#maybe i should write more short things for funsies

[send-noodles-not-nudes]

having an idea for a short (keyword being SHORT) lil soulmate au to write bc teehee so fun, might throw in a bit (aka a lot) of angst just for funsies

vs putting it in a word counter out of curiosity and finding out its already at 12k words and not even edited yet

anyway now im wondering if i should make it a two part thing or not bc im not sure how many people will read it if its all in one massive chunk of text, whereas its more likely to get read if i chunk it up into smaller pieces and give it to yall one bit at a time

[boredzillenial]

Hiii i have been loving how you write for Oscar Isaac’s characters so much especially with the King John one 😩. Anyways, can I request a blurb of Orestes from Agora with anything Valentine’s Day related? You can do it with another character if you haven’t watched Agora yet, I’m completely fine with anything you will put ^^

Hi Anon! I gave this my best crack so let’s see! No smut this go around just a writing exercise ☺️

My Dove

Orestes hears of a Saint that may span the hostility between him and his new bride.

Themes: just Orestes trying to win her over, and failing to keep himself from simping

Word count: (idk it’s short lol)

A.N: historical and movie reference mistakes abound — just for funsies don’t take this seriously lol

“A Saint?” Orestes questioned “Valentine?” He tasted the name, finding it strange on his tongue. “And what did he do exactly?”

Orestes’ advisor shrugged as he picked over the arrangement of fruits on the table, “died for something or another. You know how these Christians get, will celebrate anyone who dies for ‘em.” He grumbled as he tossed a scroll on the table only to snatch a cluster of grapes. “Heard the ladies say something about it being romantic though.” His wicked teasing grin grated against Orestes’ nerves.

“Christian’s and romance huh?” Orestes returned his advisors smirk with a tight lipped one of his own. “Who’d have thought.”

“Thought it may help with -“ Orestes halted the sentence with a stony look. “- sorry, sorry.” His advisor threw up his hands and he exited the dimly lit chambers. It was no secret that the arranged marriage of Orestes and a daughter of one of the leaders of the Christian movement was strained to say the least. But he was at his limit with his own men giving him shit for it.

Orestes was not one to shy away from an opportunity for power. So when occasion presented itself he took it, regardless of the rumors he’d heard of her. Though he didn’t agree with the Christian notion of forcing his wife to heel, he thought maybe this could be a bridge. Some shared respect for this new Saint to bring them together.

Orestes grabbed the scroll along with a bowl of her favorite fruits and sauntered down the hall. He filled his lungs slowly, intentionally, as he readied himself. This needs to work, I can’t continue on like this.

This marriage had quelled the violence in the streets and to her credit his wife was commanding in her call for peace. Especially when aided by her father who ensured the zealots yielded. But the violence only shifted from the streets into his home. ”She’s as gentle as a dove.” her father had claimed in his initial offer. What a lair.

While he knew what her father said she should do, to obey her husband, it seemed she never could find the strength to actually do so. ”You opportunistic snake!” she’d screamed on their wedding night when he came to bed. She’d tossed the nearest thing a which turned out to be one of their gifts, a beautiful ornamental bowl. ”Now is that any way to welcome your husband, my dove?” he’d shot back at her. Ever since that’d been her moniker. He shook his head and huffed at the memory, at least she has heart.

That memory alone sent his heart hammering and sweat moistening his palms. His footsteps echoed through the corridors softly as he neared the ornate doorway to the atrium, where she spent most of her days.

As he opened it wearily he cast his gaze across the expansive room. His position had granted him more than a fair bit of luxury, and she had insisted the atrium be filled with flowering plants and water features. There she laid along the edge of the pool, dress hiked up to her hip revealed deliciously smooth skin that glistened with beading sweat. Her leg making slow ripples in the water.

Orestes felt as if his heart stopped for a moment. With here defenses down like this, body relaxed in the morning light… Gods she was beautiful.

The sound of his next step alerted her to his presence. She shot up like a viper, quickly pulled her leg up and under her dress and glared at him. “What.” She hissed

“Have you heard of Valentine?” He strained to keep his voice casual and cast his gaze elsewhere in the room.

“Saint Valentine you mean,” Her voice betrayed her interest as she eyed the scroll in his hand. “I’ve heard mutterings.”

“Well,” He waggled the delicate paper for a moment as he moved, “if you care to know the story.” Carefully he placed it on a nearby bench along with the bowl of fruits beside it. Orestes strolled slowly back toward the doorway. “He was very brave.”

He heard quick shuffling and the rustle of parchment. “Wait -” Her voice echoed in the chamber.

Orestes stopped and turned slowly, a brow quirked in interest. “Yes, my dove?” The look on her face sent his heart hammering again. For a moment the features there had softened and a smile played at the edge of her lips before hardening again.

Her voice though, was gentle, “Thank you, Orestes.” Oh how she could so easily bring him to his knees when she chose to be soft.

He cleared his throat and gave a curt nod with a smile, “Of course.” With what little control he had left he turned and left the atrium. Once the doors closed behind him he leaned against them. She’s taken my soul, my dove…

—————————

Taglist: @melodygatesauthor @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction @ominoose @romana-after-dark @lunar-ghoulie @flowercrownonapegion @howellatme @mooksmouse @ahookedheroespureheart @beezusvreeland @auntiegigi @moonkxight-blog @faretheeoscar

[ryuichirou]

Replies

Short replies about latest drawings + some random twst stuff!

Anonymous asked:

C to the A to the Ter!

He's back again

Omg a cheer 👏😭 Yes he is! For a little sketch…

Anonymous asked:

A different style! Why?

Just for funsies! The sketch was pretty quick/not detailed, so we thought this kind of colouring would look better + kinda wanted to mess around a bit. And use juicy, bright, eye-hurting colours hehe.

I think I should experiment more.

Anonymous asked:

What he looking at? What on his mind? Why they allow student smoking? Where his phone!?

At nothingness, probably just white noise, he isn’t allowed he’s hiding, oh… I can’t answer the last one, I messed up and forgot about it 😔

Anonymous asked:

hey! I want to say that I love your drawings VERY MUCH!!

I look forward to new jobs every day. I especially like your rookvil. I would be glad to see them more often 🤲🏻🤲🏻💋

Thank you so much, Anon!! <3 I’m so happy to hear that.

Yes, it’s been a while since we posted any RookVil; my issue is that I keep wanting to do comics with them, and those take a long time to prepare for posting…

Let’s hope I’ll come up with something good and quick soon! Or finish up some comic I don’t know lol

Anonymous asked:

Who the sexiest twst man you know. In your opinion

This is SUCH a difficult and cruel question. And at the same time, the answer is pretty clear in my head, but it’s impossible to say because I can feel how displeased the other boys would be to hear it lol So please don’t tell anyone…

In terms of raw and natural sex appeal, appearance-wise and all, it’s Jamil. The fact that he’s keeping it low-key and doesn’t bring too much attention to himself amplifies it.

Anonymous asked:

Thinking, wht Crewel only give Deuce a collar. Did he wear any chastity cage ?

Only when Deuce started to get boners during classes and Crewel absolutely had to correct that behaviour~ Of course, Crewel caused said boners and he knew perfectly well Deuce wouldn’t be able to keep it together, but that’s beside the point!

Anonymous asked:

Are Mob's always tops?

Replied here! Short answer: yep.

Anonymous asked:

Book 7 spoilers so like... be warned

In Ruggie's dream there's actually a flashback where he wears the Octavinelle uniform I think, not the fedora though, probably didn't have one tailored to his ears

Ohhh, that’s cute. Too bad they didn’t give him a hat, but still, it’s cute that we kind of have octa!Ruggie in canon lol

Anonymous asked:

Omg obey me, the game that got me in this gacha hellscape to begin with. My favorite was Mammon! At times the writing was great, other times less so, but god I still have such fond memories of my time at demon college.

— 💜🌹

I’m glad you enjoyed it, 💜🌹Anon! We’ve heard a lot of things about Obey me, and I know it’s very dear to a lot of people who are either used to be into it or are currently into it. So I’m glad I had a chance to draw someone from the game.

Anonymous asked:

I see the bed behind them. Look like Idia just have some wild night eh?

You noticed! I barely sketched it there, so I’m glad it looks recognisable…

Yeah, every night with Azul is wild, be it because of sex or because of her habit to grab, squeeze and strangle while she sleeps…

Anonymous asked:

Wow. Idia doesn't look any different. I want that chest 😭😭😭😭😭

I love when people comment on Idia’s tiny chest, thank you Anon! I think it’s cute… And I love Idia barely looking any different lol Although that’s why I also always have to specify it’s two girls drawn together just in case...

Anonymous asked:

5 femazul and idia art. Are they married? Because i see wedding dress and azul kisses.

Anon, I can’t help it, somehow I always end up drawing these two when I’m in the mood for girls. They poisoned my brain…

I just think fem!Azul looks wonderful in a wedding dress and as a lovely little bride~ because you know, Vanessa. So I wanted to draw them getting married.

Are they married? Maybe, they have pretty much the same relationship as regular Azul and Idia, and those two are married a lot of times in our sketches…

It’s inconclusive. They could be, but maybe not. 🤔

Anonymous asked:

Silver expression, wow?? Sadly i can't see the below only the face

Hehe thank you, Anon!

I guess some things are only for his father to see…

Anonymous asked:

the snake boy and 7 kalim

We should pitch it as a sitcom.

Anonymous asked:

Mini Kalim!!! Like those mouse… that the …snake eat… oh my god

Oh no!! Someone has to save them!

Maybe this is what Jamil should do when he feels overwhelmed by 32417 of mini Kalims – just eat a bunch to make his life easier.

Anonymous asked:

mini kalim delicious

Anon, according to the previous Anon, you might or might not be a snake.

I’m happy you found these little guys delicious though <3

Anonymous asked:

Great, now Jamil have more small size onahole

Does Jamil need those onaholes though..? They feel more like little piranha to him…

Anonymous asked:

Is it wrong i want to adopt a little kailim?

Absolutely not! In fact, it’s welcomed and encouraged! Please, save Jamil from his fate…

Anonymous asked:

My therapist: "Slav squat Epel isn't real. Slav squat Epel can't hurt you"

Slav squat Epel:

This is what real trauma sounds like… I’m so sorry, Anon.

I have a huge soft spot for the slav squat Epel.

Anonymous asked:

as someone who lives in a kind of rural Village

that epel drawing is so fucking real actually

Hehehe I’m glad to hear that, Anon!

This energy really suits him a lot lol

Anonymous asked:

You mean cuntry boy he he. See what i did there?

Ohhhhh~ very smart, Anon, very sneaky 👀

Anonymous asked:

Looking manly there Eple i wonder who the man in the relationship

Of course he is, look at him! So manly!

[phoenixtakaramono]

PSA TO MY READERS

This is your biannual reminder to also follow me on Twitter 😌 if you’d like. I upload my more polished works onto AO3 as a little writing portfolio. Tumblr is used for reblogging inspo, answering Asks, and the occasional long chapter sneak peeks for my WIPs.

On Twitter, you’ll find these four (mainly three) Butchlander threadfics:

Fix-It AU (🔞)

M3GAN AU (🔞)

Sugar Baby AU (🔞)

*Werewolf Butcher / Vampire HL AU (🔞)

———————————

Q&A

Q: Will I publish any of them to AO3 in the foreseeable future?

A: Maybe. Twitter has a 280 character limit per tweet, which impacts my usual writing style—and forces me to be more selective with my words. (Almost) every update is 25 tweets long of written content, so I tailor chunks of the threadfic to lead into each update, kinda like mini cliffhangers to get my readers interested to see what happens in the next update. The story beats for the threadfics are conjured spontaneously, which is a departure from how I usually plan my stories out. These threadfics are mostly here for funsies (my Billy Butcher/ Homelander brainrot ideas) while I write ‘Truce’ (a Butchlander AU fourshot on AO3 where a Supe!Billy joins The Seven) and The Name of the Game (a 135ch Butchlander QT fic where Billy and Homelander fall in love seven different times).

If I were to bring them to AO3, I’d convert it from Present Tense to Past Tense, remove the acronyms and short-hand I’d used to save space, and I’d probably flesh it out with more details and worldbuilding—to make them more aligned with my usual writing signature. I would also probably change a few choices (like in the M3GAN AU), to keep it fresh. At that time of deciding, Truce should be completed at the time, and I also have to consider balancing the workload of my 5 other WIP stories. I’d like to give these babies attention as well.

So we’ll see! We can look at these three threadfics as potential first prototypes for now where I get to experiment with things. And once Truce is done, I’ll likely send out feelers to see which one(s) people are more interested in seeing on AO3 potentially.

**NEW STATUS UPDATE: Keep in mind, with the probable exception of the werewolf & vampire oneshot, all of my AU Butchlander threadfics on Twitter are the unpolished first draft versions of what’ll eventually be polished up into long fics on AO3 under the Shock and Awe series. So you may regard all of these threadfics as an experimental first prototype and exclusive preview whose contents may or may not be changed in the future final draft version. We’re just loosely playing around with ideas and concepts for now! For any other threadfics I may write in the future that’s not included here, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there but likely they’ll stay as Twitter & tumblr-exclusive oneshot threadfics if I don’t think they have AO3 long fic potential.

[randomnameless]

Some of the stuff that FEH has put out makes me wish Trial Maps were a thing again. It'd let fans use enemy characters without breaking the story.

Eh,

As a concept, I loved the Larva (Epi?) paralogue in Nopes - you are basically playing as Larva, going to help his genocidal "allies" to run away from the Empire and the CoS, to the point where you fight against Cethleann, Cichol and Seiros.

And Larva in this map, is nothing but obnoxious, calling everyone beasts, mocking the Empire for not knowing why they fight, sprouting platitude about "fighting for his fwends" (the same ones he just dissed seconds ago) while deshumanising the Nabateans all along, calling them beasts and such -

Given the backstory between Agarthans and those specific Nabateans - the survivors of a massacre he knows of, hell he calls the main perpetrator an "ally" - there's little to no doubts that Larva here is being a big ball of, uh, prejudice and bias - ergo we're playing as the enemy!

However, because the Fodlan games are, the Fodlan games where only people belonging to factions from the latest feh banner are challenged and contested, there is no payback, no result from this paralogue. No Barney wondering why the eff was a Larva like fighting against Saint Seiros and people familiar but with a different hair color, no reason/justification behind this random battle, where lo, Larva fights/defeats survivors of a massacre he, uh, "didn't agree with" but totes supports given his views, mocks people for not knowing why they fight for but never reveals the audience or even Barney what this dream was about (I was helping Goneril run away from Cichol with Cichol's sister's knee plate, the one he obtained after vivisecting her and eating her liver!).

So, in a nutshell, I think you can make a game where you play as "the enemy" and call it a vilain route or a "bad ending" route and remembers Fates?

Everyone can be a hero in their own eyes, sure!

But with the Fodlan games, especially Nopes, given how hard the AG gang beats themselves for "maybe we're bad for invading the Empire to stop the war after it starts to hunt its randoms for funsies but trufax Randy is very nice and kind he let a random soldier escape while he was busying destroying a village" - you have the feeling that the "everyone" from the earlier maxim is just, the SB and GW and with that paralogue, the Slither gangs.

FE16 gave more "heroic tunnel vision" to each of its factions through each route, even if SS was a bit more nuanced - but you know who doesn't get any "heroic tunnel vision" or pov in those games?

And only gets an infodump at the end of the most superfluous route ?

Ultimately I'm not too keen on the Trial Maps designs (you're talking about the maps where if you finish the game 5 times you get a free unit right?) because I think that if you have a character you should write a plot that can accomodate for that character's presence without breaking it - but again, Trial Maps were the only ways KT found to give us playable Nabateans (Rhea'n'Sothis) and lines, since the main game refuses to do anything with them, like letting them talk in the microphone.

Short story, long story : a good story can fit "enemy characters" and have them follow their own plans (maybe in a gaiden) to give more insight on them, what they think and/or why they are thinking this, but it should be integrated in the game and shouldn't demolish it because "everyone's story is equally valid", or, and worse, shouldn't bank on the game not giving a voice to the last faction that is piled on by every other without even being able to reply.

[count-von-kit]

Current WIPs and Some Incoherent Ramblings

🌹 Realm of Roses & Rosaries: With chapter 2 of my silly little for-funsies writing mess completed, I have now started on plotting where I want chapter 3 to go, with an outline.

So far I have the first arc planned to be five chapters total. My issue with this is that I initially wanted to write shorter chapters (less than 15 pages), but there's so much yet I still want to happen that I feel like they may just be longer. And, I mean, so long as I'm not dropping some 25-40+ paged chapter, I think I'll be ok with that. My ultimate goal was to make sure I was having fun with this and writing strictly for myself, so that's what I guess I'm going to throw in my face whenever I start to question something I'm doing.

As for the other arcs, I'm... still trying to organize that all in my head. Because I know what I need to get the characters to where they need to be. If that's the case and I keep them all together, with 5 chapters each between them, that would be a total of 15 collectively for the trio. With a third and final arc being their revolution and the final battle against the big bad. I think for an approach that's fine enough, and satisfies what I want.

🌹 Abel's YTP: Ugh. I'll be honest I was working on this, but then since editing a side document during a TTRPG night, I forgot (maybe) to transfer over changes (maybe), so now I'm not sure which draft was my good draft, and I really hate when I do this to myself. So I haven't been able to go back to look at it just yet. I know I'll have to figure this out at some point, but the issue is that both variants read fine, so I'm just at a loss. That said, there is a lot still to this. Chapter 3 is "finished", but the revisions are what is keeping me from marking it as DONE done. I really need to sit down at some point and finish it so that I can move onto transferring chapter 4 from my notebook onto my PC's worddoc. Far as the full novel goes, it's still 5 chapters lone, with an Epilogue, and four smaller shorts in-between as intermissions (because music-based). So uh... This project is still nowhere near completion. But also I think once I get a lot of my other WIPs cleared (I know, that's a huge writer lol there. Don't look at me rn. I can hope), I'll be able to come back to focusing on this. That's my plan anyway.

🌹 Xmas Piece: This is the time of year I should be starting to wrap this up. I vented to a friend about this last night on Discord, about how I really don't have much left to do with this. Literally 3 scenes left to finalize. That's it. But I think the reason why I haven't gone back to work on it is because of two things:

The first being my mood so far has actually been pretty good! Which is surprising given my depression is amplified by the onset of seasonal depression which just makes it an awful time for me mentally? Despite the fact I actually really love autumn? I've been hanging out with some friends more which has fed my starvation of human interaction, and I've been laughing more at some of the silly things going on - whether its something I've been reading or watching, or just something off-the-wall a friend has sent me. I've just been getting a lot more serotonin lately, and it's been kinda nice.

The second reason I feel hesitant is because this is the emotional climax to the story, where a lot of shit just drops. Normally when I'm in a bad mood I tend to write that energy into these kind of scenes because mentally I'm already there so why not? But also because I've been in such a good mood lately I'm kinda terrified that by crawling into the bathtub of bad vibes and big sad to soak in, that it'll wipe away my good mood. If that... makes sense. I've had to forcefully put myself in not-so-great mindsets before just to write out specific scenes from my other novel that's just... kinda setting off to the side... and I guess because of that, because it pulls big ol' sad energy from very specific songs, I'm apprehensive maybe that it'll happen. It has a happen ending, so I know I don't have to worry about anything. But ugh. I just need to push myself at some point or another.

🌹 Soloing The Other Side: This one is super close to being done. I haven't worked on it for a while, but I only had a few bits to finish up. Unfortunately it won't make much sense until I finish up the Xmas piece mentioned above, because it follows directly after, but at least by the end of the day it's a smaller and singular (not multi-chapter) piece I can cross off once completed. It's not complexed, but uh... I've only been working on it because of my apprehension towards Abel's YTP and the Xmas piece. lol

🌹 Abel's Backstory, Part 2: Man... I remember all the shit going on with this, but at the same time I have to completely revise the first part before I post it up, because SO MUCH with Abel has changed. Anyway, I haven't touched this at all with the others above pulling me in different directions. Maybe at some point I will get this finished. It's still in the very beginning stages, but tbh I think to get those vibes going I should just relisten to Magnus Archives, because damn does listening to Jonathan Sim read really inspire me to write.

🌹 Other Miscellaneous Ao3 Projects: Of the multitude of ongoing Ao3 projects I have that were "almost finished and then forgotten", I know I have quite a few. On top of everything else listed above. In terms of priority, the ones I'd like to finish, ideally, are Les Vampires (because it's close to the ending), Espresso-ly For You (because it's also almost finished), and maaaybe Eleanor? I haven't quite decided entirely. I'd like to finish the Senpai one as well, but that one is a bit harder to do because it's filled with so many inside jokes. I just... I need to not have writer's block when revising things, or to lose interest so I can actually finish all of these. ToT

[writing-good-vibes]

Hi there! for the halloween prompts, may I request scene starter 22, with Sheriff Bracket please? thank you! ps. hope it's okay if I send more than one request <3

hello !! thank you for requesting !! (and multiple requests are totally fine 😊😊 here is the link to the halloween prompt list for anyone else who would like to request 🎃)

i've never lived in an area that had a lot of trick or treating so this is a very cute scenario that i'm happy i got to write for,, i hope you enjoy it (and apologies in advance if people don't vibe with the scooby doo reference but, when inspiration strikes you have to take it lol) 📚💓

It was a cold, clear Halloween night in Haddonfield. Stars speckled the sky and a heavy white moon cast light over the rooftops before being swallowed by the street lights.

Kids in makeshift costumes - ghosts and pirates and princesses and superheroes - trailed up and down the suburban streets with their buckets and pillowcases half full of candy dragging behind them.

You sat, cuddled beneath a woolly blanket with the Sheriff, a bowl of halloween candy balanced between you whilst you watched a scary movie. You loved scary movies; the Sheriff was lead inclined but more than willing to sit through any and all scary movies for your enjoyment.

Despite the movie playing, you'd been up and down all night answering the door to little trick or treaters. Seems like every kid in town knew to drop by the Sheriff's house. Sometimes it was you who went to the door and sometimes it was the Sheriff. Either way, the kids were happy with their loot.

"I still can't believe you hand out full size candy bars on halloween," you said, picking out your favourite from the bowl and peeling off the wrapper as you sat back down on the couch.

"Ah it's only once a year," Lee shrugged, pulling you back against his side, "and I think maybe if I do the kids might be less inclined to cause trouble the other 364 days."

You laugh around a mouthful of chocolate, leaning against his chest, his flannel shirt warm under your cheek. "Oh, I don't think so, I think it just reminds them that you're soft."

He chuckles, pressing a kiss to your forehead gently.

Before you could fully settle in again for the movie, the doorbell rang again and you could hear the muffled chatter and giggles of the children waiting outside.

Lee made to get up, taking the candy bowl with him, but you followed him this time.

"TRICK OR TREAT!" the gaggle of little girls squealed. You immediately recognised their costumes; they were dressed as the Hex Girls.

"Thorn, Luna, Dusk! You all look amazing," you greeted the girls by their characters' names, almost pushing past Lee to stoop down and marvel at the tiny witches before you.

The Sheriff handed you the candy bowl and while you spoke to the kids, he waved amicably to the parents who were stood at the end of the drive way.

After a few minutes you said goodbye and let the girls leave with their candy, their little cheeks flushed red with excitement as they went back to their parents and carried on down the street to the next house.

Closing the door, you turned back to Lee finally, who was smirking slightly at your enthusiasm.

"Weren't they the cutest?" you asked.

"That they were," he agreed, mostly for your benefit.

"I used to want to be a Hex Girl," you considered the thought for a second. "Actually, I still kind of want to be a Hex Girl."

You both sit back down, Lee pulling the blanket back over you.

"You'd make a great Hex Girl," he reassured you, "Whatever that might be."

You laugh at his unconditional support, curling up against him and bring the blanket up to your chin as your eyes went absently back to the TV screen. The film had moved on drastically and you had no real idea what was happening anymore, but you figured you could find something else to occupy your time.

Your fingers trailed across the Sheriff's chest, the soft material of his shirt comforting beneath your fingers. Then lower and lower your hand drifted. Lee pulls you closer against him, rough fingertips tracing the back of your wandering hand for just a moment before going to your cheek, turning your face to his.

The film goes on forgotten in the background as his lips meet yours and you sigh with contentment.

DING DONG.

The doorbell goes again and your attention is brought back to the calls and laughs of families and the spooky festivities going on outside.

"Damn," Lee grumbles pulling away from you, "Duty calls."

You smile anyway, heaving yourself off the couch and taking the bowl over to the door.

Dutifully you compliment costumes and dole out candy before return to the couch, sitting down for what felt like the thousandth time that night.

"I can't wait till all the kids go home and we can finally have some peace and quiet," you murmur, lips just barely brushing the Sheriff's.

His hands, strong and soft all at once, hold onto your waist, "Not too quiet, I hope."

[lunewell]

I don’t know what to do about the creaking in my house

a short, mild horror story I chose to write for funsies, also posted on the r/nosleep reddit (an RP horror writing subreddit that's honestly really cool). Link to the reddit one.

No content warnings for this one, or at least, none I can think of. Enjoy (:!

For as long as I've lived here, every evening, when the clock struck 9, I would hear a creak in the basement stairs. It was faint, a whisper lost in the rest of the ambience of my house, but once I first heard it, it was impossible to ignore. Like a machine, I got up every night from my bed or my couch, flicked on the lights, and wandered towards the basement door tucked away in my kitchen, just to settle my mind.

Yet, even on the quietest of nights, when the rumble of the dishwasher was off and I was completely convinced there was someone creaking in the basement stairs, I was met with nothing but empty stairs and immediate silence. When I then would close the door, the creaking would resume, however I simply had to accept that there was nothing I could do, and, confident there was no one there, I would resume my nightly business. The sound was always gone when I woke up, anyway, so in the long scheme of things, I thought, it didn’t matter too much save for being an annoyance to any guests bought over and to myself.

Still, I felt it was important to check out. I hired home inspectors, though they found nothing structurally wrong with the house - or at least, nothing that would cause that whining sound. When their answers proved unsatisfactory, and the creaking continued its steady and constant sound, I even turned to the world of the occult. Witches, psychics, and paranormal home inspectors all came, and though happy to take my money, and though they all claimed to have identified and ‘fixed’ my problem, the creaking never subsided. Not that I thought they would do much. I’ve always been a skeptic at heart, and had you told past-me I would be desperate enough to actually pay money for these guys' services, I would never have believed you in a million years.

Nothing else was ‘wrong’ with the house. No blood dripping from the ceiling, no ominous text written on the walls, hell, not even a light flickering. In my two years of living here, I had not encountered a single problem with the rest of the house, which I almost found odd within itself. Maybe that was just my bias from the fact my last apartment sucked, though.

It was just the creaking, that distinct screech of the stairs. As time flew by, I did eventually get used to it. In fact, ‘used to it’ might be an understatement. I would never confess this on my main account, nor would I to anyone in my real life, but honestly, I found the creak familiar, comforting. A bit like an old friend, really.

Considering this, you’re probably a little confused on why I’m asking for help in the first place. Well, the thing is, this past Sunday, something happened. I live in New Jersey, and that night, there was a particularly nasty winter storm. Right before 9, due to what I’m assuming was the storm, my house completely lost its power. I didn’t think much of it at first - I had been gifted plenty of candles, after all - and simply continued about my night, waiting for the power to come back. At least, that was the plan, until the clock struck 9, and I realized something.

There was no creaking.

It was completely quiet in the house, my breath the only audible thing, as all the machines were off. This, combined with it’s constant pattern, made the lack of creaking stand out like a lighthouse. I never realized how eerie wind could be in a deathly quiet house, and, I think out of a paranoia brought on by the silence, I grabbed my phone, turned on the flashlight, and headed for the kitchen stairs.

I should have turned back as soon as I stepped into the room. There was just something off about it. The shadows seemed steeper than before, and the shaking of this part of the house seemed to be from more than just the storm. I didn’t, though. Curiosity strangled that fearful part of my mind.

Hesitantly, with my body if only subconsciously completely prepared to run, I cracked the basement door open. Yet again, though, there was no one or thing in it. Only a void, a descending pit of darkness, seeming to swallow up anything within it.

I could have left it. I should have left it.

I didn’t leave it.

Stupidly, I descended the steps. I can’t fully explain why. I’d been in the basement before, and besides being ridiculously bare, it was a completely normal basement. Yet, that night, I felt a draw, a deep compulsion to step down the steps. Notably - and for some reason the detail my mind hooked on to the most - the stairs did not creak when I walked down them.

My basement was pitch-black, and as I suspected, still only contained an old, broken wooden table left behind by the previous owners, and empty concrete walls. I considered taking a closer look, inspecting the entire basement thoroughly, but as I was thinking, my phone died. The light stopped, and just like that, my only stimulus was the void.

Only then did I hear it.

There was a creaking from the stairs. It was not faint, a loud boom in the quietness of the night, and it was only growing louder. I could hear them, the footsteps leaving the wooden steps and thudding onto concrete. As my blood went cold, like cooler traveling through the veins, I swear I could hear a low whisper, slowly growing more and more audible.

I by no means consider myself a coward however I feel no shame in admitting that that night, I bolted to the door that led to my backyard. The footsteps behind me audibly sped up. I’ve never ran that fast in my entire life, only coming to a halt to unlock the door. Even with my speed, though, as I struggled to twist the rusty steel lock, I could feel something brushing up against my back. I was out into the cool night and had slammed the door behind me before I could identify what it was, though I think the shiver and chill that coursed through me was more due to the touch than the storm.

Outside, I panicked. I was convinced I had gone mad. Still am, a little, if I’m honest. I’ve already booked an appointment with a shrink, though honestly, for as insane as it sounds, I don’t want to dismiss it as just another hallucination. My friends have heard the creak, that high-pitched scream, I know they have.

Though I felt like crouching behind the bushes and having a breakdown, I couldn’t. The snow was layering thick, and a different kind of cold was seeping through my skin. I glanced behind me, just to make sure, but - as always - there was no one there. Not so much as a silhouette.

Slowly, I made my way inside my house again. It was quiet, not even the storm breaking through the heavy silence. Even with the silence, though, I didn’t sleep until the sun had risen, and the power was back. I didn’t dare chance it.

I thought that would be the end of it, until just this night. I’m writing this, hidden under the blankets of my couch like I’m a child. I’ve called a friend over, not because I’m planning on staying the night, but because I don’t want to take so much as a single step, and I need to know whether or not they can hear it too.

For, at 9pm, and all throughout this night I heard that same squeal again. That godforsaken squeal. However, this time, it was not coming from the basement. It’s coming from the bedroom. Heavy thuds, like boots, shaking my ceiling, oblivious to my terror.

And, maybe it’s just my imagination, but I swear, if I listen very closely, I can hear a cackle, an honest to god cackle, throughout the house.

[westywrites]

Writing goals for 2022... is it really already 2022?

@erinnharper tagged me in her writing goals, reminding me that I've been working on this post and really should try to get it out during these first few days of January while it's still relevant haha

A quick summary of my goals for this coming year:

write a short play for my university's theatre festival

continue with the next drafts of The Corvine and the first draft of Cypress Ascending

start the first draft of The Corvine book two

edit and ~do things~ with some already written pieces

write some short stories, poetry, etc for fun!

most importantly, be kind to myself

Before I go into more detail on those, let's start by responding to my goals from last January and see how I did in 2021.

Review of 2021:

-SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED!- 2021 writing goal one: do a final round of editing on my play for the 2021 theatre festival before directing it in February

This virtual play went really well! It's even available on YouTube now and forever :)

-ABANDONED - goal two: write & host a virtual murder mystery

Unfortunately, due to the so many other things happening in my life (and everyone else's), I realized pretty quickly this one just wasn't gonna happen. If the stars align again someday, maybe I'll give it another shot, I miss the murder mystery parties I did before.

I had mixed success on my other various goals (write more short stories & flash fiction, use haikus as writing warmup, effectively use my free time to actually write, update and interact here more often). Life loves to throw all it's got at us, huh? Sure makes finding the time to write difficult.

- PLANS CHANGED - Now. The Big Goal from 2021 was to get The Corvine ready and out for beta reading - I kind of succeeded? I changed my plan and decided that instead of doing public beta reading after draft two, I wanted to do a private round of alpha reading with some close friends & fellow writers. So they're finishing up with that as I'm starting to get ready for draft three!

This brings us to this year's goals!

Goal one: write a short play for my university's theatre festival

I have the idea already (playing around with the ideas of deus ex machine/god from the machine and fate). It'll be good fun, just gotta get it written and edited before February.

Goal two: edit and ~do things~ with some already written pieces

I want to edit through the jukebox musical I wrote for funsies and because I really like it, I am considering actually sending it to Cosmo Sheldrake himself and seeing what he thinks of what I did with his songs. Who knows what will come from that lmao.

I'm also looking at editing some of my favourite short stories and maybe submitting to lit mags for publication, so that's something that might happen this year.

The Big Goal(s): continue with the next drafts of The Corvine and the first draft of Cypress Ascending & start the first draft of The Corvine book two

As I mentioned above, I have some alpha readers looking at The Corvine - they all told me they'd be done and fill out the questionnaire I sent them by mid-January. Soon, I'll be working on the third draft (I already have some ideas on how to fix the most pressing issues). Hopefully, after the third draft, I will actually be offering it up to a broader public for beta reading!

In an ideal world, I would also finish the first draft of Cypress Ascending this year, but the BEd program owns my ass, so who knows what will happen.

I'd also like to finish up the outlining and start drafting on the second book of The Corvine (current working title is The Vulpsin, idk if I've mentioned that here)

Otherwise, I also have informal goals to write some more short stories, poetry, etc and post more here for fun!

But, most importantly, my ultimate goal for 2022 is to be kind to myself.

Life is hard. I'm a student in teachers' college. I've got acting projects and other extra-curricular things. I've got a job. I want to read and do other art things. I've got a girlfriend and roommates to make time for. However much writing I can fit in is a good amount of writing.

I need to remember all that I'm facing and realize that. Writing is my passion. But so are so many other things as well. Any writing is a good amount of writing. It's okay, whatever I get done or don't.

---

I'll tag some people who I'm curious to hear what they have planned! If you've already made a post, feel free to tag me in a reblog. Also, of course, no pressure at all to do it, I'm just curious! @radley-writes @ratracechronicler @drowsy-quill @cwritesfiction and @yvesdot

[writeofmind]

a ghost?! (pt. 1)

Genre: fluff, slow burn, multi-shot <3

Pairing: College!Rosé x Reader

anon: Hi! If possible could you make a master list of all the fics and scenarios you have posted? 😅 I’d also like to request a blackpink college AU focused on Female Reader x Rosé 🥺 lots of fluff and maybe some slow burn and smut? I’d be happy with any Rosé fluff or blackpink fluff though 🤍🤲🏻 thank you 😊

A/N: hi, j anon! this is part 1/? of your slow burn college!au. :D I will try to make this as slow and fluffy as possible. i don’t have a specific plot that i’m sticking to rn, but i have general ideas that i’m very excited to write. that being said, feel free to send in suggestions as to how you want this story to go! (or you can leave it up to me, and be in for cute surprises >:) ) 

a ghost?! | caramel lattes | your favorite regular

-

There were two things that you learned from living your college life. One, you definitely weren’t a morning person, and two, your roommate was a ghost. 

Not literally. The thing was just that you had never formally met them; when you moved in, they weren’t home, and when you would wake up in the afternoons, they would already be long gone and out of the house. Your schedules never lined up with each other, so for the past few weeks, you’ve just been barely missing them, not even knowing their name. 

You didn’t mind, really. The apartment was kept clean at all times, so it really did feel like only you lived there sometimes. But, you can say: if your roommate was a ghost, then they were the loudest ghost. Ever.

It was just your luck to be paired with them, too; they would be up at the crack of dawn, most times even earlier. You’d often wake up in the mornings to music playing or their (you’re sure you can say her) voice singing along. If you were being honest, the latter was your preferred way of waking up. She did have a wonderful voice, and you wished you could get yourself out of bed to tell her that; but she just woke up way, way too early. 

Today was another one of those days. Music was blasting in the background, yet another replay of “Call Me Maybe.” 

Ugh, god... you raised your head at the rude awakening, squinting your eyes at the door. Not this song again.

Based on what little you knew about your roommate, you had an image in your head of what she may look like. To put it short, you imagined a sorority girl, in a way. The type that dance and sing along to pop songs, dresses in tank tops and jeans, partying everyday, that sort of thing. You figured that maybe she didn’t party a lot though, considering she was already home and sleeping when you would walk through the front door. 

You let your head drop back into your pillow. You were too groggy and beat from work the night before that you blocked out the song, blocked out your roommate’s singing, and fell soundly asleep once again as her music faded out the front door and into the hallways of your apartment. Jeez, that girl needed some headphones.

When you woke up a few hours later, the apartment was silent. There was a sigh of relief from you, and you groaned as you stretched your entire body out. Class started in about an hour and a half, so you decided not to laze around in bed and instead get ready for the day.

When you walked into the kitchen to grab something quick to eat on your way to campus, you smelled something delicious. Sniffing the air, you smelled... something spicy? 

Sure enough, when you walked inside, there was a pan of tteokbokki sitting right on the stove. The aroma of the spiciness itself made your mouth water the closer you got to it- then, you saw a note next to it, sitting right under a bottle of water.

Good morning, roomie! I heard you come home late last night, (not that I was trying to be a stalker, but I couldn’t sleep so I was still up when you got back. Crazy, right?) Anyway, I figured you didn’t eat because I didn’t hear you in the kitchen, so I made extra tteokbokki this morning for you to take with you. I made it a little too spicy, so make sure you grab the water too!!

- PC

Your eyebrows raised higher the further down you read the note. She made you breakfast? And packed you a water? 

How sweet of her, you smiled. You wasted no time in scooping a whole bunch of the delicious rice cakes onto a plate and devouring every single piece. (She was right, though, it was super spicy.) 

That was really sweet of her. I should do something for her, too. I feel bad that I haven’t thought to even leave a note. And PC, huh? I wonder what that could stand for. I should make a mental note to ask. 

After eating and cleaning everything up, you realized that you wasted a little too much time in your own head and was running a bit behind schedule. You grabbed the water bottle quickly and ran as fast as you could out the door, into the elevator, and out the main lobby of your apartment. You didn’t even notice the blonde haired girl you almost ran into along the way. 

-

When you were finished with your school day, you always dreaded having to go to work afterwards. Not that it was a terrible job, you were just a barista at a café near campus, after all- but you would be tired and drained after pulling afternoon to closing shifts.

So there you stood, leaning against the counter top at your job as you sipped away at a small cup of espresso. You and your coworkers chatted absentmindedly. It wasn’t too busy tonight, except for a few straggling students that stayed to study. Your manager had even offered to let you go home early, but you decided you needed the money- you were practically getting paid to stand around, anyway.

The bell on the door jingled after what seemed like hours (and maybe it was). Your coworkers, all clowns, hid away from the incoming group of customers and shuffled behind the counters, leaving you to take care of them all. You glared at them and groaned internally, but that was the rules of a college student barista. If you’re not fast enough to hide, you face the consequences.

“Hey, guys,” you put on your smile as you approached the register, “what can I get for you tonight?”

When the girls got closer, you were glad that your hat was a bit too big for your head. It covered the burning read at the top of your ears at the sight of how pretty they were— all four of them, to be exact.

One of the shorter ones smiled back at you. “Hiii,” she greeted, “do you guys know what you want?”

The redhead of the group spoke up first. “Yes, can I just have a tea, please?” She turned to the other girls, “I noticed that my voice has been kind of raspy from rehearsal. I hope it’s nothing serious.”

You minded your own business as you punched in the order. “Of course, and for you?” You looked at the tall brunette, who was squinting at the menu board. You had to hide a laugh as you slid a smaller menu to her. “Here you go, our menu is printed kind of small.”

“Oh my gosh, thank you,” she laughed and took the menu in her hands. The shorter one that spoke earlier laughed too and simply pushed the brunette’s hands down. 

“Can we just get two large white mochas, please?” 

You smiled as you punched in that order too. “Of course.” You now turned to the final girl of the group, who stood silently, staring back and forth at the pastries in the case and the menu board. “For you, miss?”

When she looked up at you, you froze. 

Wow, she was cute. 

She smiled at you so sweetly, brushing her blonde hair behind her ear. “Um, yes please, can I get all of the vanilla scones that are in here? Oh, and a caramel latte, please.”

Just from eyeballing the case, there were at least 10, if not a couple more scones in there. You glanced at her with a humorous smile and nodded. “Yeah, no problem.”

As you punched in the order, you made sure that you only rang her up for four scones. It was almost near closing time anyway (you told yourself that, but really you still had a couple hours left), and you didn’t want to have to waste any pastries. 

“Can I have your guys’ names for your drinks?” You popped the tip off of your sharpie. 

The redhead, again, spoke first. “Jisoo.” 

Then went the brunette. “Lisa,” she then pointed to the shorter one, “Jennie.”

Lastly, you turned to the blonde. Again, she smiled, and nodded when she spoke. “Rosé.”

Such a pretty name, you thought to yourself. You made it a point to draw a little flower next to her name, just for funsies. You let them know that their drinks would be ready soon, and you gathered all the scones in the case for the girl to have.

The girls didn’t notice the price difference at first when they paid. After calling out their names for their orders, it wasn’t until they sat down at their table with their drinks and snacks that they realized something was off. 

It was Rosé who came back up to the counter as you were wiping it down. 

“Um, hi,” she spoke softly as if not to surprise you, “I’m sorry, but I think there may have been a mistake?”

You looked up at her from the counter with raised eyebrows. “Oh, I’m sorry. Was your drink wrong?”

“No, not at all! It’s great,” she shook her head and showed her bag of scones, “but, um, I think you mischarged me for these.”

Ah, so she did notice. “No miss, that’s okay,” you laughed at her innocence and honesty. Her face even looked worried just from you saying that. “We’re going to be closing in a couple hours anyway, and to be honest, the scones can be a bit overpriced when you buy a lot. Don’t worry about it.”

Her eyebrows were furrowed in the cutest way possible. “But— are you sure? You won’t get in trouble?”

“I’m sure, I’m sure. It’s fine, really miss.”

“Aww... well, thank you—” she beamed and squinted at your name tag, “Joy.”

Aw, shit. You internally slapped yourself in the face, I put on the wrong apron. 

Of all days to be talking to a cute girl, you weren’t even wearing the right apron with the right name tag. You really didn’t want to have to explain yourself and essentially embarrass both you and the girl right now, and you were quite frankly a bit shy already from talking to her for as long as you have. So you just smiled back. “It’s no problem, Rosé.”

With a giggle, the girl turned back around and hopped over to her table, where you could hear her recounting your conversation. You chuckled.

-

As your shift went on, the students inside the café began to disperse and pack up their bags to head home. One of the last students to leave was the group of girls you served earlier, and they even made sure to call out “bye, Joy!” as they left. Your coworkers looked at you funny but ended up laughing at your awkwardness once they realized your mistake.

“Oh, come on, y/n!” One of your best coworkers, Seulgi, laughed, “Now you’re gonna be known as Joy to them! Joy is not going to be happy.”

“Look, man, I didn’t wanna correct her, alright??” You sighed and palmed your forehead, “I got nervous!”

“Ah, well,” your other coworker Yeri shrugged, “at least you may not see her again. So you don’t have to be too embarrassed.”

Your shoulders dropped at the sound of that. You may not see her again? Boo. 

Your closing shift went by smoothly and before you knew it, you were walking through the threshold of your already dark apartment. You saw that your roommate’s door was closed and her light off, but her shoes were on the shoe rack, so you knew she was already sleeping. 

You almost went straight to your room to knock out before remembering what your roommate did for you this morning. You didn’t want to just leave her hanging and make yourself seem ungrateful, so you grabbed a post-it note and a pen.

Hi there, roomie, you began, thank you for the tteokbokki this morning! It was delicious, actually, and I only needed a few gulps of water between each bite. (lol, i’m just teasing, it really was good. i love spicy food.) i’m not sure if you like flavorings in your coffee, let alone if you like coffee or not, but here’s some for you for the morning, since you’re usually up earlier than me. you can use any of my coffee cups, i have way too many.

- y/n

After setting up the coffee machine to brew in the early morning, you stuck the note on top and dragged yourself into your room to get ready for bed. 

-

The next morning, you woke up to silence. No music, no singing, nothing. And it wasn’t early in the morning- it was the usual time you yourself would get up and out of bed.

Huh? you wondered, This feels... unnatural.

You got yourself out of bed and ready for your day as you normally would. You walked into the kitchen for your usual breakfast of coffee and a single granola bar, when you saw yet another note waiting for you on the kitchen table.

it’s no problem at all! i almost thought you hated the tteokbokki when i didn’t see any feedback when i got home. TT TT it’s so funny that we haven’t even met yet. btw, i’m sorry i’m loud in the mornings, i never realized how late you got home every night. i’ll let you sleep in more. :) and you’re so sweet, thank you for letting me use one of your cups, and thank you for the coffee this morning :)

p.s, just so you know a fact about me too, i love caramel in my coffees.

- PC

[canarygirl1017]

Ghosted - Chapter 1

Pairing: Reader / Jungkook, Reader / Taehyung (past relationship, friends to lovers to friends)

Genre:  College!au, fluff, angst, supernatural drama, smut, friends to lovers, emotional trauma, hurt/comfort

Length:  11, 400k words

Warnings:  language, episodes of anxiety, panic attacks, sexual themes in later chapters 

Summary:  Living in a world full of things only you have the ability to see, growing up with Jungkook has been your island amidst the chaos. But when your best friend makes an impossible request, your friendship is fractured, and your sudden decision to cut ties and move abroad changes everything. Three years later, Jungkook is thriving at university as he begins his junior year. He’s a star athlete, member of a popular fraternity, and every girl’s ideal boyfriend. He tells himself that he’s long forgotten you and the friendship he never had a chance to mend – that is, until you show up on campus as a transfer student with new friends in tow. It’s been three years, and everything has changed, but the biggest change is you. Your new found determination to use your abilities to help the ghosts you used to live in fear of, no matter how dangerous it might be, makes Jungkook fear he’ll lose you before he has a chance to fix what he broke. College AU. 

A/N:  This was based on a short story prompt I received in my writers’ group, so I’m adapting it as a JJK story. I’ll post the last part of Hands On Me next, and then Chapter 2 of this one. I’m also going to make a Masterlist this week to make things easier to find. 

Disclaimer: Just for funsies, I don’t believe in real-life shipping. But I like to write, and I like fandom, so here we are. Please do not duplicate this work or repost anywhere else without permission. 

 Chapter 1

You couldn’t remember a time when you didn’t see the shadows. They were less scary when you were young – too young to understand what you were seeing. Too young to understand how they could hurt you.

But you’d always remember the exact moment that Jungkook became the most important person in your world.

When your father died and your mother remarried, you moved back to the town where your mom grew up. They bought a house in a quiet suburban neighborhood, and near one of your mother’s childhood friends whose family lived two doors down.

You and Jungkook were five years old then, and though your mothers frequently got you together for play dates with the other neighborhood kids, you didn’t exactly bond right away. Jungkook was always on the move, and you liked finding quiet spots away from everyone.

That changed the year you turned eight. Though your birthday was a month earlier than his, your mothers had begun throwing joint birthday parties when you were six. This year the party was at the nearby lake at Jungkook’s request – a noisy affair with several of Jungkook’s friends from school as well as kids from your neighborhood. The fathers were grilling, and Jungkook’s older brother, Jin, was playing in the water with two of his friends and their younger sisters.

Your mother kept pushing you to play with the other kids, but you knew that you made them uncomfortable. As if they could sense that you were different, they kept their distance. You were scared of many things they didn’t understand, and you spent your school days alone. So, at your own birthday party, you sat on the sidelines, knees drawn to your chest as you watched the activity. 

______________

 Jungkook glanced over at you as he tossed a ball back and forth with his friend, Jimin. You had completely isolated yourself from everyone as soon as you arrived. It was nothing unusual, but it still bothered him because this was supposed to be your party too.

He’d seen kids teasing you at school, and he’d done his best to quietly put a stop to it. Since you were in a different class, he wasn’t sure how your school days went but judging by the way the girls ignored you, he was guessing not that well. When he missed the ball that Jimin threw, he forced his attention back to their game.

“She always looks sad,” Jimin said. “The kids in her class say mean things about her.”

“I know,” Jungkook said. “I try to play with her, like after school, but she never wants to.”

“Do you think it’s true?”

“Is what true?”

Jimin hesitated. “Two girls from her class are saying she’s crazy – that she sees things.”

“Huh? Who said that?” It was the first time Jungkook had heard that.

“Lily and Hanna,” Jimin answered. “They said she talks to herself a lot, and she was talking to someone in the bathroom, telling them to go away, but no one else was there. It was just her. They’re saying she talks to ghosts.”

Jungkook frowned as he thought about that. It was true that he’d heard you talking to yourself before, but not in some crazy way. He’d never thought much about ghosts beyond the scary movies he sometimes watched with Jin, and he wasn’t sure he believed in them.

“Do you believe in ghosts?” he asked as he tossed the ball to Jimin again.

“I don’t know,” Jimin said with a shrug. “But I guess it doesn’t really matter if we believe in them or not if it’s something that scares her. I feel sorry for her, always sitting alone like she does.”

Jungkook thought about that as he played with his friends. When the food was ready, he loaded up a plate and took it over to join you where you sat on a blanket reading. “Happy birthday, y/n.”

You looked up and stared at him for a moment before replying. “Happy birthday.”

“I brought some food we can share,” he said as he sat down and placed the plate between you. He’d piled on hot dogs and short ribs and, at the last minute, he’d remembered that you liked his mom’s potato salad and bean salad. He probably should have used two plates because it was a little messy now.

Your eyes widened. “That’s a lot of food.”

“I eat a lot,” he admitted as he grabbed a hot dog. “These hot dogs are really good. My dad bought the good sausage for today.” When he offered it to you, you took it without protest.

You both ate in silence for a while as all the parents filled plates for the kids. Eventually Jungkook’s mom brought out the cake, much to his excitement. “Come on, we have to blow out the candles.”

He didn’t give you time to hang back like you always did. Your mom seemed surprised but pleased when you ran up together. “We’re lighting the candles so get your wishes ready.”

Jungkook bounced, excited as he thought about his wish. He looked over at you and asked, “Do you know what you’re gonna wish for?”

You shrugged. “I always make the same wish, but it never comes true. So I don’t care anymore.”

That dimmed his excitement. “Maybe you can tell your parents and they can help?”

“They can’t help me.”

Jungkook watched his mom light the candles as he thought about what you said. “Make it one more time.”

“Why?”

“Because I changed my wish, and you shouldn’t give up if you really want something.”

“But…”

“Just do it,” he said, nudging you forward.

“Fine,” you said, a grumpy tone to your voice.

You both waited until everyone finished singing and then Jungkook looked over at you. “Ready?”

You nodded, and together you blew out the candles on the cake.

“Why did you change your wish?” you asked as you waited for the cake cutting.

“My first wish was for a new game player,” he said. “But your wish must be important or you wouldn’t keep asking for it. So I wished that you would get your wish.”

It was a little embarrassing saying it out loud, but then you smiled and he realized it was the first time he’d ever seen you really smile.

After you ate your cake, Jungkook wanted to go into the water.

You shook your head when he suggested it. “I can’t swim and earlier I thought…”

“What?” he asked.

“I thought I saw something in the water,” you said quietly.

Jungkook remembered what Jimin had said earlier. It was a sunny day, and the water sparkled as kids splashed around in it. “You can wear a life jacket. And I’ll stay with you.”

______________________

 You sat gingerly on the end of the pier and checked your life jacket buckles again. Looking out at the water, you wondered if you had just imagined that you saw something before. Now, the water looked inviting and fun. Jungkook jumped in and swam over to Jin to ask him to come swim with you. You saw them talking and then Jungkook gave you a thumbs up as he began swimming back towards you.

You lowered your legs over the side of the pier, testing the water with your toes. Suddenly, something swirled in the water near your right foot. Thinking it was a fish, you leaned forward to take a closer look and recoiled in horror when a woman’s face appeared below the surface. Before you could move back, a hand grasped your ankle and pulled you in.

The water was warm, but a chill invaded your entire body as you opened your eyes to see the waxy white face again, mouth open in a frozen, silent scream. The woman’s dark hair spread out around her like a cloud, blending into the shadowy depths as she began pulling you.

You kicked, arms flailing wildly, and broke free. Your life jacket bobbed you to the surface and you screamed as you dog paddled frantically towards Jungkook, who was only a couple of feet away.

Jungkook reached you and wrapped both arms around you as he pulled you towards the shore. Then you felt cold fingers wrap around your ankle again. You didn’t even have time to scream before you were pulled below the surface.

But this time Jungkook was there fighting with you, refusing to let go as he pulled back with all his strength. You kicked and kicked, finally freeing yourself a second time. Jin was there now, helping Jungkook pull you up, and the three of you surfaced, gasping for air.

You couldn’t stop shivering as Jin carried you out of the water, a concerned Jungkook right behind you. The shore was chaos as the other kids ran out of the water, and parents were crowding around trying to figure out what had happened.

Jungkook’s father quickly removed your lifejacket and wrapped a blanket around you as he asked Jin what happened.

“I don’t know,” Jin answered, sounding confused. “It was like a current pulled her down.”

“This lake doesn’t usually have strong currents,” his father said. “It’s been years since I heard about any kind of accident here.”

You were distantly aware of your mom and Jungkook’s mom both fussing around you, but you tuned them out and focused instead on Jungkook’s hand still grasping yours tightly. Eventually the adults moved away and began packing up the food since no one wanted to go back into the water.

When you were finally alone, Jungkook asked, “What was that?”

You stared at him. “Could you see her?”

He shook his head. “But I saw how you got pulled into the water. You didn’t fall – I’m sure of it. And under the water… I couldn’t see it, but I felt like something was there.”

“I’m not allowed to talk about this,” you said, staring down at your lap. “If my mom or my stepfather hear me, I’ll be in trouble.”

“Then just tell me. I won’t tell anyone.”

You swallowed, the metallic taste of fear on your tongue as you whispered. “Water ghost. She was so scary.”

Jungkook let go of your hand and for a horrible moment, you thought he might leave, as eager to be away from you as everyone else who thought you were strange. Instead he wrapped his arm around you.

“You see them at school too?”

“Sometimes,” you answered. “They don’t always know I can see them ‘cause I’m good at pretending I don’t. But sometimes they know, and then they get scary.”

“Can they all hurt you like she did?” he asked.

You shook your head. “No. Sometimes people walk right through ghosts. And I’ve seen a few ghosts move things, but they’ve never hurt me.”

“I wonder how she could do that then,” he said, staring out at the water. “And why she didn’t try to pull any other kids away.”

You didn’t answer, but you thought you knew why. It was because the water ghost had only wanted you.

____________________

 You were ten when you realized you weren’t the only one who could see ghosts. Jungkook often stayed with his grandmother in summer, and when he did, you went with him. Nana assured your mother that she didn’t mind, and you knew that with the birth of the twins the previous year, your mother just didn’t have time for you anymore.

You and Jungkook had been inseparable since your eighth birthday party. After he’d talked to his mom, who’d talked to your mom, you and Jungkook had also been allowed to stay in the same class together each year. Teachers recognized that you had a calming effect on Jungkook, while he helped you venture out of your shell. He helped you be a little less afraid.

One hot afternoon in late summer, Nana made you both clean up and go with her to visit an old friend who had recently moved back to town.

“You’re not old enough to stay alone,” she insisted when Jungkook moaned about the visit. “And I think my friend will enjoy meeting you. You remind me a bit of her, y/n.”

Nana’s friend, Mrs. Kim, was a tall, imposing woman. She wore clothes with oddly clashing colors and patterns, and her back garden was a wild labyrinth of vines and bright flowers. Granted permission to play while the two elders became reacquainted, you and Jungkook explored the garden, picking honeysuckle and drinking the nectar.

When Nana called you in for a snack, you raced each other to the patio. Jungkook beat you as he always did, but he stopped at the door to let you go first. You were giggling when you walked inside and followed Nana to the sitting room, only to freeze as you saw the man sitting with Mrs. Kim on the loveseat. His neck was tilted at an odd angle, eyes on Mrs. Kim as she placed slices of cake on plates and added fresh fruit.

You must have made a sound because the man turned his pale eyes your way. You immediately looked down and shuffled backwards, bumping into Jungkook. You could tell by the way he stopped and then pressed close behind you, reaching for your hand, that he knew something was wrong.

“We should go wash our hands,” Jungkook said. Mrs. Kim directed you to the bathroom, and Jungkook pulled you behind him until you were far enough away not to be overheard. Then he turned wide eyes on you; you nodded in answer to his silent question.

“What kind?” he asked in a low voice.

“A man. Something’s wrong with his neck, like maybe he broke it before he died.” You shivered.

“What was he doing?”

“Nothing. Just sitting next to Mrs. Kim, watching her.”

Jungkook nodded. “You just have to pretend you don’t see him while we eat and then we’ll go outside again.”

After washing your hands, you followed Jungkook back to the sitting room, unsurprised when he sat nearest Mrs. Kim because ever since that day at the lake, it’s what he always did. The fact that he couldn’t see the danger didn’t matter to him – he still acted as a barrier between you and anything that he thought could hurt you.

You kept your eyes on your plate as you ate. You peeked over at Mrs. Kim once to find her watching you, a thoughtful expression on her face. The man was also watching you now, and you tugged urgently at Jungkook’s shorts.

Once you were excused, you both rushed back outside, where you felt you could finally breathe. “So scary. I really think he broke his neck in an accident or something.”

“Who do you think he is?” Jungkook asked as you sat in the grass near a bush with bright pink flowers.

You shrugged as you touched a finger to one of the petals. “I don’t know, but I think he’s haunting Mrs. Kim instead of the house. He was maybe your dad’s age, but his clothes look older.”

“How can you tell the difference?”

“I can’t – not exactly. I’m guessing because of the ghosts at school. They walk around the halls or have a favorite room, or like a favorite spot outside. They only notice students if they get annoyed about something, or if they realize I can see them. This ghost only watched Mrs. Kim until right at the end when he looked at me.”

“Mrs. Kim was looking at you too,” Jungkook said.

“Yeah.” It was weird, how they’d both looked at you like that.

You were playing rock paper scissors when the door opened, and Mrs. Kim walked out to the garden followed by the ghost. You shrank back behind Jungkook.

She sat on the little bench near the flowering bushes and handed them the juice she’d brought out. “Your nana says you two are always forgetting to drink enough when it’s hot.”

“Thank you,” Jungkook said. He passed one to you as you both sat in the grass, as far away as you could without being rude.

You kept your eyes down as Mrs. Kim talked to Jungkook – about school, and how long you’d been friends. “You know, your nana and I were best friends when we were your age, right up until we graduated from high school and got married. Then I moved away with my husband. He died in an accident twenty years ago. Broken neck.”

You swallowed hard, resisting the urge to look up.

“You can see him, can’t you, y/n?”

Shocked, you raised your head to look at Mrs. Kim. “What?”

“I can see him too. He’s been with me these past twenty years, refuses to go on without me, stubborn goat.”

You looked over at Jungkook, who was staring at Mrs. Kim, mouth open.

“I’ve been able to see them since I was at least four years old,” Mrs. Kim continued. “Was it the same for you?”

You nodded, still unable to believe she was like you. “I can’t really remember a time when I couldn’t see them.”

“Your ability to see and communicate with them will grow stronger as you get older. They’ll begin to recognize you as part of the otherworld.”

“What if I don’t want to see them or talk to them? I just want them to stay away from me.” You didn’t realize you were trembling until Jungkook scooted closer and put his arm around you.

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple,” she replied quietly. “But as your ability grows, you will be able to learn how to manage them – how to block the weaker ones, and how to resist the stronger ones. You’ll find that you can help them move on. Until then, I can give you talismans that will protect you.”

____________

 Mrs. Kim was true to her word. From that summer on, her paper talismans hung in your room, and you carried a jade protection amulet wherever you went. You’d learned that spraying salt water in the air was a simple method of disrupting the electromagnetic field of ghosts that were causing trouble.

Your mother ignored the talismans in your room, but you knew better than to talk about the ghosts you saw. And so Jungkook and Mrs. Kim were the only ones in whom you could confide your fears.

When you were thirteen, your father’s family requested that you spend two months at their home in the city. It was the first time you had seen them in over a year, and you’d never stayed with them before without your mother. It was also the first time you and Jungkook had been separated for more than a week since you were eight, and it triggered your anxiety. You’d packed your talismans and your amulet, but what if something happened? Jungkook and Mrs. Kim would be four hours away.

The weeks passed slowly. You were uncomfortable with your father’s family. They were extremely wealthy, and your grandfather was stern and cold. Your uncle wasn’t so bad, but he only returned to the family home at night. You had nothing in common with his wife or their daughter, who was five years younger than you.

You and Jungkook messaged and video chatted every day, but your grandfather kept you busy with music, art and French lessons, claiming that your education was sadly lacking. That summer was the first time that he brought up the idea of sending you to a boarding school abroad, stating that it would better prepare you for entering a prestigious university.

Your uncle’s driver took you home at the end of the summer, and your uncle accompanied you. He talked to you about the co-ed boarding school in England which both he and your father had attended, giving you several brochures to look over.

“I believe your father would be happy to know that you continued the tradition,” he told you. “Money is no concern. I’ve talked to your mother about continuing your art, music and language lessons this year, and I’ve opened an account for you where your allowance will be deposited each quarter. That money can be used to pay tutors and for whatever else you might want.”

“I don’t think I want to go to another country,” you said quietly, staring out the window.

“Well, you’re not in high school yet. Just think about it.”

Jungkook was sitting on your front steps with Jin, and he ran to the car when you pulled into your driveway. He slung an arm around your shoulders and rubbed his hand on top of your head, making you laugh.

“Stop,” you said as you pushed him back. “How are you like two inches taller?”

“I hit a growth spurt,” he replied proudly.

“About time,” Jin said as he took your bags from the driver. “Why do you have three bags now when you left with one?”

“My aunt took me shopping,” you explained.

Your uncle passed you the brochures you’d left on the car seat. Nodding to Jin and Jungkook, he patted your shoulder. “Think about it, okay? This could be a good experience for you.”

After he left, you turned back to Jungkook and Jin, who were looking at the brochures you held.

“What does he want you to think about?” Jin asked.

You held up the brochures as you took one of the suitcases. “Boarding school. The same one he and my dad went to. My grandfather barely acknowledged my existence before now, except sending money to my mom twice a year, but suddenly I’m his summer project.”

“Boarding school where?”

“England.”

Jin whistled. “That must be expensive.”

“Money’s the one thing they’re not lacking, so…”

“But you’re not going, right?” Jungkook suddenly asked.

“I told him I would look at these brochures and think about it, but no. I don’t really want to go.”

“Well, then you should just throw them away. There’s no point looking at them if you’re not going.”

You frowned at the edge in his tone. “Why do you sound mad?”

“I’m not mad, I just think it’s a stupid idea,” he answered.

“Ignore him, y/n. He missed you this summer, even if he won’t admit it, and now you’re talking about moving to England. He’s feeling abandoned.” Jin laughed and ducked when Jungkook threw a mock punch at him.

You greeted your mother, stepfather and younger siblings before following Jin and Jungkook up the stairs to your room. Jin left after he helped you get the bags upstairs, but Jungkook stayed and watched as you unzipped your suitcases and began sorting through your things. Your talismans came out first, and Jungkook hung them for you as you put away your new clothes.

“If you really have to keep up with the lessons this year, you should use the same art teacher I use. She’s really good, and then we could do them together.”

“Okay.” You turned around to see Jungkook looking at the brochures.

“This place looks haunted as hell, y/n.”

“Your mom will beat you if she hears you cursing,” you reminded him.

“Well, it does. Look haunted, I mean. Who even knows how many ghosts are wandering around a centuries old school like this.” Jungkook shook his head and tossed the brochures into the trash can next to your desk. “Tell your uncle thanks but no thanks.”

“So did you decide where you want to have our birthday party next week?” You took turns each year, choosing the location and cake, and this year was Jungkook’s turn.

“The arcade,” he said, ignoring your groan. “Come on, we’ll have fun playing the games. Mom said you should come for dinner tonight and help think about the cake. I get the arcade, and I’ll eat whatever cake you want.”

“Okay. I need to ask my mom, but they probably won’t care.”

You didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but it was impossible not to hear your mom and stepfather arguing as you walked down the stairs and around the corner to see them standing at the kitchen island.

“She’s still hanging paper around her room to ward off ghosts, for God’s sake. Remember that the twins heard her talking about ghosts to Jungkook last year and still won’t sleep with the lights off. I’m just saying that if her father’s family want her to live with them, we should consider it. And the boarding school might be good for her.”

“You know that I promised her father I wouldn’t let them influence her upbringing too much.” Your mother sighed. “I know that her eccentricities complicate things, but I can’t break that promise. If she decides to go to boarding school, she’ll only be with us for another year anyway.”

You shouldn’t be surprised to hear them talking about you; you knew that, but it still hurt. The chasm between you and your mother had widened over the years until you barely talked about anything that wasn’t related to helping out with household chores or schoolwork. You jumped as Jungkook cleared his throat loudly.

“We were just going to my house for dinner if that’s okay,” Jungkook said. “We’re still planning our birthday party.”

“Oh.” Your mom bit her lip as she looked at you, obviously wondering if you’d heard them talking. “You just got home, but I suppose that’s fine. Don’t stay too late.”

You nodded and allowed Jungkook to lead you outside. You made it to the end of the driveway before Jungkook spoke. “Your stepfather sucks. Asshole.”

You swallowed down the tears threatening. “You can’t blame him for thinking I’m weird, and wishing his kids weren’t exposed to it. We have to be more careful what we talk about with the twins around.”

“Yeah, I can blame him. He married your mom knowing she had a kid, and that makes you his kid too. He’s never been that nice to you, even before the twins were born. Asshole.”

You laughed.

“You know my parents love you right? And Jin too. He missed you almost as much as I did this summer.”

“Aww, so you did miss me?”

He rolled his eyes. “Shut up and let’s go eat. I’m starving.”

_____________

 High school was a new world. Your grandfather wasn’t pleased with your decision to stay at your local school but when you didn’t budge from your decision, he shifted his attention to making sure you were properly prepped for university. You still spent at least six weeks with them every summer, and you’d continued extra music, art and language lessons.

Jin had gone to university and only came home for holidays, so you spent more and more of your time at Jungkook’s house. Jungkook played varsity baseball and was often busy with training programs for a few hours after school. His growth spurts meant he’d long outgrown you, at least vertically, something he liked rubbing in when he propped his arm on top of your head. He was losing his baby fat too, and out of nowhere he suddenly had a jawline that the girls in school noticed.

He wasn’t the only one changing. Mrs. Kim had been right when she told you that your ability to see and communicate with ghosts would grow as you got older. You were sixteen now, and the older you got, the more they seemed drawn to you.

“Somehow, they’re able to recognize those of us who can see the otherworld,” Mrs. Kim explained one afternoon when you and Jungkook visited her. “We shine a little brighter for them, I suppose, or they’re drawn to our energy. This is especially true for the ones who feel they left unfinished business behind.”

“They’re following her now – sometimes to school, sometimes to her house,” Jungkook told her. “There has to be a way to stop that. Isn’t there some kind of banishing talisman?”

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple, Jungkook.” She looked over at you. “I told you years ago that the talismans were only meant to be a partial protection. They’re best used to protect small spaces, like your bedroom when you’re sleeping. They cannot be used to forever shield you from the otherworld. You have to learn to communicate with them, y/n, and stand firm when they push back against you. If you learn to push back against them, you’ll be able to block their energy. But in order to do that, you’ll have to allow yourself to come into contact with them.”

“No,” Jungkook replied flatly. “That water ghost almost killed her eight years ago, and last year one of them pushed her into traffic. Confronting them is too dangerous.”

“But if she doesn’t confront them and learn to wield this power she possesses, she’ll forever lead a half-life hiding from shadows.” Mrs. Kim raised her brows. “Are you going to hide in the shadows and live that half-life with her?”

Those words stayed with you as the school year ended. You had two more years of high school left and then it would be time for university. Jungkook was already talking about which universities you could apply to together. He was hoping to get an athletic scholarship, which is why he’d become so serious about baseball. Jin had gone to university on a drama scholarship, something that had helped a lot with expenses.

Money wasn’t a problem for you, but how would this work? Would you just follow Jungkook to whichever university he attended? Would he follow you to yours? And what would happen after university? At some point, you’d have to part ways in the world, at least to some extent. As Mrs. Kim had pointed out, he couldn’t stay with you in the shadows forever. You were surprised that Jungkook didn’t already have a girlfriend given how many girls were hovering around him lately, and you were sure that a girlfriend would absolutely hate you for taking up all of his time.

________________

 The end-of-the-year party at Jimin’s house was in full swing, and Jungkook had lost track of you about an hour ago while he was dancing with Grace, a girl he’d been quietly crushing on for the last few months. She was one of the most popular girls at school though and getting time alone with her was difficult. He thought she liked him back, but she’d danced with two other guys after dancing with him.

The only girl he really understood was you, but you didn’t act like other girls. You never showed an interest in the boys at school, or in dating, and you had never befriended any of the girls either. Grace had been friendly towards you, but she was also good friends with Hanna and Lily, and so you seemed wary of her. He could understand that since he knew Hanna and Lily had been horrible to you in the past, on numerous occasions. But he also thought it was unfair to blame Grace by association since she’d only recently moved to their town.

Jungkook wandered outside to the pool area and finally spotted Jimin. “Hey, have you seen y/n?”

“Yeah, about thirty minutes ago? She was with Lucas.”

He frowned. “What the hell is she doing with Lucas?” Lucas was on the baseball team with him and he was the one guy he didn’t get along with. He was popular, but Jungkook had heard him say gross things about girls, and he could be a bully.

Jimin shrugged. “I don’t know. They were with a group playing truth or dare and then someone said they left together.”

Jungkook couldn’t get rid of the uneasy feeling as he searched the crowd for you. He’d tried calling you, but your phone was off, or maybe dead – you were always forgetting to keep it charged. Relief surged through him when he finally found you sitting in a quiet spot on the front porch.

“Geez, y/n, can you not disappear like that? Or at least keep your phone on?”

You looked up and smiled at him. “Sorry. I thought you were still with Grace.”

He sat down next to you on the swing, pushing off gently to get it moving again. “Jimin said he saw you with Lucas.”

“Hmm.”

He waited for you to continue, but you stayed quiet. “Why?”

“He pulled me into their game of truth or dare when I was walking by. I didn’t really want to play but then I thought, it’s a party, and maybe I should just… try to have fun? So I played. Lucas admitted he liked someone in the circle, and they dared him to kiss the girl he likes. Then he kissed me.”

Jungkook was stunned. And pissed. “I am going to beat his ass.” He stood but paused when you grabbed his arm and pulled him down again.

“It’s fine. Well, it’s not, but it wasn’t much of a kiss. His lips were kind of dry,” you admitted. “Kissing Lucas during a game of truth or dare at Jimin’s house isn’t the kind of story I imagined for my first kiss, but at least it’s over with, I guess.”

“He’s already slept with two girls in our class, and we’re barely halfway through high school. You shouldn’t be going anywhere alone with him. He talks shit about girls in the locker room, y/n, so don’t let him fool you.” He was getting angrier the longer he thought about it, and he really would beat Lucas’ ass if he heard your name out of him even once.

You looked over at him in surprise. “I didn’t go anywhere alone with him.”

“Jimin said you left together.”

“No, I didn’t. I left after he kissed me and went to the bathroom. He followed me and asked if he could take me home later, but I told him I was here with you. Then I came out here, alone.”

“Oh.” That made him feel a little better, but not much. The idea of Lucas’ lips anywhere near you made him want to hit something. You were way too good for a guy who showed the bare minimum of respect to girls even when he was dating them and then trash talked them after he was done.

“First kiss with Lucas is a real low point for the year, I have to admit,” you said with humor. “He’s cute but not really my type… ow!” You glared at him, rubbing your forehead where he’d just thumped you. “Why did you do that?”

“He’s cute? Are you blind?”

You sighed. “I know you hate him, but now you’re just being unreasonable. It’s not like your first kiss was much better.”

“For the record, Hanna kissed me, not the other way around,” he reminded you. “It’s not like I wanted her to.”

“Whatever. Though it’s kind of funny that both our first kisses were with someone the other hates. It shouldn’t even count since it’s not like they asked for consent first.”

Jungkook looked over at you. He hadn’t really noticed before how pretty you looked tonight. You were wearing a silky green tank top with a gossamer thin white cardigan, and the gold locket you’d gotten for your sixteenth birthday hung around your neck. Since it had belonged to your paternal grandmother and held a photo of your father, you rarely took it off.

He thought about the other photo he knew was there, one his mother had taken at Halloween when you were ten. It was the year you’d discovered that old Ghostbusters movie and Jungkook had convinced you to wear matching Ghostbusters costumes. You’d had a miniature made for your locket, and he carried the same photo in his wallet. So many of his best memories included you.

“Let’s make it not count then,” he suddenly said.

You looked over at him again, a questioning look on your face. Before he could give himself too much time to think about it, he leaned forward, pausing when he got close to you, giving you a chance to move away if you wanted to. Then you closed the distance and pressed your lips to his.

Your lips were softer than he’d expected. The kiss only lasted a few seconds; he licked his lips when you pulled back, tasting the berry flavored lip gloss you used. He took a breath, surprised that his heart was racing.

“It’s the first because we chose it, right?” You looked happy about that, your hand reaching up to touch your locket.

“Yeah.” He stood up and held out his hand. “Let’s go home.”

_______________

 You spent six weeks that summer at your grandfather’s house and when you returned, Jungkook was following Grace around like a puppy. You told yourself that you were happy for him even as your heart sank whenever you saw them together. It was silly and you knew it, so you did your best to ignore that feeling and support him. She was nice enough, but you kept your distance since Grace was friends with Hanna and Lily. Regardless of what Jungkook believed, you weren’t sure a really nice girl would be friends with the literal mean girls of your high school.

Jungkook was being scouted by universities by the time baseball season started. You were only juniors, and he probably wouldn’t get any offers until the following year, but it was a big deal that coaches were already talking to him. Just as you had every year he played, you watched his practices and attended every game with his parents, cheering him on.

The coach from Gettis University had visited twice, something the whole school was talking about. It was an old and well-respected university located five hours north of your town, and one of the best universities in the country. You knew that Jungkook was leaning towards studying filmmaking since he enjoyed shooting and editing videos, and Gettis had an outstanding film program. The tuition prices were outrageous but with a scholarship, it would be an incredible opportunity for him.

It was also known as one of the most haunted college campuses in the country. Because the university was located near an area where several bloody battles had been fought, tales of campus ghosts fueled the local folklore and had inspired many creepypasta tales. The Gothic inspired architecture lent credibility to the stories, and students leaned into it, throwing elaborate Halloween parties and hosting infamous haunted houses each October.

The idea of attending college there filled you with a deep dread that you tried to hide from Jungkook. Despite that, you knew that he was aware of it because every time his parents talked to him about college options, he dismissed the idea of attending Gettis.

You hated it. Hated that you were so fragile that he felt he had to turn down an opportunity like that. Hated that you were also too selfish to tell him he should go without you. Most of all, you hated that you were so terrified that you couldn’t think about Gettis without breaking into a cold sweat.

It was a topic that you had carefully avoided talking to each other about, but the time was rapidly approaching when you’d both have to make decisions about your future, and the last thing you wanted was to hold him back. It always brought you back to what Mrs. Kim had told you – that unless you learned to control your ability to see and interact with the otherworld, you would condemn both yourself and Jungkook to a half life hiding from shadows.

You were trying to think of a way to broach the topic one afternoon after baseball practice as Jungkook walked with you to the library. You’d been talking to Mrs. Kim recently about ways to control your ability, and ways to safely confront ghosts, something you knew Jungkook wouldn’t agree with. You hadn’t quite worked up the nerve to test any of Mrs. Kim’s suggestions yet, but you were hoping that you could convince Jungkook to help.

You cleared your throat. “So I was thinking…”

A car horn interrupted you. Turning, you saw Grace pull up in her red convertible with a friendly wave.

“Hey you,” she said, smiling at Jungkook. “A bunch of us are headed to the lake now that it’s warm enough. I know you two usually study on Wednesdays but come on – it’s such a waste of a nice afternoon.”

When Jungkook hesitated, Grace added, “Of course you’re welcome to come too, y/n.”

You hadn’t been to that lake since your eighth birthday, and everyone in school knew that. Grace had even commented on it before, so you knew it was an empty offer meant to appease Jungkook.

You could see that he was about to refuse, so you stopped him. “You should go. It sounds like fun.” When he didn’t say anything, you gave him a little push. “Seriously, go. I’ll help you study tomorrow.”

He smiled at you. “Okay. But let me know when you’re ready to walk home and I’ll come walk with you. You shouldn’t be walking alone after dark.”

You nodded, watching as he got in the car and they drove away. You continued on to the library, stopping to talk to Jimin when you arrived. His mom was the librarian and he often studied there with you and Jungkook. Today he was behind the desk, helping his mom scan in a backlog of book returns.

“Where’s Jungkook?” he asked as you leaned against the counter.

“With Grace at the lake.”

“Yeah, I heard a bunch of people were headed there this afternoon,” he replied. “If you want to grab a table, I’ll come join you as soon as I’m done.”

You and Jimin studied for the next two hours and when you were done with your homework, you wandered over to the stacks to look for a book that Mrs. Kim had recommended you read. From the corner of your eye you saw a man move between rows of books. He looked familiar, so you turned to look at him. You froze, eyes automatically shifting away when you realized that he wasn’t a man at all.

You’d also seen him before. He’d been outside the farmer’s market one weekend, and you’d seen him near the school. That you were now seeing him at the library meant he was probably following you. You could feel your palms start to sweat. You concentrated on breathing for a moment, willing your heartbeat to slow as you counted in your head.

This was an opportunity. He wasn’t like the water ghost, and he wasn’t full of the menacing energy you’d briefly felt from the ghost who had pushed you into traffic two years ago.

Swallowing hard, you ran your fingers over the pocket of the lightweight jacket you were still wearing in the chilly library, feeling both the stone of your protection amulet and the small spray bottle of salt water you kept with you at all times. You’d used the saltwater spray a handful of times over the years, finding that once their energy was disrupted, nuisance ghosts usually disappeared and often didn’t seek you out again.

Slowly, you looked up at the man. He was older than you but still young, and if he wasn’t so eerily still and pale, you might have thought him handsome. His dark hair was cut in an old-fashioned, feathery style that reminded you of the album covers of 70s rock bands that your stepfather had in his record collection.

“Hi,” you said, your voice shaking. “Do you… do you need help?” You’d never tried to talk to any of the ghosts before, and you had no idea what you should say, but offering help seemed like a good first step.

The man moved closer. You were amazed by just how solid he looked, much more so than when you’d seen him outside. His eyes were a deep, dark brown, and something about them drew you in. Unable to look away, you remained still as he continued moving towards you, feeling an almost drunken heaviness suffuse your limbs. He reached out; almost as if disconnected from your body, you felt your hand meet his halfway.

The scorching heat from his fingers was a shock, as was the spark of electricity that zapped you back to awareness. You jerked backwards with a gasp, reaching into your pocket for the saltwater spray. “Please, if you need help, I’ll try to help…” you broke off as you heard a popping sound behind you.

You stood, frozen in horror as the wall socket next to the reading nook popped and sparked with electricity. Before the man could move closer again, you sprayed the saltwater into the air between you. He shimmered brightly, dissolved into the air, and then reappeared so suddenly you had no time to react. An orange glow seemed to burn within his eyes when he reached for you again.

This time his touch burned through the fabric of your jacket, and the floor beneath you shook as you screamed in pain and horror. He shimmered again and you fell backwards, dimly aware that the smoke and flames behind you were from the armchair which had caught fire. The lights above you flickered out, and you curled into a ball, arms over your head.

You screamed again when you felt hands on your back until you realized it was Jimin trying to lift you off the floor.

That was the last thing you remembered until waking in the hospital to find Jungkook asleep in a chair beside your bed. He’d fallen asleep holding your hand and looked exhausted. He was still wearing the same clothes he’d been wearing when you last saw him, with the addition of his well-loved black hoodie.

The memory of what happened in the library came back when you saw the bandages on your left forearm, and you couldn’t stop the fear that raced through you. The steady beeping of your heart monitor increased sharply, jolting Jungkook awake as you gasped for breath.

Your head swam. Two nurses rushed in, and through bleary eyes you saw your mother behind them. You thought Jungkook was speaking, but you couldn’t understand through the rushing sound in your ears. The darkness slipped in again.

You woke again the next morning to Jungkook, pale and tense beside you, still holding your hand.

“You’re okay,” he said quickly, leaning in to cup the side of your head. “Just look at me for a minute and breathe. You have to breathe slowly, remember?”

Your heart was pounding again. It had been a couple of years since you’d had a severe panic attack, but you recognized it, as did Jungkook. You closed your eyes and concentrated on breathing as you listened to him count. Gradually your heart rate slowed.

You were calmer when the doctor came in to examine the palm shaped burn on your arm. You hadn’t imagined it then, you thought dimly. The man had burned you with a touch. You had never considered that a ghost could harm you like that – that something scarier than water ghosts existed. Your mother was talking to the doctor about the library fire, the assumption being that you must have been sitting in the chair that caught fire when a power surge overloaded the electrical system.

Jungkook obviously knew something much worse had happened, but you couldn’t bring yourself to talk about it yet. You couldn’t speak at all. You thought you might shatter from the inside out if you did. You didn’t want to eat or drink either until the nurse explained to your mother and Jungkook that your body needed the sugar due to the shock you’d been through. As long as you didn’t feel sick or vomit, you needed to try eating and drinking.

After that, Jungkook was relentless, coaxing you to drink juice and eat small bites of food every hour. You didn’t want it, but you didn’t have it in you to refuse when he looked so worried. His mother arrived in the afternoon, bringing your favorite fresh fruit, some homemade food and a change of clothes for Jungkook.

His mother sat with you while he washed up since your mom had gone to pick up the twins from school. You were still on a saline drip and the doctor had said you wouldn’t be discharged until tomorrow at the earliest because your blood pressure and blood sugar were still low.

A bone deep weariness had settled in by evening, but you were afraid to sleep. You heard Jungkook’s mother urging your mom to go home and get some rest since she’d been awake all night, promising that she and Jungkook would stay with you, but you didn’t look at your mother when she said goodbye. You felt oddly detached from her; whether she stayed or left didn’t really matter when you knew she’d never believe you if you tried to tell her what happened to you.

That night after his mom fell asleep on the sofa, Jungkook whispered, “Please talk to me, y/n. You’re scaring me.”

You looked at him, sitting there next to you, still holding your hand. You wondered what your lives would be like now if you had never moved here. You were sure that your life would be worse while his would undoubtedly be better.

“One of them…” your voice cracked, and you cleared your throat. “He followed me. I tried… tried to talk to him. And he… he…”

When you stopped talking, Jungkook asked, “Did he start the fire? Is that how you got burned?”

You shook your head and tried again. “He burned me when he… he touched me.” You squeezed your eyes shut, and the tears finally came, quietly.

“You’re okay now,” he said. He grabbed the box of tissues off the table and climbed onto the bed with you, carefully pulling you to him as he rested his chin against the top of your head. “It’s okay.”

____________

 But it wasn’t okay. You spent the final two months of the school year at home, completing your assignments online. Jungkook diligently took notes in class, and Jimin shared his notes as well. The teachers allowed you to come and take exams in a quiet room alone.

The only place you felt safe was in your bedroom with the talismans protecting your space. You had no idea what happened to the ghost at the library, but you were terrified that he might find you. Sleeping with the lights on was your new normal when you slept at all.

Your mom suggested counseling to help you deal with your anxiety. You went along with it, though you didn’t see the point. A therapist couldn’t help with something they didn’t know or understand, and it’s not like you could tell the woman what you were really afraid of. The best she could offer was advice on how to deal with your panic attacks and general anxiety. They were coping mechanisms that would do little to help you get to the root of the problem.

The one person who could help was also someone you didn’t want to talk to. Nana had visited with Mrs. Kim, but you’d told your mom that you didn’t want to see them. Your stepfather and the twins gave you space, rarely venturing into your bedroom, and you rarely ventured out. The only people you talked to besides the therapist, who came to your house twice a week, were Jungkook and his mom. Jin was in his last year at university, but he messaged you daily, making you smile with his terrible jokes.

Mrs. Kim had gone abroad to stay with her daughter in May. Nana brought over a small box that she said Mrs. Kim had asked her to give you, but you hadn’t opened it yet. It sat in your closet, buried beneath your schoolbooks you’d put away for the summer.

Then, one sunny day in early June, Nana went for a walk at the lake. It was her favorite spot because it was where she’d met her late husband. She’d always said she felt closer to him there than she did at his grave. She sat on the bench where he’d proposed so many years before, and her heart quietly gave out.

Jungkook was inconsolable. You tried to be there for him as he had been there for you in the past, but he held his grief in. You mustered up every bit of courage you possessed to stand with him at her grave site for the funeral services, heart in your throat and jumping at every shadow or slight noise.

You looked for her that day – at the grave site, and at the wake. You didn’t know how to explain it, but you were certain that she had moved on, that nothing had held her back. She’d found her peace and returned to her husband.

Jungkook didn’t believe you. You knew it was because on the day she died, Nana had asked him to walk with her as he often did. But on that particular day, he’d chosen to meet Grace for ice cream, and he couldn’t forgive himself.

“She said she wanted to talk to me about something. We were going to talk the next day,” he told you. He was sad, and angry, and after a week of stoicism, he began lashing out at everyone.

He’d begged you to go back to the grave site with him and you did. The anxiety of being there for hours, waiting for a spirit you knew would never come while avoiding the others who came and went, sometimes getting entirely too close to you for your sanity, took its toll. You spent the night in your bathroom, vomiting, sweating and angry with yourself for being so weak when Jungkook needed you.

The next day, he asked you to go to the lake with him.

“I can’t,” you whispered, shaking your head. The very idea made you want to vomit again.

“Please, y/n. Please.” He grabbed your hands, the pleading in his dark eyes making you feel like the worst friend for denying him.

“She’s not there, Jungkook. I can’t explain it, but I feel…”

“You don’t know that!” He let go of your hands and stood up, his anger spilling over, this time at you. “All these years, I never fucking asked you for anything. I’ve spent ten years adjusting my life to your fears and paranoia. I fight with my girlfriend because of you. I can’t even fucking go to the college I want to go to because I have to worry about how that affects you. And you can’t do this one thing for me?”

He was breathing heavily, not looking at you now as you stared at him, unable to believe the things he’d just said to you. You tried to tell yourself he didn’t mean it, that he was just hurting and angry, but you weren’t so sure. Maybe this was the sum total of the things you’d avoided talking about even when you knew that you were holding him back.

Before you could think of what to say, he turned and left, slamming your bedroom door behind him. You heard his footsteps down the stairs, and then there was nothing but the silence he left in his wake.

In all the years you’d been friends with Jungkook, you’d never seen him that angry. Typically, he was slow to anger, and he wasn’t one to hold grudges either. You were the one that held grudges for the both of you. But after two days passed without hearing from him, you knew this time was different.

Everyone tried to mediate since they didn’t know why you were fighting. Your messages to Jungkook went unanswered, and he’d refused to come out of his room when you finally went to his house to talk to him. Jin sat on your porch with you that afternoon, poking and prodding to try and figure out what was going on. You just told him that it was your fault because it was. Deep down, you felt like Jungkook had a right to be angry with you.

Two weeks later, Jungkook left for baseball camp.

There was almost a sense of relief you felt now that he was gone. Jin had come to talk to you again, telling you that he was sure that Jungkook was going to be feeling shitty about this whole thing by the end of the summer, and making a point to remind you that he couldn’t call even if he wanted to because he wasn’t allowed to have his phone for the month-long camp.

You didn’t say it, but you were beginning to think a clean break would be best for everyone. You talked to your uncle, quietly making plans without bothering to discuss it with your mother. And when you felt ready, you took out the box that Mrs. Kim had sent to you. You read the long letter, set aside the new talismans, and examined the jade Taoist amulet she’d included. Somehow, you weren’t surprised that she was prescient enough to know this time would come.

That night, you went to the lake.

________________________

 Jungkook was surprised to see Jin waiting for him when he left the camp facility. “I thought Mom was picking me up.”

Jin opened the trunk, took his bag and tossed it inside. “She was, but I need to talk to you, so I told her I’d do it.”

“I thought you’d still be mad at me,” Jungkook said as he got in the car. He ran his hand through his hair, pushing down his nerves. Baseball camp had been physically exhausting, but nothing had been able to drown out the horrible, horrible things he’d said before he left. They played on a loop as he lay in his bunk at night, and he saw your face when he closed his eyes.

“I am,” Jin said shortly. “You weren’t the only person who was sad about Nana, Jungkook. You’re just the only person who was super shitty about it, to everyone.”

He supposed he deserved that. “Do you have my phone?” It was a two-hour drive home, but he didn’t want to wait that long to call you. He wasn’t sure if you’d answer, but he needed to at least try.

“Yes, but I know who you’re going to call, and we need to talk first.”

Jin pulled into a small roadside diner. They sat in a back booth and ordered drinks and the lunch special, pulled barbecue sandwiches. Jin waited until he’d finished his sandwich before he spoke again.

Wiping his hands, he pushed his plate away and asked, “What exactly happened between you and y/n?”

Jungkook looked away. “I said some things to her that I should never have said. I don’t even know why I said them. I was just sad, and mad, and I’d already lashed out at everybody else. She was the only one left.”

“When I asked y/n, she said it was her fault,” Jin said. “She seemed to think she deserved your anger. Why would she think that?”

“Look, Jin, I appreciate that you tried to fix this, but I really need to talk to y/n. This is personal, between me and her. Can you give me my phone, please?”

Jin reached into his pocket and pulled out the phone, handing it over without another word.

Jungkook turned it on and gave the voice command to call you. After a moment, he heard a toneless voice saying the number was no longer in service. Annoyed, he went to his contacts and selected your name, again waiting for the call to connect.

Jin was sitting, arms crossed when he looked up. “What the hell is going on?”

“She changed her number.”

“Okay. What’s her new number?”

“See, I don’t know because she didn’t give it to anyone before she left.”

Jungkook set the phone down on the table, a sick feeling twisting in his gut. “I don’t understand.”

“About a week after you left, y/n’s mom called late one night to say she was missing. She wasn’t in the house, her phone was on her desk, no note, nothing. She had already driven around looking for her, but it was getting late, and she was worried, so we got some neighbors together to search for her. We couldn’t officially file a missing persons report, but Dad called a friend at the police department. They had patrol officers looking, and one of them said he remembered seeing a girl walking down by the lake at sunset.”

“She hasn’t been to the lake in ten years,” Jungkook said flatly. “There’s no way she’d go down there alone at night.”

“That’s what we thought too, but we looked just in case. No luck. I told Dad maybe we needed to come get you because if anyone would know where she might go, it would be you. But then another patrolman called to say he’d found her sitting on the pier at the lake. Apparently, she’d been there all night and when Dad and I got there, she was wet, like she’d been in the water.”

Jungkook shook his head. “No. She can’t swim, and she hates the water, even the pool.” If she’d gone there looking for Nana, he’d never forgive himself. “She was okay though, right?”

“Physically, yes – cold but not hurt. But the way she just stared out at the water gave me the chills, Jungkook. When I asked her why she’d gone down there, the only thing she’d say was that she needed to know if she could do it. Do what, I don’t know, but that was her answer.”

Jungkook swallowed hard. “You said she left. Did she go to her grandfather?” If he could catch the early afternoon train, he could be there by this evening.

“She left the country, Jungkook. Packed her bags, and when her uncle’s driver pulled up, she told her mom that she was going to that boarding school. All of ten minutes notice before she was in the car driving away. She called once after she arrived in England, and that’s the last time any of us heard from her.”

Jungkook couldn’t collect his thoughts as they drove home. All he could think of for the last couple of weeks was fixing the mess he’d made. He’d imagined many scenarios – some where you accepted his apology and things went back to normal, and others where you refused to speak to him. The latter was what he deserved, but he’d been so sure that he’d be able to fix it eventually.

“Do you remember the name that was on those brochures?” Jungkook asked. “I remember looking at them, but I can’t remember the name of that damn school.”

“No and believe me when I say I’ve been trying to remember. I even got her uncle’s number and called him, but he very politely told me that he supported y/n’s decision to cut ties with, and I quote, emotionally damaging people. I don’t even think her mother knows exactly where she is, probably because y/n thinks her mom would tell our mom, who would tell us, so yeah. Basically, we know she’s in England. In case of emergency, her uncle will get in touch with her.”

When they pulled up to their house, Jungkook got out and immediately went to your house. When your mom answered the door, she looked both surprised and dismayed to see him. “She’s not here, Jungkook. I thought Jin was going to talk to you about this.”

“I know, but I left something in her room. Can I go up and get it?”

She hesitated for a moment before letting him in. He took the stairs two at a time and opened your bedroom door. The air already smelled stale, and there was an abandoned air to the room now. Your favorite books weren’t on the bookshelf, and your closet was mostly empty. It was shameless, but he searched all of your drawers, looking for any hint about the school you were attending. After ten minutes, he was forced to admit defeat.

There was a box on your desk that looked familiar. Then he remembered that Mrs. Kim had left a box just like this one with Nana to give to you. He opened it to find the well-worn talismans that used to hang around your room. There was also a photo album – when he opened it, he found photos and news clippings of every baseball game he’d ever played, beginning with his t-ball years.

Instinctively, he knew this must be something you’d worked on for his birthday. You’d known that he would come looking for you, and you’d left the box out for him. Next was a hoodie he’d been looking for, not realizing he’d left it in your room. And at the very bottom of the box was a note with your neat handwriting sloping across the paper.

“Happy birthday. My wish for both of us is that we can be free.”

He’d thought the worst pain he’d probably ever feel was when Nana died but somehow, this pain was worse. It was an ache that hollowed him out, that made his jaw clench and his hands tremble. He wasn’t sure how long he stood there, staring down at that note. It was proof that you really didn’t know how important you were to him because if you did, you never would have left like this. You had decided that the best thing for both of you was to be free of each other, and that was on him.

When he heard a noise behind him, he wiped at a tear that slid down his cheek and turned to see your little sister, Emmie, standing in the doorway.

Emmie looked around the room and said, “I knew she was packing, but I thought she was gonna go to her dad’s family like she does every summer. You made her cry, you know.”

The little girl looked so much like you did when you were her age. It was in the way her hair parted, and how she tilted her head when she looked at him. The big eyes, and the stubborn chin – they were all little parts of you. It made his heart ache.

“I know. I wanted to tell her I’m sorry.”

“If you didn’t come, I was supposed to take that box to you. But you already found it.”

“Did she tell you anything else?”

“I don’t have her number,” she said bluntly. “Jin already asked me and Robbie. She just said we should be good and she’d send us presents from England.”

Jungkook took one last look around your room. The lucky pig you’d won at the arcade for your birthday still sat on your bed, so he picked it up and put it in the box. The pressed flower bookmark you’d made in middle school went in next – it was your birth flower. He found two mixtapes in your desk drawer, remnants of that weird CD burning phase you went through when everyone else was making playlists.

He added a few stray photos his grandmother had taken of you both using her ancient Polaroid, a book of poems you loved, and the silver charm bracelet you’d stopped wearing when the clasp broke last year. He’d given you at least half the charms on that bracelet anyway, so it was half his.

When Emmie raised her brows at his blatant theft, he shrugged. “Tell her she’ll have to talk to me if she wants her stuff back.”

Back at his house, he put the box in his closet and thought about the year ahead. Almost as far back as he could remember, you’d celebrated your birthdays together. This year, he’d be alone. He wouldn’t walk to school with you, and you wouldn’t share classes. You wouldn’t be on the bleachers during his baseball games, holding up your hand drawn signs. There would be no silly, senior year prom poses together. He’d graduate alone.

But you’d have to come back eventually. Maybe for the holidays, or at least before college. When you did, he’d do whatever it took to fix this.

[codename-adler]

Kevin Day and his Oblivious Literature Lover, pt.IV

In times of college finals, aftg is my coping mechanism of predilection. hope it helps some :)

>> Table of Contents,TW and other parts here!

i’ll let you guess what Kevin and Juliet chose for their project

oh, yes

the letters of Hamilton, Eliza and John + Hamilton: The Musical

i will fight you on this

at first, when Juliet suggests it, Kevin stares at her so hard bc really?? a musical??

but then she lends him the 50$ leatherbound official book of the musical (you know the navy blue and beige one? you know what i’m talking about, right?) and reads it all in one evening and wow

lin-manuel miranda? genius. ron chernow? Genius. alexander hamilton? Dumb Genius.

oh yeah and Juliet? Absolutely mind-blowing genius.

as Andrew & Neil grow closer and the match agaisnt the Ravens rounds the corner, Kevin finds himself looking more and more forward to the time spent at the library with Juliet

she is just so focused on their project and so oblivious as who he really is and doesn’t really care if sometimes he is more anxious, if freaks over everything to be perfect, if he babbles on&on&on&on about any bit of history he discovered

she’s just there, smirking, stiffling her laughs and asking for more

they’ve exhanged phone numbers and she installed snapchat on his, and although he never sends her anything, she always has a short video and a funny caption that pop up from time to time; they’re that little reminder that the world goes on outside of exy and that he exists outside of exy

she introduces him to funny videos and he didn’t know absolute dumb shit could make him snort??

his favorite is the peanut butter baby

at first the Foxes give him this judgemental look when he ugly-snorts in the locker room or at Eden’s, but eventually they just get that glint in their eyes as if they were in on the jokes

sometimes, Juliet’s so focused on writing down bullet points in her notebook, peeling the skin off her lips, so unaware of Kevin’s personal hell of a life, that he just wants to spill out everything

although he’s not sure if it’s because he wants her to know him and stay, or because he wants her to reject him and therefore spare himself the trouble of getting attached...

she takes the decision for him

on a Thursday afternoon, on their planned study session, she doesn’t show up

she doesn’t answer her phone either

he even tries out a completely blacked out snap with “r u alive?” in caption

no answer

he gives her space, sending her occasional cat videos he thoroughly researches

if she watches them, she doesn’t say anything

on Monday afternoon, she doesn’t come to class

that’s when the panic Kevin’s been reigning in just... bursts

what if it’s Riko? 

what if it’s the Master?

what if it’s Ichirou?

what if, somehow, it’s the Butcher’s people?

that afternoon’s practice is hell for the Foxes, Kevin is ruthless and an asshole and very agressive

Dan waits for him outside the boys’ locker room as all the other Foxes leave (not even Andrew and Neil want to wait for him)

“Spit out your goddamn problem before I tell Coach to bench you next game”

oh, how Kevin wants to cuss her out

and then he looks  at her face, ready to vomit words, when he sees her worrying her lips

just like Juliet

it shouldn’t be enough to make him tear up, but it does

he still manages to keep as much of the truth to himself as he possibly can

“My EAL partner isn’t responding to my messages or my calls and she didn’t even come to class today and it stresses me the fuck out and what if it’s like with Neil, Dan?” he says in one breath, trying to tear out the net of his racket

Dan recomposes her face and gets that very serious look, the one she usually gets when someone touches her family

“It’s not, Kevin. That’s over. We got Neil back, we got you back, you got Jean back. The team didn’t even know who that person was. The most info we’ve gathered is what you just told me now. Yeah there are some bets but it’s mostly for funsies, nothing even remotely serious. You wanna look for her?” she soothes him.

“I don’t even know...”

“She lives on campus?” she asks.

“I don’t- I don’t know, Dan. I spent months with her and I can’t even vaguely say where she lives! How fucked up is that?” Kevin yells.

“It’s not even remotely fucked up, Kevin. You should know that. Does she have instagram? twitter? Or like, facebook?” she questions some more.

“God, I don’t know. She only sends me stupid fucking videos and I never even respond like the goddamn asshole I am...”

“Shut up. We’re all assholes at the end of the road, ‘kay? You ain’t better or worse than others. Now she sends them to you in text or somewhere else?”

“Sometimes texts... Sometimes the yellow app, the chat one. Why.”

“Oh great, that’s great. We can locate her, with snapchat, if she forgot to turn off the sharing. And if you’re comfortable with that, too. I know you’re not a creep like that. You’re creepy sometimes, don’t get me wrong. But, not a creep.”

“Gee, thanks, Dan.”

“Hey, shush. You down or what?” she says, arching an eyebrow.

“Okay,” he answers, unable to make the fear go away without knowing for sure.

And so it turns out Juliet’s location is, in fact, knowable. Dan grabs one of Kevin’s shoulders as he leaves the court, squeezing her affection into her grip; he nods emotionally in her direction, as far as emotions can translate unto his face.

he doesn’t even know what he’ll do once he finds her, his brain is solely focused on the animated map that brings him closer and closer to Juliet

the more he progresses, the more he realizes he is far from Fox Tower, on a campus area he has never even seen

he stops before a decrepit building, old and moldy-looking

Jackie Kennedy Hall

student dorms? this shabby? she can’t possibly live-

except that she can, because there isn’t another building close and the map has brought him here, and he doesn’t really know her...

so Kevin straightens his shoulders, inhales deeply, and goes inside

he could go on and on and on about everything that is just wrong with the place, from the smell to the decoration, but he makes a beeline for the front desk (he’s lucky there’s even one)

he asks for a way to contact someone, flashes his press smile at the women behind the desk, gives up his ID in exchange for the room number

Juliet Grier, 418

stairs, stairs, stairs, stairs

heavy door, right, 412, 414, 416...

418

what, now?

Kevin hesitantly knocks once, twice

no answer

he knocks again and decides to speak up, in case she didn’t hear

“Juliet? It’s Kevin. Day. From EAL? Can I speak with you?”

still nothing

maybe she isn’t home... no, the map says she’s here. maybe she’s sleeping...

he decides to try one last time

“We really should finish that project, you know? I think we could both use the free time...” he says without his heart into it.

without surprise, no response still

he decides to take a loose paper from his sachel and writes down some words

Greetings Hi,

My friend Dan helped me look for you, but you don’t have to worry about your privacy; it’s because of the yellow app. You should turn that off if you don’t want other people to be nosy. 

You weren’t in class today. I’ll share my notes if you want them. But, you should come to class, it’s better. For learning. 

I’ll wait a few in case you’re asleep. 

Text me or call me or whatever when you’re ready.

- Kevin D. (your partner from EAL)

quick, efficient, to the point

Kevin slips the paper under the door, and waits

he refreshes the map too many times, to see if her location changed or if somehow there was a glitch

it stays put

he ends up sitting on the hallway floor, his back sliding down the wall

he catches up on a book for another class, checks exy stats and watches many, many videos of Jeremy Knox on the court and in interview

some students pass him with a nasty look, eyeing the lack of earphones on his phone

some other students walk by him and will themselves to keep going, because holy shit it’s Kevin Day in Jackie Hall

it’s at least an hour and a half before the doorknob slowly and quietly starts to click

Kevin was absorbed deep into whatever move Knox was making before scoring

the 418 door opens

Kevin gets up in one move, all things Jeremy Knox and exy forgotten

she’s loosely holding Kevin’s paper in one hand, the other clutching a large scarf that covers up the majority of her body

from what he can see, though, she’s wearing sweats from head to toe; her hair’s tied on the top of her head, but most of the curls escaped and it looks unwashed and her curls, dry

her skin’s turned pale, dark circles under her eyes, a haggard look in them, her cheeks stained with dry tears

Juliet looks terrible

“Hi...” Kevin attempts

she finally looks up from the paper and gives him a bored look that could rival Andrew’s

with a rough voice strained from cries and many days without speaking, she asks, “My EAL partner?”

“Well, yes. In case.”

“In case of what.”

“I-”

“I know who you are, Kevin.”

and isn’t that both his most ardent wish and his worse fear?

with that, she turns around and goes back to her dark room, leaving the door open behind her

is that... an invitation?

Kevin’s never been to another person’s place, apart from the Columbia house, Abby’s and Wymack’s

he reminds himself why he came in the first place and decides it would be a waste to leave now, right?

the small studio is a mess, much like its occupant

there are clothes everywhere, on the floor, on a chair, on the bed, on the desk

all the curtains are drawn, no light is on, the only source coming from Juliet’s laptop somewhere amongst her bedsheets

it’s like she made herself a nest and hasn’t moved from there for a long time

maybe even since last Monday, the last time he saw her

Kevin doesn’t understand the scene he has before his eyes

he’s never seen such apathy in someone that is not Andrew

and at this point, apathy is pretty much Andrew’s default state of being

not Juliet’s

Juliet is a soft glow, toothy grins, wild curls, countless jumpers, dumb jokes and references, color-coded notes, an organized mind, unwavering focus and determination, flowing words and warm, kind eyes...

so what is this?

then Kevin realizes he spoke aloud

and Juliet can only chuckle sadly, almost mockingly

“This? This is why I don’t have friends. This is why I don’t mix with people. This is why I’ll never amount to anything in life. This is my dirty laundry, both metaphorically and literally. This is it. That’s... That’s it. This is what I get,” she answers flatly

Kevin’s mind is spinning

he doesn’t understand

he needs to understand, though

“Explain it to me,” he says

Juliet looks at him like a brick just hit him on the head and made him speak Swedish

“Why.”

“Because, surely there’s a way to work with it.”

she laughs

it doesn’t reach her eyes, nor her lips or her cheeks

it’s just a desperate sound

it makes him think of Andrew again

and that gives him an idea, a gut feeling, if you will

“Can I try something out?” he asks

“Kevin... I can’t- I’m tired... It’s not a good idea... I’m tired, Kevin,” Juliet responds, pain noticeable in her voice and her movements slow

“I know, I- I know. Someone I know... He plays this game. It’s really not a game, it’s more like a communication thing. He calls it “A Truth for a Truth”.  In exchange for something I tell you, you tell me something. And in exchange for something you tell me, I’ll tell you something else. It’s made me... work through some things... before,” Kevin explains calmly

Juliet keeps on observing him from her bed, silent

“Look, can I just stay here to do homework? I have nowhere to go right now,” Kevin asks, almost blurting out “Please” before Andrew’s ghost caught it in his throat

she lies back down, burries herself in her covers, a silent “yes”

Kevin ends up falling asleep sitting on the floor, books open, head resting at the end of Juliet’s bed

he wakes up around 2 AM

he’s got multiple texts from Aaron and Nicky, one from Andrew, and one from Dan

“told everybody you spent the night at Coach’s. take care.”

he silently vows to thank her later

now he either really goes to Wymack’s to finish his night there, or... he stays exactly where he is

Juliet is still sleeping soundly

in a haze, he palms for a pillow or cushion, pulls his hoodie on and lies back down on the carpeted floor

he’s only awaken in the late morning when he brutally gets stepped on

“What the shit?? Kevin! How...???” Juliet yells

“Um, ow? No, no, don’t apologize so quickly. You just, you know, crushed my lungs and a couple of ribs, no worries, Jules!” Kevin groans

“Ju- you know what? I’m not sorry. Right now I gotta pee, so you better have a damn good explanation when I get back,” she replies and leaves her room to go to the bathroom at the end of the hall

instead of dread, Kevin feels calm about the upcoming conversation

he doesn’t prepare lies, doesn’t run away, doesn’t resort to assholery

he just stays put where he is on the floor, snuggles deeper into his hoodie, and waits for relief, for the truth

he waits for Juliet

[pa-panda-heroes]

Maybe pls headcanons for LOV discovering that female reader had a beautiful singing voice that they kept in secret out of shyness?🖤

You got it, songbird!

~🐼

LoV x female reader who has a beautiful singing voice but kept it hidden!

Tomura:

Is he shocked? A little! Does he mind? Nope! Tomura is pleasantly surprised at your newfound (to him) talent.

He loves it, he finds it comforting! Hearing you sing calms him down and helps him relax.

The fact you kept it hidden for so long out of shyness is so cute and innocent to him. For Tomura, bashfulness = cuteness.

He could sit and stare at a wall for hours as long as your voice is ringing pleasantly through his ears, if you’d let him. That might not be completely doable, but that doesn’t mean he’s not going to think about it.

He’ll ask you whenever you both happen to have free time to sing to him, even if it’s for just one song or part of one. And may the universe itself help whoever interrupts your singing to him.

If you’re very close to him, he’s not above asking you to sing to him to help him sleep when he struggles. He’ll be a bit embarrassed about it, but if you’re just as flustered he’s actually relieved!

Tomura will also keep an ear out at the hideout to listen for your singing to yourself if you do, almost to the point where he borderline stalks you - accidentally!

He’ll be interested in learning to read musical notes if you know, but teaching him to sing is probably a big no.

Mr. Compress:

He’s going to have a field day!

Mr. will constantly implore you to jump in alongside him in an act, no doubt, whether for the League itself or out on the streets (in disguises) to earn extra money.

He knows you’re shy, but hey! That’s a good way to try to work through it and overpower your shyness, right? “Even if it’s just one act, y/n-san!”

Obviously, he doesn’t mean to use you as a cash monkey for the extra money and use you as a tool!

He just thinks it would just be fun, a great way to bring in extra moolah, scope out the area for possible raids, and a good comrade-bonding experience!

If you happen to sing in front of the others, or just generally sing in front of him, he’s going to hop in and sing with you! The man loves his music and he ain’t about to miss out.

I think he’d play the violin or cello, so just for funsies he’ll often offer to play alongside you, even if it’s just the two of you.

After being introduced to your talent and finding out another member of the League is musically talented, you’ll oftentimes find him traipsing through the hideout just humming away, for no particular reason.

Twice:

Not quite internally fangirling screaming. Could you be famous? He thinks you should be!

The first time he heard it, he was in awe and he couldn’t get the sound of your voice out of his head for days. Not that he was complaining! It felt like a gift from nature and was much better than hearing his own.

He’s internally wondering why the hell you would keep such a beautiful voice away from the rest of the league, though. But he still gets it. If you’re shy, you’re shy - he’s not going to force you to do anything about it.

He’ll ask you, if you’re comfortable, to hum a soothing song or whatever time you can throw at him while you’re on missions and have a spare moment.

I can see Twice calling you in the middle of the night when he can’t sleep or has nightmares, to sing him a lullaby - any lullaby from anywhere. Although, bonus points if it’s in your native language.

All that said, though, he’s going to be a little nervous asking you to sing for him. He knows you’re shy about it, so he doesn’t want to make you uncomfortable, and rejection might be a little hard for him!

Probably wouldn’t learn to sing alongside you because he’s a smoker, but he might try to learn an instrument from you if you’re willing. Just something he can play in his free time to keep his mind off things.

The more you’ve sung to him, the more you’ll catch him thrumming his fingers against things as if to mimic the notes of the songs he’s heard from you. He doesn’t realize he does it.

Himiko:

This girl loves music, so she’s going to love that you can sing so wonderfully.

I think she can sing herself, but she’s quiet about it, possibly for the same reason. She sings for herself and no one else.

Despite that, she’ll encourage you to sing in front of the others often, almost like she’s showing you off. She’ll like hearing your voice much more than her own, after all.

If you’re close enough, she’ll plop her head in your lap, or rest her cheek against your shoulder - even if you’re standing - and ask you to sing something to her. It doesn’t matter what, she just wants to hear your voice.

Maybe don’t try to sing her to sleep. She gets too giddy and happy upon hearing your voice to be able to fall asleep! She asked you to once and it led to a two-day long spree of not sleeping at all.

Forget about trying to teach her anything musical - she’s not interested! Himiko would much rather just listen to sing or play something than learn and do it herself. She’s a little selfish that way.

If you manage to get her to cozy up to you, after some convincing she might sing with you, but certainly not for you. She’s very stubborn, so if you manage to get that far, say your thanks and try something else, or it’ll piss her off.

Himiko might pick up new songs to send your way to learn, just so that she can your voice in a variety of ways.

Dabi:

Surprised! Not in a bad way, but not in a good way, either. He just hadn’t thought of it before.

But if you offer at any time, he won’t turn you down. Never. The more he hears your voice the more he thinks of it it as a pleasant surprise, not something he’s neutral to, as he was in the beginning.

If you happen to hum or sing under your breath around him, his eyes will be glued to you, and his ears will drown out everything but the vocals coming from you. Does not give a shit if you catch him. He’ll just smirk at you and tell you to continue.

He’s not going to outright ask you to sing to him unless you’re extremely close and he’s having a really bad time. Like, “night terrors and he pulled staples in his sleep and might now be covered in his own blood” level of bad time.

If you so happen to sing to him privately or more often than the others, you can bet he’s going to brag about it to the rest of the League. Dabi’s a bragger.

And like Himiko, he’s going to want to show you off. He’ll try to get you to sing as much as he can in front of the others. For him, it means he prompted you to sing and by the wind you did it.

He’ll give you all sorts of nicknames, probably even some you hate because it’s oftentimes music terminology that he uses wrongly, just to bug you.

He won’t learn anything musical, but he’s not above mimicking playing an instrument just to tease and prod at you. The more you react, the more he’s going to do it, and the more fun he’ll have doing it.

Spinner:

He’s going to be as shy about it as you are, honestly. Your voice is so beautiful and he wants to tell you that, but he feels awkward when he tries and it just doesn’t go his way.

Like Dabi, he’s going to sit and stare at you if you sing or hum around him. If you catch him, he gets a tad flustered and apologizes for staring, because staring is kinda rude, but he has good reason to stare!

He won’t pay attention to the words you sing but rather the high, low, and prolonged or short notes that come out of you. It’s like he’s dissecting how you sing.

Spinner will think about asking you to sing something for him but only rarely will go through with it.

Most of what he asks you to sing has something to do with video games, like Devil Trigger from DMC5 or Honor For All from the first Dishonored game. Or just random soundtrack vocals he enjoys.

He will cry literal tears of joy if you sing while he plays something like Guitar Hero or Beat Saber. That’s as close to playing an instrument as you’re going to get with him.

Spinner will watch you practice a certain song quietly, clearing your throat when your voice doesn’t seem to do what you want it to, and rereading notes that seem to refuse to come out. He think it’s cute how your eyes dance along the page.

If you happen to write your own song and sing him a lyric one way and then again in another, with different notes and whatnot, and ask him what he thinks, he’s going to be so lost. Both sound so good to him - how can you make him pick?!

[goldenlaquer]

How about an s/o who has the fruits basket curse(the one where u turn into one of the zodiac when hugged by the opposite gender) for kamui, gintoki, and okita

THIS I LOVE. 

These will be more of reaction headcanons of the men finding out about the curse. Also, I took creative liberty on assigning different animals for each guy, just for funsies. 

Gintama Headcanons:

Kamui:

It makes him whine, ya know? He’s got the touchy-touchy thing going on when it comes to you, so when you refuse the cuddles and the much needed skinship, Kamui’s going to throw a tantrum. He wants the real hugs, not the awful, awkward lemme-put-an-arm-around-your-shoulders-and-squeeze ‘hugs’. He wants to be able to glomp you whenever he sees you, not have to eat dirt and concrete whenever you hurriedly side-step to get away from his questing arms. 

The one time that you look away from diligently watching him (because you know just how mischievous he can be), the one time your back is turned away from him, Kamui strikes, lunging forwards to throw his arms around you, cheek gleefully turned to plant against the space between your shoulder blades, just the way he’s always wanted--

poof

Kamui blinks twice. Instead of you, he’s holding something small, soft, and furry--

A bunny. 

Turning your quivering body this way and that way, to make sure that what he’s holding is actually real, his surprise rapidly melts into cooing (for all his childish ways, Kamui is quick on the uptake): so smol, so cute, so adorable. Your pink trembling nose. The floppy ears. The wiggling cotton-like tail. All of Kamui’s strength is held back as he carefully holds you.

Here you are, panicking that Kamui has found out your close-guarded secret, and he’s just gushing over the transformation? Typical. 

But the delight is cut short. Whenever he touches you, you transform into a bunny? That means he can’t feel the smooth touch of your skin? Can’t tangle his limb with yours? Can’t tightly embrace you as a human? No thanks, as cute as you are as a bunny, he would like a refund for that right now. 

When you revert back, Kamui’s immediately on the question train, except it isn’t about the circumstances of your curse, it’s on how to break it. 

While his opponent may not be something he can just punch away, you betcha he’s tearing a path through the galaxies to find a cure or something to that like, utilizing his captain status for something other than fighting for once.

The sooner that he can touch you, the human you, the better. 

Okita Sougo:

If there’s a character in Gintama you wouldn’t ever want finding out about your curse, it would probably be Okita. As if he didn’t need another reason to give you hell. That shithead sadist.

But even if you keep mum on the matter, that guy’s got killer instincts, both metaphorically and literally; he definitely knows that something’s up with you; the dogs constantly trailing behind you whenever you guys go out. The abnormal way you avoid absolutely any male contact, which includes him (a factor that kinda really irks him, especially when you practically dive out of the way before he can play any physical pranks on you).

Not to mention, your insanely good sense of smell, which Okita has, of course, snidely joked about. But what he didn’t know was how close to the mark he was. (”Oh my, just like a dog,” Your shoulders stiffen and you nervously glance at Okita, who stares at your reaction closely. “Are you going to bark at a squirrel or pee on a tree next?”)

So many clues, but the damning part is that he doesn’t know how to piece them together into a plausible conclusion. Though, Okita doesn’t really pressure you into telling him, maybe some loaded questions here and there, but never outright telling you to confess-- his pride dictates that he should figure it out himself. 

Everything clicks together when you fall sick. 

Okita comes to visit, not because he’s worried about you or anything, it’s just that he likes to kick people when they’re down, so he’s come to gloat, and the rice porridge in his hands is definitely not for you, but for him to gleefully eat in front of you--

Okita slides open your door, just in time to see your passed out body on the couch transform into a dog. 

huh. 

When you wake up, fever broken and body back to normal, all you see is a mysterious takeout box with cold porridge next to your couch and nothing else. 

He doesn’t tell you that he knows. You’ll have to figure that out yourself. Maybe it’s because he wants to mess around with you a bit more, or it’s because he knows the great lengths you go to try and conceal the fact from everyone, practically vibrating with the fear of rejection, and it would be pretty annoying if you got all freaky-scared on him now that he knows.

Still, the asshole in him can’t help to slip in the ‘poochie’ nickname, every now and then (read: every time) 

Sakata Gintoki: 

Short story: Gintoki falls on you. Then, bada bing, bada-boom-- shit happens. 

Long story: It was a job request, a simple roof repair, and Gintoki had instructed you to hold down the ladder (”Hold it down, you hear? I’ll send the hospital bills to you if I fall!”). But unfortunately, by the sheer will of goldenlaquer’s writing, a ladder rung gives out and Gintoki plummets down below, right on top of an unsuspecting you. 

Also, because of anime/manga logic, there are no concussions or any other serious injuries. Just a bunch of scrapes and a cat. 

A goddamn cat. 

Now, Gintoki ain’t a praying man, but he sure hopes to the gods, Jesus Christ, and Buddha that he did just not squish his absolutely human girlfriend into a cat, because, haha, that would be utterly preposterous--

“Get off me,” the cat grunts, its voice sounding remarkably just like your voice. 

“You’re kidding,” Gintoki says, staring down at you. You stare back at him, slitted eyes (the same color as your eyes) unamused. 

It all comes nicely together when you revert back, entirely naked. Gintoki leers a bit at the exposed skin before remembering that he wants answers to this madness!

It was something you’ve had ever since you were born, you explain, and had kept secret because most people don’t take kindly to things that are different. The curse is activated every time someone male hugs or bumps into you, or when you’re under stress. You feel really nervous, this is the first time you have told someone else your biggest secret.

Gintoki’s face is stoic as he listens to you, appearing to be the most serious he has ever been. That is, until:

“I see. So, what you’re saying is, every time I want some pussy, all I have to do is hug you--”

Claw him. Rip his perm off. He deserves it. 

[poppysimp]

Dangerous Woman Pt. 2 [ Poppy x MC ]

Part one here

Pairings: Poppy Min-Sinclair x MC (Bea Hughes)

a/n: hi !! this one’s kinda short cause i’ve been really busy with classes but i’ll try to post the next part as soon as possible. i hope you have as much fun reading as i have writing this, please enjoy !!

taglist: @uhh-the-green-thing @origmansello @somewillwin @alexroyard @save-me-the-last-dance

“So? Are you going to let me in or should I just let myself in?” She looked at her with a coy smile and a hand on her hip.

“But ... you were ... my dream” Bea stammered, a million questions overlapping in her head “What? But you-“

Poppy cut her off by tilting her chin with her thumb. “Ta ta, there will be time for all of your mundane questions later. But for now ...” She raised a bottle of wine which seemingly came out of nowhere “Drinks. I heard humans are way less insufferable after these. Now, excuse me” Poppy moved Bea slightly and walked into her living room

If someone had told Bea two days ago she’d have a creepy wet dream, which may or may not have been real, about a woman who straight up reeked of eroticism and lust. And, that said woman would now be sitting in her living room with a bottle of wine, repeatedly calling her “human” for some reason, she’d definitely be calling them crazy. But here she was, gawking at the small yet imponent girl reaching for the wine glasses as if she owned the place.

“You were in my dream. We had sex. In my dream” Bea spat out once they were sitting in front of each other, each one of them holding a glass of red wine. She emphasized the word “dream” as if trying to convince herself that’s all it was. “Why? And why could I barely move after I woke up?”

“Why, I don’t know what you’re talking about, Miss Hughes. I am nothing but a mere mortal” She replied in an extremely fake, innocent tone, batting her eyelashes.

Bea looked at her incredulously gaining a sigh and a pout from the girl in front of her “You’re no fun. Fine, I was feeding off of you” She said casually, taking a sip of wine, red lipstick staining the glass.

What the fuck did she just say?

Bea widened her eyes in horror “You were ... What!?” She yelled, making Poppy flinch for a second. What was happening?

“Feeding. You know, the act of eati-“

Bea cut her off with an scandalized tone “Yes! I know what feeding means!” She abruptly stood up and started pacing around the room. What she losing her mind? Was it all some sort of hallucination? “Why? are you some kind of vampire?”

Poppy scoffed “A vampire? God, how dare you compare this...” She pointed a finger at herself “... To one of those lousy creatures.” The mocking expression on her face was quickly replaced by a flirty smirk “Oh, you poor little human. I’m something much, much better”

Oh god, she was standing up. Scary not-vampire was standing up and walking towards Bea. What was she supposed to do? Run? Start uncontrollably crying and asking for forgiveness for a sin she didn’t know she’d committed? She had no idea of what the fuck was going on.

The blonde slowly crept up to her until she was close enough to whisper in her ear. She could feel the shiver running through her spine and the sweat dripping on the back of her neck

“.... I’m a demon, baby.” She slowly licked her ear, her tongue exploring all the parts she knew would make her knees weak. “And your life’s about to get a whole lot interesting” And suddenly, everything went pitch black for Bea.

Next thing she remembers, she woke up in her bed. She squinted expecting to have to get used to the light but was met with a dark, cold ambience that was not very characteristic of her room. Could it be possible that all of that was also dream?

Her apartment didn’t feel normal, though. The temperature had definitely dropped a few degrees at least and there was a heaviness in the air she couldn’t quite put her finger on, almost as if it was too full of something.

“Oh, you’re awake” The sound coming from the doorframe startled her. There she was. So it wasn’t a dream after all. “Morning, sleepyhead” She said already walking into the room.

“What happened? I feel like twenty elephants stampeded all over me” Bea said, trying to sit up straight in the bed. She clutched her head with her left hand. Why the fuck did it hurt so bad?

“Oh, yeah. You passed out after I told you I was a demon. Humans are way more fragile than I expected” She replied, climbing into the bed and crossing her legs.

She said demon, right? Bea was not going insane, she’s too young to start developing dementia. Maybe this weird girl was the crazy one, not her. Crazy people are known to believe they’re things they’re not sometimes, right?

She tried to run but once Poppy’s hand found its way to her own, every thought of escaping went away. There it was again, that weird magnetism from her dream, like a bunch of unbreakable ropes pulling her in. She could feel these imaginary ropes getting tighter the more she looked into her eyes.

Was she really a demon? She wanted to believe this was some sort of sick prank from Zoey so, so bad. But, there was something inside her eyes, something that didn’t feel human and she couldn’t help but believe her.

Well, she definitely wasn’t going to go up against a demon so might as well get some answers out of her.

“I’ve got questions.”

“Okay, shoot”

Where did she even begin? The marks on her arm? Her neck? The weird dream? The fact that she randomly walked into her house?

“What the fuck are you?” Guess that was the bigger question, whatever was in front of her was definitely not human.

Poppy chuckled “I already told you, babygirl. I’m a demon” Was she for real? “Well, I’m a succubus to be precise.”

“Like the girl from that Megan Fox movie?” Honestly, she was trying really hard to understand but it all felt like a bizarre fever dream “Aren’t you supposed to eat men or something?”

“No, whenever I do it’s only for funsies but not really a job requirement” She replied, inspecting her nails as if explaining this was a daily routine she was getting bored of “We usually just feed on humans’ life force. Mostly during dreams, like the one you had last night” One of her nails started to contour intricate shapes all over Bea’s neck, leaving a trail of shivers behind. Why couldn’t she pull away? A smile slowly crept up to her face as their eyes meet “Sex tends to be the best way to do this. And I had special fun with you the other night.”

“My life force?” She asked shakily with a lump on her throat.

Was she really here only to kill her? I mean, she asked for it. Don’t let a sexy stranger you previously had a weird creepy sex dream about inside your house sounds like something any mother would say.

“Oh, wipe that look off your face. Humans are so easily scandalized it’s actually kind of cute” She laughed. Her laugh vibrated into Bea’s ears, like a flip had been switched and she’d developed an addiction to that specific sound. “Don’t worry, as long as I don’t take too many at the same time, you should be fine, it renews itself. Besides, I feel like we both got something out of if” She winked.

“Ok so, Poppy ... right?” The blonde nodded. “Why are you really here”

“Ah, the million dollar question. Well, I certainly mean no harm for now, if that’s what you’re wondering” She said calmly, getting closer with each word until with one swift movement she was straddling the human’s lap “ ... I just want to see what kinds of fun we can get up to.”

Next thing Bea knows, both of her hands are pinned against the mattress. Both of their bodies flushed against each other as Poppy attacked her neck hungrily.

What had she gotten herself into?

[red-becca]

Swapping Styles For A Day

I know I said that I won't be posting anything new until Revin week came but I just had to share this new thing I just wrote. It's the two swapping closets, so basically Red's dressed like a geek and Kevin's dressed... Uh, something cool and nothing like Kevin wears bc I see Red as a girl with multiple fashion styles.

Another reason why I am putting this up is because I would love to see art of this. Like imagine Kevin with make- up and like black nail polish and a piercing. Maybe a skirt too? He doesn't put a skirt on here bc I don't see him being confident enough for it just yet.

Also, please don't judge the ending. I didn't know how to end it but I did my best. :/

---

Kevin gulped as his girlfriend had a self- piercing gun in her hands, shaking as she got it ready on his right ear. "D- do we r-really have to do this, Red?"

Red raised a brow as she pulled the piercing device away from his ear, adjusting the glasses she had on. "No, we don't. But you kept on insisting we do this to me all day... So, what? Did you change your mind once we got to piercing your ears?"

"Well, did you have to get pierced ears, Red?! You know, you could have gone through your whole life without piercing your ears..." Kevin nervously rubbed one of his ears.

"I know that but I just... wanted to get my ears pierced. For funsies, I guess." Red shrugged, rubbing her own ears. "Alright, Kev... What's it gonna be? Like you said, you don't have to get it..."

He rubbed his ear some more as he bit his bottom lip before sighing. "I'm doing it! You have pierced ears, so I should get at least one of my ears pierced for tomorrow! Do it, Red! Just do it already!" The male grabs hold of her free hands and squeezes it tightly.

"Okay, if you say so... Great. Now, I'm nervous for you..." Red gulped a bit as she positioned the piercing gun onto his right ear again. "Alright then... One, two, three!" She pierces his right ear lobe once she finished counting.

Kevin screamed at the top of his lungs which makes Red scream at the top of hers. After a few seconds, they had calmed down and Red puts a simple black earring on his newly pierced ear.

"You know there are such things as clip on earrings, right?" Red calmed herself down while handing Kevin a mirror. "We could have just gotten those kinds of earrings for you instead of making ourselves scream there for piercing your ears..."

"Yeah, I do..." Kevin grabs the mirror and admired the new piercing he got. "But it wouldn't have felt authentic to what we have planned for tomorrow, I guess... I don't know. You did a pretty good job with it though. It looks good."

"Heh, thanks. I never even used anything like this before. I had my ears pierced by a professional, after all." She snickered as she looked at the piercing gun in her eyes. "And please, what you have planned for tomorrow... Remember, this is all your idea..." Red rolled her eyes, lying on her bed and putting her glasses on top of her head. "I have no idea where you got the idea of partners swapping closets but it is cute, not gonna lie. But also hard for us, seeing as I have such a wide style of clothes to chose from. I don't have just one aesthetic I regularly stick to. Meanwhile, you just have... Geek." She gestured to his current outfit before snickering again.

"Hey!" Kevin opened his mouth then quickly shut it, pouting as he got up to sit next to her. "Okay, maybe that's true... But like, that's why I let you dress me from time to time. I can see how my geek style can get a little redundant." He yelped when Red suddenly hugged him and made him lie next to her. "Umm, what's this for?"

"To tell you this right to your face, Mister. I may love dressing you and it's fun from time to time, I still like how you regularly dress the most. That's your unique style and one of the many reasons why I fell for you. You are one adorable geek, my Captain." She kisses his cheek, leaving a lipstick mark on it. "Though, for tomorrow, I guess that's gonna change, huh? So, how do you feel about putting on make-up for tomorrow?"

He gulped nervously, gesturing to her face. "Nothing like... This intense, right? Don't get me wrong! There is absolutely nothing wrong with males wearing make-up. But I am a little intimidated when it comes to more intense looks like yours..."

"Intense looks like mine?" She snickered before bursting out in laughter. "Please, it's Goth make-up that looks really intense. I am more diet goth in a way. I don't think any of those intense looks goth do will suit me, anyway. But you know, pretending to be a dark angel awoken something in me that day... It made me want to try some looks that don't border on straight up goth." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, my usual make-up look is just a bit of eyeliner, light blush and then dark colored lipstick so it'll pop out against my bright asshole red hair. That's it, pretty simple really."

"Hey! No!" Kevin pouted angrily at her, gently cupping her cheeks as he looks right into her eyes. "Your gorgeous red hair is one of the many things I love about you, Red. Do not just insult it like that."

"Hmm? Oh, Kevin, honey. I love you so much." She smiles softly as she gave him a few Eskimo kisses. "I just meant that as an expression, okay? You can't really deny that my hair is an overwhelmingly bright red color, right?"

"Mmm, I guess not... But still! No more insulting your hair like that!" His pout grew which makes Red kiss him on the lips. "Hey, I'm being serious here!"

Red smirked as she got up, putting her glasses back on properly. "Oh, were you now? I thought you were begging for a kiss there~" She teased, winking before opening up her closet. "I am very thankful to past me on buying the same shirts you have in my size! What with wanting to match every now and again" She giggles as she pulls out a bunch of geek t-shirts from her closet. "I know the whole thing is swapping closets but let's be real here... There is no way I am fitting in anything that isn't a jacket from your closet... Well, maybe a crop top fit but I don't really wanna freeze, tomorrow..."

"Hey! We're swapping closets tomorrow! Just what do you think you're doing, Red?!" He sat up as he gave her a serious expression, his arms crossed.

"I know, I know. Calm down, sweetie. I'm just picking out my options of clothes for tomorrow, okay? Because it would be much more quicker for us tomorrow if I just wear what I already picked out than going through my closet for the whole day, okay? Okay!" She beamed and smiled at him as she looked through her closet for something Kevin could wear tomorrow. "So, about the make-up, Kev... You didn't really give me a clear answer, you know."

"I didn't? Well, like I said, nothing too crazy. I'm fine with some lipstick and a bit of eyeliner. But that's about it, I guess. So, yes?" He shrugged then made a noise when Red threw a shirt at him.

"Alright! Good! And how about a skirt? Are you okay with wearing something like that tomorrow?" She threw a few bottom options at him. "Because if not, there are short shorts and ripped skinny jeans..."

"A skirt? I mean, I think guys should be allowed to wear skirts and stuff but I'm not really sure if it'll look good on someone like me..." He hummed. "So, if it's okay with you, I think I'll just stick with the ripped skinny jeans."

"Oh, Kev! Of course, I am! It's not like I always just wear a skirt, after all. I switch it up every now and again. And I get not having enough confidence to wear a skirt... It's not easy for guys who want to try it to just immediately wear it in public without being ridiculed. So, I'm not gonna force you to wear something you don't want to wear." She smiled before sighing, lying in bed again. "Okay, I know I said I wanna plan our outfits for tomorrow but I am beat... What else is there?"

"Hmm..." Kevin played with some of his hair which immediately gave him an idea. "Oh! I know! Since you have such an amazingly crazy hair color, I probably should have one too! But you know, more stylized... Something like..." He taps on his chin. "Luka from Miraculous Ladybug!"

"Oh my God, I always wanted to try out the way his hair is colored on you! But never found the right reason to!" She giggles as she plays with his hair. "Until now, I guess... I feel like we should work on that now because I know that will take a long time."

He nodded. "Alright, let's go shopping for the things we need!" He stands up then turns to face Red. "So, that's the last thing we will be doing to prepare for tomorrow, right? We have picked out the clothes we are going to wear tomorrow, haven't we?"

"We sure have! Now, come on! Let's go!" Red beamed, suddenly getting a burst of energy as she got up from her bed and pulls Kevin out her home.

*time skip to tomorrow because idk how to write them dying Kevin's hair...*

"I'm gonna be honest, Red... I didn't think my hair would end up looking good after dying it..." Kevin continued to admire the work his girlfriend had done with his hair in the bathroom mirror. He had been doing this ever since she finished.

"It's not the first time I dyed hair, Kev... It was way easier this time on someone other than myself." Red snickered as she adjusts her glasses before looking into the mirror. "God, it's weird to not be putting my contacts on when going out. Hell, this will be my first time going out with my prescription glasses..." She examines her reflection while putting her hair up in a simple ponytail.

Kevin finally exited the bathroom, unable to contain the blush and smile on his face as he hugged Red from behind. "Wow, Red... Despite dressing up like a geek, you sure still look so beautiful..."

"Hmm?" Red looked down to face him, blushing at his compliments. "Oh, uh... Thank you, Kev... And you... You sure look more damn handsome with what you're wearing right now."

"Oh? I do? Really? Thanks!" Kevin beamed up at her, giving her a dorky grin which makes her blush more.

"Yes, you really do... And uh, you're welcome. Fuck, I honestly didn't think make- up would make you look even more attractive! But here you are before me looking... Gorgeous! That's just the magic of make- up, I guess..." She covers half her face to hid her blushing.

"Right! The make-up! I mean, I felt you put it on me earlier but I don't even feel it on me right now! Like it feels natural almost." He giggles as he looks down on his nails. "My nails, too! You painting them black feels oddly natural too!"

Red pouts as she looks down at her clear nails. "You don't usually wear nail polish, so I feel weird without wearing nail polish for a day. But I was not gonna give up make- up. I need to put the lightest amount of make- up I could. What with my obvious imperfections in my face, after all."

"Well, with or without make- up, I think you are still the most beautiful girl in the world." Kevin gets on his tiptoes to kiss Red on the cheek, gasping when he left a mark on it and points at where he marked her. "Oh! Now, I marked you with lipstick!"

Red turns to look at the mark he left, giggling as she wiped it off. "Now, while it does compliment the look, I personally like it without this..." She pulls out a black beanie. "Then again, I don't want you getting cold..."

"You say that as I wear a slight crop top along with ripped skinny jeans..." He snickered. "But anyway, yeah. Let me have it. At least my head will be warm..." He grabs the hat from her hold and puts it on top of his head with Red adjusting it a bit.

"And there we are! Our completed swapped closet looks! Ready to go out and have people be staring at you, Kev?" Red asked him as she offered an arm out to him.

"Of course, I a- Wait, staring at me? Why would they be staring at me? You are the more attractive one between the two of us! And before you disagree, may I remind you just how many guys from our school, to this day, still say they have a crush on you?"

Red snickered, grabbing hold of his hand. "Well, you are wearing something very eye-catching... So, trust me when I say that people will be staring at my super hot boyfriend. I mean, I always knew he was hot from the start but this look just really elevates his hotness scale..." She kisses his cheek before walking out of her bedroom with him.

"I, uh... Same with you, I guess?" Kevin got completely flustered at her compliments. "But you know, I would prefer seeing you as very beautiful no matter what you wear."

She giggles as she looks at him before smirking as she saw people staring at them. "See? What did I say? You're the eye candy between the two of us for today..."

He gulped and shyly hides behind her. "I hate it whenever you're right, sometimes... How do you even deal with all these people staring at you, Red?"

She hummed before making him look into her eyes by putting a finger under his chin. "Simple, I remind myself that I have the most amazing person right next to me. Then my confidence just skyrockets..."

His attention wasn't at her words whatsoever as he blushed while looking back at her. "Even in the most geeky clothing, you manage to make me swoon..."

The redhead playfully rolls her eyes at him fawning over her, squeezing his hand that she was still holding. "Focus, Kev... Remember, I'm right here. No one else matters, okay? Just ignore all the staring and focus on me."

Kevin shook his head to stop himself from swooning, nodding with a brand new confident look on his face. "Okay, I got it. Thanks, Red. You gave me the perfect amount of confidence I need."

Red didn't say anything more, simply nodding back as they continued about their day. Not caring if people were staring because they found them attractive or if it was because they looked silly. All that mattered to them was each other.