex heard it and only was able to curse his poor luck for a few seconds, because when more moans that Ella was letting out came through the walls, he didn't have it in him to stop himself.

He fully spat on his hand this time, imagining Ella actually doing that to him and wrapped his hand around his length under his boxers.

He was getting harder the more he got to hear the sweet sounds Ella made and it was so much better than he could've ever pictured in his head all those times before. Nothing compared to the real thing. He couldn't imagine how fucking good they sounded falling in one's ear.

Alice had increased the intensity of the vibrator as she started sucking on the dildo she'd chosen for Ella. Getting it ready for her—not that she truly needed it though, because she was already dripping and messing the sheets.

When she pushed it inside her, Ella let out a chesty moan that was followed by the most earth delicious moans Alice had ever heard.

"Oh fuck! Al–!" She couldn't even finish Alice's name and that caused a reaction on the other side of the wall.

Alex would describe those moans as earth shattering. Hearing a clear moan of her saying his name had made him fully lose it. That 'Al' kept replaying in his head and in the background all the sounds she was letting out.

Without them knowing, the three of them were moaning almost in a harmony. If it wasn't for the loud buzz of the vibrator then they could've heard rather quietly Alex's low groans as he fucked his fist to the thought of Ella.

"Ella, darl– F–fuck–" He choked out, desperate to vividly picture her in bed with him.

But Ella's legs were trembling as Alice teased her by keeping the vibrator on her clit for a few seconds, taking the dildo away from her, and then taking the vibrator away to fuck her fast with the long toy.

It was agonizing, feeling so full one second with the ghost of the vibrations, to feeling empty and clenching around nothing as her clit got intensely stimulated.

"Baby I'm so fucking close!" Ella yelled desperately, a loud cry leaving her when Alice still took the dildo out and away from her.

Ella couldn't even touch herself to help, it was impossible for her to bring her hands up and tease her own nipples without pulling her legs all the way up—she was definitely not that flexible.

Alice was enjoying her desperation so much, it made her want to take it to another level. That's why she upped another level and dropped the dildo on the side to curl three fingers inside Ella, knowing that'd get her instantly.

"Fuck!" Ella screamed, feeling Alice hit that spot perfectly and her vision clouded because it was just too much along with the vibrator on its strongest level. "Right there! Right the– Al– Ah!"

And then it came crashing down on them.

Ella got whiplash from how strong her orgasm had reached her, her vision blinded as her legs shook and she squirted, feeling herself spasm around Alice's fingers.

Alex's quick motions pumped himself to an intense climax that had him cumming all over his chest. All he seemed to know was Ella's name, as that was the only thing that came out of his mouth as he came.

Alice was drenched in Ella's cum, as it had all splashed over her arm and chest and that was enough for her to match Ella's noises. She desperately reached for her face, to kiss her messily and feverishly.

After that, everyone disappeared into their bathrooms. Alice and Ella shared a shower while Alex stood alone under the waterfall.

Alex cleaned himself with the sounds replaying over and over in his mind. Alice and Ella got carried away and their shower ended with Alice cumming on Ella's fingers once more.

He had already been in bed for fifteen minutes trying to force himself to sleep when, on the other side, Ella and Alice came back into the room and discarded the dirty sheets for new ones to get some sleep.

The girls were giddy as they got under the fresh sheets and scooted closer until they were cuddled into each other. Alice's head nuzzled in Ella's neck with their legs tangled together and their arms wrapped around each other.

They were certainly aware of the next level of intimacy that meant but they couldn't be arsed, they were enjoying each other's company and they wouldn't keep themselves from it just because of how it may look like. Ella and Alice were both glad to be on the same page.

Alex, on the other hand, was dying inside just thinking about how he'd have to see Ella after all that and how he, no matter how hard he'd try, would never forget the night. 

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

Alex thought he was dreaming when he heard Ella's soft moans reaching his ears. He squirmed in bed and continued to sleep when suddenly Alice's soft sounds came in to mix with Ella's.

He held his breath trying to gather his hazy mind, still attributing the noise to his imagination not having recovered yet from last night's events but then Alice loudly moaned Ella's name and Alex's eyes shot wide open.

Groaning in misery, Alex let his head fall back on the pillow and hid his face there begging in his head for it to be over soon.

His silent prayers weren't answered though, only a few minutes later—which had been painfully long, five minutes had felt like fifteen—the girls on the flat next door only seemed to be growing louder.

Alex stayed there sprawled over his bed with jealousy filling every cell of his body as he tried to focus on that awful poking in his chest to ignore how the noise was making his lower belly tingle and his dick to twitch in his boxers.

What had happened last night was a lapse of better judgment and he was trying now to hold onto every bit of self control he had left.

He had contemplated blasting music to drown it all but that'd give away the fact that he was in fact listening and he knew that if Ella found that out, she'd be mortified. So he suffered in silence for the next ten minutes, as they gasped for air and chanted each other's names accompanied by lots of profanities.

It was too painful, not only because his chest felt tight but he felt his body responding to it all subconsciously and he hated it, so once they got quiet he escaped to his ensuite.

The shower Alex took was freezing cold. He stood there, shivering under the waterfall for a while until he felt himself calm enough to be able to get out. His movements were slow as he got ready for the day, brushing his teeth and brushing his hair with his fingers, deciding to just let it air dry while he waited for Ella.

Choosing something from his wardrobe had been painfully slow because he was sure he could hear faint noises coming through the walls again and trying to find out if they weren't just the ghosts of what he'd heard earlier kept distracting him.

That was until the high pitch whines came loudly through the walls to knock all the air out of his lungs, like a punch to the gut.

Pulling up his trousers quickly, Alex almost ran out of his room and it seemed like the noise wanted to follow him as he heard all of it walking out of his bedroom.

The singer could breathe again when he got to the kitchen, the noises long lost in the hallway and it seemed like they had stopped because even if he'd left the door open, he couldn't listen to them anymore.

There was only so much Alex could take anymore so he decided to ignore it all despite one part of him begging to pay attention and give into his carnal desires.

This day was meant for him to accompany Ella to buy a dress for the wedding since she hadn't had the time for it back in LA, and not only that but she'd thought it'd be better to buy one in London rather than being worried about the gown being ruined from having to be cramped up inside her suitcase.

Alex had agreed with her when they videocalled a few days before her flight and he promised her that he'd be taking her to buy her dress. He was excited for it, the prospect of spending more time with her was always something that elated him but it being in a place he knew so well and she was so foreign to made it the more special.

Now, after last night, Alex wasn't sure when it would happen but like he had promised himself merely a minute ago, he would ignore it all and act like nothing had happened so with hope that she'd be coming over to his in a bit, he started making breakfast. For himself and for Ella.

He was softly singing under his breath as he cooked some sausage, serving two plates and then he moved onto making some scrambled eggs. The only thing that could be heard then was the sizzling of the eggs cooking on the pan, but after he finished them and served them, the silence that overcame him became dangerous for it gave way for the now loud again noises from the girls to creep up through the hall and softly reaching his ears.

Alex stopped as he turned with the two plates in hand, slowly bringing them down to place on the kitchen island, really unsure of how to feel anymore. He was just utterly confused at all the reactions his body was giving to the whole scenario.

Once again, he reminded himself to ignore it so he grabbed himself a fork and knife and started eating, his brain only trying to think about what was in front of him to not go absolutely insane.

But that only worked for so long because the girls, now getting closer to their climax, had started getting louder and more restless meaning their cries of pleasure were just filthy begs and it was making Alex's head short circuit.

Dropping the utensils on the countertop, Alex hunched over almost defeated. He was breathing heavily and in his mind praying for self control and patience. Since that wasn't working because the noises were making his breaths become more shallow, his hands came up to his head and his fingers tangled in his hair to pull on it with frustration.

He was going insane now, he really was.

And Alex thought it couldn't get worse than it already was, when he heard Ella clearly encourage Alice, "Cum for me, baby, c'mon." followed by a loud mewl.

He let his head drop on the cold surface of the kitchen island, fully defeated as his thoughts were spinning. A groan came from the deepest pit of his chest, one of pent up frustration that he knew he wouldn't pay attention to for his own sanity.

"Fuck my life." Alex muttered under his breath when he heard the girls clearly reaching her orgasms, hands holding onto the sides of the countertop like it was gonna ground him somehow.

He was almost scared to see Ella later, afraid that after all that he'd just ask to have her like he wanted to so badly. Every bit of his being was just aching to have her, and Alex didn't know if it would be the right time to play his chances.

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About an hour went by and it was surprisingly quiet after everything that had happened the night before and in the morning. That had been a relief to Alex who had gotten to finish his breakfast counting to a thousand multiple times to try and get his shit together again.

What he didn't know was that Ella and Alice had gone to make breakfast after that second round he had heard. They'd gotten decent first, going to the bathroom to freshen up and Alice lended Ella some clothes for her to leave with—Ella had shyly asked after seeing her chest and neck all marked up on show with the low neckline her dress had.

Ella walked through Alice's kitchen with gray joggers and a 'My Mind Makes Noises' jumper on. The singer watched her in awe through the corner of her eye as she grabbed some mugs to make some coffee for the both of them.

"You look amazing in that." Alice threw the compliment out as she focused on frying some eggs, pieces of bread toasting on the little oven by the stove.

Ella looked down at herself and her new outfit, "I'll give it a listen tonight."

Alice smirked at that promise, "Hope you enjoy it, baby."

Ella walked up behind the singer as the Keurig made their coffees, wrapping an arm around her waist and said into her ear, "It's you singing so I definitely will." Alice bit her lip at Ella's actions, a little harder when Ella left her with a squeeze of her ass and a kiss on her neck.

The British girl was fast making breakfast, almost done at the same time as Ella had placed the coffee on the counter and got utensils for them to use.

"Do you want me to drop you off at Alex's?" Alice asked Ella casually, placing a plate right in front of her as she sat on one of the tall chairs.

Ella was truly confused at the sudden question as she was completely unaware of Alice and Alex's housing situation. "Huh?"

"Are you going to Alex's?" Alice changed her inquiry slightly this time, walking over to sit next to her.

Ella watched as Alice took her seat and ripped a bit of her toast to dip on the runny yolk of the fried egg, "Not now... I'm going back to the hotel first."

"Oh well." The singer shrugged nonchalantly, "He lives next door, that's why I'm asking."

"What?" Ella's face went pale, looking at Alice with wide eyes like it was her worst nightmare come true.

Alice chuckled looking at her face, "He lives next door... I thought I told you."

And Ella shook her head with a frown to remark that Alice in fact hadn't told her, "Fucking hell." She cursed under her breath, flashbacks of the night before and this morning coming to the forefront of her mind and she felt herself burning up from head to toe.

"What's wrong baby? You've gone all red." Alice teased, one of her hands resting over Ella's thigh, where Alice now knew she had her 'Divine feminine' tattoo and squeezed slightly.

Ella squirmed a bit under her touch, her cheeks growing even hotter. "Do you think he heard us?" She genuinely felt like she'd die if he had, because it had already been embarrassing that he knew she'd gone home with someone but him hearing her was making her burn inside and out.

Will this ruin things? Will this make things awkward? She had no idea but now she was spiraling about it all and she just couldn't help but think about every little thing this situation would entail.

Alice being so calm about it was what brought her back from her thoughts, "I couldn't care less to be fair."

"Fuck..." Ella mumbled, staring at her plate with a shocked expression.

"I mean," Alice squeezed her thigh once more and when Ella turned to look at her, she brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. "If he did, he's lucky 'cause I don't think I'll ever want to hear anybody else now."

Ella blushed under her gaze, still feeling so affected by the way the singer would smirk at her. "Stop." She brought one of her hands to cool down her cheeks, Alice's smirk getting bigger at that.

"I love it when you go all blushy on me." Alice remarked and then she leaned in to kiss Ella one more time, which the American girl welcomed with a smile.

After the brief soft kiss they shared, the girls went back to eating breakfast and they made small talk about what they were doing in their current jobs, getting to know each other a little bit better. Alice had heard all about Ella's aspirations and Ella had listened to everything Alice had been getting inspired from for her next record.

Without really noticing, an hour had gone by, and when Ella noticed it was about to be noon, she told Alice she had to leave.

They were both gutted to know this was the end of it but Alice a bit more, especially by knowing that Ella would be going to Alex and he'd be the one to spend time with her for the rest of her stay in the UK.

After having loaded everything in the dishwasher, Alice walked over to Ella and pulled her into her by her waist, "Remind me why you can't stay," The singer brushed a strand of hair behind Ella's ear and with her gaze taking in all of Ella's features, she bit her lip at the memories of all that had happened in the past twelve hours. "I wanna fuck you all day."

Ella grinned at Alice with her cheeks heating up, she could tell Alice was being completely honest and that was one of the things that she liked about her because it gave her the confidence to say "I would love that." back to her, which was exactly what she was feeling.

It was hard to compare how honest she could be with Alice than how cowardly she felt even admitting to herself anything to do with Alex, because with Alice it was something casual and it was always easy with girls, but Ella knew deep inside her that Alex wasn't meant to be a casual thing to her. It was either all in with Alex or nothing. But that would only happen in her dreams, she'd much rather keep him as her best friend than try to become more again and it ending poorly like it had before.

In another life, if Ella hadn't been hung up on Alex already, then she would've tried to pursue whatever had started with Alice, because Alice was lovely and funny, and she was the type of girl anyone would be lucky to have in their lives.

The American girl smiled, bringing one of her hands up to cup Alice's jaw softly, "But I need to get a dress for the wedding."

"Can't you do it some other day?" Alice pouted, it was playful as she tried to see if there was any chance Ella would change her plans.

But Ella didn't budge because she really needed to get the dress, "Wedding's in three days and today's the only day we've got no plans."

Seeing how Alice's pout stayed on her face, Ella brought her in for a kiss. A slow one that just felt like it settled it all, a silent thank you and a goodbye.

They savored every second of it, trying to enjoy the time they'd shared until the very last moment. Alice hummed against Ella's lips before pulling back. "Don't go back to the States without saying goodbye, alright?" Her thumb rubbed soft circles on Ella's cheek.

"Promise." Ella replied with a sweet smile and pecked Alice's lips one last time before stepping out of Alice's hold to get her things which were merely her phone and the dress she'd worn last night.

With the dress draped over her arm and her phone being pocketed in her coat she had just put on, she made her way to Alice's front door. Alice was already standing by the door, watching Ella's slow steps with a smirk. She was glad Ella also didn't want it all to end.

When Ella got beside her, Alice softly opened the door but stopped Ella with a hand on her wrist before she could go out to the hallway. "Don't forget I'm always a text or a phone call away." And this time now walking up to her and getting a look of the empty hallway that led to the rest of the flats, including Alex's, Alice added pointing at the door that was his, "A door away as well."

Ella blushed when Alice winked at her right after that and nodded, "Definitely noted."

"Bye Ella." Alice squeezed Ella's wrist softly and let go of her hold.

"Bye Allie." Ella said after one last look at Alice.

Ella walked into the hallway and walked over to what Alice had pointed to be Alex's door. She had expected Alice to close the door right after she left but, out of the corner of her eye, Ella could see Alice was there waiting to make sure she'd gotten inside Alex's flat.

Three knocks were left on the door and only a few seconds later, the door opened to reveal a smiley Alex.

"Hi, Al." Ella smiled brightly at him, hearing then the soft thud of Alice's door closing.

"Hi, darling." He greeted almost breathless, she looked stunning despite wearing Alice's merch and now it seemed like every time he'd look at her, the memories of the previous night and the early morning were going to haunt him. "How are you feeling?" He asked, letting her come in and closing the door behind him.

She sighed and very genuinely answered, "Tired and in a desperate need of another shower."

He tried biting his tongue about it all but his mouth played with him when he let out a "Reckon you enjoyed yourself then?" without meaning to.

Stopping in her tracks, she cursed through her teeth, "Oh, fuck–" And almost wincing, she turned to see him and ask, "Did you hear us?" She was begging he hadn't, because if he had then there was no way she could look him in the eye for at least a week.

"No, no." Alex shook his head and her soul came back to her body. He walked past her, and it was easier for him to lie when she wasn't seeing his face, "No– I, erm, I passed out right when I got home and only woke up a little ago."

"At what time did y'all leave?" Ella asked curiously, she didn't even know when it was that she had gotten to Alice's but the last time she'd seen the clock it had been a bit over three in the morning, and that had been before her and Alice got in the shower.

They got to the kitchen and she stood by the marble island, resting her belongings on one of his high chairs. Alex seemed entertained by what was on his kitchen stove, so she barely heard him recount very briefly the rest of the night, "Everyone left about fifteen minutes after you but I stayed for another hour or so."

She hummed trying to calculate at which point of the night that would've been and nodded once she gave up trying to come to a conclusion since all she was getting was flustered by the memories. "Right."

Wanting to change the subject as his brain was aggressively reminding him of the night before, he asked her, "Are you hungry?" turning to see her with a plate in his hand filled with the food he'd prepared.

Ella looked at him with her lips pressed together, hating having to turn him down by saying, "Alice made me some food actually..."

A small "Oh." fell from his lips, and he froze with the plate in hand before he could manage to form a proper sentence, "There's some more here if you want."

"That looks amazing," She admitted because it truly did and just because she felt bad for leaving him last night, she gave in and said, "Some more food is not gonna hurt anyone..."

Alex gave her a sweet smile when her words reached his ears and placed her plate right in front of her, quickly getting her utensils to eat with. As she had before, Ella enjoyed the meal he had prepared and wasn't shy to give him praise for it. It was really good so it wasn't long until she was done with it and she was calling Alex out for not letting her do the dishes.

"Stop it, I'll wash this quick and we can go to get the dress." were his last words on the matter and he took care of the task with a grin on his face seeing Ella let her arms fall by her sides in defeat.

"Okay but we need to go back to the hotel first though." She truly wanted to shower first, before she could even think of going out to try on clothes. "Can't go out shopping looking like this." Her hands waved briefly down her body to emphasize the state of her.

Drying the freshly washed dishes, he agreed, "Yeah, it screams 'walk of shame'." He quipped, snickering which earned him a roll of her eyes and an annoyed sigh.

Her response was a simple, "Idiot." as she shook her head. He laughed at her while he sorted his dishes back in the cabinets and once done, he dried his hands with a kitchen towel.

"Alright," He glanced around his kitchen to see where he'd left his phone, finding it and pocketing it, he looked back up at her and instructed, "Let's go then before the shops get too crowded and we don't find anything."

Alex had already been ready for the day so once Ella picked up her stuff from the high chair next to her, they left Alex's flat. And thankfully, his place wasn't far from her hotel so they got there in less than a fifteen minute walk.

Once inside her room, she left all that she was carrying sprawled over her bed, really not caring for the mess at the minute as she just wanted to freshen up. The singer found comfort in lying on the bed as well, his head resting on the pillows.

He watched her as she yawned behind her hands before letting him know she was "Gonna take a quick shower now." adding a "If you don't mind." just to check if he had any other plans he had to get to.

But Alex shook his head with a blissed expression at the soft pillows under his head and the silence in the room. "Absolutely not, go ahead." He replied with a soft smile on his face that she gave him back.

Before she left for the ensuite, she wanted his advice, "What should I wear?" Crouching down, she opened her suitcase and was met with multiple articles of clothing all rolled up, "Needs to be easy to put on and take off since I'm gonna be trying shit on all day."

His eyes were closing but his mind was still with her in conversation so trying to be helpful, he thought about it for a few seconds and came to the answer being, "A skirt?"

He hadn't sounded so sure but she nodded in agreement, "Oh, yes. And with a sweater so I'm not freezing to death." It had been quite cold as they walked back, and she was certainly grateful Alice's clothes were quite thick and cozy.

Alex only hummed in response and she took out the clothes from her case, trying to be the quickest she could be as it was already about to be eleven in the morning.

"Okay, I'll be right back." She informed and in his hazy mind, Alex managed to nod.

The water pattering on the floor of the shower lulled Alex to sleep, Ella took her time to shower and pamper herself after what certainly felt like a very long weekend, slowly putting her clothes on. And once she had dressed herself, despite the loud noise even with the door closed, the hair dryer she used didn't manage to wake him up.

When she left the wet room, she walked into the small hallway that connected it to the room which had a floor to ceiling mirror that showed her reflection back to her and the sight made her gasp.

That was enough to wake Alex up then, blinking multiple times he was able to get himself the slightest bit awake to ask, "What's wrong?"

The answer Ella gave flew straight past him as she let out a low whistle and said, "Fucking hell, it's gonna be really awkward trying on dresses today." and continued to watch herself in the mirror.

"What was that?" Alex inquired again, his brain not being able to process what she'd said just yet.

But when she walked back into the room and stood in front of him, she reiterated in a different sentence, "The skirt is not gonna do..." and that was what made him look down to her bottom half to see what she meant.

Her inner thighs were littered in purple marks and the view alone made his eyes shoot open, "Holy shit, Ella." He cursed loudly, his jaw dropping more the more she showed him the insides of her thighs a bit better.

She looked down at the lovebites and chuckled to herself, feeling her cheeks heating up, "Yeah, I know."

"What the fuck?!" He cursed out loud again, his brows furrowed.

"She's a little vampire." Ella joked trying to make the situation a bit less awkward, because he seemed really taken aback by it.

What she wasn't expecting was for him to start saying, "I'll have a chat with her when I get ho–"

She stopped him before he could continue with a firm, "No, you're not."

"But she–" The singer tried to fight, yet Ella wouldn't have it.

Shaking her head and with her cheeks tinting up redder, she admitted, "Alex, I loved it when she was marking me up so there's absolutely nothing to complain about here."

Ignoring the way that statement had felt like a knife to the chest, he gave another argument to back himself, "Well she needs to learn to control herself."

Sighing, she pursed her lips and added, "I'm pretty sure I left her looking the same or maybe worse." so he could stop with his need to cause a fight between himself and the girl.

"Fuck." He cursed through his teeth, hiding his closed eyes behind his hands like he was in pain.

Ella tried to get answers then, ones that she hadn't managed out of Alice, "I still don't get why you don't like her, she's one of the sweetest girls I've ever met." And she truly meant it. In her head if she got along well with Alice then there was no reason for Alex not to get along with her.

Alex wasn't help at all for Ella to try to solve the mystery because he only shrugged and meekly answered with, "Maybe you're biased because you've fucked her."

Without missing a beat, Ella replied in the same tone, "In that case, maybe you need to fuck her too." She had been guilty of picturing the scenario of the three of them in bed the night before, when the thought of him flashed in the forefront of her mind in a moment of pure ecstasy.

"Eleanor." Alex warned with a firm voice, his face stoic as he stared at her like he was begging her to be joking.

"Alexander." Ella copied with the same tone but a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips as his anger was becoming amusing to her.

"Don't ever say that again." The singer warned, as if it had been the single worst most awful thing someone could've ever told him.

"What?" Ella threw her arms up defensively, "She's good." Her cheeks warmed again and the sight made Alex sigh exasperatedly.

"Just find something to wear and let's go already." He was growing impatient and he wanted the view of the love bites Alice had left gone for they made a bitter taste rise up his throat and coat his mouth with it.

She chuckled and playfully rolled her eyes, "Whatever you say boss."

He let out an involuntary snort at her remark, unable to not react to her, "Shush you dickhead."

Going back to her suitcase, Ella ended up picking up a long brown wool skirt that reached her ankles and went to the bathroom to change into it. Her white sweater stayed on and over it came her long brown trench coat.

After quickly tying her converse on, they left her hotel room and went straight to Harrods where Alex said he knew she would find something. 

She had scolded him when they stepped out of the taxi and the first store she saw was Valentino with a couple stunning dresses she could wish to buy on a random afternoon. He only laughed and reminded her that it was a dress for the wedding and that she was allowed to spend her money on it if she ended up loving it—not that he was going to let her buy it but she didn't need to know that—so with that mindset they began to look for it.

It was a hit or miss in the many stores they had visited, the first few she had been far too wary of the cost of the pieces and by the time she had convinced herself it was okay, she hadn't found anything she was completely set on for her to spend an obnoxious amount of money on.

That was until they stumbled into a boutique that gathered many designer clothes into one place and the dresses she had caught through the window looked to die for.

When they went in, a lovely woman called Rose greeted them by the door and took them inside while asking a bunch of questions so that she knew what the pair were looking for. Once Ella told her she was looking for a dress to wear to a friend's wedding, Rose effortlessly guided them to the ones she knew would be wedding appropriate and that Ella might like.

From the looks of them, Ella chose a few to try on and Rose guided her and Alex into a private changing room. Thankfully, inside was a curtain that separated the actual changing room with the small lounge area in which Alex would be waiting.

Taking her time as she slowly put the different pieces on, Ella tried on the first three dresses she had chosen but none of them had her swooning. Alex on the other hand found himself at a loss of words and oxygen every time she drew back the curtain and stepped out in a different gown.

The first one had been a champagne off the shoulder dress with a slit on the side that showed her right leg perfectly, but it was exactly that which made her discard it. The second was a strapless plum dress which had a beautiful mermaid silhouette but it was just that which made her struggle to walk, plus the top kept falling down so she had to hold it up when she walked out to keep it in place. The third was a black one shoulder dress made of tulle which made it puffy and she truly felt like a princess with it but it was far too big for her to be comfortable in it all day at the wedding, she had been already sweating figuring out how to put it on.

The fourth one was a deep red low v neck dress which cinched at the waist and from there draped down a lovely flowy train. It looked amazing on her, it was light and the shape of it was beautiful and flattering but she found herself pursing her lips at her reflection which showed her fully exposed and very marked chest. Her tits looked great hugged perfectly by the fabric but the love bites littering her skin had her trying not to laugh at herself for caring so little about it the night before when she had a wedding to go to in a few days.

At least she was grateful it didn't have a leg slit for her bruised thighs to show and with amusement clear on her face she walked out, "Well this is not gonna do, is it?"

It was a rhetorical question, she already had seen the annoyance in Alex's eyes that he knew Alice had left those and a part of her was hoping it was the product of jealousy, but thinking of it like that would hurt her if she found out that wasn't the reality so she had been pushing the thought away.

Before Alex could compliment her on how stunning she looked, there was a knock on the door of their private room that snapped Ella out of her thoughts. She was well aware of her marks so she tried to escape back behind the curtain before anyone could walk in but Rose beat her clumsy steps as she came into the room right when Ella was only managing to turn around.

"How are you liking them?" The woman asked enthusiastically and when she saw Ella's figure being hugged by the red fabric, she just had to say, "Oh let me see that one!"

Ella winced at her tone because it was so sweet and genuinely excited to see her wearing the dress so she just couldn't say no. Bad time to be a people pleaser, she scorned herself before slowly turning back around so she could face Alex and Rose.

The loud gasp Rose let out was enough for Ella to hide her face behind her hands, feeling her cheeks burning under her fingers, and Alex to laugh out loud. The singer watched as Rose all but counted the bruises on her skin and then switched her surprised expression for a teasing grin, "You're gonna have a good time covering all those up."

Hearing the smirk on Rose's voice, Ella shook her head still hiding behind her hands so the, "Oh my god, this is so embarrassing." she said came out muffled against the palms of her hands.

The woman directed her gaze to Alex then, completely unaware of the actual story behind them, "You went hard on her didn't you?"

Ella dropped her hands, ready to correct her but she only managed a, "He d–" when Alex interrupted, being a bit louder than her as he said, "I did but I'll help her get rid of them later." He looked so smug with a hand on his chin and a smirk on his face, it made Ella lock her jaw because if she didn't it would've dropped.

Rose giggled at the pair, "That's gonna be lots of ice you'll use." But once again, Ella's real explanation was stuck in her throat as the woman beat her to it, but luckily changed the topic of the conversation, "How did you like the ones you've already tried on?"

"This one was too big." She pointed at the second one she'd tried after clearing her throat, and very truthfully admitted her opinion about the other three, "And the other ones I just don't feel like I love them."

Rose hummed completely understanding her, "This one looks stunning on you though. But I feel like–" She cut herself off to have a small think and after a few seconds of staring at Ella's silhouette, a spark lit up in her brain, "Okay wait, I know just the one to bring you. I'll be right back."

Ella barely managed to say, "Thank you!" to her when Rose walked out of the room, but when the door closed behind her, she instantly turned to Alex to scold him.

"Why would you say that?!" Her mind was in a mush, she was so embarrassed but seeing him so proudly admit to that was making her head spin.

Her thoughts were stopped abruptly when the singer shrugged and raised a brow to set his argument down, "Would you prefer to explain how someone else did all that whilst you're out with me buying a dress for a wedding that you told her we're going to together?"

Ella didn't know why she felt so defeated and recognising that reaction from herself made her feel pathetic. She tried to hide it as best as she could, turning around to go back behind the curtain and look at herself in the mirror again, "Well if you put it that way." She replied, brushing her hands down the smooth fabric of the gown she had on.

"Saved you the awkwardness." Alex added proudly, eyebrows raised as if telling her he had been the one to make the situation better.

But Ella poked her head out the changing room and with a frown, she whisper-shouted, "It's still awkward!"

He giggled at how mortified she looked, it was so funny to him that she'd react like that when she had no need to. "You are making it awkward, she was joking about it."

"My face is burning." Her hands came up to cup her red cheeks, sighing at the cold of her fingers against her face.

"Wouldn't be the first time today, darling." He retorted playfully, and that earned him a lovely middle finger peeking through the side of the curtain which had him laughing out loud.

A few minutes later, in which Alex had been lost in his phone and Ella had been lost in her thoughts, Rose knocked on the door again with a stunning blue gown hanging on her arms.

"I think you'll like this one, but I'll keep looking for some more." The woman said handing Ella the piece of clothing and once the American girl had thanked her for it, she left the room again.

The dress was heavy in her arms but it felt fresh and it had the prettiest floral detailing embroidered with the same color of the gown so it looked more like texture than a pattern. It had spaghetti straps and a delicate scoop neck, what she wasn't sure about was the excess fabric on the back of it so without wasting more time, she went back behind the curtain.

A minute went by, Alex impatiently waiting for her to come out because she had gasped a few seconds before. He was about to ask what it was that she was gasping about when she let out an excited, "Oh sweets I think this one's it."

With his knee bouncing up and down, he bit his bottom lip before saying, "Let me see."

Alex was met with silence for another half minute and when he called her name, she only answered with a quiet, "Wait a second."

But he wasn't feeling that patience anymore, so very eager to see her, he instructed her, "Come on out already, you can't say that and then leave me hanging."

Ella's voice came out struggling as she replied, "It's only been less than a minute and I'm trying to fix the back but I can't reach it."

Knowing that he only itched more for her to come out, so he offered, "Come out and I'll help." Not without adding a "Hurry." at the end.

"You're really impatient." She sighed defeated as she couldn't get the extra fabric out when it was stuck right on her lower back where the zipper was. Taking him up on his words, she came out from behind the curtain, mindful of her every step to not step on the bottom of the dress, "What do you think?"

Alex choked on his words seeing her in that dress, his mouth opening and closing only letting out a "Wow." before he could gather his thoughts and finally say, "Darling you look gorgeous and that doesn't even cut it."

"Shut up." Ella rolled her eyes not wanting to take the compliment herself so she complimented the look of the gown, "It's pretty, isn't it?"

"It's beautiful." He agreed, nodding enthusiastically like a little kid, "You look stunning."

Ignoring the way his words made her stomach flip, she turned around to show him the back of it for it was her favorite part of the dress, "I'm obsessed with the back of it." And he was too, it was a backless dress so her back was on full show, the fabric sitting tightly on her lower back and the extra fabric draping lusciously around the low cut.

"Help me with this bit, it's stuck on the inside." She said and he knew exactly what she meant so reaching to untuck the fabric that had gotten stuck on her lower back, his fingers grazed her skin and she shivered under his touch.

A low, breathless, "There we go." fell from his lips, entirely satisfied by her reaction to his touch.

She hated that she had so obviously reacted so her "Thanks." came out choked.

Walking a few steps back to the changing room, she fully opened the curtain so she could see herself in the mirror without having to go back in and she turned slightly to see how the dress looked from different angles. "So... this one?"

"You're the one who decides that darling, you looked stunning in all of them but this one's just... wow." Alex was truly at a loss for words, she was effortlessly stunning. Her hair had been put up in a quick bun so there were many strands sticking out of it but she looked beautiful with her messy hair and she was walking around in her long gray socks which she had laughed about how they looked when she lifted the bottom of the dresses up to walk.

Alex grew mesmerized by her everyday it seemed like and it was something that surprised him. He didn't want to think too much about it, scared of messing something up and hurting her like he had in the past. He just had to live only being friends with her. Best friends. He'd rather have that than absolutely nothing, he loved her too much to let go of her that easily.

Rose's knuckles thudding against the wooden door interrupted his thoughts and when she came in and saw Ella practically beaming in the dress, she smiled and nodded in approval.

"I love this one." Ella confessed, giddy about having found the perfect dress for the wedding.

Rose was proud of her vision, "I knew it. That was just the right one."

So the American girl walked up to her and gave her a tight hug, "Thank you, it's truly perfect." She said into the woman's ear, letting her go after a soft squeeze.

Alex was entranced by her beauty and her kindness, but he was brought back when Rose turned to him and tauntingly asked him, "What do we think, Mr Dracula?"

"Think she looks absolutely breathtaking." He answered genuinely, the biggest smile on his face as his gaze went up and down Ella again.

"At least you didn't attack her back." Rose chatted back, seeing Ella's fortunately love bite free bare back in the reflection of the mirror.

The singer was feeling very smug about Rose thinking it was all him so playing more into the situation, he cheekily replied, "We shall see about that."

Which earned him a firm "Alex!" from Ella, one accompanied by her wide eyes at his confidence to just say that in front of the woman.

But Rose laughed hard at that, patting Alex's shoulder as she got some air back into her lungs, "Oh I love you two," she stated before inhaling deeply to completely regain her posture. When she straightened back, the woman turned to Alex and kindly inquired, "Want me to ring you up while she changes?"

Ella was about to say no because she wasn't going to allow Alex to buy her the dress but he practically jumped to his feet as he said, "Yes, I'll go with you and she can change."

Rose nodded and exited the room, completely unaware of the hard glare she was giving Alex who was pretty much ignoring it as he got his phone from the coffee table beside the loveseat he had been sitting on.

"Alexander." Ella started with her voice firm to try and get him to look at her.

But when he turned, a mischievous grin was adorning his face, and when he replied, "Eleanor." in a playful tone, she knew whatever she'd say would fly right over his head.

"Don't." She warned with a serious face, her hands already frantically trying to undo the zipper of the dress so she could quickly change and beat him to it.

He played dumb first, asking a silly, "What?"

She wasn't having it so trying to remind him of what they had talked about before she came, she said, "What did I tell you?"

There had been many occasions in which he had suggested taking her to many places and when she had jokingly said 'well you'll let me pay this time right?', he had swiftly averted the question and continued with listing his plans. So she had made sure to remind him every other time that when she came to visit, he wouldn't be allowed to spend money on her. That had been broken already when he showed her around London and she had been determined to not let it happen again.

But her reminder didn't work because Alex continued playing dumb about it, this time taunting her by saying, "I don't really remember right now darling, head's scrambled by the view." Giving her a wink before he stepped closer to the door.

She took a step forward to reach out to him, getting a hold of his wrist, "Told you I would–"

Alex interrupted her before she could repeat what he clearly remembered she had said many times before. "I really have to follow her 'cause it'd be rude to make her wait." He wasn't gonna listen to her in this one, not when he had the means to make her happy gifting her the dress she'd loved.

The singer took another step with her hand still clasped around his wrist and she quickly caught up right behind him. "Alexander David Turner." She said through her teeth when he didn't stop and had a foot out the room.

Knowing he had won already by being out of the private room, he smirked and pointed out with a tut, "Eleanor Hayes you can't leave the fitting room with the dress on."

Ella pursed her lips, exhaling through her nose completely frustrated, "I'm gonna fight you."

He was enjoying seeing her like this way too much. "Would love to see you try." He dared, taking advantage of her hold to pull her in by her forearm and leaving a quick peck on her temple.

"Have fun!" He said with exaggerated enthusiasm, leaving her all flustered and annoyed, still wearing the dress.

She had been huffing around while changing back to her clothes and when she came out of the changing room with a frown and the chosen dress in hand, Alex had the opposite expression on his face.

Rose took the garment from her with the sweetest smile which made Ella feel guilty for her lack of one so trying to make herself look at the positive outcome of it all, she smiled back as the woman packed it up in a perfect box with a bow tied around it and placed it in a bag.

Ella had been trying to keep up her act with Alex, thanking him reluctantly at first and biting her tongue to give him the cold shoulder as they walked out of the shop and back onto the streets of London.

But that had only lasted so long when he pulled her in by the waist and pressed a bunch of kisses on her cheek.

"Oh c'mon darling, don't be angry. I wanted to buy it for you." Alex defended himself quickly, his eyes trying to look for hers but she was forcing herself not to look at him.

Her gaze stayed ahead as they walked a few more steps but he wasn't gonna have her silence any longer so he stopped in his tracks, forcing her to stop with him and turning her around so her front was pressed against his.

"Are you not gonna talk to me now?" He pouted and when her eyes flew up to the sky, he cupped her jaw to make her look at him.

There was nothing aggressive about his touch, it was how delicate his fingers were on her skin and his gentle gaze on her that made her slowly melt in his arms.

"You just don't listen." She started with a defeated sigh, "I didn't want you to spend money on me again."

He thought about it then, something to say to twist her arm, "Can't this be your very late birthday gift?"

"You gave me a ticket back home." Ella reminded him with an eyebrow raised.

"That was from all of us, this one is just mine." He negotiated, a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips when he saw her face fall in slight amusement at the loophole he had managed to find.

"You're insufferable." She decided then, shaking her head at how proud he looked to have caught her with that.

"You love me." He fought back, the corner of his eyes crinkling the harder he smiled.

Humming, she gave in and agreed, "I unfortunately do." playfully trying to get that ego of his down.

He scoffed and it made her giggle, "I'm kidding." and throwing her arms around his shoulders, she added, "Thank you sweets, love you."

Leaning back, he looked down at her and left one last kiss on her cheek, squeezing her waist before letting go and once she was back beside him, they continued their walk back to the hotel.

A few minutes passed, people watching and talking about the upcoming big event. Their talk about Nick getting his tux with the lads brought him to pointing out a fact that made him warm inside.

"You know this is perfect." Alex vaguely started, trailing off long enough for Ella to ask what it was and with a tilt of his chin pointing to the bag which contained the dress she'd just gotten, he explained, "My suit is blue too."

Gasping, she turned to him, "Awh! We're gonna be matching!" Ella scrunched her nose at him, "How cringe, I love it."

Alex snorted at her response but agreed, "Matt's gonna take the piss out of us."

"Definitely, but I bet everyone will be matching with their plus one." She pointed out, wishfully thinking that it would be that easy to escape Matt's taunting.

He hoped that logic worked too and whilst they were on the subject of the wedding, he mentioned again the plans for that day, "I'm picking you up early that morning, by the way."

Ella groaned, already dreading having to wake up at an ungodly hour to start getting ready. "Yeah, don't remind me how early though."

"I know, weddings shouldn't be that early." Alex wholeheartedly agreed, almost every wedding he had attended would've been awful for him if he wasn't surrounded by his friends—only being in their presence made him able to look past how long they lasted and how unnecessarily stressful they were.

"It's an actual crime." And then she thought about how late the reception could be but found relief at the silver linings, "At least there's a free bar."

He chuckled and nodded, "I can already imagine the hangover."

She grimaced at the thought, "S'not gonna be pretty that's for sure."

"I'll take care of you, don't worry, darling." He promised, holding her closer by the arm she had hooked on his.

"I'll take you up on that, sweets." Ella replied with her eyebrows raised like challenging him to keep up to his words, which he definitely would.

But then the singer reminded her of the real trouble approaching them, "Tomorrow's what you gotta be worried about."

The next day would be the parties thrown for the bride and groom, she called them bachelor and bachelorette parties but she'd gotten cultured about them being called stag do and hen do over in that side of the pond.

"Matt and Bre being in charge of the parties is making me nervous." She admitted very honestly as she had tried many times to get something from Breana but miserably failed at it.

Alex hadn't been successful in getting information from the couple either so he felt the same way, "Haven't managed to get anything out of them so I share your worries."

Ella sighed, only being able to imagine the trouble the next night would bring but wishing aloud, "It better be fun."

He decided to tease her a bit and with a low voice said, "But at what cost?"

"Don't." She cut him off before he could set off more nerves in her and nudged his hip with hers, "That only makes me even more scared."

He giggled at her, noticing they were already close to the hotel she was staying at and wanting to spend the last few minutes they had together on a better note, he decided to settle her down a bit, "I know we won't be together but Florence will take care of you since I know Bre is gonna be too gone to do it herself."

"Awh I love Flo!" Ella almost jumped in her spot at the reminder of his childhood best friend's attendance, "I'm excited now, I can properly party with her."

They had been talking about properly going out at Glastonbury, trying to align their schedules so everyone could join and there had been a few dates thrown around but nothing confirmed, nothing that couldn't be solved when she would see her again then and the thought of making plans with her and the girls was making Ella excited.

She had been brainstorming more about that shoot she had in mind and she couldn't wait to properly set a day and a meeting place for them all to bring the vision to life. Ella was properly giddy about it for they were all stunning and the shoot was going to be in a style she had been waiting to try for a while.

Alex's memories came back to him of every time he'd partied with Flo since they were teenagers and he smiled at them, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that the girls would have the best night together. "She's amazing company, you're gonna have the best time."

Ella hummed, even more excitement bubbling up inside her and with hopes up to the ceiling, she replied, "I'm counting on it, Turner."

The girls all together and away from the lads, partying the night away in celebration of the bride sounded like a perfect night and, despite going into it blind, Ella just couldn't wait to see what that night would bring.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

A/N: I don't exactly remember how me and N came about the talk about how insane it would be if Alice and Ella bumped into each other and had Alex absolutely seething but it ended up in me writing this and all I can say is I blacked out, I was fully possessed lolllllll! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it's a whiplash of emotions from now on tbf but it's gonna be really fun. Hen do is coming next and so is the wedding... heheheh. Thank you for reading and see you in two weeks!!!!!! xx

Taglist: @imagine-that-100 @red---moon @kennedy-brooke @faveficz @indierockgirrl @ladydraculasthings @moonvr @unwantedlovergirl @eaglestar31 @nikisfwn @funniestpersoninnyc @andrearroe @justacaliforniandreamer @alexturnersgf69 @yourorganiccigarette

[dxwnfxll]

HII!!

Your blog is probaly one of the best scp x reader ones, its very accurate!

so i wanted to request Dr. Bright (if u write for him) with a reader that really enjoys TJ/ SCP-590's company

Shure!

Note: I don't write for Dr. Bright/Shaw BUT i use a rewrite I have been working on named Dr. Jackie :D so she's still our loveable crazy chaotic chainsaw wielding ginger maniac just with a name change (and of course removing all the awful stuff as well LOL)

Dr. Jaime is an oc I'm just throwing in cause why not, she's a human that looks like she's mixed with a snake lol (i haven't made a ref yet for her)

×× Story starts here ××

You were a Jr researcher on 590s team, working along side a few notable doctors. You only spoke to two of them though, Dr. Jaime who was a pain in your ass and nothing but a snake literally. And of course the 'leader' of this team Dr. Jackie, a site director who was calling this her chill time vs some of the other things he's had to do. You worked along side Dr. Jaime while reporting all your work to Dr. Jackie, so you didn't have many opportunities to talk to the notable director.

During your time working with 590 you grew close to him, you don't know why maybe from the tales he's told you and so many others of the pain he's faced. Maybe from observing him and seeing how his life has led him to be an overgrown child, maybe you grew close to him because he trusted you. Once other researchers had left you stayed keeping 590 company when you could, always lying to the higher ups and saying you were 'perfecting' research when in all honesty you were letting TJ explain his drawings to you.

You had been such a big help to TJ, almost like you had a silver tongue you convinced the 05 to let TJ walk around. Within a week you received an email allowing you to let TJ walk about signed off by 05-6, who always seemed to be the only 05 observing your research with TJ. You helped the boy use his crutches to walk and protected him from knocking into others. You two grew became pretty good friends, and someone began to notice.

One day as you sat in TJs cell drawing with him, a person stood behind the one way mirror watching you two. Watching as you helped TJ regain the childhood he had ripped away from him. Doing what he somehow couldn't do, especially now with the title they've received. A tearful Dr. Jackie stood on the other side happy his little brother had someone else to trust within the foundation.

Once you left TJ that day having to do paperwork, you were met with the ginger doctor. You felt as if you had been caught committing a crime, you expected for him to reprimand you. You expected to receive the same lecture Dr. Glass once had over trying to be kind towards the SCPs. But instead you received a pat on your shoulder before being brought in by the side. Both of you side by side as she hugged you in their own way. "Thanks for keeping my brother company all this time, I wish I could've done more for him but I'm glad not every staff member in this foundation is a monster." He said before letting you go with a smile.

You two became pretty good friends afterwards, both of you taking time to hang with TJ. You may not get into trouble like her or blow holes into the sites walls, but he kept you close just because you were a rare one amongst all the researchers he's met. She warned you though about treating other SCPs in a similar way, as some could..manipulate your kindness. You two usually always find a way to work together especially when it comes to working with TJ. Eventually you two actually worked together to appeal over and over to the foundation to let TJ into Jackies care, and eventually y'alls appeals were heard.

Now you three hang out in and out of the foundation giving TJ the life he deserved.

Sorry if this seems rushed in any way but i hope you like it!

Requests always open !!

[rickie-the-storyteller]

Steph's Crew - Bonus Snippet

Kind of a continuation of this:

This may give a little extra insight into what exactly has been going on between these two... but I don't think it's ever outright said lol. Oh well. Either way it's a nice lil moment that brings back a lot of fave characters. Enjoy!

_

I startled at my phone's sudden ringing, the sharp sound slicing through the quiet like a knife. Bret's photo appeared on the screen along with his name, his familiar smile a cruel reminder of countless wounds. Just seeing his name was enough to make my blood start to boil again, a surge of anger rushing through me as I felt old scars reopened.

My first instinct was to decline the call. God, why was he calling me now? I could just let it go to voicemail, let his voice echo unanswered into the digital void. After all the bad he's done, it's not like he doesn't deserve it, right? But something made me hesitate, my thumb hovering over the screen. I don't know what that "something" was exactly… maybe that something has always been there, buried deeply within me for as long as I've known him. Maybe I've always held onto this "something" despite all the times he's let me down or caused pain with his thoughtlessness. Despite everything I've ever been through with him, I still hang on to this... feeling. A feeling that was inextricably tied to him, no matter the hurt he'd caused.

I don't know whether that's even a good thing or not. Frankly, I don't want to care anymore. Even though I know I still do.

Taking a deep breath, I answered him. "Hello?"

"Look to your left."

Confused, I turned, my mouth falling open slightly as I spotted Bret standing across the mall corridor with Rachel and her fiancé, Andy—I think that's his name. The sight of him sent a jolt through me, my chest tightening with a whirlwind of emotions: shock, anger, annoyance, and… that same unsettling feeling, stronger than ever.

Why is he even here?!

"Are you serious right now? Have you been following me around like some creep?" I hissed into the phone, trying to keep my voice steady, probably failing miserably.

"No," he sighed, shaking his head, a familiar smirk quirking his lips. "Relax, El. I'm here with my family. We're shopping for Josie's first communion outfits. It's not all about you, you know."

His words admittedly took some of the wind from my defensive sails, leaving me feeling deflated. I watched as Josie ran up, her pigtails bouncing up and down as she went, and with endless energy befitting a kid her age. Despite myself, I couldn't help but smile. First Holy Communion... that means she's like eight now. She's grown up so much.

"Wow..." I exhaled, memories of my own communion day flitting by like ghosts. It had been a good day. "She's gotten so big."

"I know, right?" Bret's voice softened, and a pensive silence settled between us. "We did that same routine, you remember?"

"Yeah," I couldn't help but chuckle at the recollection. "You made me super mad when you told me I looked like a drunk bride because my veil wouldn't stay on my head."

"So?!" Bret retorted with a laugh. "You whacked my arm several times with a candle!"

"You weren't paying attention!" I laughed too, the sound easing the lingering tensions ever so slightly. "Plus, you deserved it. You were being mean."

Our shared laughter felt like a balm soothing the old wounds, if only for a moment. Bret gestured me over, a hopeful glint in his eye.

"Come shop with us for a bit? Aunt Rach would love it - she's missed you a lot."

Aw. I've missed her, too. And B. Not that I'll ever admit that to him straight up.

I opened my mouth to protest, but at this point, Rachel had already spotted me and was waving exuberantly. Oh well. I've made it this far into a conversation, right? I suppose spending more time with these folks couldn't hurt. And besides, Bret and I have a lot to talk about. And I guess he made a good point - I can't just avoid speaking to him forever. What he did was terrible, but it would be wrong not to hear his side of things.

Suppressing an eye roll, I crossed the expanse to join them, saying, "Fine. I'm coming."

"R-really?" Bret asked. His surprise was palpable, a crack in his usually confident (or apathetic) demeanour. It was rare to see him so unsure like this, and it gave me a weird, fleeting sense of power in this strange situation.

"Yep," I replied, my tone firm despite the uncertainty swirling inside me. "Just this once. Hang on, I'll be right over."

"Wow. I-Thanks, Elise," he stammered, the words catching in his throat.

"Whatever," I said, trying to maintain my guarded stance. I was still mad, after all. I needed to make it clear to him that things weren't magically fixed just like that. "Don't thank me yet."

I ended the call.

[i-willstealyourtoes]

Hello again 👋

Got another sleeping dogs request. Can you do wei x reader after the mission Final Kill (The mission where he finally finds Dogeyes and kills him)? Like something angsty where Wei is like 'I got revenge for Mimi, winston, and peggy) and reader is helping him with his grief.

I hope you get where I'm going with this lol.

Wei with s/o that's helping him with grief

- Okay so I imagine that y'all have been dating already, so he already trusts to tell you about stuff you know?

- You guys already live with each other so

- This was partly bc of it's easier to watch over you

- Since he knows where you are (mostly), he feels a little more at ease

- (Not completely though)

- With everything going on, I feel like he always worries about your safety

- 'I just- I just don't want to lose you too, okay (Y/n)?'

- Anyway, one day he just comes back home, covered in all sorts of messes

- Blood (both his and others), sweat, water, gasoline, ash, tears

- It was the tears that worried you

- You had seen him cry before, but not often

- So you know this was serious

- He had told you that he was going to kill Dogeyes, but you didn't really believe it

- But now?

- Seeing him, standing at the doorway, covered in dirt, tears in his eyes...

- He could barely close the door before collapsing

- You rushed to him as he fell to his knees, hugging him tight

- 'It's okay... I've got you... It's over Wei, it's over.'

- 'It's.... it's not though... it's not over until I get all the bastards who killed them...'

- You knew he was right.

- He wouldn't get any rest until then.

- 'Winston... Peggy.... Mimi...'

- Even saying that name caused him to cry more.

- You had managed to move him to the bed, letting him sit with you, tightly gripping you.

- It was like he thought you were going to leave too.

- 'They.... they fucking killed Peggy on her wedding day.... her fucking wedding day....'

- You had met Peggy once or twice. She seemed like a really nice woman. She didn't deserve this. None of them did.

- 'I.... I know sweetheart. I know. It's okay.'

- He quickly jolts up in a brief moment of anger

- 'How is it okay!?!?! They killed them!! They're dead now! And now everyone relies on me! How do I even...'

- He sits back down in tears, regretting even raising his voice.

- 'Fuck.... FUCK.'

- You know he didn't mean to, he's just overwhelmed by everything.

- 'You've done so well so far. Really well. They're proud of you. I know they are.'

- He doesn't know what else to say. He's ran out of words.

- 'I'm so... fucking tired... everyone's looking up to me... I can't fucking do it (Y/n)... I can't....'

- It's true. The entire gang looks up to him as their leader. It was too sudden.

- 'I can't fail them.... I can't do it...'

- He can't fail them like he did with her.

- (Mimi)

- 'You didn't do it. You didn't kill her.'

- He looks at you.

- 'I-I wasn't talking about...'

- 'You were thinking about it.'

- You know he still feels guilty about Mimi's death. It still hurts him like it did when she died.

- 'You didn't kill her. It was Dogeyes' fault.'

- He just buries his head in your chest. He can't even process anything correctly right now.

- '.....Fucking Dogeyes....'

- '.....Yeah...'

- 'I hate him.'

- You hold his face and look at him.

- 'He's dead now. He can't hurt anyone anymore.'

- That was true. Wei made sure of it.

- 'Sorry (Y/n). I bet I... sound like an idiot right now.'

- You can tell he's slowly picking himself up again.

- 'No. This is normal, healthy even. I'm glad you trust me with this. I love you.'

- Just saying that makes him feel better.

- 'Do you want to order? I can call for delivery or something Wei.'

- '....Alright.'

- As you phone a take-out, he comes up behind you and hugs you tight.

- 'Thanks.... I love you.'

[after-witch]

What do you think about Empty Smiles? I heard a lot of people say the ending was rushed.

Also, is this the final final of the smiling man?

I have a lot of thoughts about Empty Smiles! So I actually had a WIP post with my thoughts in my drafts that I forgot about, I'm going to rework that here for an answer.

Short, non-spoilery answer: Yes, the ending is very abrupt, to a frustrating degree. If you check on Goodreads, almost every review mentions this, it's definitely not just me.

As for "is this the final final," Arden did say she was toying with the idea of writing a middle grade historical fiction where the Smiling Man plays a role. So she may not be done with him! I would love it if she did that. I have endless WIPs where it's just "historical setting reader + Smiling Man."

under the read more: loooong thoughts (criticisms & otherwise) about Empty Smiles, SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS for Empty Smiles by Katherine Arden.

First, the criticisms, because that's the juicy part right?

This book was too short. It really needed an extra 15-20 pages. The resolution is shockingly abrupt and doesn’t feel climatic at all. I literally had to go back and reread, because I thought I’d somehow skipped pages. I mean, I guess the resolutions in the previous 3 books were fairly abrupt as well... but since this was the last book, I expected something more drawn out and not as easy as "Okay we literally just walk and key #2 appears with no work or effort, then we're outside and we have key #3 and leave." There needed to be something more.

I don’t understand why the last two books were so short compared to the first two. Is it a publisher thing, maybe? Them wanting shorter books for middle grade consumption, instead of longer books which may be more YA? The library assistant in me says yes, but it is a theory only. I would hope it wasn't because Arden just gave up and didn't know how to end it.

Also the publisher does know how stupid it is for Empty Smiles to have excerpts of books 1-3 in the back, right? Who is reading book #4 but not book 1-3 first?? It's just to pad the book's physical copy out so that it doesn't look too slim on the shelves, and it's a cheap trick.

What else... so Phil is now part of the group but with how short this book is, you don’t get a solid sense of the new dynamic. They kind of wove Phil feeling left out in there (Phil is like, jealous that the evil clowns don’t ransack his house, lol, oh Phil) but it was a little flat.

Nmmm. Now for something a bit frustrating to admit. So I love all the Smiling Man, I’m over the moon about it, y'all know that for sure.

But I feel like the Smiling Man in this book is quite different from the Smiling Man in the first and second books in some respects. Why doesn’t he want to kill Ollie now? He was legit ready to doom her to die behind the mirror, to spend her eternity in a frozen hellscape either sleeping at best or chased by a creepy old hag monster ghost at worst, in book #2. He dug a knife into her heart, figuratively, when she told him about her mom dying.

It’s like he went from Book #2 “yeah I want you to die and suffer, watching you get dragged away to your damnation is so funny I'm actually crying, you thought you could best me, girl??” and #3 "literally trying to kill you guys, KILLED PHIL'S UNCLE" to being softer with her, no gloating, almost protective in some ways, for Book #4.

And mind you, he IS mean in this one. He really is. He shows Ollie a fantasy of her dad & Coco’s mom & Coco without her, trying to pressure her into agreeing to stay with him forever, and what he says to her is just so horribly awful and cruel. And he says terrible things to Coco (saying she’d look lovely as a transformed doll--lovely and quiet) and is delighted by the tortured ghosts of people who died, tormented, in a mental hospital.

He doesn’t care that the carnival has countless people trapped, and he tries to gift Ollie a doll that is a literal human being transformed into a toy. There’s a fucking... box... of broken “doll parts” (aka, literal human beings who are just?? broken?? pieces now jfc) and he doesn’t care that Ollie is horrified by it.

But there's this significant shift with his overall personal dynamic with Ollie. It’s like... he doesn’t care that she beat him anymore. That was the game the entire time. She beat him, and it really, really pissed him off, and he wants to get her (and by extension, Coco & Brian) back. So now he has her and it’s like... eh, whatever.

We get perspective from Ollie as to why her perception of him changes because they are constantly interacting and he is cordial and even funny sometimes, but we never see it from his side. We can’t, not without a chapter from his perspective. I honestly wish that Arden had been like, okay fuck it, and done a chapter from his perspective just before the final chapter. Maybe that would have helped. Because as it is, I am confused. 

I think this ties into why we needed to see Ollie make the deal in book #3, because I think that moment is what shifted the dynamic. He beat her. He finally beat her. We need to see that to get a resolution of their original dynamic, and to introduce the new one. But we don't, and so it's jarring.

And like... I find it fascinating, and I love it, and I lost my mind at him giving her soup and medicine and bandaging her hand and asking her to stay. But I have to personally fill in the gaps of why he's not acting so gleefully horrid over having beat her, and I shouldn't have to do that.

Also, loose ends, loose ends. What happened to the cat and the hound? Why is this carnival suddenly so important to the Smiling man? I'm sad that the cat & hound servants present in book 1, critical components of the Smiling Man when he’s in his element, don't appear at all. Especially the hound. He seemed quite kind to Ollie in the end, whispering gently that if she ever needed him, to call his name. Would have been a neat thing if she'd remembered, and called him. Maybe he could have given us some of the Smiling Man’s perspective that would have made his shift towards Ollie more understandable and sensible. 

For the positives.

Oh gosh, there's so much smiling man. There's SO MUCH. And we get a new facet of his personality, him 'at ease,' which is truly delightful. He randomly trips and horrifies a teenager. Why?? Just to fuck with them. He's surrounded by transformed humans who live terrifying existences as dolls that are literally given away to people who take them home as prizes, and he doesn’t care at best, finds it amusing at worst. Wonderful.

The way he interactions with everyone is just delightful. The way Tim describes him as "nice," but still refusing to let Tim see his sister; the way he's cooly cruel with Ollie and Coco sometimes, the way he gets frustrated with Coco ("Save me from stubborn girls" that line killed me and sent me straight up) and tells people to mind their manners and just... it's a smorgasbord of smiling man in his element. 

And the lore and backstory we get? I love it. It’s tantalizing, while leaving a lot open for interpretation. Especially when we get into the notion of the smiling man being “alone.” I can’t help but think of what someone else wrote about him on here, essentially saying that narratively, he is the :no one else to turn to,” he is Alone, personified, for people who think they have nothing else that they can do, nowhere they can go, no one they can turn to get what they want (whether they do or not). And for him to potentially in some ways, feel alone, and be alone, is very fascinating to me. 

And the little things, here and there. The train car being already decked out with furniture and such, and having old clothes in the drawer. Who was there before? How many were there before? Were there others, are there others? Tucked away here and there, perhaps agreeing to stay, perhaps not, and finding themselves trapped (into scarecrows, into dolls, into mirrors) when they aren’t able to escape like Ollie? 

I also love, on a non-smiling man related note, the closeness of the kid characters and the bond that they’ve developed. The end bit where Coco and Ollie agree that they’re sisters was heartwarming. I also love the involvement of the adults although apparently I’m in a minority on that one. I loved that it was realistic. I loved that, with Ollie’s dad, he wants to believe... feels compelled, deep down, and Arden keeps the detail going of him looking at the scar on his hand (from the snake in book #3) when the subject of Ollie comes up. Like some part of him knows, despite the smiling man’s magic.

Overall, I really did like it. The ending is not great/too abrupt, and I feel like we really did need that scene of the smiling man “winning” over Ollie from Dark Waters to truly bridge the characterization gap--but I love how much more Smiling Man we got, and I love that we got to see him basically be himself instead of in hiding for a good chunk of the story.

Oh, and... the Smiling Man wears Led Zeppelin and Grateful Dead band t-shirts to his carnival. I mean, the man knows how to dress. 

[kithtaehyung]

May I ask kindly for the continuation? I just don’t really know what to say other than this was stellar. You know how to build characters and fit them together well. And you were right the other day when you said dialogue is your strong suit - though, the rest of what you do isn’t far off.

Honestly, I don’t know how to come here and stream of consciousness like everyone else but I promise I am sweating like they are. For instance, I nearly lost my mind at the popsicle shit, Yoongi is too strong for not running across that yard right there - I would blown it. Even Yoongi’s back, I was like yeah, that’s hot. I might not have words for anyone after the next part.

I had to catch up on a lot this week before I read because, and I know she told you, Riley is keeping me busy helping her post injury (I love her though so I’m happy doing it). This morning she was like “before you help me get ready, go read” So clearly she loves me back because this was fan-fucking-tastic. It was a good break from stress that’s for sure. Also I can’t remember if I ever sent my thoughts on the rest of the 3tan chapters, I can write it again if I didn’t. 

-🎷 

SAX HIIII i'm so sorry for responding to this so damn late! all the bbq asks got buried during the time when i was still trying to get some energy back. ofc you can ask for the continuation bc it's already in the works mwahahahah

thank you so much for the dialogue commentary! it's absolutely my favorite part, and i do think i need to work on a lot of other aspects. you're too kind, though<3

LOLLL we were all sweating during this part, it seems... the damn popsicle shit had me hiding my face bc it was so fcking hot lol. you would've blown it right there? honestly, me too. idk how yoongi was able to hold back but.. maybe he's a long con revenge guy as we can probably see with the lollipop HAHAHA

how is riley? how was the showcase if it's already done?? hope y'all are both doing well! i actually played my violin for a little bit yesterday bc i might use it a lot more in the coming months.

she's such a real one for getting you to read summer bbq LOL i love you both so much. glad you enjoyed and no, i didn't get your thoughts on the rest of the 3tan chapters but literally no rush at all! if you wanna send them in, i would be fcking hype to read them. but take your time!  

[andromedaexists]

Find The Word

thanks for the tag @autumnalwalker!!

My words are: TWICE, TRAIL, NEXT, TELLING, & HANDS

TWICE - Call Me Icarus

So I do have this word, but it is used exactly one in the middle of a sex scene, so i'm not gonna post that front and center on this lol

TRAIL - Call Me Icarus

For a while, the two of them just sat there enjoying each other’s company. It was too early for the birds to start their morning calls, if there were even any in the city. Instead, the sounds of cars driving down the streets and the nightlife going about their business - both human and animal - filled the air. When Icarus looked down to the streets, he could see the light trails of the cars zooming past and the ant sized people going about their mid-night business.

NEXT - Call Me Icarus

He saw the blade fall and hit the floor as sound flooded his ears again. He could hear the morning rush on the streets below, the honking and irritation of bumper-to-bumper traffic an ever-present backdrop in his apartment. He could hear the drip of the leaky faucet in his bathroom just next door. He could hear the voices retreating to the corner for now, satisfied to see how this would play out. But most importantly, he could hear the delicious sounds coming from the person who had broken in to kill him.

TELLING - Call Me Icarus

“Do you know what they meant my ‘I thought he was dead, are you telling me they lied’? Who are they talking about?” they asked. Icarus wasn’t sure what they were talking about and motioned for the paper back. They slid it back to him as he finally got a chance to read the letter for the first time.

HANDS - Desecrate

But now they were teetering into something more serious. Something that could lead to his friends, Kit’s only family, being ex-communicated and ousted from their homes. He couldn’t let that happen, wouldn’t let that happen. In his hands was the start of an explanation for his dreams, and he would be damned if he let it be the cause of his loved ones’ suffering. Kit couldn’t bring himself to look up, instead busying himself with the papers in his hands. The translation, some of it his, some of it done long ago when the Nag Hammadi was first discovered. All of it told a tale that would change the way they viewed the church.

I am going to leave an open tag on this. I wanna see what y'all can do with the words: ROSE, SCARED, UPGRADE, DEAL, & MUSIC

[frederickkatz]

Texts: Sparky (Cameron) & Freddie

@cameronslaw

Cam: so my brother thinks you're my sugar daddy

Freddie: I'm not rich enough yet to be a sugar daddy  😆

Freddie: feeling better?

Freddie: you and your brother are so random btw

Cam: I am, I think

Cam: still a bit achy and tired

Cam: but better

Cam: what do you mean we're random?

Freddie: that's good to hear

Freddie: then it's means you need more rest

Freddie: how did that idea even came out in a conversation?

Cam: I've rested enough!

Cam: let me be sociable for a while now lmao

Cam: well

Cam: I mentioned you gave me a new phone

Cam: he said you're my sugar daddy

Cam: I said "yes, are you jealous?"

Cam: see? not random at all

Freddie: ok ok fine. Be social

Freddie: Sorry to disappoint you but I can't be your sugar daddy. Not until I make more money

Freddie: that's the most random  conversation in the world

Cam: well i can be a low maintenance sugar baby lol

Cam: I'm happy with buttplugs and smoke alarms lmao

Cam: we've had random-er conversations

Cam: he said you seem less scary face to face than he thought

Freddie: you're anything but low maintenance, Cam

Freddie: ok now you're feeling better for sure

Freddie: that's scary he that wasn't random enough.

Freddie: that's a good thing, right? That he's not scared of me?

Cam: excuse you!!!

Cam: I could be low maintenance if I wanted to

Cam: ...I just usually don't want to

Cam: and yeah, it's actually great!

Cam: he also shares your opinion of that vamp and said he'd have done it if you hadn't

Cam: which is a little scary but hey

Cam: at least you guys have something in common?

Freddie: I doubt it

Freddie: of course you don't want to

Freddie: not surprised. He really cares about you

Freddie: he doesn't look very scary either tho

Freddie: I guess

Freddie: are you still at Trevor's?

Cam: not when I get to be so spoiled (:

Cam: I saw him fighting without his powers, Devon is A BEAST

Cam: I am

Cam: my aim is to go home Monday I think, if everything stays as it is

Freddie: obviously. You like being spoiled

Freddie: does he fight at that fight club?

Freddie: good

Freddie: sounds like a good plan. Don't rush it tho. You shouldn't be alone until you're fully recovered

Cam: I do (:

Cam: he does

Cam: he's awesome at it

Cam: I can handle myself

Cam: and I've already abused of Trevor's hospitality enough

Freddie: I know you do

Freddie: I should go watch him fight

Freddie: still. Don't push yourself

Freddie: I'm sure he doesn't see it like that

Cam: if you go there you have to fight tho

Cam: and it's without powers

Cam: just a headsup

Cam: he doesn't, but still

Cam: I don't like to ask for people's attention, you might've noticed it

Cam: and if all I need to do is stay in bed and order in, I think I can handle that in a day or two

Freddie: I heard some just go for the bets and the fun

Freddie: I know but you're not asking for it. We've been giving it to you because we want to

Freddie: still. I'd rather you not been alone until you're completely recovered

Cam: oh I didn't see that part

Cam: maybe it's yet again another VIP lounge

Cam: yeah but I don't want to abuse

Cam: I don't want that good-will of y'all to run out

Freddie: Warren told me he sometimes went there just to feed on the violence and other times he fights too

Freddie: you were very focused on just one thing last time you were there. Maybe that's why you didn't notice

Freddie: you're not abusing

Freddie: I'm sure it won't

Cam: oh wow

Cam: do you do that too?

Cam: feed on people's hunger?

Cam: I'll try and if I see I need help I'll see what I'll do ok?

Freddie: sometimes. But it's not fun

Freddie: Warren enjoys violence but I don't enjoy suffering

Freddie: not good enough

Freddie: promise you'll call your brother or me or Trevor

Cam: I know you don't

Cam: what happens if you don't feed?

Cam: wait

Cam: are you offering to play nurse too?

Freddie: nothing. We don't need to feed on our main drive but it makes us stronger

Freddie: I'm offering to help if you need me to

Cam: oh that's good

Cam: I mean

Cam: I'm glad you don't have to

Cam: ...but you don't come to my place

Cam: that's sort of an unspoken rule of yours, isn't it?

Freddie: thanks. I'm glad about that too

Freddie: not really. I didn't go because I didn't want to make Trevor uncomfortable but I have the feeling here not that upset about me

Freddie: I don't have to if you don't want me to

Cam: nah strangely I think he's chill about your existence

Cam: does that mean you'd visit me now? like, properly?

Cam: no I

Cam: I think I actually want you to

Cam: if you'd like to, that is

Freddie: I'm glad about that

Freddie: if you want me to

Freddie: ok. I offered, Cameron, that probably means I'd like to

Cam: okay so

Cam: Freddie?

Cam: would you like to spend a couple of days with me at my place?

Cam: and possibly playing nurse?

Freddie: Yes, Cameron. I'd like to be there for you

Freddie: I'm not sure how to play nurse tho. I don't cook but I'll try to help

Cam: well you can get the door and get the food orders, that's alright very helpful

Cam: thank you, freddie

Cam: it means a lot to me that you care enough to offer 💛

Freddie: I can definitely do that

Freddie: you're welcome

Freddie: of course I care. I've told you before

Cam: I'm not questioning that you care

Cam: I just

Cam: I'm not used to people caring

Cam: if this had happened back in Boston I'd have bled out in the street

Cam: and if for some reason I survived, I'd have to find a way to heal by myself

Cam: so it's a big mindset change

Cam: not a bad change

Cam: just a big new

Freddie: you should get used to. I'm sure there's a lot of people here who cares about you

Freddie: I'm glad you're not there anymore

Cam: seems like it

Cam: I'm glad too

Cam: I'll let you know when I'm ready to leave on Monday

Cam: in case you'd like to give me a ride home (:

Freddie: sure! Tho I don't have a car and I don't think appearing might be a good idea for you right now

Cam: why not?

Cam: it's not like I'm not used to it 🤔

Freddie: cause you're still recovering and it might make you puke or feel sick

Freddie: I don't want you to feel sick because of that

Cam: ah there's that, yeah

Cam: It's ok tho! I can Uber home and meet you there

Freddie: yeah so maybe appearing is gonna be off the table for a few more days

Freddie: ok that sounds better. Lemme know when you're there and I'll appear there

Cam: but it's so convenient ):

Cam: that's the spirit!

Cam: and thank you (:

Freddie: I know but just for a few days

Freddie: nothing to thank me for

Cam: so mean, you're already taking my privileges away from me 😛

Cam: but I WANT to thank you

Freddie: I'm not. I'm taking care of you

Freddie: ok. You're welcome, Sparky

Cam: you really are (:

Cam: say, what have you been doing with all of this new found free time?

Freddie: good

Freddie: not much. Warren is taking advantage of it to make me work more for him

Freddie: it's not terrible either. Just lots of reading

Cam: I hope the extra hours are worth it $$$$

Cam: what are you reading?

Freddie: it is. Don't ever  tell him I said this but he's very generous

Freddie: makes sense why the people who work with him are so loyal

Freddie: documents on your project actually

Freddie: but I can't tell you until he does. Sorry. I signed an NDA

Cam: guess he learned a thing or two in all those wars huh

Cam: I'm glad you're being well rewarded tho

Cam: otherwise I couldn't be such a  high maintenance sugar baby lol

Cam: noooo you can't just tease me like that!!!!

Cam: I'm convalescent!!!!

Freddie: he's a fantastic strategist and he knows keeping his people happy help with the loyalty

Freddie: yeap maybe that'll help me move out soon

Freddie: good point 😆

Freddie: I'm not teasing you. He just wants me to learn more about non profit organization and helping others

Freddie: do you really  want me to get in legal troubles with my older brother?

Cam: are you guys talking more?

Cam: welp you'd have a great lawyer defending you lol

Cam: but ok I get it

Cam: how's the "learning about helping others" going?

Cam: bc if you need an eye witness of your progress, I'd take the stand (:

Freddie: yeah

Freddie: I'm pretty sure he made me sign it exactly because of you

Freddie: I suppose it's going well

Freddie: I understand why he's doing it

Freddie: I hadn't taken the time to see the things that happens to other or what they go through

Freddie: now that's nice of you

Cam: lmao I'm gonna take it as a compliment, that your brother thought I could turn you into a gossip

Cam: well it makes me happy that you're taking the time to see it that way

Cam: maybe i should remind you that I can be, in fact, nice (;

Freddie: that or that he doesn't trust me enough yet

Freddie: thanks

Freddie: well only sometime 😛

Cam: you're very trustworthy so I think I'm right

Cam: I remember I was particularly nice the other time I was there 🙃

Freddie: you and him might have a different opinion on that

Freddie: were you? Don't recall it 🤔

Cam: you shouldn't argue with a bedridden person, you know?

Cam: 😮😮😮😮😮😮😮

Cam: then I'll just have to be nice harder next time

Freddie: I'm not even arguing!

Freddie: 😲😲😲😲😲😲😲

Freddie: you could also refresh my mind

Cam: well i was talking about what i thought should be quite a mindblowing blowjob but seems like it wasn't that worth of remembering huh

Freddie: hey! Don't be like that

Freddie: I was teasing you

Freddie: it's was the most mind-blowing blow job ever

Cam: so it was memorable, then, it's what i'm getting? 🙃

Cam: it must prove i'm nice then :3

Freddie: it really was

Freddie: it's only proves you're very talented with your mouth but not sure if it proves your niceness

Cam: (:

Cam: :oooooooooooooooooooooo

Cam: and how do i prove my niceness then?

Freddie: not sure

Freddie: lemme think about it and I'll tell you

Cam: ok i can wait (:

Cam: you know where to find me

Freddie: I'll try to have an answer for you on Monday

Cam: okay 💛

[savefilescomng12]

Customer Demands Refund From Carpet Cleaner, TikTok’s Stunned

"He needed to send a request for another $400 ... that carpet got secrets!"

Source: TikTok | @yungblackandgiftedA carpet cleaning customer got slammed by a TikTok user named The Humble One (@yungblackandgifted) for purportedly attempting to finagle a free job from a business owner.The Humble One slammed the client in a viral TikTok that's garnered over 6.1 million views on the popular social media platform.Article continues below advertisementThe TikToker couldn't believe the gall of the customer and it appears that there were several other users on the app who also couldn't seem to wrap their heads around the person's gripe."Man y'all look at this. This dude is a carpet cleaner and this is the conversation between him and one of his clients. Y'all just gotta look at this," the TiikToker says into the camera. It's clear that he's teasing a snippet of their text conversation behind his head in a green-screen style video he's uploaded to the popular social media platform.Article continues below advertisementHe then begins to narrate the text message dialogue between the carpet cleaner and their customer.Customer: Hey sorry for texting so late! Deposit sent for appointment tomorrow, I'm just getting off workBusiness: Good morning, headed to you nowCustomer: Gm okArticle continues below advertisementBusiness: Just made itCustomer: Are you scared of dogs? She's a poodle lolCustomer: I'll put her upBusiness: No lol she's ok!Customer: Come through side doorAt this point in the conversation the customer sends the carpet cleaner $200 via Apple Pay, which appears in the text message conversation between the two of them.It seems like the payment was given to the TikToker for services rendered; however, a follow-up message from the social media user seems to intone that they didn't necessarily think the work performed was worth the price.Article continues below advertisementSource: TikTok | @yungblackandgiftedCustomer: Hey I have a questionBusiness: Hey! What's your question?Customer: Is this how it was suppose to look? I didn't get a chance to see it as soon as you finished and my husband is saying it looks half doneThe TikToker also attached a picture of the carpet in their home to further drive home that the professional carpet cleaner may've not done the best job.Article continues below advertisementThe business responded: "Yes ma'am, that's the best it was going to get considering the condition. I went over it several times as well. Could you specifically tell me what your issue is?"It's at this point in the video that the TikToker urges his followers to "take note" of what the condition of the carpet was prior to their cleaning of it.Customer: It just doesn't look clean. Especially for the price of $200 and we really don't have money to waste.Business: I understand. $200 for was 4 rooms also not 1. But would you like me to redo it? I went over it to my ability so it won't be much of a difference if I do.Article continues below advertisementSource: TikTok | @yungblackandgiftedIt's at this point that the customer in the video makes it clear what they're expecting from their aired gripe: a complete refund for the work that was conducted.Customer: the refund is ok. Customer: Hello have you sent it ?Customer: It's unprofessional af for you to NOT send my money back and just ignore me ! I need my money back now !Article continues below advertisementThe business owner wasn't exactly having it with this exchange, as they wrote back: "You expect me to send you a full refund for a completed job ? No ma'am. Have a nice day," they said.The client didn't really like this response.Customer: I told you when you came in what I was expecting! And this is not it. Your unprofessional a-- rushed through my carpet, my husband even said the s--- ! We could have payed way less elsewhere for this bs, we don't have extra money spend. You need to send my money back now."Article continues below advertisementSource: TikTok | @yungblackandgiftedIt's understandable why anyone would be upset with a business if they didn't provide the services they expected of them; however, as The Humble One points out, the client in question may've been a little deluded as to what the carpet cleaner could accomplish with their carpet, as they ended up showing a before picture of the rug prior to the business getting to work on cleaning it.Article continues below advertisementIt's not just that there were stains on the carpet — it was a completely different color!"Look at this s---," the TikToker narrates in the video after showing a green screen image of a carpet that looks like it was soaked in cigarette butts and Coca-Cola for months at a time."This s--- is black as me and you're telling me that he didn't do a good job? Oh y'all don't lost y'all d--- mind," he says at the end of the clipi.It seems like there were several other TikTokers who agreed with his assessment of the exchange between client and business owner, including this person who wrote that they were happy the carpet cleaner minded their p's and q's and made sure to take before-and-after pictures for their work.Article continues below advertisementSource: TikTok | @yungblackandgifted"Good thing he took pictures. They probably thought he didn’t."Another person said that they were impressed at the quality of work exhibited by the business, writing that the customer in question was probably attempting to complain as a means of trying to get a free clean: "He did an excellent job. They just wanted a free clean."Article continues below advertisementAnother person stated that the business actually ended up charging way too little for the carpet cleaning job: "He needed to send a request for another $400 ... that carpet got secrets!"While another simply said: "She would have to take me to court."What do you think? Did the business owner do a good job and the customer was simply attempting to try and get something for nothing? Or do you think that all customer gripes should be taken seriously, even if a carpet cleaner took a burnt milk latte to looking like a plain cup of two percent? Source link Read the full article