#maybe he just throws it into the bowl from off camera

[ninyard]

The foxes would do the craziestttt trauma dump candy salad tik tok

“My names Kevin and I brought sour worms?”

“Kev, you have to trauma dump. Say something traumatising.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s funny?”

“Trauma isn’t funny. I don’t understand why-“

Quick cut away from him to Matt who’s there like, “My names Matt and my dad was the first person to give me cocaine and I brought jolly ranchers!”

[yestrday]

bro like

imagine if reader and housewife scara had a kid that looks practically exactly like one of them and yet got the personality of the other parent 💀💀💀

🍡 anon back at it again

ghiwefi i can imagine the domestic shenanigans here istg kuni's reactions would be fucking hilarious. also you get called papa once because i couldnt think of any gn parental terms

you might like: yandere! genshin malewife au ft. scara

"oh my gosh say that one more time for the camera, sweetie."

your eight-year-old flips you off from his seat, glaring at you over a bowl of cereal. his [hair color] is messy from tossing and turning in his sleep and his pouty lips are in the most bitter scowl you have ever seen adorning them. you squeal as you capture your vulgar child on camera and begin fawning over it on camera, whilst kuni karate chops him on the head.

"ow! whaddya do that for?!" he complains, covering his bump with his tiny two hands as kuni locks him with an equally deadly glare.

"you brat, you better treat your parent with more respect!" he scolds. he looks threatening, despite holding a pan with the most delicious looking waffles while donning a frilly lavender apron. "if i see you flipping someone off one more fucking time, you're losing tv privileges!"

"why not?!" the child yells indignantly as he shakes his tiny fists at his father. "you do that to them all the time?!"

"just because i do it doesn't mean you can!"

"then you're not a very good parent, are you?!"

kuni pops a vein, and he feels the most vile sentence forming on the tip of his tongue before he bites it down and sighs. "for that, i'm still cutting down your tv time by one hour." he cries out in outrage, but he ignores him and slides the waffles onto a plate. "go play outside or something.... honestly, you look like this idiot over here—" he shoots a sharp glare at you, still fawning over the picture. "— but you're too goddamn rude to be anything like him."

"maybe it's because i get it from you!" the kid says, mouth full with waffles. kuni glances at him and scoffs, lightly hitting him again on the head.

"... make that two hours."

"never say that kind of sappy shit with my face ever again."

"but dad~" your daughter whines, tugging on kuni's kimono sleeve. "i love him! can't i just buy him one box of chocolates? please?"

kuni wrinkles his nose at the notion of a mere ten-year-old falling in love, and even more so when his literal carbon copy is pulling a lovesick expression with his face. she has the sharp eyes and all, yet they look so... girlish? dreamy, when on her. something about it grates on his nerves.

"how could you possibly like a guy like him?" he scoffs, scanning the aisle for a specific brand of flour. "you said he hated you. he throws your notebooks, mocks and humiliates you, and is basically anything but a decent human being. if it weren't for [y. name], i would've gone over to that school and ripped him and whatever vile parent he has into shreds."

"but! but!" she whines. "papa says you were exactly like that before!" kuni freezes. "then he could be the one for me!"

kuni snorts and grabs a bag of flour before dropping it into the cart. "your papa was and still is an idiot. but still," a fond smile graces his lips for a second. "we're the exception. doesn't mean it can turn out well for you."

"is that a no, then?" she pouts.

kuni is silent, and she perks up and pulls him down to give him a peck on the cheek. "thanks, dad!"

"whatever," he grumbles as she runs off to the chocolate aisle, holding the kissed cheek with an embarassed blush on his face.

[wamo]

Idk if this has been done b4 but some stuff I noticed in the fiddauthor Sorry pic (aka overnalayzing it)

fidds took this photo is taken with his camera propped on a tripod stand, hence his writing on the back

ngl I think that's grass since bmu is hella poor + a goat being there already, meaning their dorm is located on the ground floor (or it's just a shag carpet. shrug)

judging by the ragged curtains, there used to be a window but was replaced with a whiteboard (from staff or prev freshmen?) maybe to stop the grass from growing with lack of sunlight? another option is that it is a window, but it doesn’t reflect anything outside. might be a white wall blocking it

fidds only drank a cup of coffee whilst ford drank at least 5 cups of coffee & 1 pitt cola (fidds putting the word coffee in quotation marks ("coffee") means he has never tried it/drunk it before, and is first introduced to the drink by ford. he's also possibly restricted from foreign drinks/was warned about coffee by his grandma)

upon ford arriving at their dorm they bonded immediately for 9 hours, them being outcasted by others, sharing similarities

other than proving their theory, they stacked the empty red paper cups to throw a ping pong ball (?) at, like bowling

on ford's bed, his blanket is askew & he has a horrendous pillow (maybe it's fidds?) also love how ford had the time to nail his guy crush carl sagan poster on his side of the room

there's no reason for the blankets to be askew like that (if they've been solely theory solving the entire time) + ford in his socks & green boxers, while fidds still kept his JEANS ON & cowboy boots ... they're not beating the queer allegaytions

they're both possibly each other's first friend (and best friend)

I don't think ford would be comfortable with taking off his shoes & pants like that with someone in the room unless they're someone he trusts (like fidds lmao)

this is ford's usual attire minus his signature trenchcoat, navy blue slacks, and his black dress shoes, also his sleeves are rolled up. girl atp just strip it all down

notice how only ford has sticky notes on him, this could mean: the original theory came from fidds so he wrote down the equation & put them on ford OR they both wrote down the equation & ford insists he put them on him to help figure it out OR he put the sticky notes on ford first then wrote the equations down (2 of which are on his tits. awesome.)

non-queer (aka boring) interpretation of ford's state: he accidentally spilled coffee & it left a stain on his pants & shoes, hence he took them off. or he just needed to piss! too much coffee. do whatever you want pines

feel free to make your own interpretation of this! these are mostly my headcanons anyway

[gilbertscurls]

heyy so i got this request idk if you will like it but yk the song Margaret by lana del rey so its about her friends being in love so i have the same idea but like its with Madison beer and she is interviewed and they ask her about a new song and she tells its about Chris and reader whom she is friends with and describes how the song is about them

hope you like it!! <3

When You Know, You Know ➵ Chris Sturniolo

The interview room was buzzing with excitement, the studio lights casting a soft glow over Madison as she sat comfortably in the plush chair, adjusting the microphone clipped to her shirt. The interviewer, a lively woman with a bright smile, had just asked the question that would send a ripple through the room and beyond—one that would inevitably reach you, and Chris too.

“So, Madison,” the interviewer began, her tone light but filled with curiosity, “we’ve been hearing a lot about this new song of yours, Margaret. The fans are really intrigued. Is there a personal story behind it?”

Madison chuckled, leaning back a little as she allowed a playful smirk to tug at her lips. She took a moment, glancing at the camera, as if she was trying to gather her thoughts, before she spoke.

“Well, I’ve got to admit,” she began with a teasing tone, “the song is about some of my closest friends. You see, Chris and Y/N—” She looked directly into the camera, a knowing glint in her eyes, “—have always had this… connection. It’s one of those things where everyone around you can see it but the two of you are too stubborn to admit it.”

The interviewer leaned forward, eager for more. “So it’s about Chris and... Y/N?”

Madison nodded, her smile widening. “Yeah. It’s a love story, but not in the typical sense. It’s about two people who know they’re meant to be together, but can’t quite figure out how to get there. Or maybe, they’re just afraid of how much it means, you know?”

It wasn’t the first time you’d heard it—people talking about the way you and Chris seemed to orbit around each other, like two stars destined to be in the same galaxy but always just a little too far apart to collide.

The first time it happened, you laughed it off, chalking it up to just your close friendship with him. After all, you’d known each other for years. The teasing came from everyone, from mutual friends to even strangers who could sense there was something more in the air whenever you and Chris were together.

But now, hearing Madison’s words in front of the world, you felt a twinge in your chest. The truth was, you’d always known. You knew that something was there, something unspoken, something deep—but you were both too afraid to put a name to it.

Madison continued speaking, unaware of the emotional swell beginning to rise in your heart.

“I mean, it’s clear as day,” she said, her eyes glinting with humor. “When Chris met Y/N, he was just sitting there, like, ‘I think I’m in trouble.’ And the way he looked at her, it was like he could already picture the rest of his life unfolding, and it scared the hell out of him. He had these flashes of the good life with her.”

Madison paused, letting out a quiet laugh as she leaned forward, her expression suddenly more sincere. “But here’s the thing. When you know, you know. That’s the thing about love—when you find it, you don’t have to second-guess it. You just have to take the plunge.”

You and Chris sat on the couch at his apartment a few hours later, the air between you thicker than usual, despite the usual casual chatter. Chris had insisted on making popcorn, throwing in a few too many kernels, and now both of you sat in the middle of a mess of popped corn and half-emptied bowls.

“I just watched Madison’s interview,” you said, breaking the silence. You leaned back against the cushions, picking at the popcorn, trying to distract yourself from the sudden heat on your face.

Chris turned to look at you, his eyebrow quirking in amusement. “You did, huh?” he said, his voice light but there was something underneath it—a hint of unease that you couldn't quite place.

You glanced at him, your heart racing. “Yeah, I did. So… you’ve been thinking about me like that?”

Chris hesitated for a moment, his gaze flickering to the window before meeting your eyes. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, unsure of how to navigate this territory.

“I didn’t exactly tell her what I think, but…” He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable. “It’s true though, right? About us?”

You swallowed, feeling the weight of his words settle around you like an undeniable truth. The truth you’d been avoiding for so long.

“Chris…” You let out a shaky breath. “I—I’ve been waiting for you to figure it out, too. I thought you’d get it. I thought you knew.”

He shifted closer, the space between you now almost nonexistent. His voice was quieter now, the playful teasing gone, replaced with something deeper, something more vulnerable. “I think I’ve known for a long time. But I was scared. Scared of messing this up. Messed up a lot of things in my life… But this? You? I don’t want to screw it up.”

Your eyes softened, and without thinking, you reached out, placing your hand on his. It felt like a simple gesture, but in that moment, it spoke volumes.

“I think we’ve already figured it out,” you whispered. “Maybe we were just waiting for the right moment.”

Chris nodded slowly, his fingers lacing with yours. “Maybe we were.”

And for the first time in a long while, everything felt right.

There was no more running, no more hesitations. You both knew. You knew that this—whatever this was—was something real. Something you didn’t need to question anymore. The world might take a little longer to catch up, but in this moment, as you sat on that couch with Chris, you knew.

When you know, you know.

tag list: @stuwniolo, @sturnobsessedwh0re, @matts-myloverboy, @imjusthereforthesturniolosmut, @lizzymacdonald06, @asherrisrandom, @sturniolowhore69, @faith5drpepper, @emely9274, @psychologyloverfr, @lovetaylorrussellgrr, @conspiracy-ash, @helpimateenagerinlove, @ghostlythinggoingaround, @sturmatt

[insomniac4000]

The Great YouTube Bake Off-ChrisMD

2864 Words

Chris Dixon was no stranger to challenges. From football tricks to wild challenges with his friends, he had tackled just about everything on his YouTube channel. But today, things were a little different. Today, Chris was venturing into a world he had only ventured into a few times and it wasn't his strong point, baking.

It had all started as a joke during one of their dates. Y/N and Chris had been together for seven months, she was a professional baker she had worked in kitchen restaurants before as a pastry chef but recently set up her own bakery and cake making business. While they were out y/n ordered a fantastic dessert but Chris was unimpressed with his complaining how hard was it to get a cheesecake right. Y/N scoffed at Chris's arrogance and thus was born the idea for a bake-off.

"How hard can it be?" Chris had confidently said while scrolling through pictures of extravagant cakes on Instagram. "I mean, it’s just mixing ingredients and throwing them in the oven, right?"

Y/N had raised an eyebrow, a small smile playing on her lips. "Sure, Chris. Whatever you say."

And that’s how they found themselves in the bright, spacious kitchen in a studio which had been used for Youtuber's cooking challenges, cameras set up and ready to film for Chris's second channel. The stakes were high bragging rights were on the line, and maybe a little something extra for the winner, as Chris had hinted at the possibility of the loser doing the winner's chores for a week. The kitchen counter was lined with ingredients, utensils, and an assortment of decorative toppings. Each of them had a cake recipe of their choice, and they would have two hours to complete their creations.

"You ready for this?" Chris asked, grinning as he adjusted the angle of the camera, making sure it captured both of them perfectly.

"Ready as I’ll ever be," Y/N replied with a twinkle in her eye, tying up her hair in a neat ponytail.

"May the best baker win!" Chris declared, striking a pose.

"Or the one who doesn’t burn the kitchen down," Y/N replied, causing Chris to laugh.

The judge was none other than long time friend of Chris, ArthurTV. Everyone was introduced on camera, y/n giving a small nervous smile. She hadn't appeared on the channel yet and she was grateful she was doing something she knew about so she could hopefully provide some content.

The clock started, and both contestants dove into their tasks. Chris, with his trusty iPad displaying a recipe began gathering his ingredients. He had chosen a classic chocolate cake—simple enough, but with a lot of room for error if one wasn’t careful.

Y/N, on the other hand, was as calm as ever now she was in the zone. She moved with the ease of someone who had done this a thousand times, expertly measuring out her ingredients without even glancing at the recipe. She had chosen a rainbow cake, one of her personal favourites, a common order in the shop and something she was well used to making.

As Chris cracked eggs into his mixing bowl, he glanced over at Y/N's workstation. She was working at a speed that was slightly unnerving, her hands moving in a blur as she sifted flour into a bowl. He suddenly felt a pang of doubt—maybe this wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought. But Chris wasn’t one to back down. He turned his attention back to his own cake and began mixing the batter with more vigour than necessary. Unfortunately, this resulted in a small cloud of flour puffing out of the bowl and landing all over his shirt.

"Smooth," y/n commented, not even looking up from her batter.

Chris glanced down at the mess, then at his girlfriends pristine workspace. A mischievous idea formed in his mind. If he couldn’t beat her fair and square, maybe a little sabotage was in order.

"Whoops," Chris said loudly, deliberately knocking a small bag of flour off the counter. The bag burst open as it hit the floor, sending a plume of white powder everywhere. "Guess I’m just clumsy today."

Y/N paused, looking up from her cake. "Really, Chris? Sabotage this early?"

Chris grinned innocently, wiping flour from his shirt. "I have no idea what you’re talking about."

Y/N shook her head, laughing. "You do realize this just makes it more obvious that I’m going to win, right?"

"We’ll see about that," Chris said, turning back to his bowl. But as he resumed mixing, he couldn’t help but notice how easily the girl had brushed off his attempt to throw her off her game. If anything, she seemed even more focused.

As the bake-off continued, Chris began to realize that y/n was not only a natural in the kitchen, but she was also completely unflappable. She whisked, folded, and poured with a precision that made Chris feel like an amateur. But he wasn’t about to give up, if anything, her calm demeanor just made him more determined to win, by any means necessary.

He subtly tried to disrupt her progress, hoping to shake her confidence. First, he "accidentally" bumped into her while reaching for a measuring cup, causing her to spill a little bit of sugar on the counter. She just shot him an amused look and cleaned it up without missing a beat.

Then, Chris tried adjusting the oven temperature while she wasn’t looking, but Y/N caught him in the act. "Chris!" she scolded, a mock-serious expression on her face. "Are you trying to sabotage my cake?"

"Who, me?" Chris replied, feigning innocence. "I would never."

"You do realize this is all on camera, right?" She reminded him, pointing to the lens that had been capturing every moment.

Chris froze, momentarily forgetting about the cameras. He laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh, right. Well, I guess I’m busted then."

Y/N shook her head, unable to hide her smile. "You��re hopeless." She then decided her own course of action and when Chris was seriously measuring out some more ingredients y/n saw her opportunity and swiped the cocoa powder quickly, placing it on a high shelf where she knew Chris wouldn't be able to reach properly by himself. It was a big joke that y/n was an inch or so taller than Chris, she didn't mind but of course his friends ripped him for it.

"Where..." Chris said out loud looking around his workbench, spotting a very sly smile on his girlfriend's face. "Have you seen my cocoa powder?" Chris asked walking over to his girlfriends bench, she shook her head but the smile on her face gave the whole thing away. Chris sighed and looked behind her, seeing the packaging on a shelf next to a colander, he sighed and had to nicely ask Arthur to fetch it for him.

"That was uncalled for," Chris mumbled, y/n giggled to herself as she continued to pour her mixture in to the many cake tins she was using.

Despite their antics, both parties managed to get their cake batter into the oven without any major disasters. As he closed the oven door, he turned to y/n and asked, "So, what kind of decorations are you going with?"

"Buttercream," y/n said, as she started mixing softened butter and powdered sugar together. "Simple, but delicious."

Chris nodded, making a mental note. He hadn’t thought much about frosting, but now that she mentioned it, he realized that it was probably just as important as the cake itself. He decided to go with chocolate ganache—a little fancy, but hopefully, it would impress Arthur, and his girlfriend who's opinion meant everything.

Arthur had agreed to be the impartial judge for the bake-off, though Chris knew there was a good chance Arthur might side with y/n if the cakes were too close to call. The two of them had become fast friends since Chris and y/n started dating, and Chris couldn’t help but wonder if Arthur was secretly rooting for her. Chris knew he could be a bit of a handful sometimes too and it could come across he had a bit of an ego but it was all in jest, if nothing else he always tried his best.

With their cakes baking, Chris and y/n began preparing their frostings. Chris’s ganache, despite his lack of experience, was coming together nicely. He had managed to avoid burning the chocolate and was now carefully stirring in the cream. He felt a surge of confidence—maybe he could actually pull this off.

Y/N, meanwhile, had already finished her buttercream and was now focusing on making some unicorn decorations to top the cake. She moved with such efficiency that Chris couldn’t help but be impressed, even as he plotted his next move.

As y/n stepped away to check on her cake in the oven, Chris saw his opportunity. He quickly grabbed a small spoonful of salt and mixed it into her buttercream, hoping it would be enough to throw off the taste without being too obvious. He barely managed to return to his own station before y/n came back.

"How’s your cake looking?" Chris asked, trying to sound casual.

"Perfect," y/n replied with a satisfied smile. "And yours?"

"Uh, still baking," Chris said, glancing nervously at the oven. He hoped his cake would turn out as well as hers seemed to be. If not, he might have to rely on his sabotages more than he’d planned.

After what felt like an eternity, the oven timer dinged, and they both pulled out their cakes. Chris’s cake was a little uneven, but nothing a bit of frosting couldn’t fix. Y/N's cakes, of course, looked flawless—golden brown and perfectly risen.

They let their cakes cool before moving on to the final stage: decorating. Chris spread his ganache over the cake, trying to make it as smooth as possible. Y/N, meanwhile tasted her buttercream and shot Chris a look before starting again. As soon as her new buttercream was finished she was piping intricate patterns onto her cake with her buttercream.

As they worked, Chris couldn’t resist one last attempt at sabotage. He "accidentally" knocked a small jar of sprinkles off the counter, sending them scattering across the floor. Y/n just sighed and shook her head, clearly used to his antics by now.

"Chris, you do realize that if you spent as much time focusing on your cake as you did on trying to mess with mine, you might actually have a chance," she said, her tone more teasing than anything else.

"Hey, I’m just trying to keep things interesting," Chris replied with a grin.

The timer was ticking down faster than Chris would have liked, he still had chocolate sprinkles to add on and was going to put some sliced strawberry's to add too. He looked at his strawberry's and his face fell when he saw they were squished, like someone had put their fist on them like the hulk.

"Right madam, you're going to pay for that!" Chris scolded, he walked over to the fridge and luckily there was still a handful of fruit in there.

With their cakes finally completed, Chris and y/n stepped back to admire their work. Chris’s chocolate cake, while a bit rough around the edges, looked pretty decent, especially with the shiny ganache covering its imperfections. Y/n's unicorn cake however, was a work of art, with delicate piping, a face painted on the side and a unicorn horn placed on top wrapped in gold.

"Not bad," Y/N admitted, giving Chris’s cake an appraising look. "You might actually have a shot."

"You think so?" Chris asked, trying to hide his surprise.

"No I'm just being polite, but let’s see what Arthur thinks."

Arthur arrived back in frame. He greeted them both with a grin, clearly excited to see what they had come up with.

"Alright, guys, let’s see what you’ve made," Arthur said, He walked over to Y/N's cake first, examining it closely. "Wow, this looks amazing, Y/N. Very professional, but I'm going to have to have a look in the middle." Y/N then cut a slice out revealing perfect layers in her cakes.

"That's actually really impressive." Chris uttered, he was truly proud of his girl, she was obviously talented.

Arthur then turned his attention to Chris’s cake. He raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by how decent it looked. "Not bad, Chris. I was expecting something a bit more… chaotic."

Chris chuckled, scratching his head. "Yeah, well, I had to make sure I wasn’t completely embarrassed on my own channel."

Arthur nodded, clearly amused. "Alright, let’s give these a taste."

He started with Y/N's cake, cutting a small slice and taking a bite. His eyes widened as he chewed, clearly impressed. "This is really good," he said after swallowing. "The flavours are spot on, and the buttercream is perfect. Chris I don't know how you don't weigh twice as much being with her." Arthur joked.

"It's hard," the curly haired man replied.

Y/N beamed, and Chris felt a twinge of nerves. He watched as Arthur moved on to his cake, cutting a slice and taking a bite. There was a long pause as Arthur chewed, his expression unreadable.

"Well?" Chris asked, unable to take the suspense any longer.

Arthur finally swallowed and nodded. "You know, Chris, this is actually pretty good. The ganache is rich and smooth, and the cake is moist. I’m impressed."

"Let me have a bite," y/n asked and thanked Arthur when he gave her a fork, she took a bite of the confection, it was maybe a little too heavy on the sugar but overall the cake was moist, spongey, the chocolate was rich and the ganache was smooth, for an amateur Chris has done a thoroughly decent job. "I'm actually impressed!" Chris smiled at his girlfriends comments, although Arthur was the judge she was the one he was really trying to impress and knowing he had done that made his heart swell a little.

Arthur stepped back, holding up his hands in a gesture of finality. "Alright, guys, this is a tough one. Both cakes are really good, but I have to choose one winner." Chris and y/n exchanged glances, both trying to read Arthur’s expression.

Arthur took a deep breath and said, "The winner of this bake-off is… Y/N!!!"

Her face lit up with a smile as Chris groaned in defeat. "Of course she won," he muttered, though there was no real bitterness in his voice he knew it would make good content if he protested a little bit.

"Thanks, Arthur," Y/N said, giving Chris a playful nudge. "Guess I’ll be picking out your chores for the week."

Chris laughed, shaking his head. "Yeah, yeah, you deserve it. But you have to admit, I gave you a run for your money."

"You definitely did," Y/N agreed, though there was a hint of mischief in her eyes. "But next time, maybe try to sabotage a little less and bake a little more."

Arthur, still recording, chimed in, "And there you have it, folks. Y/N takes the win, but Chris put up a good fight. Make sure to like and subscribe if you want to see more challenges like this one!"

"But next time, it's going to be a free kick challenge and I’m going to crush you." Chris warned, y/n shook her head laughing.

"I’m looking forward to it."

"This is where she admits she is secretly the best free kick taker in the UK and has been playing for years," Arthur joked a little, y/n gave a smile to him and Chris which was so innocent it looked like a halo could appear above her head at any moment.

"I've got my eye on you," Chris winked pulling his girlfriend in for a side hug, her placing her hand on his chest with his around her waist.

As they started cleaning up the kitchen together, Chris couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction despite his loss. The challenge had been fun, and he’d learned a lot—mostly that he should never underestimate y/n. And who knew? Maybe baking would become a new hobby for him.

But for now, he had a week of chores to look forward to, courtesy of the best baker he knew. And as much as he hated losing, he had to admit that it was worth it.

[sol-consort]

Shepard giving Anderson a gift during Father's Day and not thinking much of it. Meanwhile, Anderson keeps a stoic face while seeing it, but he's exploding from happiness inside.

He keeps a framed picture of Shepard on his desk and brags about you to anyone who wanders into his office. Be it Elysium or being the first human spectre.

Anderson sending official papers to demand time off for you, so he can take you on a special father's day trip. Or maybe he just frames it as a mandatory on-shore secret mission, just between you, him and poor Joker who is the driver.

Imagine him coming over to fix Shepard's hair, smooth their uniform and wipe any stray ash, blood or gun powder off of your face with his thumb just before we were asked to give an interview or speak in front of people.

He definitely took the whole crew bowling before and framed it as "moral boosting crew activity" when in reality he just wanted an excuse to take you bowling, so this old man can show off to his kid and pass his legacy by teaching you all his tricks.

Kaidan ends up dropping a bowling ball on his foot, twice, while Ashley laughs so much that she ends up actually choking.

You may or may not have pulled a gun out on a poor employee by accident, multiple times. And someone who is definitely not you-because they have no proof you checked the cameras- has shot the remaining standing pins when your throw didn't land a strike.

The trip ends shortly because of the various health hazards these trained soldiers managed to cause in a normal average bowling alley.

[raya-hunter01]

Fade Into You Part. 4

Prequel Lights, Camera, Action!

Jey Uso x Black Female OC! (Shantell)

Roman x Black Female OC! Tangela

Solo x Black Female OC! Sofia

Jimmy x Trin

Rating: 18+

Warning: adult content, sex

Summary: This is the Prequel for Lights, Camera, Action! How does an outburst on your first day lead to a lifelong friendship with the Tribal Chief Roman Reigns and the stands the test of time. How does that friendship introduce you to a special group of people that will become your family.  

When did the lines get blurred between friendship and wanting a relationship with one of your best friends Mr. Main Event Jey Uso. Follow the friendships, and relationships of how they all came to be the one big happy family we all know and love in Lights, Camera, Action.

Enjoy guys! Let's see if anybody can catch the Easter Egg from Chapter Four of Lights, Camera, Action...What situation did Jey, Shantell, and a certain someone caught up in..The roles were reversed this time and it makes Ch. 4 of Lights, Camera, Action that much sweeter.

-------

Pensacola, FL

Joe’s House

Joe’s POV

“Aye, you gotta eat this Uce,” Jey said passing me a bowl of soup. “It’s just gon’ come right back up,” I said as Jey sighed. “Maybe not let’s try it,” he said as I had to admit it smelled good. “If he doesn’t want it don’t make him. Ya’ll all fuss over him too much for me,” Trina said as Jey frowned at her. “Look, he’s gotta eat something to keep his strength up,” Jey said as she got up, “I’m gon’ leave you to it Jey because I don’t want to see no throw-up today,” she muttered as Jey growled in his throat as she walked past him.

“Really…did she really just say that shit Uce,” Jey said frowning at me.

“Don’t pay her any mind she’s just a little freaked by all this,” I said taking a couple bites of soup trying to block out what she said.

I knew It was overwhelming her when we went to the Dr. last week and she practically all but ran outta there. They were talking about treatments and how I was feeling was normal and could get worse.

“Uce, she ain’t acting very lovin’ or trying to help for that matter. She so in that damn phone,” Jey said as I passed him the bowl leaning back on the sofa not feeling like eating anymore. "Uce, just drop it please," I said not wanting to talk about it.

Jey’s POV

I took the bowl back into the kitchen as Shantell and Sofia frowned seeing the bowl was practically still full.

“No sir take it back, he’s gotta eat,” Sofia said firmly as Shantell cut the oven off. “Yea, I had to make him eat yesterday, and he kept It down ok. He needs his strength," she said as I sat the bowl down on the table.

“Ladies, he’s tired and I think Trina ain’t helping either with her little don’t care attitude,” I said pointing towards the patio as Sofia shot me a look.

“Oh, really, maybe I should talk to her,” she said heading towards the back door smoothing down her nurse scrubs. “Sofia be nice, Joe likes her, “Shantell said as Sofia laughed heading outside. “She better be talkin’ like she got some damn sense,” she said closing the door.

----

Sofia’s POV

“I’m here mama and so are they. I mean they are just smothering him,” Trina said as I stood quietly behind her listening.

“Look, I didn’t sign up for to be a caregiver so it’s good that Shantell and Sofia are here. It doesn’t mean I gotta like them though, I mean, I signed up for fun and maybe a ring down the line mama, not this. I knew I should have approached Seth that night in the club,” Trina said as I felt my temper flaring.

“Well, I can help you out with all your issues Trina, you can get yo' shit and get out,” I said calmly as she jumped turning to face me as I stormed back inside.

“I can explain Sofia, just listen,” she said following me as I rolled my eyes at her desperate attempt to keep me from talking to Joe.

 “Nah, explain to Joe how you are using him,” I said as Shantell and Jey followed us into the living room. “What the hell you talkin’ bout Sofia,” Joe said standing up trying to gather himself.

“Yea, what’s going on wit ya’ll?” Jey asked as I looked at Trina. “Why don’t you tell Joe, and everyone how you don’t want to be here. How you signed up for a good time and a ring. How you wish you had gone after Seth instead. I mean you don’t want to be a caregiver right?” I said as Joe stood beside me staring a hole through Trina who couldn’t look him in the eye.

“Did you say that? Were you usin’ me?” he asked in disbelief as Trina began to stutter over her words. “I…I.. didn’t mean it, you know me I get to running my mouth when I’m overwhelmed,” she said as Shantell began heading upstairs.

“Shantell where you goin’?” Jey asked as Shantell shot him a look. “Shantell, you know what to do,” Joe said pointing at her as she nodded in understanding “You know I got you, I’m going to get her shit now,” Shantell said disappearing upstairs as Joe nodded in agreement. “I need you out…. Now Trina,” Joe said as Trina looked horrified.

“Look can we talk Joe, I can explain,” Trina said as Joe walked away from her. “I got enough goin’ on, I don’t need people around me that ain’t real and ain’t really for me. So let’s just leave it at we had fun but now it’s over,” Joe said as Shantell began throwing clothes over the balcony.

Shantell’s POV

This bitch in my brother’s house looking for a damn come-up, using him. “Nah, you leavin’ this house with what you brought in bitch. These lil five ugly ass dresses and these two pair heels, everything else Joe bought it and you ain’t getting it,” I hissed talking to myself as I threw the rest of the dresses over the balcony as Jey looked on in shock.

“Shantell what you doin'?!” Jey shouted as I rolled my eyes. “What does it look like, taking out the damn trash. She gon’ carry them little ho dresses outta here in her fuckin’ hands. Here take yo lil funky ass shoes too! Ain’t no luggage bitch!” I exclaimed, throwing a pair of heels over the balcony as Jey dodged them.

“Sorry Jey, you betta move,” I said as he moved quickly out of the way of the last pair of heels flying over the balcony. “Damn girl you can throw,” I heard him say as Trina ran over to her clothes. “Don’t touch my things!” Trina exclaimed as Sofia scoffed.

“Oh, you can give up the phone too, Joe bought it for you last month. I’m the one that went with him and picked it out,” Sofia said snatching her phone as I came back downstairs.

 “Get your shit and get out,” I said as I saw Joe going in her purse taking two keys off of her key ring.

“Ya’ll have had it out for me since day one!” Trina screamed as Joe growled. “Enough!  Ain’t nobody had shit out for you!” He yelled as we all got quiet.

“Calm down Uce, this ain’t good for you,” Jey said as Joe waved him off. “I’m good Uce, you heard my sisters Trina. Get your shit, get out, and don’t come back,” Joe said giving her back her purse as she checked the key ring.

“Oh, sweetie I can already tell you he done got his house and car keys off of there.  It’s a wrap boo,” I said as she shot me a look but went to pick up her things off the ground.

“Yes, we need a cab at 913 Redford Lane,” Sofia said walking off on her phone as Jey went to help Trina pick up her things.  I don’t know what possessed me to do it, but I went over and knocked them outta his hand.

“She can pick it up and carry it, her arms ain’t broke Jey,” I said as he held his hands up in surrender as Trina bent down to gather her things.

“Aye, just an innocent bystander,” Jey said as I sighed. “I’m sorry Jey, I said as he smiled, pulling me into a hug. “Is it bad I’m kinda turned on right now?” Jey whispered in my ear as I rolled my eyes, before I pulled away, looking for Joe who had seemed to have disappeared.  

“He followed Sofia outside, he’s good,” Jey said as I nodded but watched Trina like a hawk until she walked outside and ran into Dwayne.

“Oh, hey Trina,” he said looking at her but then seeing the clothing in her hand, he looked at us and smiled. “I’m sorry by the looks of things, I guess it’s bye Trina,” he said as Jey snickered.” Fuck you, Dwayne!” she yelled slamming the door behind her.

“What’s up my family,” he said completely unfazed giving me a hug.

“Hey, it’s good to see you. He’s out back with Sofia,” I said knowing why he was here.

“Thanks, mama,” he said giving me a kiss on the cheek before giving Jey a hug. “Aye, thanks for coming by Uce,” Jey said as Dwayne nodded.

“You know we family and we stick together,” he said as Sofia came back in. “I just saw her get in the cab,” she said smiling seeing Dwayne. “Hey stranger, ain’t you a sight for sore eyes,” she said as he gave her a hug. “What’s up my favorite RN,” he said as she blushed.

“I’m good and I’m glad you’re here. I’ll take you to him, maybe you can help bring him outta this funk” Sofia said as Dwayne followed her out back. “I got you, he ain’t gon’ be able to tell me no,” Dwayne said following her closely “Do you think he’s going to go for it,” Jey asked as I sighed.

“I think a trip to Samoa to do a cameo in Dawayne’s movie will give him something to look forward to and a little vacation. He needs one,” I said hoping Joe took him up on his offer.

“What time is your Proctored midterm today?” Jey asked as I looked at my watch. Shit, in thirty minutes. Wait how did you know I had an exam today?” I asked as Jey smiled at me. “You told me last week when we were texting,” he said as I smiled at him feeling special that he remembered. Silly right…..

 Jey had gotten in the habit of calling or texting me after shows, and we would talk until they reached the next city. It made me feel like I was almost on the road with them.

Some nights he had me on speaker phone and we’d all talk, some nights he would text and wait until he got to his room to call to tell me goodnight and we would talk for a bit.

I don’t know what was happening with us but I knew I liked it but was still playing it safe.

“Thanks for reminding me, can you let Joe know I’ll be in the computer room. I wouldn’t make it home in time,” I said as Jey scoffed at me. “Girl, gon’ Ace that test. I’ll tell him, and I’m sure he doesn’t mind,” Jey said giving me a hug before I excused myself to take my exam.

Joe’s POV

I can’t believe this shit, now I’m back where I started. Why is it so hard to find that special someone when you are somewhat famous? Everybody got a damn agenda, and I just don’t have the energy for the bullshit.

“Joe, someone’s here to see you,” Sofia said as I sighed. “Sis, I think I’m done accepting visitors today,” I said as a familiar voice interrupted me.

“So, you don’t wanna see me, damn, I must be losing my touch,” Dwayne said as I laughed turning around, smiling at him. “Aye! What are you doing here?” I asked going over to give him a hug.

“I came to see you because I have a proposition for you,” Dwayne said as my interest peeked. “What could you possibly have for me?” I asked as he smiled brightly at me.

“A trip to Soamoa, and a cameo in my movie,” he said cutting to the point. “Man, in a perfect world that would be a dream,” I said truly wanting to do it but not sure how.  “It’s just a week, we would shoot for three days and then the rest of the time relax, and take in the island,” Dwayne said as I smiled.

“Joe, we think the break would be good for you. The doctor said you are doing good, they are expecting remission soon with how aggressively they are treating the leukemia, “Sofia said as I really thought about what she was saying.

Yea, I had been pushing the doctors, I needed to get back to what I love. When I was first diagnosed eleven years ago my body was able to go into remission in four months and I’m praying for the same outcome again.

“Come on Cuz, you need this break,” Dwayne encouraged as I sighed knowing he was right. Especially after today and the shit with Trina.

“Yea, I know, and a break does sound really good. Just being able to soak up the sun and the culture, “I said truly trying to weigh my options.

“Hell, if he ain’t going, I’ll go chill on the island wit ya Cuz,” Jey said coming on the patio as I shook my head at him.

“He invited me, you ain’t taking my trip Uce, I’mma go,” I said finally agreeing as Dwayne laughed. “We gon’ have fun, I promise. We leave in a week,” he said reassuring me. Maybe the change of scenery would recharge me.

----------

One Week Later

Pensacola, FL

Gulfdream Properties

Shantell’s POV

“Oh, Jey I like this,” Trin said walking into the foyer as I checked out the kitchen. “Nice cooking space, I can see us throwing down in here Trin,” I said looking around as the realtor smiled.

“This has been remodeled and the owner has dropped his asking price by four thousand,” she said showing us around.

“I like the game room, it’s tight,” Jey said smiling looking around as I smiled at him. “Look at this view!” Joe said as we went to the back door.

“Wow! That’s beautiful,” Jimmy said staring out into the Gulf. “This place screams you Jey,” Joe said walking outside wanting a closer view of the ocean.

“I know, I really like it,” Jey said beaming. He looked free as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

“So, Mr. Fatu do you want to put in an offer,” the realtor said as Jey thought for a second looking around at us as we all anxiously waited for his answer.

“Yea, tell them I will pay the new asking price in full after we get the inspectors to check out the house,” Jey said as we all cheered. Jey was about to become a homeowner!

“Alright I see you Mr. Homeowner!” Joe said giving him a hug as the realtor left the room the contact the seller.

“I’m so happy for you,” I said giving him a hug as he lifted me up off the ground and spun me around. “Thanks, beautiful,” he whispered as I gave him a kiss on the cheek. Trin cleared her throat giving me a knowing look as Jey put me down and I blushed slightly.

 “Ignore her, she messy as hell,” Jey said as I laughed. “You better be glad I love you, brother,” Trin said winking at him as he smiled brightly at her.

Jey’s POV

Yea, I was about to become a homeowner. No more renting, damn sure no mortgage. I needed to get a few more things from the condo and the other shit she could have I didn’t want or need it.

I had bit the bullet and called Candy earlier telling her I would be by later on today and to not have old dude at the house when I got there.

“What time you goin’ to the condo?” Jimmy asked as Trin frowned. “Why, are you going there? Just let her have everything at this point brother,” she said as I sighed. “I got two more boxes to get outta my office and she can have the rest,” I said as Joe rubbed his eyes.

“Ya’ll, I leave out for Samoa with Dwayne tonight, so we better head that way now,” he said as Shantell agreed. “Yea, you don’t need to do it alone,” Jimmy said as Shantell’s phone rang.  

“Hey, grandma!” Shantell exclaimed accepting her Facetime call. “Hey, my baby, how is everything?” she asked as Shantell flipped her camera around to show us. “Nothing just hanging out in Jey’s new house,” she said smiling at me.

“Congratulations Joshua, you deserve it,” she said as I could see Ma Tanya holding the phone. “Thanks, Gram…Hey, ma!” I said as she stuck her head in the frame. “Hey ya’ll, I really miss being in Florida,” she said waving as Shantell laughed.

 “ I told you to move back, Ohio is not you mama," Shantell said as her mother smiled.  “How are you feeling Gram?” Trin asked as she grumbled.

“Baby, I’m old and just here. Gram tired baby,” she said as Shantell frowned. “Everything ok over there?” she asked as her mom sighed.

“We ok baby, mama is just a bit overwhelmed with all the tests they’ve been doing on her,” she said as Shantell gave her a small smile.

“Grandma, I love you, get you some rest and I will call you tomorrow,” Shantell said blowing her a kiss as her grandmother smiled brightly at her.

 “Go be great my baby,” she whispered, I could tell Shantell was trying to hold it together as they finished their call.

“Aww babydoll don’t cry, Gram gon’ be just fine,” Joe said taking her in his arms as Shantell cried. “She just can’t catch a break,” Shantell said trying to control her tears.

“Aye, she’s gon’ be ok. You gotta believe that,” I said going over to join their hug.  “Yes, everything for everybody is gon’ work out ok. Group hug everybody!” Jimmy shouted as we all hugged.

-----  

Later that day

Jey & Candy’s Condo

Jey’s POV

“You really showed up here with all of them?” Candy asked pointing at Joe and Jimmy. “Yea, I did because last time I came over you put me in a tough spot, and the police had to be called,” I said unlocking my office as Trin came behind Candy.

“Aye, why don’t you step back and let him get what he needs. Stop hovering over him,” she said as Candy rolled her eyes. “What you his bodyguard now?” Candy asked as Jimmy stepped in the get Trin under control “A’ight baby let’s go wait outside with Shantell,” Jimmy said as Trin sighed.

 “Ya’ll hurry up so we can get outta here, but to answer your question…Yea, I am his bodyguard…I’ma always be my brother’s keeper,” Trin said as Jimmy took her outside. “I’ll wait here in the hall,” Joe said as Candy approached me.

“Jey can we talk please?” Candy asked as I sighed. “Candy, we signed the divorce papers. I was nice enough to give you the money you asked for because I just wanted it done,” I said as she began to cry.

 “I know you wanted it over, and I know I hurt you,” she whispered as I gave her the key to the office. “I got everything outta here I need, the rest is yours. Don’t call, or come near my family again,” I said unfeeling walking past her.

“Jey, this is me, baby, you know you still love me,” she said grabbing my arm as I stopped walking. “I loved you, I loved yo ass more than anybody and you betrayed me. Enjoy your life wit yo' man,” I said walking away from her and the home we built.

I stayed strong and got in the car as Trin was still on edge. “Sis, I handled it, it’s done,” I said as she nodded in understanding. "I still wanna kick her ass," Trin mumbled as Jimmy caressed her knee.

"Calm down, she ain’t worth it," Jimmy whispered as Trin sighed looking at the house in sadness. “I can’t believe how the house has gone down,” Joe said looking at the house as well.

“I can’t either but I can’t worry about it, it falls on her now as to what she spends the money on I gave her,” I said knowing I did what needed to be done. 

“I’m very proud of you,” Shantell whispered as I smiled sadly at her. "I am proud of me too,” I whispered grabbing her hand as my eyes met Jimmy’s in the mirror as he smiled.

“Aye, why don’t we go out and celebrate tonight,” Trin said as Shantell seemed in deep thought. “You good wit that Shantell?” I asked as smiled.

“Yea, it’s cool with me but I will leave early I got to study,” she said as Trin cheered. “Yay! We can dance some girly, it’s overdue,” Trin said smiling at Shantell.

“Ok, I’ll see if Sefa wants to come out, I know Sofia gotta work the night shift tonight, "Jey said as Joe smiled. “Well, why ya’ll doin’ all this I’mma be in the air on my way to the island,” he said seemingly happy.

A plan had been put in place and it was time to celebrate my freedom.

------

Pensacola, FL

Night Life Club

Jey’s POV

The club was in full swing, I have to say Jimmy could always pick a good spot to hang out and enjoy. Especially since it was homecoming weekend and people from all walks of life were out enjoying

“Aye, you didn’t tell me you would be here?” a familiar voice said as I turned and saw a smiling Taraji. “Hey, one of my favorite interviewers!” I exclaimed giving her a hug as I felt her hands roaming my back.

“Lawd, you smell good wit your handsome self,” she said as I cleared my throat, blushing. Her boldness caught me off guard as I pulled away to create a little space.

“Aye, don’t start no shit you can’t back up now,” I said flirting wit her. “Who said, I couldn’t finish it. I have been trying to get you alone for a minute, but you be playin’,” she said smiling at me.

“I told you I was goin' through a divorce, and wasn’t looking to get tied up with anybody,” I said as she ran a finger down my chest. “But now I hear you signed the papers, so that means you’re free now,” she said giving me a wink.

“You bold as fuck huh,” I said as she laughed ignoring what I said.  “So where is Joe’s little friend Shantell?” Taraji said as I frowned at her.

“Uh, her and Trin in the bathroom. Why?” I asked as she smirked. “I figured she’d have you on lock, I mean she likes you,” she said as I laughed.

 “Nah, it ain’t like that Shantell is my Uce, we family. I don’t see her the way everybody sayin’ I do,” I said downing my shot trying to convince myself more than Taraji.

“Well, since it ain’t like that, how about you let me show you what you have been missing,” Taraji whispered as I looked around trying to see if this was a joke. I mean she really tryin’ to shoot her shot.

 “What…You mean like have sex here?” I asked as she grabbed my hand pulling me through the crowd not sayin’ another word.

Sefa’s POV

This motherfucker here already fuckin’ up, see I was right. He's bout to be a fuckin idiot out in these streets cause he’s single. “Damn, I gotta get Shantell outta here,” I muttered to myself as Jimmy came up.

“Did you see that shit, what the hell he doin’?” Jimmy asked as I sighed. “Yea, I saw, and I don’t like it, but I knew it was bound to happen,” I said as Jimmy looked even more pissed off than I did.

I never felt so bad in all my life as I saw Shantell and Trin heading towards us.

Shantell’s POV

“Hey, where did Jey go? He was harping about wanting to get a dance in before I leave,” I said taking my drink back from Sefa. “Uh, he stepped out for a minute, he should be back soon,” Jimmy said looking disappointed.

“Well, he’s got a few more minutes and I’m out. I’ve got to study,” I said nursing my drink as Sefa frowned and Jimmy looked nervously at each other and then back at me. What the hell was goin’ on.

“What’s up wit ya’ll, why the sour mood all of a sudden,” Trin asked as I looked up and saw out the corner of my eye and saw Jey and a girl heading to the back of the club through a set of double doors.

If I’m not mistaken It looked like that new girl Taraji that Paul hired a few days before I had got sick at Raw. I must be going crazy cause that is hella random, but I wanted to know what the deal was.

“Hey, I need to make a call guys, I’ll be back,” I said before Sefa could stop me. I knew it was none of my business, but I couldn’t stop my feet from following them. I mean we ain’t together but with everything lately, I was thinking maybe he would at least ask me out on a date.

 I mean we basically act like a couple…I could hear moaning when I went through the double doors and I felt my heart drop. The closer I got to the other door at the end of the hall, I could hear the shuffling of clothes. My hands trembling, I opened the door slightly and peeked inside.

I was bringing pain upon myself, but I wanted to be sure, and I don’t even know why. It wasn’t like I could confront him or anything.

“I ain’t looking for a relationship and I don’t wanna lead you on. This can’t go anywhere, I just wanted to tell you that before we do this,” Jey moaned as I saw he had Taraji pinned against the wall kissing her neck.

“I ain’t lookin’ for a relationship either, I just want to have fun,” she gasped as he entered her hard and fast taking her against the wall with wild abandon.

“Yes! Give me all that frustration, I know it’s been a long time for you baby,” Taraji moaned scrapping her nails down his back as Jey fucked her senseless up against the wall.

His growls and moans were getting louder as well as Taraji. She tried to bring him in for a kiss but he turned his head and attacked her neck instead.

“No kissin', this is just for fun remember, no ties,” he whispered sucking roughly on her neck as I closed the door. Slowly I backed away trying not to disturb them as I tried to process what was happening.

“Shantell, get it together.  Fix your face, go out here, and act normal. Have a  good cry when you get home and keep it movin',” I whispered giving a pep talk to myself as I went back into the club almost colliding with Sefa as steadied me in his arms.

“Shantell, are you ok?” He asked as I nodded, not trusting my voice. I felt like I couldn't breathe. “Uh, I’m fine…I’m gon’ go ahead and go. I think I’ve seen enough for one night,” I said as he pulled into a hug.

“I’m so sorry, my brother is an idiot,” he whispered as I tried to hold in my tears. “It’s ok, I know what it is, and I ain’t mad at him. He can do what he wants, we ain’t together,” I said hugging him tighter as I felt my walls crumbling.

“Please don’t tell him that I saw them, I don’t want to embarrass him or myself any more than necessary,” I said as he nodded. “Sis, you ain’t got nothing to be embarrassed about you hear me,” Sefa whispered rubbing my back “I knew I shouldn’t have come tonight,” I whimpered trying to hold back tears as Trin came up.

“Hey, are you ok?” she asked as I tried to play it cool dropping my head into Sefa’s shoulder, bringing up my hand up to wipe a tear I knew had fallen before she could see. Pulling away from him, I put on my bravest face and smiled.

“I’m good sis, I’m just worried about this other class. Then I got a paper due, you know that overwhelming college shit” I said as Sefa smiled sadly at me knowing I was lying and trying not to break down.

“Aye, before long we gon’ be cheering you on at graduation, just hang in there,” Jimmy said looking sadly at me. Great he knew too..Ugh, I wanna crawl into a hole and die.

“Well at least give me one more dance before you go,” Trin said pleading as I smiled in spite of myself. “Fine, just one and I’m out. My Uber should be here in 10 minutes,” I said checking my phone.

“That’s all we need, come on here! she exclaimed, steering me to the dance floor. “That gives us a chance to show’em how Zeta Phi Betas have the best stroll. I know you remember how to do some,” she said pulling me further into the club with Jimmy following us

“Trin, I got on a dress,” I whined as she laughed. “Girl, you betta stroll yo ass off, let’s kills this shit right quick,” she said hyping me up as I downed the last of my drink as Jimmy took my glass. “A’ight, ya’ll betta do that shit too!” Jimmy exclaimed as I laughed at his enthusiasm.

Jey’s POV

“Damn, I can’t believe I did this,” I muttered as Taraji pulled down her dress. “Don’t beat yourself up, we both wanted it. It’s no big deal, we ain’t hurting nobody," she said as I thought of Shantell.

 Fuck, I’m so damn stupid. “Hey, stop overthinking over there, Shantell won’t find out,” Taraji said as I winced like I had been wounded.

“See it’s all on your face, you like her. That’s why you wouldn’t kiss me huh,” she said as I ran my hands over my face.

I could tell it stung her a bit that I wouldn't kiss her but she was trying to play it off.

"You were probably thinkin' bout Shantell while we were having sex," Taraji said as I stroked my beard not meeting her eyes. "Oh, God you were, weren't you?" Taraji said in shock. While I was irritated with her, and wished I didn't have had sex wit her, I knew she was right.

I was thinking about Shantell the whole damn time. Damn, why did I even bring my ass back here?

“Look keep Shantell's name out yo' mouth. It's not your business, and this situation with you and me was just a one-time thing. It's not happening again Taraji, shit like this gets messy,” I said not wanting to hurt her feelings but wanting to get my point across.

“Damn, you called us having sex a situation. Well, I got to meet back up with some of the girls so I'll see you later,” Taraji said giving me a kiss on the cheek.

“Yea, I’ll see ya,” I said as she left. I looked at my watch and realized I probably had missed Shantell. Rushing I cleaned myself up and walked back out into the club.

“You good bro,” Sefa asked appearing from outta nowhere as I nodded. “Yea, I’m good bro,” I said trying to convince myself. I could see he wanted to say more but he was biting his tongue.

“I know it was stupid, you ain't even gotta say nothin',” I said as he shook his head in disappointment at me. I saw a crowd had formed in a circle in the middle of the dance floor.

"We got some Zetas in the house! Alright, ladies let’s see that stroll!" the DJ screamed as Choppa Style by Choppa began to play as the crowd began singing, I guess tryin' to hype up whoever was out there on the floor.

Damn, what did I miss? I said pointing at Jimmy who was throwing his hands up in the air grinning like a fool recording on his phone.

“Oh, nothing just Trin and Shantell over there strolling with two other fellow Zetas, you know it’s homecoming week,” Sefa said as I looked at him.

“Excuse me, Shantell doin’ what?” I asked in shock as we made our way through the crowd finally getting closer to Jimmy.

“Aye, they killing it, where the hell ya’ll been?!” Jimmy shouted over the music as my eyes found Shantell. There she was wit her sexy ass gliding in the line rocking her hips.

“Alright, this is one of my favorite parts. Get low ladies!” the DJ screamed as they all in sync began dropping it low to the floor slowly winding their hips.

“Damn! Yes sir!” Jimmy exclaimed as I was trying to remain calm but my mind and heart was racing as I saw Shantell throwing her ass in a circle next to Trin.

"Shit, yea, throw dat ass back girl," I muttered to myself in awe of what was happening as the girls threw up their sorority sign, swinging their arms from side to side, as they went even lower to the floor.

The crowd was eating this shit up and I wanted to eat Shantell's ass up.

I couldn't help the low primal growl that escaped my lips seeing Shantell bite her lip as her ass continued to bounce behind her almost as if it had a mind of its own.

 I shifted myself in my jeans as I watched Shantell’s dress start to rise slightly. I saw her quickly pull her dress down in the front holding it in place while still dancing. Thank God, I don’t need these dudes in her looking at her like that.  

"Man shiid, shawty in the black dress straight fire!” I heard a guy say to his friend as I shot him a look.

“Yea, she is and I know you betta not even think about goin' near her, let alone touchin' her. She’s taken a’ight,” I said making sure he knew what the deal was before he got ahead of himself.

“Sorry didn’t know she was your girl,” he said as I nodded turning back to the watch. “Boy, I know you feel stupid,” Sefa said hitting my shoulder as I saw him eying Shantell with a smirk. “You enjoyin' this shit a little too much little brotha,” I said as he laughed.

“Damn sure is 'cause I wouldn’t be me if didn’t love watchin’ yo’ ass squirm,” he said as I rolled my eyes at him. “A’ight that’s my wife! Come thru baby!” Jimmy shouts as Trin throws him a sexy smirk as the girls begin strolling behind each other in a line again around the dance floor.

Sefa’s POV

I can’t help but snicker watching my brother trying to control himself as Shantell danced in front of him, giving him a sexy smirk.

Jey’s soul looked like it left his body as he eyed her up and down “Damn, Shan," I heard him whisper as I laughed. “Uh huh, yea, let his ass know sis,” I muttered to myself. Yea, lil sis up in here showin’ out and shuttin’ shit down.

“I’ll be got damn,” Jey whispered slamming back his shot as Shantell danced past him not sayin’ a single word as they went to make their way off the dance floor.

“You a’ight over there bro?” I asked about to rub It in some more but I stopped myself as I saw the look on his face.

It had gone from confusion to full-blown pissed off in a matter of seconds as I turned to see what was happening.

Tevin had reached over and hugged Shantell as she was dancing. “Hey you!” she exclaimed, returning his gesture coming out of the dance line. “What the fuck he doin’ here?” Jey hissed as I smiled.

“Oh, Tevin?  They got him directing the house show tomorrow,” I spoke to him earlier when you were preoccupied with Taraji, chasin’ a nut in the back of a dirty storage closet,” I said enjoying seeing him squirm as he rubbed his hand over his face in frustration.

“Fuck you man, it wasn’t like that,” Jey whispered as I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m just trying to figure out how you mad at him for hugging her when you just fucked another woman literally not even ten minutes ago in a storage closet. Make it make sense bro,” I said as Jey growled.

"‘Cause I fuckin’ am ok! Look, just go over there and break that shit up for me ok,” Jey said as I shook my head in disbelief at him. “Fine, I’ll go but I’m doing it for her, not yo’ ass,” I said going over to Shantell and Tevin.

--------

Shantell’s POV

I had put on the facade long enough I needed to leave, have a good cry, and try to study. Tevin was a good guy, I just wasn't in the mood tonight. I sighed in relief as Sefa came over to us because the alcohol was getting to me I needed a hot shower and a bed.

“Aye, your Uber should be here by now. You want me to walk you out,” Sefa said as I smiled. “I just paid it and canceled it, could you take me home,” I said as Tevin interrupted us.

“If you like I could give you a ride,” Tevin said as I tried to let him down easy. “Nah, I don’t want to spoil your night, I’ll just go with Sefa," I said giving him another hug.

“Well, how about you come to the show and shadow me tomorrow,” he said as I smiled at him. “I’ll think about It, but I probably will be busy though,” I said not really wanting to go to the show as Jey came over.

“Shantell ya’ll shut it down out there,” Jey said as everything I felt earlier came rushing back. “Uh, thanks,” I said trying to avoid eye contact with him.

“I was about to take Shantell home,” Sefa said as Jey smiled. “Well, I could take you,” he said as I tried to think of what to say. “Nah, Uce, I got her. Sofia has some stuff she wanted me to give Shantell, so I’ll take her,” Sefa said cutting off the conversation as I smiled in gratitude.

“Well, I’ll text you in a bit or call you,” Jey said trying to hug me as Sefa cut in and Jey backed up in shock. " I'll talk to you later Shantell," Tevin said as waved at him.

“Shantell, I’ll meet you in the car,” Sefa said giving me his keys as I waved at Jey and headed towards the door. I didn't feel like talking at all right now.

I felt grateful as the cool air hit my face as I walked to his car. If he had hugged me I either would have puked or busted out in tears and would have embarrassed us both.

The fresh air felt good on my skin, looking down to smooth down my dress I almost collided with someone.

"Damn, watch where you goin'!" a female voice said as I steadied myself. "Oh, sorry," I said walking around her not really paying attention to who it was, I was just ready to go home.

"You saw us didn't you Shantell?" the voice gloated as my blood ran cold. I turned and looked at Taraji, her smug grin made me want to chop her ass in the throat.

I knew her reputation and it made my skin crawl Jey was that desperate to stick his dick up with her passed-around pussy.

"I don't know what you talking about," I said playing it cool. Shantell just walk away, she ain't worth it.

"I saw you out the corner of my eye, you really should have stayed longer and caught the finale. He really looks sexy as hell when he cums she gloated as I sighed in pity at her weak ass attempt to rattle me.

"Well, I don't see how you saw his face with how he kept it buried in your neck in order not to look at you," I said not backing down.

You got the right one now bitch I ain't got nothing but time.

Tell me, how did that make you feel seeing us together? I mean I know you like him, but he won't give you the time of day," she said smirking at me as I laughed and shook my head.

"Well, I honestly don't feel anything about it because I wasn't the one getting fucked in a dirty ass storage closet with the rats and the roaches. You the real MVP Taraji, I'ma be just like you when I grow up," I said smugly as her once smug face now wore a deep frown.

"You just jealous," Taraji started as I cut her off. "Oh, you're right, I'm just jealous because I wasn't the one giving my body to a man who didn't even think enough of me to kiss me on the lips," I said smirking knowing it cut her ego real deep.

"I will hurt you Shantell, I don't care who you claim to have as a brother," Taraji said pissed off as I laughed.

"I'd love to see you try, but nah, I ain't done talking about how I'm jealous of you I am. Listen to this one, it's the best reason that I'm jealous of you," I said smugly pointing at her as she put her hands on her hips trying to keep her cool.

"Taraji, I'm jealous of you because it is so obvious Jey was fantasizing about someone else as he used your body to chase a nut. I mean let's be honest, that's the real reason why he couldn't look you in the face as he fucked you," I said feeling better I had got it off my chest.

"You just wish you could be me, i'm warning you, stay out of my way Shantell. You just wait though, Jey will be my man real soon," Taraji said walking away from me.

Nawl, bitch you don't get the last word on this one.

"Taraji, If you do by some miracle convince him to date you, it won't last long. He will see right through you, so enjoy it while you can Taraji," I said as she stopped walking. "Like I said stay outta my way," Taraji said as I smiled.

"Oh! Taraji, it's just one more thing I need to tell you woman to woman," I said as she turned to look at me.

"Don't you ever come for me.... Unless I send for you. Now, you have a blessed night," I said turning to look for Sefa's car as she stormed back into the club.

Sefa’s POV

What the fuck you do that for?” Jey asked as I rolled my eyes at him. “I don’t think Shantell wants to smell Taraji on you bro,” I said as his eyes widened in horror.

“Shit, I wasn’t thinkin’, look just make sure she gets home safe,” Jey said as I nodded and went to catch up with Shantell.

“Everything ok?” Shantell asked as I got in the car. “Yea, everything good and to answer your question I didn’t tell him you saw them,” I said as she sighed in relief.

“Thank you,” she whispered leaning her head back on the seat as we rode in silence. I dreaded leaving her alone as we got closer to her house. But I knew she probably needed time to process everything.

---

Shantell’s POV

“Thanks for the ride, I said as he gave me a hug. “If you need to talk I’m here, just call me,” he said as I got out. “Thanks, I’ll talk to you later,” I said getting out. Making the lonely journey up to my door, I turned to wave at him before going inside as he drove away.

I looked around and realized I was truly alone. Joe was on his way to Samoa, mama was in Ohio…I just felt alone, and as I got undressed and stepped into the shower. I couldn’t hold it in any longer I began to cry.

My heart was crushed, but when I thought about it, I really didn’t have a reason to be. He was never mine to begin with and with that being said I did the only thing I could do.

I picked myself up after my crying session and focused on my work.

I would be ok…I could do this….I truly just had to be his best friend, his Uce. I can do that... I know that I could

I mean how hard could it be?

------.

Taglist: @reci24 @southerngirl41 @vebner37 @jeyusos-

girl @melaninsugababy @romanreignkisser @bebesobrielo

@arination99 @2-muchsauce @bakugoumarianawrites

@empressdede @alyyaanna @christinabae @anonandwannakeepitthatway @venusesworld @jeyusosgirl @mya2real

[kitkatt0430]

for the AU 5+ headcanons ask game, Cisco takes a leap of faith and tells Barry he's in love with him somewhere in the middle or second half of season 1. i hope it's a prompt that works for you?

I do love a good Barrisco headcanon. This'll be cute. ^_^

So Cisco tags along to karaoke night with Barry and Caitlin and instead of Linda showing up to hit on Barry, Cisco takes the opportunity while Caitlin is singing to tell Barry how he feels. And Barry is surprised - not necessary blind sided, but he's definitely having a 're-evaluating events' moment. Caitlin calls them up to sing with her before Barry can really respond. So Cisco just kinda assumes that they're gonna leave things as friends and be a little awkward about it at first.

However, Barry is aware that being left hanging sucks and so as soon as they've squared away drunken Caitlin on Cisco's couch for the night, he asks Cisco on a date. And apologizes for not responding earlier. He was surprised and taking care of their drunk friend was kinda the priority, but he likes Cisco a lot and the idea of going on a date with Cisco is giving him all the butterflies, so... Cisco cuts him off with a chaste kiss before Barry can get too into rambling mode and agrees to the date.

Their first date they start off both trying a bit too hard because they're nervous but once they realize that's why things are a bit stilted, they both laugh and unwind and it's a wonderful date.

Barry realizes that something is up with Cisco with regards to Hartley and it's more than just Hartley being a jerk to Cisco in the past. So Cisco loops Barry into the whole thing about Ronnie maybe being alive and how guilty Cisco feels about being the one who closed Ronnie into the pipeline in the first place. So Barry gets to be a supportive BF both in helping Cisco deal with his survivor's guilt and with getting info out of Hartley regarding what really happened to Ronnie the night the accelerator exploded. Hartley still winds up escaping somehow but Cisco doesn't have to bear that weight alone this time.

I think Barry would turn down the bowling double date here, citing that it's still early in his relationship with Cisco and he wants their date that evening to be just the two of them. Since Cisco is well aware of Barry's feelings for Iris, Barry wants to make sure Cisco feels secure in their relationship before doing any double dates with Iris.

During the day that wasn't, Barry and Iris do not kiss (hate that kiss anyway, any reason to throw it out) but Barry does call Cisco for help with the oncoming storm problem that's poised to decimate both Central City and Keystone. Only EoWells answers Cisco's phone because, um... Cisco cannot come to the phone right now. Barry doesn't think hard on it at the time because DANGER ahead is more pressing. But after resetting time it definitely sticks out to him as strange.

Lisa does not manage to honey trap Cisco because Cisco is flattered, but not interested and this is his boyfriend right here, isn't he so cute? Which means that the Snarts + Rory go with plan b which is kidnapping both Cisco and Barry. Cisco stalls for time until they're down to just Mick watching them and when Mick isn't paying attention Barry knocks him out and rescues Cisco and Dante. Dante comes out of the ordeal shaken but otherwise unscathed and impressed with his brother's courage. It's the first step towards mending their relationship and moving them more towards being the close & supportive brothers Cisco and Dante are in the comics.

Somehow Len does figure out Barry's identity from this (hidden camera?) and thus Barry does still have to make his deal with Len. But Len's outta luck if he wants Cisco to build him new guns. Good thing Len made blueprints off the original guns in case he had to make new ones the hard way. (Barry - that is not in any way a good thing >_<)

The experience is still traumatic enough for Cisco that it triggers his nightmares/early manifestation of his vibes of the timeline where he died. Good thing Barry is there in bed with Cisco to hold him after startling awake from that. Barry soothes Cisco back to being calm and listens to Cisco talk about the nightmare afterwards and while he doesn't know what to make of Cisco's subconscious associating Dr. Wells with the Reverse Flash, he does know that the idea of losing Cisco terrifies him. And, huh, for some reason he's reminded of how weird it was for Dr. Wells to answer Cisco's phone in the day that wasn't...

Being with Cisco mellows out Barry's 'don't tell Iris' reflex so when Eddie finds out about Barry being the Flash and wants to tell Iris the truth, Barry agrees over Joe's protests, noting that keeping her in the dark hasn't actually protected Iris the way Joe insisted it would. So the whole situation actually makes Iris & Eddie closer instead of causing the relationship drama from canon.

Finding out that Cisco's nightmare actually happened for real? Infuriates Barry. Cisco has to talk Barry down from going after Wells immediately, but Barry is just done with Wells taking away the people he loves. Killing his mom, framing his father, and now killing Cisco in another timeline? Which might also be when Barry realizes that he's fallen in love with Cisco and doesn't want to be without him.

The Iris West-Allen newspaper byline is explained by Gideon to be from the OG timeline, but it still shakes Cisco, who doesn't quite realize Barry is relieved that's not from this timeline. Eddie questions his decision to propose to Iris afterwards, but Barry pushes him to go forward regardless of what Joe might think. That timeline is gone and they should focus on living their lives for themselves, not live up to the destinies of people who lived entirely different lives from them.

Eobard still tries to break up Iris and Eddie while he has Eddie kidnapped, but Gideon nonchalantly updates the by line to West-Thawne and Eobard takes the psychic damage instead.

Eobard tries dangling the whole 'save your mother, reset to the real timeline' carrot in front of Barry but Barry talks things over with his dad and admits he doesn't want to give up the life he's building with Cisco for the life he could have had with Iris, but he wants to save his mom so much... Henry is able to talk Barry out of the time travel this time.

Cisco is of course very surprised when Barry comes back from Iron Heights and puts an end to any time ship building. They're not helping Eobard Thawne in any way. They wind up talking through everything and Barry tells Cisco he loves him.

Cisco - *heart eyes* I love you too, Barry.

Eobard escapes and tries to force Barry to cooperate anyway, but Cisco uses his vibe blasts instinctively to protect Barry. Eobard swears he'll be back, but he's concerned about risking Cisco accidentally severing him from his speed entirely - made easier by Eobard's speed still being so unstable - so he hoofs it out of town, faking his death in the process. The Harrison Wells identity is well and truly burned, so he might as well give Barry something he wants. That way it'll hurt all the more the next time Eobard takes something - someone - away from him.

Thus Ronnie and Eddie survive the S1 finale, but there's a lead in for a Rogues centered S2 with Snart getting the gang together - not just the metas from the pipeline that he rescues from Team Flash, but Hartley as well - pushing the Earth-2/Zoom story line to Season 3.

[sugahbunnies]

BUCKET LIST ☆ 09

Saiki really wishes your bucket list did not consist of activities that required more than one person.

There he is, with you and sadly, one little kid with turquoise hair.

You smile bashfully at Saiki, you're holding Yuuta's hand and Saiki is holding his other hand. From another person's point of view, you look like a couple going on to the playground with your kid. Saiki has the picnic basket to his side, you three walk to a clear spot under the tree but it's still quite crowded. Which Saiki absolutely hates.

You smooth out the blanket across the trimmed grass, telling Yuuta he can go play on the playground since it's close by

"Thank you Cinnamon Bun!" He yells at you in excitement, kissing your hand then running off to the swings.

You snort, glancing at Saiki who's already shaking his head. Yuuta has been binge watching this new show that has been playing in the mornings on the weekends. When he first saw you this morning when you were walking by Saiki's house, it clicked in his head that you're indeed the character named Cinnamon Bun from his new show.

"How does he have so much energy, it's ten in the morning?" Saiki rubs his eyes, setting down the basket in the middle of the blanket.

"Tell me about it, he followed me all the way to your house in a hurry" You add a "heh" at the end of your sentence. Saiki is not sure if you found it funny or annoying, but he rather not ask. You both sit facing each other, the sun rays slightly shining through the trees.

"I made club sandwiches, oh I also cut up sausage and made fried rice. I bought hot sauce" You start bringing out food and condiment items out of the basket, showing them off to Saiki and explaining what they are.

Saiki could care less, truly, he was hoping he could get a day off from you since he's been spending the past three months with you. Since you're in his class, right next to him and Kaidou invited you to the friend group, he's seen your face in his dreams even!

Then being assigned to you as a partner for this damn bucket list project, he cannot just escape you can he?

You're fixing up the food, adding rice and shrimp to a plastic bowl and adding hot sauce to it. You pass it to Saiki, whose hoping the shrimp is cooked and not raw. He really does not want to experience food poisoning.

"You like hot sauce right? Oh jeez, I should have asked you before adding some huh?!" You grimace as if you're in pain, mentally punishing yourself for not asking Saiki.

"It's fine, Y/n".

You perk up your head at the sound of your name, placing a fork into the bed of rice and handing it to Saiki. You take out the digital camera and begin filming Saiki eating, zooming in dangerously close on his face.

"Bet you're tired of sticking around me" You say, waiting in anticipation and praying the pink haired boy does not agree.

"You're alright" He responds, digging into the food and cracking open a can of sprite. He ignores the fact that you're propping up the camera to show you both. He throws a peace sign at the camera, and you copy him right away. Then, you clap your hands together and take out a packet of four coffee jellies.

You can see Saiki's eyebrows rise in slight exhilaration, maybe? You unwrap the plastic surrounding the jelly containers, and pass one to Saiki.

He immediately dismisses the bowl of rice, scooping up a big piece of coffee goodness and munching on it.

The birds are chirping too loudly for your liking, but at least the sun is lazily shining through the trees and giving you some vitamin d. Which at this rate you truly need because the doctor told you yesterday that your vitamin intake is lowering, even though you take them everyday.

You also forget about the fact that Saiki can read your mind, at this moment he's focusing on trying to find a clear answer on what you are going through.

Illness or just a sickness? They really don't clarify what's wrong. He shakes his head in annoyance, wondering why you will not tell anyone about your condition.

He sees your cracking skinned knuckles, and your broken nails. Plus, you seem to be losing hair but its not so noticeable. Saiki just seems to notice more than anyone since he's been so focused on what's troubling you.

"So!" You exclaim, interrupting Saiki's contemplation. He snaps back into reality when he sees rice pieces hanging on the sides of your mouth. Hot sauce is also coating the outlines of your lips.

"You got.." He waves his finger at his own mouth, attempting to show you that you have something on your face.

"Huh? Oh, yeah oops". You wipe the rice away with a napkin, painting the white paper with red coloring and grains.

"This picnic of yours is on your list, right? I'd hate to waste your time" He asks, setting down the empty plastic that was once carrying the coffee jelly. You nod, pulling out the crumbled paper with color writing. You point at the sixth activity, clear letters spelling out "Cottage picnic!".

"Cottage?" Saiki asks with a mouthful of rice. You nod, quickly explaining how cottage seems to fit the aesthetic of a picnic.

Saiki blankly stares at you, his interest plummeting down the more you talk.

He hums at everything you say, the higher your voice gets, the higher pitch he hums.

"You're totally ignoring what I'm saying". Your loud smacking of lips catches his attention, he reads the label of the chips you're eating.

Double hot chips. XXTRA.

"Yeah, I gave up listening" Saiki speaks, his hand reaching for your chips. You willingly give him some to try out. He throws some in his mouth and nods, he seems quite satsfied with the outcome.

"So good, right?!". You continue snacking on them, watching over Yuuta who's killing some kid at the climbing wall.

"He's a handful" Saiki comments, putting away the plastic bowls and utensils into the basket.

You hum, mimicking how Saiki was doing it moments earlier. He notices this, raising an eyebrow at you in amusement.

"Am I handful?" You ask suddenly, propping yourself up on your elbow. Saiki shakes his head, as if it was a reflex. You hum again, not believing him at all.

"I feel like I can be a burden" You admit, your tone flat and low. A lightbulb goes off in Saiki's head.

Is Y/n finally going to talk about what's happening to them? He thinks to himself, leaning forward and patiently waiting for you to continue.

"Because jeez! I do eat alot of snacks right?! I feel like our friends always seem to buy snacks for me and I feel bad for it!".

Saiki's shoulders slump in disappointment at your chattering. He should've expected this, you will never straight up admit something is wrong.

Saiki reassures you that no one is forcing themselves to buy you snacks, they do it because they want to. He sees relief wash over you, and he's glad.

As you continue being a chatterbox, he starts thinking of methods on how to get you to talk about your illness.

And of course, nothing seems to work according to how stubborn you are.

He grabs the camera and presses the stop button, replaying back the footage of you sipping cherry coke. He makes sure you're not looking, and smiles gently at how loudly you drink.

You're quite a handful, Y/n.

☆

Saiki did not know what went through his mind when he asked you to hang out all night. More like a sleepover but he thinks that the word "sleepover" is too much of a friendly term. He hands you an t shirt of his and some basketball shorts that seem to fit you just fine.

"Woah, I'm transforming into Saiki. Good grief, good grief, what a pain, what a-" Your sentence comes to a halt as Saiki holds up a finger and goes "I don't say that so much".

"You totally do!" You burst out, stabbing your thumb into Saiki's ribs. He jerks away, sighing and taking out a sleeping bag from his closet. He's had sleepovers at his house of course, Kaidou and Nendou always called him up to arrange such things.

"Let's go downstairs, my parents should be asleep by now" Saiki insists, his body halfway out the room. You follow him willingly and into the kitchen, where all your snacks you bought from the gas station are.

"Jeez" You both say as you hover over the table full of mini soda cans, sour and sweet candy. Plus, a variety of chips. And don't forget the two tubs of ice cream in the fridge!

"Jinx, you owe me a soda" You pop open two cans of cherry coke, chugging one down and burping loudly.

Saiki holds up a finger to his mouth and shushes you. A soft "Sorry" comes out of you, sipping the other can and crushing the empty one.

"We have plenty of soda, why would I owe you one?" Saiki crosses his arms and starts eyeing the cheesy chips. The bag is practically calling his name so he rips it open, the cheesiness smell overwhelming but he likes it that way.

You offer him a can of sprite which seems to be his favorite.

You both sit next to each other at the dining table, ripping bags of chips and cookies. A tummy ache is bound to happen to you both but that doesn't seem to be a concern for either of you two.

Ever since Saiki found out you have a sweet tooth like him, he's been smothering you in snacks and shares his with you.

After minutes of desperately munching and heavy breathing, you lock eyes with Saiki. You immediately shift your eyes to the very interesting tub of double fudge brownie ice cream. Saiki brought it out after you began drinking the coke. Stabbing a fork into the frozen dessert, you scoop up a good amount of softness into your mouth. Saiki finds it odd how you use a fork to eat ice cream, but he also thinks you're unique in that way.

His stare examines the dark eyebags you've had for the past weeks. Along with the fading bruise on your nose from when he hit you with a ball in PE class. Why hasn't it gone away?

Saiki reaches out and brushes strands of hair out of your face.

"Your eyes .. look so tired" He whispers, his fingers still tucked into your hair. You hold up your hand to push away his wrist, but you end up grasping his fingers instead.

"Because I am" You mumble, holding his hand in place. Saiki's gaze flicker from your eyes to your hair, as if he's trying to decipher what comforting words he can say.

"Tell me what's wrong. I want you to be the one to tell me. I don't want to read your thoughts to find out what's wrong with you."

You stand up and step back, your bottom lip trembling as tears threaten to come out of your eyes.

"Nothing is wrong, I swear" You choke out, your throat becoming dry as every slow second passes. Saiki shakes his head, not buying what you are saying. He steps forward, placing his hand on top of your head.

He ruffles your hair a bit, and you furrow your eyebrows in confusion. You look up at him and see sympathy drawn on his expression, his words coming out delicately but you cannot focus on what he is saying.

Need to come up with an excuse ..

You stumble back and begin fanning yourself, all the stress he has caused is heating you up. Your shaky hands pull out a doctors note and you show it to Saiki.

"I'm just fatigued, which is why I'm always out in PE, g-got it?" You stutter, he carefully takes the crinkled note from you and reads it.

L/n Y/n has fatigue and may tire quickly, do not let them participate in PE as this can harm them.

Saiki crumbles up the paper and throws it across the room, stepping closer to you in apprehension. Now he seems really upset, his eyes glistening in worry. He exhales shakily.

"Tell me the truth please" He murmurs. You let out a nervous laugh, your hands covered in a light coat of sweat. You rack your brain, coming up with solutions on what to say.

You cannot burden your friends, can you?

"It's nothing, I promise" You say in a low tone, wiping your palm dry of wetness. Saiki hangs his head low, letting go of your wrist and placing his hands on his head in frustration.

"Okay, if you say so". Although, he is not convinced at all. I mean come on, the way you look and the way you act contradict.

He holds up his pinky, his gaze practically burning into you as he waits for you to link his pinky with yours.

"You promise me?" He softly speaks, knowing you take pinky promises very seriously so he knows something is up if you decline.

"No, I'm sorry I can't I-" You end up choking up on your words, shaking your head profusely and rubbing your neck nervously.

"I'll tell you sometime, I promise" You wrap your pinky with his, returning his gaze. Saiki decides to just accept it, he's closer than ever to finding out what is bothering you. He'll just have to wait.

Saiki just hopes you're not dying, seeing that you're wilting like a decomposing flower.

Snuggling into your sleeping bag, you tell Saiki goodnight. He says it back, watching you in the dark until he knows you're asleep. He reaches down and caresses your hair, his lips twitching in concern.

"Please be okay" He whispers quietly into the dimly lit room. You said you're afraid of the dark so Saiki took out an old night light. He sighs, his fingers tangling in your hair. His heart seems to flutter, as the scent of your shampoo finds it way to his nose. He sniffles, continuing to tuck your hair behind your ear.

"Goodnight Y/n, my best friend".

Saiki drifts into sleep, his arm dangling over the bed and his fingers still knitted into your hair. And your strawberry shampoo still lingering in scent.

[iboatedhere]

Hi Rae! Here to throw the pebble (rock sounded way to harsh) of a prompt at your window. Prompt from the Summer vibe list- "music festivals with local bands" for FirstPrince. Either an au or canon verse, whatever you fancy at the moment. We'll read and enjoy whatever you come up with.

Happy writing! ❤️

Inspired by Taylor and Travis at Coachella.

--

Alex wakes with his face smashed into the mattress while the over-starched hotel room sheets press lines into his face. 

He blinks against the light slipping in from beneath the drawn curtains. His mouth feels like cotton, and his eyes feel dry and sandy, but he knows this hangover isn’t nearly as bad as it could’ve been, that maybe the Aspirin and Gatorade he chugged before he fell asleep did its job. 

He rolls over and finds Henry sitting up against the headboard, phone in hand and an unreadable expression on his face.

“Good or bad?” Alex mumbles, winding his hands through the tangled sheets between them to lay a hand on Henry’s thigh. 

Henry hums. “Apparently, we broke the internet.”

“Again?” Alex asks, lifting his head off the pillow. “What is that—the sixth time?”

“I haven’t been keeping track,” Henry tells him, “but I’ll take your word for it.”

“What the fuck did we do?” Alex asks as he tries to piece together the events of last night through the haze of overpriced liquor and second-hand smoke.

(The election might be over, but he knows better than to be caught smoking anything in public.) 

He knows they got to the festival grounds early because that’s what you do. He knows Pez got his photo taken about a million times with adoring fans, and they all teased Henry about being romantically linked to Dua Lipa a million years ago. 

He knows they hopped from stage to stage, leaving once the crowds around them became too much to handle, that he ate a terrible burrito bowl and a delicious samosa before washing it down with an iced coffee (that was more ice than coffee) and strawberry kiwi smoothie he split with Bea. 

He remembers joking about setting up a tent for the night instead of going back to the five-star hotel, just to see the horrified look on Amy, Cash, and Henry’s faces and the group splintering off to different stages as the day turned to night. 

Then he remembers riding back to the hotel, alone in the backseat of the van, Henry in his lap as he bit at his bottom lip. They made it up to their room in a blur of wandering hands and well-placed kisses before washing the dust off their bodies together and falling into bed. 

He remembers that part vividly, but nothing else really sticks out. Nothing that would cause chaos online. 

“Sweetheart,” Alex prompts, and Henry tilts the phone screen in his direction. 

“We simply existed,” Henry tells him, and Alex squints at the screen before giving up and rolling over, reaching out to find his glasses. 

He slides them onto his face and accepts the kiss Henry places on his temple before taking another look. 

Henry has searched Glastonbury on Twitter, and when Alex scrolls, all he sees are photos of him and Henry in one of the side tents. Henry’s arms are wrapped around him from behind, kissing the side of his neck and the top of his shoulder, always holding him close, always touching. There are gifs of Alex turning his hat around so he can lean up and mouth at the hinge of Henry’s jaw and videos of Henry’s full-bodied laughter. 

They look so happy and so in love, and the world is eating it up. 

“Well,” Alex says as he saves the clearer photos to Henry’s camera roll. “At least we look good.”

“Agreed,” Henry says as he settles back down into bed so he and Alex are eye to eye. “Would be lovely to be able to enjoy a concert without being photographed hundreds of times.”

Alex takes his glasses off and sets them back on the nightstand before turning back to Henry.

“I think we’ll get there someday,” he says. “Maybe. Possibly. I don't know.  We’re always going to be hot, so people are always going to look.”

“Even as we get old and gray?”

“Fuck, are you kidding? Especially then, sweetheart. And let’s not forget your dad—.”

“That’s quite enough,” Henry interrupts, pushing himself up and over Alex, silencing him with a kiss. “How many times must I beg you not to bring up my father while we’re in bed?”

“At least once more,” Alex says, and Henry smiles and lets himself be pulled down for another kiss. 

[change-the-rules]

we have all seen this photo we all love this photo and now I present for your consideration a meredith x chessy au idea that drop kicked me through a glass wall

so picture it, nappa valley, 1998, only this time meredith 'stays home to knit' letting the James-Parker coalition roll out on the camping trip without her

chessy finds her later on in the wine cellar when she returns from her non-romantic thank you very much excursion with martin

as well as the empty bottles surrounding her

meredith invites her to toast to her painfullly short engagement as she clumsily tries to explain that while she knows nick is set to return in a few days her fiance never will

they end up making it through half a shelf of wine and fucking

and then they sober up and do it again and again only they def get caught eventually, its bad, nick is a dick even though he dumped meredith Before he caught them and throws chessy out (sorry nick parker's character but it's the 90's and i need a villian)

chessy and meredith probably don't get together for real until at least one doomed marriage and a few years but then like 20ish years down the line meredith (who's either still in PR or maybe producing films) and chessy (who oft makes a whole production of just being a total if endearing jackass about being the trophy wife now) are married and walking the red carpet for some new film

hallie became a screen writer and she's also there and is Shocked to see them bc nick told the family that chessy died

Tie-dye girl is hallie's date

so everyone ends up doing the name thing like in Shrek until chessy spots nicole and is just like tye-die girl? and then hallie still reeling from the last two decades of thinking one of her *moms* bc im sorry but chessy is that girls' mom was *dead*

realizes that not only is chessy alive and looking at her like the day she came home from the hospital 6 lbs 11oz this is how she looks at her but 20 years later chessy Remembers her first camp crush, and of course when she was 10 hallie wanted to know her birth mom and annie was speaking hallie's own words when she said they were almost teenagers and needed a mother only hallie realized p quickly after chessy disappeared that she already *had* a mom (annie never got it, martin was her best friend, a big brother, wacky uncle, type not any sort of 'dad' stand in and even then he was the butler above all that)

and hallie just collapses into chessy holding on for dear life heedless of the flashing cameras her sobs coming uncontrollably

how many nights did a babydyke hallie lie awake wondering if her parents love would be conditional how many nights did she wish she still had chessy to confide in, chessy who loved her like more than a job like her own, chessy who was the only one who immediately knew that hallie wasn't hallie even if she tried to logic it away at first, chessy who she mourned and misses whos in front of her alive and solid and-

the 4 of them end up blowing off the premiere, chessy dragging everyone home to cook out her feelings and feed her girls,

hallie is understandably shocked that chessy married 'cruella' but 20 years is a long time and she's no longer a kid

besides meredith looks at chessy the way she looks at nicole so the woman had to have some redeeming qualities

plus nick and liz's had marriage imploded again on its own with no help from blonde she devils when hallie came out, nick had softened slightly from the man who threw out chessy and lied about it but no one improves that much that quickly without impetus and their relationship to this day is strained from those scars

honestly hallie's too happy to have chessy back at the moment to open that pandora's box [the alll consuming rage and bittersweetness at her father's actions will come later and in waves]

for now she's too busy inhaling a bowl of pasta(chili tasted too much like painful memories) pressed into an adoring chessy's side watching with an understated awe as the villian from her childhood makes her first (and if the ring in her burning a hole pocket has anything to say about last) true love laugh

anyway this turned more into chessy hallie family with hallie tiedye girl feels than meredith chessy content but I don't know that ill ever actually get around to Writing the fic thus releasing this unpolished word vomit into the wild

[ryeriy]

masterpiece

warnings: carving with knives (pumpkin carving)

navigation post

"Why are there pumpkins on the table?" Adam asked while walking over. "Because I bought them," I said. I was sitting in the living room watching TV. "Well obviously. But why did you buy them?" He asked. "For decor." He let out a laugh. "You realize pumpkins can't be house decor, right? They're gonna rot!" He exclaimed at me while laughing. He thinks I'm that dumb. "You seriously think I'm that dumb?" I got up from the kitchen to find Adam staring at the two pumpkins I had bought. Staring at what to do with them. "Well, of course not." He said. "Well maybe you shouldn't underestimate me then!" I exclaimed at him while laughing.

I'm a sophomore at Ohio State University. Adam recently got drafted to the Bluejackets this year. It worked out perfectly for us. I was already going to school here and he now works here. We'd been dating before I went to college. We started dating right before our freshman year of college. I was originally going to go to Michigan but Ohio had a better program for what I wanted to do than Michigan. Now that he's here it's better. Adam only moved here a few months ago. When I found out he got drafted to Columbus of course, I offered him to come live with me in my apartment. He'd been only living with me for a few months now but I've tried to make the most of it by making him feel welcomed. So having pumpkins to carve is a start. Especially with his season starting soon. I want to have some fun with him before we both get busy.

"We're going to carve them, dumbie," I said while grabbing the two knives I bought to carve the pumpkins. "This is going to get real messy then," Adam said while looking at me and letting out a laugh. "Well, I didn't think about that okay Albert Einstein," I said. We both couldn't stop laughing at each other. At this rate, the pumpkins would just become decor. We both pulled out our phones going onto Google and Pinterest. Searching for ideas of what to do. I decided on a basic Hello Kitty design while Adam chose the classic jack-o-lantern look.

Now, was the messy part. We both took off the top of the pumpkin. Adam went over to one of the cabinets and grabbed a big bowl. "We can put the guts in here." He said. Placing down the bowl in between the two of us. We both started to take out the guts and throw them into the bowl. "There's so much!" It felt like it was never going to end with the amount that was coming out. "Have you ever carved a pumpkin?" Adam said jokingly while laughing. "When I was little!" I laughed back at him. By now we were almost done with the guts and removing the seeds. "Are you almost done?" He asks. "Yeah, are you?" I asked back. "Mhmhm." He said back while taking the last few guts he had left out of the pumpkin.

The two of us started carving after twenty minutes. It took us so long to take out the guts. Too long. We both went in different directions on how we carved them. He was going the classic way, and I'm trying something harder. I think it's going to look cute though. Adam's is almost done and I'm not far behind him. I only had a few more things to do but he had to do less. "What are you even making?" I laugh for a moment. "It's hello kitty!" "Oh, now I see it! Sort of?" He said jokingly. "Oh my god, stop that!" I said while laughing as I playfully softly pushed him.

Both of us continued to finish up our pumpkins we were getting ready to put the candle inside to glow it up. "Yours doesn't look too bad. It's cute." Adam said as he placed a kiss on my head. "Aw, you're so sweet," I said while smiling up at him. He smiled back as he grabbed his phone out of his pocket to take a photo of his pumpkin. "Here I want one with you and yours. Then we can do the opposite." He said. I walked next to my pumpkin, picked it up, and stood next to it smiling at the camera. I put it down as I grabbed my phone and did the same. Took a photo of mine followed by one of Adam and his. "These are going on Christmas cards for sure," I said jokingly. "100%" Adam replied.

31 days of Halloween

join my taglist

[jaded-jezz]

Shutter Speed

(Part 3)

Jack Champion x Photographer!Reader

Part 3/3

☁︎ Fluff

Summary: y/n is a photographer for the new scream promo and Jack thinks she belongs in front of the camera rather than behind.

(Y/N POV)

"So, how do I look?" I walk out into my room where Leah is patiently waiting. "OMG SHUT UP! YOU LOOK AMAZING!" Leah exclaims so loud that I jump back in surprise. "He is going to propose!"

"Jesus Leah, it's our first date chill out." I laugh while grabbing my bag off my bed. "Sorry but I am jealous of him, run through the plan again so we can work out how to woo him." Leah giggles after throwing her hands up in defense.

As we aren't the sportiest of people, we agreed to go to an arcade. This seemed like the next best way to settle our squabble over who is reigning champion of games. Since the day he asked for my number, we have been sending mini message games to each other when we get bored. Right now I have won the most of the varying games like cup pong, bowling and battleship, but Jack has accused me of cheating once or twice so he thinks he is the Jack Champion.

A knock at the door stops my rambling. Leah looks over as my eyes widen. “Pretend I’ve died,” I whisper. “Y/N WHAT NO GET UP!” Leah starts picking up my bag and pushing my down the hallway. “You will be fine, you know to text me if anything goes wrong. I’ll wait up for you and you can tell me all about it.” She gives a supportive grin before opening the door.

(JACK’S POV)

My mouth goes dry the second the door opens. She looks so beautiful I almost forget she is real. Stumbling for words I finally say, "Wow Y/N, you look stunning." It's a casual outfit, due to our dates location, but she has somehow managed to make it look like she is about to walk down a runway.

I see her cheeks turn pink just before she looks at the floor grinning. I re-gain her attention by presenting the bouquet that I spent too long choosing for her. Her eyes light up, I want to freeze this moment of time to remember it forever.

Behind Y/N, Leah clears her throat trying to remove the comfortable silence between us. "Thank you Jack. They are lovely, I'm going to put them inside and then we can go? She turns to Leah who promises to put them in water and shoos us out the door.

( Y/N POV)

After a short car journey of Taylor Swift and karaoke we arrived at the arcade. When we parked, Jack ran round and opened the door before I could even say a word.

We walked inside holding hands and Jack asked "What's first?" after scanning the place once over. "Oh my god, definitely the dance machine! I wanna see all those moves you were talking about during shake it off!" I laughed before dragging him over. I didn't give him time to decide as I entered the coins and started selecting a song.

"Easy mode?" I looked Jack up and down as if to challenge him. After finally agreeing on a song, it was a blur of limbs and laughs until the song ended and we waited to see who had won.

"It's rigged! I was so much better than you!" Jack sighed while the tickets where done printing our of my side of the machine. A short laugh escaped both our throats as we tried to catch our breath from the extensive workout we had completed. "Maybe Champion shouldn't be your last name?" I jest. "Maybe it should be yours," Jack whispers as he moves to stand closer to me. I feel my face heat up as he leans in and just before he gets too close he reaches down and steals the tickets from behind me. "Jack that's cheating!" I shout as he starts to run to the next game.

(JACK'S POV)

After Y/N and I had won enough tickets I made my way to cash them in for prizes as she went to try her luck one last time at a claw machine in a back corner.

"JACK!" Y/N jumps next to me, smile reaching her eyes. "Look who I won!" She is holding a plush toy of an Avatar character. "You'll never guess who it is as well..." She giggles with a certain look in his eye.

"No way. Send it back. Burn it" It's Neteyam. Also known as the character played by Jamie Flatters. I try to hold back my laugh as Y/N goes on and on about how he is her favorite character and what she would do to meet Jamie. I know she is just messing around but a part of me longs to know how much she liked me during the movie.

I realize I have been in my own world when I feel her eyes staring into me. "Jack I was just joking-" "I know sorry, I was just distracted at how cute you look while rambling and I may or may not be kinda jealous that you like Neteyam more than Spider!" I grin at her.

"But I like you more than Jamie, don't worry." I kind of feel bad for making her think she upset me so I grab her hand and drag her to the photo booth. I pull her to sit in my lap, as the booth is too small for us both to sit, and I see her cheeks glow lightly before she composes herself to discuss poses.

"Just go with the flow Y/N." I feel her relax against me as the countdown starts. We start with a cute smiley one, and then stupid fish pouts. Her lips look so perfect. This is my perfect opportunity to do what I have wanted to do since the day I mistook her for Leah and she came to correct me. The automated countdown pulls me out of my flash back and I place my hand at her chin and turn her face towards me. I look into her eyes waiting for a nod, a simple yes.

Sparks ignite as our lips touch and I never want to be apart from her. Ever again. She pulls away and we chuckle quietly. Awkward silence overtakes the air, but it is somehow comforting. She looks back at me, eyes sparkling as the last picture is taken featuring our stupid love-struck smiles.

( Y/N POV)

I carefully remove myself from Jack's grasp as we leave the both to collect our photos. I still can't work out if the kiss was real until the photos are shot out and being picked up by Jack. I pick up the second print and an overwhelming feeling of happiness overtakes me and I smile so wide that my eyes may burst out of their sockets. This feeling has given me a burst of confidence, I grab Jack's face for another kiss.

I never want to stop kissing him.

After playing a few more games, we decide to head back to the car. On the way out I hear small sighs of frustration and look to my right to see a small girl at the claw machine where I had won earlier. "Jack... I think she wants this more than me." Before Jack understands what on earth I am talking about, I have carefully removed our linked hands and I walk over to the young girl. "Hey there. I have too many plushes at home, Could you look after him for me?" The girl warily took the toy from me to make sure I wasn't messing around and in the process saw Jack walking over to me.

"I know you from my TV! You're in this machine!" She jumps towards the claw machine pointing to the poster at the back. "Oh yeah that's me!" Jack replies smiling politely. "Could i ask my mom to take a picture with you?" "Of course."

(JACK'S POV)

I felt bad for Y/N as she stood off to the side but after I said goodbye she came over looking far from upset. "You are so cute with fans." I roll my eyes, put my arm around her and hug her tightly as we walk back to my car.

It's safe to say that was not our last date, but it might be my favorite.

That is finally the end of Shutter Speed! Let me know what you think in the comments! Sorry it took so long, I just lost interest in Jack especially after hearing rumors of what his girlfriend supports. I will no longer be writing for Jack but I wanted to finish this off before I started anything new.

As always, requests are currently open!

Please do not repost this, reblogs are appreciated.

(TAGLIST)

@inlovewithfictionalcharacters27 @callmemady-love @iloveneilperry @indecisivefandoms-blog @0ppiateslove

@heyimrye @ilovemen2much @nini123 @daffodil-darlings @foxymask001 @multi-simp-page

[comfortjoonie]

Hi I don't know if you are comfortable writing this, and it is completely understandable if you don't. I had a request and was wondering if u could write a story about RM and that he is feeling insecure about his looks and weight so he starts dieting and its starts getting bad to the point he ends up passing out but the members help him get better.

Thanks for the request anon! I am totally comfortable writing this! I hope you like it:

Tw// disordered eating, body shaming

DISCLAIMER::  In this story I talk from Namjoon’s perspective.  I do not believe the things I wrote, I’m writing what he is thinking.  The things he think in the story, I don’t believe and neither does he.  Just putting that out there.  Anyways..

Namjoon blinks his eyes and squints back at the comments.  It’s 2am and his vision is getting blurry.  But he needs to keep reading, he can’t stop.

Army_jhope188: Yeah, RM on the left.  He’s definitely fat these days.

Bts_fan_1219: He totally has a double chin.  No one in the fandom really likes him even before he was fat.

Rmcity: Don’t say it, the fandom loves him and he’s not fat, he just gained muscle.

Suga_fan_bt21: He’s not muscular.  He’s a fatass.

Jungkookswife321: I heard he had anorexia a while back, maybe you shouldn’t say stuff like that.

Bts_fan_1219: It’s not working, I think everyone hopes he gets it again so he can stop messing up the visuals of the whole group with his weight.

Namjoon put his head in his hands and closed the laptop.  It was true.  He knew it was true.  He’d gained weight.  But he had never thought of himself as fat until he saw the comments.  And they were right, he could feel it.  Guilt washed him hard as he realized that he was throwing off the group with his weight.  They had a dance practice soon.  Cameras were going to be on them.  He had two weeks, and he couldn’t let the fans down.

Namjoon decided to start tomorrow.  Quickly, quietly, he went to the kitchen to grab a bowl of rice – his last meal for the next two weeks.  He sat on the dining chair and ate it, but he felt so guilty that he couldn’t get past three bites.  He was literally weighing the group down.  He needed to stop eating, completely.

He went to bed and rested fitfully, plagued by memories of the comments he’d seen.  When he woke up, he was already hungry.  It was 10am, and dance practice started in 30 minutes.  He heard the bustling of the other members in the kitchen, and he pulled on his clothes and went to the kitchen.

“Good morning, Namjoonie-hyung,” Jimin said, smiling, and Namjoon smiled back.  He felt his stomach growl uncomfortably.  He always ate before 10am.  It felt weird.

“Good morning, Jimin,” Namjoon said.

“Joonie, sit down.  You need to eat before practice today,” Jin said, pointing to a chair.

“I’m not really hungry, hyung.  I just woke up,” Namjoon shrugged.

“Just promise me you’ll eat after practice, right?” Jin asked, and Namjoon smiled and nodded.

—--

When practice was over, Namjoon was still hungry.  He resolved to chugging water, which made him feel full, but he was still shaking.  He sat for the rest of the day in his room, scrolling through comments.  He needed the motivation.

Btsarmy_jimin:  I guarantee you he’ll come for the next comeback looking like a total pig.

Taehyungsluv: He already does, we know.

Alicia_robinson: Lol, I know right?  If he doesn’t come back skinnier I’m unstanning.

Jin_forever: Seriously?  You guys are so gross.

Namjoon sighed and rubbed his eyes.  He needed sleep.  If he didn’t have food, he definitely needed sleep.

—--

The next day went the same.  He felt hungry, but he went to dance practice anyways.  He felt weak and shaky, but he could push through.  When he woke up the third day, he was shaking.  His body ached.  But he still went to dance practice.  He could already see that he was starting to lose weight.  Every night, he looked at the comments.  It was different than before.  It didn’t make him feel sad and overwhelmed with guilt.  It made him excited – this was his motivation.  He was going to be skinny again.  He was going to make ARMY happy again.

—--

The sixth day, Namjoon was barely functioning.  He was shaking so badly that he could barely walk, and between every break in choreography, he was gasping so hard for air that the staff brought in an oxygen mask for him.  He insisted he was just out of shape and had a cold, and it seemed that everyone believed him.

He woke up in a cold sweat.  He felt nauseous, and instead of the ache he’d gotten used to over the past days, a sharp, striking pain hit his stomach.  He knew it was hunger pangs, he just had no idea why it took so long to start.  But it was so painful that when he tried to move he cried out in pain and Hoseok came rushing into his room.

“Joonie, what’s wrong?” Hoseok asked, kneeling beside Namjoon’s bed.  

“I don’t feel good, hyung…” Namjoon moaned.  

“Have you eaten since yesterday’s lunch?”

“Yes,” Namjoon lied.

“You look really bad, Joonah.  I think you should stay home today.  I’ll stay with you, ok?”

“No, it’s fine, y-you should go,” Namjoon said softly.  Hoseok pressed his lips together.

“Call me if you need anything, ok?”  Hoseok said, and Namjoon nodded.  He was too exhausted to say anything else.

Namjoon heard Hoseok and the others leave.  He tried to sleep, but the pain was too intense for it.  He wasn’t sure how long it was before the nausea made him feel like he was about to vomit.  He knew he wasn’t going to – there was nothing – but he felt so sick.  He needed water.  He was dizzy and disoriented as he reached for his phone and whispered “call Jung Hoseok” into the search bar.

The phone rang for a full minute, then stopped.  Hoseok didn’t answer.  Namjoon nearly cried.  He needed his hyung.  He called again, and this time Hoseok answered.

“Namjoonie?”

“Hobi-hyung.”  Namjoon’s voice was weak and raspy.

“What’s wrong Joonie?”

“...I’m so thirsty.”

Hoseok paused.  “Do you need me to get water for you?”

“Yes,” Namjoon whispered.

“I’ll be right there, Joon.  Ten minutes, ok?”

Namjoon hung up the phone.  He wasn’t sure if he could wait ten minutes.  He hadn’t drank water in a full day, and he hadn’t eaten in six.  He closed his eyes again.

When he opened his eyes, Hoseok was there with a glass of water.  He blinked.  No, everyone was there.

“You really look awful, Namjoonie,” Hoseok whispered.  “Why don’t you sit up so you can drink?”

Namjoon weakly pulled himself up.  Hoseok tilted the water to his lips, and Namjoon tried to drink, but he was shaking so hard and was so dizzy.  Suddenly, he felt his body go limp and the next thing he knew he had passed out.

Jungkook barely caught Namjoon before his head hit the floor.  Everyone gasped as they saw Namjoon unconscious.  His body was completely slumped into Jungkook’s arms.  All they could do was wait for him to wake up.

Namjoon jolted in Jungkook’s arms and the younger helped lift his head up.

“It’s ok, Namjoonie.  What happened?” Yoongi asked.  

“We should take him to a hospital,” Jimin said, but Yoongi shook his head.  

“Are you sick?”

Namjoon suddenly broke down crying.  “What’s wrong, honey?” Seokjin asked, petting Namjoon’s hair as his dongsaeng put his head in his hands.

“I h-haven’t eaten,” Namjoon sobbed.  “In six d-days, I just wanted t-to be sk–inny again.”

Seokjin’s heart broke.  “What do you mean, Joonie?”

“E-everyone thinks I’m fat.  All of th-the fans think I’m fat…I just w-wanted to be handsome for them,” Namjoon cried, shaking so hard that Jungkook had to hold him steady.

“No, Namjoonie-hyung, you’re beautiful,” Taehyung said.  Namjoon shook his head and sobbed.  “Yes, you are.  You’re the most handsome man in the world.  It doesn’t matter what people say.”

“B-but I am fat,” Namjoon sniffed, and Yoongi wiped his tears.

“You’re not fat at all.  You’ve just gained muscle.  And that’s a good thing, Joonie, you love working out.  You should do things that make you happy.”

“I’m making all y-you guys look bad…”

“You make us look better, Joonie,” Hoseok said.  “You’re not fat at all.  You’re perfect.  Come here.”  Hoseok brought Namjoon’s head to his chest, feeling the younger’s tears land on his shirt.  “You’re perfect.  You’re perfect,” He said again.

Yoongi reached over to rub Namjoon’s back.  “You should eat, Joonie.  You’re so pale.  How about some rice?”

Namjoon shook his head furiously.  “N-no, I need–”

“You need to let us take care of you.  You need to eat, Joonie,” Yoongi said gently.  “OK?”

There was a pause before Namjoon answered.

“O-OK…”

Yoongi smiled.  “I’ll go make some rice for you.  You’ll feel better in no time.”

[salamandergoo]

STWG Prompt: “Puppies are the spawn of the devil. The adorable, adorable devil”

CW for pet/animal death. I was fast and loose with this prompt lmao.

Chester died while Jonathan was at work.  It was a late December night, just a few days after Christmas, and he'd been working late at the hardware store.  Will was alive and at home.  He'd been the only one home when the dog had laid down and stopped breathing.

Will had said he'd thought Chester had just gone to sleep, but he was cold to the touch when their mom had gotten home.  When he'd gotten home an hour later, Chester was covered by an old blanket and had been laid in the kitchen.  When his mom told him, he stared at the lump under the blanket, nodded once, and went to his room.

He didn't turn on any music, he didn't pick up his new camera, he didn't lay under the blankets.  He didn't cry.

He just sat down and stared out the window.  It was an overcast night, the sky was pitch black.  The ground was a slushy mess, snow half melted from an oddly warm day, but not melted enough to see more than the occasional patch of grass.  He sat there and thought about Chester, the dog their mom had picked from the shelter after Lonnie left.

The dog that Will had been excited for, that Jonathan had been reluctant over, that Joyce had been often exasperated by.  Jonathan had been the one to take care of him most of the time, making sure there was dog food in the cabinet and his water bowl was full and he was let out before school and before work and before bed.

Will had played with him the most, throwing old tennis balls and rubbing his belly and whispering to him about things that Joyce and Jonathan tried to understand but couldn't.

He'd been an annoying dog.  Barked at random times and scratched things and chewed up the occasional book or shoe.  But if no one could understand what he was saying, Jonathan thought, he might scream or destroy things too.

Joyce wanted to bury him in the backyard, but the ground was frozen and the shovel couldn't go deep enough into a patch of grass as the three of them stood in the backyard, bundled up the next morning.  Will was sniffling and wiping at his eyes, but Jonathan didn't cry.

Joyce called Hopper, who apparently invited them over, promised that he'd dig a deep enough hole by his trailer next to the lake.  Jonathan thought that was weird, but he was more concerned with finding a fresh box of tissues for Will when he saw the one on the coffee table was empty.

He let Will take the front seat on the drive over and sat in the backseat with a dead dog.  He didn't cry, but his throat felt tight when he slipped his fingers under the blanket and stroked Chester's cold ear.

Will clutched Joyce's hand as Hopper covered the hole with lumpy dirt.  Jonathan stood off to the side and stared as the blanket was covered up, taken out of sight by frozen dirt.  It didn't pack down right and he distantly wondered if it hurt to be buried.  Chester didn't feel anything, but if he could...

Hopper invited them inside and boiled water to mix powdered hot chocolate in.  Jonathan took a mug to be polite and sat on the couch with his shoulders stiff.  He heard Hopper whisper something about dogs being the spawn of the devil, heard his mom slap his arm and muffle giggles.

He just stared down into his steaming mug while Will quietly looked around the trailer.

They didn't stay long, Hopper told them he had to get to the station, but Jonathan watched him go the opposite direction when they were pulling away to go home.  Maybe he was inspecting something, maybe more weird things were happening in Hawkins.  He hoped not and slumped down in his seat, watching the town go by out the window.  Joyce was saying something, but he couldn't make himself listen, just stared up at the still overcast sky.  The clouds looked heavy, he wondered if they would feel like the frozen dirt.

They got home and Will was quiet.  He didn't even seem interested on playing with his new Atari.  Joyce sat with him on the couch and Jonathan went back to his room.

He stared at his bed and thought about Chester laying there while he did homework.  Even if Chester was loud and a nuisance and had nipped at Jonathan's fingers a little hard to be playful sometimes...

He'd been a good dog.

Jonathan didn't know why he died.  He'd seemed fine that morning and Will hadn't noticed anything.  He was an observant kid, if something had been wrong...

Maybe he'd go like that someday.  Just be going about his day like normal, and like someone flicked a light switch, he'd fall to the ground.  He'd be wrapped in a blanket and buried and forgotten.

Jonathan got into his bed and under the blankets.  He pulled them over his head and imagined being suffocated under a layer of dirt on top of them.  He imagined being cold and alone.  He imagined being where Chester was and felt lonely.

He took the blankets off his head and listened, looked towards his open door.  He sighed and rolled over, curled up in a ball and thought about Chester never being here ever again and felt small.

He closed his eyes and thought about dirt and death and cold.  Tears rolled down his face, but he didn't make a sound.

[perpetual-canon]

Perpetual Canon Chapter 1. Light in The End of The Rabbit Hole

before / 8. axe rockstar / next where it started / navigation / about the story

We present to you - Ace’s misconceptions about the life of a rock star

OR: Welcome to The Spirit House Where Dreams Break Every Day.

Expectations: riding around town, hanging from a sunroof of a cool car, having a nice time in the cool night air.

Reality: driving to the grocery store in Russell’s rusty old truck. And Noodle throws a smelly old jacket over your head when someone with a camera looks at you funny at the stoplight.

Expectations: you slide in the life of the gorgeous singer like honey over toast. You sweep him off his feet, make him question his sexuality and seduce for the life of crime (but not like, major “Law&Order” crime) until he falls for you like rose petals fall under the wind.

Reality: Stuart 2D Pot have been blankly staring at the wall most of the day, for most days of the week you were in the house. You never saw him move. Or eat. Or talk. Or react to anything beside Noodle shaking half full cereal box that one time.

“Honestly, same,” - She said with a hint of warmth in her tone, ruffled Stuarts hair, and placed a full bowl in front of him. - “That’s bi culture”.

So, you sign quietly, no “questioning the sexuality” part then.

Expectations: partying!

Reality: Noodle going “No, Jamie, we’re not going to that event now, that’s a waste of time” over the phone about 3 times a day since you moved in.

Expectations: now you can finally rock this Axe Rockstar image, gonna bathe in it! And the Band, they even have it stocked in the cabinet! Just like your sweaty teen self imagined back in the day.

Reality: everyone is looking at you funny for a couple of days until you find out that The Band uses Axe Rockstar as an air freshener in the bathroom.

Expectations: everyone is saying to watch out for the producer, Hewlett, because he’s a creep and generally a really nasty person or something.

Reality: Jamie is actually a polite, calm individual, really, an absolute champ! Very supportive, and is always interested in learning more about you and your gang. He never gets tired of going over the family photos in your phone, and that’s a rare trait.

Expectations: doing celebrity interviews for Big Channels or fashion magazines, dropping one-liners like you drop your fur coat on the floor, being suave and charming with the fans.

Reality: Noodle very hesitantly agrees with Jamie to go on one (1) radio podcast. The host immediately notices your sweaty teenage Axe aesthetic, and ironically notes how “you can always smell the bassist outta the band”. On air.

And for the next 40 minutes you’re stuck in the tiny room with everyone, answering an array of hosts armed with ridiculous twitter-submitted  questions.

Expectations: having a nice car and a private driver to get you to places.

Reality: you’re the driver. Again. The designated one too, since Russ “can finally take a break from babying this kindergarten and enjoy his evening beer after work”. His old as balls truck scares you more than the haunted Fiesta you jacked that one time, but you decide not to argue. Maybe, if you’re driving, Noodle will not risk using that horrid jacket to hide you again.

Expectations: making meaningful connections with everyone in the band.

Reality:

1) After you get everyone home safely after the interview (despite Noodle tucking you under the steering wheel and driving the car herself for very scary 15 minutes) you smell more like old musty leather jacket than Axe now.

(You’re not sure which one is better by this point)

2) In the kitchen you find Stuart, calmly drowning, face in the full cereal bowl. You panic and freeze the milk, and then panic again, because the whole bowl got frozen to 2D’s face and he still can’t breathe. While you run around filling cups with hot water, Stuart tries to lift his head but ends up banging the bowl over the table hard. This should’ve given him another concussion, but at least the iced bowl breaks. You and Stuart both take a relieved breath to celebrate that.

(2d still remains as unresponsive as ever, and your subtle worry grows)

3) Later at evening very tired looking Russ finds you in the living room and presents you with a big box. “From all of us,” - He says. - “A housewarming gift.”

Box is stuffed to the top with Old Spice “Arctic Force”.

“Axe,” - adds Russell, looking you straight in the eyes, - “Is banned to bathroom use only.” He lets go of the box only after getting a hesitant nod in response.

(Next day, you feel very adult using Old Spice for the first time)