#n no one to speak to unless ethan is available

[carrieway]

i wish i could write something compelling about feeling like a ghost and that i'm not real and invisible so that people would read it and see me but i cannot . so the cycle continues .

[kometqh]

Return pt.2

╰┈➤ Ethan Landry x Female Reader

╰┈➤ Warnings: mentions of murder, blood, cursing, breakup, angst turned to fluff, ghostface! au, not explicitly following the events of the movie (Scream 6), alcohol, mean and sad ethan :(

╰┈➤ Summary: Ethan has to break up with Y/n, but regrets it instantly. Why? Because to him, she's the love of his life.

╰┈➤ Word count: 3,609k

╰┈➤ Part one

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He'd done this before; same thing over and over. One victim after another. Something in him twisted and churned at the stranger's screams, their begging, their cries, but a more cruel, a more violent part of Ethan supressed that twinge of guilt. It's not like he could do anything anyway – his dad would skin him, and his sister would take it upon herself to make his life more miserable.

"Please no! Stop I beg you." A voice screeched in his ear, begging for mercy, bloodied hands grasping his own. They were in hysterics, using all their strength against him but to no avail. His mind was elsewhere, the screams becoming white noise as he continued to drive the knife up. Agonisingly slow, too. He could feel the skin cut beneath his fingers, the blade never stopping. "I don't want to die..."

Their voice became all but a whisper, their hands losing the strength they had just a moment ago. He chuckled quietly, before abruptly pulling the knife out, his chuckling turning into a full-blown laughter as they screamed, body twitching against the wall behind them.

"I'll make it quick buttercup, yeah? Would you like that?" He whispered into their ear, holding the knife too close to their neck for comfort. He could feel them tremble, even in their half-passed out state, their fear too overwhelming. A slight nod followed shortly after his words, and he tutted in disapproval, moving away to take in the sight, his work.

"Please- if you're going to kill me, do it quick!" They exclaimed.

"So much demand from someone in your position..." He wasn't impressed, nor was he content. He didn't like being told what to do unless it was coming from Y/n. Speaking of which, he looked around the room for something. A clock.

"Shit."

His eyes caught sight of the moving handle, it was coming close to 8pm, in 15 minutes he was supposed to meet Chad.

"Look buttercup, I would love to drag this out, but I'm running low on time-" He muttered, more to himself really, whilst flipping the blade in his gloved hand, the sound of his footsteps bouncing off the walls as he stomped towards his victim – a fellow student – plunging the knife into their chest repeatedly, choked stutters and gagging resonating within the room, followed by pure silence just a few short moments after.

"Fuck."

He wiped his knife clean on their clothes, turning to a window. His bag was there waiting for him, ready with his awfully stupid costume that Chad would force him to wear later on.

He heaved a heavy sigh and shook his head, muttering curse words under his nose as he awkwardly exited through the window and onto a rusty staircase.

Taking his mask off, Ethan inhaled a deep breath of air, shoving the damned thing back into his bag and instead placing on the wretched cardboard cut-out.

What even was it? He had no idea.

Down below, his bicycle was waiting for him, luckily it hadn't been stolen by some drunkard. Everyone seemed to be drunk and gone by this time, celebrating Halloween.

His feet moved quickly, the tyres spinning aggressively as he swerved to the left, narrowly avoiding a car. "Watch where you're driving dickhead!" He shouted, flipping the driver off in a fit of rage. After a couple of minutes, he could see heaps of students cluttering the streets, all dressed in silly, sexy or actually well-done costumes.

Some hollered at him as he hurried past, others swore as he swerved, his eyes finally settling on the half-naked figure of Chad, sported in some shorts and a cowboy hat, waiting outside their shared dorm building.

"Ethan what the fuck?!" Chad shouted, prolonging the 'fuck', flailing his arms in the air as he approached the teen, "You were supposed to be here ten minutes ago! Where were you?" He continued, his arm wrapping around Ethan's neck as the boy put his bike away.

"Sorry Chad, I was in the - uhm, library?" Ethan said slowly, though it sounded more like a question rather than a statement. It wasn't questioned by Chad though, who seemed like he already had a few too many drinks for the hour it was. He was already swaying as he walked alongside Ethan, tripping over his own feet - earning a few giggles from passing ladies - winking and blowing kisses, flashing his pearly-white teeth in a boxy grin.

In all honesty, Ethan didn't expect to get away with his lie so easily, but Chad was such a frat boy he couldn't keep his hands off alcohol until they got to the party. He let out a relieved sigh as he heard music blasting out of a specific home - the 'go to' for everyone.

There wasn't a single week without at least one party, and that added onto the ease Ethan felt any time he had to go and slash someone up.

Because nobody would even notice he was gone. Not even the people that called themselves his 'friends'.

Okay - that wasn't the whole truth. There was one person that truly did care for him. A small smile tugged at his lips as he thought of her - her beautiful, soft and shiny hair, that smile that made her look like an angel sent by God himself - no, not even that, she is a literal Goddess - he thought, those little crinkles under her eyes as she smiled, the few tiniest freckles scattered across her cheeks. The way she would always lead him to the dance floor, enticing him, bringing a smile of his own to his face. His heart pounded, no, it clawed at his chest whenever she was around. She was his whole world, and she held his heart in her grasp. He was at her mercy.

But their relationship wouldn't last.

As much as Ethan loved Y/n, he would eventually be forced to kill her. She was heavily associated with the 'Core Four', as Chad liked to call it, being present at the Woodsboro event. She was there when his brother was brutally slayed by none other than Sam Carpenter.

A string of curse words fought to escape his mouth, but he fought against it as Chad pulled at his bicep, leading him away to a group of dancing girls - who in his mind - were the most awkward dancers possible.

"Ladies, meet my bro Ethan." Chad introduced, slinging one arm around Ethan's shoulder and the other around a blonde girl's waist, "Ethan, these are my classmates. They're all gorgeous aren't they?"

Ethan grinned at the group, doing his utmost best to look sweet, innocent and convincing. Chad wasn't aware of his current relationship status, and that was okay. Neither Ethan nor Y/n were bothered enough to tell anyone; they'd figure it out on their own.

"Hey there, nice to meet you guys!" He shouted over the music, lightly nodding in greeting as his cardboard helmet slid down and blocked his vision. He was about to move it out of the way, but a smaller hand did the job for him. He looked to his side, and was met with a big cheeky grin. The one he adored.

"Y/n? It's good to see you!" Chad erupted, arms raising high as he embraced her in a suffocating hug. Ethan's heart twitched, his stomach twisted with a tinge of jealousy. He did not like the sight of Chad acting all touchy with his girl - did he need to do so?

The answer was a simple no.

Y/n's hands awkwardly patted Chad's back, her eyes nervously moving from the other girls to Ethan's, though his seemed to have a darker look in them - he wasn't happy, "Alright Chad I think that's enough." She said quickly, clearing her throat whilst backing away from the taller male, and joining Ethan at his side. 

She turned to Ethan, her gaze meeting his lovingly, "Hello stranger."

"Hey there, fancy seeing you here." Ethan said, clearly pleased as he bit his lip lightly, his hand itching to reach out for her own, and it would have if it wasn't for another body crashing into Y/n's back, arms slinging over her shoulders as lips entered Ethan's vision, a sloppy wet kiss was planted on Y/n's face.

"Mindy?! Ewww your breath stinks!" Y/n exclaimed exaggeratedly, fanning the space before her face as she moved her head away. Mindy chuckled at that, attempting to gift her with another kiss whilst fluttering her eyelashes and puckering her lips in, what she thought was, a seductive manner, "Oh come on! My kisses can't be that bad!"

Ethan looked to her, a questioning eyebrow raised, "Are you sure?" He scratched the back of his head, purposefully looked around the room to imply Mindy was, in fact, a bad kisser. Though he couldn't know really. The girl in question smacked the back of his head, a nasty snarl gracing her features, rolling her eyes in the process, "Thanks Ethan. At least I can pull the ladies, unlike someone..." A couple of 'oohs' and 'ahhh's' left the small group, and Ethan could almost feel the sting - only he didn't, because in his mind he did pull the best girl possible.

And she was standing at his side, stifling a couple of giggles.

"Come on Y/n, let's get some drinks." Mindy said, taking a hold of Y/n's hand as she lead her away.

Ethan shook his head and chuckled, sending a slight wave at Y/n, who had turned back to say something, but was far too gone to be heard. He reached into his pocket, fished out his phone, and was greeted with the sight of two missed calls from his sister - Quinn. He sighed heavily and excused himself from the group, making his way outside as he attempted to ring her back.

The phone rang for a long while, and Ethan was growing agitated the longer it took.

"Ethan? Why didn't you answer?" Quinn's annoyed voice rang through Ethan's ear.

Clicking his tongue, he retorted, "I told you I will be busy. I'm at a party, why are you calling me?"

"You need to break up with that bitch. Plans have changed." Her tone was cold, and Ethan let out a scoff at the insult. How dare she insult the one girl he cared about? 

"Me and dad decided to let her live," She took a pause, awaiting any sort of reaction from her brother, but was greeted with pue silence as he anticipated her words, "If you break up with her, we won't kill her. We will only go after Sam, Tara, Chad and Mindy. Though I can't promise you that she won't be injured during the process."

"And if I don't? Maybe she can still be an asset." He argued, directing his attention at a stray rock on the side of the pavement, kicking it, "Then I will personally ensure she is gone. We need you to stay focused, Ethan." Quinn's voice sounded harsh, and it sent a chill down his spine, his eyes widening in horror. He never believed her threats were real; up until now. But she was giving him a choice.

"Ethan? Did you hear me?"

He took a moment to say anything, his attention shifting to how rapidly his heart was beating, how he suddenly felt so warm and self-aware, he felt as though he could feel every sensation on his body - from that miniscule itch on his thigh to the way his hair began to stick to his forehead unbrearingly.

"You'll let her live? If I break up with her?" He asked, swallowing down the invisible lump that had formed in his throat. He's never felt this way. What was it? Anxiety? Fear? Over the phone he could hear a male voice call for Quinn, and he visibly cringed, "I am very serious Eth. You think I wouldn't be up for the task?" She questioned, taking a puff of air, "Dad's getting impatient, and I'm being kind by giving you a choice. So act fast."

And with that, she hung up the phone.

His arm fell limp, and the blood pumping through his veins deafened him. His thoughts raced one hundred miles per hour, and yet did not come up with a single answer or solution to his predicament.

His sister, his own flesh and blood, was threatening what he deemed the 'love of his life', but was giving him the chance to save her life? He definitely needed a moment to think that one over.

A few minutes went by, the music coming from within the house never stopped. It worked as background noise as he pondered, talking under his breath about all the possibilities and pacing around, clearly anxious. Could he get out of this one? Was breaking up with Y/n really the ultimate choice?

He felt like falling in through the earth, down into its very core so that he did not have to make such a choice. He wasn't stupid though - he knew if he suddenly disappeared, that Quinn wouldn't hesitate for even a second - and Y/n's life would be in grave danger.

He couldn't let her do that. If anything, he would break up with Y/n, break her heart and have it crumble to pieces just to ensure her safety. 

"What's got your pants in a twist cupcake?" A soft voice asked behind him, at first he was slightly startled, but then realised who it was. His damnation, "Y/n? I thought you were busy partying?" He exclaimed, hand gripping his chest as a nervous, toothy grin creeped up his cheeks. 

The girl in front of him swayed a little, hands interlocked behind her back as she looked up, "Well I was, but you were gone for so long I started to think you snuck off."

He chuckled, shaking his head in denial.

"No, I wouldn't of left you here, alone." He said quietly, looking straight into her eyes cutely, "Chad would do anything for a chance with a girl as pretty as you." Ethan continued, now shuffling closer and closer, until their torso's were just a mere inch away from touching - so close he could see that dusty pink colour decorate her cheeks. That really did do a number on him. 

"Well, luckily for you, Chad isn't my type," A small smile tugged at her soft lips, and she fought hard to contain it as she spoke, moving her hand to trail her fingers down his chest, keeping her gaze locked on it, "My type are sweet, cute, nerdy boys, with adorable brown puppy eyes and soft curly hair. Specifically, brunettes." She shifted her gaze, now looking into his wide eyes, the street lights reflecting in her pupils.

That light dusty pink colour from earlier? It now turned into a full-blown crimson blush paired with a wide smile.

"Are you embarrassed?" 

"Why do you ask?" She looked at him once more, chewing lightly on her bottom lip, her blush intensifying further as she had indeed been called out. 

"You're blushing. So much. It's quite cute actually." Ethan teased, his hand slowly moving to grip hers, sliding down to interlock their fingers together, "I think we should get out of here." At that, his heart picked up the pace, and nervosity took over him. Should he do it now? Maybe that'll be for the best.

His mind rushed as Y/n pulled him along, into the crowded streets and through dark alleys. Their breaths matching in pace and heartbeats matching in rhythms, their hands interlocked and feet moving synchronically.

Cars honked at them, street lights flickered and light rain pattered down, drowning out anything but each other's presence. Ethan kept trying to think of the right things to say, but her presence overwhelmed him, tugging painfully at his heartstrings. He couldn't bear the thought of leaving her. But he had to, for her safety. And so, his mind made the unconscious choice to let her go.

Even if it hurt.

It would be like acting, he told himself. His ears could barely process the words she was saying, the blood pumping through his head deafening him. He was getting anxious and fidgety.

His footsteps came to a slow stop in an alley, his hand pulling her backwards. Her breath hitched, and she gazed lovingly into his eyes, but he could see the growing worry. How am I going to do this? He restrained a smile, and blinked away the tears that threatened to gather in his eyes, not looking at her, but rather off to the side.

"Eth? What is it?" She asked worriedly. He could hear her laboured breathing, and gulped down the lump that formed in his throat.

"I don't know if this is a good idea..." Ethan's eyes met hers, his heart beating loud against his ribcage. He fought hard against his urges to grab her hand from his shoulder, place a gentle kiss on it before embracing her and muttering sweet nothings and reassurances into her ear, that she shouldn't worry and it didn't matter. 

"You know what I mean," He continued, taking a deep breath, maintaining eye contact, "Us. This isn't working out."

He shook his head, seamlessly trying to rid his head of those thoughts, but to no avail. His heart panged with guilt at the sigh she let out, "Why are you doing this?"

"We both know this isn't working. It'll only end in us both getting hurt," He paused, taking a deep breath, an attempt to calm his racing heart before he blurted out, "I don't love you."

He put on a stoic face, letting go of her hand. Putting much needed distance between them. If he didn't, this simple task would become much harder.

"W-what do you mean? Just two days ago you were on about how you can't stand being away from me! What happened? What changed your mind?" A light smirk tugged at his lips, his nerves taking over every cell in his body - he was scared, terrified. That smirk was quickly wiped off as he saw the pain in her eyes - the one thing he never thought he'd be the cause of.

"Why are you doing this Eth?"

"I have to. It's best if we stop whatever this is."

"How do you know? Are you really thinking about what's best for me?" At that, his anger took over.

He was doing all this just to protect her. He was being selfless, and all that she was doing was making his life more difficult. He hated (loved) how she questioned his choices, never went down without a fight. His vein was visible on the side of his temple, and his teeth grinded on each other.

"Stop making this so difficult! I am doing what is best for me!" He shouted, breathing heavily, feeling his face became hot to the touch, he pointed to himself, but stuttered his words out as his hand almost slapped hers, "I-I don't give a fuck about what you want! Okay? This is over, we are over." Upon saying so, another lump formed in his throat. He wanted to take his words back so so bad. But how could he? 

She nodded her head at him, and pushed past him, bumping shoulders. His eyes caught sight of the first few tears, and his heart shred into bits. 

"Y/n! Wait!" He shouted after her, following in her footsteps, but she ignored him as though he didn't exist, "Come back!" With that, she entered the crowded streets and disappeared, from both his sight and his life. 

"No no no. What the fuck do I do? What the fuck did I do?!" He questioned himself, one hand gripping and tugging harshly at his hair, the other dragging over his face, and he wished this was all some sort of a sick dream.

He couldn't believe he just did that - abandoned the love of his life and watched her walk away. It's for the best. He shook his head, slapping himself lightly before rushing into the crowds, in hopes of catching up to her.

'She must have gone back to the party, right?' He thought, looking ahead into the crowd. Hoping to catch up. His legs carried him, they ran, and his mind pleaded whatever God was above them, whatever fate chose this. The house party wasn't too far, as the pair hadn't gotten far before he made his declaration. Within 15 minutes he was there, his height bringing an advantage to his speed. He pushed through and into the house, looking around in a panic.

"Where is she?"

Sweaty bodies and spilling drinks blocked the path, hands raised in the air and swaying to the sound of music. Ethan received a couple of (accidental) slaps to the face, which helped sober him up a little from his panicked state. He had reached the kitchen, an island decorated with red solo cups and empty bottles of all kinds of alcohol, stood in the middle. And on the other side of it was Y/n, busy talking to Tara and Chad, her lips trembling and hands shakily bringing an alcohol-filled cup up.

His heart broke into a million pieces, just at the sight of what he had caused. Was begging her for her forgiveness now a bad idea? Probably. He listened to his better judgement, swallowing the lump in his throat harshly, his Adam's apple bobbing as he did so. His hand wiped the forming tears away and he walked away, breaths heavy and trembling as his heart shook. He couldn't sabotage her safety - one which should have been guaranteed the moment those words left Quinn's lips. Though, his sister was renowned for being an immensely good liar - only that part seemed to escape his mind.

I just wanted to say a quick thank you, I am so grateful for anyone who has read Return, I'm thankful that you all enjoyed it and I really hope Before You is up to your guys expectations <3 For those who have read the pre-edited version, this new one has a few minor but important changes. Thank you for whoever reads this <3 - kometqh

Tags: @netey6m

[gutmeats]

[FIC] Earthquake Prank (GONE WRONG) (GONE SEXUAL) (I DIED???????!!!!!!1???) | Part Two

AO3 Link | Previous Chapter (AO3 / Tumblr) | Next Chapter (currently not available

Fandom: Hollywood U

Pairing: Thomas Hunt x Avalon Hammond (M!MC)

Length: 5,643 words

Rating: Teen

Warnings: Teacher-Student Relationship, Fake Death, Canon Atypical Cursing

Summary: How do you apologize to your boyfriend after faking your death for a prank? Whatever your answer is, it's incorrect.

A/N: special thanks to my beta readers, @lame-kid-on-couch and @spacepumpkins ily smooch <3 they also beta read chapter one

Thomas Hunt watches in horror as Avalon falls through the open skylight and vanishes in the fog. “AVALON!” He screams, rushing to the edge. “Avalon! Avalon! Quickly, Ethan, downstairs! We have to--”

Ethan puts a hand on Thomas’ shoulder. “Professor… It’s too late..”

Lisa shakes her head sadly. “There’s no way Avalon survived that fall…”

“No…” Thomas stares into the smoke, kneading Avalon’s cardigan into a ball with his hands and pressing it to his chest. “I- I-” his voice breaks as he tries to speak. “I never told Avalon… how much I-- why didn’t I ever say…”

“Say what, Professor?”

Thomas whips around to see Avalon leaving the library, followed by Spencer and a few other students. “Avalon!” Relief floods his face. “You’re-! How?”

Ethan grins. “Do my eyes deceive me, or did Avalon successfully prank the Thomas Hunt?”

Lisa bounces excitedly. “We! Pranked! Hunt! We! Pranked! Hunt!”

“Is this the proudest moment of my life?” Ethan grabs Lisa’s arms and bounces with her. “Yeah! Yes, it is.”

Thomas looks in disbelief at the two bouncing happily, then at Avalon, who’s smiling- albeit somewhat sadly, and can’t meet his eyes. Slowly, he scowls. “No! You did not prank me! I never actually thought-”

Avalon tips his head to the side. “Come on, Professor. Accept defeat with a little dignity.” But even his gloating is a little flat.

Thomas stews silently for a moment, then throws Avalon’s cardigan back at him. “You may have won the day... but mark my words, I always have the last word.” And with that he turns and storms off.

Avalon reaches out to Hunt. “T-” He sighs and shakes his head, dropping his arm. After a moment, he pulls his cardigan back on and looks at his friends. “You guys owe me, big time.”

“That’s fair.” Ethan shrugs and pats Avalon’s back.

The five of them stand silently around the open skylight for a few seconds.

“So…” Lisa looks at the others. “What now?”

“I think we should clean up the screening room. We made that mess after all.” Avalon catches Bianca’s arm as she tries to slip away. “Nope. You too.”

Bianca huffs and frowns. “Isn’t that what the custodial staff is for? Why should we have to clean it up?”

“No. I’ll let the custodial staff know there’s a broken skylight out here so they can do something about the hole, but we’re cleaning it ourselves.” Avalon turns to the main building on campus. “You guys get started with the shelves and reels. I’ll be back with brooms for the broken glass. Crash, keep an eye on Bianca so she doesn’t try to get out of it.”

An hour and a half later, the five students lean against the walls and lie on the floor of the screening room. With the exception of the broken skylight, the room seems to be pretty much back in order.

“Ugh, is that it? Are we done?” Bianca moans. “Can we go home now?”

Avalon sighs and looks around the room, running a hand through his hair. “I think so… I mean, unless y'all wanna help me reinstall the skylight.”

The other four groan in response.

Avalon nods. “I thought you might say that.” Stretching, he pulls his phone out of his pocket and turns it off airplane mode. Instantly, he gets flooded with notifications. “What the hell-” He unlocks his phone and turns twitter notifications off before scrolling through them.

“What do they say?” Ethan looks over his shoulder.

“Well… it looks like a few are congratulating us for pranking Hunt…” He clicks his tongue. “...And the rest are condolences for my loss?” He squints, confused, and scrolls faster. “...Oh. Jenni tweeted that I died.”

“Oh my god!” Bianca laughs. “What did she say?”

Avalon finds the original tweet and reads it out loud. “‘OMG, just saw ‘@avasham’ fall through a skylight! Don’t think he survived. Sad days, he’s one of my close friends-’ with a frowny face, and the hashtags ‘RIP Avalon’ and ‘you will be missed’... since when was I one of her close friends?”

“Since tweeting about your death would get her a bunch of sympathy likes. Look.” Ethan points at Avalon’s phone.

Avalon rolls his eyes and types out a reply to her tweet. “‘Thanks for the condolences. Stop tweeting that I’m dead.’” He hits send and slips his phone back into his pocket. “Whatever. Since we’re done here, I’m gonna go talk to Hunt and apologize for all of us.”

“What, apologize?” Lisa jumps up. “What for?! Pranking him?”

“Yes,” Avalon says flatly. “Honestly, I think we took it way too far.”

“Well, you’re the one who jumped through the skylight!”

“Exactly. That’s why I’m going to apologize.” Avalon waves his hand and starts heading out of the room. “Y’all do whatever you want, I’m doing this.” He leaves before anyone can say anything else.

Crash watches him go, then looks at the other three. “Hey… do you guys think the professor will notice if some of his dried fruit goes missing?”

Avalon knocks gently on the door to Hunt’s office, then lets himself in without waiting for an answer. He locks the door behind him. “Hey…”

Hunt scowls. “What do you want, Avalon?”

Avalon sighs and takes a seat across from him, not meeting his gaze. “To apologize. We took our prank way too far, and that was even before I let them convince me to fall through the skylight. What we did in the basement was dangerous and stupid, and what I did after was even moreso.” He shakes his head sadly. “Most importantly, I’m sorry for putting you through that, Thomas. I was devastated when I thought you were knocked out, I can’t imagine what thinking I was dead must have been like for you.”

Hunt doesn’t say anything for a few seconds. Then he slowly stands up, putting his palms flat on his desk. “Don’t you ever-” he growls, but his voice quavers in a way that betrays his emotions- “scare me like that, ever again.”

Avalon looks away, ashamed, biting his lip. “I won’t. I promise.”

Hunt pulls the blinds on the window closed, then slips around his desk to grab Avalon’s hands and pull him out of the chair. He wraps his arms around Avalon, holding him close. He presses his face into the juncture between Avalon’s neck and shoulder. After a moment, he whispers, “Stay at my house. For the rest of the week. I don’t think I can let you out of my sight again after that.”

Avalon nods, turning to kiss the side of his head. “I will. I am so, so sorry.”

Hunt lifts his head, pressing a tender kiss against Avalon’s lips, and the two men stay like that for a while, holding each other in their arms.

Eventually, Hunt breaks away from the kiss and places his forehead back against Avalon’s neck with a sigh. “How am I supposed to get you home? You didn’t drive today, did you?”

“Fuck, no. I fucking hate LA traffic; Ethan gave me a ride so we could finish setting up…” Avalon gently strokes Hunt’s hair. He hums quietly in thought. “I do have an idea, but unfortunately for you, it does involve us spending about an hour with my friends.”

“Great.” Hunt grimaces and looks up at Avalon. “But I don’t think that’ll help to keep our relationship private.”

“It will if we play our cards right, but leave that to me. You should just think of it as getting to know your partner’s friends.” Avalon kisses the side of Hunt’s head, just above his ear. “Like the Spice Girls.”

Hunt sighs. “...Like the Spice Girls.”

Avalon leads Hunt to the common area of Lisa’s dorm where she, Crash, and Ethan are recounting the events of the day to Addison.

“--and that’s when Avalon fell through the skylight!” To emphasize what he was saying, Crash tosses himself over the back of a couch.

“I thought you said he didn’t die!” Addi exclaims, dismayed.

“He did, but he’s fine now.” Crash pops back up, leaning over the couch. He points to where Avalon is standing with Hunt, at the edge of the room behind the other three. “He’s right there, actually.”

“Oh! Ava!” Addi lets out a squeak, somewhere between surprise and relief, and rushes over to wrap Avalon in a tight hug. “I’m glad you’re not dead!”

“I’m also glad I’m not dead!” Avalon responds cheerfully, returning her hug. “That’s a whole thing I would prefer to keep y’all from experiencing!”

“Hey, quick question,” Lisa interjects, “what the fuck is the professor doing here?”

Hunt frowns. “Language, Miss Valentine. I know classes are over for the day, but I still expect a certain professionalism from my students while on campus.”

“Oh, sorry.” Lisa rolls her eyes. “What the fuck are you doing here, sir?”

Avalon lets go of Addi, but keeps his arm slung casually across her shoulders. “I’ve invited him to get dinner with us. As an apology.”

The other students look at each other, then at Hunt- who seems slightly startled himself- and then at Avalon.

Lisa speaks up first. “Why?”

Avalon tips his head to the side, eyebrows raised and eyes wide. “...As an apology. I just said that. Apology dinner!” He wiggles his fingers. “It’s the least we can do.”

Ethan stares at Avalon for a few seconds, then shrugs and stands up. “Well, we were planning on getting dinner already so I don’t see why not.”

“Well for one thing, he locked us in a basement,” Lisa retorts.

Avalon snorts. “We locked us in the basement, Lisa. He just took the key.”

“I just don’t see why we have to apologize at all! Especially since you already did a few minutes ago!”

“You saw his reaction. I don’t think a single, verbal apology is good enough.”

Lisa frowns and crosses her arms. “Wednesdays are supposed to be the nights where we hang out and pretend we don’t have unstarted homework due. How are we supposed to do that with one of our professors sitting with us?”

“Lisa… are you not doing your homework?” Avalon asks, concerned. “I can help you if you need it.”

Lisa’s face flushes and she scoffs. “Uh- of course I am, dad! I was just saying, you know, hypothetically if we didn’t have our work started…” She shakes her head and storms for the door. “Whatever! Let’s just go get this stupid apology dinner over with!”

“Right, well, we should get going before the dinner rush hits.” Ethan glances at Hunt and Avalon. “Crash and Lisa, you’re with me. Addi too, if you’re going to join us.”

“I’d love to!” Addison winks at Avalon and shoots him a thumbs up before following Lisa, Ethan, and Crash out.

“Wait- Ava didn’t drive, how’s he going to get there if he’s not coming with us?” Crash asks as Ethan herds him toward the door.

“Don’t worry about it.” Ethan looks back at Avalon one last time before leaving the building.

After a moment of silence, Avalon turns to Hunt. “Ta-dah!” He jazz hands. “An alibi.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“It’s better than nothing!”

Avalon sits in the passenger seat of Hunt’s sports car as they speed through LA, following Ethan in his porsche.

“Just as a heads up,” Avalon begins, gripping the inside of the door frame as Hunt zips through traffic. “This place we’re going, it ain’t exactly Michelin rated. It’s nice, yeah, but it’s one of them somewhat-cheap-but-high-end-feeling type places. Outta the way enough that we don’t gotta worry about paparazzi swarming us when Lisa is around, but still nice enough that TMZ or Dirty Hollywood ain’t gonna say anything stupid about us being there if someone does get a picture.”

“Thank you for the warning.” Hunt glances at Avalon while they’re paused at a red light.

“Mhm,” Avalon hums in response and turns to look out the tinted side window. They sit in silence for a moment before Avalon speaks up again. “By the way. Addison knows about our relationship. I think Ethan does too, but I haven’t told him.”

“What?” Hunt brakes a little too hard.

Avalon grips the doorframe tighter. “That first night we spent together, Addi and I had brunch planned for the next morning.” He shrugs and rubs the back of his neck. “I didn’t really think we were gonna see each other again so soon, much less because you’d turn out to be our teacher, so when she asked how the evening before went, I told her I went home with a cute guy named Thomas, and after that first day of classes she was able to put two and two together.”

“She hasn’t told anyone?”

“Of course not! Don’tcha think there woulda been tabloids and… I don’t know, weirdly invasive slash fiction on Tumblr by now if she’d told someone? Word travels fast, and gossip even faster.”

“I suppose…” Hunt sighs. “And Ethan?”

Avalon shrugs again. “Like I said, I haven’t told him, but he’s a smart guy so I’d be more surprised if he didn’t know. I mean, he figured out Janey and I have been each other’s beards since highschool without me saying anything about it. Besides-” he pokes Hunt’s shoulder- “You told Chris.”

Hunt waves Avalon’s hand away. “I was drunk! He didn’t even know I was talking about you until you told him your side.”

“Well how was I supposed to know you were also fucking him? You didn’t talk to me outside of class for, like, two months!”

“Because you’re my student, Avalon!” Hunt makes an exasperated noise and shakes his head. After a moment, he quietly says, “Do you know how hard those two months were for me? Having you so close, but just out of reach?”

“I know,” Avalon sighs. He gently places a hand on Hunt’s thigh. “It was hard for me, too.”

Hunt tightens his grip on the steering wheel and keeps his eyes locked on Ethan’s car ahead of them. Slowly, he lowers his right hand and places it on top of Avalon’s, lacing their fingers together.

He keeps Avalon’s hand firmly in his grip until they turn off the road and into a small parking lot, next to a smaller restaurant tucked away between the city and the suburbs. He puts his hand back on the steering wheel as Avalon moves his own back to his lap.

“It’s… quaint. I didn’t know this was here,” he says, quickly finding a parking spot.

“That’s the point.” Avalon smiles and taps the side of his head. “Not many people do.”

“Right…” Hunt sighs and looks at Avalon. “Let’s get this over with, then. I’d like to take you home as soon as possible.”

Avalon snorts and laughs, touching Hunt’s arm. “Dirty old man,” he says, fondly.

Hunt’s face flushes. “I didn’t mean it like that-” He frowns. “And we’re the same age.”

“I’m just teasing you, darlin’. I gotta get it all out of my system before I slip up and say something in front of my friends.” He begins to lean in to kiss Hunt on the cheek, but stops a few inches away and pulls back. Instead, he hooks his pointer finger around Hunt’s and gives it a gentle squeeze before letting go and exiting the car.

The two men walk toward the restaurant, where Avalon’s four friends are already waiting by the door.

“Took you long enough,” Lisa says hotly.

Ethan lets out a small laugh and opens the door, holding it for the others. “They were right behind us the entire time.”

“Whatever,” Lisa grumbles, following Crash and Addison inside.

Avalon laughs and shakes his head, stepping up onto the curb. For the second time that day- only this time by complete accident- he puts too much weight on his twisted ankle and begins to fall. For just a second, his body goes into panic mode. Instead of just catching himself, he braces for impact.

Which never comes.

At least, not in the way he expected.

Hunt pulls him upright, arms wrapped securely around his waist and concern in his eyes. “Are you alright?” He asks quietly.

Avalon’s face flushes. “Yeah,” he breathes. “I just tripped, that’s all. I could’ve caught myself.”

“It didn’t look like you were going to…” Hunt tucks some of Avalon’s hair behind his ear.

“Then I’m glad that you did…” Avalon gently places a hand on Hunt’s chest.

The two men lean towards each other, lips parted slightly.

Ethan clears his throat, still holding the door open while pointedly looking away from them.

“Hm.” With that, Hunt lets go of Avalon and enters the restaurant.

Avalon stands there, dazed for a second before shaking his head and following Hunt inside.

As he passes Ethan, Ethan grabs him by the elbow and says quietly, “Hey. Be careful.”

“I am being careful.”

“Ava, that wasn’t careful in the slightest. This is the kind of scandal that could ruin your entire career if it got out. As your agent-- more importantly, as your friend, I can’t let that happen to you.”

“Gah-- I know, it’s just...” Avalon takes a deep breath and sighs. He runs a hand through his hair. “It’s hard to be careful around him sometimes. I have to spend so much time around him every weekday pretending that I don’t-- that I’m not in a relationship with him. When he gets too close, all of me goes a little bit crazy.”

“I can’t say I know what you feel. But at the very least, please try to keep your hands to yourself in public.” He starts to enter the restaurant, but pauses and turns back to Avalon. “And maybe stop screwing around in his office. That’s a guarantee you’ll get caught.”

“Huh- wh- uh-! We weren’t--! We don’t--!”

Ethan laughs and shakes his head, and the two of them enter the restaurant together.

Try as he might, there was no way for Thomas to see the dinner as a way to get to know Avalon’s friends, not in whatever way Avalon had meant. They were his students, first and foremost, and the only things he could think to ask them about were class related. So, instead he opted to sit quietly and sip his water.

As did everyone else at the table.

Thomas couldn’t exactly place it, but something felt off. He’d had enough one on one time with Avalon that he felt rather comfortable in figuring out how Avalon felt most of the time, but the same could not be said about his friends. Conversation died out as quickly as it started, Avalon’s friends glancing oddly at Thomas every time. It was easier before the waitress took their orders, he just pretended to be as invested in the menu as everyone else seemed to be.

He did find that a little odd, considering he was sure Avalon had said they’d all been there multiple times.

“So,” Ethan says, finally breaking the silence that had fallen over the table since the waitress left. “Ava. How on earth did you get $30,000 in property damage?”

Thomas nearly drops his glass of water. “You… what?” He stares at Avalon in disbelief.

“Like I said the other day, prank went awry.” Avalon shrugs nonchalantly and sips his margarita. He was the only person at the table who had ordered an alcoholic beverage; Thomas realizes with a start he had no idea if Avalon’s friends were over the legal drinking age or not. He knew Avalon was, but he typically didn’t care to know the exact ages of any of his students.

“But how?” Spencer- Crash, Thomas reminds himself- presses, leaning across the table. “And how come we haven’t heard anything about this?”

“Because it was forever ago- literally, not like last week or something- and also in Texas. It happened when I was in high school. Senior prank gone wrong.” He takes another sip of his drink.

And doesn’t say anything else.

Thomas glances around the table, trying to gauge the reactions of Avalon’s friends, before clearing his throat and speaking up. “Yes, but how exactly?”

“I’d tell you, but we took a blood oath never to speak the details.”

There was a pause.

Then Lisa started laughing. “Good one, Ava.”

“I’m serious. Look.” Avalon sits up and holds his right hand out, palm up. He points out a thin white scar that ran across it, barely there anymore. “It hurt like a bitch and I couldn’t use it for a while. It still hurts sometimes, honestly. They don’t ever bring that up when characters do it in movies.”

More silence.

Ethan took a deep breath, rubbing a hand across his face. “Wwwhyyyyyyyyyy. Why would you do that.”

“To make sure we don’t talk about it, obviously.”

“Yes, but why?” Addison asks.

“Why do teens do anything, ever? Edgy bullshit is usually the answer.” Avalon shrugs again and waves his hand. He picks his margarita back up and goes to take a sip, but stops. “Hey. T-- Professor, you said you were a production assistant on Battlefield Earth?”

Thomas frowns. “Are you really using that to change the subject?”

“Yup. That must have been interesting, huh? That movie was made by some… interesting people, wasn’t it?” Avalon leans a bit closer to him, eyes wide.

Beautiful, beautiful brown eyes.

Thomas clenches his fist under the table, digging his fingernails into his palms to keep himself from reaching out and tucking that strand of hair back away. “If you’re talking about John Trevolta, I don’t know if he’s homosexual. It was 1999 and I barely interacted with him.”

Avalon let out a laugh- loud and beautiful- and that weird offness around the table seemed to dissipate, at least a little. “No! I didn’t mean John Trevolta-- well, I guess I kind of did? But not for that reason!” He suddenly turns serious and slaps his hand down on the table, staring intensely at Thomas in a way that makes him feel… something. Something enjoyable. “Scientology. That’s the reason.”

Thomas blinks, chasing away those lingering thoughts. “Oh.” He scrunches his face and shakes his head. “Why do you want to know about that?”

“Honestly, I wanted to know if you believed that cr--” Avalon cuts himself off, looking like a deer caught in headlights for a second before shaking his head and returning to normal. “But your expression kind of answered that.”

Thomas scoffs. “The only way I would be in a cult is if I was the head of one, and I already deal with enough people who can’t think for themselves.”

Avalon’s friends share a look, and Avalon himself takes a particularly big sip of his margarita.

Thomas furrows his brow, confused for a second, and then realizes what he just said. “Oh, not-” He frowns and glances over his shoulder. “This doesn’t leave this table at all, but you five are the least intolerable of my students this year.”

“Wow,” Lisa says, flatly, “That was almost a compliment.”

“Don’t let it go to your heads.”

“I mean, we can try, but we're bound to end up with inflated egos if you keep sucking us silly like this.”

Avalon chokes on his margarita.

“Anyway, Professor,” Ethan says, leaning forward to put himself between Lisa and Hunt.“I wanted to know how you found out about the prank if Avalon didn’t tell you. I spent four years working on it!”

“Perhaps you should have taken another four years,” Thomas responds.

Avalon gives him a look.

Thomas sighs. “As much as this… pains me to say, you did put a previously unseen amount of effort into your prank.”

Lisa scoffs and begins to say something, but Avalon reaches across the table and shoves a complimentary breadstick into her mouth. “Quiet, child.” She glares at him, but eats the breadstick, slumping back into the booth seat with her arms crossed.

“If you must know,” Thomas continues, ignoring them, “there was a variety of things that tipped me off. Did you really think transporting a machine big enough to simulate an earthquake of that size onto campus would go unnoticed?”

Ethan frowns at Avalon. “I thought you were distracting him during that.”

“I was,” Avalon states. “In some ways.” Then he chugs the rest of his margarita to avoid elaborating.

“Your second mistake,” Thomas says, “Was allowing Miss Stone to, ah, help. Not only am I well aware that none of you like each other, but she tells her friends everything she does, and in turn Miss Whitman tweets everything she says.”

“Hey, why did you invite her?” Addison asks. “I could have helped.”

“Because she overheard us talking about it,” Ethan answers, “and I got the feeling that if I didn’t let her join, she would do everything she could to ruin my plans.”

“She did that anyway.”

“Yes, but not as bad as she could have.”

Lisa scrunches her nose. “I liked it better when we were talking about anything but Bianca.”

“Well, the good news is, we don’t have to talk about anything now,” Avalon says, gesturing at the approaching waitress.

Although the conversation had all but died down again, Avalon was glad to note that the silence was considerably more comfortable than it had been when they first arrived. On one hand, Crash and Lisa still seemed a bit uneasy to be sitting with their professor, but on the other Ethan and Addison had quickly realized that this was a perfect opportunity to grill their friend’s boyfriend-- nothing too invasive or inappropriate for students to be asking their teacher, of course.

During a lull in the questioning as they ate, Avalon discreetly- unconsciously, almost- shifts his leg to press it against Hunt’s. When he notices Hunt looking at him, he smiles innocently. The corner of Hunt’s mouth twitches upward slightly for not even a half of a second before he presses it back into a line.

Once the food is eaten and the bill is paid, the group quietly files out, no one really wanting to extend this apology dinner for longer than necessary.

“So,” Lisa begins, hopping once in place and turning to her friends when they reach the parking lot. “Apology dinner is over, we don’t have to spend anymore time with the professor, I think we should go clubbing! Just the five of us. No offense, but I don’t want some old jackass tagging along.” She pauses. “Actually, no. Full offense.”

“Avalon is the same age as I am,” Hunt mutters under his breath.

“Yeah, um, actually-” Avalon stifles a yawn. “I’m kinda tired. Y’all go clubbing without me if you want to go. I think I’ll head home.”

“Aw, what? I wanted to celebrate our prank. We couldn’t have done it without you!”

Avalon sighs and rubs his face. “Lisa, it’s Wednesday. We have class tomorrow.”

“So?”

“So we’ll take Avalon home and then we can go clubbing,” Ethan states, cutting in.

“But it’s not as fun without him!” Lisa whines. “Plus, I’m 100% sure Ava is going to love this club.”

“I’m sure I will, on a day that I don’t need to work on a three page essay for one of the harshest professors I have a class with. Honestly, I think you should go home and get started on your assignments as well.” Avalon gives Lisa a pointed look.

“Ew, no, I’m still going clubbing. We’re just going to have to party extra hard this weekend.”

“We’ll see. If that's it, I’m going to call myself a cab and head home.” He glances quickly at Hunt.

“Don’t bother,” Hunt says. “I’ll take you home.”

Lisa raises an eyebrow. “Really? You seemed like you wanted nothing more than to get the fuck out of here and away from us. I’m surprised you haven’t left already.”

“Forgive me if I want to make sure the student I watched fall two stories into a basement gets home safe, Miss Valentine.”

Lisa turns back to Avalon, scrunching her face. “You’re not going to go with him, are you? I’d hate it if he knew where I lived.”

Avalon shrugs. “Hey, a free ride is a free ride. If he’s offering, I’m not going to turn him down.”

“Alright, but it’s on you if he eventually decides to break into your place to murder you in your sleep.”

“Yeah... something tells me he’s not going to do that. You don’t have to worry, I’ll be fine!”

Lisa pouts. “...okay. Fine. But you should check if he keeps any test answers in his car.”

“I won’t. And I’m sure he doesn’t.”

“Check anyway!”

“I will if you study tonight!”

Lisa scoffs and sulks off.

Avalon hugs the rest of his friends, then climbs into the passenger seat of Hunt’s car. As Hunt starts the car up, Avalon turns to him. “Hey, can we actually stop by my place? I know I’ve got enough at yours that I can stay there for the rest of the week, I just…” He sighs and lightly touches the spot on his neck where a gold band usually hangs from a chain. “I left my necklace at home because I didn’t want to lose it, and you know I hate not wearing it.”

Hunt nods briskly and begins the drive to Avalon’s neighborhood.

While Avalon changes into his pajamas, he can’t help sneaking glances over at Thomas, who has turned away. His partner was attractive, he couldn’t deny it, but currently he was focused more on how unusually quiet Thomas had been on the drive back from his house. The guilt from earlier that day had come back and was beginning to gnaw at him again.

He peels off his T-shirt, tossing it into the hamper and grabbing his sleep shirt from the nightstand. He slips the new shirt on, leaving it unbuttoned as he crosses the room to wrap his arms around Thomas's waist, pulling him close.

He gently kisses up Thomas’s bare shoulder and neck. “Hey, you…” He says quietly.

Thomas puts his hands on Avalon’s arms, leaning into his embrace with a soft sigh.

Avalon strokes Thomas’s hip lightly with his fingertips. “I know that it won’t make up for today at all, but…” Avalon kisses Hunt’s jaw. “Let me take care of you tonight?”

Thomas closes his eyes, sinking farther into Avalon’s arms just for a second. Then he stands up straight and shakes his head. “Go to bed, Ava.” He pulls away.

“...Okay.” Avalon lets his arms drop to his sides as he watches Thomas leave the room, turning the light off as he goes. “Okay.” He buttons up his shirt and crawls into bed, lying so he faces the door. He grips the gold band on his necklace for comfort, grateful for its reestablished presence.

A few minutes pass before Thomas returns. He barely glances at Avalon as he makes his way across the room to the other side of the bed. He settles down under the covers, his back to Avalon.

Avalon shifts, turning slightly. “Would you like me to-”

“No. Not tonight, Ava.”

He nods, swallowing hard. “Right. Okay.” He lies back down, hugging his pillow. He takes a few deep, steady breaths. “Toma, I… I’m sorry.”

There's a pause.

“I know, Ava.”

Normally, it didn’t take long for Avalon to fall asleep.

Normally, he could just shut his brain off as soon as he got comfortable.

Normally, he wasn’t fighting with Thomas.

That’s what this was, wasn’t it? He had upset Thomas, and now he was mad and they were fighting. He just wished he knew what to do to let Thomas know exactly how sorry he was and how much he regretted what he did. He sifts through idea after idea trying to figure out something- anything- that would work.

And then Thomas rolls over and presses against Avalon’s back. He puts a hand on Avalon’s waist and rests his forehead between Avalon’s shoulder blades.

Avalon freezes, unsure of what to do as Thomas’ shoulders start gently shaking. He squeezes his pillow, and for a few minutes just lets Thomas cry quietly.

It isn’t until Thomas lets out a strangled half-sob that Avalon rolls over and wraps his arms around him, holding him close and stroking his hair.

Thomas hurriedly wipes his eyes, trying to even out his breath. “You’re--” He takes a shuddering breath. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“You didn’t wake me, I wasn’t asleep…” Avalon kisses Thomas’ forehead. “I couldn’t sleep. Not after today.”

“If I had known you were awake, I wouldn’t have…” Thomas trails off and shakes his head. “I’m sorry you had to hear that.”

Avalon frowns. “Don’t be. I understand why, Thomas. You don’t need to be sorry.” He strokes Thomas’ cheek lightly. “I’m just glad you’re not keeping it all bottled up.”

Thomas nods, turning his head and kissing Avalon’s palm. “I thought-” His voice breaks and Avalon can feel tears beginning to slip down his face again. “I thought I lost you, Ava.”

“I know.” Avalon kisses his cheeks before resting his forehead against Thomas’. “I know. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that…”

“I know we haven’t been together for that long, but I--” Thomas cuts himself off and takes a shuddering breath. “I care so much about you, Ava. I don’t know what I would have done if you had-”

“But I didn’t. I’m right here with you. I’m not going anywhere, Toma.”

Thomas nods and kisses Avalon before burying his face in Avalon’s shoulder. Avalon rubs Thomas’ back and runs his fingers through his hair, not unlike how he had earlier in the day.

And the two men hold each other.

Until they both fall asleep.