#maybe I'll put a better picture up once I can give him some wall space but for now

[tinynap]

Wait omg thats so cute stop it 💗😭 what other buildings do u have in that server? i need some inspo if u dont mind sharing ＼(^-^)／

THANK U heres everything i have so far ft me yapping about it all by god do i yap my ass off im so sorry if all u wanted was pictures im incapable of not talking about literally anything. my bad. :3

barn area for my animals + a cute little interior that's technically extra storage space but i dont really use it

MY HOUSE ! the stone + glass thing to the left is my automatic composter setup built off my personal wheat farm (i like to enclose all my crop farms with stone walls bc i think it gives it ~character~ and also it looks pretty) this is a pretty far away picture of my house tho so have another one i took a while ago:

this area has the barn to the left which u already saw and then the storage house in the middle and then my villager breeding area on the right + what's eventually going to be a bee farm in front of it (idrk if i like the placement of it and the build itself just feels very in the way so i'll probably scatter single beehives throughout the entire town space BUT IDK YET!)

storage house ! pumpkin patch to the left and wheat field to the right (it's for when i want to breed the villagers) the inside still isn't entire organized bc well im honestly really bad about putting things in the "correct" chests but im working on it and one day it'll be finished trust

villager breeding house U cant see him rn but there's actually an iron golem that somehow spawned on the upper floor?? ive named him jeff. he goes and stands in the window sometimes but he was being really shy today :/ the random block on the right of the screen is literally there bc an enderman placed it there for some reason and i havent broken it yet

nether portal ! ive only gone through once to check out the spawn but el spent the time to make a path to the world spawn portal (which is where literally everyone else settled lmfao - i originally just set out exploring but i found this area and thought it was cute enough to live in) but anyway i do eventually want to replace the dirt circle, which took freaking forever to lay out btw never build circles in this game ever, with stone + cobble and maybe add some detail to the actual portal it's very up in the air rn. and i do eventually want to put some builds in the actual nether (also way off to the right u can see 2 torches, theyre framing the entrance to my mine where i get all of my cobblestone/deepslate and it leads to my strip mine, im eventually going to add a little mining outpost there and expand it i just havent gotten around to it)

lava farm / mass smelting area + a small crop farm i think it's just carrots and potatoes back there. i actually hate how i did the roof (i play on 90 fov so ifl maybe the angle i was at for this screenshot is fucking with my view of it ?) but things got weird bc i had to scramble to place it and also was replacing the original wood roof with diorite bc who knew lava makes wood catch on fire :/ but it's cute enough i think and it's also really practical i ran out of coal pretty early on this was the 2nd thing i built!

small tiny little enchanting house (got inspiration from some photo on pinterest that i cant find rn rip) bc when i finally decided to start enchanting my stuff i realized i didnt really have enough space for it in my house like i usually do unless i added a basement and i really did not want to do that and i like this better anyway!!! level 30 enchantments + a space to store my lapis + it's just so cute :) downside is theres always like mob sounds bc there's a cave entrance somewhere in this area that i literally just covered up with dirt so

and this is the trading hall + sugarcane farm for paper! followed a youtube tutorial for this one bc ive never really dealt with trading and wanted to make sure i didnt build something really wrong or whatever i had to change the block palette a little to fit the rest of my builds (im a huge fan of spruce and stone if u couldnt tell) but i think it's cute! im still really bad at dealing with villagers tho ive accidentally suffocated a few trying to get them in their spots and theres been some that have been attacked by zombies bc i leave them trapped in boats outside while i go to do other things.......nothing is my fault ever remember this

some extra things bc im nothing if i dont overexplain literally anything i do:

im using complementary shaders unbound bc i think theyre pretty

resource packs autumn biomes + fall pack for the fall theme (this is how im getting the red leaves and the leaf piles on the ground, i'll prob change it once it's christmas-time)

some extra resource packs: flowering crops, fast better grass, and a font change one!

tons of cats spawn and ive tamed + bred a few of them i have i think 6 and am working on naming them all (if i dont have 2 cats called jett and operator in every minecraft world i play on i'll Die.) and i eventually want to venture back to a forest i found and grab a wolf or 2 as well :)

the giant spruce trees in the background of some of the photos were planted by me bc i use spruce in pretty much every single thing i build bc well i like it

EVENTUALLY i do want to let the villagers run free to make the area more lively (i have a slab blocking the door so they cant get out lmfao) but not everything is done rn so theyre staying in their house for now. although i did think about building each one a small little house and giving them jobs and letting them live there thats like. a lot of work. so idk if im gonna do that

build progression if u care: house + wheat farm -> mining area (that i still havent finished oops) -> lava farm -> barn (started out just as fenced pens but i decided i hated that and built an actual space for them) -> storage hall bc i was running out of space -> sugarcane farm -> i found a village over the mountain behind my house and decided i might as well start breeding back home so i built them their own little house next to mine (this is when the 2nd wheat farm got built) -> decided the empty space in between the barn + storage hall was getting to me and built the pumpkin patch -> iron farm WHICH I DIDNT SHOW it's actually a good distance behind the storage hall -> built the trading hall bc why not -> laid out the area for the nether portal -> enchantment table to get some basic enchants on my tools bc the villagers were frustrating me and sitting there rerolling trades was annoying -> actually built the nether portal -> started to work on some detailing, added in some trees in the main area + added coarse dirt, fence, lanterns to the paths -> built bee farm area (might change tho)

and (sorry) ALSO theres a lot of empty space and everything but im working on making paths and adding details around to make it feel like a really connected area instead of just a bunch of builds! i was waiting until i had most of the builds i wanted in place/planned but im kind of stuck on what else to add to really tie the space together especially at the back towards the enchanting house yk but im not too worried about it rn im just having fun :D

anyway thank u for coming to this month's yap about my current interests with jo i hope u enjoyed if u read this far yippee yay wahoo ily

[sorryimananti-romantic]

Mist | Choi San | Chapter 2

Pairing: Choi San x OC (Seohyun)

Genre: supernatural (ghost), romance, high school

Trigger Warnings: paranormal, death mentions, violence

Words: 7.2k

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except my original character and the story. I do not own any gifs or pictures used.

Full story on Wattpad (don’t spoil here if you read there too)

chapter directory

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A few paranormally uneventful days passed. Seohyun hadn't exactly opened up to the group of boys that she was now able to call friends, but she was slowly getting there. It was hard not to smile when one of them cracked a silly joke, and harder not to laugh when they had a battle of wits.

She was slowly getting used to her new school. She was past the stage of being a new kid and the students in her class had stopped giving her those looks. She was unnoticed, and she loved it.

Today, like every other morning, Seohyun got ready for school, tying her hair in a half ponytail, peeking out of the window to check if she should wear her glasses or cap today. She had to hide her eyes somehow, they always betrayed her. She didn't want anyone to think she liked to stare into the space. But then she shrugged and tossed her glasses in the bag, wearing her cap as she went to the kitchen.

Her mother was a very busy woman and she liked to spend almost all her day in her office. She was rarely home even if she had a day off anyway. So Seohyun just made herself some coffee, munching on some cookies as she waited for the coffee to become cool enough to drink.

"I still don't get why you let the housemaid go," Jiwoo popped out of nowhere and twirled around the kitchen.

"Well, I didn't entirely let her 'go'. She still comes by on the weekends, you already know that."

"But still! What's wrong with having food everyday?" Jiwoo pushed her dark red hair back as she tsk-ed at Seohyun.

"For one, I wanted to learn to cook, and the food she made was always too much for just me. I always had to throw it out or give it to someone before it went bad. Mom's never home to eat anyway."

"I actually hate your mom, no offence," Jiwoo looked at her and Seohyun shook her head, "I mean, what kind of a mother is she?"

"A woman married to her work with an abnormal child, I kind of understand why she's like this," Seohyun muttered.

"Nah, you're not abnormal. You're gifted. And you don't appreciate it enough."

"No offence, unnie, but ghosts are the company I'd rather not have," Seohyun rinsed her cup and placed it on the rack, taking her school bag and locking the door.

"What's wrong with me?" Jiwoo asked.

"You're one of the better ones, but only because you had temporary amnesia before you died and you still don't know who exactly you are and why you're a ghost!" Seohyun snorted at the weirdness of all this.

"You think I'd ever be able to recall? Or just be stuck with you forever?" Jiwoo asked.

"I'd rather you try to move around and find out who you are instead of making me look like I talk to myself."

"Ah, you pain me, child. It's all because you have new friends now and don't care about me anymore. Right, catto?"

The black cat, which Seohyun hadn't noticed earlier, meowed in response.

"And, here comes the pretty one," Jiwoo grinned and Seohyun looked in her direction to find San coming their way.

"Pretty one? Seriously?" Seohyun shook her head.

"I mean, they're all pretty, but I like this kid more-"

"Hey," San gave her a smile as he meowed to the cat, who gladly jumped in San's arm when he put them forward.

"This little-" Seohyun stopped, and San laughed. "She never comes when I ask!"

"She likes me more, it seems," San rubbed her forehead and she purred, and they walked in comfortable silence to school the rest of the way.

They almost reached the gates of the school but something Seohyun saw from the corner of her eye made her stop in her tracks.

It was a ghost, yet it was something else. It wasn't someone who had died recently for sure. The man, the ghost if you could call it that, was bitter.

"You okay?" San asked, looking in the direction Seohyun was looking in. To him, it seemed she was looking at a wall.

"Yeah, I-I'm okay. Why don't you go ahead? I'll be right back. I should take her too," Seohyun picked the cat from San's hand, "We don't want her roaming around the school and getting scared, do we now?"

San raised a suspicious brow at her, but nodded as he reluctantly went in.

The man tried approaching Seohyun first, but she motioned him to follow her and went to the backside of the school, where surely there would be very few people walking by at this time.

"State your business," Seohyun said, and the man actually looked taken aback, if his eyes could display some emotion.

Truth be told, Seohyun was always scared dealing with men ghosts and older ghosts in general. Since ghosts could touch her, they were as much of a threat to her as humans. And these old ghosts, the ones with skin that looked grey, almost as if the ghost had started decomposing too, were usually not in their right mind.

"I have waited decades to find the mediator," the man's eyes gleamed rather wickedly.

"Mediator?" Seohyun asked. A rather fancy term for someone who could see the dead. "And why did you have to wait decades?"

"Let's say the mediator supposed to sort my death out met with rather... unfortunate circumstances," the man cleared his throat but his voice was still hoarse as he said, "You have to come with me."

"Well, if you waited decades, can you wait a few more hours? I have school, and please do NOT disturb me during my class," Seohyun made sure her tone was polite as she said this, but the man grunted. Before he could try anything, she muttered an awkward bye and walked swiftly to the gates, letting the cat go. She didn't realize she'd been holding the cat for comfort.

San, who had just witnessed Seohyun talking to thin air from the other side of the road, sighed loudly as he walked slowly to the gates.

San hadn't meant to follow her, but he turned around after a few steps of walking to the building, hoping to offer to come along with her, but when he saw her stop in the middle of the road and look as if she was actually talking to someone, he paused. He knew he shouldn't, but he watched her. And he did not know what to make of it.

Was Seohyun crazy? Didn't look like it. If she was, she did a damn good job at hiding it. When San finally reached class, he saw Seohyun chatting with Jongho. Perfectly normal. Or was she?

San said nothing as he sat in his spot, but he felt her tap his shoulder. He turned around and she asked, "I thought you went to class, where were you roaming around?"

San stared at her light brown orbs, coming out of the trance when she blinked. "I just wanted to walk around a bit."

He saw her frown but then she nodded and went back to chatting with Jongho. San turned back in his seat, and throughout the classes, he kept wondering if that was the reason why she covered her face or eyes.

When school ended, Seohyun said she had to go somewhere and said bye. San made an excuse too and started to follow her. He was going to see for himself, what she was gonna do.

San knew it was impolite to do this. And he knew if she found out, she'd really be angry with him, maybe never talk to him again. This was supposed to be her secret for sure. She would probably never tell any one of them. He wasn't even sure what it was.

Seohyun led him to an abandoned warehouse, and he heard her say, "Why bring me here?"

She paused for a few second, looking around as if for help, and San ducked quickly behind the boxes before she could see her. He couldn't hear her now, but he did get bits about how it was creepy of 'him' to bring her to this place without warning her, and he didn't miss how she kept looking behind her, as if she was waiting for someone to appear or just didn't want to keep doing this.

Who was this 'him'? Her imaginary friend? A ghost? San shook his head, and got on his feet when he noticed her go inside the warehouse.

San crept up behind them, and couldn't believe what he saw.

The locked door somehow unlocked, somehow the chains fell and the door magically opened wide in front of her, without Seohyun having even moved a finger.

What was happening?

Seohyun was asked to come in the warehouse and she couldn't ignore the roaring of her gut that told her something was going to go really, really wrong. She had such a strong feeling some years ago too, and she had barely gotten away from her life then.

All her nerves screamed at her to run, anywhere, just not go in. Where was Jiwoo when she needed her? Seohyun was kind of furious how she was never there for her.

Seohyun watched the old man walk in, looking around, and before she entered, she turned her head once hoping she would see Jiwoo-

Instead, she felt her heart sink as she saw none other than San, attempting to hide as their eyes met.

"Come in now, don't keep me waiting," the man grumbled, and Seohyun shouted an okay to him before she looked at San, hoping to warn him with her eyes as she put a finger to her mouth, telling him not to make a sound and motioning him to stay where he was.

Seohyun went inside, her heart slamming against her chest. This wasn't supposed to happen. San must think she's crazy or worse. Her mind made a mental list of how many ways this could go wrong.

"I used to think mediators ran in the family. But the one who was supposed to help me, he did not have any offspring. I spent so many years in ignorance, not knowing that it was completely random. Just like god picking up a needle in the haystack."

"Cut to the chase. What do you want with me and why bring me here?"

"I have forgotten why I died. And I want to move on. But I can't because I don't remember why I am still here. Someone told me there were various other ways to move on... Let's say I had to try."

As soon as Seohyun saw the growing smirk on the man, she knew it was time to run the hell away. But several bottles came flying at her, and she barely dodged them as they crashed on the wall next to her.

"You don't have to do this! It's wrong! I help dead people move on, there must be a way other than stupid violence-"

But the man waved another hand and now the boxes came flying at her. She was grabbed by the arm and pulled against someone, and she sighed in both relief and horror as she saw it was San.

"Are you stupid! You'll get hurt!" She yelled at him. He just took her hand and ran towards the shelves, hoping to hide from whatever it was that sent flying objects in the air. He almost dragged her until he was sure he was quite away from whatever it was.

"What the hell is happening?" San asked through his teeth.

"Why did you even follow me? Are you stupid?"

"Who is it?" San's grip on her wrist tightened as his eyes searched around.

"It's a ghost, San. Do you believe me?" Seohyun asked, waiting for a snide remark.

"From what I've seen? Sure," San muttered, and Seohyun wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic.

"He's near. Let's move," Seohyun said, and this time, she grabbed San's hand as she led him through the various shelves that lined the warehouse, glad they weren't empty.

A blast shocked them, making them jump in the air as they realized the shelves were collapsing one by one.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Seohyun ran, San matching her pace and she ran her eyes around, finally finding a place to hide. It was a narrow passage between huge containers. Seohyun looked at her options. The man was blocking the entrance so now they could just hide and pray for help or... die. If that's the worst that was to come.

Seohyun dragged San with her to the narrow passage, both of them barely fitting in the small dark place. Now they were side to side but San's body was still half out, so Seohyun pulled him closer, until he was almost in front of him. Since the passage was so narrow and short, there wasn't much gap between them.

San was a bundle of nerves and all, his heart beating wildly. "What's going on-"

"Shh," Seohyun whispered, putting a hand on his mouth to shut him up, "I'll explain everything later, I promise."

San nodded, taking off her hand from his mouth but not leaving it. Seohyun was too busy concentrating on where the man was to notice it. He saw her wince, and she looked at San with apologetic eyes.

"If something happens to us, I'm sorry, San. I'll do my best to save you. The man-the ghost is after me. I don't know why," Seohyun sighed, and San squeezed her hand assuringly.

"I'm with you. Nothing will happen," he whispered, thinking he must sound stupid to say that. But it must have given her some sort of assurance. She put her head on San's chest, sighing again.

The two of them heard the sounds of things getting destroyed alright, Seohyun hearing the man as well, and Seohyun almost cried in relief as she heard Jiwoo whisper her name.

"I can teleport you, but what about him-"

"Either we both go, or we both stay," Seohyun said firmly. She wasn't going to leave him alone.

"Go where?" San asked. Seohyun told him her friend was here and she could help.

Jiwoo looked at Seohyun and a slow grin appeared on her face. "There is something I could try..."

"What?" Seohyun narrowed her eyes at Jiwoo.

"What if I teleport you, but you're still holding San? Would he come with us?"

"I don't know, unnie..." Seohyun trailed, but an idea stuck to her. "It's the same as when I have something with me right? A bag, a cap, something. But that's objects. What about actual humans?"

"Remember when we accidentally teleported our cat once? It was holding on to you and you had forgotten. What if this works?"

Seohyun bit her lip. It was worth a try. "If it doesn't work, promise me we'll come back to San right then."

"But your body can't handle too many teleportations-"

"Promise me," Seohyun insisted, and Jiwoo rolled her eyes as she nodded. "Hurry up, he's closer."

"San, listen to me carefully," Seohyun said. "You know what teleportation is, right?"

San wanted to ask her if now was really the time, but he said yes- from the movies, and she continued, "I'm gonna attempt to teleport you along with me. My friend is gonna do that. You have to trust me."

"No way," San muttered, sighing deeply.

"Yes, you were stupid and brave enough to follow me, so yes, we are teleporting. I've done it before, but I've never teleported someone... normal with me, so this might not work. So if I disappear, and you're here all alone, I promise you, San, that I'll be back within a minute, okay?"

"How am I supposed to make sense of all you're saying?" San's eyes were helpless.

"Just... trust me. I won't leave you alone. I promise. Now, I have to, er, hold you, so she can teleport us. Gotta make sure I take you with me..."

Seohyun heard Jiwoo snicker, and she passed her a death glare. San, tempted to roll his eyes, held her hands.

"I'm afraid I'll have to hold you tighter. You see, when we teleport, we tend to lose what we're not holding tightly..."

"Oh..." San left her hands, and Seohyun muttered 'here goes nothing' as she wrapped her arms around San's waist, surprised that it was so small.

"Hold me tightly, and no matter what, do not let me go, you understand?"

"Yes ma'am," San said as he bent down to place his chin on her shoulder and bring her closer. "This okay?"

"Yes," Seohyun realized she was holding her breath, so she said, "Take a deep breath, San."

San did so, and Jiwoo smirked a little, watching two scared children hug each other. She came forward, holding Seohyun only, and did her magic.

San felt his stomach twist and turn, saw a million colourful stars, almost got nauseous but his only comfort was Seohyun so he held her tighter and shut his eyes. He didn't open them again until he landed on hard ground, his back aching with the impact.

He opened his eyes and saw... nothing.

He wasn't sure if he was blind or not, but he looked down and saw Seohyun half on top of him, attempting to get up, and he realized he had his vision all right.

"Where the hell," Seohyun got up, "are we?"

"I guess your body could only attempt a half trip," Jiwoo said, and San instantly turned at the voice, making eye contact with the red haired girl.

"That's the ghost friend that teleported us?" San asked Seohyun.

"You can see her!?" Seohyun asked, and San looked at Jiwoo.

"I wasn't supposed to see her, was I?" He raised his brow, and Seohyun looked at Jiwoo.

"Hey, kid, nice to officially meet you," Jiwoo said, holding out a hand to him so he could stand up. San tried to take it, but his hand passed through Jiwoo's hand, and he gasped.

"I guess you can only see then," Seohyun bit her lip as she looked around. "Is this where ghosts come when they... move on?"

"That's where I come when I'm not on planet Earth," Jiwoo said, "It's like another plane, you could say, another dimension overlapping ours, except this one is for ghosts."

"What now? Should we try again?" Seohyun asked, coughing a bit.

"You should take a breather first. Your body can't handle it," Jiwoo nodded at her and Seohyun sat down on the ground, putting her head over her knees as she brought them closer, shivering a little. Jiwoo was right, something was happening to her. Like a cold coming to her.

"Is she okay?" San asked Jiwoo, and she shrugged. San ran his fingers through his hair as he looked around, finding no source of light that illuminated the area around them.

So Seohyun wasn't crazy. Somehow, though it made no sense, she could see ghosts, she could touch them. San looked at Jiwoo and opened his mouth to ask something, but then thought against it. Now was not the time.

"I know you have a lot of questions," Jiwoo commented, "Let's try to get out of here first before we have the talk."

"Has she... ever brought someone here?" San asked.

"This is the first time she came here too," Jiwoo said, "Usually when a ghost teleports her, it's quick and efficient. Much like you see in movies or books."

"We should get out of this place quick. I don't want him to come find us here," Seohyun said, getting up.

"Are you sure you're okay? Can you make it back?" Jiwoo asked.

"I have to," Seohyun said.

Jiwoo nodded, and Seohyun looked at San for permission. San came forward and they both held each other tight as Jiwoo attempted to teleport them again.

This time, they landed on soft grass, but the impact with which they did sent them rolling a bit. San's breath was knocked out of him and he coughed loudly, gasping for breath. As soon as he recovered, he looked for Seohyun-

Seohyun was bent rather awkwardly, and it looked like she wasn't moving. San and Jiwoo both rushed to her, straightening her body. Jiwoo checked if she was breathing.

"She is breathing. She must have collapsed from being tired, don't worry, it's happened before too," Jiwoo assured him.

San sighed, looking up at the sky, wondering what he had gotten himself into. He looked around, finding the place familiar.

"Is this... the park near our school?" San asked Jiwoo.

"Yes, I tried to teleport us as close to Seohyun's home as possible, but looks like we could only make it till here."

"What if someone had seen us appear out of thin air?"

Jiwoo laughed. "They'd probably run for their lives. You'd be aliens."

San smiled a little at that. That's exactly what he would have thought if he had seen Seohyun.

"So are you... Seohyun's friend?" San finally asked.

"You could say that. I'm older than her so she always calls me unnie, but I keep telling her to call me Jiwoo."

"Then I'll call you noona," San smiled, making Jiwoo grin.

"She helps ghosts move on. When someone dies and they have unfinished business that they just can't leave behind, they sometimes choose to become ghosts until they get done with that. Seohyun helps them do that."

"That must be hard..." San wondered if it was always as bad as this time.

"It is, but what happened today is not a common occurrence. The man she saw today, he's been dead for a good while and has forgotten his purpose here. I once heard the other ghosts talk about him too. Ghosts like that, you have to avoid them. They're bitter, and usually mean Seohyun harm."

"So now... I can see you, does that mean I'll be able to see other ghosts too?"

"You'll find out soon," Jiwoo said.

Seohyun woke up with a gasp, her eyes wide. Jiwoo helped her sit up, and Seohyun muttered 'water'. San quickly opened Seohyun's bag and fished out her bottle, which she drank hungrily from, some water spilling down her chin as well.

"Slow down, kid," Jiwoo patted her back. Seohyun emptied the whole bottle, wiping her chin, then felt something run down her nose.

"Nosebleed. Do you have tissues?" Jiwoo asked and Seohyun shrugged, looking upwards and holding her nose. Jiwoo searched through her bag but San took out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Seohyun.

"Does this usually happen?" San asked.

"No... it's the first time," Jiwoo admitted. Seohyun nodded too. "When we accidentally teleported the cat with her, she became dehydrated, but that was it."

Seohyun wiped her nose, looking at Jiwoo and she gave her a thumbs up.

"I shouldn't have followed you..." San shook his head, "It's because of me that-"

"You shouldn't have, but I'm kind of glad you did. Jiwoo is unreliable as a ghost friend and who knows what would have happened to me if you were not there? I could have died," Seohyun said nonchalantly.

"HEY!" Jiwoo smacked her arm but Seohyun ignored her.

"But look at you-" San was cut by Seohyun putting her hand up and saying, "I need food, and I mean NOW."

A few minutes later, they were watching Seohyun hungrily gulp down noodles and fried chicken. San had stopped eating midway just to watch her eat with a speed he hadn't ever seen before.

"Are you sure you're even chewing?" He asked, and Seohyun glared at him.

"The food is not going anywhere, Seohyun, slow down," Jiwoo laughed, "seeing you eat like this is making me wish I could eat too."

"Okay, mom," Seohyun said, finally slowing down. They ate the rest of the food silently, then Seohyun decided she'd like some coffee. They decided to walk her home as she sipped on her coffee and answered San's questions.

"Have you ever told anyone?" San asked first.

"Never. My mom only knows because she's, well, my mom and it's weird when a little kid sees stuff nobody else does."

"And what has she done about this?" San wasn't sure if he should have asked this.

Seohyun sighed, "She tried to 'help' me, but then she decided avoiding me was the best way. So now she's married to her work."

"And your dad?"

"He's never been here in the first place."

"Oh..." San faltered, but saw Seohyun shrug. "You can ask me anything, San. You deserve an explanation. Don't hesitate."

"Why can you see ghosts?"

"I don't know that either," Seohyun smiled as she looked at the sky. "Born this way?"

"Would you have ever told us?" San asked. Seohyun stopped walking at that, and faced him.

"To be honest, I've never made friends, San, because of this reason. That someone would find out. They'd never believe me, they'd think I'm crazy. So I don't know if I would have told you guys, ever," Seohyun paused, "But you found out, and you witnessed everything. What do you think?"

San scratched his neck. "I think you're right. I don't think any of us would have believed you. We'd have dismissed it as a joke. But now that I did see everything... It's different now. I hope you understand that."

"You sure you don't want to, I don't know, ever talk to me and all?"

San smiled. "You think I'd abandon my friend just like that?"

Seohyun couldn't help but stare at San, his sharp eyes that grew warmer every time he smiled, how they slightly curved.

"I want you to know that if it was anyone of us, and they had seen what I had seen, they would have never abandoned you. We don't take our friendships lightly."

"That's... good to hear," Seohyun finally smiled. "Do you think they'd believe us if we tell them?"

"They'd need some convincing, but yes, they would. Do you want to tell them?"

"Not yet," Seohyun said, "When the time is right."

San nodded, and squeezed her hand. "If you're ever in danger, you tell me, okay? If you need anyone, or anything, you tell me, got it? You don't have to face this alone anymore."

Seohyun almost cried right there, but she held it back, squeezing his hand back and nodding. They walked a few minutes until she finally reached home.

"Thank you, San. For everything." Seohyun smiled at him, and this time it was a true smile. San was actually taken aback. It felt like she had truly smiled for the first time, unfiltered.

"Anytime," San managed to say, and watched her go in. He took a deep breath, trying to shake off the image of Seohyun smiling, but found himself smiling too.

Meanwhile, Seohyun collapsed as soon as she entered, and she allowed herself to cry, both happy and sad tears, happy that someone finally understood her, and sad that it hadn't happen earlier. Jiwoo sat down with her, silently rubbing her back.

----------------

Seohyun almost slept in the next day, only woken up for school when Jiwoo threw her off the bed for 'sleeping like a sloth'. She couldn't exactly blame her. Seohyun had been so tired that after crying her heart out, she'd only had the energy to change before she collapsed on her bed and slept without moving an inch.

"My whole body hurts like I did some major workout," Seohyun mumbled as she tried running towards school, but gave up. She'd just walk.

"I don't recall you having such after effects after a teleportation," Jiwoo wondered.

"When it's just me, I'm only drained a bit. Like running. But even when I took the cat accidentally, my head hurt a lot. This time it was a whole human."

"Maybe because they aren't meant to be there," Jiwoo shrugged, meowing at the cat who appeared out of nowhere as usual. "Sometimes I think you might have transferred this teleportation thing to your cat too."

"Except 'I' can't teleport. You ghosts can," Seohyun corrected. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't tried teleporting herself home from school. How cool would that have been?

Jiwoo picked the cat and quickly passed it to Seohyun so no one would witness a flying cat. Seohyun draped her over her shoulder so Jiwoo could play with her. As they were walking, they saw San standing in a corner. He waved, then joined them.

"Hi noona," he said, and Jiwoo tried poking San but her hand went through him.

"I guess you can still only see," Jiwoo shook her head, continuing to pet the cat.

"You can touch the cat? And she sees you?" San asked, curiously watching them.

"Ever since we accidentally teleported her, I can touch her. But I'm pretty sure she could see me before too. All cats can, I think."

"Interesting..."

"Were you... waiting for us or something?" Seohyun finally asked.

"I was. I couldn't sleep last night, truth be told. I kept thinking about what happened. In fact, I'm surprised I didn't freak out..."

"I'm more surprised about that," Seohyun admitted.

"Meanwhile Seohyun here slept as soon as she reached home and I had to wake her up for school too," Jiwoo flipped her hair dramatically. Seohyun scoffed at that.

"You must be very tired... Are you okay?" San asked.

Seohyun nodded, and before she could say something they heard someone calling their names. It was Wooyoung and Yeosang. They joined them, Wooyoung putting his arm over San's shoulder as he said, "You're early today. You usually come in last minute."

"I woke up early today," San said casually, his eyes darting towards Seohyun unconsciously. Yeosang noticed that, trying to stop the smile creeping on his mouth as he looked between Seohyun and San. Seohyun gave him a warning glare, one she made sure was strong enough.

As they waited for class to start, Seohyun was resting her head on the desk. She couldn't quite believe the fact that someone now knew who she was, and was not disgusted or freaked out by her. She couldn't stop wondering what the future would be like, what if this group of boys would really get her to warm up to them, and how they would react if they found out.

San turned around in his seat, a frown growing on his face as he noticed how tired she looked. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Just very, very tired," Seohyun sighed, lifting her head.

"What if the ghost-man comes here?" San asked.

"Oh. I'd totally forgotten about him..." Seohyun bit her lip, "Well, he knows better not to make a scene in front of people, so chances are he won't."

"Chances? That ghost was dangerous!" San hissed, "What if he does come here?"

"Jiwoo must be out on watch. She'd warn me." Seohyun said, and San looked a little relieved at that. "It's not like the ghost can hurt you, so don't worry."

San rolled his eyes. "I'm worried about you, stupid."

"Oh," Seohyun paused. "You don't have to. I'll be fine."

San tsk-ed at her, turning back in his seat. Seohyun stared at the back of his head. Yunho dragged his seat towards Seohyun as he said, "You both are getting along rather well."

"Well," Seohyun slumped back in her seat, "he keeps talking."

Yunho laughed at that, "He's been thinking of names for your cat too."

"I won't approve if I don't like it. He knows that, right?"

"I'll give a good name, don't worry," San turned back in his seat, having overheard the conversation.

"I don't have much expectations from you, to be honest," Seohyun said casually, tucking her hair behind her ear, "I think Jongho there could give a much better name. He looks like he actually uses his brain."

Yunho and San looked at each other and giggled at that. Her observation was true. Jongho was infamously known as the 'only braincell' of the group. Yunho told her that, which actually made her smile.

"See? I know how to spot the smart ones."

"Who do you think is the most dumb one out of us?" San asked, attempting to make puppy eyes so she won't pick him. Seohyun looked at each one of them slowly, then said, "I haven't talked to you all much, but Wooyoung looks like he doesn't really like to use his brain."

The pair of them laughed so loud at that, catching the rest of the boys' attention as Seohyun tried to shut them up. But they were in tears, slapping their thighs as they laughed.

"Can the both of you stop? San you're second dumbest, just so you know."

That just made them laugh harder. The boys slowly came to them, muttering how they wanted to know what was 'so funny that they were howling'.

"She thinks the smartest one of us is Jongho, and the dumbest is Wooyoung," Yunho finally explained.

Wooyoung was laughing at first until he realized and yelled "HEY!" Jongho giggled, looking satisfied.

"Your brain processing is just a bit slow, that's all. No offence," Seohyun muttered.

"I mean, she's not wrong..." Hongjoong made an impressed face.

"Where do I stand?" Mingi asked, "I'm the second smartest right?"

"From below, yes," Seohyun said, making them all laugh. They all insisted that she rank them, and then they'd tell her if she was right about this.

"I don't actually think you're dumb, okay? This is just a joke, don't take it seriously-"

"I know, we all know," Wooyoung assured her, smiling warmly, "carry on."

"...Okay," Seohyun hesitated a bit then started, "Hongjoong is smartest obviously but Jongho is quite smart too? He seems more mature. Then Yeosang or Seonghwa, San somewhere in the middle depending on how awake he is, not sure about Yunho, but Mingi and Wooyoung... well they're pretty close. Because they don't like using their brains..."

"Most of it is accurate," Hongjoong agreed, "Yunho is more lucky than smart."

"Ah.. must be nice to be god's favourite," Seohyun scoffed. "But hey, I like Mingi and Wooyoung. They make you all laugh. That's more important."

Mingi and Wooyoung clapped at that, finally approving.

------------

It was finally after school, when San insisted on accompanying her to her home so she would get there 'safe', that they encountered the old ghost right outside her house.

"Get behind me" San protectively pushed Seohyun behind her.

"I appreciate the gesture, San, but this won't work. Use your brain."

"Oh... Right," San scratched his head and Jiwoo, who had also been with them the entire time, stepped forward.

"We can talk this out like civil human beings and ghosts. Then you can decide if you really want to kill Seohyun."

"NOONA!" San shouted in disbelief but she dismissed him with a wave of her hand.

"Very touching, all this, but I agree, we can have a normal conversation," the old man said.

"How long have you been a ghost exactly?"

"So long that I have forgotten my purpose, girl," the ghost snickered. "I heard from some older ghosts that killing the mediator by our own hands would make us move on."

Seohyun saw San and Jiwoo both tense. "And you thought you'd check?"

The old man nodded. "The mediator before you... Some other ghost killed him. It was some sort of revenge. He was supposed to help me."

"I could help some other way, because killing me doesn't really sound like a solution to me... Like, think about it. It doesn't make sense."

"Are you sure you aren't saying that because you don't want to die yet?" The old man smirked.

"Oh please," Seohyun faked swagger, "If I had an option, I'd kill me too." San shook his head at her.

"Very well. I'll hear you out."

Seohyun explained that she knew an old shaman who helped ghosts with no purpose to move on. It took some convincing and death threats to Seohyun, but she finally made him realize that it might be his one and only option now, and that he should just 'stop being a pain and move the hell on'.

"If it turns out to be a scam, I promise I'll come for you, whether it helps me move on or not."

"Please do," Seohyun replied nonchalantly. The ghost signaled to Jiwoo and they disappeared.

San turned to see that Seohyun was now leaning against the wall, wiping sweat from her forehead as she sighed in relief. "Nice acting."

Seohyun looked at him once before drinking from her water bottle. She had noticed the disapproval in his voice. She stared at him when she was done, and he stared back for a good few seconds before he finally sighed loudly.

"How can you be so... stupid at times like these?"

"How was that stupid? I talked to him and poured sense into him. And it worked. I don't see the problem."

"Does your life mean nothing to you?" San asked.

"San, chill, it was just acting-"

"Those ghosts can touch you!" San was louder this time, making Seohyun flinch a little, "They can hurt you like any other human, hell, they can hurt you in worse ways than that! How can you be so relaxed when gambling with your life?!"

Seohyun watched as San ran a hand through his hair frustratingly, clearly holding himself back. His whole body was tense, his jaw was set and he was not having any of it.

"Are you done?" Seohyun asked, making sure it came out soft. San shook his head.

"I've been seeing ghosts my entire life. My mom took me to all sorts of people for help. You think I don't know how dangerous it is? I learned from the worst. And I'm old enough and experienced enough to know how to handle rogue ghosts like these. Trust me on that."

"I know you are, Seohyun," San admitted, "I just hate it when you talk about your life like it means nothing. Like you'd have no problem if something happened."

"Let's just say I haven't had something I'd like to live for yet," Seohyun said.

San locked eyes with her. "I'll make it change now."

"What?"

"There's so much to life. I know you haven't had the best life, but you have people you can rely on now. And I'll make sure you'll have something to live for."

"What do you live for?" Seohyun asked, curious.

San smiled. "My parents, my grandparents, my friends. And myself."

"Doesn't it... get too much? Living for all of them... must be hard. And boring."

"What's hard and boring is when I had nothing to live for," San said, "When life became repetitive, and I didn't really love anyone, including myself. But now... I have something to look forward to. And no matter if it gets hard, I'll have people to lean on. So ask yourself this, Seohyun. Is it hard living like me or is it hard living like you?"

San knew his words had crossed her, so he locked eyes with her for a second longer before he waved and left for home, leaving Seohyun wondering if she really had wasted all her life repelling people, and if it really had been a wise decision.

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[boop-le-snoot]

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Star is getting better, Sam is getting a friend, Stephen is a Sad White Boy™. A layover chapter. I'm not very happy with how this turned out but hey, it's an update and its still pandemi-lovato outside, we gotta be gentle on ourselves. PA turned out to be way more serious than I planned it to be anyways and I think that's very yeehaw of me to expand my writing from the usual almost-crackfics that I write. Love you all 3000.

Days stretched like a piece of chewed up gum, bleeding into one another at a snail's pace, one dull grey NYC afternoon after the other. The hospital wing I was forced to camp out in Tony's tower was top notch but everything, starting from the constant beeping to the sharp, chemical smells, irritated me, and what little strength I had to communicate was mostly spent on listening to Sam's tall tales.

Odette had stopped by shortly after the first wave of weakness had set in; no, I didn't dramatically faint or suddenly develop third stage cancer, I simply turned into a near-catatonic vegetable, devoid of any emotion or will to exist. My bones were like Jell-o, my thoughts - sluggish, sparse clouds that rarely swam in the grey plains of my overtired mind.

My boss was fussing over me for hours, I heard faint echoes of her and Stephen's argumentative conversations before she flipped out and shut the door to my hospital room, strong aromas of incense and smoke briefly overshadowing the bleach and plastic stench every hospital seemed to have. I

I became mostly coherent after her ministrations; enough to see the dark circles under her eyes and the ghastly tone of her skin. More often than not, I couldn't even properly focus my vision, things like using the bathroom and eating three times a day were the worst chores I'd ever had to do.

My body was trying to convince me to wither away, to simply allow the vessel for my spirit to become one with the Earth once more. I had no energy to process what had happened on the foreign planet; when I slept, I didn't dream, I didn't have nightmares, time just flowed like a fast, untamed river, my weary body drifting along the calmer streams of the shoreline and occasionally bumping into a stone of daily routine.

My stubbornness, however, was an inherent part of me. I had considered, many times, simply giving up; the voices in my head whispered at me their poisonous ideas. It would be so easy, to fall asleep and never wake up. They baited me with the promises of afterlife, of golden halls and spaces full of light and warmth.

Sam had started spending a lot of time at my bedside absolutely unprompted; sometimes, he'd hold my hand, gentle, tender fingers drawing senseless squiggles on the inside of my palm. Faint echoes of his aura told me he was worried for me, but also grateful for what I did for Stephen and angry at someone. I tried not to think about the last part: I could sense their pity and their unease every time one of his teammates stopped by my hospital room.

A healthy-looking young woman spending most of her days blankly staring at the wall wasn't a picture-postcard view. Sam wasn't bothered by it in the slightest, and when I finally clawed my way out of the dredges to be able to answer questions with a simple 'yes' or 'no', he promptly lit up, speaking to me in a happy tone that almost wasn't forced.

Tony stopped by, too, usually late in the evening, when he thought I and everyone else was asleep. He sat next to me, his intelligent brown eyes fixed on my face for twenty, thirty minutes at a time before he'd stroke my hair or run a hot, calloused palm over my arm, and then took his leave, slow, shuffling footsteps quietly receding into the hallways. I really didn't know what to think about Tony, he had always been quite quirky, but his gestures were... Nice.

Stephen... Him, his actions, I understood the least. He had argued with Tony, argued with Odette and I was sure I heard him and the Black Widow scream at each other during lunch time. Sometimes I thought I heard his voice, at night, the darkness behind my eyelids suddenly bursting with golden sparks and green bokeh but when I finally mustered up the strength to open my eyes, the empty, white walls were all that greeted me.

Stephen never stopped by, I rarely heard his voice outside of my room and almost always it was one bickering or another, mostly with Sam muttering a few choice words as he noisily sat down on the chair next to me. As much as I hated to admit it, it bothered me. Near-death experiences tended to leave a strong imprint on the human mind and whether Stephen liked it or not, we were connected for life.

"Then Steve, the dumbass, just jumps out of the plane. No chute, no warning," Sam's voice, drifting between fond and annoyed, snapped me out of my stupor. "Robot-brain curses, yells at his boyfriend like he can hear him and just... Does the same fucking thing," the exasperation made a tiny spark of mirth settle in me. I flexed my fingers despite the dull ache, gripping Sam's fingers in my palm. I didn't need to see him to know he immediately perked up. "Meanwhile I'm standing there with my wings, trying to figure out where in life did I take the wrong turn to end up with these two idiots."

"You should get them," I swallowed, my throat dry, my vocal cords tense from the lack of use. "One of those... Backpack leashes," the words were a battle to get out, it was a fight with a brick wall to force my brain to string sounds into a sentence, but I persisted.

"Should I say 'welcome back'?" Sam's optimism is cautious.

"Gettin' there," I forced my eyes to meet his, to see the life bustling in him. To feel alive, even by proxy.

"I should get Strange here, he's been running himself ragged these days, tryin' to figure out how to bring you back," Sam's free hand scrambled for his cell as I struggled to raise my eyebrows. "Yeah, yeah, I was as surprised as you were, Tony barely gets the wizard to sleep and eat."

Faint pangs of shame wormed into my headspace, for assuming the worst when I knew that his façade of vitriol and sarcasm was just that - a wall to protect himself. My rediscovery of the ability to feel, even if it was gooey shame, grounded me in this plane of existence, forcing me to face reality and return to it.

"I feel like shit," for once in my life, I allowed myself to openly, publicly complain about my state of being.

"Yeah, I couldn't tell," Sam's tone was refreshingly teasing. "Odette and Strange explained what you did. Well, sort of," the man scratched his chin. "I understood about half of it, really, but what matters is that you were badass as fuck!"

I struggled to hold onto that sense of being present. "Well, it wasn't my choice," I felt the need to state the fact. "I'm a conductor, of sorts."

Sam's eyebrows rose, both of his hands encompassing my lax palm. "Wizard-man said you consciously directed the energies, or whatever."

I felt the tiniest laugh bubble up from the bottom of my throat, my dry, chapped lips stretched on their own accord. "Because it tickled and itched. It was annoying," I belatedly suspected that there was something... Off, about my explanation.

Sam's gaping expression, exasperated disbelief, put me on edge. "You thought that radioactive ash tickles and severe nerve damage itches?" His head shook from side to side, as if he was trying to get rid of a persistent mosquito.

"Um," I had the decency to look away. "I didn't know it was radioactive," I meekly supplied as the door to my hospital room all but flew open.

Stephen looked - not much better than me, if I had to guess, with the exception of a highly anxious face instead of the (probably) dead inside high school drama club goth that I looked like. The Cape billowed behind him despite a lack of any wind, wiggling as my eyes widened in response to the fabric moving on its own.

"You're okay," Stephen's baritone had me snapping up to meet his stormy eyes with a speed I wasn't aware I possessed at this stage of my recovery. The sorcerer stood silently, eyeing me in turn.

"I'll go get some coffee," Sam delicately interjected, giving my hand a brief squeeze and all but running out the door.

"Radioactive?" I repeated the question that bothered me the most. Shock seized my chest as I fully faced the implications of our impromptu adventure, but I welcomed the acrid sensations, desperate to feel anything at all.

"Yes," the sorcerer took a few long, hurried strides before crashing into the chair. "I didn't notice at first, but then you grabbed my hand and," a jerky inhale followed the confession. "I felt the healing burn, I felt how your body rejected the particles," his speech stuttered. Slender, gloved fingers pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'd be dead in an hour, maybe, if not for..."

I was equally at a loss for words, it seemed. "Weren't we... Harmful to others when we..?" I struggled to form my thoughts.

"You burnt it all off," Stephen replied curtly, puzzled. "Your whole being rejected everything that came from that wretched place. Tony insisted we run tests, do scans. Neither of us have even residual radiation from past x-rays," Stephen's fingers twitched. "But that's not all."

"Your hands?" I offered, remembering some of Sam's words.

A sharp inhale coming from the sorcerer answered my question, if not in detail, and the man himself hesitated to reply for a reason I did not know. I didn't undo the damage, this much I knew was true. He swallowed loudly, eyes firmly planted on the wall opposite me. "They do not hurt anymore," the words were barely louder than a whisper.

I chewed on my lip, slowly, idly, letting Stephen process whatever bothered him that much. He should have been happy, or so I thought, that there was one less thing in this world that had the potential of giving him a headache. "Good," I simply replied, attempting to shrug.

"No, you don't understand," he suddenly lifted his eyes, staring at me hotly. "You did so at the expense of your own life, your lifespan, you energy, your ability to have child-"

I stopped his rant, lifting up one shaky, and my feeble gesture instantly made the tired, broken man deflate into someone that reeked of shame and regret. His shoulders dropped, head briefly touching the side of my bed. For all purposes, I nearly acquired a lapful of kicked puppy Stephen.

Mustering up my very last dregs of energy, I scoffed in his direction: "Don't fucking tell me what to do, wizard," before the familiar weight of apathy began taking over me again. One sluggish thought after the other, I came to a conclusion that he was experiencing a sort of survivor's guilt, except I didn't die.

Or maybe I did? Maybe I'd left some unknown, invisible part of me on the irradiated plains of a foreign world, coming home as a shell of my former self. To their eyes, at least, it could have looked the part; not too long after Stephen's departure, I mustered up the strength and the courage to look into a mirror, to properly see the damage I'd done to myself.

An ashen undertone to my skin, my eyes had sunken deeply into my surprisingly angular face. I had the look of a person who'd survived famine and torture, at least. I appeared to be as dull and disgusting as I felt. For what felt the first time in ages, I carefully, slowly ran myself a hot bath with some of the fancy toiletries placed in the bathroom, because of course Tony would have a full size bath in a hospital room, the steaming, herbal-smelling liquid almost instantaneously giving a boost to my blood flow and speeding up the living energies within my exhausted form.

Sam was waiting for me when I stepped out heated and pruney, a lopsided tilt to his lips and the mouthwatering smell of coffee gathering saliva in my mouth for the first time in days.

"Stephen needs to see a fucking therapist," I grouched, sitting down on the bed, bundled up in a fluffy bathrobe.

Wilson's responding eyeroll was pure reflex. "They all do," he reached out for his thermos, having noticed me eyeing it. A paper cup was promptly filled and given to me. "I can recommend a few, by the way. That specialise in unusual circumstances," he eyed me with kindness, gesturing towards the hospital room with a wide wave of his hand.

I chewed on my lip. "I don't think it will help much, at least right now, since all my hurts are- eh, magical," I shrugged. "I gotta figure out how to stop my limbs from feeling like cooked spaghetti noodles first." The coffee tasted like the usual hospital sludge but somehow, after being devoid of all feeling, it was the single best thing I've had in the past week.

"Seems like a solid plan," Sam agreed. "Your boss is a scary lady, by the way. And I mean it respectfully."

The corners of my mouth tilted up. "Yeah, but she's also very experienced and very kind. She knows her stuff."

Sam quickly looked to the side and as I followed the direction of his stare, i spied a pile of empty Tupperware boxes, causing me to lift an eyebrow at the suddenly bashful man.

"What?" He tried for indignant but it came out as a squeak. "I'm a man, god dammit! I am given free food, I take the free food!"

The realization set in. "She's feeding you now? Did you hit on my boss to get food, Sam?" I wagged my fingers, enjoying the face expressions the man was making, probably, a little more than I should. He looked like a right bird when disgruntled, all puffed up and glaring.

"No!" He almost shrieked. "She cornered me, said I was doing God's work by sitting and talking to you! She just started bringing those... Casseroles, every time she stopped by," the agitation in his voice was quite funny to me. "Not like it's a chore, I actually like the peace and quiet. You've been the best listener I've had in the past year," Sam's grin grew more genuine. "And I don't have to see RoboCop's mug all day or listen to someone argue over the best pasta shape."

"Your house sounds like a nightmare," I supplied conversationally, remembering my own peculiar place and the set of rules and- SHIT, I belatedly realized, someone might went to my apartment to get my stuff and gotten in trouble. "Sam, who went to my place to get my stuff?" I asked, trying to force down the bubbling unease.

"Some lady stopped by, I think her name was also Sam?" He quietly questioned. "Had two kids with her, the boy kept staring at me like I'd stolen his lunch money," the man finished off his coffee, gathering the trash and noisily throwing it in the bin.

"Yeah, that's my neighbor. And Armin is a cool little dude, he's just very shy," I offered absent-mindedly, inwardly breathing a massive sigh of relief.

"He looks like the boy from 'I see dead people' movie," Sam deadpanned, opening a large drawer and extracting my gym bag from it. "I'll leave you to get dressed," we nodded to each other before Sam left the room, phone to his ear and a relaxed atmosphere around his whole being radiating warmth and contentment. That was a nice change from the tense, grim atmosphere of the days past. I could get used to it, could re-learn how to let myself feel like a living being again.

I was eager to return home; stepping in through the portal, my living room greeted me exactly the way I left it the day I went to work, a few books scattered on the couch, my fleece blanket hanging halfway off the couch. Stephen hovered behind me as I set my bag down on the table, immediately surveying the state of my plants and my altar.

"Do you need, um, help with anything?" He was fidgeting, all but vibrating behind me.

Apparently, Sam had talked some sense into the wizard because he stopped by a few times since that day, for a short small-talk or a cup of coffee, the kicked puppy look back on full display.

I told Sam off, of course, saying that I was an adult and so was Strange, but something in his knee-jerk reaction told me that he was so used to playing referee, it didn't even register with him that I might be able to handle my own business. I told Sam that much, taking his hand in me: I wanted a friend, not a parent, not a therapist. It went pretty smoothly.

"No, not really," I figured I could water my own plants and vacuum my own floors. My phone buzzed at that moment, a number saved in my phone as "Tony 😎" coming through with an absolutely outrageous message.

"I'm bringing pizza in 20. You better have Netflix. Tell Dumbledore to pick up his phone."

I promptly thrust the phone in Stephen's face, who instantly developed an equally annoyed and fond expression, as he searched the numerous pockets of his robe for the sleek, light StarkPhone. "Resistance is futile," he sighed, sitting down on the couch as I went to change into something fresh and water my plants while Stephen flicked through my Netflix. I heard him mutter to himself: "Grey's anatomy? Sixth season? Oh my God," with the tone of a man tortured.

"I had a roomie in college who majored in Medical History," I snorted. "When she had a bad day, she'd absolutely pick apart every single thing in the show. From the doctor's misconduct to the way a surgeon was holding the scalpel," I explained, seeing Stephen's eyes sparkle with amusement. "She was absolutely vicious and it was the most hilarious thing."

The sorcerer stroked his chin, leaning back into the couch. "That's acceptable. All medical shows are rubbish," he stated firmly. His phone beeped, causing him to sigh and conjure up a portal within seconds, in the corner of my apartment I had aptly designated to be the landing pad to myself. Tony stepped in, a bottle of wine and three steaming pizza boxes in hand. Smiling at his boyfriend, Stephen turned to me with a curious look: "What did you major in?"

Taglist: @couldntbedamned @mikariell95 @letsby @sleep-i-ness @toomanyrobins @mostly-marvel-musings @persephonehemingway @schemefrenzy @lillsxd @bluecrazedandbeautiful @slothspaghettiwrites @xoxabs88xox @secretly-a-weeb @stuckybarton

[moonstruckholland]

Can We Go Back To Bed? (t.h)

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Word count: 2,497

Warnings: angst, fluff if you squint, flashbacks

A/N: this was supposed to come out a couple of months ago 😅 but here she is, the first one shot of my Cosmic Soul series! Shout out to @fangirlwithasweettooth and @hollandsamor for being amazing and reading this over for me! I really hope y'all like it 💕

Tom had never felt as far from you as he did lying next to you tonight.

Lying next to you was honestly a bit of an overstatement. With the way you were laying, there was enough space between you to fit a whole other person on the bed. You were curled up on your side, so close to the edge, Tom was worried with one wrong move you’d just roll onto the floor. He considered reaching out, moving next you, but for the first time since you started dating he was truly scared of being rejected, of the pain he knew he'd feel if you pulled away from him.

He wanted nothing more than to touch you, kiss you, anything. He just wanted to feel close to you. Instead he quietly got up, careful not to wake you as he made his way out the room, the whole night replaying in his head.

Everything was off from the moment he walked through the door.

“Princess? I'm home!"

Flowers in hand, he walked through the apartment, looking for you. He heard a door open and a soft, “Tom?” come from the bathroom as he set his luggage down in your bedroom.

“I’m here, baby.”

You poked your head out of the doorway, hair wet and matted, a towel wrapped around your body, “Tom! Hi!”

He had expected you to run up to him and jump into his arms, like you always did before.

Instead, you casually walked over, kissing his cheek as if he hadn't been gone for months, "You didn't tell me you were coming home!"

He hadn't thought much about in the moment, but now, he could tell something was just wrong.

He knew something would be different, that was the price that came with being gone for months at a time. But not with you.

You'd always been a constant for Tom, giving him a wonderful sense of security he lacked in his hectic life. He knew no matter he could count on coming home to your warm and loving embrace.

Or at least he did.

The rest of the night had been just as weird as when he came in. You had your normal movie marathon like you did every time Tom came home, but this time around that feeling that you were out of reach was in the back of Tom's head.

You were too far, barely touching him, and you sure as hell didn't say a word to him. The normal joking around was gone, replaced with silence despite the sounds of the movie surrounding the both of you.

You had asked him questions every once in a while, about his flight, if he was tired or hungry. If he hadn't been paying too much attention, he would've thought it was just you being your normal, caring self, but it was too polite, like he was just someone visiting.

He couldn't stop dwelling on it no matter how hard he tried and that's how he found himself walking around the apartment, coming to realize it just as different as you were.

It was all little things and maybe if he didn't feel the need to look so closely, he probably never would've noticed, but he couldn't help it now.

There were flowers everywhere, fake ones in pretty vases all around because the real ones made you sad when they inevitably died. Tom could almost picture how excited you must've been setting up each vase and how long it probably took you to decide where to put them because you were such a perfectionist.

The blankets and pillows on the couch were different too, cute little sayings stitched into each one, and Tom wondered when you'd gotten then. You used to always tell him when you got new things. When was the last time you'd mentioned going to Hobby Lobby or Target?

What stuck out to Tom the most were the pictures you had. Some of the old pictures of the two of you were replaced with people he'd never seen before, he assumed co-workers, though he couldn't recall you telling him about anyone in the photos with you.

He felt a pang of guilt. How much had he missed?

He finally came across a familiar picture, one Harrison had taken of the two of you when you weren't looking the day you moved into this apartment together. You and Tom were smiling goofily at each other, pulling out things from a box on the floor.

Tom couldn't help smiling as he thought back to that day, to how happy you were.

"Tommy, baby, you have to be careful carrying that box. It has all our plates and I don't think you're gonna want to eat off a napkin." You warned him as you watched him carry the heavy box on his own, despite you and Haz both offering to help.

"I'll be careful, princess, I promise," he said confidently before somehow tripping over his own feet and hitting the wall, the plates clattering loudly

Tom looked back to see you rolling your eyes as if you knew he would do exactly that. He quickly put the box down on the floor, finding the box cutter on the kitchen counter and opening it up to make sure he hadn't broken anything.

He let out a sigh of relief before yelling out, "They're all okay!"

You shook your head at him, but Tom could see a smile on your face as you tried not to laugh.

You approached him, mumbling something about putting the plates away before Tom could break them.

Harrison was behind you, carrying a box without any complications, "It's not too late for me to take him back, y/n."

"I might just take you up on that, Haz."

"Hey!" Tom pouted, "You don't mean that do you, baby?"

You wrapped your arms around him, standing up on your tippy toes to plant a big kiss on his cheek, "Never, honey, I don't know what I'd do without you."

He put a hand on your waist, pressing a kiss to your lips before saying, "Good thing you're stuck with me then."

You were about to say something when you were rudely off by Haz throwing a napkin at you, "Oi, you two, come help me unpack your things please."

You pulled away from Tom, your laughter filling the room as you went to help. Tom watched, a warmth filling him as he thought about how lucky he was to be living this with you.

'What happened?’ He wondered with a sigh, the fond memories fading, leaving him with an achy feeling in his chest as he plopped down on the couch.

The sound of the bedroom door opening startled him, pulling him out of thoughts completely.

“Baby?” You shuffled over to him sleepily, eyes squinting at the bright light, “What are you doing up so late?”

“Couldn’t sleep.”

You nodded, taking a seat beside him, laying your head on the soft cushion.

“What’s wrong, Tommy?”

Tommy. It was a nickname he had grown to love over the years.

“My Tommy,” you’d always say, usually right caressing his face fondly or pressing your lips to his.

He hadn’t realized just how much he missed hearing it or how long it’d been since the last time it came from your lips.

He didn't answer your question, looking down at his fingers. What was he supposed to say? "Hey, babe, I feel like our relationship is falling apart and I was wondering if you felt the same?"

No, he absolutely couldn't say that, but he couldn't just not say anything at all.

You gently touched his face, grabbing his drifting attention once more, "Baby, talk me. What's going on?"

He debated with his thoughts for a moment longer, before finally deciding to work up the courage to speak what was on his mind.

"I miss you."

You gave him a little smile, "I'm right here, silly."

"Are you?"

One question and Tom started to wonder if he should've kept his mouth shut, the hurt and confusion that immediately came over your face causing his heart to ache more than he thought was possible.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Y/n, you're sitting right in front me and I still feel like you're a million miles away."

You were speechless, not expecting those words to come out of his mouth.

"I, um, I don't know what you mean," you stammered out quickly, clearly lying.

Of course you knew what he meant, how could you not? A feeling of remorse flooded your body, you knew you'd been a bit distant, but you didn't know it'd been this bad or noticable.

It'd been so long since you really got to talk to Tom, both of you swamped with work and social lives, your paths barely crossed anymore. Before you knew it, your once amazing relationship, full of great communication, had been reduced to superficial and empty conversations.

"You don't? So nothing feels different between us right now?"

"I don't know what to say, Tom," you sat up, as if to get a better look at him, but you didn't meet his eyes, "Yes, something's different. Did you expect everything to be exactly the way you left it months ago?"

"No, I just," he ran his fingers through his hair, and you could tell he was choosing his words carefully, "I wish you cared more."

'Fuck,' it was like being punched in the gut. Tom meant the absolute world to you and for him to think you didn't care? It broke your heart.

"I care, Tom," you practically whispered, your voice full of sadness.

He didn't say a word, nodding instead, as if he wasn't convinced.

You sat in silence, for what felt like forever, just staring at everywhere but each other before Tom finally said something.

"Do you remember when you, Haz, Z, and I would get super drunk and stay up all night playing Mario Kart?"

You smiled, for a second you could almost imagine the four of you sitting on the couch, yelling and laughing, having the time of your lives, "As if I could ever forget, even drunk I could kick all of your asses.”

"That’s because you would always cheat!"

"I would not!"

Tom jokingly rolled his eyes, and for a moment the tension was gone. You were back to normal, all of your fears and worries ceased to exist. It was like you’d gone back to a time where things were simpler.

The illusion came crashing down the second you softly and very sadly said, "I miss those days."

Tom almost wanted to agree with you, to continue to remicine the past with you and go back to the feeling of ease the two of you had just seconds ago. Instead he asked, "What are we going to do?"

You didn't meet his eyes, "I don't know."

“I think I should stop working for a while, take some time off.”

For a moment, a part of you considered what that would mean. Tom would be home more often, you could actually see him, spend time with him. That was the same part of you that wanted to beg him to stay every time he had to leave. It was begging you to encourage him, telling you it’d be the perfect opportunity to rekindle your relationship.

Another part of you knew better though. It’d be selfish to ask Tom to flush all his hard work down the drain for you. You weren’t worth his career.

“No, absolutely not,” letting the latter side fuel you, “Babe, you can’t just stop working.”

“Why not?”

"You've worked so hard, I’m not going to let you throw that away for me."

'I'm not worth it,' is what your mind was practically yelling at him. You truly believed you weren't. You were just one person, how could you compare to the years of work and effort he'd put into his career?

"Do you love me?"

The question almost caught you off guard, of course you loved him, a lack of love for the man standing in front of you was definitely not the problem.

"More than anything."

"Then, please, angel, let me do this."

Tom had a look in eyes, one full of determination and you knew he had already made up his mind, but you couldn't help feeling like you had to convince him otherwise.

"Acting is your dream, Tom."

“No, you and I,” he motioned between the two of you, tears starting to well up in his eyes, “together. That’s my dream.”

"I don't want to lose you."

"Hey," you grabbed his face gently, using your thumbs to caress his face soothingly, wiping his tears away, "I'm not going anywhere."

"I'm not ready, baby, I'm not,” he choked on a sob, heavy tears falling freely down his face now.

You didn't say anything, you just wrapped your arms around him, holding him tight against your chest. You hoped your actions spoke the words you wanted to speak, but didn’t know how. You loved Tom more than anything and seeing him hurting, seeing your relationship fail first hand was killing you.

You started crying as the full extent of the situation finally hit you. Your relationship was failing. It was failing and you didn’t know what to do or how to fix it.

You felt like you couldn't breathe, like there was something heavy, crushing you. You were glad to have Tom there, his presence the only comfort you had at the moment.

You weren’t sure how long you stayed like that in each other’s arms, your sobs eventually turning to soft cries before stopping all together, finally letting you catch your breath.

Tom untangled himself from you, his puffy eyes meeting yours, "Can we go back to bed?"

"Of course, Tommy."

You wiped the remaining tears off his face, then the ones on your own, before grabbing his hand and gently leading him back to your room, back to your bed, back to where he belonged.

You climbed in right after him, immediately settling into your designated spot in his arms, your back against his chest, his arms wrapped around your waist. It was almost normal.

Silence engulfed you immediately, leaving only the sound of your soft breaths and the loud rain outside.

There was so much you wanted to say, but you were scared. Everything was falling apart right in front of your eyes and the thought of admitting it terrified you. Almost as much as the thought of losing Tom all together.

But you knew that if you didn’t speak up now, there might not be another opportunity to. There might not be a relationship left to save.

So, you worked up the courage to lace your fingers through his, holding onto him tightly because in some ways your life did depend on it and you whispered, "I'm not ready to wake up either."

Tagging: @fangirlwithasweettooth @bravest-at-heart @constellatinq @hoe-forharry @devildisguiseasangel @ravenclawmarvel @hollandsamor @cosmicholland @fairytaleparker @hollandsosterfield @now-imagine @officiallyunofficialperson @stealth-spiderr @xxxxdelenaxxxx @its-the-aerieljeane @petersstarcadet @babebenhardy @antoouu @lovinnholland @kxrtwxgner @sleepybesson @brookeelee98 @awkwardfangirl2014 @nedthegay @petersmparker @parkeroffline @snjms02 @the-queen-procrastinator @tomhollandsumbrella @spideyosterfield @thollandx @styles-balor4eva @80sthottie @marvelobsessedteenager @marshyrebelcloud @sixwyrxstuff @tomshufflepuff @jillanaholland @itscaminow @howdyherron @in-a-lot-of-fandoms-tbh @undiadeestos

[silentmajesticfox]

Falling In Love With Chrollo Lucilfer

(Rose is someone from Chrollo's past, specifically Meteor City. In this story, Rose and Chrollo, along with the troupe, rekindle their relationship. Well, try to. Rose is in an arranged marriage to protect and support her little sister. This story is set a little bit before the York New Ark, and during the beginning of it. and will go throughout the ark as well.

the picture on here I found is from PINTEREST AND IS NOT MINE. whoever drew it is spectacular and amazing. I'm obsessed..

**TW !**(Trigger Warning!) please do not read if you do not agree or are triggered by - domestic abuse (this will be from the arranged marriage) - depression/suicidal thoughts -substance abuse. Now I will not go into full detail especially for the domestic abuse, it's just to go into the story for beginning chapters. possibly flashbacks . So please, again, don't read if this will trigger you. Also, this will probably be pretty violent through some chapters. thank you for reading and your time.)

Moral Of The Story

Rose never thought she'd be in this situation, unhappy and rather disappointed with her life decisions. She was sure at first, that she had calculated this and this plan was fool proof, however, she was very wrong. She might have been in love, or what she thought was love - however it had escalated to a burning hatred and a bitter after taste. A blind love turned cold due to her own inability to see this would be the result.

Sitting there applying too much make-up to cover up her black eye and a few other bruises, she would not let her get that down. She had to stay strong for her sister, Daisy. Daisy is the reason Rose is still thriving and okay through all of this. Everything she does is for her little sister. She would die for her. Literally and emotionally/mentally. She finished applying the foundation, to move on and do her eyeshadow, eyeliner, and a very thick coat of mascara, her eyes shining a ice blue.  She was wearing a simple, tight fit dress, in the color of burgundy. Her long, curly, dark burgundy hair matched the attire. With black heels. Looking at all of the jewelry her 'husband' had gotten her, maybe to buy her love back or his way of saying "sorry, not sorry." Rose huffed staring at them, not wanting this anymore, on the verge of a mental breakdown, memories for each gift being a constant reminder of why it was gifted.

Daisy soon walked in, her blonde hair and matching blue eyes light up, running to Rose, hugging her tightly from behind. Rose being able to handle pain well, just smiled and whipped her head around.

"You look beautiful Daisy." She stated, lookking at her little sisters beautiful pink ball gown dress. Only at the age of 13, it is an intense nostalgic reminder for Rose to see how big her baby sister was getting, saying she was the one whole raised her.

"Thank you!! You look beautiful too, sissy!" Daisy said, she was always so happy, and maybe some of that happiness is what Rose needed in the moment. "Are you ready to go to the ball, tomorrow's your birthday you know!"

"Yes, and let's head down there now. Only you and me will celebrate." Rose said, getting up from her vanity. "I will meet you downstairs, okay?"

"Okay, you better not take forever or I'll be mad at you." Her sister said, glaring at her sister, a laugh fallowing after before running out like a full speed train. Rose wished she could be young, hoping her sister would forget her birthday, yet she felt her mood lighten up knowing someone remembered.

Rose opened her drawer, opening a certain empty face powder jar. Grabbing The hidden key, she opened her one drawer with her bourbon. She had a bad habit formed, to think- or to forget all the bad things. She pulled out the bottle, opening it, and drinking it as if it were water. After a few more chugs, she put away and always made sure to lock it and hide her key. Walking out of the room, and closing the door. She then went downstairs into the lobby, then outside to a cold York New night.

Walking up to the limousine- she opened the door to sit by her sister, her husband sitting across from them.

"Why aren't you dressed up more? And no Jewelry?" Fred asked. (Guessing a name) Rose looked up at him, trying to think of a nice way to keep conversation. It was always those type of questions or degrading comments, not a compliment or 'how was your day?'.

"Mm... Not really feeling like wearing jewelry.. and as a matter of fact I can wear what I want." She stated back seriously. If there was a way to press his buttons, this was one of them. However, as she stared coldly back at his glare, she wasn't scared. She already knew whatever she said would bite her back in the ass.

It was late last night, Daisy had went to sleep and Rose was putting on her blue night gown. Fred walked in, boozed up and he had a violent glint in his eyes. One that unsettles her the second he walked in the room. "Rose, why wouldn't you spend any time with me and my friends tonight?.." he asked. She might have been a little drunk herself, but she knew she would have to stand her ground. Rose snorted almost, shaking her head before replying. "Because I have no need to hang out with people like you, I already told you I was done with everything that has to do with you, when your friends try so hard to be my friends.. I know they are fraud of their true intentions.." she started, so calmly that it got under Fred's skin. He walked up to her, grabbing her wrist and trying to pull her closer to him.  "No that's not it, Tell me the truth." Fred said raising his voice. She could smell the alcohol coming from his break. She wouldn't flinch, but retaliate by attempting to shove him. "This.. This right here is why! Fred! I told you I was done, give me back my Nen! I don't love you anymore, why don't you ask yourself and the other girls you were hooking up with nights before! That's why I hat-" and before she could exclaim her feelings, she got struck in the face. An echo through the halls, and it to be honest it had gone from slaps to a full fisted punch. "Maybe it's because you're terrible, you only want me for my money, and those women are more than you'll ever be, Rose! Beautiful, unlike you." He screamed, at this point she was trying to hit him back as he was man handling her. This continued for about 30 minutes, and in the end, he had won. She was exhausted and bruised, he soon left the room, to do whatever. Rose knew he had other women, but being told by someone who once loved her and she loved a great deal, she started to fall down the wall, sobbing and releasing all of the pent up pain and feelings from the past months. Hoping one day, she would retrieve her Nen from him.. in the morning he had came to apologise and give her a diamond necklace.

Rose was spacing off, thinking of what had occurred. He can't say she didn't try, and her feelings and anger was running wild. If she had her Nen, this would be a different story. However, when they got married, she let him take her crystal ball. In which all her Nen was in. It was placed in a vault in his penthouse suite. She had tried many times to retrieve it, but only would get knocked out and brought to her room. One of the reasons she sleeps in her sisters room now. Daisy tugged on Roses dress, to bring her out of her thought. She looked over at her sister, a fake smile creeping on her lips and she hugged her. Fred had also been in thought, but let the conversation drop. He had plans for her later, however.

When they arrived, it was a big, fancy building. Alike many others in York New. Daisy was the first to get out, grabbing Roses hand and almost running to the doors, leaving Fred in the dust. "Slow down, Daisy, I can't run ask fast as you." Rose told her sister, however it was a lie. She could run faster. But with her bruises and aching body, Daisy has the advantage. Rose had always hidden these things from her. However, Daisy was smarter than what she led on at times. Almost witty enough to match her big sister sometimes. She already knew what had been happening. She slowed down for a sister, before giving her and her big sisters ticket to the security man at the front door.

"Okay your clear, come in." He stated in monotone before Fred had walked up behind them to do the same. Also being granted entry, all three of them walked in. It was quite a sight, beautiful one would say. Even though her sister was dragging her to the dance floor, Rose again had thought about what Fred said. "Beautiful, unlike you." Rang in her mind. Clouding it. Seems like she did not drink enough. By the time she returned to present time, she started dancing with her sister, in which laughs and giggles were heard from them. Fred walked up to his friends and the girls in which he had replaced Rose for. She looked over a little bit, quickly looking away as he had kissed them.

"Daisy, I'm going to get a drink, would you like to keep dancing, or come with me?" Rose asked. Daisy shook her head no and flowed away twirling. Rose smiled, at how pure and genuine her little sister can be at times, even when things were rough in Meteor City. A thought that hadn't crossed her mind in a long time. Meteor City. She missed it at times, however, there were people she missed more, wondering how they were doing..

Rose walked up to the bar, sat down, and waiting for the bartender to get done talking to a man and giving him a glass of red wine. She looked over, a realization hit when she looked at the man sitting over a few stools from her. He looked all to familiar, his black hair had grown since she last saw him, a nicely fitted tuxedo and a bandage around his forehead. Those green earrings matched his demeanor. He felt someone staring at him, he looked over to stare at her. She was sure, now, with those beautiful grey eyes starting into her soul.

"Chrollo, it's been quite a while, you aged well.." She said, getting up and sitting next to him. Chrollo was observing her for a minute before saying anything, taking in her image, also being able to see through the make up. He took a sip of his wine, and shifted over giving her a smile.

"Ah, Rose. Time has been very kind to you as well." Chrollo said in a low yet polite voice, she felt chills go up and down her spine. The bartender looked at her waiting for her to say what she wanted.

"I'll take a bourbon, please." Rose slightly acknowledged the bartender as he shook his head and went to get her drink.

Chrollo was thinking to himself, how beautiful she already was when he last saw her, but now she was even more, a treasure. "So, you're a bourbon girl now?" He asked, eyeing her, taking another sip. Chrollo had already assumed what she was going through, remembering how she use to cope with things in Meteor City. He glanced at her hand seeing a wedding ring on her ring finger. He glanced back up to her face, those ocean eyes he remembered so well.

"Oh... Uh.. yeah I suppose I am. So how long has it been, a whole eight years? What have you been up to since the last time we spoke." Rose replied, giving him a smile before drinking all of her drink in one go, pushing it at the bartender nodding her head to signal she wanted more. "Sir, could you please give me the bottle, I'll pay in full, you know who's tab to put it on." She told him, as she was a regular here. She glanced over at Fred, her heart shattering a little bit more, as he danced with the one women of his she disliked the most in the most provocative way, as though there was really nothing left to shatter in her heart. Returning her look at Chrollo, his eyes were fixated on Fred now, and she saw the eyes in which she loved, truly turn dark and mischievous. As if Fred could feel the darkness staring at him, his eyes went to Chrollo's, then his wife. A rise of jealousy and anger rose, but he looked away and would address this later on, also since he was entertained very much so with the woman before him.

"So... I'm guessing that's your husband, Rose?" Chrollo asked, looking back at her. "He's a fool." Chrollo stated right after, almost done with his wine and the bartender pouring more. Rose looked at Chrollo, knowing he is one of the smartest people on earth In her eyes, realizing he had everything figured out within a few minutes. She never knew why, but she was always rather emotional when it came to talking about problems with Chrollo. Maybe it was a deep connection, or just the way he made her feel. A tear rolled down as she looked away for a moment, wiping it away. Checking in on her sister when she did so, she was having a blast dancing with a boy her age.

"Yeah, uh... I guess you could say things weren't supposed to end like this... Enough about me. I've missed you, you know I did ask you a question Chrollo." Rose replied, her voice quivering a bit but was worse as she tried to cover it up. But Chrollo was just watching her, he could tell she was quite nervous and broken, drinking her third heavily filled cup. He hadn't seen her quite like this. If Chrollo could feel anything close to caring, it would be for her. And of course his troupe. And to him, it only felt like maybe a year or two since he saw her. So much had happened since then.

"Mm... You are changing the subject. However, I won't mind answering if you tell me the answers to my questions." Chrollo slithering his words, just staring at her. She knew that was his thing. She simply nodded staring back at him, before downing another drink. "Perfect. Well, I've been with you know who, we've been quite busy. And as for the time apart, I never actually realized it had been that long.." he stated truthfully. But soon stated something that would shock her. "I do, however, know your birthday is tomorrow, isn't it? Did you ever get the letters I sent you?" Maybe this is why Chrollo always had a place in her heart. She did receive them all, but was only ever able to send him one for his birthday. Except, she was unable to this year due to her and Fred's issues, she couldn't leave the mansion for a week almost, she was beaten every time, however Fred caught notice of her and Chrollo's letters, becoming more and more furious each year. She cried for quite a while that she could not write her friend a happy birthday letter.

"You are correct, as always. I'm surprised you remember. You always did have a sharp mind." Rose said in a tipsy voice, a smile tugging on her plump lips. "Don't think I've forgotten yours either.. I'm sorry I couldn't write back a couple weeks ago, but.. happy belated birthday Chrollo." She said, opening up the slightest, giving him a hug with one arm and setting down her dead on his shoulder. Chrollo knew he could get information he didn't need, but wanted to know... And as for Rose, tipsy and all, usually she knew Chrollo came with a motive, and If he didn't, he would soon find one. She could tell something peaked his interest. But was unclear on what.

"Well, I'm assuming he wouldn't let you write me back, it's not your fault. I knew you would have, you do every year.. thank you." Chrollo smiled, as she recoiled back to her original position In her seat. "So, Rose, be a dear, and please tell me what's been going on?.."

--

A/N thank you so much for reading. Hopefully it's not to terrible, but I am going to keep writing since Chrollo is daddy and I love him. Lol. Hope you liked it and like I said in the description, please be advised there is substance abuse and domestic abuse. Don't worry, I have something planned and Fred will get was he deserves. Thank you so much for reading! Also I took this from my wattpad, so honestly the typos will be fixed. Eventually!

[cocastyle]

Change - Ch. 1 | F I V E

Pairing - Bill Denbrough x reader

Word Count - 5,195

A/N - so sorry it took a little longer than usual for this update! I’ve been super busy with basketball and school starting back up so life has been a little hectic. I plan on updating my Wonderwall (Steve Harrington) series soon and getting up a few requests/ideas I had as well! I hope you all like this chapter and please leave a comment letting me know what you all thought because I love the feedback and it helps me when writing the upcoming chapters!

if you would like to be added to the tag list for this series let me know!

C H A N G E

Change Series Masterlist

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F I V E   - The Phone Call

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It didn't take long for the kids to all go change back into their clothes and mount their bikes, their destination being Ben's house. As they rode, Y/N couldn't stop herself from gripping onto her cousin just a little tighter, her nerves getting the best of her. But from the way Stan seemed to lean back against her and more into her hold, it was obvious he felt the same way and the cousins took the bike ride as a chance to calm down and accept the comfort of the other's touch.

Everyone was unusually quiet as they pulled up to Ben's house, not even Richie uttering a word as they got off their bikes. Why that was? No one was quite sure, but they didn't bother questioning it.

No one noticed Ben sneak off inside for they were too busy setting their bikes down. Y/N couldn't help but smile as she watched Stan make an effort to put his kick stand out while the others carelessly dropped their bikes. Then her eyes were flickering in Bill's direction, having felt his eyes on her. His eyes widened slightly and he was quick to look away, his face growing red as he nodded towards Ben's house, "C-C-Come on."

Y/N didn't seem to notice Bill's behavior and just linked arms with Stan before the group all began to follow after Ben into the house. By the time they had made it up to his room, they found Ben standing near his closet door with a nervous smile on his face.

The young girl gave him a confused look, but was quickly distracted by the news articles that lined the wall. Some kids had posters, but it seemed Ben just had news articles.

Richie and Eddie were bickering behind her and it was only when Y/N stepped inside with Stan by her side as the two cousins went to examine an article that the two fell silent. "Woah, woah, woah, wow!" Richie breathed out as he let his eyes flicker over the articles and pictures.

His eyes met Y/N and she could read his expression in almost an instance. She gave him a small look, but he didn't seem fazed and just turned to Ben who was looking around the group with an excited smile on his face. "Cool, huh?" Ben questioned.

"No, no, nothing cool," Richie said as he shook his head, the smile on Ben's face dropping ever so slightly. "There's nothing cool."

Y/N rolled her eyes at the boy and frowned as she looked around the room. Her eyes locked on Bill who was looking at some slides on Ben's desk that were no doubt for a projector and she walked over to him before leaning over to look at the picture in his hand.

Bill glanced at her for a second before looking back down at the picture, trying to get his heart beat steady. Finally, he let his eyes flicker over to Y/N and the two locked eyes before Y/N gave him a silent look as if to ask 'can you believe this?' Bill shook his head in disbelief and picked up another slide, the two studying it for a moment and figuring out that it was a map of Derry.

"Well this is cool," Richie finally said causing the two to turn and look the boy's way while Bill set the slide down, "wait, no it's not."

"What's that?" Stan asked and Y/N furrowed her eyebrows before walking over to squeeze her way in between him and Eddie, the two moving over automatically to allow some space for her to stand.

"Oh, that? That's the charter for Derry Township," Ben explained.

Richie let out a breathy chuckle before muttering, "Nerd alert." Y/N frowned and reached over to smack Richie's arm, the boy giving her a look of confusion behind a glare as he rubbed his arm.

"Actually, it's really interesting," Ben argued, not really being fazed by Richie's comment. "Derry started as a beaver trapping camp."

"Still is, am I right, boys?" Richie asked, a smirk dawning his face as he held his hand up for a high five. His eyes flickered between Eddie and Stan, the two giving him blank looks while Stan shook his head almost disapprovingly at his friend.

"Ninety-one people signed the charter that made Derry. But later that winter, they all disappeared without a trace," Ben went on.

"The entire camp?" Eddie questioned in disbelief.

"There were rumors of Indians, but no sign of an attack. Everyone thought it was a plague or something. But it's like. . . one day everybody just woke up and left," Ben muttered.

Y/N gulped slightly and felt a chill run down her spine. They just disappeared? Just like that?

Her eyes flickered over the articles before landing on one in particular that made her pale, her breath bitching in her throat. She swore that one of the people in the picture looked like the clown from the synagogue, but with one quick blink of her eyes, the clown was gone and Y/N was left with a feeling like someone was watching her. However, this gaze felt a lot different than the way Bill's gaze made her feel.

Y/N was quick to shake it off and looked to Ben before shakily asking, "They really never found them?"

Ben shook his head, "The only clue was a trail of bloody clothes leading to the well-house."

Y/N didn't know why she felt so unsettled by the news and for a moment, she silently wished she had fought with Eddie to stay back at the quarry instead of coming here. Something just seemed off to her and she didn't like it.

"Jesus, we can go on 'Unsolved Mysteries,'" Richie muttered and Y/N forced herself to let out a small chuckle, hoping that it might lighten her mood.

As if sensing her unease, Stan glanced at his cousin before gently reaching out and taking her hand in his, giving it a small squeeze as if to tell her that she was okay. It reminded her of when the two were young and she was too afraid to go into a haunted house attraction that they had at the local carnival. Stan had held her hand and given it the smallest of squeezes and it was in that moment that she had felt a wave of comfort wash over her just like it did now.

Y/N let her eyes flicker up to Stan and she gave him a small smile as she leaned into her cousin ever so slightly, wanting nothing more than to not feel alone. Ben had turned his attention away by now and Eddie and Richie were back to their usual bickering, so Stan rolled his eyes and looked to the articles before whispering, "What kid has all this stuff? It's a bit odd, don't you think?"

"I don't know. Maybe he's just trying to make friends, Stanley," Richie suggested, although the hint of amusement in his voice practically screamed that he was making fun of Ben.

"Where was the Well House?" Bill asked, making everyone look to the boy who was still standing by Ben's desk.

"I don't know, somewhere in town, I guess," Ben shrugged before titling his head in curiosity. "Why?"

"Nothing," Bill replied, his voice barely above a whisper. Y/N furrowed her eyebrows at the boy, wondering why he was so curious and why he happened to look a little disappointed from Ben's words. Bill noticed her stare and was quick to turn around so that she couldn't try and read him anymore. This only made Y/N more curious and she was about to move across the room to question Bill when her cousin suddenly glanced at the watch on his wrist and groaned, "Shit. Y/N and I have to go. My father wants me to practice the readings more and Y/N agreed to help me out."

"Fuck. I forgot about that," Y/N sighed before she straightened up and gave her cousin a small smile. "It's okay. We can leave right now and still have plenty of time. I have a feeling you're going to nail it this time."

Stan gave the girl a small smile before looking around at his friends as he slowly began to drag his cousin out fo the room. "We'll see you guys tomorrow," Stan announced as they reached the doorway.

"Goodbye!" Y/N called out as she sent the group one last smile before her and Stan disappeared out of the room. Bill's eyes lingered in the doorway, his gaze having followed the girl all the way out the room. A fact that hadn't gone unnoticed by the others.

"Looks like Big Bill's still got the hots for Y/N!" Richie exclaimed as he let out a loud laugh. Bill's eyes widened and he was quick to spin around and look at his friend, his face growing red while his mouth opened and shut a few times.

"Sh-Sh-Shut up, Richie!" Bill finally exclaimed making the others chuckle as they realized how right Richie was.

"It's okay, Bill. Y/N's a lovely girl," Beverly teased making Bill redden even more.

"I-" Bill began, but he couldn't even finish his sentence before he huffed and began to storm out of the room. "I'll s-s-see you guys tomorrow."

He hadn't even made it down the stairs before he heard Richie's laughter again followed by, "Oh, so Billy's got it bad."

And all Bill could do was sigh as he walked out the front door and gently closed it behind him, knowing deep down that Richie was right.

- - -

Y/N had a smile gracing her face as she sat by the window, the sun kissing her skin as it filtered through the glass, her cousin's voice soft as he muttered his Torah readings. Every once in a while he would stumble on a word, but Y/N had been a great help as she had been the one to calm him down when he grew too frustrated, slowly saying the word aloud for him so that he would pronounce it correctly.

He had gotten a lot better on the thirty minutes they had been practicing and Y/N couldn't help but feel her heart swelling pride at the fact. Stan was going to do great at his bar mitzvah, she just knew it.

"Y/N!" her Aunt Andrea called out from the kitchen where she was currently busy making the dinner.

Her voice was enough to break the comfortable trance the two cousins had been in and they jumped in surprise before Y/N replied with, "Yes?"

"Your parents are on the phone, dear. They would like to talk to you!" her aunt explained causing Y/N to pale slightly. Stan's eyes were on her almost instantly and she glanced at her cousin who gave her a small questioning look to ask if she would be okay. Y/N only nodded in response before pulling herself up onto her feet and beginning to make her way to the kitchen.

Y/N wouldn't lie and say she wasn't the tiniest bit excited to talk to her parents. After all, she did miss them quite a bit. But she was even more nervous than she could comprehend and she wasn't quite sure why.

Her aunt was waiting by the phone and smiled upon seeing the girl walk in. She handed her the phone before Y/N even had time to blink and was already bustling back towards the stove where she was busy cooking dinner.

Hesitantly, Y/N held the phone up to her ear and let out a shaky breath before whispering, "Hello?"

"Y/N, dear! How are you? How has your summer been so far?" her mother's voice instantly rang into her ear, the sound of it making her breath hitch in her throat as she realized just how much she missed her parents.

"Mom? I'm. . .I'm fine. My summer has been going good I guess. It's only day two so I can't really say," Y/N answered honestly. "Um. . .how are things back home? How's Dad?"

"Hi, peanut," her father's voice greeted making Y/N still slightly as she got flashbacks of the synagogue. "Things are good so far. That's actually why we called to talk to you. Not only did we want to check up on you, but we have made some progress with the divorce."

It was like the word had physically wounded her, the word 'divorce' punching her straight in the gut and making her lean over and grip onto the table with a sudden desperation.

"Oh," Y/N muttered, but she didn't have time to say anything else before her parents were talking once again.

"We finally got a date for us to sign papers, so by the time you get home, everything will be finalized," her mother explained. "And we also have some exciting news for you!"

There was more?

"We decided that I would stay back in this house while your mother moves into a new house she found on the other side of town. You'll be living with her, so you will be moving over there at the end of the summer," her dad said with a hint of excitement in his voice that didn't go unnoticed by the girl. Was he that desperate to get away from her?

"You'll have a room bigger than the one you have now and there's even a pool in the backyard. Isn't that exciting?" her mother asked, excitement obviously laced in her voice.

"I-" Y/N fell silent as she stood there with a deathly white face. Was this actually happening? Were they being serious right now?

"Of course you will have to switch schools, but you're so sociable that I doubt it will take you long to make some new friends," her mother rambled, neither of Y/N's parents realizing what their words were doing to their daughter.

"That's. . ." Y/N hesitated. What did they want her to say? That it was great and she was so excited for every aspect of her life to change in one summer? That she couldn't wait to get home and move away from her father?

A beeping could be heard from the other side of the line followed by her father sighing before he whispered, "It's the lawyer."

"Peanut, we've got to go, but we just wanted to call and check in. We miss you terribly and are counting down the days until you get home!" her mother exclaimed.

"We love you!" both of her parents said while Y/N just stared blankly at the wall in front of her, not even noticing that Stan had walked up behind her.

Y/N didn't even respond to her parents and just lowered the phone and hung up, the shock and disbelief from the whole situation hitting her at full force. The young girl's lip had started to quiver, her eyes pricking with tears as her parents' words sunk in.

"Y/N?" Stan whispered softly, confusion evident in his voice. The girl turned around slightly, her wide tear filled eyes locking with Stan's eyes almost instantly and making him gasp. A look of worry flashed across his face as a hint of anger flickered through his eyes. "What happened? What did they say?"

Y/N just stared at the boy, still unsure of what had just happened and how to even react. Before Stan could even blink, Y/N had shoved past him, the girl bolting towards the front door while Stan was quick to follow after her.

"Y/N!" Stan called out, but Y/N was already out the door and heading straight towards his bike. Stan ran after her and was just about to reach her when Y/N finished mounting his bike and began to pedal away, hot tears streaming down her face while her cousin desperately cried after her.

Y/N didn't even look back as she pedaled away from the house. She had no destination in mind seeing as she barely knew her way around the town, but she didn't care at the moment.

The house had just felt too stuffy and Stan's concern had just felt like too much at the moment. All she wanted was to be alone to comprehend what had just happened, time alone to realize that her life had changed drastically within only one phone call.

Y/N's whole body shook as she struggled to contain the sobs that were bubbling through her chest. It was like she was blinded by her own tears and sadness and before she knew it, the bike had hit a pot hole. She didn't even have time to blink before she went flying through the air.

Luckily she managed to fall into some grass and Stan's bike was unscathed, but her heart was so utterly broken in that moment as her world caved down around her that she just sat there in the grass and let out a loud sob.

"Fuck!" Y/N whisper yelled as she put her hands against her scalp and lightly pulled her hair. She slowly let her hands come back down to her face and just leaned forward to hug her knees close to her chest.

Why did everything have to change so suddenly? Why was this happening to her? Didn't her parents love her? Did her father even fight to keep her with him?

Millions of questions ran through Y/N's head as she just quietly sobbed to herself. She didn't know how long she had been sitting there, but it got to the point where the sun began to dip below the horizon and the air became a little chillier. Her sobs had quieted, now being replaced with a blank and emotionless look on her face as the remnants of tears covered her face.

Y/N was staring blankly ahead, her eyes focusing on Stan's bike which was lying down in front of her with a wheel slowly rolling in the wind. A single tear rolled down Y/N's face but she didn't bother wiping it away. She was too numb from the amount of pain she had been through the past couple of months. All she wanted was for it to be over, for things to go back to the way they used to be.

The young girl didn't dare moving her gaze as she heard the sound of someone biking up to her, the skidding of feet against gravel as the person slowed down making her do nothing but blink in response. She could hear the crunching of grass beneath someone's feet before the person plopped down beside her almost hesitantly.

It took her a minute, but Y/N let her eyes flicker over to the person allowing her gaze to lock on Bill for a split second before she was looking away once again.

Bill was quiet as he sat there, his eyes flickering over the girl's form as a look of worry and concern dawned his face. He didn't even know what to say, but finally found it in himself to clear his throat before saying, "You know, Stan's w-w-worried sick about you."

Y/N didn't respond, but she didn't shy away either so Bill took that as a good sign and continued. "He c-c-called all of us Losers up to try and f-f-find you since you stole his bike. Richie and Eddie are b-b-biking around here somewhere," Bill explained.

Once again, the girl was silent. However, this time, she moved her hand up to wipe the stray tears from her face before she pulled her knees even closer to her chest. Bill frowned ever so slightly before hesitantly reaching over and brushing some of the girl's hair behind her ear, neither of them thinking much of it when his fingers lingered against her cheek for a moment.

"What's wrong?" Bill whispered, his voice soft and curious. That slight hint of concern and worry was still there, but maybe it was the fact that his voice was just so warm and caring that Y/N found herself wanting to open up to him, a few more tears escaping from her eyes as the emotions bubbled up inside of her.

"It's. . .it's complicated," Y/N admitted, her voice cracking as she looked at Bill. She tried to give him a sad smile, but he could see the pain it caused her to do so. Her lip quivered and another tear fell as she tried to swallow down the sob that was begging to escape.

"I know all about th-th-things being complicated," Bill sighed as he looked away and out at the road ahead of them. "I don't know how much you know, but my brother. . .h-h-he. . ." Bill had to swallow back his own sob as he clenched his fist. "He went m-m-missing and um. . .we haven't been able to find him. Everyone has been t-t-telling me to give up hope, b-b-but I. . .I can't. I just. . .he's out there. I know he is."

Bill was trying his hardest not to cry as he finally let his eyes flicker back over to Y/N only to find her staring at him with tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry," Y/N finally whispered, suddenly feeling stupid for acting the way that she was. She looked away in embarrassment, her cheeks turning a tinge red as she whispered, "My parents are getting a divorce."

Y/N's lip was quivering as she looked down at her shaking hands. "That's why I'm here this summer, so that they can finalize things. They. . .they called today to tell me about it and how my mom has already found a new house that I will be living in. When I get back, I'll be living on the opposite side of town with my mom and going to a new school.  And I just. . ." the girl was silent as she looked up at the sky, trying to keep the tears back because she felt like crying after hearing Bill's story would only make her tears seem stupid.

"Everything's changing," Y/N finally said, her voice cracking as she did so. "And it's all changing so fast. It feels like my whole life is falling apart and I just-"

"Don't know what to do," Bill and Y/N both whispered in unison. Y/N looked over at the boy, and the two shared sad smiles. They both may have had different stories, but they both could relate to that. After all, how were they as thirteen year olds supposed to fix all of their family problems?

"I don't know. This all seems kind of stupid now," Y/N said despite those words hurting her even more. Bill frowned and reached out to grab ahold of her hand, a way of getting her to look at him while he stared at her with the most sincere and stern look she had ever seen.

"It's not s-s-stupid," Bill assured her. "I know things are all changing so f-f-fast, but you got to think about the things that are still going to remain constant. Your parents are still g-g-going to love you just as much as they do now. You'll still h-h-have Beverly and Richie and Eddie and Ben. You'll s-s-still have me. You'll still have Stan who is at home worried s-s-sick about you. Not everything will change, Y/N."

Y/N was quiet, but gently squeezed Bill's hand in a silent thank you while the boy just admired her. Knowing that he couldn't stare at her forever and that Stan was still at home practically burning footsteps into the floor from how fast he was pacing, Bill squeezed the girl's hand again and whispered, "You can always talk to any of us if you want, especially Stan. Stan will listen, you know he will."

"You're right," Y/N sighed, finally feeling like the smallest of weights had been lifted off of her shoulders thanks to the boy sitting beside her. "I should probably get back to him, huh?"

Bill gave her a sad smile, "Probably." Y/N returned the smile and Bill didn't even hesitate to reach over and wipe the tears from the girl's face, an action that made them both blush before Bill quickly hopped upon onto his feet. He shyly held a hand out to her and Y/N took it before he pulled her up off the ground.

Y/N stood and looked up, her eyes locking on Bill who was only inches away from her face. The two both went wide eyed for a moment, both afraid to move as they realized just how close they were. Bill could feel the Uris girl's breath fanning his face and he swore his heart had never beat so fast in his life.

Was this what a heart attack felt like?

"Fucking hell!" a voice suddenly exclaimed from afar causing the two to quickly take a step away from each other as they turned to see Eddie and Richie pedaling their way down the street and towards the two.

"What the actual fuck, Uris! Where the fuck have you been?" Richie asked, a slightly angry yet concerned look on his face as he pulled his bike to a stop in front of the two.

Eddie pulled up beside him not even a second later, his eyes full of concern as he looked over Y/N before whispering worriedly, "Are you okay?"

"I am now," Y/N whispered, still slightly embarrassed at everything that had just happened. She didn't understand why she was such a crybaby or why she ran out of the house like she did. Her aunt and uncle were going to kill her. Not to mention how upset she must have made Stan.

Richie still had a look of anger on his face, but it slowly dissolved once he saw the red around the girl's eyes, a sigh that she had been crying. He sat there for a second before reaching up to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Well, don't do it again, okay? I don't want to spend my night looking around for you because you got fucking lost or something," Richie said in his true Richie fashion.

It was obvious he was trying to hide his concern for the girl, but Y/N already knew and she couldn't help but smile softly at the boy before she looked between him, Eddie, and Bill. "Thanks for coming to look for me," she said, her voice soft and apologetic.

"Of course. We just wanted to make sure our friend was okay," Eddie said, a small smile on his face as he looked at the girl. "You are okay, right?"

"I will be," Y/N assured him, her eyes flickering over to Bill who gave her the tiniest of smiles. She looked back over at the two boys standing in front of her and gave them a small smile before saying, "I should probably get back to Stanley."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Eddie chuckled, thinking back to how Stan had called him practically on the verge of tears as he had asked for their help to find his cousin.

"We'll ride home with you," Bill said as he went to get on his bike, Y/N doing the same with Stan's bike.

"What?" Richie began to protest, but one look from Eddie and a glare from Bill had the boy pouting and falling silent.

Y/N smiled softly and the boys and nodded her head as she mounted Stan's bike. "I'd like that," she whispered and even Richie couldn't stop himself from smiling back as the four began to pedal back down the road and towards Stan's house.

The boys didn't bother questioning her more about why she had run away as they biked home and Y/N couldn't have been more thankful. In fact, listening to Richie joke around was exactly what she needed to hear, small laughs escaping her lips as she pedaled making the others smile in response. Y/N's laughter always had been able to make them do that.

It took a little bit, but they eventually reached the Uris household where they could see Stan nervously sitting on the front porch steps with his head in his hands. Y/N felt her heart break at the sight and she barely managed to whisper a goodbye to Bill, Richie, and Eddie before she was biking up the driveway.

She hopped off the bike and slowly began to walk up the driveway while the boys rode past and towards their own homes, knowing that Y/N was now safe with Stan. The young girl made a point to put the kick stand out on the bike before she hesitantly walked over to the stairs where Stan was still sitting.

The sound of her footsteps was enough to make the curly haired boy look up, his eyes widening at the sight of her as he jumped onto his feet. Y/N stopped walking and the two just stood there for a moment in silence.

Y/N couldn't even imagine what Stan wanted to say and all she could think about was how he had to be mad at her. That alone was enough to make her look down at the ground, not wanting to see the look of disappointment and anger that she knew was bound to fall upon her cousin's face.

Stan merely shook his head and took three quick strides before he collided into the girl, his arms wrapping around her tightly as he held her as close to him as he possibly could. Y/N was shocked by the sudden contact, but her cousin's embrace was enough to have her melting into a puddle of tears again as she desperately latched onto the boy like her life depended on it.

Her hands balled into fists on the boy's shirt while Stan cradled the back of her head with his hand, holding her close to him as he just comforted her. No words were spoken between the two, but words weren't needed.

The two cousins just stood there in each other's embrace while Y/N silently wondered to herself how she had been blessed to have a cousin like Stanley Uris. And it was in that moment that she really knew what Bill meant when he said she would never be alone. For she not only had the Losers, Beverly, and Ben to talk to, but her curly haired cousin and best friend as well.

And with people like them by her side, Y/N knew she was going to be okay.

* * *

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Mystic Sisters Ch.10- Past, Present & Future

Hikari's pov

"Hey mom made you some soup." Yua said placing a bowl and a glass of water on my desk next to my bed.

"Thanks." I groaned sitting up. Yua laughed at my bed head before fixing it. I woke up not feeling well. I had a hard time sleeping last night and my dreams were weird. It kept feeling like someone was trying to tell me something.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Somewhat, I'm just hungry and sleepy."

"Yua hurry up! I don't need you late again." mom yelled from the bottom of the stairs. Yua gave me a confronting smile and stood up.

"I'll bring you boba after school." I watched her leave and then went back to my soup. After eating I took a hot shower. I looked at myself in the mirror after getting out. The bags under my eyes were dark and puffy. "Probably the lack of sleep." I said rolling my eyes. I went to grab my under eye patches from under the skin only to find out they were missing. I searched under the skin confused before remembering that Yua asked to use them last night.

"Of course she didn't put them back." I say entering her room locating the under eye patches that were sitting on her desk.

"I'm surprised she can find stuff."I cringed at the state of her messy room. Walking out of her room I picked up the picture of us at the beach that sat on her dresser. I stared at it remembering that summer. I went to place the frame back when I heard the voice again.

"Be careful. They're coming after you again." the female voice whispered. I dropped the frame startled. "I'm definitely not hearing things"

I heard Yua's door opened and my confused father stood there.

"Honey, why are you in your sister's room?"

'Hmm?" I turned to him. "Nothing just getting my eye patches." I quickly picked up the frame and went back to my room. "Maybe I should try talking back to the voice. No that's crazy." I thought to myself sitting in bed. I yawned laying back in bed. I decided to watch anime. A little while later there was a knock at my door.

"It's open!" I yell pausing the show. My dad peaked his head in.

"I'm heading to work. Do you need anything before I leave?"

"No, I'm actually gonna take a nap." I yawned.

"Call me or your sister if you need anything." I nodded rolling over and pulled my blanket over me. I looked out the window watching the rain fall down. The weather had started to get colder and there had been more rain than usual. I loved that my bed was against a window. I was able to watch the rain or snow fall. It started to rain down heavier. Something about watching the rain like this felt familiar. A lot of things lately felt familiar. At times I thought it was just me but at other times I thought there could be something more. Was there? There had to be a reason for my dreams right? And what about Yua? Was it just a coincidence that we've been having similar dreams? I shook my head and laid back down and watched the rain fall down until my eyes grew heavy.

I looked around me and there was mud everywhere. I heard footsteps so I hurried to my feet and ran as fast as they would carry me. "You have to get away." The voice in my head told me. I stopped in my tracks trying to catch my breath.

"Who are you? Why do you keep telling me to run!" I yelled out looking for someone, anyone.

"Just keep going." They replied. The footsteps got closer so I took off running again. I didn't know how but my feet knew which way to run. It felt like I had no control. I've been here before. This was the same path I already ran down.

"Hikari you're almost there." the voice said. "Up ahead you'll see a clearing. There's a force field surrounding the area so you'll be protected there." I finally got there and stood there trying to catch my breath once again.

"What now?" I yell out. It was silent for a moment before I heard the voice again. This time it was clearer than it had been before.

"I can finally talk to you. I've been trying to reach you for awhile."

"Wait who are you? Why do you know me?"

"Hikari I don't have much time but you and your sister need to protect yourselves. You need to be careful with the people you surround yourself with."

"What do you mean?" I questioned cold and confused.

"Just be careful. There's not much I can say for now. You need more time to understand."

"Understand what?" I yell.

"Im sorry but I have to go. I hope I get to see you again soon. Just remember if you need to reach me, clear your mind and talk to me. It'll make more sense when you wake up."

Yua's pov

"Haru what the hell happened to your face?" I asked, running my thumb where the scar was on his cheek.

"Nothing just messing around with my friends." he replied groggily pushing my hand away. Before I could question him more he waved at at Hisako.

"Hey Hisako was looking for you. You look worried." I told her turning away from Haru.

"Have you talked to Hikari?" she questioned worriedly. She gave Haru a look and then focused back on me.

"No not since this morning, why?" Hisako kept a worried look on her face. She looked spaced out.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" She shook her head.

"No, I just feel like you should check on her. Go home and i'll bring you Hikari's homework." I felt like there was something more but I didn't question it.

"I mean if it worries you that much I'll go home." I quickly packed up my lunch and hurried home. The look on Hisako's face didn't make me feel better. She always knew when there was something wrong with Hikari. Anytime Hikari was upset or in danger Hisako knew before anyone. When I got home I dropped my backpack at the front door and ran to Hikari's room where I heard her whimpering. She was laying in her bed but looked uncomfortable. I ran over to her shaking her trying to wake her up.

"Hikari wake up, it's me." I shook her

"No come back!" she cried out. I shook her even harder this time.

"Hikari!" I yelled and she jumped up looking panicked until she realized it was me. I sat on her bed and pulled her into a hug.

"Hey you're okay. I'm here now." I consoled her, whipping her tears. She laid in my lap until she stopped crying.

"Oneesan why aren't you at school and how did you know to come?"

"Hisako was worried about you and told me I should come home. Strangely she was right." she nodded, taking a slip of her water.

"What were you dreaming about?" I questioned.

"The voice I keep hearing. I was able to talk to her. She knows about us Yua. she told me that we have to protect ourselves. And to--"

"Protect us from what?" I said cutting her off. She shrugged her shoulders. "She didn't say." leaned against the wall letting out a breathe I didn't know I was holding. After all this time our dreams meant something."

"She told me if I need to talk to her I can."

"How?" I turned to face her.

"Just clear my head and focus." she replied sounding annoyed. She stared out into space deep in thought. "What's wrong."

"She said she'll see us again soon. So that means we've met her before right?"

"Maybe. Im not sure, i'm just as confused as you are" Hikari looked so frustrated with everything she looked like she was about to cry again.

"Hey we'll figure this out together." I brushed her hair out of her face. She gave me a small smile but continued to stare down at her bed. I got up and pulled her along. "C'mon you haven't eaten right." I heated up last night's leftovers and watched my sister eat in silence. Her usual smile was replaced with a frown. When she was done she put her dishes in the sink and walked out of the kitchen. I pulled her back forcing her to look at me.

"Hikari."

"Mh." She replied.

"If you don't stop frowning, I'm gonna tickle you." I said poking her sides. At first she didn't budge but eventually she gave in and smiled showing her cute little dimple.

"That's the Hikari I know." she wrapped her arms around me hugging me.

Hisako's pov

"Mom i'm heading out." I yelled while putting on my jacket. She came out of her office and gave me a stern look.

"Where are you going?"

"Hikari's" I sighed with her understanding.

"It's getting late, be careful." I nodded and shut the door behind me.

"Sako?" Hikari questioned when she opened the door rubbing her eyes. "What are you doing here?" she stepped aside so I could come in.

"I brought you your homework...and boba." I smiled watching her eyes light up. "I know that Yua didn't have time on her way home to stop and get any." I sat on the couch after giving the girls their drinks.

"Are you okay." I asked Hikari who was sitting next to me while Yua was on the floor playing some video game. She nodded, giving me a smile.

"Hisako was worried about you." Yua said not looking up from her game. Hikari looked at me with a puzzled look on her face.

"It's nothing, just wanted to make sure you were okay. I reassured her. I hated that I had to lie to her. Every part of me what to tell her the truth but I know that I can't. It sucks having to keep a secret from her. I felt bad every time I thought about telling her because I knew I couldn't.

"Sako? You seemed distracted." I blinked a few times and nodded.

"Im fine. A little tired"

"Girls were home!" Koshiro announced walking into the living room.

"Oh hi Hisako." Naomi said, walking over to me giving me a hug.

"Hi Naomi. Is it okay if I stay over?"

"Of course. You're always welcomed. Is everything okay at home?"

"Yeah I just missed Hikari that's all." I laughed. "Their friendship is adorable.' I heard Naomi tell her husband from the kitchen.

A few hours later I laid in Hikari's bed with her watching tv. Hikari was watching it more than I was. She moved over to lay her head on my chest.

"Cuddle me!" she laughed. I patted her head a few times before laughing. I laid there lost in my thoughts once again. Before I knew it I heard Hikari snoring on my chest. I laughed and pulled the blankets over us both.

"I wish I could tell you everything."

[judgement-free-sideblog]

Blood, tears and sea breeze.

Warnings: ANGST, mental health issues, graphic depictions of violence, blood, cursing, mentions of sexual assault, mentions of sex, substance abuse.

Summary: The not so peaceful town of Broadchurch face dead again, while Alec Hardy continues his journey to redemption will this school teacher be the key to solve the mystery or just another victim of the ever watching evilness that seems to reside in the town.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 2: It was a nice ring.

The little house was as Harford had said, a few minutes down the dirty road, it was a nice two bedroom, kitchen and living room cottage painted in a light yellow almost beige color, with a nice trail of white stones in the back that marked the direction to the beach, it looked just like the place a sweet kindergarten teacher should live, except for the dead man in the living room.

Jonathan Norbury's body was facing up over a puddle of his own blood, with multiple wounds on his arms and shoulders, those were extended at both sides of his head. Around him multiple broken objects were scattered in the room, a broken lamp and the landline phone were completely bashed out and there were stains of blood all around the wood floor, they were small and they both immediately thought of Y/N and it was more clear how she end up with all that blood on her.

SOCO Brian Young came out of Y/N clean kitchen and give Miller a candid Hi, only a polite nod to Hardy. This was going to be a difficult case he could anticipate, but since he and DS Miller had started a relationship he was aware of how much she cared about her job and was not planning to get in the middle, his only concern however was the amount of time she had to spend with Shit-face, even when he was not an insecure man, he was sure they have had a thing going on at some point but she refused to talk about it.

"This is gonna be a nasty one" He said finally once DI Hardy finished looking at the body. "We would have to wait for the coroner to clear it but I'm sure your guy didn't die here"

"Yeah I think so too" Alec said not entirely happy to give him the reason "Place is to clean except around him, anything interesting?"

"Partial prints coming from the beach, no blood stains neither in the wall or the furniture except for that table, like if someone had touched the victim and then make it as a support to stand up, and the victim had this on his hand" He said showing them a bag of evidence with a crushed piece of gold with a diamond in the middle "It seems to me it was a ring or some sort of earring".

"It was a ring" Said Ellie picking a picture from the countertop, an Engagement announcement picture with Y/N and Jonathan proudly showing off the jewel "It was a nice ring, someone must be pretty pissed with him to crush it like that. Thanks Brian" She said and walked out with miller who was already in the back door "What do you think?" She said after a couple minutes of silence.

"He is like 6'2" He said simply.

"I know, a man that large could easily defend himself from a woman of her complexion" She concur, the woman was not tiny but the victim was in extremely well physical shape so that seemed unlikely "Maybe she drugged him?"

"And carried him alone until here with no traces?" He asked more to himself, since he had the same thought before "Back in the road Hartford said she kept screaming Someone help him, why would she do that if she kill him?"

"Guilt? In any case we had to interview her now and wait until the coroner says what happened to this guy" She said and they surrounded the house to get back at the road, and walked the distance Y/N had walked, when they found her she was shoeless but they had found bloody footprints leaving the property and then is when Miller saw it "Look this is definitely hers" She said picking up a sport shoe from the dirt and putting it in a evidence bag, they definitely hadn't see it the first time.

"There's something else over here" Hardy said already on one knee lighting with his phone a side of the road, "It's a letter" He said showing her a piece of paper with a bloodstain in it "Apparently he was leaving her".

Dear Y/N, you know how much I despise long explanations, that's why I will be brief, by the time you read this letter I'll will no longer be at Broadchurch.

I leave it at your place so you can find it when you come home from work. I just want to warn you that I'm not coming back.

I didn't came to London to fix the details of the wedding, I'm actually escaping from you, this whole idea of getting married is no longer what I want. Being with you has become a burden more than a pleasure, and if I have to be perfectly honest I met someone else.

She is wonderful and sweet, and makes me feel things you never will, and I'm getting tired to being afraid of you, and what could happen to you, so I am sorry; but it's for the best.

I have confidence that if I go like this now and I simply don't come back you will erase me from your memory...

"Well he was not so nice after all" Ellie said reading the letter. "But here, look. The date he write here is from 5 days ago, if he had already leave what is he doing here?" She said looking again for more details in the letter.

"Being afraid of you... Seems a bit too easy isn't?" He said taking back the letter and putting it in another evidence bag. "Almost too easy, he breaks up with her and she ends things with him quite literally".

"DI Hardy!" The young voice of DC Harford call in their direction at the exit of the dirty road "DS Miller" She add quietly once she saw her, it never cease to impress Alec how afraid of Ellie she acted sometimes "The woman, Y/L/N, she fainted during the examination, she hadn't said much apart from the screams but we finished collecting evidence and they are moving her to the station for questioning"

"How did she faint?" Asked Miller, and even when it was a suspect she felt sorry for the girl.

"She had a medical bracelet, the ones that said if you are allergic or things like that, hers says she has absence crisis"

"She was probably dead scared" Alec said making both women look at him "Dasy had a convulsion when she was little, nothing serious but they tested her for all kinds of stuff and Tess and I learned some things about it" He started explaining himself more quickly than they could follow "Some kids space out completely, is rare in adults, but an anxiety crisis can trigger it"

"So then I hardly imagine her picking up a knife and fighting her fiance to death" Ellie said now believing more than ever she couldn't do it.

"That's what I thought, specially since she is not capable to drive or do simple things" Harford said and take out a small notebook "A woman call to her phone, it was in her pocket, she said she was supposed to give her a ride from work to go the train station to pick up her fiance but she wasn't there and she went alone to pick up the guy but he didn't show up, I ask her to go to the station as well"

"Nice work" said Miller with a smile and she only nodded but a spark of gratitude hide in her eyes, and Ellie give Hardy a meaningful look immediately after.

"Sure, Miller and I will take Y/N, you can interrogate the other one" He said calmly, and Katie did her best to hide her excitement.

"Sure, thanks sir. I'll meet you there" she said and started walking fast to her car.

"Oh Christmas is early this year" Ellie tease him but she also believed in Harford, her past mistakes were now longer forgotten and she was becoming a good detective.

"Shut up Miller" He simply said and they walked again to her car "Let's go meet our suspect".

I'm loving writing this, I think this works better in short chapters but that means there will be a lot of them. Please comment and ask me anything, even if you don't like it, I appreciate criticism.

[stoopsbookstore]

Abandoned -M-

Warning - Sexual Content, Some dumbass plays with an Ouija board, Knifeplay, a smidge of Bloodplay, Master Kink, small bit of cockwarming/Impregnation kink, Demon Possession, Porn with no plot, Violence, Exhibitionism/Voyuerism, literally just utterly shameless, lusty filth. Please don't read if uncomfortable with the above.

Synposis - A night that led the group to a haunted house and when a few members decided to play with some spirits, one latches onto Taeil, giving him the power and confidence to have fun with the girl of his dream in the most lustful way best.

Taeil had Y/N bent over the rusted sink, skin slapping together, hiding in a bathroom of an abandoned house Chenle suggested they explore. The rain pounded on the windows in tune with Taeil's hips as he clawed into the girl's flesh.

"Just let any of the guys walk in right now, see how good I'm fucking you," Taeil growled, "your shirt pulled under your nice tits, your shorts around one ankle, your bra and panties ripped to shreds."

Eyeing the torn undergarments on the floor, Taeil pulled Y/N to his chest, putting his fingers in her mouth as he forced her to look in the broken mirror. He had been acting weird since Haechan, Mark and Yuta opened an Ouija board, playing with it as Johnny protested.

"You idiots just took your hands off of it without saying goodbye! That's rule fucking one!"

"It's just a stupid game, nothing is coming to kill us, Johnny," Yuta folded up the board, placing it back in the cardboard box, "If something happens, we know the plan."

"Push Mark, trip Doyoung, run and try to find a photobooth, call the guys from Buzzfeed Unsolved," Haechan jumped as Taeil started to rub his forehead, "Yo, dude, you good?"

Taeil nodded, "yeah, just a headache. I'll be fine."

"Maybe Y/N can kiss it, make it feel better," Chenle made kissy noises towards the eldest member as Y/N brushed against Taeil's arm, a shiver falling down his spine.

"Don't listen to them, Il-ie, they're just being assholes," Y/N rubbed his arm, a sign of affection she did to everyone, a sign of affection Taeil was used to, but he found it so much more sensual this time and the blood in his face quickly went downwards, "they're going upstairs, come on. We shouldn't get left behind."

Taeil ripped a shard off the mirror, dragging it along the side of Y/N's neck, "You fucking love the danger, don't you? Knowing I hold your life in my hands makes you wet, huh?"

"Oh my God, yes," Y/N kept the tempo up as she stared at her distorted reflection, the pleasure on both of their faces prominent.

"What's my name?"

"Taeil! Oh m-"

Taeil slapped her ass, "that's not the one."

"Ma-ma-master!"

Keeping the glass shard in his hands, Taeil pulled out of Y/N and turned her around. He dropped to his knees, kissing her thighs while he dragged the shard from her ankles and up her leg, stopping at her hip.

"I could mark you right now, those fuckers won't ever think about touching you," Taeil looked up as Y/N threw her head back, "I should go fight Yuta right now. The way he wanted to hang on what's mine was disrespectful."

"Where is this coming from?" Y/N threaded her hands through Taeil's hair, as Taeil avoided the area she wanted him to kiss the most, "I kinda like it."

A chuckle came out of Taeil's lips as he begun eating Y/N out.

"This place is so huge," Yuta put his arm around Y/N's shoulder, "maybe we can sneak off and find a sex dungeon."

"Those only exist in Fifty Shades, you perv," Y/N pushed the boy away, falling into Taeil who pulled him up by his shirt and threw him against the wall, "Whoa! Taeil!"

"Calm down!" Yuta pushed Taeil's arm away as Y/N stayed as still as a stone.

"I don't think I should. She's my girl, why touch her, Nakamoto?" Taeil pulled Y/N, positioning her behind him as he punched Yuta, a bloody nose soon dripping.

Yuta threw his own punch, knocking Taeil to the ground. The two soon began wrestling as Y/N screamed for the others to help break up the fight. As the guys appeared, Taeil was on top of Yuta, landing blows to his face until he was pulled off by Johnny and Haechan. The area was tense, only broken by Taeil coming to his sense for a brief moment.

"Listen, dude. I'm sorry I don't know what came over me," Taeil genuinely apologized as he helped Yuta up off the floor.

Yuta was dazed, swaying as he tried to get his footing, "Nah, it's o-okay, it'll heal. Ca-can we find a be-bed or some pl-place for me to lay down?"

"I'll look for a first aid kit or some towels," Y/N ran off as Johnny, Haechan and Chenle helped Yuta down the stairs to a couch.

Y/N had found a bathroom, opening cabinets and drawers, only finding a small rat. Taeil had appeared behind her, a blank stare on his face. He put his hands on her hips, causing her to jump. When she tried to turn around, Taeil held her in place, trapping her against the sink. His hands dragged along her hips as he begun to push her shirt up.

"Just let me know if it becomes too much."

Y/N started to shake as Taeil continued eating her out, scratching down her legs as her moans echoed in the bathroom.

"I wish I had done this earlier," Taeil stood up as he picked Y/N up, pushing her into a wall, an evil smirk painted on his face, "Guess I just need a demon's confidence."

Y/N put her head on Taeil's shoulder as he pushed into her, a high-pitched moan escaping her lips as she looked up, noticing two blurred figures standing at the door. Y/N tried to get Taeil's attention by smacking his back. As her vision got cleared, she saw Johnny and Yuta, staring with mouths agaped.

"Finally!" Yuta cheered Taeil on as he watched the older male thrust at an inhumane space.

"Looks we have an audience now, darling," Taeil waved the glass shard at Johnny and Yuta, the two boys coming into the bathroom as they shut the door, "one more position change, darling, then you'll get your reward, okay?"

Y/N nodded as Taeil pulled out, leaving her empty, legs wobbling underneath. Taeil sat on the floor, patting his lap, Y/N inching her way over. Taeil reached for her hand, gently grabbed her wrist as she goes to sit on his lap cowgirl-style.

"No, turn around, let them have a look," Taeil signaled for the two younger boys to come closer and sit on the floor in front of them, "such a beautiful picture. They'll never get to touch, only watch."

Taeil slipped into Y/N, who let out a yelp as he dragged the glass shard along in her inner thigh, "Master, please let me cum."

"Soon, darling. We should've done this so much sooner," Taeil nicked Y/N's shoulder with the glass shard as he sucked thd blood that released from the wound, "you taste so good, your blood, your juices, your skin. Everything is so sweet."

Y/N begun to squirm in Taeil's arms, she hasn't been able to cum and she's not used to edging. Taeil's free hand came to rub her clit as his thrusts begun to go harder. She felt a rubber band snap and an unusual sensation befell her as Taeil came soon after.

"You're going to take every drop," Taeil kept thrusting, making sure Y/N doesn't waste a single speck of his cum, "beautiful girl, you've done well."

Y/N looked towards the two unexpected audience members, their faces covered in a liquid she assumed came from her.

"You two fuckers know she's mine, you can go," Taeil stayed in Y/N as he waved his hand again, "I see you two dumbasses flirting with her, I won't be gentle like I was this time."

Johnny and Yuta broke out of their trances, amazed at the sight in front of them, an exhausted Y/N, clothes all torn to bits and Taeil's dick inside of her with a puddle in front of the pair. The two scattered, Yuta hitting the door before Johnny opened it and leaving.

"Taeil, I'm not sure what came over you. But I would be lying if I said I wasn't extremely turned on with you fighting Yuta and keeping your cock in me," Y/N grabbed Taeil's arms, wrapping them around her as she snuggled into his arms.

"I'm not sure either, but I think I'm going to stay like this for awhile. Let's get into a more comfortable position," Taeil pulled out, picking Y/N up as he places her on a counter.

"I thought you said no more moving," Y/N whined, leaning on his shoulder as Taeil teased her, rubbing his cock up and down her folds before pushing in once again.

"I lied, sue me," a smirk appeared on Taeil's face as he rubbed her back, a much-welcomen soothing motion to otherwise harsh moment they just shared.

"Maybe I will, maybe we can have another round, but right now, just hold me," Y/N wrapped her tired arms around the boy.

While Taeil was holding Y/N, caressing her body like he has always wanted to do, he catches a glance of himself in the broken mirror. He noticed something comfortably strange that was like a blanket over his body.

His eyes weren't the same they were this morning, one was blacked out while the other was now red instead of his usual deep brown.

The demon started his takeover of Taeil and he wasn't about to stop it.

[skyblue-369]

We are so many on this world, but everybody starts their path here in exact the same way, don't they?

Somehow, that was not my case because I shared my birth with only 42 other children.

On The Twelfth Hour Of The First Day Of October 1989, Forty Three Women Around The World Gave Birth. This Was Unusual Only In The Fact That None Of The Women Had Been Pregnant When The Day First Began.

One of those unfortunate ladies was my mother. I don't know much about her. Just that she happened to pass by a very calm city in Northern Italy when I burst in her life. She didn't even have the time to look at me in the eyes that she decided to leave me by the door of a catholic orphanage. I still don't understand the reason why she didn't at least try to raise me by herself, but it's better like this. I must have caused her a hard trauma, and in addition we would have both lived a sad existence knowing that she didn't want me in the first place.

Anyway, being a religious building, there were nuns to run it. They welcomed me with open arms and named me Maria, even though they saw right away what I was capable of.

They always used to tell me how everytime I cried they had to wear gloves to hold me up because I would cover their hands in musk. Or wait, wait, wait! Also that I created little flower patterns on most of the hall floors when I moved my first steps. Yeah, I can grow plants by the way, but let's move on!

I brought some troubles with me, but they couldn't see a monster through this little girl's laughter. I was just another God's gift that needed care and protection. Actually, precisely because I was special, I was the one to receive it the most.

Besides the common bedroom, I had a space all for myself to practice in. Someone would expect some private garden, maybe a backyard. Now that I think of it, mine looked kinda like a cage, a room whose floor was covered in a thick layer of soil. Only the roof was replaced with a glass one in order to give me access to sunlight. I was supervised for all of my "playtime", when I mostly grew food for our supplies. No high plants were allowed except for fruit trees. Sometimes they'd let me recreate some pictures from my botany books, nothing more. Those brick walls made me frustrated, but I was too superficial at the time to understand they wanted to prevent me from escaping.

People continued to reassure me that I was doing good and that everyone relied on me to survive. They drowned my curiosity with privileges such as eating sweets more often than the others, having a higher education or receiving better gifts at Christmas. I cannot say I was living in luxury, but the nuns did their bests to make me live happily.

On the other side, the only thing they couldn't replace was my lack of affection.

The nuns treated me too well, but the other kids didn't seem happy about it.

It's insane that we've lived under the same roof for so many years, but we felt like acquaintances to each other. Although there was tension between us, they were never mean to me. Or maybe they were just gossiping when no one was watching. As a kid, I didn't understand how true friends are supposed to behave towards you. However, I knew that in friendship there should be a sort of feeling of comfort when staying together, and well, we didn't have it.

At the beginning, I was trying too hard to gain their trust, but then I started repeating to myself "I'm way better than everybody here. I could grow a whole forest in less than a minute if I wanted to. Who needs them? I'll have crowds cheering me one day."

...weird flex but okay

Unfortunately, I hoped to escape my very first failure by finding a family. I insisted and I've had some meetings with nice couples. Even if I couldn't show my powers, I was flawless. Aaand I received total rejection.

Probably it was all just a set up. For once, I envied the other children. Who wouldn't in my position? I had so much love to give and I would have been a good daughter! What have I possibly done wrong? I remember crying on the floor of my private room a few times and getting surrounded by weeds when I got up.

Time passed by and I ended up being eleven and without a family.

I used to dream about moving to the Amazon forest to look for a new species of flower. Maybe I would have found a guy who could talk to animals, who knows?

And then, I fell on a banana peel and slid into a series of unlucky events.

One day, we were having lunch and a silly argument came in. I'm still a teenager, it should be pretty normal at my age, shouldn'it? These two kids were mocking me and they were getting really heavy on me. I wasn't used to insults. Moreover, those words looked more and more like pieces of a bigger truth to me, so much that I hurt myself by pushing my hands over my ears. However, it was a single phrase that started it all.

"How can you even think that someone would love a narcissistic freak like you?"

I remember falling on my knees and closing my eyes, hands still on my ears. I just wanted silence, just for a moment. And I had it, indeed. It's only that when I opened my eyes, I saw them. The boys were lifeless, speared by some big branches all covered in blood. Branches that I made. It was my fault. It was my fault.

I needed to be calmed by those I thought as my loved ones, but I just receieved a shocked stare by every single nun. Some were standing still, while others were taking the children away.

"I can't stay here..." my body finally responded and I started running away. I restrained myself from throwing up. I went out and while I was climbing over the gate my left leg got stuck into a tube full of screws. I took it out right away without caring about my open wounds or how much they were making me suffer. I had to go on, I didn't even know where. I was finally visiting the world I wanted to see so desperately and I didn't even realise it. Eventually, I got to the harbour and both the stress and the seagulls put me to sleep in a ship container.

When I woke up, I didn't expect to be on the other side of the world. A bunch of sailors had brought me to the hospital of a little mountain town in the States called Anise Peak. When the nurse spoke English to me I freaked out. Luckily, I had taken some English classes at the orphanage and I could get away with it. Of course I ran away. They would have called the police and have sent me back to where I was from. I was wandering again, this time in the woods that surrounds the city. I was feeling completely lost. The single thought of the horror I had just committed made me impossible to use my powers in the future, so my chances of dying were higher. Nevertheless, something made me change my mind. Maybe God wanted me to stay longer and decided to bring me to a waterfall. I was taking a cold shower when I slipped on a door of leaves and saw that there was a hidden cave behind the waterfall. Eventually, it became my shelter. I've lived in here for almost three years now. How did I make it?

Well, thanks to my abilities I don't really need money for food. But after a while, when I found out that I couldn't live only on vegetables and fruit, I had to make up something. Almost outside the city old Damien has a supermarket, who unfortunately had a big problem at getting fresh veggies in such a cold area. And here it comes a farmer who lives nearby and is always busy, so sends his daughter to offer the man his services. Every two weeks I magically give him tons of goods in exchange of a little pay and some products such as bread or soap. I know it's not legal at all, but people are simple here and Damien was making a lot of money anyway. For me, it's tiring because I feel dizzy after I grow plants for a long period and because of transport, but at least I could live decently. The problem is that I had to be subtle to people's eyes. At night I have to put out the fire, or if I have to go out aside from work hours I have to climb trees and walk very high. I learned with time, and my scars prove it. Or maybe I can't walk around the town because everyone would recognise a new face.

I cannot call this "life" or "home", but it's fine at the moment. I get lonely from time to time, but I can always spy on families that come here camping. It's not that weird and it improves my language skills.

Oh my! Are those...gunshots? From the woods? What the hell is happening? It's better if I go check...

If you want to know more, go check:

[srona58]

When I Drift Off, I'll Dream About You (Part 1)

***PLEASE DO NOT COPY OR STEAL: this is listed on Wattpad, FF.net, AND AO3, all under either SRona58 or ShannonRona.***

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Marvel or Iron Man.

A/N: Totally fan made, written PRE A4!  Just a guess, something I made based off of the trailer we got today.  Might be a multi part thing, I don't really know yet.

Part 2: http://srona58.tumblr.com/post/180913150946/when-i-drift-off-ill-dream-about-you-part-2   

"This thing on?"

It was a stupid question.  The flickering glow of the face plate eyes as they scanned his image for a video recording should've answered his question, but these days, he was used to talking to himself.  It was comforting, for some reason.  The silence, for the first time in his life was nice, but...there's only so much silence he could take before he started going insane.  But that's how it would be...there was no definite path home, and now he was facing the end of his legacy, the end of Tony Stark as he knew himself.

So, he had to say goodbye to Pepper.  Just in case someday Nebula was able to transport his body home...he had to say goodbye to her, to remind her he love-loved...her.

Once the helmet was recording, he slumped back against the metal parts of the ship, weak from lack of food and water.  It was already hard to breathe; the air was thinning, and his lungs felt like collapsing.  Eventually, he would use the rest of the air, so talking now wouldn't matter.  As long as she knew...

"Hey, Miss Potts," he managed through a hoarse voice, battling his own defeat down.  "Or...Mrs Stark?  Potts-Stark?"  He huffed in his own delirious amusement.  "Guess we never decided. That's okay...we'll, uh...we'll figure it out."

He paused, feeling choked up for a second.  But this was a recording for Pepper.  For her to remember him by, not for her to feel sad every time she saw it.  Though, he wouldn't blame her if she did.  He wasn't hiding it well; he was emotional and moody due to lack of, well, everything he needed to survive, and the scar in his abdomen that he healed temporarily was starting to get infected and there was nothing he could do about the pain of that, either.  He looked like a skeleton, his face sunken in and his stomach growling louder than a bear, and there was no cover up for that.  Hopefully, she'd hold onto other memories of him when he was more...himself.

"Hey, I was thinking..." he tried next, tossing a loose screw aside and leaning his head back against the wall behind him, his knees up as arm rests in front of him.  "What if we didn't do the big wedding thing?  Lose all the hype, just...go to a court house or something.  You can invite your family, if you want.  ...You are my family; I don't have anyone else.  Except...Rhodey and Happy, maybe...Morgan?"

He sighed, thinking of their last conversation together.  God, all he wanted was to give her a family.  Give her a shot at something normal...

"I dunno, Pep..." he whispered, looking down at the floor now to hide the way he tried to blink back tears.  "I just felt like..."

No.  This wasn't supposed to make her feel guilty, this was supposed to be an explanation, a promise that he cared for her and that he was doing the right thing when he...passed?

"Never mind, I'm rambling..." he mumbles, shaking his head before running a hand through his hot, messy hair.  "I'm up here in space, you're not."

There was no way for her to be pregnant.  Not now, anyway.  She wasn't before, so she wouldn't be now.  He was sort of needed for that.  He was talking nonsense, just hoping desperately for some kind of confirmation that he did something right before he died.

"Uh...  If you find this recording somehow...if my body makes it back to Earth or something...don't feel bad about it," he requested instead.  "I probably didn't suffer.  Honestly, I'll probably knock out and lose consciousness when I start to run out of air.  It's not a bad way to go, considering all the ways I've cheated death before..."

He chuckled lightly, realizing how much of a lucky son of a bitch he really was, in the scheme of things.

"...Part of the journey is the end.  And...I've reached my end."

But then he quieted, looking out the big window of the ship into starry space.  

"For the record, being adrift in space with...zero promise of rescue...is more fun than it sounds," he sighed, eyes closing as he let his head fall back a second time and he sucked in a deep breath, trying not to gasp for air unless he felt particularly short breathed.  "I thought..." he began, then pressed his lips together, frustrated.  "I used to have those nightmares about it, you know?  The portal and the big dragon things, and...it isn't like that out here.  It's...peaceful.  Maybe it's because nothing exists anymore, maybe you don't even exist anymore, who knows..."

That was the worst part.  Him, recording this, not even sure if Pepper would ever receive it.  If he died, would anyone ever save her?  Bring her back?  Give her the life she deserved, maybe without the pain of knowing him?  He ruined her life, after all.  He made her fall in love with him, just to do this...just to disappear.

"There's just nothing out here," he finally continued, eyes glossing over as he kept his gaze out the window, tone emotionless and exhausted at this point.  "Nothing out here to help, nothing out here to hurt.  It's the first peace and quiet I've had in a very, very long time, actually..."

And then he forced himself to tell her the details, realizing he was getting light headed and it had to be nearing midnight.  He had mere hours left...  Nebula would make it, she was more robot than human, and could function on no oxygen, but he had no chance in hell.

"Food and water ran out four days ago..." he admitted quietly.  "Oxygen will run out tomorrow morning....  And that'll be it."

As he said it, a weird calm overcame him.  Sure, he hadn't lead a good life to start, but he had changed.  He bettered himself to better the rest of the world, and now half of that was gone.  He attempts to redesign his drive...pointless.  What was left of the world...might be better off without his attempts.  He'd just disappear.  But a name in a history book, someone to blame for all of this.  The infamous Iron Man, who couldn't save everyone.  

"I'll just...drift off into sleep," he whispered, bringing his attention back to the helmet as he pushed himself up and knelt down in front of it, knowing his time was coming to an end.  "Just like I do every night.  Nothing new, just...sleep, dreams...  Only this time I won't wake up.  But when I do drift off..." he swallowed, "I'll dream about you."

Sighing, he reached out to turn off the recording, but hesitated, not knowing if it was the right place to end it.

"It's always you..." he added.  "I love you, Pep."

And then a tear finally slipped out of his eye and down his cheek, so he ultimately rushed to turn off the recording and save it, storing it within the helmet.  His hand lingered, caressing the side of it as he remembered.  Remembered the suits, remembered her.  Everything Iron Man meant to him.

He remembered her fiery red hair against that blue dress the first time he saw her.  Really saw her, not just the friend he hired to do all his paperwork, but the woman he...fell in love with, that night, despite what she believed.  He remembered her excitement when he gave her the CEO title, the rush of their first kiss on the roof.  He remembered her voice as it soothed him in his nightmares, her hand when he put the ring into place on her finger, the way she bit her lip when he asked for a kid...  And now it was all gone.

He would've killed - ironic, right - to listen to any of her old voicemails to lull him into sleep, to calm his erratic heart so he could go without panic, but if he did, he would exhaust the last of the power for the helmet and she would never have a chance at getting his message.  So he couldn't.  He would die alone, in space, facing his worst fear without a choice.

Except, he had at least one person.  Nebula, the being he'd befriended over the last...however long it had been, he really had no idea; he'd lost count weeks ago.

He tugged on that old track jacket - the same one he had worn the last day he was with her - and crossed his arms as he scooted back against the floor.  And that's when he heard her footsteps coming to check on him.  She'd given him privacy to record, but even she wanted to say goodbye before he tried to sleep.

"She'll get your message," the blue robot promised, hand on his shoulder as he sat back again, closing his eyes.

"You have to make it back first," he mumbled, and that's when her hand slid back off.

"I will.  I can last out here.  Someone will cross my path eventually."

He sighed, knowing it was a long shot.  They had been powerless for days, and she'd have to eat eventually too...  Sure, her diet was a little different, but she still did have human parts which would expire if they didn't get the things they needed.  She was just less dependent as he was.

"I'll kill Thanos for you," she promised next. "They'll remember you."

And that just made him laugh, smirking that usual Tony Stark smirk.  "Just like he wanted..."

Next came the shared silence of a goodbye, and then the long hours he spent wishing he could sleep but knowing he was too afraid.  He tried to picture her, picture all of the happy smiles they shared...but it was hard.  He hadn't seen her in so long...

"I'm sorry, Pep..." he whispered when he finally gave up.  "God, I'm so sorry..."

And then, as he started to believe maybe there was a chance, his ears began to ring from pressure and he felt faint.  There was no vision, no energy left to open his eyes.  But he swore...he swore on every fiber of his being, as he slowly slipped into an oxygen deprived sleep, the last thing he inhaled through his nostrils was her scent...lemon, ginger, and...Pepper.