#maybe Stan gets a job in the town even though he wouldn’t need to since Ford gets that good good research grant money

[doctorsiren]

Maybe you could call it Reunited Stans AU?

Also, how do you think the gravity falls locals would see those two? I think Ford would end up getting out of the cabin much more because of Stan. Maybe you could draw them going to town for drinks? I don't know.

I like to think the town locals would either be horrified of them and talk about them as cryptids in their own right, or just be annoyed by their shenanigans

I just remembered they’d be in their early 20s when coming to Gravity Falls haha

But yes they’d definitely start out as “those weird twins that live in the forest” but once Stanley starts feeling like he’s actually safe from that old life Ford pulled him out of, he starts going into the town, which then leads to him dragging Ford along

It’s probably a mix of both, where the town sees them as those odd guys and then also get annoyed by what they do, but also I think they’d think of them as a new endearing staple of their town once the whole “newcomer / stranger” title fades from them. It’d be sort of the same way Stan is in canon with the Mystery Shack, where even though people find him annoying, they also always come to the events.

Also Stanley 😭 your brother does not wanna be in that bar, let him go do nerd things

[rayofsunas]

baby daddy | kaeya [2]

A/n: so already, in the first five minutes of me beginning to write tumblr decided to delete stuff again, so that’s pretty swag ;-; but nonetheless, I’m alright lmao, I’ve been super happy this week ever since I pulled xiao AND mona after wanting to give up plsss. also, I can’t exactly remember if I gave Klara a age in the last part, so I would just like to clarify that she’s one lol. anyways, here’s part two and I hope you guys enjoy!! it took me four hours to write this

Summary: kaeya wants to set a good example for his children, naturally. so he’s given up a lot of things, one being his excessive drinking. but being a knight is hard, despite how nonchalant he seems and he finds himself slipping sometimes… when you find out about it, you’re less than happy and decide spending time with the children would be a good idea for him. he’s more than happy to spend time with the three little monsters, but, he never realized what a normal day was for you when taking care of them.

Parings: Kaeya/Fem! Reader

Warnings: children, fluff, reader and kaeya are mid 20s, alcohol, Klara and Katheryne are friends because I said so, stan Katheryne she helps us so much-

Word count: 2.3k

The sun was slowly but surely rising, leaving beautiful orange and yellow hues to paint the usually bright blue sky, and Kaeya couldn’t be happier. Unlike the last couple of days, he’d been able to wake up, eat a quiet breakfast with you before the kids woke up though he tried and successfully tried to flirt his way into your already claimed heart, and then when Klara woke up, he got the chance to contently feed the wailing little girl; something he shockingly missed. 

Even if at that moment, the tears and cries were a lot more than he could handle, he was more than happy to do something too trivial, just because he was spending more time with her. And unlike the other days, he’d been able to take her for her morning walk, before he’d have to report to headquarters.

Most citizens were still asleep, though very few could be seen preparing for the days work, a few stall owners he noted, as he held Klara’s tiny chubby hand and helped her walk through the town, though she greatly seemed to like speed, already worlds ahead with her mobility. 

“Slow down, my little Mist Flower.” She was moving as fast as her little legs could take her, straight towards Katheryne who sometimes gave the little girl trinkets, saying adventurers had brought back things they didn’t wish to keep or had no use for. Even if Klara couldn’t really speak, she knew little things, “Thank you” was one of them, so she was always grateful despite not knowing exactly what they were. And although Katheryne seemed to not be human, some sort of machine with a very robot-like tone, she also made sure to let little Klara know how happy she was to give the youngest Alberich little trinkets. 

“Good morning, Katheryne.” Kaeya called, grinning when his daughter’s eyes widened at the mention of the kind receptionist. As the pair approached the young woman, Klara yanked on her father's white cloak, instructing him to lift her into his arms, so she could get a better look, and Katheryne, usually behind the tall wooden counter.

“Oh- good morning, Captain Kaeya!” The woman exclaimed, eyes lighting up when she saw the little girl she adored very much. “And little Klara, good morning.” She was happy to see the pair well, seeing as though she hadn’t seen Klara in days. 

“Hi, Kat...” Klara whispered with a shy smile, Katheryne smiled even more because of the use of the nickname she’d been given.

She was just the most adorable little girl ever, Katheryne couldn’t help but think. 

All three Alberich children were the sweetest, though obviously, Klara had a sweet place in her heart especially. Adrien was an identical copy of you, sarcastic, very stubborn, but very respectable for such a young age. And Elena was a smart cookie, a young girl who enjoyed questioning and correct everyone and everything that she came across. Lastly, little Klara, who had much growing to do was the pride and joy of the large Alberich family. Everyone adored her and she continuously swayed hearts wherever she went, just her cute curiosity alone was enough to bring a smile to even Wagner’s face, who typically seemed grumpy. 

Katheryne felt very lucky to have met them in this lifetime, they were a gift from the Archons, truly. Everyone knew Katheryne as the Adventurer Guild's Receptionist but to Klara? She was Kat, a generous friend who gave her gifts. 

Though a sad frown graced the young woman's lips, Kaeya ever so observantly caught on, something was wrong.

“I’m very saddened to say this, but I’m afraid there aren’t any new trinkets suitable enough for little Klara today...” Yes indeed was the receptionist saddened, evident by every feature on her face. “There’s been a shortage it seems of adventurers and travelers willing to take the commissions.” The brunette stated.

“Why is this?” The Cavalry Captain questioned, silently huffing when the one-year-old attached to his hip kept chewing on his white fur cloak, closest to his neck. Great, another issue added to the mix. Maybe she had begun teething again? Archons, Kaeya really felt as though he’d missed so much, seeing as though he couldn’t remember the last time his youngest daughter had teethed or even if she'd stopped entirely together. In short, he probably hadn’t been there for that either, courtesy of his position and job. 

“From my understanding, there have been more hoards of monsters, and something about a mutation as well,” Noted Katheryne, watching as the curiosity built upon the man's features. “Would you like to take a few of the commissions? To show Acting Grand Master Jean?”

The part bout there being an abundance of monsters did sound familiar, he’d been hearing about that a lot recently, but mutated forms as well? That was new... He’d have to bring that up today at the briefing, maybe Jean would know more than he currently did. 

“None of that will be necessary. I’m heading there now, after I drop Klara off back home, I’ll just forward the information to her personally.” Katheryne nodded, seemingly getting sidetracked and entranced by the bright violet-eyed toddler staring at her, with her father's white fur cloak still in her mouth. 

Adorable. 

She still couldn’t help but feel bad though. The only trinkets that had been brought back from any scarce, but recent missions were partially damaged swords waiting for Wagner to fix or scrap into new materials.

Such a thing did not belong in the hands of a child, nonetheless the ever so gentle Klara Alberich, she was too sweet for this world to be handed a complimentary sword, even if she had heard Kaeya say the countless amount of times that he wanted to eventually teach each of the children how to use a sword, preferring to start earlier, rather than later. And from Katheryne’s overheard? She now knew it had been somewhat of a topic of discussion between you and Kaeya, causing mini spouts of anger and frustration. 

Archons, how she wishes she had something suitable to give the little girl...

Katheryne nervously fidgeted. “Oh and about the trinkets-”

The usual daily gifts Kaetheryne would give to Klara, were absent today. Due to one big factor; adventurers and travelers weren’t taking commissions, therefore, they weren’t bringing back what Katheryne saw as unique finds, but they claimed to have no use for.

“No worries,” He was more worried about the fact that adventurers weren’t taking commissions instead of the usual trinkets Katheryne would give his daughter, nonetheless he offered reassurance. It really was no big deal.

Kaeya indeed was something else entirely, Katheryne concluded. A mind reader, some sort of witch- just different. How had he known without her even saying anything?

She was stunned for quite some time, though still feeling guilty despite his supposed reassurance. The guilt partially stemmed from the fact that Klara was staring so intently at her, with big blue-purple-hued eyes, unknowingly being one of the main stressors of Katheryne’s guilt... 

“Klara has too many nicknacks anyways,” You and Kaeya were sure she’d be some kind of trinket collector when she was older, seeing as though she had so many already. “Y/n says you spoil her.” Kaeya’s statement almost sounded like he was scolding her, but if not for the grin and chuckle he offered that immediately followed, she wouldn’t have known he was being entirely playful. 

“That is not my intention. She’s just so adorable, I cannot stop myself,” Kaeya laughed, glancing down at the toddler. She was adorable, his little Mist Flower.

“If it bother you or Miss Y/n, I’ll-”

“It’s quite alright, Katheryne, no need to worry,” Kaeya announced smoothly, dramatically waving his hand to show he was dismissing her statements of protest and concern.

“Alright...”

Eventually, Kaeya did take his leave, much to Katheryne’s dismay. She’d probably see Klara tomorrow, if he stayed true to his schedule, so she remained hopeful and excited for tomorrow. 

Before he knew it, Kaeya was bringing Klara home, giving you and Elena - who was now awake - hugs and kisses, telling you both to let Adrien know he loved him and that he’d return soon - he was still asleep. And then just like that Kaeya was out the door again and off to headquarters.

-

No one expected him to be at the Cat’s Tail this late at night, but it wasn’t entirely unexpected nor rare by any means, he was a familiar face after all. 

It was unexpected because Kaeya claimed he had given up the incessant and excessive drinking years ago when his firstborn, Adrien graced Teyvat. Sadly, it was expected, because it seemed he’d been in here more in the last week than in the last few years... Though, patrons who often visited the tavern were all betting on the fact that you were entirely clueless to how much he’d been drinking; they were right. You were too busy taking care of the children and training to hopefully join the Knights again, to even keep up with your husband's drinking habits. So, it went unnoticed. 

Diluc though, who was often at the tavern, noticed it unlike you. Kaeya had been a great pretender, a great spy; good at keeping secrets, but when he had secrets, somehow Diluc always found himself finding out first, if not second, closely behind you. And unfortunately - Diluc thought - he was on the more personal spectrum concerning the certain Knight... He was his brother, your brother in law, an uncle... He disliked what Kaeya was doing, greatly. Especially since it felt as though his idiotic brother was going behind his family's back. No, he hadn’t promised to quit entirely, but he’d made it seem that way to you. Probably a fabrication so you wouldn’t worry... 

Diluc should’ve known he'd find himself back here again, trying to get his once again, idiotic brother, to leave and go home. The pyro user couldn’t understand. His brother had everything he didn’t. A beautifully devoted wife, three amazingly easy children, a status many simple Knights and Guards would kill for; Captain. And he’d rather risk it all for a drink or two, maybe three.

You thought nothing of it. Kaeya was out late a lot, more often than not patrol and paperwork held him from returning home, but on the rare occasions that he had a sliver of free time that wasn’t spent with you and the kids, he was drinking. 

You always knew when he wouldn’t be returning, in the form of a letter from Kaeya, stating he was alright but would be staying to do paperwork, etc. It would be brought by one of his underlings, Knights or Guards in training. But when that letter never came, you panicked. 

Was he alright? He never forgot to write... Maybe he was held up?

Thankfully, Lisa had decided to come over for tea earlier and had still been here trying her best to reassure you, after seeing how worried you’d been after not receiving any letter. 

“You should probably return home, I’ll be alright.” You kept reassuring the librarian, though she wasn’t falling for it. She could practically feel the stress and anxiety oozing off of you, it was concerning. 

You could only be thankful Amber had been busy and couldn’t come over for tea or else she would’ve ripped Kaeya a new one when she got ahold of him. He’d never be able to leave for missions again, without getting a reminder from Amber to reach out or else...

“Darling, I’m not leaving until he returns.” She took your hands in hers, hoping to offer you comfort. Lisa had always been there for you, which you were very thankful

She had no prior experience with children, though she was incredible with your own. You figured because she was one of the older members of the Knights of Favonius, she had taken more of a big sister role and the youngers looked up to her wisdom. Though she wasn’t much older than you, only by five or six years, so she was really like an older sister towards you as well. Lisa was a very kind woman, you appreciated her tons.

“Maybe I should go find him? I could ask around...”

“Please don’t stress, Y/n,” Lisa said. “You’re too beautiful to stress. I trust that he’ll be here soon.”

Lisa was in fact right. Kaeya returned soon after she had said he would. Master Diluc knocked on the door close to midnight, hanging off his arm was your drunk husband. When you saw him slumped on his brother's shoulder, you immediately assumed the worst. Maybe he’d been physically harmed. You were under the impression he had stopped drinking. 

But then, when you allowed Diluc to step further into the house, you got a huge waft of what you quickly recognized as alcohol. Surprisingly enough for Diluc, you didn’t yell, instead, you just stared at Kaeya with disappointment, gravitating towards him to try and take him from his brother's arms. 

“Thank you Diluc, I’m sorry you had to deal with this so late.”

The Ragnivndr wanted to scold his brother, for making a fool of himself and you, leaving you worried and disappointed. But, using better judgment, Diluc just nodded and offered an understanding and apology, on behalf of his out of it brother. 

“It’s quite alright, I-”

“I’m sorry he had to come home this way,” Diluc stated, glaring at the taller man.

You hummed, helping Kaeya stumble into your living room, both Lisa and Diluc watching with worried gazes from the door. “Don’t worry, I’m just glad he’s safe.”

Diluc once again, realized his idiotic brother did not deserve you or your kindness and understanding. He was one lucky man, that was for sure.

[🏷] TAGLIST (if you want to be removed from/added to this specific taglist let me know!)

@gladly-olus , @kyquu , @craptainlou , @mintydump , @chscklvr , @irisxiel , @minh0ree​

2.10.21, rayofsunas

[ladylynse]

Chapter 5 of Forewarning [FF | AO3]

All Dipper knew was that there was something buried in some special thermos behind the shack; all Danny knew was that he had no idea how he’d gotten here.

Inspired by this artwork by @hashtag-art

(beginning | previous)

-|-

“Look, kid,” Stan said after taking a quick peek at his watch, “I need to get going, and you shouldn’t be working on any of this by yourself.” He nodded at the portal. Truth was, he didn’t want Danny touching it at all when he wasn’t around. “Safer for both of us if you keep your expertise on these things for when I’m around to hear what you’re saying. That sound good?”

Fortunately for Stan, the kid nodded. His next repetition of that proposal might’ve been a lot less careful and a lot more, well, direct. Not his usual method, not punching, not now that he knew at least part of this kid was human and still very much a kid and that the part that wasn’t could go right through his punches, but he’d learned enough from the kid to know the sort of thing that would work. Quite aside from the fact that Stan knew exactly how dangerous some of this stuff could be, he wasn’t going to risk thirty years of work being for nothing if something got changed when he wasn’t around to see it happen.

Of course, that was why he had to say this next part. And he couldn’t even be very subtle at it, since he was pretty sure subtle would go over the kid’s head. “I wanna protect my family,” he said. “That includes everyone you’ve met up there, and that includes protecting them from all of this.”

Dammit, the kid was pulling a face. “I’m not sure if you can.” His words were slow. Deliberate. “From what I can tell, when you finally get to the point where you turn this on…. It’s going to be obvious.”

Stan snorted. “Not more obvious than any of the other things that go on around here.” He might not like where things had been headed, but he could make this particular turn of the conversation work to his advantage if he picked the right words, and he was very good at doing that. Experience could be an effective teacher. “It’s not a coincidence you got the reaction you did. This place is called the Mystery Shack for a reason.”

“This place is tourist trap.”

“Not all of it. And every single person up there knows it.” Stan jabbed his thumb towards the ceiling. “You do, too.” Judging both by what he’d said and the way he was acting. Stan was not foolish enough to think that Danny was comfortable right now. “That book you mentioned earlier? Yeah, it might need updating, but you already know not all the info in it is wrong.” He saw Danny frown and kept going, adding on what he’d wanted to say in the first place. “Tell you what. You want to make sure the book the kids are looking at is accurate when it comes to you not planning on destroying all of us where we stand? Grab it and stash it down here. We can update it tonight.”

The kid rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know if stealing it is the best way to go.”

It was the best way for Stan, but all he really needed out of it were the missing pages of blueprints. The rest of the info in there might be useful, but it wasn’t immediately important. There was more than one way for him to get a look at those pages. “Then ask for it.” All he needed was for Dipper to pull that book out in his sight so he could ask to see it, even if he pretended it wasn’t important, or at least not nearly as important as it was….

“I don’t…. You were listening when I said they threatened to exorcise me, right? They probably already would’ve if they hadn’t been too busy asking me questions. They’re never going to hand that over to me when they don’t trust me.”

Oh, oh, that was getting dangerously close to so why don’t you just ask for it? territory, and Stan didn’t want to go there. “You give them much reason to trust you?”

Silence.

That’s what he’d thought.

“I’m keeping this a secret to protect all of them,” Stan said with a nod towards the portal. “You know how dangerous this is if they accidentally mess something up, and I’m not about to present them with Pandora’s Box.” There was enough truth in that to be believable; he could see the rueful agreement on Danny’s face. “You’re trying to protect yourself with your secrets, but that’s just putting you in danger. Wasn’t that why you came clean with me?”

It wasn’t the whole reason. Stan knew that. But it was part of the reason. It was reason enough.

Danny sighed. “Yeah, okay. You’re right. I’ll try to explain. I wouldn’t mind the backup, though. They act first and ask questions later.”

“Survival instinct. You don’t have to live here long to get it.”

“Gathering that,” the kid muttered, his eyes flicking over the hidden lab once more. Then, louder, “Fine. I’ll talk to them. But you’ll at least save me before they do anything drastic if it goes sideways, right?”

And back to the tricky part. He suspected that one of the reasons Dipper had never told him about the journal was that he made a big show about not believing in any of this. An effective show. “Just be yourself. No more tricks. Don’t know who you’re used to fooling, but we’re made of more skeptical stock out here.”

It wasn’t a promise, and narrowed eyes told him that had been noticed. After a heartbeat, though, the kid’s shoulders relaxed, and his suspicion drained away. “That’s one of the ways you’re trying to protect them, isn’t it? By not admitting how much you know.”

He hadn’t expected Danny to hit that particular nail on the head, at least not so quickly, but Stan grunted in affirmation anyway. The kid hadn’t argued, which meant he’d seen the point of it, even if he hadn’t realized the breadth of Stan’s motives behind that choice.

“I get that,” he whispered. “I’m doing something similar. Sometimes the…. Sometimes the truth hurts, y’know? And it’s just easier to live the lie. Safer. For everyone.”

Practice was the only thing that kept the surprise off his face. For all of Danny’s rambling earlier, he’d neatly avoided alluding to that before.

“It isn’t always.” Stan was painfully aware of that. Sixer had realized it, too, before…before…. “Your situation isn’t the same as mine. Just because you think secrecy is the right choice for everyone else and not just you, doesn’t mean it is, and you shouldn’t assume as much simply because it’s more convenient for you.” Rich words, maybe, coming from him, but the kid had no idea of how much of his life was a lie.

He had no idea it went far beyond a secret lab, a reverse engineered portal, and a determination to fix his mistakes.

“Maybe.” It was clear that Danny didn’t want to talk about it. That suited Stan just fine. He didn’t want to keep talking about this, either. “I need to get home before I get to worry about that, though.”

Stan wouldn’t mind having words with the being that had put Danny in this situation, and not just because he suspected it might give him some insight about his brother if said being happened to be in a talkative mood. The ghost—if the thing really was a ghost like Danny claimed and the kid wasn’t wrong about that—sounded like he could use a knuckle sandwich to go with said words, and Stan wouldn’t have a problem serving that up.

“Then I’ll see you back here tonight.”

“No. I…. I’ll see you before that. Because you’re right. I need to explain myself. You might not be the only one I’m supposed to help.”

Stan wasn’t entirely convinced the kid was really supposed to help anyone. Manipulative beings came in all sorts, and they were usually smart enough to have agendas that either aligned with what you seemed to need to do anyway or were just plain impossible to realize until it was too late to turn back. Saying that wouldn’t help the kid, though, so Stan just nodded. “You head up first. I’ll catch up.”

-|-

Dipper had decided to chop some wood, thinking��among other things—that Wendy might see what he’d accomplished and tell him he’d done a good job of it.

The problem was, even he knew he wasn’t doing a good job, and there was very little chance of him turning it into a good job by the time she saw it.

So far, he’d accumulated a small pile of interesting wedges on the ground and what felt like the beginning of three blisters, two on his right hand and one on the left. He was sore and hot and sweaty, despite ditching his vest and using it to cover up the journal. He was getting better, though. Marginally. Maybe.

Dipper took a deep breath, judged the angle, and then swung. The axe hit true, biting into the dead centre of the block of wood he was trying to split with a satisfying thunk. And then it stuck there.

What should have been a great feat had come to failure in time to be witnessed by his sister.

“Just hit the ground like you’re playing whack-a-mole,” Mabel suggested as she dumped a handful of sticks into the box of kindling that would eventually make its way over to the fire pit. “That’s gotta be easier than yanking it out.”

“Safer, too, probably,” Dipper agreed, but Mabel was standing there and watching him now, and it wasn’t working fast enough. At least, two more solid whacks hadn’t split it. He tried to swing harder and managed to catch the edge of the wood block on the ground, tilting it but not loosening it entirely—nor, notably, splitting the wood in half.

“I could try,” offered Mabel, but Dipper shook his head.

“I can do this.”

“We might not need it, anyway. Soos split some earlier.”

“It’s always good to have extra.”

“Suit yourself, bro-bro.”

Dipper assumed Mabel would head back out to gather more deadwood, but she just stood there and picked stray bits of bark out of her sweater. He gave up trying to split the wood block—or straighten it out on the axe; he wasn’t picky at the moment—and instead let his aching arms rest. “What’s bothering you? The phantom, or whatever he really is?” It was safe enough for them to talk; Grunkle Stan and Wendy had gone into town, and Soos was touching up the window frames with a fresh coat of paint. Not that Dipper wouldn’t have had this conversation right now if Soos were in earshot, since he trusted Soos, but if Phantom did decide to pull some tricks, it wasn’t smart to give him leverage.

In Dipper’s limited experience of ghosts, they were happy to use things and people you cared about against you.

Not finding more bits of bark in her sweater, Mabel began tracing circles on the ground with her the toe of her shoe. “I know you’re worried about this,” she said slowly, “and what it said in the journal—”

“I don’t even know everything the journal says. That’s what worries me.”

“But I don’t think Phantom is that bad. I mean, he hasn’t attacked us, even when we split up.” They hadn’t split up far, true—she’d stuck close, well within screaming distance and maybe even his sprinting distance, after their summer so far—but Dipper had thought that might coax Phantom out into the open again. It hadn’t, but Phantom not falling for it didn’t mean Mabel was right.

“He’s not like Mermando. It’s not just a stroke of bad luck that he’s here. He was trapped in that thermos. It can’t have been because he’s nice.”

Mabel stuck out her tongue at him. “Then why’d you open it?”

“Because I didn’t think ‘something stuck in some special thermos’ meant ‘secret containment of something that can kill you more easily than everything else in this journal and is freakily good at pretending to be human.’ I thought it was going to be a note!”

“You mean you thought it was going to tell you who the author was.”

Dipper sighed and sat down, shifting as a wood chip dug into his leg. “I thought it might be a clue to his identity,” he admitted, “or hints about the other journals. We don’t know anything about them.”

Mabel dropped down beside him and started pulling out blades of grass. “What if Phantom is right and we—you—need to forget about the author? Before we get in over our heads?”

“You know I can’t just forget about this. It’s…. There’s so much here. I can’t just walk away and pretend I didn’t see any of it. I just…. I can’t.”

Mabel nodded as if she hadn’t expected him to say anything else. “I think Danny—Phantom—whoever—came back earlier.”

“What? Why didn’t you tell me?” He scrambled to his feet and glanced at the shack, which looked exactly as it had the last time he’d looked at it. The runes must be holding up. “How long ago?”

“When Wendy sent us outside. And I didn’t tell you because we’d already drawn all that warding stuff. And because I don’t think he’s as bad as you think he is.”

“You can’t risk everything just because you think he’s cute!”

“I’m not! If he wanted to hurt us, he could have. You know that. I think he’s looking for something. If we help him, he’ll be able to go home and everything will be fine.” She tossed bits of shredded grass aside. “Sit down. Please?” Dipper sighed and sat down, so she continued, “You know not everything in the book is dangerous. And you don’t know that he’s dangerous; you’re just assuming that because you don’t know what the book really says.”

“His section is in a special code. What am I supposed to think?”

“The section about him. Not the section telling you how to find him.”

Dipper stared at her for a few heartbeats. “You really don’t think the author wrote that part, do you?”

“Is the handwriting the same?”

“It’s similar enough. The code is more symbols than letters, anyway.”

“Maybe it’s a message for Phantom then, not whoever finds him.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“He knows time travel is real, and he knows someone around here has done it. That’s not something people randomly guess.”

It didn’t mean he was innocent, either, but Mabel had already made up her mind. It was like she’d forgotten the last time someone supposedly completely innocent and pretending to be human had turned up in their lives, which had already happened more times than Dipper would have thought possible before this summer. Sure, there was a chance she was right, but if Phantom didn’t have some nefarious plan, why masquerade as a human? Had he honestly thought they wouldn’t see through it?

“Okay,” Dipper said slowly. “Let’s assume our warding in working. If he still came back and hasn’t shown himself to us, then he’s looking for something, and he thinks it’s hidden inside.”

“And he doesn’t think we have it or he would’ve been more subtle.” Mabel wrinkled her nose. “He was knocking on walls and the floor and stuff, like he thought something would be hollowed out.”

“He thinks Grunkle Stan is storing something under the floorboards?” No, that couldn’t be right. Grunkle Stan wouldn’t have stashed anything useful for a ghost. “He thinks the author did? Maybe he does know about the journals and just didn’t want to tell us. Maybe he thinks the first one is hidden inside!”

“Or maybe I was wrong and he does think we have it and he’s trying to scare us into moving it.”

“You don’t think he’d try torturing us or something like a normal phantom of pain?”

Mabel shrugged. “He really doesn’t act like the other ghosts.”

No, he didn’t, which didn’t sit well with Dipper. Did he claim to be a phantom to throw them off the scent? It couldn’t be to try to intimidate them—from what Dipper had seen, he could’ve impersonated a category ten if that were the case—so maybe it was meant to mislead them, to keep them too preoccupied to realize the truth.

It was working.

Dipper huffed. “I know you want to trust him. Fine. I can’t, not until I get some answers.”

“Then let’s get some answers.”

“Summoning him again won’t exactly make him want to tell us anything,” Dipper said with a grimace.

“Talking to him might,” Mabel said, her gaze fixing on something over his shoulder.

Dipper swallowed and turned. It was Phantom all right, back as Danny Fenton. He was coming from the right direction, walking in from the path that led towards town, but Mabel wouldn’t have been wrong about earlier, which meant he was deliberately trying to be sneaky. Great. At least he wasn’t that good at it, judging by his attempts to play off Fenton as just a friend earlier.

“You see if you can get the axe free,” Dipper muttered, picking up a stick that was meant to be kindling for later. “I’m going to see how far I can get on a protective circle before he gets here.”

-|-

Soos stepped back and eyed his handiwork. It wasn’t his best. It wasn’t as good as he’d like. The salt had made the paint clumpier than he was used to, but Wendy had been right about it being a good starting point. If they weren’t sure exactly what they were dealing with but it seemed ghost-like, salting the thresholds without being too obvious about it was a good start.

He’d spent the last twenty minutes going over the door and window frames. He should probably find an excuse to go on the roof and do something around the chimney, though not with the paint colour he had. That would be too obvious on the shingles, and not drawing attention to what he was doing was preferable.

He still thought the kids should know right now, but Wendy had a point. Dipper wouldn’t be able to resist getting involved, and he’d think it was his job to save them all. If they could get a few preventative measures in place before the kids knew all the details—and, preferably, if he and Wendy could get a better idea of what those details were first—then maybe there wouldn’t be any more saving left to do.

Just because Wendy didn’t trust this not-quite-a-ghost, didn’t meant it was actually out to get them. Soos liked being an optimist. You needed to be, sometimes, to get through what life tossed at you. It could hurt—he wouldn’t deny that—but he figured it was better to hope than to just give in to doom and gloom and despair.

Ghost stories after marshmallows, Wendy had said. Marshmallows wouldn’t be the only thing she was getting in town, but Soos wasn’t sure how they were supposed to fight an unknown entity. If they didn’t know what it was, there were only so many general things they could try before they ran out of ways to stop it. They had enough things around here already if something needed to be set on fire, but if it required something weirdly specific, like holy oil? That wasn’t something you could just pick up from the grocery store.

All right, so maybe that’s another reason Soos wanted to tell the kids sooner rather than later. Even if Stan didn’t believe in all this, they did, and Dipper’s book clearly had some information in it. They’d be more than willing to sell this whole thing as a gimmick to their grunkle, too. Well. They might try to convince him it was all real first. Then they’d settle for selling it as a gimmick.

Another coat of lumpy salt paint wasn’t going to improve matters right now, so Soos scraped the remaining paint into a can he could seal and store for later and set about washing out the bucket and brush. He could grab his hammer and nail down a few loose shingles on the roof. That would give him a good reason to be up there. Maybe he could mix some salt with glue and then hammer down some shingles on top of that. It might last a little longer. It might last long enough, which was all that really mattered right now.

Soos was swapping supplies in the toolshed when he heard the crunch of gravel underfoot. No roar of an engine or whine of the golf cart, but the kids had been out in the other direction when he’d left them. He stuck his head outside, waving at a teen who had stopped awkwardly in the driveway at his appearance. With Stan out, he was filling in for Mr. Mystery, so he put the tools back down on the bench and stepped out to give the kid a proper greeting.

Customer from town, probably, though it was odd that he’d come this late, so close to closing.

And alone.

“Welcome to the Mystery Shack!” Soos started, but the boy stepped back and held up both hands.

“Sorry,” he said quickly, “but I’m, uh, not here for the tour. I had it earlier this afternoon.”

Funny. Soos had been working outside most of the afternoon because it had been slow. He didn’t remember seeing this kid. He didn’t remember any customers since that one car had come in this morning, to be honest, and that couple had only had a disgruntled daughter with them.

“Um. I was actually hoping to talk to Dipper and Mabel? If they’re around?”

Dipper and Mabel hadn’t mentioned anything, but it’s not like Soos had quizzed them as they’d skipped by to start gathering wood.

Still.

This boy was a tourist. Coming from town. Without parents. Soos didn’t know too many teens who would make that walk; even most of the locals preferred to drive it, since people tended to consider it just this side of too long to be comfortable, and none of them would have to worry about getting lost.

“They might be about,” Soos said carefully, but the boy was already looking around, and it wouldn’t be long before— Yes. He’d spotted them. Raised his hand in a wave. No welcoming shouts back, so not someone the twins considered a good friend, not yet, but no clear signs of confusion, either, at least not as far as Soos could tell. The boy mumbled some excuse to Soos and jogged around him, and Soos let him go.

The hair on the back of his neck was still standing, though.

Keeping one ear pointed towards the kids, just in case, Soos kept his head down and started to walk the driveway. They’d gotten a load of gravel in recently, and he’d spent an evening raking it down just the other day. It hadn’t had much traffic on it yet, just the occasional car—including Stan’s—and the golf cart. No rain since it had been dumped, either. Far more of it was loose than ground into the road, which made it an easy enough thing to follow the boy’s footprints.

Right up to the point where the trail stopped.

In the middle of the loose gravel.

No skidding to indicate that the boy had jumped from the side of the road, and no path worn enough in the road yet to hide his tracks. It was as if he’d just dropped down out of the sky and started walking in. Soos turned to look back towards the Mystery Shack, frowning. The sight lines would’ve been fine when there were fewer leaves on the trees, but as it was, the road jogged just enough for the foliage to obscure this part, and Soos didn’t need to look in the other direction to know how the road curved.

As far as Soos knew, a ghost wouldn’t have left any tracks like this, but Wendy had said this whatever-it-was wasn’t a ghost.

Wendy had also wanted to keep the kids out of it, but from what Soos had just seen, the kids were already up to their necks in it. The boy had known their names, and they must have known him, even if they hadn’t yet realized what he was.

So much for a boring summer holiday. Those two didn’t joke about being the Mystery Twins for nothing. Despite Wendy’s best efforts, they were getting sucked into every black hole of a mystery that existed in Gravity Falls.

Well, if that’s the way it was, then the least Soos could do was see if they needed anything.

(see more fics | next)

[batterycityghoul]

There’s a Bad Moon on the Rise (Ben Hanscom/Reader) (1/3)

Summary: You're Richie's twin sister and a member of the Losers' Club. When the other members all pack up and leave town, you elect to stay behind with Mike to wait for It to come back. After 27 years pass and Pennywise returns, will you and the other Losers be able to finally defeat him?

Pairing: Ben Hanscom/Reader; Richie Tozier & Reader; Background Richie Tozier/Eddie Kaspbrak

Word Count: 6.2k

Author’s Note: This is finished at 16k. I decided to split it up into three parts to make it easier. If you enjoy this, then letting me know would make my day! If you’ve seen It: Chapter Two, then you know what you’re in store for regarding warnings...but with the added fun of some canon divergence! 

Masterlist / Read on AO3

The summer of 1989 was one of the most terrifying and exhilarating times of your life.

Growing up, all you really had was your twin brother, and by extension, his group of friends. The girls at school never gave you the time of day, which was the way you preferred it, and most of the guys were completely disgusting.  

By the time school let out in June of '89, your only plans involved hanging out with Richie and his friends while avoiding Henry Bowers and his gang if at all possible.  

Of course, you didn't count on Pennywise.  

The Losers’ Club rose and fell that summer all thanks to the clown who seemed hellbent on traumatizing you all for life.  

You were used to the little group that consisted of you, Richie, Eddie, Stan, and Bill. You had grown used to their antics and usually had to be the first to talk them out of their more dangerous plans. Most days, they drove you absolutely crazy. You figured that was probably par for the course since you were the only girl among a group of boys.  

Surprisingly enough, you got along with all of them. Richie was your twin and the person who knew you best. Out of anyone else in the world, you knew that if you had to, you would die for him. He could be a bit of a jackass, but he loved you in his own way.  

Eddie was the worrier of the group. He was always the first to voice a concern, no matter how outlandish it might seem. You spent half your time with Eddie reassuring him that he was fine and the other half trying to get him out of his own head so he would actually enjoy his time with the group.  

Stan was the other much-needed voice of reason for the group. Both of you had to work overtime to keep the others out of trouble and ended up bonding because of it. When you were just a little too done with the others, you looked to Stan to pick up where you left off. Richie liked to joke that maybe you were misplaced at birth and actually Stan's twin since you two were so alike at times.  

And then there was Bill. He seemed to be the unofficial leader of the group, because everyone always turned to him for a plan. He was sweet and despite the tragedy he went through with Georgie, he always wanted to help.  

He was also the one in the group that you had a giant crush on.  

Crushing on one of your brother's best friends was inconvenient at best. Mostly, you were sure Bill only saw you as his best friend's sister and left it at that. At the very least, even if you wished he saw you as more, you could still always count on Bill to have your back.  

So, while you were more than happy with the friends you had because of Richie, you couldn’t help but wonder if your little group would ever grow.  

Fortunately, that summer, three more kids joined The Losers' Club.  

Ben Hanscom, or Ben Handsome as you liked to call him, literally dropped right into your lives. He was shy and sweet and you found yourself gravitating towards him as time went on. He seemed to have a doomed crush on Beverly while you were totally miserable over your feelings for Bill. You spent many moments with Ben, both of you commiserating over the wreck that was your love lives.  

After Ben joined the group, Beverly Marsh was soon to follow. She was funny and fierce and fearless. You couldn't help but admire the way she absolutely took no shit from any of the others and even managed to fit in with the group of misfits that made up The Losers' Club.  

Mike Hanlon seemed to be the final piece of the puzzle you didn't even realize was missing until the infamous rock war against Henry Bowers and his gang. To your surprise, you and the other Losers managed to win, and it seemed the prize was Mike Hanlon. He was studious and calm in a way that leveled out the group. You were grateful for his presence when he joined, because he soon became your only anchor in the whirlwind that was soon to overtake your life.  

You were glad for the friends you made that summer. Without them, you weren't sure if all of you would have survived. Pennywise would have come after one or all of you and without the others, you might not have made it.  

Storming Neibolt House the first time was only the first fracture you experienced as a group, though. After Eddie broke his arm and everyone went their separate ways, you were scared about what it would do to you. As a group, you all stood a chance against Pennywise. But alone with only your brother to fall back on? You couldn't help but think that it would be oh-so-easy for Pennywise to take his revenge on you all.  

You spent most nights terrified out of your mind that the shadows on the wall spelled your doom. The near-constant fear seemed to only help you bond with Richie more. You spent most nights in his bedroom, staying up until all hours of the night, and doing your best to not flinch at any and every strange noise.  

You watched Richie slowly fall apart without the other Losers. You knew there was one in particular he was missing the most, but you didn't push him to talk about his feelings for Eddie. Derry in '89 wasn't the most welcoming place for what Richie was going through and Henry Bowers and his bigotry in no way made it better. All you could do was let Richie know you loved him and accepted him no matter what and he seemed to take solace in that.  

The group didn't reunite until Beverly was taken by Pennywise.  

Going back to Neibolt House to confront Pennywise felt like the most idiotic decision you had ever made, but it was your only choice if you wanted Beverly back. You were so terrified that she would be dead like the other missing kids, and even though you tried not to let fear rule your movements, it was hard not to jump at every shadow or errant noise down in the tunnels.  

In the heat of the battle against Pennywise, when he flashed his several rows of sharp teeth your way, you almost hesitated. You could easily imagine those teeth tearing through your flesh and ripping you apart. It was Bill's voice urging you to swing at Pennywise that had you using the piece of wood in your hand to attempt to hurt Pennywise.  

By the time Pennywise had managed to escape, you were exhausted. Stan was hurt. Beverly was acting odd. Bill had broken down after having to essentially kill Pennywise's borrowed form of Georgie. The rest of you were still shaken and terrified, but everything you suffered through only seemed to work in your favor afterwards. The group came back together and you couldn't help but think that you felt invincible. If you could go up against a murderous clown with your best friends, then there was absolutely nothing you couldn't do.  

Despite everything you all went through and achieved that summer, it wasn't long before the group broke apart again. By the end of that summer, The Losers lost a member. It was a trend that would continue over the next few years until there were only two left in Derry.  

Beverly was the first to leave. She promised to write, but something weird happened. Once Beverly left Derry, you didn't hear from her. You could tell it worried Bill and the others, but a part of you wondered if it wasn't for the best after everything Beverly had endured in Derry. If you could, you would have wanted to cut ties with the town as well. Although, you hated that she also seemed to be cutting ties with The Losers’ Club.  

After Beverly, Ben's family left. And then Bill. And then Stan.  

By the time it was only you, Richie, Mike, and Eddie, you started to wonder what the future held for all of you. You started to wonder if they were ever coming back.  

Eddie and Richie planned on leaving for college, but you had known that you were going to hang back in Derry. You were going to stay with Mike and wait for It to return.  

It was something both of you had decided on and while Mike insisted he would be fine on his own, you knew that it would be a very lonely existence to spend twenty-seven years in Derry just waiting for Pennywise to resurface. You knew that Mike would need someone to help him through the worst of it and while you knew it didn't have to fall to you, you also didn't notice anyone else sacrificing themselves.  

It didn't make it any easier to say goodbye to Richie and Eddie once they finally left.  

"Are you sure you don't want to get out of this shithole?" Richie was watching you as if he had half a mind to just shove you in his car and drive as far away as he could. "You don't have to stay."

"Yeah," you told him with a sad smile. "I kind of do."

"Well, I'll call," he assured you with a pat to your shoulder.  

"Sure," you agreed. He wouldn't. He would forget. You were sure that was what happened when you left Derry. You just forgot. Forgot the town. Forgot the life you led there. Forgot everything.  

If you forgot Pennywise, then how would you ever know to come back and try to finish the job? No, you would stay in the cursed town with Mike and wait. That was all you could really do.  

You watched Richie go with a feeling of dread in the pit of your stomach.  

It wasn't so terrible at first. Pennywise wasn't around to terrorize the residents of Derry or making meals out of fearful children, so a sleepy contentment settled over the town. It was peaceful, but incredibly boring.  

Mike managed to secure a job at Derry Public Library while you started working the check-in desk at The Derry Townhouse.  

You found that even with Mike's company, you still felt incredibly lonely. You found yourself flipping through photo albums and wishing that Richie would call. You wanted to hear how Beverly was doing and if Bill was working on a new book. You wanted to ask Richie if he ever made a move on Eddie or if they went their separate ways. You wanted to see how Stan was doing and if Ben was making a name for himself as a renowned architect.  

You never did, though. If the others didn't remember Derry, then maybe it was for the best.  

You usually spent most nights having dinner with Mike. He was doing his best to research Derry's history and figure out Pennywise's origins. He figured if he could just figure out one weakness, then it would give you all a fighting chance when Pennywise inevitably came back to wreak havoc on Derry.  

Despite how much you hated it, time wore on. Some years seemed to drag on while others flew by. It seemed like you were bringing Mike a sandwich at Derry Public Library when he mentioned forgetting his lunch at home in 2009 and then suddenly it was 2015 and you were starting to see Christmas decorations appear around town.  

You were at the library one night in mid-December, waiting for Mike to finish shelving returns so you could eat dinner together. It was your turn to cook, so you were planning on making spaghetti and meatballs. Mike had already mentioned the leftover birthday cake in the staff breakroom that was up for grabs, so you were hoping to have some for dessert.  

You were sitting at the front desk, scrolling through a news article about Richie adding more dates to his US tour, and trying to distract yourself from growling stomach. You felt a strange mix of grief and pride as you read the article. You were so proud of your brother, but you mourned the years you missed watching him grow in his career and as a person. There was an ache you got every time you checked up on the other Losers, but it was especially fierce when you came across any news about Richie. It seemed unnatural to have to go without your twin for nearly twenty-seven years and some days you didn't know if you could stand it anymore.  

"You know what's coming, don't you? You know what has to happen?"

You startled at the sound of Mike's voice coming from just behind you. He was reading the article over your shoulder, a sad smile on his face when he looked to you.  

You bit your lip before nodding your head. "They have to come back. They have to help us."  

Over the years, you had both talked over the possibility that Pennywise would be back numerous times. You half-hoped the evil fucker wouldn't dare show his face as long as there were any Losers left in Derry to protect it, but you knew better. Your luck had always been rotten and it wouldn't be long before the murders and reports of missing people started featuring in the news again.  

You had spent so much of your time with Mike trying to convince him that you didn't need to involve the others. Two was always better than none, and while you wanted to see your brother and friends again, you didn't want to risk their lives. Mike was adamant that they all had to come back, though. He insisted it wouldn't work otherwise.  

Mike was incredibly vague about what he meant by that. You knew there was something he was hiding from you. It had to do with the research he had carefully hidden from you, prompting you to believe that there was something heading your way that was likely to kill you all. You hated that after all these years together, he still didn't fully trust you. He had only ever asked that you trust him. He claimed that whatever he had discovered was the ace in the hole you needed to defeat Pennywise.  

You felt a sinking feeling in your gut with each day that passed during the year of 2016. You weren't sure when Pennywise would resurface, but you instinctively knew he would reappear during the summer. It only seemed fitting that the summer of 1989 started this strange and horrifying journey, so why shouldn't it be the summer of 2016 that would end it for good?  

You thought it was morbid that you found yourself thinking that either you would die and Pennywise would continue his reign of terror, or you would somehow live and defeat him. With each passing day, Mike's confidence seemed to be infectious. You caught yourself thinking wistfully of a future away from Derry. You weren't sure where you would go or what you would do, but after so long spent trapped in the tiny town, all you knew was that you wanted out.  

Even though you seemed to always be waiting for his return, Pennywise still managed to catch you by surprise. You were going over the books for the Townhouse, having managed to successfully buy it from the owner in 2014 when he decided he wanted to leave Derry, and bemoaning your choice to become a business owner, when the phone rang. You absently reached out to grab the receiver, frowning down at the numbers that you were sure had to be complete bullshit.  

"Derry Townhouse," you muttered into the phone. "How can I help you?"

"He's back," Mike said, his words immediately sending a chill down your spine. "I need you to meet me right now."  

You weren't really sure how you got from being on the phone with Mike to standing at his side, both of you struck speechless by the bloody message Pennywise had left behind for you to find.  

"Come home," you muttered, feeling fear begin to settle deep within your gut. You tried to fight it off, knowing that was exactly the reaction Pennywise was looking for from you, but you couldn’t help it.  

Mike sucked in a deep breath, as if steeling himself, before he put an arm around your shoulders. "Let's go back to the library," he suggested with a weight to his words that let you know what was coming.

Mike volunteered to make the calls. He seemed a lot more level-headed about what had to happen than you did. You felt like you were sentencing everyone you loved to die. You didn't know how Mike was able to stomach calling each and every former Loser and reminding them of the oath they had sworn in 1989.  

Mike had always been resolute in doing what it took to survive, though. Trapping himself in Derry for twenty-seven years, with the memories and ghosts and fear, was more than enough proof of that.  

When the last phone call was finished, Mike turned to offer you a grimace.  

"I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens now. But I think they'll show up. They have to," he added with a tone that told you he didn't fully believe that. "Do you have any open rooms at the Townhouse?"

You couldn't help but bark out a surprised laugh. "Business isn't exactly booming," you offered when Mike shot you a confused look. "I can house the Losers."

"Then all we have left to do is wait," Mike added with a wry twist to his lips that told you what he was thinking.  

You had both done nothing but wait for the last twenty-seven years.  

It was later that night, after you managed to drag yourself back home, when you got a phone call from a number you didn't recognize.  

"Hello?"

"How the fuck did I forget I have a sister?"

You laughed, a smile on your face. "That's the magic of Derry," you said. "Hey, Richie. I've missed you."

"I think I've missed you too. Fuck," he hissed. "This is so fucking weird. I can remember Mom and Dad, but not you. How the fuck is that fair?"

"Mom and Dad eventually left. I never did." There was a heavy silence left on the line that made you mourn the easy communication you used to share with Richie. "How did you end up with my number?"

"When I stopped freaking the fuck out, I called Mike back and asked him for it. It's funny," he mused with a tone that suggested it was anything but funny to him. "I always felt like there was something missing, but I couldn't figure it out. Like there was someone there who should have been. I guess it was you," he offered with a sigh. "So, hey, you know I'm famous now?"

You felt a genuine smile break out on your face as Richie launched into telling you a story about an afterparty he once attended that resulted in him getting so wasted he accidentally threw up all over a former Spice Girl.  

Later, as you were settling down in bed, you couldn't quite fight off the anxiety that had taken hold of you. If Richie came back to Derry, then Richie would have to fight Pennywise. You couldn't quite justify the idea of making your brother relive some of his worst memories, but you knew that it had to happen. If you believed Mike, and you did, then it would have to be all of you. It didn’t mean you had to like it, though.  

You reached over to turn off the lamp on your nightstand, plunging your room into darkness.  

Moonlight peeked around your bedroom curtains, lending you enough light to just see the outline of the other pieces of furniture in your room. You started to close your eyes, but you caught sight of something that looked out of place.  

There was a figure standing just near the foot of your bed. You felt your breath hitch, a familiar thrill of terror coursing through you when the figure seemed to take a step closer. You heard a wheezing, rattling breath as a hand reached out to rest on the edge of the bed.  

You gasped out a choked breath before you made yourself move, quickly turning on the lamp again. When you looked to the end of your bed to see that there wasn't actually anyone there, you let out a relieved breath. It had seemed so real and with Pennywise back, you couldn't help but wonder if this was It's doing.  

You felt like a child when you left the lamp on, only managing to doze off every once in a while, before jerking back awake to hastily check and make sure no one was standing at the end of your bed.  

You remembered the sleepless nights you suffered in ‘89 because of the same brand of fear you felt that night. There were nights when you swore there was someone else in your room while you were trying to sleep. Whether it was Pennywise’s demented giggle jolting you out of sleep or the feeling of fingers drifting over your ankle accompanied by the sound of a rasping, wheezing breath. You weren’t sure you actually got a full night of sleep that summer and you worried you were in store for the same now that Pennywise was around yet again.  

You spent the next day booking rooms for the other members of the Losers’ Club and counting down the hours until you were all supposed to meet for dinner. You felt a nervous excitement at the idea of finally seeing everyone again. You weren't really sure how everyone would react to remembering Pennywise and the summer of 1989, but you were nearly relieved that it wouldn’t just be you and Mike any longer. It felt like you had been carrying around a terrible secret for years and now the burden would finally be lifted just the slightest bit from your shoulders.  

When you got to Jade of the Orient, you had to sit in your car for a few moments and take deep breaths. You weren't sure why you were so nervous, but you couldn't help but fear that the group dinner was going to be disastrous. You didn't know how much the others remembered, but you were sure once the full effect of Derry began to hit them, it wasn't going to be pretty.  

As you walked up to the restaurant, you noticed a man and a woman standing near the entrance. You felt a smile break out at the sight of the red hair on the woman. You knew instinctively who she was as you got closer.  

"Beverly?" You couldn't help but ask as you considered her.  

Beverly turned to look at you, her eyes narrowing for a split second as she attempted to recognize you, before her eyes went wide. "Y/N?"

"Yeah," you confirmed with a nod of your head as you moved to pull her into a hug.  

"God, it's been so long," Beverly said as she pulled back. You noticed her look at the guy standing just behind her before she glanced back to you. "Ben," she mouthed with a tilt of her head, silently clueing you in to the man's identity.  

"Ben Handsome," you started as you took a step away from Beverly. "Is that you?"

You noticed a blush spread across his cheeks before he ducked his head, suddenly sheepish. It was a gesture you recognized from childhood and you couldn't help but let out a pleased laugh as you moved to tug him into a hug as well.  

"It's good to see you, Y/N," he murmured in your ear.  

You pulled back and let yourself fully consider Ben. You couldn't help but think that he was remarkably handsome and you felt yourself blush when your eyes met his. His hands were on your shoulders and even though it was well past the moment when you should have stepped away, you felt nearly transfixed by him.  

You were struggling to think of something to say, not sure if the moment was turning awkward or oddly heated, when you were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat.  

You glanced over to see Richie standing just a few feet away. "Well, you all look amazing," he observed as he studied you, Beverly, and Ben. "What the fuck happened to me?" He wondered with a self-deprecating tilt to his lips.  

"Richie," you couldn't help but say as you practically flung yourself at your brother.  

"Hey, Y/N," he said with a delighted chuckle before he brought his arms up to embrace you. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"  

"Too long," you agreed with a sigh as you pulled away from him. You stepped back so he could have his own little reunions with Bev and Ben as well.  

"So, were you guys going to stand out here all night or are we going to get on with this impromptu Losers' Club meeting?" Richie asked after hugging Beverly and shaking hands with Ben. "You three looked kind of cozy out here," he added with a raised eyebrow in your direction.  

You shook your head and turned towards the entrance to the restaurant. "Beep beep, Richie," you muttered before you pulled the door open and stepped inside.  

Reuniting with Bill and Eddie felt just as bizarre and surreal as seeing Richie, Beverly, and Ben again for the first time. Your eyes kept seeking out the empty chair at the table, however. You wondered where Stan was, but like with every meeting of the Losers' Club, it quickly turned loud and chaotic.  

Richie couldn't help but poke fun at Eddie and while you were onto him, it felt like you were able to breathe again after years of suffocating within Derry's walls. You had felt trapped for so long that you forgot what it was like to have almost everyone back with you again. You listened to everyone catch up, your eyes seeking out Bill from time to time. You could still feel the remnants of your childhood infatuation and a part of you wondered if you would ever be over him. You kept glancing to where a wedding band had recently resided on his left hand, surreptitiously reminding yourself that while Bill was recently divorced, it was unlikely that he would ever feel anything for you.  

You focused on the little things that made you feel at peace for the first time in years. Mike's small, proud grin as he listened to Bill talk about his new book and the way Richie kept glancing at Eddie, as if he couldn't believe they were in the same room again. You also saw the spark of interest in Richie's eyes once Eddie mentioned he was separated and well on his way to a divorce.  

You noticed the soft, private grins Beverly shot Bill and the way Ben kept watching Beverly with a reverence that told you his childhood crush was still in effect as well. You let their laughter wash over you as you ate and drank, your thoughts turning to Stan more and more often as the evening wore on and he failed to appear.  

"So, Y/N," Ben started as he leaned forward in his seat, focusing on you. "What have you been doing all these years?" You knew he was trying to deflect after Richie had embarrassed him by calling him hot, so you decided to have mercy on him.  

"I, uh," you started before taking a sip of your drink. "I've been running Derry Townhouse for the past few years."

"You own that shithole?" Richie asked with incredulity in his tone.  

You rolled your eyes before reaching across Beverly to pinch Richie's arm. "Yes," you answered. "And since you're all staying there for free, I'd like a little more gratitude."

"Thanks, Y/N," you heard Ben pipe up before the rest of the Losers toasted to you.  

You had fooled yourself into thinking it might be a nice, uneventful reunion, but you should have known better. Pennywise had to take the first shot at the Losers' Club through the most disturbing and grotesque display.  

The Pennywise bomb had just been dropped on the rest of the Losers right before the fortune cookies were dropped off at your table. Mike had reminded them of the oath they had all sworn and while Richie had attempted to lighten the mood a bit, you knew that everyone was well on their way to freaking out.  

Once Eddie pointed out that his fortune was just one word printed on the small slip of paper, you realized that none of your fortune cookies actually contained a typical fortune.

After you deciphered the message from the fortune cookies, an ominous warning about Stan's fate that read 'I Guess Stanley Could Not Cut It,' chaos erupted from the bowl of unopened fortune cookies in the middle of the table.  

You barely had time to process the fact that you were all being attacked by nightmarish monstrosities when you felt a hand wrap around your bicep, quickly pulling you away from the table. You looked over to see Mike, his eyes wide and frightened, as if he too had allowed himself to forget for a moment why you had been forced to call the Losers back to Derry.  

It wasn't long before there were horrifying creatures flying about the room, knocking into the light fixtures and diving towards you all.  

You heard Eddie scream and glanced over to see Ben trying to shield Eddie from something attempting take a bite out of him. Richie yelled Eddie's name, concern and fear clear in his voice. You only had a moment to make sure your brother was safe before something big and terrifying and screeching flew right into you.  

"Fuck!" You blurted as you tried to ward off whatever was trying to sink its talons into your forearm.  

You felt an arm around your waist before someone spun you away from the threat. You were suddenly facing the wall while someone stood at your back, shouting as they tried to face the creature that was just attacking you. You were panting for breath, not sure if it was out of fear or the adrenaline crashing over you, as you turned to see it was Bill who had saved you.  

"Y/N! You okay?" You heard Richie ask, but you didn't get much of a chance to respond before Mike picked up a chair and began to smash it over the middle of the table in an attempt to destroy the rest of the fortune cookies, insisting that what you were all seeing wasn't actually real.  

You were all more than a little jumpy as you finally gathered outside Jade of the Orient. After the hilariously inappropriate way Richie had yelled at a kid, forgetting for a moment a line from his own comedy routine, you were more than ready to crawl into bed and forget everything.  

You didn't even realize that Beverly was trying to get in touch with Stan, because you were so distracted by the way everyone else was freaking out. Richie and Eddie were yelling at Mike for lying to everyone by conveniently forgetting to mention Pennywise when he called everyone home while Ben and Bill seemed to be silently trying to process everything that had just happened.  

Mike was doing his best to keep everyone from skipping town when Beverly turned to face the rest of you, her phone held to her ear. She quickly put the call on speaker, allowing all of you to hear who was on the other line.  

It wasn't until you heard Stan's wife confirm that Stan was dead that you realized all of your worst fears were coming true. The Losers' Club hadn't even had an opportunity to really face Pennywise and one of you was already gone.  

You were barely aware of the fact that you were struggling to breathe. Stan couldn't be dead. Stan was always the shared voice of reason with you and one of the first to try to talk some sense into the Losers’ Club. He was Stan. Steady and dependable and sarcastic as hell. And he was dead.

"Mike," you called, tears starting to track down your face. "Did we kill Stan?" You whispered as you rounded on him, your breath stuttering in your chest at the thought. "When we called him, did we kill him? Did we do this? Is it our fault?" You could no longer justify calling everyone to ask them to return to Derry. Stan was dead and you couldn’t help but feel like it was all because you weren’t capable of facing Pennywise by yourself. Your fear of getting everyone you loved killed was washing over you and stealing your breath away.  

"Y/N, no," Mike murmured before he moved to pull you into his arms. You only had a moment to rest your head on his shoulder, the tears flowing freely as guilt threatened to overwhelm you, before you were tugged out of Mike's hold.  

"Hey, what the fuck did you do to my sister?" You heard Richie ask as he pulled you into a hug.  

"Yeah, fuckwad, why are you making Y/N cry?" Eddie jumped in. His specific brand of indignation in his tone had you laughing somewhat hysterically into Richie's shoulder.  

"He didn't do anything," you assured them as you finally managed to calm down. “I’m just upset about Stan.” You knew that what you were feeling in that moment was just going to give Pennywise nightmare fuel against you later. How was he going to twist this to haunt you? You shuddered at the thought before you patted Richie on the shoulder and stepped back. "I'm okay," you managed to say as you reached up to hastily wipe away the tears still tracking down your cheeks.  

You felt someone place a hand on your shoulder and you looked back to see Beverly standing there. You noticed the tears welling in her eyes and the haunted expression on her face and knew that Stan's death was hitting her just as hard.  

"Come on, Y/N," Richie pleaded as he pulled your attention back towards him. "Let's just get the fuck out of this shitty town."

"I’m not going anywhere, Richie. I live here," you reminded him with a helpless shrug of your shoulders.

"Well, you're moving," he told you as if it was that easy. He let out an incredulous laugh as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his coat. He looked like he was trying to resist the urge to reach out and grab your arm, as if he was toying with the idea of dragging you out of Derry if he had to. "I can't believe I let you stay here," he muttered.  

"I had to," you argued with a shake of your head. "I couldn't leave Mike alone all these years."

Richie snorted before he rolled his eyes. "Just, come on," he insisted as he nodded over towards his car. "You too, Eduardo. Let's go."

"Yeah, I'm right there with you," Eddie agreed as he made a break for his car.  

"I drove myself here," you reminded Richie when he seemed like he was about to herd you towards his car.  

"Fine. Fuck," Richie sighed as he glanced away. "Meet us at the Townhouse," he conceded before he took off across the parking lot.  

You turned and met Mike's gaze, silently asking what you should do now.  

"I've got him if you've got them," Mike said as he nodded over towards Bill. "There's something I've got to show him. But we'll see you at the Townhouse."

"Yeah, okay," you allowed with a grimace.  

"Y/N," Mike called before you could fully turn away from him. He pulled you into a hug, letting you rest your weight on him for a moment.  

"It was Stan, Mike," you muttered into his shoulder. "Stan."

"I know," Mike soothed as he pulled you closer for a brief moment. "We're going to kill It this time. We'll make It pay. But we can't do that if the rest of us don't band together."

"Yeah," you sighed, understanding what he was telling you to do. You had to go to the Townhouse and make sure none of the Losers were trying to skip town.  

"Y/N," Mike called again just as you were reaching your car. "Thanks," he said when you turned to look at him. "I really couldn't imagine doing any of this without you."

You offered him a weak smile and a nod before you got behind the wheel of your car.  

If you cried all the way to the Townhouse, mourning Stan and wishing that you could go back in time and stop Mike from calling him, then no one had to know but you.

[beauregard-s]

Cherry Vodka [Part I] | Richie T. + Eddie K.

Pairing: Richie Tozier x Reader x Eddie Kaspbrak (21+)

Word Count: 3.1k

Warnings: language, nsfw material but no explicit sex (yet), alcohol, polyamory mention, kind of a modern au too

Anon said:  “ okay so based off that art you reblogged of the richie x bev x eddie, what about like a reader x richie x eddie fluffy smut based off that (i hope that makes sense bahahha)”

A/n: Yeah, I had to split it in two parts because 7k words... I’m sorry it took me so long to post it, dear anon, if you’re still outta there. I rewrote and changed the plot of this one three times and it’s inspired by this post and by the song Sleep Apnea by Beach Fossils, by the way.

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

“Richie…” “What, doll?” You felt his hand trailing down the small of your back, slowly and treacherously. 

You rolled your eyes from your book to meet Richie’s little smirk. He had his black wayfarers on, even though the sun was down in the horizon now, and behind those you knew his eyes have been glazing all over you. He was all careless laying on his side right next to you on the towel, unruly wind-dried curly hair, head up resting on a hand, the other free one teasing you because he just couldn’t help it when you’d put on that black high-cut swimsuit of yours. Eddie shared the curly-haired boy thoughts but, on the other hand, he laid peacefully flat on his back by your right side. Arms resting under his head, eyes closed, but here and there he’d peek at your and Richie’s constant bickering. You, laying on your stomach in between them, were still in your swimsuit from earlier. After lunch, it was Richie’s idea to go to this lake nearby by his parents' vacation house. It was also Richie’s idea to spend spring break there. Usually, your break trips would include their other friends, who ended up being your friends too over time, but that was being a harsh semester for quite everyone. With Bill and Stan stuck with their academic duties, the best idea was to drive to the Tozier’s vacation house in a small town in Pennsylvania. It was a simple, untouched, two-floor house. Richie told in the car his parents bought it when he was a teenager so they could travel and spend some time there, but ended up not doing that as much as they intended on once it was too far from his city. “For fuck’s sake, Richie!” Laughing was not what you intended, but you did it and you heard Eddie giggling behind you. Richie’s hand had finally made its way to your hips now, while he leaned closer. “Come on, toots. Just one kiss…” He whispered in his best charming tone, but you pushed him away, playing cool although you felt your cheeks burning, the known hots already hitting you like a truck. “No! Fuck off… I already told you we should stop doing this,” you muttered. “You always say that,” it was Eddie who reasoned, and you turned for him, eyes threatening him with no words while he shrugged. “Yeah, and I’m sticking to it,” you retorted. Indeed. It had been over a month since you last… Did what you did. “Plus I think Stan has been suspicious…” Richie snorted, “yeah, like lil old he would give a single fuck about it, y/n.” You breathed out, closing the book because now your concentration was ruined. Richie, Eddie, and you met at the creative writing class, 8 am on Tuesdays, your first semester of college. You remembered as it was today how you found them “lost” less than 10 feet away from the lecture hall but arguing like an old couple without realizing that. You helped them find the right way, and Richie flirted with you as you walked into the class, while Eddie scoffed at him for making them get lost and almost late. You knew those boys had been friends their entire life, but from that moment on the three of you became inseparable. If someone needed to find one of you on the campus, the other two would probably be found at the same place. The pureness of your friendship didn’t last long. It only lasted until the first party you went to together, when you lost to Richie at a snooker game and he claimed a kiss as his prize, the smooth motherfucker he was. You kissed him and only that, but ten minutes later you were making out in the bathroom. You made him swear he wouldn’t make things complicated between you two and he had been keeping his promise ever since. Eddie was a whole out of the curve story though. After what happened at said party, you noticed how fidgety he got about the matter of you and Richie been together once, although he did a great job hiding it. Took a while for him to leave it alone, but you didn’t. Something pestering inside wouldn’t let you. You were at his dorm, studying for a complicated final exam while the sky fell apart in rain outside when you asked him why he got upset. He denied to his death he had jealousy of you and Richie running through his veins, but you knew he was lying when his eyes started to avoid yours, saying ‘Richie’s a better ladies' man, anyway’. You shoot your shot without really thinking about it, told him ‘he was just as desirable as Richie’ and it seemed to light a spark between you two. You were the one who leaned closer but he closed the gap, nervously, pulling you into his lap as soon as you kissed him back, building up his confidence. Just like when Richie and you had your thing, you felt no need to hide from him what happened between you and Eddie. It was an embarrassing talk, but it worked. The three of you quickly and naturally warmed up to the facts: you were friends with benefits with both of them and there was nothing complicated about that for you. But you wanted to keep it low because casually making out with your best friends regularly here and there over time whenever you all desired to was none of people business. Eddie rolled over to lay on his stomach, just like you were, shoulder to shoulder. After a couple days constantly under the sun, you noticed he had more freckles than usual over his nose and cheeks, a few on his shoulders. “You’re being more uptight about it all than me, and everyone knows that being more uptight than me is a big deal...” His self depreciative statement made you flash a half-smile, but didn't stop you from leering at his soft lips because you remembered how he tasted like mint whenever you’d kiss. And it had been a long time since you did for the last time. “I’m just being cautious, Spagheddie.” He smiled at the silly nickname, just when you freed yourself from Richie’s grip, grabbed your book and got up, leaving them on the grass while you walked towards the backdoor. “Where ya’ goin’?” Richie called, but you didn’t look back. “Taking a shower!” You shouted. ‘I fucking need to cool down,’ you thought to yourself. In your silly head, about a year ago, this whole situation was a great idea. Now you found yourself utterly screwed. There was pining going on since the very first beginning in between you and them. You always knew it was there, you just didn’t expect it to escalate like it did. You thought once you had tasted from Richie and Eddie, you’d be done. Checked them out of your possibilities, life goes on, but now you were bonded to them in a way you never intended on. You fell for them. For both of them. And that was making you act up. Since your high school years you understood you were an afraid-of-commitment kind of person. No big deal, no attachments, no pain, so you weren’t ready to fall for a single person alone. Falling for two at the same time made your brain short circuit. You had debated the matter with yourself multiple times before. Since you became aware of it happening, you weren’t able to choose between them, you didn’t even know someone was capable of splitting their feelings like that. Your only solution was to stop it somehow. You couldn’t just leave them completely, so you decided to break the colorful side of that mess of a friendship. It wasn’t easy because it was not just about physical bonds. They were everywhere around you. Eddie would buy you coffee on the test mornings he knew you were tired after studying the whole night and hand it to you kissing your forehead. Richie would always hold your hand, keep you close and protect you somehow, doing that thing where he’d distractedly run his thumb over your knuckles. You knew that maybe you were not just an arousal let-out for them too and that made things even worse. You ruminated the facts the whole time you were under the cold water upstairs, and when you came down later, all damp hair and sleep clothes, you found them both in the kitchen, struggling with dinner although it was just frozen lasagna for three. Beach Fossils played from Richie’s phone, open vodka bottle on the wood table in the middle of the small kitchen. Richie was the one who first noticed you there, smiling over his shoulder. “Gonna leave you watching Eds so he doesn’t implode the house while I take a shower, doll. Help the poor man.” he said, walking past by you and running upstairs. “You’re talking like you weren’t the one struggling to turn on the oven!” Eddie shouted at him. You laughed just like Richie did at distance, joining Eddie by the stove. “Do you want a hand there?” “Never mind,” he said, closing the oven door with a proud grin, “it will be ready in twenty, I guess.” “Talented boys you two are!” you scoffed. “Oh shut up!” He faked a disgusted face at you. Your eyes laid over the cherries you bought the day you arrived, placed in a fruit basket on the counter and, while Eddie sat down at the table you grabbed a glass, the vodka, and a handful of cherries. He didn’t ask you what you were doing, but your peripheral sight allowed you to know he was keeping full attention on you while you fumbled around. You mashed the fruits in the glass until they were a reddish pasta, collecting the seeds and pouring alcohol over what lasted in there. As you swayed everything together, you remembered drinking it once, but not quite where was it. You gulped it turning around to finally face Eddie, and he was splayed in a chair, a ghost of a smile on. “The hell you doin’?” he asked lowly and you shrugged. “I don’t know… But it worked.” He raised his brows, getting up and walking towards you. “Yeah? Is it good?” You hummed in response, feeling it burn down your throat. In the deep of your mind, watching Eddie coming closer and closer, you knew what was about to happen, but you didn’t act fast enough against it. “Let me taste it” And he did. Not from the cup but straight from your lips. Eddie leaned in and kissed you softly, an arm around your waist while his free hand went for the back of your neck. And you ease in melting into him was embarrassing, leaving the cup onto the sink as soon as he pressed you against it before the glass ended up shattered on the floor. His tongue slid over yours, hands going to grab your hips, lifting your shirt a bit in the process. You instantly wished he took it off, already built up after spending that time alone in the middle of nowhere and with that aching tension all over the place. You had sex with Richie twice already over time, one of them a bit drunkenly, the other completely sober and thirsty for it, but you had never done it with Eddie. And you wanted it bad. Been wanting for a long time now, since that fucking rainy day in his dorm. But you knew you couldn’t, not when you shouldn’t even be kissing him like that after managing to stick up to your chastity for over a month now. So your hands palmed his chest and gently pulled him away. “Holy fuck…” Richie’s whispered voice made both you and Eddie startle. He was right there, at the kitchen entrance with a towel around his waist, mouth agape looking at both of you and you had no idea of how much time was standing there now. But he for sure saw shit happening. “That was the fucking fastest shower ever,” Eddie said, so casually it disturbed you. “N-no… I just came back to grab my phone.” Richie muttered. You froze, having no idea of how to move or what to say now. Yes, they were pretty aware you messed around with both of them, but one never saw the other in the act. Never, nor even a peck, and now Richie just witnessed a goddamn show. You were ready to tell him how you were sorry because you had just denied him a kiss when you were sunbathing outside and you have been constantly denying him for weeks now, but he didn’t give you the chance. Richie grabbed his phone over the table and stopped the music. You had the hint that maybe he wasn’t upset once he had that little mischievous smirk of his while he made his way out of there and upstairs again. Of course you didn’t talk about the matter over dinner, but Richie acted like nothing happened and Eddie just followed the lead completely unbothered. You tried to go on as naturally as they did, but something about Richie’s furtive looks over you made you think he was definitely not cool about catching you and Eddie together in the kitchen. You just couldn’t tell if either he was jealous or whatever was that and it pinched you from the inside the rest of the night while you watched old TV shows reprising until it was past one in the morning. That was when Eddie started yawning and decided to go upstairs, to the room that’d be Richie’s formerly, kissing your forehead and smiling nonchalantly before shoving Richie’s shoulder. So it was Richie, you and silence in the living room lighten up by TV flashes here and there. He was already sleepy, laying on the couch he had been sleeping since he insisted on leaving his parents’ bedroom for you, claiming he'd be a terrible host if he had you or Eddie without a bed. You, curled in the armchair, hated unsolved matters and worse than that, you hated when said unsolved matters had to do with Richie because you knew how he internalized everything he felt if it was slightly messed up. So you went straight to the point to avoid any evasions from him. “Did you get jealous of me and Eddie?” You asked right away, eyeing at him from your safe place. He looked at you, dead in the eye, no single sign of emotion perpassing his face. “Not at all, sweet thing,” he said, shrugging. “Why would I be?” You didn’t explain it, because you knew he knew where you were trying to get at, so your raised eyebrow was enough. But Richie raised his back and you had to get up because the lack of words from him, the one who’d never shut up, was bothering you beyond belief. You walked over the couch, passing a leg over his, straddling the Tozier boy for his slight astonishment, his reddish lips curving in a half-smile. Richie also had freckles, darker and more numerous ones than Eddie’s, all over his nose and cheeks, some across the rest of his face and none on the rest of his body. When he sat up with you still in his lap, you could smell that cologne you didn’t know exactly which was, but that you loved. Loved how its scent would stay ghostly on your clothes after you made out in his truck like a mark of his, just like the hickeys he’d give you sometimes, on hidden places so only you could see them. “Don’t fucking play dumb with me,” you whispered now, “I’m sorry, okay?” Richie snorted. “I’m not lying to you, y/n/n. I’m definitely not mad at you nor at Eddie. You’re making up things in your pretty head, doll” His hands drifted up your thighs. “I miss you, that's true. But it doesn’t make me jealous of that hell of a scene I saw earlier.” You noticed how he swallowed dry. “So you trying to convince me you’re not utterly disgusted and hurt?” Richie snorted once more at your tease and the light air of his relieving a lot of pressure from your chest. “Far from that, y/n/n...” The way his voice slowed down and his eyes drifted away from yours to his restless fingers on your skin...You finally understood where the problem laid on. And you wouldn’t even need the light pink shade of his cheeks to assure that. “Oh God, you liked it…” You whispered in disbelief and Richie laughed, hands on your hips now, pulling you closer. “What if I did, doll?” He didn’t let you answer, lips on yours before you recovered from your shock. He kissed slowly and passionately, it was always like that, kisses that after a few seconds already got you wanting to rip his clothes off. He was warm against you, bare chest pressed against still clothed yours. As earlier with the Kaspbrak boy, you had the urge of pulling away from him for your own sake, but you couldn’t this time. Richie peppered kisses all the way from your mouth to your jawline, kissing the spot that got your underwear ruined every time, earning himself a low whimper from your lips. You felt dizzy. “Eds is my best friend, toots,” he whispered against your skin, “there’s no one I’d be more glad to let spend time with you, touch you...” His hands ran up your sides underneath your shirt and your nails dig into his shoulders. “Kiss you.” He sucked a hickey on the crook of your neck that finally had you moaning out loud. “Richie-” His name. You could feel him smiling at that. “Or have you.” “For fuck’s sake, Richie…” You knew how to read in between his lines and in his darkened eyes when he pulled away to look into yours, glasses off. You knew he couldn’t see you quite well, but you could see him. If Richie was implying what you thought he was… “I told you I’d never lie to you, and I’m sticking to it.” Richie didn’t smile this time. “And believe me when I say I wish Eddie had taken you right on that counter.” You were the one dry swallowing now, thoughts running a mile a second. “For you to watch?” You scoffed, trying to hide how flustered you were. Richie remained serious when he laid down again. His moves underneath you let you feel him hardened under you. “No. I’d for sure join.” You read him again, tried to find whatever proved you he was just teasing. But he wasn’t. And that left you speechless, made him smile, tapping your hips gently. “But go to bed, toots. We can talk about it any other day. When you're ready and the cat doesn’t get your tongue.”

[peterstanslizzie]

Reacting To: The Hollow (Season 2 Episode 2)

Episode Title: Hollow Games

Key Highlights (Spoiler Warning): Kindly proceed if you’ve already seen the episode or simply don’t care about spoilers.

This episode was amazingly gay, wasn’t it? Let’s begin:

1. The episode picks up where things left off in episode 1. Our favorite trio are being cornered by their greatest childhood fears.

2. Mira decides to confront Adam’s fears for him and the rest of them follow her lead with Adam taking on Mabel, the giant chicken and Kai taking on creepy doll. The guys take on a physical approach but Mira tries to reason with the bullies. Unfortunately, none of their methods are working. 

3. Amidst all of this, we find out that Mira has an older sister on top of her younger brother, Miles.   

4. At one point, Adam is pinned down by Mabel with its foot and Kai sees that he’s in trouble and goes to rescue him. 

5. Kai yells and tells Mabel that he’s not afraid of it and as it’s about to charge right at him, it disintegrates. I like how Kai is the one to save Adam this time around instead of the opposite because it’s usually Adam who saves him. Basically, they discover that facing their own fears is the way to go. Well, it’s pretty obvious, no? But it seems a little too easy for all of them to conquer their fears by just yelling at them. Oh well...

6. After the showdown, they head back to Kai’s big mansion to make sense of what’s happening to them. During their discussion, Kai seems to regret having had a crush on Mira because she’s Miles’s sister. What’s the deal with her brother, Miles? Oh right, we’ll find out later in the episode. 

7. Hold up, hold up, hold up! Kai still thinks that Adam and Mira have a ‘thing’ for each other and he doesn’t want to get in between them. Is this going where I think it’s going?

8. OMFG!!! Stop everything! Drop everything. Kai said “I’m gay”. He said the word GAY. And he said it so casually! I didn’t expect this coming out to happen so early on in the season. I love it! Kai’s reaction was cute and totally chill. But poor Mira almost had forgotten that she actually kissed Adam. She apologizes to him and blames it on the memory block she had due to the game. Sure Mira :)

9. But seriously; It’s pretty clear Mira knew that he was gay all along and I’m sure if she had her memories with her at that time, she wouldn’t have kissed him. Oh and Adam is aware he’s attractive. Of course he is! How can anyone resist someone who is as tall, dark and handsome as he is. 

10. I’m smiling so hard right now. But anyways, back to the situation at hand; They’re now talking about the glitch they saw when they were playing the game (back in season 1) and how the glitch was able to create such an accurate depiction of their lives. Adam thinks that they’re now on Level 2 of ‘The Hollow’ but Mira isn’t buying that theory. Master Kai still thinks it’s all a dream. Will he just stop?! LOL

11. They call for The Weird Guy’s help but nothing happened. Mira thinks they should look for him at The Hollow Games studio. But before they could all leave for the studio, they’re stopped by Davis, Kai’s butler. He insists that Miles should head to bed and that Mira and Adam leave the mansion. 

12. If you look closely at his sleeves, the initials K P are on it. That means Kai’s last name starts with a P. I wonder what it is? Maybe it’s Parnall for Connor Parnall, the voice actor for Kai? I think it’s adorable how he says, “Silly Adam” before going to bed. 

13. Mira drops Adam outside his home but she’s too wary of everything that’s happening around them and isn’t convinced that Adam should trust his parents and stay with them. I completely understand Mira. She really wants everything to be solved asap and she wants to go to the studio to see The Weird Guy tonight. But there are too many uncertainties and she has to consider what both Adam and Kai want as well. She also feels like she can’t trust Adam because she doesn’t know if he’s real or part of the game mechanics.  

14. On the other hand, Adam thinks that they’re on Level 2 of the game and they just need to live like they usually do and wait for quests or challenges to appear before them. It’s sad to watch them argue. I guess that’s how being in a complex game/experiment-thingy does to your mind; You can’t help but to come up with any sort of scenario. 

15. Okay, so we now know that Mira and Adam are actually childhood best friends prior to starting the game. They even carved their initials on a sidewalk. 

16. Remember in my episode 1 review when I said Adam’s mom is creepy. This scene right here takes the entire cake for me. *Shudders

17. Adam is busy searching for clues in his room and finds a Moby Dick book but with completely blank pages. How strange. This world is really messed up. Mira is driving through town and sees Skeet speed-running on the streets. This should be interesting. Since last season, I’ve always thought of Skeet to potentially work with the main trio one day since he was so reluctant to fight them. We shall see what happens deeper into the season. 

18. The next morning, Adam and Kai meet up outside the donut shop and Kai is freaking out because he says he hasn’t woken up from his dream. He tells him about a new theory he has to explain why everyone is acting so weird: an Alien Invasion. I honestly can believe any explanation at this point because everything is so messed up. 

19. Mira didn’t show up and they become worried. They walk over to Mira’s house and ring the doorbell. It’s Miles! And he immediately recognizes Kai. Miles and Kai seem to be gaming buddies. 

QUESTION: I’m now wondering about how long Kai has known Mira and Adam prior to ‘The Hollow’. I guess he could be childhood friends with them too? 

20. Adam thinks that Mira probably went to the Hollow Games studio last night and they make their way over there. They are stopped by a security guard who doesn’t even know what building she’s guarding and isn’t aware of ‘The Hollow’. I guess this supports my theory that only current game players know what ‘The Hollow’ is. 

21. Is it just me or does Adam always feels like he has to touch Kai in some way or form, every chance he gets? I’m not complaining though.

22. Darla is hilarious and I totally stan her. We need to see more from her and her ex, Steve. Apparently Reeve is or was friends with Adam and Mira in real life. From my understanding, all three of them were in a team (for The Hollow?) before something happened and they had to recruit Kai as his replacement. I love all the backstory we’re getting. This season is doing a good job with that. And this explains the picture of the 3 of them in Adam’s room last episode. It’s such a contrast because they were kinda direct enemies last season. 

23. They sneak into the building to find Mira and they’re pretty sure she’s in there because her scooter is parked outside. 

24. It looks like it’s ‘The Hollow’ champions wall. We see a picture of Gretchen Aguilar and her team but no sign of Adam, Mira and Kai on that wall. This further confirms their suspicion that they haven’t actually won the game yet. 

25. They head to the stage room where the participants would wear their VR-looking googles and play ‘The Hollow’. Kai trips on a cable that he suspects is connected to a server room that powers the game. But Adam calls him from what it appears to be the control room as he is looking through files to gather more information. 

26. After surviving a random and sudden earthquake, they come across the server room but they are swarmed by a bunch of laser-shooting bots. They barricade themselves inside the room, which has a broken wall that leads to a big portal. They suspect that Mira jumped through that very portal.

27. Adam isn’t sure if they should enter that portal but time is running out and they need to make a decision fast. 

28. Any excuse to touch Kai huh? He is so smitten by him (I need to stop lol)

29. The episode ends with the two of them literally taking a leap of faith into the portal. Stay tuned for my reaction to episode 3, which will be out very soon. BTW y’all, I’m still not over Adam’s coming out scene to Kai! Cue me replaying that scene over and over again. 

[itsbeautifulhologram]

FatherHood [ch.2]

" This is happening so fast." 

[M/N] had wanted to go into the special child care courses they had at a college in Boulder or in Aspen and the possible idea of going all the way to Colorado Springs. They were costly, even with his two jobs, [M/N] knew a scholarship that he would get in the summer would pay everything from room and board to his parking lot badge. Though, only when he completed his hours working with kids and get a special letter from PC principal who would give it, after [M/N] helps a student in need for the whole summer: Babysitting, tutoring, cleaning, ect. Whatever the student in need was in need .

" It is happening fast." PC Principal said, he stood behind his desk as he talked to [M/N]. One of the good children at his school. " You're very fortunate that the student in need submitted a helper application this morning, and that it's barely the start of the brand new school year. So you have a long school year to work with them, they needed childcare so this should be easy as apple pie."

" Do I know them?"

PC Principal looked over the papers and nods his head, " Believe it or not, they are in your classes, same age and someone you have been with as a platonic friend." He said, reading over the chicken scratch and smiled a bit. " I have email their details and the meeting time, which is after school, and let me know through email if you accept the job. But remember, you're with them for the entire school year. If you chose to refuse then I have to wait for another application, and if only you can wait for that long. But then, you get your nice and juicy letter of recommendation."

" I got it, but I can assure you. I am more than willing to do this childcare, it's gonna be hard with my jobs but I'll do it." [M/N] said, smiling as PC Principal grins a bit, " Then you can go, have a nice day [L/N]." The teen stood up, he walked out his office and shut the door behind him and almost skips down the hallway, a bit bounce in his step. He didn't care who it was, but he literally got his ticket to the letter. Thank god for the stupid program.

He walked back in the door of his Chemistry class, the teacher practically sleeping at her desk as [M/N] took his seat in the middle table once more. " Did something happened with PC?" Stan asked, barely lifting his head up from the seat beside [M/N] they were table mates, the ravenette always cheated off him but [M/N] didn't care really. The poor thing always had a hangover headache during their second period. Plus, they were friends, why wouldn't he help him?

" I just got my first application." [M/N] said, as he looked at Stan who stared up at him. " Today after school, I'll be meeting with some adult or teen mom or something. I'll be working with them to take care of their kid." [M/N] felt giddy that he could have an opportunity like this. " Then I'll be far away from this fucking town."

" That's great, dude." Stan said, as he watched [M/N] practically sparkle as he spoke about his opportunity, the pure happiness made the ravenette feel some sort of envy. Not because he was able to work his way towards college and study whatever he wanted, no, it was just the pure emotion that Stan wished he could feel without the need for beer or weed. " Why do you want be a teacher again?" Stan asked, propping his head up with his hand. [M/N] glanced to Stan and opens his mouth only to jump a bit when he heard a loud bang ahead. They turn their gaze ahead and saw their teacher had fallen to the floor, dead asleep. She didn't even get up when she landed on the floor, instead she began to drool. 

" That." [M/N] gestures to the woman on the floor with a frown. " Is why I want to be a teacher, I can always fall back into daycare work if I need to. People are always plopping out kids." The bell rings and everyone stood up, hurrying out the door with their friends. [M/N] standing up and walked out the door with Stan, the other wobbling a bit and rubbing his temple. " what the hell did you drink this time around?"

" I can't remember, I think it was either bud light or cherry flavored vodka." Stan said as he looked at [M/N]. " You're not gonna tell Kyle, are you?"

" I'm not." [M/N] said as he glanced at the other, " He'll find out the second he smells your breath and your red puffy eyes." Stan groans, slouching a bit as he walked to their next class. Of course Kyle could smell the scent of alcohol a mile a way, and on Stan. He usually didn't drink this heavily but lately there had been reasons to drink. His dad for one, his mom ignoring everything around them, Shelly gone, Sparky getting old, his grades, pressure on the football team, everything seemed to be fucked up or going on to be fucked up.  The last thing he needed was to screw up his relationship with his friends. Wendy was gone and dating Token again, so that's a thing. Though, he wasn't really drinking because of that.

" I know, still, I hate it when he lectures me." Stan grumbled as they kept walking to their next class, kids bumping shoulders into his. He was even too tired to snap at them. " He acts more like my mom than my friend."

" He cares for you Lee," [M/N] said as he nudged the other with a smile, " Somebody has to care for your dumbass, I love you and all but I won't be around long." Stan gives the other a small smile. " See, you should smile more."

" And you should get laid more." Stan retorts and they both share a laugh as they entered their history class only to see their teacher eating a pot brownie, another movie day it seems. [M/N] rolled his eyes as he sits down, Stan going to his assigned seat behind him. [M/N] pulled his phone out like others as the teacher kept plugging the tv in and out of the power port. He was to high and hopefully it won't be something stupid. He was focused on the phone that he didn't hear the chair scrap next to him. 

" Hey, [M/N]." 

[M/N] mentally groans as he heard the voice beside him, he should've sit in the back with Stan. Since the junior year summer break, Craig had been a thorn in his side. He was annoying him, clinging to his side like a needy animal wanting to be pet and be given kisses. Everything he did, annoyed him. Craig first began asking about his day or try to converse with him in the summer, Craig then offers him extra things he accidently bought from stores, usually food. Free food, then it began asking to hang out but [M/N] actually couldn't do it because of work and college visits. Craig didn't know why he was suddenly too friendly but it kind of disturbed him. 

" Hey Craig." [M/N] said as he glanced at the ravenette. He looked still the same since he did when they were younger. Short black hair that hid underneath the dark blue chullo hat with a yellow puff ball on top of the dark blue hat. He wore his dark blue jacket with a bit of his black shirt peeking up and dark jeans as well. He also had black boots on too that replaced the dark blue converse he had as a kid. Craig still had his emotionless face but his dark eyes had edges of light grey in the corners. " How are you?" [M/N] asked politely. 

" Good." Craig replied as [M/N] nods, his eyes glanced away to the teacher who played with his pen, the movie read to be started as kids came inside the classroom. 

" I heard you got your first application." Craig said after a few minutes of awkward silence. [M/N] stared at him, wondering how he knew. " I was outside the office, I was late and I needed a pass. The door is super thin so I heard everything." Craig's eyes glanced to [M/N] who caught his gaze. " Congratulations." He said. 

" Uh, oh, thanks." [M/N] thanked the other, and looked back at the tv. " Though, it Is a bit rude for eavesdropping on conversations." He joked and Craig shakes his head a bit, a low chuckle made [M/N] smile a bit. 

" Well, maybe I like being rude to you." Craig said with a smirk as the bell rings, [M/N]'s cheeks turn a bit pink. " It's fun being rude to you too, you and your color changing cheeks." [M/N] scoffed, eyes rolling at the statement as the lights turn off and the history movie started. [M/N] kept watching the movie, leaning against his metal chair a bit but he could feel Craig watching him, he caught him a bit from the corner of his [E/C] eyes. Why is he watching me? Werido..

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

The school day was boring, nothing really to learn from the teachers who were either crying, high or sleeping. That was High school for you in South Park. Another reason he wanted to be a teacher.

[M/N] walked down the sidewalk towards the meeting place at Tweek's coffeehouse. The person had said he would be late because their kid was having a fit. It must be a baby or toddler, [M/N]'s specialty. He kept walking down the street with a hum, seeing the coffee shop and hurried over. The smell of warm coffee and the sound of chatter was the first thing he had heard and smelled when [M/N] walked in. He can see Tweek twitching and taking orders, talking about the new specials and such. [M/N] sits his bookbag down as he sits down into a booth, he pulled out some math homework to do. 

He hated math but might as well get it over and done. He kept scribbling in the answers after figuring it out. His focus on the papers in front of him, his [E/C] eyes glancing up once in a while to see the possible parent and child but no one came towards him. He was getting a bit nervous and especially getting antsy. Maybe it was some rich socialite? Someone with too many kids and needed a lot of help? He didn't know and he wanted them to be there fas-

" [M/N]?" 

[M/N]'s head snapped up and smiled only for it to fall when he noticed who called him. His pencil falls and rolls off the table, Kenny noticed and a weak smile pulled on his pale lips. Yeah, I'm just as shock, Kenny thought as he  looked at his ex-boyfriend and opens his mouth but the baby who was sleeping in his make-shift sling began wailing when the door of the shop slammed closed with the jingle of a bell. People began sending Kenny dirty looks and teens gave them annoyed ones too.  [M/N] stood up once Kenny gently took the baby out, trying to calm him down and [M/N] grimaced. The baby was in clothes that was a couple months too big for him, he had Karen's smallest socks on his hands, probably to prevent himself from scratching at his face. 

" Hand the baby over, Ken." [M/N] ordered as he moved from the table and made grabby hands towards the blond who slowly hands his son over. [M/N] carefully took the baby, support his head and body. He cradles the baby against his chest and cooed over him, the baby kept crying as he stared up at the new person. His chubby arms moving around, the sock-gloves lightly graving [M/N]'s chin. " Hey, baby McCormick, don't hit me." [M/N] cooed as he looked at the baby, gently rocking him. " When was the last time you fed him?" [M/N] asked as he kept his gaze down on the baby. 

" Two hours ago." Kenny answered, as he watched [M/N] gently handle his son with wide eyes, he wasn't shock really, a bit that [M/N] went right to mother hen mode. Though, [M/N] was just natural with kids of all ages. " I need to get more formula." Kenny added, he had ran to the gas station this morning after dropping Karen off at her school. They had one can, but his son drank it all. 

" Go to Tweek, tell him you need baby formula." [M/N] said, " The one without meth too." Kenny checked his pockets and [M/N] sighs, using one arm to gently cradle the baby and Kenny watched anxiously as [M/N] used his now free hand, and pulled his wallet out of his pocket. " Here. Get me an ice vanilla coffee too." [M/N] throws the wallet and Kenny almost didn't catch it. [M/N] held the baby with both hands and arms just as Kenny hurried in line just as the last person left with their coffee. 

The baby kept crying, not as loud but it was still annoying people next to him. [M/N] smiled down at the baby and cooed, " Okay, Okay, get it out of your system." He smiled and the baby hand raised up, and grazed [M/N]'s chin with his gloved hands again. " You keep trying that, but you can't hit me little McCormick." [M/N] chuckled as he resumed his rocking, humming a bit.

"I'd heard there was a secret chord

That David played and it pleased the Lord But you don't really care for music, do you? Well, it goes like this The fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, the major lift The baffled king composing Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah"

[M/N] began singing sweetly, almost in a childish tone to the baby. He still moved his arms around but his crying is slowly reduced to whimpers. His bright teal eyes staring up into [M/N]'s soft [E/C] eyes. Small tears ran down his pale cheeks from his small crying fit, but seemed to slowly calm down to [M/N]'s singing.

"Well, your faith was strong but you needed proof You saw her bathing on the roof Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya She tied you to the kitchen chair She broke your throne and she cut your hair And from your lips, she drew the Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah"

Soon the whimpers stop and the baby's arms stopped moving around, but his full attention was solely on the new person who smelled nice unlike the blond who held him. The stranger smelled way better than the woman too. His teal eyes watching him, and [M/N] smiled down at the baby. The smile made the baby smile back.

"Well baby, I've been here before

I've seen this room and I've walked this floor I used to live alone before I knew ya And I've seen your flag on the marble arch And love is not a victory march It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah"

" Your voice has never lost it's pitch." Kenny said as he walked back from the counter, bottle in one hand and ice coffee in the other. He had heard the final verse of [M/N]'s singing and sat the coffee down. [M/N] sat down, using one arm again to hold the baby and used the other to grasp the bottle from Kenny's hand. He tested it against his arm before slowly feeding the tiny McCormick. [M/N] watched the baby drink the formula, holding him carefully. He was hungry, and probably startled when the door closed. " I didn't think they would send you for help, if you're the one I'm looking for." Kenny said, standing and watching his son eat. 

" Me either, nor did I think you'll have a son so soon." [M/N] said, not looking up as he fed the baby. " What's his name?"

" Uh, I..haven't give him one." Kenny said, watching his son eat. Smile on his lips, as his son ate instead of crying. He had been crying all day, used his diaper and ate. It was nice to see him eat and calm down. 

" Sit down Ken," [M/N] said as he placed the bottle down on the table once the baby finished eating half of his milk. [M/N] fixed the baby in the burping position and gently pats the baby's back and a large burp came out the baby boy.  " Good boy." [M/N] praised as he fixed the baby in his arms, he laid in his arms and kept watching [M/N] with bright teal eyes. [M/N] lifts his head up and looked at Kenny who pulled a chair from a random table. " I'm free in the mornings before school and I am willing to stay until 12 am at nights. Though, I can take him to my job at the daycare on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Friday." [M/N] explained, as he raised an eyebrow. " If you need me to watch him over the weekend then call or text me before hand. Because I may be hanging out with friends or-"

" We have the same friends." Kenny pointed out, and [M/N] narrowed his eyes at him which make the blond cringe. " Uh, you don't have to be formal with me either, I mean, I know you take child care seriously but jesus."

" Kenny, I have to." [M/N] said as he looked down at the baby, who immidealty gives him a toothless smile. [M/N] smiles back at the baby, " I want to keep us professional. Plus everything is paid for by the program at school which you would know, if you came." Kenny dropped out junior year after their broke up. He was surprise but then he heard rumors he dropped out for some hooker, [M/N] could be holding the hooker's son. 

" Low-blow, huh?" Kenny mutters to himself as he looked at [M/N]. He looked the same, Kenny had avoided the other for a bit after their break-up. He had his own things too, work, watching Karen, smoking, sex, and girls. [M/N] looked the same, minus the fact that he was bitter towards Kenny which made sense. " Uh, what's a good name for him?" Kenny asked, drawing circles with his fingers on the table top. Hoping [M/N] wouldn't be so cold when it went in the baby direction.

" I have no idea." [M/N] said, as he looked down, a smile still on his lips and the baby gurgled once the attention was on him again by the stranger. " He looks just like you."

" That's what Karen said. I think so too." Kenny said as he smiled, hearing his son gurgled happily. " I was thinking of Kenny Junior." [M/N] gave Kenny a bitch face and Kenny chuckled nervously. " Or not, if you think you can come up with a better name, then say it." So much for Kenny's idea of names. 

" I like Georgie." [M/N] said, as he waved his finger in front of the baby's face. The baby tried to take the finger but his gloved hands prevented him. " Georgie McCormick. I mean-" [M/N] glanced at Kenny and stared. "Like whatever, name him.." [M/N] didn't mean to say that out loud, the baby could have a name that the mom gave it but he didn't want to know the mother at all. She must've left Kenny after the birth since Kenny got him for help.

" No way," Kenny grins seeing [M/N] trying to keep his professional  tone and atmosphere. Kenny actually liked the name, it had a nice ring to it like [M/N] said with his surname. Georgie McCormick. " That's his name, it's cute." [M/N] nods his head as he sips his ice coffee, Georgie gently batting it with his gloved hand and [M/N] placed it down. He tried to ignore the buzzing and warm feeling of Kenny's approval, it has almost been a year and the feeling in him felt the same as it did when he was together with the blond.

" Anyway, do you agree with my terms?" [M/N] asked, as Kenny stared at the other than the look on Georgie's face. Peaceful, calm, safe. " Kenny?"

" Yeah," Kenny nods, a smile coming to his face. Safe, his son will be safe with [M/N]. " I agree. You're a life saver." 

" I know I am." [M/N] replied as he looked at the baby, another happy noise escaped from his mouth. Georgie moved, against [M/N]'s chest, a yawn escaping his lips and [M/N] smiled down at him. Even if he came from a hooker, [M/N] was kind of glad the baby looked more like Kenny than the mystery woman.

[a-solitary-marshmallow]

Please Don’t See Me - Chapter 14/14

“FORD!”

The scientist in question snatched his hand back, just before the carnivorous plant he had been studying snapped at him with a second slime-coated mouth. A second mouth! It was located under the bulbous head’s primary maw, smaller but sharing the larger one’s distinctive jutting spines that seemed to function like teeth – hooked back to prevent prey from getting away. The infant plant was only as long as his forearm but when it was fully-grown the secondary mouth could easily be large enough to pick up small mammals from the forest floor, maybe even large raccoons or the occasional gnome.

Hmm. They might make for good pest control. Ford studied where the plant’s stem met the forest floor, trying to ascertain how deep the roots ran. If he could get his hands on a pair of good, sturdy gloves for protection he might be able to replant it in a pot and take it back to his lab for further testing. That would certainly be easier than trying to run tests on the fully-grown specimens dotting the forest. How old was this one, anyway? Ford pulled out his tape measure to record its size.

Stan slapped his hand away when it neared the hissing plant. “Don’t touch it! Didn’t you just say this thing was poisonous?”

“Venomous, not poisonous.” Ford corrected.

“You know what I mean.”

Ford waved away his brother’s concerns. “Don’t worry, it’s only a juvenile. Its venom hasn’t developed enough to do any damage. The worst it’ll do is itch.”

“I still wouldn’t be touching it if I were you.” Stan said doubtfully, hunkering down next to Ford to get a good look at the creature. The plant hissed and spat at them and generally made a nuisance of itself.

Ford smirked. “Look Stanley, it’s just as friendly as you are.”

“Hey!” Stan brandished a finger in Ford’s face. “I’m a friendly guy! Just not to weird-ass plants that try to bite my brother’s hand off.”

“It’s not like you didn’t try to bite my hand off when I reached for the ice cream yesterday.”

“Fuck you Ford, I called dibs and you know it.”

Ford rolled his eyes, reaching for the spade in his pack. He’d missed the easy banter between them. It had been missing during the whole Rebus fiasco, obviously; there was only so much sarcasm a wolf could convey through its eyes alone, and only so much a scientist could babble to his canine friend without it being… just sad. Even once the brothers had reconciled, Stan’s mind restored, Ford had worried that after nearly ten years apart the differences between them were far to great to bridge.

But in seemingly no time, Ford had fallen back quickly into the habit of trading quips and joking insults, laughs and rolled eyes and body language that sometimes spoke more than words. It felt far more natural than the forced conversations he’d attempted to make during his time in college. Ford had forgotten the comfort of having his brother nearby.

Of course, an adjustment period was necessary – perhaps made longer by the added factor of Stan readjusting to having a human shape. It was rather concerning, the number of times the man would forget to cook his food and instead tear into it raw and bloody. The first time that had happened Ford had been in the kitchen as well, and he’d stared with popping eyes as Stan nonchalantly sank his teeth into a raw steak.

Stan had hesitated, chewing slowly and swallowing before speaking in his gravelly voice, not bothering to wipe away a trail of blood rolling down his chin.

“…okay, yeah, I see what I did there.”

And of course, they were wildly different people who were bound to have disagreements. It had taken Ford quite some time to convince Stan that while they may argue, he was in no danger of losing his family again. He wouldn’t be sent away, punished or abandoned again. Not while Ford was still breathing.

The plant’s hiss brought him back to the moment. Ford frowned, considering his plan of action, before settling on the plain approach. They could simply carry the thing home.

“Can you get out one of the sample bags? I want to bring this specimen to my lab and they should be large enough to hold its roots.”

Stan rifled through the pack while Ford sized up the agitated plant. He would be able to dig up the roots if the darn thing would stay still! He would have to design some kind of muzzle appropriate for two mouths when they got it back to the house.

Ford made a lunge for the creature, trapping its stalk against the ground with one hand so it couldn’t bite him as he dug up its roots. The plant snapped at him fruitlessly. Ford quickly loosened up the soil enough to lift the whole thing and settle it roots-first in the awaiting sample bag.

Stan groused at having to carry the plant all the way home (one hand gripping behind its head, obviously, to stop it from biting). The whining was pretty unfair considering Stan had demanded to carry it so he could keep an eye on the snappish thing, but Ford supposed he could appreciate the intent.

(…on the other hand, that left Ford to carry the heavy pack. He was beginning to think that this wasn’t a purely altruistic move on Stan’s part.)

“When I took the job I didn’t realize ‘research assistant’ meant ‘gardener’.”

“I don’t pay you to whine, Stanley.”

“You don’t pay me.” Stan countered.

“Oh – don’t I?” Ford could have sworn he had been. Stan tended to handle the money so Ford had just… assumed that Stan was receiving some of it. He frowned. “Why don’t I pay you?”

“’Cause I live in your house? That’s kinda payment enough.”

“No it’s not!”

“It was when you thought I was a wolf.”

Ford spluttered. “That – that’s because you were a wolf. Wolves don’t need to be paid to act as research assistants-”

“Oh, are you saying wolves don’t deserve to be paid equal wages?” Stan shook his head in mock disappointment. “Gosh, Ford. My own brother-”

“Oh, shut up! You know what I mean!”

Stan snickered. He only laughed harder when Ford punched him lightly in the shoulder, careful not to jostle the creature in his grasp.

Ford glanced at his watch, taking note of the time. At this pace they would reach home well before dark. Maybe they should take a detour to check on the size-altering crystals? Ford had covered the Warped crystal with a tarp to prevent the light reaching it, but he really should check that the covering was still in place after the blustering winds that had recently swept through. He didn’t want any unsuspecting forest life to wander into its beam.

Then again, that could wait for another day, and they had a carnivorous plant to re-house.

“…I really do need to pay you, though.” Ford muttered as they walked.

“You really don’t.” Stan shrugged. “I’m not doing anything useful anyway.”

The nonchalance with which he spoke made Ford want to sigh. Stan never acknowledged his own value or input! Ford wanted to shove it down his throat and force his brother to acknowledge that he was important, goddammit!

For the moment, he settled on arguing his point.

“Shopping for food is useful; plus, the people in town know you better than me and I’ve been living here for years, so you’re basically handling public appearance. And collecting data from my monitors is useful.”

“That’s just walking and taking readings.” Stan argued right back. “A monkey could do that data-collection stuff.”

“Babysitting Tate while Fiddleford and I are busy is useful.”

“The kid’s easy, he just wants to spend time with a dog all day.”

“Defending the house from griffins is useful.” Especially since they seemed to have it out for the Pines twins and would come by every so often with claws and beaks bared.

“You woulda just found a better way to keep ‘em away.”

Ford gritted his teeth. “You handle the money and pay the bills.”

“It’s your grant money, I just budget it.”

“Exactly! That is exactly what I should pay you for!” Ford flung up his arms in exasperation. Stan merely shrugged, and – smirked? He was enjoying Ford’s misery! “Ugh, whatever.”

Stan continued to look smug. Ford silently resolved to start paying him, even if he had to sneak the money into his brother’s bank account. Or just leave some around the house. Apparently Stan was too proud to accept payment but the guy never passed up an opportunity to take it if it was there.

“…anyway, about the whole money thing, I was thinking.” Stan mumbled, a little more subdued. Ford glanced across.

“Yes?”

“Eh – well, y’know how there are so many cool things around here? If Pa’d let us come, we woulda loved it here when we were kids.”

Ford imagined himself as a child – bright-eyed and eager to learn, marveling at everything around him – and was inclined to agree.

“And just yesterday you were sayin’ about how no one appreciates this stuff. Really, I’m kinda surprised no one’s made something of this place before, snatched it up for a tourist attraction. I was thinking that it would be pretty cool to give… tours or something?”

Ford opened his mouth but his brother was already rushing ahead, a nervous scowl affixed to his face.

“It’s all good if you don’t want me to – probably something about the scientific integrity of the place or whatever – but, it’s kinda something I’m good at. Tours, selling stuff, talking to people, that stuff. A-And I know you love teaching people about things, so if you wanted to help? Like, write up information sheets or – or do classes or whatever. Obviously I’d be spinning some yarns, that’s the fun of these places, but I know people would love to see some of the weird stuff here and actually learn about it too, so I dunno, I think it would be cool?”

All of this was said rather quickly, with few breaths taken in between, so when Stan finally ran out of things to say he took a few heavy breaths. Ford blinked and took a few moments to process this.

“Stan, are you asking my permission to open a tourist trap?”

The werewolf cringed, grip tightening fractionally around the uselessly-wriggling plant creature. “No, ‘course not. I’m just… seein’ if you’d be open to the idea.”

“Well…” Ford adjusted the straps of his pack. “So long as it doesn’t interfere with my research, I think it’s quite an interesting prospect. It would be nice to be able to share some of the things I’ve learned. If you think you can pull it off I believe you. You don’t need my permission, of course, but you certainly have my support.”

“Wait, really?”

Ford laughed as his brother perked up. That was another thing he’d had to adjust to since their reunion – canines tended to express themselves heavily through body language and Stan had apparently picked up that trait. He had no tail at the moment but from the straight posture and slight vibrating, Ford imagined it would be wagging.

“’Cause I’ve got so many ideas.” Stanley gushed. “I was thinking I could get a place set up, probably in the woods closer to town – maybe contract that lumberjack guy you talked about to built it? Anyways, I’d fill it with attractions, some of the cool shit that lives around here. Like, you know that weird-ass bird we saw the other day, the one you said we shouldn’t bother to look into?”

“Having a second head is a fairly common mutation. I’ve studied several animals with that phenotype in my time here.”

“People eat that stuff up, Ford! And I could do tours around some of the harmless places – and charge a pretty penny for it too. You know how many shmucks are happy to get ripped off by dodgy fake tourist attractions? And this one would be real! I’d have a source of income, and you’d have somewhere to put the stuff you’ve finished researching, and people to teach if you want to. Plus this crummy town could use some tourists to give business a boost.”

Wow. Stan had evidently thought this whole thing out – and the excitement was contagious. Ford wondered if this was how his brother felt, when he himself became giddy about a new finding or breakthrough. Stan was grinning like a kid.

Ford laughed and elbowed him playfully. “It’s a sound plan. And it’s nice to see you’re putting aside your history with Dan. You growled at him last time we came across him – you weren’t yourself then, of course.”

Stan shot him a weird look. “Who?”

“Dan. The lumberjack.” Stan continued to look confused. “Matilda’s boyfriend?”

All at once the werewolf’s eyes widened. “The shovel guy.”

“Er – shovel?”

“He hit me with a shovel.”                                                    

“Oh.” Ford had almost forgotten the circumstances of their meeting, with himself rescuing Stan from being beaten to death. Ah – with what he knew now, the situation seemed a lot more dire. He strongly resisted the urge to grab up a shovel and see how Boyish Dan like being smacked into the ground.

Obviously Dan didn’t know it was a person he had assaulted, not a wolf, but still. It would make Ford feel better.

When no words came to him, Ford said the first thing on his mind. “Didn’t you try to eat his mother’s dog?”

“Dog? Fuckin’ thing was more of a bug than a dog. I was starving anyway, gimme a break!”

“I’m not judging. Anyway, I’ve seen you try to eat so many things-”

“Can it, Poindexter.”

Ford began to count on his fingers. “Squirrels, gnomes, the mayor’s hairpiece, our father, my kitchen cupboard, a whole watermelon for some reason-”

“I was outta my mind for half of those!”

“My phone, the multibear somehow, several lemons – why you kept coming back to them after knowing you hated them remains a mystery to me–”

They arrived back at the house before Ford could continue his list.

“We should get this thing planted before it dies or somethin’.” Stan shuffled the plant around in his arms to hold it more comfortably, ignoring its hiss of displeasure. “Where do you want it?”

“The porch should be fine. I don’t know how much energy it gets from its prey as opposed to the sun ­– it might need sunlight to live.”

“Right. You got a pot around? I can get Chompy here planted while you find something to stop it biting anyone who gets close.”

“’Chompy’? You named the plant?”

“You were too slow.”

Well, Ford couldn’t argue with that logic. He’d just have to be faster with the next creature they came across. They had a lifetime, after all, to squabble about names – among other things.

 (For example, whether Ford was terrible for pretending to toss Stan the car keys but hiding them behind his back instead. It took Stan an embarrassingly long time to realize and once he did, Ford could barely see the withering glare he received through his snickering.)

(That evening, in revenge, Stan fell asleep on the couch lying across several of Ford’s books. Upon attempts to remove him Stan simply shifted into a wolf and thus became heavier and harder to move.)

(But these are stories for another time.)

[trashmouth-tozier89]

Welcome to the Loser’s Club Asshole! - Ch. 1 | T H R E E

Warnings: swearing, sexual innuendos (i mean, this is richie we’re talking about), a little angst?

Word Count: 3,418

Pairing: Richie Tozier x Reader, Platonic!Stanley Uris x Reader

A/N - third chapter of the series... a lot of this one is my interpretation of the story, and scenes I’ve created myself but it’s very easy to understand where it stands in the story! and we have finally met beverly... i’m not too certain on what her relationship with y/n is going to be just yet but i’m figuring it out as i go along

If you wish to be added to the taglist, send in an ask or pop it in the comments! :)

Welcome to the Loser’s Club, Asshole! Masterlist

“I think it’s great that we’re helping the new kid, but we also need to think of our own safety. I mean he’s bleeding all over and you guys know there’s an AIDs epidemic happening right now as we speak, right?” Eddie mumbled, as the kids rode through the woods and back to town in hopes of helping the injured boy. Nobody was really listening to the rants of the germaphobe, apart from Y/N, who seemed curious in what the boy had to say about AIDs. Whether she was just entertaining the idea for Eddie’s sake or actually interested, the other boys couldn’t tell, but it didn’t matter because they knew the boy would rattle on anyway.

“I thought you could only get AIDs from having sex?” Y/N questioned to Eddie.

“Nope; my mom’s friend in New York City got it by touching a dirty pole on the subway. A drop of AIDs blood got into his system through a hangnail. Through a hangnail!” The boy exclaimed, beginning to freak out. As the group cycled around the corner of an alleyway, finally finding somewhere to stop and let the boy rest, Eddie was still going at it; “A-and you can amputate legs and arms, but how do you amputate a wai-? How do you amputate a waist? You guys do know that alleys are known for having dirty needles that have AIDs, right? You guys do know that?”

“Eddie, he is going to be fine. We are not going to have to amputate his waist, we are not going to catch AIDs, and he is certainly not going to die” Y/N comforted the agitated boy, placing both her hands on his shoulder to steady his breathing. He dropped his bike to the ground, took a large breath in before nodding slowly; he found it a little weird how easily she relaxed him. And evidently, so did the other boys as they stared at her in disbelief.

“Richie, wait here. Come on” Bill instructed, walking off to go towards the pharmacy which was thankfully just around the corner. Eddie and Stan followed suit, walking in the same direction, but Y/N stayed where she was. She didn’t really want to leave the boys side, just in case something bad did happen. She knew Richie wouldn’t be the best to cope with a situation like that by himself. Bill noticed how she hadn’t moved; “Y/N, are you coming?”

“I-I think I’ll stay here with Richie if that’s okay?” she explained, watching the boy nod his head before pacing off again. Once she, Richie and the boy were alone, there was an awkward tension in the air: Richie was afraid to say anything to Y/N, Y/N felt awkward talking to either of them, and the injured boy found it a little painful to talk. Y/N couldn’t really explain why it was weird to talk to Richie, but every time she tried to even look at the boy, she felt a small fluttery feeling in the pit of her stomach; it wasn’t necessarily unpleasant, but she didn’t like it, because she didn’t know what it was.

“Glad I got to meet you before you died” Richie said, looking in the direction of the wounded teen, which simply looked at him in confusion. The boy shifted around on the wooden crate he had been sat down on, and let out a loud wince of pain when he accidently scraped the wound on his stomach; both Y/N and Richie jumped at the sound, and Y/N looked at him in concern.

“Are you okay?” Y/N asked, watching him nod, but it was in no way believable. The girl approached him slowly, considering he was still in a small state of shock; “C-can I take a look at it? Just to make sure i-it’s not infected or anything, you know.”

She watched as his eyes drifted around; the boy felt very self-conscious about his body, and though he didn’t show it most of the time, he didn’t always feel comfortable. She could tell something was troubling him, it was like a sixth sense of hers, so she whispered so only the two of them could hear; “I won’t judge you, I promise.”

He grinned widely, nodding. She lifted the shirt up to his chest, letting her get a whole view of the gash across his stomach in the shape of an H; she would’ve asked if it was Henry who had done this to him, but she didn’t want to make him think about such things at this time, she was supposed to be relaxing him. As she went to press around the cut, she decided it was best to distract him from any pain it may be causing him; “I’m Y/N, and this is Richie. You’re Ben, right? We have home ec class together, but you probably didn’t notice me because I’m pretty new, I sit right at the back of the class.”

“So you’re the other new kid? I was wondering when I’d get to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you” he answered back through a mumble, half because of the pain but half because the slight embarrassment.

“All bad, I guess. I’ve heard all the rumours that have been spread around school about me. It’s stupid really, I mean, the rumours spread as quickly as I bet Greta Keene can spread her STD’s” Y/N chuckles, but when she notices the other two aren’t laughing along, she realises her joke was rather crude. “I’m kidding; Greta doesn’t have any STD’s. Well, I wouldn’t know, but it-it was just a joke”

The boy’s face falls in relief, and Y/N is glad she hadn’t scared Ben off quite yet, and the two carried on their conversation while she checked him out. However, Richie still stood behind her body in shock at what he had just heard. No one in the group would ever dare make a joke like that, apart from Richie himself. He didn’t understand how he and she could be so alike, and he hated the fact that she was being so friendly with Ben. Not that it was a bad thing, Y/N was very obviously a caring and affectionate person to everyone she met, but there was something about the way Ben smiled at her like she was the love of his life that he didn’t like. He couldn’t understand why though, and it was really beginning to get on his nerves. Since when was I such a sap, he thought, get it together Rich. Thankfully, before Richie had to watch them practically snog each other, Eddie and the boys had returned with what looked like half the store.

***

“Just suck the wound!”

“I need to focus right now” Eddie complained, the boy with glasses getting on his nerves; regardless of his AIDs-passing-through-blood rant earlier, Eddie has found himself upfront treating the boy, who they were now able to call Ben, considering he was the only one with any form of useful medical knowledge. Richie, however, was making it more of a difficult job than need be, irritating the smaller boy every second that went by.

“You need to focus?” Richie questioned

“Yeah, can you go get me something?” Eddie answered back, realising the thing he needed was in the second fanny pack

“Jesus! What do you need?” He sounded rather serious, but that was only because Ben’s injury was rather severe. Oh, and Y/N was clearly worrying about it; making jokes would only make her more annoyed at Richie, and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

“Go get my bi-focals. I hid ‘em in my second fanny pack”

“Why do you have two fanny packs?” Stanley chipped into the conversation, him and Richie sharing a look. The answer was obvious to Eddie; he had one, but then that got full so he needed a second. The answer would’ve been obvious to any germaphobe, but nobody else was a germaphobe.

“I need to focus right now and it’s a long story. I don’t want to get into it-“ Eddie explained, trying to keep his full focus on the bleeding boy he was aiding too. The boys were too distracted by Ben that they hadn’t noticed Bill walking back out of the alley, endorsing in conversation with a red-headed girl. Y/N had noticed their interactions, and watched on in curiosity; she knew she recognised the girl from one of her classes, or maybe she had just seen her in passing in the hallway. She noticed how Bill stared at her, and she knew in an instant it was a look of admiration; she took a quick note of this before realising the couple were heading back down into the alleyway and towards them.

“You have to suck the wound before you apply the Band-Aids. This is 101!” Richie insisted, still bugging Eddie with ridiculous suggestions. Eddie wasn’t sure how much more he could take before punching Richie in the nuts, but he restrained himself because who knew how many germs were down there.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about”

“Are you okay? That looks like it hurts” The redhead spoke up, heading towards Ben and catching the attention of the rest of the group. Y/N noticed how Ben’s face lit up as soon as she had approached the group; everyone looked at this girl in admiration, why did no one look at me that way, she thought.

“Oh, no, I’m good. I just fell” Ben assured her, seeing her face light up in relief. Of course, Richie had to ruin the moment with another one of his jokes; “Yeah, right into Henry Bowers”

“Shut it R-r-richie” Bill stuttered out in a mutter, sending the boy a glare. This was yet another moment Y/N had found herself in a state of confusion, and she was beginning to wish she wasn’t new to this town; everyone knew things but her.

“Why? It’s the truth!” Richie defended himself.

“You sure they got the right stuff to fix you up?” The new girl asked Ben with a small smirk, knowing that only the two of them would understand the small inside joke, referring to the boy’s favourite band. Ben grinned back, feeling a blush grow on his cheeks.

“Y-you know, uhh, we’ll take care of him” Bill butt in, not particularly liking how friendly she and Ben were being. He knew he had a massive crush on the redhead, but he’d never admit it to anyone; he didn’t like talking about his feelings and he wasn’t going to start now. “Uh, thanks again, Beverly.”

“Sure. Maybe I’ll see you around”

“Yeah, we were thinking about going to the q-q-q-quarry tomorrow, if you want to… come” Bill stuttered out, feeling the glances of almost everyone around him burning into his back like rays of sun. This hadn’t been brought up in conversation at all; in fact, the group had already got plans that weren’t the quarry. Richie was planning on spending the day in the arcade, Y/N and Stan had planned on sitting out and birdwatching in her garden, and Eddie had a prescription he needed to refill.

“Good to know, thanks!” Beverly smiled, beginning to walk off and sending a small wave in the direction of the group. As soon as she was far enough away, Eddie raised back onto his feet, brushing his hands together, and turned to face Richie.

“Nice going bringing up Bowers in front of her!” Stanley scolded Richie, Eddie quickly chipping in too; “Yeah, dude, you heard what she did”

“What’d she do?” both Ben and Y/N asked at the same time, considering they both found themselves lost in the conversation.

“More like ‘Who’d she do?’ From what I heard, the list is longer than my wang” Richie joked, grabbing his crotch in a joking manner. He found nobody laughing again, not even Y/N, and he found himself getting a little nervous at that fact; she usually laughed at his sex jokes.

“That’s not saying much” Stanley muttered, loud enough for the rest of the group to hear, and Y/N let out a small chuckle at his joke. This angered Richie a little; why was she laughing at Stan’s jokes and not his?

“They’re jj-ju-just rumours.” Bill reassured the two, who were now looking at the group in disbelief. Y/N didn’t exactly like the way they talked about her; there was no way she had had sex with that many guys, and even if she had, why was it such a big deal? Who said girls can’t have fun from time to time? Obviously, Y/N understood that women were expected to behave with a certain amount of grace, but fuck those expectations.

“Anyway, Bill had her back in third grade. They kissed in the school play; reviewers say you can’t fake that sort of passion!” Richie explained even further, not noticing how Ben’s face dropped at the mention of Beverly and Bill kissing. Ben was sure he was in love with the girl, even if they had only met the day before. That didn’t matter to him, she treated him like no other person had. So obviously, the idea of her even liking someone else was off putting.

“Now, pip-pip and tally-ho, my good fellows, I do believe this chap requires out utmost attention. Get in there, Dr. K. Come on, fix him up!” Richie piped up, putting on an awful British accent which was almost as far from British as possible. Although, it did make Y/N giggle a little, which made him grin with glee.

“Why don’t you shut the fuck up, Einstein, because I know what I’m doing and I don’t want you doing the British guy with me right now” It was fair to say Eddie was getting pissed off at Richie now, the British accent pushing him over the edge.

“Suck the wound. Get in there!” Richie carried on, pointing to the boy’s stomach. As Y/N watched the two boys interact foolishly, she couldn’t stop herself from letting a humourful smile grow on her face, stretching from eye to eye. She really had got herself some great friends.

She couldn’t take her eyes off of Richie though. The way his face lit up every time he noticed the grimace on Eddie’s face, his jokes and accents making the smaller boy become more and more agitated by the second. And she had noticed how he’d bite the edge of a smile whenever he got a funny idea in his head, a vain attempt to keep his creeping grin at bay. The intention behind his perking lips was obvious to everyone in the group, but that didn’t stop Y/N from admiring it like a piece of art. She also found that the thick-rimmed glasses that sat perched upon the bridge of his nose gave him that big-eyed cute animal look; the glasses added something to his face, a certain poise she supposed. Though they did more than just frame his eyes or aid his vision, they added an extra window to his soul, and she had grown to love that. Y/N had also grown to love the wacky and wild array of colourful Hawaiian shirts the boy seemed to sport; she usually wasn’t one for shirts of the kind, but she understood that they displayed his personality perfectly, and that was one of her favourite things about him. God, she had so many favourite things about him. And she was certain she wouldn’t be able to name nearly as many things she loved about the other boys; not in a rude way, Richie was just… different. Special.

She swore it was just a crush.

***

“Thank you for walking me home Stanley, but you really didn’t have to” Y/N spoke up, the looming silence between the two making it a little awkward. The two trailed down the middle of the road, Stanley wheeling his bike at the side of him. After announcing that it was getting close to 5 and she should’ve been heading back home; nearly all the boys offered to walk her home. All of them except Richie and she swore she felt her heart break a little in that moment, but she told herself it didn’t matter. Richie didn’t have to like her back.

“It’s okay Y/N; I wanted to make sure you got home safely. I know it’s early, but with this whole ‘kid’s going missing’ business…” he trailed off, and she was sure she saw his eyes gloss over a little. She had noticed how he seemed a little off since that morning, but nothing too extreme had happened so she couldn’t put her finger on it.

“Well I’m glad you offered” she grinned back, trying to cheer the boy up, and it sure did. Still being bitter about Richie not even offering to walk her home, she muttered under her breath “unlike Richie”. She didn’t think Stan had heard her, but she was wrong.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, uh, it-it doesn’t matter” she tried to assure him, and he would’ve questioned more but he didn’t want to scare away the one friend he had made who actually shared some common interests. It remained silence for a good 5 minutes following that, and it would’ve remained silence if it wasn’t for Y/N’s curiosity getting the better of her; “St-Stan, can I ask you a question?”

“Shoot”

“Completely hypothetical situation; say there’s this boy, who I’ve only known for a day really, who I can’t stop thinking about. A-and I don’t even understand why because I don’t really even know him, but I think that I may have a tiny crush on said boy. What do I do?” Y/N rambled out, as if Stan didn’t know she was obviously talking about one of the five boys present at their hangout today. He wondered for a small second whether said boy was perhaps him, he definitely wouldn’t have minded, but he figured she wouldn’t be so open talking about it if it was him. In all honesty, Stan had no idea what she should do; if he told her to go for it and she did, she may end up heartbroken and he didn’t want that. But he also didn’t want to tell her to reign in all her emotions and keep them to herself, because then she would miss out on any chance with the boy.

“I-erm, well I don’t know. I’d say wait it out and see if you get closer with the boy, they may surprise you.” He answered, hoping it was good enough. Which it was, since Y/N nodded her head understandably, that made sense. “So, which of the boys is it?”

“Huh?”

“Oh come on, it’s obviously Eddie, Bill or Ben” Stan said as if it was obvious, but Y/N furrowed her eyebrows when she noticed the boy wasn’t finishing the sentence with the last name it could’ve been.

“Y-you forgot Richie, Stan” she stuttered out, finding herself adopting Bill’s behaviours as soon as the thought of Richie entered her mind. Stan chuckled under his breath at the idea; “Don’t be stupid, it’s obviously not Richie. I mean, he’s a great kid, but you’re complete opposites”

He hadn’t meant it in a no-one-will-ever-like-Richie kind of way, but he certainly didn’t see Richie as the in-love-with-someone type of person. To him, Richie was a free spirit who wasn’t held down by any of his emotions. Richie used humour to cover up any real feelings he may have had, whether it be anger, sadness, fear or love; to Richie, feelings made him weak and he wasn’t weak. When Stan had noticed Y/N was yet to answer, in fact she was so silent you couldn’t even hear her breathing; he knew he had said something wrong. Turning to look at her, the guilty look on her face said it all. It was Richie. “I-I’m sorry, Y/N. I didn’t think it would actually be Rich-“

“No, it’s fine. You’re right; he wouldn’t like me like that anyway. This is my stop, I’ll see you at the quarry tomorrow, Stanley” She bid farewell to the boy, who was now stood in the middle of the road with his heart on the floor; he had never meant to hurt the girl. He watched as she waved him goodbye, before entering her house.

He had fucked up, and all because she had a crush on his friend. And she was certain it was just a crush.

[fordanoia]

I Think I Saw You [Ch 2: Interference]

Fandom: Gravity Falls || CW: - || Stan comes to Gravity Falls upon receiving a postcard from Ford, but he can’t find him and he has to figure out what’s going on. || Ao3 || Fic Tag

Prologue || Ch 1 || Ch 2 || Ch 3 || - || - || -

______(~6.3k words)______

Stan squinted up at the small ceiling light, eyes adjusting to the sudden change in light. When he could see again, he was able to make out shards of glass from the light bulb sitting at the bottom of the foggy dome.

Great.

He quietly flipped off the light switch for all the good it did and walked back to the pantry, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Light bulbs going out wasn’t that out of the norm though. Even as he tried to reason that out to himself though, he knew it was bull.

Sure. Light bulbs going out was pretty common. What wasn’t ordinary was faulty lighting that followed you into a different room in a house that was working with zero problems beforehand. 

That wasn’t normal. Nothing about this - any of this was normal. 

Stan sighed, rifling back into the cabinet for food and making himself a can of soup.

The house could have had bad wiring, and maybe it actually did, but not one light bulb even so much as flickered yesterday when he’d had every light on in the house at the same time.

It was suspicious, and he knew it was still just a light bulb blowing out, but he wasn’t an idiot. Well, he wasn’t that much of an idiot. There was ‘weird,’ and then there was ‘something is definitely going on here.’ Heck, Ford’s house was chock full of weird stuff and half of that stuff looked supernatural so it’s not like it would be that much of a surprise. 

In all honesty, he still hadn’t ruled out something supernatural for what had been going on with Ford. Not like he’d been able to rule out anything since he’d started actually thinking about how to find him though. 

In a matter of days he’d gone from not caring about Ford to caring a whole lot about finding him. If Ford hadn’t written him, Stan wouldn’t have even known or worried about this. Maybe Ma would have written to him about it though.

Ma’s letters had gotten a lot shorter and started showing up a whole less often a long time ago, but Stan still got them now and then. The few times she had mentioned Ford in her letters it had been with a quick, lone sentence slipped between sentences about something else entirely. She didn’t even use his name, it was always ‘your brother.’ Shermie was Shermie, but ‘your brother’ was only ever Ford.

‘Your brother’s off at school now.’

‘Your brother’s got a research job all the way in Oregon.’

The comments always stuck out in the middle of her words like a sharp tack. No matter how she tried to slip it in casually and pretend like stuff was fine, it still stuck out like a sore thumb. 

It was like some bad joke, except there wasn’t a punchline here. 

Stan smiled to himself, imagining how she would have told him about this. 

‘I’ve been doing tarot readings on my calls now. Your brother’s missing. Describing the card’s meaning adds up so much time.’

He tried to think about that, about how funny that part of the situation would have been, how funny it was because it was pretty much how it would go down if it happened. 

His own word choice eventually sunk in though. He hadn’t really thought of Ford as ‘ missing’ before. ‘Missing’ brought with it a lot of other meanings and implied situations than just ‘not home’ or ‘gone’ did. 

This whole thing with Ford may have looked bad... and it was, but if Stan could bounce back from going missing missing a dozen times then Ford could do it at least once, right? 

All Ford had to do was be alive.

The thought sat heavy for a moment with half formed ideas that he immediately pushed away. He didn’t need to get caught up thinking about- about dumb stuff. 

Ford was just... missing. Ford was just missing, and all Stan had to do was find him. That wasn’t too bad. It was still bad and Stan was having a hell of a time since he’d gotten that postcard, but it definitely wasn’t the worst situation Stan had ever been in. 

Stan had food, a roof over his head, and so far nobody in town wanted him dead! If it wasn’t for the missing brother he was trying to find, he’d be doing great.

Even weird spirits messing with lights weren’t that bad. It just was giving him some bad ideas about what was going on here. 

He wouldn’t be surprised if something in Ford's house could mess with lights though. Between all his nerdy science junk and the nerdy supernatural stuff, there was something bound to mess with electricity. 

Stan had spotted more than a dozen homemade looking gadgets around the house, and he didn’t know what a single one of them did. He’d tried picking up a small remote looking thing in the kitchen and pressed a button on it. It had made a quiet hum noise, let out three angry beeps, then shot out a piece of metal into his palm and shocked him.

He stopped messing with the gadgets after that one.

So there was a good chance Ford had something hooked up that was zapping the power in the house weird. Or Stan had awakened a vengeful spirit from its resting place of some spooky vase he’d nudged.

Either one was fine by him. Honestly, he already had plenty of people that wanted revenge against him so one spirit that couldn’t even throw a knife was really low on his list of worries for his own life.

Heck, even thinking about some ancient cursed spirit or invisible wizard floating around him made him feel better. It was like having company around. Invisible, probably floating company like an annoying upstairs neighbor he never actually saw.

“Hey,” Stan spoke, his lips quirking into a lopsided smile. “If there’s a ghost here then knock over a chair or something.” He half joked. “Oh, or slam open all the cabinets at the same time. I always wanted to see something like that happen.” If he was in a haunted house he might as well make the most of it.

He didn’t hear anything though, besides the noises of the microwave. Eventually the timer went off and Stan popped open the small door.

“Eh, suit yourself.”

Once he finished eating, Stan got ready to head into town. As fun as reading barely legible notes were, he could only figure out so much from them and he wasn’t going to find Ford in that house. 

Either he’d find someone suspicious in town or someone suspicious would come after him if he stirred things up enough about Ford. If they tried to get rid of Ford then chances were good they’d try to get rid of him if he just kept bothering enough people about him. 

Stan picked his bag up and headed towards the front door. He hesitated at all the mismatching locks drilled into the wall beside the frame.

He’d already seen it, but it was still an unsettling reminder. A guy doing fine didn’t have seven different locks on his door. 

His ears buzzed in the silence, the stagnant air at his back pressing in on him. 

On a whim, he looked backwards into the dim hallway and reached for the light switch near the door, keeping his finger against it as he flicked it on.

The hallway illuminated in a soft warm light that did nothing, no changing brightness or unsteady flashing that could hint at anything else being here besides himself. 

If Stan just kept his eyes on the hallway, and not down at the mess near his feet or into the shadows of any of the rooms, it looked like a cozy wooden shack. It looked like a place that could have been nice. It would have been too. If the rest of the house didn’t practically scream that something was wrong. If Ford wasn’t...

Stan scoffed at himself, and flipped the switch back down again before undoing the locks on the front door to leave.

  All things considered, it looked like a pretty regular small town, and for some reason something about that pissed off a small part of Stan. 

Okay, maybe... half of him...

Okay, so it pissed him off, but he didn’t know why. 

Something about Ford choosing to come to a small town. He couldn’t care less to follow down the why of it though. Besides, that didn’t matter. A small town right now was great because it meant less places Ford could be holed up at and that he didn’t have to waste gas to get around.

He drove around once to get his bearings and hopefully spot something good. The snow had been plowed off of the roads and he’d seen a few people walking around on the sidewalk. No sign of Ford, of course though. The universe couldn’t make it that easy for him apparently. 

The town had a pretty basic layout with everything centered around the town square and a water tower you could always see that made it easy to tell where you were in the town.

Stan parked at the nearest place to Ford’s house which turned out to be a diner on the side of the road not far from the outskirts of town called Greasy’s Diner.

The diner was in front of the woods and the building itself was shaped like a friggin’ log laying on its side. He went inside, the bell ringing as he opened the door.

It didn’t look too busy. There were a couple people scattered throughout the small diner, and only one waitress who was standing behind the counter. 

She had bright blue eyeshadow and shiny earrings that caught the light when she turned towards him with a smile, cheerfully greeting him. “Hi, stranger! What can I get for you?”

“Do you have a menu?” He asked, with absolutely zero intention of buying anything as he sat down on one of the stools at the counter.

She turned to point at a chalkboard that had a small list of items on it. No big surprise when he saw the same breakfast food every diner had. 

“I might need a minute.” He said. 

“That’s alright, take your-” She stopped suddenly, her voice quickly and excitedly picking back up. “Wait a second, I know you!”

Shit... Shit.

Stan laughed tensely, turning his face away and pretending to look at the arm wrestling machine. “Me? Ha, no way. I just got into town, see. You must be thinking of someone else.”

He hadn’t even been to Oregon before, how did she know-?!

“No,” she insisted, “you’re that- you’re the mysterious science man from the woods, right?”

Stan’s mind stopped running through where he could have seen her before, and he looked back at her again.

She lit up at his reaction. “I knew it!” She said happily. “I knew I recognized you. I’ve got great eyes.”

His own face recovered before he did, giving a practiced, winning smile. “Close! I’m actually his brother.” He stumbled over the final word.

"Oh brother, huh?" She said with interest, and then the light just behind her began to flicker, and Stan wasn't looking at her anymore. "Well, nice to meet you, I'm Susan-!"

"Does your light always do that?" He interrupted. 

Susan turned, catching sight of the flickering bulb. “Ohhh, I just replaced that one!” She took a step stool tucked away, and set it underneath the lightbulb, stepping onto it to reach the light.

As soon as she started touching it though, it stopped flickering, and she set her hands on her hips with a self-satisfied smile.

Then the next hanging light bulb started flickering. 

Amidst the waitresses’ commentary that he was tuning out, Stan realized the light was flashing a pattern he recognized. He pushed himself to stand, hands on the counter, staring at the signal. It wasn’t perfect, but it was there. Three short, three long, three short, and over again.

Whatever was doing that, it was signalling S.O.S..

When Susan's hands settled on the flashing light bulb, it stopped and the next light bulb over immediately picked up the pattern.

A small cry from his right finally broke his attention from the flashing bulb, and Stan glanced over. A light bulb hanging over a booth burnt out, and Stan realized all the lights past that one had gone out already, leaving the far end of the diner dim.

The next closest light, the one hanging over the counter, fizzled out then burnt out next. Stan glanced to his left and saw the same thing happening on his other side.

One by one, it kept happening, the lights going out slowly all in a line headed right to him. Indiscreet murmurs made it hard to hear the buzzing of fluctuating electricity. 

And still, still, the light bulb right in front of him was signalling S.O.S., flashing quicker, more insistent, as the lights burnt themselves out in quicker succession the closer they got to him.

Stan braced for an unseen impact that never came as the last few lights broke. 

As it reached the last bulb, the one that had never stopped flashing over his head, the bulb shattered. Sharp, thin sounds of glass hit the counter and floor, punctuated by Susan shouting in surprise. 

“Darn transformer!” Susan said, brushing her apron free of any glass shards.

He slowly shook his arms to throw off any glass on him and ran a hand through his hair. 

“The transformer?” Stan slowly looked at her. “The transformer ? Transformers don’t do that. Lights don’t-” He cut himself off, glancing up briefly at the broken light bulb that had been flashing S.O.S. not even knowing where to begin thinking about that yet.

She looked back at him, confused before awkwardly picked out a dustpan. “Well, sure.” She thought for a second, then added on as she swept up the glass. “Well- You know, the power used to go out all the time here. All across town! It’s probably just that starting back up again, actually!”

“Why though?”

She hummed. “I dunno.” Susan said as she dumped the broken glass into a trash can then carefully wiped the counter for any glass. “Always thought that it had something to do with whatever mysterious thing your brother was working on. It stopped a few months ago though. Maybe he’s working on something again in that house! Have you been to his house yet? I bet it’s filled with all kinds of experiments.”

“Not yet. I better go see him actually. I’m shoplifting something to eat anyway.”

“Huh?” She stopped cleaning to look at him. 

“Uh- I said I’m eating with him anyway.” He smiled at her. “Hey, has anyone ever told you you’re really good at wiping counters?”

She immediately brightened up at the compliment. “Oh, thanks! I wipe in zigzag patterns! ”

“...I noticed.” He backed up to leave. “Well, anyway see ya.”

“Bye! Come back soon.” 

The door chimed after him once he left. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and turned out onto the sidewalk heading further into town.

Okay. Okay . 

His thoughts just kept swirling around over and over, none of them settling long enough for any of them to go anywhere. He already didn’t know what was going on here, and now? Now there was something weird in the mix that apparently wasn’t just stuck at Ford’s house?

Maybe it had something to do with all this, maybe it didn’t. Either way it wasn’t telling him anything.

“You know I’m kinda busy right now, yeah?” He muttered to the air. “You need help? Then actually say it or- hell.”

Stan stopped walking along the strip outside of some shop front. The large glass wall showcased some antiques set up front for display and past that there were shelves lined with more knicknacks. He leaned close to the glass, taking in a deep breath of air and letting it out to fog up the window. 

“Alright.” He said, writing a question mark into the fogged up glass. “Say something.”

He waited, watching the fogged spot. 

Instead of messages getting written in the glass, one of the lights on the strand lining the window began to flicker. You know what, fine, that worked too.

Three short blinks, S. No- four. No. No, it wasn’t- it wasn’t morse code. It was too erratic and fast. It was just... flickering.

“That’s nothing, you’re saying nothing.”

As if angered, the light bulb burnt out in response. Then three more of the lights started flickering then quickly burnt out. Again though, it wasn’t any kind of morse code, it just looked like a light going out.

Stan turned on his heel without hesitation and walked down the sidewalk. “Yeah, yeah, I got that the first time.”

The ghost- spirit, whatever it was - he didn’t care and he didn’t pay attention to it. As he walked, lights would dim or flicker when he passed by them. If he couldn't understand it then there was nothing he could do about it anyway. 

This was exactly what he needed, one more confusing layer on this whole thing, because apparently now there was a spirit involved in all of this now. This was his life now. 

He couldn’t even care less if he was being haunted right now, at least up until it started throwing knives at him. What he did care about though was if it had anything to do with what was going on or if Stan really had just accidentally cursed himself when he was rifling through Ford’s junk. 

He also wasn’t sure why it would need help and even less sure what he could even do to help a spirit that he couldn’t even understand. He was half thinking it was just messing with him.

Why did it signal for help, then just decide to go back to ‘spooky flickering lights’ instead of using morse code again even if it was just S.O.S. over and over? It didn’t make sense. Nothing since he’d gotten here made sense.

Stan twisted his knuckles against each other through the fabric of his pockets, ignoring the occasional flickering light. Eventually the lights stopped, taking the hint.

  He might not have had any leads about where Ford was at, but he knew at least one place Ford had to have visited.

The library was a pretty small wooden building, cozy and by the looks of it empty too. Ford probably would have thought it was the perfect place. 

The second Stan pushed in the front door, he heard a buzzing to his left and the light in the small foyer flickered haphazardly. He rolled his eyes, ignoring the bulb burning out and kept walking inside.

A quick glance around, he didn’t see anyone around. After looking down a couple aisles though he spotted someone glancing over a row of books. Stan was about to dismiss it as another patron before they glanced over at him and jumped.

Their hair was pulled back into a haphazard bun that looked like it was gonna fall loose when they turned their head from whatever hair tie or clips that were holding it together. 

“Oh-! Uh.” They paused, looking at Stan, uncertain. “Ford?”

Fucking Bingo. 

Stan walked closer so he could talk with them. “Hey, really close. I’m his brother. I was actually looking for him.” 

“Oh.” They straightened up. “Sorry, uh... I haven’t seen him around here lately.” 

Stan hummed. “Hey, you work here, right?”

“Yeah. Can I help you with anything?”

“Yeah,” Stan said. “Yeah, could you tell me what books Ford’s got checked out right now?”

They agreed easily enough and led him back towards the circulation desk and turned to the rows of small square drawers on the back wall behind the desk.

Once they pulled out one of the drawers, the desk lamp Stan had only just really noticed started to flicker, and Stan shot a warning look at it. 

It stopped flickering. 

The librarian, Lee going by the name tag that was close enough for him to read now, turned back around, looking at a card in their hand. “Yeah, this is it.” They said, looking up and holding the card out to him. “Here.” 

As soon as Stan grabbed it the desk light suddenly burned out into a dark grey as it went out.

The librarian paused with their hand out, looking over at the lamp before focusing back on Stan again and retracting their hand. “Uh, anyways, this card has all the books he had checked out. They're all overdue..."

"Ha, yeah, that's Ford for you." Stan said with a short smile. “Booknerds, am I right?”

Their mouth opened a couple times like they had a couple different things to say before they finally settled, frowning at him. “They’re really overdue...”

Eh, that’s on him for trying to talk about nerds to a librarian. “Yeah, yeah, right. I’ll tell him when I see him.” He looked down at the card, quickly realizing the dates on the books checked out. 

"Hey, nothing's been checked out in the past few months." Stan said, looking back at them. "You got a newer card?"

"That's it." They answered simply. 

Stan half smiled, feeling a laugh curdling and souring in the back of his throat. "Come on, ha, you're telling me he hasn't been here for what, weeks?"

Quietly, they looked back at him with a half concerned expression. 

The silence quickly stagnated the air around them.

He cleared his throat and checked the card again, reading it all the way through this time. “Okay then...”

It looked like there were still five books checked out. Most of them had some kind of occult or supernatural title like 'Exploration of Demons & Spirits’ except for one that had a really long title about neural oscillation and electricity. His thoughts went dead in the water, trying to make sense of that one.

Who went and decided a title could go on for two or three sentences?

Even the short titles didn’t stick out to him much past them being about supernatural ghosts and fairies. No matter how he turned all the titles over in his head all he could take away from it was that Ford was reading up on ‘supernatural stuff and science junk’ which covered everything Ford studied. 

Stan heard the tail end of a question, “-ng alright?”

“Huh?” Stan looked up to see Lee watching him. 

“I said, is he doing alright?” They asked again, brow slightly furrowed. 

Lee had only been the second person he’d talked to Ford about today, but It felt like Stan was getting asked the same annoying question for the thousandth time. This person had to know something.

“How'd he look when you last saw him?" Stan asked instead.

They paused awkwardly and glanced aside, meandering with their words. "The last time I saw him... he seemed like he was in a hurry. Maybe he had a work deadline? I think he was stressed out.”

“Did he ever mention some guy?” 

They paused. “I’m... sorry, what?”

“I said, did he ever mention some guy?” Stan repeated himself. “When he was stressed out, did he ever talk about anybody. Or have any friends? Hell, did anybody ever come in here with him or seem like they were looking for him?” 

Lee’s eyes widened before their whole face shut down into an even expression and they took the card back out of his hand, busying themselves with putting the card back in its place. "I actually don't know." They said in a clipped tone. "Sorry."

Stan wanted to reach over the desk to pull them back by their shirt. He knew, he knew he was asking suspicious questions and he should have been playing it cool. They were hiding something though. 

“Hey, buddy.” Stan said, waiting for them to turn back around.

They tensely turned back towards him with a polite expression. "Is there anything else I can help you with?" Their fingers tucking into the edge of the check out desk.

"Cut the bull." Stan told them, well beyond irritated. “Whatever, you know, I don’t care, but whatever it is I need to hear it.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Nope. Try again.”

“I don’t-” Lee put up their hands. “Look, he was getting really suspicious about people last I saw him, but I don’t know anything about- whatever all this is about.”

Stan felt something in him, some tiny thread just snap.

“You have to know more than that.” Stan said, not even looking at them now. “You talked to him.”

He started to walk around in a short circle and gestured as his voice climbed, getting gradually louder. “This was the goddamn library, he was probably here- what? Countless times. More than- more than the friggin' grocery story or any other stupid building in this whole town outside of his own house!”

Stan pulled his voice back down, straining his voice. “Someone has to know something about my brother.” He said, finally looking back at them. 

If even the damn librarian barely knew anything about Ford...

Lee was watching him, fidgeting with their hands. “Alright... Uh.” They pushed their hands flat onto the desk, continuing calmly. “Look, he was here a lot, yes, but he didn’t talk about himself a lot and... and I really don’t know why he stopped showing up.”

“He never mentioned a name...?” Stan tried, hoping for something.

“No. Have you tried asking his neighbors or friends?”

Stan shut his eyes for a moment, all of his energy just leaving him all at once. “He lives out in the middle of the woods, and... and if he has friends I don’t know who they are or how to find them.” 

Stan opened his eyes back up again. “I’m just trying to find him.” He said. “I know you just work here or whatever, but I don’t know anybody that knew him and I don’t know where he’s at. Just...” He breathed in, feeling his ribs pressing in on him, “gimme something here.” 

They looked at him quietly and then their eyes shifted downwards in thought “He did come here once with someone a couple times... but that was- half a year ago?”

“You know who?”

Lee shook their head. "I don’t. He came every now and then, without your brother, but I haven’t seen him in a while either. He was tall and lanky though." 

“Anything else?”

“Uh.” They shrugged their shoulders. "He... might have had blonde hair? It was too long ago, I’m sorry, I really couldn’t tell you.”

A guy. A guy that was maybe blonde.

“Great...” He said.

“You know- he picked out textbooks mostly. I could check through some name cards and see if maybe I can spot him.”

Stan perked up a little. “You really think you would recognize him by some  books he checked out?”

“Well- maybe.” They said. “The textbooks don’t get checked out that often except by students so it’d stick out.”

Wait.

“You said textbooks? Do you remember what kind?”

Lee steepled their hands underneath their chin, squinting in thought for a long moment.

“... Math?” They finally said. 

“So definitely another nerd then.” 

That sounded like someone Ford could be friends with, also could be someone that was behind this. Either way if Stan could find him, he’d consider that a win.

“It’ll take me a couple days to check through the cards though.” Lee said.

“You’re actually going to do it?” Stan asked, a little surprised. 

“I mean, it’s not like you’re gonna beat the guy up or nothing, right?” They half joked, smiling.

That depended on what the guy was like.

“Oh, course not.” Stan scoffing and waving his hand nonchalantly. “Ha, no. No, I’ve never even gotten into a fight.” He said casually, swinging his arms then planting his fists against his side.

A brass knuckle fell out of his coat pocket and hit the thin carpet with a dull thud.

Stan swiped down to pick it up, putting it back in his pocket before the librarian could see it. “Paperweight.”

“You carry a paperweight around with you?”

“...It’s Ford’s.”

“Ahh.” Lee nodded their head in sudden understanding. “Okay, well, anyway, try coming back here in a couple days.”

“Will do.” Stan turned to leave with a wave. “If you see him then just let him know I was looking for him.”

  After long enough of poking around town, it’d turned dark and he’d gotten zero leads after asking practically half the town. Nobody besides the librarian had even seemed to know Ford’s name or anything about him. People only seemed to know him as the mysterious man who did science out in the middle of the woods. 

Even the seediest looking place in town, a bar that didn’t even look bad, hadn’t given him anything. Well, he could get a job smuggling some dogs, but he’d come back around to that offer later. 

He’d even wandered around the town after it turned dark and the streets had cleared out in the hopes someone would just jump him for asking too many questions. The town stayed quiet and he remained untouched even through barren streets and dimly lit alleyways though.

His faint reflection followed beside him in every darkened window he passed by as he headed back towards his car at a sluggish pace. He got so used to the accompanying shadow beside him that he didn’t even glance over when he saw it out of the corner of his eye anymore.

Which was why it took him an extra moment to realize that there was a second shadow casted onto the brick wall beside his own, moving at the same pace as him.

Stan spun on his feet to see the culprit, already pushing his fingers into the brass knuckles in his pockets.

He just turned to an empty street though. He glanced back again to the wall, only seeing his own shadow there, alone.

“Where..?” He looked down both ends of the street, not seeing or even hearing the signs of another person. Stan double checked again thinking maybe he’d missed a trashcan or something someone could have ducked behind when it finally hit him.

If there wasn’t anything physical around him, that didn’t leave a whole array of options.

“Hey.” He said. “Hey, buddy, I saw you.” 

The spirit, because what the hell else could it even be now, hadn’t done anything for a long time now. The flickering lights had sometimes started as morse code that never went past two letters and the rest of the time just looked like flickering. They always ended with a burnt out light bulb no matter what though, and after the millionth time he’d figured the thing was either purposefully trying to mess with him. The lights messing up around him had been steadily lessening throughout the day, and he hadn’t seen anything for the past couple hours so he thought the thing had finally gone.

Instead, it was apparently still hanging around him. “Hey, I’m talking to you!”

The low light washing over him began to flicker and Stan looked up at the lamp post responsible. It flickered (not morse code) then burnt out.

Stan lifted his hands. “Ooooh, spooky lights. Talk to me when you got something new, pal.” He turned to keep walking to his car.

He could hear buzzing lights behind him and ignored it. He was fully prepared to ignore it too until he saw a lamp post at the end of the street falter. 

It only flickered once, staying on, then the next lamp post coming towards him flickered as well, before moving onto the next one. 

Stan sighed heavily.

“You already did this bit before too, buddy.” Stan said, as the flicker kept heading in his direction through the lamp posts overhead. 

The light flickered overhead of him, and then a light behind him flickered, going past him this time. Confused, he turned to look behind him. 

The flicker of light bulbs was heading in a clear path back along the street.

After a moment, it happened again, the lamp post over his head flickering once and then the flicker went in a line down the street and back around a corner further into town.

He perked up, watching it happen again.

“You better be actually showing me something.” He warned, following the faulty lights.

There wasn’t any answer, no surprise there, but he kept following the trail anyway.

Stan was frustrated and tired of shooting in the dark all day, and right about now he was willing to check out anything out of the ordinary for some answers.

He wound up back in the middle of town again and saw the trail turning around the corner into town square. Before he could make it there, the street lamp at the corner shattered with an explosively loud buzz of energy.

Stan slowed to a stop and the flickering lights that were still trailing in the same direction picked up speed, urgently flashing in a fast line to the corner building, some dance studio.

He ran to the dance studio, trying to avoid stepping all over the glass shards on the sidewalk. The studio had large windows that made it easy to see inside, but he didn’t see anyone or anything suspicious inside.

Stan paused and checked for a door when he heard the buzz of electricity further on, and looked around the corner that led into the town square. All the lamp posts he could see from where he was at had gone dark.

He pushed against the building’s edge, running into town square, glass crunching under his feet every time he went under another dark lamp post until he went into the street.

“What the hell...?”

More than half the square was shrouded in darkness from broken lamp posts. To his left was the only side of the square that had any lamp posts left, and he could see them still breaking.

He heard the distant buzz of electricity and tinkling of glass hitting cement as the remaining lamp posts’ lights continued shattering, one after another. The first one he’d seen had bursted within a second, and it had been loud, but he swore these were quieter and taking longer to break. After a few more broken lights he was sure, with each one it was taking longer like the thing was running out of energy.

The trail of flickering lights had since stopped by this point so Stan just kept watching the breaking lamp posts.

With only a few lamp posts still shining, a lamp post weakly flickering for long enough that Stan wound up walking towards it. Even once he got to it, it was still going. Within seconds, the flickering eventually died down to nothing.

He looked at the building in front of him.

“Ice cream shop’s super important, huh?” He asked, slowly walking under the lamp posts that were still lit, no flicker from any of them. 

Maybe something was here, but he also wasn’t going to break into five different shops to find it. He didn’t even know what he was supposed to be looking for though. 

He continued wandering around the square. Nearly every window to every building was dark. The library, the museum, the shoe store, all of them. If there was anything or anyone suspicious around here then he wasn’t seeing it.

Stan stopped, watching one of the still shining lamp posts. “You ran out of juice, didn’t you?”

After a moment, the lamp post dimmed slightly, but so briefly Stan would have missed it if he hadn’t been staring right at it.

Alright. He rubbed his face with his hand.

“Again,” he said, starting the walk back to his car again, “this vague, ominous shit isn’t helping me understand whatever you’re trying to get across.”

He got into his car and turned on the radio, flicking through stations until he found something playing music he liked. The music station he’d picked out turned to quiet static once he was inside the woods though.

His car made its way along paths that wound around trees that took him further and further away from town. Driving to Ford’s shack was a lot easier this time, following his tire tracks still leftover in the snow from when he had left.

Stan sighed, pushing buttons for a station that was strong enough to make it through the thick trees. He eventually let it go, leaving the static on so he wouldn’t be driving in absolute silence. It filled the car with sound and made it feel less empty.

Driving through the woods was actually pretty nice when there wasn’t a blizzard threatening to push his car this way or that.

A garbled voice came through the static, a few words unintelligible through the static before it went back to silence.

He continued to drive, reaching for the knob and turning up the volume.

Sound came from the radio again, syllables half mangled. “ -t an - e y. ” It sounded like-

Stan slammed on his breaks, car sliding a few feet on the snowy path before stopping. He stared at his radio, cold needles pricking up his forearms. 

The static fluctuated, then more sounds came as a distinct voice forced its way through the static. 

“ S t--- ----. ---l o ? St an, s--- - a n- -- - -e-r ---? -- --- -. ” 

A cold weight settled into Stan’s stomach.

“...Stanford?” 

[lovelybones81]

Unthinkable *updated*

Summary: Seven years, three movies, two people, one story. But before they can get their happily ever after, Sebastian Stan and Camille Solis must learn to trust in each other and in themselves, before allowing the unthinkable to happen

Warnings: Fluff, smut, Language, Angst, mental health, WOC lead character

Rating: NC-17

Note: Hi!! Here is the new chapter! I’m just putting the whole chapter together. I’ve decided it’s easier this way, especially since I’m breaking it down a bit different for the next part! :) xoxo 

Chapter 28  Going 

 March 2012 Los Angeles, CA

 “Camille?”

 She glanced over her shoulder at the sound of her name and found her sister standing in the kitchen, sleepy eyes and messy hair. “What are you doing up?” she asked.

 “What are you doing up?” Natalie repeated with a yawn. “Son las dos de la manana.”  She stated in Spanish at the same time stumbling into the kitchen. She blinked a few times trying to adjust her sluggish eyes on her older sister. She frowned. “Are you cleaning?” she questioned knowingly, sitting on one of the barstools by the big granite island. “What’s wrong?”  

 “What do you mean ‘what’s wrong’?” Camille murmured, sliding the yellow cleaning gloves off.

 “You’re cleaning.” Natalie retorted with a slight nod toward the gloves. “What’s going on?”

 Camille shrugged. “Nothing, I just couldn’t sleep.” Bending down to put the cleaning supplies back under the sink.

 “You decided to get up and clean my whole kitchen?” Natalie asked suspiciously.

 “Technically this isn’t your kitchen anymore.” Camille reminded, trying her best to change the subject.

 After much discussion, Natalie and Sam were moving back to San Francisco. Sam had gotten a job offer and Camille was going to take over the house after the couple decided it would take too long to sale. Besides, Camille needed a place of her own. After moving out of the house she shared with David, she hadn’t really had the time to look-not with all the traveling she been doing. She was sad to see them go, but at the same time was thankful. The move meant Natalie would be closer to Tia Yolanda. It wasn’t as if their aunt couldn’t take care of herself, but she was getting older and Camille and Natalie had talked plenty of times of one of them moving back up to San Francisco to be closer to her. And this was the perfect excuse because it would not make their aunt suspect anything of their ulterior motives.

 Natalie glared. “Nice try.”

 “What?” She said innocently.

 “Trying to change the subject.” Her sister reminded. “We both know this is a coping mechanism-so what’s wrong?”

 “Just have a lot on my mind, that’s all.” She answered, knowing she couldn’t hide things from her sister. Natalie was right-it was a coping mechanism for when she was feelings anxious about something.

 “Hmm-a lot on your mind? Like a certain actor you’ve been avoiding?” she guessed with a raised eyebrow.

 She averted her eyes, walking toward the fridge to get a bottle of water. “I’m not avoiding anything.” She protested, loosening the cap on the bottle.

 Natalie rolled her eyes. “Oh please, you so have!!” she accused. “He’s been in LA three times in the past month and you two haven’t gotten together.”

 Camille’s jaw dropped. “How could you possibly know that?”

 “He told me.” Natalie responded with a nonchalant shrug. “Because unlike you- I’m not dodging him.”

 “Whatever, I’ve been busy with work, you know this.” Camille tried to justify, as she placed the bottle on the counter. “And I haven’t been avoiding him-we talk and text.” She added with a face, leaning into the counter.

 “Uh-huh.” Natalie said with a smirk.

 She rested her chin on her hand and wrinkled her nose in annoyance but didn’t say a word.

“All I know- is your ass is not going to be too busy tomorrow night. You’re not bailing on the party.” Then smiled wickedly. “Which means- you will have to see him whether you want to or not.”

 Camille rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to miss your party dramatica.”

 Liz had decided to throw Sam and Natalie a going away party at her Hollywood Hills home, even though the couple had insisted it wasn’t necessary. But Liz had insisted and had already invited a bunch of people and it included Sebastian, who had gotten into town the day before. He was in town for the next couple of weeks, filming a new TV show.

 It’s not like she was intentionally dodging him, she just wasn’t putting as much effort in meeting up when he was in town…that really wasn’t avoidance, was it?

 She didn’t think so.

 She just had a lot to think about, especially after she had returned from New York. He had said he was okay with everything, but Camille felt guilty. She knew there was no reason, but she couldn’t help it. She needed to clear her head and she couldn’t do that if they jumped right back into bed. Which she knew would happen if she seen him the last couple of times he was in Los Angeles. Not because he would initiate it, but because she would. She couldn’t help herself, damn it. The man was fucking gorgeous, with those blue arises gleaming to his genuine smile that made her insides melt and hands that had come to play her body like a fiddle.

 “So what happened?” Natalie asked, bringing Camille out of her daydream.

 “Huh?” Camille blinked. “Nothing.”

 Natalie shook her head and pointed an accusing finger. “Oh no, you’re sharing. You woke me up at 2 in the morning. I deserve to know what has you acting this way.”

 Camille scrunched her nose and realized there was no way around this. Besides, maybe some advice will help her see a few things clearer.

 “What happened in New York?” her younger sister pushed.

 “You mean he didn’t tell you about that?” she asked sarcastically.

 Natalie made a face. “Hey- I wouldn’t have to ask if you just shared with me.”

 “Oh my god, you’re so annoying.” Camille shot back and sat on the stool across from her.

 Natalie stuck her tongue out. “But to answer your questions- no he didn’t, mostly because he’s not sure why you’re upset him in the first place.”

 Groaning, she brought her hands to her face. “I’m not upset with him!” she exclaimed. “I’m just not sure about some things. I mean we talk all the time-.”

 “But you just won’t see him.” Natalie stated in a matter of fact tone. “What he do? Tell you he loves you?” she teased. Camille moved her hands away from her face to give Natalie a poignant look. Her sister’s eyes widen in shock as her jaw dropped. “Holy shit! He did?!” she yelped.

 “Shh! You’ll wake up Sam!” Camille reminded, her cheeks hot.

 “She’s fine! She’s on the other side of the house anyway!” waving a dismissive hand. She sat up straight on the stool. “Shit-he confessed he’s in love with you?”

 Camille shook her head hastily. “Yes-no! I don’t know!” she mumbled, “When we were in Rockland at his parents’ home…there was a moment where I felt like he wanted to say it but I stopped him… then I realized afterwards that maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing to hear…”

 “But?”

 “But then we got back to the city, his ex-girlfriend showed up wanting to get back together-.”

 “She what?!”

 Camille swallowed the huge lump in her throat, a feeling of panic settling in her stomach again as she thought about her time in New York with him. “And I kind of freaked out after that.” She confessed.

 “Wait-did he want to get back with her?”

 “No, no.” she answered quickly. “I didn’t know she was there so I walked out when they were talking and she flipped out. Accusing him of not fighting for her.” She paused. “And how she was just a place holder until I got back.”

 “Wow.”

 She inhaled loudly. “So I asked him-.”

 “If she was right?” Natalie supplied. Camille nodded slowly. Her sister’s eyes softening, because she already knew the answer. “Cam-it’s okay to be scared.” She said softly. “No one would blame you, especially after the shit you’ve been through, but I also don’t want you running away from something that could potentially turn out to be amazing.”

 “But what if doesn’t turn out that way?” she countered, fear taking over.

 “But what if it does?” Natalie challenged. “That’s a risk you have to be willing to take.”  

 “That’s the thing-if I’m questioning it, then maybe I’m not ready.” She whispered sadly. Unsure of what to do next.

                                                                                                 ***

Sebastian walked into the large modern kitchen and smiled when he saw the spread of food/snacks on the counters. He reached for a piece of fruit and shoved into his mouth before walking toward the refrigerator for a cold beer. He absent-mindedly hummed along to the music playing over the speakers as he popped the bottle open. Before taking a large gulp, he reached back down and shoved a few more pieces of fruit, scanning around Liz’s Hollywood Hills home.

 Everywhere he looked he was met with bay windows that overlooked the city. Her home sat on a hill and the view was remarkable. Of course, he didn’t expect anything less from Liz.

 “Holy shit, this place is huge!” He heard Charles say in awe as he stepped into the kitchen.

 Taking a large swig of his beer Sebastian turned and found Charles leaning up against a wall that separated the kitchen from the living room. Sebastian only nodded; he wasn’t going to argue with that statement. The house was stunning. It was definitely a lot more than he imagine. And now the place was filled with people, good food and alcohol. He couldn’t help but chuckle lowly when he realized, Sam and Natalie had wanted the opposite of this. Yet, here they were. He still couldn’t believe they were moving; he had come to think of them as some of his close friends-even after only a few years of knowing them.

 “You’ve never been here before?”

 “Nope.” Sebastian answered before taking another large drink.

 In fact-he was surprised he was there now. Liz had texted him a few days ago, letting him know about the going away party. Camille hadn’t mentioned it to him when they had spoken. He frowned, as he thought about how she had been avoiding him the last few times he had been in Los Angeles. He couldn’t figure it out, especially because via phone everything seemed normal between them

 “What is it?” He heard Charles ask.

 He blinked a few times and looked up at Charles. “Huh?”

 “You look like a lost puppy.” His best friend observed with a curious eye.

 Then the words registered, and he shook his head with a shrug. “Nothing.” He mumbled and brought the beer up to his lips. 

 Charles looked doubtfully at his oldest friend, but before he could push any further, they heard a familiar voice.

 “Ooh! Good you made it!” Liz exclaimed and strutted over to them, embracing him in a hug. She patted his cheek warmly, letting go and turned to Charles with a broad smile. “Charles right?” He nodded. Liz pulled fully away from Sebastian, the smile fading slightly. “I thought you were bringing more people?”

 “I did.” He answered with a grin. “They’re around here somewhere.”

 She clapped her hands giddily. “Good! The more the merrier.” She focused her attention back on Charles. “Eat and drink as much as you want. There’s plenty!”  

 “Awesome! Thanks!” he responded with a nod.

 Sebastian took a step backwards, his back now resting against one of the counters. “I still can’t believe you got Sam and Nat to agree to this.” He stated with a smirk

 Liz waved a hand dismissively. “You know me- I always get my way.” Giving him a wink. “Besides-they’re singing a different tune now that they’re here.” She added.

 His heart couldn’t help but skip a beat. If Sam and Nat where here, that meant Camille was too. He had texted earlier to ask what time she planned on heading over. She had stated she would be getting there with Nat and Sam. There was no way she could avoid him now. Maybe he was being paranoid. She had been working pretty hard since returning to the states.

 “Cam, here as well?” Charles asked as if reading Sebastian’s mind.

 Liz nodded. “Yeah. She’s around here somewhere. I’ve made her the co-host.” She said with a self-satisfied look. “She wasn’t happy about it.”

 Before Sebastian had the chance to speak, he heard another familiar voice. “Ha! I told ya we would find them in here!” His friend Will declared to the beautiful blond in toe. All three of them turned their attention to the voices. Sebastian caught the eye of the pretty blond and she smiled warmly over at him.

 “Liz- these are my other friends.” Sebastian started. “Will… and Jennifer-who’ve I’ve been working with the last month on the television show I was telling you about.”

 “Jennifer Morrison right?” Liz guessed.

 “That’s me.” She responded, her cheeks pink. “Thanks for letting us tag along.”

 “Of course!” Liz stated. “Any friends are Sebby are friends of mine.” She added with a smile to Sebastian.

 “I didn’t have much of a choice- they invited themselves.” He added sarcastically.

 “Thanks for making me sound like a moocher.” Jennifer retorted as she elbowed him on the ribs.

 Sebastian brought the beer back up to his lips. “I wasn’t talking about you Jen. I meant these two.” Nodding toward Will and Charles, with a playful wink. She squinted her eyes doubtfully but didn’t say a word. Sebastian liked Jennifer. She was smart and funny, and they had plenty of things in common, which made it easier to befriend her. And of the other main reasons why he had invited her was because Will seem to have a little thing for her and who was he to not be the wingman?

 “Por favor Natalie-slow down with the booze.”

 His ears and heartbeat picked up at the sound of Camille’s voice.

 “Seriously babe-I do not want to be cleaning up puke a day before we have to leave for San Francisco on Sunday.” Sam pipped in annoyance.

 Sebastian resisted the urge to laugh at the conversation at hand and placed the now empty bottle on the counter. He turned toward the voices, his eyes catching Sam and Natalie first.

 He watched as Natalie rolled her eyes. “Ay-las dos tan dramaticas.” Then added in English. “I’m fine-.” She stopped abruptly when she spotted him. “Hey! You’re finally here!” she exclaimed and quickly trotted toward the circle of friends. Natalie engulfed him in a hug and kiss on the cheek, Sam followed suit.

 They broke apart and Sebastian’s gaze landed on Camille a few feet away, who just finished greeting Charles with a smile and hug of her own. He swallowed the lump in this throat as his eyes took her in. She wore a knee length red dress with thin straps. Her beautiful curls braided to one side of her bare shoulder. He also noticed the music note necklace/pendant he given her around her neck. With the smile still painted on her features, she turned her full attention toward him. Thankfully everyone else was acknowledging each other, they weren’t paying attention to them.

 “Hola Ojos Azules.” She greeted with a small grin.

 “Hey stranger.” He responded back with a smirk, before bringing his bottom lip up and in between his teeth, his eye lingered discreetly up and down her body, unable to stop himself from giving a small shake of his head at how damn good she looked. Camille caught it and gave a cautionary look, yet he could see the light blush on her cheeks. He gave a nonchalant shrug, but before they had the chance to get close, they heard Natalie speak. 

 “Seb? Don’t be rude! Introduce us to your friends!” 

 He blinked and promptly turned his gaze toward Sam’s voice. Hoping no one had caught their little moment. He locked gazes with Natalie and she raised an eyebrow knowingly but tried to hide the smug smile. Damn-she caught it. He felt his cheeks warm up, but to not cause any more attention to it, he cleared his throat and went around introducing everyone. The last person he introduced was Camille.

 Will spoke up first. “Nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.” He stated with a large grin. Camille quickly verted her eyes between Sebastian and Charles. Will caught on because he shook his head. “All good things really.”

 “He’s lying of course.” Charles pipped in.

 Sebastian snorted back his laughter and turned his attention to the blond next to Will. “Anyway-this is Jen.”

 She shook her head and smiled at her. “Nice to meet you.” Extending her hand out, she tilted her head to one side. “You look familiar.” She stated.

 “Yeah- I get that a lot.” Jennifer joked nervously.

 Camille smiled warmly. “You’re working with Stan right now right?”

 Sebastian rolled his eyes at the nickname but kept his mouth shut.

 “You were on the show House!” Natalie exclaimed proudly when the recognition hit her. Jennifer nodded with a shy smile.

 Camille’s eyes widen. “That’s right!” she agreed. Then looked back at Sebastian with a playful glare. “You didn’t tell me that’s who you were working with.”

 A hint of annoyance bubbled in his stomach at her words. He opened his mouth, but Natalie beat him. “Now that we all know each other’s names-we should all go outside and enjoy this fucking amazing view.” She suggested then gave Sebastian a poignant look, eyebrows raised in the direction of Camille. Everyone seemed to agree with Natalie as she led the way, but not before giving Sebastian one last look.

 Sebastian got the gist of what Natalie was trying to tell him and watched everyone start to move toward the patio door. He stood in his spot as patiently as possible, and when he had his opportunity, rapidly reached for Camille’s wrist. She came to a halt and let out a tiny gasp in surprise at the sudden move. She quickly tilted her head in his direction and furrowed her eyebrows together, but didn’t move, instead she did the same and waited for everyone to leave.

 Once they were alone, she narrowed her eyes. “Uh-what-what are you doing?” she asked stumbling on her words yet took a step toward him.

 He tucked on her wrist, an indication for her to move closer-which she did. He had her between him and the large granite island. “I thought I told you to stop calling me Stan?” he reminded with a playful glare. Now that he was closer, he could see the glaze look in her eyes- apparently her younger sister wasn’t the only one who had been enjoying the free alcohol.

Camille wrinkled her forehead in confusion-but it was only for a few seconds-she recovered and rolled her eyes. “Oh my god. Are you serious right now?” she demanded. “That’s why I’m standing here?”

 Trying his best to hide the smug look, he let go. Sebastian knew that would get her attention. “I needed a reason to get you to talk to me.” He retorted, unable to stop staring. Her make-up was flawless- just like so many time before- which only insinuated her pretty face-from her eyes down to her plump lips.

 “Oh- because if I didn’t- you were going to go tell my sister?” she asked, a hint of bitterness in her voice as she tilted her head to one side.

 He winced at the words. He should have seen that coming. He hadn’t meant to put anyone in the middle- especially her sister-but he wasn’t going to lie to Natalie either. He should have known it would get back to Camille. “I didn’t realize I couldn’t talk to her…?” he mused, trying to lighten the mood and took a step closer, their bodies literally inches from apart.

 “I don’t care who you talk to Sebastian.” She murmured, her eyes flickering back and forth between his lips and over his shoulder.

 “Okay.” Was his only response as his nose inhaled her sweet scent. It still amazed him how within seconds they could do a one-eighty, shifting the whole mood. Sebastian was also aware they weren’t technically alone, but all he wanted to do was lean in and kiss her.

 Fuck-he’d missed her.

 She licked her lips and daringly locked gazes. Sebastian’s eyes never wavered. “How many drinks have you had?” 

 “Not a single one.” Camille replied proudly and slowly, then pressed her lips tightly.

 He tilted his chin up curiously, an eyebrow raised at her words. She wiggled her own back at him-almost as if in a challenge. The bass of the music ringing in his ears as he tried to understand what she meant. “Your eyes say otherwise.” He observed. Camille didn’t say a word but did give him a self-assured grin. He sighed and shrugged. “Fine-don’t tell me.” But tilted his head to the side, not looking away. His mouth twitched as he tried to figure out what was going on. Now that he peeked closer, her brown eyes also looked a bit blood shot. His eyes widen before he tossed his head and chuckled. He got it now. “Holy shit dragoste- you really haven’t had anything to drink.” He mocked.

 Oh this could be fun.  

 “That’s what I said.” She said in a sing song voice.

 “Hmm…”

 “Hmm what?” Camille asked inquisitively.

 He stuck his tongue out and brought it up to his upper lip as he stepped even closer. “Nothing…it’s just…the last time you smoked it was to calm your nerves.” He reminded in a cocky tone. His hands itching to touch her.

 Rolling her eyes, she reached out and touched him first and glided her arms up and around his neck, lifting herself on her tiptoes far up enough so they were at eye level. “For the record- that was over a year ago and I’ve done it in between then and now.” She retorted with a wrinkle of her nose.

 He resisted the urge to laugh, but instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist. “You do know people could walk in here any moment, right?” he reminded.

 “Hey- you’re the one that stopped me.” She shot back as the tip of their noses touched.

 “I did.” He relinquished, his fingertips stroking up and down her back. “But that still doesn’t mean I’m not right.” He bantered.

 “Are you insinuating I needed a reason to calm my nerves?”

 Sebastian bit the inside of his cheek with a small shrug. “Maybe.” He whispered, wanting to touch more of her.

 She exhaled gradually, her eyelids fluttering open and shut. “You think so?” Camille challenged and angled her head just enough for her bottom lip to touch his upper lip.

 “Yeah- I do.” Sebastian responded without missing a beat, giving her hip a light squeeze, but at the same time trying to keep himself in check so he wouldn’t just lounge at her mouth.

 Camille tried her best to hide the mischievous look, but it was impossible. She sighed loudly, making the top of her shoulders rise a little bit at the move. “Hmm...” her breath ticking his cheek as she pressed her warm body to his. 

 He knew what she was doing- and it was working damn it. He opened his mouth to reply-but shut it when they heard footsteps approaching. Camille was faster than he was and dropped her arms from around his neck just as Jennifer stepped into the kitchen, looking a bit weary. He instantly let go of Camille and stumbled backwards, trying to be as nonchalant as possible, running his fingers through his hair. 

 Jennifer finally looked in their direction, zoning in on him first with curiosity, then at Camille, but the look quickly faded. “I’m looking for the bathroom?” she asked instead with a hopeful look.

 “Oh yeah, of course!” Camille exclaimed with a smile, acting as if they hadn’t almost been caught. “I’ll show you. I know this place is like a maze.” She added, walking past Sebastian, but not making eye contact. He took the hint and instead cleared his throat and reached for a piece of fruit.

 “I thought I had found it-but it was just an office.” Jennifer added with a short laugh, eyes flickering toward Sebastian, before she turned on her heels and walked ahead of Camille.

 Sebastian was about to shove a piece of melon into his mouth when he caught Camille’s eyes over her shoulder, with an expression she had come to share when they were alone. His mouth twitched but he kept his appearance somber. She gave him a look that stated: ‘don’t leave’. Without breaking the gaze, he took a bite out of the melon, as if somehow letting her know he understood.

 Once they were out of sight, he let out a huge sigh and reached for the empty bottle on the counter and chucked it into the recycling bin. He knew they needed to talk. He wanted to understand why she’d been avoiding him. But the non-adult part of him didn’t care and just wanted to be alone with her so they could continue what was just interrupted.

 He still wasn’t sure how they created such tension between them. He thought by now they would be pass it. Apparently having sex only intensified it more. He blinked out of his thoughts and walked toward the fridge but halted when he spotted Camille from the corner of his eye. She stood by the wall separating the kitchen and the living room. He clinched his jaw at the vision of her.

 That outfit fit her like a fucking glove. It reminded him of the first time he had seen her in the fuchsia dress back in Manchester. Who was he kidding? Everything always looked good on her. Without hesitation he turned and walked toward her, forgetting about the fridge and need of another beer, his eyes never leaving her.

 “She’s in the bathroom.” She stated. Sebastian must have looked confused. Camille wrinkled her forehead. “Jennifer.” She reminded, moving her hands behind her back nervously.

 “Oh.” He muttered dumbly, completely forgetting Jennifer had entered the kitchen a few minutes prior. “Good?” That was all he could think of saying.

 She leaned against the wall separating the kitchen and living room. “She likes you.”

 “Oh- well… me too.” Sebastian answered.

 Camille shook her head slightly. “No-Seb-she likes you-likes you.” She explained with a small smile.

 “J-Jen? Jennifer?” he stuttered but closed the gap between them. He scrunched up his nose, his face hot suddenly. “I don’t think so.” He said slowly. “She likes Will.”

 Camille raised a skeptical eyebrow, but simply said. “Okay.” Looking over his shoulder, then down at the floor breaking the gaze.

 Sebastian wrinkled his forehead at Camille’s words. Yes, Jennifer was a beautiful woman, and they had many things in common, but he hadn’t thought about her in any other way but a friend. They had fun on set and had gotten together a few times for dinner, but that was as far as it ever went. 

 The subject of Jennifer forgotten- at least to him as he stood in front of Camille. He bend slightly at the knees to try catch her eye, but she wouldn’t look at him. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and instead placed his hands on her hips as leverage and sneakily planted a kiss on one cheek before abruptly standing up straight with a serious look, his eyes dancing with delight.

 She jerked her eyes back to him-obviously caught off guard. She tried to hide her smile, yet Sebastian could see it forming. After a few more moments of silence, she let out a small sigh and whispered. “C’mon.” Reaching for his hand.

 He didn’t argue, he only followed in toe. They walked a few feet until they got to the staircase. She turned and gave him a wicked smile before taking the first step. He raised an eyebrow but followed. He looked over his shoulder but realized no one was around. It made sense-everyone was outside. Once they were on the second floor, she walked faster until they came to a close door at the end of the long hall.

 “What are you up to Camille?”

 “To prove I have no reason to be nervous.” She answered stubbornly as she swung the door open and flipped on the light. He was surprised to find himself walking into a bathroom. And since this was Liz’s home, it was a massive one with a white marble double sink, large glass shower stall, and a flat bottom freestanding bathtub.

 “Oh? How do you plan to do that?” he baited, quietly shutting and locking the door behind him.  

 “I can think of a few ways.” She shot back at the same time he turned fully around.

 Before he had a chance to respond, he grunted in surprise when Camille pushed him up against the door. It took a second for her actions to register, but once it finally did, he looked down with an expectant look. She smiled mischievously up at him, not saying a word and instead pushed herself up on her tiptoes to give him a searing kiss. She broke away after a few seconds, her eyes searching his face, as if scared she had done the wrong thing.

 He swallowed and before his brain could form words, his hands moved up to the side of her neck and tugged it toward him, his tongue in search of the inside of her mouth. His lips molding with hers. Everything else forgotten as he deepened the kiss. She sighed gently into his mouth as he touched her tongue with his. With the one hand still on her neck he moved his other down to her hip and squeezed. His ears picking up the sound of music and people on the other side of the wall, yet-nothing mattered but Camille. A sexy little sound escaped her as his warm tongue licked her bottom lip. By then she had fisted the front of his shirt, their mouths latched on to each other in needy, raw, desperate kisses that went on and on.

 Camille broke the lip lock first, breathing and panting loudly in the middle of Liz’s guest bathroom as she slipped her arms around his neck, a dazed look on her beautiful features. Letting go of her face, he looked down with a satisfied smile. “So…what are the other ways to prove it?” he asked cheekily.

 She looked at him with those bloodshot eyes but buried her head face into his chest and giggled. He chuckled himself as he leaned down to press a tender kiss to the top of her head. She lifted it up and brushed her lips slowly against his. The tenderness slowly dissipated as she purposely sucked on his lower lip. Fuck, she was good. He engulfed her completely into his arms and kissed back.

 For how long? He wasn’t sure.

 Slowly he broke the lip lock, long enough to trail his mouth down her jaw, peppering warm kisses along the way. She moaned, but didn’t complain, especially when he sucked along the collarbone.

 “Hmm…” she hummed. “Do you think we do too much of this?” Slanting her neck to give him better access.

 Sebastian nipped on her soft skin, then laved it with his tongue. “Too much of what?” he asked unconcernedly.

 She shivered when his mouth bit gently on her clavicle. “Oh…I don’t know...” she whimpered. “Act like two-.”

 “Horny teenagers?” he supplied, the tip of his nose nuzzling the side of her neck.

 “Yeah.” She breathed.

 “You’re the one who started this.” Sebastian responded, one hand cupping an ass cheek as his lips glided back up to hers. 

 “You aren’t stopping me.” She snipped back, her nose nuzzling his. A surprise gasp escaped her mouth when he squeezed harder and her thigh came in contact with his now growing erection. “S-Sebastian....” she cautioned. 

 “What?” He asked innocently as he continued to suck on her warm skin. “You brought me in here...” the palm of his hand rubbing circles around her ass cheek. He almost whimpered at the feel of her, even with clothing material between them.

 “You’re the one kissing me.” She almost moaned, dropping one arm from around him. 

 “You’re the one who likes to distract me with your lips.” He accused, exhaling her familiar scent. “You keep kissing me so we don’t have to have real conversations...” he trailed off, lifting his face up to lock eyes with her.

 “Not true.” Camille countered, bringing her arm back around his neck to press another sweet peck. He smiled against her lips just as she let out a small giggle.

 “Oh? So what are you doing right now?” He challenged with a wiggle of his eyebrows. 

 She pretended to be lost in thought for a second before responding. “Looking up at you.” Wiggling her own brows. 

 His mouth twitched to keep from laughing. “You’re a real smartass when you’re high.” He observed. 

 Rolling her eyes, she nipped on his bottom lip. “C’mon Stan- we both know I don’t need to be high for that to be true.” 

 “You got me there dragoste.” Agreeing with her conclusion.

 She pulled away from his mouth and glared through her lashes. “Thanks.” She deadpanned.

 “Hmm…you’re welcome.” He answered back as if he hadn’t heard the sarcasm in her tone. Leaning back down, he kissed her again. Despite her obvious annoyance, she kissed back. But before it could deepen, they heard a light tap on the door, followed by jiggle of the knob. Sebastian pressed his forehead to hers and brought one finger up to his lips, indicating for her to keep quiet. The knob rattled once more. Turning away from Camille, he yelled out. “It’s occupied!”

 “Oh man! Sorry!” came an unfamiliar male voice.

 He heard Camille giggle next to him. “What if he really had to go to the bathroom?” she asked, her voice laced with concern.

 “There are like 7 bathrooms in this place. He’ll find another one.” he reasoned.

 She wrinkled her nose. “There’s actually 5.” Shrugging casually. He narrowed his eyes at her. She blinked up harmlessly. “Are we really going to try and have sex in here?” she asked changing the subject and angled her head to the side. He took the opportunity and cupped her cheek to brush his lips to hers a few times. “Sebastian…?” she asked with a short laugh.

 “I don’t know. You tell me.” He muttered, his fingers deftly stroking the top of her shoulder. “It seems to be the only way you’ll hang around me lately.” He blurted out without thinking. He pressed his lips together and winced, immediately regretting the words. The smile Camille had a few moments ago disappeared as she took a step back. He sighed and shut his eyes. “Cam-.” He started.

 She glared and this time it wasn’t playful.

 “It slipped out.” He tried lamely.

 “Obviously.” She snapped, reaching for the doorknob.

 “C’mon Camille-.” He started, trying to grasp her wrist. “It slipped out.” He repeated desperately. Realizing it bothered him more than he initially concluded.

 “You said that already.” Camille snipped

 Before he had a chance to truly explain himself, his phone began to buzz in his jeans. “Fuck!” he muttered angrily, reaching into his front pocket for it. She had pushed past him and opened the door. “Damn it-don’t go.” He pleaded, his phone still buzzing.

 “You need to answer that.” She stated evenly.

 “So you’re just going to continue to avoid?” he asked, starting to get angry. At her, himself, the situation.

 Her nostrils flared at his words. He had just pissed her off-that was obvious now. He watched her shut her eyes for a split moment, before taking a deep breath. “No-I’m not.” She said through gritted teeth. “But we are not doing this here and not while I’m under the influence. I don’t want to say anything I’ll regret later.”

 And without waiting for a response, she turned and stalked away, leaving him there, feeling more confused than even before.

                                                                                                                          ***

 The door opened and Camille locked eyes with a half-asleep Sebastian. He stood in front of her in a pair of grey sweatpants, white t-shirt, hair sticking up all over the place. “Camille?” He questioned groggily and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. “What’s wrong? What are you doing here?” 

 “I haven’t been avoiding you.” She blurted, stepping into his hotel room. “At least not on purpose.” She added under her breath, tossing her purse and car keys distractedly on the night stand. 

 Sebastian wrinkled his forehead in confusion but shut the door behind them. “Sure- come on in. You didn’t just wake me from my slumber...” he mockingly stated, following behind, yawning. “What time is it?”

 “A little past one.”

 “In the morning?!” he cried, eyes fully open now.

 She gnawed nervously on her bottom lip, not saying a word. Yes- it was late.

 She had been in meetings all day with Liz, working on a new project. The intention had been to drive home, take a hot shower and pass out. She had been busy all day- she hadn’t had time to think about anything but work- until she sat in her car to head home. Her fight with Sebastian crashing back, and as she started the engine and backed out of the parking spot, she continued to obsessively analyze the whole conversation they had. Before she even realized what she was doing, she found herself parked in front of the hotel he was staying at. 

 “I’m sorry.” She mumbled.

 “For what? For avoiding me or for waking me up at this hour?” he huffed. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from making a snarky comment. He must have realized he sounded like an ass, because he shut his eyes for a split second, letting out a tired sigh. “I didn’t mean to snap. It’s been a long day…” trailing off and sitting down at the end of the bed. “This couldn’t wait until later in the morning?” he asked, his voice softer.

 Camille faced him, fretfully tugging a strand of hair behind her ear. “It could have, but somehow I ended up here.” She confessed with a slight shrug, pacing back and forth. “I was driving home, and I couldn’t stop thinking about last night…”  

 He ran a hand through his hair, watching her. “Cam-why were you out driving at this time of night?” he asked in concern.

 “I was in meetings all day.” She explained.

 Recognition hit his face at her words. “That’s why you’re dressed that way.” He stated more to himself, as those blue orbs looked her up and down.

 She subconsciously glanced down at herself with a small frown. She wore a tight red amber pencil skirt and white long sleeve button down blouse. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” she demanded.

 Sebastian quickly shook his head. “Nothing! I-I just-it was an observation…” he stuttered. “Wait-this meeting went over midnight?” he asked, forgetting about her outfit.

 “It was in Palmdale. It takes about an hour to get home-.” She stopped abruptly and grimaced. “Sebastian? Focus!” she ordered in annoyance. Here she was trying to get words out and he kept sidetracking her.

 He glowered. “Wow-hey! Sorry for being concern.” He said sarcastically.  

 Camille began to pace again. “I know, I’m sorry. I just want us to talk about what happened.” She jumped in surprise when he grasped her wrist to keep her from moving.

 Facing each other, he was fully awake now. His face serious. “Then talk.” Letting go of her.

 She took the opportunity and moved toward the bed. “You have every right to be upset with me.” She started, sitting down. “I’ve had a lot to figure out…to think about.” She sputtered with a shake of her. “And I knew that if I saw you before I could figure it out, then things would get messy in my head.” She added lamely. “Because when I’m around you- I seem to turn into this horny teenager that can’t seem to keep her hands off you…” Looking up at him, her cheeks warm.  

 He kept his gaze intently on her as she spoke. “That’s why you’ve been avoiding me?” he asked almost in a dumbfound voice. She nodded meekly. He walked toward the bed, sitting down next to her. “Dragoste-if you hadn’t notice- my hands were all over you too.” He paused. “But I could have tried my best to keep them to myself if you needed some space.”

 Camille couldn’t help but nervously laugh at his words. She knew he was trying to lighten the mood. “Yeah? Even after I dragged you up the stairs-?”

 “Yes. And for the record I followed willingly.” He paused, the room silent for a few moments. He spoke up again. “Did you? Figure it out-I mean?” he asked in a low voice. She puckered her lips together- she had been afraid he was going to ask that question. “Cam?”

 She pinched the bridge of her nose and looked up him. “I’m not sure...” she confessed.

 He nodded and answered knowingly. “Yeah…”

 “I’m sorry.” She whispered. Realizing she had been apologizing a lot lately. She hated the idea of hurting him, but also couldn’t risk hurting herself.

 “Don’t be.” He answered with a small smile, reaching for her hand.

 “Right.” Camille mumbled, gazing to their interlocked fingers.

 He chuckled. “What? You don’t believe me?” She lifted her head, not sure how to answer. He must have sense it, because he tugged her hand toward his mouth and pressed his lips to her skin. “I thought we’ve already talked about this?” he reminded with a wrinkle of his forehead.    

 Camille pulled her hand away from his grip and used it to tug a loose of hair behind her ear. “We did.” She replied, unable to keep her thigh from shaking nervously.

 “Cam?”

 “Hmm?”

 “I’m okay with this.” He reassured softly.

 “I-I know.” She faltered.

 “But…?” he pushed knowingly.

 “I can’t help but feel guilty.” she muttered. “I don’t want to hurt you-” He had scooted closer by then. He leaned in and pressed a sweet kiss to the bridge of her nose. His lips lingered a few seconds and her eyelids fluttered shut as she rested more of her body into him. 

 “I’m going to let you in on a little secret.” He whispered, tilting his head back. “Contrary to popular belief- you can only control how you’re feeling.” He half teased with a smirk. 

 She pulled away and wrinkled her nose. “Thanks a lot.” She replied sarcastically but felt a slight smile tug on her lips.

 “I understand what you’re trying to do, but I’m a big boy.” He joked with a wink. She laughed. “You thought I’d changed my mind?” He guessed, getting on one knee in front of her.

 “That’s part of it.” She answered shyly as he slipped off her nude heels one at a time.  

 He looked up from her feet with and grinned naughtily. “Camille- I would never change my mind about having sex with you.” Tossing her heels to the side.

 “You’re just filled with jokes…” she responded with a wiggle of her toes. She hadn’t realized her feet hurt until now. She had been wearing the shoes all day.  

 He placed himself at eye level and winked. “Who says I’m joking?” Slowly undoing each button on her blouse. Camille’s eyes fell to his long fingers. “What’s the other part?” he pushed.

 She teared her eyes away from him, unsure how to answer. Mostly, because there were so many ways to answer. She was scared shitless of jumping into something new with someone else. Could she do it? She still felt insecure and vulnerable after the whole mess with David. What if she wasn’t good enough?

 Camille looked back at him and was not surprised to find him starring with those blue like ocean eyes. He let out a small perceptive sigh but did not push. Instead slipped the blouse off her shoulders and sat back to tug down on the lace straps of her black bra.

 “That’s it?” she asked confused. A jolt of electricity running through her as his fingers touched her skin and glided the straps off her. It was not lost on her-what he was doing.

 How did they always end up here?

 “What do you want me to say?” he challenged, his fingers slowly making their way toward her back. She let out a shaky breath and slanted her head to one side as he continued. He tactfully worked on unhooking the bra. Closing her eyes, she licked her lips in anticipation when he got it undone. “Look-.” He continued; his voice low. “I think we do a pretty good job at being honest with each other-so I figure when you’re ready to share- you will.” He concluded with a slight shrug. “Stretch your arms out for me dragoste.” He ordered softly.

 Camille did what he asked, and his fingers expertly slipped the bra off, letting it drop next to her heels and blouse. “We do.” She concluded, a light chill hitting her bare breasts. He stood up again and pulled her up to her feet. “Weren’t you complaining a few minutes ago about me waking you up from your slumber?” she mocked.

 “I was?” he asked innocently, giving her bare breast a once over, as his fingers searched for the zipper of the pencil skirt.

 “It’s on the side, Ojos Azules.”

 Sebastian stopped for a moment and scrunched his nose, moving his large hands to the side of her hips. He smiled when he finally felt the material- without breaking the gaze, he stuck his tongue out and licked his upper lip as he glided the zipper down.

 Camille tried her best to not show the effect he had on her, but damn. The way he was undressing her was so hot. Trying to distract herself, she watched as the skirt dropped around her feet.

 He groaned. “Jesus Camille.” Running his fingers through his hair, eyes never leaving her body.

 “What?” she asked clearly confused but followed his gaze down her hips. Feeling a bit silly, standing in a pair of matching black lace underwear and nude stockings, and no bra.

 “The fucking garter belt baby.” He almost moaned. “It kills me every time.” He admitted.

 “Oh.”

 Right, the garter belt. Truth be told- she hadn’t worn it for him. Garter belts did have other benefits besides trying to look sexy, she had come to learn. They worked wonders when she wore skirts. The stockings looked better than pantyhose. Lingerie had never been much of a thing for her-until last year when she surprised Sebastian and he seemed fully mesmerize with it. After that, she found herself buying some here and there that now it felt like she had problem.

 “Oh?” he repeated with a suspicious look.

 “Yes- ‘oh’.” Camille mocked back, with a hint of a smile. Just as he unclasped the clip that held her hair up. 

 Okay- so seeing his reaction when she wore things like this was fun too. 

 “You wear these every day?” Grabbing for her hand and taking a few steps back until he reached the end of the bed. He sat back down, and Camille giggled when she looked down and realize they were face to...well…her crotch. “What’s so funny?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.  

 Camille ignored his last question, answering only the first one. “I don’t wear this every day. Just the days I have to wear outfits like the one thrown on the floor.” She added with a bit of sass. “It’s comfortable and I don’t have to worry on tugging up on my pantyhose all day.” She finished, peering down at him through her long lashes. “As for why I’m laughing...” she trailed off, letting her eyes linger between the top of his head and her waist.  

 It took a second, but he seemed to understand. He bit down on his lower lip and peered up at her, those beautiful blue eyes dancing with mischief. “I’m working on it.” 

 Camille scoffed and tossed her head back. “Oh really?”

 “Yup.” Sebastian answered without missing a beat, as his hands gripped each side of her hips. Without taking his eyes off her, his long fingers moved along the front of her thighs. Camille felt a slight shiver but only licked her lips when he tugged on the front straps of the garter and unsnapped both off from the nude stockings. She swallowed and watched him do the same for the outside of her thighs and the back, his knuckles grazing along the back of her thighs.

 How was it possible he made this look sexy? Fuck. He was just unsnapping a couple of straps.

 She blinked in dismay when he slid his arms around her waist to unhook the garter belt from behind. Once it was undone, it dropped around her legs. 

 “Can I take off the last piece?” He asked, eyes dark and blown. 

 Camille played along with a blasé shrug. “Might as well.” Feeling the wetness in her lacy underwear.  

 He gazed up and down her body and sucked his bottom lip between his teeth. “Mmmm.” Was his response, moving his fingers to her hips and slowly tugged down the last piece of clothing.

 “How is it that I always let you take off my underwear?” She mused, as they reached around her ankles and she kicked them off completely. 

 He chuckled, his gaze hungry now. “I have no idea.” He stated innocently. 

 Camille took the opportunity that his guard was down and shoved him gently on the mattress, before straddling him, her thighs on each side of him. He let out a shocked groan and she smiled proudly at the realization that her bare breasts were inches from his mouth. 

 “Does this mean you’re not upset with me anymore?” She asked casually, her fingers now running through his soft hair. 

 “I was never mad Dragoste.” He said through gritted teeth, those eyes locked on her dark breasts. “That was you.” Leaning in, ready to take her nipple into his mouth. Camille was quick and jerked back.

 Sebastian frowned but instinctively slid the palms of his hands on her spine to keep her from falling. “Camille....” he almost growled.  

 “Sebastian.” She mocked and opened her thighs a bit more. She heard him let out a pained sigh when she encountered his groin. “I’m completely naked. It’s not fair.” She said with a pout. Not waiting for his response, she scooted just enough to pull the shirt halfway up his back. 

 Sebastian smirked, dropping his hands to his side to pull the shirt completely off. “That’s not true- you still have your stockings on.” 

 She rolled her eyes and felt the familiar tightness in her stomach at the sight of his bare chest. She mindlessly reached and touched the St. Christopher medallion around his neck. Sebastian was a fit man, he ran, went to the gym- but his shoulders were looking broader.

 “Anything else you want me to take off?” She heard him ask in a teasing tone. 

 She blinked, leaning in, eagerness in her eyes. “Yes.” Mouth inches from his. “But first- I want you to kiss me.” She ordered.  

 A small grin tugged on his lips before he did what she asked. Her heart raced deep within and she blindly glided one arm back around his neck as he took her lips with his. She heard him grunt when her free hand reached down between their hot bodies and stroked his growing erection. Camille could feel the warmth radiate even through his grey sweatpants. She continued to stroke as their lips attacked one another. Their mixed moans and sighs lingering around them. 

 Camille broke from his lips first, a sheepish look on her face. “I’m sorry for overreacting.” Referring to the night before.

 Sebastian clinched his teeth. “What I said was inappropriate...” 

 “Yeah, but I could have handled it differently.” 

 He pressed his lips together and nodded. “Apology accepted.” He almost groaned, shifting in his spot. 

 “What can I do to make it up to you?” 

 Clearing his throat, they locked eyes. “I think you’re making it up to me right now...” Moving his eyes down and in between their bodies. “Fuck Cam.” He grunted; his eyes mesmerized on how her fingers continued to work on his covered cock.

 “Oh yeah?” She breathed against his mouth, her hands still on his lap. Camille didn’t wait for a remark, instead she angled her head and kissed him- hard. This time moaning against his lips when he glided his hands up her bare thighs.  

 In return she opened her mouth to tease his bottom lip with her warm tongue. He didn’t seem phased, instead he used his own to coyly play with hers. They both moaned. Camille palmed his cock and it seemed to urge Sebastian on. It wasn’t sweet, it was messy, raw and with determination. After what seemed like hours to her, he broke away, but only long enough to place open mouth kisses along her jaw and neck. Camille tossed her head back. He continued his trail along her clavicle, every so often nipping along her skin. He was doing such a good job that Camille hadn’t realized his hands had moved up her ribs and toward her bare breasts. Her hand slipped off his lap when his teeth nipped down on one nipple. 

 “Oh god...” she moaned.  

 Chuckling alongside her skin, he suckled, while his hands kneaded the other breast. He pulled his mouth away and peered up at her with dark eyes. Before she could form words, he leaned back in and licked deftly along the underside of her breast. 

 “Seb?” She whimpered, unknowingly rocking her hips on his lap 

 “Yes Cam?” He responded in a relaxed tone 

 “I need your mouth back on my nipple...” 

 “Is that an order?”

 “Yes Stan.” 

 He was already hovering over it, using his forefinger to tease around the areola. “What exactly do you want me to do?” He pushed.  

 Her body was hot, and his teasing was not helping. Licking her dry lips, she peered down. “Take it in your mouth baby.” She almost moaned. Knowing two could play this game. “Please?” She breathed.  

 “And do what?” he asked with a smirk, moving one hand to the other breast, bringing her nipple within inches of his mouth. Camille suppressed the moan when he flicked it back and forth with his tongue.

 “Mmmm….that…” she panted.

 “What else Camille?”

 “I want you to bite down on it. Hard… please…” Camille begged.

 He sucked his bottom lip between his teeth before he did what she asked. She gasped when he sucked then tugged hard on the nipple with his teeth.

 “More.” Camille pleaded. “Harder...” Fuck that felt good. Sebastian complied, sinking his teeth into her skin.

 The sting of his action made her shiver and breath heavily. Camille wanted more. Of him.  She watched in awe as he expertly played with her breasts. Making her body jerk up from his lap, with every nip, suck he made She glided her arms around his neck as he moved between both of her breasts.

 “Mmm…oh god Sebastian…!”  

 “Harder?” Sebastian asked in a low voice. His voice making her weak at the knees. He nipped again- relentlessly-it made Camille gasp in pain-but the good kind. “I asked you a question.” 

 “Y-yes-yes...” She stuttered.

 Sebastian released her nipple, gliding his warm lips to the underside of her left breast. Moaning, she watched as he sucked and laved on the spots she liked. It stung, but it was exactly what she wanted. She wanted to look at herself in the mirror tomorrow and see the bruises/marks along her dark skin. “I’m supposed to be making things up to you...”

 Sebastian jerked his head back. “Oh, sweetheart you’re doing just fine with that.” His face softening when he glanced back at her bare breasts. “Baby- are you sure? It’s going to leave bruises.” 

 “I don’t care.” 

 Those words egged Sebastian on. She lost track of time, as he played with her chest, kissing, and groping, nipping, sucking all over. Whimpering, she scooted her ass off and up from his lap, he avertedly released the top half of her body. He groaned in dissatisfaction, but it was only for a second, as she dipped down to kiss him. He groaned into her mouth, kissing back. She broke from his lips to catch her breath.

 “Camille...” his eyes pleading as he made grabby hands toward her. 

 “What?” she asked innocently. She gave his pants a quick glance, positive she had left a wet spot after all the teasing they had just been doing. The sweatpants were below his waist now, giving Camille a peek of what was underneath. She could see the outline of his penis perfectly. She blinked in surprise when Sebastian stood up and shove the pants down his hips and thighs, kicking them off with his feet.

 God- he was beautiful. Every single inch of him. She couldn’t wait to touch, kiss and lick him….

 Gnawing down on her lower lip, she took a step toward the bed, slightly pushing him back, so he was sitting again on the end of the bed. Without hesitation she hovered above and kissed him. He smiled against her mouth as his fingers sank and massaged her scalp. They kissed, softly, yet eagerly. Camille pulled away first.  

 “You really got to stop doing that.” Sebastian murmured with a slight pout. 

 Giggling at his words, she placed open mouth kisses down his chin, then neck. She let a slight shiver when his firm hands gripped along her waist. She continued her journey down his Adams Apple, and down his chest. She peppered kisses along his skin, sliding the palm of her hand up to his left peck, feeling his heart race pick at the touch. She lifted her head up when his large hand moved on top of hers.

 Lifting her eyes, she swallowed at how he was looking back at her.

 Yes, their chemistry during sex was amazing, but it was also tiny moments like this - that truly made her afraid of her own feelings. The intimacy they shared wasn’t lost on Camille. It was there every time they touched and kissed, but she knew they needed boundaries on how to deal with it when they were around other people. Camille knew she couldn’t get upset with him every time he made a comment she didn’t like it or agree with. But if they were going to do the ‘friends with benefits’, things needed to be clear. As much as she enjoyed the sneaking around, they shouldn’t do it. It wasn’t responsible. It was the only conclusion she had been able to come up with.

 Now she just needed a way to bring it up to him.  

 She was startled when Sebastian cupped one side of her face, breaking her out of her thoughts. He mumbled something in Romanian before leaning in and kissing her hard. She moaned when he sucked on her tongue. Her eyes were shut tight as she madly reached down and stroked his penis. She heard him hiss, breaking the kiss.  

 “Fuck.” He groaned and pressed his forehead against hers. “What-what do you think you’re doing?” 

 “I told you- making it up to you.” Camille answered in a nonchalant tone, her thumb moving across the slit of his cock, already feeling the precum. She felt the familiar tightness in her stomach and throb between her thighs. 

 “Baby-that’s not necessary-.” But abruptly stopped talking when Camille ducked down, her head bending over his lap, her soft lips closing over his cock. “La dracu!” He yelled, as the pleasure of her mouth rocked through him. 

 She tugged back and giggled. “Was that a cuss word Stan?” 

 He narrowed his eyes but didn’t remark. Instead placed a hand on her spine as it arched in front of him and took him in deep into her mouth again on a long hot stroke. “Fuck-look at that pretty mouth.” He complemented, one hand resting on her back, the other reaching between them to find her breast and pinch her already sore nipple. 

 She let out a pained sound but didn’t pull back. Not when she could feel every part of his muscles tighten as she tortured her warm mouth over and over his hot cock. He let out a growl with each lift her lips, each flick of her tongue over the tip of his head. Camille smiled against his skin, enjoying this as much as he was.  

 “God- your mouth feels so good...” he spluttered. She felt him pull, squeeze, then ran his hand up her back to her curls, his fingers burying themselves into her, tugging. She jerked her head up, her lips sliding off him, her lips wet and shiny, and her chocolate eyes sparkling with determination. 

 "Lie back." She ordered, pushing on his chest. 

 He did what she asked, the pillow behind him causing a lump, without taking his eyes off her, he reached from under the covers and tossed the pillow off the bed. 

 Camille felt hot all over as she lay down next to him, her hip next to his shoulder, her feet pressing against the headboard as she leaned back over him, reaching out once again for his cock. One hand squeezed the length of him, the other cupped his balls, her lips closing back around him. Her tongue moved faster, dancing across him, gagging on the length of him.

 "Fuck." he cursed. “You’re gonna make me cum…and I don’t want to yet.”  

 Camille giggled at his confession but did not stop. Not when it felt so damn good to have her mouth over his cock. She jumped a bit and pulled away for a split second when he turned his head, his face colliding with her thighs, she was close to him. Without thinking twice, Camille watched him nudge her knee. 

 “Sebastian?” She whispered. 

 “Look at this pretty pussy...” He stated in awe. “Mmm, look at how wet you are. Just for me...” 

 He looked at her like a hungry man. It was as if he could see everything. Everything God had given her. From her wet folds, to the curve of her ass. That was enough for her and took him back into her mouth. 

 Camille squealed when he hauled her leg over his shoulder and buried his head between her thighs and sucked on her clit. She jerked back on his cock and gasped not able to control her excited pleasure. This went on and on, unsure for how long. But it had her moaning, whining, and crying out. 

 Sebastian met her stroke for stroke, his hot tongue moving rapidly as hers, just as wet and eager, sending his hot cum into her mouth in shudders of pleasure. Before he groaned the last jerks of pleasure, her thighs clenched. He dipped his tongue deep inside her just in time to feel her muscles tighten then relax, her hips lifting off the bed, gasping for air. 

 His hands were still on her, and vice versa, mouths and wet tongues pressed against each other as they shattered and came back down one breath at a time. Camille’s fingers relaxed first, her thighs coming back down onto the bed, her shallow breath filling the room. 

 Sebastian spoke first after a couple of minutes. “Wow, I’m impressed.” 

 Licking her dry lips, she breathed heavy, trying to lift her head- it was no use. “About what?” 

 “We managed to do that without taking your stockings off.” Sebastian stated in a serious voice, his breath still ragged. 

 Camille busted out in a laugh, giving his bare thigh a light slap. “Oh my god.” Unable to stop the giggles. The bed shifted and she felt his lips kiss the inside of her thighs. She shivered at the tender action. “Can you sit up?” She asked instead. 

 “No.” 

 “Okay. Good because I can’t either.”

 “Give me 10 minutes.” Sebastian prompted. 

 “Why 10 minutes?” 

 “Because that’s how long it takes for me to get hard again.” He answered in a matter of fact tone. 

 Closing her eyes, she placed the palm of her hand on her bare chest to keep from laughing but couldn’t stop the fits of giggles that escaped her lips. “Holy fuck- Sebastian are you sure you aren’t thirteen years old?” The bed dipped again, and she let out a tiny gasp, opening her eyelids, those beautiful blue eyes boring into her. She took her bottom lip in between her teeth. “It hasn’t been ten minutes yet Stan.” She reminded with a smug look, but felt his penis along her thigh.

 “I need to do something to shut you up.” He stated hoarsely, the mood in the room shifting. Camille glared but her heart raced when his fingertips stroked the inside of her thigh. He gave her an eat shit grin as he hovered, his other hand on her bare ribs. “What, no smart-ass response?” he mocked. Camille took a second to catch her breath then tilted her chin up. He continued to smirk. “Wow- I finally get the last word.”

 Camille huffed. “No.” He raised an eyebrow. “I was just wondering how much longer you were going to talk before you decided to fuck me.” Battling her eyelashes. His mouth twitched, trying to hide the smile, he scowled instead. She opened her mouth, and a squeal escaped instead when he tickled her sides. The squeals turned into laughter from both that echoed throughout the room, as she lifted her head high enough to kiss him sweetly. She knew things were far from over, and as if reading her mind, Sebastian slowly rolled the stockings off her thighs…

                                                 ****

Sebastian’s eyes fluttered open when he heard movement and mumbling. Reaching his arm toward the other side of the bed, his eyelids flew open when he found it empty. Rolling completely over, his gaze landed on Camille- who stood at the edge of the bed, in her garter belt, stockings and underwear. 

 “Where is my bra...?”

 “Camille?” He called out groggily, pushing himself up on his elbows with a yawn.

 She jerked her face in his direction at the sound of her name, hand over her bare chest. “Oh my god- you scared me!” Her mouth set in a grim expression.

 “Where are you going?” he asked wrinkling forehead, sitting back against the bed frame.

 “I didn’t mean to wake you!” she exclaimed at the same time.  

 “Baby- where are you going?” he repeated with a yawn. He could care less about being woken up. 

 Breaking the gaze, she glanced around the floor a few more times. “Nowhere-it seems.” She mumbled. “I can’t find my bra.”  

 “It’s on this side of the bed.” Sebastian answered calmly, running his fingers through his messy hair, watching her walk toward his side to grab it.  

 “Thanks!” Sitting back down. He watched her slip and hook it back on. She made the motion to stand up, but Sebastian was quick and seized her wrist with a tug. “Seb-.” Camille started with an uneasy laugh.  

 “You’re leaving?” 

 Fixing the straps of the bra with her free hand, Camille looked guilty at him. “I have a brunch I need to go and get ready for.” 

 “You’re leaving me for food?” Sebastian asked incredulously, but with a small smile. “What time is it?” 

 “It’s 8.” 

 “Aren’t brunches around 11 or 12 anyway?” He countered.

 Frowning, Camille relented, sitting back down. “It’s a business brunch Stan.” She explained. “Trust me- I rather stay and sleep.” 

 “Don’t call me Stan.” He grumbled. “And who does business on Sundays?”

 “Liz.” She answered, as she tried to get up. “Sebastian...” she pleaded with a pout when he tugged on her wrist again. 

 “Yes, Dragoste?” He said as innocently as possible. 

 “I gotta go.” She murmured. 

 “Okay.” 

 “I need you to let go so I can get dressed.” She ordered calmly. 

 “A kiss first.” He bargained, gently stroking the inside of her wrist with his thumb. 

 She narrowed her eyes questionably. “Just one.” 

 “Just one.” Sebastian repeated and brought his index finger up to his face to show in good faith.

 Rolling her eyes, she leaned into his body, her long hair falling in front of her. His eyes marveled at her face before they landed on her plump lips. He let go of the wrist, but only long enough to take her face in between his hands, stroking her cheek softly. They did not say a word, he only stared at how beautiful she was with her natural curls sticking up all over the place and those swollen sleepy eyes. He hadn’t expected her to show up the night before, especially with how they had ended things back at Liz’s, but was glad she had shown up.  

 She reached up to stroke the hand cupping her face, licking her lips keenly. “Seba-.” 

 He didn’t let her finish, instead angled his face and kissed her softly. Her breath hitched at the touch, and he took it as a good sign, and sneaked his tongue to find hers, then licked her upper lip, his hands sliding down to the nape of her neck to pull her closer. She didn’t argue, she kissed back, hard and with resolve, tongues never letting up as they fought over dominance. Her breath became ragged with every second. She pulled slightly away when he nipped her lower lip, a hazy look in her brown eyes. Without hesitation, he slipped his hands down to her ribs and lifted enough to get her onto his lap. Camille’s knees sunk into the mattress on either side of his hips and he let out a low hiss when she encountered his seemingly covered erection.

 Camille broke from his lips with a slight scowl. “Seriously? It’s 8 in the morning!” 

 Sebastian dropped his jaw and glanced down between their bodies. “Wha-?” Jerking his head back up with an offended look. “It’s called ‘morning wood’ for a reason.” Trying his best to hide the smile. “I can’t control it.” 

 “I can’t with you-.” She started, her eyes danced with laughter, trying to get up from his lap. 

 Sebastian wrapped both arms around her waist to hold her in place. “No sweetheart- don’t go yet...”

 “You said one kiss.” She recapped firmly yet clasped her fingers around his shoulders and neck. 

 “I did?” 

 “Yes.” Camille answered as determinedly as possible. But he was already burying his face into the dip of her neck. He heard a slight giggle. “I got to go.” She repeated, her knuckles stroking the top of his shoulders. 

 Sebastian lifted his head. “Okay.” His gaze not wavering as he pecked her on the lips. 

 “That’s it?” She asked suspiciously and dropped her arms. 

 “Uh-uh.” He answered disinterestedly, but his actions were the opposite of his words. The palm of hands cupped each side of her cheeks, leaning back in to easily cover her mouth with his. Closing his eyes, Sebastian caressed her cheek with his thumb, angling his face just enough. He heard her breath catch when he moved one hand behind her neck. Trying his best to not smile in victory, because he knew what he just done. 

 Camille hummed against his mouth, just as she scurried closer. He winced, sure she felt his cock twitch. Camille acted like she hadn’t because for the next ten minutes, she comfortably and deliberately rocked her hips back and forth on his lap. He exhaled through his nose, moving one hand down to her bare thigh.  

 “You suck.” Camille breathed against his mouth, fingers in his hair. 

  He pulled away slightly, eyelids heavy. “What?” His fingers digging into her skin.

 Tilting her chin up, she looked at him through her lashes. “I’m supposed to be getting dressed. I have to go home and shower. I have to look presentable to meet Liz- but now… I-I can’t.” 

 Snickering, he cupped her ass and clutched softly. “I said, ‘okay’.” He reminded. 

 She gulped then scowled. “Yeah- then you kissed me again.” Nuzzling her nose to his, eyelids fluttering shut. “You knew what you were doing.” She accused, hips swaying. He swallowed the lump in his throat, as he watched her move on him. After a couple of seconds, he moved his other hand up to her thighs and gripped. Her eyes flew open, a smirk on that beautiful face. 

 “It looks like I’m not the only one that knows what they’re doing.” Sebastian ruminated as she lifted her hips just enough to shove the white sheet between them off. He breathed through his nose when she effortlessly used her thumb to stroke along his erection. 

 “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

 “You’ve never been a good liar.” He stated, his palms gliding up on each side of her hips, index fingers pushing the underwear material just enough for his eyes to catch a glimpse of what was waiting for him. 

 “You’re right-I’m not.” She whispered and thrust her hips higher over his stomach. On instinct Sebastian reached down and squeezed hard on her ass cheeks, indicating he liked what she was doing. “Sebastian...” she sighed. 

 “What time do you have to meet Liz?” He asked in a conversational tone.

 “Uh-um... 11:30.” She stuttered. 

 “Well, it’s only 8 now- and its Sunday -so that means traffic won’t be as bad. Which means- you can leave here in about an hour, and still get home to shower and change before brunch.” He reasoned, his large hand now between her thighs. 

 “You’re always so practical.” Camille mocked, pursing her lips together -almost to keep from moaning. 

 “I try to be.” He shot back, before sliding her underwear completely to the side so he could squeeze her clit between his fingers. He moved his gaze up and down her body when she arched her back and clutched on to his shoulder for leverage. At her reaction, Sebastian stroked the sensitive bundle of nerves between his fingers with his other hand. “Feel good?” He asked in an arrogant tone. 

 Camille’s eyelids fluttered close before nodding frantically at his strokes.

 “What have we said about using our words?” He reminded, unable to tear his eyes away from her body. Loving the way her chest heaved when he pressed gently on her clit and rubbed up and down. 

 She gasped and licked those plump lips, eyes flying back open as they bored into his. “You know I like it.” She literally moaned, as he slipped his long digit into her. His eyebrows knitted together when her words registered. He grinned and instead of adding another finger, moved the hand away. She drew in a large breath in protest. “Baby...!” she whined, her eyes wide and pleading. 

 He loved how quickly she could go from this sexy confident women to a brat. It was a fucking turn on. 

 Pretending he hadn’t heard her pleas, Sebastian sat up, back pressed against the headboard, ready to make the next move. Before he had the chance to do it, Camille jerked her hips, trapping his dick between her wet folds and his abdomen.  

 “Fuck…” He said through gritted teeth, eyes shut tightly. Damn, he had not been expecting that. He thought he had the upper hand.

 Now it was just a game to see who could get who to cave in first. And right now- she was fucking winning. Especially when she jutted her hips again, the friction of her skin causing him to breathe ruggedly. With whatever control he had left, he raised his eyes to find a smug looking Camille staring back. 

 “Sebastian...” she started and adjusted herself on him more comfortably. 

 “Hmm?”

 “I can’t be late.” She said lamely, trailing her fingers down his hip. 

 “I didn’t say you were going to be.” He chuckled, feeling her form small circles on the inside of his thigh. 

 “I better not be. Because if I am- then you’re going to have to tell Liz why.” 

 Sebastian didn’t say a word, instead watched in awe as she raised her hips a little and gasped when the tip of his cock pressed at her entrance. 

 “Fuck...” he hissed, licking his lips to compose himself, his hands, large and warm slipped up her back to hold her more firmly in place. “Alright I can call her. How about this: ‘sorry about Camille being late Liz, you see I had my dick inside of her and we-.” 

 “Very funny.” Camille mumbled, cupping his face to kiss him hard, at the same time sinking down onto him. 

 A slow grunt escaped from his throat, ripping his mouth away from hers, his head falling back against the headboard with a thump. “I’m just following your orders.” He stated playing along. Trying not get lost in how good it felt to be inside her. “Wait-.” Letting out a short breath. “H-have you told Liz about this?” 

 “No! Are you kidding?” She exclaimed with a grin, stroking the side of his face, while his cock twitched inside of her, his arms wrapped around her. 

 “I don’t know if I should feel insulted.” Sebastian mused with a pout. 

 “It’s a compliment.” Camille shot back, raising her hips. “Seb...” she gasped, the tone of her voice changing. 

 He winced, throbbing inside her. He knew what she wanted. She wanted him to move just a little... just a little so she could feel the waves of pleasure roll through her, but Sebastian had other ideas, holding her steady. 

 “S-Seb.” She stuttered, swallowing, and hanging her head back. 

 “I promise you’ll make it to your meeting.” He teased, feeling her clit pressed against his hipbone, knowing that one more move from her would make him loose complete and utter control. 

 “T-that’s not what I was going to say.” 

 “No?” 

 “N-no.” Running her finger through his hair. Instinctively she began to roll her hips against his. “I was going to-to...I just wanted to-.” But stopped talking when he took her lips with his. She pulled away from him for a split second. “Are we okay?” 

 “W-what?” He asked against her mouth. 

 “Are we okay?” Camille repeated more quietly than he expected.

 “Now? You’re asking this now?” 

 “Yes.” Moaning the words before kissing him. 

 He was so lost in the kiss, he forgot to hold on to her- giving her the opportunity to move. He heard her sigh into his mouth when his cock pressed deep inside her, stretching her swollen walls. His fingers dug into her flesh as she moved.

 “Of course…of course we are.” He promised through gritted teeth. He knew better than to try and argue with her about having this conversation later. “Anything else you want to discuss?” He decided to mockingly ask, continuing to smoothly slide in and out her, her wetness covering his cock.

 Fuck that was good. 

 Camille squeezed around him. She bit down on her lower lip and stammered. “A-actually...”

 “I was just joking.” He said in a strained voice. He should have known better than to ask. 

 She made a humming sound deep in her throat and locked eyes, a humorous smile painted on her features. “I mean we do seem to do our best talking when you have-.”

 “My cock inside you?” He supplied, unable to stop himself. Furrowing her eyebrows, she shifted on his thighs. He groaned. “Fuckkkk…” 

 “Well- that’s a bit crass.” She scorned with a squint of her eyes. Eyes that quickly grew wide in shock when he jutted his hips upward with a grunt. Gripping his bicep for support, she let out an erotic sound that was music to his ears. 

 “If it’s too crass, let me pull out-“

 Camille glared and instead began moving on him again, slow and languid, as if wanting to make sure to feel every inch of him. He shut his eyes and concentrated on how hot and thick he felt, sliding completely into her, hitting the spot that made her loudly pant. He moved the palm of his hand beneath her ass, gripping tightly as he guided her along his hard length, small groans and grunts leaving his lips. 

 “Mmmm....that feels good.” She breathed and clasped her fingers behind his neck. 

 Without another thought, he buried his face into the side of her neck and placed open mouth kisses along her skin, just as she rocked back and forth. For the next few minutes they moved in sync, their bodies taking and giving pleasure. Their moans and heavy breathing echoing in his ears. He lifted his head and kissed her, hard. She panted into his mouth when his hips jerked, just as he slid beneath the hotel pillows. At that move, Camille adjusted herself, squeezing around his dick-making Sebastian see stars behind his eyelids.

 “Damn…” He said through clenched teeth, head falling back on the pillows. He opened his eyes back up and found Camille looking down, mouth slightly open, eyes blown, palms on his chest for leverage as she continued the movement with her hips. He instinctively placed his hands on her ass cheeks, spreading them, but letting her take charge. He wasn’t sure for how long, but it was long enough to bring them both to the edge of orgasm only for one of them to stop and start all over again. Hips grinding, hands groping, lips kissing. It was messy and raw and Sebastian did not ever want to stop.

 He tried his best to gather his thoughts, but it was hard. They had been talking about something- but couldn’t seem to pinpoint what it was. Did it matter? She was a fucking beautiful sight, sprawled on top of him, in lingerie, no makeup and bed hair.  

 Her expression change from surprise to pleasure in seconds. “Oh shit...” She heaved, leaning down to press her forehead to his. “Oh god Sebastian!” Eyes fluttering shut. 

 He glided his hands to her ribs. “Don’t hold back.” He guessed. “C’mon baby...” 

 Tiny gasps escaped her lips, when his hands pressed her down harder onto him, her swollen clit grinding and rubbing against his hipbone. His lips found her neck, causing her to wail out. Their hot bodies fully connected. 

 “Shit, shittt- that’s-fuck- good.” Camille panted, unable to form sentences.

 “Yeah?” He couldn’t help but ask, goosebumps rising on his skin. Camille gave him a brief nod, before he warmly used the palm of his hands to cup the back of her head, delving into her loose hair.  “You close?” He asked in a low voice. Tugging her head back, his warm lips pressed to her throat as one hand pushed her harder against his hot chest. 

 “Yes...” she hissed. “I’m close, so close baby.” He felt the urgency as she clutched around him. His body responded, feeling the heat growing inside. Sitting up a bit, her hands found his chest, her perfectly manicured nails digging into his hot skin. 

 “What- what was it you wanted to talk about?” He asked in a strained voice. Unable to stop himself from making jokes.

 “Huh?” She responded dumbfounded. Eyes closed, almost as if she was concentrating on his words but also on how he felt. Sliding in and out, over and over. Her legs trembled around him. “I- I can’t remember...asshole.” she whimpered. 

 He chortled his laugh, then shifted his hips upward, hitting the spot with his cock that made her crazy. 

 “We-we can probably talk about it later.” Sebastian proposed, his jaw locked when she jerked her hips. With that-he decided to stop moving and let her take what she needed. Watching in pure adoration as their bodies connected with every thrust she made, he gripped her hips securely, not wanting to interrupt.

 Her breathing got ragged as she seized his chest harder. Sebastian felt her orgasm build, as her moves became erratic with every second that ticked by. He grunted when her walls clutched around him and her muscles tensed. He sucked in a large breath, feeling her body tremble indicating she was close again. And before he had a chance to think, her wetness flooded his cock. 

 “Dear god- you’re fucking beautiful...” He growled, incapable to stop his mouth, as she panted heavily, rocking her hips on him as she came down from her high. It was the sweetest sound to his ear. Her eyes soften, just as he thrusted up hard. He did it a few times before he orgasmed himself. Hot liquid exploded from him, filling her. His body rocked up to her, still pushing deep inside as she grinded down against him. Camille dipped down and found his mouth, kissing him eagerly. 

 Sebastian’s lips glided down to her throat trying to steady his breathing. After a few moments of silence, he spoke. “Now-what was it you wanted to talk about?” 

 Camille looked up and locked eyes, shaking her head with a laugh, her breathing still shallow. “Now? You wanna do this now?” She mocked. 

 “Listen- if you want me to do something- this is the time- I have a beautiful, smart woman laying on top of me...” 

 Giggling, she detached herself from him, but only long enough to feel him wrap his arms around her, burying his face in the nape of her neck. 

 “You’re ridiculous.” 

 “Yes- I know.” He answered without missing a beat. The next few minutes, quiet, as they tried to regain their breaths, closing his eyes, enjoying the silence and inhaling her sweet scent.

 “I should probably get going.” She murmured, kissing the side of his face.

 “Wait-.” Lifting his head up. “What was it you wanted to say?” Sitting up at the same time she did, grabbing her elbow, eyeing her suspiciously. “What was it?”

 “We can talk about it later.” She stated calmly, reaching for her pencil skirt at the edge of the bed.

 “Or- we could just discuss it now so you don’t obsess about it for the rest of the day.” He said knowingly when she stood up and zipped the skirt up. “You know I’m right.” He pushed, trying his best to keep his thoughts to the subject at hand and not on how sexy it looked when she got dressed.

 How the hell did she make that look good?

 “We- we almost caught, Sebastian.” 

 He blinked out of his thoughts, her words barely registering. “Huh? What?” 

 “At Liz’s.”

 “And that’s bad?” he asked slowly, a bit confused. She frowned. He blew air out of his mouth. “Of course it’s bad.” He repeated in a reprimanding tone.

 Camille let out a small sigh and sat down. “I just mean- we need to be more cautious.” She added quickly, sensing her words had come out wrong.  

 “Okay.” Nodding in agreement, crawling toward her. He knew she was right. They had been a bit careless back at Liz’s. 

 Camille smiled softly before leaning in to peck him on the lips. “I really gotta go now.” He was quicker and pulled her back onto his lap. She laughed. “Baby- I really can’t be late.” Looping around his neck for support.

 His face was serious. “That’s it? That’s what you wanted to say?” Detecting there was more. 

 She tilted her head to one side and pretended to think for a moment. “Let’s see: I apologized for what I said at Liz’s. We had incredible sex-more than once-.” She added with a sly grin. “I think that’s it...yeah.” 

 Deep down he knew there was more. He knew her well enough now to know when she had something on her mind. “Camille.” Stroking the dip of her shoulder blades with his fingertips. “What else?” 

 She inhaled through her nose, closing her eyes for a split moment. “I hate that you know me so well.” She mumbled jokingly. 

 “What else?” He repeated.

 It was quiet for a long while, finally Camille spoke up in almost a whisper. “I just want us to make sure this is really just a casual thing...” He knitted his eyebrows together, unsure of where she was going with her words. “I don’t want you to wait for me Sebastian.” There was a long pause. “I’m-I’m not ready.” 

 He knew this already, but hearing the words out loud stung a bit more that he would like. He loosened his grip on her and cleared his throat. “I know this Camille.” Unable to not sound irate.  He tried again.“What are you saying?” Terrified to hear her answer. He gave a slight shake of his head, speaking again. “I thought we’ve already discussed this?” he asked. “Over and over- it seems like.” He couldn’t help but add bitterly.

 She winced at his reaction, but didn’t snap back. Instead she let out a tiny sigh. “If this is supposed to be two friends just having sex- maybe we should establish some more ground rules...?” She suggested timidly.  

 He scrunched up his forehead in concentration, as he let her words sink in. “As to avoid any potential complications?” She nodded then brought her bottom lip between her teeth. “I thought we had discussed it. Or is there more we should add?” he pushed, slowly comprehending what she meant.

 Awkward silence settled between them, neither one able to speak up. He exhaled through his nose, trying his best to understand what this all meant. Sebastian knew her hesitation, it had been apparent when they had been at his parents’ home, but he hadn’t realized how much it had scared her until this very moment. But it clicked-he wasn’t sure how-but it did. And he realized he couldn’t push her into something she didn’t want.

 “I’m so sorry.” she barely whispered. “I shouldn’t have brought it up. Forget I said-.”

 He shook head flippantly. He would go along with this-why? He wasn’t fucking sure. But he would. “Don’t be. You’re right.” Stroking one cheek with his knuckles and deciding to answer for her. “If you want to make this strictly just about sex- we can do that.”

 “How do we do that?” Camille asked. “Sometimes it feels it’s more than that-and as nice as that is-I don’t think it’s fair, to either one of us.” She paced anxiously back and forth. “Being with you –is the most amazing thing-not just the sex part, but when we have to say goodbye-all my fears and insecurities come out and I start to freak out.” Her words coming out quicker. “And I realize I can’t do this to you.” Her pacing coming to a halt, giving him a helpless look. Shutting her eyes, she fell back unto his bed. “I’m sorry. I’m all over the place.” Her voice trembling. “We can stop this, if you want. Just say the word.”

 Sebastian tried to keep up with her words. It took a lot for her to share this with him, and he was thankful she doing so. It meant she trusted him. He also understood where she was coming from. He didn’t want to hurt her. She was too important. And what if what he was feeling was infatuation? Maybe he needed to figure that out before putting any pressure on her.  

 After a few moments of silence, he decided to finally speak up. “Do you want to stop having sex?” That was the first question needing answered.

 Camille let out an awkward laugh. “Of course not.” Pausing. “Do you?”

 Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “What do you think?” he teased.

 She couldn’t help but giggle. “Okay-so we’ve establish we are both two horny adults that enjoy the sex.”

 Tossing his head back, he laughed. “Maybe staying the night shouldn’t be something we do anymore…?” he suggested.

 She jerked her attention to him, reluctance in her eyes-but it was only for a second. “Right…okay. That could work.”  

 If she wanted this-it was doable, but he was going to be the one to come up with the rules. It only seemed fair. Right? Obviously she hadn’t expected him to be so okay with this. He was surprised too, but as she spoke, the more he related to what she was saying. Sebastian recognized this was going to cause a shift in their relationship, but maybe it was for the best.

 “Why are you going along with this?”

 “Because it makes sense.” He responded without hesitation. “We adapt Camille. That’s all. Foremost-we’re friends- and I respect that. I respect you.”

 “You’re kind of amazing.” She whispered shyly, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek.

 “I think so. Yeah.” He flippantly agreed with a wiggle of his eyebrows. Peeking over at the alarm clock, he frowned. “You should probably get going.” He reminded, handing the blouse to her.

 Camille didn’t argue, taking her last piece of clothing and slipped it on. “Wanna do dinner later?” Buttoning the last button, gazing up at him. “Sam and Natalie are leaving after I’m done with this brunch.” A hint of sadness in her voice.

 Pushing himself, he dropped his legs to the floor. “Yeah- sounds good. I have a few scenes to shoot but it shouldn’t be more than a few hours.”

 “Okay.” Tugging the skirt up a bit, before facing him. He raised an eyebrow in curiosity at her sudden attention. Wiggling her eyebrows playfully, she shoved him gently back on the mattress.

 “What are you doing?” he couldn’t help but ask through his laughter. “You’re going to be late.” He reminded.

 Straddling his hips, she bend down and kissed him again. “I can still do this right?” Breaking their lip lock, her eyes filled with concern.

 “Camille...” He groaned out, followed by a small pained laugh when her knee jabbed the side of his kidney. 

 Giving him a sheepish smile, she moved the knee. “Sorry.”  

 “It’s okay.” He assured, hands on her hips. “And yes you can.” He added, cupping her chin, tugging it down to him, as he took a kiss from her that time. This was going to work. It had to. Because deep down, he knew there was more for them than just sex. He just had to be patient. “How about 8 for dinner?”

 “That should work.” She responded mindlessly, playing with the medallion around his neck. “This is just dinner right?” Peeking up at him with a mischievously smile.

 Unless ‘dinner’ is a euphemism for sex?” he shot back. “It’s not like we’re going to be having sex at the restaurant you sicko.” he added, lifting himself up on his elbows. His mouth twitched. “Maybe we should add, no public sex on to this new list.” He mused.

 “We haven’t had sex in public!” she scoffed.

 Snorting, he took a handful of her soft hair, and played with it. “Let’s see: your car, the pool, house parties…” he reminded.

 “The first two you listed-fine-I agree with. Nat and Sam’s going away party doesn’t count.” He snickered at her response, but didn’t argue. Instead she furrowed her eyebrows together, both hands on each of his pecks. “You’re really okay with this?” Anxiously chewing on her lower lip. 

 “With what? Dinner?” He responded, pretending he didn’t truly understand the question. Chuckling softly, he stroked one cheek with his knuckles, just as unsureness flashed through her eyes. Sebastian’s face grew serious, tugging her’s back down, inches apart. “We’re fine.” He promised, but her face still held hesitation. “Camille- I would never want to force something you didn’t want. It’s not like you just sprung this- and if you felt like it needed to be reiterated- then I’m okay with that.” Cupping her face. “I always want us to be honest with each other. Even if it’s uncomfortable- because that’s the only way our friendship will work.”  Pausing. “It’s the only way any of this will work.” 

 “Right- honesty is the best policy...” She whispered before kissing him again. 

 “Yes.” He said against her mouth, wrapping both arms around her waist, pressing her soft body to his. She didn’t protest, instead deepen their kiss. Kissing her was his favorite thing to do. He loved hearing the tiny sighs when he used his tongue to touch hers. 

 “Seb-.” She started after a long while, breaking from his mouth and his lap. “I really got to go.” She reminded, almost tripping as she stood up. Groaning in disappointment, he fell back into the mattress, rubbing a hand over his face. He did jerk his hand away when she pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I’m sorry.”  She said regretfully, quickly grabbing her purse and car keys off the nightstand. “Just... text me later okay?” 

 “I will.” He answered with a pout. “Whoa-wait!” He called out, lifting his head back up. “One more thing-.”

 Camille was almost at the door. “What?” Concern in her eyes. 

 “Why exactly haven’t you told Liz about all of this?” Curiosity getting the best of him. 

 Camille dropped her jaw, obviously not expecting that question, she quickly recovered, clearing her throat. “Because- if she did know about this- she would want every single nasty detail. And as much as I enjoy your penis- I just don’t feel comfortable drawing it for her.” She deadpanned. 

 Sebastian’s eyes widen at the words, unsure of how to respond. He opened his mouth, but shut it when he heard the fits of giggles escape Camille’s mouth. “Very funny!” Reaching for a pillow, tossing it in her direction, but missing her by an inch. Her giggles turned into cackles when she reached the door. “You can eat by yourself!” He threaten, trying to hide his smile.

 Waving smugly, Camille opened the door and blew him a kiss before, leaving him alone. Once she was out of sight, he chuckled shaking his head, glad they talked through things. Hoping things would continue to go in the right direction.

@jhangelface0523​ @its-daydreamer23​ @janeyboo​ @peaceinourtime82​

[boompowkablam]

Favorite Fic Rec- List # 3

WALKING DEAD LIST

Just a list of some of my favorite stories. I’m gonna act like I remember how to link stuff it will be great. Pairings are going to be Daryl/Glenn and Daryl/Jesus. Maybe a Daryl/Rick thrown in IDK .

     How These Days Grow Long  By Never_Says_Die

This work is COMPLETE!

Written in response to a prompt on The Walking Dead kink meme:

Rick & Co. are finding it increasingly difficult to deal with Daryl's outbursts, his racist remarks, and easily-ignitable temper.  They are in fact, considering just cutting their losses and telling him he has to leave when they come across another group of survivors...one of whom is very, very special to Daryl.

AU in which Glenn and Daryl have been in a relationship for a few years before the ZA, and were separated when Atlanta was overrun.  Each think the other is dead, and Glenn ended up with a different group of survivors while Daryl ended up in the quarry camp.  Story also assumes Merle would've turned his back on Daryl for getting involved with Glenn, so they parted ways long ago.

Action , Adventure, Love , Suspense,Sadness,Longing, Its just everything you want from a fic. Word count 100,538. Pairing Daryl/Glenn

     The Diary of Glenn By  ornategrip

Seasons 1 and 2, as seen through Glenn's diary.

This is so funny I love it! I wish I could make a podfic for it like whoa.

Word count 4,938. Pairing Daryl/Glenn

     Ghosts Among Us  By  TWDObsessive

Daryl sees the dead.  Not the walkers, the twice-dead once they become ghosts.  It started since the turn and he assumes it’s his body’s reaction to the walker infection they all carry.  One by one he experiences losses of loved ones and each of them come to visit him.   And they all seem to be guiding him to Rick.

This was really good but also really sad to me. Mind the tags so you don’t read something upsetting . Word count 6,422. Pairing Daryl/Rick

     Picking Up the Pieces  By  Riastarstruck

When Rick works night duty while recovering from the shooting, he becomes friends with Daryl, the young guy working community service as a janitor in lieu of prison time.

"If you found an animal in an alley and it was raining and you approached it, it would try to bite you. But if you could get it inside and feed it and take it somewhere warm, it would follow you forever. He's got that kind of vibe to him." -Norman Reedus on Daryl Dixon

This one is cute but also makes me feel sad even though it’s not sad.

Word count 21,161. Pairing Daryl/Rick

     While the World Falls Down  By  oleanderedits @oleanderedits​

They were supposed to have ten days to dispute the quickie wedding they'd had the night they'd been drunk. The world went to shit three days later. Part 1 of a series re-write focusing on Glenn, Daryl, Merle, and Maggie as what it means to be 'Family' is stretched, twisted, and redefined by circumstances no one should have to live through. Covers Seasons 1 and 2 and mostly follows the canon storyline.

This is hands down 100% my absolute favorite walking dead fic. It is so good I have read it so many times now. I seriously can not get enough of it.

Word count 48,284. Pairing Daryl/Glenn , Glenn/Maggie , Daryl/Maggie , Daryl/Glenn/Maggie.

     Friction Match  By  vegarin

It's the end of the world. You can be anyone you choose to be."  Daryl Dixon, at the end of the world.

I am not sure what it is about this story that makes me love it so much! I am working on a podfic for it right now so at some point I’ll have a link up for that.

Word Count 24,769. Gen no Paring.

     Fall Into Your Arms. By  doctorkaitlyn @banshee-cheekbones

“I am done with dating.  And I mean it this time.”

Glenn is sick of his friends setting him up.  He’s sick of going on bad dates and he’s sick of getting his hopes up and never hearing anything back.  In all the time he spends not going on dates, he can do things that he actually enjoys, like sleeping or marathoning a television show or trying to find a better job.

He is done with dating.  Seriously.

At least, that's what he says before he meets Daryl.

This is so cute and awkward I love Glenn’s bad luck.

Word Count 4,549. Pairing Daryl/Glenn

     Dear Mr. Hawkeye  By  Psmith73 

@psmith73

AU. Glenn is a struggling student neck-deep in debts. One day while trying to earn some money he gets himself in serious trouble. An anonymous benefactor offers him help in return for weekly emails describing events of his life. Jean Webster's "Daddy-long-legs"/TWD fusion. COMPLETE.

This is really good I dont know why I want to say human disaster Glenn but im  gonna. I think its cause it references marvel hawkeye but also Glenn kind of is.

Word Count 20,552. Pairing Daryl/Glenn.

something keeps pulling me back to you  By  wardeness

 Daryl Dixon sat on the steps of his porch, elbows resting on knees as he sharpened his knife. Katydids called around him in a chorus of chirping crickets, the sound only interrupted by the rhythmic scratch of metal on stone. The heavy air—a sure sign rain was coming, Daryl predicted—felt moist and honeyed against his bare arms. The evening was calm. Peaceful, even.

 Peaceful, that was, until Jesus appeared.

AU after 6x11. Slow burn.

Super cute .Super fluff.

Word Count 64,037 . Pairing Daryl/Jesus

Daryl's Addiction By  DestielHardcoreLove @bugandkitlove

Paul had no clue what was going on.  It seemed as if every time he turned a corner he would find Daryl on his knees with someone different from the community.  He didn't know what to make of it, what to even think but he did wonder how to get on it himself.

This was just really funny to me. Instead of talking I’m gonna make sure you catch me blowing the town.

Word Count 7,702. Pairing Daryl/Jesus

  Against the Dying of the Light  By   LottaCharlene

After escaping Terminus, Rick's family is at their strength's end. When the walls of yet another community loom over their heads, they must decide if they take the risk to seek refuge in this new community. They are met with a strange tradition that they are still willing to follow through for the sake of their family's well-being. Soon enough, they realize that they found a place that they could call home again. But the peace is treacherous and yet again they have to fight for their freedom and the lifes of the people they love.

Unexpectedly, Daryl is the one that has to fight for more than just his family.

So very good and sweet and sad and Gregory is a nut sac but you already knew that. Also I fucking love arranged marriage fics.

Word Count 108,454. Pairing Daryl/Jesus.

 Ripples on a Black Shore  By  Mugatu

For Daryl Dixon the world ended days before it did for almost everyone else, and it was heralded with a prerecorded phone message instead of a bang.

An AU fic where Daryl met Paul several years before the apocalypse.

Kind of sad but with a happy ending.

Word Count 200,540. Pairing Daryl/Jesus.

 Cross Your Fingers  By  starclipped

Daryl finds himself wrapping his fingers around Paul’s wrist before a bandage can be pulled from the tattered box. And Paul peers at him when their skin touches, fierce eye to fierce eye, with… with such veneration. Daryl wouldn’t know that feeling if he saw it, he thinks he’s seeing it now and he can’t believe it, but he can sure as hell feel it; rolling off his hippie ninja in waves, seeping into Daryl’s soul. A gasoline soaked rag, simply waiting to be set aflame. That's what he's become. He swallows the foreign emotions that suddenly make him feel too big for his body.

So very good and kind of sad worth the read for sure!

Word Count 204,186. Pairing Daryl/Paul

 Finders, Keepers  By  Joel7th

Jesus came to Alexandria to do trade and to see a certain grumpy hunter. However, he didn’t see said hunter; instead, just outside the walls of Alexandria he found a black cat – wait, was that really a cat?!

I found this so funny!

Word Count 10,148 . Pairing Daryl/Jesus

 All you need is twinkling stars and ancient cities  By TooRational  @toorational

Daryl Dixon of all people turns out to have the Ancient gene.

Go figure.

Or: The unlikely tale of a redneck from Earth and a Runner from the Pegasus Galaxy, and how they fell in love.

I fucking love Stargate Atlantis Crossovers and this was amazing !!!!

Word Count 16,454. Pairing Daryl/Jesus

 Help Wanted  By  Scababagorn

Daryl Dixon hasn't believed that he deserved to be who he really is. He hasn't ever felt safe enough. Is the reason that so many of the people he loves are dead. And then, suddenly there is a man named Jesus. And he likes to call Daryl "Dixie"

Cute,cute, cute I love it!!

Word Count 22,618. Pairing Daryl/Jesus

 if the world should break  By  transstevebucky @gaydaryl

It's not like Daryl hates the guy. It's exactly the opposite.

Very cute. Be mindful of the tags daryl gets outed without his permission.

Word Count 36,343. Pairing Daryl/Jesus

 Misunderstandings in a Car Crash By  Neeka

Misunderstanding. [mis-uhn-der-stan-ding]

Noun 1. Failure to understand correctly; mistake as to meaning or intent

Warning: Does not mix well with love and may lead to heartbreak

Dude like super sad face for like half of this but it gets less sad .

Word Count 18,614 Pairing Daryl/Jesus.

 Breaking the Cycle  By  AidaRonan @bisexualstarbucky

Daryl's life seems to follow a cycle of pain and violence. So when he starts falling for his new roommate, he's more than wary about what it might mean.

But sometimes breaking a cycle means making a choice.

So very cute a little sad also be mindful of the tags.

Word Count 7,416 . Pairing Daryl/Jesus

 Fables of the Reconstruction By  Mugatu

It’s more than two years after the end of the world and six months after the war with the Saviors when Daryl Dixon returns to Alexandria.

This is just so good holy crap and glenn lives which makes it even better!!

Word Count 91,918.  Pairing Daryl/Jesus

 You're Like Me (a goddamn idiot)  By  yellowhairedrobot

Jesus tilted his head to the side. “If I tried to kiss you right now, would you kick my ass?”

“Yes,” Daryl answered, way too quickly.

This is funny and gives me extreme second hand embarrassment.

Word Count 6,395. Pairing Daryl/Jesus

 the streets are full of strangers  By  smilebackwards @smilebackwards

When Deanna asks Daryl to leave Alexandria, he meets Paul on the road a little earlier.

I would like to say cute-meet . lol its very good and very cute.

Word Count 11,563 . Pairing Daryl/Jesus

There is also a podfic for this.

     [Podfic] the streets are full of strangers  By  Boompowkablam   @boompowkablam

Length 1hr 7 mins

  a heart that's on loan  By  smilebackwards @smilebackwards

Aaron and Daryl discover Hilltop on one of their scouting trips and find that the community has an interesting throwback custom for establishing alliances: marriage.

I LOVE ARRANGED MARRIAGE AND THIS IS THE BEST ONE!

Word Count 11,686.  Pairing Daryl/Jesus

 Just Another Day  By  PezzieCoyote                   

What if Daryl was the one in charge? How would things be different? And what secret is he hiding?

Supernatural elements you know besides the zombies .

Word Count 9,950. Pairing Daryl/Jesus

  Escape  By   AbigailHT, TooRational  @toorational @abigailht

  By the time the song starts drilling into his head worse than the headache, he's come to the conclusion that he can't do much.  There's no way to get out unless someone unlocks the door, and even if he could, he has no idea where he'd go once he's out anyway. Nor has he any idea who has him. Or why. Or where. Or where home is. Or—Basically, he doesn't know anything, and even the things he does know are mostly instinct and completely unverifiable anyway.He's contemplating sitting back down again — he'll have to do it at some point, if only to preserve his strength, but the cold, and the dirt, and he's naked, his skin crawls at the mere thought — when the song shuts off abruptly.

Or: The Saviors' latest prisoner isn't quite what he seems.

Its just like everything you ever wanted out of Jesus in the show. So good a tiny bit sad.

Word Count 6,894. Pairing Daryl/Jesus

There is a podfic for this.

  Escape  By  Boompowkablam @boompowkablam

Length  45 minutes.

[princecupcakee]

Park Bench | Reddie

Read on AO3

Rating: E

Pairing: Richie Tozier/Eddie Kaspbrak

Word Count: 3,112

Chapter: 6/8

Past Chapters: Chapter 1 (AO3), Chapter 2 (AO3), Chapter 3 (AO3), Chapter 4 (AO3), Chapter 5 (AO3)

Next Chapter:

Summary: Recently divorced and ‘incapable of love’, Eddie Kaspbrak moves to Los Angeles for work and a small, small hope of a fresh start. Broken up and never dated again, Richie Tozier tries to get back into love with help from his love of music. Quickly meeting eyes and one concert later, they think that maybe love isn’t that bad. So they try it one more time.

Chapter 6: Eddie Kaspbrak Gets Hurt, Richie Tozier, Stan And Patty Uris, And Ben and Beverly Marsh Buy A Ring & Eddie Kaspbrak, Bill Denbrough and Mike Hanlon Plan A Leave

Tags/Warnings: Angst / Unhappy Ending / theres only one sex scene but this is explicit anyway / Bisexual Richie Tozier / Gay Eddie Kaspbrak / Post-Divorce / Implied/Referenced Cheating / Inspired By Remembering Sunday (All Time Low) / Inspired by The Book Ninja by Ali Berg / Implied/Referenced Child Abuse / Implied/Referenced Abuse / Implied/Referenced Manipulation

Tag-list: @richietoaster, @s-s-georgie, @mikeuris, @gazebobullshit, @that-weird-girls-blog, @tozierking, @thoughtfullyyoungduck, @s-onora, @bellarosewrites, @lermanslogan, @ambitiousskychild, @ghostnebula, @vanillaredvelvet, 

(Ask if you wanna be on the tag-list!!)

Chapter 6

Eddie Kaspbrak Gets Hurt

Richie was out getting… something (he didn’t tell Eddie), he said it would take a while. Which left Eddie in an uncomfortable state. He didn’t want it to happen again, he didn’t want to lose something as important as this.

~

“How could you do this? You cheated on me, Eddie! With a man! I thought you cared for me, you didn’t want to hurt me!”

“Myra, I’m sorry. It was a mistake-“

“How was that a mistake? You’ve been dating for three months, Eddie. And you just pass that off as a mistake?”

“None of that was supposed to happen, Myra! I didn’t know what I was doing!”

“The texts seem to say otherwise.”

“Fine!  Lets get a divorce!”

“What?”

“I’m done! I can’t do anything here. You’re always saying that I’m hurting you, then I’ll stop! This marriage was headed for doom the moment it happened.”

“Are you hearing yourself, Eddie? This is crazy! This is what that man has done to you!”

“None of that was him, it was me! I don’t want this marriage, I don’t want this life! I’m sorry, I know what I did was wrong and I should’ve just told you before this got out of hand, but I didn’t. So, I’m sorry. This is how we fix this.”

~

Eddie, feeling incapable of love, takes a safe seat on the couch. ‘What the hell am I doing here?’ He thinks to himself, bringing his face into his hands. He didn’t want to hurt anyone, but he’s been thinking about this the whole time. He’s been thinking of leaving, this whole time. He’s been so happy with Richie. Of course, he was. But his past is taunting him, following his every move and making him afraid.

He doesn’t want to hurt Richie. The best thing to do is to leave. Just as he did with Myra. That is how you fix it, right?

Fuck. He needed a drive. Now. Richie took his car out though, and talking to yourself at the train station isn’t a thing he would really want to do. Run. That’s it. Thats what he’ll do. He’s always been good at track; this should be fine. His mother wasn’t here to stop him this time.

So he put on his shoes and stepped out the door. It was never that cold in Los Angeles, people casually went out on runs. But when he bolts away from Richie’s place, ran straight onto the road with his eyes closed from pushing back tears then getting hit by a car, he thinks maybe running was a bad idea.

He woke up in a shaking ambulance. His eyes shut, he should’ve expected this. Its not like he hasn’t woken up in an ambulance before.  ‘I thought the point was to help people, I feel like I’m gonna throw up’ he thinks bitterly. He closes his eyes again, he didn’t need to be asked questions, or checked on, just needed time to think. ‘You wanted a drive now you got one’ his mind laughs at him. He was tired, but he did need to think. He could make a run for it, leave without a word. But that wouldn’t be fair to Richie, would it? He’d do anything to keep Richie. Keep him happy, keep him in his life, whichever he meant, it still fits his description. He could pick a fight. He was good at that. He cheated on his wife, he would know how to cause problems.

If Richie were to see him at the hospital, which was likely, he could pick a fight. A quick, simple, small fight that he would enlarge, ruining every smile he received since the divorce. He wants to deserve Richie. He needs it. But he can’t just be that person. Plus, Richie would find out sooner or later, that he’s truly incapable of not fucking up love. The love in his marriage wasn’t real. He tried to remember if he ever thought it was. Hell, if he fucked up a love he only created in his head, how could he be capable of real fucking thing? He knew it sounded stupid, but his heart felt like it was being thrown into an incinerator, maybe that meant it wasn’t.

Its too much for him to handle, thats easy to admit, but to admit to himself that he’s so in love would be a little harder. He knew where this was headed before it even started, he was too much of a mess. He shut his eyes tighter. Richie has the perfect job for him now, he’s got his friends, he’s got a place, he should be fine without Eddie. Eddie was just scared, and incapable, and destructive, and defensive, and nothing that Richie would need.

He promised himself that night, seeing Myra cry and beg for him to stay, that love was too much. That he couldn’t handle hurting someone like that.  He hurt his mother so much as a child, she would always say so after Eddie would leave the house for longer than she’d said to. Was she really hurt? Eddie couldn’t tell anymore, he just knew that she didn’t like it. Myra was mostly the same, was hurt when ever Eddie would do something that he wanted to without telling her first. Seemed as if most of what he wanted wasn’t allowed.

He knew that it was trauma. That it was built into his head that he’s always hurting people. But he’s still scared. Its one thing to know what happened, its another to know how to deal with it. Eddie didn’t know the latter. He’s been trying, really, but in the early hours of the morning, when Richie would be sound asleep beside him, he’d wonder if he hurt Richie. He probably would. So, the best plan would be to leave, where Richie could forget about him, and go on as if he never existed, maybe then he couldn’t hurt Richie.

So, when Richie sees him in the hospital, worried and almost in tears, his heart twists.

“Eddie, what happened? Are you okay?” Richie rushes, Beverly, Ben, Stan, and Patty following behind. Eddie doesn’t bother to ask why.

“I'm fine,” he says stubbornly.

“What happened to you?”

“I went out for a run, got hit by a car, I’m fine though.”

“You aren’t fine, you got hit by a car,” Richie says loudly. Eddie wonders if this hurt him.

“So? I’m still breathing, Richie.”

“You’re still- you’re still breathing? So? Your fucking hurt I thought you were a risk analyst!”

“What? So you’re gonna get mad at me for getting hurt? It was an accident, I can do everything just fine. We can go back now, I’m not in any pain,” Eddie waves off. He really was in pain though, a throbbing headache, his sides feeling like they’ve been stabbed.

“We’re not going back, you have to stay here and heal, from… that!” Richie gestures to Eddie in the hospital bed.

“You can’t just tell me to stay here, I’m fine, this is my body anyway.”

“You’re being a dick, man.”

“Do I look like I care?”

“I’m trying to help you!”

“You’re not doing shit!”

Silence followed after that, Richie with tears in his eyes and Eddie trying to hold his back. ‘This is how to fix it’  he reminds himself, turning his head to face away from Richie.

“Well… how can I do something?” Richie asks softly.

Another minute of silence, “You can’t,” Eddie chokes out, “can you please just leave?”

“Okay.”

~~~

Richie, seated on a hard cold chair in the hospital, tries to breathe. Calling him a dick was probably unnecessary, he was hurt after all. That was probably his fault. Yeah, he was trying to help Eddie but he wasn’t doing it right. He did feel as if he was a bit controlling. Thats always what Connor would say. Every time he asked him where he was going, who that girl he was with was, why he wouldn’t come home at night. He was controlling.

He should apologize, he really is in love with Eddie. Mike and Bill are in Eddie’s hospital room right now, he should just go in there. A normal apology might not do it. He grinned. Everything fits into place. He just hopes Eddie says ‘yes.’

Richie Tozier, Stan And Patty Uris, And Ben and Beverly Marsh Buy A Ring

“I’m horrified,” Richie mumbles walking into the store. They were buying a ring now. Richie’s plans all fitting into place.  He had told Eddie that he went out to buy something, though, he doubts Eddie was really listening. Patty, Stan, Ben, and Beverly were here with him, they were the only ones who knew about the proposal.

He had the perfect plan. He’d replay the day they first kissed. Well, without the date of course. And seeing Walter and Maddison. (He still wonders how to fill that gap.) Pulling Eddie out of bed to take him to a different restaurant with a similar view to the one before. He didn’t want Eddie to exactly notice his plan so a normal too-early-watch-the-sunrise breakfast would do. He would take Eddie out around town, anywhere the wind took them, by sundown, they would be back, seated on the bench a ring in Richie’s hand and one knee on the ground. He had checked the weather for that day, it was most likely to rain that night, which fit perfectly to his plans. And, if not, it would work either way.

Maybe he’d play a game again, ask Eddie to marry him as they talked. He was still debating that part since Eddie talked about his divorce to Richie that day. Well, he mentioned it. Eddie wouldn’t really tell him things. It wasn’t something he really liked to do. He told Richie nothing about his divorce, his family, it's almost like it didn’t happen. But it affected Eddie, Richie could tell that. It slightly worried Richie. Eddie wouldn’t really let him in. Anything about his past seems to be missing, something long gone and thrown away. If Eddie didn’t want to talk about it, that was fine, sometimes Richie just hoped he would tell him sometimes. Richie just hoped that he could help.

“Don’t worry about it, Richie,” Patty says, smiling.

A quick thank you to Patty, “remind me again how you know Eddie’s ring size?” He asks Beverly.

“I helped him look for rings when he got married.”

“Oh God that makes it worse. What if he doesn’t wanna get married anymore? Did his divorce suck? He didn’t tell me much about it-“

“Richie,” Stan says, walking over to a jeweler. Richie walks over to a different one with Bev.

“You should ask him yourself, Rich. About his divorce. All I really know is that he loves you,” Beverly smiles after asking to see three different rings (which Richie thought was a bit extra.)

“I guess thats… yeah, thats a better idea.”

“I know you’re doing this again but, I mean, I’m really believing in this one, I’ve known Eddie a long time.”

Richie appreciated the comment in silence. He believed in this too. “You’re marriage has been perfect, how?”

Beverly was surprised by the question, “I guess, love? It isn’t that easy to explain, and everything I’m going to say would be cheesy as fuck, but yeah, I guess love would be it.”

“You and Ben are such sappy assholes,” Richie laughs, earning a playful punch to the shoulder from Beverly.

“When are you proposing anyway?”

“Saturday,” he smiles confidently.

The jeweller brought up the box of rings set inside the glass box. Beverly had chosen three. Two golden bands with matching circular diamonds embedded into it, a pair of golden rings with three blue diamonds, and the third, a silver ring with a large square diamond in its centre. Richie hated the last one for sure. He debated it for a few minutes, the first pair or the second.

“I’d say the gold one with the blue ones,” Stan says, coming up behind them.

“Yeah,” Richie smiled, “could you carve something on the inside of that?”

“Of course,” the jeweler replied, “just write down what you want,” he pulled out a piece of paper that Richie was sure wasn’t there and wrote ‘R + E’ The jeweler then explained the prices and the ring in words Richie would only dream to understand.

He was buying a ring for Eddie. He was going to try proposing, he was going to ask Eddie to marry him. The thought alone made Richie’s heart race, but he smiled. This love is worth a shot. This would work. Eddie wouldn’t do want Connor did to him. Eddie is kind, and brave and caring, and everything Richie could ask for. Richie wondered if the cheesier something sounds, the more true it is. It seemed to fit the definition.

“Hey, Rich?” Stan says beside him. Bev was off somewhere with Ben now, Patty was looking at a few necklaces, leaving Richie and Stan together.

“Yeah?”

“I’m really proud of you man,” he pats Richie’s shoulder.

“Thanks,” he smiled fondly.

“I was worried about you, man. After… Connor, I didn’t think you’d want to keep with it.”

“Eddie’s really amazing.”

“I can tell,” he smiles.

“Don’t take him from me. If you got that hot shit, Mike, you could probably get Eddie too.”

“Who- who told you that?” Stan asked punching Richie’s arm.

“What is it with people punching me?” He rubs his arm exaggeratedly.

Stan laughed, “‘cause you’re a dick.”

His phone rang, echoing around the store, gaining looks. ‘Eds Spaghetti’ flashed on his screen. “hey!”

“Sir, I have Mr. Edward Kaspbrak’s phone with me and you were on the emergency dial. He is in the hospital,” the woman on the other line gave an address, and Richie shut his phone to head to the hospital.

Eddie Kaspbrak, Bill Denbrough and Mike Hanlon Plan A Leave

“Eddie, are you sure about this? This is the one time its working out for you, we both think so,” Mike says sympathetically gesturing to him and Bill.

“I’ve made enough fucking mistakes I don’t wanna keep fucking shit up.”

“B-but you aren’t!” Bill argues, he opens his mouth to say more but Eddie cuts him off.

“I will, Bill. You know me just as well as I do, I can’t do this,” it hurts when he says that. He’s about to burst into tears, he knows it, so he breathes slowly.

“I haven’t seen you this happy, Eddie. This is… new. This is something thats good for you,” Mike has always been rational. The one to make decisions and the one to ask for help. But Eddie doesn’t need help. He doesn’t want to change what he thinks, he doesn’t want to be persuaded away, leading to what he knows will happen.

Bill and Mike are talking again, but he doesn’t want to hear anything else. He tries not to blink, the tears will probably fall the second he does. ‘This isn’t a mistake’, he thinks. He wants to think. There’s nothing for him here, nothing that can fix him. He’s going back to New York City, he’ll find an apartment, he’ll go to work, thats all. At this point, he doubts he’ll fall in love again. Richie might. Richie will, he likes to think. Someone better than he is. Someone who can give Richie what he deserves.

Richie told him about Connor. All the things he did, all the horrible words he said. Eddie hated it. He only wishes he could be with Richie for that long, Connor just wasted it. Sometimes he would wonder if Connor regrets it (or if he could make Connor regret it) and wondered if that would happen to him. When he leaves, would he regret it? If he was being selfish, probably. But he was doing this for Richie. This would be good for him. This is how you fix things.

“I’m going to do it,” he whispers, “I don’t care if you don’t think this is a good idea, sometimes I don’t think it is. But thats just me wanting to make things worse. I’m going.”

The tears were bursting out now, but Mike and Bill didn’t move (as much as it hurt them to do so.) “You c-can change y-your mind, Eddie. Y-you can change. I th-think you already have,” Bill says softly.

Eddie just sits there, his breathing is still mostly still steady. People always said that, that you could change. And most people can. He knows he can. But the risk of hurting someone while still just trying to change. That in-between point where your still figuring out what and how to change from the way you were before to the way you want to be. There is always a risk. Nothing is ever easy. He learned that.

Richie is someone he didn’t want to hurt. He’s gone through being hurt before, and its effects were pretty clear. Eddie could do that, Eddie probably will. This was inescapable. If he couldn’t hold himself back then, how would he do it now? With the ‘power of love’? Love exists he’s sure of that, but what would it be able to do? What would it be able to fix?

When Eddie’s in tears, all his anger goes away. All of the fire inside of him leaves. All there is the pain it has left. “I wish I thought the same as you, Bill,” he weakly laughed.  

Bill and Mike didn’t protest anymore, knowing it would be useless. Eddie’s going to leave Los Angeles on Saturday, and there’s no stopping him. They wonder if there ever was a way to. But they doubt it.

[suffering-and-happy-about-it]

Stan's Friend (Holy, Part 4.)

Series description: Your bestie Kim was a free-spirited person who wasn’t exactly concentrated on finding herself a partner. Yet one day, she recieves a phone number and this time, you didn’t want to keep the person on the other end hanging. And so, you text them, no matter who they are.

Part summary: Sydney realized who is the strange person texting her - not knowing she settled on a completely wrong person. 

A/N: I know that the role in the gif is Bev from IT, but, I mean, they are both equally cute, since portrayed by the same actress. Miss Sophia Lillis, you have the young queers shook, to put it simply. 

Word count: 2.5 K

Tagging: @nemodoren​ @deadpoolcouldshootme​

Sydney’s tape: go fuck yourself

Series masterlist: H E R E

Sydney was almost blowing up with excitement when the strange person texted her that... It's a regular thing now. This was flirting... Right? She just flirted. Online. The only thing that would turn her away from continuing would be the person being a boy.

After a short ride with Dina, she knew that girls are... Her stick. Boys were fine, they were cool and all - but not a real relationship option for Sydney. For example, Stan was the coolest Sydney ever had known. And they were the greatest friends.

When it came to a relationship with Dina... Yeah. The relationship was a short, yet intense ride. And when they both realized, they decided they were better off as friends. The relationship they had now was better than the one before. And also, they had way more weird, funny selfies.

So, that was probably the only thing Sydney wanted from a relationship - for her significant other not to have a weenie. The other thing was to get along with their personalities.

When Stanley asked her, what kind of type she has, her head was empty. Syd wasn't able to say a single word regarding what she loves in girls. She liked something else on each of her small crushes. No-one was perfect, no-one was bad in particular. Every girl was different. And every girl was beautiful.

That was the deal. Every fucking girl was beautiful. Sydney was sometimes overwhelmed when she sat in the cafeteria and suddenly, all the beauty hit her face. Fast and hard, oh, yeah.

"The thing is... Drumrolls... I'm kinda texting with someone." - Syd told to Stan with both her fists shoved into the pockets of her jacket, walking around the small pavement in front of her school. Stan popped his eyes out with surprise in his face, motioning for her to continue. - "That's it. I don't know who they are, I don't know if it's a girl, a boy, or someone else... And I'm interested. The whole secret is out." - She finished while Stanley sat there with her knee over the other one, his chin supported with the back of his palm.

"On the other hand, before the break came, I heard you kinda have something going on?" - Sydney asked suggestively, sitting right next to him. - "I have something going on? Well, come on, tell me. I didn't know until now." - Stan smiled and bumped his shoulder to hers. - "Someone heard the conversation after the big exam. You know... The biology one. You and... What's her name again? Laura?" - Syd tried to guess. Yet when Stan figured what she's talking about, he started to laugh out loud.

"You mean Y/N? That cute girl who sits like two rows behind me? Oh, that's great." - Stanley proceeded to a bigger wave of laughter. He looked almost hysterical while doing it. - "I wish she would be interested. I wish, man." - "But everyone's saying they heard you proposing to her and her saying it back?" - "It was a damn joke. There's... Nothing going on between me and her. Unfortunately." - Stan snickered once more, having a breaking smile on her face.

"You'll have to tell everyone in the school then. Give it a week and you'll be married or worse... Pregnant." - "What's wrong with being pregnant?" - Syd's best friend asked back, cracking at the terror in her face. Yet before she could get into the great terrors in great detail, someone had joined their small group.

And when Sydney realized who it was, her breath hitched. It was Kim. The pansexual girl from her English class. Also known as one of the girls Sydney had a crush on. The one who she sent her number at the concert. Her number. The concert. A sudden realization suddenly flashed over Syd's head. Hoooly fuck. Holy fuck. Holy... Fuck.

Sydney took a long, deep breath and tried to keep herself composed. With all the gay panic she possessed, her gaze fell on Stanley. But Barber didn't pay her any attention.

"Hey, Stan, what's up?" - The incomer smiled at Stanley, performing some kind of a handshake. Sydney was watching every move the girl did, she watched the girl's smile, the posture... Everything. God. She was so hot. - "Pretty good, man, pretty good. How was the break?" - Barber asked back, performing his part of the supersecret handshake.

"We were out of the town, drinking with some friends." - The girl rolled her eyes, making the beanie on the top of her head look presentable. Sydney's grimace fell even deeper into the horror state, further realizing who Kim could be. - "You?" - "I was working in the local bowl alley, making sure everyone had everything they needed." - "You did a bad fucking job." - Kim responded, having Stan's mouth hanging open. - "I sold you at least seven gs just for the damn four-day break. What did you guys do to it, you fed it to the cows?" - Stan wiggled his eyebrows once more, finally picking up his stuff to get ready for the school day starting soon.

Sydney followed a couple of friends closely, still having that gay panic inside of her. Should she come forward? Should she just ask? Should she go for it? No, she shouldn't. No. No, she had to do it. Maybe. No, it was bullshit. But suddenly, she heard herself saying...

"Did you like the clouds on Monday?" - Syd got out of herself suddenly, putting the conversation flow between Stan and Kim on hold. The girl turned at Sydney with a weird emotion in her face. - "What did you say?" - "I asked if... If you... Liked the clouds on Monday. They were pink... And blue... And..."

"I hadn't even notice, to be honest. I must've missed a great fucking view." - Kim answered and took the strap of her backpack to her palm. Just as the panic and revelation came in, the same way if suddenly left her body. So... Kim wasn't the one texting her. If she would be the one, she'd surely know about the sky. Or maybe she was drunk as fuck. That was probably that.

As the school day progressed on, she was still in something similar to a trance. It was kind of a miracle that there existed the slightest chance of Kimberly being the girl texting her. And although her ego almost shot through the roof the Brownsville, there was something telling her... This can't be. It was too good to be true.

For real - she was as wrong as she could be. Kimberly was nowhere near to be the strange person texting her. Why? She forced the number to someone else in the first place, didn't she? And the girl to who she was texting was sitting in the cafeteria with her forehead forced to the desk of the table as she almost gave up on her highschool studies once again. - "I can't do this Kim." - "You can. You're just too much of a dingus to know that." - Your best friend mumbled through her teeth as she played with her mashed potatoes. - "Now. My life is literally over. I shall pass now." - "It's just PE, Y/N, Jesus. Stop whining." - "I can tell teached I have period." - Your eyes widened with excitement. Suddenly, you felt the life passing through you. - "No, you did that last week, dingus." - Kimberly mouthed and looked at you dying on the table again.

At that moment, Brock and Aaron finally joined the table - the boy looked at you laying on the table with real tears in your eyes. Aaron being your best buddy, he already knew what was going on - Brock was a bit scared by the way you looked. At least until Aaron asked the question. - "It's PE day again?" - The quarterback sighed as he watched your sad face. - "You are an athlete, idiot, you wouldn't get what I'm going through." - At that, both Kim and Aaron exchanged a quick glance over the full plates of food.

No matter how hard you tried to riot against it, the PE was still coming. Your mind couldn't make the whole class simply disappear - that would be fucking cool if you could do that, though. As usual, you ran so much that you almost puked out your lungs, your limbs almost fell down from your body and your head was spinning heavily. And Kim did give you the piss for that, naturally. When this torture was over finally, you were allowed to go home. Jesus, did you take this grace with a big smile on your face? You were happy. Genuienly happy. Possibly no-one in the whole class was so much anti-PE as you were.

For the first time in the last few weeks, you didn't mind being at home just to study. This time, you could text with the friend on the other side of the screen. This filled you with excitement - just to know what are they like. Sure, there was this pressure of realization that one day, you'll be very interested in who they actually were. Yet for now, it was as innocent as it gets.

All you texted about was your day at school - further proving that you have the same teachers, you are going to the same school and that you possibly have some classes together. Just when you were about to end the whole conversation, since it got fairly late and it was already late along with you being tired beyond physically possible. Yet at the moment you realized that someone's standing in your garden, blasting their flashlight into your damn window. Slowly, you walked to the window to take a good look at the person. It wasn't Kim or Aaron, at least you thought so, because they would just text to you bring your fat ass outside because they want to talk with you.

After quite a moment, you realized it's Stanley fucking Barber standing in there - and most noticeably, he was barefooted. Quickly, you glanced over the phone screen, typing a quick text before putting on a sweatshirt. - "What the hell are you doing here? And who told you where I live?" - You whisper-shouted after you managed to manouvre through the quiet and dark house. Your parents were already asleep. And since it was eleven in the evening, you should be asleep too. But instead of that, you were walking through your garden to a barefooted fool standing there. - "I wanted to talk to you, apologize and..." - He quickly whipped a joint out of his shirt. - "I brought you something to help you forgiving me." - This didn't make any sense. For what was he apologizing? Sure, the joint caught your eye, but this was a nonsense.

"Let's move to the gazebo in the park. I don't want our garden smelling like we grow weed here." - You stated swiftly and led Stan out of your garden. - "But how do you know where I live? This is fucking creepy, Barber." - It was getting a bit calmer inside of you. Finally, you weren't near your house with a barefoot weed dealer - so your parents couldn't see something they shouldn't see. - "I asked your friend, that tall football boy. I explained what's going on and it seems that he also already knew about what happened." - Stan looked at you with a sweet smile.

"I've heard that I'm dating you, yeah. Everyone heard about this." - There was nothing true about you liking Stanley or you and him dating. But it was just a rumour going between the people, maybe it had some post on your school's social media for what you could know. You knew that this story will be gone in a month or so. After the Christmas holiday, there will be at least one girl who will be proclaimed a whore or worse, she'd be pregnant. This was just a short-timed story. - "It's kinda impossible to miss. But I don't care." - "I also... Don't care." - Stan shrugged his shoulders, looking at you intensely. For a moment, he got so close that you felt the need to move away for a bit. - "Yeah. That's your brand, ain't it? You are the mister of zero fucks. Or so I've heard."

Finally, the gazebo was in front of you - so you both took a position that was comfortable for both of you and then, you watched Stanley lighting up the joint. Your phone buzzed inside your pocket, catching the boy's stare. - "Who's that? A secret lover?" - The boy bit his lower lip as he leaned closer to you, clearly quite meaning the question even through his playful tone. - "I wish. It's probably Kim telling me about another of her crushes." - Quickly, you glanced over the screen and even if you realized that it's the girl you've been texting with, you tried to roll your eyes. Stan gave you the joint and you nodded before taking in a lot of smoke inside your lungs, keeping it in.

"I didn't know anyone would hear that... You know... The biology thing." - Stan started to talk about another thing once more. It was possibly the first time that you've seen the mister of zero fucks giving some form of a fuck. - "I told you Stan. Don't think about it. It's just a fucking rumor." - With this, you put the joint back to Stan's hand. There was a long silence - and when you looked at Stanley, seeing the boy watching you back, you understood what that was about. Your expression changed drastically - your mouth opened just as much as your eyes. Stanley was bringing up something more than a rumor. Maybe expecting to come out as more than a rumor from this gazebo night.

"Stan... No. No. No." - It was almost funny, the way you shook your head at the speed of light. You had about two minutes before the joint kicks on - so this friendzoning had to happen quickly and emotionlessly. - "Don't take this seriously, Stan, you're a good guy... But I'm fresh after break-up and even though it seems that I like you, it's just your view of the situation. It's quite literally inside your head, okay? We're barely friends... So... Let's keep it on barely friends level, yea?" - This rant was so quick that Stan almost didn't catch a single word. And when it was over, he started to laugh out loud; he was laughing like a psycho. - "I was just curious. Now I know and I'll keep it cool, come on, sit down. You're tripping me out, man." - Once again, Stanley gave you back the joint, nodding at you. With a shy smile, you accepted it once again and sit the fuck down so you wouldn't trip Stanley out anymore.

That night, you both got super fucking high and had a great time, because Stanley Barber was such a cool dude. And it was a privilege to have him as your friend.

[eds-trashmouth]

PolyJAMorous

A/N: hi I hate this! But it’s here and it’s not what I intended but I hope you like it regardless. I’ve also decided that people probably don’t care about word count and all that so I’m not going to put it on anymore (unless you guys want me to) Thank you for the support and the next one will be better. I promise ❤️

-

A road trip was certainly not how the losers thought they would be spending their summer break before they all packed up and headed off to college. Yet, Richie had the bright idea to make the trip from Derry, Maine to Colorado. He’d come up with the idea a week or so into the start of their senior year. Luckily they’d had all school year to plan and save up money.

Richie got a job at the Aladdin, the local theater, taking tickets and cleaning up after the shows. He ended up making decent money and buying a used suv by the middle of the year. He had to cut out smokes but Eddie says it’s better that way. He’d do anything for Eddie so giving up cigarettes was nothing, although on his very stressful days Bev was nice enough to share a cig or two with him.

Eddie on the other hand, wasn’t allowed to get a job. Mrs. K turned down that idea almost immediately, yelling about how any job he would get as a teenager would be flipping burgers and she couldn’t have her precious Eddiebear flipping burgers in a “disgusting” fast food place. So, he decided he would tutor some underclassmen after school. He had put up flyers around campus to try to get some tutoring jobs but ultimately he didn’t get that many. He even tried to back out of the trip because he felt bad for having less than everyone else. Richie was the first to shut that idea down. “You’re going Spaghetti. Even if I have to pay for you myself. It’s a losers trip. Gotta have all seven of us!”

It took Beverly until the middle of the school year to finally find a job. Through no fault of her own, it seems that when the whole town thinks you’re dirty as a child, you don’t find many people who forget that kind of thing. She eventually landed a job with Richie at the theater. She suspected the Trashmouth himself had something to do with that, but she knew he’d never tell.

Now, Mike and Stan had a pretty easy time finding work. They’d been together since Sophomore year and Stan loved helping out on the farm, so Mike asked his grandfather if they could get paid for some of the farm work. It took a little convincing but by the third week of school, Mike and Stan were already getting their first week of pay. Stan definitely enjoyed rubbing it in Richie’s face that he got to see his boyfriend and get paid to do so. Maybe Richie took a quick glance at Eddie when he did so. Maybe he didn’t.

Bill also had a pretty easy time finding work. There was a new YMCA opening up in Derry and Bill already had experience lifeguarding for the past two summers so he applied to work at their pool. Obviously he got it, and he even snuck the losers in a few times for a late night swim.

Ben had been working at the library since sophomore year so he didn’t have to do much worrying. He had the money saved up by December, and a little extra for Eddie just incase. Although, Richie already called dibs on paying for Eddie. Even if Eddie didn’t know it yet.

Today was finally the day. They’d made it through the school year and even stayed for graduation. The losers had all met up at Richie’s to help get ready for the trip. The sun was blazing down upon them as they packed everything into the van. Each loser had a duffle bag and they’d brought a cooler filled with lunchables, sodas, and flavored waters requested by Stan and Eddie. It didn’t take too long to load everything and hit the road.

Richie insisted on taking the first shift driving. The trip was a whole days worth of travel, inevitably they would need to stop for gas, food, and possibly even a hotel but Richie was determined to drive as much as he could before stopping. This trip was his baby, he’d been planning it all year. They hadn’t really set a destination yet, other than Colorado, the whole idea was to just decide to stop somewhere pretty. Of the losers, Richie, Ben, Bill, and Mike were the only ones with a license, they’d done the math and needed to switch every 7 hours or so.

“What are these idiots thinking?!” From the passenger seat, Eddie rolled his eyes. The roads were bustling by mid day, and the cars were just flying by. “Don’t they know the speed limit is only 70? They’re going to cause an accident.”

“Eds, I’m only going 65. They’re probably going like 75 or 80.”

“Well regardless, that’s still over the speed limit Richie! It’s dangerous!” Eddie was talking with his hands, overly exaggerating everything, giving it the emphasis he always seemed to. Richie couldn’t help but glance at the boy beside him. He smiled fondly as Eddie noticed his attention. “Eyes on the road Chee!”

“Would you two lovebirds q-quit bickering? I’m t-trying to nap before it’s my turn to drive.” Richie peeked into his rear view mirror to see Bill with his eyes still closed and his head on Ben’s shoulder in the very back seat. Ben didn’t seem to mind the intrusion, his attention was fully on the game Beverly was playing next to him. Stan and Mike were seated in the middle of the vehicle, a bench seat to share, and wearing one earbud each watching Netflix. Richie would’ve gagged had he not fully intended on doing the same with Eddie once he was done driving.

“Let’s listen to some classic Richie tunes then Spaghetti! Everyone else is doing they’re own thing.” He could see Eddie roll his eyes once more in his peripheral vision before he leaned down to get the aux cord for Richie. He laid his hand out, waiting for Richie’s phone, which he gladly handed over. “Alright, I wanna listen to something good. Let me think.”

“I’m playing something while you decide then.” Eddie already went to work, plugging in the aux and setting up the radio. He opened the phone with his thumb and in seconds was on Richie’s Spotify. Richie couldn’t help but think how much of a routine this was. Just for them. None of the losers had their thumb print on his phone, everyone else had to ask how to work the radio or where his aux was, but not Eddie. His Eddie.

“No Jonas Brothers. That’s my only request.”

“You love them, don’t pretend to be hardcore.” Eddie was already scrolling down his playlist to search. Before long a familiar beat filled the air. A Jonas Brothers song.

“Don’t out me like that, and then play my favorite JB song. You can’t do me like that Eds.”

“Not my name, and this is your punishment for calling Spaghetti as well.” Don’t Throw It Away off their newest album blessed the speakers. Richie couldn’t stop himself and soon began screaming the lyrics at the top of his lungs. His fingers tapped happily to the beat, while he danced in his seat. As the chorus hit and Richie had given into the music, he glanced over to see Eddie recording him.

“I know I’m famous but no pictures please. I’m just trying to live my truth!” Richie’s hand came up to cover the camera while he let out a loud laugh. Eddie was too quick for him though and moved the phone right out of his reach, leaning into the side door.

“Hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. You wouldn’t want us to die before we even get to Colorado would you? And besides, I have to document the trip. This is the last trip that we all get to have together before we move on.”

“I’ll never move on from you Spaghetti.” With his eyes still on the road, Richie tried grabbing for Eddie’s cheek only to get smacked away from the boy himself.

“Ha ha. Very funny Trashmouth. You know what I mean. We all have our own livings waiting for us when we get back. I want to remember this. Remember us Chee.” Out of the corner of his eyes Richie could see the slight flush on the boys face. “The losers that is. All of us.”

“Eddie,” Beverly spoke up from the back. “You know we’ll still be best friends right? Us going to college doesn’t change that. We can still have movie nights and study dates. Sure, it’ll be different because it’ll be through a screen but we will still be together. Once a loser, always a loser.”

The car fell into a comfortable silence after that. Richie’s mind always wondering to Eddie. This trip was really important to him, and Richie didn’t even know it. Eddie hadn’t told him and he hadn’t noticed. What kind of best friend is he? He couldn’t even see how worried Eddie was about the future. The future of the losers club. Of course Richie knew they’d always be together in some way, but he shouldn’t have assumed Eddie was feeling the same.

“Hey Eds,” Richie made sure to talk quietly, a conversation just for them. Eddie turned his attention from the road to Richie with a slight hum. “You know you’re my best friend right? And nothing will ever change that. Not even distance.” Eddie nodded in understanding but turned back to the window. Richie glanced at the time. They’d been driving for about 6 hours at that point, and the gas tank was getting pretty low.

“Alright. We’re stopping, we need some gas and then it’ll be Big Bill’s turn.” There was a chorus of okays as he looked for an exit with a gas station. Luckily the next one was only 10 miles down the road. He pulled off the exit and into a Speedway. “Go pee now! No accidents in my baby please!”

Everyone did their business and Bill paid for this round of gas. Richie checked the cooler to find only four more lunchables and a few flavored waters. He grabbed for the extra soda he’d packed to fill up the cooler again, making a mental note that they all needed a proper meal soon. Everyone piled back into the suv, Bill and Ben in the front, Stan and Mike once again on their middle seat, and Eddie Richie and Bev on the back bench seat. Then they were back on the road.

“Hey Eds, do you wanna watch some Netflix or something? I brought earbuds.” Eddie was in the middle of him and Bev and currently watching Bev play whatever game on her Switch. He’d been watching her since they left the gas station about an hour ago and Richie was jealous. Not of Beverly of course, just that she was getting Eddie’s attention. Richie had already listen to her explain her game to him, twice, and he wanted some Eddie time.

“Maybe later Rich. Bev is just about to beat this level but she only has like four units left. It’s really intense.” He didn’t even glance in Richie’s direction. If he would’ve, he would see the pout on his face and the hurt in his eyes.

“I don’t know what that means. What game are you even playing?” He was still pouting.

“Fire Emblem dude. I’ve already said that like five times since you’ve been back here. The new game came out and I’m obsessed. You get an X amount of fighters, they all have different abilities, and you have to try to kill all the enemies on the board. This game makes you a professor, so you have to train your students. This is a big deal. My class is about to kick ass. Now shush. It’s intense.”

“Sorry.” Eddie barely spoke as he continued watching Bev. Richie simply hung his head and plugged in his earbuds. He knew he was being a little ridiculous but he couldn’t help it. He’d spent 6 hours driving so it’s not like Eddie got much of his attention, and he deserved all of it. That just wasn’t in the cards this trip it seemed. It didn’t take long for Richie to get bored of Netflix, he was just watching old episodes of Criminal Minds anyways. Not even his guilty pleasure show could lift his mood. Looking over at Eddie once more, the other lad was still watching Beverly, but he also had his phone out on Instagram. Beverly had already finished the battle and he wasn’t even fully watching her. Yet, he hadn’t said a word to Richie. He’d be lying if he said that didn’t hurt, but he didn’t blame him. He wouldn’t want to be annoyed for hours either. Unless it was Eddie annoying him of course.

Richie went back to his own little world, turning on his ‘sad boi’ playlist, it felt fitting. He knew it was silly, but he felt like a fool. Of course Eddie would rather do anything else than spend this trip with Richie. This was his last trip with most of their friends, but Richie was going to UCLA with him. Why would he want to spend time with him? He already had to spend at least four more years with his annoying friend who made stupid jokes that weren’t even funny...and was secretly in love with him.

Fuck.

Richie’s mind was jerked to consciousness as the car came to a stop. He didn’t even remember falling asleep. With a yawn, he lifted his head off the arm of the seat. Man, his neck was killing him. As he cracked his neck he wondered how he even fell asleep lying on that in the first place. The doors were slammed open as everyone filed out one by one. Richie being the last to emerge, he caught a glimpse of the Taco Bell beside them and realized he was indeed starving.

“Lets fucking eat!” Beverly exclaimed running toward the restaurant doors. Everyone followed suit and mumbled their agreement. Eddie fell behind with Richie.

“Hey Chee. Did you have a nice sleep?” Richie didn’t even bother lifting his head as he simply shrugged. His mind was still elsewhere. He’d never admitted to himself that the things he was feeling were more than platonic but now it’s the only thing he could think of. The way he enjoyed the other boy’s attention, his eyes, his lips, his whole fucking face. He wasn’t ready to reveal his feelings so he suppressed them, even if it meant ignoring Eddie. He was sure Eddie would be relived anyways.

“Did you wanna watch Netflix after we eat? I’ve been looking forward to that Blake Anderson movie you downloaded.” Richie finally looked at him, honestly in shock that the other still wanted something to do with him. Which was a mistake. He shouldn’t have looked, then he wouldn’t have caught the sun in Eddie’s eyes.

“Nah it’s okay Eds. You can keep watching Bev play, I don’t mind.” Richie waved him off as they stepped inside.

“But I want to! Have you seen the trailer for Game Over Man? It looks fucking hilarious.”

“Oh. Sure, you can watch it. I think I’m just going to drive the rest of the way. I took a nap.” With that, Richie walked to the register to order. The other losers were already sat a table toward the back, waiting for their food. Eddie could pretend to want to spend time with him, but Richie could tell he wasn’t interested in the car. What would change that now? He had accepted it, and just wanted to drive. It helped him get away. Neither boy spoke the entire time they were eating, while the others engaged in casual conversation. If they noticed the two being quiet they didn’t mention it.

“Hey. I’m going to drive. I napped.” Richie grabbed the keys from Bill as he started toward the drivers side. He didn’t wait for a reply as he got in and started the suv. They had around 8 more hours until the reached Colorado and Richie intended on driving the entire way. It seemed like every could sense the tension but was too afraid to say anything. By the 20 hours mark everyone in the back was sleeping soundly while Richie jammed out. Everyone except Eddie. He’d been listening to Richie play half a song then change it, then listen to half another song then change it, and so on, for the past hour and a half. Richie knew he was probably being annoying, but he was more interested in keeping his mind off his own insecurities than noticing. It took another five songs for Eddie to finally snap.

“What the fuck Richard? Why do you keep changing the song?! Let one finish.” Richie didn’t need to look at him to know he was rolling his eyes, and probably pouting as well.

“Eds, did you just meme me? The meme lord.”

“First of all. No one says meme lord anymore. Second of all. We haven’t listened to a full song in hours, and it’s driving me insane.”

“I have multiple favorite songs and I love them equally. What can I say? I’m polyjamorous.”

“Ugh. Just shut up and pick a fucking song already.” Eddie turned his body to look out the window as he went silent and crossed his arms. Richie didn’t say another word, simply choosing a playlist and letting it play. This was going to be the longest five hours of Richie’s life. He hated making Eddie upset, but he didn’t want to open his dumb mouth and make everything worse. He always made everything worse...

“Hey, uh, Eds?” Richie finally broke the silence, Eddie had been staring out the window for two hours now and Richie was starting to worry. “I’m sorry about the music.” Eddie’s attention snapped to him as he turned back to him.

“That’s not why I’m upset idiot. Why are you being like this? We barely talked this entire trip! I was really looking forward to this, but now I’m just thinking it was a mistake.” Richie sneaked a glance in his direction before turning back to the road. He saw Eddie’s hurt expression and suddenly felt like an asshole.

“You made it pretty clear earlier that you weren’t interested in watching anything with me. I was just making it easier for you, by taking myself out of the equation. You can do what you wanna do now.”

“What? What are you talking about? I literally asked if you would watch it with me!”

“I know you only asked because I seemed down. But I’m okay Eds. You could’ve watched Bev play more. I didn’t take it personally don’t worry.” Richie tried to give a smile but it didn’t even meet his eyes.

“No Chee. I am worried. You’re talking non sense. I asked because I wanted to spend time with you. Dumbass. I was only watching Beverly because you needed to sleep! You’d just driven like seven hours in the early morning and I know you don’t sleep at night.” Richie’s eyes widened at Eddie’s words. He was officially speechless. Eddie wanted to spend time with him? He was just worried?...about Richie’s well-being? No way. No way Richie had misread the entire situation. No way.

“Richie. If you don’t say something I’m going to be more upset. Just being honest.” Eddie’s arms were once again crossed.

“I...don’t know what to say. I thought you seemed really disinterested in Netflix...with me.”

“I’d watch anything with you.” Eddie’s voice was so soft, Richie had to lean closer to even hear him.

“But...why?”

“Because I love you. You big dumb idiot.” Richie’s hands gripped the steering wheel as his brain processed what was just said. Platonic Richie. Platonic. He means it platonically....doesn’t he? Of course he does.

“Richie...” Eddie’s voice was soft once again as he leaned over to lay his hand on Richie’s. “When we stop, we should really talk.”

-Taglist

@richietoaster @geckolover001 @pennys-pet-kitty @aesteddie @elhopps @summerxle @mexicanqt @punkrocktozier @richietczicr @tozier-club @kristashae @princesass-theresa @dandeliontozier @doctor-lobster @queennugget3 @halfway-happy353 @reddieafterdark @beep-beep-reddie @hmufinn @stanuterus @not-reddie @curlywheelers @i-is-gazebo @temptedtozier @reddie-to-fight @girasol-eddie @mirandonsky @annoyingtozier @sedanleystanley @richieshawaiianshirts @tyrror @slingingwingingspidey @themarvelousmissmadge @eddiefuckinkaspbrak @constantreaderfool @muffin-berry @eddiekazier @reddie-to-go @did-someone-say-reddie @queen-sock

Let me know if you’d like to be tagged or removed! (Or your name changed or something)

[kiki-wiccan]

The Fire {Self Write/Big Plot Arc}

It had been a relatively normal day for Kiki she had gone to work another double shift and was now home in bed reading. It had become normal for her mom to text her at night just to see how her day went and vice versa. So when her phone buzzed she casually picked it up and glanced at the notification. It was from her mom as expected but the message was what caused Kiki to set down her book and sit up. “The fuck....” she stared at the message as though processing what she was just sent. ‘The house is on fire’ was this some kind of joke? She quickly texted back. ‘Is this a joke? Did grandma accidentally start a kitchen fire? The extinguisher is in the kitchen’ sending the text she wasn’t completely on alert yet. She simply thought maybe a small kitchen fire had been started. She went to pick her book back up when her phone went off again. She read the text out loud trying to make sense of the awful spelling as it seemed rushed. ‘Kiki the house is actually on fire....called department we are trapped upstairs’ she felt her blood run cold and she shot up from her bed. Immediately pressing the call button and held the phone up to her ear waiting for her mom to answer. She didn’t however and she heard her phone buzz again. “fuck....” she read over the text she couldn’t talk on the phone right now too much smoke. ‘The fire department is coming you said?! Just try to find a way out I’m on my way’ after sending the text she grabbed her purse and dashed outside to her car. Once getting in and sticking the key in the ignition, if she were to drive there it would take her a few hours. Kiki didn’t have that kind of time right now, she sat there in thought until....“ELIDI!” With her teleporting magic they would definitely be able to get there quick. She turned on her car and backed out of her apartment complex. Trying her best not to speed though she most certainly went faster than the speed limit when no other cars were in front of her. Her eyes glancing down at her phone every now and again to see if her mother had messaged back.

Pulling into Elidis driveway she jumped out of her car and ran up to the door banging on it. “ELIDI ELIDI!!!” Waiting for her mentor to answer it as she stared down at her phone. Still nothing, she was hoping the fire department had made it there by now and that her not answering was because she was being wheeled for smoke inhalation or some shit to the hospital. When Elidi wouldn’t answer she huffed and banged again, it seemed the witch wasn’t home which wasn’t good. Remembering a conversation the witch and her had awhile back she knew there was a spell for teleporting. Kiki being fascinated with her mentors normal transportation had inquired about it and the witch had said she had an old spell in one of her books that they could do sometime. She sent Elidi a text and reached into her purse fishing out the key that had been given to her to feed Binx and water plants. She unlocked the door and stepped inside. Binx who had likely been lounging somewhere in the house came scurrying in and meowed at Kiki. “Hey Binx I’m sorry I can’t pay attention to you right now” she quickly walked past the black cat and into the living room where one of the witches bookshelves were. Her eyes scan through titles as she pulls out ones that had the word spells anywhere in the title. As she pulled out all the books she needed, she let herself fall back on her bottom and began flipping through the pages. Her eye focused on finding the word ‘teleport’ feeling Binx brush up against her back she didn’t even look over. Her complete focus was on finding that spell though she’d glance at her phone every now and again to see if her mother had sent any texts. Going through several books her hope began to falter, so far she wasn’t finding the spell. “Come on....” she muttered to herself as she cracked open another book. Her eyes scanning the pages until finally, she found it. “Teleporting spell....” looking at the needed ingredients for the spell she shot up and started going around the house. By now she knew nearly every inch and where most things were located.

Hearing a buzz from her phone she gets momentarily distracted. Hoping that it was her mother texting her that they were safe. However that hope faded when she saw it was Stan, the one time she was disappointed in seeing his name on her screen. With their bond he could sense her emotions and was checking up on her, she quickly texted that she was alright and everything was fine. Getting back to work she went around the house with the open book in her hand. Gathering everything she needed and bringing it back to the living room area. She sat down on the floor and began creating the symbol needed from the items she’d gathered. Binx was sitting just a few feet away watching the wiccan intently. Glancing back at the book she read over in her mind the words she needed to chant. Once she felt confident enough she grabbed her purse as slung it over her shoulder, standing in the middle of the symbol. Calming her nerves as she needed to completely focus on the place she wanted to teleport to. Teleporting inside of her house was a thought that crossed her mind. But what good would be be trapped inside as well? She settled for a safer location, the big oak tree that she used to climb in their front yard. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath as the words left her mouth. Feeling a similar sensation throughout her body as she did when Elidi would teleport them.

Opening her eyes she was greeted with a sight that made her heart sink. Her home, the house she grew up in was completely burned down. Crime scene tape already covering the area near the house. That was the first thing she noticed, then the smell of smoke still in the air even though there was no sign of flames. From the corner of her eye she noticed the flashing lights from the cop cars, ambulance and fire truck. Her eyes scanned the area as she attempted to make out any figures that could be her grandmother and mother. It wasn’t until she saw two gurneys by the ambulance with white sheets over them. Tears pricked they corners of her eyes as her breathing sped up. She had been too late hadn’t she? Before she knew it her feet were taking her towards the gurneys she could hear people calling for her. Walking right up to one of the gurneys she ripped the sheet off and nearly stumbled backwards. The smell of rotting flesh met her nose as her wide hues stared at what she could barely make out to be her mother. Feeling someone grab her wrist and yank her back from the bodies she snaps out of her shock. Two policemen begin shooting questions at her, by the look in their eyes they seemed to be suspicious. Kiki tried pulling herself together and made up a story of being at a friends house and getting a text. Claiming she ran all the way home and had just gotten there. Pulling out her phone she showed the cops the texts between her and her mother. They had wanted her to come down to the station but she refused and even if it was their job they didn’t really seem fond of doing it. She wondered if they knew who she was, who her family was? It was likely since rumors and news spread around the town fast. Complying with the officers questions she allowed herself to answer everything the best she could. Words that didn’t even make it to her ears or register in her brain left her lips. The whole situation hadn’t full processed through her brain and she seemed to be on auto pilot.

The only time she tuned back in was when they mentioned that the fire was likely an arson. They claimed it was too dark currently to do a full investigation but they’d come by tomorrow to continue. Mentions of what would happen to the bodies came up and Kiki agreed cremation would be the best route. Considering how badly burnt the bodies had been and the costs of a funeral. She hesitantly gave them her contact information and they promised they’d be in contact. One of the cops offered her a ride but the other cop stopped him midway and bid her a goodnight. So they did seem to know who lived in this house and who she was. It was apparent through the whole conversation, the facial expressions, the tones, and body language from the officers. By then the ambulance had left with the bodies of the two most important people in Kikis life and so had the fire truck. She stood still and watched as the red and blue lights of the cop cars faded into the distance. Left in darkness with only the moonlight illuminating the yard. It was when everything was eerily quiet that the situation started registering in her mind and she fell to her knees letting out a pained cry. She sat there for a few minuets and just allowed herself to weep. Her breathing ragged as she wiped away at her eyes. Standing up on two shaky legs she allowed herself to stare upon what had once been her home. It was all gone, they were gone, this was happening, was this happening? It had to be a nightmare. Stuck in her mind debating wether this was fiction or reality she didn’t even notice someone from her past approach her.

“Hello Isabella” hearing that name caused her entire body to tense up as her eyes went wide. She slowly turned towards the voice and terror ran through her veins. The one person, the one thing she feared the most was standing before her. “You....” her voice was hoarse as she took several steps back. What was he doing here?! Had he started the fire? Reaching for her phone she was about to dial 911 but her cell was swiftly snatched from her hand. “Now that isn’t a very nice way to greet an old friend is it Isabella?” Her teeth gritting and jaw clenching as her old name was used. A grin stretched across his face as he saw how Kiki was reacting. “You know it’s a shame...your mother and grandma were really great people. After you left I’d often come by and have tea. It really is a pity that they ended up paying for your sins.” He stepped closer and grabbed Kikis wrist pulling her closer. “The whole town turned against them. They were afraid Isabella, afraid of you. I did my absolute best to help them...heard they had plans to move to Tabula....” his eyes narrowed momentarily at the mention of the supernatural ridden city. “Y...you started t...the fire didn’t you!!” She finally managed to yell out despite how scared she was. “Oh me? No of course not I’d never do such a thing. I have a reputation to maintain remember? I just happened to hear the chaos and came to investigate. I still walk along the paths we used to.” What a liar! She could see the lies through the glimmer in his eyes. Before she could even think she reached up with her free hand to smack him. Of course he was quicker and caught her hand, letting her phone he was holding fall to the ground. He roughly threw her to the ground before kneeling down and moving over her. Grabbing her wrists he held them down, Kiki squirmed and screamed out in a complete panic. This position was familiar, they’d been like this before and she knew that he was trying to frighten her. But she was already terrified of this man, her old art professor whom she had fallen for so long ago. “P...please James...” familiar words escaping her mouth as she pleaded. “You know if you stuck around and actually took responsibility for your actions instead of abandoning your family they’d still be here. This whole situation is your fault Isabella. Because of you they ended up burning to a crisp.” He leaned his face towards her own and she turned her head. Feeling his lips near her ear as he whispered. “Like all witches they had to burn....” with that being said he got up off of the wiccan. “Supernaturals don’t belong on this earth, and they definitely don’t belong in this town. It was nice to see you again Isabella, I have a feeling we will see eachother again rather soon!” With that he turned on his heel and walked off. Turning to her side the girl curled up and began to cry again. Her family was gone, she was alone, the town she had ran away from had once again broken her.