#no but i do think disco kid would look cute if his teeth were a little bit fucked up… just a little bit

[hippie-self-shippie]

you know how when disco kid gets knocked down he loses a tooth… like obvi thats very exaggerated but im curious do you include something like that in your ship with him 🥺 sorry im actually obsessed with teeth & missing teeth etc etc etc LOL

hmm i haven’t actually!! but i do think that disco kid looks cute with a missing tooth or two lol maybe he should lose some. who cares about perfect smiles anyway amirite

[moonswolfie]

Hold on!

Timeskip!Atsumu x fem!reader (no spoilers tho)

The reader's clothes are described but that's the only thing as far as appearance goes

Also the reader is 23 years old in this, I wish I didn't have to include an age for the reader but it has to be done for the purpouses of the story😭

So I've been watching a lot of "romantic disco pang pang" clips recently (the untapped k-drama potential is real) so I thought of writing this 🤭

(also pretend these are commonplace in japan too)

"Do I really have to go on this thing?" you begged your friend as you two were stading in line to go on Disco Pang Pang. You didn't want to go, really. Considering the reputation that Disco Pang Pang has, the ride was a bit much for you.

"Duh. No backing out." your friend dragged you further as the line moved. "Looks like it's our turn." your friend grinned at you after seeing the group that was on the ride before you get off. You winced a little.

You tried your best to psyche yourself up as you two entered the dreaded machine and sat down next to eachother. "It's fine, you're gonna be fine. It'll be over soon. You just have to hold on and you'll be fine."

You gripped the bar as hard as you possibly can, not even bothering to hide the fear and discomfort on your face. Your friend hit your shoulder lightly, telling you to loosen up.

"I would be able to if you didn't force me to go on this..." you grit through your teeth. You were more scared than mad at your friend at this point.

"Welcome, everyone!" you heard a voice announce through the speakers. So this is the DJ, the guy who controls the ride and picks on the people at random.

Your friend got excited at the sound of his voice while you just gripped on the bars tighter. The machine moved up a little.

"You, the girl in a light pink sweater! How old are you?" the DJ asked.

You looked around at the other people on the ride, quickly realising the DJ is talking to you. You were the only one wearing a light pink sweater.

Oh no, this is the worst... You're gonna kill your friend once you get off.

You reluctantly showed "23" with your hands and nodded when the DJ asked if 23 is correct. You anticipated an insult to be thrown your way, but the DJ said "You, the guy with blonde hair next to her! How old are you?"

You looked to your right to see a muscular guy with dyed blonde hair. He didn't seem scared at all, showed by his lazy grin. He showed "24" with his fingers and nodded when the DJ asked him to confirm.

You were confused. What benefit would the DJ have from knowing your ages?

"Are the both of you single?" the DJ asked in a way where you could easily imagine his eyebrows wiggling behind the speaker.

What the hell is going on?! You gave the DJ a confused nod, the mystery man doing the same thing.

"That's perfect because I think you two would look cute together!" before you could even process what the DJ just said the machine suddenly jerked.

Your grip on the bars wasn't tight since you got a little distracted by the DJ's weird questions and you got launched to your right and onto the guy.

"Ah- I'm sorry-" You apologized, reaching behind you to try and move back into your previous position.

The DJ's words finally registered and you felt yourself blush a little bit.

Are you kidding?! The DJ does that too?!

You're really gonna kill your friend for not telling you the DJ also ships random people together!

But then again... this guy didn't look half bad. Half bad is an understatement, the guy was really hot. But you had no idea what he thought of the whole ordeal. Did he know right away? Was he just as shocked as you are?

You heard him laugh a little " 'S okay." he said, the smile still on his face. He seemed to be enjoying this. He must have known as soon as the DJ asked your ages.

You somehow managed to move back into your original spot, taking a short sigh of relief. Being singled out by the DJ isn't fun at all!

"Hey, where are you running off to? You're gonna make your boyfriend sad!" the DJ yelled, clearly enjoying this and jerking the machine so you fell to his side again.

Just great, now he was calling him your boyfriend.

You yelped when you fell to the floor of the machine after another sudden jerk and you tried getting back up but the DJ wasn't giving you a break with the sporradic jerking.

Suddenly, you felt your arm being grabbed and a strong arm pulled you back up on the seats. It's the guy!

You clutched onto his shirt, holding on for dear life and he wrapped an arm around you to keep you from falling over again.

"You good?" he asked, looking down at you. You nodded in response, a bit too overwhelmed to give him a verbal response at the moment.

"There we go! That's what I like to see!" the DJ commented and you swore you're gonna punch whoever the dude is after killing your friend once you get off.

But then again, maybe being protected in the arms of a attractive guy isn't all that bad. Even if you felt like throwing up right now.

"Are you okay? Does your arm hurt?" you somehow managed to collect your thoughts enough to express your worry for his arm which was still holding onto the bar.

He smiled down at you, although his smile seemed a little strained. "Don't ya worry about lil' old me. I'm really strong, ya know?" he pulled a stupid flirty face and you couldn't help but laugh a little.

"What?! Why are ya laUG-" his sentence was cut off by a big jerk which sent your friend flying to the other side. Oh, right, your friend. You haven't really been checking how she's doing but she seems to be laughing and having fun depsite being thrown around like a ragdoll.

"Oh yeah! You better hold her tight, cuz I'm not holding back!" the DJ laughed through the speakers and somehow the jerking increased even more.

You yelped and full-on hugged him, closing your eyes shut. The rest of the ride felt like a fever dream, the smell of his cologne and his arm tightly wrapped around you being the only things keeping you from emptying your stomach.

After who knows how long, the jerking stopped. You took deep breaths.

"The ride's over, you can open those pretty eyes, ya know." You felt your face flush suddenly. You didn't even notice the ride was over, how embarrasing!!

You quickly let go of Atsumu, mumbling a quick apologybefore getting up to get off the ride. Your friend nudged you with her elbow and wiggled her eyebrows at you. "See, it wasn't that bad. You even scored a hot guy."

"Yeah, and almost threw up on his chest." you retorted.

As you were finally on safe, solid ground again, you caught your breath. That was an insane experience.

"Hey." you heard a familiar voice behind you, and you turned around to see the guy again. Now that you weren't nautious and being spun around and jerked constantly, you could get a much better look at his face.

He really is good-looking and you've done nothing but embarrass yourself in front of him right from the beginning.

"O-Oh, hi." you greeted him back, although a bit awkwardly.

"Yer real cute, so I'm givin' ya this." he handed you a piece of paper which read "Miya Atsumu" followed by his phone number.

"Consider yerself lucky, I don't do this with just any girl." he smirked and walked away, leaving you there staring at the note in shock.

Maybe you should treat your friend to a five star meal instead of killing her.

HELP WHY WAS I CRINGING SO MUCH WHEN WRITING THIS😭😭😭

[hockeyboysimagines]

omg I'm sorry!!! I should have looked at the list first sorry

can I switch brothers then? lmao. Matthew in Otta for Brady's game and meet the girl at the candy machine? I can cleary imagine him bragging about the hat trick and looking at her across the ice.

No worries Anon! And you never EVER have to ask me if you can request or talk about Matthew Tkachuk. The answer is always yes. This was so cute. Hope you enjoy it!!🤍

The absolute LAST thing Matthew wanted to be doing was sitting in a dimly lit roller skating rink, listening to bad 80’s music but because he was a good brother and future brother-in-law here he was.

His game in Ottawa had so happened to coincide with Emma’s nephews 6th birthday. While he liked Brady most days, he loved Emma so when she had asked him nicely with her best smile, he’d sighed and flatly agreed to come. Brady came over and kicked his foot.

“What’s your problem?”

“Nothing.”

“Yeah okay. If you didn’t wanna-“

“I’m here aren’t I? What am I going to do? Strap on a pair of skates and do laps?”

“If your planning to do that, let me get my phone out. Wanna document the moment.”

“Fuck off.” He stood and stretched “I’m going to the bathroom.”

He made his way through screaming kids, falling kids, and crying kids nursing injuries in various spots from falls and collisions. As he neared several candy and soda machines, a girl caught his eye. The lights from the large spinning disco ball were catching her long hair, as she reached a hand forward and shook the candy machine.

“I don’t know buddy I can’t get it.” She shook it again, and the little boy standing next to her sighed and pushed his glasses further up his nose.

“Excuse me? Do you need some help?”

She turned, and smiled. He felt like he’d been hit by a bus. He was certain that she was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen, and he wanted to clasp his hands and thank God that he’d decided to be a good sport and come to the party he didn’t want to come to. He also wanted to personally thank whatever moron had decided to put a candy machine from the 1930’s in a high traffic roller rink, because it’s malfunction had now given him the chance to come in like a knight in shining armor and offer her the assistance she needed.

“Yes please. It’s stuck I don’t know-“

Before she could continue, Matthew wound up a fist and punched the machine, not enough to break it but enough to make it teeter and knock the candy loose. The boy gave a cheer and reached down to pull it out, before turning and zooming away.

“Hey! What do you say!” She yelled after him.

“Thank you!” He called over his shoulder before disappearing back to his friends.

She turned back to Matthew and smiled “Thank you. You just saved me from hours of complaining.”

“My pleasure. I’m Matt.” He extended a hand.

“Y/N.” He hand was soft and warm, and fit perfectly inside his own. He realized as he shook it that he was holding it a little too tightly, and staring openly at her. He released her hand and cleared his throat, thankful for the bad lighting to hide the redness that was creeping up his neck.

“So is that your-“

“Brother. He’s here’s for a birthday party, and I’m lucky enough to get to take him.”

“Funny enough I’m also extremely lucky to be here at a birthday party.” He glanced around before his eyes landed back on her “Maybe in more ways then one.”

And that’s how it started. They talked, and talked and talked some more, talking so much in fact that Brady had wandered the rink twice looking for him, thinking he’d left. As parties began to wrap up, and kids filtered out, Matthew panicked knowing his time with her was coming to an end. He spotted her brother making his way over and as a last ditch effort to see her again he blurted out “Hey, crazy idea but would you want to come to my game tomorrow?”

“Game?”

“I uh-I play hockey. My brother Brady-“

“No way!” She turned to look at her brother who was staring at Matthew open mouthed revealing several missing teeth, and slid his glasses back up his nose “ Matthew Tkachuk!” She looked between them and pointed at him.

“You know how this is?”

“Of course I do. He’s only the best player ever and-“ he went on to list all his stats, which was actually pretty impressive if Matthew was being honest.

“I had no idea.” She said laughing.

“So? Wanna come?” He asked, nodding his head at her brother “Maybe bring my number 1 fan with you?”

“Oh we’ll be there.” He looked up at her and made a face “Well don’t look at me that way. You can stay home but I’m going.”

She glanced between them for a moment before she pursed her lips “Oh-okay. Sure.”

“Wait really? Awesome, and then maybe after we-“

“Slow down Casanova. Let’s start with a hockey game. And then maybe a date. We’ll see how you play.”

“Oh yeah? Okay I’ll make you a deal. I score a goal we go on a date. If I don’t, you can forget I ever even saved you from a day of complaining.” He held his hand out “Deal?”

“Okay. Your on.”

He did score. In fact he scored 3 times.

She chuckled, shaking her head as he scored his third goal and turned to point at her in the crowd. The stadium booed around her, as it was mostly Ottawa fans in attendance, but she couldn’t help the smile that crept across her face. He made his way to the bench, various teammates giving him fist bumps as he went and sat down next to someone, turning to them as they spoke. She saw him shake his head and point across the ice at her. She felt her face get red, thankful he was so far away, and glanced at the scoreboard.

“He scored that hat trick for youuuuuuu.” Her brother teased, giggling and making kissy faces at her.

“Oh be quiet.” She gave him a nudge and rolled her eyes. She would never hear the end of this.

She watched as he celebrated with his team when the clock wound down, buzzer sounding to signal that Ottawa had lost. She watched as he made his way across the ice to the side gate and slowed down in front of where she was sitting. He knocked on the glass and grinned a mile wide.

“Guess this means I won!” He said gleefully, winking at her and pointing towards the score board. She felt a surge of excitement as she watched him skate to the side gate and exchange words briefly with an arena employee, pointing in her direction and waving before he disappeared down the tunnel.

She walked her brother out of the arena to where her parents were and made her way back inside, waiting quietly until she heard the doors bang open and turned to see Matthew standing in the doorway.

He smiled widely at her and for the first time in a long time, maybe ever, she was glad she’d lost a bet.

[kingofhearts709]

Prompt: bill and ted give each other haircuts

hello yes im sorry this is late but this is adorable and im happy to write this excellent prompt ❤️

A/N: SO! this came out SO MUCH LONGER than i expected. like i was just gonna cute-drabble it but then my brain was like "NO PERFECT CONCEPT MUST EAT IT." snd I'm very happy to have written it all. im setting this at like pre-excellent adventure.

anyways i hope you have a lovely day and to please enjoy this little thing 💓"

---

Ted blew his bangs out of his face for the fifth time since he'd sat down on Bill's bed, trying to focus on his comic and finding the ultimate difficulty in reading between the long strands. His hair almost reached past his shoulders, and Missy's abandoned scrunchies were starting to look most intriguing.

Bill was no better. Every time he ran his fingers through his hair, they wound up tangled. There was no way he'd be able to handle brushing it every single morning, but the habit of messing with his hair was too ingrained.

"Dude, we need haircuts," Bill grumbled as his forefinger caught on a twisty piece of fringe. "I'm gonna look like a seventies disco dude." Ted snickered at that, and Bill thwacked his chest lightly. "Shut up, Ted, I'm serious."

"Well, my dad won't even pay for a good haircut," Ted huffed, dropping his comic book and blowing his bangs away once more. "If he did, it'd be a buzz." He paused for a moment before suggesting, "You don't suppose Missy could cut our hair?" Bill let out a laugh.

"I would be most doubtful of her skills."

"Okay, well... How much do haircuts cost?"

"More than we can afford." Ted frowned and looked down. "My dad would probably just tell me to cut my hair myself if I asked." It went silent for a moment before a lightbulb lit up in Ted's brain, and he bounced on the bed with enthusiasm.

"...Well, why don't we?"

"Why don't we what, dude?"

"Cut our own hair!"

The idea thrown out to the wind sounded more than insane. Neither of them knew the first thing about cutting each other's hair, let alone their own.

But the thing about Bill and Ted was that, as long as they did it together, it was more than enough reason to say why not?

"Ted, my friend, your idea is definitely most forward-thinking!" Bill complimented, jumping up. "We both know what each other's hair looks like, so we'll totally be able to replicate it!"

The wide grin on Ted's face was enough to break it, jumping up with Bill and looking around.

"I'll go get hair stuff," Bill said as he rushed towards the door. "You get a chair set up." Ted nodded as Bill bolted from the room, going to the corner to grab an old twisty chair that they never used. It still twisted, and was just about the right height for cutting hair, it seemed.

Ted was testing the chair by spinning in fast circles when Bill came back in with a pair of kitchen scissors and two huge towels. He swayed a little as he regained his normal vision from spinning, seeing that Bill was also carrying a spray bottle filled with water, a brush and comb, and a tube of hair product.

"I grabbed some other stuff from Missy's counter, too," Bill said as he dropped it all down on the bed. He picked up the tube and read it, "Something called...'Gar-near Fruck-tiss.' The instructions say it makes your hair smooth." Ted gave an intrigued head tilt before giving a nod and a smile.

"Well, dude, smooth me!" Ted joked, and Bill gave him a look before they found themselves air-guitaring.

Bill wrapped one of the towels around Ted's neck and shoulders, making sure he pulled his hair out from underneath. Bill leant down to assess it, squinting to see if it would help him decide on a course of correct action.

"How short should I cut it, dude?" Bill finally asked. Ted brought up a hand and hovered it palm down before holding it right where his chin ended as reference, and Bill nodded, picking up the spray bottle and spraying Ted's entire head all over until his hair went damp through.

"Bill, you are most concentrated," Ted hummed as Bill ran the comb through his hair to measure it down. It was already frayed from whenever his last haircut had been, it seemed. "Do you actually know what you're doing?"

"Uh...," Bill hummed, shrugging. "I used to watch my mom get her hair cut before when I was a little kid, I guess. They always wet your hair and then do this trippy snippy thing."

Ted snorted as Bill snipped the scissors a couple of times in the air before diving into Ted's hair, holding the length to cut off between his fingers and slowly scissoring away.

It was quiet while Bill worked on his hair, Ted doing his best to keep still, even if he really wanted to turn his head and see exactly what was happening. The only sounds filling the room were Bill walking around him and the snip of the scissors.

As soon as Bill cut off the last edge of Ted's hair, he stepped back and studied his work, furrowing his brows before grinning.

"Dude, I totally nailed you!" he exclaimed, and the redness to Ted's cheeks caused him to add on, "Uh- Your hair, I mean. It looks most bodacious." Ted looked around the room frantically for any reflection, and jumped when Bill held up a mirror in front of his face.

Bill really had done an excellent job. His hair was back to its regular length, hanging right around his chin. His bangs were still a problem, though, and he looked over at Bill and gestured to them.

"Oh, dude, yeah," Bill huffed as he dropped the mirror back where he'd grabbed it and picked up the scissors again. "Sorry, Ted, I forgot your main problem is your egregiously long bangs."

"They're like curtains for my face, duder," Ted hummed as Bill began to separate the bangs from the rest of his hair. He cursed when he grabbed too much of Ted's already-trimmed sections before Ted spoke up, "Oh, dude, grab one of Missy's scrunchies!" Bill raised a brow before following Ted's gaze to the bedside table, where about four of Missy's scrunchies were sitting. How they got there, Bill personally didn't want to think about it. Regardless, he went over to grab one and handed it over to Ted so he could pull his hair back and let Bill have full reign on his bangs.

"Where do they usually end?" he asked as he eyeballed possible measurements with his fingers. His face wasn't unreasonably close to Ted's, considering the circumstances, but it still made Ted nervous.

"Just, like, enough so I can see okay, I guess," Ted said, and Bill nodded as he took the comb and brushed his bangs even before sticking the handle in between his teeth and bringing the scissors up.

At this angle, Ted could see Bill's entire process as he watched his hair being snipped off. The way his face was scrunched in concentration, his gentle movements to make sure he wasn't tugging Ted's head any direction.

He didn't realise Bill was finished until he saw his reflection in the mirror when it was held up.

He looked good, if not better than before, with Bill's handiwork.

"How'd I do, dude?" Bill asked, and Ted reached up to touch his already drying hair. "Want me to put the Fruck-tiss in it?"

"Uh- Yeah, dude, sure." Ted looked over to see Bill grabbing the tube and opening it up, squirting a generous amount into his palm. "Do I have to wash it out?"

"Uh...," Bill turned the tube in his hand and scrunched his nose, shaking his head. "It says to leave in for fifteen minutes and your hair will be, 'smooth and sleek.'" He looked up. "Ready?"

"Yeah, Bill."

After a moment, Ted felt Bill's hands and fingers running right through his hair, keeping away from his scalp as per the instructions on the tube. It was smooth and gentle and overall intimate the way Bill paid careful attention to Ted's hair, running his fingers through. He might've put too much product in, but they could always wash it out if needed.

"Alright!" Bill said when the product was more or less incorporated. "You have been fully transformed into your most authentic self, my friend!"

"Dude, excellent!" Ted said as Bill took the towel off of him, trying not to get the hair everywhere (it already was, but that was beside the point). "My turn, Bill!" Ted stood up and took an exaggerated bow towards the twisty chair, gesturing for Bill to take a seat. Bill bowed back before dropping down and smiling.

Ted mimicked his actions from earlier, draping the towel around his neck and grabbing the spray bottle. However, Bill's hair was curly and almost like a jewfro, and he briefly wondered how he was going to cut it down.

"Dude, I don't think water is going to help," Ted said as he looked around at Bill's head. "You do have one stellar mullet now, but the rest is growing up." Hesitantly, he ran his fingers gently through Bill's curly hair, feeling just how insanely tangled it was. Bill briefly shivered at the motion, telling himself internally to just relax.

He'd already cut Ted's hair, so he should know what to expect, but still, the shock of actually feeling Ted's hands and fingers gave him the most unusual of feelings in his chest. He wasn't necessarily sure if they were nerves or emotions, but either way, it sent a shiver down his spine every time Ted's skin connected to him.

Bill bit the inside of his cheek as Ted stuck his tongue out and tested a single lock of hair, snipping off the end before grinning, nodding as he started to continue.

"Dude, it's like trimming a bush!" he laughed as he went all around, mimicking Bill once more by holding each lock between his fingers. Bill's blond hair fell and separated with each snip that the scissors gave. Ted's movements were slow and calculated, his genuine care for making sure he cut Bill's hair in the most correct way making Bill feel a little more than special.

It took Ted longer than it took Bill to finish up, giving a lock one last cut before jumping back and grinning as he crossed his arms.

"Dude, how is it?" Bill asked, gesturing. "Gimme that mirror!" Ted straightened up as he remembered, turning in a couple of circles before picking it up off the the bed and holding it up.

Ted hadn't done a terrible job, he had to admit. He turned his head back and forth, his smile growing as he saw Ted show up behind him in the reflection. He took a hand and ran it through his hair front to back.

It took Bill a second before he concluded that Ted forgot to cut off his mullet, and he grinned with a scoff.

"Dude, you totally missed the back," Bill said, his hand flipping the hair in Ted's view. Ted frowned as he stood up straight and tilted his head.

"Did I, dude?" he raised his eyebrows, reaching down to move Bill's away and examine it. "Bill, if I might be totally honest, you have always had this mullet, though I will admit it's much longer than normal..."

"No way, dude," Bill rolled his eyes in response. "Gimme those scissors." He reached back to grab the utensil from Bill's hand, a most dangerous risk. Ted, however, held back the pair with a grin.

"Dude, you'll be a total mullet-head!" Ted laughed as he turned and jumped up on the bed, knocking a couple of the items onto the floor. Bill spun around in his seat and looked at the scissors clasped wrong-way-up in Ted's fist.

Bill eyed him for a long moment before bolting up from the chair in a lunge, a total disregard for all those 'safety with scissors' rules from grade school. Ted leaped off the bed for the corner, Bill chasing him there. They could only run around in the small confines of Bill's room, so there weren't many places for Ted to go, nor space to make between himself and Bill.

It became apparent when Ted got onto the bed again and Bill fully tackled him so he had him trapped underneath.

Ted was still laughing even when Bill had him pinned by the wrists and was currently looking down on him with the most fondest of looks, a huge smile gracing his entire face.

"Dude," Ted said through chuckles as he flipped his newly cut bangs away from his eyes, "you look definitively bodacious with your mullet. I think you should keep it." Bill tilted his head.

"Ted, my friend, there is nothing in your head that could ever convince me." Ted let out a laugh before he looked at it over Bill's shoulder, comtemplating.

"I like it on you, dude."

It didn't take long for Bill's brain to immediately agree with that statement.

"You think so, dude?" Bill found himself asking, and Ted looked back to Bill's face, smiling with a nod.

"Most triumphantly." The words put a smile on his own lips, and the warm, butterfly-feeling in his chest was new but most definitely welcome as he squeezed Ted's wrists.

"Well, then, Ted, my most excellent and esteemed partner, I suppose I must keep it just for you."

[eddiesfaerie]

Mirrorball

Summary: Your first time meeting detective Flip Zimmerman is out on the dance floor. (5.2k words) 

Warnings: slightly NSFW? (this takes place one year after the events depicted in the film Blackkklansman, so possible spoilers!) mentions of the KKK, mentions of police, f!reader, implied age gap, drinking, Flip is an asshole and a brat tamer and it shows but he’s also a ✧ gentleman ✧, thigh grinding(?), mentions of sexy stuff, early 80s grooviness, disco shenanigans, me making myself horny

A/N: this is very loosely based on mirrorball by taylor swift. that song just makes me think of Flip so I just literally had to get this out of my system. totally down to write more of these two if anyone would want that 👀. Flip Zimmerman is THE disco king. Pls enjoy <3

Part 2 

The cool September night nipped gently at your skin as you made your way into the local disco. Dressed in your best white baby tee, the best fit flared jeans you owned, and the perfect white disco heels your blood was pumping and you were ready to dance the night away. You didn’t bother bringing your trusty denim jacket because as soon as you hit the dance floor, which would be immediately upon entrance, you knew you would have no more need for it.

No matter how excited you were for your weekly escape on the dance floor, this was the first night butterflies fluttered in your stomach without relent. You shook your head, remembering almost too vividly the conversation you had over the phone with your old college friend, Patrice. She would also be attending the disco tonight with her boyfriend and her boyfriend’s… work partner.

This is where things got tricky for both you and Patrice. Her boyfriend and her boyfriend’s work partner were cops. Not exclusively cops, (they made sure to always distinguish themselves as “detectives”) but still, cops. And you and Patrice did NOT fuck with cops.

That was until the KKK bust about a year ago. Patrice battled with her personal morals for a long time on whether she should pursue her relationship with Ron, but you had encouraged her to see where it went. She clearly had feelings for him and he cared for her as well, so for once you told her to follow her gut, no matter what his job was. And after that infamous KKK case was closed (or more so, thrown away) Ron was more of a detective than a cop and well, that was good enough for Patrice. And you were happy for her.

Now, this is where things got tricky for you. You had already planned to go dancing tonight; seeing as it was Friday night and dancing at the disco was your weekly Friday night activity. Patrice said she would be joining with Ron and now, somehow, mysteriously, suspiciously, Ron’s partner, Flip Zimmerman, who just so happened to be as single as you and quite literally the most beautiful man in Colorado Springs, was also tagging along for the ride. This would either be the most awkward, third-wheeling night of your life or… well, that was about the only outcome you could see coming from tonight.

You had never actually met Flip before, but based on what you've heard about him from either Patrice or Ron, you could not imagine a disco being this man’s idea of a fun time. He seemed old, even for his age. Sure he was older than you, but he seemed like an actual old man. Grumpy, stubborn, sassy and just plain rude to everyone and anyone. A total grouch.

You rolled your eyes as you approached the door, your last chances for bailing leaving you as you waved to the bouncer, a familiar face, entered the building and headed straight to the bar for your first drink of the night.

//

Ron and Patrice pulled up to the disco in their car, Flip hot on their trail in his truck, parking next to one another in the parking lot. Flip’s knuckles were white against the steering wheel from how hard he was gripping it on the way over, he felt like crashing his truck just for an excuse to not come but he felt like he may regret that decision sooner rather than later.

You’re going to be there.

Flip’s never met you, but he’s heard about you through Ron and Patrice who never seem to stop bothering him about it. He appreciates the effort but they’ve gone from endearing to straight up fucking annoying. Flip loves Ron, his brother-in-crime, so to speak, and he has a soft spot for Patrice as well, but he could not imagine you to live up to all the hype they’ve given you at this point.

No offence, of course. You were just some kid to him.

A knock at his window startled him, erasing any image of you he was trying to conjure up in his mind. What would you be wearing? What colour would your eyes be? Would you dance? Did you like to dance? Did you drink? What drink do you typically order?

“Zimmerman!” Ron said, pressing his forehead against Flip’s window causing Flip to roll his eyes and unbuckle himself from his seat which he hadn’t even done yet, so wrapped up in overthinking the night ahead of him, overthinking about you.

“Can’t open the door if you’re pressed against it like that, Rookie.”

Ron backed away, going to wrap his arm around Patrice’s waist as Flip got out of the car and slammed the door behind him a little louder than he probably should have.

“M’not even a Rookie anymore, partner.” Ron teased, pulling Patrice alongside him as the three of them made their way into the disco.

“Yeah you keep telling yourself that, Rookie.” Flip grumbled, causing Patrice to giggle and Ron to shoot her a glare. The trio made their way into the joint and loud dance music quickly flooded them.

The place was absolutely packed, even for a Friday night. Made it seem like Colorado Springs was the most happening town in the West. Sweaty bodies moving and grooving to the music like it was still the seventies. The giant dance floor took up most of the main floor, one side of it lined with a bar that was clearly stocking any drink one could think of. A short staircase near the back of the dance floor led to a slightly elevated platform filled with a large seating area lined with couches and booths for people who just wanted to enjoy the atmosphere, music, alcohol and/or drugs. Flip wondered which crowd you would be a part of.

Patrice said your name and Flip froze, “she should be around here somewhere. I know she got here before us.” Patrice said over the music.

Ron nodded and Flip felt his hands get clammy. Why the fuck did he come to this, he wondered? He loves a good disco just as much as the next person, but this weird blind date situation was not sitting right with him. The three of them made their way through the dance floor towards the staircase at the back, trying to get a bit of elevation to have a better chance at spotting you.

The song changed and the crowd erupted in a cheer, it was a popular one, Flip knew that. You would have to be living under a rock not to. As they climbed the staircase and came to rest against the banister, the crowd made a bit of room near the middle of the dance floor for a duo who started to groove together hypnotically to the beat. Patrice giggled and clapped her hands, covering her mouth to hide her wide smile.

“Oh my god, that’s her.” She laughed giddily, tugging on Ron’s arm. Flip looked to the two girls dancing, the two who once seemed so far away and swallowed up by the crowd, now seemed so much closer and clearly in his line of sight. Which one were you…

“The one in the jeans.” Ron answered, reading Flip’s mind. He gave him a knowing smile and went back to casually grooving with Patrice as all three of them watched you dance with a girl you didn’t even know.

//

You both laughed at each other as the song went on, your bodies moving with ease as you danced around and with one another, tugging on each other's arms to spin or saucily moving your bodies just close enough together for people to stare. You didn’t know her, the song had just come on and you both gasped at the same time. She looked at you and asked you to dance, why would you say no? She was pretty and you felt a friendly competition coming on. And it was hardly a competition at that, she clearly had you beat, but it was all in good spirits, it was just nice to lose yourself with someone else to one of the most popular songs of the last three years.

//

You shimmered and shined from the side lines where Flip watched you. He felt dumbstruck, like a complete fool, watching you dance with another woman. The way your jeans clung to your body, yet swayed alongside your feet.

Christ, you were a fucking vision, Flip thought. Now the nerves were really going to get the best of him. Soon enough you would find the three of them and he would have to have a conversation with you about something other than that crazy fucking dancing you were doing. And he didn’t even know you, how the fuck was this an ideal situation to meet someone in? Why did he let Ron and Patrice convince him to do this? Why were you so fucking beaut-

Flip pulled out his pack of cigarettes from his flannel pocket, popping a single cig out and lighting it quickly, trying to calm his nerves before they got the best of him. He took a long, long drag and continued to watch you through the cloud of smoke he blew from his mouth.

The song abruptly ended, sending the crowd in a light cheer before the next one transitioned seamlessly into the stuffy, humid air. Some people around you and your lady-friend applauded you both and you seemed a bit embarrassed, maybe not having realized people were really, really watching. Flip thought that was cute. He watched you hug the girl goodbye as she headed off with her friends again, and you headed to the bar.

Fuuuuck, fuck.

“Anyone want a drink?” Flip asked, worrying his lip between his teeth as he kept his eyes trained on you, bringing the cigarette back up to his lips and rubbing his clammy hands together to appear more... normal?

“Oh yeah, could you get me a-”

“Great, I’ll get that.” Flip cut Ron off, just needing an excuse to get away and see you up close without out right saying: Okay time to go make a complete fucking fool of myself to our ‘mutual’ friend.

Almost a head taller than everyone else on the floor, it was easy for Flip to keep his eyes on you as he sauntered over to the bar, mentally giving himself a pep talk that he didn’t usually need. Well, he didn’t usually hit on women in bars or clubs or discos, he was fine being single, it was actually women that pursued him, making it easy for him to charm them even though it never lasted longer than a few weeks at a time. But now he was the one making the move and it scared the shit out of him. Uncharted territory.

The closer he got to you, the more he could make out of your features, and the more he was regretting his decision to come and see you all by himself. He needed encouragement, maybe liquid encouragement, which he stupidly hadn't gotten yet. It should have been the first thing he’d done when he got here. And this fucking cigarette wasn’t helping like it usually did.

A few bar stools away from you now, (the bar seeming to drag on into infinity), he realized there was some schmuck sitting next to you, who you weren’t even paying any mind to. What a perfectly good seat gone to waste.

“Beat it, pal.” Flip grunted, cigarette between his lips, tapping the man roughly on the shoulder. Either the guy recognized him as a cop or just wasn’t in the mood for any trouble, he got up and left immediately, leaving the spot next to you vacant and cold.

//

You heard him coming. You knew he was watching you. You saw all of them come in and watched observingly as they made their way through the joint and up the steps. You had seen them from the corner of your eye as you put on a little show with your new friend. You liked the way Flip looked when he was entranced, you like the way it felt for him to devour you with his eyes.

“Beat it, pal.” That was the first time you had heard his voice and you tried to suppress the shiver it sent up your spine. So deep and bassy. You kept your head straight ahead, occasionally looking down at your drink, fiddling with it in your hands.

It felt like the man who was sitting next to you flew off his chair and it was suddenly filled with the most radiating, warm energy you think you had ever felt emitted off another person. Cigarette smoke filled your senses and fogged your mind, you could see him blowin git out of his nose in your peripheral vision.

Flip had come to sit next to you, his thighs so wide that his knees nearly spread enough to knock into yours.

“Detective.” You greeted cooly, taking a sip from your drink and avoiding eye contact. Flip greeted you back just as cooly, throwing your name back at you. You don’t think your name sounded so good falling off of someone’s lips before. You internally groaned.

“Quite the little show you put on out there with your friend.” Flip said, taking another exaggerated drag from his cigarette, cheeks hollowing out slightly.

“Stranger.” You said, taking another sip, continuing to avoid his burning stare. You could feel his eyes on you and the temptation to look was almost overpowering, you avoided it like you would Medusa.

“What?”

“She was a stranger, I don’t know her. Didn’t know her. She gave me her number.” You giggled into your glass, taking your final sip from the now empty glass, setting it down on the countertop.

Flip bit his lip. Why were you so fucking sexy? You wouldn’t even look at him. He suppressed the urge to grab your face and turn it himself to make you look at him. Maybe you’d like that, he thought.

“Two mojitos. With ice.” Flip called to the bartender. You turned to look at him then, while his head was turned away in the opposite direction. You soaked in what you could before he turned back to look at you.

His hair practically begged for your hands to run through it. It looked soft, wavy and just stupidly perfect. He was wearing the world’s tightest red flannel with a white shirt poking from underneath the unbuttoned collar. The buttons strained against his chest, god he was probably so fit, how big did he have to be to make the buttons look like they were about to burst? Even his biceps were pulling the material taught. His thighs, which you had noticed when he sat down next to you, were equally big and covered by a lovely denim, you did love a man in jeans. You giggled to yourself, which caused him to look back at you.

Fuck, those eyes. Honey, caramel, cinnamon, chocolate, brown sugar.

“What’s so funny doll?”

“I just didn’t take you for a cocktails kind of guy.” You laughed again. You weren’t trying to make fun of him, you just couldn’t help it. It was the alcohol, not the nerves, you told yourself.

“What makes you say that?” He smirked, you could tell he was trying not to but you could see the way his lips twitched, then proceeded to curl around his cigarette seductively.

“Oh nothing.” You swatted the air with your hand, wanting desperately to change the subject before you accidentally mentioned how large he was and how funny it is to picture a tiny little cocktail glass in his enormous hands.

Your two glasses were quickly placed in front of Flip who handed the bartender a bill. He slid a glass over to you and your fingers brushed as you took it from him. He was warm. You wanted to touch him again. He put his cigarette out in a nearby ashtray.

“Thanks.” You muttered, quickly bringing the glass to your lips, needing more in your system to distract you from how distractingly mesmerizing he is. He had good taste, the drink was perfectly sweet with just enough kick to keep you buzzed. You both locked eyes as you took a sip from your respective drinks, your cheeks feeling hot from his gaze, it made you look away as you set your glass back on the countertop.

Why did you keep looking away from him? Flip began to worry that his presence was unwanted and he debated just getting up and letting you enjoy your evening with your new friend and refilled drink. Maybe he was coming on too intensely? He had definitely gotten that one before, he wasn’t sure how many rookies at the police dept had quit or been re-stationed because of his intensity alone. He just likes to think that they weren’t cut out for the job, and besides, if they couldn’t handle Flip Zimmerman, well, maybe they couldn’t handle-

“Do you want to dance?” His mouth cut his own train of thought off, like half of him was bored of hearing himself think obsessively and waste more of the night not on you. His abruptness made you giggle and you finally looked back at him, swaying gently from side to side in your barstool. Flip thinks he’d like to have you do that in his lap, swaying from side to side, swivelling carelessly...

“I didn’t take you for a dancer.” You maintain eye contact now. More confident than before, challenging him.

“That’s the second thing you’ve assumed about me tonight. And the second thing you’ve been terribly wrong about.” Flip chuckled, downing his drink in one final gulp. You watched the way he threw his head back, the way he swallowed, the way his throat bobbed. You wanted to touch his neck, press your lips across the delicate skin, bruise him.

“You didn’t answer my question.” Flip pushed. He was beginning to think you liked being difficult, that you liked making him work for it, liked him coaxing your answers out of you. Maybe he did. He hoped you liked it too, you little defiant-

“What if I told you I don’t dance with men?” There was a glimmer in your eye. Flip decided right then and there that you were evil, you fucking temptress. You were doing this on purpose.

Motherfucker.

Just how far could he push you before you gave in? Before you gave up on this stupid fucking act?

“Then I would be incredibly disappointed to hear that.” Flip frowned, teasingly. Maybe he should just get up from his seat and find Ron and Patrice, two could play at your dumb little game. He did in fact stand up, he straightened himself out and without a single glance back at you, he turned and walked away. The only thing stopping him was your hand wrapped firmly around his wrist. He looked back expectantly, trying to hide his knowing smirk.

So you did have a limit to which you were willing to play.

“What if I told you… I’d make an exception. Just this once.”

Oh, Flip liked the sound of that.

Without another word, Flip unbuttoned and shrugged off his flannel, placing it on the bar countertop, leaving him in just his white t-shirt that clung way too well to his body. Fuck, what were you getting yourself into? He really was huge, massive. You resisted the urge to just climb him and beg him to take you home. But you didn’t role that way, and you were not about to make that many exceptions for one man.

But he was one hell of a man…

“Keep an eye on this.” Flip called to the bartender, referring to his flannel, without breaking his eyes from yours. Honey, caramel, cinnamon, chocolate -

“Ready?” He held his hand out to you. The song that was playing faded and another came on. Without fail, you recognized this one as well and you couldn’t help the smile that threatened to split your face in two. Be it the alcohol or Flip, your cheeks burned and were growing numb from how hard you were trying to stop smiling. You looked down at his hand and bit your lip, looking back up at him through your lashes and nodded.

“Ready.”

Flip pulled you from your seat and whisked you onto the dance floor with more force than you were expecting, causing you to yelp and grab onto his bicep for balance. He placed a hand on the small of your back to steady you, now in the heat of the dance floor surrounded by glistening bodies. You let out a small laugh, a nervous one. Somehow, you forgot how to move your feet, forgot what it felt like to feel the rhythm of a song, lose yourself in the music and just move. You had been dancing with that girl, what? Twenty minutes ago? And now you could barely move a muscle underneath the intense gaze of detective Flip Zimmerman. He seemed to find this amusing.

“Come on, you’ve got this.” Flip mused, a devilish smirk tugging at his lips. He placed his hands on your hips, making your eyelids and limbs feel heavy. He helped you sway them in time with his, your eyes immediately going to his hips watching him as he watched you become more and more comfortable dancing around him.

Maybe you really didn’t dance with men after all, Flip thought.

Eventually you were able to shake off your nerves and tell yourself to just pretend he wasn’t there, or pretend he was that girl from earlier. You both began to sort of dance by yourselves but still in very close proximity to each other, the occasional graze of his hand along your shoulder, waist, hips, ass bringing you out of your head and back to the dance floor with the reality of the fact that you were indeed dancing with a cop and people were staring at you. Or maybe they were staring at Flip who just so happened to be a stupidly incredible dancer.

For his height and length at which his limbs protruded out from his body, he should not have that much control over them, that much coordination. But he’s a detective, you remembered. He fought in ‘Nam, he was a trained professional in the police force, of course he was coordinated, of course he was skilled with his body. He had to use it everyday. He had to be strong, tough, resilient, a wall of pure muscle.

Fuck, you were starting to understand why Patrice threw some of her cares into the wind when it came to Ron being a cop, detective, whatever. Flip was undeniably sexy and as you danced with him out on the middle of the floor, you didn’t think you could want him anymore than you did in that moment. The way his muscles rippled underneath his shirt as he moved to the music was utterly hypnotizing.

Before you could even realize what you were doing, you dropped low to the floor, reaching your hands to glide up his entire body slowly, slowly, slowly, passing over his muscular thighs, dragging dangerously close to his crotch, his hips, his waist, over his toned stomach, his hard pecs, scratching at his neck as you looped one hand around his throat, then strutting around him in a circle, letting your hand run along his neck, over his shoulders. You giggled to yourself stupidly, hugging him from behind, suddenly embarrassed at that little show you just put on, wanting desperately to disappear behind him. Flip grabbed you from behind, splitting his legs open and somehow sliding you between them, underneath him and then back to face him again.

He looked down at you with that same look from before; hunger, starvation, thirst. You were both still dancing even though the movements blurred in your mind, you felt like the two of you were moving in slow motion as your bodies grew closer, closer, closer together, the music fading out as well. The only sensation that seemed to knock you out of your trance was Flip’s hand slipping into yours, interlocking his fingers through your smaller ones. He was warm, so, so warm and you didn’t want to let go. You tugged on his hand to bring it up to your lips, to kiss, but he tugged harder. He tugged your whole arm, actually. He tugged your whole arm and your whole body followed, off the dance floor, through the crowd, through the back door, around the corner till you were against the brick wall, outside.

You were breathless, your ears ringing from the adrenaline of being so close to him, dancing with him but also from the loud music that was still pounding beyond those two doors next to you. Flip stood in front of you, he fished out his cigarette pack from his jeans and you wondered when he put it in his pants pocket, you remembered it being in his flannel pocket. Why were you thinking about that? Maybe you were tipsy, or drunk off of him.

Flip stuck the cigarette between his teeth and lit it effortlessly, like he had done it a million times. He probably has. He maintained eye contact with you up against that wall as he sucked and sucked the toxins out of his cigarette, his cheeks hollowing beautifully before blowing the smoke out through his nose, making you want to whimper and drop to your knees. If you had been any drunker you think you might have.

He took annoyingly slow steps towards you, and with each one you felt your breaths become heavier and heavier, like he was pressing a weight against your chest the closer he got to you. Another puff from his cigarette.

“Hold this for me.” He said suddenly, holding his cigarette out for you to take. You nodded silently, not trusting your own voice as you took it from him, your fingers brushing against one another; electricity, voltage, lightning.

Flip grabbed the back of your head, fisted your hair between his fingers, tipped your head back and shoved his tongue down your throat. You moaned into his open mouth, shameless as your lips wrapped around his, wet and slippery. His other hand, now free from his cigarette thanks to you, came to grab your cheeks between his thumb and index, pinching your jaw softly to pry your mouth open and keep it that way so he could devour you more easily.

He backed you up against the wall, his muscular thigh coming to rest between your legs, pressing right up against your most sensitive area, causing you to moan into his mouth again. He pulled your hair harder, groaned against your lips and you desperately ground yourself against his thigh, you couldn't help it, it was right there applying the right amount of pressure and you were beginning to seriously unravel for him. Putty in his hands. His mustache and goatee tickled your face but it only spurred you on more to kiss him with equal fervour, now wanting to devour him yourself. Your tongues massaged one anothers, over, under and back again, you had truly never been kissed like this before.

Flip suddenly pulled away, gasping for breath and you audibly whined at the loss of contact, your lips begging for his to come back. At your complaint, he gave you a few teasingly small pecks before resting his forehead against yours again.

“I bet you think you’re real cute, dancing out there like that.” Flip said, his voice the deepest you had heard it all night, you let out a satisfied hum. You decided then that you would do anything he asked you.

“Hmm, you seem to think so.” Your eyes boring into his, then back down to his lips again. So plump, swollen and red. You did that to him. You wanted to keep doing that to him.

“You sure are a fucking brat, aren’t you?” He spat at you with pure hunger in his voice, pushing your body harder against the wall, causing you to whimper and screw your eyes shut momentarily, the slight pain turning into pleasure. How was he doing this to you?

“It doesn’t seem to be bothering you that much, the fact that I’m a brat.” You spat back at him with equal want. Flip groaned and tightened his fist in your hair even more than he previously had.

“Honey, you have no idea what it’s doing to me.”

His voice was quiet all of a sudden. The need not gone from his voice, but his voice just above a whisper. It rumbled his chest when he spoke. You reached your hand down to palm him through his jeans and you weren’t surprised to find how hard he was there, but you gasped at its size. Flip gabbed your wrist and pinned it above your head, baring his teeth at you slightly. He was holding himself back, you could tell, it was like it almost pained him.

“Flip, please,” You begged, your first time begging on the first date. “Please, I need to touch you.”

You closed your eyes and rested your head back against the brick wall in defeat. You felt Flip’s lips ghost over the skin of your neck before he sank his teeth into the skin causing you to cry out his name. He quickly pulled his teeth away from your skin and licked around the irritated flesh several times, pressing his plush lips against the quickly purpling skin.

Flip knew you were nowhere near intoxicated enough to not know what was going on, but he didn’t want to rush you into things that you might regret tomorrow. He didn’t want to risk not seeing your pretty little face again just to get his cock in your mouth tonight. No matter how badly he wanted to see you there on the ground outside the disco, bruising your knees for him, his cock deep in your throat, tears falling down your cheeks as-

Not tonight, not tonight, not tonight.

“Come by the station tomorrow. Don’t even think about covering this up.” He murmured against your skin, referring to the hickey he left, his mark on you. Breathless and at loss for words in your swimming pool of a brain, you nodded your head with fervour at his request.

Flip pulled away from your neck to look into your eyes with such intent, such meaning. Use your goddamn words, he thought.

“Tell me you’ll come.” He wanted to add a ‘please’ at the end of his request, but it wasn’t really a request. No, he needed to see you again. This was not going to be a one off thing, Flip was sure of that. Even after just one night of dancing with you. You smiled up at him and said,

“I’ll come.” 

The double meaning behind your words made you feel hot and look away from him. You’d come as many times as he’d let you, you thought, your heart pounding in your chest at the mere idea of him taking you in any way he wanted, for as long as he wanted, as hard as he wanted. Flip gripped your chin again, forcing you to meet his dark, inky eyes.

“I’m gonna fix that attitude of yours one day.” You smiled up at him, a perfect shit eating grin to match his own. 

“I’m counting on it, Detective.”

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Boogie Shoes (baon)

Summary: Andy Jeff really isn't one to celebrate his birthday, but when you have someone like Stretch for a best friend, what's a guy supposed to do?

Tags:  Spicyhoney, Established Relationships, Found Family, Friendship

Notes:  I like to write a short for my birthday as sort of a present for all my readers, but this year there is Stuff going on so I'm posting a couple days early. 😁

Part of the ‘by any other name’ series.

~~*~~

Read it on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

Jeff was concentrating so hard on the spreadsheet in front of him that the knock on his office door made him jump, banging his knee on his desk.

“Come in,” he called, rubbing his wounded leg. The door opened to reveal not Catty with more work, as expected, but Stretch, carrying what Jeff sincerely hoped was an iced mocha latte with his name on it.

“heya, handy andy,” Stretch set the cup down carefully away from the laptop and Jeff took it gratefully. He seriously loved his job, but everyone could use a quick coffee break from time to time. “i came up to pester my shorter half and thought i’d stop and say hi.”

“If you come bearing caffeine, you can visit any day of the week.” Jeff took a sip and couldn’t hold back an appreciative groan. The Beanery knew its coffee, for sure, and they made their own mocha syrup in house. Perfection in a recyclable cup.

Stretch plopped down in the only other chair in the office, propping his untied sneakers on the corner of Jeff’s desk and Jeff let him, payment for the tasty goodness. “so. right to brass tacks…tacts? who the hell came up with that phrase…anyway, a little bird told me your birthday was coming up.”

“A little bird?” Jeff said dryly. He saved his spreadsheet and pushed his laptop aside; this conversation might require actual attention before he got swept away in some kind of crazy scheme. Been there, done that, lost an eyebrow to prove it. “More like the cat who should’ve gotten your tongue.” Catty was a gossip of astonishing breadth and commitment.

“could be,” Stretch grinned, “but hey, birthdays only happen once in a blue moon, didn’t wanna miss the boat, you’re the apple of my eye, don’t wanna be a fair-weather friend—”

“Enough,” Jeff laughed. “Before I run out of here like a bat out of hell. What did you have in mind?”

Stretch dropped his feet back to the floor and sat up so straight Jeff could hear the joints in his spine pop in protest. “as your best bud, i’m pretty sure i’m supposed to throw you a party or something. didn’t want to go the surprise route, ‘cause as fun as that sounds to me, i kinda think you need to feel out that sort of thing before you plan it. don’t have a bladder, but it doesn’t take a crystal ball to figure out that making someone piss their pants in front of friends and family is kinda the opposite of fun.”

“Yeah, no thanks,” Jeff shuddered. “To be honest, I’d rather not have a party at all.”

“oh. okay, if that’s what you want.” Stretch didn’t sound put out, only a little disappointed as he slumped back into the chair. He wouldn’t pry, Jeff knew, but it was okay. A lot of his old hurts stung less these days.

“It’s just…my parents used to throw me a party every year, but they didn’t invite my friends.” What few he had, but that didn’t seem worth mentioning. “They invited theirs and kids from our church who didn’t even like me. I’d spend the whole time being ignored at a party that was supposed to be about me, unless it was to blow out the candles for the photo op.” The memory of sitting miserably alone, waiting for his father to scold him in a low whisper through clenched teeth to stop embarrassing him…Jeff shook it away. He was done letting his dad hurt him, thanks. “After I moved in with Julia, we just had a little cake and dinner together with some presents.”

He could practically see Stretch eagerly latch onto that idea. “we could do that, if you want! edge could make dinner, you and antwan could come over. have some cake, play some games—”

“Play games? I thought you wanted me to have a nice, quiet night,” Jeff teased. Their game nights hadn’t reached the level of the legendary (and fiery) last game of Monopoly before it was permanently banned, but not for lack of trying.

Stretch’s grin was unashamed, but then, he didn’t usually start the gaming fires, he only fanned the flames. “yeah, okay, maybe a movie. how about it?”

“I’d like that.” One of Edge’s delicious dinners, followed by one of his luscious desserts? He could do things with chocolate that would make angels swear and devils weep, Jeff’s mouth was already watering.

Stretch was nodding thoughtfully, probably already plotting at least something unusual and whatever it was, Jeff knew it would make him laugh. He started to climb to his feet and Jeff hastened to stop his escape. He was starting to get the hang of all this, figuring out the steps to Stretch’s internal dance, and he knew the best time to probe for his own info was when Stretch just dug up his own.

“What about for your birthday,” Jeff asked, lightly, “party animal or homeboy?”

Either way, Jeff figured he could rope Edge into helping and they could have some real fun with it, come up with some sort of crazy party theme. Mad scientist was probably off the table, unless they stuck with classroom experiments, but Stretch would think rubber chickens were hilarious, or wearing anything but clothes or even a 70’s disco bash, Jeff had a cute pair of go-go boots that he was dying to wear.

Of all the answers Stretch might give, from actual honesty (unlikely) to some kind of sly pun (far higher on the list), Jeff was not expecting his friend to only shrug his narrow shoulders. “dunno, i’ve never had a birthday party.”

“What? Seriously?” Jeff said, startled. He’d honestly expected that if nothing else, Edge would make sure Stretch got a little celebration, not to mention Blue.

Stretch only rolled to his feet and lived up to his namesake with a joint-popping groan, tall enough that his fingers brushed the ceiling as he stretched. “don’t even know when my birthday is, none of us do. it was always just me and blue until we got here.”

He didn’t seem bothered by it, which, yeah, it wasn’t like he knew any different. But knowing that Stretch never had any kind of parent…sure, his own parents were kind of shit, but he’d at least had Julia. Stretch was the older brother, had anyone ever taken care of him, made sure he had presents and hugs and treats when he needed them, made him feel any kind of special, before Edge stepped up?

Jeff was afraid he knew the answer to that one. No wonder the whole Skeleton family went all out on Gyftmas.

“anyway, i better let you get back to work.” Stretch waggled his fingers in a lazy little wave. “i’ll talk to edge, makes some plans for this weekend, yeah?”

“Sure, sounds great,” Jeff said, but he already had a plan of his own forming and knew just the accomplice to help.

It was how he ended up crouched behind a sofa a few days later with the entire skeleton clan, plus extras, waiting for a door to open and the lights to turn on before jumping out with the rest of them to a loud chorus of, “Surprise!”

Surprise was probably an understatement, Stretch nearly jumped out of his non-existent skin and he dropped the bag of books he was carrying, a quick call from Thomas at ‘Classic Books’ the perfect ruse to get him out of the house for a couple of hours.

Jeff really hoped someone recorded that shriek, it deserved a place of honor on Twitter.

“what the hell?” Stretch didn’t seem happy, only bewildered, looking around the room at the streamers, the balloons, the haphazard pile of presents with the rubber chicken in a white leisure suit standing guard, and the banner that declared, ‘happy birthday!’. There was an entire buffet table full of mouthwatering treats, more than enough for the hungry guests, and eh, maybe the huge disco ball was a bit much, but when you had a theme, you had to run with it.

“It’s a party for you, Papy!” Blue chirped out, like maybe somehow his brother missed the clue. His cheery smile dimmed a little, the party hat on his head almost drooping when Stretch only stood there in confusion with his bag at his feet. Edge started towards him in obvious concern and Jeff held out a hand to stop him. This was his idea, he’d take the heat.

He walked over to Stretch and picked up the bag, heavy books shifting within it. The shiny white leather of his go-go boots reflected the light of the disco ball, but Jeff forced himself not to stare at them. Instead, he pulled off one of the wide gold chains around his neck, the one with a medallion on it that had ‘Let’s Boogie’ engraved in it. He held it out, looking into his friend’s pale eye lights as he admitted, a little nervously, “I figured since I didn’t want my birthday, I’d give it to you.”

The confusion on Stretch’s face faded into something more complicated, harder to interpret, but there was no mistaking the strength of the hug Jeff abruptly found himself pulled into, the books thumping back to the floor.

“thanks.” A single word, maybe a little too soft and thick. Tears pricked Jeff’s eyes as he hugged Stretch back, the best friend he’d never even thought to wish for, much less imagined he’d have. Then he was biting back a laugh as Stretch murmured, “we’re still doing dinner and a movie, you shit.”

“Deal.”

Stretch let go after a minute and his grin was enough to rouse the rest of the guests who were starting murmur apprehensively. He snatched the necklace still dangling from Jeff’s hand and looped it around his neck with a loud, “c’mon, let’s party!”

It was one of the best ideas Jeff thought he’d heard all year.

-finis-

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 256: Fucking Superb You Funky Little Hero Eggs

Previously on BnHA: Aizawa and Mic’s frankensteined best friend Shirakumo, better known to us as Kurogiri, had his memories briefly restored through the Power of Friendship, and was all “YO Y’ALLS BETTER GO CHECK OUT THOSE HOSPITALS” before his head started steaming like a tea kettle and he randomly fell asleep. Aizawa and Mic were all “!!” and Aizawa was all “(ಡ ﹏ ಡ)” and Mic was all “Aizawa are you crying” and Aizawa was like “NO!!!” and then they left the prison and Nao called HPSC Lady who called Hawks and was all “eck-chay ethay ospitals-hay” because Hawks, as you recall, is still a secret agent and all that. Anyway so Hawks was all “EUREKA!!” in his head which doesn’t really add up but hey, and then the chapter ended with Dr. Ujiko dancing in sadistic glee as he watched Tomura get all mad scienced. It was pretty freaky. I could use some wholesomeness right about now so let’s see if this chapter will deliver.

Today on BnHA: Class 1-A shows off the fresh skills they learned during their assorted internships, such as “determination”, “enhanced search techniques”, and “becoming a literal blob of acid.” The Wonder Trio is a particular highlight, and All Might is all “my little baby off to destroy people :’)” as he watches Deku shred a robot to pieces using Blackwhip. We then cut to Aizawa and Mic, who may or may not be planning some rogue vigilante style investigations of the whole Noumu thing, or maybe they’re just brooding, but either way they’re interrupted by Mirio and Tamaki who come running in to get them to stop Eri’s quirk from going haywire, which, yikes. The chapter then ends with All Might handing Deku a notebook full of DETAILED, CATALOGED INFO ABOUT THE PAST SUCCESSORS AND THE FUCKING SIXQUIRKS. We just have to wait two more weeks to find out what that’s all about. 2020’s got some fucking zip to it so far huh.

so it’s about a quarter past 7 right now and it’ll be a miracle if I can have this recap up by 10pm tonight. surprisingly the wait for this chapter didn’t really bother me, but this Sunday/Monday release schedule is really doing a number on my punctuality. but anyways we’ll figure it out eventually. if memory serves, there’s about a 90% chance that this week’s jump will also be a double issue, so that gives me another extra week to get my shit together lol

(ETA: so that wasn’t too far off actually! I think a three-hour turnaround time isn’t bad for 3000 words lol. and actually it was more like two hours of reading/blogging and one hour of editing/photo cropping. anyway so in all likelihood either Sunday or Monday night releases will become the norm, depending entirely on how busy that particular Sunday is. not quite the same as getting the chapter on Friday and having the whole weekend to ruminate over it but we will adjust!)

anyway, so I’m somehow remarkably unspoiled for this chapter despite it having been out for nearly a week and a half at this point. so that’s something! let’s see what we’ve got here

yaaaay my babies

All Might was offering free cotton candy, yes? I didn’t expect we’d cut right back to this lol, but you sure won’t see me complaining. I want to see what everyone else learned during their internships, and also what with the break and the last couple chapters being Tartarus-focused, it’s been about a month since I last saw my little hero eggs, and of course I missed them I’m only human

omg

did the original dialogue really reference Skynet. Horikoshi truly gives no fucks about copyright. like one or two episodes ago the anime made some copyrighted reference which you could clearly hear in the Japanese but which the English subs hilariously glossed right over. I’m trying to remember what it was now. damn. anyways we millennials can never resist a good pop culture reference, facts

OH MY GOD AOYAMA

THEY’RE EATING THE COTTON CANDY

TOKOYAMI EATING COTTON CANDY IS THE GREATEST THING TO HAPPEN IN 2020 THUS FAR. LET ME TELL YOU, WE REALLY NEEDED THIS

SHOUTO EATING COTTON CANDY IS THE SECOND BEST THING TO HAPPEN IN 2020. IT WAS VERY CLOSE

I STALLED FOR TIME SO MUCH AND I STILL DON’T KNOW WTF TO SAY ABOUT AOYAMA’S NEW ATTACK OH MY GOD. JUST. I DON’T KNOW YOU GUYS. THIS BOY IS REALLY OUT HERE SLICING ROBOTS IN HALF WITH HIS BRAND NEW LASER PENIS. THE AMOUNT OF FUCKS THAT HORIKOSHI GIVES IS IN THE NEGATIVES I DON’T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO SAY

OH ARE YOU STILL GOING

is... what’s... ldkfj okay nothing to see here guys just the naked invisible chick getting all friendly with Aoyama’s beam boner. just manhandling his sparkle shaft. there are children reading this manga. I mean, they’re already mentally scarred from all the dead dogs and child quirk wine and whatnot, but still at what point do we put our goddamn foot down

anyway so somehow she’s redirecting his laser beam?? I guess with her light refracting quirk skills?? great job Hagakure with your help Aoyama can finally shoot lasers at stuff that’s behind him. you’ve mastered the power of making it so that he doesn’t have to turn around great job truly an internship well spent

“now I can yank light and warp it!” you go girl now you can whip that thing around like it’s a fucking fire hose I guess

YOOOOO MINA!!

THIS GIRL LITERALLY COATED HERSELF IN ACID AND DID A FUCKING BARREL ROLL AHHHHHHHHH. NOW THAT’S MORE LIKE IT, NO OFFENSE TO CAPTAIN DISCO DONG AND COMMODORE “I CAN DO EVERYTHING A MIRROR CAN DO” BUT THERE ARE UPGRADES AND THERE ARE UPGRADES, AND LET’S FACE IT, THIS IS THE REAL DEAL HERE

AHAHAHA I LOVE ITTTTT

is it too late for Mina to actually change her name to Acidman. what is she calling herself now again?? Pinky?? come on Mina strike some fear into the hearts of your enemies

and now All Might and the others are applauding. I don’t see Shouto’s cotton candy anymore. boy fucking inhaled that shit

oh wow, they interned under Yoroi Musha? if memory serves me, and I’m honestly not going to bother to check right now, isn’t that the samurai dude who somehow beat Ryuukyuu in the billboard charts? not that I’m still salty about that, oh wait I absolutely am but anyways

OH MY

IS THAT SOME KIRIMINA CONTENT UP IN MY PANELS. hot damn that is some cute fucking shit. Mina better not get any undue hate for this. everyone please remain calm this cute interaction does not threaten your ship in any way (unless you want it to in which case have at!!) and we can all have fun if we just play nice you guys

lmao All Might

“WE’RE ALREADY ON PAGE FOUR AND THERE ARE TWENTY OF YOU, WE DON’T HAVE ALL FUCKING DAY CHILDREN”

so Satou and Ojiro learned how to punch harder and stuff. again, it’s fine, we can’t all be Acid Men. but meanwhile they interned with some lion guy named Shishido whom I INSTANTLY LOVE so that’s badass. only one character away from Shishida though, but that’s Horikoshi for you

OH MY GOD

BLAH BLAH YES ENHANCED SEARCH TECHNIQUES ZZZZZ BUT FUCKING LOOK THOUGH AT THE FLASHBACK OF HIM YEETING THEM, YESSSSSS. THE OLD WAYS HAVE NOT YET BEEN FORGOTTEN, GANG ORCA YOU ARE THE HERO WE DESERVE

meanwhile Sero, Kami, and Mineta learned how to literally kill people with their quirks flkdjsflk

(ETA: btw I really love that Mt. Lady’s internship emphasized teamwork. now there’s someone who’s come a really long way her own self. anyway I stan and she had better join the other two in the the top 10 real soon. come on BnHA society get with it.)

damn Mt. Lady what the fuck. “if you guys work together you can suffocate and electrocute villains to death with ease!” the government’s plan really is working huh; these children have become bloodthirsty, ruthless killers in a shockingly short period of time

anyways so Iida as we all recall learned how to be more footloose and fancy free, and meanwhile Kouda learned “smooth communication” from Wash, the literal washing machine man whom I also don’t still harbor a grudge against for inexplicably beating my dragon queen in the hero polls, and once again that is a lie because fuck you Wash! you’re adorable but fuck you!!

man this is taking forever why are there so many kids in this class. for anyone wondering why Horikoshi doesn’t focus on class 1-A as a whole more often and leaves them as supporting characters, this right here is why. I love these children to death but we would still be stuck in the basement arc. oh my god I just shuddered

Tokoyami mastered “improvement on all fronts” because I guess he kind of peaked at flying when it came to new moves huh. that’s fine for now

and Kiri mastered “making baddies lose the will to fight real quick” which sounds like some bullshit you’d write while desperately trying to pad your hero resume, except that it’s accompanied by this convincing panel of him chomping a steel bar in two or some shit which YIKES

can confirm, if some demonic rock man came trotting up to me and snapped off some railing from some stairs and fucking snapped it like a twig with his GIANT FOSSILIZED DINOSAUR TEETH, I’d lose my will to fight pretty quickly too

and Ochako and Tsuyu learned “determination” smdh. Horikoshi did you fucking fall asleep towards the end of this segment or what

WHO IS MAJESTIC OMG

excuse me did she just create a bunch of fucking dynamites. is that what those are. is my girl encroaching on my young son’s turf. because if she is, ENCROACH, MOMO, ENCROACH! FEEL FREE TO FUCKING IMPINGE, EVEN!! god, and I know I was bitching just a moment ago about these “lessons” becoming increasingly vague and intangible and motivational poster-y, but I read Momo and “predicting and acting efficiently”, and my thoughts immediately ran to Nighteye and Mirio’s fighting styles, and I was like “YESSSSSSSSS” because, I mean. YES, though

meanwhile Kacchan has learned...

this fucking -- I swear -- YOU LEARNED WHAT YOUR FUCKING HERO NAME IS GOING TO BE YOU TROLLING PIECE OF SHIT. oh my god. Katsuki I swear to god I will take your internet privileges. NO SRIRACHA FOR A WEEK UNLESS YOU TELL ME WHAT IT IS

oh for fuck’s sakes

don’t mind him he learned boom with five b’s and three oo’s what did you all do this week. and somehow Todoroki learned how to be even more fabulous

so All Might’s looking on in pride and giving Endeavor some mental props, and waiting for Deku to go do his thing too

sdfkj he’s thinking about the day he gave Deku THE HAIR and that “[it] feels like ancient history now.” DOESN’T IT THOUGH?

OH MY FEELS

“you don’t look back at me anymore... and you don’t need to.” oh Aizawa’s dry eye has spread to me now huh. must be those January allergies. and that’s some nice bloop there kid. great jorb

someone tell All Might he’s not allowed to look on at Deku with this much fatherly love without giving me at least a week’s notice in advance

sigh. now you’ve done it you two I’m going to become a big cat blob of feels right here and it’s all on you. you did this

oh my god a whole big panel of reactions from the other kids and I’m ( ˊᵕˋ )

lol Kacchan can’t agree with anything even if it’s a compliment. and lmao, who the fuck was that who was all “TODOROKI FINALLY YOU’RE A FAST FUCKING HIMBO HUH!” like they really went and put that “finally” in there, like they were so fucking tired of Todoroki Shouto and his LANGUID FUCKING PACE all the fucking time, GOD, FINALLY SOME SPEED BOY WE WERE DYING OUT HERE

Mineta being happy for Deku also warms my heart, ngl. we’ve gone almost an entire chapter with Mineta not doing anything even remotely perverted, can it be, has Horikoshi finally chilled the fuck out. or did I just jinx it we shall see

also love how Deku is just reduced to an inkblot here and it still is him beyond any shadow of a doubt. and poor Sero, you are also being impinged on huh

lmao Mineta’s just socking Deku in the solar plexus out of comradery and Deku’s fucking vomiting on reflex and not even paying the slightest attention wtf

I love this panel there I said it

so he’s going over and thanking Ochako for “that time” and says he’s using Blackwhip a lot better now. I assume he’s referring to when he first unlocked it and went hog wild and she was all “smh” and went and hugged him to put an end to that nonsense

oh, right!!!!

I forgot about those!! looool Horikoshi’s 2020 resolution is to make everyone Spider-Man now huh. hey everyone guess what I LOVE THIS

oh my god this wholesomeness

I fucking can’t?? yo I’m seriously living for this? I don’t get why some people think Deku inhibits Ochako’s character growth tbh. or that her story is becoming all about him. if it is, then it’s in the same way that Bakugou’s is. Deku keeps inspiring her to be better, ain’t nothing wrong with that. yes she has the crush, and she’s honest with herself and in tune with her emotions enough to be aware of it and to acknowledge it, but she refuses to be distracted by it. I actually really like that, because it shows that romantic feelings can actually exist and not be the central focus of a character’s story or their development. and I think the fear is that it somehow will become the focus, but so far I haven’t seen that happening, so it seems unwarranted to me

anyway

shit’s cute

oh no Mineta’s doing something weird I fucking did jinx it I’m sorry guys. it’s a fucking fistbump dude relax

so All Might seems to be dismissing them now, and he’s saying something about how he reordered (?? rescheduled, maybe??) class so that Aizawa can watch later. that’s nice. he’ll need something to cheer him up, and if Acidman can’t do the trick I don’t know what can

and now we’re cutting back to the dorms!! dorm shenanigans yessssss

oh no shit wait

these are not playful dorm shenanigans these are depressed Miczawa shenanigans to bring me down. nnnn

but Aizawa fucking knows something is up now, shit. that’s right son your babies are in danger

KLJKLGLKSH

okay (1) HOW HOT IS AIZAWA THOUGH HOW DOES HE ALWAYS DO THIS

and (2) is “have a karaoke contest” code for “fuck shit up” or what. son of a bitch, having these two so personally invested in the Noumu arc now is such an unexpected and wonderful gift

MIRIO NO

(ETA: but you all know Aizawa was about to say “I’d go and fuck shit up” though.)

I LOVE YOU BOTH BUT THEY WERE HAVING A SEXY ANGSTING MOMENT, MIRIO CAN YOU NOT READ THE ROOM!! DO YOU NOT SEE THEM BEING ALL ANGSTY AND DARKLY CONTEMPLATIVE!! YOU TWO OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW WHEN LOVERS ARE BONDING OVER THEIR ANGST WHICH ONLY THE TWO OF THEM UNDERSTAND! FUCKING GODDAMN

NO!!!!!

[SLAMS HANDS ON TABLE] HORIKOSHI I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU LAY ONE FINGER ON HER PRECIOUS HEAD

NOOOO MY SWEET BABY GIRL

oh my fuck that sweater is the cutest fucking thing and this girl has had no shortage of cute outfits let me tell you. BUT ANYWAY SHE’S SCARED AND CRYING NOOOO. holy shit her horn is fucking huge now I don’t feel comfortable with this at all, and Nejire is Best Mom for not giving a single fuck and holding and comforting her regardless of the risk, I love her so much

OH THANK GOD

PALPABLE RELIEF. boys I’m sorry it was wrong of me to yell, you did the right thing interrupting their sexy brooding

BREAK ROOM AHHHHH THE SCOOBY SQUAD LIVES AGAINNNN

it means you constantly amaze him!! you have so much potential he doesn’t even know what the limit might possibly be! don’t act like you don’t love it. or stop being so suspicious and trying to look for the hidden meaning and just accept the praise for what it is. you did good. now ask him if he’s heard any news about Best Jeanist :/

!!

that’s right, he was researching and making faces a while back, are we finally gonna find out what all that was about??

DSLFKAJSLDKFH

HE MADE A NOTEBOOK FOR HIM AHHHHHHHH HE KNOWS WHAT HE LIKES THIS IS AMAZING

DOES HIM GIVING HIM THE INFO IN NOTEBOOK FORM MEAN IT’S UP TO DEKU WHETHER OR NOT HE WANTS TO SHARE THIS INFO WITH KACCHAN. HMMM. OBVIOUSLY HE WILL, BUT THAT’S A REAL POWER MOVE THOUGH, DAMN

“PAST SUCCESSORS / QUIRKS” EVERYONE, THIS BOOK CONTAINS THE SECRETS OF THE SIXQUIRKS. AND THE PREVIOUS OFA AVATARS. THAT’S FINE I’M JUST GONNA. ...I’LL BE FINE. FOR TWO WEEKS. FUCK

shit. well I know it was coming, that’s another reason why I didn’t feel particularly rushed to read this chapter lol. I kinda wish I’d had the foresight to save the Korean scanlation though, just to compare. ah well it’s probably still lying around somewhere

and lol and here’s the bonus page, and this one I did see floating around tumblr haha

I’m not sure how the three smartest kids in class are all present and yet not one of them had the foresight to consider that maybe, just maybe, this could be a bad idea. let’s let the kid with the combustible sweat handle the mochi I’m sure it’ll be -- [everyone immediately dies]. anyway so that’s some good friendly advice from Horikoshi there. happy new year friends!

[dust2dust34]

It’s Always Been You (6/6, Olicity AU, T)

Summary: Ten years later... 

A/N: Read previous chapters here. The final part! Thank you so much for the wonderful response to this little story! I had so much fun writing it, and I'm so glad it could put a smile on your face in this crazy time. I hope you enjoy one last peek at Oliver and Felicity's life together!

(read on AO3)

*

Ten Years Later

“Hi.”

The man at the table glanced up just as Felicity dropped into the chair next to him. She caught his raised eyebrows as she set - alright, tossed - her purse and laptop bag onto the table. The move nearly knocked his coffee over and he grabbed for it before it could topple onto what looked like exam papers. She would have felt bad except she did it on purpose. Ish. To distract him.

“Uh,” was all he got out before Felicity wrapped her arms around his very nicely-sized bicep and plastered herself to his side.

“I need you to pretend you’re my husband.”

He hissed through his teeth. “Sorry. As tempting as that is, I’m already taken. In fact, I’m waiting for my wife.”

“Oh. Well, that’s a bummer. She’s one lucky lady.”

“Oh no, I’m the lucky one,” he told her, giving her a wink before leaning in for a kiss. She smiled against her husband’s soft, coffee-flavored lips. “Considering she was the one who picked my table and not some other random joe.”

“Imagine if I had chosen some other poor sap that day,” Felicity said.

“I’d really rather not,” he said, turning back to his grading.

She smiled, setting her chin on his shoulder. She studied his profile, noting the way his lips twitched with a smile at her attention before he found his concentration again. And then he was back to his work. Felicity drank her husband in. Age was being very good to him - there were a couple more lines in his face, but they were laugh lines, and silver peppered his dark blonde hair now, very sexy, and only visible when the right light caught it.

Felicity didn’t want to think about a world where they hadn’t found each other either.

Even if their path together hadn’t been easy.

She held him tighter as she thought back to when their happy bubble had burst.

Turned out “Ghost Fox” was actually her supposedly dead ex-boyfriend abusing her very complicated, very dangerous code. After shutting down Starling City and robbing as many banks as he could, he went on to sell the code to the highest bidder, turning an already out-of-control situation into an international crisis. It had been bad. Really bad. For the world, but especially for their relationship when her connection came out and ARGUS thought she was behind it. And then, icing on the cake, Oliver’s past with the U.S. government came to light when it was determined Felicity was the only one who could dismantle the code. Despite her adamant objections - his safety, number one, but two, it was her responsibility, and three, they were on rocky ground anyway, talk about interpersonal issues - Oliver had told Lyla and Diggle that he would be the one getting her in and out, end of story.

Not everyone got to say they had engaged in life-or-death espionage with the love of their life.

But they got through it, and everything else after that, after learning one important lesson:

They were better together.

“Kids get dropped off okay?” Oliver asked.

“Mhmm,” Felicity said. “All safe and sound with Grandma Moira. They took all their Disney goodies with them to show off, including that very attractive picture of you on the rollercoaster.”

“Lovely,” he said with a sarcastic huff. She didn’t miss his little smile.

“I also talked to my mom and she’s going to pick them up and keep them until Monday.”

That got his attention.

“Oh?” he asked, setting his pen down and turning in his chair to face her. His hand landed on her thigh, his wedding ring catching on the sunlight peeking through outside. He flashed her a smirk that was all promise and she licked her lips in anticipation. He followed the motion as he teasingly slid his fingers to where her legs were pressed together. “And what exactly are we going to do with an entire house to ourselves?”

“I’m sure we’ll think of something,” Felicity whispered with husky promise before kissing him. “And then we’re going to sleep. We are sleeping in and it is going to be amazing.”

He laughed. “That sounds perfect. Are you still helping out tonight?”

“Yeah, I’m heading over there after I get some coffee. Laurel’s in a tizzy because Tommy wants to do something with a disco ball.”

“That sounds like a nightmare.”

Felicity chuckled. “It could go either way. Which means I need an extra, extra large latte to deal with it. I’ll be right back.” The line moved quickly, and when her name was called, she enthusiastically thanked the barista. She returned to her husband with a loving caress across his shoulders before she leaned over him to grab her bag. “Alright, I’m out. I’ll see you there.”

“Sounds good.” Oliver leaned back to look up at her. “Kiss?”

Cupping his jaw, Felicity kissed his cheek, then his lips, then his cheek again in a quick series of noisy smooches.

The content smile that graced his lips filled her heart with joy.

“Now, just to be sure…” Felicity brushed his lengthening hair off his forehead before cupping his cheek. “Oliver, if you’ll have me, I’d love to go to our twentieth high school reunion with you as my very real and very amazing husband.”

“I’d love you. I mean, I’d love to have you.” She huffed and Oliver sent her a teasing wink as he wrapped his arm around her waist. “I mean, to take you-”

“I was flustered.”

“It was cute,” he said, tugging her closer. “I love your sentence fragments. And I love you.”

“I love you, too.” She kissed him. “So is that a yes?”

“Definitely a yes,” Oliver said, smiling up at her. “My very real, very amazing, very sexy wife.”

“Good.” Felicity grinned. “It’s a date then.”

*

So, fun story, I had many wild tangents hit me about where this story could go, from this gently soft little ride here, to something that had way more smut, to something that was an actual multi-chapter monstrosity. I decided to temper myself and put a snippet in there just in case something ever happens in the future that I want to revisit (and perhaps even an original concept because it's just such a fun idea).

Thank you so very much for joining me on this journey! Thank you for reading, and reviews literally feed the soul and muse!

[ohblackdiamond]

little t&a (paul/gene, nc-17) (part 1 of 29)

part 1   part 2   part 3   part 4   part 5   part 6   part 7   part 8   part 9   part 10   part 11   part 12   part 13   part 14   part 15   part 16   part 17   part 18   part 19   part 20   part 21  part 22   part 23   part 24    part 25   part 26   part 27   part 28   part 29 Four weeks before KISS gets back on tour, Gene discovers that Paul’s been cursed by a groupie. For the sake of KISS’ finances, Paul’s comfort level, and Gene’s libido, this situation must be rectified. Sexswap fic.

Notes: This has been on the backburner pretty much since the quarantine started. I really wrestled with posting it at all since it’s a weird premise, and most of my fics have a more realistic bent, but I decided that if it perked me up while working remotely, eating ramen, and feeling like I was back in uni in all the worst ways (when was I in uni? why, during the Great Recession!)-- then maybe it’d perk someone else up, too. So here we are.

           Gene really didn’t think too much of it at first when Paul vanished just after the tour. He didn’t take it personally, the way Peter did, and he didn’t get too quizzical about it like Ace did. The whole band was burnt-out on each other. The days where they had to share hotel rooms were gone, and the days where they wanted to share vacations were gone, too. Gene couldn’t pinpoint when it had gotten like that, and it made him a little regretful, sure, but it was just another inevitability. The Beatles had made it ten years before imploding, all those hurt egos just smushing together and screwing everything up. KISS had four years under its belt now, and already he could feel things faltering.

           So maybe Paul was trying to ease all that via his disappearing act. Spend his tour break at home, probably with a bevy of girls lining up at his front porch, and come back refreshed and ready for another nine-month stretch with only a wall between him and his bandmates, assuming Ace and Peter didn’t tear a hole in it on a drunken whim. It made sense. The first time Paul didn’t return his phone call (the tinny sound of his $400 answering machine the only response), Gene wasn’t concerned. The second time, Gene assumed Paul had gone to a disco, or was spending the night at some chick’s house. The third time, Gene immediately called up Bill, who said he hadn’t heard from Paul, either.

           That was cause for concern. Paul could, and did, blow off anybody but their manager. Still, Gene figured he’d give it one more day, and one more lay, before he started to investigate.

           That was the plan, until he got his mail late one morning. There was always a fat stack of it. The actual sackfuls of fan mail would end up at some office, where a poor secretary was stuck stuffing envelopes with their pictures and a canned response. Sometimes a real sleuth would find his address, and he’d open those out of sheer novelty, when he had the chance, only to be disappointed when the writer turned out to be a twelve-year-old who’d spent his paper route money on several books of stamps, and mailed the same letter out to every Gene Simmons in the greater New York phone book. Every so often he’d get the good stuff, like a saucy letter from a college girl, with photos and pubic hair taped inside. “See you next time in Sacramento.” He never wrote them back, but he’d put the photos in a separate album from his conquests. Almost a hope chest of photos, there.

           Gene thumbed through the newsletters and errant bills so quickly he nearly missed it. A glossy postcard, with Buckingham Palace on the front. It couldn’t have been a piece of fan mail, but he didn’t know anyone who’d bother writing him, either. He flipped it over out of curiosity. Weird.

           He recognized the scratchy longhand before he got to the signature. Not that it took long. Thee address was almost lengthier than the postcard message.

           “Gene—Do you know anything about curses? Write me back soon. Thanks, Paul.”

--

           He called up Peter about it that afternoon, still baffled. He didn’t really think Peter would have any insight on it—Paul and Peter hadn’t been as close as they used to be, though that went for everyone—but he surprised him.

“I haven’t heard from him. I figured you had.” Peter was chewing gum as he spoke. Gene could hear the smacks through the receiver. “Why the fuck would he send you a postcard? You live closer to him than I do.”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out.”

“Talking about curses…” Peter trailed. “Shit, I went over there last week. Didn’t call him up first, just thought I’d go over like I used to. I banged on the door and some chick came out and screamed at me to go away. I told her who I was and she just stared at me.”

           “Paul doesn’t pick girls for brains.”

           “It was kinda weird, though. Picky bastard usually gets blondes.”

           “What, was she a brunette?”

           “Yeah, real dark, curly hair—you don’t think he’s shacked up with her, do you? Some New Age type, turning him on to something funny? ’Cause he doesn’t usually want ’em sticking around, either, and I stopped by after lunch…”

           Evidently, Peter paid more attention to Paul’s habits with girls than Gene ever had.

“I don’t know. Was she cute?”

“Yeah. She had nice tits.”

           Of course she did. Gene rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.

           “I’m gonna look into this. I’ll let you know if I can’t get in touch with him.”

           “Sure.” There was a slight hesitation. “Hey, thanks for calling me. I thought he was pissed at me or some shit. But I guess he’s pissed at everybody.”

           Gene privately feared it was worse than that. If Paul had gotten a girlfriend, one serious enough he was ignoring everyone and everything else, even the looming tour, for her sake… well, that didn’t make sense, not unless she’d conned him into something. There were still plenty of cults and communes all over the place, the leftover remnants of disillusioned hippies. They’d join fringe churches or create their own religions and live in tents on the side of the road. He didn’t think Paul would have fallen into something like that, unless the girl had spruced it up with a bunch of psychobabble and talk therapy. Paul dug astrology and self-help, but it wasn’t something he’d trade his lifestyle for. Was it?

           “I’ll find out. I’ll see you, Pete.”

           He hung up, then dialed his chauffeur. An hour or so later, he was pulling up to Paul’s.

--

           He told the chauffeur not to wait on him. If Paul was at his house, he’d make him drive him back. It turned out they weren’t Paul’s only visitors. Ahead of them, walking up the driveway, was a kid carrying two grocery bags, his bicycle parked in the grass.

           Gene didn’t normally have an issue making his presence known. But he held back, curious. He wanted to see who would open the door—that supposed live-in girlfriend, some other chick, or Paul himself. As the chauffeur drove away, he hung back a bit, tucking himself behind a tree at the edge of the front of the house, near the front porch. The kid didn’t seem to notice.

           He watched the kid—he was probably about eleven—ring the doorbell with his elbow. After a couple seconds, the door opened, a girl in a blue bathrobe walking out, shutting the door behind her. Gene recognized the bathrobe as one of Paul’s, though she filled it out better than he ever had. She wasn’t even wearing anything beneath it that he could tell, cleavage obvious, the loosely-tied bathrobe hiding none of it. Curly, dark hair—Gene wondered if this was the girlfriend, or bedmate, that Peter had seen earlier. No telling.

           “How much was it?” she asked the kid.

           “Eight twenty-five.”

           “You have the receipt?”

           The kid pulled out the receipt. The girl looked at it, nodded, then took a wallet from the pocket of Paul’s bathrobe, tugging out a couple bills.

           “Here’s nine. Keep the change.”

           “Thanks.” The kid paused. “I thought somebody famous was supposed to live here.”

            “You thought wrong.” The girl took the two bags of groceries and turned back towards the door, trying to use her elbow to turn the knob. The kid was already back on his bicycle. As he kicked the stand up, he called back out to her over his shoulder.

           “Hey, you gonna need groceries next week, too?”

           “I hope not.” She set both bags on the front porch. The kid nodded, waving as he started down the driveway. The girl didn’t wave back, busy opening the door.

           Now was Gene’s chance. He stepped out from behind the tree and walked to the front porch as the girl picked up one of the grocery bags again.

           “Hey.”

           She turned around immediately. Her eyes got big.

           “Shit—Gene!”

           She recognized him. That didn’t narrow it down. She looked familiar, somehow—she wasn’t a Playmate, Gene always recognized those—maybe a model, or a groupie? But Paul didn’t bring those home. Gene raised a finger to his mouth.

           “Shh. Look, I’m here to see Paul. Is he in?”

           “Wh—no. No, sorry.” A tense, quick smile. Definitely not a model. Only Ali MacGraw could manage to make it with crooked teeth.

           “Can you tell me when he’ll be back?”

           “I have no idea. I don’t know where he is.”

           “So he just left you over here?”

           The girl set the bag down, folding her arms. Something about the mannerism made an eerie feeling prickle down the back of Gene’s spine.

“Are you telling me I can’t be here?”

           “No!” Gene pursed his lips. “Look, I don’t care who he’s with. But we’re supposed to go back on tour in a couple weeks and—”

           “I know!”

           “That’s great. So maybe it might be nice to know where he is beforehand.”

           The girl bristled.

           “I told you, I have no idea! I just—can’t you leave me alone?”

           “You’re living in his house, wearing his bathrobe—that wasn’t even your wallet, was it?”

           “Hey!”

           Gene scrambled for it. The girl was fairly tall; he probably only had about five or six inches on her, but she wasn’t quick. He grabbed her shoulder with one hand, then jammed his other hand into the bathrobe’s pocket, starting to tug the wallet out. She clenched his arm, nails digging in roughly, not nearly hard enough for him to drop the wallet.

           “Stop it! Let go of me, you goddamn idiot!”

           She shoved forward, stomping on his foot. Gene couldn’t feel that much of an impact, given the thickness of his boots. He kept a grip on her shoulder as he got the wallet fully in hand, opening it up as she screamed at him.

           “You don’t understand, Gene! It’s not what you’re thinking!”

           Unsurprisingly, Paul’s driver’s license photo was the first thing staring back at him from the see-through plastic card slot. Eisen, Stanley B. (God, the guy still hadn’t legally gotten his name changed) printed across it. Beyond the license was a handful of credit and business cards, as if Gene really needed to thumb through them for any further confirmation.

           “You stole his wallet.”

           “I didn’t steal it!”

           She had a lisp, Gene noticed out of nowhere.

          “Like hell you didn’t. Where is he?”

           “I told you, I don’t—”

           She jerked back abruptly, digging her nails deeper into his arm. He didn’t let go, but his hand shifted, accidentally yanking the bathrobe down at the shoulder. The girl’s eyes got huge. One of her breasts was exposed, which would’ve been plenty distracting enough, under normal circumstances, but for once, Gene’s eyes went to her bare shoulder first.

           More specifically, the rose tattoo on her bare shoulder.

           It wasn’t possible. It had to be a coincidence. He only saw the tattoo for a second at best, before she smacked his hand away and yanked the bathrobe back into place, covering her shoulder.

           It didn’t prove anything. But in a nice, W.A.S.P.y neighborhood like Paul’s, how many chicks had tattoos? And how many would have one like that, a Lyle Tuttle tattoo, when Lyle’s shop was clear across the country?

           She looked pissed-off. Scared, too. Something about the tight, sour way her lips were pressed together seemed weirdly familiar. The way she was acting didn’t add up. She’d called him by his first name on automatic. No deference or starry-eyed behavior. This girl didn’t give a damn about him being a rockstar. Those caustic responses made it come off like—like she really knew him.

That prickly feeling down his spine was only getting worse, even as he tried to dismiss it as impossible. If Gene was right, what he was about to do was incredibly cruel. If he was wrong, he’d just owe Paul Stanley’s latest chick a sincere apology. He wasn’t sure which option was worse.

           But he had to know. He let go of the bathrobe and quickly shoved his hand through the girl’s tangled, curly hair, starting just at the temple, lifting it up to fully expose the right side of her face. The abject horror in her dark brown eyes might have been confirmation all on its own, but the damage was already done. He’d already pushed back enough of her hair to see what he’d only ever been told about before.

“Gene, y-you fucking asshole!”

Not an inch past one wispy sideburn was a stub of cartilage where her right ear should have been.

           He wasn’t dealing with Paul’s girl of the duration. He was dealing with Paul.

[piprocrastinator]

I vote! - “We were forced to go outside due to a fire drill and I forgot my jacket, which sucks because it’s super cold. Thanks for lending me this jacket but you’re my crush and I almost screamed when you gave it to me. Just know, you’re never getting this back.” AU for MingKit or ForthBeam !

Yes! Thank you! :D

I couldn’t decide so I put both into the story. I think I may have strayed slightly from the prompt but oh well.

Word Count - 1,695

~~

The sounds of Panic at the discos cover of 'Into the unknown' played over the credit screen. Beam and Kit had long since fallen asleep, neither worried about missing anything. It wasn’t the first time they’re watched Frozen 2 and probably wouldn’t be the last.

The snow had started falling earlier that day and set the mood for the movie perfectly, as Beam as said.

Actually, it was more like "There is snow on the ground and in my heart, lets what frozen bitches." As he shoved a cup of hot chocolate into Kit's hand.

The now-empty cups of hot chocolate sat on the desk between their beds and the empty bowl of popcorn lay tipped on the ground, thankfully only a few kernels lay scattered in his fall.

The night was quiet and peaceful, the snow creating a serene feel through the campus.

That is until the loud shrill cut through the peaceful vibes.

“Fuck, turn it off.” Kit growls from under his mound of blankets, hand emerging to swat in Beams direction.

Beam groans, his hand smacking around until he hits his alarm. The shrill continues. The sound and feet running outside get louder. If that wasn't his alarm that meant-

“Kit,” Beam says slowly, sitting up slowly. “I think that’s the fire alarm.”

“No.”

“Kit, That’s the fire alarm.”

It takes a few more seconds before they both spring from the bed, slamming their feet into their shoes as the dart out of the door. The other students hustle down the steps around them until everyone is just standing on the sidewalk looking at their dorm building, snow falling around them. Well so much for a calm and peaceful snowy night.

“I hate everything.” Kit bites out, teeth chattering.

Beam huffs, enjoying the visible puff of air. The only good thing about the cold, the ability to feel like a dragon. “We should have grabbed the jackets.”

Kit grunts in agreement, arms tightening around him. He shuffles on his feet trying to keep at least some movement.

“My Beam.” Forth yells from across the yard, skipping over to them through the snow. Kit snorts as Forth half trips over a mound of snow and Beam visible facepalm. “What a beautiful night for a snuggle.”

“It’s freezing outside,” Beam says flatly, lips tight to not let the smile show.

Forth smiles taking off his jacket and setting it over Beams' shoulder.

Beam stares at the jacket in question before taking it off and handing it back.

“Beam.” Forth whines trying to give it back. “It’s cold.”

“I’m fine.”

Kit watches in mild amusement as Beam tries to move away from Forth, who is persistent in sharing his jacket. It's like a cat and mouse game, Forth steps closer and Beam steps back.

“Kit.” Kit turns to Ming who is smiling down at him.

Kit blames the cold as he feels his cheek grow pink. Definitely the cold and not how adorable Ming with his sleep ruffled hair and pink face.

“You can borrow my jacket,” Ming says with a wide smile that seems so inviting. Kit can't decide if it's the late hour, him being sleepy, or the cold but he wants nothing more than to let Ming hold him close and protect him from the warmth.

He doesn't have a crush on Ming. Ming who was the campus moon. Ming who is charming. Ming who is sweet and Kind and is holing out his jacket like he's not affected by the cold.

Kit gulps making no move to take the jacket.

He hears Beam grumbling at Forth and he glances over to see that Forth has won and Beam is wearing his jacket now. He would clap at Forth's accomplishment but Mings still staring at him, holding his jacket out. Waiting, patiently.

Kit looks back towards Ming, who pushes the jacket closer. Persistent. What quality does Ming not have? Is this kid perfect or something?

“I’m fine.” Kit finally manages to say.

Ming pouts. “It’s cold.”

Kit opens his mouth to deny the jacket but Ming decides to help Kit out. He wraps him the jacket around him, zipping it up and pulling the hood up as well.

Kit panics momentarily at the new warmth and the smell and Ming. It’s all so much.

Kit feels his insides do the wiggles and he clenches his jaws to keep any unwanted noises from escaping because nothing would be more embarrassing than him squealing over Ming.

“Cute.” Ming leans in his puffs of air hitting Kit in the face - which means he's too close for Kits sanity- and boops his nose.

Kit was wrong, a noise escapes through his lips that is somewhere between a seal and a balloon losing air. Kit blames it on the late hour. What even was that noise?

He really hopes Ming didn’t hear it but from the way Ming reaches out to boop his nose again, he definitely heard. Kit swats at the hand this time. Not gonna let that happen again, that’s for sure. Kit can only handle one adorable boop a night.

“I’m not cute.” Kit grumbles, flushing harder as he turtles into the jacket. Kit looks up through his lashes. Hates that Ming looks so good at who knows what time in the morning, after having just gave his jacket away.

Ming starts casual small talk, to which Kit replies in grunts or nods and Ming seems to be ok with that. Which is good, Kit no longer trust his vocal cords after their display earlier.

A little bit later when Kit feels like he might fall asleep where he stands, they finally clear everyone back into the building. Which, fuck, finally, it's fucking freezing outside.

Ming follows him all the way back to his door. Kit clenches his jaw because he really wants to ask Ming to come to his room to keep him warm. That's not plausible though. They’re not really friends. Friends of Friends maybe. It would definitely be weird if he asks Ming that.

Kit turns at his door opening his mouth to say something, anything but stops because Ming is standing close, face still flushes from the cold and a few snow flacks melting in his hair. No one should look that good after being out in the cold for the past hour. It’s not fair.

“Goodnight Kit,” Ming says in a voice that's too sweet, too soft. Kit melts just a little. “The Jacket you can-”

“It’s mine now.” Kit eyes widen because that’s not all that he meant to say. It's not that he wasn't thinking it, he was. Ming was never getting this jacket back.

Ming chuckles, leaning in close to whisper in Kit's ear.

“That’s fine. Wear it when you miss me.” Ming brushes his lips against Kits cheek as he pulls away, it's so light Kit almost misses the pressure.

Kits mad because what was that? That wasn’t a real kiss, that was like a tease and that was even more unfair than Ming looking unreasonable good all the time. He can’t just pretend to charm Kit like that and then leave.

Defiantly not getting his jacket back now.

Kit sits on his bed, half waiting for Beam and half trying to decide what to do with the jacket.

He finally settles on sleeping with it as Beam runs through the door, slamming it shut behind him.

“You ok?” Kit asks as he crawls back under the covers.

“That’s not your jacket.” Beam counters.

They stare at each other for a moment before both silently agreeing not to talk about it as they hit replay on the movie and head back to sleep.

Bonus:

Beam walks Forth to his room partially so he could throw the jacket in the room and partially because he did not want Forth following him to his room.

“Wanna come in and snuggle the cold away.” Forth offers, door open, arms inviting. 

Beam considers it. Really does.

“No.” Beam nudges the jacket back to Forth. But he can't stay, or he shouldn't stay.

“Please?” Forth pleads. Beam glares, tossing the jacket onto Forth's bed.

“Wait, no!.” Forth throws it back like it's a hot potato. “ Just uh- hand it back and I’ll let you leave.”

Beam narrows his eyes. This feels like a trap. He could drop the jacket and leave. He doesn’t have to listen to Forth. But he likes Forth, he also liked Forth chasing him. So he plays along with a small sigh.

Beam steps forward, into the room, hand out, jacketing being the peace offering.

“Your jacket.” Beam supplies like it hasn't been the problem for the last hour.

Forth smiles, tugging on the jacket harder than needed and Beams stumbles forward. Falling into Forth's awaiting arms.

“Hello there Sexy.” Forth does that weird growl thing that sounds like a cougar and Beam wonders how he ever got laid with his seduction tactics.

Somehow though, Beam does fall for it and he lets Forth lean in a drop a kiss to his lips. It's surprisingly soft and sweet. 

Maybe he can just talk to Forth and tell him to never make that noise again.

Forth pulls away with a smile. Beam can't help but return it. 

Then it hits him, he's in Forth's arms, in the middle of the night and they kissed.

“Gotta go, it’s late.” Beam pushes out of his arms, throwing the jacket into Forth's face before bolting out of the room.

Beam makes it back to his room in record time, slamming the door shut behind him.

Kit stares at him from the bed wearing a jacket that’s definitely not his.

They both come to the silent agreement not to talk about it. Maybe later.

Beam wakes up the next morning to a jacket on his doorknob and a note that says ‘Can only be returned with another kiss.’

“Another?” Kit reads beside him. Beam does not like the look Kit sends him.

“We’ll talk about that when we talk about why you slept in that jacket.”

Kit purses his lips before walking away, jacket still on from last night. 

[heathendolan]

I Couldn’t Be More in Love [E.D]

Summary: Ethan’s not about cliches, he swears, but he has the feeling he might just die if he doesn’t tell you how he feels during your last senior prom slow dance.

Warnings: nothing but like I’m very sorry for the cheesy picture BUT LOOK HOW CUTE

Author’s Note: just a lil something I couldn’t get out of my head, it’s cheesy, it’s lame, it’s short, and it’s nothing special but my prom is next weekend and like c’mon how perfect would this be. just stopping by, hope you’re all doing fantastic!! love you all, and photo credits to popstyledolan (?? i’m not sure if this is instagram or twitter or tumblr, lmk if you guys know and i’ll add a link!!) ALSO like isn’t this song such a prom song I FEEL LIKE IT IS 

Word Count: 2.6K+ || masterlist

Ethan had a gut full of fruit punch (spiked--thank you Casey Fraiser) and a head full of fuzz; what's a guy gotta do to get you for a slow dance?

He's slumped on the third row of the high school gymnasium's wooden, creaky bleachers, both hands threaded in the messy, over-gelled locks on his head, his foot tapping a mile a minute. And he should really be out there next to Grayson, whooping and hollering to the ancient Lil Jon song echoing out of the low budget DJ's rusted speakers, but he just can't stop thinking about you, okay? And this isn't new, and that's what's getting old.

He just wants one slow dance. Or two. Or three, or four, or ninety. It's the only time he gets the excuse to hold you close and make a fool of himself and not have to apologize once. He always does everything in his power to deprive the mood of romanticism, though.

Because this isn't the first or even the second dance he's spent beating himself up over you. No, this has become a tradition over the years; Ethan says something like, 'Hey, let's go together to the dance, just as friends, cause I don't want to waste my time begging some chick that's probably out of my league when I can take my best friend and have a way better time' (romantic, he knows), you guys suit up in your best homecoming, snowball, or prom attire, and spend the night together.

As just friends. 

Ethan's made that super clear to you; Just Friends. Every single dance is Just Friends. And it's started to make less and less sense over the years, why he wouldn't go with Molly Kozial even though he'd been talking to her right up until promposals started getting popular again in March. 

"Molly's a lot of work," he had said through a mouthful of fries, his feet kicked up on his dash in the parking lot of the McDonald's you guys went to all the time. "What's the good in going out, spending a shit ton of money on candy or whatever, getting all nervous to ask her, and having the drama of it the next day in school when I can just go with you? Easy as pie."

Right, you had thought. Cause I'm definitely not worth the time, or the candy, or the drama. Ethan had made that very clear by the eighth time he'd taken you to a dance. 

It's not like you were going to bother yourself with the pain of his backhanded rejection; this was your senior prom. Just Friends is what you needed right before heading off to college--no need to invest yourself in some guy who'd inevitably break your heart by the end of summer. 

"Yeah alright," you'd said, slurping a thick gulp of milkshake. "But I think I want to wear white this year and-"

"Nooo, everybody's going to say we're getting married," Ethan whined reflexively, his head flopping against his car seat and a pout on his lips. 

"Deal with it," you shrugged. "That's what you get for your lack of, uh, chivalry?" 

Ethan shot a glare your way. "Chivalry?" he asked through a bite of his cheeseburger. "I hav' pl'nty 'f chivalry." 

"Right," you snorted, yanking the burger out of his hand and taking the biggest bite you could. 

So you'd announced it oh-so-inanimately to your friend group at lunch the following day, ignored their pointed smirks and knowing glances, and searched for a prom dress worthy of your bank account. And it was fun! God, it was fun, it was always fun going with Ethan and your friends, but...

Well, but you wanted to feel wanted. You wanted that whole experience, getting asked with roses, being slow danced with and held tight. Ethan unfailingly went overboard on slow dances every year; he shouted the lyrics to the songs off key, spun you around dramatically, made fun of all the surrounding couples--just sucked any bit of romance out of it. Cause you guys were Just Friends. 

And that was fine, but it wasn't perfect.

You looked around and saw him stuck up in the bleachers, his hair disheveled and his face pale where it hung. He looked awful--he looked sick. You stopped grinding on your best friend Courtney for a split second to examine him more properly. 

Ethan did feel sick. He thought he was going to throw up thinking about what he was about to do. 

Should he? Should he really expose himself like this, at a school dance of all places? Didn't you deserve better than that? You deserved a fun, drama-free night full of shitty 2000's music and even shittier spiked punch--the staples of a good prom. You deserved a bed of roses and chocolate truffles in those heart packages and a million other cliches. You deserved more than Ethan. 

But it's May now, Ethan realizes. Realizes he's got exactly 24 days until graduation, and then only three months until college begins and you two split about half an hour apart. It's May and how much longer does he really have anyway? What if you died tomorrow? Ethan's heart actually sinks at the mere thought.

He looks up to see you frowning at him half a gym away, your hair dolled up all pretty, your face caked with all the make you don't need but love so much. You look spectacular in your dress, obviously. Ethan knows there's no way in fucking hell he can't do this tonight, cliches be damned.

And now, now Ethan's made a promise to himself--he's gonna tell you how he feels--and it feels like torture. He has the heaviest, most leaden bit of dread sunken in his stomach. And yet, he's gotta do this. He's just gotta. 

You've started trekking towards him--wobbling like a newborn colt in those heels you forced yourself to wear--when the DJ says with the stalest of voices, "Alright everybody, we're going to slow things down a bit..."

It's a song Ethan would never know off the top of his head if he hadn't heard you singing it in the shower one time when he'd come over. He can still hear your voice--less than angelic, he will admit--wailing the lyrics of I Couldn't Be More In Love by the 1975. Rasp and cracks aside, the memory still makes his knees weak, even weaker than they are now, rising despite the butterflies in his belly begging him to sit back down. You halt where you are and gaze up at the rafters of the gym once you realize what song's playing, and Ethan can see the faint smile on your lips even in the lowlight and beams of disco glitter. He thinks he just might faint. 

By the time he gets to you, he can hear his own pulse, can feel it too in the expanse of his neck and planes of his chest. His hands are clammy—no, clammy hardly covers it. He might just sweat through his dress shirt; luckily, he discarded the vest and dinner coat awhile ago. You're still grinning up at the ceiling and Ethan wonders if he should just run while he still has the chance. 

But he doesn't, of course he doesn't, because he has to do this. So, he taps you on the shoulder gently, the most gentle he's probably ever been with you, and swallows the lump of fear in his throat. You look at him and grin, all teeth, and mumble, "I love this song."

"I know you do," Ethan blurts too quick, his words strangled. Slowly, he slides a hand down the length of your waist and wraps his palm there and takes your hand in the other. Then, the two of you realize that that just won't work, so he chuckles and pulls you in close, tight, fits you between his arms with his wrists dangling over each other behind your back. You slip your arms around his neck and it feels different this time, much different, and you wonder when Ethan grew up without you noticing. 

"How'd you know?" you ask after a beat, a quirk in your brow. 

Ethan pinches his eyes shut, cursing under his breath. "Uh..." he begins, swallowing thickly, "heard you sing it in the shower one time..."

He knows there are better ways to explain that, but he can't figure out any bit of the English language right now, not with you pressed against him naturally, like you could slow dance with him forever. He prays to god you can't feel his heartbeat against your cheek. 

"Oh my god, tell me you're kidding," you groan, heat licking at the back of your neck. You bang your head against the bone of his shoulder, humiliated beyond repair. "I have the worst voice and you know that."

Ethan shakes his head right away, his hold on you tightening just a little. This is so foreign, Ethan being... God, if you didn't know any better, you'd almost say Ethan was nervous. 

"That's okay, I like your voice," he squeaks. 

You stiffen against him and then realize he can't possibly be serious, so you giggle in his ear. "E, stop sucking up to me, we're already best friends." 

Ethan knows he has to do it now, now. He lets out a shaky breath and squeezes his eyes shut tight, counting back from ten. 

But what about these feelings I've got? I couldn't be more in love.

By the end of that line, Ethan decides he must spit it out. "I know, and I hate it." 

He hears your breath hitch in his ear, feels you tense and pull back from his chest, warmth disappearing from your body and your personality. Ethan knows he has to keep going when a look of pure heartbreak splits on your face. 

"I-I don't like being best friends. Well- no, I love being best friends, but I don't- I- I don't like being just best friends, okay? I don't like pretending and I've spent the past four years pretending," Ethan breathes, his whole body shaking. 

You've caught on by now, and your jaw's completely slack. It's a good thing Ethan's eyes are sealed shut--permanently, from what you can tell.

"Eth-"

"No, I gotta say this," Ethan whines, his head falling forward. He presses his temple to yours, so close and intimate in a way you've never seen him, never felt him. The two of you are still swaying, slow and steady, blending in with the crowd of lovesick teenagers. And it's weird because it feels so personal, you feel so alone in your own little world of Ethan. You love it. "I fucking love you. And I'm not saying it in that way that we end our facetimes with, I mean that I really fucking love you. I'm- I'm in love with you," he chokes out, his voice crackling. He pauses for a beat and shakes his head. "That's not even right. I don't even know if there're words out there that can describe how I feel about you. And I know I'm an ass about a thousand percent of the time, but that's because you make my legs feel like jelly and my head feel like static. And usually, I can just ignore it--well, not ignore it, I can never ignore you--but usually I can, uh, push it down," he says. 

Ethan pulls back and looks down at you, his eyes round and doe-ish. His tongue darts out to lick his lips and he shakes his head again. "But not tonight. Not when you're looking like this and acting like you always do. I- I think I nearly passed out when I picked you up from your house," he says, squeezing his eyes shut once more.

You're absolutely gobsmacked. Amazed. Stupefied. Speechless. 

"And I get it, I'm shit at romantics and even worse with words, but I mean it. I'm so into you. And this might be surprising since I'm pretty good at pretending like you're a little sister to me-" Ethan pauses to scrunch his face up distastefully. "-but that couldn't be farther from the truth. I, um, I couldn't be more in love," he finishes, wincing at his cliche and the way he's echoing the chorus's lyrics. 

You think you might just cry with relief, staring up at him. He's looking at you like you've just saved the world, or aligned the stars, or waxed poetry; his eyes are soft but full of awe, a few inches from yours. And his lips are parted like he wants to say more, but Ethan's right, he's never been that good with words, not until now. Your hearts thundering, pounding, racing in your chest, swollen with love for Ethan Dolan. And you thought he ought to know it.

You giggle with disbelief and shake your head. Your head falls forward on his collarbone and he takes the opportunity to kiss the crown of your head, and you wonder if Ethan feels this inevitability, that there has always been a spark of tension between you, that just friends can't care as much as you two do and remain just friends, that he's got nothing to worry about. So you pull back, inch your lips forward, and check his expression for permission, but Ethan's already halfway there. 

You lean in, and press your lips to him softly, graze your fingers against the peak of his cheekbone. He's kissing you back like he's got all the time in the world to love you under the glow of these disco lights, in the mass of these slow dancing bodies, in the middle of your high school gym. His tongue glides along the split of your lips, hesitant but warm and wet and stomach-flipping, and you crack open your mouth with a giggle, slipping your fingers into his over-gelled hair. Ethan slides his tongue along tentatively along yours. He must notice your shudder and feel you press into him more firmly, more sure of yourself, because he does it again, leaving you dazed and crazed and desperate. You cradle his jaw between your palms and kiss him like you mean it, lost in the feeling of love and the tune of a love song.

Subliminally, your brain registers the snickers and whispers sounding around you, but you're too intoxicated by the reality of your constant daydreams to really acknowledge them. However, Grayson has other plans as he claps a hand--hard--on Ethan's back as the song draws to a close, startling the two of you and peeling you away from one another. 

"About fucking time, bro," Grayson snorts, his eyebrows lifted skyward and his smirk far too smug.

Your cheeks are burning as you glare at Grayson and the way he's chuckling along with your crew of friends. Ethan decides there's far too much space between you and yanks you back to him, ignorant to your stiffness. "Suck my dick," he snaps back, resting his chin on the crown of your head. After a beat of swaying still, as the sound of a song less heavy rolls in, Ethan says, "I think your lipstick is like, all over my mouth."

You snort. "How much gel did you put in your hair?"

Ethan scoffs and shakes his head, his chin rubbing over your hair. "No idea. Too much."

"It's all over my hands," you giggle, squeezing them in the air and cringing at the way they stick.

"It's all Grayson's fault, the bitch doesn't know how to do hair apparently." 

You chuckle and shake your head, so familiar with this side of Ethan it comes as no surprise. What does shock you is the way he keeps his arms tight around your waist, the way he slips a finger under your chin and tilts your face to his, and plants another kiss--albeit tongueless--on you in front of half the student body. If Grayson gags violently and Courtney attracts the attention of everyone with her obnoxious awe's, that's okay with you. You couldn't be more in love. 

[disabled-queen-hc-blog]

Autistic John who isn't very verbal? He speaks with very few words. People think he is speaking like a baby but it's just how he talks. He can communicate ideas perfectly but people make fun of him still ...

Freddie sighed, finger running over the stanza he was struggling with. “This won’t do. It’ll be too cluttered, don’t you think? But I like this bass line,” he said with a frown, scanning the sheet music for an idea of how to fix the song that was becoming more messier and headache inducing by the minute. 

John stooped behind Freddie to take a look at what he was struggling with. The answer seemed to come easy to him since he smiled, pointing as he talked. “Is okay, Freddie. Guitar and bass too much here. Move bass line here,” he pointed further down the sheet, “And it maybe sound better.” he finished with a firm nod. 

Freddie’s eyebrows furrowed trying to imagine in his head what it’d sound like. He tapped his chin, mumbling, “That could work...”

Roger, who sat opposite to Freddie shook his head. “Wait, if your bass line gets simpler there, I’ll have to change my drumline too or I’ll sound insane,” he said, pointing vaguely to the area in question. 

“Roger change his eighths to fourths and he not sound crazy then,” John said, once again all too easily. 

The three of them stared at the papers, constructing the sounds in their heads before they all gave the affirmative. It’d work. They could tweak it in the recording booth if needed. 

“Sounds alright to me! Now where’s Brian? He needs to look this over,” Roger said, spinning in his chair to find the guitarist. 

Brian was by the door, putting on his coat and scarf. “I’m going out to get some coffee that doesn’t taste like shit. You all want anything?” he asked, glancing at that infernal coffee maker. If they wanted to bang this song out at once, they’d need some proper caffienation that didn’t taste like liquid tar. 

“Oh, yes. Get me a dark roast, please!” Roger called out.

“I’m good, love,” Freddie said, distracted with rewrites.

“John can have espresso instead?” John asked, his eye bags a testament to how much caffeine he needed to get through this session.

Brian shot them all finger guns before escaping outside into the bitter cold. John plopped himself down next to Freddie, yawning loudly. 

As Freddie scribbled, he mumbled, “This is actually quite brilliant, Deacy.”

John gave him a sleepy smile, mumbling back, “I am smart.”

♚

“Looks like someone had a fun time at the discotheque last night,” Roger said in a sing song voice poking the exhausted bassist’s side. John squeaked but continued to fiddle with his bass on the floor.

“I did. Dance til ‘4,” John said, his lips forming a small smile. He liked to dance, what could he say? Maybe he wasn’t the best around, but it was fun and no one bothered him. Very few things could beat that.

Roger smirked as he tightened some screws on his drum kit. “Mhm. Danced. Alright. I know you were chatting up some birds. Getting a little too knackered, huh? I know you, Deacy. Not so innocent!” Roger said, pointing a playful finger at him.

John blushed, nearly popping on of his strings, having forgot he was even tuning it. “Did not! Not go to disco to talk. Go for dance only.” he said, his face serious. It softened, going coy when he added, “Go for drink too...”

Not last night though. He had to choose between being tired or tired and hungover. He had one beer before cutting himself off. With how Roger was tuning his drums, he thanked god he did. 

Roger winked and snorted, saying in a clearly sarcastic voice, “Sure thing, John.”

John threw his pick square into Roger’s forehead, earning himself a feigned look of shock from the blond. “John not go to disco to flirt!” he yelled, knowing Roger was kidding but refusing to miss an opportunity to pelt him with things.

Roger hid behind his bass drum, peeking his head out to say, “Sure,” before hiding behind it again. John threw his string pack at him, missing.

“Am not cheeky like Roger!”

“Mhm...”

“Am not!”

“Uh-huh.”

John was about to take off his shoe when Freddie caught the both of them not warming up. 

♚

John clung to Freddie’s side, looking down at his lap. 

If I don’t look at them, they won’t ask me any questions. If I don’t look, they’ll leave me alone.

“So what are the plans for this upcoming album?” the interviewer asked, leaning the microphone towards Freddie.

Freddie shook some hair out of his face, smiling as he spoke, “Well, we don’t want to spoil anything but we are going big. It’ll be like nothing we’ve done before and certainly nothing you’ve ever heard,”

The man nodded, shooting out another question. “And the creative process? How’s it been like?”

John’s stomach dropped when the mic landed right in front of his mouth. His eyes went wide, immediately looking to the older besides him in a panic.

Brian laughed, trying to diffuse the awkwardness that was rising and tried to answer the question in place of John. The interviewer interrupted him though, saying, “Why don’t we let John speak. He hasn’t said a peep!”

John’s brain went blank, his heart thundering in his chest.

This was always the worst part.

John had no issues speaking around the boys. They understood. They never made fun of him. 

The rest of the world never gave him that dignity. 

People said he was talking like a baby on purpose. That he knew better.

And to be fair, he did know better. John could form sentences that many would deem “normal” enough but it hurt. It was mentally and physically taxing having to formulate the right syntax and words. Even then, he wasn’t very good at it. He never was.

Which is why he chose to stay quiet during interviews. He didn’t want to embarrass himself and more importantly, the band. Up until, perhaps, just now, he was seen as just the quiet and shy one. Not the stupid one. 

When he opened his mouth though, he wasn’t sure if he’d stay the cute quiet one for much longer.

“C- Uh, T-The process..have..been..has been um..very-” John went ghostly pale as he stammered, his color only coming back when Roger let out a gigantic guffaw.

“John, how hung over are you?” he asked, his teeth showing in a big grin. While his lips said teasing, his eyes said something different. Something along the lines of, “I’ve got you.”

John let out a sigh of relief, murmuring back to Roger, “Very.”

The interviewer chuckled, patting John’s shoulder. “To be young again!” he said, swiftly moving on to another question and another member. 

Once it wrapped up, John nearly flopped onto the floor. He never wanted that to happen again. He knew it would though. Interviewers wanted to be polite and include him. It was understandable but terrifying. But at least he survived this round relatively unscathed. That was all he could ask for.

As everyone dispersed, decompressing from all that talking, John walked up to Brian, who was guzzling down water because he was actually hungover and said, “Thank you Bri for try and help.” Brian gave him a side hug and a wave off. It’s no big deal, he mouthed as he rubbed his temple.

John went up to Roger next, giving him a bear hug, something a little out of character for him. “Thank you Roger for help me. I maybe pass out if you don’t,” he said, a shake in his voice as he remembered the gripping fear he felt some minutes ago. 

Roger hugged back gently at first, perhaps shaken up himself by the situation but he quickly returned to his usual self, giving John a squeeze and pulling away. “The nerve of that guy, huh? A man can’t have the wine flu in peace these days?” Roger laughed as he spoke. It got a giggle out of John, saying, “John guess not,”

The two snickered amongst themselves until Freddie rounded them up to get back in the van.

“I say this is grounds for some pizza, darlings!” Freddie said with a flamboyant clap, turning around to march out the door of the building.

“Pizza not in budget,” John said meekly.

Freddie turned back to face them, winking. “It’s on me,” he said as he held up a wallet.

Roger squinted before screaming, “That’s my wallet, you bugger!”

“John wants the works pizza then.”

“Absolutely not!”

“Vegetarian pizza sounds nice right about now.”

“I buy Bri veggie pizza.”

“Not with my money, you gits!”

“Two veggie pizza.”

“Aw, that’s so considerate of you, Deacy.”

“Is no one listening to me?”

“John is not.”

[alecodys]

Camp TV Biographies

This is a very, very, very long post!! There’s literally every Season One character in here and Tumblr tried to get me to cut it in half multiple times but like. lol no. Anyways, everything is under the cut!

Beth What’s your best quality? My detective skills! I have solved many small cases back on my farm at home, the largest of which being who was responsible for the grain going missing. Turns out it was just a rat.

Faves? (music, colour, movie, food)

My parents only have music from the 60’s, so that’s the only music I know.

I love pink! Especially more reddish ones.

What’s that one with a talking pig called? It reminds me so much of my own pig, Bertha!

My mum makes the best food ever, especially when it comes to pies.

Describe your craziest dream. I was a real detective, just like Sherlock Holmes! It was so cool, and I got to solve a murder, and I had a sidekick and everything!

Best memory from childhood? The day I got Bertha. She’s like a little sister to me.

Most embarrassing moment at school? One time I’d forgotten which shirt I had gotten dirty and I was in a rush, so I went to school in a muddy shirt with pig hoof-prints on it.

Describe the first job you ever had. I work on the farm as much as I can, in between school and detective work!

Ten years from now, what are you doing? I’ll have moved to England, and become the best detective in all of Scotland Yard!

My dream date would be with __________, doing what? Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but it would be less of a date, and more like me interviewing him and asking him what goes on in the mind of a detective as great as Sherlock.

It’s the last day on earth. In five words or less, what would you do? Find out what caused it!

Bridgette What’s your best quality? My patience for others!

Faves? (music, colour, movie, food)

I’m not all that into music, but I do listen to recordings of the ocean like, all the time.

Definitely ocean blue.

I’m super into mermaid movies.

Anything that’s vegan, but especially seaweed brownies.

Describe your craziest dream. It’s not really crazy per say, but I was a dolphin and I got to hang out with this clownfish, and we were totally the best of friends. It was really cool, actually.

Best memory from childhood? My first time going boogie-boarding. It what made me fall in love with the water, you know?

Most embarrassing moment at school? We went out to the beach for camp one year and we got to go surfing, and I totally wiped out on one of the waves in front of everyone! It was terrible.

Describe the first job you ever had. I’m a lifeguard at the community pool after school! It’s not exactly glamorous, but hey, it’s pretty fun sometimes.

Ten years from now, what are you doing? Living back in Fiji with a nice girl, in a house by the beach and helping out Mother Earth.

My dream date would be with __________, doing what? I can’t really think of someone off the top of my head, but we’d totally go surfing.

It’s the last day on earth. In five words or less, what would you do? Make the most of it.

Cody What’s your best quality? Hm... my creativity, I guess? It helps for getting out of tough situations sometimes.

Faves? (music, colour, movie, food)

There’s this musician, uh.. Neil Cicierega! I like his songs, but the Samsung ringtone is pretty good too.

I like pale oranges and blues!

I don’t really watch movies all that often, but uh.. don’t tell anyone I told you this, but I really like kid films, especially LEGO ones. Weird, I know.

I’m a sucker for anything with sugar! Although, it tends to make me super sick.

Describe your craziest dream. I was actually popular. I was so freaked out I woke up before anything could happen.

Best memory from childhood? Whenever I got to go to my aunt’s house! She has, like, the greatest German Shepard ever!

Most embarrassing moment at school? Literally the entirety of grade eight. God, I used to insist on being called stuff like “Codester” and “Codemeister”. Ugh.

Describe the first job you ever had. I got to dog-sit my aunt’s dog when I was 12 and she paid me ten bucks.

Ten years from now, what are you doing? Hopefully going out with the person of my dreams, but if not then probably just chilling at home, eating ice cream, wondering where I went wrong.

My dream date would be with __________, doing what? Okay so like, there’s this really cute guy at my school, so probably him, and we’d just go to the carnival, eat cotton candy and go on rides, and after it’s all over we’d watch the sunset and it’d be super cute. I’ve put more thought into this than I should have.

It’s the last day on earth. In five words or less, what would you do? Cry over it.

DJ What’s your best quality? How kind I am, and it’s all thanks to my mommas!

Faves? (music, colour, movie, food)

Jamaican Reggae.

Lavender.

Anything with tons of animals!

My Mama’s chickpea Roti, although that may be tied with Ma’s cherry tarts... don’t tell her though.

Describe your craziest dream. I dreamt one time I was a cameraman for this reality TV show that took place in an abandoned film studio, and that I wasn’t paid a cent.

Best memory from childhood? Definitely the day my mommas adopted me. The orphanage was alright, but my mommas just give something that it could never, aside from stability.

Most embarrassing moment at school? The first day of school here in Canada, I only had shirts and shorts. I was freezing all day! I haven’t gone outside without a jacket or two on since.

Describe the first job you ever had. It’s not really a job, but Ma pays me a couple of dollars during summer to pick all the cherries from the cherry trees. They ripen late since it’s so cold here, but they’re absolutely beautiful.

Ten years from now, what are you doing? I’m in my house with my mommas, with a bunch of animals I adopted from the local animal shelter, eating chickpea Roti and cherry tarts.

My dream date would be with __________, doing what? I don’t really date. I just don’t see anyone that way, y’know? But I’d love to go around Central Park with my mommas in a horse and carriage!

It’s the last day on earth. In five words or less, what would you do? Hang out with my mommas.

Duncan What’s your best quality? My ability to break out of juvie.

Faves? (music, colour, movie, food)

Punk rock.

Neon green.

Any slasher film, really.

Το σουβλάκι του παππού, not that hard of a question.

Describe your craziest dream. I was a four year old trying to scare the shit out of this girl with pigtails, but I got tethered to some kid with a gap in his teeth. We ended up scaring everyone as a mummy. It was kinda funny.

Best memory from childhood? When I snuck my younger cousin into an R rated film with my older sister. My sister was thirteen, I was ten, and my cousin was four. I’m surprised we managed to pull off that dumb trench coat trick.

Most embarrassing moment at school? I used to get embarrassed when my sister would pick me up in her smart car. I kind of miss it now, though.

Describe the first job you ever had. Job? Ha! Yeah, right.

Ten years from now, what are you doing? I’ll probably be hanging around the town my cousin lives in, maybe score a couple of gigs in some punk band I’ve started to rival that garage band that plays over there.

My dream date would be with __________, doing what? Depends if anyone could take me. Or look past my criminal record.

It’s the last day on earth. In five words or less, what would you do? ...Visit my sister.

Ezekiel What’s your best quality? My ability to list my best quality in eight different languages, eh!

Faves? (music, colour, movie, food)

Choir music! It’s the only music I know!

Forest green.

I’m not allowed to watch movies...

My mum and I work together to make the greatest biscuits ever, eh!

Describe your craziest dream. I was like a king of these mutated woodland creatures, eh. But I was all green and was wearing these really strange clothes, and I had no hair.

Best memory from childhood? My childhood wasn’t really all that eventful. I just stay inside all the time, eh.

Most embarrassing moment at school? When my teachers caught me trying to leave the house to go to a local school. They weren’t very happy with me, eh. I got grounded for five weeks.

Describe the first job you ever had. I don’t have a real job, since I’m always at home and my parents won’t let me outside.

Ten years from now, what are you doing? I’m at the farm, sitting on the porch and looking out over the fields. Pretty much what I do whenever school ends anyways.

My dream date would be with __________, doing what? A girl like me, eh. We can talk about living on our farms and not being able to interact with other kids until we graduated school, and bond over archery.

It’s the last day on earth. In five words or less, what would you do? Say goodbye to the cows.

Geoff What’s your best quality? I can party all night and all day, man! Also my hair is really soft apparently.

Faves? (music, colour, movie, food)

Party in the USA is my favourite song, dude! It’s, like, my anthem!

Bright pink! I may get weird looks for it sometimes, but I think it’s an awesome colour!

Literally any movie where parties are involved, dude.

Party pies! It’s the name, my man!

Describe your craziest dream. One time I dreamt that I threw the biggest party in Canadian history, and it was so big that like, even the news reported on it dude! But then the cops came and we had to shut it down. It was a massive bummer.

Best memory from childhood? My first birthday party ever! I was three and I invited all my friends from kinder, and we got to hit this disco ball shaped piñata and eat this giant cake! I’m still proud of it.

Most embarrassing moment at school? When I went to school with a blue shirt on instead of a pink one. I have a brand to uphold, man.

Describe the first job you ever had. Some kid at school tried to pay me five bucks to prank his bully and record it. I told him to keep the money and I did it anyways, because bullying isn’t cool, dude.

Ten years from now, what are you doing? Hosting a wicked party!

My dream date would be with __________, doing what? I don’t really know who I’d go on a date with, but we’d totally be having an awesome party out on the beach!

It’s the last day on earth. In five words or less, what would you do? Party hard!

Gwen What’s your best quality? My complete and utter lack of enthusiasm.

Faves? (music, colour, movie, food)

I like early 2000’s emo music, I guess.

Dark red.

Bloodbath 2: Summer Camp Reign of Terror. If this camp isn’t like the movie then I’m not going to be very happy.

Those teeth gummies, the minty ones.

Describe your craziest dream. I dreamt I was having a good time being interviewed for some dumb summer camp my parents forced me to go to. Can you imagine?

Best memory from childhood? When my little brother learned to ride his bike. It makes it easier to get away from him now.

Most embarrassing moment at school? I spilled blue food colouring over my clothes in science class one time and had to walk around with that stain in my shirt for the rest of the day. It doesn’t sound bad, but it kinda looked like I’d drooled all over myself.

Describe the first job you ever had. I cut my brother’s hair for five bucks from my mum one time. Of course, she didn’t give me any clear instructions, and I was six, so I absolutely destroyed his hair.

Ten years from now, what are you doing? I’ll probably have some dumb degree, I don’t know. Probably just have a job and hanging out with somebody who I live with and love.

My dream date would be with __________, doing what? It’s not a date really, but I’d love to time travel and meet Van Gogh. Unlike most artists, he was actually a really cool dude, and really tragic too. I’d like to meet Branwell Brontë too, but his whole family is cool.

It’s the last day on earth. In five words or less, what would you do? Watch the last sunset.

Harold What’s your best quality? My high tolerance for those who are intellectually and behaviourally inferior to me. But my mum tells me not to say that so I guess it’s how good I am at building fantasy worlds.

Faves? (music, colour, movie, food)

Nothing beats the Pokemon Red soundtrack.

Mossy green.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy, duh!

Beef stew, but especially the stew they serve at Medieval Steve’s Medieval Camp.

Describe your craziest dream. They named the Lord of the Rings something really dumb like Master of the Spheres.

Best memory from childhood? My first time going to a summer camp was pretty good. It was MSMC, but for “junior” kids, which basically meant people under the age of six.

Most embarrassing moment at school? Getting a fact about medieval history wrong in history class.

Describe the first job you ever had. I got paid by one of the kids at MSMC to beat the head troll in chocolate coins.

Ten years from now, what are you doing? A famous, bestselling author of a hit fantasy series that has been adapted masterfully into film.

My dream date would be with __________, doing what? One of the elves, I guess, but mainly so they could teach me about their culture and their language so I could one day join and become one of them.

It’s the last day on earth. In five words or less, what would you do? Try and stop it.

Heather What’s your best quality? I don’t really have that many good qualities, but people say they like how nice I am, so that counts for something, right?

Faves? (music, colour, movie, food)

Lo-fi

Any shade of red!

I liked that one Pokemon movie with the... ah, yes! Shaymin!

I love mochi! It’s so yummy...

Describe your craziest dream. I dreamt I was, like, super tall! It was really cool beans, until everyone began calling me mean things and they were talking about something I did to this girl named Gwen? I don’t even know any girls named Gwen!

Best memory from childhood? The first Christmas I remember! My parents got me this super cute tricycle and it was red with little blue streamers on the handlebars, and I rode it around everywhere! Or maybe when we rescued Cupcake... gosh, now I can’t decide!

Most embarrassing moment at school? When my friend yelled at me for not getting her an iced chai latte in front of the whole class... it was horrible!

Describe the first job you ever had. I run errands for my friends all the time! Sometimes the things they want me to do get pretty gross though...

Ten years from now, what are you doing? Opening a cafe that serves the best mochi in all of Canada!

My dream date would be with __________, doing what? With a nice guy that likes me for who I am, going to cafes and petting cats and dogs and just doing what I wanna do for a day... I think that’d be totally awesome sauce.

It’s the last day on earth. In five words or less, what would you do? Buy a Shaymin plushie! Then hug it for the rest of the day. Shoot, that was over the word limit...

Katie What’s your best quality? Sadie always says she loves my, like, optimism!

Faves? (music, colour, movie, food)

I love listening to pop and, like, 70’s rock!

Pastel pink.

Sadie and I love, like, watching Mean Girls together!

Dark cherries! They also make for some, like, really tasty earrings.

Describe your craziest dream. I was without Sadie for, like, an entire day!

Best memory from childhood? The day I met Sadie, when she moved to the house, like, next door to mine. She was, like, kinda hard to understand at first, but over time her Scottish-ness mellowed out a bit.

Most embarrassing moment at school? When I tried to stand up for Sadie when a bully was, like, pushing her around, and accidentally hit my funny bone on the locker door.

Describe the first job you ever had. Sadie and I work at this super cute ice cream shop together!

Ten years from now, what are you doing? I’ll own the ice cream store and have added, like, a bazillion more flavours! It’s quiet during winter, but there’s tons of people during summer, and that’s really all I need.

My dream date would be with __________, doing what? I’d so, like, love to go on a date with Sadie. We could go to a sewing workshop and I’d stitch her the best stuffie, like, ever!

It’s the last day on earth. In five words or less, what would you do? Kiss Sadie...

LeShawna What’s your best quality? All of them, duh.

Faves? (music, colour, movie, food)

Anything I can dance along to, sugar.

Yellow.

High School Musical 2.

Mango chutney is always good.

Describe your craziest dream. It was more of a nightmare, really. I was stuck in a room full of spiders and those eight-legged freaks covered me head to toe, but I couldn’t scream.

Best memory from childhood? When I won my first ever beauty pageant. Mind you, it was kindergarten, and I was the only participant, but that doesn’t matter.

Most embarrassing moment at school? Honey, I don’t get embarrassed. I haven’t got anything to be embarrassed about.

Describe the first job you ever had. I work at this dumb coffee shop. The only reason I’m still there is because I get free pastries.

Ten years from now, what are you doing? I’m the CEO of a multinational corporation, and, obviously, the most famous billionairess in the world!

My dream date would be with __________, doing what? Look, sugar, do you seriously think anyone is up to my standards?

It’s the last day on earth. In five words or less, what would you do? Dance the day away.

Lindsay What’s your best quality? My looks, of course.

Faves? (music, colour, movie, food)

Pop songs, definitely.

Pinkest Pink. It’s the pinkest shade of pink that exists.

Legally Blonde.

Anything that helps me keep my figure.

Describe your craziest dream. I was some other girl’s lackey. It was disgusting.

Best memory from childhood? The first time I tried out sparkly lip gloss. I still have the empty container somewhere so I can, like, look back on it and remind myself how far I’ve come.

Most embarrassing moment at school? Ugh, definitely when I forgot to apply my eyeshadow. My ‘friends’ may have pretended not to notice, but I could tell they had.

Describe the first job you ever had. I’m a cashier at Lush on the weekends. They give me discount on face masks as long as I, like, sell enough. So, obviously, I get, like, three free face masks a week.

Ten years from now, what are you doing? Applying my makeup.

My dream date would be with __________, doing what? Some hunky model, walking around town so everyone can envy us.

It’s the last day on earth. In five words or less, what would you do? Spread rumours.

Noah What’s your best quality? My cynicism.

Faves? (music, colour, movie, food)

The kind I can’t hear.

Meh.

No thanks.

Just ate.

Describe your craziest dream. I don’t care about my dreams enough to remember them.

Best memory from childhood? My first time playing a video game. I was three and I completed the first level within a minute.

Most embarrassing moment at school? People with brains and wit like mine don’t get embarrassed.

Describe the first job you ever had. I was a tutor for some high school jock when I was five.

Ten years from now, what are you doing? I’ll be at home, sitting on my couch, relaxing and reading a book.

My dream date would be with __________, doing what? I wouldn’t want to go on a date with him, since I have no idea what he looks like, but there’s a guy in my Underground Alliance that is really good at organising raids, so I guess him.

It’s the last day on earth. In five words or less, what would you do? Sleep.

Owen What’s your best quality? My appetite, haha!

Faves? (music, colour, movie, food)

Nickleback all the way! Woohoo!

Maple syrup brown!

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs! I don’t care what anyone says, it just looks so deliciously good!

Anything that my stomach can take is good in my book! Which is just about everything, haha!

Describe your craziest dream. Hm... probably the one where doughnuts were raining from the sky! I wish something like that could happen in real life...

Best memory from childhood? When my Ma and Pa got me my first cookbook! There were so many delicious recipes in there, like that Cookie Monster ice cream cake, and the chocolate fudge cookies!

Most embarrassing moment at school? When I forgot to add one of the ingredients to my nachos in food tech, it just didn’t have the same cheesy, gooey goodness!

Describe the first job you ever had. I work at my parents bakery sometimes! I make apple strudels for them, and they always get way more customers when I do! It makes me feel super happy!

Ten years from now, what are you doing? Working at the bakery with my parents, making as many apple strudels as the people want, haha!

My dream date would be with __________, doing what? All of my pals from school, throwing a party in a cottage where we can make as many s’mores and finger sandwiches we want!

It’s the last day on earth. In five words or less, what would you do? Write down all my recipes!

Sadie What’s your best quality? Katie says she, like, loves how my eyes sparkle when I smile!

Faves? (music, colour, movie, food)

Late 2000’s pop music, the kind you can, like, jump around and party to!

Red, like the colour of my shirt.

Katie and I, like, love to watch Mean Girls together!

Honeycrisp apples! But, like, only honeycrisp.

Describe your craziest dream. Katie wasn’t my best friend, and it was, like, so weird!

Best memory from childhood? The day I met Katie! She acted kinda, like, weird at first, but we’re, like, the best of friends!

Most embarrassing moment at school? I tried to stand up for Katie because, like, this bully was teasing her, and, like, bullying isn’t cool! But I tripped on my heels and, like, knocked the bully over like a bowling pin. So, like, it wasn’t that bad.

Describe the first job you ever had. Katie and I work at the, like, cutest ice cream shop ever!

Ten years from now, what are you doing? I’ll own a cafe that’s, like, right next door to Katie’s ice cream shop, and there will be this door connecting the buildings so people can, like, buy lunch and then go right next door to Katie’s!

My dream date would be with __________, doing what? Oh, I’d love to go on a date with Katie! She’s just so nice, and pretty, and says, like, the sweetest things! We could go to the beach and I’d collect all the, like, prettiest seashells for her!

It’s the last day on earth. In five words or less, what would you do? Kiss Katie...

Trent What’s your best quality? Either my straight A’s or my ukulele playing skills, depends on who you ask.

Faves? (music, colour, movie, food)

I like those covers on YouTube where it’s just people singing and playing the ukulele, no matter what song it is. It helps calm me down.

Green, but I’m pretty sure that’s kind of obvious.

Love, Simon. I read the book, too, and both of them are fantastic!

I know it’s not really a food, but I love orange juice.

Describe your craziest dream. I followed my dad’s advice and became an accountant. I mean, can you imagine? Me? An accountant?

Best memory from childhood? When I won my first ever award at the school talent show. Looking back on it, I can’t see why they voted for me, since one of my ukulele’s strings broke mid-performance, but I’m still proud.

Most embarrassing moment at school? I don’t know, maybe when one kid almost set fire to the end of my hair in chemistry? But that wasn’t really embarrassing for me, really.

Describe the first job you ever had. It’s nothing that cool, I’m just a cashier at some supermarket.

Ten years from now, what are you doing? Hopefully, I’ll be known world-wide for my music and be on tour, playing ukulele and making fans happy.

My dream date would be with __________, doing what? Probably just hanging out with a couple of mates at the beach, swimming, building sandcastles, you know. The works.

It’s the last day on earth. In five words or less, what would you do? Write a song.

Tyler What’s your best quality? My sporting ability!

Faves? (music, colour, movie, food)

I like those tunes they play at the beginning of the sports part of the news, with the swishy 3D logo and everything!

Blue and green!

Bend It Like Beckham!

My high-protein high-carb energy bars!

Describe your craziest dream. I dreamt all the colours in the world were, like, inverted! To be fair, I had had around ten of my energy bars that day, so...

Best memory from childhood? When I headbutted the soccer ball into the net in my first ever soccer game! So what if it was just me and my dad playing, it’s the thought that counts!

Most embarrassing moment at school? When my mum was my substitute gym teacher and she kept assigning me places on the court where I couldn’t do anything. It was like she was trying to make me look bad or something!

Describe the first job you ever had. My parents won’t let me get a job. Something about me being too ‘clumsy’ or whatever.

Ten years from now, what are you doing? Playing in the big leagues! In every sport!

My dream date would be with __________, doing what? Jess from Bend It Like Beckham! We could play soccer together, and it’d be totally cool!

It’s the last day on earth. In five words or less, what would you do? Everything to the extreme!

[cleaduvalls]

i watched all 20 episodes of "spy kids: mission critical" twice in about a week and here are my thoughts (pt 1/5)

these will be divided into 4 episodes per post so they stay about the same length as one spy kids movie

1.1

no theme song. :/

wow specific location

wow. we love lying to our spouses

greg actually kind of sounds like greg??? like ingrids not right in the slightest but greg sounds like greg

oh yeah i call him greg instead of gregorio bc thats Too Many Syllables

i dunno id rather go on an adventure

oh!!!!! ingrids hair!!!!! cute

they look like friggin iron knuckles from cadence of hyrule

how do you..... classify a move

also why would they teach agents to counter a move that they also taught the agents

dont you mean SWAT

is that tom kenny?????

thats not carmen. i dont care WHAT you say. thats not carmen

shes 14???

since when can he build???

since when do they LIVE at the oss?????

thats a ball. not a blob

oh mood

juni your voice is so squeaky

Every Villain Is Lemons

is this a separate universe????? we already know about the third brain program. and you cant claim that people havent seen the movies cuz theyre ALSO on netflix

the experiment wasnt FUTILE it actually went really well. yall are just cowards

you can destroy gold???? like its not DIAMOND

ew

did golden brain go through childhood??? or did he just.... spawn as an adult????

alliteration

take a wild guess carmen

why are you wearing jeans in the DESERT????

"sis"??? who says that

oh boy fart jokes already

little brothers, cuz youre younger, were related, and youre boys

did you mutate the agents too?????

oh i feel you juni

oh boy butt jokes

carmen youre 14. where im from you COULD have a job at certain places

is he... gonna kill them?????

oh!!!! the mimicking is back!!!

theres no way you had taco butte in the last 5 minutes

teenagers?????? the franchise is spy KIDS get it right

there SHOULD be, yall are licensed spy kids

roll credits

juni stop trying to be a lone wolf it never works youve seen all 4 spy kids

i want to be her

are you.... knighted?????? or are you just british

hes like 11 what do you expect from him

ahavschaj acemate

carmens FACE she looks HIGH

finger guns???? hes bi

THUMB THUMB!!!!!!!

TOM thumb thumb!!!!!!

F L O O P!!!!!!!!!

nvm i want to be HER

im sorry how the H*CK did you just say fegan???????????

piercings!!!!!

and i OOP-

aztec???? bc the aztec death spiral??? nice

maybe im a little biased bc floop but shes my favorite

why are the parents here

who calls it a cuddle bear?????? its a teddy bear what are yall on

oh i love carmens socks

i gotta say im living for goldies aesthetic

haha coward

to be fair hes from the outback, they have friggin emus. those things are creepy

:0 sneaky

nice timing

1.2

wow ig there really is no theme song :(

how can he sleep with a TEACUP

i think at some point youd just... fall asleep????

wow big flex

and i OOP-

scorpions so mean i love her

for like 3 seconds that animation looked like a friggin barbie movie

i thought thumb thumbs couldnt hold things???? like thats their whole point

did she hang up on them?????

when your mom said she wouldnt get mad if you tell the truth so you tell the truth and she still gets mad

K A N Y E?????????

oh no they all have died

drowning a chainsaw????????

PLENTY OF PEOPLE

my parents whenever im tired

did you not hear her name shes clearly immortal

me

stop yelling

at that point he shoudknt have even been able to drink the milk

why are the spotlights on carmen

*2 hours later*

dont put the phone on the desk????? have you not have a teacher give you detention for that????? i have

i think its pretty obvious what he was dreaming about

in the subtitles the u has the dots but hes not pronouncing it right. it should be more "keurp-ka-kay", not just "coop-ka-kay"

everyone has weird dreams????? step off ace

class lasted for 5 minutes wtf

do the three of them share a phone???? thats what it says in her contacts

ok visage thats a little too far

i hate this dude so much

visage shes allowed to be on her phone shes not in class

psi???? like earthbound????

😔

theyre not wrong

STOP YELLING

thats?? not possible?????? youre just weak

why are you saying that out loud

dude stop im dying of second hand embarrassment

wait the sign with the transcribed words doesnt have the ü. so how he pronounced it WAS right they just messed up the subtitles

i thought there was only ONE of its kind why do they EACH have one?????

why did so many people lose????? it seems pretty straightforward

also i love her ringtone

is that tom kenny again??????

thats.... not how it works

he should not have made that

so the big reveal is that it was his mom, but how does he know shes a cortez now?????? she was avellan at that point

take a wild guess

spurious??????? why are you using his first name

i dont???? think you can????????

1.3

the beats pretty good, im tapping my feet

i love his voice

thats not disco thats TECHNO

actually discos probably right. hes german and in germany clubs are called diskos. the music hes playing is pretty clubby, therefore it would be disco

she has spotify premium???? nice

ooooh scorpion has bed curtains!!!!

why do both cortezes have the floor bed???

how can juni hear aces music???? did his headphones get unplugged????? is it just super loud?????

sounds more like kids music than folk music

HOLY CRAP HES LISTENING TO THE WIGGLES (no offense to the wiggles)

yes hes a heavy sleeper we discussed this last time

he has a bazooka you might wanna run

"carmen is not here" me too carmen, me too

glitch chill

oh yay piss jokes

how does so much stuff come out on the floss

she was asleep???????? take it easy glitch

creative name

also the music sounds like it came right out of cadence of hyrule??????? which could be possible bc the girl who voices glitch also voiced link

glitch its clearly a virus

carmen you can go, psi can handle this

hes so protective of his records im dying

BAHAHA she said "worm?" and ofc my dumb ass thought she meant worm as in "oh worm?"

1.4

i had a whole bunch but tumbr decided to delete it and i dont wanna rewrite it so we missed the last 4 minutes of 1.3 and the first 8 of 1.4, sorryyy

it doesnt matter anyway no ones gonna read this

this whole point system was in the fourth movie, get some new plot points

is that really a good idea carmen???

throwback to when i was a kid and wanted to learn australian

oh no they died

JUNI NO YOU SAID IN THE THIRD MOVIE TO N E V E R SPLIT UP

sheilas a great name shut up

listen i see mirages all the time in the summer but how do you see a fake building???? its always a puddle of water

yeah the outback STEAKHOUSE

you sound like youre on crack

oh no he died

one time i ate a bug bc i thought it was some leftover dorito i had stuck in my teeth

hes pretty good at shelters, did you not see the second spy kids???

hey he calles him juni!!!

s n e a k y

what even is heat rash?????

STOP YELLING

nice STEALTH you tell him he has nice STEALTH

[songsofburning-blog]

kiss me.

Merrick Wood had been best friends with Lulu Jenkins practically since birth. They’d sat next to one another in kindergarten, and ever since, they’d been attached at the hip.

Ethan Jenkins, Lulu’s older brother, had always been on her view, peripherally. He was in Holly’s grade, the ‘bad kid’ who acted out, the one Logan befriended and no matter where she turned, he’d been in her life in some capacity ever since she was five. It wasn’t until she was 12 and her hormones started making her look around that she realized he was a boy, and a cute one at that. But once that was clear to her, Merrick had kept a much closer eye on him; watching him kiss Becky Krespie outside the gym while she and Lulu practiced with the JV squad as eighth graders, listening to him with Jennie Kennedy through Lulu’s wall in ninth grade as they watched cheesy 90s movies, spending the summer pretending not to notice how he seemed interested in their cheer practice more than his own football.

Really, she had been paying attention to Logan Norris - Holly’s best friend and her long time crush. But it was hard to not feel a flush over her cheeks when she noticed Ethan staring at her legs, or the way his eyes trailed over her chest when they were all cramped in one booth at the diner, his foot hitting hers underneath the table by accident.

Logan was a fever dream anyways. Everyone wanted him, and if he even noticed her, it was always as Holly’s little sister. But not for Ethan - he seemed to see her. Not Lulu’s best friend, not even Holly’s little sister. She was Merrick, someone cute, hot. Sexy.

He made her nervous, but in a new way. In a good way. She found herself giggling, hiding her face in her pillow when he made her blush, and she found herself...wanting. Wanting to be the girl he snuck into his room, wanting to sneak him into hers. It was new, sort of, and exciting and it wasn’t Logan, something that would never happen.

( Logan was, in fact, on the other side of her wall, spending the night with Holly and terrible sci fi movies, Merrick burning with jealousy even if Holly wasn’t getting what she wanted either. )

It wasn’t a date, she told herself, the two of them hanging out. And she had been alone with boys before - there was Steven Abrams, who she’d made out with at a party the beginning of freshman year, and she’d even let Frankie get up her shirt one day when they got stoned together. She had kissed enough boys and girls to know her way around that, but Ethan was different. Deliberate.

So she took her time, lining her eyes with sparkly blue and brushing her lips with a hot pink gloss that made them shine. Her shorts were high waisted and short enough that her legs were shown off and she knew, already, that he enjoyed her chest, and she’d stolen one of Gigi’s tops that managed to be low cut and cropped all at the same time.

( It was summer in Georgia. Wearing anything more would have been suicide, just asking for heatstroke. )

It had been her idea to head to the InterSkate - she loved rollerblading, and it was an activity that could lead to casual touches. On a Thursday night, it was crowded enough with people from the high school, but quiet enough not to be too public, and Merrick was proud of herself for thinking of the idea.

She told him she’d meet him there - not a date - but she was surprised to find he was already there when she showed up ten minutes early, waiting in line to rent skates when she walked up and tapped him on the arm.

”Holy shit,” he blurted, blatantly checking her out and she laughed, her face flushing as his did too, his mumbled apology waved away. “You just look...really good.”

”It’s disco night,” she reminded him with a shrug, twisting a curl around her finger, trying to ignore the flutter of butterflies erupting in her stomach. “I like to go all out.”

”I’m not complaining,” he promised with a grin and she rolled her eyes, but her own smile was as big as his. She had her own skates, and she tugged them on while he laced up his rented ones, moving to the rink with surprising ease.

”C’mon,” he said, holding out a hand for her and she grasped it, letting him lead her onto the rink and into the throngs of skaters.

”You’re good at this,” she commented, surprised. Logan was a disaster, Frankie only liked to think he could skate, and unless they were dragged, most guys didn’t exactly come to the roller rink. But Ethan skated around her in a circle before skating backwards, her eyes opening wide in surprise.

”Who do you think’s been going with Lulu all these years when you’re too busy?” He asked, and she nodded her head, accepting his answer and the hand he extended her way.

She felt a jolt of electricity between them when their palms made contact once more, but it was almost...natural, hanging out with him. They were able to skate around one another, dancing to the disco hits as they played on, and when they were tired and hungry she insisted of grabbing them corn dogs and sodas so they could sit and talk while they rested for a little while.

It was comfortable, easy, and Merrick felt her stomach flip when she thought about being alone with him. It wasn’t like the others - boredom and convenience - she looked at his hands and imagined them on her, watched the way his tongue wet his lips between talking, felt his gaze as she sat on the table above him.

He made her feel sexy.

”Wanna go around again?” He asked, but she shook her head; she had been wondering for days ( weeks, months, years ) what it would be like to kiss him, she didn’t know if she could bear it any longer. And if he saw it on her face, he didn’t acknowledge it - merely nodded, going to turn his skates in while she changed out of hers, throwing them into her backpack and meeting him by the door.

”Can I bring you home?” He asked, a hand on her lower back and her nose scrunched, regretting making them come separately now.

”I rode my bike,” she explained, but he shrugged, offering to put it in his car so she didn’t have to go through the dark ( safe ) streets of Riverside.

She didn’t think twice about taking him up on his offer.

By the time they pulled up to her house, she was a bundle of nerves. Holly’s light was on, and as Ethan pulled out her bike, she was sure she saw Logan’s shadow in the room too. Her gut twisted with something like annoyance, but it disappeared as soon as Ethan slammed the trunk shut.

”I had a lot of fun,” Merrick said quietly, her back against his car as he walked closer to her, hands in his pockets. “If I had known you could skate, I would have made you take me years ago.”

”Now you know.” His smile was easy, but she could almost convince herself he was as nervous as she was. He didn’t have any reason to be - he was the junior with a car and a list of girls who wanted him. She was the sophomore who just barely needed a B cup and still needed to ride her bike around town and got hit on but never taken home.

”Maybe we can do this again?” She asked, her hands pressed against the door behind her, trying not to show her nerves as he stood closer. “Just you and me? I kind of liked being alone with you.”

”I think we can arrange that.”

He was only a foot away from her, but it was like he needed permission, and her tongue ran over her bottom lip as she tried to calm her heart rate. This was Lulu’s brother - she hadn’t even told Lulu she was seeing him tonight - but all that mattered was that he was smiling at her like she was the only girl for him.

”If you want to kiss me,” she finally managed, “I’d be okay with that.”

”Just okay?” A step closer, her head tilting up to look closer at him.

”I’d really like that.”

Those seemed to be the magic words, and she tried to remember to breathe when he tilted her chin just so, gently pressing his lips against hers. A test, maybe, but she eased into it, pushing herself off of his car to have more of him, and that was when they finally seemed to break.

His hands cupped her face, threading through her hair and she tugged his hips closer to hers, both of them walking her back to the car until he was pressing her against it. His tongue opened her mouth, his teeth bit down on her lip and she felt like there was no more air left in her lungs.

She let her fingers dive under the hem of his shirt, and his own hand felt to her hip, digging into her side and holding her close. It was her turn to wrap her arms around his shoulders, to hold him close and when his mouth moved from hers to her throat and jaw, her eyes were practically seeing stars as she whimpered against him.

It felt like only minutes had passed by the time she heard her sister and Logan tumbling out of the house, forcing Merrick and Ethan apart. But the press of his body against hers told her otherwise, and her lips were red and swollen, and the way Logan was looking at them only confused her.

”We were just heading to the diner,” Holly explained, grabbing Logan’s hand. “Sorry.”

But the spell had been broken, at least for the moment and Merrick wiped a smudge of lip gloss off of Ethan’s lip, smiling up at him as he found his center again.

”Good night,” she told him, kissing the corner of his lips so that she wouldn’t lose herself in them again, and she heard his quiet reply in return as she grabbed her backpack, heading for the yard.

He was still watching her when she turned to wave from the doorway, his smile bright and easy again, and the butterflies in her stomach were flying at full speed.

Ethan Jenkin’s was trouble, she knew, but trouble she was excited to find herself in.

[trickortaeil]

vampire!taeil

* ladies and gentleman may i present to you one of the chillest vampires to ever walk the earth: moon taeil * taeil has been a vampire for a LONG time and when i say a long time i mean like he’s been one since he was born which is kind of a rarity nowadays since most of the new vampires he’s met have been turned (and taeil was born around the 1920’s) * taeil’s been through all the decades like man he remembers the phase he went through of leather jackets and slicked back hair in the 50’s and the groovy disco of the 70’s and then how he can’t seem to erase the idea of leg warmers of the 80’s the 90’s however has a special place in his heart but nowadays is his favorite but we’ll get to that in a few * taeil never really fit the ‘vampire’ stereotype in the ways that: he didn’t sparkle despite the attempts of his roommates dumping glitter on him and pushing him outside and exclaiming he’s shining which fooled him actually for a good ten seconds * he wasn’t a bloodthirsty predator that lurks in the night, taeil actually preferred the day with a nice block of sun protection and a shady spot under a tree, and he lived off of animal blood although he was condemned at first for doing so but he could never just go for a person like he had been told * however taeil’s stealth is incredible like you wouldn’t be able to tell he’d been standing somewhere eavesdropping until he accidentally sneezed which gives him away 99% of the time but besides that this boy is so quiet and most of the time the rest of monct forgets he’s in his room reading a book because of how silent he is * and tbh that’s how taeil prefers to be: all alone in his room tucked up reading a good book because this boy is a literature craved maniac * his biggest feat if you asked him was reading the entire library of his town and the next town over that boy was so frequently visiting that they just knew him by name * so when a new bookstore opens up by his house of course taeil is going to it and thanks to his super speed abilities he’s there within a blink of an eye * like that boy looks like a kid in a candy store with the way his eyes light up and he is just itching to read all the books and stay up all night if he had to, but taeil doesn’t sleep anyways which came to his benefit in times like these * and there you are behind the counter of this new handy dandy bookstore and you’re surprised to see someone this early because it’s your first day open and?? how did he know?? * and taeil is taken aback when he sees you because if that boy had a beating heart i’m pretty sure it’d be going a thousand miles a minute because he’s just really starstruck and you’re starstruck looking at him and you both kind of stand there like that until your fellow employee coughs in the back and you two are zapped back to reality * and taeil’s face would be flushed it could and yours is definitely flushed and you kind of just want to sink behind the counter in shock?? because this cute boy with curly hair and you maybe just had a moment?? but you have to remind yourself to be professional and put your serious face back on * and wow taeil is feeling all kinds of emotions like why does he feel an irrational beating in his chest that he can hear in his ears?? is he feeling a flush in his face?? why is there a warm feeling when he touches his face when usually it’s ice cold?? * and taeil can’t even focus on picking out a book and he’s calling up mark at 8:00 am in the morning when the teenage boy is usually fast asleep and demanding in a sharp tone how he could possibly be experiencing these feelings * and this then results in poor groggy mark mentioning something about a crush and hanging up the phone to get his sweet and deserved sleep * and the word crush is so ?? weird * he doesn’t understand how it can be a crush because if this boy just met you because isn’t that infatuation?? and like taeil’s character is to call back and correct mark but he’s too nervous at the moment * and when taeil does pick out books he puts them on the counter in a rush and hands the money to you and literally runs out like you’re in shock like did this boy just run?? at a super speed?? or are you just tired?? * and oh boy once he gets back to the dorm it’s all taeil can talk about like he’s talking a mile a minute and at this point mark has given everyone earmuffs because taeil’s really been going for two hours now like someone get this boy a brake * and so of course taeil has to keep coming back to the bookstore and keeps buying more books but he’s slowly been able to say small things to you before he got the weird pounding in his heart like small conversation pieces but never your name * and you’re also just as flustered because how is this boy who you’ve only exchanged a few words with him but you still haven’t gotten his name?? so when you’re checking him out one day you muster up the courage to ask him his name and when he says it * your heart really just does a flip because the name moon taeil must be one of a prince and you can almost see the night and the glimmer of the moon in his eyes and wow are you staring into his eyes hardcore?? but taeil’s doing the same again before breaks the contact and leaves without asking for your name in return * which in return leads to him lying on his bed with a book closed beside him and he’s wondering why didn’t he ask you for your name?? * and so these thoughts all seem to add up in his head so he decides to go for a night run also because he hasn’t eaten in a while and he’s running low on energy * and so he slips out of the house without a sound and within seconds is in the forest trail behind their house until he sees an outline by the lake just swinging their legs and taeil’s thirst kind of just disappears because the darn pounding sound is back in his chest and that boy already knows it’s you and he doesn’t know how but he just KNOWS * and so ofcourse stealthy little taeil plops himself down beside you and you nearly fall into the lake because this man LITERALLY CAME OUT OF NOWHERE but taeil’s hand is wrapped around your wrist before you can fall and wow his touch is icy and it’s even colder than it should be at night and you kind of shudder and that kind of recognition flashes in taeil’s eyes and he retracts his hand with a mumbled sorry but you really think you’re tripping when you see two incisors poking out of his mouth?? or maybe they’re just two snaggle teeth?? * and you’re kind of like unsure of whether to ask him but right now YOU can really see the moon shining in his eyes and you know why they call him MOON taeil because wow and you can’t help just going to move to touch his incisors and you don’t even know why but you just wan to * but taeil’s cold grasp is wrapped around your wrist again and all you hear is just a don’t before the fangs as you’ve decided to call them retract and now your heartbeat is picking up again but this time it’s out of fear?? because this man is super fast?? has fangs?? super cold?? and of course your mind needs one more validation so when you look into the water reflection and he’s not there you do what anyone would do in this situation * you scream * and oh boy taeil’s mind is now where yours is and now he’s panicking trying to quiet you but not get to close because he doesn’t want his roommates to hear you and some of them weren’t as in control of their say differing ‘abilities’ at this time * and so he’s pleading with you to please be quiet and you just can’t stop because this is a big !! and all you hear is a huff before he’s scooped you up in his arms and now you guys are on the other side of the lake?? and you’re THIS close to passing out before his hand wraps around yours and for some reason you go quiet and you can’t explain why because this man right here is a vampire!! a vampire!! but you just kind of quiet and taeil’s breath of relief could be heard for miles as he leans against a tree and his hands run across his face but you just can’t stop looking at him

* and again the weird urge for you to hold his hand comes out of nowhere and yes you just were screaming your head off but why are you now so calm with him?? and you don’t know if it’s some vampire manipulation but you’re now sat beside him and taeil’s heartbeat is going through the roof and for half a second you feel a bit of warmth in taeil’s hands before it disappears * and he’s muttering how he’s sorry and that saying he was a vampire wouldn’t quite have been a conversation starter * and you just kind of lean against his shoulder with your eyes fluttering shut because his voice is like a melody to your ears?? and you tell him it’s fine and that you’ve read your fair share of vampire novels to have figured it out and you hear a scoff from his side but you can just imagine his little chesire smile spreading across his face * and after this night you two are unofficially a thing and he spends more time than normal at the bookstore to keep you busy and whenever you feel like you want a coffee taeil’s gone and back with one within minutes that would’ve taken you otherwise 20 minutes to get * and then of course you get curious and you ask taeil all the stereotypical questions like how old is he?? does he have a cape?? does he sharpen his fangs?? * and this sweet boy would answer all of your questions as you played with his hand but when you asked him why sometimes he’d get warm he had no answer for you and that always put a little smile on your face * and of course when you ask taeil about where he lives and if he lives with others like him he kind of trails off when he says kind of and of course you want to go meet them * and the boys have never seen taeil so protective when he brought you to see them and he especially kept donghyuck at bay since he was a fledgling vampire and his control of senses were still off like he had this look on his face that was like do not even breath in his direction but when you go over to enthusiastically see sicheng taeil just about loses it and its not because of the age old fued * and usually calm taeil is on edge and he’s just pushing you out after all the boys seem to warm up to you and you wouldn’t mention it but you kind of liked his over protective side and you kind of tease him about it later but he could only explain himself because he treasured you so much * and he wouldn’t tell you but you were the reason why this decade just had to be his favorite

hi so this is part one of monster!nct aka my collab with @dest-writes !!! i hope you all enjoy!