#okay rant over. i am climbing off the cafeteria table

[marypsue]

I'd love to hear your thoughts on S1 of ST being a tragedy! No main character dies, so I never thought of it that way before

I mean, nobody has to die for a story to be a tragedy (at least, in the modern definition. I'm pretty sure '(almost) everybody dies' is a requirement of Greek tragedies and Renaissance revenge tragedies). But also, no main character dies in season one...if you take season one as part of a series. Which it wasn't originally conceived as.

I am not going looking for copies of the original pitch bible, because I am lazy, and also I only saw them floating around this webbed site. But the show changed a lot from the initial pitch (Joyce had a Long Island accent! Lucas' parents were divorcing! Murray was there and named Terry Ives! Most of what ended up in Hopper's character originally belonged to Mr. Clarke! The original pitch bible is fascinating). And part of the original pitch was a proposal for possible sequels.

The Duffers' proposal for a possible sequel was "It's ten years later, and Eleven is dead".

So that's the setup. Everything that came after season one was made up wholecloth after season one was a hit and people wanted more, but also people loved the adorable little psychic murder child (cue the Duffers shockedpikachu.jpg) and Netflix obviously recognised it would be a bad call to make a new season without her in it. So it makes sense to take season one as a unit, as a self-contained story on its own. You can also take it as part of a whole, but it makes sense to read it first as a complete story. Especially given the thematic drift of later seasons and the way they are...I'm just going to say it, each new season is very much added-on to what came before rather than being built on foundation that the earlier season(s) laid. It is very clear there was never a planned five-season story arc from the beginning. (This isn't necessarily always a bad thing, when it comes to sequels, but it does mean it makes sense to 'read' each season as its own thing.)

Okay, now that we've established all of that. Season one has one very clear goal, one very clear stake for the characters: save Will Byers from the Upside Down. (I like this. It makes the stakes both extremely high and extremely personal, it makes it very easy to understand each character's motivation, it also keeps the stakes grounded in reality. I like this a lot.) And by the end of the season, that goal is accomplished. So at first blush, you're right, season one doesn't look like a tragedy.

But when you start to unpack it a little, you start to see just how many important things were lost along the way. It's most glaringly obvious with Mike and El, with Nancy and Barb. The whole Wheeler family is fractured down the middle, with Mike and Nancy on one side and Ted, Karen, and Holly on the other, and Karen, who's been trying so hard the whole time to be part of her children's lives and understand what's going on with them, is aware of the ever-expanding gulf between them but will never be able to cross it, and will never fully know why. Hopper's finally managed to snatch a kid out of the jaws of death, save a woman he obviously cares about from the pain of losing a child, and Joyce has finally had someone believe her, support her, trust her. But it became blindingly obvious to me on my fourth rewatch that Hopper's plan, from the moment he went to leave the middle school gym, was always to trade El for Will. And that decision (and the fact that Joyce obviously understands that he did something to get the lab to let them go after Will, but she obviously doesn't dare press him on what) has broken her trust in him, and left him with what looks like an equally heavy burden of guilt as what he was carrying before. The lab stays open. The government gets away with everything. No one will ever know the true extent of the hurt they've caused.

And in the end, none of it even saved Will. He's back. He's alive. But he's spitting slugs in the sink. He's permanently marked by the Upside Down, and by trying to hide it from his family, he's putting a crack down the centre of them, as well. They're losing Will, just as surely as they had when they thought he was dead, just without him going anywhere.

And there's still a hole in the world.

The fragile bonds of community, the things that people share in common, the way catastrophe can bring people together and bring out the very best in them, are the major thematic threads woven through season one. Human connection is the only thing that can change what seems inevitable, the only thing that can bring back what's seemingly lost forever.

And it's still not enough to protect anyone from the random tragedy of the world.

The love was there. The love mattered. The love bent the entire course of the world around itself.

And it still wasn't quite enough.

If that's not a tragedy, then I don't know what is.

[lyrasdrawer]

No juegues conmigo // Don't play with me.

Pairing: Spidy!Miguel O'hara x SpidyFem!Reader.

Miguel calls you to his office to tell you he's been hearing you playing with yourself at night. It doesn't go as planned.

Warnings: Dom Miguel. Masturbation. Toy usage. F receiving oral. Fingering. Language. Spanish speaker reader. Degradation. Choking. Biting/Clawing. Praise kink. Angst. Bondage. Please lmk if i gotta add any more warnings. MINORS DNI.

Part 1. / Part 2.

You arrived at your room after an exhausting day at HQ. Lyla woke you up at 7AM claiming that you were required at Miguel's head office. After a cold shower to wake you up you ran, already in a bad mood (since Lyla had insisted it was urgent and you couldn't stop for a coffee, souring your mood). Your arrival was indifferent to your overworked boss.

You knew better than to interrupt him while focused... But after a couple of long minutes had passed you climbed your way next to him on the platform.

"I know you sensed me, Miguel." You said, exasperation tinting your tone.

He barely acknowledged you, only gestured your way with his right hand an holographic screen with the anomaly's details. Opening a portal, you looked at him over your shoulder.

"Siempre un placer." Rolling your eyes, you jumped through.

Trsl: Always a pleasure.

You were so mad you couldn't even notice the blood drippling from his left hand, small crescend cuts opening his palm from where his talons were pressed.

You got back to HQ when everyone was leaving the cafeteria already. You plopped your ass on a bench without bothering to go get some food. Your stomach growled in protest, but you just laid your front against the table. The anomaly had given you some trouble, and you were too sore, AND too mad to get up.

"There you are!" Gwen's voice singed, sitting at your side. She looked at you. "Are you... Okay?"

You groaned in response.

"She's definitely in a mood." Peter B. Parker sat in front of you, with a tray full of pizza that made your had snap.

You snapped the tray out of his hands and starting devouring, trying not to laugh at the face of betrayal staring back at where his tray was a second before. He went back for more food and Gwen looked back at you, a smirk on her face.

"So you were hangry-"

"I am not hangry! I am - was hungry, yeah, but that doesn't have anything to do with my mood." You said and threw another slice of pizza on your mouth.

"Let me guess..." Peter was back with four hamburgers on a new tray "Your mood has to do with a 7 feet tall, thick, tan man who-"

Your death stare made him close his mouth shut.

"He has sent me to fight this HUGE bug, at 7AM, without letting me have a coffee..." You almost yelled. "And the worst is he didn't even SAID anything. He just-" You make the swiping hand gesture. "He's an asshole, I swear to god, le odio. " Your rant switched to your mother tongue without even realizing. Gwen put a comforting hand on your back. "Os juro que, if he dares to speak to me today I'm punching esa cara bonita."

Trsl: I hate him. I swear that. That pretty face.

Peter looked at Gwen wide-eyed. You rarely uppered your voice.

"She is definitely mad."

Miguel, luckily, didn't send you to another mission but, refusing to stay at HQ to avoid any chance of crossing by him, you went back to you own New York to go on patrol.

Back on your room, you slid off your suit and checked your bruised ribs in the mirror. "That fucking bug did me dirty". You scanned the rest of your body, poking on some light bruises on your legs making your mind think of two big hands who could probably bruise you better. You groaned. Not again. Putting on a loose shirt over, you dropped on the bed.

"I hate him" You tried to remember yourself but you couldn't stop your head from imagining his red stare looking at you, fangs out and hand on your throat, pressing oh so firmly. Tracing your palm down your abdomen, you thought of his talons grazing your skin. You almost growl in frustration, free hand reaching for the hem on your shirt and lifting above your breasts. You licked your fingertips before gracing on top of your nipple, liking things wet and sloppy. You reached for the drawer on the nightstand, rummaging inside until you found the hard, cold surface of your new play toy: a big glass dildo.

Miguel left the office back to his dorm, his mind reenacting the conversation (or lack of one) from a few hours ago. You were mad and he knew it. He deserved it. He hadn't called you to send you on that stupid mission. "Mierda, she could have hurted herself, it wasnt a solo mission". In fact, he had prepared a team already to go for that anomaly. Four people. But you managed it. Alone.

Miguel replayed on his head how that bug pushed you against a wall... He waited for you in the nursery but you didn't appear.

"Cabezona..." He muttered, fondly.

Trsl: stubborn.

He didn't want to send you on a mission. He wanted to talk to you... But then you reached his office, your scent filling his office making his head to spin... You were intoxicating, smelled so sweet to him. And he couldn't let you see him, haven't slept little to nothing, big bags under his eyes, and now almost drooling. He was paralized. An suddenly, you were next to him and he had to force himself not to look. God, he could almost taste you. So he clenched his fist, talons sharp against his skin just to be able to show you the screen (any screen that appeared, he couldn't concentrate in picking one) and you thought he was clear: an anomaly, fix it. But, no. No. He wanted to tell you he hadn't slept. Not today and not the days before.

His train of thought was interrupted by a sound. A whine. And he cursed. Your smell invaded his room as if you were there. And how you moaned. It send a shiver down his spine. A tightening pain direct to his crotch. That's what he wanted to tell you. That he heard. That he smelled.

"Mierda" He growled when a high pitched moan filled his room. His spider suit tight against his hardening cock.

Trsl: Shit.

He wanted to tell you that he could help. Fuck. He wanted to help. His head was full of images of you taking his length, your bratty comments long forgotten when you were so cock-drunk.

"Miguel" You mewled, and that was it. He was infront of your bedroom door, just the one below him, and knocked.

You froze. Panic driven, you hid the glass toy under your blankets and let your shirt cover your soaked thong. Your hand unlocked the door and you were looking straight to the suit covered chest of the man you were just fantasizing about.

"Hey... " Looking up, half a smile drawing on your face, you tried to play it cool. "W.what brings you here, O'Hara?"

"Stuttering and all, desastrosa" You thought.

Trsl: Messy/Disastrous.

Miguel was scanning you, red eyes fixated on your body almost hungry, looking your clearly hard nipples under your oversized t-shirt, where the hem touched your thights, barely covering your underwear.

"Miguel?" You asked, faked innocence covering your voice. You felt small, like his prey. A mouse under the deathly stare of a cat. But you couldn't lie to yourself. Not with how your tummy gave a twist, tickling your right between your legs. You loved it.

He took one step forward, towering you. You looked so small infront of him. Big doe eyes looking up at him and that hint of a smirk painting your puffy lips. He wanted to bite them.

"Such a whore" He mumbled. You bit your lip. "You do it on purpose, don't you, princesa?" He caressed your cheek, putting a wild strand of hair behind your ear. You yield to his touch, eyes closed, heart running on your chest. "You left your window open so I could hear all that pretty moans while you fucked yourself to me, hm?" He grabbed your neck. "Such a naughty girl you are..."

Trsl: Princess.

Your eyes flipped open, breath stucked on your throat and he chuckled at that sight. His big hand on your small neck, eyes wide, breathing caught. You looked so cute like that. Almost scared. And he made sure to record that image right on his head. He leaned for a kiss, licking your lower lip temptingly, and your hands jumped to his neck to bring him closer, kissing him eagerly, small whimpers escaping your lips.

"So needy" He cooed, fangs pressing against your lip and tugging, forcing a small whine from you.

You both tumbled to your bed, lips crashing against each other, bodies pressed impossibly close and he sat you on top of his thights, hands on your hips to push your throbbing cunt against his crotch.

"M.Miguel" You moaned, and he moved your hips again, making him growl.

"Stand up." He ordered, and you obliged, legs trembling from your make out session. "How am I gonna punish you, hm?" He looked around your room thoughtfully, until his gaze locked in something. He looked back at you, pouting from the lack of attention. He suppressed a smile. Adorable. "Strip."

You tucked the hem of your shirt, taking it slowly, teasing. Shirt off, you turned around to remove your thong, legs straight and bending from the waist down, your hands making a show in removing them off.

"Dios... No sabes lo que me haces" Big hand slapped your ass, leaving a bright red print that made you squeal.

Trsl: God... You don't know what you do to me.

You turned around, smirk showing while you bit you lower lip.

"You could show me" Your voice defying with a bratty attitude.

He stood up, grabbing you by the neck. He pushed you against your open kitchen counter top. "Hands up" He growled in your ear, making you shiver. Confused as you were, you obeyed as he webbed your hands up on the ceiling, making you stand against the counter tiptoing. He let you go and observed you from a distance, his hand palming his hard length through his suit. Your lips parted and nearly salivated at the sight, making him laugh at the need plastered all over your face. "So desperate to be used, aren't you princesa?" You were nodding before he was done talking, inner thighs pressed and rubbed, trying to make as much friction as they could and relief your burning heat...

Trsl: Princess.

He bent on his knees, forcing your thights to part and placing them on your shoulders. Your smell made him dizzy, god, so sweet he could eat you out for hours. He gave a small lick, flat tongue against your dripping pussy. You sighted in relief, your pussy receiving that much needed attention.

"So wet for me, aren't you, arañita?" He looked up at you, cockily. You looked gorgeous, head tilted back, arched on top of him letting him see your soft breasts. "Mírame" He ordered, talons clawing on your thights.

Trsl: Little spider. Look at me.

You lowered your head, half-lidded eyes looking at him.

"Good girl."

You clenched your walls on nothing at the praising, and squeezed his head with your legs, urging him to continue. He laughed at the action and lapped against your cunt again. He worked wonders with his tongue, switching from sucking and circling his tongue against your clit to lapping his tongue flat agains your lips, making you a moaning mess within minutes. You noticed the pressure building up in your lower half, making your breath shaky and your body to shiver, trying to move your hips to get to your orgasm. And just like that, he stopped.

"Fuuck!" You groaned. Opening your eyes and looking at him in disbelief "Why? I was-" Whinning, you tried to get an answer but were cut by Miguel getting up and kneeling yourself on the counter. He slapped your cunt, a cry getting past your lips.

"Because..." He answered, putting your glass dildo on top of the counter, between your legs. "You gotta win it, princesa." A mischievous smile showed across his face. It was a punishment, after all, and you thought he had forgotten it. "Go ahead, fuck yourself for papi."

Trsl: Princess. Daddy.

You swallowed, hard, and lined your hips with the tip of your toy.

"M.Miguel" You looked at him, desperate, but his gaze was fixed on the glass tip, waiting. "Please..."

"I'm not gonna say it again."

That made you lower your hips slowly, bitting your lip. The dildo was big, you couldn't manage to fit more than half of it before, on your own, but looking at the bulge that was marked on Miguel's suit, you knew you'd have way more trouble with him. You started a steady pace, whinning softly while fucking yourself with the toy.

Miguel suit vanished, his length freed and hard aginst his chest. You couldn't stop staring, drooling thinking about having him fucking your throat raw. You fucked yourself harder on the toy, trying to fit more of your toy in.

"You like what you see?" He raised his eyebrow, amused.

"I w.want you t.to-" You moaned, knowing you were almost there again.

"What do you want, princesa?" Hi said, stroking himself at the sight: you struggling to fit the dildo in, drooling over the image of his cock. God you were gorgeous and he was holding himself to not fuck you dumb right there. He wanted to make you beg.

Trsl: Princess.

"To... Fuck my throat" You whispered, cheeks red.

"What was that? Hm?" He got closer, grapping your hip and forcing yourself lower on the toy with every movement of your hips.

"T.too much" You cried. "I- No puedo, Miguel, too much!"

Trsl: I can't.

"Yes, you can" He guided your hips, noticing how your legs were too shaky to keep yourself moving. "Just a bit more..." He released his cock to start circling his thum around your clit. Your brows furrowed, trying to focus on your movement but the pleasure was too much. You were moaning Miguel's name over and over, like a mantra.

"C.can I?" You asked, sending a rush of heat straight to Miguel's crotch. You had asked for permission, so submissive his sweet princesa, that he couldn't deny you.

Trsl: Princess.

"Go ahead, cum form papi." He ordered, and with that you were done. Your back arched, head falling back and moaning nonsenses while Miguel helped you ride your high.

Trsl: Daddy.

Notes: Sooo there you go! My first fic. I want to give a big THANKYOU to @tarjapearce for the help and I'm definitely doing a part two of this ^-^. If you want to be tagged please lmk!

[alice-grace-and-ava]

Chapter 2:Rage You Damn Nerd

Three American transfer students join your favorite characters at UA high. Come see as they face the challenges that come with training to be a hero while battling their demons from their past. It’s time for them to push past their boundaries and go plus ultra!!!!!(sorry I’m terrible at descriptions)

English Thoughts Japanese

HI! This is Alice, and I wanted to go ahead and post this! Grace wouldn't let me stop doing the tags until it maxed out.................I would rather drink unsweet tea than do that ever again. Anyway enjoy!

Alice

“ Listen Alice” I nod my head and my eyes lower back to his chiseled abs “ look here”  Vlad king snapped his fingers in my face to bring my attention back to him.I'm currently sitting in his office, which is all of the teachers, and we are the only ones in the room. His cubicle is littered with fanart, a coffee cup, a mysterious bowl of some type of food, and a computer with a cat on the home screen.Why would a very well-behaved girl like me be in the teacher’s office? He wanted to make a deal with me but from how this is going so far I’m not sure I’m going to like it.“ If you behave, and I mean no hitting on me or other students- don't give me that look!” I feel myself deflate in the chair.“ You don't understand!” I flap my arms in defiance. “ And how do I not understand the fact that you won't stop calling me names, and quite frankly poor Shiozaki cant handle it any more” he challenges. I cross my arms and huff “ It's not my fault that everyone in the class is whiny babies” Vlad leans his head on his desk and is visibly exhausted. 

“ Oh, Alice!” I jump from my seat as Present Mic appears, he holds a cup of jasmine tea in one hand and a stack of papers in the other. 

“ Mic!” I excitedly respond, he smiles then notices Vlad King's exhaustion. 

“ Hey, Hey, Hey my guy what’s wrong?” The other loud blonde in the room questions.

 I slap the dying man on the back trying to show that he's okay, but he completely collapses onto the desk with an oof

“ Oh, that's not good” I quickly retract my hand and jump back.

“ What happened Alice?” Present mic sets his stuff on the desk and crouches down closer to the nearly dead man. I look away shyly “ He wants me to make a deal with him” I complain, and with a look from Mic I whine out the rest “but he wants me to stop flirting and making inappropriate comments!” 

“ Man Sekkijro you can't make Alice change her style like that, we try to help the students stay true to themselves and that's who she is so let her be herself”

What the hell Mic, I stand still and look away, I hate it when people try to act like this.

“ Listen Vlad king,” I say boredly, my morning now ruined by sympathetic people, and he jumps up to attention at my change. “ Let me come and go as I please, I'll do the bookwork, don't worry, and then I'll stop interrupting your lessons with my comments.” The look of relief on his face is laughable.

“ Yes! As long as you do your schoolwork you can skip class as much as you want!” 

I smile widely “ Deal!” I step closer to him and pat his chest “ but that won't stop me from acting up outside of class hours'' His skin drained of all color, Present Mic doubled over laughing. I took this chance to snatch his tea and skip out of the class, yes I skipped out of the room. 

I shut the door and stand in the hallway

It’s cold like always………. 

*RUMBLE*

I feel a light shake and immediately felt around for the girls, relaxing more once their presence was stable. Grace seems to be in class while Ava on the other hand…

I smile, she’s by herself on the west wing- The wing known for its amazing vending machine- wanting my mood to lighten I reach out for her more.

I hone onto her sunflower energy and a twinge of power flows within myself

Grace

To say that the school day so far has been boring would be an understatement. The only interesting part of the day was when I got to repeatedly correct the present mic about slang terms in English class. I don't understand why I have to take that class anyway. It's an easy A, or it would be if the slang that Present Mic was trying to teach wasn't from the 80s. 

After English with the present mic, it was time for lunch. The entire school seems like it’s on the same lunch schedule so the lunchroom was packed. I was having trouble finding a seat when I heard someone yell out my name. When I looked around to find the owner of the voice I saw a group of kids from my class looking in my direction. Kirishima was holding his hand in the air and waving it around excitedly. 

I made my way over only to find that the only available seat was next to Bakuhoe. Reluctantly I placed my tray down and moved my chair as far away from his as possible before I sat down and began to eat my food. I could practically feel the entire group’s eyes staring into the side of my head. I glanced up from my food and was met with four curious faces looking at me. The first one to speak was the pink girl. “Hi, I don’t believe we’ve formally met. I’m-” “You’re Mina Ashido, the boy with the blond hair with the lightning bolt is Denki Kaminari, black hair is Sero Hanta, the redhead is Eijiro Kirishima, and the punk next to me is Katsuki Bakugou.” They all stare at me with various looks of surprise on their faces. “Oh, I’m sorry. I was supposed to put the last name first wasn’t I?” The one to speak up was Sero. “No- well yes, but I guess we weren’t expecting to know all of our names.” I glance around and see them all nodding in agreement except for Bakugou. “Let’s just say that where I’m from you learn names and faces pretty quickly for safety reasons.” Kaminari was the one to speak up next. “Why do you need to-” The sound of Into the Unknown resounds from the pocket of the shorts that were under my skirt. When I finally can get the phone out I see I have a text from Ava asking me to meet her in her classroom and to bring my backpack. “Sorry to cut this lunch short but I have to go meet my sister.” Mina excitedly jumps out of her seat and scurries or to me before stopping directly in front of me.”You have a sister that goes here?!” I place my hands on her shoulder and push her back slightly. “Yea I have two. Technically we’re not blood-related but in the words of Supernatural “family doesn’t end in blood.”

Alice

“Oh hello Alice, I just ate my last bag of cookies sorry. If I knew you were coming I would've given it to that cute kid…..”

 I am sitting on the bench in front of a vending machine Ava is sitting cross-legged to my right surrounded by food.

“Cute kid?” I smirk and poke her shoulder, she grabs my shoulder and leans in close.

“You have no idea how adorable he is, fluffy hair! Big ground eyes! And freckles, he has freckles!!”

I burst out laughing and reach up to pat her head, glad that I chose to visit her because she can entertain me. 

“Why are you laughing?” she wines out

“Because you’re amusing”

She huffs and opens up a honey bun to eat it, I stare at the cup of tea in my hand, 

“Alice, what’s wrong?”

Ava leans her head on my shoulder.

I glance down at a snickers bar, and a certain pomeranian pops into my head.

“Alice?”

“It's nothing Ava, nothing at all, in fact, can you hold this cup please”

 I smile innocently and watch as she takes the cup without hesitation

We stare at each other

I grab a snickers bar and get the fuck out of there.

“ALICCCCEEEE!!! THAT’S MINE”

I hear her scream, then a crash of the coffee cup smashing into the ground.

Sorry Mic 

I start running through the halls, fear creeps into me as I hear her running up behind me. 

I hear her footsteps quickly closing in on me.

Dang, it! I should’ve rethought this, I know how fast she is, and yet I thought this was a bright Idea. A CHILD!

I reach out and grab the small purple-haired kid by the collar and yeeted him over my shoulder.

“Oh hello there goddess”

Glancing over and see the purple kid stuck to Ava, she tries to pry him off but he only continues to stick on her.

I laugh at my victory, knowing whatever Ava will try to do to get back at me Grace will stop.

I keep my walk at a fast pace, noticing how I can hear the voices of students grow louder. I open silver double doors and look around the room. A very nice cafeteria is filled with students, they sit at nice comfortable booths and chat. Scanning the room looking for my next victim

“ WHAT DID YOU SAY YA NERD!”

I smile as I hear a dog bark out annoyingly, the students sitting in the booth close to me quickly got up sensing my intentions. I calmed myself and plastered a smile on my face, I turn to see the Pomeranian sitting with 4 other people ( even happier when one of those is my dear Pikachu). I sneak towards the group, closing in behind the cute static brain, Mid rant the mutt stops and looks at me confused causing the others to look. Denki of course doesn’t notice as he is concentrating on his food, I wink at the group.

“ Pikachu I choose you!”

I yell and throw my arms around his neck. He lets out a scream and then goes into a coughing fit.

Everyone starts laughing, I slap my fellow blonde harshly on the back to assist him in not dying.

“ So who’s your friend?” the redhead asks as he wipes his eyes.

I climb over the booth and slip in between Denki and the redhead, right across from the mutt, I throw him a smirk. 

“ Ah, this is-”

“ Wait a damn minute you’re the annoying brat that-”

“ I’m Alice, I just transferred from America- Also I’m Pikachu’s friend!”

I interrupt the mutt and throw my arm around my now proclaimed friend.

“ What’s your last name?” the pink girl questioned.

I remove my arm and clap my hands together to rest my chin on them.

“ I don’t have one, and who are you Pinkie Pie?”

Sensing my tone the redhead jumped in.

“ Sorry, it’s just our friend said she has two sisters that go to school here, so we just wanted to know.”

The mutt aggressively set his juice box down on the table and they stared at him.

“ Didn’t you hear her, they’re not blood-related so of course the last name isn’t the same.”

 Ahh he gets bonus points

I laugh trying to change the mood.

“ Well, I’ll introduce everyone-”  I interrupt Denki 

“The first name only, I’ll only remember it”

He grins and points at the kid with weird elbows

“ Sero”

“Flextape”

“Mina”

“Pinkie Pie”

“Eijiro”

“ Shark - and or Shark bait ooh ah ah”

They stared at me, the mutt chokes on his juice. 

“Should I even try if you’re going to give us nicknames”

Denki lets a breath out as I continue to smile, he points at himself

“Pikachu?”

I nod my head, he hesitantly then points across from him

“Mutt”

I don’t miss a beat.

“WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME!!”

“Mutt” I respond with a smile and seeing how he’s at the perfect level I slip the Snickers bar towards him on the table.

“It’s okay your not you when you’re hungry”

He turns to stone, then as if he was a newly awakened volcano he exploded. Everyone at the table jumps up as he starts to produce explosions.

“Welp gotta blast” I grin out and holding my hand out to give Pikachu a high-five, then leaping across the table and now on the run for the second time today.

I weave in between students standing in the cafeteria, standing in shock as they watch 3 people try to restrain a rabid dog.

I slip through the doors and a laugh escapes me as my daily entertainment has been fulfilled.

“ Oh it’s you”

I look to my left and my biggest smile of the day creeps on my face.

“Best Boi!” I jump to hug him, he stops me by placing a hand on my head, I let out a whine as I struggle to touch him.

“You’re very loud today” he states boredly.

“Yes of course I am! I was playing with the dog and also stole some candy, which I tried to give to the dog but he didn’t want it” I pout, Shinsou doesn't even look surprised at my confession.

“ Did you at least have lunch?”

I stop trying to hug him and stood up straight, dread fills me “ Grace is going to murder me”

I whisper to him, he chuckles and reaches into his pocket, and pulls out a slice of lemon bread.

“ Can’t have the problem child dying”

My eyes widen as I stare at his outstretched hand.

“You’re stalking me”

“what - You know what I’m not even going to try to argue with you, but why would you assume that”

I swipe the package from his hand and beam at him, “because it’s my favorite snack”

He stands there, head empty no brain, 

“Oh, Alice there you are! I was wondering if I could have my cup back, its a limited edition DJ Khaled cup”

I look at shinshou with a guilty look, Present Mic appears down the hall strutting my way

“Gotta blast again! By best boi”

I salute him and put the bread in my mouth, like a true anime girl, and hop out the window escaping.

Grace

When I met up with Ava there was a weird purple ball stuck to her skirt and she needed to get her spare skirt out of her locker. As it turns out Ava needed my backpack because she accidentally put the slip of paper with her locker combination in one of my folders, but the one folder she needed was at home. We ended up spending a good 10-15 minutes looking for it before we finally went to her teacher. Who was nice enough to give me a pass to class because I was running late. I made it to class five minutes after the bell rang but luckily the teacher wasn’t there yet. Just as I placed my pencil pouch on my desk the door to the classroom slams open to reveal All Might, the number one hero standing on his toes with his hands on the door frame. He leans forward so that his weight is supported by his hands, and he’s standing in what seems to be a pose imitating flying. His cape flows into the classroom, and if I look closely I can see the fan positioned in the hallway behind him that he’s using to provide the breeze for his cape.

“I am here!”

The sound of excited murmuring begins to resonate around the classroom. All might does a weird march as he makes his way behind the teacher’s desk

Sir why are you walking like you have something stuck up your butt.

“Welcome to the most important class at U.A high! Think of it as heroing 101! Here you will learn the basics of being a pro and what it means to fight in the name of good!”

All might places one of his feet on the chair and turns so that his back is faced to us while he flexes to make his muscles even larger than they already are.

“Let’s get into it! Today’s lesson: pull no punches!” All might holds up a card that just says BATTLE. The class begins to talk in an uproar of excitement. “Hell yea finally some action!”  Bakugou’s loud voice in my ear sends a sharp pain through my skull. I turn in my seat so that I am face to face with him. “Bitch! Do that again! Yell in my ear again and see what happens to you! I know how to hide a body. They’ll never find you.” Bakugou slams his hands on his desk and gets closer to my face “ Are you threatening me!” A small smirk works its way onto my face. “It's not a threat. It’s a promise. Now if you don’t get out of my face I promise that I will punch you in yours.”

Before he can say anything else several slots in the wall open and shelves of number cases slide out. “ Part of being a hero is looking good so in each case is a costume based on the information that each of you provided before school started” the class once again starts to murmur in excitement. “ Young Grace, your hero costume just arrived this morning from your old school, so it is not with the rest of the classes. You will have to stop by the office to grab yours, so you are excused to go and collect that.” 

It didn’t take me long to get my costume and by the time I got back to the class the last person was grabbing their assigned case number and I was being ushered in the direction of the changing rooms.

After everyone was changed we made our way to the training ground beta. I couldn’t help but look around at everyone’s costumes. A green figure caught my attention. Is that midoriya? What the hell is he wearing? His costume was interesting, to say the least. It looked sort of like a mutant bunny. Wait a damn minute. Why does his costume look familiar? I try to figure out what or who his costume reminds me of until I feel a presence next to me when I look I see no one until I glance down to see Mineta standing way too close for comfort and staring at the exposed skin of my thigh. “Man, I love this school.” My face scrunches in disgust, but before I can do anything All Might begins talking again. All Might! My eyes dart back and forth between Midoriya’s costume and All Might. The more that I look the more the similarities stick out. Did he base his costume on All Might? 

“Alright, newbies each of you will step up and choose a letter from this box. This will determine what team you will be on. Since we have an uneven number of students one team will have three people instead of two.” One by one my classmates found their teams until it was my turn. I reached in and felt around until I finally was able to grasp a sheet of paper. Please not the same team as that pomeranian.Please not the same team as that pomeranian. I opened the slip and low and behold I’m on the same team as Katsuki Bakugou. Begrudgingly I walked over to Bakugou and Iida to wait for the rest of the class to finish drawing for their teams.

Once everyone was paired up for teams, All Might reached into the two boxes that had been sitting to the side labeled hero and villain. He raises his hands into the air in an extravagant manner while holding two balls. One with the letter A and the other with the letter D. “Team A will be the heroes and Team D you three will be the villains. Now go to your starting positions. The rest of the class and I will be watching. If things go too far I will stop the fight.” I follow Iida to where we need to go, but we each stop at All Might to get an earpiece so that we can talk to each other. 

Iida, Bakugou, and I were placed in a large room to guard a weapon. As we wait for All Might to announce the start I hear Bakugou grumbling to himself. “Yo hedgehog. What’s got your panties in a twist?” He doesn’t even spare me a glance. “Do you think that damn nerd has a quirk?” Iida speaks up before I have the opportunity to. “ Do you mean Midoriya? Of course, he has a quirk. How else would he have gotten into U.A. otherwise, and you saw him at the entrance exam.” Bakugou clenches his fist and the smell of caramel floods my nostrils. The static of the earpieces being activated sounds in our ears. “Let the battle begin!” Bakugou is the first to move, heading for the door right away. Iida starts to wave his hands around in a wild but robotic manner. “Bakugou where are you going? We need to stay-”“ You two just stay here and guard the weapon.” With that, he disappears into the hallway. “ Don’t worry Iida I’m still here.” He turns and looks down at me before his face turns a bright red color and he swiftly turns his head to look away from me. I glance down to try to figure out what has him so flustered, but I don't see the problem. When I look back at him he still refuses to look at me. “th-tha-. Let’s-um- let’s move  everything out of the floor so that when Uraraka and Midoriya come Uraraka can’t use her quirk.” After he gives instructions he just begins to move things around, while still avoiding looking in my direction. “Iida?” He hums while still moving things around. “Are you okay?” I start to move things around and off the floor. “I am fine Jackson, but thank you for your concern.” “Are you sure? Because you were really red.” Out of the corner of my eye, I see his back stiffen. “I am fine, I assure you.” I don’t believe you but I’ll leave it alone.

It takes us about ten minutes or so to move everything out of the floor and put them where Uraraka can’t use them. As we wait Iida starts to mumble to himself about how to be a good pretend villain. Slowly he starts to get louder until he’s taking in a boisterous voice in a stiff or of tone. I can’t help but to chuckle at his antics, and he turns and looks at me wide-eyed as if he had forgotten that I was here. He goes to speak, but I raise my hand to silence him when I hear something. It’s quiet for a moment before the faint sound of shuffling can be heard. “Did you hear that?” Iida looks at me with confusion written all over his face. “No, I did not hear anything.” The shuffling sound happens again. “There it is again.” Iida looks around. “Maybe it was Bakugou.” I continue to look around to try to find the source of the noise when a faint scent hits my nose. “ It’s not Bakugou. It doesn’t smell like caramel. It’s like a softer smell like flowers.” Iida looks around smelling the air. “Are you sure I don’t smell anything” I continue to observe the area before I spot a pink shoe peeking out from behind a pillar. “Trust me Iida if there is anything I am confident with it’s my sense of smell. And I'm also confident that Uraraka is currently hiding behind that pillar over there by the door.” A small squeak comes from the girl. 

As I go to take a step forward the building begins to shake and I end up on the floor. “Dammit, Bakugou! What the hell are you doing.” the earphone stays silent. “Bakugou I know that you can hear me!” A growl can be heard from his end of the line. “Shut the hell up. I’m handling my job. You handle yours.” The sound of static fills my ears, and I turn around to look at Iida. “Did-did he just turn his earpiece off?” All that he offers is a blank expression. The building shakes again this time a few pieces of the ceiling fall and we have to cover our heads. Once the building settles and debris no longer rains I wait a moment before I stand just to make sure that the building won’t start shaking again.

I start to dust off my pants when I notice movement out of the side of my eye. I look over to see Uraraka moving from her place behind the pillar and start running towards the weapon. “Iida!” The sound of his engines fills the room as I charge forward towards the brunette. “Got it!”  I throw myself forward and tackle Uraraka before she can get any further. It becomes a mess of hands flying between the two of us. Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me! You are not pennywise and we don’t all float here!  The building shaking again distracts me for a moment, but it gives her an opening and she places a hand on my arm while activating her quirk. Slowly the floor starts to get further away, and I try to reach out to grab anything that can steady me without success. Instead of floating straight up like I had expected, I can feel myself start to float in the direction that Iida and I had been standing. Suddenly I feel my stomach sink and my body is no longer weightless as I slam down into the floor knocking all of the air out of me. I’m gonna remember that.

It takes a moment for me to regain my breath, but when I finally do Iida reaches his hand out to help me up. The sound of Urarka talking into her comm reaches my ears and I look over to see her grabbing onto a pillar. What are you- the building begins to shake again, but this time stronger than before. “Iida I would grab onto something if I were you.” Before either of us could move a giant explosion blasted up through the floor. To keep my balance I grabbed onto Iida. When the explosion stopped a cloud of dust remained. Something seemed to be moving within the dust and I squinted to try to make out what it was. The shape of rocks moving towards us became more apparent and the two of us ducked to cover our heads. From behind us, we heard the sound of Uraraka cheering as she came in contact with the weapon.

“The hero team wins!” It is what it is. The three of us walk down to the ground level where a medical bed is taking Midoriya away to Recovery Girl through the giant hole in the side of the building. All Might stands there amongst the rubble watching as the bed carries away one of his students. He turns to look at the remaining four of us and leads us in the direction of the observation room.  The class is silent as we walk in. All Might walks to his chair and turns to look at the four of us. “While the heroes may have won this fight the true MVPs were Iida and Grace.” Mummers fill the room as our classmates talk amongst themselves. “Does anyone know why?” Momo steps forward. “The two of them discussed a plan to ensure that their opponent was at a disadvantage. They were aware of their opponent’s skill and prepared for it. They were aware of their surroundings, Grace especially. While it is okay to separate sometimes on a mission it is best to stay together, and that is what they did.” I glance over at Bakugou, but he’s looking down with his hands clenched into a fist and his teeth clenched. All Might called for the next group to go, but I didn’t pay attention to who was next, instead I chose to sit in the corner of the room and take a nap.

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

After everyone completed the training exercise All Might excused us to go change and head back to the class. I was the first back in the classroom. Rather than sit at my desk, I perched myself on the windowsill to watch the world outside. Slowly everyone began to trickle back into the classroom, all except Bakugou, and the classroom began to bustle with noise once again. The door to the classroom opens and I turn to see who it is. Midoriya stands in the doorway with his arm lightly wrapped up. Everybody crowds around Midoriya, but I remain where I am staring out the window. 

A familiar head of blond hair emerges from the school. I move to grab my bag, but before I leave the window I notice a head of green hair that can only be midoriya chasing after Bakugou. The two of them seem to talk, well Midoriya seems to be talking, Bakugou seems to be yelling. Bakugou turns to walk away again, but All Might appears practically out of thin air. Bakugou keeps his back to the two of them as All Might talks to him. The interaction doesn’t last long before Bakugou starts to walk away again. All Might and Deku stand there for a moment before All Might places a hand on his shoulder and leads him back into the building. While Bakugou is still in sight I grab my backpack off of the ground and throw the window open. I jump out Alice style and a familiar tingling sensation radiates between my shoulder blades as a pair of blue and purple butterfly wings sprout. I flutter over just behind the angry blonde and will my wings away. I walk a little faster to stand beside him and then slow down so that I can walk beside him as he stomps away like a little gremlin. He doesn’t look over at me, but I can tell that he knows that it’s me. “What the hell do you want?” What do I want? Why am I even here? He's not my friend. He's not even an acquaintance. I step in front of him and stop causing him to stop as well. For the first time, I offer him a small smile. “Let’s go grab frozen yogurt. My treat.” I don’t give him time, I just grab his wrist and drag him to the shop that I saw on the walk to school this morning.

When we get there the young man at the front counter greets us in a bubbly tone as he hands us our cups to go fill up. I filled my cup with coconut froyo topped with strawberry boba, coconut shavings, and three cherries. when I walk to the register bakugou is already standing there with his cup half full of chocolate with some granola and a single cherry.” you sure that’s all you want? I don’t mind, Ava usually gets two full cups when I pay so if you're concerned about the price being too high don’t worry about it.” He scowls at me a growl bubbling up from the back of his throat.” Shut the hell up and weigh your cup.” I place my cup on the scale and raise my hands in mock surrender.” All alright, alright I was just being nice.” I reach behind me to grab my wallet out of my bag. When I finally find it and turn around to pay I see the clerk handing Bakugou money.” What are you doing? I was gonna pay for your stuff.”Bakugou shoves his money angrily back into his pocket and yanks his froyo off of the scale.” I don’t need some damn extra paying for my food when I am perfectly capable of doing it myself. Now grab you shit so we can go.” Bakugou doesn’t even wait for me before he walks out of the shop. I turn and thank the guy behind the counter before I grab my froyo and follow after Bakugou. We walk in silence as we eat until in the distance I spot a park and dash toward it.” Hey, where the hell are you going!” I spot a trashcan and as I dash past it I throw away my cup but continue my path to my destination. When I reach the object behind my excitement I throw down my backpack and practically throw myself into the seat of the swing. By the time Bakugou reaches me I've obtained a pretty good height.” What the hell was that!” I close my eyes as the wind whips past me.” I haven’t been on a swing since I was a kid! My mom used to bring my sisters and me to the park all the time before-.” A memory flashes behind my eyelids and I snap my eyes open. I stop kicking my legs and my swing slowly loses momentum until it just slightly sways. Bakugou looks at me with the same scowl on his face but a gleam of curiosity sparks in his eyes.” Why don’t you sit with me. Not on the same swing of course, but it’s a nice day out today. the fresh air will do you some good.” he looked down at me like I was stupid for a moment. To be honest, at this moment I feel stupid. In the end, he sits down on the swing.his swing slightly sways as he rocks back and forth on the heels of his feet. 

A nice silence settles between the two of us that lasts for maybe ten to fifteen minutes before Bakugou breaks the silence.” Why did you invite me to get frozen yogurt with you?” I look over at him, but he’s looking straight ahead. “First of all, just say froyo dude. And I guess you just seemed like you needed a pick me up.” He looks over at me, his signature scowl plastered on his face. “So what is this out of pity or something! I don’t need pity from some damn extra! I don’t need pity from anyone!” In his tangent, he stood from his swing and moved in front to stand in front of me. “ Woah, Woah, Woah. who said anything about pity. Because I know damn well that word never left my mouth. Did you hear me say ‘oh poor Bakugou’? No cause those words never left my lips. I tried to be nice because even though I don't know what it is that made you mad, frustrated, or whatever emotion you're feeling I know what it’s like to be suffering by yourself. When you're so blinded by whatever you're feeling that it feels like you're drowning in it, but I also know what it’s like to have someone with you even if it’s just sitting in silence together. I was trying to be nice, but you wanted to be an bitch. Do me a favor and get your head out of your ass because it ain’t a hat. Now if you excuse me I’m going home.” I push past him and grab my bag as I begin the journey home.

[marvinswriting]

tiny swap part one: damian and aaron

"This is stupid." Janis huffed. "I don't wanna go with Gretchen."

"Hey!"

Damian laughed at the girl in his hands. "It's only for a week. Besides, we all have pretty similar schedules. I'll be there."

"Who am I supposed to talk to while I'm in art?"

"Uh, Gretchen?"

Janis shook her head. "It's not the same."

Damian clicked his tongue. "Just don't be too reckless okay? No jumping off tables or climbing on arms. I don't want you getting hurt."

"Nu-uh. If I have to be miserable, I'll make it fun."

"Janis."

"Yes?"

Damian gave her a pointed look and the artist caved. "Fine. No fun. Totally boring week. Got it."

"That's not what I said."

"Sure sounds like it."

"Are you guys ready?" Karen called out. Each tiny and their giant were talking a bit before a swap. Damian wanted to laugh at how dramatic this whole 'event' was being made out to be. They're still gonna see each other. He'll just be holding Aaron in the halls and making sure Aaron doesn't dive of tables. Not that Aaron would do that. 

"Yeah," Cady said, Aaron gave a thumbs up.

Regina mumbled something and Gretchen just shook her head with a smile. "We're all good."

"Same here." Damian pulled Janis close to his chest as everyone met in the center of the empty classroom.

"It's Monday, seven am, before the official school day." Karen reminded them. "You will all be 'swapping'." She did air quotes. "The giants are in charge of making sure their new tiny gets to everywhere they need to be safely, whether that's around school or rides to and from school. Tinies need to make sure not to drive their temporary giant insane." 

Janis laughed nervously as Karen pointed to her. 

"This is mainly so Damian and Gretchen will stop arguing over who has more bullshit to deal with."

"Hey! Wait a second-" Regina made a noise of offense.

"Everyone will swap back, Friday at lunch." Karen continues. "Obviously if something bad happens, we can switch back, but let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Damian nodded. There have been plenty of times where Janis would get so worked up over something and only Damian could calm her down. It comes with being friends with her for so long. He knew Gretchen and Regina were the same.

But let's hope it doesn't come to that.

"Everything clear?" Karen asked. After receiving a chorus of 'yeahs' she grinned. "Then lets swap!"

Monday, 7:10 AM

Damian walked down the hall, Gretchen to his left and Cady and Karen on his right.

Aaron sat closest to Cady and talked with her, Regina, and Karen.

"So, Janis." He grinned to her girl on Gretchen's shoulder. 

The artist crossed her arms. "Sorry, I don't talk to traitors."

"Okay, Jan." Damian rolled his eyes at his best friend's antics. 

She blew a raspberry in retaliation.

She'll get over it in ten minutes.

The group made their way to period one. A class they all had together.

Gretchen sat in the front row with Cady behind her and Karen next to her, while Damian sat a couple of rows back. Typically Janis would be with him, probably trying not to fall asleep and it was easier to hide her from the teacher form the back of the classroom.

But not this time.

"Bye, you guys!" Damian said, waving to the group.

Aaron threw up a peace sign as everyone sat down. 

Damian watched as Janis let Gretchen place her on the table instead of slipping down herself. He smiled to himself knowing Janis was paying attention to what he said at least a little bit. 

Monday, 2 pm

"You sure?" Damian asked. 

"Yeah, I take the tiny bus all the time." Aaron said waving his hand. 

They stood at the tiny pick up zone.

"We both know Cady isn't the best driver. I just take the bus to and from school, it's no biggie."

Damian grinned. "Do I even want to tell Cady you said that?"

"Oh, she knows."

"Alright then. Get home safe Aaron."

Tuesday, 12 pm

"Lunchtime!" Regina cheered as Damian sat down, lowering Aaron to the table. 

"So," Karen grinned. "Everyone is here. Who's been dropped yet?"

"Almost." Janis wiggled her eyebrows.

"It was her fault!" Gretchen raised her hands in defense.

"I believe it." Damian teased. "Just be glad you only have her for a week."

"You love me." Janis huffed.

"I do." Damian agreed.

Aaron walked over, sitting next to Janis and Regina.

It was during lunch when things felt normal. Janis and Regina would bicker, everyone would ignore them until Regina threatened violence and shoving people off tables. Gretchen and Karen would carry the conversation for the most part, while Cady, Aaron, and Damian join in whenever.

"It sucks not to be able to just-" Janis made vague motions with her hands. "Take a nap whenever! I'm so fucking tired all the time."

Damian laughed. "Miss me?"

"Just your jacket."

Wednesday, 8:56 am

"Damian."

The boy looked up from his classwork. Aaron was sneakily texting on his phone. 

"Yeah?"

"I'm gonna stay after today, do you think you could give me a ride home? I might not be done before the tiny bus, it's unclear."

"Of course." Damian nodded. "What are you staying after for?"

"English afterschool help."

Well, Damian knew what that meant.

Wednesday, 3:15

"They haven't had any of their secret rant meeting in months," Cady said, standing at the tiny pick up zone. "Do you know how crazy we must be driving them for them want to have English help again?"

Damian laughed. "Speak for yourself, I'm having a great time with Aaron. He doesn't jump off my shoulder while I'm walking."

"Janis is a nightmare," Gretchen said, sipping coffee at three pm.

"Damian tried telling you." Karen points out.

"I'm gonna be so grateful to get Regina back. She can yell at me for a month and I won't complain oh my god."

Damian laughed. Yeah, he was nervous with the idea of Gretchen carrying Janis around. It wasn't a big secret that Gretchen wasn't the best at not dropping tinies. Add that onto Janis's overall reckless behavior and somebody's gonna get hurt. 

Probably Janis.

"I will say though," Gretchen pauses to sip her coffee. "She isn't nearly as bad to me. Like yeah, Janis has no regard for her safety, but it's clear she doesn't trust me as she trusts you. For good reason, too."

Damian smiled softly. "For still seeing Janis all the time, I'm sure miss her a lot this week."

"I don't." Gretchen sighs. "You got the easy tiny, Damian."

"Yeah," Cady nods. "Regina is a nightmare. She's no Janis but I'm so used to Aaron that this is wild."

Karen laughs. "I have to deal with them whenever one of you is sick from school."

"A true wildcard." Cady grins.

"If this week is teaching me anything, its to respect Karen a hell lot more." Gretchen said.

Thursday, 12 pm

"I would like to take a moment to point out that Gretchen hasn't dropped me yet." Janis says from her perch on Damian's shoulder. The gang agreed lunchtime could be a free pass since the tinies typically sat with anyone regardless of whos giant was whos anyway. 

So naturally, Janis didn't hesitate to scale Damian's arm. 

Just when he was starting to get used to this whole, not having a reckless tiny thing.

"Thank you, Gretchen." He laughed.

"It's not easy." She grumbled.

"Trust me, he knows." Janis grinned, leaning into Damian's neck.

"I would like to say right here right now that Aaron no longer gets tiny support group rights. Cady's an angel." Regina said from her spot at the table, leaning against Karen's water bottle. 

"If we're playing that game, Damian isn't half bad when you aren't jumping off high points every thirty seconds," Aaron said from his vantage point in Cady's shoulder. 

"That's just because he's with you," Janis said shaking her head. "Damian would worry if I was in his pocket all day."

"It's true, I won't deny it," Damian said with a grin. 

"But I also think maybe Regina is more reckless than we thought. Because Gretchen drops her a lot more than she drops me." Janis said.

Thursday, 5 pm

"The final day is tomorrow." Damian said, Aaron's face filling his phone screen. 

"Yeah. This week wasn't bad, actually. For any of the tinies. I though Janis would go through it, but we all had fun."

Damian would never get over how tinies sounded on call or camera. Their voices were louder, more clear. And slightly lower. 

Aaron was no exception.

Wild. 

"It was nice to have a tiny who wasn't trying to jump off me at all times."

Aaron laughed. "I do try and prioritize health."

Damian smiled. "Seriously, thank you, for making this week easy. I have a hunch Janis wasn't on her best behavior, intentionally."

Aaron just laughed. "You know Janis. Did you ask Cady how Regina's been? When I asked Regina she told me to mind my own business."

Damian shook his head. "Cady had been oddly quiet about her experience. Gretchen and I won't shut up and she just sits there. I hope everything went okay for them."

Friday, 12 pm

Damian weaved his way through the halls, heading to the cafeteria with Aaron on his shoulder.

"You excited to be with Cady again?" He asked.

"You and Cady aren't too different, Damian," Aaron says. "This week wasn't a drastic change. I had fun."

"I did too." Damian smiled, entering the cafeteria. 

There was an excited buzz in the room-

-and a crowd around their lunch table.

"Oh, that's not good." Damian pushes passed people, mindful of the tiny friend on his shoulder. 

He reached the center of the crowd as gasped filled the cafeteria. 

Everyone fell silent.

well shit @realmisspolarbear @smallsoysauce @musicallygt @sourishlemons

[doeeyeddarlingxo]

Myriad Misadventures - Chapter 4

The Myriad Misadventures of a Midgardian Queen-In-Training - Chapter 4

AO3 | Previous | Next

Word Count: 1219

Pairing: Loki/Reader

Rating: T

Myriad Misadventures - Chapter 4

You hear the bell-tone of your cell, over and over again. Picking it up, you see texts popping up, some from numbers you don’t even recognize.

ru watching good nite america

Is that really you?!

omg congrats!

Wow that sux

ur pic looks great

AHHHHHHHHHHHH

i cant believe it! great job!

(Y/N)!

Congrats, (Y/N)!!!!!!!11111!!!!

(Y/N), u there?

A visit to your Facebook page yields similar results, especially once people see you’re online. A second later, the house phone starts ringing, and the rest of your family snaps out of their collective stupor. Mom leaps up to grab the phone, Erik and Carlie crowd around you, Dad storms out of the room...

“Are you okay?” That’s Erik, shaking your shoulder gently. “(Y/N)?”

“Yes, she’s right - " She pauses to glance back at you. " - oh, no, she’s in the shower. Of course, I’ll tell her you called - oh, I have a call waiting, can you hold? Hello? This is Mrs. (LN). Oh, (Y/N) isn’t available right now, but I’ll let her know you called…” The calls are coming in faster than Mom can field them, the texts flashing across your phone screen like gunfire.

“I’m fine.” Your voice sounds hollow, distant. Like it’s coming from someone else. Dimly, you’re aware of the fact that you’re standing up again, clutching your cell phone. You walk up the stairs, Carlie at your heels. You climb under the blankets fully clothed, not even bothering to turn off the lights, and, with your little sister huddled besides you, you close your eyes and try, try to sleep.

*******************************************

Thank God for best friends. If it weren't for Steven, you'd never make it through school alive.

"I can't believe your parents are making you go to school," he mutters. You shrug and nod, as if to say, I know, right?

As it is, you aren't too sure you will make it out of this building alive - sure, there are some girls that you are friendly with, some that support you, some that pity you (in the nicest way possible)...but you've received a handful of glances that carry more than a little malintent. Case in point: most of the girls in your eighth period chemistry class are too nice (or, at present, too focused on saponification) to glare or make snide comments. But at the lab table next to you, Lara Jennings is staring at you with such intensity, you're almost afraid her goggles will melt.

"Is it five minutes to passing yet?" you whisper. Steven's gaze flickers to his watch before he shakes his head, and you draw your lips into a pout. Steven, bless his soul, is pretending to have a sprained ankle so that you can be his book carrier and leave class early with him, thus saving you from those four minutes of passing period hell. In class, nobody can do much, but the hallways are fair game. As it is, there are some places you can't avoid, like the cafeteria, for instance. Or gym. I swear, if Annabelle Wilkes makes one more comment about how corseting is sure to do wonders for my figure, I will throw her stupid purse so hard it, it’ll end up in the boys’ locker room.

Not that Annabelle would mind. After all, it would be just another excuse to prance around the gym in her booty shorts and sports bra, whining to Coach, winking at whatever poor boy accepted the task of returning the pocketbook.

But you digress. You don’t take science with Annabelle; nor do you share a ninth period class, thank God. Finally, Steven raises his hand, and, upon receiving a nod from the teacher, limps to the hallway. You follow after, sighing in relief when the door shuts behind you.

Steven falls into a normal gait besides you. “One period left.”

You groan. “Oh, God…”

He grimaces apologetically. “Sorry.”

“What? No need to apologize. I’m, like, super psyched,” you whisper back sarcastically.

“Really?”

You roll your eyes. “No, genius. I’m freaking out. You really think I want this?”

“No. But it looks like you’re alone on that one.”

You push open the door to the stairs. “Huh?”

As if on cue, Anna Wilke’s nasally voice rises up through the stairwell. “...totally hot, from what I saw.”

One of her friends - Lydia, you think her  name is - pipes up. “It’s the hair. Ugh, Bells, I’m so jealous! I literally missed the cut off by a week. So unfair.”

You freeze as they reach the landing. Annabelle gives you a disgusted once-over before plastering a faker-than-her-breasts smile on her face. She looks perfect, of course - auburn hair piled on top of her head in a strategically messy bun, scarf adorning her collarbone, her stick-figure physique enhanced by the water bra. “(Y/N), sweetie! So funny meeting you here!”

You grimace. Be polite. “Hi, Annabelle.” Honestly, if you weren’t in the same grade, you’d have no idea who she was. As it is, she never paid any attention to you until your name was drawn. Just another one of the many, many perks of being Chosen.

“I can’t believe you’ll be gone in  - what? Less than twenty-four hours?” She looks not to you for confirmation, but to Lydia, who nods enthusiastically.

“Yeah, I’m, um, pretty nervous.”

She raises an eyebrow. “I can tell. Just a word of advice, from one girl to another, I’d lay off on the stress eating, all right? What’ll happen’ll happen. No point in worrying if King Loki will like you, because it’s never gonna happen, right?” Before you have a chance to respond, she looks to Lara and jerks her chin in the direction of the exit. “Anyway, toodles, and break a leg! Make sure you give us a shoutout!” She winks at Steven before sauntering out of the stairwell.

You turn to Steven with a look of disbelief, and he nods, looking equally as disgusted. “Did she just - ”

“Some girls think it’s exciting. You know, they want to be you.” He whacks your shoulder playfully. "She's intimidated of you."

You shake your head, glancing over your shoulder one last time. “That’s, like, revolting. And honestly, does she really think I’ve got any chance of becoming queen? I mean, what were the chances it was anyone from our class? From our school, even? Zero.” You throw your hands up in the air. "I'm sixteen! She's sixteen! I don't want to get married!" It feels good saying it out loud, and Steven does nothing to stop you as you continue to rant. "This whole situation is, like, stupid beyond belief. I should be focused on passing quarterly exams, and AP exams, and...okay, so I hate tests, but this is like an even bigger test, you know? I don't want people watching me try to not be noticed by 'His Majesty,'" you say, adding air quotes at the end. He shrugs. "And, and, like, why am I the only teenager? It's like, thirty, twenty nine, twenty seven, twenty five, twenty one, and then boom! Sixteen-year-old! What the hell?" Slightly calmer, you make to continue down the next flight of stairs, but… “Steven?”

“Yeah?”

You look down at your t-shirt and jeans. “Have I really gained that much weight?”

He rolls his eyes. “(Y/N)...”

“I’m serious!”

“First of all, just because I’m a guy doesn’t mean you get to make me into your sassy gay friend who you can go to for fashion advice, all right? I have a girlfriend. And, second of all, don’t let Annabelle Wilkes get into you head, all right?”

“Regardless of your sexual orientation, you are my sassiest friend by far, and I can and will go to you for fashion advice. And…” You sigh. “Thanks.”

He rubs your arm as you two head down the stairs, just as the first bell rings. In forty five more minutes, you will be back home dealing with the same obnoxious government officials who have been in and out of your house all week, finishing up last-minute paperwork, picking out a Transport Day outfit, and then tomorrow…

Well.

You don’t want to think about tomorrow.

Instead, you scrunch up your nose, thinking again about what Annabelle said. Really, I haven't been stress eating that much...

[sincerely-us-imagines]

It’s all about the money, honey (pt 2) (connor murphy x reader)

alternatively titled “it’s not about the money, honey”

Part 1 is here

I got a lot of good feedback on part 1 so thank you so so so much for that!!

It’s almost 1 am and I have to be up in like 6 hours and there is no way in hell im proofing this tonight lmao

also this is seriously 10 pages long i’m soRRY ITS A LOT

warnings: swearing, a teeny tiny bit of angst, asshole cousins i think thats it? also i tossed in some of my personal hc’s for evan oops

“So does this mean you’re done prostituting yourself out to Murphy?” Jared asked after you told him what went down Friday night.

Evan shot Jared a disproving look.

“I’m not a prostitute, Jared. I was just--”

“Getting paid for the “girlfriend experience” by someone who can’t get laid?” he popped a baby carrot into his mouth. Evan and Jared were the only two who actually knew what was going on between you and Connor. And sometimes you regretted telling the latter. Like right now, for instance.

“I never slept with him, Jared. I never even kissed him. The most I ever did was like, hold his hand.”

“Somehow that’s even more pathetic on his behalf.”

“So what are you going to do now?” Evan asked, ignoring Jared completely.

“I don’t know. He’ll probably make up a story to tell his parents why we broke up.” you tried to sound nonchalant about the entire thing. You barely tolerated each other away from his family, so why did this feel like the end of an actual relationship?

“Uh oh,” Evan said, eyes locked behind you.

“Well speak of the goddamn devil.” Jared laughed.

You turned around to see Connor approaching you from behind. He looked horrible. There were deep purple circles under his eyes and his hair was a frizzy unwashed mess. You pushed down any feeling of pity you had for him as he walked up to you.

“I need to talk to you.” he said.

“Just tell them we broke up. It doesn’t need to be a discussion.”

Evan shifted uncomfortably across from you while Jared watched on, clearly amused.

“I don’t want to-- just. Please, can we talk?”

You sighed and gestured to the seat beside you.

“Fine.”

Connor eyed your friends.

“Away from them?”

You rolled your eyes but picked up your bag nonetheless.

“I’ll see you guys in econ.” you told them, giving a small wave before following Connor to an empty lunch table in the back corner of the cafeteria.

“Look, Y/n, I’m really sorry. You were just trying to play along and do what you thought would be best. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”

“It’s fine.” you shrugged it off as if it were nothing. As if you totally hadn’t cried yourself to sleep Friday night after you got home, or spent all of Saturday at Evan’s place ranting about it.

“It isn’t. I was an asshole and you didn’t deserve it.”

“Yeah, you really were.” you agreed. His jaw clenched and he took a deep breath. It brought you a small sense of satisfaction to know you got on his nerves.

“If you’re still willing, I want us to keep… doing this,” he gestured between the two of you and took a deep breath, as if what he would say next was going to hurt him.

“And for you to come with me to my cousin’s wedding.”

You blinked at him, a bit taken aback.

“You… You actually want me to go? You can just tell your family I’m busy that day or something.”

“No, I, uh,” he sighed, “I want you to go. I don’t want to be alone with my family.” He looked down and began to pick at his chipped nail polish. “Things, um, they aren’t as bad when you’re there.”

You couldn’t help the smile that spread across your face.

“Aww Connie,” you cooed and poked his cheek, “do you like having me around?”

He flushed pink and swatted your hand away.

“No! You just… don’t always totally suck to be around.”

You put a hand over your chest in an exaggerated manner.

“Oh Con, that is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me!”

“Oh shut the fuck up,” he grumbled, rolling his eyes at you, “And don’t call me ‘Con’.”

“If you say so, Lawrence.” you shrugged, smirking.

He only ignored you.

“So we’re cool?” He asked, glancing over at you.

“We are.”

“Okay so the wedding is the 1st of next month. It starts at 3 but it’s like an hour away so i’ll be there at around 12:30 so we’ll have time to get gas and maybe stop and get a drink for the road and still get there a little early.”

“Got it.” You nodded, punching the information into your phone’s calendar.

“Cool.” He stood up to leave but stopped. “Also, uh, do you maybe wanna come over for dinner thursday? My mom said she’ll make that casserole thing you like.”

“They asked me back already?” you were kind of surprised. It was usually every other week you came over.

Connor was quiet for a few seconds while he adjusted the strap on his messenger bag.

“Uh, yeah. They did.” he wasn’t looking at you. “I’ll see you in science, yeah?”

“Of course.” you answered, a little confused by his behavior.

He mumbled a goodbye and headed off, leaving you wondering what the hell was going on with him.

The last couple weeks of the month flew by and the 1st came up sooner than you’d expected. You were ready at 12, having had Evan come over to help you with your hair. He was actually really good at, which was surprising with how bad his hands shake. He said he learned to braid in boy scouts when he was little and used to do his mom’s hair all the time when he was younger. You’d have to ask him is he would do your hair for prom, too.

You wondered if Connor would ask you to prom. Just to appease his parents, of course. It would only make sense for a boyfriend-- a fake boyfriend- to ask his fake girlfriend to their senior prom. It’s all fake, Y/n. you remind yourself. He doesn’t actually care about you like that.

You shook the thoughts from your head and straightened out your outfit, a pretty swing dress with a  lace overlay. Connor pulled up at 12:15 and just kind of… sat in the driveway. After watching him from your bedroom window for a couple minutes you went downstairs to say goodbye to your mother (who was quite excited for you to be going on a “date”. And kept giving you that knowing Mom Look) and headed outside towards Connor’s car.

You approached the door and looked inside to see him sitting there, scrolling through his phone. You knocked on the window and he jumped, looking over at the window with wide eyes. He unlocked the door and you climbed in, laughing at him.

“Why were you just sitting in the driveway?” you asked, pulling on your seatbelt

“I was early and I didn’t want to bother you, so I was just going to wait until 12:30 to text you.”

“Since when do you care about bothering me? That’s, like, all you do.” You looked over at Connor to find his eyes fixed on you. You shifted uncomfortably and adjusted your dress.

“Uh, Connor? Is something wrong?”

“Yeah.” You tilted your head in confusion at him. “I mean- no. No, nothing’s wrong.”

He turned back to face forward and put the car in reverse, backing out of your driveway,

“Okay… Well, um, you look really nice.” you told him. And it was the truth. He had his long curls pulled back into a bun, wearing black dress pants and oxfords with a maroon suit jacket over a pink shirt with a tasteful floral print tie. It was a very classic look, but with a fun twist. And it looked great on him.

“Zoe said I look like a bellhop.” he grumbled. You couldn’t help but laugh.

“You don’t.” you assured him, “You look really, really handsome, Connor.”

The tips of his ears turned pink at your compliment.

“Thanks. You look okay too, I guess.” he said in a teasing tone.

“Asshole!” you laughed, hitting him lightly on the arm.

“I’m kidding, Christ!” he laughed too. “Really though, you look great.”

“Thank you, Connor.” you smiled and rolled your eyes, trying to fight the heat rising in your cheeks.

Connor pulled into the 7-Eleven down the street from your house, parking beside a pump and turning the car off.

“You want anything?” he asked as he opened the door.

“Nah, I’m good.”

“Nothing?”

“No, Connor. Thank you though.”

He shrugged and shut the door and you waited until he was in the building before pulling out your phone and snapping a picture of yourself, sending it to the group chat with Jared and Evan.

Jare-Bear: damn. hot mama.

Ev: you look great!

Ev: you sprayed your hair again before you left right?

You: yes, ev

You: thank you

Jare-Bear: evan ur gay

Ev: only half

Ev: ish

Jare-Bear: whats connor wearing

Jare-Bear: a trenchcoat and bandolier?

Ev: jared, thats not funny

You: can you not be an asshole for like 2 minutes?

You: he looks really good, actually

Ev: think you can get a picture with him?

Jare-Bear: why? So u can have material to jack off to both murphy siblings

Ev: shut the hell up

You glanced up from your phone to see Connor walking back towards the car with a plastic bag.

You: gtg

You: message you guys later <3

Ev: okay have fun!

Jare-Bare: use condoms

You stuff your phone in your purse and watch Connor leans against the car as he pumps the gas. He tugs the little curls at the nape of his neck, the ones that wouldn’t fit into the bun, twisting them around his finger and letting them spring free. A nervous habit, you assume. A replacement for his usual compulsion of running his hand through his hair, probably. Why do you know that? That’s so weird that you like, consciously recognize that. What the hell--

The nozzle clicks and you quickly turn to look straight ahead, pretending like you hadn’t just been analyzing his behavior.

He opened the door and folded himself into the driver’s seat, starting up the car. Once getting situated, he opened the center console and pulled out a bottle of hand sanitizer, squirting a few pumps into his hands and rubbing them together.

“What?” he asked when he realized you were looking at him.

“Nothing.”

“Do you have any idea how dirty gas pumps are?”

“I don’t suppose I do.”

“Well, they’re fucking filthy.”

“I believe you.” you couldn’t help the amused grin spreading across your face.

“Then what’s so goddamn funny?” he was pretending to be angry, but you could tell he was fighting back a smile.

“You’re just so…” Please don’t say it. Don’t fucking say it, y/n.

“I’m so…?”

Cute. You’re fucking cute, Connor, okay? Everything you’ve done today has been unbearably adorable and I can’t stand it.

“We should go.” you say instead, glancing at the clock on the dashboard.

He eyed you suspiciously but didn’t say anything.

“Okay, but first,” he dug around in the plastic bag and handed you a bottle of water and a pack of M&M’s. You looked down at them and then back up at him.

“I know you said you didn’t want anything but I thought since it’s kind of a long drive you might… y��know, change your mind or something.” his voice suddenly changed from it’s half bashful tone to something a little stronger, but still light. “And I’m not about to pull over for you to go get a snack or some shit. So really it’s in my best interest, y’know. Just so I don’t have to hear you whine.”

“Sure.” you smile, taking a sip of water

“Whatever.” there’s a ghost of a smile on his lips as he pulls out onto the road.

“Thank you, Connor. Really.”

Connor turns on the radio in favor of answering you.

Connor pulls into the parking lot of a rather large synagogue roughly an hour later. He finds a parking spot near his parents’ SUV.

“Holy shit,” you say, getting out of the car and admiring the architecture of the building. Connor snorted as he rounded the car to come get you.

“Oh, oops.” you covered your mouth, realizing what you’d just said.

“You are such a dork.” Connor smiled, holding his arm out for you to take.

“Shut up.” you laughed, nudging him.

Inside the synagogue you met up with Cynthia, Larry, Zoe, and their grandmother, who greeted you both with a big hug and kiss. and found your seats. You talked easily to Connor and Zoe until more people began filing in, filling up the pews. The ceremony was simple yet beautiful, and the bride’s dress was utterly breathtaking. You didn’t know them, sure, but you did tear up a bit (which made Connor smirk and poke you in the side).

After the ceremony and before the reception, Connor, after being instructed to by his parents, bashfully introduced you to some of his other family, all of whom commented on either how well Connor did or how beautiful you were. Except for one cousin.

He seemed to be a few years younger than you, maybe 15 or so. Connor immediately tensed when he saw him approach. He looked over towards his parents, almost like a scared kid would, but they were too wrapped up in a conversation with some third time removed somebody to even notice.

“Hey, hey! Larry Junior! How’s it going?” the kid said, clapping a hand over Connor’s shoulder.

“Don’t call me that.” Connor said, glaring at him, and taking a step back to escape his cousin’s grasp.

The kid put his hands up in mock-surrender.

“No need for aggression, buddy. Don’t need a repeat of your 6th grade summer, do we?”

You glanced up at Connor in confusion.

“Oh he didn’t tell you?” the kid continued, “He had to go to, what was it called, Connor?”

“You need to shut up. Now.” Connor growled.

Connor was at least a head taller than this kid, and one of the most intimidating people you’d ever met. Why wasn’t he scared?

“Oh yeah!” the kid snapped, “”Behavioral Correction Camp”! He didn’t tell you that, did he?”

You stayed quiet, chewing on the inside of your mouth anxiously.

“Anyway,” he continued after getting no response for you, “how long have you been dating this charming cousin of mine?”

“Three and a half months.” you said, grabbing Connor’s hand protectively.

“And what exactly are you doing with him?”

“What?”

“Why are you with him? We thought Connor would never get a girlfriend. He was such a problem child, freaked out over every little thing, threw tantrums.” the kid laughed a little, “Hell, the reason he had to go to Batshit Crazy Camp was because he beat the shit out of me when we were younger, isn’t that right?”

Connor was absolutely fuming. You could feel his hand shaking in yours. His jaw was clenched so tight it was a wonder his teeth didn’t just shatter. He was using a lot of self control right now, that much was evident.

“You wanna know why I’m with him?” you asked, squeezing Connor’s hand tighter, “Not that I owe you any kind of answer. I’m with him because he’s sweet and thoughtful. He cares about me and my feelings and my wellbeing. He’s got a great sense of humor and he gets me. He makes me feel like no one else can. He can be gentle despite everything he’s been through, despite what people like you say to him, and he admits when he’s wrong and he’s trying. He tries so hard to be a good person. And he is a good person. And that’s a lot more than I can say about you.” You didn’t realize you were crying until you finished talking. You wiped your eyes on the back of your free hand before tugging him towards the big wooden doors out to the parking lot.

“The reception is in half an hour, you two! We’ll meet you there!” you hear Cynthia shout cheerfully as you leave the building.

You walked to the car, not letting go of Connor’s hand until it was absolutely necessary.

Once inside, you pulled down the visor and looked in the mirror, wiping at your eyes with a napkin from your purse, doing your best not to smear your makeup. You took a swallow of water from the bottle he bought you earlier before taking a calming breath.

“I’m sorry.” you told him, shaking your head. “I-I didn’t mean to--”

“Y/n, shh. He grabbed your hand and laced his fingers through yours. “Thank you. For saying all that. You didn’t have to do that.”

“What was I supposed to do? Just stand there and let him insult you? Connor, you’re my--” you cut yourself off. He wasn’t your boyfriend. He wasn’t really your friend, either. That doesn’t mean what you said wasn’t true, though. “I care about you.” you finished, looking out the window.

“I care about you too.”

“Shut up.” you smiled, not looking at him.

“Wanna head towards the hotel for the reception?” Connor asked, removing his hand from yours. You nodded and he put the car in gear.

You pulled out your phone and opened your group chat.

You: shit you guys

You: this is bad

Ev: ????

Jare-Bear: did he hurt you

You: no

You: i think i like him

Ev: really?

Ev: like, LIKE like?

Jare-Bear: gay

Ev: hey jared?

Jare-Bear: ya

Ev: shut up

Ev: for once in your life

You: yeah

You: i think so

Jare-Bear: i thought you had better taste than that

You: shut up

Ev: shut up

Ev: just be happy for her

Ev: unless youre about to like

Ev: profess your undying love for her

Ev: then its really not your business

You: thank you ev <3

Jare-Bear: i think shes just in denial u know

Jare-Bear: using murphy as a distraction from her lifelong crush on me

Jare-Bear: its okay u can tell me

You: lmao

Jare-Bear: rude

You: thats me

You put your phone on silent so it wouldn’t constantly buzz with Jared and Evan’s inevitable bickering.

“You want something to drink?” Connor shouted over the music. The reception turned out to be one hell of a party. There was tons of food and drinks, flashing lights and balloons and streamers and a massive dance floor, and it was loud. Really loud. It was kind of like prom, but with a lot of old people.

You nodded and gave him a thumbs up in confirmation. He got up and wandered off towards the far wall where the refreshments were.

You made small talk with Zoe until he came back.

He handed you a clear plastic cup full of what you assumed to be sparkling cider, and clinked his own against it in a toast. You smiled and took a sip. You froze, eying him as you swallowed.

“Connor,” you said slowly, “Is this alcohol?”

“Yup.” he grinned, taking a big swallow from him own cup. You didn’t bother asking questions. You didn’t really care how he got it.

You laughed and talked about nothing in particular for a while.

“Oh, I like this song.” you commented absently as the first few notes played over the speakers. Connor stood up pulled off his jacket, laying over the back of the chair, and held his hand out.

“Dance with me?” he asked.

“What?” you almost laughed.

“Will you dance with me?”

“I don’t know how.” you admitted.

“I’ll show you.”

“You can dance?”

“Is that so surprising?” he feigned offense.

“I mean, yeah.” you laughed.

“Just come on, jerk.”

He took your hand and lead you towards the center of the dance floor.

“Okay, now put your hand here.” he placed your hand on his shoulder. “And I put mine here.” He rested his hand over your hip and you felt heat rise in your cheeks.

“And then we just,” he began stepping in a simple pattern. You picked up quickly and were able to keep up, only stepping on his toes a few times. It got easier with each song.

A slower paced oldies song came on and you laughed as he spun you around out of tune with the song, the skirt of your dress flaring out in a big circle around you. You came to a halt in front of him, stumbling a bit as you regained your balance. He held tight to your waist to keep you upright. A wide, crooked smile was stretched across his angular face as he looked down at you. You couldn’t help but smile back. He continued to sway you to the beat of the music.

“Thank you for coming with me tonight. You really didn’t--”

“Hush.” you smiled. “I’m having fun.”

“I am too.”

You leaned your head against his shoulder and he snaked his arm from your hip to your lower back.

“Oh!” you said, pulling back after a couple of minutes. “I told Evan I’d send him a picture of us together. Is that okay?”

“Oh. Uh, yeah. Sure.”

You hurried back over to the table and grabbed your phone, ignoring the flood of messages from Jared and Evan arguing, and opened up your camera. You took different pictures and chose a random one to send to Evan and Jared and promptly shoved your phone back in your bag.

You stayed a couple more hours, dancing and eating and having a good time with Connor, before you decided it was probably time to go home.

“Hey, Y/n. Come on, wake up.” Connor was shaking you gently.

“What?” you yawned, sitting up straight. “Oh god my neck hurts like a bitch,” you groaned, massaging the aforementioned area.

“Yeah, I bet. You fell asleep with it at like a 90 degree angle.”

“Ugh… wait. I slept the entire way home?”

“Yup. And you snored too.”

“I did not!” you gasped.

“Totally did.” he laughed, nodding. “Full on sawing logs over there.”

“Shut up oh my God.” you rubbed sleepily at your eyes, forgetting all about your makeup. “What time is it?” another yawn forced its way out of your mouth.

“Half past one.”

“In the morning?!”

“No, it’s just after lunch, Y/n.” Connor replied sarcastically.

You rolled your eyes and stretched out, grabbing your bag from the floorboard.

“Can I walk you up?” Connor asked. You nodded.

He walked around to your side of the car and opened the door for you. Your heels made you a  bit unsteady on your feet, having just woken up, so Connor looped his arm around your waist as he walked you to your front door.

You began digging through you bag for your keys, swearing under your breath at the ungodly amount of junk in your bag.

When you successfully found them and looked back up Connor was holding at least half a dozen twenties.

“No.” you shook your head, pushing the money away.

“Y/n-”

“No, Connor. I don’t want you to pay me.”

“We had a deal, Y/n.”

“Please, Connor, I’m too tired to argue. I had an amazing time with you today. I don’t need your money; it was my pleasure. Really.”

Connor hesitated before putting the money back in his wallet, still looking unsure.

“I, um. I don’t want you to pay me anymore.” you told him. “When we hang out. I… I like just being with you. If you want me to keep being your fake girlfriend or whatever around your family, that’s fine but… I don’t want you to give me money for it. I meant what I said to your cousin.”

Connor stared at you for a moment before speaking.

“I don’t want you to be my fake girlfriend anymore.”

Oh. That’s okay, Y/n. It’s fine. You freaked him out by saying that and he has literally no obligation to stay around you if he doesn’t want to.

“That, um, that’s fine. It’s totally your decision. Uh, whatever you wanna tell your parents happened is fine just-”

“I don’t want you to be my fake girlfriend.” Connor interrupted, grabbing your hand. “Maybe I could take you out next weekend? Like on a real date?”

Your stomach fluttered and you nodded a bit too fast.

“Yes! Yes I… yes. That would be amazing. I-I’d really really like that.”

“Okay.” he grinned.

“Okay.”

“Cool.”

“Yeah.”

“I should, uh, I should get home.” he gestured with his thumb at his car.

“Yeah, totally.” you couldn’t wipe the dopey grin off your face.

Connor headed to his car and you began to unlock the front door.

“Oh!” he called just before you stepped inside, “Can you send me those pictures?”

You nodded and he gave a thumbs up.

You snuck inside as quietly as you could, creeping into your room and shutting the door softly. You stripped off your dress and hung it up before pulling on a big t-shirt to sleep in and using a makeup wipe in a half-assed attempt to wash your face. You were too tired to go all the way across the hall to the bathroom. Your skin would give you hell, yeah, but that’s a problem for future you. So is the rat’s nest your hair will be when you wake up in the morning without brushing it out but you really couldn’t be bothered right now.

You climbed under your covers and unlocked your phone, seeing messages Jared and Evan had sent in response to the pitcture.

Jare-Bear: shit dude

Jare-Bear: hes got it bad for u

Ev: he really does

Ev: look at the way he’s looking at you

You tapped the picture to make it bigger. You were smiling at the camera, head tilted slightly to the side, while Connor watched you with soft eyes and a gentle smile. He looked happy just being there beside you.

You forwarded the picture to Connor and sent a quick goodnight message before settling into your bed, smiling even as you drifted off to sleep.

[moonieblack]

Hidden Kitten

*Gif creds to whoever made it as I just searched on google! 

a/n: i’m rusty on writing and very sensitive. enjoy :))

You were sitting at the back of Finstock’s class with your backpack sitting atop your desk. Both of your hands were shoved inside to let your fingers run smoothly over soft fur. You kept your eyes focused on Coach, who was pacing at the front and ranting about something one of the older students had done, to keep him from getting suspicious. About halfway through class, your pack starting meowing. A few pairs of eyes glanced over at you curiously. You gave them an awkward smile and pulled a hand out to wave them off. You ducked down to look inside your pack to catch a tiny ball of fur wiggling around, trying to slip its head out of your bag.

“Bad kitty,” you whispered and poked at its little nose. “Do want us to get caught?”

It blinked at you for a moment before continuing its movements, struggling with your hands as it tried to push its head between them. You glared at the little ball of fur, “You’re a menace. I should’ve left you in the pouring rain.” You huffed out a sigh when it seemed to ignore you and rose your hand to get Finstock’s attention, “Coach. I need to go to the restroom.”

Coach stopped his rant and looked at you blankly, “For what?”

“I, uh,” you paused and furrowed your brows. “What do you mean ‘for what?’ I just have to use the bathroom? It happens sometimes.”

A few giggles filled the air which caused the Coach to glare around the room. He turned back to you with narrowed eyes, “You’ve got five minutes, (Y/l/n).”

You jumped up from your seat in a rush, grabbing your pack and heading for the door. You gave him a salute before slipping out of the door. You walked swiftly to the locker-room and checked to make sure it was empty before sitting your bag on the floor with a disgusted noise, “Fucking nasty ass floor in the nasty ass locker room that wouldn’t be a nasty ass locker-room if people knew how to clean up their fucking shit. Fuck.”

A muffled meow sounded from your pack and you bent down to unzip it all the way. You reached inside and pulled the kitten out. You held it up so it was looking at you, “I’m risking a lot for you, you know.”

It looked very unimpressed at your revelation. You sat yourself down on the floor reluctantly and placed it in front of you, “You should be a little more grateful. I got soaked to the bone this morning trying to get you out of that garbage can. It was pouring down and freezing, and I decided to help you out. I saved your furry ass and I’d like you to remember that next time you try to get me in trouble.” You ran a hand through its black fur and gave it a pointed look, “I missed practice this morning because of you. I’m going to have to do some laps because I was in here messing around with you. I’ve never missed a practice before. BUT I missed a practice for you and I expect a little gratitude.”

The small thing still looked very unimpressed, but it was swiping at your hand with its paws and it was probably the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen. You smiled down at it, “Don’t worry, though. I’m not actually gonna hold any of that against you. I’ll bring you back to my house and show you off to my mom, who is going to squeal the moment she lays her eyes on you and then she’ll show you off to momma, who will roll her eyes and act like you aren’t the most adorable thing on the planet but on the inside she’ll be melting. It’ll be a fun time. You’ll be spoiled. Have your own cat tower and toys. You’ll probably be scared of Rocket at first, but he’ll grow on you eventually. He’ll protect you with his life, too. It’s just who he is. A big fluffball with an even bigger heart.”

A chuckled came from behind you and your eyes went wide. You slowly swiveled around to look at the new arrival and immediately narrowed your eyes at the person, “What are you laughing at, Dunbar?”

Liam shrugged and leaned up against some lockers, “Just didn’t peg you as a kitten saving softie. Also that was the most I’ve ever heard you talk, it was weird. I feel like I’m in a different universe. Am I in a different universe?”

“Ah, fuck off.” You muttered and turned back around to watch the kitten move on to your shoe strings. You felt Liam’s eyes burning holes in your back but you refused to acknowledge his presence any longer. Ever since he showed up at Beacon Hills, he’s been a thorn in your side. The first time you had ever met Liam, you had had to leave a room just to keep yourself from wringing his neck.

“Get the fuck out of here! You did not,” you laughed and shoved at your friends’ shoulder.

“No, I swear.” Taylor chuckled and took another bite of her pizza, “I asked her this morning.”

“And?” you urged with a smile.

“Her cheeks turned all red. A—”

“Were they as red as yours are right now?” you interrupted.

“Holy shit,” Taylor let out an exasperated breath and put a hand over your face. “Can you just sit there and let me tell you how it went?”

You licked at the offending hand and snorted when Taylor fell out of her seat. Ky pulled her back up in the chair, “Come on, T, tell us how it went. We promise to hit (Y/n) every time they open their mouth.”

You grumbled under your breath but kept silent.

“Where was I?” Taylor asked before continuing on her own, “Oh, yeah. SO, her cheeks were red and she was staring at me. Like, just staring wide eyed and everything. I was honestly so scared because I thought I was about to get turned down by the girl I’ve been crushing on for forever, you know? But when I opened my mouth to like, say it was okay and she didn’t have to say yes and we could just forget this ever happened? She kind of kicked back into action and just… She kind of just…” Taylor’s cheeks got even more red, if that was possible, “she got on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek and said yes.”

Various squawks came from around the table. Taylor nodded, “I KNOW! It was like something out of a fucking movie. I just kind of stood there like an idiot because what the fuck was I supposed do?? My brain had fizzled out! But she recovered enough for the both of us and told me that she’d text me. And she did. Like five minutes after she left. We have a date tonight and I have no clue where to take her.”

Chase piped up, “I mean, you could always take her to the diner. Or to the movies. Or do a nice picnic overlooking the city. The picnic one works wonders, dude.”

You threw a tater tot at his head, “Like you would know. It’s been you and your left hand since 6th grade.” The entire table erupted into laughter.

Chase flipped you off halfheartedly, “That’s a lie. Sometimes I use my right hand to keep things interesting.”

You let out another laugh and stood up, “Anyways… I’m going to get some ice cream.” You turned around and ignored your friends’ yells about getting them their favorite, flipping them off over your shoulder because they knew you would be coming back with more than one ice cream. Like you did every Friday.

You and the 8 ice cream cones you had gotten were nearly back at your table when a body collided into your side. You stumbled and caught yourself on a nearby table, ice cream cones forgotten. You looked at the ice cream cones that were now on the floor and over to the person that ran into you, then back at the cones then back at the dude. He was staring at you with wide-eyes and a blush had taken over his face. You took a deep breath and counted to ten in your head. Then out again, then a small inhale. You weren’t relaxing. You needed to not be around this fuckhead anymore because you could feel your blood boiling.

“I am so sorry.” He apologized, “I didn’t—”

“Watch where the fuck you’re going next time.” You bit out, “My ice cream is on the floor and I’m out 6 bucks.” He started fumbling for his wallet but you rolled your eyes and walked away. You heard a ‘wait, I have some—’ from behind you that was cut off by a ‘leave it, Liam. Seriously. You really don’t want to poke a sleeping dragon. Come on.’

You left the cafeteria and went straight to Ms. Morrell’s office.

After that, Liam seemed to be everywhere. It was like the universe was playing some joke on you. He was in some of your classes. His locker was right next to yours which was weird as hell and you refused to believe that that was an accident. He was on the track team, as were all of the lacrosse players. You even started seeing him at swim meets. And at basketball games. And at parties. It was driving you up the fucking wall. You didn’t hate him particularly; it was just whenever you saw his smug little face, you wanted to smash it against the nearest surface. And it seemed that he felt the same way.

“So,” Liam’s voice brought you out of your thoughts. It was a lot closer than it had been a second ago. And when you felt a body plop down beside you, you knew why. “The (Y/n) (Y/l/n) saves kittens in their free time.”

“Do you not get the whole ‘fuck off’ thing?” You asked, wiggling your fingers at the kitten when it started to walk on your leg. You let out a huff of laughter when it got to your stomach and started climbing up your shirt, holding a hand underneath it to catch it if it were to slip.

Liam didn’t respond with another jab so you looked over at him, eyebrows risen. His brows were furrowed as he stared at you, his mouth agape and a light blush coloring his cheeks. You gave him a weird look, “What?”

Liam seemed to snap out of whatever he had been in and his cheeks reddened tenfold, along with his ears. He cleared his throat and shook his head, “Um, nothing. I just… you’re really cute.”

Your eyes nearly bugged out of your head and you felt your own cheeks heating up, “W-what?”

“What?”

“Did you just—?”

“No!” Liam practically yelled, “I didn’t. Whatever you think I said, I didn’t. I’ve, uh, gotta go.” And then he was jumping up and running out of the locker-room.

You were staring after him with wide-eyes, mouth agape. You tore your eyes away from the door and looked down at the kitten in your hands, “What just happened?”