#mike wheeler protection squad roll up

[resident-gay-bitch]

rewatching stranger things s1 and it’s traumatic. i’m going though the emotions rn.

[fckwritersblock]

The Other Sinclair

Stranger Things; Black!reader x Everybody

Description: Lucas’ older sister gets back in town and is not very happy to hear about the events that took place. Especially when it comes to someone putting their hands on her little brother.

Warnings: I mean.....mild violence, but again this page is 18+ so y’all be aite

(Unedited .)

“5 minutes Lucas! I leave you guys for 5 got damn minutes and everything goes to shit!”

Y/n was livid.

It wasn’t really anyone’s intention for her to find out. Lucas knew better than to involve her unless he really needed to. If there was one thing she didn’t play about it with her family. It would’ve all been fine too, however when Y/n saw Steve, she asked what happened to his face and he couldn’t help but blurt everything out. Now, being that she was included in all the events the previous year it didn’t come as a surprise that the moment she left for 2 weeks for the cheerleading competition they’d get themselves into more shit.

“I just want to know what made him think he could put his hands on you!”

Now she knew about the new kid and his rivalry with Steve. That was purely their egos and a mess full of entirely too much testosterone and high school cliche for her to bother with. That would come to pass as Steve was proving to be less and less of asshole everyday. But to hear Steve’s face, though healing, looked like that as a result of protection her little brother and the rest of the kids..

No, ma’am.

“Was anyone gonna tell me?” She fussed at the preteens.

“It’s over, we handled it.” Lucas groaned knowing his words were falling on deaf ears.

“Uh huh. I’m sure.” The elder Sinclair rolled her eyes, arms crossed and hip poked out. “And this Billy kid is related to who? Your little girlfriend right?”

Y/n’s gaze quickly shifted to the girl in question.

“Yeah. H-hi. I’m Max.”

Y/n said nothing, just continued to stare and assess the child. Finally she smiled.

“Max, you look like a sweet kid and I really don’t wanna not like you. So spill. What’s his deal?”

Max twiddled her fingers only hesitated for a moment before she gave her boyfriend‘s sister the backstory on her stepbrother and his dad. Giving her a little bit of detail about how he also felt about black people.

“Interesting. And where can I find this Hargrove?” Y/n inquired.

“The arcade.” Max answered.

Nodding she went over to the front door of the Sinclair residence and opened the door.

“Ma, I’m taking the boys to the arcade with Steve.”

Barely take time to get a response, she grabbed her house keys off the hook and closed the door behind her.

“Y/n I don’t think-“ Steve began but she cut him of.

“Don’t hurt yourself doing that.”

“This isn’t a good idea.” Lucas mumbled.

“I don’t remember asking you.” Y/n replied.

“I forgot that’s where Erica gets it-“ Dustin commented in a failed attempt to whisper.

“Shut up Dustin. Everybody in the car.” She snatched the keys from Steve. “And I’m driving.”

The ride to the arcade was quiet, everyone afraid to speak as Y/n drove them the short distance a little quicker than usual. Soon as they pulled up, she parked randomly and they all hopped out.

“Where is he?”

Max looked around before pointing him out.

Once Y/n laid eyes on him she scoffed before rolling them. There stood Billy Hargrove leaning against his car with Tommy and a few girls fawning over him. He looked like the king of douche bags like he had some grade A daddy issues. Any other time she’d feel for him, but he did the one thing he shouldn’t have and that was a mess with her little brother.

“Hold these.” She practically shoved her pompoms in Steve’s hands before heading for Billy.

“Babe,” but the look y/n gave Steve shut him up.

All The kids followed her protesting the entire way trying to get her to change their mind scared of what Billy might do to her regardless of the deal he made with Max. After all, she was just a stranger approaching him in a hostile way, and the gang expected nothing more than for him to react in true Billy. Steve on the other hand, was preparing to possibly receive another busted lip if Billy decided to retaliate and even think about raising his hand to her. He’d go out fighting again if need be. However Y/n wasn’t scared.

Less than a few feet away she bawled her fist, feeling all the anger toward the white boy surface.

“Hey asshole!”

He barely spared them a glance before doing a double take. Once he spotted his sister and her friends a cocky smirk planted itself on his face.

“Well well if it isn’t the losers-“ y/n held up her hand to silence him, her steps coming to a halt.

“You Billy Hargrove?” She pretended to smile flirtatiously.

“Who’s asking princess?” He asked with a cocky smirk, giving her a once over.

“Y/n Sinclair.” And with that Y/n cocked her arm back and punch him squads in face.

“Well, shit.”, Dustin said as the rest of the party gasped.

Wow they didn’t hear a crack or anything, they could see Billy’s now blooded nose, leaking while he grabbed it.

“Fuck! You bitch!” He quickly got in Y/n’s face to where she took a step closer staring up at him.

“I dare you.” Y/n challenged not even flinching as his nostrils flared and fist balled at his side as if he was thinking about retaliating.

“I don’t know who you think you are, but put your hands on my little brother,” she pointed at Lucas. “Again and I promise you’ll have bigger problems when my brother and daddy gets a hold of you and yours.”

“Brother?” Billy repeated sounding surprised.

“Howard Star QB.” She smirked.

Anthony Sinclair was older than Y/n by two years. Currently not present since he was off at Howard University but that could all change with a phone call from her or Erica.

“Are we clear?” She asked crossing her arms.

Billy continued to glare at her as he held his blooded nose, but nodded nonetheless.

“Manners, William. Use your words.”

“Yeah, yeah, now fuck off.”

“Glad we’re on the same page Willy.” She smiled before turning back toward the kids who all continued to stare in shock.

“Are you sure Mrs. Wheeler is picking you up?”

“Yeah-“ they chorused.

“Mom.” Dustin added.

“Good! I’ll see you at home Luke. Bye guys.” She smiled taking her pom poms from Steve and heading to his car.

“Oh. And don’t touch Steve either.” She called over her shoulder. “He’s also mine.”

“Wow,” spoke El and Max in awe

“She’s scary when she’s mad.” Mike commented.

“Yeah.” Steve agreed. “And hot.”

“Very hot.” Dustin added earning a punch in the arm from Lucas and A hit upside the head from Steve

“Come on Harrington.” Y/n beckoned from the passenger seat. “This ice cream isn’t going to pay for itself.”

The teenager grinned to himself goofily as he headed toward his car.

“Yes ma’am!”

[runningwitches]

Cheerleader (Steve Harrington x Reader)

Summary: Steve asks the reader out after a successful basketball game, but he needed some help first.

Request?: Yep! “I know you haven’t posted writing in a while but I really liked loved and was wondering if you could write something about Steve dating a cheerleader? I feel like you have really good characterization of the kids and stuff so can you please put them in the story too? Thanks”

Word Count: 2076

A/N: Oh man! I really love this request, and you’re totally right, I haven’t posted writing in a while! I don’t know what to say because there’s no excuse except the fact that I’m lazy and I’m really sorry. I did get a lot of inspiration from this ask though, so thank you anon! I can’t promise this will accurately represent all cheerleaders as I only know my own experience (I cheered for seven years, only one of them was in high school, and I quit because I could not stand the girls on my high school cheer squad), but I hope you’ll enjoy it anyways.

Warnings: Nothing really? A few curse words maybe? I accidentally referenced High School Musical but like ? Idk nothing too bad.

It took all of Steve’s courage to ask you out when he did. He and Nancy had broken up not too long ago, he was still struggling with trying to understand the Upside Down and Eleven, and he hadn’t really gotten back on top of his basketball game yet. He knew he wasn’t “King Steve” anymore. I mean, he hadn’t truly held that title in a long time, but without Nancy by his side he finally realized the truth. So yeah, it took a lot of courage to ask you out.

But he knew he had to. There was no way he was going to let someone like you walk out of his life without at least attempting to ask you out. You were, for lack of a better word, perfect. I mean, you weren’t necessarily queen bee or anything, but not because you couldn’t be, you just didn’t want to be. You were happy spending your days going to school, to cheer practice, and straight back home to do homework. You only really went to games because you had to, and you didn’t actually enjoy the presence of the other girls on your cheer squad that much. You stuck around because the team needed a leader and you knew that you had to be that if you wanted to get anywhere with your cheerleading.

He always knew he was attracted to you, tangentially, I mean, who wouldn't be? But he never knew just how attracted to you he actually was until he came back from the Upside Down fiasco and he could hardly pass the ball to a teammate. You were still there though, on the sidelines cheering for him.

Well, you were cheering for the whole team, but he could tell from the encouraging smiles you were sending him and the random ruffles of your pom-poms paired with a shout of his jersey number that nobody else was receiving, that you were really cheering for him.

This game also happened to be the first one the kids went to. That may have had something to do with why he was so off his game. The kids he had spent so much time and energy protecting were in the crowd and he wasn't able to focus because the little shitheads wouldn't stop shouting when he was attempting to focus on the game. (Normally that wouldn't be an issue as basketball games tended to get loud, however, he had spent so much time training himself to know that shouts from those kids either meant trouble or danger that the slightest yelp or gasp from one of their mouths sent him into a panic.)

"Come on Harrington! Get your head in the game!" you shouted, dropping your perky cheerleader persona for a minute to give actual advice when he turned his head to stare off at the crowd again. "Keep your eye on the ball, not in the crowd," you added before mumbling a quick "dumbass" under your breath. The girls around you eyed you questioningly, but you rolled your eyes, shrugged your shoulders, and called set for the next cheer. Facing the crowd, you called "Ready!" and began the cheer, but you couldn't help but notice the gaze of some middle schoolers staring at you from the end of the bleachers. You were obviously used to the attention, however, they were staring at you so intently that the questioning looks in their eyes threw you off guard and you almost messed up the cheer. You quickly plastered the smile back on your face, finished the cheer, and called for a quick water break.

As you sipped from the water bottle, you turned back to the game. Steve seemed more focused than he was before yet he still wasn’t doing great, and you smiled to yourself, secretly hoping you were at least some of the cause of that. You knew Steve was someone you wanted to get to know, but you also knew he wasn’t someone you could get to know. “King Steve” may have been gone, but it was still Steve Harrington, you didn’t stand a chance. You were the nerd who just happened to be the cheer captain, even without Tommy and Carol he was still better than you. At least that’s what you thought. Everyone at Hawkins High knew that you could get anybody you wanted, but how would you know that?

As you returned to the sidelines of the game you noticed there was just enough time to call one more cheer before halftime without interrupting important parts of the game, so you called out a popular one to get the people in the crowd ready for the halftime performance.

Once the court cleared up, all of the players heading to their respective team rooms, you took your place, alongside the other cheerleaders, in the center. After the brief performance, the crowd went back to doing their own thing and you rushed to get a few things done before halftime was over. Before you could get to that however, you were stopped by the group of kids you had seen earlier.

There were six in total, four guys and two girls. You recognized four of them, Mike Wheeler, Nancy’s little brother, Will Byers, Jonathan’s brother, Maxine Mayfield, Hargrove’s stepsister, and of course Dustin Henderson. You didn’t really know how or why Steve started hanging out with him, and apparently the rest of the kids in that group, but you did know that it was the talk of the school for a few weeks. Dustin spoke up first. “How do you know Steve?”

“What?” you asked, more confused as to why these kids were talking to you and less concerned about finishing up your halftime duties.

The girl you recognized as Max repeated the question, seemingly annoyed. “How do you know Steve?”

Again, you looked at them confused, “How do you know Steve?”

The group looked to each other and tried to come up with a way to tell you how he knew them without explaining the whole Upside Down thing.

“He’s our babysitter!” Dustin exclaimed.

“Um, okay…” you spoke, trailing off while you checked the countdown to the second half of the game on the scoreboard. You didn’t really want to deal with the cheerleaders or the snack bar staff, so you decided to humor the kids.

“Okay, so are you friends with Steve?” Mike asked.

“Uh, not really?” you admitted, still trying to figure out where the conversation was going.

“Well you seemed really invested in how he was playing today,” Max said again.

“Yeah. I’m a cheerleader. It’s kinda my job to be invested in how they’re playing. Look, I don’t know what you guys want from me, but I gotta go. Cheer stuff and all that. But hey, I don’t know why, but every time any of you make the slightest noise he like freaks out and he’s already been having enough trouble on the court without a distraction, so if you could, I don’t know, refrain from screaming this half, I think we could have a chance at a win today.” You smiled briefly before rushing out to the snack bar to finish what you needed to do before the game started back up again.

The rest of the game was extremely intense. The kids actually listened to your advice and kept quiet the whole time. You weren’t sure if it was because of what you said, or something else, because any time you happened to look in their direction they were whispering to each other, their heads all leaned in close as if scheming. You were so into the game you almost forgot to call cheers, but each time you did, you found the six children in the corner of the stands staring curiously at you again while leaning their heads together and whispering. You shrugged that off pretty quickly when you noticed the score slowly being brought up.

Steve had been pretty off of his basketball game the past few weeks, so seeing that he was improving, and gaining his place back at the front of the team, bringing the score slowly up to tie the other team and eventually to bring Hawkins back in the lead, was awesome.

As the game finished, you called the final cheer, and headed out to congratulate the boys on their win kids were already here surrounding him. You decided to leave them be and head off to gather your stuff, but before you could make it to Steve, he was surrounded by the kids again, so you decided to not bug them.

As you shouldered your cheer bag, pulled your keys out, and headed to leave the gym you heard someone call your name. As you whipped your head around, your ponytail flipping it’s way to the other side of your head, you saw Steve surrounded by the kids still, but he looked as if he was trying to prevent Dustin from saying something (evident by the hand clamping over the younger boy’s mouth). Mike stood there with his hands cupping his mouth (apparently he had been the one to call your name) and the boy you didn’t recognize clapped his hand on Mike’s back, in… congratulations? You didn’t really know what to do as the scene unfolded in front of you, and you were about to ignore it, turn back around, and leave, but the only other person you didn’t recognize in the group gave you a shy smile and beckoned you over with a simple hand gesture.

Raising an eyebrow, you decided to listen to her, going against your own gut, which happened to be telling you to run far away, and walked over to meet the group.

“Is everything alright over here?” you asked casually, trying to hide the blush rising to your face from the intense gaze from pretty much everyone there, mostly Steve’s though.

You watched as the oldest one in the group looked from you to Mike to Dustin for a few seconds before frantically pulling his hand from the last one’s mouth and attempting to stand in a cool/casual pose. Obviously it wasn’t that cool or casual to anybody else, but you didn’t really care, you were still looking around the group confused, not even noticing the remaining people on the basketball court staring at the odd interactions.

“Hey-uh-hey,” Steve finally spoke up, “um, yeah, yeah, everything’s great! There’s no problem. What? Who said anything about a problem? Yeah no everything's fine, chill. What-what are you doing here?”

“Well, I was just heading out until your…” you hesitated for a moment, glancing at Mike and the girl you still couldn’t place and attempting to choose the correct word, “friend..s…” you paused again, “called me over?”

“Oh! Uh, yeah.. That’s interesting. Yeah, um that’s so weird,” he commented with a forced chuckle punctuating the statement, “I-I didn’t realize you knew them.”

“I don’t!” you stated quickly, recoiling back when you realized how aggressive you sounded. “I mean like… Not really. I just met them… during half time.”

“Oh, well, cool, I guess.”

“Yeah, I’m-uh-I’m gonna go. Gotta head home, parents ya know- ha ha,” you said before turning around quickly and starting to walk away, cringing inwardly to yourself at how awkward you are when talking to Steve.

“Wait!” you heard, this time the shout coming from Steve and not one of his middle schooler friends. In fact, his friends were now not surrounding him, but instead standing along a side wall as if they were waiting for him.

“Yes?”

“Would you, shit, would you maybe wanna like… Hang out sometime?”

“I-yeah. Yeah! Of course. That sounds-that sounds great,” you admitted, eyes still downcast as you reached to tuck a nonexistent stray hair behind your ear.

“Cool! Rad! Yeah, I’ll-yeah. Um see you later then.”

“Bye Steve,” you said finally before turning around and walking away, letting the smile you had been suppressing take over your face.

As you walked away you heard the footsteps of the six kids returning to Steve’s side, one of them saying something along the lines of “damn Steve, I don’t know why I ever asked for dating advice from you! You suck at this! I thought you were supposed to be good with girls, especially, like, cheerleaders!”

He chuckled before he gave his brief response of, “She said yes, didn’t she? Now let’s get you shitheads home.”

[nancyswhlr]

party tricks

jonathan x nancy, stranger things - 3k words

this is shameless au garbage & i’m not even sorry about it. (also i dont know if any of you watch new girl, but remember that scene where jess got all mad at nick because he kept ragging on himself despite how incredible she thought he was? yeah, i took no inspiration from that scene while writing this.)

dedicated to jackie & jonathan defense squad(TM) on twitter :)

“Don’t you think we’re a little old for seven minutes in heaven?” A 16-year-old Nancy Wheeler quipped from her spot in the circle.

Almost immediately she was met with a chorus of “no!”’s and boos, most prominently from Steve Harrington and his gang. In fact, the only two members of the group that stayed silent were beside her, her two best friends, who she knew would dread playing this game.

Because Barb was not only socially awkward to the point her sass was off-putting, but she was also gay. And Jonathan was socially awkward to the point he was called the town loner and freak, so isolated that he hadn’t even had his first kiss yet. He would’ve told her if he had, or if there was anyone he was even interested in sharing that with.

So her feeble attempt at saving them was overridden by the other kids at the party, passing around their solo red cups and sharing looks with the person they hoped the bottle would land on. She could practically feel her friend’s stomachs’ drop.

Tommy H went first, and Nancy wasn’t even going to bother to call out how the game was rigged when his bottle landed on Tina. The look on Carol’s face made the whole night worth it though, in her opinion. But she did shoot apologetic looks to her friends.

Barb seemed fine, despite her eyes not meeting anyone else’s. It’s not like she was out of the closet anyways, maybe she’d get lucky and get a nice guy like Steve, who wouldn’t pressure her to do anything. Barb could always handle her own.

It was Jonathan that Nancy was worried about. He also wouldn’t meet her eyes, and she swore she saw his hands shaking as he took another sip of his beer to calm his nerves. Her heart clenched, and without thinking about it she placed a hand on his knee.

“It’s gonna be okay,” She said to him quietly, while the rest of the group was distracted by Carol demanding Tommy to spin again. “Who knows? Maybe you’ll get your first kiss tonight?” She teased, gently. And felt a little bit better when his lips curled upwards in a slight smile, even if it was only for her sake.

“Maybe.” He shrugged, replying back in an even quieter tone than her own. For some reason, a small part of Nancy that she could barely acknowledge hoped he didn’t. He deserved a girl who really liked him, not someone drunk at a party pressuring him into it.

They’d always been friends. At least since the first time Mike had brought Will over and Jonathan accompanied him. She could recall their mom’s gushing as Jonathan was only supposed to come by with Joyce to drop his brother off, but Barb hadn’t been able to hang out that day and Nancy surmised Jonathan Byers would do. Unlike the rest of Hawkins, she didn’t care about their reputation or rumors. And, just like Mike, and she proved that by sitting with him at lunch the following Monday.

Ever since then, he’d been a constant in her life. He took her photos on the weekends, did their math homework together in study hall. He was there when she cried over Nathan standing her up at the eighth grade dance and she was there when Lonnie Byers had officially left his family for the last time. Through all of that, he never had a girlfriend. And she’d never been able to understand why.

Sure, he was quiet and liked being alone. But he wasn’t a complete loner, she was living proof of that. The right girl would understand that, understand him. He was so much more than Jonathan ‘the freak’ Byers. He was actually really cute, despite the fact the rest of the girls at school ignored him. He was kind, and a good listener. He was great at photography and was always down to do whatever her mischievous plans entailed. Last summer, it’d been her idea to break into the school’s pool after dark, and Jonathan was there to swim with her while Barb was too afraid of being caught. He always supported her, and she loved that.

Nancy shook her head, breaking herself from her cloud of thoughts. God, this is why everyone thought they were dating. Those rumors never let up, even when she was with Steve. They just shifted, saying she was probably cheating on him with Byers. Completely uncalled for, in her opinion, but it was Jonathan that was there rubbing her leg comfortingly when they had ultimately not lasted either.

“Who’s next?” None other than Steve Harrington asked the group. The usual rounds were made before the rest of the party finally noticed the close-knit group of three isolating themselves. Nancy didn’t really have anything against the game, but there was no one she wanted to be locked up with for seven minutes. Her best case scenario would be either one of her best friends. Or even Steve, who she’d ended things amicably with. She’d dare even say they were friends. “What about you three? Holland? Byers?!” Steve teased, wagging the bottle towards them.

Nancy instantly noticed the color drain from her friends’ face, her protective instincts kicking in while Barb was struggling to figure out an excuse not to play. Jonathan sat there silent, beet red. “I’ll go.” Nancy spoke up instead, not leaving any room for negotiation as she grabbed the bottle out of Steve’s hand. The rest of the group gave her weird looks, but she didn’t care if it meant she could save her friends.

She spun the bottle easily, and surprisingly steady for the few drinks she had. She could laugh in her ex’s face, she knew she wasn’t a lightweight. But she watched it turn several times until it eventually slowed to a stop. Right in between her and Jonathan, but close enough to count.

Nancy let out a relieved breath. That was easy, it was exactly who she wanted. Jonathan looked up at her nervously, the entire party’s eyes on them. “That’s not even fair, they’re already dating.” A girl at the edge whined.

Nancy forced herself to hold back an eye roll. “We’re friends.” She bit back, pointedly to the crowd. She didn’t notice how Jonathan’s eyes fell back to the floor.

“Well, then, it shouldn’t be a problem for you two to spend seven minutes in the closet together.” Steve interrupted, cheekily. “Common, let’s go you two!”

Nancy swore he acted like they never dated. Not that it bothered her, but he was also casual friends with Jonathan, so she wondered his agenda for pushing them together. Nancy let herself roll her eyes this time as she untucked her legs from under her, making sure her dress didn’t ride up. As she stood, she grabbed Jonathan’s hand and led him to the closet, Steve on their heels.

“Don’t have too much fun.” he barked out a laugh, Nancy shooting him a look of annoyance. She shook her head as they were pushed into the room together, a chair on the other side of the door locking them in. Just great, they’d forget about them in approximately two minutes, and it wasn’t like they could hear them over the thumping of the music. Hopefully, Barb would remind the group to let them out.

Nancy dropped his hand as her eyes adjusted to the dim light from one shitty light bulb. It had a warm glow though, and it made Jonathan’s features look softer in the somewhat darkness. Less sharp and angled, and it looked nice.

“So.” She broke the silence after a moment, hoping to get Jonathan’s eyes up from still being glued to the floor.

She let herself be proud when she got the smile she wanted from him, his shoulders untensing. “So?” He echoed, looking up at her.

“So,” Nancy shrugged, playfully. “I don’t know! Are you having fun?”

Jonathan laughed, trying to adjust himself in the small room. It was no use, no matter what they were on top of each other. Nancy let her back fall against the wall beside them. “I don’t know, I guess.” He shrugged, causing Nancy to raise her eyebrows in response. “I’ve never played seven minutes in heaven before.” He accompanied that statement with a small smile, letting Nancy know he was still being playful.

“Well I haven’t either.” She shot back, cocking her head to the side.

Jonathan laughed, and Nancy let herself smile at the sight. At the fact she was the only one he let see him so genuine and carefree. Besides his family anyways. “I can only imagine it’s not the kind of game you play with your best friend.”

His tone was still light, but Nancy could sense the disappointment behind his words. Again, her heart clenched. He deserved a cute girl that was crazy over him, but she couldn’t imagine anyone. No one seemed good enough for him in her mind. “Well, you’re right about that. Less talking normally, or so I’ve heard.”

Jonathan responded with a nod, and a lull of silence encompassed them for a moment. Nancy studied him in the bleak light, fidgeting and wondering how no one saw what she did.

“Sorry you’re stuck in here with me.” He said suddenly, Nancy looking up immediately. “I’m sure there are more...fun people you’d want to play this with.”

Nancy found herself floored by how down on himself he was. How could anyone else possibly see how great he was when he couldn’t even see it himself. “Hey.” She moved to him, putting a hand on his arm to force him to look at her. “Don’t do that to yourself. There’s no one else I’d rather be in this closet with.” Jonathan gave her a weak smile, and she knew he didn’t believe her. “I’m serious, stop selling yourself short.”

“Thanks Nance,” he mumbled, and she wished she could say more. “There’s no one else I want to be in this closet with either.” he admitted, causing Nancy to smile too. At least some of the tension was gone as she dropped her hand, but put no more distance between them. Instead, she stayed put, her eyes locking with his. “Even if it is just a friend.”

Nancy felt herself straighten. “You’ll find someone.” Now it was his turn to raise an eyebrow at her, but she looked determined. “I’m serious, you will. Someone who can see how...how incredible you are.”

Jonathan laughed, and she could tell even in the dark he was trying not to blush. “You think so?”

“Yeah. I do. Jonathan, there’s so many great things about you.”

“That’s why I’m tied with Harrington when it comes to how many girlfriends we’ve had.” he mumbled back, sarcastically, clearly not believing her.

Nancy shook her head, “Don’t do that. Don’t compare yourself to Steve. You’re nothing like him.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Nancy resisted the urge to groan. “Stop that Jonathan! You’re nothing like Steve, in a good way. You’re-you’re kind. And smart. And so talented at photography. You’ve always been able to make me laugh. And, you’re a great listener and friend, you’ve always, always, been there for me. Much less that you’re insanely cute, despite those girls out there that refuse to acknowledge that because of their stupid egos. And you deserve someone that knows all of that about you, that really likes you for you-” She was saying, but only snapped out of it when she looked up to realize just how close they were. Was he moving closer? Nancy forced herself to take a breath, to steady herself, but felt the air knocked out of her by the way he was looking at her.

She’d never seen such a look of adoration, everything he was feeling expressed in his warm brown eyes. She found herself completely caught up in it, and if she just pushed herself on her tiptoes, her lips would brush his. As if that thought occurred to her for the first time right then, it floored her. She could kiss him. She could kiss him.

She thought about it before. A little. He’s always been cute and a good friend. But he was always Jonathan, her loyal best friend first. Always there for her, never pushing her in any way. Did she actually have feelings for him? Did he have feelings for her? Wouldn’t he say something if he did?

Of course he wouldn’t. He was Jonathan. He’d never pressure her, do anything to ruin their friendship. She wondered if there was some truth to Will’s offhand teasing about how she was like his sister now (“or could be, one day” he’d hum lightly, and Jonathan would glare daggers at him). Based on the look Jonathan was giving her, she had a feeling there was.

Jonathan’s mouth parted, and Nancy, without realizing it, let her eyes follow the action. It didn’t even occur to her for a moment he was saying something, his voice quiet and full of doubt. “You really think all of that?”

Nancy forced herself to meet his eyes again, despite being a few inches on top of her. The idea of being close enough to kiss him still made her stomach do somersaults, but she forced her voice to stay even. It wasn’t that hard when she was talking so softly. “Yeah, I do.” She responded, ever so confident and collected.

Jonathan seemed to be at a loss for words as he struggled to reply. A blush covered his cheeks now as he spoke, but he didn’t seem to notice or care. “God, Nancy, you’re so incredible.”

She felt the wind knocked out of her (again) at how sincerely he spoke. She decided, however, she was sick of not knowing what it was like to kiss him despite the fact the idea only came to her a short while ago. Without thinking twice, she, slowly- still giving him an out, pushed herself on her tiptoes. She heard Jonathan’s breath hitch before her lips met his.

She decided immediately she liked it. His lips were just a little chapped but felt nice against her soft ones, and he was warm and tasted like the beer they’d both been drinking all night. She didn’t realize it was sweet, almost chaste until she felt his hands settle on her waist. She also didn’t miss how they were shaking slightly like they did when he was nervous. In an effort to hopefully calm him, and to bring him closer, she moved her hands to his neck. She tugged on his collar lightly, bringing him closer as she gave him a better angle to kiss her.

It then occurred to her again, when he did nothing to deepen the kiss, that it was his first. No one had taught him to kiss properly. That was fine, she decided as she brought him even closer by snaking her arms around his neck. She could do it.

And Nancy had to admit she was impressed by how fast of a learner he was. She found herself pressed against the wall she’d formerly been leaning on, Jonathan following her lead as his hands moved from her hips up to her hair, the kiss getting more passionate. She moved as well, bringing his hips closer as her arms went to his waist. It felt good, right. To finally be able to kiss him. She didn’t even know how long she’d been wanting this without realizing it, but she could tell Jonathan had too by how intensely he was pouring all he had into this kiss. Anything reminiscent of being chaste was a distant memory.

Somehow, her hands had gone back to his neck and tangled in his hair as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her even more impossibly close. Making no plans of slowing down, Nancy moaned as softly as she could. Her senses were so overwhelmed in the best possible way.

She nearly squealed in surprise when light flooded the room.

Completely caught up in the moment, it dazed her and took a minute for her eyes to adjust to the not pure darkness as Jonathan all but practically jumped off her. It was a futile attempt though. They’d already been caught. Despite this, her arms were still wrapped around his neck while his hesitated loosely at her hips.

The first face they saw was Steve, sharing an impossibly smug look with them. It only took them another second to realize the party had quieted down, everyone looking at them from their spots. Except for Barb, who didn’t know if she should look surprised or confused as she stood behind Steve.

Nancy forced herself to bite down a smile, her hand running down to Jonathan’s chest now. She couldn’t be bothered to care that she’d been caught making out with him, what these kids thought of them, but Jonathan wore an adorable shade of red all over his face now. In fact, she had half a mind to tell Steve to close the door and pick up where they left off, but she took pity on her poor partner instead.

Slowly, she untangled herself from him as she also removed his own hands from her hips. She couldn’t help but chuckle at how frozen and profusely embarrassed he looked. She didn’t lose all contact though, keeping one hand locked with his, before taking a steadying breath. She probably (definitely) looked hot and flustered, and her hair was probably (definitely) all messed up.

There was a variation of different looks given to them from around the party, ranging from judgment and disgust that she was making out with that freak Jonathan, to smug ‘we all knew you were dating’ looks from a few others. Most notably Steve, who grinned at them. Who still hadn’t said anything. In fact, no one had said anything. The room was still silent.

Biting down on her lip, Nancy decided to be the first one to break it. It’s not like anyone else would. Especially not Jonathan, who still looked like he wished the ground would swallow him up whole. Maybe Barb, who was still gaping at them.

Nancy instead just cleared her throat, turning to fully face the party. “Hey, Steve?” She asked, still breathless.

“Yeah Nance?” He shot back, still looking incredibly amused by this whole thing. Steve couldn’t keep a laugh out of his voice as he replied.

“Would you mind giving Barb a ride home?” She took a beat to fully interlock her fingers with the boy behind her, getting ready to lead him out of the closet. “Jonathan and I are going to get out of here.”

[thrashermaxey]

Fantasy Impact: Matt Duchene Traded to Columbus

  Columbus and Ottawa have the most valuable trade pieces available at the deadline, so naturally one of those pieces was traded to the other team? Anyway, Matt Duchene was traded by Ottawa to Columbus in exchange for prospect wingers Vitaly Abramov and Jonathan Davidsson, and a 2019 first round pick. That pick is protected if it lands in the top-3. There’s another first round pick included with the condition of Duchene signing with Columbus. Defenceman Julius Bergman, who was acquired by Ottawa in the Mike Hoffman trade, was also sent to Columbus along with Duchene.

  Columbus Gets

Duchene was traded for the second time in his career after just 118 games in an Ottawa uniform. They were very productive games, though, as he put up 50 goals and 107 points in those 118 games. His points/60 minutes at five-on-five as a member of the Sens ranks inside the top-30 league-wide among forwards, in the same range as names like Jack Eichel, Leon Draisaitl, and Mikko Rantanen. Going back to the start of the 2016-17 season, including games with that horrific Colorado squad, he’s tied with Sean Couturier and Blake Wheeler in this category. In other words, he’s a true first-line production centre.

He also drives offence for line mates. Here’s how he rates to another top centre, only one that was traded away by Columbus a couple years ago (from CJ Turtoro’s viz):

Duchene rates very well in shot assists (passes that lead to shots by teammates), and possession entries/exits. All these are things that can help line mates score and is not something that just grows on trees. That doesn't tell the whole story because Johansen has been able to rely on a mobile defence corps and talented wingers whereas Duchene at least didn't have overly talented wingers. All the same, we can how strongly he rates across the board in creating a good scoring environment when he's on the ice. 

If there are issues with Duchene, those would be on the defensive side of things. However, with Zach Werenski and Seth Jones behind him, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Boone Jenner being able to take more defensive assignments, and general improvement of line mates, I don’t think defensive issues will be a concern. One thing I will say is that this is still a team coached by John Tortorella. If Duchene doesn’t play the way he wants to play, ice time could be a concern. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, though.

Speaking of Dubois, the interesting point here is where Duchene slots. Does he bump Dubois off the top line, or do they have Duchene play behind Dubois and company, hoping he can mesh well with the likes of Josh Anderson in a more sheltered role?

I know sometimes Columbus has gone with split PP units at times, but to me it makes a lot of sense just to load the top unit and add Duchene in with the top line. We worry about how players will fit in certain roles but Duchene didn’t necessarily have a defined role on the power play with Ottawa. Here are his shot locations at 5v4 this year (from Hockeyviz):

Columbus basically needs someone to play the bumper with Dubois in front and Panarin/Atkinson on the wings, playing a similar role on the PP that Patrice Bergeron does in Boston. Duchene can do exactly that.

  Ottawa Gets

Jonathan Davidsson was a sixth-round pick in 2017 and hasn’t really taken a step in production yet. In his two years in the top Swedish league (SHL) after the draft, where he was drafted as an over-ager, he’s posted 51 points in 87 games. That’s not the kind of production you hope to see from a 20- and 21-year old. 

Our own evaluation at Dobber Prospects (accessible by clicking Davidsson’s name above) basically has his ceiling as a middle-six winger who can score a bit. Given the lack of talent in Ottawa (assuming Mark Stone is also traded), he could get a look in the NHL before he’s ready. He’s a good skater with quickness, something that could help translate to PK work. That works in his favour as well.

The key prospect is obviously Vitaly Abramov, even if it hasn’t been a great year in the AHL with just 22 points in 52 games. He hasn’t been a big volume shooter, either with 119 shots in those 52 contests. Averaging under a half-point per game and just over two shots per game in the AHL at the age of 20 doesn’t exactly scream superstar. It’s not a matter of adjusting to North American rinks, either, as he was a Russian import in the QMJHL.

Abramov might mesh well with someone like Brady Tkachuk. Tkachuk is a player who can do the work down low and find shooting lanes while Abramov acts as the playmaker. There’s a lot that has to happen between now and then, however.

The assessment from our Dobber Prospects writers on Abramov is basically that if he can stick in the NHL, it’ll be due to raw offensive output, not because of a well-rounded game. Whether that type of player flourishes in Ottawa remains to be seen. But again, because of the lack of NHL-ready depth, he should have a real shot at cracking the roster in 2019-20.

  Who This Helps

Josh Anderson and Nick Foligno – Whether it’s Duchene or Dubois, Columbus’s second-line wingers are going to get an upgrade.

Seth Jones – Jones has been manning the top PP unit lately and adding Duchene gives them an additional dynamic that was lacking before. It’s a second hybrid playmaker/goal scorer alongside Artemi Panarin.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau – With Duchene gone and the only other centre of note really being an unproven Colin White, we could easily see Pageau crack 20 minutes a night. He played just under that in Ottawa’s game against New Jersey when they sat all their potential trade targets.

  Who This Hurts

Bobby Ryan – Assuming Stone and Ryan Dzingel are traded, the only good offensive player left for Ryan to play with will be Brady Tkachuk, and they’ve rarely skated together. He did spend some time with Tkachuk in that same game where the stars sat, but it’ll be a fluid situation. He lost his best centre and was a meagre fantasy option to begin with.

Pierre-Luc Dubois – We’ll have to see how lines shake out but this gives Columbus another top-line centre. It’s great for the depth of the team, but it should also cut into Dubois’s ice time one way or another.

Alex Wennberg – It’s been a brutal year for the 24-year old centre and he was already averaging a four-year low in ice time. Unless he gets really lucky or there’s a significant injury, he’ll be invisible for the rest of the year.

Boone Jenner – Same reasons as Dubois.  

  In general, most Senators players is going to take a hit with the Duchene trade and all the trades this team will make in the next few days. They just got rolled by a non-playoff New Jersey team that was without Taylor Hall. There are going to be a lot fewer goals scored in Ottawa over the balance of the season than the first four and a half months.

from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-home/fantasy-take-latest-nhl-moves/fantasy-impact-matt-duchene-traded-to-columbus/