#oh yeah and she’s an artist btw. paints across my chest

[meladotsauce]

“She’s the kind of girl you like so much, it makes you Sorry” 🚦

i’m so normal about wilbur soot wearing a wig !!

[bts-fantasy]

The Boy Next Door

Genre: Thriller AU

Characters: Yoongi, Hoseok x Reader

Next

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You woke up in the early morning to the sound of brids chirping. Yawning loudly you got up and opened your blinds to let the morning sun shine into your room looking at the clear sky your mood got lifted even more after being woken up by the peaceful sound of nature. You had a feeling that today was going to be extra special.

Suddenly you heard a loud bang outside and a deep voice shouting curse words. Your eyes shifted to the guys standing in the driveway next to your house one of them trying to lift up a heavy-looking box.

„Ah, shit! I hope you didn‘t break anything“, the guy shouted, who seemed like the older brother of the one who’d dropped the box on the road. He kept carrying one box after the other into the house next to yours while the younger was staring at the box in front of him as if it was a math problem.

His thin figure was slightly struggling to hold the heavyweight up for too long and he put it down once again with an annoyed expression looking around to check his surroundings as if he wanted to make sure no one was looking his way. His hair was tousled and black as ebony his clothes that were loosely hanging over his body were all in the same color palette of dark grey, black and blue.

Soon his eyes darted up staring directly at you catching a glimpse of your gaze right before you disappeared from your window.

Your heart was beating rapidly inside of your chest for being caught staring and you quickly moved to your bathroom to get ready for school. You put on a black turtle neck sweater with white pants and went downstairs where you could hear your mom fidgeting with the mixer already.

„Mom, are you baking a-“, you stopped as soon as you walked into the kitchen spotting your mom cracking eggs into the batter.

„...cake, for the new neighbors.“

You smiled at her as she nodded. It was a tradition for you two to welcome a new neighbor with your mom’s homemade cake.

„Yes. I saw them arrive this morning and introduced myself to them. They seem to be very nice people.“

You hummed in response taking a bite of the pancake that was already set on a plate on the table.

„Mhmm... delicious! Thanks, mom!“

A bashful smile spread across your mother‘s face since she still struggled with compliments despite the amount she received.

„I‘m glad you like it Y/N. Now hurry up or you‘ll be late for school!“

Finishing your breakfast quickly you left the house after saying goodbye to your mom and ran up to the bus station just in time to catch the bus.

A few minutes later you walked through the big wooden doors entering your school where you were met with the loud noises of students talking and lockers smashing. You walked to yours taking out the textbooks you needed for your classes as you got tackled by someone from behind.

„How was your weekend, Y/N?“, Hoseok‘s loud voice startled you and you turned around with wide eyes that shut him up immediately.

„Sorry, I know you told me not to yell at you first thing in the morning.“

He averted his gaze with a pout but you couldn‘t help but giggle at the adorable expression. It was funny how your friend was sensitive to loud noises but was the loudest one himself.

„It‘s okay. My weekend was so much fun! And with fun I mean I‘ve been working on my assignments non-stop and I haven‘t seen sunlight in two days“, you faked a smile as Hoseok looked at you as if you‘d gone completely crazy. He bent down to meet your eyes studying your face carefully.

„Yep. It‘s clear. You need help.“ He nodded earning a playful punch from you in return as his loud laugh filled the hallways. The bell rang and the hallways emptied quickly everyone walking into the classrooms and you and Hoseok started your day with a good mood.

„Is he hot?“, Hoseok whispered after a few seconds causing your eyes to grow wide looking at him. You‘d just told him about your new neighbors and the embarrassing incident, feeling the heat rise to your cheeks once again at the thought of it. Hoseok kept staring at you with expectant eyes waiting for your answer but you simply didn‘t know what to say so you just shrugged averting your eyes.

Hoseok sighed shaking his head at your response clearly disappointed he shifted his attention back to the teacher in front of you and so you continued the rest of the classes for the day trying hard not to fall asleep.

„Mom, I‘m home!“, you yelled the sweet smell of freshly baked cake engulfing you as soon as you set foot into your house.

„Oh, perfect! Can you please bring this over to the new neighbors? I have an important video conference with one of my clients.“

Your mom‘s eyes were sparkling at the mention of her client. She worked as a full-time artist and selling your artwork was a difficult business and it was always great news when she got a new client who was ready to buy one of her beautiful paintings. So you nodded taking the cake that was carefully packed in a tin and made your way over to your new neighbors. You heard your mom shout a ‚thank you‘ behind you as you closed the front door already dreading the encounter in front of you. You were hoping that his older brother would open the door since you were still too embarrassed to meet the one who‘d caught you this morning.

Walking up the few stairs, you finally stood in front of the black wooden door fixing your hair before pressing the bell right next to the brass sign that read ‚Min Brothers‘. You held your breath as you heard the loud bell sounding through the entire house and someone shouting inside.

„Open the door, Jae!“, a deep voice shouted inside.

„Get your ass up from the couch and get it yourself!“, you heard another voice shout that you recognized as the older one. After a few curse words you heard slurping footsteps nearing the door automatically causing you took a step back as a precaution. The door opened revealing the older brother whose eyes widened in surprise to see you standing there.

„Oh, hey...“, he spoke lowly as you tightened the grip around the cake tin. His black hair was almost covering his eyes which made it hard for you to read his expression. You couldn‘t tell if he was annoyed by your visit or not.

„Uhm... this is for you. My mom made it as a welcome gift“, you spoke rapidly only wanting to disappear but you soon saw his lips pull into a shy smile as he accepted your gift with a bow. He ran his fingers through his hair to get the strands out of his sight so he could look at you properly. His gaze wandered up and down your face examining your details in a calm manner but it made you freeze in your spot your mind racing with thoughts about what to do or say next.

„Thank you...“, he dragged his words implying for you to introduce yourself which you‘d completely forgotten in the heat of the moment. As if you were stung by an adder you realized how dumb you were acting in front of your new neighbor and you quickly introduced yourself with a nervous laugh.

„Sorry, my name‘s Y/N. I live in that house over there“, you pointed towards your house but stopped to look back at the guy when you heard his chuckle.

„Yeah, I know.“

Your eyes widened immediately at his words and he noticed your gaze before he quickly added: „I saw you this morning when you ran to the bus station.“

Your cheeks turned red but you were glad that he didn‘t mention the window incident as you nodded with a shy smile.

„I‘m Min Yoongi, by the way. It‘s nice to meet you, Y/N.“ Your name rolled off his tongue so smoothly it made you shiver and you nodded with a timid smile.

„Uhm... I think I should head back home...“, you said after a long pause stepping down the stairs ready to leave but you stopped when you heard his deep voice speaking up again.

„I‘ll see you around.“

Before you could reply the door got closed and you quickly left as you felt like an intruder standing all alone on their front porch.

Finally, back in your room, you turned your laptop on to work on your homework for the next day as your phone suddenly rang with an incoming message. You furrowed your brows at the unknown number as you opened the message only to feel your blood freeze in your veins.

You tossed your phone away standing up so fast that it knocked your chair over with a loud crash. Looking around your room panicked you moved to your window to see if there was someone outside but all you could see was an empty street illuminated by the lamp posts surrounding your little neighborhood. You closed your blinds quickly trying to calm yourself down as you stood in the middle of your room staring at your phone that laid upside down on your desk, too scared to pick it up again.

„Y/N? Is everything alright?“, you heard your mom‘s voice coming from downstairs startling you again. She must‘ve heard the loud crash of your wooden stool and you knew how scared your mom was of loud noises after everything that went down with your dad. You composed yourself quickly holding onto your elbows to prevent yourself from shaking as you replied to her.

„N-no mom, don‘t worry it was just my chair.“

You walked over to pick the knocked over furniture up again your eyes shifting to your phone as you kept staring at it. Only one question haunted your mind the same words repeating over and over again in your head.

Who was it?

A/N: It‘s finally out! The first part of my halloween series!👻 I sat down with my roommate today to work out the plot and I gotta say that I‘m very, very excited for this one!!🥳

I hope you guys enjoy reading this and comment your thoughts and also if you want to be included on the taglist!😁👍🏽

Stick with me until the end because you don‘t wanna miss it I promise🥺

Thank you all for reading, I purple you!💜

(Btw don‘t get confused when you see my main acc respond to your comments (@thedreaming-poet))

Masterlist

[fangirl--of-everything]

The One With The Dragon (Jeff Atkins x reader)

word count: ~3,410

Request: anon- this sounds weird but I love dragons and I love jeff so could you write something about jeff and dragons? love your writing btw :))

Warnings: mild bullying, badass reader, Jeff being perfect in every way, descriptions of art even though I know absolutely nothing about it, Bryce is in it really briefly, I think that’s it.

A/N. This fic has become notorious in my friend group as The Dragon Fic. My girlfriends are very invested in this one, and are really disappointed that Jeff doesn’t turn into a dragon at the end and fly away. I’m sorry to disappoint guys. Despite the lack of Dragon-Jeff, please try to enjoy :)

The landscape covering the canvas was impressive by anyone’s standards; a great, sweeping expanse of land, on which the bodies of fallen soldiers were scattered. Smoke curled from the dying fires, and the sun cast a hazy glow upon the scene. The colours shone with vivid brilliance, the image so clear, so real that the scent of smoke clung to it. Still, it was the centrepiece that dazzled the eye. A dragon, pure silver and shining, it’s long neck arched as it spread it’s mighty wings, roaring into the sky a jet of blue flames. 

The beast was massive, forty feet tall, its scales serrated and rippling. The colour grew softer as the eye moved towards the great snake’s belly. There the scales were rounded and almost soft. It’s wing span was almost double it’s height, and their great shadow almost covered the canvas. It’s teeth, long and black, shone like Onyx, and it’s one eye was gold, molten and burning. In the space where it’s other eye used to rest was a jagged scar leading to a gaping wound, blue light burning from deep within the socket. It was a masterpiece.

Of course no one at Liberty High appreciated it. It hung in the art room, the work of nine months and too many hours, and all (y/n) got as recognition of it’s creation was ridicule.

She tried not to let it bother her, the way her classmates jeered, calling her the dragon girl or fantasy freak, but their words hurt. Still, she surrounded herself with other artists, appreciating each other’s work and painting for each other shields against the sharp swords of their classmates’ tongues. She let the cruel words of the jocks and the cheerleaders roll off her own set of scales, which she wore in the form of metal rings and a large dragon tattoo that twined around the entire length of her left arm. It’s tail stretched across her chest to curl around her heart, and it’s long body spiralled down her arm. It’s open mouth was positioned so that when she drew or painted her creations poured from it’s mouth like artistic fire. She was extremely proud of it, even though no one else appreciated it’s beauty. The same way they failed to appreciate her other dragons.

Today was the day she got to bring her masterpiece to it’s new home. The school arts department was running an exhibition across town, where arts students could get scholarships and showcase the pieces they had been working on all year. Everything else she had was already set up, and all she needed now was for Skye to help her get this beautiful monstrosity into one of the volunteer cars and she would be good to go.

She had waited to go last because the piece was so big, and the rest of her work was already set up. Her friends were all already there, making sure their exhibits and hers were ready for tomorrow’s grand opening, and Skye was on her way to give (y/n) a hand. Or at least she was supposed to be, but she was about ten minutes late.

“Hey, what’s taking so-- Holy fuck.”

(Y/n) jumped, spinning around to see Jeff Atkins standing in the doorway of the art room, staring at her painting with wide eyes. She tensed, waiting for the criticism. The jocks were never very happy to have to share the spotlight with arts kids. But, much to her surprise, he just looked at her painting in awe.

“That’s fucking awesome! Did you seriously paint that?” He asked, stepping into the room.

She shrugged. “Well I didn’t trace it, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

He chuckled, shooting her a friendly smile. “Yeah I guess you didn’t did you? Holy crap, this thing is amazing.” He reached forward, eyes shining.

“No don’t!” (Y/n) jumped forward, pulling his hand down before he could touch the canvas. He looked at her, dark eyebrows raised, and she let go of his wrist, running her tattooed hand through her hair. “Just- just don’t touch it okay? It took nine months to get it to look this good.”

“Alright.” he nodded, taking a healthy step back. “It’s really good though. Like, I knew you were talented, but this,” he gestured to the painting, “this is awesome.”

“Thank you.” She smiled, trying to apologize for grabbing him without actually apologizing. “I’m pretty proud of it. It’s definitely the best thing I’ve ever painted.”

“Well yeah, I mean look at it it’s fucking fantastic.” Jeff looked at her then, and his face shifted slightly. She tensed, waiting for the cruel words or mean glare, but he just cleared his throat and ran his hand through the fluffy top of his hair. “Uh, Skye got caught up at the exhibit. Something with a naked woman and her buttons, I don’t,” he shrugged. “But anyway, I’m supposed to help you get this into the truck and then take you both to the exhibit.”

(Y/n) bit the inside of her cheek nervously. This painting was her life, and she didn’t trust just anyone to touch it. Skye she trusted not to damage it, but Jeff? True, he was one of the nicest seniors at Liberty High, and a jock to boot, but considering the rest of the male population that wasn’t really saying much. And she’d had trouble with older boys and her art before.

Jeff studied her, seeing the hesitation flash across her face, and tried to be reassuring. “Look, I may not know a lot about art, but I’m strong.” He flexed playfully, making his henley strain against his arms and chest, and (y/n) relaxed slightly, chuckling. He considered that a success. “If you want to wrap this up or whatever I can carry it, and you can get the doors. Sound good?”

She nodded, this time biting her cheek to keep in a smile. She was really pretty when she smiled. He had always thought she was pretty even when she wasn’t smiling, but when she was… wow. if he were in any way artistically inclined he would be tempted to draw a smile like that. 

“What?” He asked, sensing that she was laughing at him. He was used to the reaction from when he attempted to participate in history class. “What did I say?”

“Nothing.” She shook her head. “It’s just that this painting is almost as big as you and there’s no way you’re gonna be able to carry it by yourself.”

“Hey!” He protested, clutching his chest in fake offense. “I am wounded (y/n). Do you not trust me with your dragon?”

“I don’t trust anyone with my dragon. This thing is my baby. We’re gonna put it on a trolley.”

He opened his mouth to protest, because what was the point of spending seven hours a week in the gym if he couldn’t even lift a piece of paper and some wood, but she waved away his protest. “Oh hold on to your male pride. You can still push the trolley.”

He laughed, surprised by her snark. She was usually more quiet, although to be fair that may have been because he always saw her with Skye, who was rather loud. “Alright.” He surrendered. “How do you wanna do this?”

She explained how to wrap the canvas, and they got it covered. It pleased Jeff to notice that he had to do most of the work, because her arms weren’t long enough. The canvas was massive, as wide as (y/n) was tall, and half as tall as that as well. The two of them were able to get it onto a massive trolley to roll it out of the school, which (y/n) gestured for Jeff to steer while she went to get the first door.

“So,” he asked, grunting as the heavy cart resisted his first attempt to push it. She smirked at him, biting her cheek to keep from laughing, and he rolled his eyes. “So, why the dragon?”

Her smile fell immediately. “Haha, very funny.”

“No I’m serious.” He said, watching her face close off. “I know you like dragons, everyone knows that, but I was wondering why. I’m not judging, I swear, I think they’re really cool too.”

She eyed him suspiciously as he pushed the heavy cart through the first door. Finally she sighed, running her tattoo wrapped hand through her hair again. “I just got really into them when I was a kid. Some people like Star Wars, or Lord of the Rings or superheroes, I like dragons.” She looked up to see Jeff watching her expectantly, waiting for more. She sighed. “My dad is a writer. He’s working on this fantasy book, and so I draw dragons for him and he uses the illustrations in his novel. Every couple months when I go visit him I bring him a big bundle of drawing and he shows me what he’s written since I was there last.” It was a nice story, but she spat the words at him quickly, keeping her eyes on the corner of the trolley.

“That’s really cool.” Jeff nodded, looking at her. “My dad is the reason I got into baseball.”

She smiled slowly as she realized he wasn’t about to make fun of her. “Really?”

He nodded. “Yeah, when I was little my dad brought me to the batting cages for the first time. I cried when he threw the ball at me.”

She laughed, the sound warm. Jeff tried not to move closer to her, to avoid ramming into her with the massive trolley. “My dad’s books actually come from these bedtime stories he used to tell me. I think he really started getting into dragons when I did, and it became something we did together you know?”

“Yeah.” Jeff nodded again. “My dad’s pretty busy with work, but we try to talk about baseball and watch the games together whenever we get the chance.”

“That’s nice.” She nodded, moving ahead to open the main doors. “I love when I get to spend time with my dad, we--”

“Hey Atkins!”

Both of them looked up, jumping in surprise as Bryce and Monty running over, each of them throwing an arm around his shoulders. (Y/n) tensed immediately, eyes widening as Monty shoved Jeff playfully. The trolley rocked, and she squeezed her eyes shut. If Monty shoved Jeff again she was gonna punch his stupid pretty face. Jeff laughed as Bryce pounded on his back, but then his eyes fell on (y/n). Her hands were clenched into fists, and she was white as the guys roughhoused around her painting. He shoved Bryce off, then twisted so he could push Monty away from the trolley.

“What are you guys doing here?” Jeff asked, shifting subtly to position himself in front of the painting. He looked over his shoulder at her, flashing her a reassuring smile. She breathed a sigh of relief, visibly relaxing, and his stomach flipped. 

“We came to spring you from this stupid art shit man.” Monty laughed. “What the fuck’s taking so long anyway?”

Jeff looked over his shoulder again, to see (y/n) tense, arms crossed. She was clearly preparing for a confrontation. And it looked like she was going to get one, the way Monty’s eyes widened as he looked at her. “Oh, hey you’re hanging with the fantasy freak?”

She laughed sarcastically. “Oh wow, you can string together words that start with same letter. You’re so smart Monty.”

Jeff snorted, but it died quickly when Monty sneered. “Well at least I’m not a psycho obsessed with lizards.”

“Aha.” she rolled her weight onto her back leg and arched an eyebrow. “You were pretty obsessed with this lizard at Kate’s party last year. I’m pretty sure I remember you saying something about how cool it would be to have my dragon’s jaws wrapped around your--”

“Shut up!” Monty snapped, face going red with quick anger. “You’re such a stupid fucking bitch you know that?”

She shrugged, narrowing her eyes. “Hey, maybe I am. But I didn’t try to get the dragon freak to roar for me when I--”

“Shut the fuck up!” Monty lunged forward, and Jeff got in his way, puffing his chest and making himself bigger. He knew what Monty’s anger could be like, and as badass as (y/n)’s  tattoo was, he was pretty sure an ink dragon wasn't gonna do much against Monty’s fist. 

“Hey man!” Jeff shoved Monty back forcefully. “What the fuck are you doing?”

Monty lunged forward again. “That bitch doesn’t know what she’s--”

“Hey!” Jeff pushed him again, harder this time, and Bryce grabbed the other boy’s arm to keep him back. “You need to back off dude. Right now.”

“Why?” Monty sneered. “Because the dragon freak’s worried I’ll fuck up her doodles?” He shoved Jeff, and while the older boy was expecting it he still stumbled back a step. The trolley rolled back and her precious painting wobbled.

“Alright that’s it you fucking cock!” (Y/n) shouted.

She moved fast, and before Jeff could stop her Monty was stumbling back, his nose bloody from her fist slamming into his face. For a beat everything was silent, Jeff and Bryce staring at each other, mouths hanging open. Then everything went to shit. Monty lunged forward, grabbing for (y/n), and she punched him again. Jeff hooked an arm around (y/n)’s waist, hoisting her up and dragging her back kicking and struggling against his grip. Bryce forced Monty into a headlock to keep him from jumping forward. Jeff dragged (y/n) a safe distance away, taking an elbow to the side of the head before she was calm enough to be set back on her feet. Even still, he kept one arm around her waist, the other around her chest. 

“You stupid fucking--” Monty growled, spitting blood and trying to throw Bryce off of him.

Jeff stumbled forward a step when (y/n) bucked against him, and he had to dig in his feet to keep her from lunging for Monty’s throat. “Monty back the hell off.” Jeff said through his teeth. He sucked in a breath as she elbowed him in the gut. “Fuck (y/n) stop!”

“Seriously bro.” Bryce tried to tug Monty back a step, but the smaller boy resisted. “Dude she’s not worth it.”

Monty was still pissed, shaking in Bryce’s grip. “But she’s a--”

“Back. The. Fuck. Off.” Jeff growled, narrowing his eyes. He was officially done with Monty talking shit. “Or Bryce is gonna help me hold you down while she beats the shit out of you.”

Monty looked like he was seriously considering punching a woman, which of course would mean Jeff would have to kill him, but Bryce was able to say something to him that made him calm down just enough that the bigger boy could drag him away. He shot Jeff a sympathetic look over his shoulder, and Jeff bristled, eyes narrowing as his arms tightened around (y/n). He kept a firm grip on her until the two baseball players were out of sight. When he finally let her go she spun out of his grip, eyes immediately landing on her painting, which was intact. Thank god.

(Y/n)’s eyes widened as it set in that she had just punched Montgomery in the face. She looked down at her fist, her knuckles bloody and already bruising. “Ow.”

Jeff laughed sharply. “Yeah ow. You just punched a guy with crazy anger management issues in the face. What the hell were you thinking?”

“He almost destroyed nine months of work!” Her voice was shrill, and she crossed her arms defensively.

“If me and Bryce hadn’t been here he could have destroyed your face.” Jeff shot back, realizing how stupid that sounded as soon as the words left his mouth. (Y/n)’s eyebrows rose, and she covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her laughter.

“I’m serious.” Jeff protested, taking a step closer. “What if me and Bryce weren’t here? Monty could have really hurt you.”

“I know.” She nodded, still giggling. “Because- because I punched Monty in the face.” She snorted, shoulders shaking with the force of her laughter. “I actually- I punched that jackass in the face.” She doubled over, wiping her eyes. “Oh my god what the fuck was I thinking?”

Jeff tried to resist, but her laughter was contagious, and he found himself chuckling too. “It was pretty badass.” He agreed, snickering as he thought about the look on Monty’s face right after she broke his nose. “It was pretty fucking awesome actually.”

“Yeah it was!” She grinned, holding up her hand. She winced as she flexed her fingers, looking down at the bruises along her knuckles.

“What?” Jeff asked, still chuckling.

She shrugged sheepishly. “I didn’t realize it was gonna hurt so much.”

Their eyes met, and they both started laughing again, laughing so hard they had to sit down on the curb until the fit subsided. As soon as one of them would calm down enough to look at the other, their eyes would meet and the laughter would start again. (Y/n) wiped her eyes, leaning her head against his shoulder, and he struggled to catch his breath.

“The look on his face--” She snorted.

“And did you see Bryce?” Jeff asked, wiping his eyes.

The laughter began again, (y/n) almost hiccuping. “Oh my god I’m gonna pee!”

Eventually Jeff was in enough control to get back to his feet, and he loaded the painting into the back of the truck while (y/n) watched, still giggling softly. He looked at her, breath hitching as he tried to hold back more laughter, and he held out his hand. “Come on, let’s get your art to the exhibit and then put some ice on that hand.”

She watched him cautiously, eyes flicking between his hand and his face. “What are you doing?”

He arched an eyebrow. “Helping you up?”

She blinked at him. “Um, okay.” She grabbed his hand, letting him pull her to her feet.

“Alright, let me look at your knuckles.” Jeff held out his other hand, and she gave him her left hand, wincing as she spread her fingers. He was able to see the bruising around her first two knuckles, disappearing beneath the dark ink of her tattoo, but considering she had just punched a guy it wasn’t too bad.

“You’re pretty lucky, I don’t think you broke anything.” He said, running his thumb over her knuckles.

She scoffed, and he looked up to see her rolling her eyes. “Of course I didn’t break anything. I know how to punch.”

“Oh I’m sorry.” He huffed sarcastically. “I didn’t think you made a habit of punching guys in the face.”

She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. It hurts like a bitch but I’m sure it’s fine.”

He nodded. “We should probably ice it, but it’ll be fine.”

“We?” She asked, eyebrows raising.

“Yeah.” Jeff nodded. “I’m sorry but I can’t trust you not to punch another guy if I leave you alone. So we’re gonna drop off your stuff, and then we’re going to go to Licks and ice your hand, and you’re gonna tell me more about this awesome tattoo.” He slid his thumb up her wrist along the dark ink.

She blinked at him in surprise, eyebrows drawing together as she looked at him. “You want to go get ice cream with me?”

He nodded. “Of course I do. You punched Monty in the face, I gotta know how you did it. I've been wanted to punch him for years. Plus,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “I think you’re kinda cool.”

Her mouth hung open, and he laughed softly, taking her sore hand in his gently. “Come on dragon girl, let’s go.”

“Don’t call me that.”

He looked down to see her looking at him, eyes wide and vulnerable. He hadn’t realized that he’d said it, and he rubbed his thumb over her knuckles in apology. “I’m sorry (yn). But if it makes you feel any better, I really do think dragons are awesome.”

She rolled her eyes. “Sure you do. I’m onto you Atkins, I know you’re just trying to butter me up so I’ll share my ice cream with you.”

“Damn!” He laughed. “You’re right, you caught me.”

“Yeah I did.” She nodded, smiling knowingly. “But you opened the floodgates, so now you’re gonna spend the entire date listening to me talk about my dad’s book.”

“Sounds good,” Jeff grinned. He was totally gonna kiss her later. Dragons were fucking awesome, he’d always thought so, and so was she. A fierce, beautiful dragon in girl’s skin. His only regret was that it had taken him so long to realize it.