#my mom named him bluey because my little sister loves bluey

[annachronisme]

BEHOLD

The boy.

[vimara00]

You'll never leave me (Yandere!DabixF!Reader)

Hi everyone! It's Vi ✨ I received a request from @oyasumimosura and I hope you all enjoyed it! (I'm sorry if there are any grammatical mistakes, english is not my first language 🙏🏻)

Warnings: yandere themes, curse words

All characters reservations to Horikoshi

Touya's childhood was field with sadness and disappointment. Every passing day he wished his father would look at him and be proud of how big of a hero he would be, strong enough to surpass All Might!

Not even his brother and sister could understand how he felt; no one ever did! Until a certain someone appeared and brought light to his miserable life. Her name was y/n, a little girl he met at the forest he used to go for training.

At first, he was irritated by the fact that a stupid girl was at HIS secure place but couldn't stop staring from distance how wonderful her quirk was. Apparently, the girl had a water manipulation quirk and was practicing next to the lake. Touya felt envious about how much control she had over her power and how it made no damage to her body.

After a while, the little girl notice that there was someone near the rocks and find a pair of blue eyes staring at her. When she saw a boy around her age, she smiled waving at him and Touya felt his heartbeat fasten. He was accustomed to angry stares that made his blood run cold not pretty smiles that made him feel warm. After that day, y/n and Touya became inseparables. They trained together and share bento boxes her mom made for the two of them (he even went to her house when thing got heavy at home)

One particular day when Touya was crying into her arms and she would whisper that everything was going to be okay, they share their first kiss, a little messy but still beautiful, and promised eachother that someday they'll get marry and he won't suffer anymore.

However, as Endeavour's need for Shoto to be better than All might increased, so did Touya's resentment and he started developing really bad habits that worried his new friend. He would questioned whenever she arrived late and got mad if it was because of others; he started showing up covered in scars and eyes field with tears but when she asked him about it he would leave; Also, his flames turned blue and more powerful that she couldn't keep up with him anymore. Due to his sudden change, she became a little bit afraid so she didn't see him as regularly as before but this did not sit well with the blueyed boy.

The oldest Todoroki started following her to the park where she played with her brothers, to her house and even to her martial arts classes. He couldn't understand why did she distanced herself but was too proud to asked so.

If only that day y/n arrived on time, she could have been able to save him...but she didn't and lost her first love in the blink of an eye. After the incident, she concentrated on working her ass off to be one of the biggest heroes this world has ever seen and maybe, by doing that, she could forgive herself for Touya's death. She even tried to keep in touch with the Todorokis in order to save Shoto from ending like his big brother. She usually would call or text the siblings and went to visit Touya's santuari

Some years later, y/n fould herself patroling the streets at night. Since the appearance of the LOV, she had worked a lot more to keep the streets safe but something has been making her anxious. Everywhere she went, the hero felt some pair of eyes watching her every move and she was sure it has to do with some villian

Y/n heard some noises coming from a near alley and decided to check just in case someone needed help. There it was Dabi leading on the wall and looking at her while smirking, as if he had been waiting for her to arrived.

"Well, well, well I finally found you, doll" He said as he took a few steps towards her "It's not a coincidence that we are here tonight. I think we are destined to find each other" he continued to get closer and the hero took some steps back. Something about the way he was looking at her made a shiver run down her spain. The last time they faced each other, he left her with some pretty marks but she wondered why didn't he killed her when he had the chance but soon enough she'll have her answer

Water started to form around her as she was ready to attack but no before saying "You should've killed me that time" and then, with water manipulation, grabbed Dabi's body while she came closer to give him a big blow of water on his stomach and throw him against the wall while blood came out of his mouth. He stood up as it nothing happened and looked a almost as he was enjoying being hit.

"You are stronger than when we were kids, y/n but there is one thing that haven't changed and it's the fact that I'll always win" Dabi said and took advantage of her hesitation to advanced forward enough to make a fire wall to surround them. To say y/n was shocked was understanding. Nobody new her real name, how did he ? And that thing about knowing each other since they were kids?...

Being surrounded by fire made her body temperature raise and ,because of that, her mind felt dizzy but she tried to move in order to attack again but Dabi speed faster towards her and put a cloth around her mouth till her eyes started to close and her legs to trumble.

Once y/n woke up, she couldn't feel her body and the room was spinning around her. From the corner of her eye, she saw someone moving and she remembered who brought her here. Dabi took a sit next to her on bed (she was sitting on a bed with her back against the wall) and run his fingers crossed her cheek tenderly "You do look sexy wearing my clothes but I prefer that red lingerie you wore on monday to work. Damn I almost lost it, doll!" He said while bitting his lip. Hearing what he he just confessed made her want to vomit as y/n realised that he was her stalker! If her mouth wasn't covert, she would've shout or curse at him.

"I see you still don't know how I am so let me give you a guess" He took some piece of jewelry that was hanging from his neck and put it in front of y/n. Her eyes open like plates and everything came rushing back to her head. The ring that was in the necklace was the one she gave Touya all those years ago when they made a promise to get marry. Tears purred down her cheeks as wipe her tears and said "shhh it's okay. It's really me... Finally we are together again, love. And now that you are here no-one is going to take you away from me and you'll never leave me" His face twisted into a manic smile and laughed loudly. Then he took the cloth away from her mouth and she said " I used to love a boy called Touya but you are not him. You murdered and tortured people. You are fucking crazy if you think I'll stay with you" You tried using your quirk but nothing came and he laughed even louder saying "Oh y/n, I almost forgot to tell you...You don't have a quirk anymore. Isn't it great? I just saved you from that horrible life you had and from now and on, it's you and me! And we are gonna get married and you will never leave me!"

"I would never be with someone like you, fucking monster" she screamed at him as she jump of the bed and continued to run to the exit when suddenly, her felt a huge pain in her right leg, so strong that she fell to the floor and couldn't stand up. She looked at her leg and it was broken. Touya was standing behind her with a hammer with a serious face saying "You are not leaving me again so you better get use to it"

At that moment she understood that there was nothing she could do to scape from him and she cried even harder while he carried her to bed and laid her down. He was on top of her as he took her hand an put the ring on finger and smiled satisfied.

"I will get you something to eat, love. Rice with fried chicken, your favourite!" He pause and then said "I love you, doll " and kiss her forehead.

When he was gone, y/n burst out crying and she prayed that all of this was a nightmare but it was far from the truth, the nightmare had just started.

[annabelle-creart]

Headcanon that is not a headcanon but a canon in my mind because there's not a universe but an entire multiverse with a lot of weird things there in my brain:

Cybertronian lived in neighbourhoods named colonies and each colony had their own traditions and ways to see the world.

They didn't have parents but tutors, who teach them about their position in the world, but they can grow like humans, it's just a little different, especially due to prohibitions into making childs (its not weird, i promise).

Heatwave is the second older bot and is from the Salty colony, that was a mine colony, his tutor was single and an electrician named Heatwave too, his older brother Sunset was also electrician and his lil sibling, Summer was going into that too, Heatwave became rescue bot when his tutor died (you remember in IDW Megatron's spotlight? That day it was) at the time he was a decepticon he was a rescue bot because he really wanted to do something about Cybertron, he was into 3 teams before becoming Sigma 17's leader, Port was his fist leader and best friend who tought him the parctical part, they were crazy and rude but caring, then there was Box, an asshole and idiot and Heatwave's words but he tought him how to be brave and strong, and finally Mecha, as sweet as a candy but who could not say a thing without swear to someone, she taught him to be caring and responsible, and then he become Sigma 17 leader, reunited with Chase, his academy comrade and Boulder and Blades, new ones. Summer is still alive, the rest of his old family didn't made it.

Chase is the third older bot and was from Steelhand colony, caracterized for their white and silver colors, they were the elite in military operations in Cybertron, lot of the bots in higher states of the military and police jerarchy had the Steelhand on their names, he was the medium child of three, Scout, an older brother who died as a soldier and a younger sister, Tidy, who wanted to be a med bot, his tutors, married, Mural and Carcase, a little strict but loving and caring who never knew about Chase's autism but never treat him like if he was less, he became first a police and then a detective when he discovered his "grandma's" corruption, Stardust was Mural tutor and was strict as hell, careless and always hated Chase's way of act, trying to change it even. Chase met Heatwave at academy and then they're become rescue bots. Stardust was the only one who is left, the rest didn't made it.

Boulder is the oldest of the group, had two families, the first one that don't admit that existed and the second one who loved as much as they love nature now, the Clover colony: Gear and Fortress, married, he was an engineer, she was a high ranked in military such as Stardust, even meeting her, that's how Chase and Boulder met but became friends when they decided to be rescue bot. Boulder at first was really not into having a younger sister, Daydream, but then they started to loving her, even if she was a little coward about everything. At the end of the day, Boulder decided to be an engineer like Gear, and follow him till his dead. Fortress and Daydream made it.

Blades is the youngest of the team, a med bot from the Butterfly colony, his moms, Rockhead, a med bot with a hard relationship with her tutor, Stardust, and Crystal, a designer and sculptor who run away from Clover colony to be with an ex Steelhand, they were really loving and caring about Blades, and the rest of the colony too, they all were his family without hesitate, the uncle Trip, the auntie Stella, Cloud and Bluey, Skyfell, Windblade who just lived for a while there, Knockout who knew was special for Blades but go away in a blink, En-field, Saprine, Solar, they were a lot and they were loving and united as no other colony, that's why Blades wanred to be a med bot an a rescuer. Skyfell, Windblade, Bluey and Knockout were the only ones who made it out of Cybertron, the rest are all dead.

Salvage and Blurr were from Red Guard, a colony for bots without colonies back in Velocitron, Quickshadow was from Passenger Colony but no one is remain except her and her brother who is dissapered, Hightide never had a colony and Sissi (at my profile) literally lived on that energon refinery, so maybe her colony is Dome, the name of the refinery.

From now on this kind of shit will be at the #Life of Resce bots AU, this is the first so don't expect much right now. Bye😎✌️

[sarahsmi13s]

Pregnancy Announcement- pt 3: The Seresins

(not my gif)

pairing: jake ‘hangman’ seresin x fem!oc

characters: jake seresin, fem!oc (sarah), the seresins

warnings: language, marrige, pregnancy, fluffy domestic hangman, church (mentioned), im sorry if I missed any

word count: ~1.4k 

a/n: this is part 3 of a 3 part headcannon of Sarah and Jake telling there friends and family of their pregnancy. however they are keeping the twins a secret from everyone other than Alyssa and Rooster  

this is the next part in this oc series, which is inspired by @roosterscockpit ‘s ( @milesdickpic ) story ‘His Little Girl’ and yes the oc is based on me (but is mainly fantasy me lol)

***********

Sarah and Jake called his family the same day, only about an hour after they had talked to her family.

They had sent Jack and Delilah a little pair of boots and a note that said ‘don’t open until we facetime’. And mugs that said ‘memaw’ and ‘granddad’. And a little cow plushie for them to hold onto.

Jake sent a quick text to the group chat and then made the call.

Everyone picked up relatively at once.

A chorus of ‘hello’s and childrens’ giggles in the background greeted the couple before they could open their mouths.

“Hey guys!” Jake greeted them. Sarah smiling and waving at the camera, “Hey, y’all!”

A little gasp was heard before little feet padded across the tile, “Unkie J!” Jake’s eyes lit up, “PJ!! Hi, buddy! Oh you’ve gotten so big.”

Sarah looked up at Jake, seeing the bright smile on his face as his 3 year old nephew talked near nonsense to him.

“Unkie J! Coconuts have WATER in them!” Peyton exclaimed, getting close to the camera.

Jake’s eyes widened in confusion and he looked down at Sarah, “What?”

Sarah laughed, “It’s a Bluey reference, my students talk about the show all the time.”

Addison laughed, “Oh my goodness! This little guy loves that show, don’t ya bub?” Peyton didn’t answer and just got closer to the microphone, “Coconuts have water in them.” He whispered it this time.

“Did he skip his after church nap?” Sarah asked, realizing the kid was probably just sleepy.

“Yes, but he wanted to see y’all.” The blonde boy gasped, “Aunt Sawah!”

Sarah laughed, “Hi Pey Jay!” “Aunt Sawah, did you know that I’m king of the squirrels?”

Jake had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing.

“Wow! Really? How’d that happen?”

Zach laughed, “He was playing outside and Blakely screamed because PJ was chasing her with a squirrel.” “I’M KING OF THE SQUIRRELS!” PJ ran off.

“JAKE DID THAT TO ME!” Paisley yelled pointing at Jake through the screen.

Sarah looked up at Jake, “Did you actually chase her with a squirrel, Jake Thomas?” “I may have…” Sarah’s jaw dropped. “I knew you chased her with a snake, but a squirrel? How the hell did you even catch it?” 

Jake shrugged, “I just kinda-” He made a catching motion. “Wait, how’d you know about the snake?” “Jake, she’s my best friend. We shared a living space for years.”

“You told her?” “Yeah JT, she was telling me about the time her sister threw a Doctor Pepper bottle at her other sister and busted her eyebrow. So I told her about when you chased me with a snake.”

Tilly laughed, “This is why I’m glad I’m the baby.”

Jake shook his head, before changing the subject.

“Okay, did all y’all get your gifts we sent? Everyone should have gotten two.”

They nodded, holding up the boxes they got.

They had also sent things to his sisters and brother-in-laws. Tumbler cups that said ‘Aunt’ and ‘Uncle’ respectively, and their names.

“Can we open them? I’ve been itching to sense we got ‘em?” Tilly asked, lightly clawing at the paper.

Jake nodded, “Yes, but no one says anything until Ma and Dad have opened theirs.” “Rip ‘em open guys,” Sarah smiled.

Jack and Delilah quickly opened theirs and Sarah watched Paisley and Tilly share a look.(both live with mom and dad still) Their jaws were slack as they looked from each other to their cups.

Delilah pulls out the cow plushie, “Oh ain’t that cute.” “Oh, Honey, look, there’s boots,”Jack pulled out the boots. He looked at his son, “Do these go on the cow?”

Jake laughed, “I don’t know, Dad. They may fit the cow, but maybe you should open the other box.”

Jack rolled his eyes good naturedly and opened the other gift and Jake could see everyone fidgeting in anticipation.

He handed the mug with the more delicate font to Delilah and held his out to read it, “Granddad?” “Memaw?” The sisters groaned when it didn’t click right away.

To be fair, Jack and Delilah had five grandkids so they were used to getting things that had those names on it.

“Look at the cow’s ear tag, Lilah,” Sarah suggested. “And check the bottom of the boots, Dad,” Jake said, smirking as he leaned back in his chair and put his arm over the back of Sarah’s.

The cow’s ear tag read “Baby Seresin” and the bottom of the boots read “Aug 2023”

Delilah gasped and covered her mouth while holding the cow close to her chest and Jack looked between the cow, boots, and the mugs. “Wow…”

“Can we cheer now? Ethan might explode if he can’t cheer,” Kassadra asked, holding her eight year old by the shoulders.

Sarah and Jake nodded, “Yes! You can cheer!”

Cheers erupted and Ethan could be seen doing a little dance.

“Congrats you guys!” Carter smiled.

“Welcome to the club Jake!” Zach grinned.

Tilly laughed, “Oh boy I hope the baby turns out like Sarah. Or they may stop here.”

Jake scoffed, “I’m not that bad!” “Jake, may I remind you of how you got that scar on your lip?” Kassandra teased.

“Please don’t-” “He went face first into a stop sign because he was trash talking while foot racing.”

“KJ!” His sister shrugged.

“How old were you?” Sarah asked. Jake shrugged, “I was young-” “You were 16,” Jack said pointedly.

Jake rubbed his face, “Can we stop talking about me? Thanks.”

Sarah rubbed bicep, “But you love talking about yourself.” “Yeah, the good stuff.” He kissed her temple.

They decided to talk about the wedding and brought up the dress situation.

Not too long after the subject change, Kassandra and Addison needed to hang up and get their kids settled.

They talked a little bit with Jake’s parents and the two youngest Seresins.

“Have you thought of names?” Jack asked.

Jake nodded, “Yeah, we decided on Finley Grace for a girl.” “Wait like Memaw Grace?” Jake nodded again.

Jack smiled and nodded back to his son.

“Hey, Sarah?” Paisley got Sarah’s attention. “What’s up PT?”

She held up another box. “I think you sent an extra box. Is this for Tyler?”

Sarah grinned and shook her head, “No, that’s for you. Tyler’s got shipped out Friday, Whitley ran out of vinyl and then her cat knocked the cup off and broke the lid.”

“Um, hey, you think we can talk with Paise in private for a minute?” Jake asked.

The other three nodded, “Yeah, we need to go get some stuff done in the barn and Tilly’s boyfriend just got here so they’re going on a date.”

They bid their farewell and a one last congratulations.

“Okay, Paisley, open it.”

Paisley did so, gently pulling out the cup not looking at it until she read the note.

The note:

“Paisley, when I volunteered to room with you your first year as a Razorback, I didn’t know it was going to change my life. You’re my best friend. You were there when I fell head first for Jake and you watched him fall in love with me. You were there when our story began, and I want you by my side as we begin a new chapter. Will you be my maid of honor?”

Paisley’s green eyes were wet with tears as she picked up the cup.

“Goodness gracious… I wasn’t expecting that. Yes, of course I’ll be your maid of honor!”

Sarah smiled, wiping at her own tears.

“I think if I waited any long to ask you I would’ve imploded,” she laughed. “Thank you, Paisley.”

“I love you, Sarah.” “I love you too, Pay.” She ended the call.

Jake smiled, kissing Sarah on the top of the head, “Now you just need to tell your students.” “They’re gonna respond well, I don’t have to worry about them.”

He laughed, “That’s true.”

“Hey, I’ve got a question.”

“Shoot.”

“Why are teenagers watching a show for kids?”

Sarah sat up straight, “Bluey is a great show, Jake.”

He arched an eyebrow, “Sarah, do you watch a show about a dog family?” “It’s a good show!”

“It’s for kids!”

She grabbed his hand, “Nope you’re watching it now.” He let her pull him to the living room.

They got on the couch and got comfy, and pulled up Disney+.

Needless to say, Jake loved it and cried during the ‘Granddad’ episode, but he will deny it if you ask.

***********

thank you so much for reading!! i hope this was enjoyable!

I do have a pinterest board set up for this, just to help me get into the vibe (one is to help with future parts, one is only for the current parts)

SO

if you want to check it out and get more of a feel for the dynamic going on---- you can click right --->   here

Like mentioned in the last one, feedback is greatly appreciated!

and my asks are open, feel free to request what you would like to see next while i’m working on the next part!

<3 <3 <3

tags <3 (thank you for being here): @milesdickpic​ @luckyladycreator2​

[micechicken]

My old sonic characters. Not all of them but most and the ones who actually got posted on my dA, I don’t care for the ones that aren’t in this. The one character not on here, but posted is Rose, a Tails recolor that was pink and had ice/snow powers, but originally had every power because if she thought of a power she could use it. I felt she was too lazy of a character and abandoned her, but she’s still something I made.

Sizes of the characters isn’t accurate.Changed some colors and designs but is still accurate to the originals.

Info if you care below the cut.

Daisy:

-13 -dating Buddy -Used to live with her Mom, Dad, brother and sister before she was kidnapped by some people and made a princess before running away with Buddy. -Can fly by flapping her ears -Can control plants -My main -Part of “Team Buring Ice Flower” -Her song is Koko Soko -Has a chao named Flo

Buddy

-13 -Dating Daisy -Was a prisoner of the castle Daisy was taken to. -I think he has physic powers  -His song is All the Small Things

Sandy:

-1013 -Is an angel since she died falling off a cliff in a battle and had to wait 1000 years to walk around as a living creature with wings. -Has a crush on my sister’s old character Al.

Cotton Candy

-I have no idea what she is or anything about her. She was just a character I made long ago and this was in her description:

(Amy rose was my old username) The first link it so this: https://goldhedgehog.deviantart.com/art/Sonic-gets-a-boob-job-28515444 and the second is a link to a taken down video with “you are a pirate”.

Ruby, Crystal, and Sam:

Um... I have little information on them. They were in a team together. I only know that Crystal might have had plant powers.... They were made in a creator game.

Tornado

-15 or something. -Has a crush on Buddy -Can create tornadoes (thus her name) -The blue necklace on her neck makes her behave in violent ways and makes her eyes red (yes seriously) and her eyes are naturally a pink. -Makes potions and sells them for a living, also knows voodoo. -Has a scar on her covered eye. -Was made in the Sonic Charrie game

Zöe

-She’s 9 -She’s a hopeless romantic though -She loves flowers and she can grow them with some powers (I have a lot of characters who have plant related powers.) -She actually has earrings but I guess I got rid of them for this picture (I started this picture forever ago). -Made a team with Sunny and Dew, Team Life

Sunny, but was Sonny

-She’s 3 -I think Dew and Zoe found her on her own and took her in. -Has light powers -She used to wear a bikini for some reason so I made her wear a dress now.

Dew

-She’s 6 -I made her because my sister had a skunk character too who was pink though. -Has water powers.

Misty

-An adult character I made just because there was base.

Tri

-A child of Sonic and Amy I made

Grape

-She’s some bitch rabbit character who likes putting her hands behind her head.

Candy and Ember

-Candy loves sugar and being dumb and Ember is and evil chao who tries to get Candy to do bad things.

Felisha and Fred

-I got her name from someone else’s character who I actually based Amy’s design on (Amy is not a sonic character but one of my own). -Fred was her older brother and I would have drawn him but I was too lazy to do that. So have the toy version of him that Felisha got from Tornado. -Fred was a rather smart and sensible guy but his fur would turn red sometimes and was very stupid and crazy.

Ariana

-The angsty sister of Sammy -13 -Her last name is “Darklight”  -Has “darkness” powers which is water control, melting things and getting wings which she “can’t use when with her sister”. -Also my younger self said she’s bipolar. -She has lots of tattoos but they’re all covered up.

Sammy

-The peppy older sister -”Self centered” -15 -Her powers are “light” powers which are teleportation, wing summoning and fire. And yet she doesn’t fucking use her wings and uses fire to throw herself into the air.) -I actually wrote a rather disturbing story with these two -They don’t even know they’re sisters. -They were my newest characters before I left the Sonic fandom. -Also they are pretty much Blaze the cat because they were created using a dress up game nfjdskjdnfjksd. So I could probably redesign them.

Bluey

-I don’t have an age for her. -The wife of Boo and the mother of Blueberry. -She has a really boring name. -Created in the same game as Sam, Crystal and Ruby.

Boo

-Hates his appearance so he walks around like a Charlie Brown ghost. -

Blueberry

-Their daughter, has a really pretty color pallet but had ugly gloves before.

Gummy

-The girlfriend of Jinx -Is very flirty and likes fancy things. -I actually came up with her eye shadow dot thingys because of the LPS show. -Member of “Team Song”

Jinx

-The girlfriend of Gummy. -Is excitable and tends to be a ditsy.  -Actually has not been posted online before. -Isn’t in a team and is a cafe worker -Loves flying all the time. -I actually really like her and Gummy.

Gum

-Loves reading -The girlfriend of Green Apple -Part of Team Song -Is a little bit chubby

Green Apple

-Loves trains -Is a farmer -Girlfriend of Gummy -Is really strong -Part of Team Song

Bloom 

-Team Song’s leader -Was originally a girly girl but became a tom boy and is rather aggressive. -Girlfriend of Donut -Has a Choa named Water

Donut

-Very southern -Last team member of Team Song -Bloom’s girlfriend 

I fucking love Team Song + Jinx holy shit

Sunshine

-A friend of Team Song -Childish -Cousin of Gummy

Butter

-I think she’s an angel like Sandy -Modest

Ah yay I’m done.

[jisooleeauthor]

The Idol Who Became Her World Chapter One

제 1 장

Luna

 The June before Luna’s Sophomore year

 I fell in love with Lee Minhyuk three days before my thirteenth birthday.

My sister, Scarlett, tells me that it’s impossible to fall in love that young, but she’s only ever loved one thing all her life, and that’s soccer.

My first love was dancing. From age four I had been learning ballet, tap, jazz, street and even a bit of ballroom. Okay, the ballroom and street came later, but I’ve spent most of my life in a leotard. Three days before my thirteenth birthday I started at the New York Dance Academy’s summer dance program. That was where I met him.

Minhyuk had also been accepted, only he had come all the way from Seoul to participate, even though he was only thirteen himself. I’d only travelled from upstate New York for about an hour, but I couldn’t imagine being that far away from my family, especially in a country where I barely spoke the language.

I was short for my age, and he had been too, so naturally, Ms. Patton, our street dance teacher, had been the first to pair us up. He had beautiful brown eyes which reminded me of the dark Cherry wooden floors in my living room back home. I actually think it was the color of his eyes, rather than his smile, which put me at ease.

“Hullo,” he greeted me, softly. His voice had been so quiet, I hadn’t heard him at first. It wasn’t until later I discovered he was really shy at speaking in a language other than his own. “I’m Lee Minhyuk.”

“Hi Lee,” I returned. “I’m Lucinda, but everyone calls me Luna.”

He gave me another smile. “Minhyuk,” he said. “Lee is the family name.”

I tilted my head and frowned. “Then why did you say it first?”

Minhyuk shrugged. “It’s how we do it in Korea.”

I nodded, but in reality, I had no idea where Korea was. Judging from his golden toned skin and oval eyes, I was guessing it was somewhere in China. I didn’t pay any attention in geography, but let me tell you, when I’d discovered the truth of that one, I had been mortified. Thankfully, I never said that aloud!

“Ms. Robbins, Mr. Lee,” Ms Patton called. “I find it quite remarkable that the two of you have learned a routine I have yet to teach you. Would you care to perform it for the class?”

My eyes went wide and I shook my head. “Sorry, Ms. Patton.”

It took nearly three days after that to get Minhyuk to speak again.

When the program had finished that summer, Minhyuk had returned to Seoul but he had promised to write. I’d thought he was giving me a brush off – I was just a temporary friend. Who on earth didn’t have a Facebook account? Or an email address? I’d given him my home address, not expecting anything.

Six weeks later, a letter arrived in the mailbox.

The address was written in English… Some of the letter was written in English. The rest of it? It was all strange shapes and symbols.

The little English there was in the letter apologized for lack of it, and said he was writing in Korean. That made me smile. In the days of the internet, I was willing to bet I was the only one at my school who had a pen pal and wrote regularly. But oh, how I would look forward to the days those letters would arrive.

So, I wrote him back in English and a bunch of hand-drawn emojis. The letters were starting to come a little less frequently now, but he’d explained he had been busy and would tell me all about it when we met.

One more summer academy, as well as one Easter enrollment, and I was learning Korean – Hangeul, as the shapes and symbols were called.

“Dad!” Scarlett hollered, the sound almost a shriek. “I need to go!”

“Scar!” I yelled back, rubbing at my ear. Me and Scarlett were now the same age. I had been born ten months after her (I was the unexpected one) and so we were in the same year at school. But because she spent all her spare time playing soccer, and I was dancing, we had very little in common with each other.

“Bite me, brat,” Scarlett hissed. She ran to the stairs, her running shoes making hideous squeaking noises on the marble floor. “DAD!” she bellowed.

Dad appeared at the top of the stairs, sighing. “Scarlett, how many times do you have to be asked not to shout in the house?”

“I need to get to school!” Scarlett informed him, bobbing side to side, impatiently.

“We still have plenty of time, Scar,” he assured her. It was an important game. The summer signaled the soccer tryouts. The private school we went to was a combination middle school and high school, so all the coaches knew who she was. She had been playing soccer as long as I had been dancing, and when she grew up, she wanted to be a professional. She as good enough: she was going to get on the team, even if she was late.

I was rolling my eyes when Dad caught me. “Where’s your car?” he asked me.

I shrugged. “Late.”

Dad frowned and pulled out his phone, checking the app. Because Scarlett’s game was sooooo important, Mom and Dad were going to that. As a compromise, they were getting me a car service to me into the city.

The New York Dance Academy’s summer program had rolled around and today was enrollment day. I, unlike Scarlett, was able to contain my excitement. Mainly because I was nervous. After just over two years of writing letters to each other, along with the occasional dance academy, I knew I was in love with Minhyuk. And this year I was going to tell him.

“It’s at the gate,” Dad informed me.

“Good, now can you please go get your shoes on?” Scarlett asked him.

Dad shot her a look. “Scarlett,” he said, his tone low and full of warning.

After saying goodbye to my family, including listening to the lectures from my mom and dad about not going far from the academy, and how, under no circumstances was I allowed to use the subway, I was finally in the back of the car. My cases were safely stowed in the trunk, and I was on my way into the city.

We lived about an hour outside of New York, but in the part of the state that sat above New Jersey. In some ways, I was surprised that my parents had let me go by myself. Dad played for the Jets, (although the MetLife Stadium was in New Jersey) and Mom owned a company which managed various athletes, based in Soho. It would have been easier for both of them to live in the city, but because they thought it was safer, we lived in a big house in a gated community, upstate.

When my eldest sister, Amy, had graduated high school and gone to Columbia University, and then Columbia Medical School, my parents had bought an apartment in Harlem. My mom used it occasionally, but they had never been convinced to live in the city, instead letting Amy use it instead of living in the college dorms.

They hadn’t even given me the option of staying there with Amy. I had to be in dorms. But that was okay, because Amy is even more strict than my parents and if I was I the dorms, it would mean I would be able to spend more time with Minhyuk.

The blur of green and brown finally gave way to concrete, a brief blur of bluey-gray as we crossed the Hudson, then the bright lights and colors of the city. I could smell the pretzels at the stand on the corner as driver pulled my case out of the trunk. I grabbed a cheese one, nibbling at it as I waited for my room assignment, then took my case up to the eighteenth floor.

My room was a double. I was sharing with a girl who had been to the previous summer academies with me, but she had yet to arrive. Feeling restless, I headed back downstairs to the lobby, saying hi to the faces I recognized as I crossed the street to the academy.

I had a dance academy I attended upstate, and I had won so many awards that I had boxes storing my ribbons in the attic. The New York Dance Academy was somewhere I was only allowed to attend during vacations when they had special programs running. Much as I had tried to convince my parents to let me transfer here so I could continue dancing after school, they weren’t able to take me here because of their jobs and I wasn’t old enough to do it by myself. I was fifteen!

I loved this academy. It wasn’t Julliard, but a lot of dancers here had gone on to Julliard. I was hoping I could one day too. Unfortunately, they didn’t accept dancers as young as me. I could only hope that the NYDA and my hometown classes and competitions were enough to get me through the auditions in a few years’ time.

In the meantime, NYDA was a great dance school and the studios were recently upgraded. I headed into the basement where the smaller studios were. These were the ones you could practice in, rather than the bigger ones where the classes were held. The one I had chosen had sun streaming in through the high window so I didn’t bother with the lights.

I switched the stereo on, syncing my phone up with it, and selected the latest Taylor Swift track to warm up to. I didn’t know what time Minhyuk would arrive and the nervous energy I had been mocking Scarlett for had been threatening to make an appearance, so I decided to use it productively.

I had previously learned a Shake It Off routine for fun, and I settled into that. I was midway through a high leg brush into a split leap, when I realized I was being watched.

I stopped, thankfully with grace, but felt my face heat up. Lee Minhyuk was standing in the doorway, grinning at me like an idiot. I froze, mild panic setting in. I didn’t dare look in the mirror. I had spent hours that morning with the flat iron, straightening it, wishing it would lie flat naturally like Scarlett’s did. I was sure that wasn’t the case now seeing as how I hadn’t even bothered to pull it back into a ponytail.

My eyes, bright blue, were ringed with eyeliner and I’d found a nice pink lip gloss for my lips, but I knew the lip gloss would have worn off by now, and my face felt warm and damp from the dancing.

“Luna?”

Snapping out of my trance, I darted over to the stereo, killing Taylor Swift and allowing silence to take over the room. “Minhyuk?” I asked, surprised by the person looking at me. Gone was the puppy fat from Minhyuk’s face. It was thinner making his face look longer and somehow older. Or maybe that was just the time that had passed. He still had the heart shaped lips and eyes that disappeared into crescent moons when he smiled.

The smile he gave me made my shyness melt away and I leaped over to him, wrapping my arms around him. “It’s so good to see you,” I squealed at him.

There was some awkward patting on my back, then I stepped back.

“Hi, Moon Princess. How have you been?”

I grinned. “I have been well. How have you been?” I responded, in Korean.

Minhyuk’s eyes disappeared into those crescent moons. “You’ve been practicing your Korean!”

“You’ve been practicing your English!”

We smiled at each other, then suddenly, I felt shy again. I ducked my head, slipping my hands into my pockets for something to do. “I take it you got your room assignment?” I asked. “Do you want to go look for a place to have a drink?”

“I’d much rather look at you,” he grinned, cheekily.

I blushed. “I’ve changed a bit.”

Minhyuk nodded. “I nearly didn’t recognize you.”

“Oh,” I muttered, chewing at my lip, finally turning slightly to check out my appearance in the mirror which adorned one of the walls. Did he still think I was the same uncool kid from last summer?

Minhyuk gave me another bright smile. “Your hair is longer, and you’re taller than me,” he pouted. “But you’re still just as pretty.”

That sent a blush spreading over my cheeks. “Let’s go get a drink,” I suggested. I hurried to put my running shoes back on, aware that he was following close behind me. Despite many long letters between us, I suddenly couldn’t think of anything to say, instead remaining silent as we left the academy.

Outside, the streets had become busier as the evening traffic hit. It was a hot June and every bit of concrete was acting like a radiator. “How are you not bothered by the heat?” I asked, giving Minhyuk a sideways look.

Minhyuk shrugged at me. “I guess I got used to the humidity in Seoul. New York is drier.”

We didn’t go far before we came across a coffee shop. The NYDA was in the eastern part of Upper West Side, just off Broadway. Armed with an iced Americano each, we carried on walking until we were in Central Park, finding a patch of grass to claim in the shade. I sat down beside him, stretching my legs out in front of me, mimicking him.

Minhyuk pulled his sunglasses up to look around. “Central Park is always a lot bigger than I expect it to be,” he told me. “Every time I come here, I have somehow forgotten that.”

“How is your dancing going?” I asked him.

Minhyuk didn’t answer, taking a sip of his coffee. “I’ve been looking forward to dancing with you again,” he said, not quite answering my question.

I set my cup down beside me, running my hands over the grass. My hands were sweaty and it wasn’t because of the heat.

“Are you okay?” he asked me.

I nodded, chewing at my lip. My heart was pounding faster than it had after I had spent four hours dancing. “I need to tell you something,” I admitted.

“Me too,” he muttered. He took in a deep breath, crossing his legs, then lifting himself so he could turn and face me. “You first.”

His deep brown eyes were fixed on mine as he waited patiently. “I like you,” I blurted out.

I’d been rehearsing how to tell him this for months. Not once had that scenario come up.

I winced, closing my eyes. Smooth. It was a lot harder when the person was in front of you rather than your own reflection. I sighed, shaking my head, and then opened my eyes to look at him. “I like you,” I repeated, stronger.