#or songs we dance to so i play them a lot during class

[queerstudiesnatural]

yep, looks about right

[skzstannie]

"Do you want to start over?"

SKZ-> Bang Chan x Reader

genre: angst, hurt/comfort, exes to lovers wc: ~4,100 cw: arguments, mentions of alcohol and Chan's drunk, use of Y/N (soz, I tried not to), reader’s a university student

summary: a fun night out leads to a much needed confrontation

A/N: Hiii! Some romantic angst for today with Chan. I'm on break for the holidays, so expect lots of fics during the next few weeks!

Happy Scrolling! | Masterlist

"We have got to get out more! This is so fun!" your friend yells over the loud music playing in the bar.

The time reads 12:30 A.M, and as much fun as this is, you can't deny the fact you're getting tired.

"For real, I could go all night!" another one of your friends says, her arms swinging over her head to the beat of the music.

Your eyes widen at that- all night?

"Come on Y/N, dance! You don't even look like you're having fun." They grab your arms, swaying you back and forth.

You let them have their fun for a few more songs, allowing your whole body to feel the music.

The time slips away from you, the rampant atmosphere providing you a distraction from your drowsiness. Your alcohol intake is definitely a factor, as well.

Your phone rings in your pocket, bringing you back to reality. You unlock it to reveal Changbin's name. You haven't heard from him, or any of your ex's other friends, since the breakup. Not that you were expecting to, but it's definitely strange for him to be calling you now.

Figuring it could be an emergency, you excuse yourself from the dance circle your friends have created and step outside to take the call.

"Hello?" you answer, your voice timid.

"Hello? Y/N?" you hear from the other side. He sounds a little out of breath, a hint of panic coming through.

"Yea, Changbin, is everything alright?" you question, your concern growing.

"Um, kinda? I don't know," he responds, sounding distracted. He sounds distant now, like he's pulled the phone away from his ear.

"Where are you? Do you need help?"

"Well, I'm with Chan. We're in the park, just off your university campus. He's refusing to go home until he sees you. He's pretty wasted right now, but I can't get him to come home, so I figured giving you a call was worth a shot."

Your breath hitches in your throat when you hear Chan's slurred words in the background. "Is-is that Y/N? Let me talk to her."

"No, Chan, just sit back down." You hear some shuffling from the other side before Changbin's voice becomes clearer again. "Hello? Are you still there?"

You debate hanging up. This was not supposed to happen tonight. Your friends brought you out to forget about him, not go and see him all desperate and drunk for you. Somewhere in the back of your tipsy mind, you know you want to see him, to touch him one more time.

Your breakup was sad for both you and Chan. You were the one who ended it. It was nothing Chan did; you were just far too stressed with everything you had going on, and you didn't feel like it was fair to Chan. He was always busy with producing, and if he wasn't producing, he was in meetings or hanging with the boys.

You always had class and work, and you felt like you were starting to neglect your studies. With you nearing the end of your degree, entering your senior year a few months prior, that was the last thing you needed.

So, for the sake of both of your education and futures, you broke it off. It was sudden, and you caught him completely off guard with it.

You remember how absolutely heartbroken he sounded, the sounds of his choked up words forever tattooed on your brain. "What do you mean? Did I do something wrong?" He'd grabbed your hands, pulling them close to his chest. His heartbeat was erratic, similar to his breathing, and the tears welled in his eyes so fast you feared they'd spill over before you could even respond.

"I just think it's for the best," you had replied. You were cold and emotionless with it, trying to protect your own heart in the process of breaking his. You never did tell him why you were ending it. You were scared he'd call you ridiculous, saying that that's no reason to breakup, and that he could fix it.

That's not what you had wanted to hear at the time. You felt you were doing the right thing for both of you.

It had been months since then, and your heart never healed. You still loved him, but you were always too embarrassed to reach out. After all, it was your fault. You were the one who broke up with him, not the other way around.

You never heard from any of the other boys either. You knew they were a tight-knit group, so you assumed they hated you. You hated yourself too, in a way. You broke his heart into a million pieces and never even told him why.

You wanted him. You needed him, so so bad. You've been waiting for this moment for months. Sure, maybe you weren't expecting him to be completely wasted, but you couldn't let this opportunity slip. Your friends would be upset, probably tell you it was a bad idea and drag you home. That's why you weren't going to tell them the details.

"Where are you? I'm coming to get him." You hear Changbin's sigh of relief from the other side of the phone as he tells you exactly where they are.

You hang up and send a quick text to your friends who are no doubt still dancing up a storm inside the bar. You're brief with them, telling them something came up and you have to run home. You don't wait for their reply, hurrying off to hopefully fix the biggest mistake of your life.

~ ~ ~

"Y/N, thank God you came. He's been out of his mind for hours now," Changbin tells you as you walk up to them. You see Chan sitting on the park bench beside him, and his head whips up at the sound of your name.

Chan's eyes widen at the sight of you. He jumps up, stumbling a bit, but he's able to regain his balance. He's surprisingly quick in making his way over to you.

You can smell the alcohol on him from a few feet away, but you don't pay it any mind as he throws himself at you, his arms heavily hanging over your shoulders. "Y/N," he slurs, "You're here."

He sighs into your neck, his head leaning to rest on your shoulder. Your arms come up around his waist, holding him up. He's not putting all his weight on you, but you still struggle to keep him upright, his drunken state making it hard for him to stand straight.

You look to Changbin, your arms straining around Chan's body. "What should we do?" you ask him. You're not sure what the rest of Changbin's plan was. You come here to see him, then what? Take him home? Send them back on their way? You're not entirely sure which you'd prefer, to be honest.

"I wanna go home with you," Chan whines in response before Changbin has a chance.

"I don't know, Chan, I don't think-" Changbin is quick to cut you off.

"I'll help him to your place." He walks over to you guys, practically ripping Chan off you. He drapes one of Chan's arms over his shoulders, holding up most of his weight.

You stop and think for a moment.

What are you doing!? You can't bring your ex back home! Your tipsy, and he's absolutely wasted. Even if you were to ever reconcile, you certainly didn't want it to be under these circumstances.

"Changbin, I-"

"Nope, this is your mess, and you know you need to fix it." He starts to drag Chan in the direction of your apartment, Chan letting out incoherent babbles along the way.

You're still stood in the same spot, but you rush to catch up to them.

"Excuse me?" you let out in disbelief.

"You heard me," he sasses back, leaning forward to make eye contact with you around Chan's hanging head. "You know what you did wasn't right, and I know you regret it."

Your jaw drops. How did he know this?

"You can't just assume I've wanted to run back to him all this time," you rebut, draping Chan's other arm over your own shoulders to help him walk a little steadier.

"I'm not assuming anything. Your roommate told me. We know you've been just as much of a wreck as he has been."

You scoff but leave it at that. How could you argue when he knew? He knew that you've been struggling ever since, crying day and night. Embarrassment washes over your body, already planning out the conversation you'll have with your roommate about sharing your personal problems with your ex's best friends.

It's silent for a few minutes. You're nearing your complex now, the light from the streetlights dimming, transitioning into the light from your neighbors' porchlights.

"How much did she tell you?" You ask as the three of you approach your front door.

"Enough to know you need this just as much as he does."

~ ~ ~

You unlock your front door, Chan breaking free from Changbin's hold and stumbling into your apartment. You watch from the foyer as he trips over his own two feet, falling onto the couch. You allow your gaze to travel over to Changbin, assured that Chan will be staying in one spot for at least a few minutes.

"You ok?" he asks, his concern for you showing for the first time that night.

While your roommate never made it known to you, the boys had texted her just days after the breakup, asking what had happened. She had explained your side of things to them, and she made them promise not to tell Chan. She didn't want to meddle in your love life like that. As stupid as she thought you were being, it wasn't her place, or his friend's place, to tell him anything.

They agreed not to tell Chan anything, if and only if she agreed to keep them updated on you.

"I'm fine. Yea, this is fine," you rub your hands over your face, trying get rid of the tiredness surely covering your features.

"I'll text you guys tomorrow afternoon," he says, turning to head back to the front door. You follow him, seeing him out.

He steps outside, turning back around and catching the door before you can close it. "I know we sprung this on you, but don't stress out about it. Just do what feels right," and with that he turns and walks down the stairs, not waiting for your reply.

You slowly the close the door, allowing your back to slide down it. You sit on the floor, your elbows resting on your knees, palms holding your head up.

Your heart races knowing who waits for you in your living room. What do you say? Do you wait until morning to hash it out? That would probably be best, but what if he wants to talk about it now?

Heavy footsteps bring you out of your thoughts. Your eyes snap up from the ground, seeing Chan making his way towards you.

He clumsily settles himself in front of you, crossing his legs as he leans back on his arms, his palms resting flat on the floor behind him.

His eyes are glossed over from the alcohol, a lazy smile gracing his lips. "I've missed you."

Your heart flutters at that. You feel the familiar feeling of butterflies in your stomach, and you're not entirely sure how to respond. With the exhaustion from your night's activities taking over your body, all you really want to do is go to sleep. Your mind is not in the right space to have a conversation with him right now.

"What do you want me to say, Chan?" you let out a breathy chuckle, your cheeks flushing pink. As tired as you are, his words still have an affect on you.

"Preferably that you've missed me, too."

"This isn't the right time to have this conversation. You're drunk, and I'm tipsy and exhausted. Let's go to bed, and I promise we'll talk about it in the morning," you tell him, rising to your feet. You reach a hand out to him, offering him help to stand.

His face morphs into a pout, and he holds out his pinky towards you from his spot on the floor. "Promise?" his voice wobbles, tears springing into his eyes. He'd always been an emotional drunk, his vulnerable side surfacing at the mere sight of alcohol.

Pinky promises had always been your thing when you were together. Until this day, neither of you had ever broken one. It was honestly a really important part of your relationship. Your plans would fall through sometimes, or somebody would forget to pick up dinner, but if you guys pinky promised, you knew you could fully trust them. Him remembering this in his drunken state does something to your insides, pulling on your heart strings a bit.

You hesitate, taking your lip in between your teeth, but eventually latch your pinky onto his.

"Pinky promise."

~ ~ ~

"Alright, here's a couple blankets and a pillow. The T.V. remote is right there, and I'll get you a glass of water and some ibuprofen for the morning. Anything else?" You set the bedding onto the couch, smoothing out the sheet you had laid there beforehand.

"Hmmm," he hums, bringing his finger up to his lips, portraying a very exaggerated thinking face. "Will you stay with me?" He tilts his head at you, patting the spot beside him.

"I will not. I will be sleeping in my own bed."

He pouts at that, and you quickly turn away, fearing you won't be able to hold strong if you look at him much longer.

You get ready for bed, making your way around your apartment turning all the lights off. You flip the lights out in the living room, the television providing a soft glow to it's surroundings.

"Goodnight Chan, sleep well." You wait a few seconds for a reply, but all you hear in return is his heavy breathing, small snores escaping his lips every now and again.

~ ~ ~

You're awakened from your slumber at the sound of your door creaking open. Your head jumps off your pillow, abruptly sitting up in bed.

You let your defenses down upon seeing Chan's face, slightly puffy with sleep.

"Do you need something?" you ask softly. You glance beside you at your alarm clock.

4:43 A.M. Way too early to get up.

He doesn't respond, the only noise in the room coming from the sounds of his socks shuffling against your soft carpet. He makes his way to the side of your bed, looking down at you sleepily.

"Chan, go back to bed. It's too early." You roll back over, too tired to play any games so early in the morning.

It's silent for a moment, and you almost allow yourself to fall back to sleep, but you jolt at the feeling of your bedding dipping behind you. Chan pushes up against your back, moving you further away from the edge of the bed.

He slides underneath the covers behind you, his strong arm coming up to wrap around your middle, pulling you closer to him.

He's incredibly warm, and you can't help but cuddle into him further, feeding off the heat his body is providing you.

He lets out a long sigh, his breath blowing up against the back of your head.

You lay there, stiff as a board. Your mind wanders to all the nights spent like this when you were together. How nice it always felt to lay in his arms, comforted and safe. You breathe deeply, inhaling his woodsy scent you've missed all those months.

His breathing has slowed and evened by this point, and you're sure he's fallen back asleep. You do the same just minutes later, unable to resist the invisible pull of your eyelids, shutting them and allowing you to fall asleep once again.

~ ~ ~

You're eyes open and you're met with the bright sunrays coming through your window, making you squint. You feel around behind, the warm body next to you nowhere to be seen, leaving nothing but the cold sheets in his place.

You jump out of bed, scared he may have run off early in the morning. Scrambling, you throw on a hoodie from your floor and hurry out your bedroom door, rushing towards the living room.

You stop in your tracks when you get there, seeing him sitting on your couch, legs crossed over each other on your coffee table.

You stand there another few moments, waiting for him to see you. He turns his body, "Are you just gonna stand there?" he asks, the teasing evident in his voice.

You don't know what to make of all this. He should hate you. He should've left as soon as he felt well enough this morning. You broke his heart for God's sake. You broke his heart into a million pieces, and never even tried to put them back together.

You slowly make your way over to him, sitting beside him on your couch, making sure to leave a safe amount of distance between the two of you.

"Sooo..." you start as he clears his throat. You both laugh, the awkward tension slowly melting.

"You go first," you tell him. You weren't really sure what you were going to say anyway.

"I apologize for last night. From making Changbin call you, to making you take me home, to getting in your bed in the middle of the night. I'm sorry if I crossed boundaries, I mean, I'm sure I did," he looks to you for assurance that it's ok if he keeps going.

You give him a small shoulder shrug. You don't know if he really did cross any boundaries. He obviously didn't make you take him home. If you really didn't want him here, you would've told Changbin yesterday. As persistent as he seemed last night, you know he wouldn't have pushed that hard if you were truly uncomfortable.

"It's ok. I answered the phone call, I brought you here, and I let you in my bed. This goes both ways, and if I wasn't comfortable with it, I wouldn't have let it happen."

His eyes soften at this, his shoulders releasing the visible tension he's been holding there all morning. "Ok, good." He hesitates for a moment, wringing his hands in his lap. "I guess, I just wanna know why, ya know? Why did you end things the way you did?" His eyes meet yours, and it's hard for you to decipher the emotion behind them. Anger, sadness, regret- you're not sure. You're pretty sure they're all present to some degree.

You pretend to think, although you know in your heart you don't have to. You know exactly why you ended; if only you'd let him in on it a little sooner, it probably would've saved him a lot of heartache.

"I was overwhelmed," you pause for a moment, and he nods his head, encouraging you to keep going. "I had so much going on, school was hectic, my job had my head all over the place, and I felt like what I had left to give you just wasn't enough."

He doesn't say anything for a few moments, his eyes glued to his hands. "You could've just talked to me about it. I would've understood, and we could've figured it out." His voice comes out weak, like I've struck a nerve that was never meant to be touched, let alone toyed with and tore.

"That was exactly what I was scared of. I really thought that what I was doing was what was best for both of us."

"You don't get to make that call, Y/N," his words come out strong, his eyes finally meeting yours. "I loved you, and I still love you," he scoffs, "Can you believe that? After all the hell you put me through, I still love you." He gets up from the couch and begins to lightly pace in front of the T.V.

He runs hands through his hair, brushing it back from his eyes. Tears well up in yours, and you quickly wipe them before they even get the chance to fall. You don't deserve to cry. You did this to him.

"I'm so sorry," you choke out. "I regret it. I regret it all. I can't imagine how much I hurt you, but I know I did, deeply. I want to make sure you know that it wasn't easy for me, either. I haven't been myself all these months. I stopped going to my classes, and last night was the first night I'd gone out in months."

He stops his pacing, standing right in front of you. He just stares, and your emotions run wild when you can't decipher how he's feeling.

"I'm so sorry," the tears you tried to keep at bay flow freely down your face now, "If I'd have known what it would do to both of us, I would never have done it. It was a stupid, spur of the moment decision, and I felt like I had control. If I had the control, everything would be ok," your words break through your sobs, "but it wasn't ok, and I'm so, so sorry!" Your hands cover your eyes, your head bowing to your knees to hide your grief-stricken face.

He still stands there, in the same spot, just staring. You're too overwhelmed by your own guilt to notice him moving closer to you at a feverish pace.

He rips your hands from your face, pulling your wrist until you're standing in front of him. He forcefully grabs your jaw, bringing his lips to yours. The kiss is short, but you've never known such passion could be passed on through a kiss.

All the pent up anxiety and guilt melts between the two of you, your emotions mixing together like sugar and water, dissolving between the two of you until they're one.

He pulls back, his breathing quick. "I've been wanting to do that for so long."

You look at him, shock prominent on your face. "How can you do this?"

His eyes widen, scared he's crossed the line yet again. "What?" he stutters.

"Why don't you hate me? I expected you to yell at me, maybe even call me a few names. Why are you standing in my living room kissing me like all this never happened?"

"I could never hate you," his fingers run along your jaw before settling softly on your cheek. "As much as I’ve wanted to these last few months, just to help myself get over you, I could never. I've been going crazy without you."

"How could you forgive me, just like that?" You're confusion seeps through your tone.

"Because you're perfect. We all make mistakes, and I've had months to deal with this one. Now, knowing why you did it makes it all the easier."

You still just stare at him, almost expecting him to say "Just kidding", laugh in your face, and run out the door.

But he doesn't. He's still standing in front of you, holding your face so gently that you can barely feel his calloused hand, his fingers gently caressing your cheek.

"I know this is a lot, and maybe I'm crazy, but do you want to start over?"

Your confusion becomes more evident, your brows furrowing lightly.

"Let's redo all our firsts. Our first date, our first kiss, our first 'I love you'. I'm willing to move past this if you are."

His eyes are filled with hope, sparkling in the light coming in from the window.

"I don't know Chan..." you trail off, "I'm not sure I can ever forgive myself. I hate what I did to you, and I've hated myself ever since because of it. I don't know how to come to terms with your forgiveness when I don't deserve it."

"We can work through it together. I will be there with you every step of the way. I promise, pinky promise," he's persistent, his pinky reaching out towards yours.

You stare at his hand, remembering how nicely your hands fit together. That's how everything feels with Chan. Your body has always fit perfectly with his, your personalities meshing like nothing you've ever experienced before.

"So what do you say?" your gaze raises until it meets his, and you realize you'll never be able to say no to those eyes. "Will you go on a date with me?" His smile widens, his pearly teeth on full display.

"I think- I think I'd like that a lot."

[voidcat]

i. welcome to summoners rift

characters: narumi gen, gn!reader

a/n: the game i had in mind while writing this is league of legends.. boo i know. anyways i tried to keep the LoL terms down so itll be easier to understand. reader is implied to be a part of first division- part time operations leader but more involved in data collecting and medical side of things, (I’ll decide fully later)

. i need to make this pathetic loser suffer in games so bad its not even funny anymore... first of many more fics to come im afraid

The first few times to play it safe and because it’s what you’re used to, you take a generic support class— Seraphine got crowd control, enough damaging spells to trigger a DoT or do some extra last minute damage, provides shield, speed and health.

A well balanced support and pretty, Narumi cannot help but think as the Seraphine on his screen hits ctrl+3 and dances for the third time while waiting for the opposing team to make a move. You seem to know what you’re doing, you placed wards, dance when it seems idle but keeping your attention enough to cut it when you suspected an ambush few times. Plus it’s one of the most recent skins you got for the champ so he knows you know how to play the champion, despite your low score on her-

After all, not everyone has been playing this damn game for 5 to 10 years now, a newbie is no problem as long as they know how to play and show it. You leave the minions to him, heal him at critical moments the enemies thought he was dying so he can attack back and get them one by one— you’re good, and you’re especially good with him.

By the time the entire team gathers on the same lane, pushing to the opposing team’s base, you send your ult at the perfect moment, charming four enemies at once and creating the dream situation of any player.

Well, the rest of your team slowly dies because of heavy damage over time they took but it’s alright. The screen says in big letters: PENTA KILL! With his champion icon right under it, and in the game chat even the opposing team congratulates him, saying it was insane game play.

Then Narumi hears that same melody since the beginning of the game whenever you hit the dance animation and a new message in the game chat:

> victory dance for that lovely penta ( *｀ω´)

Reading the message, he watches your champion dance with his eyes glued to the screen, heat rising up to his face… absolutely adorable is what it is. Standing there with his champion, he then hits ctrl+3 as well to join you on the dance, letting the minions carry on.

The game is about to end, the opposing team begs in the chat to not end, to keep playing, meanwhile his team makes some jokes referencing early minutes of the match. Then at the last second, Narumi quickly types in and hits send.

The chat box reads: ‘support diff’

Before queuing up for another game, his hand acts on impulse and invites you to the lobby.

And to his surprise, you accept!

The sound of message notifications reaches his ears short after and he quickly reads over.

>awww >seems like someone enjoyed my presence;P

Adorable and cheeky, this just might be his best in game interactions by far. without a word, he queues up another game and another, the night goes on.

messages from you in-game keep on coming, at one point he thinks to himself "what he hell is a fryslan bop" to which you just send a keyboard smash followed by a "its a song lol"

so you are a chatter, he gathers quickly. not often but when you do, you send in a lot. he soon catches up to when you're actually talking versus spamming a song's lyrics while having Seraphine dance in your stead.

until you cancel the queue start up and send a message.

>gotta go >its late >booo >we jst got started >work tmr sry T-T

with a sigh, he watches as you leave and tries playing another match, but for some reason during the entirety of the match, he has no fun.

when you log into your game accounts in the evening, relieved to have an easy day, you notice a few friend request. "kaijuslayer"

you click accept and before you can open another tab, you instantly receive a lobby invite. its unreal how quick this person is... and how much he enjoys gaming, apparently. with no plans for the night and no desire to do anything else, you accept the invite.

Narumi is over the clouds to see not only has his request being accepted but also his invite too. gaming is more fun when you are winning, and thus playing with people who know what they're doing. you pick the same champion again and accomodate to his various picks, supporting him however he needs. it's perfect, it's distracting. while the two of you wait for the client to find another match, you begin to talk. since it's a friday, he tries his shot and asks if you'll stay for longer this time.

>nah >my v much serious v grownup job has saturdays too >and awfully early waking hours >sucks to b u> v serious v grownup huh >yea? >im starting to suspect u might b a child >OLIFSDJFIGOJSDOLŞGJSDFOLŞG >the calls coming from inside the house

before Narumi can send a reply, the 'match found' screen pops up and the two of you leave it there.

the match starts off smooth. he's farming a good amount, the two of you reached level 6 before the others, and as the opposing lane tries an ambush, you hit them with your ult, charming them in the process. as narumi begins to unleash his combo, your slowing down waves slither there gently, quitely. then follows your shield and speed buff, and right before his very eyes, your now-powered-up-double skill hits the enemies and the screen reads: "TRIPLE KILL" with your icon next to it.

as much of an ideal support as Seraphine is, Narumi remembers the fact all too painfully that Seraphine was first released as a midlaner... a very much capable AP damage unit if built that way. a part of wants to see, and a part of him is afraid of what he might see if he goes to check which items you have purchased- or if it was a brilliant calculation by itself.

as Narumi stares at the screen, Seraphine dances again, sometimes ending the animation to go around him. seeing him frozen for far too long, you ping him few times. as if his misery, and his kills stolen wasnt bad enough already, your team's jungle has the audacity to send a message to in-game chat. 'supp diff'’

complimenting his support? his duo? Narumi begins to see red.

as you begin to teleport back to the base, you send an emote of one of the characters, tongue poking out, winking and doing a peace sign.

and on his side of things, narumi gen cannot find it in him to stay mad at the turn of events- because just look how endearing and cute you are! it's alright if you took a kill or two by accident, you're still his support, his duo after all!

despite the... technical errors, the game ends in another victory and with you doing a victory dance again, now pinging him if he's staying idle until he joins you as well. his heart cannot take it. it's too much... and as if you are dead set on being the final blow, you send cute emotes, and whenever he sends one back, you reply with another, it goes and goes until the matches end.

a flood of message notification sounds brings him back to earth again.

>heeeey >r u gonna start the queue some time this year? >oh btw pick a color

puzzled at the last message, he says a color, not expecting much out of it. until he sees you have picked another skin with the chroma he said. candy and teeth- you are so adorable and charming, so bad for his poor health. waiting in your lane, you begin the dancing animation again and narumi grins at the screen, watching you dance.

oh no, this is bad. this is pathetic even for him now... he cannot be possibly finding some gamer maybe across the country, someone he never saw nor even heard the voice of charming...

maybe that annoying part time operations leader was right about his... pent up frustration... if he's this down for a game model supposedly representing a person, maybe you had a point when you implied he goes to seek some action and revive himself of whatever's been building up down there.

there is no way he can let anyone learn about this- worst of all, you. with your stoic face and condescending eyes, you'd never let him live that down.

Him! Narumi Gen! the first division captain and the strongest anti-kaiju combatant! he'd rather die than give you the satisfaction of knowing he's so desperate to get some sort of friction he's starting to mix an online person with the character they're playing.

aggressive pings snap him out of his running thoughts and he realizes he's a little behind game-play wise.

now, looking over at the match stats, it doesn't seem all to unsalvageable. he better get to it, there's a match to win and a lovely duo to impress.

[yoongihan]

Not Friends - HJS - OneShot

(i've had the above gif for so long, i have no idea who the creator is. credit to them and if they see this and wish me to take it down, please let me know. i thought the effects of the banner were pretty cool)

pairing: jisung x female reader

genre: angst, coming of age, fluff, romance, friendships

romantic trope: boy next door (inspiration from this reel)

word count: ~8k

rating: T

warnings: language, kissing, arguing, mostly the trials of middle and high school, drinking underage (nothing too excessive), sneaking out, abandoned places, mc is stubborn af

there is mention briefly toward the end of something that might be triggering, it is not praised or belabored. it's something characters disagree with, i'm choosing not to list it as it is a bit of a spoiler. if you are concerned, please message me off anon and i will let you know what it is.

a/n: fic #3 in skz as romantic tropes collab with @jl-micasea-fics. i have to admit, this is kinda a weird one. not really sure what people will think. however, it seems hella fitting to post jisung's story after getting so much of him lately (the song '13' is beautiful) and his curly long hair might be my death. hugs to you readers, you have been so lovely.

----------

There isn’t a time where you don’t remember Han Jisung being there. He’s always just there. 

His family moved into the house next door when you were only a year old (so you’ve been told, it’s not like you have any memories of that time) and he was a year old. Your moms started talking over the small fence that lay between your two backyards, so somewhere in your infantile mind, there is an image of one chubby-cheeked Jisung, probably falling over from his seated position then crying loudly because his balance was always circumspect, especially during the dreaded middle school years.

So when in school, someone asked if you knew Han Jisung, you said yes. 

Friends?

No. Not friends.

Boyfriend?

No, ew. He’s just the boy next door.

Yes, you hung out with him when you were both infants and toddlers. When school started, you were sometimes in the same class, but not always. He tended to keep to himself during recess and you had enough trouble trying to find friends who were interested in the same things you were. 

Namely, vampires.

Perhaps expecting other six and seven year olds to be as fascinated by vampires was asking a bit too much. But you were listening to Dracula, a radio performance, at six years old (begs the question of why your parents didn’t do anything, but they weren’t around at that very moment) so why weren’t other kids interested?

Well, they weren’t. 

Maybe your parents thought you’d grow out of it. Most kids grow out of things; horses, wanting to be a fireman, superheroes, etc. 

So many times that your parents tried offering you Barbies and My Little Ponies, on which you painted fangs and blood on.

But you don’t grow out of it. And no one grows into it.

Jisung himself seems to integrate okay into middle school. He finds Felix and Seungmin, and the three of them pal around, playing video games and probably other things that you were and are unaware of.

“You’re going to join the dance team?”

You’re in your backyard, attempting to weed the garden because if you do, your mother might not get as mad about you failing your math test. Jisung comes out to let out his dog, Bbama, and the two of you, though again not friends, aren’t unfriendly; so you chat. 

“Felix wants to,” Jisung explains as Bbama comes to the fence to press his nose to your waiting fingers. “And well, he likes when we do things all together.”

You eye him with skepticism. “Can you dance?”

You’re both newly turned thirteen and puberty is a bitch. Jisung is all limbs, and you’re sure you resemble an egg in physique and color. 

“No. But they aren’t expecting Lord of the Dance or anything.”

Jisung getting sassy with you isn’t new. Though quiet a lot of the time, when it’s only the two of you, he seems to be braver. 

“They want us to do extracurriculars, you know, to get ready for high school.”

“Yeah?”

“So, what about you?”

“What about me?” What you just pulled up out of the ground is definitely not a weed, so you plop it back in and cover it up with dirt. Hopefully, your mom won’t notice. 

“You should join the dance team too!”

You look up at him before watching Bbama run in circles behind him. “No.”

“Maybe robotics?”

“No way.”

“Art club?”

“Jisung, you’ve seen my stick figures.”

“What are you going to do then?”

“What I want to do doesn’t have a club or team, okay?”

You can hear his soft sigh as you dig out an actual weed this time. 

“Vampires?”

You bristle at the implications. “I’m just…” You huff and sit back in your kneeled position. “There are too many accounts for it to be fiction, okay?”

“But what do you do with that?” He asks just as softly. “I mean, if they are real, they want to drink your blood and kill you. So like…you should avoid.”

“Do they? Or is that just Dracula and other novels telling us that?”

He points out a weed you’ve missed. You grumble, but grab and pull. 

“Kids at school–”

“I don’t care what kids at school say or think, Jisung.” 

“Yes, you do. We all do.” He swallows. “You think it doesn’t hurt when they make fun of my braces or glasses, or the fact that I can’t walk without running into something?”

You wince. Jisung isn’t a friend, but he’s familiar. He’s annoying as most boys are, but he isn’t mean. Not usually. You and he have had fights over the years, but most were when you were little and toys were involved. 

“You shouldn’t care what they think.”

“But I do.” 

“That’s why you’re joining the dance team, and I’m going to work on the ultimate vampire hunter kit.”

“Where are you going to get holy water?”

“Amazon.”

He sighs again, calling Bbama to go back inside. “I’m joining the team because Felix is my friend and it matters to him. That’s what friends do.” When he stops at the back door, he calls back. “Seungmin is really good at math if you need help for the next test.”

You don’t answer, not for the first time considering how you don’t have friends. There are some kids you sit with at lunch, but they mostly congregate together because there is strength in numbers, not because there’s any common interests or amiability. 

–

~Ninth grade~

You wonder if maybe you should have tried out for softball or something because each pebble you throw at Jisung’s window actually hits 75% of the time. Who knew you had great aim?

The window opens and he looks down and you can see more than hear his heavy sigh.

“Why don’t you just message me?”

“I don’t have your number.” Why would you?

There’s another heavy sigh and he disappears into his room after closing the window. Your cell phone vibrates in your back pocket. You pull it out.

>> now you have it.

<< can i borrow your car?

>> what?

The back door opens and he comes out in pajama pants and a huge sweatshirt. He’s shoved on his glasses and his hair is tufted in chunks. 

Was he really asleep at 11pm?

“You wanna borrow my truck?”

You nod, tugging on your scarf, a bit too tightly wrapped. “I’ll be careful. It’ll be back in the driveway by the time you wake up in the morning. I could probably hotwire it if I studied for a bit, but I figure, I could just ask.”

He runs a hand through his hair, eyes unfocused. “Why?”

“I don’t have a car.” Your parents don’t think you’re responsible enough to have a car. Something about still living in fantasy, blah blah blah. 

“I know…” He looks both annoyed and amused at the same time. “Why do you need it tonight?”

“Oh. I need to check out a place. There’s been rumor of vampiric activity.”

He actually takes a step back. “You’re going vampire hunting. Tonight. In my truck.”

“Yes.” I hold out my hand. “If you’ll give me your keys.”

“Do you even have your permit yet?”

You drop your arm. “No, but I’ve practiced.”

He turns and stares at his house. 

“So…Jisung…is that a no?”

“If I say no, will you hotwire it?”

“I mean, maybe.”

There’s a lot of muttered curses before he turns back around. “Yes, but I’m going with you. I’m driving.”

“What? No. No way.”

He walks right up, a foot away from me. “You let me go, drive, and you come to see the dance team at halftime; or you’re shit out of luck, Van Helsing.” 

You open your mouth to tell him where he can stick it, but then don’t. You actually need his vehicle. The area that online people have had sightings and encounters is only an hour away and this was the only night that your parents had wine before dinner which would definitely keep them so deeply asleep that you can get away with a nightly venture. 

And maybe it would be fun to watch Jisung, Seungmin and Felix perform. Not that you’d ever admit that.

“Yeah. Okay. But you have to do what I say, okay?”

He nods. “Give me like five.”

An hour and a half later, he shifts next to you as you hold a position in a cluster of trees. “Like…I don’t think they’re here.”

“Shh,” you hush him, half-heartedly hitting his arm. “They don’t billboard-announce it.” You move quickly and as quietly as you can toward the old abandoned cabin.

“Pretty sure it’s just serial killers who do that.”

You spin around to glare at him, but he’s grinning at you. You’re irked, but you can’t help but smile. It’s a little fun to have someone with you.

“Are we really going in there?”

You hand him a flask and move again to another gathering of foliage. 

“Are we drinking?” he whispers once he’s followed successfully. He’s still skinny as a rail, but still provides a little warmth at your back. 

“No, you dummy, it’s got holy water. It’s to protect yourself.” 

“Oh.” You can almost hear his smile. “Thanks.”

It takes a few more minutes of covert movement before you get to the house. You circle it, looking for any tell-tale signs of vampiric activity (corpses or animal remains, displaced or unusual soil, etc), but there’s nothing except overgrown weeds and some tricycle that has been taken over by said overgrown weeds. 

You test the back door. 

“Shouldn’t we get a flashlight?”

“And announce our arrival?”

“They can hear better than us, don’t you think they’d already know, with how you nearly tripped over that root before the gate?”

Yeah, that was embarrassing. You glare at him again. 

“How do you know all that stuff? About their hearing?”

He rolls his eyes and rewraps his scarf around his neck. “I’ve known you all my life. I listen…duh?”

You shake your head and enter the run-down cabin. As you test the rotted wooden floors, making sure to tell Jisung to step where you step, you think about that. There’s no reason why Jisung would just know how good a vampire’s hearing is rumored to be. Unless he listened to you, and remembered.

That sticks with you, even as you find that the abandoned cabin is full of dust, cobwebs, questionable wallpaper choices, with no sign of life…or unlife. 

He never says anything like ‘I told you so’ on the drive back, nearly four and a half hours after the initial request of his car. 

“That was kind of fun,” he says, sneezing when you both get out of his dented-in-weird-places truck. 

“You screamed three times and squeezed my arm so tight, it’s gonna bruise.”

“Those weren’t screams. They were….yelps. Exclamations of surprise.”

You can’t help but smile at him. “Sure.”

He tugs his beanie so it covers his ears. “I’ll do it again with you, if only so you don’t steal my truck.”

“Maybe…” You don’t promise anything. Yes, it was nice to have someone with you, but you don’t put your faith into it. Jisung is on the dance team, goes to pc cafes to game, and actually hangs out with his friends. You do just this. 

You know you’re the weird one here. 

“Maybe I’ll finally get my own car.”

“You could get a job.” He offers, leaning against the grill of his truck. 

“At fifteen?” 

He shrugs. “You could babysit?”

The both of you start laughing at the mere idea of you being in charge of vulnerable little humans. 

“I mean, you could.”

“The world is a better place without me protecting a toddler from the electric outlet.” 

He shrugs and shoves his hands into his coat pockets before pulling out the flask. “I dunno. You protected me pretty well.” He yawns. 

“Go sleep.” You take the flask back. “Thanks.”

He nods, already looking like he might fall asleep leaning against his SUV like that. “Not going to say ‘any time’. Maybe once and awhile.”

You press your lips together to stop smiling at him. “Sure. Night.” 

–

Jisung reminds you of your promise to watch the dance team at one game’s halftime, so you show up to a basketball game, sit and watch a sport that makes the people around you yell at the referees, the other team, and the home team with such passion that you think you must have something wrong with you because you do not get it.

But the half ends, and most people get up to grab concessions or hit the bathrooms while the co-ed dance team comes out in black and red outfits. You find Felix easy enough in the crowd, his vibrant blonde hair bouncing as he finds his position, talking excitedly to another dancer. Seungmin with his characteristic nonchalant expression is behind Felix, seeming unbothered that there’s an audience in front of him, waiting to judge and assess him.

Jisung is near the end of the second line, bouncing on the balls of his feet as everyone gets into place. He glanced up at the crowd, eyes scanning. He sees you because your eyes lock and you give a little wave of ‘see, I came’. You think he smiles, but you are on the top row of bleachers, off to the far side. 

The dancers all drop their heads when the music starts. Felix leads off and the rest fall into sync with him. You try and watch the group as a whole, impressed with how they move together, how the choreography seems like a mix of hip hop and contemporary.

It’s honestly pretty good for a high school group. You have YouTube and you’ve seen the occasional viral embarrassing dance rendition of whatever hit song is popular. 

Your eyes fall on Jisung the most. He’s the only one you know on your side of the gym (most of the time, there are a few formation changes). 

For being all limbs (though admittedly, he’s less like a stretched-out stick figure these days), Jisung is a good dancer. He’s on beat with his moves, and it doesn’t look horribly awkward.

You’re surprised. 

The song isn’t more than maybe two minutes and the applause at the end of it is not the same as the passionate yelling of spectators for some ‘bogus call, ref’. You clap though because you are impressed, and because if you had friends, you think it would be Jisung and his two compatriots. 

You start to head out of the gym into the lobby to go home; you are not sitting through more yelling at where an orange ball travels to. You’re almost home free, but you hear your name and turn to see Jisung running up to you. He’s grinning, face flushed, hair ruffled. 

“Thanks!”

“I mean, I promised.” You glance around to see schoolmates watching the two of you conversing and you wonder if Jisung worries about it. Because if you were less on the fringes (you’re not going to call Jisung popular, but he’s not ignored), you might worry about who you’re seen with. 

“Did I do okay?”

His question interrupts your musing on high school hierarchies, and you look at him in shock. 

“I…I don’t know anything about dance, Jisung.”

He nods. “But you are honest. Sometimes painfully. So, tell me. What did you think?” He crosses his arms and waits. You blink a few times, your mind going back over the memory of their performance, him specifically. 

“I think you’re good. I didn’t see any obvious mistakes or like you didn’t fit in.”

“But?”

It’s unnerving how he seems to know that you have more thoughts, even when you weren’t completely aware of them yourself. 

“I think you can extend more?” You swallow, lifting your arms so they stretch out. “Like your arms don’t go out all the way and I think it looks better when you do?” You shrug and drop your arms. “Also, your shoulders are up when you dance. Makes you look tense.” 

He nods a few times before smiling. “See, I knew you’d be honest.” He drops his arms from his chest. “Thanks…Are you leaving?”

You nod emphatically. “I cannot handle the screaming any longer.”

He laughs. “Yeah, fair.” He watches you for one more second. “We’re gonna go out for burgers and shakes later…you can come?”

“We?”

“The dance team mostly, I think.”

You’re already shaking your head. “Uh, thanks, but no thanks.” You start to walk backward, a little on edge being this close to Jisung and how he kinda sparkles all sweaty and red-faced. “I’ll see ya.”

He waves as you practically trip to get out of there.

–

~Tenth grade~

He warned you. He said that with both sets of parents going for a weekend trip together that he might have a party. You didn’t care because you had homework and research to do, and a party with Seungmin, Felix, and Jisung didn’t seem that concerning.

Since when did sophomore Jisung know enough people to have a rager? Because that’s what it sounds like next door right now.

You look through the kitchen window. There’s a lot of people, bodies silhouetted in the windows of his house, people in the backyard. Music loud and pumping. 

He invited you. You could go over.

You sigh and look in the refrigerator. There’s a six pack of beer. You could bring it over. Your father would probably just think that he’d already finished it. Or maybe he’d be thrilled that you snuck alcohol like a normal teenager. 

That’s what you’ll do. Just bring the six pack over, say hi to Jisung and remind him that the rest of your neighbors might not be as tolerant of the noise level.

And to be careful. 

You tug slightly on your turtleneck as you walk over. It’s not cold enough to warrant it, but it’s night time and you aren’t stupid.

Easy access to arteries is a dumb move.

You decide to step over the fence between the backyards, hearing a few ‘who is that?’ comments as you do from the outdoor party-goers. You will stay thirty minutes. That’s enough to get the high school party experience, right?

You see Felix the moment you walk in the back doors. He is sitting on a counter laughing at something someone is saying. He sees you, eyes light up and he slides off the counter to come greet you. 

He’s so bright sometimes he makes your eyes hurt.

“You came! Jisung said you wouldn’t!” There’s a hug, enthusiastic on his end, less so on yours. No one dislikes Felix; it’s impossible, but he’s definitely good in small doses for you. “You brought beer?”

You nod and he takes it from you, leaving your hands empty with nothing to do.

“Come, come, have a drink.”

“Uh, I just brought that and wanted to say hi to Jisung.”

He hands you a bottle of something pink with a peach on the label before gesturing toward the middle of the house. “I think he’s in there somewhere.”

Did you mention you don’t love yelling?

The music and the din of human voices is a lot to your head, so you sip the drink to find it’s not too gross and the cold of it is welcome amidst the heat of bodies. You enter into the sea of people, some dancing, most talking, a few touching in ways that makes your skin crawl.

Seungmin bumps into you and greets you with the same apathy that makes you always think that you and he might be good friends if either of you tried. 

“Where’s Jisung?” you ask, wincing as you have to yell it to be heard.

Seungmin smiles and it makes you question everything. Because it’s too wicked to just be a smile brought by an innocuous question or even alcohol. 

“I think he’s over by the stairs. You should definitely say hi.”

If Felix is too bright to take in more than just a bit at a time, you’re more wary of Seungmin. You kinda hope you never see him smile again. It’s too unsettling.

You nod and move on through the house, avoiding touching people as much as possible because they smell of liquor and sweat and so many pheromones. 

It takes a few minutes to get to the stairs, but you do find Jisung who is staring into the crowd that is writhing in the living room. You quietly sidle up behind him (him unaware) to see what he’s seeing.

Ahhh. 

“Mi-sun, huh?”

He jumps and turns, almost knocking heads with you. You step back to give him space. He says your name, eyes wide and then quite delighted. He hugs you.

He hugs you.

Jisung doesn’t hug you. That’s not a thing between next door neighbors. But you can smell the mix of fruit juice and rum on him, so you think that it’s probably not surprising that intoxicated Jisung is affectionate. 

He is friends with Felix after all. 

You pat his back during the hug, but he doesn’t let go quickly. You feel his nose brush the fabric covering your neck before he draws back. 

“You’re here.”

You shrug, a little undone by how damn smiley he is. “I’m here.” You wait but he’s still staring and smiling at you, so you look away, pointing back toward the crowd. “You like Mi-sun?”

He follows your hand then looks back at you. “Uh, I mean…she’s pretty?” His brow is furrowed in confusion. “Why?”

“You were staring at her.”

“No, I wasn’t.” There’s a pout added to his words, so you just shrug because why would you debate this.

“I just came to bring some beer and say hi,” you tell him. 

“What?”

God, do you have to yell everything?

“Come on,” he says when you shake your head. “We’ll go upstairs.” He takes your hand and leads you. You are so dumbfounded that you follow, half-stumbling up after him. 

He leads you to a room and hits the lights before pulling you in and shutting the door. You look around.

“There’s no way this is your room.” You have very vague recollections of his bedroom from when you two were in elementary. 

“It’s my brother’s.” His older brother is already in college. “Why isn’t it mine?” He plops on the edge of the bed and lays down. 

“Doesn’t feel like yours.” You assume that his room looks different from when you were kids, but maybe there are still Alvin and the Chipmunks sheets. 

“Valid.” He sighs. “There are so many people here.”

You sit next to him. “Yeah. I was gonna warn you that I think Mrs. Park has looked out her blinds at least three times.”

Another sigh as he looks up at the ceiling. “Fuck. I really thought it’d be like ten people.” He sits up and looks over at you. “You’re drinking.”

You look at the wine cooler and offer it to him. “I think I had three sips.”

He takes it and drinks it, eyes on you when his mouth touches the rim of the bottle. You tilt your head to the side, then decide not to ask about it. 

“So…a high school party…is it as great as the movies told us?” you ask, looking at his brother’s swimming trophies decorating one set of shelves. 

“Dunno. It’s my first legit party.”

“Same.” You doubt birthday parties from third grade when Doyung had to invite the entire class counted as ‘real’ parties. 

“It’s not horrible,” he says before saying your name. You turn to look at him to find that he’s only a few inches away. 

“What are you doing?”

“Can I kiss you?”

You freeze before jumping off the bed. “What?”

He makes a face before looking at the half-drunk bottle in his hands. “I know it’s weird, but it’s my first party. This’d be my first kiss.”

“There is probably someone down there who’d do that for you,” you stammer, trying not to look at his lips because that’s what the word ‘kiss’ has done to your brain. “I think Felix would.”

Jisung laughs before grinning at you. “He probably would, but…” he trails off, looking at you. 

“But…” You cross your arms, so he doesn’t think you are interested. Then it hits you. “Wait, is this because I always tell you the truth? Like you want to make sure you don’t suck? I wouldn’t know. I’ve never kissed anyone.”

“Okay, maybe there’s some of that…” That shouldn’t be as disappointing as it is to you, but he continues, “But also…” he swallows nervously. “I want to kiss you.”

Your brain has stopped computing. 

“You…want to kiss me?” You are surprised you can even speak. “Why?”

He cocks his head to the side. “Why wouldn’t I?”

You move back to sit on the bed, a foot or two between you and him. “I…” You meet his gaze. “How drunk are you?”

He shrugs with an embarrassed smile. “Two drinks? I mean, I won’t lie, I definitely probably wouldn’t have asked you if I was fully sober, but I’m not…impaired or anything.” He scoots a little closer. “It’s okay if you don’t want to. I might cry about it later, but–” He laughs when you punch his arm with no force. 

It’s hard not to stare at him. Whether it’s the alcohol or something else that makes his eyes all sparkly, he’s turning into someone quite pretty. His nose still doesn’t quite fit his face and he’s more of a toothpick than human. 

But he’s pretty.

And probably the only person you know who you could kiss and not be worried as much about the aftermath. Maybe growing up with him just means he isn’t so scary.

Maybe it just means that he’s safe.

“Okay.”

His eyes widen at your admission. “Yeah? Oh. Okay.” He turns more toward you. “So, you have to be honest. I really have a lot of overcome in the romance department, but I think being a good kisser could like be my chance to outweigh the rest of it.”

You laugh, you can’t help it. “You’re pretty great as is, Jisung.”

His mouth parts, eyes boring into yours. “Thanks.”

You shake your head at the near mesmerizing effect of his big brown eyes. “Rules though.”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Hands nowhere that bikini covers .” Even saying it outloud makes you cringe, but you really have no desire to find out if you like being groped or not. 

“Uhhhh, same?” He covers his hands over his chest like the cups of a bikini top and you giggle because he’s funny and cute and you’re going to kiss him. You lean closer. His eyes drop to your mouth, his hands falling from his chest to the mattress. “Anything else?” his voice is pitched high and you wonder if your voice does something to give away your nerves too. 

“I don’t think so?” Yeah, your voice doesn’t quite sound normal. 

He reaches out, one hand touching your cheek while the other rests on your thigh. He lets out a shuddery breath. 

“Soft,” he whispers before his eyes close which reminds you that you should close your eyes, too. You feel his lips brush yours hesitantly before settling with a bit more confidence. His hand cups your face as his mouth moves. 

It’s nice. It’s interesting.

He draws back, but his hands linger. Eyes open, and he gazes at you. 

“Okay?”

You nod, curious because you feel like it should be more. You aren’t sheltered. You’ve seen kisses on screen, in real life, but it’s not like you’ve studied. Kissing for any length of time requires movement. So you move.

You press your mouth to his, hands pushed down on the mattress as you edge ever closer. His index finger traces the shell of your ear when you open your mouth so your tongue can touch the seam of his lips. You feel him visibly jolt, but he gives you no time to question or apologize for that as he returns it. 

Oh…ohhhhh.

As his tongue slides along yours, his hand on your thigh clenches. It’s like a chain reaction; his hand on your leg draws you more to him, your hands finding his waist and hips. He makes a sound that spurs on his tongue so much that you pull back.

“No.”

His eyes flutter open. “What?”

“I mean,” you feel dazed yourself. “Not so much tongue.” You brush back his hair when his hand drops to your shoulder. “No lizards.”

He winces. “Sorry.” The flush on his cheeks catches your attention and you lean in to kiss the heated skin. His breath catches. 

“What about me?” you ask, fascinated at the give of his cheeks. You press another kiss. “Any tips?”

“No.” It’s more of a groan and you raise your eyes to his. “You…you’re very good.” He doesn’t elaborate, but kisses you again. You feel the intrusion of his tongue, but it’s slower…like he’s savoring. 

It’s so much better. 

You’re unaware of much beyond the kissing, your hands having a mind of their own as one slips under his t-shirt to trace the slope of his back. You’re not quite conscious of maneuvering him so he’s lying back on the bed and you are straddling him on your knees, reluctant to break away from his mouth. You do though, you draw away and look down at him; his swollen lips, red and shiny. His dark eyes and flushed skin. How his fingers wrap around your waist, gripping tightly. 

“Better?” he questions, breathless.

“Much.” One more kiss, this one soft and he whines when you pull away again. “I think you’ll be just fine, Jisung.”

He sits up as you move off of him. Reality comes back, your brain returning to its normal functioning. You stay on the edge of the bed, staring anywhere but at him. 

He fills the space next to you, so quiet. He says your name, and you dare to glance over. 

You kiss him again, the urge strong. He cradles your face in his hands, kissing you back. It’s more sweet than heated.

There’s a loud crash sounding from downstairs, and he jerks away before looking at you with wide eyes. 

“Shit.”

“You better go.”

He glances at the door then back at you, his hands leaving your face. “Yeah…are you going home?”

“Yeah. I think…I think I should.” You miss his hands already.

You both stand and you slide your hands into the back pockets of your jeans. He reaches out to touch where your neck is covered by your shirt. You freeze, staring at him. He shrugs, not saying anything. 

“I’ll…I’ll see ya.” He disappears through the door, shutting it behind him. You don’t move for a minute, trying to feel like you have control over your body before you leave. 

As you make your way through the party-goers, you’re almost out the back door when you hear someone (Seungmin you think) holler “Cops on their way!”

It’s a mad dash that you make in front of the departing crowd. You step back over the fence, hurrying into your house before watching the people and the cars all race off. You wait several more minutes once everything has gone quiet to realize that the cops aren’t coming. 

Pretty effective way to end a party, though.

Your phone vibrates.

Night.

—

If you had friends, especially female friends, you might have talked to them about it. Might have discussed the whys and hows and what to do now of it all. But you don’t think your mom is the right person to tell about the party at the Han’s house, and the few kids in high school you do interact with aren’t exactly interested in anything about your life. Your conversations consist of retelling what assignments someone missed and how high school is hell. 

You definitely don’t talk to Jisung about it. 

When you see him at school the following Monday, he smiles at you, but is distracted by one of his dance team members. You maintain the status quo which is little engagement with anyone at school, even Jisung. 

What is there to talk about? It was a kiss (several) and just two neighbors experimenting. It’s not anything else.

It definitely doesn’t mean you like Jisung or anything.

It’s two months later that you see him talking with Mi-sun by the lockers, her hand on his arm that you reiterate to yourself that you don’t like him.

Because that would be stupid. 

—

~Twelfth Grade~

High school is hell, but you weather it well enough. You pass your classes, you get a decent score on the SAT even though you think university is a pointless experience. It appeases your parents that you do apply and do accept going to a school in state, but farther away than you’ve ever been. 

You’ve been working a part-time job at a bookstore for the last two years, finally earning enough for a used car. Which means you don’t text your neighbor for any late night excursions. Even though he’s asked at least twice. 

He’s easy to avoid if you try. 

But not at the graduation bonfire. It’s tradition. The powers-that-be in your small town look the other way when the graduated seniors set up a party on the outskirts, in the woods. Bonfire, drinks, very little food and somehow it’s okay as long as no one drives home. 

You go because you’re curious. You’ve been to maybe three parties since Jisung’s because it makes your parents less annoying when you do ‘normal’ teen things. You haven’t stopped your research and exploring, but you hide it better. 

It’s the last high school thing you’ll ever have, so you go. 

It’s not about Jisung.

But you do see him once you grab a beer to keep your hands occupied. He’s laughing with Seungmin and Felix and other schoolmates that you know by sight. You know that he did date Mi-sun for probably a good year or so because even though you are a nobody in your school, it’s small enough that dating rumors and truths get to everyone, even the outsiders. 

You force yourself to look away from him when he smiles because it’s still bright and happy and it hurts. 

The bonfire crackles and burns bright in front of you as you fiddle with your open bottle. 

“Hey, you came!”

Apparently he saw you too.

You force a smile to your lips. “Hey Jisung.”

He steps in next to you, clinking your bottle with his. “Happy ‘we’re done with this hellhole’!” He seems a little intoxicated, giddy from the ceremony of the day. 

“Sure.”

He turns to you. “Your mom said you were going to Southern?”

“Yeah. And you’re going to State with Seungmin and Felix.” You take a sip and make a face. 

“Yeah.” There’s a pause. “Guess we won’t be neighbors.” 

Why does he have to sound bummed about it? What does he care?

“Yep.”

“What does an aspiring vampire-ologist major in?” His smile hasn’t faded, but you realize that you’re just not in the mood for his teasing. Even if he’s one of the only people who’s never mocked you for your life-long preoccupation.

“What do you major in when you just do everything your friends do?” 

You can see him still in the corner of your eye. The smile drops, the easy and open manner closes off. 

“What?”

You turn to him, angry for reasons you can never tell him because it’s probably not his fault that you went and developed a crush on the boy next door, but you convince yourself if he hadn’t kissed you, you wouldn’t be like this. 

You wouldn’t like Han Jisung.

“Just curious if going to college with your best friends from high school is such a good idea. I mean, will you ever figure out what you actually want to do if you keep following them?”

The bonfire paints flickering light over his face, shadowing the entirety of his expression. But you can see enough. 

You’ve hurt him. You’re not friends but you never wanted to hurt him. 

“At least I don’t live in a fantasy because I refuse to deal with the real world and actually interacting with humans. I don’t prefer mythological creatures over actual people.” He spits out words like they’ve been festering inside for far too long. “At least people know I exist.”

He holds your gaze, your glare for as long as it takes you to let his words settle in your mind. It’s a direct hit. And only he knows you well enough to do it so keenly.

You hate that you just now realize how well he knows you. 

“Have a nice life, Jisung.” You toss your bottle into the bonfire, watching the mini explosion with disinterest before walking away. 

—

~First Year at University~

When you see Jisung in his backyard during winter break, you pause in your thoughts about going out to look at the stars. You haven’t spoken to him since graduation night. You saw him load up his truck and leave about three days before you left for your college. There has been no contact in any way. You almost made a profile to see if he posted on tiktok or instagram or anything, but school takes over as it always does, and you don’t want to feel weak. 

Even if you wish you could apologize. 

You don’t go back home until winter break. Your parents check in with you, but you’re convinced that they’re just grateful that you’re finally out of the house. As the semester wears on, you don’t blame them. 

It’s three days before Christmas when you see Jisung in the backyard with Bbama. You were about to walk out, look up at the stars and soak in the wintry quiet. You hesitate in seeing your neighbor, wondering if you can actually do this. 

You go out anyway.

In a tufted beanie and big puffy jacket, Jisung spins around at the noise of the sliding doors opening. Even from this distance, with the back door lights illuminating, you can see his eyes widen.

You wave. “Hey Jisung.”

His shoulders drop in relief. “Hey.”

You walk over to the fence, pulling tighter on the hood of your sweatshirt. You squat down to pet Bbama over the fence. 

“So…” you begin, looking up as your neighbor walks over. “How was college?”

He half-smiles and squats down too, eyes on Bbama. “Is it strange to say life-changing?”

You stare at him as he rubs Bbama’s hindquarters. You need to know. You need to know if getting away from home, from the drama of high school, from everything of before also irrevocably altered him and the journey he thought he was on. 

“No,” you say. He looks at you then and seems to understand that there’s a lot you’re not saying. “Wanna tell me about it?”

The half-smile stretches into a full one. “Yeah, okay.”

He drives you both out to the woods, to a very large clearing so you both can lie in the bed of his truck and stare up at the stars, unpolluted by light. He throws a blanket over you before adjusting an old hoodie under his head for a makeshift pillow.

“I’m sorry.”

You still look at the stars, but you can feel his gaze. 

“You are?”

“For what I said at the bonfire. I was…” One of the reasons you never apologized was that you weren’t sure how to without revealing how angry you were and that the source of your anger was your silly crush on him. “I was angry and I took it out on you. I’ve always thought your friendship with Seungmin and Felix was really nice.”

He lets out a soft breath. “You could have been friends with them too.”

You snort. “Yeah, I wasn’t really about that.”

He chuckles. “I’m sorry too. For saying what I did about you living in fantasy and–”

“I don’t think you were entirely wrong,” you interrupt. “I think there was some element of avoiding life.”

“Did you have to take Psych 101 too this semester?”

You laugh, turning your head to look at him. He’s looking up at the sky, giving you a picture-perfect view of his profile.

He’s grown even more, in just five months. 

“I did.”

“Me too. So, I think you weren’t completely wrong either. About me.” He moves and sits up, leaning back against the cab of the truck. You do the same, wrapping the blanket around you. “It’s easier to be what others what you to be than to figure out what you really want.”

You’re both quiet for a few minutes, hearing the wind whistle through the bare and needled trees. 

“Did you? Did you figure out what you want?”

He nods. “I…I started writing.”

“Writing?”

In your peripheral, you can see him swallow nervously. 

“What kind of writing?”

“Lyrics. Music. Poetry.” He turns toward you. “I had to take a writing class to get it out the way and only one was available…poetry. I shouldn’t have even gotten into it, it’s a 300 level…a total glitch, but it was so good and I liked it so much and–” He cuts himself off, looking away and even though it’s dark you can tell he’s blushing. “I think I’m pretty good at it.”

“Are you going to like…be a song-writer?”

“Maybe? I’m taking two music production classes next semester. It might be awful. I might be awful at it.”

“But you might not be.”

He looks back at you and does that half-smile again. “Yeah. I might not be.”

“That’s really awesome, Jisung.” You reach out and squeeze his arm, which really is just you squeezing the puffy jacket. “I’m happy you found that.”

“What about you? You made it sound like…like college was life-changing for you too.”

You take a deep breath.

“Still researching?”

“No.”

If you were in a drama, he would have gasped with such a reveal. But it’s just quiet. Cold and quiet. 

“Why not?”

“Because they’re not real.”

Maybe that’s when a gasp would happen. 

“I…um, really?”

You laugh at how he’s trying to sound surprised. 

“I mean I noticed you aren’t covering your neck like you usually do at night, but–” 

You shouldn’t be surprised that he noticed that.

“I know. I know. I was so adamant about them being real. And who knows? Maybe they do exist. They’re just really good at hiding.” You sober up. “There was this flyer-poster thingy on the bulletin boards and on the community website for extracurriculars and clubs and stuff. It said something like “Find out about real vampires’ or whatever. I thought maybe I’d found others like me.”

You look back up at the sky.

“But you didn’t.”

“No. It wasn’t a big group. In some tiny classroom in the history building. The person who spoke was an activist.” You feel your voice break. “About sex-trafficking.”

“Oh fuck.”

“Yeah. And like, went on about the statistics, and how it happens here, not in some country a million miles away. I almost cried in the meeting. These kids, people our age and younger are being enslaved and assulated on the daily and…” You trail off. “I mean, we’ve all heard about it before, just something about then, that moment. Here I was, trying to write a manifesto about some fictional character trope and there were children out there, being…” You press your lips together and take another deep breath. “It was eye-opening.”

“I can imagine.”

You swallow your emotions a little, wondering if you would ever become jaded when you thought about it. 

“Anyway. I finally picked my major. I’m doing sociology and criminal justice. I don’t know what that means really, except…”

“I think that means you know what matters to you.” 

You turn to him. “Yeah. I guess so.”

He smiles. “Well, my lyric-writing turn feels really underwhelming right now.”

You laugh and lightly punch his shoulder. “I bet your words are really wonderful. Thoughtful. Powerful.”

He cocks his head to the side. “You don’t know that.”

“Well, no, I don’t. But you were always a good friend to me…You’re really empathetic which I bet comes out in your writing.”

“I think that’s the first time you’ve admitted that we’re friends.”

You huff and punch him again before crossing your arms to look back out into the dark night. “Whatever.”

“I think your obstinacy will serve you well in what you wanna do, Van Helsing.” 

You smile at the nickname. 

“Hey.”

You turn again toward him. He’s moved closer. 

“I’m excited for you.”

You can’t help but soak in his warmth from being closer and that smile of his. “Thanks. I’m terrified.”

“I think that’s good. I’ve never seen you scared.”

“I’ve seen you scared.”

He makes a face. “Well, that’s what I get for having a girl like you next door.” He meets your eyes for a couple seconds. “I’m sorry too.”

“About?”

“The party at my house.” 

You can actually feel your heart speed up. 

“We were kids.”

“But I liked you.” He shrugs. “And I got to kiss you but did nothing about it. Which feels both dumb and spineless. You didn’t seem to be interested so I just kinda decided to not bring it up again.”

You can’t take looking at him in the eyes for this, so you stare at the trees in the distance. “You liked me?”

“Of course. So I’m sorry I kinda made it about it being my first time and like, practice when it was definitely more than that. I took your first kiss too.”

“I agreed,” you say softly. “I agreed because it was you.” You reach out and smooth the wrinkles in his forehead from his worry. “I didn’t bring it up either. Even though it mattered.”

He doesn’t look away from you. “Yeah. It mattered.” He links his hand with yours. 

You stare at your connected hands because it’s almost as unfathomable as you pursuing something that wasn’t vampires. 

“Jisung.”

“Hmm?”

“You said you ‘liked’ me. Past tense.”

“I did.”

“Well, I like you.” You force your eyes back to his. “Present tense.”

“Yeah?” If there’s a trace of knowing in his voice and expression, you can forgive him. Because he’s always been perceptive and observant. Maybe your crush wasn’t as unnoticed as you thought. 

“Yeah.” You laugh in self-reproach. “I mean, I think you’re the only thing outside of my research that I even thought about.”

He doesn’t say anything, but he’s grinning, still holding your hand.

“Say something.”

“That’s the best compliment I’ve ever gotten.”

You roll your eyes, but don’t move away. “Are you a better kisser now?”

You can see and hear how his breath catches at your question. “Um…I think so. I got really good advice from a friend, once. Not too much tongue.”

“That is a good friend.” You aren’t sure which of you is moving closer to the other, or if both of you are doing it simultaneously, but his lips are definitely nearer. 

“Yeah. I like her.” 

“Still?”

He nods, so close his lips brush yours just from that movement. He lingers, before kissing you more firmly, his other hand coming around to cup your face. 

Maybe you don’t remember it that well, but you think he has improved. His tongue touching yours sends shivers through you that have nothing to do with the cold. But he notices. 

“I better get you home. It’s freezing.”

You protest, and he kisses you on the lips in response before dropping his head and pressing his lips to your neck.

“I wanted to do this that night,” he whispers against your skin, then looks up at you. “Kiss you here.” 

You cup his face in your hands, mouth meeting his, your fingers sliding into his hair. The way he kisses, the changing rhythm; his hands trailing under your hoodie and up your sides; all of it just causes your fingers to tighten in his hair, relishing the silky feel and hearing how he shudders at the slight pull. 

He drags you closer, almost into his lap, but the wind picks up, blowing through the both of you so you simultaneously shiver. He chuckles against your lips. 

“I better take you home. Getting sick on winter break would be the worst.” 

You agree, but not without wrapping around him, kissing again. He eventually draws away, but lets your noses brush.

“The image of you above me, kissing me that night. Seared into my brain for eternity.”

He doesn’t say anything else as he climbs out of the bed of the truck and holds out his hand to help you, but you throw the blanket over his head before climbing out on your own. He’s laughing when he gets into the driver's seat to drive you back. 

When he parks in his driveway, it’s quiet again. And your mind wanders.

“So…what does this mean, exactly?” you ask carefully. 

He takes your hand in his, turning his body toward you, eyes soft and warm. “Means whatever we want it to.”

“We go to different schools.”

“True.”

“We are just now figuring out who we are and what we want to do.”

“Also true.”

You huff at him. “Long distance, even two hours or whatever rarely works.”

His smile grows. “You looked up how long it takes to drive between our schools?”

It’s beyond embarrassing so you pull your hand out of his, and get out of his truck. He follows soon after, wrapping his arms around you in a hug, his mouth pressing against your temple. 

“It’s cute. You’re cute.”

“Whatever.”

He draws back, not letting go, but so you can look at each other. “Two hours is nothing. We drove almost that far to look at an empty house.”

It reminds you again. That he pays attention. That he cares so deeply about his friends that he does stuff with them. Even hunting something that doesn’t exist. 

You kiss him before drawing back to say, “True. Two hours is nothing.”

His answering smile fills you with so much affection, you wonder if it was inevitable; falling for the boy next door. 

---

(c) yoongihan 2024. please do not steal, translate, repost, or whatever. stray kids belong to themselves and all idols used in this piece are just the inspiration for characters and do not in any way reflect the actual humans.

[7omby]

Heres the life is strange 2 hc:

Sean doodles on his papers during every class (especially math)

Sean has no game but he’s confident so it works like magic

Sean is a great cook. He tried to teach Daniel but they almost committed arson

When Sean draws, Daniel draws too

Sean is the type to put a pic of him feeling himself on his story then delete 5mn afterwards because it “looked ugly the more he looked at it”lmao

Sean is the type to sing a song but with the wrong lyrics

Sean the type to have a concert in the shower

Sean is the type to draw his crush , little doodles on his sketchbook

Daniel copy his brother all the time, the way he talks, move, little habits,…

Daniel is definitely the kind of kids that wants to pee at the least appropriate moment . The boys will be on a road trip around the desert and Daniel will be like “oh man… I wanna pee”

Daniel definitely steals socks or tshirt from Sean just to annoy him

Daniel is the type to fell and hurt himself but still continue to plays like nothing happened

Daniel is a “OMG look at the cute dog there!” / “can I pet that puppy? Cmon Sean !” Idiot

Daniel Hates math and is canonically bad at it lmao

Daniel plays Roblox or Fortnite

Daniel uses Sean expression and Esteban laughs because he’s the only one to notice it

Esteban is the type to prank his own kids, like scaring them when they go pee in the middle of the night (that video is literally him)

Esteban loved to surprise the boys with his special pasta or movie nights when they’re feeling down

Esteban definitely prank Daniel with Sean or Prank Sean with Daniel

Esteban loves to go hiking with the boys and tell them stories about his childhood

Esteban wears the same socks two days in a row

Esteban copies Daniel/Sean whining sometimes

Daniel made him learn TikTok/Fortnite dance

Lyla babysit Daniel a lot meaning Daniel knows dumb memes

Lyla sends the cringiest memes to Sean or sometimes it’ll be npc TikTok’s live and she’ll be like “we should do that !! We’ll make a lot of moneyyy”

Lyla is like a little mouse , she knows everything about everyone. And always give updates to Sean (he didn’t care at first but he’s all in now lmao)

[joi-me-hoi-me-noi]

Hi it’s me again (sorry if you’re getting annoyed by me)

I’m here to request bakugo x reader fluff maybe bakugo had a rough day and he gets home to see the reader and the reader cheers him up by play fighting

Or

Maybe just a wedding where bakugo is way too excited to see the reader (reader is excited to) and class 1-A is trying there best to keep them separated (because of bad luck)

If not please feel free to ignore this you don’t have to do it but anyways stay healthy 😌

A/n: Hello pookie, you're not annoying me at all, you're my first request after all. And I'm always healthy 🤭🤭🤭

BAKUGO x READER - YOU ALWAYS CHEER ME UP

His muscles were aching so badly when he finally finished his shift. As he approached the front door of your shared house, he runs a hand through his hair and lets out a hefty sigh to release the stress that his day brought to him. He opens to the door to reveal you cooking in the kitchen with that cute apron he bought you on. You were dancing and humming along to a song that you knew too well.

He quietly drops his stuff by the door and takes off his shoes to tip-toe behind you and hug you from behind. Katsuki feels your body jump in shock from his touch.

"Katsuki, you scared me. Welcome back." Your other hand reaches up to his blonde locks and massages his hair.

"I'm almost done with the food, I made your favorite." He lifts his head up slightly to peer into the pot you were stirring.

"Kimchi Nabe?" He hums tiredly.

"That's right, Kimchi Nabe."

He stands straight, still keeping a hand on your waist and watches as you work. You pour two bowls of the spicy food and cover the pot with the lid nearby. You turn to face him and you see his face which makes your smile fade.

"Rough day?" He simply nods and doesn't face you.

"How about this? We eat and watch a movie and then find something fun to do afterward." His lip upturns slightly to show his delight as you grab both of the bowls and head into the living room.

During the movie, you could tell his mood was increasingly better. After the movie was over, you started trying to play-fight him, throwing punches that didn't even touch him.

"You would've been knocked out if that landed."

"I'm sure it would've Y/n."

He starts to do the same thing that you were doing, and then it turned to y'all wrestling on the floor. You straddled him, laughing and giggling with him.

"You want to go cuddle now, stink?"

"Yes please."

He picks you up and plants a kiss on your lips then your hair. Lots of cuddles and kisses happened in your shared room, he loves you too much lol.

[florenceafternoon]

━。゜✿ jily fic recommendations ✿ ゜。━

This post is just some of my current favourites because I don’t think I have the energy to make a master list right now. Personally, I like to read aus so if you're looking for canon stuff this isn't the post for you.

For reference, anything in italics is taken from the summaries on ao3.

in pursuit of the study of magic by @thequibblah

An immortal magician au or, "we had a really bad breakup three hundred years ago, but neither of us realised the other is immortal until we met today"

I recommend you listen to About You while reading this

Growing (in love) by casablancas21 (on ao3)

Uni au where "James Potter has a lot going on for him. His uni years have been the best he's ever had and his friendliness, popularity and charm go a long way to place him as the go-to bloke if one's looking for a good time. Nevertheless, his final year of school finds him struggling to keep up with the social energy that once enthralled him. He's having a hard time figuring out how to set his own boundaries and what to do about his future. He's also having a really hard time figuring out Lily Evans."

I must admit that Lily's comebacks are so good I've used some during class debates in sociology this year. Truly, the dialogue and dynamics between characters in this fic are so good. Pretty sure this is the one with the kebab

Golden Waltz by evanspotter (on ao3)

Lily Evans wants to be the best ice dancer in the world, which means she needs to find a dance partner ASAP. After two failed partnerships, her coach gives her one last option: James Potter.

This fic is the reason I neglected revising for midterms. It also caused me to go into a deep dive into watching tapes of Olympic ice dance programs specifically Virtue and Moir.

on the way home by keep_driving (on ao3)

Lily was living abroad and pinning from afar. After an abundance of "phone calls, mixtapes, and long waits," Lily is finally coming home. I believe this fic is inspired by the song You Are In Love.

When I say jily is friends first, and lovers second this is what I mean

Dancing With Our Hands Tied by @athenasparrow

But despite his best efforts, he couldn’t take his eyes off her figure as she moved effortlessly in rhythm with whatever song she had playing. He learned she was wearing more than a t-shirt when she slid across the kitchen on her socks, throwing her head back to sing words James wished he could hear.

OR: In a world where social distancing reigns supreme, two strangers find themselves confined to their apartments with love only a window away.

The way I binged this fic at school between classes. love love love

The Season by @missgryffin

This is a regency (Brighton) au where "James Potter, Duke of Peverell, has returned to London just in time for the season, where Miss Lily Evans is about to make her debut. Only, he’s not looking for a wife, and she’s not particularly interested in a husband."

I love the dialogue between Lily & James as well as Sirius & Lily's relationship (for those who know Brigerton, it reminds me of Ben and El's relationship).

A Misstep Of Fate by hogwartslivy (on ao3)

A muggle historical au where "he waited for her on the edge of ballrooms and in the shadows of parties. He waited to dance with her, to spin her in his arms, to be the one she laughed and smiled with. He thought he was doing the right thing, allowing time to pass them until they were ready, so he had waited. But it seems, he made a misstep. He's waited too long now she's slipping through his fingers."

My boy is stupid and in love but it's okay because she is too. Their idiots, but they’re my idiots

Let Me Love You by @thejilyship

A Princess Diaries au in which "with only a month until she's set to take the throne of Gryffindor, Lily is informed that she'll have to get married or choose to give up her throne. She never thought she'd have to even entertain the idea of an arranged marriage. Enter, James Potter."

chaos ensues and Emma deserves long service leave (the place would fall apart)

foreigner's god by clarewithnoi (on ao3)

answer to a Tumblr prompt: "we were lovers in a past life" but the current incarnations are enemies-to-lovers, and they don't remember anything from their past selves.

The back and forth between them is so good. low-key I teared up a bit but it has a HEA

An October of Unconventional Courtships by @ghostofbambifanfiction

Two phones. Thirty-one days. Eighteen tuxedos. A Jilytober texting fic.

A classic that everyone should read

Shelf Awareness also by @/ghostofbambifanfiction

Modern bookstore au where "It's too far out of her way and she's wasting so much money, but Lily can't help but return to the bookstore every weekend, where her passion for good literature has, perhaps, been unexpectedly reignited by the messy-haired, pun-making, rather handsome bloke who works there."

One of the first ever jily fics that I read and I fell in love with their dynamic straight away

Careless Texter also by @/ghostofbambifanfiction

Answer to the prompt, “I left my phone number on the bathroom stall wall and you text me about your day and your frustrations for a month & it’s really nice and cute but I still don’t know who you are,” with some twists and differences.

Trackside by @hogwartslivy

James Potter is Formula One’s most impressive young talent, making up one half of the championship winning team at Gryffindor Racing. He’s got a reputation for playing dirty on, and seemingly off, the track but when an article quoting a particularly vulgar comment made by him at last years final Grand Prix is released, it seems he may have pushed it too far. Potter faces two options; fix his public image or give up his seat.

When my two obsessions meet

it's (always) you by @kay-elle-cee

A multiverse of 31 meet-cutes for Jilytober 2023.

Honorable mentions to chapter 3 for high!Lily and chapter 7 for fulling my love for jily regency aus

Key Limes by cgner (on ao3)

Fame au "in which Academy Award winner Lily Evans discovers the periphery of internet fandom and the mysteries of Prince James’s gold star system."

Because James is actually just a giant build a bear and lily is an icon as always.

See You At the Next Stop by kayrma (on ao3)

Lily Evans meets a posh-looking bloke with messy hair on the way back to London, and for once in her life she actually enjoys a train ride. Maybe having a spontaneous seat partner isn't that bad after all.

Shoutout to the notes on this fic because whoever wrote it is a mood

Nom De Plume by @annabtg

James Potter, renowned potioneer, has a secret side career as an erotica writer under the pen name of Scarlett Goldwing. When his latest book starts to take off, and Scarlett is asked to promote it at a public event, he has no other option but to recruit his colleague Lily Evans to pretend to be Scarlett. The only problem is, Lily Evans hates his guts… or does she?

(Rated E for later chapters)

Like did you read that summery because personally I was waiting for the author to complete the story so I could binge it

victorem (requires an ao3 account ) by gryffindormischief (on ao3)

(Olympic) Ice dancing au. "When God closes a door, sometimes you have to jump out a window."

Lily and James (and Sirius) aka the dynamic duo

Phone Service by @confuded-gryffindor

Moddern muggel au "in which James and Lily meet twice, both through their phones."

some with arrows, some with traps by @isahorcrux

Fame au. "Then: James Potter was a beloved child star and the lead of a popular YA franchise. Lily Evans was just getting her big break as his romantic lead in the third installment. While their chemistry got rave reviews, if the rumors are to be believed the two actors can barely stand to be in the same room together.

Now: Lily’s paid her dues and ten years later she’s the most in-demand actress in Hollywood. And James...after back-to-back flops at the box office, he’s just looking for a break and a chance to prove he is the amazing actor everyone thought he was going to be."

Much Ado About Nothing, but make it Jily

The group chat is the level of chaos me and my friends extrude every free line we spend together

Charred Pineaple Margarita's and a Bagel by @chiechie97

The guy at the coffee shop was hot. Hot and he knew her order. But that didn’t mean ANYTHING. Especially when he seemed to know everyone’s order. And besides, Lily is far too busy to be thinking about the hot guy that always has her breakfast waiting for her. Right?

Lily and Remus are me

and i know you too well to say you're perfect by @ofmermaidsandmarauders

“Yeah, you were a pretty big moron.” “Hey, I said idiot!”

Lily's not really sure when James Potter, soccer extraordinaire, took over her life with Harry.

What the summery said

The next few fics are all by @wearingaberetinparis or ritaskeetered (on ao3) who is the reason I joined the jily fandom. Single handedly enabled my obsession and I've never been more thankfull.

The Very Regency (Un)Ladylike Guide To Fortune-Hunting

Regency au. "Without thinking highly either of men or matrimony, marriage had always been her object; it was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want." (Jane Austen)

Lily Evans finds herself wanting, or: so her sister seems to believe. While out on the hunt for a fortune - again: that would be Mrs Dursley mostly - the affection of a number of suitors is most welcome. Especially when a young Viscount's heart is set aflame.

Screaming, crying, punch me in the face (Lily's version)

Jump (For My Love)

Royalty au "When you are the Prince of England, the last thing one might expect is to be jumped from behind by the most beautiful woman one has ever seen, who - in turn - seems to have no clue at all and mistakes one for someone else. Surely, Prince James has the right to be disproportionately upset about this. The question is; does he need to?"

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Olympic au. James, being half Greek, had always dreamed of one day going to the Olympics. Now, at his second Winter Olympics – having won a surprising bronze medal at his first one – James has been dubbed Team GB’s hero before the games have even started.

Lily, being the daughter of a waste collector, had always dreamed of one day making her parents proud by exceeding their expectations. Now, she finds herself on a plane to China together with her boss, Minerva McGonagall, and a crowd of winter athletes representing Team GB at the Winter Olympics of 2022.

The paths of James Potter – overenthusiastic snowboarding hero – and Lily Evans – passionate overachiever – cross at the 2022 Winter Olympics when James Potter is asked to be Team GB’s flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony (and quite a few times after that as well).

The repetition of "James, being half Greek..." worked so well for the flow. I don't know how to describe it

A Game Of Thrones

Modern royalty au. Lily Evans had never imagined she would meet Prince James, but when she does at St Andrews' annual Christmas Pub Crawl, her whole world is turned upside down. For who thought that a girl like her - with a sister that reads "Hello" magazine like it's the Bible - would end up with a prince like him?

Euphemia Potter you will always be famous

flowers

A musician au that hilights sexisim in the music industry. "Singer-songwriter Lily Evans has played gig after gig, has been the opening act to many a headliner, but her big break seems a million miles away. When one night – after playing in her friend Marlene McKinnon’s bar – she receives messily scrawled lyrics on a napkin by a certain Monty Python, her life and career are turned upside down, leading her all the way to the Grammy's."

Lily my love, you deserve everything you've worked for

If You Knew Who Was Talking

hopelessly_devoted and genuinely-conflicted form each other’s support system online, cheering one another on as they battle their way through an unrequited (and most definitely unwanted) crush on the person their parents are trying to set them up with.

In the real world, James Potter and Lily Evans find themselves hopelessly devoted and genuinely conflicted when battling their persistent infatuation with the last person they would have ever liked to fall for, stubbornly fighting their family’s and friends’ convictions that they were born to be together.

If only they knew who was talking.

FOOLS the both of them.

glitter in the sky, i’m spinning out waiting for ya

For her thirtieth birthday, Marlene McKinnon and Mary McDonald gift Lily Evans the thrill of a lifetime: a tandem skydive. What no one expected? For Lily to end up in the hospital as a result with her ankle covered in soul marks.

everybody is a sexy baby, and i'm a monster on a hill

Ficwriter au. "James Potter and Lily Evans are fandom famous. Both are prolific and popular writers within the Marauders fandom, but they have completely ignored the other's existence for two years after a Tumblr misunderstanding. Now, they are paired up for the Valentine's Marauders Challenge and - forced to interact - they find out that they may be more compatible than they ever could have imagined."

Is this not the dream?

fastening myself to you with a stitch

Fame au. "Anyone who has never heard the names Lily Evans and James Potter before must be a boomer. The two actors have dominated the box office with their films in the past nine years, more often than not starring opposite one another. Whether tasked to portray mutual pining, passionate hatred or fiery love, Potter and Evans make the screen positively buzz with the taste of opportunity."

it's all happening without me

Normal People (Sally Roony) au. "At school, James and Lily pretend not to know each other. James is wealthy, popular and the star of his school’s football team, while Lily wears second-hand school uniforms, is the school pariah and resented for her smarts. At James’ house, however – meeting there due to Lily’s mother’s housekeeping job – they form an intense connection they desperately try to conceal to the outside world.

A year later, James and Lily both attend Hogwarts University where James has found his feet and made friends he had longed for his entire life, while Lily remains uncertain and haunted by her problematic past.

Throughout their years at university, James and Lily circle each other, trying to resist the magnetic pull between them, whilst coming to the realisation that the both of them may be more religious than they ever thought they were."

Mother knows best. Mary, never question your writing skills because this fic proved that you are a phenomenal writer. The emotions you evoked coverered the entire range of human emotions

It's Coming Down, It's Coming Down Series -

Weird, But Fuckin' Beautiful

When Lily Evans is invited to spend Christmas with the Potters, she finds that she can simply not refuse. It’s an offer she cannot resist for several reasons, the most important one being that she would much rather spend the holidays with Fleamont and Euphemia than she would with Vernon and Petunia.

So what if she had conveniently forgotten (or has she?) about the fact that the Potters have a son - a Formula 1 driver at that - who she can’t seem to get off her mind? (Mightily annoying that, seeing as he has made clear exactly how he feels about her and it’s not exactly giving her any hope.) It’s not as if she can’t control herself.

Or so she very dearly hopes…

Tonight Feels Impossible

But after a night spent together in a hotel's honeymoon suite, she doubts she ever will and fears it might be her downfall.

To All The Kudos I've Left Before

Ficwriter au set in university. "Fanfiction is the guiltiest of pleasures that Lily - twenty years old and studying at Hogwarts University - freely and happily indulges in. She reads fanfiction whenever she has a moment to herself and goes crazy whenever her favourite author - Artemis - updates or uploads another one of his works to Archive Of Our Own. Leaving them comments and the ensuing banter between them back and forth - however fleeting - makes her heart race and preoccupies a fair amount of her thoughts, which - in turn - angers her best friend.

James Potter has never had to suffer from an inferiority complex. His parents and friends are supportive of his every endeavour and this includes his habit to write fanfiction and put his written work out there in the void for his readers to enjoy. His readers are highly supportive too - Lilium being his absolute favourite - that is, until he starts to receive the vilest of comments from a number of guest accounts and starts to question his entire online existence.

What Artemis and Lilium don’t know? That they might know each other a little better than either of them ever bargained for."

The title says it all ❤ ❤❤

[diorcities]

hearts

pairing: mark x reader.

genre: suggestive, fluff.

content: college au, friends to lovers???, mark's very popular, reader's a bookworm.

masterlist — req

hiding in the library was the best. skip classes, read tons of books, eat. alone. in silence. absolutely the best.

a few crumbs fell off to the open book in your legs. “oh, fuck,” you mouthed, as your hands hurried to throw the crumbs off the paper. the least you wanted was the caregiver to find bookworms in the books you coincidentally picked from the stall. letting you eat in the library alone was a really good accomplishment, so you didn't wanna be ripped away from that little prize.

“uh?” a voice sounds across the stall. your hands quickly go to your mouth, starting to worry if the mere sound of your breathing could alert your position. “someone's there?” your eyes widened, as the realization hit you hard in the guts. because of that voice. oh boy. you could recognize them from miles away.

“it's probably a mouse,” the girl answers. her girlfriend agreed, quite suspicious. you hold your breath until you couldn't hear their footsteps anymore. when it was safe to move, you got up and went out to the counter.

“the book you lend me, safe and sound,” you assure the lady, with a suspicious look in her face. you handed her the book. “and thanks again for letting me sneak out of lunch break,” you add. “you're welcome, even though... i didn't,” the woman answers “you can't hide forever,” she says, “from those...”. “oh, no, i wasn't hiding,” you said, “did you think i was hiding?” you ask,, letting out a big fake laugh. jesus christ.

“you should start doing something so things can change, that's what i think.”

you sigh softly, opening your mouth to answer, when someone enters the library. your eyes go to the door, immediately returning your gaze to the caregiver. big fuck.

the woman probably sees something in your face, rolling her eyes, as you sense someone approaching from behind. muscles slightly tensing.

“the book you lend me, ma'am.” his voice cut the air and probably your breath.

“thanks, honey,” the woman says, grabbing the book. “how was your test?” she asks, turning to her computer. she did the same question when you arrived early. you said...

“awesome,” he answers. the woman gives you a look before saying: “uh... what a coincidence”. “although, extra help would be nice,” he added later. “like a tutor?” suggests the caregiver as she leaves the counter and goes into a corridor. leaving you. both. alone.

“shall we go?” during this whole time your body remains still, breathing with quick and soft exhalations, but when his raspy voice cut the air, your body melts like honey. he waits, expecting. doe eyes fixed somewhere around you. or in you.

an electric wave shots through your limbs.

“of course”.

it's getting dark outside. the late rays of a sleepy sun washed the sky in pretty watercolors. purple. orange. pink. as you walk to the parking lot, your head tilts back to the clouds. absorbing the view. mark thinks it's cute. he says it out loud. the sky? you ask.

a glimpse of a smile. sure, he answers.

inside his car, an earthy and coffee fragrance dances in the little space inside the car.

where should you go?

mmm...

coffee, you both answer.

the wind blows your hair. his hand caressed your hand.

a song is playing on the radio, but you can recall its name. he glances at you, before turning up the volume. his raspy voice filled the air, singing the lyrics. and you think it's beautiful. he is beautiful. the sun sets, finally, as you arrive at your destiny. and you share a look. a feeling. an emotion.

he leans over. and your forehead bumps into each other. both burst out laughing. his hair makes you tickle. he says the same. the silence shallows both of you. your thoughts dance around, between your bodies. wondering. expecting. til he leans again. and you're not laughing anymore. his lips, on your lips. moving, kissing. and suddenly his hand is on your cheek. and yours in his. your head spins as he kisses you, the intensity growing as the seconds pass. sharp and slow, touchy. leaving you breathless.

the warm surface of the bed meets your bodies. he hasn't stopped kissing you. your lips. your cheeks. your neck. pretty, he said. you look pretty, as he holds onto the headboard, finding balance. his silky skin under your touch. his fingertips tattooed on your waist.

swollen lips letting out pretty sounds, breathy and shaky as both exhalations find each other in the space between your mouths.

tired. staring at each other. out of breath. the silence involving your bodies. your fingers tracing patterns in his collarbone. and shoulders. he wants to remember every part of you, he says. time's so short, you answer. you have to go.

he's driving you home, hands interlaced. hearts intertwined. you want to remember his lips, so you kiss him. slowly. tenderly. time's so short.

“shall we go?” his voice again. only to realize that he's talking to one of his friends. he says yes, and now they're leaving.

the realization of the moment made you dizzy. earth spinning so fast under your feet that your stomach is twisted. you've imagined it all. because no one looked at you deeply. and you can't remember the last time someone kissed you. mark would never talk to you. and that's the worst part of it all.

the woman comes back and gives you a look. the look. start doing something. so things can change. a small act of bravery.

or a small act of humiliation.

you leave the library. your steps increase speed. your heart is beating so fast. a small gasp falls from your lips, as you see him in the doorway. he's talking with his friends. he kinda seems flustered. undecided. his friends seemed to cheer him up until he ultimately declined. defeated. his shoulders shrink, as he thinks of something. his head shakes two times and hurries his friends out of the building.

“mark.”

now he sees you. looking stupid in the middle of the hallway. you make your pace and approach. as you came closer, a thousand emotions washed his face. one stands out more than the others. looking into his eyes, you realize that he looked like he was expecting you to be there.

“yn,” he pronounces your name like it was something he was waiting to say out loud. and you knew. it was worth it

[stgroversfire]

one of my biggest pet peeves that i think is really common is just absolutely shitting on household name bands. like ones that have ascended beyond popular to literally no one hasnt heard of them. whose music is maybe seen as boring for how much we have to hear it.

case in point:

the first song i ever actually felt an emotional connection to was it's time by imagine dragons. i was 12ish and i made a drawing for art class based on it that also happens to be the first piece of art i was ever truly proud of and made me want to create more.

night visions (deluxe) was so important to me at that time, i laughed and cried and sang and danced to that album, and the night visions tour was the first real concert i ever went to! i still remember that concert, i remember my mom and sister dragging me out during the encore because they wanted to get ahead of traffic, and i was crying happy tears singing along to nothing left to say/rocks as it played muffled through the concrete walls.

i couldn't tell you exactly what else i was listening to at that point other than what itunes called "alternative," but then smoke and mirrors came out and it was such a new sound that i had never experienced before and i think thats when i really became ravenous for more music. i went to that tour as well and it was incredible.

and then i started listening to stuff my friends showed me, because now i actually cared, and i got on fallout boy and p!atd and most importantly twenty one pilots.

i listened to my dad's favorite bands from the 70s/80s, namely supertramp and boston. i got into trap and dubstep. i listened when my brother played hip hop in the car and got hooked on mac miller, and then when i found out what hip hop was like in the 70s and the whole culture that developed around it, i truly fell in love with hip hop. i mean that shit got me through my worst days of high school.

and honestly once i got to college i was just listening to anything; grunge, traditional heavy metal, thrash metal, indie pop, folk, blues, jazz (i took a jazz class for an elective, and that shit is fascinating), j-rock, chiptunes, lofi, city pop, eurobeat, punk pop and easycore (thank you alex), breakcore-

okay, i sound like a bragging asshole now, but you get my point. i would not have found any of this if i hadn't heard it's time by imagine dragons, and every time i say ID means a lot to me, i get absolutely shit on. i actually was introduced to rush when ID did a cover of tom sawyer at a concert, and my friend's reaction was "wow that must have sounded like dogshit, they're so bad!" a reddit thread was giving me shit for having ID on my top 10 most listened, ignoring all the stuff i know they had never heard of.

which. alright, to be fair, it is a bit funny and i don't mind getting some flak for it. its the internet, its all in good fun. but the most random obscure shit like will connolly's caterpillars of the commonwealth or phemiec's songs from the dustbowl being on my spotify is owed to ID, put some respect on their name- they were able to reach so many people with their music, and that's something to be celebrated.

uhh tldr: all music is valuable because all music is helping someone get through this shit world, and it can be a gateway to music they don't know that they don't know.

uh and if you actually got this far rec me ur favorite band

[blueraineshadows]

The First Time...

It's Weasley Wednesday!!

Our prompt in Garreth's Groupies Discord for this Wednesday is: First Time

Garreth Weasley x F!MC

Fluff (lots), short drabble, some sadness at the end, but it's sweet. I promise ❤️

The first time MC saw Garreth Weasley in her potions class, she had been immediately struck by his lovely green eyes. It wasn't an eye colour one came across very often, and she had tried not to stare. Honestly, she did. However, combined with his adorable fluffy hair and charming smile, she found that her gaze was drawn to him, and she had immediately agreed to help him gather the Fwooper feather from Professor Sharp's office. It would turn out to be the first of many rule bending instances that she found herself in because of the cheeky Gryffindor. Anything to see that lovely smile of his. You could argue that this was the first bloom of her crush on Garreth, but she might deny that point.

....*....

The first time MC held hands with Garreth Weasley was during a foraging trip in the Forbidden Forest. It had been nothing unusual for them to make such a trip. They even had their usual spots to seek out the best ingredients for potions class. On this particular trip, though, a large and rather cantankerous spider had interrupted their picking of mushrooms, giving Garreth a terrible fright. His scream had sent a flurry of startled birds from the trees, making MC jump more than the arrival of said spider. She had never seen anyone turn such a deathly shade of pale so fast. Quickly seeing to the spider with a deft Incendio, MC, then made sure Garreth was alright, placing a concerned hand on his shoulder.

"Of course I am alright," he said, waving off his fright. He put his hand under her elbow, fingers trembling a little, but his smile brave. "Perhaps we ought to stick a little closer together, just in case that spider's big brother comes looking for us."

MC smiled and nodded, her hand slipping inside his and giving it a squeeze. "Good idea," she said.

She had meant it as a gesture of comfort, but he hadn't let her go, and they ended up walking all the way back to school like it. MC found she didn't mind. In fact, she rather liked it. Their hands seemed to fit together rather nicely.

When they arrived back on school grounds, the pair of them released their hands, both of them blushing a little, but their next trip out saw them reaching for each other's hands as they strolled along the path to Hogsmeade together.

It had just felt right.

....*....

The first time MC kissed a boy, it was Garreth Weasley. It also happened to be the first time she had danced with a boy too.

During the Samhain festival in Hogsmeade there had been musicians playing in the Square, and Garreth had tugged her into a dance amongst the other villagers, both of them giggling and stumbling over each other's feet. It had been such fun and as the song came to an end, Garreth had twirled her around, catching her in his arms before pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose.

His green eyes had been sparkling under the lights, his cheeks flushed from the dance and her closeness. Her own heartbeat danced in her chest as she stared at him. That kiss on her nose had made her tingle. It made her want Garreth Weasley for her very own.

As their lips touched in the sweetest, softest kiss, she thought maybe this was what heaven was supposed to feel like.

....*....

The first time Garreth Weasley told MC he loved her was when she had been dripping from head to toe in the rain, mud coating her all down one side from where she had slipped and fallen. He had laughed at her whilst holding out a chivalrous hand to assist her up. For laughing, she had pulled him down with her, both of them soaked and filthy as they scrambled to their feet.

Instead of scolding each other, their frowns had melted into grins as they looked down at themselves, the rain still pouring over their heads.

"You know I love you, right?" Garreth had said.

MC stared at him, his lovely curls plastered to his head, green eyes glowing with the truth of his words. She had taken his face in her hands and nodded before uttering the same three magical words back to him.

They didn't care about the rain, or the mud. It was just them in that moment, and the realisation that they had something special.

Coincidently, it was also their first snog in the rain, too.

....*....

The first time MC had a fight with Garreth, it was after a duel in Crossed Wands. MC was partnered with Sebastian Sallow, and they had won. Sebastian had swept MC off her feet in a spinning hug before pressing a kiss to her head. Garreth was not amused, and his jealousy got the better of him. Sebastian ended up with a black eye, and MC ended up charming a gag onto Garreth to shut him up for long enough to reassure him that nothing untoward was going on between herself and Sebastian.

Arms folded, face furious, she had stared at Garreth until his kicked puppy eyes won her over. She removed his gag, and he professed his undying love for her, begged for forgiveness, but insisted that Sebastian keep his Slytherin chops away from her from now on.

How could she not forgive that adorable face?

Safe to say, Sebastian kept his victory kisses to himself in future. At least, in front of Garreth anyway.

....*....

The first time MC slept beside Garreth was the night that she crawled into his bed, seeking comfort after a bad dream. Staying at his family home during the holidays, she had woken up in the unfamiliar space and needed to feel the warmth of him. He had held her, stroked her hair, and whispered that everything would be alright before she fell asleep.

The next morning, she saw cheeky winks and grins from his brothers when they saw her creeping out of Garreth's room. Garreth laughed it off but assured her that she could come to him whenever she needed to. She snuck into his bed every night for the rest of her stay and fell asleep against his warmth.

....*....

The first time MC was naked in front of Garreth was also the first time he had been naked with a girl. Both of them had been nervous, hands trembling as they explored the mysteries of desire with hands and lips, but Garreth's gentle reassurance made her feel safe.

His added touches of candles and chocolate treats were simple gestures that reminded MC why she loved him the way she did. After that first time, there followed many other times until MC knew his body almost as well as her own.

....*....

"I know I am your first love, but I also want to be your last."

The words Garreth had spoken to MC when he held up the little velvet box with the glittering ring inside had melted her heart. Just when she thought she couldn't love him more, he would surprise her again. Of course, she said yes!

His admirable memory for those special moments and his soft romantic side had helped him plan this special question. His proposal spot was in the square during the Samhain festival at Hogsmeade. The location of their first dance and first kiss.

....*....

The first time she was referred to as Mrs Weasley was during their wedding celebrations. She was by no means the first Mrs Weasley, but she cherished the start of this next adventure with the man who had captured her whole heart and soul.

Dancing and enjoying the evening with their family and friends, the passion still burned between them, and Garreth couldn't wait to get his bride alone and peel her beautiful dress from her body. Their first time as man and wife.

....*....

The first time MC discovered she was going to be a mother, she had cried. The joy of creating a new life with her love had been that overwhelming. Garreth doted over her throughout the whole pregnancy and refused to listen to any doctors when he was told to keep away from the birth of this precious first child. He didn't care if it wasn't a man's place. It was a husband's place he insisted.

Garreth was right there, holding MC's hand as their firstborn son came into the world, a dusting of red hair on his little head.

Garreth was there for every birth, including their first daughter, determined to make sure that all of his little Weasleys knew that their father would always be there for them.

....*....

The first time their eldest son boarded the Hogswarts Express, MC and Garreth held each other's hands and took a moment to look into each other's eyes. They had started their own adventure together at that school, and now their babies were about to do the same.

Waving him off, tears in her eyes, MC held her other children close, knowing that soon they would be leaving too. How could she not worry? Her own time at Hogwarts had been filled with trials and frightening adventures, and she could only hope that her son would find someone strong and special to stand by his side as she had.

....*....

The first time MC and Garreth were told they were going to be grandparents, it was a whole new level of joy to experience. They embraced their son and their lovely daughter in law. Their family was expanding, but there was always room for one more Weasley in their hearts.

To experience the joy of holding one's grandchild for the first time held its own special weave of magic. MC looked on with love as Garreth held his grandson, one finger being firmly clasped by a tiny hand as he whispered all his secrets of mischief into little ears.

....*....

The first time MC climbed into her bed alone, the pillow beside her achingly empty with her husband gone. She knew her heart had departed with him. His loss was too great. His laughter and mischief had been constant their whole life together, so many wonderful memories tucked safely within her.

She had beautiful children, wonderful grandchildren, and she had lived, truly lived. But life was not the same without her Garreth by her side. She was his girl, and she would always be his girl, and she longed to be with him once more.

....*....

The first time Garreth Weasley Junior visited the graves of his grandparents as a married man, he placed a bouquet of flowers before their headstone, his new wife holding his hand for comfort. Smoothing her hand over her swollen belly, their first child almost ready to join the world, she put her head against her husband's shoulder.

"There will never be another love like theirs," he whispered softly. "I wish they could have met their great grandchild."

Memories of big family gatherings, Grandpa Garreth telling stories and sneaking gifts of toffees and fire snappers into his grandchildren's eager hands. Nanna MC with her warm smile and impressive magic tricks conjured with ancient magic, brushing off eager requests to tell tales of her days as Hero of Hogwarts. So much to remember and cherish, his heart full of it as he gazed at their names on the stone.

Nanna MC had not lingered long after Grandpa Garreth had left them. She could not live without him, but now they were together again, forever.

Young Garreth put his hand over his wife's where it rested on her bump. "They brought so much love to our family. They showed us the way to do it," he said. "Just as we will show our children the way."

She nodded and smiled. "If there is one thing a Weasley is good at, its knowing how to love with their whole heart."

The young couple stood for a few moments, paying their respects, before walking away hand in hand.

It made me cry to write of Garreth's death. I guess I am far too attached to these silly pixel boys, but I also am sure that he would have indeed led a full and happy life as a family man.

[foster-the-world]

Let's glow!

Last week myself and another mom ran ten glow parties for about two hundred kids. As most things with PTA, it was kind of annoying to organize but turned out to be totally worth it. The kids had so much fun. We got silent disco headphones - so I made sure to dance for at least one song during every party. All ages (1st through 5th) loved the parties. The bigger kids busted out their tiktok dances. It was fun to see the energy. I'm glad to know the older kids weren't too cool to dance. I'll be handing over my PTA exec board duties happily next week. I still plan to be very involved but happy to give up the meetings. I'll probably volunteer to manage teachers appreciation week and end of year parties, again. I have one more monthly newsletter to send out.

My husband went Upstate alone for the weekend. He came back happy and relaxed. I'm glad we made it happened. Baby boy's a lot - which was kind of sad to (re)realize. We normally manage him by splitting up duties. One of us takes him in the mornings and then the other comes in the afternoon or vice versa. So the extra-ness is much more manageable. My in-laws kindly came to get the girls yesterday around noon. They took them swimming at their condo pool. It was a like a light switch flipped with baby boy. The second they were gone he started playing by himself calmly. This was after nonstop unregulated behavior the 36 hours before. For the thirty minutes after they left he entertained himself. Then after his long nap he was calm again. We went to the children's museum. I didn't have to correct him once. I sat on a bench across the room must watching. This is unheard of for him. I normally have to be within six inches of him, with constant corrections, just in case. The museum was pretty empty. I was hanging out with all the (assumingly) divorced dads. Its making me think he's going to need a really small class size for kindergarten. Crowds are really his downfall. There is one DOE program with only 12 kids (8 Gen Ed and 4 special needs) but he'll need an autism diagnosis. Which I still am not convinced he has but think we could probably get. We also won't know if he will get a spot. Limited spots and from what I read the squeaky wheel gets the grease. We can also sue and have the DOE pay for private school. These special needs private schools in NYC essentially become entirely funded by the DOE as everyone, regardless of income, sues. Anyway, working on getting the neurological assessment booked. My husband is calling today to figure out what insurance will cover. Fingers crossed.

I saw graduation photos from the school that would most likely fit his profile. Maybe twenty kids were graduating. It made me kind of sad. It feels like it will benefit him to keep his world small (for now) but I want him to be a part of the big ole world. The girls school is small class sizes but much bigger overall. Anyway, no reason to worry about him graduating from 8th grade/HS. Let's get him through 4k, first.

[cherrylng]

Foals interview - Yannis Philippakis [INROCK (April 2008)]

FOALS will be coming to Japan in May with their debut album “Antidotes”!!

"Looking back, I'm glad I caused the problems I caused, and I'm glad I didn't go to the classes I didn't go to."

Yannis Philippakis/Foals INTERVIEW: AI ANAZAWA

Foals are an Oxford band whose name means "Kouma (子馬)". Led by Yannis, who dropped out of Oxford University to concentrate on his band career, the five-piece sound like… If you try to categorise their sound, Yannis himself would probably say that he doesn't agree, but in reality, it's a sound that can't be categorised so easily. Dance, techno, Afrobeat, punk, and other elements are mixed together, and what's most noteworthy is Yannis's squeezed vocals between the deep bass and the fluttering high-pitched guitar sounds, creating an unbalanced and strange arrangement of sounds, but it's cool music that you can dance to, so it's understandable in a way that they're being called "the one to watch this year!" even if the band members don't like it. "Antidotes," produced by David Sitek of TV on the Radio, will be released on March 26th.

I understand you are in the USA at the moment. Yannis Philippakis (vo./g.): Yes, I'm in Seattle today, and I just got driven to this lake by the guys from Sub Pop (label), and it's beautiful here. There's a beach a little bit further out, and it's really nice and quiet.

Before Seattle, you played two concerts in New York, right? Yannis: Yeah, the Bowery Ballroom gig was a lot of fun. It was great to headline in that vein, and it was nice, or surprising, that it was almost sold out. The next day we played a show at a place in deep Brooklyn called the Silent Barn, which is like a house party. It's a place where normal kids live, and they put on their own shows, but it was pretty crazy and fun.

I heard Jimmy (Smith, guitar.) threw up on stage. Yannis: Yeah, at the Bowery Ballroom (laughs). It happens all the time. I go into a trance and I move around and I feel sick and I throw it up. Especially after a show. I don't know why… I don't have that kind of thing.

I see (laughs). Yannis: I bleed more often than I vomit.

It's a bit of a quandary as to whether it's better to throw up or to bleed. Yannis: I don't know. But bleeding is pretty annoying too. For me, I get injured all the time. I've broken my toe and recently I cut my eye during a show and it bled. Jimmy just had a tooth knocked out and he's just had it fixed.

It's rock ‘n’ roll. Yannis: I don't know about that. I'm sure it hurts.

"It's not like we're digging our brains out of our skulls and putting them on a table and putting glasses on them and making them write songs."

Your debut album, "Antidotes", is something different from any other band. Are you satisfied with the album yourself? Yannis: Yeah, we're happy with the album we wanted to make. Looking back, there are things we could have done a bit better, but we're happy with it.

I've been reading a lot of material and it's not clear whether you had David Sitek (TV on the Radio) produce it, or whether you didn't like what he did and had to redo it, but in fact David is ultimately credited as the producer of this album, right? Yannis: No, no, Dave (David) produced the album and he is definitely the producer. We did the whole album with him in New York. There's nothing we added, we just re-mixed it a bit, that's all. We just re-mixed it to sound more like what we did in New York. Dave did a lot of work on it at the mixing stage, so we reworked it so it was closer to the studio version that we were working on with him in New York.

So everyone was happy with the result? David was happy, the band was happy. Yannis: Yeah, well…… (whispering “tsk”).

Oh, why? Yannis: No, because people ask me about it all the time and I have to defend myself every time. He's a great producer, the mix he did was different from what we expected, it was like it wasn't our album anymore. The problem is psychological. We're a pretty sensitive bunch of people, and we made an album in New York with a lot of openness about ourselves, and we wanted to take the album back as our own… I mean, the album was so far from what we had in mind that we had to re-mix it.

I think it was good that you were able to re-mix it yourselves in the end. Yannis: Yeah, it was.

How was the recording in New York itself? Yannis: It was fun. We hardly left the studio. And Dave is a pretty intense guy… That's why I wanted to work with him in the first place. There were a lot of knives in the studio, and we all smoked weed, and yeah, it was good.

Haha… Did you have all the songs in place by the time of recording? Yannis: Yeah. We were going to record 14 songs, but we whittled it down to 11. So the extra ones were already written. The songs were already there, so Dave worked from that and he didn't mess with the structure of our songs. After we recorded it, we all added a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

In the process, you were able to adhere to the so-called Foals rules? Yannis: Which rules?

No chords, only notes above the twelfth fret on the guitar… That's what it says in the bio. Yannis: That's a bit of a joke. I mean, it's nothing serious at all.

But you don't actually use chords, do you? Yannis: Yes, we don't play chords, but it's not like it's an absolute rule against chords. It's not like we only play notes above the 12th fret, there are no rules. We just do what we want to do and if we think it sounds good, we use it. Then we didn't use chords. But that doesn't mean that if someone played a chord, we'd say, "No, no, that's not allowed!" (laughs).

So it's a myth that the rule was made in order to ease the members of the band from criticising each other too much in the beginning when they were making music? Yannis: We were never too critical of each other. It's just been the way of the band from the beginning, and we're comfortable with that way of doing things. And we're a lot more mature now. Also, the relationship between me and Jack (Bevan, drums.) has always been all about arguing. And when I say ‘argument’, I mean it in a positive way. That's why we're still friends. No one is complaining about the constant arguments or the criticism. It's just the way we function. We're just very self-critical.

David mentioned earlier that you never changed the structure of the songs, but that your song structures have a lot to do with your aesthetic, with your preference for methodical music. Yannis: It has something to do with that. I like to think about the structure and how the guitar should fit into it. It's like a craftsman's skill. But it doesn't mean that's the only way I like to do it or that's the only way I write songs. There seems to be a misconception out there that we only think about structure when we make music, but it's all about impulse. It's all intuitive. It's not like we're digging our brains out of our skulls and putting them on a desk and putting glasses on them and making them write songs. It's all instinctive intuition.

It's not like we're thinking about it. Yannis: Yeah, it seems like other people are trying to do that. But that's bullshit. Half the stuff they write about us is stuff we didn't even say. Even if we do say something, it's going to be misinterpreted… Anyway, what I'm saying is that musically, everything we do is instinctive.

"All my high school teachers said I'd never get into Oxford, so I got in just to piss them off."

So people misinterpret it and call you ‘math rock’ (experimental rock that incorporates odd time signatures, etc.) (laughs)? Yannis: There is no such thing. It's not real. We're a band that doesn't even know the scales, we don't know anything technical. We don't know the terminology, none of us have studied music properly. So it's kind of ironic, isn't it? We come from the same musical background as everyone else in Oxford. In Oxford, it's not normal to be in a pop band, and what's normal is to be in a band that's heavily influenced by post-hardcore bands. We grew up like that, as most of us did, because that's just the way it was. So no one really made an effort to learn to play a little bit differently on the guitar. It just came naturally.

What was your boyhood in Oxford like? What kind of kid were you? Yannis: I wonder what kind of kid I was… I was just a kid, I didn't have many friends, I was just a typical stoner kid who liked rock music. I didn't get on well with my parents, I was a problem child at school and didn't make many friends. Instead, the friends I made were like, "Let's go listen to Godspeed You Black Emperor instead of hanging out with the others," and we got high together. So I'm glad it turned out the way it did. Looking back, I'm glad I caused the problems I caused and I'm glad I didn't go to the classes I didn't go to.

I was just wondering, it's fine for you to talk about getting high with impunity, but in Japan, if you were caught in possession of such a thing, you'd be in big trouble. Yannis: No, I'm not taking it to Japan, so if that's what you're worried about, don't worry about it (laughs).

Hahaha. So, why did you bother to go to Oxford if you were going to drop out? Yannis: I went to Oxford to study and I dropped out for the band. I love reading books and there's no better university to do it at than there. I loved literature. It was my hometown and I like Oxford. And all my high school teachers said I'd never get in, so I got in just to piss them off.

When did you decide to put your life on the line for the band? Yannis: I mean, I still don't know that. We're doing this now, but I don't know when it's going to end. Next year we might be grilling hamburgers.

Maybe it won't happen next year, but I know what you mean. Yannis: Maybe not next year, but in years to come. It's not a sure thing to make a living from music unless you're George Michael or U2 or something like that. It's always been a precarious thing.

So it was a big decision to quit university to concentrate on your band, wasn't it? Yannis: Not really. I just wanted to play music all day, every day. There's nothing else I can do.

Now you're doing that, so that's good. Yannis: Yeah, it's going great so far and I'm happy with it. I like the album, and the whole reason I made the album was to communicate with all these people like you.

In the NME or something, you said that artists you admire put their backs into every single thing they create. I thought that was a romantic notion, do you yourself want that kind of life? Yannis: I never thought it was a particularly romantic way of thinking. I mean, it's a fact. I don't want to live that way, I just think it's a fact. Of course it depends on the process of creation. Because it's a process of devotion, isn't it? I'm in this band because I'm trying to get something out…

Who are the people you look up to, for example? Yannis: There are many. Charles Bukowski, Hemingway… Maybe that's why I feel so strongly about what I said earlier.

That's a typical example, surely. Yannis: Yeah. I don't know, but when I read books about these people, I sympathise with them and I get attached to them. I haven't read their proper biographies, but when you talk about who you admire from an artistic point of view, that's what happens.

Do you have any ambitions to write a book yourself? Yannis: I don't. When I read the writings of people like that, I think it's a talent given by God. I don't want to litter the world where such things exist with my dirty words.

As a book lover, can you recommend some books? Yannis: "Infinite Jest" by David Foster Wallace. It's a bit long, but it's a story about alcoholics and ex-alcoholics set in a tennis academy, and there's a child prodigy. It deals with film, media culture, and tennis, and it's just an exciting book. The other one is, of course, "The Great Gatsby" by Scott Fitzgerald.

Recorded in Seattle on February 17th

Translator's Note: Every once in a while, I scan and translate other bands and artists that I never listened to before, but I do it because I have mutuals who love these bands/artists. It's also a way for me to sort of refresh myself before getting back into translating my favourite bands/artists.

That said, I love how Deepl keeps constantly mistaking Yannis' name as 'Janice' lmao

Please do support me with my ko-fi! ☕

[nuwuna]

Dance HCs for the Redacted bois :)

David: Ballet

My man likes rules and ballet has those rules. He was the best at partner work and lifted those girlies into the air with no problem. The pack teases him abt it sometimes but angel loves it. They constantly ask him to teach them variations.

Asher: Classic Jazz/Hip-hop

I think he was enrolled in jazz classes as a kid and really enjoyed it. Later on, he thought hip-hop was really cool so he watched a bunch of videos on it. yes, self-taught hip-hopper ash. he's an absolute beast at clubs and definitely dances to the songs playing at grocery stores.

Milo: BALLROOM PLEASE HE'S LITERALLY PERFECT FOR THIS ARE YOU KIDDING? He loved every aspect of it: the style, the costumes, the competition, EVERYTHING. He was really good at it too, he won like 90% of the competitions we was in. He definitely had a massive rivalry with another person and was petty abt it.

Vincent: Contemporary Ballet

not necessarily ballet but it has a certain artistic element that he enjoys. He took a few classes as a kid and then enrolled in some classes at his college. I just think that he would be really good at it and it's not super traditional.

Sam: Country Western

my guy is from the south what did you expect? anyways he went to a lot of shindigs as a kid and then went to country clubs in college. He's goated at partnering too. he spins his partners around and lifts them into the air with ease. Even tho darlin is made of steel he can still pull crazy stunts.

William: Ballet

He's literally from France and was the reason why Tchaikovsky wrote the Nutcracker. He KNOWS his stuff.

Gavin: Jazz 

Okay a bit different, but I think that he enjoys the more mature jazz/theatre. Like cabaret, chicago, and moulin rouge. he LIVES for that shit. fosse is his idol bro. he occasionally surprises freelancer with a little number lol

Damien: Ballet

my man went far with this like he was GOOD. He was definitely enrolled in a professional company before he went to damn. He was super particular about every move and argued with people during variations. He even got annoyed at the girls he was paired with because they weren't certain moves correctly. The other dancers didn't like him very much, but those russian ballet teachers did, and that's why he got so many good roles in the shows he was in.

Lasko: Musical theatre

okay, hear me out here. he's a show tunes guy. he loves newsies, grease, and hamilton and was for sure a theatre kid before his powers manifested. Like can you imagine how cute that is? he's a little bit embarrassed about it but when freelancer asks him about it he pulls out the old CDs. pls so cute

Huxley: Rhythmic tap

no not theatre tap like he goes hard with the rhythms. you really wouldn't expect it but you can sometimes catch him tapping when he's sitting or waiting in line. he's an absolute beast at it.

Caelum: Lyrical

he loves all of Maddie Ziegler's solos. the likes how much emotion is put into every move and gets very invested in the stories he tells through the movement. he also really likes all the pretty costumes.

anyways this is all just my opinion and I miss dancing a little bit. :P

[deus-ex-mona]

let lipxlip sleepxsleep

Aizo: Great at dance performances due to his athleticism. The way his ponytail sways when he dances never fails to drive their Julieta wild!

Q: How would you say the phrase “Trick or Treat”?

Aizo: Trick or Treat… Give me some treats, or else I’m gonna play a trick on you.

[Argh! I tried to say it as cool as I could… but now I’m kinda embarrassed (laughs).]

Yujiro: A well-mannered boy who is especially good at singing. The way his dignified gaze peeks out from beneath his diagonally cut bangs is always sure to blow the reason out of their Julietas’ minds!

Q: How would you say the phrase “Trick or Treat”?

Yujiro: Trick or Treat! Will you give me treats? Or, perhaps, would you like me to play a trick on you?

[I’m so embarrassed… This is the first time that I’ve ever felt this embarrassed from saying “Trick or Treat” (blushes).]

Special Release! A Day in the Life of LIPxLIP

The super popular idols of LIPxLIP are High School students. Let’s take a look at a day’s schedule of these two exceptional student idols in this special release!

6am: Yujiro: Wakes up → Solo dance practice

7am: Aizo: Wakes up → Goes on a morning run

8am: They both go to school

8am-4pm: They attend classes at school

4pm: School ends → They head off for their lessons

5pm: Their lessons begin

6pm-10pm: Dance lessons, voice training, etc.

10pm: Their lessons end

10.30pm: They head home

11pm: They take their baths and review the scope of their upcoming interviews and such that are scheduled for the next day

12am: They go to bed

Yujiro x Aizo INTERVIEW

Their feelings for their Julieta always spurs them on

From the looks of your schedule, you guys are busy from the crack of dawn to late at dusk. How do you manage to cope with your school lives and your idol lives?

Aizo: Back when I first started High School, all I thought was “Ugh, school…”, but now, I’m thankful for the words of “You only have a single chance to enjoy your High School life.” that the President of our agency had said to us. Not gonna lie, it’s really hard to cope with school and our idol activities.

Yujiro: To be honest, when I first entered High School, there were times when I felt reluctant to go to school, thinking along the lines of “I’d much rather prioritise my work and lessons, so why do I have to go to school…?”. But now, I’m enjoying both school and our activities as LIPxLIP. I’m finding life to be very fulfilling at present. 

Aizo: I can’t cut corners in both my school life and our activities as LIPxLIP, so I’m always giving it my all! I was totally bushed the day after the sports festival, though (laughs).

Yujiro: I was able to work in top condition the next day… or so I’d like to say, but I was still a little tired myself. I almost nodded off during our break at work. Aizo fell asleep though (laughs).

Aizo: Hey! You can’t say stuff like that!

The two of you live very busy lives as LIPxLIP. But just what spurs you guys on to work as hard as you do?

Yujiro: We owe it all to the support that our Julieta have shown us.

Aizo: We really want our Julieta to see us at our coolest after all!

By the way, how has school been for you these days?

Aizo: We play basketball during our lunch break with our classmates, and it’s a ton of fun! We are also thinking about playing soccer next time.

Yujiro: I think my grades aren’t bad at all. I’m striving to cope with both my High School life and my idol activities, but I wouldn’t be able to say that I’m coping if my test scores were bad, right? So, I’m doing perfectly well in that regard!

As for your idol activities, you guys have released Shin Jidai, your first collaboration song with your seniors, Full Throttle4 (FT4). What was the recording process like?

Yujiro: I was very nervous before the recording session because it was a collaboration song. However, despite still being nervous during the actual recording, I was able to learn a lot from YUI and RIO. It may be an exaggeration to say this, but I watched and studied the way they recorded without blinking a single time.

Aizo: I’m with Yujiro on this. YUI’s carefree high notes, RIO’s skillful and persuasive singing, the way they were both able to respond to the producer’s directions immediately, and the fact that they were able to sing in all kinds of patterns made me think that they’re what we should strive to achieve. But YUI usually eats nothing but super spicy food, so how he’s even able to sing such high notes in such a relaxed manner remains a complete mystery (laughs).

Yujiro: Aizo, if YUI reads this article, he’d definitely get mad at you (laughs).

Aizo: We’ll have to cut that bit out, then (laughs).

We’ll write the article with care (laughs). Shin Jidai sure has a different vibe from your usual songs as LIPxLIP, doesn’t it?

Yujiro: Our collaboration song, Shin Jidai, has ambitious lyrics and a rock soundtrack, which aren’t often heard in our previous songs, so I think that we were able to show our Julieta a completely new side of us.

Aizo: Since our Julieta loved the song too, I want to sing more rock songs in the future. So look forward to it!

I have high expectations for your future songs! By the way, speaking of FT4, when you were guest performers at their concert, Full Throttle4 LIVE 2022 RECEPTION PARTY, back in July, Aizo imitated DAI and Yujiro imitated MEGU. How did you guys feel about it?

Aizo: I never expected that I’d have to impersonate DAI right there on stage…

Yujiro: I was extreeeeemely surprised!

Aizo: Though, didn’t we unexpectedly manage to nail our impressions? (laughs)

You guys nailed them! I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw it…

Aizo: Right? I’m glad to hear that. Yujiro’s impression of MEGU almost made me laugh too (laughs).

Yujiro: MEGU’s unique in a good way (laughs).

It has been announced that LIPxLIP will be performing live at Special Sunny Party, which is set to be held in October. Please give an enthusiastic message to your fans who are waiting for the live to take place.

Aizo: We’re giving it our all in our lessons so that we’ll be able to bring the best possible smiles to your faces, Julieta. Please look forward to it!

Yujiro: Like Aizo said, we’re attending our lessons diligently so that you’ll be able to see us at our coolest. So look forward to our performance in October!

How will LIPxLIP celebrate Halloween? A Themed Q&A

Q1: What tricks would you prank each other with?

Aizo: I’d give Yujiro a bitter beverage while pretending that it’s cocoa. He’s prolly gonna be in a bad mood for the entire day (laughs), but I’m confident that my prank will be a success.

Yujiro: I’d prank Aizo with a wake up surprise. Maybe I’d have him quietly carried out to the middle of our school’s schoolyard while he’s asleep and wake him up there. Or perhaps I’ll get the help of YUI from FT4 and have Aizo wake up to a flashy performance by YUI (laughs).

Q2: If you were to release a song or a music video centred around Halloween, what would it be like?

Aizo: I’d want to don a cape or something and act like a vampire! I’d put on some fangs too.

Yujiro: Vampires are nice, aren’t they? I’d like to star in a music video that tells the story about idols who are only active at night… but in truth, they happen to be vampires.

Aizo: They’d be super mysterious idols for sure cuz they don’t do any work during the day.

Yujiro: What are your thoughts on making a Halloween-exclusive music video about the day in the life of “Vampire Idols LIPxLIP”, which starts with us waking up in the evening and going to bed in the morning?

Aizo: Let’s discuss it with the Pres and our Manager back at the office (laughs).

Q3: Is there anything you’d like to dress up in?

Aizo: I’d like to wear a kimono. To be honest, I’m a little interested in kumadori, the style of makeup that’s used in Kabuki.

Yujiro: You are? I can help you to get dressed up in that. As for me… I’m interested in the makeup and outfits of the female models who walk down the runway. I find myself thinking about how cool they are when I see the way their high heels clack as they strut their stuff, so I’d like to experience it for myself.

Aizo: I guess they are… But I’m not confident in my ability to walk in heels (laughs).

Q4: What kinds of treats would you give each other?

Aizo: I’d give Yujiro a treat with such a great impact that it’ll leave him stunned in surprise. Like a brightly coloured cake from overseas, maybe? I know he loves sweets and that he has probably eaten all kinds of them, but I wanna venture out in search of sweets that he has never eaten before and is curious about!

Yujiro: Aizo’s not really one for sweets, so I’d look for treats that even someone like him can indulge in. Like something coffee-flavoured or infused with matcha, for instance.

[ageofbajabule]

Dawn of Love | Chapter 2

Josh Kiszka x F! Reader

Word Count: 7k

Warnings: Arguing, Fluff, Anxiety, Self doubt, Making out, Alcohol consumption, Partying, Talk of Virginity,(no 18+ in this chapter. be on the lookout for the next one), (also please let me aware if I miss any, I always try and double check as I do my final edits)

Series Masterpost

Read Chapter 1 if you haven’t!

Want to join my Taglist? Fill out this form or send an ask!🤍

AN: I just want to make a quick note! I would like to try and have a new part posted on Saturday’s. I can’t promise that it will be updated every Saturday, but just know that I put a lot of thought and work into this. Hence why it may take a little longer than normal. I also work 3rd shift so I try and write in my free time as much as I can. Thank you all for being so patient and understanding❤️

March 2014

It had been a month since the dance, and since Josh and you had officially become a couple. Throughout the month, Josh has been nothing but sweet. Leaving you little notes in your locker, doing the same in return. It was hard only having one class together, so you were only able to see each other during lunch and poetry.

You spent most weeknights together and spent every weekend together - whether you were at his place, or he came over to your house. You had been helping him more on his film as it finally completed and you both were getting ready to present it to everyone you cared deeply about.

“Sunshine! Can you hand me the hard drive please?” He turned towards you, as you grabbed the hard drive, placing it in his hand.

“This film came out really well Josh.” You smiled softly, kissing his cheek.

“Couldn’t have done it without your help mama.”A blush crept on his face as he chuckled softly.

“So my family is going to come over Friday night to watch the film with all of us.” You smiled nervously.

Your dad always thought the film dream you had was silly, but you truly had a passion for it like Josh had. And it often resulted in arguments with your father. You had applied to different colleges for a filming and photography degree. With Josh’s help of course, he had applied to most of the colleges you did too.

“Has your dad said anything…” He trailed off, unsure about how to go with the conversation.

“Well we didn’t argue if that’s what you’re trying to ask.”

He stood up wrapping his arms around you in a hug. “He’ll eventually see how important film is to you. You’re going to be amazing.” He smiled, kissing your lips softly.

You kissed him back, then pulled away slowly hugging him tightly before parting away.

“Come on, we should probably head out to the garage. Jake wants to get another practice in order to be ready for Saturday’s gig.” He rubbed your arm.

You nodded, following behind him out to the garage. You opted on sitting on the couch, sitting next to Valerie - the girl Jake had recently started going steady with.

“Hey!” You smiled softly at her,

“Hey Y/N! Are you excited for Saturday?” She shifted her attention towards you.

“Yeah, this will be the first gig I see them perform. It’ll be a very different atmosphere.” You rubbed your hands together.

You and Val had sat there watching the guys play a couple songs from their setlist they had made up. Josh always made you proud no matter what he did, but seeing him perform with his brothers was something else.

The week had gone by, and Friday was here already. Your poetry class felt longer than usual today, Josh and yourself sat in the back of the classroom. Mr.Zawalski had wanted to finish the film Beowulf, so you and Josh decided to just watch the film as you wrote notes back and forth to each other.

Is your family still planning on joining us tonight?

Yeah, but my dad has been in a mood the past few days. :(

It’s okay, he’ll open up eventually. I think this film will show him. :)

I’m just glad I have your support <3

Of course Sunny, always <3

Then Mr.Zawalski turned the lights on in the classroom, causing everyone to groan from the harsh lighting adjustment. You folded your note between you and Josh stashing it into your folder.

“Do you want a ride home?” He smiled at you,

“If it’s not an issue, I don’t want Jake getting his panties in a bunch like the other week.” You giggled remembering them bickering about practice.

“He can suck it. I just don’t want my baby to ride the bus.” He smiled, wrapping an arm around your shoulder, walking over to your locker to gather your things to head home.

“Josh…”

“What’s the matter Sunny?”

You melted at his nickname for you. It always drove you crazy, no matter what.

“I just. I’m really worried about my dad’s reaction. Especially because I think I’ve decided on where to go for college…” You walked out to his car with him, Jake hadn’t gotten to the car yet.

“I know how much his support means to you Y/N… And I want you to know that you will not disappoint him. Just show him how much this means to you.” He rubbed your shoulders.

“And you not only have your mom and sister’s support, but you have mine, the guys, my sister and even my parents.” He chuckled softly, caressing your cheek.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m making the wrong choices…” You put your head down in his hand.

He lifts your face up to meet his gaze. He pushes a piece of your hair behind your ear.

“Sunshine, you’re not making the wrong choices. You’re following your heart. And that is most important.”

He smiled, leaning forward and placing his lips against yours softly.

“Can we go?”

You two pulled away to see the voice coming from Jake, leaned up against the car chuckling softly as he watched the scene in front of him.

You blushed and nodded, getting into the passenger seat. While Jake sat in the back and Josh got in the driver's side.

Josh then dropped you off at home, after reassuring him you would be at his house later to watch the film you both worked on. Walking into the house, you could hear the television playing the news as your father sits in his normal spot on the couch, staring at the tv intently. Your mother on the other hand was finishing up the days work of cleaning the house, while your sister sat in the living room doing her homework while trying to ignore the sounds of the tv.

Walking into the mud room you set your things down, taking your shoes off and walking into the living room sitting down.

“Hi pumpkin.” Your dad smiled at you softly.

“Hi dad, how was your day?” You smiled bringing your knees up to your chest wrapping your arms around them.

“Oh it was good, how was your day?” He turned the volume of the TV down.

“It was good…” You smiled softly,

“What time must we be at the Kiszka’s tonight?”

“Josh wants to start the film at 7. It’s about an hour long…” You chewed the inside of your cheek nervously.

“An hour? Wow… I’m impressed.” Your father replied in a sarcastic tone.

“Yeah. It was going to only be a 30 minute film. But Josh had insisted on using an idea of mine to the film and extend it.” You placed your feet, getting ready to stand.

“Pumpkin… I just. I don’t know-“

“Honey! Someone is on the phone for you.” Your mom yelled for your dad, giving you the chance to leave the room.

You felt tears at the brim of your eyes. You had decided to take a shower, to make yourself feel somewhat better and get ready for tonight.

It was around quarter to 7 and your family was ready to head over to Josh’s. You had packed a small bag, considering you would be staying the night to help the guys tomorrow for their gig.

Your sister and yourself got in the back of you dad’s pick up, as your mom got into the passenger side. Your dad drove off to make the way to the Kiszka’s.

Upon arriving your dad had gotten out, helping your mom out of the truck while you and your sister followed behind them. Your father knocked on the door, and Kelly had answered it. “Hey! Welcome, come on in. Karen is finishing up making drinks and getting popcorn ready.” He motioned for everyone to file in.

You had immediately made way to Ronnie’s room setting your bag in there to make your parents aware you would in fact not be staying in Josh’s room tonight. Not that it would matter, since you would be sleeping in the basement anyways.

Walking out of Ronnie’s room you ran into Josh - making him fall back a couple of inches from the sudden impact.

“Oh, sunny. You scared me.” He chuckled, clenching his chest.

“I’m sorry Joshy…” You giggled, grabbing his hand rubbing circles.

“It’s okay mama.” He smiled, kissing your cheek.

“Josh… I don’t think he’s going to like it. He was ready to go on about how film isn’t a good career choice…” You sighed.

“Y/N. You are going to be amazing. Don’t let one person’s judgment dictate your dream.”

He caressed your cheek looking into your eyes - giving you one of his most reassuring smiles he could muster.

“If anything, only you can judge your choices. No one else.”

“Thank you… Thank you for being so understanding about everything.” You sighed feeling a little bit of relief, grabbing the hand that rested on your cheek, squeezing it gently.

“Now come on, we have a film to show.” He giggled dragging you downstairs to the living room with him.

You opted to sit on the loveseat with Josh, while your parents sat on the big couch with Karen and Kelly. Everyone else made themselves comfy on the floor or pulled a folding chair from the closet.

Josh had held your hand the entire time while the film played. Rubbing circles into your hand to keep you calm as he could tell you were tense from what your father would think of your work.

Once the film had finished everyone in the room was cheering and clapping on the film. You smiled, hugging Josh tightly.

“My god, you kids are going places!” Karen shot up from the couch hugging both you and Josh.

“Thank you mom.” Josh smiled at her,

“Thank you Mrs. Kiszka. It means a lot.” You smiled softly, looking over her shoulder to see your parents making their way.

“Sweetie, you are absolutely brilliant. Amazing work to both of you.” Your mom smiled, pulling you and Josh in for a hug.

“I’m proud of you pumpkin. You as well Josh.” He smiled, sticking his hand out to shake Josh’s hand.

The two of them shake each other’s hands smiling back at one another. Kelly had chimed in congratulating the two of you on your work. Then you had walked your family out to the truck to say goodnight before heading back into Josh’s.

“Thank you guys for coming and watching it. It really means a lot to me.” You smiled softly.

“Sweetie, you will always have our support. No matter what!” Your mom kissed your cheek, hugging you tightly.

“I still think you should reconsider your major…” You dad put out flatly, giving you a deadpan look to show that he wasn’t budging about this matter.

“Dad…” You groan,

“Y/N… I just. I want you to be realistic here. How many directors or filmmakers are successful right away?”

“Just say you don’t believe in me dad. It would hurt a lot less…” You felt the tears forming in your eyes.

“It’s not that I don’t be-“

“Really! Cause it sure seems like it… All my life I was trying to figure out who I truly am and what I want to do with my life. And the moment I do, it's not good enough for you! I’ve always done everything to make you happy dad, it’s my time to do what makes me happy…” You spit out at your father as you wiped the tears away that spilled out of your eyes.

“Y/N, we will continue this discussion at another time.” He said sternly.

“No, I’m tired of discussing this. I’ve made up my mind of what I’m doing with my life. Whether I have your support or not…” You turned on your heels,

“I’ll be home Sunday afternoon…” You then walked into Josh’s house shutting the door behind you.

Running to the guest bathroom, locking yourself in there quietly crying to yourself - until you heard a soft knock.

“Sunshine…”

“I’ll be out in a minute…” You sighed softly.

“I’ll get us some hot chocolate, okay?” He said through the door.

“Okay…”

You heard him shuffle away, as you turned to look at yourself in the mirror - wiping away the tears that were there. You resituated yourself making your way to the kitchen.

“You okay mama?” Josh was finishing up making the two of you hot chocolate.

You nodded, “I’ll be okay.” You smiled at him as he handed you a mug.

“You can talk about it whenever you want. Not now, but whenever you’re ready.” He smiled and kissed your forehead softly.

Morning came pretty quickly, and was filled with absolute chaos. The guys ran around making sure they had everything they needed for tonight's gig. Going over setlists, and making sure everyone’s gear was in tip top shape.

“Jake everything is loaded up. It’s going to be fine!” Josh pinched the bridge of his nose.

“You don’t tell me that everything is going to be fine. This is the first real gig we have! This is the start. This is my dream!” He yelled at him.

“Really Jacob? It’s not just your dream.” He threw his hands up,

“I didn’t mean it like that…” He sighed,

“I understand how important this is to you Jake. I really do. But you need to loosen up, being all tense and worried doesn’t make things better for yourself.” He patted his shoulder.

“You’re right, I’m sorry… It’s just. I don’t want this to affect how we go about this road…” He rubbed his face.

“If it makes you feel any better, Val will be there!” You chimed in, smiling softly.

Jake chuckled, nodding his head. “Yeah, that does…”

You smiled softly, dragging Josh with you. “Listen, I know you guys are going to be amazing tonight. And you’re going to kill it!”

Josh smiled as a blush crept up on his face. “Thank you, sunny…”

“Anytime Joshy…” You giggled, kissing his lips softly.

Jake suggested he drive over to Fischer Hall, while Val sat in the front and you and Josh sat in the back. Sam and Danny had rode over with Kelly and Karen, with Danny’s parents to follow them.

You all arrived about an hour before they would start so they had time to set up, and get everything in tune before the show started for them.

After everyone was settled, people had started to come into the small venue. You offered smiles to the guys.

“You guys are going to be great.” You hugged them all, then once you made it to Josh a blush crept onto your cheeks.

“You guys act like you never kiss in front of us…” Sam started laughing with Danny.

“Shut it Sammy.” Josh snipped at him, then turned towards you smiling, kissing your lips softly. You kissed him back then pulled away.

“Break a leg handsome.” You giggled softly.

Josh chuckled and went with the guys onto the stage. They lit the room up with their presence making everyone cheer them on.

You sat by the parents with Val - cheering the guys on with them.

After they performed a couple songs they finished their small set. Getting a great response afterwards makes your smile widen. You saw Josh coming over to you all flustered.

“That was amazing!” You giggled.

“It was exhilarating.” He chuckled, “Let me help the guys clean up and we can get out of here.” He smiled and ran off to help the guys.

April 2014

The twins' birthday was coming up on Wednesday. But Karen wanted to throw them a party this weekend, since they were turning 18. She had stressed how important it was that her babies have a great party, and one to remember. You have been helping out in any way.

It was hard to keep it a secret from Josh, you hated to keep secrets. But this one was just for a surprise party - so one secret wouldn’t hurt.

It was Tuesday the day before the twins' 18th birthday. Josh has been completely asking you all the questions about what you had planned. And of course you had to tell him he would have to wait and see.

“But sunny…” He groaned, walking to your locker with you.

“No ‘buts’ Josh. I’m not saying another word about your birthday.”

You opened your locker, seeing a bouquet of flowers and a note - blushing, you picked up the note reading….

To my sunshine, will you go to prom with me?

You turned to Josh, “Yes.”

He smiled, pulling you in for a hug kissing your lips.

“I know it's a month away… And I should’ve asked sooner.”

You stopped him, “Josh, it’s okay. I’ve had my dress since the beginning of the month.” You giggled softly.

“Oh, okay… I guess that's some relief.” He laughed nervously.

“And I think my mom may have already sent your mom what I was wearing. So I think they already had an idea that we would be going together.” You shook your head at their antics.

“I’m glad they’re ahead of it.” He kissed your cheek.

“I’ll see you later mama.” He winked and made his way to his morning class.

It was finally Josh and Jake’s birthday, you all decided on skipping school and going on a hike. Classes lately haven't been filled with many lessons considering you graduate in the beginning of June. And missing a day wouldn’t hurt, you just wouldn’t let your parents find out.

You all made it look like you were heading to school, but changed route and went towards where the boys family lake house was. Once arriving you had gotten out of the car, looking at the house.

“She is something…” Josh came up beside you chuckling.

“I’ve never seen anything like it.”.

“We like to come up and get away… Helps us get creative, or just to clear our minds. But we spend most of our summer days here.” He rubbed your arm.

“Well, I’m sure it’s lovely. But I’d really like to get on this trail that Jake and you were talking about.” You kissed his cheek softly.

He shook his head and walked over to Jake grabbing his gear. You did the same, tightening your laces to your shoes, and putting your bag on your back.

“So how long is this trail exactly Jake?” You stood up, soaking in the fresh air.

“About 2 miles, so a 4 mile hike today.” He smirked at you.

“But the view is nice when we get to the end of the trail. See’s over the lake and everything.” Josh chimed in.

“You might just have to carry me on the way back down.” You giggled grabbing the small lunch bag.

They both started walking on the trail, following in between them. Jake played music from his bluetooth speaker. The trail was pretty flat for most of the first half, then the other half the trail got a bit uneven and mainly stones created a path.

You felt absolutely winded, it wasn’t exactly hot out. But the temperature today was enough to make you sweat from the hike. You were a little behind Jake and Josh, it's not like you grew up in an environment to partake in hiking trips. But you wanted to spend time with both of them.

“Y/N, you alright back there?” Jake turned around, smiling softly.

“I’m okay, this is just new for me. I’m not like you monkeys…” You giggled softly.

“We’re almost there, sunny.” Josh came down beside you, rubbing your back.

“Just drink some water.” He pulled out a water bottle and opened it for you.

“Thank you…” You smiled softly, taking a couple sips from the bottle, closing it up and following them the rest of the way.

Once you made it to the end of the trail, there was an overpass that looked over the lake. It was beautiful, Josh wasn’t lying.

You set your bag down pulling out the big blanket to set on the ground, and pulled out the sandwiches you made for them. Handing them out, they smiled and said their thanks munching away. You sat down eating away at yours.

After finishing your sandwiches you had pulled out a small cake that you somehow managed to fit in the cooler. You pulled it out putting some candles lighting them, walking over to the twins.

“Happy Birthday to you!” You giggled softly.

They both sat up smiling, then blew the candles out.

“Thank you, Y/N!” Jake smiled,

“Thank you, sunny.” Josh blushed smiling softly, he kissed your cheek.

“Of course! I don’t know what I’d do without you guys.” You sighed softly, setting the cake on top of the cooler, cutting slices up for them.

Jake then pulled out a joint that was pre-rolled. “Shall we?”

Josh nodded timidly, “That depends….did you actually get some good shit for once?”

“The shit that knocks you on your ass? Yes, yes I did.” Jake chuckled, lighting it up. He took a couple puffs before passing it along to Josh.

Josh took a couple hits, then passed it to you. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” He smiled softly.

“I do, I just… Never have…” You looked down ashamed of yourself.

“Hey, it’s alright. All you do is place it between your lips, inhale a little then exhale.” He handed you the joint.

You nodded your head, doing as he said. You exhaled, and coughed a good bit as Jake grabbed the joint from you.

“She’s a champ!” He chuckled softly, patting your shoulder.

“Woohoo sunny!” Josh smiled, kissing your cheek.

Saturday came, and you had opted to take Josh out for brunch to get him out of the house for his mom to set up for the party. Jake was already out with Val for the morning and early afternoon, making it easier for her to decorate the house.

“So what does Sunshine have planned for me today?” Josh chuckled as he buckled himself in the car.

“Brunch, maybe a little walk around downtown? And then cake at your place.” You smiled at him as you buckled yourself, putting the car in gear to drive.

Josh took over the aux in the car, immediately playing his playlist. He started off by playing John Denver’s Sunshine On My Shoulder. You gave him a look, shaking your head slowly.

“Oh come on sunny!” He grabbed your hand and kissed it softly.

“It’s a song I can dedicate to you now, until I write a good one about you…”

“You’ll write me a song…” You blushed,

“I’d write you a million…” He smiled softly, then began belting out to the song.

Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy

Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry

Sunshine on the water looks so lovely

Sunshine almost always makes me high

If I had a day that I could give you

I’d give you a day just like today

If I had a song that I could sing for you

I’d sing a song to make you feel this way

The drive to downtown was nice and filled with laughter and singing. Josh’s voice always blew you away, he was just a beautiful person to be with.

You stopped by a local diner, heading in to sit at a booth. The two of you had ordered your favorites, and ate in bliss. Enjoying each other’s time with one another, after brunch. You two decided to walk around downtown. It was only 2pm and you have another hour and a half to kill before making your way back to the Kiszka’s.

While walking downtown Josh pointed out a record shop, pleading you to go in with him.

“Okay! But we can’t spend the whole day here.” You giggled as he was practically dragging you in.

He chuckled, walking into the store with you. It was a pretty big store with a wide collection to choose from.

You went to the disco section, immediately searching for a copy of ABBA’s self title. It was the only edition you needed to complete your collection. You had all their other pressings available, but every time you went searching you had no luck finding it.

And to your avail, there is no self title available. You sighed, looking over the rest of the selection of great disco vinyls.

“What’s wrong, sunny?” Josh came up behind you rubbing your arm.

“Still no luck in finding the self title of ABBA…” You groaned looking up at him.

“We’ll find it one day.” He chuckled softly, kissing the top of your head.

You nodded and made way to find a couple records for him, you had already had his gift wrapped up and in your car. But another gift of two wouldn’t be an issue, you thought to yourself as you grabbed two of what would definitely be Josh’s favorites.

You had checked out with a pressing of An Evening with John Denver and a pressing of Port of Morrow by The Shins. Josh had a very interesting music taste, and you loved that about him. He was always showing you different indie artists, as you showed him your favorite rock artists.

After having a successful shopping spree in the record shop, it was finally time to head back to the Kiszka’s.

“Come on Josh!” You smiled, watching him check out.

“So what did ya get?” Josh whispered in your ear, coming up behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist. Holding you flush against his chest.

“You’ll see later.” You smiled softly, getting into the car and heading back to his place.

When the two of you had arrived, Jake and Val had pulled up too. Perfect timing you thought to yourself. You gathered the small gifts you had for both Josh and Jake. Heading to the door with them.

You let the twins enter the house first, hearing everyone yell ‘Surprise!’ and ‘Happy Birthday!’ The twins chuckled, smiling softly at everyone present.

“Thank you everyone!” They said in unison.

You came in behind them with Val. “Did you know about this?” Josh asked you, smirking.

“I may have helped your mom…” You giggled softly.

For the next hour or two, everyone was socializing and eating. Karen knew how to make a feast for any special occasions. You truly enjoyed her cooking, in fact you found it better than your mothers.

You handed Jake his gift, allowing him to open it. He unwrapped it, revealing a Jimi Hendrix ‘Are You Experienced’ vinyl.

“Holy shit! Are you serious Y/N! Thank you!” He smiled and gave you a hug.

“It’s nothing, really.” You smiled softly, hugging him back.

“It’s not nothing! This is very thoughtful, thank you.” He then went back to sit next to Val opening her gift.

Josh then pulled you into the basement, away from everyone. You smiled, handing him his gifts sitting on the couch next to him.

“Happy Birthday, Joshy…” You blushed watching him go through the shopping bag from today’s finds.

“Sunshine! These are great!” He smiled, then went to grab the one that was wrapped.

“This one was a little bit harder to find… I’m not going to lie, but you kept talking about it. And I just had to deep dive…” You chewed your lip nervously.

His eyes lit up, as he tore the wrapping paper off. Revealing an original pressing of John Denver’s self title. Josh hadn’t been able to find a copy at all, and it was driving him nearly insane.

“Y/N… This…” He smiled looking at you, placing it on the table in front of the two of you.

He cupped your face in his hands kissing your lips softly.

“I love you…”

He said it. He said it first… You had been worried to have said it too soon, or too late. But, right now was the perfect time for it to have happened. You felt your stomach flutter from his words.

“I love you too…” You giggled, kissing his lips softly again.

May 2014

Prom was here. And to say you were stressed, was an understatement. You had recently completed your admission to Michigan State University after discussing with Josh your plans for the future. He was beyond excited for you and had also enrolled into Michigan State.

The two of you would be pursuing the same degree, therefore you would have pretty much the same courses. You were happy that you wouldn’t be completely alone at college, and that you would have someone you know there.

All morning you had been waiting to get your hair done, then your makeup to follow suit after your hair was done. Your mother was making sure everything for your senior prom was going smoothly. Even though you had reassured her multiple times that you were okay and everything was fine.

Hoping she isn’t like this for your wedding one day…

After leaving the salon, you headed back home to finish getting ready. All that was left was the dress. It was absolutely stunning - opting for a print color, you had decided on a sky blue gown.

It was strapless and flowed beautifully, though it wasn’t a ball gown, but it stood out from most dresses that were available for this prom season.

You slipped it on, then put your heels on. Looking at yourself in the mirror, putting on your necklace and earrings. Giving yourself a final touch up on your lipstick, then making your way down stairs.

Your mother was at the bottom of the steps, waiting for you to take you to the golf course where Josh and his family would meet you to take pictures together. You had wished Josh could’ve picked you up beforehand, but didn’t want to cause an argument.

As you were heading out the door, your father followed behind helping you into the car making sure your dress didn’t get caught in the door. You smiled buckling yourself, as your parents drove to the course.

Once you had arrived, you got out meeting Josh and his family. Along with Jake and Val’s family, it was a beautiful sunny day for prom. Most cases it had rained on prom for others in the past, but today it didn’t.

“You look extravagant sunshine!” Josh smiled, holding your hands in his kissing your cheek softly.

“You don’t look too bad yourself.” You giggled softly, then Karen came over handing Josh and you, the corsage and boutonniere set. It was white rose assortment again, like it was for the Valentine’s dance. You giggled softly remembering that night.

“What is it, sunny?” Josh smiled as he slipped the corsage on your wrist.

“Just remembering our first dance together…” You blushed, as you helped pin his boutonniere to his tux. He smiled, and kissed your cheek softly.

“Alright kiddos! Come on, time to get some pictures of you all.” Karen smiled, getting her digital camera out, your mother did the same.

The two of them kept taking pictures, in front of the ponds, the trees, the garden. You name it. You were already exhausted and the fun of the evening hadn’t even started.

“Mom, I think that's enough pictures…” Jake groaned, fidgeting with his tie.

“Oh alright! I just can’t believe my babies will be graduating in two weeks!” Karen cried out teary eyed, as the twins pulled her into a hug.

Prom was what you expected it to be. Another dance in which everyone dressed to impress. The only thing that made it sentimental was that it was the last dance for your class. Sure you only had a handful of friends, but you were all going to different schools and some were even moving out of state to pursue their dreams.

Jake had gotten invited to an after party, inviting you and Josh to join him. In which the two of you couldn’t turn down. But before heading over to the after party you had stopped home to change into a more party-like fit, and an overnight bag to stay the night at Josh’s.

Your parents had been more lenient about you staying over at Josh’s considering they trusted him and yourself. But they also knew that they couldn't necessarily control your life as much, as you were turning 18 right after graduation.

Pulling up to the party, Josh and you had driven over with Jake. Val couldn’t join as she had cheer practice in the morning for her upcoming competition. The house was a lakehouse that wasn’t too far from the Kiszka's lakehouse. It was about the same size, maybe a tad bit bigger.

But after all it was Gabe Sanders throwing the party - his parents were loaded with money. The house was filled with probably the entire senior class, and anyone who attended the prom. The music was loud, there was alcohol everywhere. Definitely a different vibe then what you were used to.

“It’s gonna be alright Y/N, it's our senior year after all! And besides I’m sure we’ll go to some college parties.” Josh chuckled softly, rubbing your waist to comfort you.

“I don’t know, I guess it’s just because I’ve never really attended parties like this before.” You quipped walking into the house.

The scene in front of your eyes was like straight out of a movie. People were crowded everywhere, red solo cups in everyone’s hands. Couples lounged together not caring that people saw them hooking up. You made your way to the kitchen with Josh, as he got you a cup of Tequila Soda.

Josh had been around alcohol more frequently than you, so he already had an easy drink to go for. You smiled softly as he handed you a cup, taking a sip you felt the alcohol run down your throat feeling the burning sensation.

“It’s good isn’t it!” Josh smiled softly,

“I’ll manage.” You giggled softly, as he threw his arm around your shoulder.

The rest of the night Josh and you had a couple drinks, definitely now under the influence. He decided to take you to a bedroom upstairs.

Josh and you hadn’t even gotten past 2nd base yet - it’s not that you weren’t ready to take the next step, you just were scared of what he wanted as well. It’s a topic the two of you haven’t generally come across yet. But in the end you knew that when the time was right, it would happen.

The two of you giggled as you made way to the bedroom, kissing and whispering sweet nothings to each other. The two of you sat on the edge of the bed unsure of what to do next. Nervous as all ever, Josh rubbed your shoulder reassuringly.

You smiled and pressed your lips against his, deepening the kiss with him. His hands rubbed your waist, while your hands were tangled in his hair.

Then you heard a floorboard creek,

“Oh my god!” You knew that cracky voice from anywhere.

“What the hell Sam! How did you even get into this party?!” Josh turned away from you, shifting his attention towards his little brother.

“Because the older ladies love me Joshua…” He wiggled his eyebrows.

Josh then picked up a pillow chucking it at Sam.

“Get out Samuel!” His face was beet red.

Sam zipped out of the bedroom, shutting the door on his way out. Josh sighed softly, turning back towards you.

“I’m sorry about that, I should’ve locked the door.” He chuckled nervously.

“It’s okay Josh, really… Besides, I think it's best that our first time isn’t under the influence…” You trailed off, caressing his cheek with your thumb.

He nodded, “You’re absolutely right, sunny… I want our first time to be more meaningful and at a proper setting.” He kissed your cheek softly.

“Come on, we should probably leave soon. Especially before Sam gets into any trouble…”

Josh stood up, putting his hand out for yours. Taking his you intertwine your hands walking downstairs to regroup with Jake and Sam heading back to their place.

June 2014

The last two weeks of school had dragged, it felt longer than usual. But alas, graduation was here. The morning felt absolutely hectic and long, as your mother was frantic on planning your graduation party. Why did she have to have it the same night as graduation, beat you. But you didn’t want to upset her and not have a graduation party.

The assigned seating was based on height, those graduating that were in choir were separate from the rest of the graduating class. Therefore Josh was in the choir section, leaving you and Jake to sit by yourselves. You and Jake were a couple rows away from one another. Then you were next to your good friend Mallory.

The ceremony was a complete bore, talking about how to make sure all the choices you make in life are never taken for granted. And to always remember where you’re from…

Before you knew it, everyone was placing their tassels onto the other side of their caps.

“Congratulations to the 2014 Class of Frankenmuth High!”

The principal smiled, clapping his hands. All of the students threw their caps in the air, catching them afterwards. You found Jake and Josh immediately after the ceremony hugging them tightly.

“Oh sweetie!” Your mom was in tears, flailing her arms to wrap you into a hug. You smiled softly at her, hugging her tightly. Soon after your father engulfed you into a hug.

“Congratulations pumpkin! You’re a high school grad!” He kissed the top of your head.

“Thank you guys…” You smiled softly, going to hug your sister Olivia.

“Congrats sis.” She smiled softly,

“You’re up next…” You giggled, squeezing her more into the hug.

Josh made way back to you after finding his family, he pulled you into a tight hug, kissing your lips softly. You blushed, kissing him back softly in front of everyone, pulling away.

“My mom wanted to get some pictures of all of us.” He chuckled softly.

“What a great idea!” You mother chimed in, standing next to Karen to get pictures of you two and then Jake to join as well.

“Come on now! Smile!” Karen had motioned for you and Josh to pose.

He pulled you by the waist, keeping his hand rested on your hip drawing circles with his thumb. You smiled, placing a hand on his chest taking what seemed like a hundred pictures.

“Alright, one more couple picture then a group picture! Don’t be shy now.” You mother giggled, then Josh and you giggled kissing each other softly for one last photo.

Jake had then joined in, making you stand in the middle like a twin sandwich. You ruffled his hair a bit, fixing his cap and then posed for a couple more pictures that suited both the parents' liking.

“Okay! Can we please go, don’t want to be late to my own graduation party….” You giggled softly.

Your mother gasped, “Oh my god! I almost forgot... Let’s hurry home and get you ready!”

The graduation party your mother had planned for you went well. Part of your graduating class showed up to join the fun, which included games of cornhole, horseshoe, and some good ole campfire songs.

As the night drew nearer, everyone had left the party leaving you to help clean up with your mother. Josh had also stayed behind to help clean up, where Jake had gone to take Valerie home.

“Thanks for helping…” You smiled, tying up the trash bags.

“Of course sunshine, I’d help anytime.” He flashed a smile at you.

The smile you loved most, when his eyes crinkled and his dimple was visible. You’ve started to notice more little things about him, the things you had grown to love even more about him.

The way he laughed, the way he talked, the way he looked while peacefully sleeping after a long night of band practice. The way his hair rested, just above his shoulders… The way his honey golden brown eyes stole your breath away. He always knew how to make you smile, and how to make you laugh. He wasn’t just any ordinary guy. He was Josh. Josh had become a safe space for you…

And he had no clue how much you loved him… How much you care for him, and how much he meant to you. Josh was like a missing puzzle piece that fit your puzzle to life that you were trying to figure out. And there he was all along.

After taking the trash out to the trash cans, Josh had asked you to go on a drive with him. And which of course you agreed to go.

“Where exactly are we going?” You giggled softly, as he sped off to wherever he had planned.

“Just trust me!” He smiled softly, rubbing your hand with his thumb reassuringly.

A 20 minute drive later, you had pulled up to what seemed to be an abandoned cabin. You got out of the car, waiting for him to join your side.

“You’re not planning on killing me, are you?” You looked at him.

“Now what kind of gentleman would I be to bring you all the way out here to do such a thing.” He chuckled softly, earning a giggle from you.

“So… What’s special about here?” You looked at him questioningly.

“This is where I come to get away and have time for myself… I’ve always been drawn to this location. Whether it's the energy that resides here or whatever higher being is calling to me… I don’t know…” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“Josh…” You placed a hand on his cheek, rubbing it softly. “There is no need to get nervous or shy around me…” You kissed him softly.

He pulled you in closer, kissing your lips back softly.

“I just… I love you, and figured I’d show you a spot that could be ours… and perhaps, one day we can buy this land and make this a cute winter holiday home.” He chuckled nervously.

“Mr. Kiszka wants to get a holiday home with me?” You blushed, poking his chest softly.

“Perhaps one day… When the time is right of course.” He smiled, grasping your hands softly intertwining them. “One day, I’ll make you mine forever…”

“You’re sunshine forever…” You smiled softly, leaning in to kiss him once more.

The start of your summer break had just begun. And there was so much left to experience before starting college. You were nervous to say the least about starting this new chapter in your life. But having Josh by your side helped ease the anxiety. Or would it…

.

.

.

Taglist-

@lyndszee @laneygvf @sacredthefran @starcatcherry @fkfearandliveyourlegend @hi-hi-hello11 @gretnavannfleet @themoreyou-love @gvfmuse @meetingthestardust @myleftsock @jordie-gvf-admin @radmads-gvf @twistedmelodies @thunderstomp-and-tequila @sinsofstardust @jakesdogss12 @vanillabear27 @dharma-divine33 @holybananafuck @thecoldwind

[spine-buster]

So High School ft. Adam Cole | Prologue

A/N: Heeeeeeere we go!!! Let me know what you think!

She was known to him as the girl on the bus.

The boy and the girl had been taking the bus into Lancaster for two years now, ever since they both started high school. She got on one stop before him going into the city, and he got off one stop after her coming back into their small town. They even got off at the same stop in Lancaster. But they never walked together. They never spoke. The only communication they ever had was brief eye contact on the bus, recognizing each other from their trips, before taking their usual spots. She would watch him as he got on the bus, dressed in his jeans and running shoes, the same backpack for two years now, never looking quite as heavy as hers. He would discreetly watch her on the bus, too, dressed in her plaid kilt, blazer, and dress shoes, the private school uniform she wore the loudest thing about her during their half-hour ride into the city.

When they would get off the bus, the boy would walk about 15 paces ahead of her through the neighbourhood until he got to his high school. The girl would carry on walking to the next block to St. Anne’s Academy, the private, Catholic, all-girls school that so many of his friends thought to prowl for girlfriends when they exhausted all their options in their social circle and grade. It had the best reputation in Lancaster, in all of Pennsylvania almost. All the girls got into the top programs at the top universities; it was a parent’s dream to send their daughter there. All the kids called it the “Virgin Megastore”.

The boy would go on with his school day. He’d attend classes, he’d try to pay attention, he’d joke around and laugh with his friends during their lunch. If it was a nice day, they’d go outside and throw a football; if it wasn’t, they’d usually be too loud in the hallways, up to some sort of shenanigans. The girl would go on with her school day. She’d attend classes, paying attention to every detail and participating often, she’d joke around and laugh with her friends during their lunch. If it was a nice say, they’d sit in the quad and gossip; if it wasn’t, they’d head to the library to finish their homework and study. When it was all done and school let out, they’d wait together at the same bus stop, not speaking or acknowledging each other. They’d board the bus and sit in their usual seats, not speaking or acknowledging each other. Once they were back in their town, the girl would get off first, at the stop on Mulberry Street, where there were older, grander, more historic homes he was sure she lived in. A few minutes later, and one neighbourhood over, he’d get off at his stop, down the street from his grandma’s house where he was living with his brother and mom.

The next day, they’d do the same song and dance all over again.

After two years of seeing someone every day besides the weekends and summers, the boy and the girl started to notice things about each other. The girl noticed that the boy was growing out his hair. The boy noticed that the girl almost always had red nail polish on. The girl noticed that the boy brought a gym bag with him too now for a new sport he was probably playing. The boy noticed that the girl got a new cell phone, one of those Blackberry Pearl phones that was so popular these days. Still, neither said a word.

That was until one day. The boy waited for the bus as he always did, and when it stopped in front of him he lugged himself on, paying his fare. When he looked toward the all-too-familiar spot beside the window, there wasn’t just the girl’s face he was looking at. There was a new face, an unfamiliar face, right beside hers.

“What books do you girls read in class?”

He watched as the girl’s faced grimaced. “Oh, you know, a lot of them.”

“Tell me their names. Let’s see if I’ve read one and we can talk about it together.”

“I—I’m reading Jane Eyre right now.”

“D’you like it?”

“Y—Yeah. It’s—it’s really good.”

“You seem like such a smart girl. And beautiful, too. How ‘bout you tell me about it?”

Just by those words alone, the boy knew the girl was in trouble. But when she looked up and saw him, and he saw the pleading look in her eyes, he knew he had to spring into action. He took a few big steps towards where the guy was sitting beside her and loomed over them. “Hey,” he said, in such a tone that made it seem like they’d known each other their whole lives. “Can we get some studying done right now? I have that big test in history first period, remember?”

The boy never saw a look of relief wash over someone’s face as quickly as it did on the girl’s. “Yeah, of course,” she sprung up from her seat. “Let’s move to the back so our conversation doesn’t annoy everyone else on the bus.”

The guy looked annoyed. Angry, even, about the boy’s intervention. “You two know each other?” he grumbled.

“I’m his tutor,” the girl said in a much more confident voice than what the boy first heard out of her before he intervened.

They walked towards the back seats, the boy letting her slip in to the inside seat before he sat right beside her, taking out his history textbook for good measure and opening it in front of them. “Thank you,” the girl whispered.

“Are you okay?”

The girl didn’t answer. Instead, she flipped through the pages of his history textbook, trying not to look up at the guy who was still trying not to stare at them. “French Revolution, right? Let’s recap Robespierre,” she said loud enough. “Name three effects his policies had on the working class of France.”

Both of them watched discreetly as the guy took a final, angry look at them before getting off the bus. As the bus moved off from the spot, and they got away from eye view of the guy on the sidewalk, the boy could practically feel the girl let out the breath she was holding as she watched the guy disappear from their view. “Are you okay?” the boy asked again, now that they were alone.

“I think so. He came and sat beside me once he saw me sit down. He made a comment about my school uniform. It was really creepy,” the girl explained.

“That is creepy. I’m sorry that happened.”

There was a silence between the two as the bus made its way down the road. The boy took the initiative to grab his textbook and put it in his backpack again. When he was done, there was still silence. “Is that what you’re learning in history? The French Revolution?” he asked. She nodded. “I don’t even know who or what a Robespierre is.”

The joke made the girl smile, made her finally look at him. The first thing she noticed was his blue eyes. “I’m Violet by the way. What’s your name?”

“Austin.”

“You go to Lancaster West High?” she asked, looking down at his jeans.

Austin nodded. “And you go to St. Anne’s Academy,” he said as more of a statement, eyeing the intricately stitched coat of arms on her blazer.

Violet nodded. “I guess they don’t have AP World History at Lancaster West High? You’d know Robespierre, then.”

“No, we don’t,” he said. And then it hit him. She probably wanted to study. She was telling him she was taking AP World History and here he was bothering her when she wanted, needed to study. AP kids always wanted to study – not that he knew any, but he’d heard things. “Okay, well, I’ll go back to my usual seat so you can get your studying done or whatever,” he said, almost mumbling.

Before Violet could even say anything, she watched as Austin got up and moved to where he usually sat, keeping his backpack in his lap as he took out a pair of headphones. Had she said something offensive about the AP World History comment? She was just trying to make a joke. Apparently, she’d fucked it all up. She wanted to go up and tell him, ‘I swear I don’t bite, I swear!’ or something like ‘I didn’t mean it, I was just trying to be witty!’ but she was frozen in her seat, frozen watching him as he listening to music, frozen in her seat as the bus entered Lancaster twenty-five minutes later.

When they got off the bus, she wanted to approach him. But he was too fast even then. Thirty paces ahead, this time, instead of his usual. So far ahead that as he walked up the walkway to the main doors of his school, he didn’t see her standing on the sidewalk, watching him as he ran away from her.

***

“That’s how you guys met? Really?” Tyson exclaimed as both Austin and Violet took turns telling the story for his entire Twitch stream to hear. In the background, Hazel was swooning from the bean bag chair, her hands clasped over her heart dramatically.

“Yeah. We were sixteen,” Violet confirmed. “Junior year. Can you believe it?”

“You’ve put up with him for that long?” Tyson quipped.

“Hey now,” Austin warned facetiously. “You watch your mouth.”

“Guys, that is so sweet!” Hazel cried in the background. “What are you guys so sweet for?”

Austin chuckled, not being able to stop himself as he reached for Violet’s hand and squeezed tight. “Feels just like yesterday,” he said as he looked into her eyes lovingly.

Tyson pretended to gag. “I think I’m gonna throw up.”