#part three

[i-drop-level-one-loot]

*NSFW* How to train your pet Human pt. 3 (Yandere!Alien x GN!Reader)

CW: Dub-con, mild psychological distress, mind break, dead dove fic

Part 1, part 2

Kirtch slumped over his friend's standing chair, miserable and mopey.

A tall creature, taller than even Kirtch, sighed dramatically, sauntering around their depressed friend with a smaller horned being crawling behind them.

"I don't understand what I'm doing wrong." Kirtch whined pathetically in Jaudna's native tongue. Jaudna made a gurgling sound with the soft spot on their head, the closest human equivalent being someone rolling their eyes. They sprawled across their lounging seat, motioning for their pet to stay on his knees.

"I'll tell you exactly what you've done wrong. You pampered them too much."

"I punish them!"

"You punished them for their escape attempt. That was it. You've allowed your pet to test your authority in plenty of ways after that."

The man on his knees pleaded with his eyes to be let up, but stayed perfectly still, like he wasn't alive. Kirtch noted Jaudna's pet's demeanor with discomfort. That discomfort only lasted until he imagined (Reader) in that same position, looking up at him with their large dewy eyes, waiting so patiently to be held by him... his discomfort was replaced by jealousy.

"You don't understand, (Reader's) such a sweet little pet, and whenever they struggle they're so cute about it. I just can't understand why they aren't happy."

"Humans' minds are incredibly flawed. According to the few psychological texts I have gotten my claws on over the years, their memory is not set in stone like ours, it is fickle and easily manipulated. One of my books referenced a case in the nation called 'The United States of America' where nearly the entire country fell into panic over an imaginary evil, because a few doctors used a phoney science called 'hypnotism', a practice they believed could help recover forgotten memories, on a bunch of children, but accidentally implanted false memories of abuse, leaving the children traumatized, believing that they had been victims of a horrific occult."

Kirtch looked to his good friend nervously. "Are you implying I do something nefarious to my pet's mind?"

"No, I'm showcasing an example of how stupidly easy it should be to train your pet to love you." They tossed a book into Kirtch's hands, the cover printed with a photograph of a wild looking man, with fluffy hair and dark, hateful eyes. "Hypnotism isn't the only creative way humans have learned to reprogram each other."

Kirtch almost threw the book back, but saw Jaudna's unnamed pet still sitting so patiently for his master, and the pain in his body where his heart may have been throbbed again. "Thank you.. Jaudna."

(Reader) had waited for what they assumed to be well over an Earth day, alone in Kirtch's quarters, waiting for his return. The only company they received were the employees who brought their meals, speaking down at them in a language they didn't know, but could understand the disgust. It had been over a month since their fight with Kirtch. Every day since had been nothing but hell, feeling like their heart had been ripped out, they laid in their bed cage, only moving when necessary, allowing themselves to hide away inside their own mind.

The main door opened again, and (Reader) could hear Kirtch's long, graceful steps as he passed through the study and into the bedroom. "(Reader)? Are you still in bed?"

In an act of defiance, (Reader) kept their mouth shut, pulling the blanket tighter around their shoulders. But it was of little use, as Kirtch easily lifted their purposefully dead weighted body out of the bed.

"I'm sorry I was gone for so long, pet, but I had to see an old friend for advice." He carried (Reader) back to his desk, sitting them in his lap, fighting to hold them upright as they flopped about limply. "(Reader), please sit up so I can take off your shirt."

He began working on the wrists, the intricate metal cuffs with multiple buttons that almost acted like locks, and (Reader) subtly straightened their back to give him better access to the neck corset thing, thankful to finally have it off for a couple hours at least. (Reader) had grown to find it somewhat elegant the past few months, but it still was an incredible pain in the ass.

Feeling the air on their neck was bliss, and (Reader) immediately ran their fingers over their skin. (Reader) breathed a deep sigh, relaxing their body unintentionally. But almost as soon as their hands left their throat, a new collar was latched into place, a loud mechanism clicking as it tightened, stabbing the back of their neck with what felt like a fixed needle.

(Reader) cried out in pain, sprawling out their limbs on reflex, pushing themselves out of Kirtch's embrace and onto the floor, lying naked on their knees as they clawed at the collar, desperate to relieve the pain.

"What?? Why?" Their voice was barely audible through their sobs.

"I'm so sorry my pet, the pain will end soon, wait-" Kirtch pushed a button on what looked like a remote, and (Reader) could physically feel the rush of liquid enter their body, then the pain lightened, leaving (Reader) almost euphoric in it's absence.

"What is this? Why did you do this?" Betrayal laced their tone, and Kirtch looked almost on the verge of tears, but he stood still, refusing his urge to scoop up his little pet and beg for forgiveness.

"I know now that I didn't train you correctly, and for that I am sorry. I've given you too much leeway, and that is why you've been so unhappy." He took a ragged breath, thumbing the controller as he thought out his words. "I didn't want to do this, but I care about your happiness. This is for the best."

"So you put a shock collar on me?" (Reader) asked incredulously, spitting venom.

"No, nothing barbaric like that!" Kirtch looked hurt, flinching as he almost dropped onto his knees to comfort (Reader). "I just need to convince you that you're happy here with me, just as I did the first night you were here, to help you release your stress."

(Reader) remembered the shot he gave them, that first night when Kirtch used a toy to get them off, the hormones he artificially added to their body to make them feel pleasure, and then thought about the pain in the back of their neck. The color drained from their face. There were only two options; plead or double down.

"You can manipulate me all you like, I'll never be happy here." A tear escaped as (Reader) transformed their hurt into anger. "I deserve someone who will love me, not as a pet, but as an equal. Because I am a human fucking being. And we have partnerships. We don't jack off our pets, we do not love our pets like we love the people we have sex with, because that- that is not okay! Why did you.." (Reader) couldn't stop themselves from crying, looking up to try to at least slow the waterworks.

The silence between them was loud. (Reader) turned away, wiping away their snot with their bare arms.

"Pet, noun; a domestic or tamed animal kept for companionship or pleasure. Adjective; denoting a thing that one devotes special attention to or feels particularly strongly about." (Reader) looked up, horrified. "Your's may not be my first language, but I feel I had a pretty decent grasp on my understanding of what a pet is."

Kirtch placed a hand over his face to hide his expression.

"You'll be happier once this is all over. I promise."

"You son of a-!" (Reader) couldn't finish their sentence, more fluid passed into their spine, followed by an immediate sense of emptiness. Extreme anxiety flooded their body, causing severe stomach pain almost instantly. They collapsed, holding onto their midsection, their bare skin clammy. "What? Why?"

"No more talking back to me, pet." Kirtch kept his voice steady.

(Reader) cried out, rapidly becoming exhausted from heavy nothingness filling their body. "Please.. stop.."

Kirtch nodded, appearing relieved. He pushed another button, and the emptiness ebbed away, leaving (Reader) numb.

"I don't understand why you're doing this." (Reader) weakly grumbled, too tired to pick themselves up.

"Because I want you to be happy."

"I'll never be happy with you."

"Why?"

"Because! I deserve to be loved!"

"I love you-"

"Fucking liar." (Reader) snarled, knowing that this would cause them to be punished again, but needing to get in the last word. Kirtch looked so miserable, so crushed by (Reader's) words, but they felt vindicated by his pain. They needed to twist the knife deeper.

He smiled, so sadly, and grabbed a blanket, bending onto one knee as he covered his pet. "I love you, (Reader)."

Their heart clenched, and their face flushed. Immediately they searched his hands for the remote. "S-stop that."

"I love you."

Chemicals pumped into their neck, making (Reader) feverish and causing their thighs to ache. Their breath hitched, and tears of betrayal escaped. "I hate you."

"I know."

More pain gripped their throat, regret causing physical discomfort. "Why are you doing this?"

His smooth shelled fingers caressed their jaw, tenderly cradling (Reader's) face as though he needed them. Kirtch's touch sent shivers across (Reader's) skin, and they couldn't tell if it was because of the collar or their loneliness, but they wanted to pull him closer, make him touch them more.

"I will live for much longer than you. I will watch you grown old, and die. Even then, I will still love you. You are the most incredible creature I've ever met. I don't mind if you push me away, and slap at me. I just want you to be happy, at least most of the time." His head grew closer, his hardened face almost brushing (Reader's). "Let me make you happy."

'I need to fight back. Make him pay! I'm practically a slave! He bought me! I'll never see my family again because of him!'

(Reader) leaned forward, mind melting through their ears from the intense heat, and smashed their lips onto where his should have been.

All rational thoughts were drowned out by the intense need. They needed him, his love. (Reader) was aware of the sound of buttons clicking, but they couldn't stop, crawling onto Kirtch's body, feeling the edges of his joints scraping their back as his hands hungrily roamed their body, wanting to touch everything.

They would have felt ashamed, knowing how aroused they were, their exposed body touching Kirtch's stomach. Sweat was clinging to (Reader's) skin, and their eyes drooped stupidly. The only thing they could think of was relieving themselves, and wanting to see Kirtch relieved as well.

"Are you going to fuck me?" (Reader) whined between wet kisses, drunk on his touches.

"I will, if you want me to."

Their mood shifted, frustration beginning to surface again. "No. If you love me, wouldn't you want me?"

Kirtch sighed, fiddling with the remote behind (Reader's) back. "I do not have the same nervous system as humans do. We only engage in sexual acts for the purpose of procreation."

Shame shocked (Reader), sobering them up instantly. "Oh. I- I am so sorry." (Reader) moved to get off of Kirtch, but was held in place by the much stronger being.

"I will, to make you happy."

"No, I'm sorry! It won't make me happy knowing you aren't feeling good. I'm-I'm sorry, please let me go."

Kirtch pressed the button again, watching his pet's face darken and their mouth go from frightened to slack jawed. "Knowing you are feeling pleasure, from me, and only me, will bring me more joy than I can express." His cloak was ripped away, revealing his gorgeously colored exoskeleton. Kirtch gripped (Reader's) face tighter, forcing his blue tongue deep into their mouth, bursting with pride at the sounds (Reader) was making.

"What do you want me to do?" Kirtch asked, not intending on sounding like he was teasing them, but Kirtch craved the sound of their voice begging him.

"Please.." (Reader) swallowed their drool, feeling the hormones pumping into their brain, but too horny to care. "Please fuck me."

The spot on his pelvis where a human's genitals would be split open and a long, slimy cock revealed itself, growing behind (Reader's) back to a horrifying size. (Reader) only became aware of his erection when it fell forward, slapping against (Reader's) ass and lower back. In their intoxicated state, they turned back to look at what had suddenly touched them, and their eyes grew large in surprise. "Is that..? That's too big..."

Off balance and tipsy, (Reader) turned around, still sitting on Kirtch's abdomen, so that they were facing his exposed dick, and touched it experimentally. It was ridiculously huge, but because of the hormones being injected into (Reader's) neck, they were ravenous, using both hands to pump up and down on the shaft as they stuck the thin tipped head into their mouth, tasting Kirtch passionately. Kirtch was beyond elated, watching his precious pet so needy for him.

Kirtch picked (Reader) up, moaning at the popping sound as he pulled their mouth away from his body, seeing nothing but love in (Reader's) eyes as he spun them back to face him, and slowly began lowering (Reader) onto his naturally lubricated member. "Keep looking at me."

(Reader's) mind was hazy, and it felt like they were about to die, saliva and alien fluids leaking out their mouth and down their chin. Their internal voice had gone silent, the amount of tampering that had been done to their brain left (Reader) devoid of rational thought and intellect. "Yes sir." They barely got the words out as Kirtch entered their body, sliding into their needy little hole easily and without resistance, ramming himself in so their pelvis smacked into his shell with a wet plop, bringing (Reader) to a climax just from entering.

"Smile for me, pet." Kirtch cooed joyfully, loving how (Reader's) body spasmed, before slowly lifting them up, revealing the trail of their combined wetness stretching between their reproductive organs.

(Reader) smiled, reacting on autopilot as they rode out their orgasm, practically biting off their tongue when their sensitive body connected with Kirtch's again. "Ahhh, I already came! Stop!!" Their words cried for relief, however their voice and smile demanded more. It was too much, and (Reader) did want a break, but it also felt amazing, and that dirty little part of themselves that was desperate for love needed their body to be abused.

Kirtch bounced (Reader) on his cock, fucking them like a toy, regretting that he didn't have a camera rolling to capture just how adorable his pet was in his hands. "Look at how happy you are, pet! Don't you want to be this happy all the time? Don't you always want to be happy, with me?"

Kirtch greedily pushed the button again, peppering (Reader) with kisses as they came again, their sticky juices splattering on his stomach. The squelching sound of (Reader's) bruising body getting fucked by the hard as steel monster beneath them was music to Kirtch's ears. He had, embarrassingly, read the book his friend had lent him, and knew now how humans used pleasure to keep brainwashed people by their side. But it wasn't just pleasure, it was that feeling of connection. He had thought about what (Reader) had said, that humans don't jack off their pets, and that made sense, for animals that did not share the same level of intelligence as an adult human. What (Reader) needed, was to feel equal, to feel like they weren't just a pet, but a partner. So how would they feel, if Kirtch ejaculated so deep into their body they were still excreting his cum weeks later?

"I'm going to mark you as mine, (Reader)." It was a lie, his species did no such thing, but the look of unbridled joy on (Reader's) cross eyed face, the loopy smile that twitched as tears poured down to their chest, was a sight that made it worth lying.

"Are you cumming? Are you cumming in me?" (Reader) slurred, barely holding themselves upright in Kirtch's grasp.

"If you promise to be a good little pet." Kirtch could hold out for as long as needed. His species did not have sex for pleasure, so there was no sense of urgency when they needed to release. He could have continued going for hours, if he hadn't overdone it with the collar. (Reader) was on the verge of passing out.

"I promise! I promise to be a good pet! I promise!" (Reader) exclaimed, colliding their lips back onto Kirtch's as a string of hot sperm shot up into (Reader's) body, a fluid so thick it was practically glue, leaving (Reader) feeling physically full. Kirtch couldn't help but push the button again, seeing his pet overflow with adoration for him.

"I love you, (Reader), I really really do."

Kirtch whispered sweet nothing's into his pet's ear as they passed out, then carried them to his bed, tucking in their swollen body, not minding the mess. (Reader) really was the most beautiful and adorable little pet in the entire universe. He doubt that he would ever get another pet after (Reader) was gone. He sat on the floor, rubbing circles into their tear stained cheeks, smiling contently.

Of course, the next day Kirtch would have to use the collar, showing (Reader) how bad they truly felt inside when they refused to get out of bed, and while it was awful making them cry when they tried to refuse to eat, it was for the best. Kirtch knew it wouldn't take long for (Reader) to graduate from needing their collar, and that soon they would always be by his side, begging him to pick them up and play with them. It didn't matter whether (Reader) needed cuddles or needed to be filled with his seed, Kirtch would overuse that remote until they desired his touch all the time.

He didn't mind the glassy, doll like glaze to their eyes, the change in their speech, the way they began crying whenever it looked like Kirtch was unhappy, or how they stopped pushing him away. After months of flushing their system with artificial love, Kirtch knew that his pet was happy with him. And that was all that mattered.

[avcdgrdn]

── .✦ [ FIC ]: can i really stay here? [ part three ]

[ part one & part two ]

mullet stanley pines x innkeeper reader

tags: fluff, hurt/comfort, sfw

word count: 1765

˙✧˖° ༘ ⋆｡˚

he was so obviously staring at you.

it was a crisp fall morning, and a light sweat formed on your brow as you swept the floor by the front desk. you’d been at it for a while, and about halfway through, stan had meandered down the stairs and happened to see you. presently, he was casually leaning against the wall, and you could feel his eyes on your back.

there were moments where you’d turn your head in his direction, and he would jolt and quickly look the other way. you rolled your eyes amusedly, wondering what he could be thinking of.

after a moment of thought, you spoke up, your gaze still focused on the broom in your hands. ��so, whatcha doin’, stan?”

there was nobody else in the lobby, so he didn’t really have a good excuse to pull out of his back pocket. he looked up, drumming his fingers against the wall. “uhhh … nothin’. what’s it to ya?”

“you know, you can come closer if you want to.” you shook your head, chuckling. the broad-built man sighed in defeat, pushing himself off of the wall and walking over to lean against the front desk instead.

as you continued to sweep, he pursed his lips, fidgeting with the edge of his t-shirt. “hey, uh. i been thinkin’.”

you gave him a glance over your shoulder. “yeah?”

one of his hands wandered up to his shaggy mullet, tugging absentmindedly at chocolate brown hairs. “well, i’ve been stayin’ with you for a few days now … and i really appreciate your help. i … i’m still tryin’ ta think of ways to make a buck, but … a–anyway, what’s i’m saying is—”

he stammered, blushing faintly as he averted his gaze. it was frustratingly difficult to be so open and honest.

“ … is–is there any way i could help you out? since i’m not payin’ at all …”

you straightened, turning to fully face him. his desire to settle his debt was endearing, but you knew in your heart that he really didn’t owe you anything. you wanted him to have someone to watch out for him, someone to care about him.

someone to … love him.

“i really appreciate it, but it’s okay.” you grinned, warm with compassion.

stan blinked, and he suddenly found that his heart was aching in his chest again. just as it had at the diner, as it had when he took that key from your hand …

his square jaw clenched shut as your genuine empathy pierced into him like daggers.

“please.”

he almost sounded desperate.

“i, uh. i just don’t like ta feel useless.”

after studying his expression for a moment, your smile softened.

“okay.” swiftly, you extended the broom towards him, raising your brows. “wanna finish sweeping in the lobby? i can start on the dusting.”

immediately, he lit up. “alright, angel. i’ll sweep this place so good, you’d never guess that anyone’s set foot in it.”

taking hold of the broomstick, the brunet got to work, happily gathering dust bunnies, crumbs, and random bits of trash that various customers had left behind. you rummaged around in the supply closet for the duster, pulling it out and starting to clean up different decorative objects and shelftops.

the soft music emanating from the record player served to create a peaceful atmosphere. occasionally, one or two patrons would pass through, but for the most part, it was quiet.

after you’d taken care of all the dusty surfaces in the room, you put the duster away, lighting a pumpkin spice scented candle and carefully placing it on a table in the center of the lobby.

“hmm ... wow, that’s nice.” stan hummed, clearly affected by the calming aroma.

“i know, right? i love having this scent in the fall–”

you stopped abruptly upon seeing the perfectly clean floors. it couldn’t have been more than fifteen minutes, and yet all of it was spotless.

“wow, stan, you made quick work of that! good job!”

stanley puffed out his chest, clearly smug and quite proud of himself, like a small child showing you a drawing they had worked hard on. “i told you. ain’t i helpful?”

“you’re a huge help, thank you.”

he hadn’t been praised like this in so long. he was practically glowing at this point.

“so, er … what else can i help ya with?” he stepped closer to you, hands on his hips.

you racked your brain in an attempt to think of what else needed to get done around the inn. “oh, i know. a shipment arrived for us earlier today, but they’re both heavy boxes that i can’t quite move on my own. would you w–”

“I’M ON IT! lead the way, sweetheart!”

“o–okay–” you led him around to the back to collect the packages, trying so hard not to let his pet names affect you. nonetheless, you were blushing like an idiot.

next thing you knew, you were watching him carry two heavy boxes with ease, one on each arm. he had rolled up his jacket sleeves, revealing his muscular forearms.

… it’s fall, right? it’s not supposed to be this hot in here.

“where to, toots?” he grunted, arching a brow.

“uh … the storage room. this way.” you were avoiding eye contact as much as possible. everything about this guy was attractive right now.

oh God, don’t let me die yet…

after the contents of the boxes were successfully unloaded and put away, the two of you sat at the kitchen bar, helping yourselves to the lunch that your chef had made. stan ate enthusiastically, probably in the best mood that you’d ever seen him in. why that was, exactly, you weren’t sure—you were too overwhelmed to figure it out. there was just something about the way he looked at you that was making you silently freak out.

i know that he’s been calling me names even since we first met. it seems like it’s just a thing that he does with everyone … but lately, they really don’t feel like just names.

i don’t know. am i going crazy? i might be. and yet …

chewing on a mouthful of rice, you snuck a sideways peek at the man beside you, admiring his chiseled jaw and dark brown hair. that is, until he caught you looking, and you nearly choked on your food.

“what? ‘s there somethin’ on my face?” he chuckled, his tone taunting.

“i, uh, i thought there might’ve been–but you’re fine. no worries.” bullcrap.

“hah, whatever you say.”

you continued to eat in silence. your fork was slipping in your hand.

just great. my palms are sweating.

this … hasn’t happened to you since high school. butterflies and blushing suddenly clouded your brain whenever he was close to you. how did it even start? he just walked into your life, and …

you were so lost in your thoughts, you didn’t process stan calling your name for the third time in a row. it wasn’t until he put his hand on your shoulder that you snapped out of it.

“gh– huh?” your face was redder than a cherry tomato.

“hey, you alright? yer actin’ all spacey.” he was evidently concerned this time. “how many fingers am i holdin’ up?”

“f–four.” you exhaled, rubbing your temples with one hand. “i’m fine, just lost in thought, is all. thanks, stan.” you offered a small smile as you fought the raging butterflies in your stomach.

stan nodded in understanding, gently taking his hand off your shoulder.

“okay, just lemme know if you need anything.”

with that, he took care of his plate, rinsing it off in the sink before making his way up to his room. your chef walked into the kitchen, shooting you a look as you handed him your half-full plate.

“sorry, i don’t think i can eat any more. i’m feeling … nauseous.”

it was around six o’clock in the evening now, and you sat up in your personal living room on the very top floor of the inn, falling deeper and deeper into your thoughts.

do i … really like him that much?

am i in love?

you tangled your fingers into your hair, hunching over slightly.

but … so quickly? i’ve only known him for a number of days. is that a thing that happens!?

what if he doesn’t like me back? what if he flirts with everyone? what if he thinks i’m weird for liking him? does he know i like him?

just then, you heard a knocking on your door.

oh.

heart thudding violently in your chest, you swallowed your anxiety, standing up from your sofa to find out who it could be. you turned the doorknob, letting it swing open.

the first thing you saw was a beautiful bouquet of red tulips.

your gaze trailed up to find stanley’s broad figure, dressed in slacks and a flattering button-up top. he had pulled his hair back into a ponytail, although a few stray hairs remained out of place.

his brown eyes met your own, and your breath hitched in your throat.

“hey. listen, uh … these are for you, first of all.” he handed the bouquet to you, which you mindlessly accepted, being unable to look away from his face.

“i … wanted t’ properly say thank you. lettin’ me stay here has helped me get my mind right ‘nd allowed me to think about the important things.”

he took a breath.

“and, well … i figured out that you’re real important to me. so. i–i was wonderin’ if you’d wanna grab dinner tonight?”

“… dinner?”

“y–yeah, like a date–”

your cheeks flushed a dark shade of red, matching the tulips you held in your arms.

stan tripped over his words, staring at the floor. “and i, uh—i understand if you’re not interested–”

“no! i mean, yes! yes, i’m–i’m very interested.” you rushed to answer him, not fully realizing that a gleeful smile had broken out onto your expression. “i just … wow …”

he laughed, beaming with joy as he realized that the answer was yes. “oh, damn, i didn’t actually expect to get this far…!” gently, he scooped you into a snug embrace, lifting you off of your feet slightly. “thank you, angel.”

“... anything for you.” you murmured in reply, hugging him back for a sweet moment before the two of you stepped apart. “let me just get ready, then.”

“sounds good, doll. i’ll be waitin’ downstairs.”

and just like that, the door was shut, and you were left to stare at the red tulips in your hands.

end

[ part four ]

author's note:

screaming into a pillow kicking my feet giggling

i wrote this one so fast somehow ??? i had a vision

if you wanna be added to the tag list for updates, lmk!

tag list: @icouldntthinkofanythingclever @seahorrorz @blustalker @hay-needle @phanmai1002 @samanthastarss @bumblingbriars @arya-eats-chips @bihexualandferal @hello-i-like-owls @blurryface505 @ryethebrokengae

[ghost-ferry]

Original tadc au created by @sm-baby

[rin-may-1103]

Delilah's language Au posts

The Master Post

Delilah's language:

Bruce Wayne approaches the Fentons because Damian is a big fan of Danny for his work in the conservation of the purpleback gorilla.

So now Danny is going to the birthday of this random kid so he can teach him gorilla sign language so he can talk to the purple-back gorilla as well.

Part one, Part Two, Part Three, Part four(to be written).

[sommerbueckers]

𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬⁴

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

November 1st, 2019

MYLA TAPPED HER DESIGNATED note taking pen against the table, the table that she sat at every Physics class, the table that she usually shared with Paige. However today, the blonde seemed to be missing. Myla knew for a fact that she was here, she had shamelessly watched her talk with her friends from behind the safety of her locker just a few moments before the bell rang.

She scoffed at the thought of her skipping class.

'Whatever, it's her grade,' the curly head thought.

Myla was jealous. In the three years she had been attending Hopkins, she hadn't found a solid group of friends. She had never gotten a text from from anyone in the middle of class to meet in the bathroom, she had never been brought her favorite coffee order in the morning and was never invited to go get food after school. She was an afterthought in every friendship she had ever had, and her 'friendship' with Paige was no different. In fact, the word 'afterthought' was quite generous.

She often wondered what the blonde talked about with her friends, what kind of things made her laugh, what kind of things about other people intrigued her.

Was there anything about herself that Paige liked?

Her ears perked up at the familiar sound of the blonde's voice in the front of the classroom. She was quietly handing a note to the teacher, a fading smile on her face, the aftermath of whatever she had finished before coming inside. Myla's stomach felt queasy, and she diverted her eyes down to her empty page of notes in an attempt to distract herself from the now approaching girl.

Paige breathed out a sigh as she sat down, pulling out her own notebook and pencil case. She leaned back in her chair, using the edge of the table to pull herself back in before she repeated the action.

"Do you mind?" Myla whispered, glancing behind her.

Paige smiled cheekily, "Sorry, is this bothering you?"

"Yes actually, it is," the girl grumbled in response.

Paige raised her eyebrows in surprise at Myla's sudden and unusually bitter tone. She pulled herself back into the table and leaned forward, trying to get a better look at the other girl's face. Avoiding her eyes, the curly head kept her gaze steadily on her notebook, knowing that if she made eye contact with Paige, she'd fold instantly.

"What bit you in the butt?" the blonde smirked.

"Excuse me?"

"You seem irritated," she shrugged, "and you usually aren't."

'Well you usually don't skip class so I guess we're all trying something new,' is what Myla would have said if it wouldn't have completely ruined everything she had been building since the first day of school. So instead, she bit her lip and shrugged silently.

"'M just hungry, I haven't eaten anything yet."

"You didn't eat breakfast?" Paige asked, to which Myla shook her head. "Why not?"

"I wasn't hungry this morning."

"Hm," the two fell silent again, and Paige found herself hating how awkward it felt. It felt like the first two weeks all over again: her and Myla talking for the first time ever after having gone to school together for three years. She'd commit crimes just to not have to go back to those first couple of weeks. Being paired with someone you didn't know was bad enough, but being paired with someone you didn't know and didn't like was lamentable. "Well now look at you, hungry ass," the blonde nudged her arm jokingly.

Myla failed to stop the smile that crept onto her face, and although the action didn't seem that bad once she had finally done it, Paige's next words made her wish she hadn't.

...

June 17th, 2024

"There's that pretty smile," Paige spoke into the phone.

"Hi," Myla laughed shyly, "are you busy right now?"

"Never too busy for you, you look like you're kinda busy though..." Paige blue eyes narrowed slightly and she brought the phone closer to her face, "Are you in your towel right now?"

"Yeah," the curly head snorted, "it was getting late and I wanted to make sure I caught you before you went to bed."

"Sureee."

"What?"

"I think you jus' wanted me to see you like this," she said honestly. Paige had just sat back down on the couch after getting her DoorDash, her show ready to be resumed on the tv. But now, in the short few steps that it had taken her to get her food and get situated, she had forgotten all about it.

"Well if that was the case, I would've propped my phone up..." Myla explained, setting the phone up against a tissue box that sat upon her bathroom counter. "Like this."

Water droplets fell from the ends of Myla's curls, the entirety of her hair appearing darker after the shower. The girl proceeded to brush her teeth, and from where the towel had been wrapped, Paige could see the swell of her breasts as she bent over to spit into the sink. Wiping the excess toothpaste from her lip with her thumb, Myla smiled coyly into the camera.

Paige readjusted herself in her seat, unexpectedly growing more nervous than she would've thought. Her grip on her phone tightened, and she watched with an unwillingly clenched jaw as Myla finished off by brushing her tongue and rinsing her mouth.

"What pajamas should I wear tonight?" Myla asked, breaking Paige out of whatever trance she had fallen into.

She cleared her throat, "What are the options?"

"Well..." her voice trailed off as she set her phone down to browse through her drawers. "It's between these leopard shorts and the matching shirt, or these gray shorts and a white tank."

"Definitely not the leopard, you 'bouta' be lookin' like somebody grandma," the blonde laughed.

"Fuck you!" Myla gasped into the phone, "leopard is cute, you just don't have style like I do."

"Oh I got style, trust me," Paige argued, amused.

"Gray sweatpants and a white tee is not style, that's something you wear to an airport on the off chance that a real person might see you."

"So that means it's not a bad fit!"

"I didn't say it was! All I said was that it wasn't style, and you didn't disagree."

Shaking her head Paige responded, "If that helps you sleep at night."

After rolling her shorts to the length she liked, Myla wrapped her hair in a towel and climbed into bed with her phone. Roxie quickly joined her, her tiny feet pitter pattering against the hardwood floors as she hurried into the room and to the side of the bed. Scooping her into her arms, she gently placed her in front of the phone.

"She heard my voice," Paige smiled.

"She's not even looking at the camera, she's looking at her mommy," Myla said, ruffling her puppy's ears.

"Hm, so am I."

Paige and Myla made eye contact through the phone, both of their smiles growing in the tense silence they had created. Roxie, frustrated with the lack of attention she was getting, climbed into Myla's lap and let out a tiny bark. Myla diverted her eyes down for a moment, thankful for the distraction.

There had been a little voice in the back of her mind that told her that she and Paige were just friends, that their reserved dinner at a high class restaurant in the heart of New York City had just been two friends catching up. For a while, that had been a plausible explanation, at least that's what she told herself. But with the way their recent phone calls had sounded, and from the obvious flirting that Paige was doing right now, there was no way she could possibly still believe that.

Here she was again, lost in thought during an encounter that seventeen year old her could only dream of having. She placed a small peck on Roxie's head, choosing not to respond to the blonde. She leaned back against the headboard as Paige began to talk once more, allowing herself to be carried away by her voice.

"So about me coming up there..." she started carefully. "I was tryna figure out which hotel i'm gonna stay at, but I figured I'd ask you 'cus you'd know which one is closest to you."

Paige knew exactly what she was doing. She didn't stay in a hotel, she wanted to stay with Myla, and she knew Myla wanted that too. But she wanted, no, needed to hear her say it. Manicured hands adjusted the towel on her head before she had finally gathered the courage to speak up. This very topic had been on her mind since this morning when Paige mentioned coming here next weekend.

Why would she make Paige pay to stay in a hotel when she was coming up here specifically to see her? It wasn't like she didn't have the space, she certainly did. Myla had friends stay over all the time and not one of them had struggled to fit in the bed with her, Paige would be no different. Besides, if things went south there's always a perfectly good couch waiting just outside the bedroom.

Despite her mind being made up, Myla wasn't a fool. She could see right through Paige's attempt in cracking her, and she wasn't planning on giving in that easily.

"There are a few really good ones around. There's one that's like a five minute walk from me, and then the subway is five minutes in the opposite direction so that one is pretty popular. I know the Marriott is around all the good food spots..."

Myla paused when she looked at the phone again, Paige's narrowed eyes and unimpressed face staring back at her. The girl burst into laughter, not even noticing the way Roxie jumped at the sudden sound. Paige's facade cracked as well, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips as she watched Myla shake with laughter.

"You really think i'm gonna make you get a hotel?" she asked after finally calming down.

"Nah I didn't at first but -- you had me there for a second," Paige admitted.

"Good, that was the goal."

"You're a lil sneaky, I peep it," she nodded her head and tapped her finger against her temple.

"Oh please, I practically wear my feelings on my face," Myla frowned.

Paige would've liked to argue that, but after thinking back to the twinkle in Myla's eyes that night at dinner, she knew the girl was right. The blonde sighed tiredly, glancing at her clock on her nightstand. It was nearing midnight and she had to be up early in the morning. As much as she hated to see Myla's face disappear from her phone screen, it had to happen.

'I need some self control,' she shook her thoughts away.

"Ion wanna fall asleep on you so, imma jus' hangup," Paige breathed out, tilting her head.

"Okay then, well I hope you sleep well."

"I hope you do too."

Myla subtly moved out of the camera to hide her smile, "Goodnight Paige."

Paige shook her head with a smile, "Goodnight Myla."

The call disconnected and Myla grabbed her charger from the floor, humming in satisfaction when the lighting bolt appeared on the battery. She switched her lamp off and turned the other way, cuddling up with Roxie who was staring up at her with big eyes.

Myla had been more tired than she realized, and she became delirious quite quickly. So when her phone buzzed and lit up the small corner of the room, she couldn't decipher whether she had imagined it or not.

___________________________________________________________

i have smth cooking, and as much as i hate conflict, i think this story needs it...

love yall ! not proofread btw...

[lawrencespen1777]

“What was I saying?”

“Umm I’m not really sure. You fell asleep mid sentence.”

“Really?”

“Two hours ago.”

“Oh.”

“You need the rest.”

“It’s not rest. It’s narcotic induced unconsciousness.”

“Then it’s rest for me.”

“I hate being on all these drugs. They make me nauseous and I feel like my mind is moving in slow motion. I can’t even blink at a normal speed. It’s pathetic.”

“It’s reality right now, okay? You need the morphine so your body can use its energy to heal. No one is judging you. No one thinks you’re weak, especially not me.

“You don’t have to do this.”

“You would do it for me.”

“In a heartbeat.”

[samandcolbyownme]

PART ONE | PART TWO | PART THREE

Warnings: strong language, vampire!Matt, mentions of blood, death, blood drinking, vampire!reader, killing, compulsion, angsty?, kissing, and a quick SMUT SCENE

Word Count: 3.6k | unedited

꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷

“What do we do with the body?” You lick your lip, glancing up from Macie to Matt, “We can’t just-“

“I’ll get it. But you have to come with me.” He walks up to you, “Promise me you’ll stay with me.”

You take a deep breath, nodding as you look up at him, “I promise.”

He pulls you in for a kiss and steps back, “Go wash your face, if anyone spots you, I don’t want you to be covered in blood.”

“Matt, it’s four in the morning, who’s going to-“

He cuts you off, “You never know, okay? Can you just do that please?”

You nod and make your way to the bathroom. You stop, staring at your new and transformed self in the mirror. Your fingers run down over the semi dried blood coating your chin and you lick your lips, sighing at the taste as you turn the water on.

You wipe off, throwing the towel in the garbage before making your way over to change into a new top. You throw on a hoodie and walk back out to Matt.

He moves to pick up Macie, lifting her like her dead weight was nothing, “We’ll come back and get this taken care of, for-“

You cut him off, “When do we go after Damian?”

“One step at a time, baby. Okay? We have to focus on getting her to the woods first.” He walks over to you, “How are you?”

You nod, “I’m good.”

“Are you sure?” He raises his brows and you sigh, “I’m hungry again.”

“That’s to be expected. We’ll have to get you on animal blood soon. We can start-“

“Animal blood?” You scoff, “That sounds gross.”

“I know, but it tastes the same.. after a few days.” Matt sighs, “Just stay with me. Once they find her, you’ll probably be one of the first people to be contacted, and you need-“

“I know, to be under control because I’ll be around people, but I-“ you stop talking as Matt cuts you off, “Hey. One step at a time, okay?”

You nod, “Okay.”

“Good, now..” he walks over to your room and you follow him, “Keep up.”

You smirk and jump out after him, following him the whole way to the woods. Right as you enter, you stop, looking around, “They found Jace’s body.”

“Yeah, I figured that would happen.” Matt tosses the body in his arms do the ground and reaches for your hand, “Didn’t think it would take them this long.”

You laugh slightly and look around, “I’m starving.”

He nods, “A few rabbits should be enough.. we just gotta-“

“What’s he doing out here?” You look at Matt, “Do you hear that?”

Matt nods as he looks around, “He shouldn’t be out here.”

“We can- I mean.. he helped didn’t he?” You look at Matt and he nods, “He just made it easy for us.” He looks down at you, “Come on.”

He leads you away, the sound of Graham’s footsteps growing louder by the second.

“Stop right here.” Matt pulls you in close to him, “We need to make sure he’s alone. Can you listen and tell me if you think he’s alone?”

You close your eyes, tilting your head as you focus on your hearing.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s just him.” You swallow, growing more antsy as you just stand there, “When can we-“

Matt puts his finger to his lips and you stop talking, turning your head slowly as the footsteps seem to be right on the other side of the tree.

“Now.” Matt mouths and you were gone.

You grab Graham by the shirt and throw him to the ground, your knee on his chest, “Hi.”

“What the- y/n?” He blinks a few times, “What the fuck are you doing out here?” You tilt your head, looking into his eyes, “Why are you out here?”

“Damian wanted me to try and find Matt’s body and hide it.”

“Tell me what part of Matt’s disappearance you played.”

“I-I held him while Damian kicked his ass.”

“Why?”

“He said, that I needed to man up, do something to prove myself.”

“Hmm.” You stand up, “Do you believe in being in the wrong place at the right time?”

“What- I don’t, I don’t know what you mean? Y/n, what’s going on? You’re scaring me.” His breathing grows more rapid, “Y/n.”

“Do you?” You look at him and he shrugs, “I mean, yeah I guess.”

“Do you want to know something?” You walk up to him, “You just so happen to be in the wrong place, but at the perfect time for me.” You spin him around, sinking your fangs into his neck and he lets out a yell, “F-fuck! Fuck!”

Matt walks out and stands in front of Graham, “Remember me?”

You tilt your head back and he falls down on the ground, trying to slide away, “N-no, there’s.. you were dead.”

“That’s what they all say.” Matt laughs and shakes his head, “they’re always so surprise to see that I’m alive and well.”

“What the fuck!” Graham groans, pulling his hand away to look at it, “T-there’s.. blood, you fucking.. bitch you ripped open my neck.”

You lick your lips and bend down, “Yeah, sorry. Just trying to get used to this whole vampire stuff.”

“V-vam-“ he scoffs, “What the fuck?”

“You’re going to die, Graham.” Matt bends down in front of him, “But you won’t be coming back like me.” He pats his leg and gives you a nod.

You’re behind the injured man, finishing the job by ripping through his neck and sucking his blood until he’s pale.

“Atta girl, baby.” Matt bites his lip and you look up at him as you stand up, “Am I pretty good at this vampire stuff yet?”

He squints, giving you a smirk, “I’d say so.” He walks over, pecking you on the cheek, “Let’s go get you cleaned up.”

You’re down by the stream, sitting there in the last little bit of moonlight the night has to offer as Matt cleans off your face, “I think you should kill Damian. He’s the one who got you into this.”

“Yeah but-“

You cut him off, “No. I want to watch you get your revenge on him. I want to watch you scare him.”

A smirk appears on his lips and he nods, “Alright, if you say so.” He rinses his hand off and looks at you, “You know, you’re handling this change pretty good.”

“What do you mean?” You tilt your head and he shrugs, “I don’t know, I thought you’d be on a rampage by now.. I’m glad you’re not.”

“As long as you’re with me, I don’t think I have anything to worry about. You ground me.”

He smiles and gasps, “Oh, here.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a ring, “As soon as you- as soon as I killed you..” he laughs and you smile, “Right.”

“I went out, got Roman to get me this.” He reaches for your hand and you give it to him. He slides the ring on your finger, “It’s a daylight ring, so you don’t have to hide in the shadows all the time.”

Right as the words leave his lips. The sunlight of early morning creeps through the trees, reflecting off of your ring, “What.. would have happened if you didn’t give this to me?”

“You’d burn, your skin would literally catch on fire. I had to learn the hard way.”

Your eyes go wide and Matt sighs, “Yeah, I’m glad I remembered about it.”

“I appreciate it, really.” You lean in, “Thank you.” You press your lips to his and he reaches up to cup your face, “You’re not ready to be in a crowed yet, but when you are, it’ll help you blend in more.”

“We should probably get back to clean my apartment right?”

He nods, “Yes. Not a bad idea.”

“I’ll race you.” You immediately start running and Matt is right behind you.

You couldn’t explain it other than Matt was right, you felt free. You felt good. You felt like you could run the world.

You were loving this feeling.

That was until your hunger struck and an unsuspecting early morning hiker caught your attention. You immediately flew off the path, but Matt was hot on your tail.

But a split second behind.

You pounced on the hiker like a lion to its prey. Your teeth immediately sinking into the vein in her neck and sucking.

“Y/n!” Matt pulls you off of her, “That’s not what we said we were doing!” He looks at the girl struggling on the ground and he looks back at you, “You hurt her, but you can also help her.”

You clench your jaw, looking down at her before moving to kneel down, “Go to the hospital and say an animal attacked you..”

She gets up and immediately starts running back down the trail and Matt sighs, “Baby..”

“I-I’m sorry..” you look down, wiping off the blood from your chin on your wrists, then your pants, “It just.. happened, it just came over me I couldn’t-“

“I know, I know. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-“

“Trusted me?”

“No, no.” Matt pushes your chin up, looking into your eyes, “You did nothing wrong. I just need to stay with you.”

“No more racing?”

He chuckles and shakes his head, “No more racing, let’s just get to your apartment. I have a feelings this place will be swarming with cops and two of your bodies will be found.”

You nod, “Okay.”

꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷

“It’s crazy how we can move and not be detected.” You say as you finish scrubbing the floor, “Why couldn’t we compel someone to do this for us?”

“Because, baby. We have to clean up our own messes sometimes.” Matt kneels down next to you, “But you’ll master the technique of being clean as you go.”

“I’m sorry about the hiker.”

“I told you, it’s fine.” He runs his hand over your hair and stands up, “I’ve been thinking about how I want to get back at Damian.”

You sit down, turning to face him as he sits down on the couch, “How?”

“Once the news gets out about Macie, I want you to act like nothing is wrong, we’ll feed you before so you’re controlled for a little. But you check up on him, make sure he’s okay, and that’s when I’ll come into play.”

Your phone dings and you pull it from your pocket, “Macie has been found. So has Graham. Both labeled as animal attacks and they’re ordering everyone in town to stay out of the woods, day and night.”

Matt tilts his head, “Looks like it’s showtime.” He nods, “Call Damian, do you have his number?”

You nod, “Yeah, Macie gave it to me the one time we were at a party and her phone broke. She had him come get us.” You roll your eyes and look at him, “That was before you.”

He smirks slightly and nods, “I figured.”

You put the phone to your ear and it rings a few times before he answers, “Were you with her last night?”

“She left my apartment in the middle of the night, I tried to stop her but she wouldn’t stay.”

“And you didn’t go with her? Follow her? Something, anything like that? God you are so fucking stupid.” He sniffles, “that was my girl, y/n.”

Matt gives you a look and you sigh, “That was my best friend, Damian.”

The words tasted sour on your tongue.

“Sure as fuck didn’t seem it. You were so far up Matt’s ass you barely seen her. Always pushing her to the back burner. You weren’t her friend. She wasn’t anything to you.”

He hangs up and you stare at Matt and he tilts his head, “He’s dead.”

He stands up and starts to pace, “There’s no way he’s going to sit there and insult you after what he’s done.” He shakes his head, “No, no. He’s going to pay for everything. Me, you.” He clenches his jaw, “I’m going to make it hurt.”

“When are we-“

“Now.”

“You don’t want to wait?” You stand up and walk over to him, “What about-“

“Y/n.”

The tone in Matt’s voice and the way his eyes flicker silence you immediately. You swallow and look down, taking a few deeps breaths to try and control yourself.

“I’m sorry.” He whispers, “I just- I’m..” he scoffs, “Unable to put into words how mad I am, and you need me right now and I just-“

“You’re still figuring things out, too.” You look at him, “While trying to deal with me, and now this.. it’s my fault.. I started this. We could have waited like you said and I just- I jumped the gun. I’m sorry.”

“They deserved what happened to them. All three of them. If it wasn’t you, it would have been me.” Matt walks over to you, “I’m sorry.”

He pulls you in for a hug and he sighs, “It looks animals are the only thing we can get you right now. I know it sounds gross, but you need to eat. I need you to be right here, with me.”

You nod, “I’ll give it a shot.”

꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷

Back in the woods, deep in the woods, Matt is giving you pointers on how to hunt small game, “You gotta be quick.” He snickers, “And, it’ll be hard the first time, took me a few tries to catch a rabbit, so don’t be hard on yourself if-“

You catch a rabbit. First try. [Rip little buddy]

Matt’s jaw falls slack as he watches you feed, “Okay, there’s no way.”

You smirk as you drop it down to the ground, “What?” You laugh as you walk over to him, “Shocked I’m a better vampire than you?”

He laughs as your teasing remark and rolls his eyes, “Yeah, sure.”

“Oh, there’s another.” You lunge to get it, but you miss and Matt laughs, “That’s more like it.”

You throw a rock at him but he catches it quickly, “Hey now, no need to be a sore loser.”

“I’ll show you sore.” You lunge at him, slamming him up against a tree as you attack his lips with yours. Your hand runs through his hair as you kiss down his neck and he groans as you gently bite down on his skin.

“Y/n.”

“What, baby?” You bite your lip as you lean back to look at him, “afraid you might hurt me?”

He smirks and shakes his head, “No, no.” His hands grip your waist and he spins around, slamming your back against the tree, “I just like to be the dominant one.”

“I’m sure we can take turns.” You bite your lip and smile as he kisses down your neck. His hands move to push your pants down as you work at undoing his jeans.

“I’ve been waiting for you to want this.” He whispers as he lifts you up, “You have no idea.”

You look down at him, resting your head back against the tree as you feel him slip into you. You gasp, tightening your grasp around him as you feel him thrust in deeper, “Fuck, me too.”

His lips attach to your neck as his thrusts are quick to pick up a pace, “You still feel as good as ever.”

Your eyes roll back as the heightened feelings smack you like a truck, “F-fuck.” You move your head, connecting your lips with his, “Feels so fucking good, so fucking good.”

“Y-yeah.” Matt groans out, “It does.”

It doesn’t take you long before your both at your peak and you can feel him spilling inside of you with a loud groan.

You pant, moaning out as you come down from your high and he sets you down.

“That was so fast.” He laughs, “I didn’t.. think that would be fast, too.”

You nod, standing up to step back into your pants, “I mean, I guess..” you laugh, speaking between breathes, “it’s a good thing that we have eternity to see how many times we can do it.”

He bites his lip as he buttons his jeans, “You would be correct.” He kisses your cheek, “How’s the hunger?”

“I could eat.. again.” You sigh, “When is this going to stop being a constant thing?”

“Soon, baby.” He shrugs, “Took me a couple months. When I thought I was, I really wasn’t, so it’ll take a bit.”

“Once we get rid of Damian, we can leave right?” You look at Matt and he nods, “Yes. We can go, let’s just get you a few more animals before we finish this.”

You nod and spend the next hour hunting.

“How do you feel?” Matt asks as he watches you finish off another rabbi, and you nod, “Good.”

“Feel like you can walk up to Damian’s door and convince him to let you in?”

“Why would I need-“

“Oh, right. Yeah, you can’t just walk into anyone’s house anymore. You have to be invited in.”

You give him a confused look, “How come you’re able to come into my house without me inviting you in?”

He laughs, “Baby, that’s our apartment.”

“Right yeah.” You sigh, “Sorry, it’s been so long I must have forgot we added your name to it right before..” you trail off and he pulls you in for a hug, “I’m here now.”

“You’re here now.” You nod and he kisses your head, “Come on.”

You make your way through the woods and next thing you know, you’re at Damian’s front door, knocking with an empty box in your hands.

“Go away.” He yells on the other side and you sigh, “Damian. Please. Open the door. I have stuff from Macie.”

The door slowly opens and he looks out at you, “Just set it down.”

“No, you’re going to let me in and we’re going to talk about this. She was my best friend, too. She helped me with the while Matt thing, Damian. I owed her a lot.”

“Just leave-“

“No.”

“God you’re so fucking stubborn.” He closes the door and unlocks it, “Fine. Come in.” You slowly extend your foot out over the threshold and walk in with ease.

You walk over to the table and set the box down, “Can you do something for me?” You look at Damian and he sighs, “What?”

You stare into his eyes, “Invite Matt into your home.”

Damian looks at the door with zero hesitation, “Matt, please come in.”

Matt walks in, closing the door behind him and Damian blinks, “What the fuck!?” He looks from Matt to you, “What did you do to me?”

“I didn’t do anything.” You shrug, “What makes you think I did?”

“Because I just-“ he scoffs, “I just invited a dead dude into my house for one.. and two-“

Matt is there with his hand around his throat in a flash, “I don’t give a fuck what you have to say.” He throws him against the wall and you stand there with your brows raised.

You lean on the table, crossing your arms as you watch Matt walk over and pick him up, holding him against the wall to where his feet barely touch the ground.

“How are you here? I fucking killed you!?”

Matt laughs, “Wow, didn’t even need to compel it out of you.” He looks at you, “You see this?”

You nod, “Yeah, it’s almost like he’s proud of it or something.” You turn your attention to Damian, “Are you?”

“I’d do it all over again if she asked me to.”

“Who?” You told your head, “Ohhh, you mean your dead girlfriend? Yeah, she told me everything when I compelled it out of her.”

“She also blabbed to her friend about it, so..” Matt sighs, “I should make you turn yourself into the cops, but.. that won’t be as fun.”

“As fun as wh-“

Matt squeezes his throat and he starts gasping for air. Hes practically purple by the time he drops him to the floor.

Damian tries to crawl away but Matt steps on his back, “Yeah, no we’re not doing that.” He picks him up and looks at you as he spins the weakened man towards you, “Tell y/n you’re sorry.”

“Fuck you both.”

“That didn’t sound like an apology, baby. Did it?” You purse your lips, “I’m getting hungry, again.”

“In a minute baby.” Matt slams Damian against the wall and looks into his eyes, “Why did you kill me?”

“Macie hated you. You made her unhappy. I was only trying to make my girlfriend happy.”

“Bullshit.” Matt steps away and takes a swing. Damian groans and falls to the floor. Your eyes, along with Matt’s flash as the smell of the blood coming from his busted cheek.

“Matt.” You whisper, “I’m-“

Matt lifts Damian up and bites into his neck, “Come on, baby. Join me.”

You flash over, attacking the other side of his neck with your fangs and you can feel the life leave the body in your grasp.

He drops down to the floor with a thud, and you turn to Matt, pulling him in for a kiss. You lick the blood from his chin and he licks it from yours.

“Are we going after Amara?” You whisper as you tilt your head back, “She also knows.”

Matt shakes his head, “No. I think it’s time to just go.” He leans back, “start our lives together. We can go anywhere.”

“Anywhere?” You ask with a smile and he shakes his head, “No, baby. We can go everywhere.”

꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷

Happy Halloween my babies! I hope you had a spooky-tacular day! Thank you for choosing my fics to read, i appreciate and love you all so much! 🖤 I’ll catch you in the next one!

Likes and reblogs are majorly appreciated!

[siriusblackloml]

just for me - george weasley x reader smut (PART 3)

𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜: george weasley x fem!reader

𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩: 11.7k

𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩: “i was wondering if you could maybe write anything abt virgin killer!george weasley?? like im sorry hes the finest mf around ik he gets MAD hoes so when he finally acknowledges this preppy, nice and innocent mc he jus knows he has to ruin her"

𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙮: he fucked up. quite horribly, too. george swooped in, made his move, and tried to get on his life like he always does after he's finished with a random hookup. now you were avoiding him and pretty much making him live in agony as a result of his shitty actions. george will soon come to realize you had a much larger impact on his life than he would ever imagine.

𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨: swearing, a LOT of angst

𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧'𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙚: i’m still not done with this series but instead of keeping it three parts, i decided to add a fourth :) i hope you all enjoy this and please forgive me for the very long wait. i’ve had so much going on irl. part four is coming soon!

part one ┊ part two ┊part three ┊pt. 4 coming soon!

George had a funny little hop in his step as he walked through the grass. Not that it was truly intentional. He was just…very, very happy. There was too much adrenaline fogging his brain to really comprehend anything in this moment of time. He was acting as though he hadn’t just fucked you senseless in the field of grass outside the school. 

He felt proud of himself. He thought that this moment was worth all the celebrating in the world. All of his hard work had built up towards this moment and it paid off so much. You were absolutely amazing. Actually, he wondered to himself, was it possible to say that you were perfect? If he had to be honest with himself, you were everything he wanted in a girl. 

Physically, of course. It’s not like he was looking to start a relationship or anything. Sure, he just told you that he would see you around, but he had to use that more as a lie to try and leave the precious moment between you two on a positive note. False hope, deception, bullshit, call it anything you want, George didn’t regret it. He knew that if he just walked away he probably would have left you crying right there on the spot. He’s not sure he would ever be able to forgive himself if he did that. 

At the end of the day, George knew better than to actually see you again. That’s why from here on out, it would be nothing more than talking in class. If he even brought himself to do that. 

George couldn’t shake the smile from his face as he walked into the Gryffindor common room. The atmosphere was warm and inviting, contrasting the chilly breeze outside. Not that he was cold; the boy was still quite feverish from how hard he had just fucked you. Students were chatting amongst one another about their day and what was to come for the rest of the night. George noticed some students who were admirably trying to complete homework in the midst of the constant chatter. He thought of you for a split second. Remembering all the time you spend studying for homework and exams. He literally interrupted you studying earlier, but you didn’t seem to mind. 

Those thoughts of you were immediately discarded once he noticed a familiar duo in the corner of the room arguing with one another. It was George’s younger brother, Ron, and his friend Hermoine. What the two of them were arguing about was unbeknownst to him, but George caught the eye of someone sitting in a chair eating candy, watching the scene unfold like it was a drama. It was Fred, his fiery-red haired twin, who was popping the sweet treats into his mouth like he was eating popcorn at the movie theater. It must have been very entertaining watching Ron and Hermoine argue, as Fred couldn’t seem to pry his eyes off the show in front of him. 

George walks up to Fred and snaps his fingers. He immediately catches the attention of Fred, who boggles at him as if to ask, what the hell do you want? George motions for the boy to follow him. Fred gets up from his seat and follows George up the flight of stairs towards the empty dormitories. George seemingly couldn’t break the smile on his face so Fred immediately knew what was going on.

As soon as they were out of earshot of other people, Fred asked George, “So? Did it finally happen?”

George nods his head excitedly and eagerly answers, “Yes! It did!”

The twin embraces his brother with a cheeky clap of hand that morphed into a side hug. He was obviously very proud of George for his achievement. It’s not every day you take your classmate's virginity in the middle of a grassy field. Not that Fred really needed to know that last small detail. 

“I can’t believe you popped her cherry. I didn’t think she was ever going to budge.” Fred shakes his head in disbelief. The brother was referring to the fact he knew of your innocence. George remembers back to the day his twin told him about how you were positively a virgin. He could have sworn he melted on the spot from the newfound information. It was at that moment he knew he needed to be the one to ruin your innocence. 

And innocent you were. Well, for the most part, anyway. Your mouth depicted otherwise given all the profanity you were throwing at George. He couldn’t get over how mouthy you were during the entire session. The pathetic begging, the whining, the swearing. It was like heaven to his ears. It only made him want to drill his cock inside your pretty pussy even harder. Which he did, of course, and he loved watching the way your face would contort into pleasure at every thrust. 

Fred clapped his brother’s shoulder, pulling George from his daydreaming. He said in a cheerful tone, “Good for you, mate. So when are you seeing her again?” 

Fred’s brother immediately scoffs at the question. George thinks to himself, as if that’s happening. He had a very set rule for himself which was so straightforward it would take an absolute idiot to not understand. This easy rule was simple to follow; he didn’t give any of his hookups a second chance. They were a one and one time only situation. George was afraid that if he were to consistently see the same girl, he would give the impression that he wanted things to develop into something more. Of course he did like the girls, but it was more so for their physical appearance over their personality. Not that yours was bad, he actually quite enjoyed talking to you. 

Maybe even a little more than any other girl. You did leave his heart fluttering every now and then, which was strange for George to understand because it had never happened before. The boy shakes his head. He can’t keep thinking about you. No girl had ever left him so flustered before and he was not about to let that ruin his night of celebration. Celebrating you, of course. Or more so, the dirty act you two shared. 

To avoid giving you any kind of false hope, George plans to keep to himself from here on out. George tells his brother, “No, I don’t want her to think I’m, like, into her, know what I mean?” 

Fred shrugs out of confusion and raises an eyebrow, immediately striking back with, “Well, I kinda figured that’s what you wanted.” 

George’s heart stops beating for just a split second. As if something shocked his entire body. What was Fred implying? Why would he assume that of his brother knowing his reputation? Hell, Fred has encouraged George in the past to avoid being with a girl more than one time to avoid the start of a relationship. Fred must know deep down that you weren’t any different from the rest of the girls George had been with…right? 

George narrows his eyes at Fred and asks, “What do you mean?” 

“Don’t you like her? I thought…well, I guess I was wrong.” Fred trails off as he notices George seemed very tense. 

He was tense, and for good reason. George was nearly offended that his brother would ever assume that of him. He never broke the cycle in the past to see a girl more than once, why would he do it now? 

But then again, why would Fred figure that in the first place? Was George doing something specific that would have implied that idea? Other than frequently talking to Y/N in class, calling her cute, and….no, any guy can do that and it doesn’t mean he wants to drop everything and date the girl right that second. Plus, George only hung out with you to get closer…obviously. Nothing more than just that. Fred was just jumping to conclusions. Conclusions he had no business assuming in the first place.

George stays silent and avoids the lingering gaze of his twin. He turns away from Fred as an indication that he no longer wanted to talk, to which his brother complied almost immediately. Fred left the room without much of anything else to say. Once George heard the door shut close, he walked across the bedroom towards a long floor length mirror to look at his disheveled appearance. 

His clothes were untidy from the aftermath that was you. George rather liked this sight of his unkempt appearance knowing it was because of your bloody sex. He smirked to himself as he adjusted his clothes, tucking his shirt into his trousers and fixing his tie. Just looking at his clothes reminded him of everything with you. 

The sweetness of your moans, the tightness of your wet cunt, the way your face looked underneath his power. In the midst of him reminiscing, he thought back to the first time he ever saw you in class. That pretty girl was so far gone now. The girl he first met was completely different from the girl he just saw in the field. Her innocence was gone, stolen from her, in a way that was rough and possibly even catastrophic. 

The girl George knew first was too sweet for her own good. He almost…missed it. The way you blushed so easily from any of his flirty comments, or the little gasps that escaped your mouth from every tiny brush of his hand. 

These memories started to flash across the boy’s mind before he could even process them all. The countless times he would flirt with you behind Snape’s back, your sneaky giggles to avoid catching attention from the professor, all the times you would have to help him with his homework because he was absolutely clueless. The way he would glance at your hair because you always styled them in the cutest clips…or the way he would stare at your face because you were absolutely beautiful.

Then again, George loved staring at your face when you were underneath him, writhing in pleasure from the force of his cock. He needed to remind himself that whatever innocent girl he first met was far gone now. He destroyed her, deflowered her, anything he could think of, he did it. And shouldn’t he be proud of himself for that? 

At this moment, George heard his stomach start to grumble. He realized that he had not eaten anything since earlier this morning and was quite hungry. George finishes fixing his clothes and grabs his robe, trying to ignore the thoughts flooding his mind of how he tied a robe to a fucking tree just an hour earlier. 

Within minutes, he found himself going downstairs into the common room and finding a group of his friends and brothers already planning to march towards the Great Hall for dinner. George immediately tags along, jumping into conversation as if he had been there the whole time. As the group of boys wandered down hallways and waltzed around cold corridors, they would joke about anything and everything possible. George loves these nights with his friends where nothing else matters but how much fun they’re having. His mind had barely any focus on you anymore.

However, that did not last very long. Once George arrived at the Great Hall, he couldn’t help but steal a glance towards the table you would typically sit for meals. Your seat was vacant, though. Completely empty while the remainder of your friends sat in their own respective spots, chatting as if nothing was wrong. Clearly there was something wrong; you weren’t here for dinner. 

George thought of this as strange. He assumed that enough time had passed that you would have already come back to the school, gotten cleaned up, and would be coming downstairs for your meal. Maybe you were running late, he thought to himself. 

He shrugs his shoulders and turns back towards his friends, cracking joke after joke that erupted the entire group of boys into massive fits of laughter. Even though George was having a good time, his mind couldn’t stay focused on his friends for long. 

Every few minutes he’d get the urge to see if you were walking in the room. He’d frequently look towards the grand doors, walking students flood in and out, but never would he spot your cute hairclips amongst the crowd of people. He would even look back at your spot at the table. Ten minutes had passed, then it was twenty, now it was nearing thirty, George still couldn’t find you. 

Was it possible that you just stayed in the field after George left? He wondered this to himself, biting his lip in frustration because all he wanted to know was that you were okay. Why? He didn’t have the answer for that. But as long as he was able to see you, that’s all that mattered to George. Where on earth had you gone? There were multiple questions scattered across the boy’s mind and he hated not knowing anything. 

Sitting in the Great Hall trying to chase for an answer in his mind was giving George enough frustration to leave the group of friends early. He complained of being tired, to which his friends all chuckled deeply knowing why he would have been so exhausted (Fred’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor when he realized his brother had sex in a field). 

The boy left his group of friends to wander the hallways of Hogwarts. He flew up a flight of stairs to get to the second floor, maneuvering his way through a crowd of people to try and find a very particular window. It was one that overlooked the territory surrounding Hogwarts. It was an important window to him as it was pointed in the direction of the same tree you would have been sitting under. George secretly hoped he would be able to see a tiny, black dot under this tree, indicating that you had never left your spot after all.

Upon arrival at this windowsill that George had been desperately trying to look for, he peered outside only to see nothing. There was not one black speck amongst the green grass that would have implied you were still studying your materials. This meant you left the tree long ago, that you were probably wandering the school now doing Godric knows what. 

Why did this leave George feeling…uneasy? His heart dropped when he realized that you were no longer outside. He hated this feeling because it was completely new to him. It also brought on an array of questions, the most common one that crossed his mind being, why on earth does he care so much about a girl he hooked up with? Why was he so worried? Why did he hope to find you so desperately? It wasn’t like he was planning on talking to you, or anything more than that really.

George went to sleep that night with you on his mind. It was hard to fall asleep in the first place, however. He was tossing and turning for an hour straight trying not to worry about your current whereabouts. Unfortunately, George didn’t sleep long either. 

He’d wake up just a few hours into the night from a nightmare. It was a dream in which he lost you forever. 

»——•——«

The next day…

»——•——«

George felt a massive shift in the atmosphere the moment he woke up. He had a weird gut feeling about today, mostly because he was worried about where you’d gone last night. However, his worries would only worsen upon his first period class. 

You didn’t show up. To be more specific, you didn’t show up to Professor Snape’s class, which is a huge no-no in not only the professor’s book, but your own as well. You’d never missed class before as far as George was aware. Having to miss any kind of class nearly disgusted you, and you were for sure always present in Snape’s class given the consequences that would likely follow. The professor was keen on giving detention just for missing one class period. Not that you would probably earn one since you were his star student.

What on earth would have caused you to miss class? George wondered if there was a sort of emergency that you had to attend to, but his gut told him otherwise. His stomach felt like there was a knot in it the moment he walked into the room and didn’t see you. He had already felt uneasy just during the walk to the classroom. 

George didn’t see you in the hallway like he usually would in the mornings. He silently hoped and wished it was only because you had already arrived to class early, or maybe it was because you happened to be running late. Even if that was the case, he still felt weird about it because you were always to arrive at class at a very particular time. 

The boy started catching on that you would try and time your walk in the hallway so that the two of you would arrive at the doorway nearly at the exact same time. George never made a comment about this to you; he secretly thought it was adorable that you were so head over heels for him that you would go to such lengths to be sure you both arrived at the same time. 

And here he was, reminiscing those memories. They all felt lightyears away now. He took advantage of those days. The ones where he could admire you walking down the hallway in your cute skirt and hairclips, then he got to wink at you during class at random intervals. A million questions raced through his mind. So much so, that he couldn’t focus on a single word that came out of Snape’s mouth. Not that he usually paid much attention anyway. He would always be too distracted by your beauty. 

Amongst the million questions that ran through his head, one question continued to linger on George’s mind while he sat in class; had he ruined things between you two?

He never asked himself this kind of question before because it has never been an issue in the past. He moved on easily every single time he had been with a girl, why couldn’t he let you go? 

What caused this to start? His infatuation with you, that is. Was it just because you guys talked frequently during class? Well that couldn’t be all, there had been times George hooked up with girls he knew for years and never felt this way before. Was it only because he knew you were a virgin? While that factor going into sex with you was very exciting, it wouldn’t be enough for him to be this obsessed with your unknown whereabouts. 

George tried finding something that would have sparked his sudden interest in you, when his heart dropped in the middle of a thought. The realization hits him like a brick and his breath is immediately knocked out of his lungs. The past day has been spent worrying not only about where you were, but just you in general. Absolutely nothing else mattered in the world but you. 

While George wasn’t the sharpest tool in the box, he didn’t need a genius to tell him that he was falling for you. That realization alone was enough to shake him to his core. It was as though everything in his brain had shut off completely, all except that circuit that left his mind running on loop thinking about you and you only. And maybe it wasn’t exactly love that he was feeling, but it was definitely…something. It was the sort of “something” that made George want to drop everything he was doing just to be with you. Because even if it wasn’t love that he was experiencing, the boy knew he was feeling something intense for you and needed to share that with you as soon as possible. 

Given he was in quite possibly the most boring classroom of all, George didn’t even give his plan a second thought. He collected his belongings and shoved them into his bag, got up from his desk, and exited the room without a word. The only thing on his mind was finding you. 

With a rapidly beating heart and sweaty palms, George started to pace the hallways in hopes he would randomly catch sight of you around a corridor. When that plan failed, he stood still for a few minutes to try and pinpoint exactly where you could have been. While it was possible that you were simply hiding in your house dormitory from the rest of the world, George played with the idea that you were possibly hiding in the library. The only reason he could think of such a place was not only because he knew how studious you were, it was the only other location that you two shared. 

It was really only that, the classroom, and that damn field. Having to think about the field burned a massive hole in George’s heart. He knew now, after some reflection, that what he did was awfully wrong. How he didn’t realize it before was beyond him. He was too caught up with his ego and so used to dropping a girl as quick as he saw her, he assumed everything would be the same when it came to you. 

You were different though. George knew that now. And having to think back to the way he used you in that field yesterday made him gulp hard. He wondered, why did he put you through that? He felt like complete shit now. 

All he could think about was you. How you must have felt about all this. Surely enough, you must have felt used. You didn’t deserve that. George stormed down the hallway, ears ringing with anticipation to find you as soon as possible. 

»——•——«

You had been sitting in the library by yourself. Well, obviously you had been. Everyone else was in their respective classes at the time. Not you, though. It was just too much to bear right now with how fresh yesterday’s situation was. 

The fact that you were skipping class made you feel so beyond guilty. For a second, you thought you must have been insane to even consider the idea in the first place. You’d never skipped class before, so going through with the last minute plan was enough to make you bite your nails out of anxiety. However, nothing could compare to the feeling that would have hit you if you had to sit through class next to George Weasley.

Just that thought alone made you sick to your stomach. It would have been a million times worse than what you were feeling now. You knew that you couldn’t skip the next class period with him, however even if you got a chance to skip today, you’d take it. You couldn’t bear looking at his face…as if nothing ever happened between you two. 

Was this what you were made for? To be used by men? That’s all you felt right now; used.

If you had the chance, you would have gone back in time and changed the narrative entirely. You would have stolen that freaking time-turner from Professor McGonagall just to stop yourself from getting hypnotized by his charm. George Weasley was reckless and it affected you too much. 

You were careful before you met the boy. Very cautious, you kept to yourself. Never once did you ever consider lusting after a boy the way you did for George, dreaming up a fantasy where the two of you were happily ever after. And now everything in your life is crashing down all around you. As if you’ve lost complete control. 

You were as reckless as he was. 

He sucked you into this kind of void and it left you unable to breathe, unable to move, unable to think straight. That’s why you were hiding in the library. If the thought of George was making you feel this uneasy, you couldn’t even fathom what would have happened today if you walked into class and sat right next to him.

As if nothing had happened. 

You wondered if you would have been able to contain yourself if you did end up going to class anyway. You’re not sure if you would have cried, screamed at him, or just stayed silent. You were not one to really stand up for yourself, but then again, so much has changed about yourself in the last few weeks you weren’t sure if that was so true anymore. 

The library was dead silent besides your occasional turn of the pages in your book. You busied yourself by catching up on some reading you were meant to read yesterday. While you did your best to read the book last night in bed, it was quite difficult to focus with the amount of tears that welled up in your eyes. Thankfully, you were a bit more composed today and felt confident enough to tackle a couple chapters during this quiet time. 

As you sat silently, taking in the information about an aging potion, you could hear a door open in the distance of the library. The noise was followed by footsteps that increased in volume, indicating that someone was definitely walking in your direction. You can’t help but look up at the noise, half expecting to see either one of your girlfriends or even Snape himself wondering why you weren’t in class.

However, nothing could have prepared you for the boy who was walking towards you. It was George, of course. Because who else would it be at this time of day?

Immediately your eyes widen as your stomach sinks. It felt like the entire world was falling apart around you in an instant. You could have sworn that your heart skipped multiple beats in a row. Just the sight of George was nearly giving you a heart attack. What on earth did he have to say? Better yet, what were you going to say? Was he even worth the talk?

Gulping silently, you just watch as he approaches you in the dead silent room. He seemed to slow down his pace the moment you two made eye contact. As much as you wished it would have been enough to stop him dead in his tracks, he kept walking towards you. He adjusts his tie and clears his throat as casually as possible.

Without asking for permission, George pulls out the chair to your right and seats himself. He jumps right into a sort of interrogation, asking you, “Why weren’t you in class?”

You have to tell yourself to act like you don’t care that he’s here. Obviously he didn’t care about you enough yesterday to stay with you in that field, or even talk to you in general about what you two were. You were just a toy for him to fuck and get over in a matter of minutes. Keeping this in mind, and partially taking notice of the anger that was clearly bubbling inside you, you sneer at George and mutter under your breath, “I didn’t feel like it.”

Not your strongest moment, but it was blunt and rude. You figured it would get the point across that you weren’t very happy with him. So much for not letting it seem like it bothered you. You realized it was a bit harder to hold back your emotion than you originally thought. That doesn’t mean you’re going to beat yourself up over this, though. You would much rather seem angry in front of George than sad or depressed. The last thing you want to do is bawl in front of him.

Did he really deserve to even know that you were angry with him though? You started to regret even talking to him in the first place. Too many questions were swirling around your mind for you to find focus. It made your head pound with pain.

“I need to ask you something.” George tells you while awkwardly biting his lip and shifting uncomfortably in his chair. He starts to pull hair away from his face and run his fingers through his hair. It takes a lot of power to try not to notice how attractive he looked whenever he played with his hair like that.

Your back straightens and you instinctively lean in towards him, eager to hear what he has to say. You respond in a dry tone, “What is it?”

Suddenly, George is leaning forward and grabbing you by the chin with his fingers, forcing your eyes to take in his weary face. You gasp quietly, heart feeling like it was being stabbed, it was throbbing so hard.

He asks you in a frantic voice, “Things feel different for you, too, don’t they?”

You raise an eyebrow, confused. Things? Between the two of you? Well…of course they were different. Before yesterday, you two were just classmates that would flirt. Now, you didn’t even know whatever “this” was. It was disgusting, that’s what you thought to yourself. It left you feeling used.

So what the hell was he implying? You let him hold your chin a while longer and ask softly, “What do you mean?”

George blinks once, twice, three times before he gulps hard.

“I-Well-…I don’t know…” He starts to sputter out anything that comes to mind. He can’t seem to explain himself fast enough, or find the words in general.

You pull away from his grasp, narrowing your eyes as you pick apart his act. This was all fake, wasn’t it? Just another fucking plan to woo you? He would act all pitiful and sad to express how much he didn’t mean it, all just to see you naked again. That’s exactly what this was.

“You’re just trying to get in my pants again, aren’t you?” You snap at George with a nasty tone. You stand up from your chair dramatically, hearing the scrape of wood against stone echo throughout the empty library.

George stands up nearly as quick as you do the moment the words are leaving your mouth. He tries to extend his arms out to grasp you, but misses as you take a step back. Throwing everything in your backpack as fast as you possibly can, you notice George in the corner of your eye starting to inch closer to you again with a nervous voice, “W-What?! No! Y/N, I swear-”

You throw all your books in your bag and slam the chair into the desk, snapping at George with a newfound fury you hadn’t realized was inside you all this time. You tell him, “Do me a favor George; leave me the FUCK alone.”

It was obvious that the sentence alone was enough of a threat to the boy. The anger laced in your tongue hits George like a million knives, putting him in his place immediately. He falls silent immediately, watching you walk away from the scene without another word.

However, what he didn’t see was the tears building up along your lash line. As much as you hated his guts, you were still falling madly in love with the idiot. You hated yourself as much as you hated him.

»——•——«

Two days later…

»——•——«

George knew you couldn’t avoid him forever, but he didn’t realize just how damn sneaky you could really be. After the horrific interaction in the library just days before, the boy wouldn’t see you again until the next session in Professor Snape’s potion class. He no longer saw you in the hallways or the Great Hall. You obviously made a substantial deal to be sure that there would be little to no chance of ever seeing you outside of class again.

Not seeing you for days straight made George feel even worse. He wasn’t sure if he should have looked forward to potions or not, assuming that you would be there of course. Sure enough, you were present in class, but it did not make the situation any better. When George walked into the room, he immediately spotted you at the front of the classroom speaking to Professor Snape in hushed whispers. Whatever was being discussed, Snape looked very concerned.

Such an indication did not stop George from calling out your name. In a loud voice, he said across the room, “Hey, Y/N!”

He wasn’t even quite sure why he said your name, if he had to be honest with himself. It kind of slipped out before he had time to process it all. Maybe his gut thought that trying to talk to you in class was going to go better than how the discussion went down in the library a couple days prior. Perhaps the crowd surrounding you two would force you to act a bit nicer; allow him to get his words out and express his feelings about everything.

Both you and Snape turn to look at George, who is awkwardly waving and sheepishly smiling. But in an instant you shoot him a glare. Even Professor Snape was scowling at him. While this was a normal occurrence for George in front of just about any teacher, it seemed that Snape was going out of his way to make his scowl even deeper and nastier than usual.

Right away, you had seated yourself in a chair closest to the professor’s desk. Keeping your back to George, he was forced to position his gaze back on his professor. Snape’s dirty look did not go away as he gave out instructions. “George, you’ll be sitting in this seat for the rest of the year.”

The teacher walked George to his new spot, which was the furthest point from your new seat at the front of the classroom. He was all the way in the back. This kind of seating chart is a great opportunity for a prankster like George to unleash his full potential on the entire class, but he couldn’t even relish in this once in a lifetime lucky chance he’d been granted. The boy felt everything opposite of that expected feeling.

George’s stomach felt like it had dropped to the floor. He realized very quickly that you had purposely asked for this separation from him. Whatever you told Snape, it was to avoid having any further conversation with George during class.

He was convinced he was going to lose his mind over you. He had to get a hold of you, and soon.

»——•——«

Many weeks later...

»——•——«

You thought you were going to lose your mind having to avoid the boy like this, day in and out. At this point, it was becoming a routine. One that you had to follow religiously in order to avoid any kind of possible conflict with George.

Of course, deep down you want to listen to what he has to say. You know it might be valuable in a sense…but at the same time, he deceived you once, he could easily do it again. How were you supposed to know he wasn’t trying to apologize just to appeal to your sensitive side, only to try and slide into your pants once again? Something like this was too difficult to decipher. Therefore, you were much more comfortable just glancing at George from a far distance. He didn’t deserve to talk to you…as much as you wanted to talk to him.

One night, as you are exiting the Great Hall after eating a delicious meal, you begin to make your way to the dormitories. Your mind is too preoccupied on the immense amount of homework you have later tonight to hear the sound of footsteps following close behind you. It’s not until the fiery-red haired boy is in your peripheral vision that you realize someone was near you.

In a matter of seconds, your heart drops into your stomach without even having to look George directly in the face. He had your full attention now without even having to try, let alone look at him.

While your heart was pounding out of your chest, you tried your best to focus more on how annoying it was becoming that George wasn’t going to let you go so easily. Why did he want to talk to you so badly anyway? Just to have sex again? With an eye roll, you pick up the pace and start to walk faster down the hallway. You had hoped that the silent treatment would work enough to scare him away.

George attaches himself to your side immediately and says, “Y/N, stop, please. I want to talk to you.”

Keeping your head forward, he is only met with silence. Obviously angered by your immature attitude, he scoffs under his breath and reveals a nasty look on his face; as if that was meant to make you feel bad for him.

It was amusing to see him get his knickers in a twist just from not speaking. It was almost hard to hold back from smirking in front of the boy. However, deep down you were still just as scared of talking to George as you were most days since everything occurred. He just had this kind of effect on you where it felt like no matter how angry you acted around him, your heart was still soft for his stupid antics.

You didn’t dare reveal that to him; you were still recovering from the massive damage he had done to your emotional state. You shuffle past George as fast as possible, still refusing to make any sort of eye contact with him.

Eventually, he jumps right in front of you, preventing you from moving anymore. You jump from the action and immediately snap, “What on earth do you want with me, George?”

He takes a step forward to close the gap, his eyes staring deeply into your own. He starts to stumble over his words, “G-Godric, Y/N, I didn’t think you’d ever…I just wanted to…bloody hell, I don’t know what I’m trying to say.”

“Then don’t bother, okay?” You tell him, moving around his figure to get away from the conversation. It’s hard to believe he has anything worthwhile to tell you in the first place. However, there’s still a small sliver of hope that resides in your being, and it’s just enough to tell George, “I’ll see you around.”

You’re not sure what you mean when you say this. You figure that maybe it’s enough to keep you two on good terms. He didn’t really deserve more than that though. He was an ass and literally used you. But your heart ached for him nonetheless. You were always going to miss him, so why bother keeping up this anger front for the rest of the school year? It was killing you just to do it right now.

The boy doesn’t take long to get the hint. He stands still and merely watches you walk away. You can practically feel his eyes bearing a hole through the back of your skull from how hard he was staring.

Later that night, while you are lying in bed struggling to sleep thanks to all that was on your mind, you thought back to earlier. What was it he wanted to say to you? Why was it so urgent?

Curiosity would eventually kill the cat.

»——•——«

It's been months since that day in the field. You would still go out of your way to avoid George, and he has slowly stopped trying to make conversation with you entirely. Your heart ached for him each and every day, though. You missed having those silly conversations in class, waving to him in the Great Hall, and so much more. Part of you was even missing all those times he would desperately try to get your attention only for you to ignore it. You thought of it for the better, but looking back on it all, had that really been the best choice?

You can hear his little friend group whisper among themselves whenever you and George are ever in the same room with one another. There was no doubt they knew about everything that happened. Which only made you feel more like shit; how dare they know you lost your virginity to a classmate you had fallen so deeply for. Not once had you ever felt so humiliated before. This was not how you expected your last year at Hogwarts to go. You anticipated much more out of this year. Laughing, studying, maybe some crying here and there, but not over a boy who used you for sex. That was the last thing you ever considered to happen to you.

In a weird sort of way, George felt much like the yin to your yang. The way the two of you could come together and have so much fun despite your differing personalities always blew you away. He completed the missing pieces within you. It was an act that you didn’t think was possible, especially knowing it was someone you met so recently. That being said, you can’t help but miss those moments of bliss with one another.

Just the thought of him makes you shudder. Not out of disgust, but due to the ache in your heart that desired more from him. If anything, it was likely to be from the immense guilt and shame that clouded your every being since the day everything happened with George. Why on earth would you miss someone like him when he was so mean?

It is winter break now. A large majority of students had left to go home, but you were staying at Hogwarts. The last few days were spent reading books you meant to catch up on ages ago. You had to occasionally flit around the hallways in order to avoid the Weasleys. It was so convenient that they happened to be here during the holidays at the same time as you. But at this point in the year, you had started to grow used to it all. It’s all you could do in order to “cope” with the sadness that hung heavy in your heart.

You were in the library again, turning page after page in your book. You were slowly catching yourself starting to space out. Rightly so, as it had been a couple hours of sitting here and you were slowly growing hungry. You could barely focus when your stomach continuously growls.

As you start to put away your book in your bag, alongside anything else you had pulled out, you could hear footsteps walking past you. You didn’t think much of it until you heard a familiar voice.

“Hello, Y/N.” George says.

A chill runs up your spin, hair standing up on the back of your neck. Goosebumps trail up and down your arms as your throat runs dry. If it wasn’t obvious you were nervous before, it was now. Your eyes shot up towards the boy, watching him stand near you with a soft smile and blushed cheeks. This hadn’t been how you anticipated the night to go at all, but you couldn’t bear to embarrass yourself any longer.

You muster up enough courage to respond back. “Hey, George.”

“How are you doing?” He replies, watching you closely as you continue to put away your belongings into your bag at a slow pace. Your hands were shaking slightly from the anxiety coursing through your veins. If you hadn’t known any better, you’d wager that George was in the exact same boat as you were.

He was clutching a couple books tight to his chest, finger tapping anxiously along the spines. He kept swaying back and forth, biting his lip and avoiding eye contact on occasion.

It had been so long since the two of you last spoke. You knew deep down you had been wanting this for ages, missing these small conversations. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to be civil, at least this once, you wondered to yourself. You had never held a grudge for so long before, and you weren’t about to let it continue. Maybe this was your chance to let bygones be bygones and let George know that you’ve moved on (that’s a big lie, but what he doesn’t have to know won’t hurt him).

So, you decide to interact with him some more. You tell him, “I’ve been doing fine.”

George cracks that gorgeous smile of his and nods his head. He chimes in, “Good, good, I’m happy to hear that.”

You decide not to comment on that. However, there is no denying that little explosion of butterflies in your stomach. Well, that and the loud rumble that follows.

Your stomach growls out of hunger once again, clearly indicating between both parties that you were getting hungrier by the second. Cheeks red from embarrassment, you try to save yourself by saying, “I’m heading to the Great Hall. Just wanted to get in some light reading before supper.”

“Can I walk with you?” George asks as soon as you’re finished speaking.

His voice was soft despite the request filling you with fear in an instant. You did want to walk with him, but what were his intentions? The prospect of having to venture anywhere with George at your side was slightly concerning since you hadn’t done so since…well, before everything.

You shoot him a slight glare, immediately questionable about why he wanted to. He picked up on this, placing his hands in a defensive position and exclaiming, “I’m going there already! I was just about to leave for supper myself. I figured if you were going, maybe we could walk together. That’s all I wanted.”

Maybe it’s the innocence of his request, or those stupid puppy dog eyes, but you’re not entirely opposed to the idea. Perhaps it wasn’t such a bad idea to walk with him if that’s all that would come out of it in the end. Nothing more, nothing less. You knew eventually this would likely happen anyway. You couldn’t avoid him forever.

Simultaneously, you found yourself wondering if you were being foolish to even entertain the possibility of this. Only an idiot would want to walk with the same man who used her for sex; but here you were, being as foolish as ever. Due to his undeniable appeal and practically begging to walk with you, you’re giving him permission to be in your company. While your eyes were darting around anywhere in the room but George, you tell him, “That’s fine, you can join me.”

Walking out of the library with George next to your side feels strange. At the same time, you feel even weirder for thinking that. At some point during the school year, this felt so completely normal to you. Now it was all just an out of body experience. As if the two of you were strangers all over again. Your heart was beating so rapidly out of your chest you thought you were going to have a heart attack.

The hallways leading to the Great Hall were completely empty. It was likely that whatever remaining students that were on campus were eating at the moment. The echo of your and George’s footsteps, alongside the dim lighting, made the situation all the more stressful for you. It was like you were stuck in place despite moving closer and closer to your destination.

After a minute of walking and absolutely no words spoken, George breaks the silence. He asks, “Can I speak to you for just a moment?”

“Is it about all that happened between us?” You wonder, your throat constricts the more you talk. You’re sure you are on the verge of tears just from the thought of it all. However, maybe this was the closure that you needed. Maybe this is what you needed to move forward and get on with your life without worrying about some red-haired boy running amuck in the school hallways and classrooms.

He clears his throat, “Yeah, it’s about that. I have something really important I want to tell you, Y/N.”

You internally go back and forth about whether or not you want to hear it, wondering if what he has to say will truly have any meaning at all. George dislikes the long pause it takes for you to say anything. He steps in front of you and blocks your path. He places his hands on your shoulders to prevent you from being able to walk away.

You huff and puff out of annoyance, sneering at him to say, “Let go of me, George.”

“Y/N, please, I just-” He tightens his grip on your shoulders. This causes you to shake from his hold, just barely escaping and nearly dropping your bag in the process. You’re growing more and more irritated by the way he was acting. Why was he being so handsy with you?

You snap at him out of annoyance, “Why the fuck do you need to touch me to tell me something? Just get on with it already-”

George stomps his foot on the ground, the loud sound echoing the walls of the empty hallway. He yells, “Listen to me!”

For the first time in a while, you finally stare into his eyes. Genuinely taking in his appearance and the emotion that has struck his face. It was at this moment you realized just how…damaged he was. He was on the verge of tears and his frail body was shaking from fighting back the floodgates in his eyes. Your heart feels like it’s breaking in two just from the sight. As much as he frustrates you, seeing this side of him makes your stomach sink.

George frustratingly runs his fingers through his hair as if to try and get a better grip on the reality that was taking place before him. He frowns deeply and tries to find his words. He stumbles over his words multiple times, “I-I just felt like…I didn’t think…you-you have to believe me, Y/N, I-I would never-”

You take this as an opportunity to reverse the roles, softly placing a hand on his shoulder as if to silently offer his support. Obviously his words and frustrations were weighing him down, and if there was anything you could do to encourage him to get his worries off his chest, maybe this was it. Just a small act of kindness. He was so desperately trying to hold you in place before this, he must have not realized he was really the one who needed to be weighed down in the first place. Otherwise his mind was going to run a million miles an hour and he would get nowhere with his speech.

You want him to know you’re willing to listen now, to give him a chance. All he wants is to be heard. In your own way, you wanted that too.

You wished you had been able to go back in time to just take things slower with George, to have been able to say no to his lust and just try to take things slower with him…if that was even possible. You wondered if George would have stopped talking to you if he realized you weren’t so easy to crack. Then again, you always felt that there was a spark between the two of you. Maybe at the time, if you had given yourself a moment to really speak your mind, he would have respected your wishes and things would have remained the same between you two. There is no way of knowing now. All you can do to make up for the horrible experience is to hear what he has to say.

The act gives George a chance to catch his breath. You watch his chest rise and fall multiple times, listening to the way he calms himself with a simple breathing exercise. He sighs and drops his shoulders, and you mimic his actions to try and ease your own anxieties. This was not going to be an easy conversation by any means, but it was about time it happened.

Seeing him slowly grow more comfortable seemed to ease the tension. George found himself breathing properly again and nodding his head, as if slowly trying to get back to the point he was originally trying to make in the first place.

You’re growing anxious to hear what he has to say. You pull your hand away from his shoulder and cross your arms, watching the way he shifts his body weight back and forth on the balls of his feet.

After what feels like a million years, he finally confesses. “I am so, so sorry for the way I treated you earlier this year. You didn’t deserve that at all. I have no excuse for my behavior. I don’t know why, but for such a long time now I have gone through girl after girl and never felt anything quite nearly the same as I do for you. You had such an impact on me…Godric, I sound so cringey saying that, but it’s the truth. I really do like you, Y/N. Everything about you and not just your body. I am so sorry for all that I did.”

The moment he finishes with his speech, your ears start to ring. You feel as though his words have stunned you. He liked you…for you? Then why did he do the things that he did?

You raise an eyebrow and look him up and down, as if you were a predator sizing up your meal. You ask him, “Then why did you do it? You always knew I was a virgin, isn’t that why you started talking to me in the first place?”

The question made your stomach drop. Having to talk to George about this makes you feel extremely queasy. George’s tears start to well even larger than before. He bites his bottom lip and looks down at his feet. He tells you, “At first, I saw you as just another girl. I thought you would be the same as the rest of the girls I have been with. Obviously I came to develop feelings for you, but I thought that if I just went about things like I usually do, the feelings would go away and I’d be on my way. But I realized afterwards that wasn’t the case with you. You were so different from the rest.”

Your heart sank hearing him admit to it all. You knew deep down this had always been his plan, you knew that he literally only saw you as an object from the start. However, there was an odd sense of relief that washed over you when he finally admitted to it all. Even though these were all your suspicions, hearing George confirm it all felt like you were finally coming to terms with everything. If anything, you actually had more respect for him.

You appreciate that he told you all of this. Looking back on the last couple months, you wished that you had allowed him to talk previously. This entire time he had tried desperately to tell you all of this and you just shot him down.

Not that you really regret it, though. At the time, you were very unstable with your emotions and you’re not too sure how the conversation would have gone down if he spoke with you weeks prior to today. Not only are you appreciative of the fact he was so honest, but hearing him say that he liked you back…it was like a dream come true. Never did you think he would ever like you the same way you did him.

You stayed silent, and apparently it was too long. George spoke again out of fear that he had scared you, frantically saying, “Please say something. I know you’re not happy with me, but I just need to hear-”

“I forgive you.” You blurt out.

It’s George's turn to fall silent now. Neither of you spoke for a period of time; how long exactly was unclear to you, but it felt too long. Assuming it’s your chance to try and save the conversation, you continue, “I know I’m probably crazy for this, but I forgive you. It takes a lot of courage to go up to a girl and admit that you screwed her over. I like that you were upfront with me about it all.”

Without missing a beat, George smiles harder and harder hearing you admit to your forgiveness. He takes a step forward with his arms open for a hug, but you immediately shoot him down. Placing a hand on his chest, you halt all movement. His entire face is struck with worry, and his mouth opens to apologize. You cut him off and say, “Just because I forgive, doesn’t mean I forget. You hurt me George. It absolutely crushed my soul when the person I thought was becoming my best friend used me and stole my virginity without a second glance. It sucked. That’s why I couldn’t even stand to look at you in the hallways or the classroom, let alone talk to you.”

Tears are welling in your eyes now. Your throat contracts the more you speak, and you have to stop because you know if you go any further it would just develop in a crying session. George nods his head and chokes back more tears, unable to prevent the shakiness in his voice.

“I-I feel like shit, Y/N. Every single day since I realized I fucked up, all I’ve wanted to do was talk to you about this. Like I said before, you deserve so much better. Thank you for forgiving me, though. I feel…better, now that I’ve talked to you about this.”

You smile and shove George’s shoulder in a playful manner, trying to ignore the burning in your eyes from all the tears. “No problem. Can we go eat now? I’m starving.”

George eyes you carefully as if he couldn’t believe what you had just said to him. If you had to be honest with yourself, you couldn’t either. However, now that the niceties were done and over with, you figured maybe starting over wouldn’t be such a bad idea with George. You can tell he’s genuinely sorry for all that he has done, and that he’s clearly changed drastically as a person (which you thought impossible for both Weasley twins).

Maybe dinner wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all. You definitely weren’t going to do anything else with George. It would be too soon for that. Maybe a quick bite to eat while catching up on one another's lives would be enough for you tonight. Enough closure after this mess of a conversation. After this, you can go back to just being yourself and not have to worry about him anymore.

“W-We? You want to have dinner with me?” George asks you carefully.

You shrug your shoulders and start to slowly walk towards the Great Hall, George trailing behind you like a lost puppy. You tell him, “I don’t think it would hurt. Just for tonight, though. I figure we have a little catching up to do.”

George can’t stop smiling like an idiot, and you can’t either. Your heart was beating rapidly again, but this time it wasn’t out of fear. It was out of happiness. You’re beyond excited that the two of you were talking again. Not that you planned on staying best of friends, but a mutual likeness should be enough to get you through the remainder of the school year. However, that is quite the opposite of what happens.

The rest of the winter, you and George started to say hi to one another in the hallway again. That transitioned into sitting with one another in the Great Hall, maybe only once or twice a week but it happened nonetheless. Eventually, you and George were talking on a daily basis. Your relationship was slowly reversing back to its old ways, except there was minimal flirting and absolutely no touching. You made sure to lay some ground rules with him once you realized you and George were getting close again.

He promised to respect your wishes, and he has listened graciously so far. Your boundaries were quite simple to follow, but given George’s track record, it was surprising to see him listen so well. All that you asked was to keep everything between the two of your friends only and nothing more. You felt that after all that had happened, it would be best for the both of you to strictly keep things “professional” and not try to rush into anything so soon.

There was no denying you still had feelings for him, and knowing that George liked you back made it hard to not flirt with him in any way. But deep down, you knew that this was for the better. You’d rushed into something with him once before and it had a horrible ending, therefore you couldn’t risk that again. However, things were definitely changing to say the least.

It was obvious in the way your conversations started to last longer than just a minute or so. When you and George graduated from the casual “hello” while in passing and began to have full length conversations again, you quickly realized he was just as whimsical as you had known him from the beginning of the year.

You could never lose a sense of wonder while in his presence. He always had something to tell you, or a funny story that kept you on the edge of your seat. It first occurred to you that you were definitely falling for him once again in the midst of watching George play a prank on Professor Snape during class (the poor guy did not expect his pants to catch on fire. For a split second he almost convinced himself it was the doing of Peeves once again, but realized by the smirk on George’s face that it was no other than the evil twin himself).

That prank could have gone so horribly wrong if Professor Snape hadn’t noticed the flame among his dress pants. And even with the understanding that George’s actions were devastatingly brutal and just downright mean, your stomach felt as though it might explode with laughter (that died very quickly thanks to the glare Snape shot at you).

Even when he used magic in wrongful ways, had a track record with girls a mile long, and had even used you for sex, there was something too forgiving in your nature to just let George go entirely. You realized that you wanted him in your life, either as a best friend or something more. There was something about him that brought you to life. The spark that was lit in your heart was only alive when he was around. You never wanted it to go out, and so you soon realized you never wanted to let him go again.

In your eyes, even with all the mistakes he has made, George enclosed you in a space that left you wanting more. It wasn’t like you were trapped; you weren’t drowning in insufferable conversations or anything of the sort, you absolutely loved his company. You didn’t realize just how much you actually missed it until he started coming around again.

On top of all this realization, there was the fact he had changed considerably as a dear friend. He was much more careful in the way he spoke or acted around you. He wanted to respect your boundaries and never put your relationship at risk again. This is what made you appreciate him so much.

However, there was an obvious change in the atmosphere amongst you two during the springtime.

Winter had come and gone, your conversations were still lively as ever though. Just a couple weeks prior, he had begun walking you to your next class after potions together. It was during one particular day that sparked a sudden change in both your demeanors.

After class, you and George were walking down the corridors together just talking about the upcoming assignments and what you thought would be the best strategy for studying (George needed the advice given his history of failing horribly). While walking, a group of first-years were running amuck in the hallways, nearly trampling over you in the process of it all. Loud yells and feet clamoring against the stone floors filled your ears, your eyes barely having time to process how to avoid all the commotion.

George, however, had thought far ahead of you and made sure to wrap his arm around your shoulder and shield you from the upcoming blows of young, immature eleven-year-olds. He pulled your body in towards his own, protecting you for that brief moment of chaos.

Your body felt like it was exploding from his touch, immediately sobering you up and pulling you from your crazy thoughts. You looked up at George as soon as all the commotion had died down, and he looked down at you. Your mouth felt like it was going slack as you stood there completely frozen under his arm. George bores holes in your eyes, staring at you as if silently asking if this kind of action was allowed within your boundaries.

Without having to hear him say anything, you say, “It’s fine.”

The two of you continued walking down the hallway, talking as though nothing had happened. However, something did happen. It was the start of something new.

For the remainder of that walk to your next period, George kept his arm wrapped around your body as though you were his girl. It struck you as an extraordinary situation that left you dumbfounded for days on end.

First, you couldn’t get over the fact that he did it in the first place. Second, you couldn’t get over the fact that you let it happen. Now would not be a great time to fall back into old habits. You weren’t ready for anything explicit with George just yet. However, at the same time, you liked how protective he was being. You enjoyed having his arm around you. In a weird way, you felt safer. You craved…more.

That strange shift in the air between you two never really left. It only lingered, and continued to emphasize the more the two of you hung out. After that fateful day in the beginning of March, the day that really started to change your relationship with George once again, each week there was a designated day where the two of you just spent time with one another.

While you didn’t know for sure if this meant your relationship with George was developing outside of a friendship, you knew in your heart that it was probably a good sign of something heading towards that direction. If you were able to tolerate his conversations in the hallways from time to time, you had enough courage to be with him in a more secluded setting. This is what began the scheduled meetings once every week where the two of you would simply do homework or sit around and read books.

That same feeling of rapid heartbeats and butterflies in your stomach always came back in full swing the moment you two were together. It gave you flashbacks to that day out in the meadow where he swept you off your feet in an instant. While that memory used to leave you frustrated beyond belief, you could now thankfully say that you don’t fully regret doing what you did with George. You could now tell yourself that it was all just a lesson you had to come and learn the hard way.

The lesson in question? Don’t rush.

George’s arm always found its way around you while the two of you hung out, but it never furthered past that. It would happen at any given point. If there was an opportunity that arose, he would do anything to make sure he could place his arm around you in a protective manner. And it would stay there the remainder of the time you two hung out.

No one ever commented on the matter, not even you, which led George to believe that it was okay to continue doing so. It definitely was, in your book.

It’s late April now, months since you and George finally reconnected again and were practically best of friends. The two of you were sitting on a bench in a random hallway somewhere in Hogwarts. Being in different houses meant you could not be in one another’s common rooms. This was the best you could get, but it was comfortable enough.

You sat next to George while his arm was wrapped around your shoulders. You leaned into his touch, reading from your book about fantastic beasts and where to find them. George had just finished making a joke about the appearance of this one animal in the book, and it had you giggling beyond belief. You look up at George, eyes full of happiness and excitement. He looks back down at you, smiling hard.

George enjoys taking you by surprise. He leaves you wanting more from him and fills your chest with warmth. You weren't sure precisely what it was that you wanted more of, but you were certain that you didn't want this moment to stop. The expression caught in his eyes was pure protectiveness. You felt protected not just by his arm enveloping you, but also by the expression on his face as he gazed back at you. You felt comfortable and secure with him because of the way he looked at you. It was as if he was silently telling you that he genuinely wanted you for you.

Suddenly, while taking a glance at your lips, he's asking you, “Can I take you out on a date, Y/N? Like, a proper one. I feel like I owe that to you after all I’ve done.”

In an instant, you’re blushing like mad. Your heart is beating so fast, you’re smiling before you even realize it. You just nod your head, telling him, “Yes, I’d really like that, George. Thank you.”

He doesn’t respond with words, merely gives you a quick squeeze and looks back at the book you were reading, silently encouraging you to finish the chapter you started earlier.

~

TAGLIST: @calmspencer, @baddiebbarbietngz, @slytherclaw1978, @serendipitous-fernweh, @pandanation24, @rachelreallyroars, @tinafuentes, @chvmpion-jack, @ethereallovr, @godknows-shetried, @waggoth, @ellieswhor3, @wildestdreamers-tv, @faefaes-world, @hahahafucku, @delusional-13s-blog

[blmpff]

✨ Various Tropes: Straddling (3/?) ✨

TITLES IN ORDER: 1. No Regret (2006) 2. Addicted (2016) 3. History 3: Trapped (2019) 4. His (2020) 5. Y-Destiny (2021) 6. Gen Y 2 (2021) 7. Light (2021) 8. The Immeasurable (2021) 9. We Best Love Fighting Mr. 2nd (2021) 10. The Eighth Sense (2023) 11. Jack o'Frost (2023) 12. The Sign (2023)

[magicaldragons]

love (ˈləv) noun.

varadeva.

Deva is not your typical tortured protagonist.

Normally, characters that are acclimatized to violence have become that way because of circumstances throughout their life, or due to traumatic experiences.

but Deva?

Deva was born with these tendencies. He wasn't molded by life into the violent being that he is now – he has always been that way. Violence was his first and most natural way of responding to any emotion that was too overwhelming for him.

• it must have been hard initially for Deva, growing up with no one to understand the way he worked intrinsically.

Deva, in his most natural state, is violence personified, but his mother isn't able to accept this aspect of his personality.

She detests it, in fact – and it's just gotten worse, especially now that she has witnessed in some way, the extent that Deva can go for varadha people things he feels strongly about.

She refuses to watch him fight, and cannot bear to see him associated with violence in any way, shape, or form.

In short, she cannot accept him.

While Deva's mom needs eyes on him at all times though,

Varadha trusts him to do what is right.

and this is Varadha's love for Deva:

this is what Varadha brings to the relationship; and it's so easy to overlook because it's something Varadha does so well.

He accepts Deva exactly the way he is.

and the fact that, throughout the movie, you never see a direct expression of Varada's love towards Deva, just proves that it never leaves in the first place – Varadha's love for Deva is persistent and unyielding.

Varadha has embraced Deva's 'big emotions' since they were children, and the comfort this has fostered is so embedded within Deva that it's probably the only reason Deva can live with himself right now, especially with his mom convincing him he is a monster at every possible chance.

Deva's love for Varadha, on the other hand, is very obvious, because again: his emotions manifest very tangibly

Deva knows what Varadha needs the most – he truly sees Varadha's insecurities and inherent complexity.

Underneath Varadha's composure, restraint, and calm confidence, is a boy who is terrified of the future. of his father. for his brother.

Varadha sometimes says the opposite of what he feels in an effort to protect himself from vulnerability, but Deva has learnt to read him. Varadha doesn’t make his motives clear often, but Deva trusts him to reveal things in time. He never pressures Varadha for information, or questions him.

• It even goes against every cell in Varadha's body to request protection and demand love, especially after the kind of treatment he's faced from those that should have been expected to show him love.

and Deva understands this, and is there to protect and love Varadha, without a second thought.

It's a very mutual relationship, between two people who are there for each other exactly how the other needs them, and the fact that they never had to try to fit each other, just shows how much they're made for each other.

— love, a definition: part three [part one / part two]

[icallhimjoey]

Lost & Found

♥ ♥  Joseph Quinn x Fem!Reader    

Summary: You take a little break, a week away to somewhere warm to relax and calm your senses. So does Joe – same flight, same hotel, same travel plans and, worst of all, same suitcase. What was meant to be a lovely trip to the sun starts off on the wrong foot when you find expensive designer outfits belonging to a man in what you thought was your suitcase.    

CW / disclaimer: rpf, fem!reader, lots of swearing, we get a little spicy but nothing too bad, 18+ just in case though!    

Author’s note: i know i already said we were going at a slower pace, but, i really meant it - ive got too much other things going and i apologise! part four might take EVEN LONGER ive got a busy month coming up, so we'll see how it goes! thanks for being patient with me <333

Wordcount: 4.3K

part one - part two - part three - part four - part five

Your breath hitched as your fingers twitched with need of a self-destruct button when you saw him.

Swimming shorts, black. The ones you’d had in your hands two days before. Linen shirt, short sleeves, beige – unbuttoned. It was one of the things you’d tried on. Your friend had said it looked like a pyjama top on you. You were glad to learn it did not look like a pyjama top on him.

Sunglasses. Black, dark, and designer if you were to go by the large metallic logos on the sides.

Hair sort of all over the place, like he hadn’t touched it after rolling out of bed this morning. Book in hand, paperback, folded corners and broken spine. 

If you were honest, it was kind of a vibe. Until you panned down, and...

Loafers.

You hoped that the glare of the sun didn’t turn your sunglasses transparent enough for Joe to notice you weren’t looking at your phone screen when you saw him step out and enter the pool area.

He walked past a couple of sun loungers that had towels on but seemed otherwise fairly abandoned. The pool was empty, the water too cold to casually dip into, so the towels probably belonged to people who dumped them there before breakfast, just to ensure they’d have a space of their own in the sun later.

Well, it was later now, and had there been no empty sun loungers free of towels, you’d have tossed a random one to claim as your own. Like the one right next to you. Just a big white towel from the hotel on an empty sun lounger that seemingly belonged to no one.

You saw Joe get closer and closer until you realised that he seemed to be coming right over to you.

Maybe he’d seen you and was now just there to come and tell you that he needed his jacket back. The one he gave you last night. The one you were meant to return to room 907. The one you still had up in room 1103.

Listen, it had gotten late. And you’d gotten too tipsy.

You also weren’t sure if you’d remembered 907 correctly, and, what if he was asleep already, you know? You decided after having your 6th drink poured into a plastic cup that you’d bring Joe his jacket tomorrow.

Maybe just after breakfast.

But then, you’d slept right through breakfast, hadn’t you?

You’d woken up two hours after falling asleep, and hadn’t been able to slide back into slumber until after you’d watched the sunrise from your balcony through blinking bleary eyes.

You’d only gotten a very quick gulp of water into your system after brushing your teeth, and now here you were, by the pool, living your best holiday-instagram-filtered-story life.

When Joe walked into earshot, you were ready to launch an excuse at him for not having returned his jacket yet. 

But then he bent and sat down on the sun lounger next to you and you realized; that was his towel. One he'd probably laid down just before breakfast to ensure himself a lounger for when he'd want to enjoy some time by the pool side later.

Later was now, apparently.

Joe sat and took off his loafers as he looked over at the pool where the sun made the surface glitter, and then you saw him turn his head to look at you, giving you a polite smile.

“I was going to bring it over last night,” you blurted out as you sat up a little, “I promise, room 907, I didn’t forget. It was just, it got a bit late, and I didn’t want to maybe wake you– I’ll give it back today,” God, the nervosity practically dripped from the words you squeaked out. 

Joe just smiled, which only made it worse.

“I... I’ll go get it right now, sorry,” you swung your legs to the side but stopped when you heard Joe laugh. 

“That’s okay, no worries,” he quickly said, stopping your feet from finding your flip flops.

“I wasn’t going to keep it,” you reassured.

“I didn’t think you were.”

Okay, good.

“None of my other things have gone missing, so you’re fine,” Joe scrunched his nose and made a face before he got comfy with his book in his lap.

You thought back to that first night with his suitcase. He was sort of right. You could’ve easily kept something - probably would have if you’d listened to your friend who kept telling you, “That looks great on you, fucking keep it,” over and over.

“About that...” you heard yourself say it before you could stop yourself.

“Can I, just, do you want my unsolicited opinion on something?”

Joe found the page in his book he’d left off on and used fingers to bend the spine a bit further. He didn’t really reply, which you took as an invitation to just drop what had been on your mind without holding back.

“Just, I don’t understand, you seem–” you thought your choice of words over just for a second. “You sort of seem like you know what you’re doing. Man on a business trip, expensive clothing, all tailored I’m guessing, and then there’s– I’m sorry, but why would you use two-in-one shampoo?” 

Joe blinked at you a second.

“And not only use it, but bring it?!” 

It took Joe a second to figure out how to react to your animated question. You seemed genuinely grossed out and properly confused. 

Man on a business trip.

That tickled him.

“You um... you went through my toiletries?” Joe asked, eyes back in his book, hoping that maybe the question would get you to blush again like you’d blushed when you’d met at the airport the day before. 

“I went through everything, and you fucking know it,” you couldn’t help but laugh yourself now. “Please tell me that bottle has been in your that bag since the nineties and you don’t actually use it still,” 

Joe snorted, head bobbing a little. 

“I mean,” he started, “It’s how long I’ve had the bag, so that’s not as implausible as you’d think,” 

“Yea, it looks it, Joe” you jabbed, grinning, and that’s when Joe realised. 

The fucking toiletries bag.

The one he’d had since he was eight.

The one his mother had written his name on with black sharpie so he wouldn’t lose it. 

JOE

He could picture it clear as day.

You knew his name because you’d read it on his toiletries bag.

You didn’t know who he was. 

His mother’s handwriting had revealed his name to you, and you didn’t fully understand the wistful little smile that overtook his face for a moment as he frowned at his book a little.

This new knowledge shifted something for him. He could dissect the relief of it all later, if he wanted to. Now, it just made him want to entertain this interaction further.

So he did.

Asked you if he was correct at having missed you at breakfast. Told you he wasn't actually on a business trip, but just there for a short break from the hustle and bustle of the city, of work.

You told him you were there for the same reason, and you swapped similar stories of busy jobs and hectic schedules, of tensed shoulders and worried supervisors who pressured you into trips to the sun, and now, here you were. By the poolside of a nice hotel where they served nice drinks and, would you like a drink? What did you have last night?

“Stop, if anyone needs to get anyone a drink here, it’s me. As a thank you for the jacket and not having me, you know, arrested.”

You got up, were about to wave your card in Joe’s face but found yourself plonking back down onto the lounger.

Weird.

You didn’t feel dizzy at all, but somehow your balance felt off. You went to test it by giving your head a little shake, and then suddenly, the world moved sideways. Gravity pulled at you from the side, making you lean there a little, and then, a lot.

There was lounger where you landed, shoulder first, but there wasn’t enough lounger. After bouncing once, you felt yourself slide.

It somehow felt fine, didn’t make you panic at all, your brain already making sense of it but in all the wrong ways. You didn’t feel so heavy, head all light, and so the thud to the floor wasn’t so bad. It was almost like you floated down there, but then, with your cheek pressed against the warm concrete, everything unexpectedly moved upwards with a rough jerk. Smacked you right in the face and the rest of your body sort of slumped down, hurting your cheekbone and what you thought was your brow bone as your full weight seemed shoved into them.

It hurt.

Not in the same way the cold water of the pool hurt the bones of your feet when you'd sat on the edge of it earlier – this felt worse. Cutting.

Your face was pushed into the ground by your own weight until out of the blue, the concrete moved away from you, and you floated back up. Back the right side up.

There were hands and they pulled, and it hurt your arm, your elbow, your shoulder.

“Did you faint? What the– did you faint? No, you– hang on,”

Hands clambered at you until you were back on soft familiar surface, but everything felt a little sticky. And somehow you were fucking freezing.

“Joe?”

You felt your vocal cords say it, you knew you just said something, but you didn’t hear them. Was your voice not working? Or was it your hearing that had gone?

“You fainted,”

“It’s fine, I don’t– what’s happening, what is…”

“Fucking hell, lay down a second. Legs up too, just, I want you flat– be flat,”

You didn’t move quick enough for Joe’s liking, which Joe realized, of course you fucking didn’t. You just smashed yourself face first into the concrete and your eyebrow was bleeding now. In an attempt to gracefully get your legs up onto the lounger too, Joe nearly flung you off of the whole thing on the other side. Managed to grab you by the side just before you swung too far.

“Hands, hands,” Joe just grabbed them. “Give me your hands.” He was already holding them. “Here, hold the sides for me. I need to move you into the shade.”

And then the whole world moved. A tree came into view as the lounger you were on got dragged across grass. It disoriented you into a dizzy spin that made you forget which way was up for a second, even though you were staring right at up.

In no time, two guys who wore polo shirts with hotel-logo-nametags hovered over you and a lady from three sun loungers over stepped in to tell them to get a first aid kit. Something to clean that gash with. To make the bleeding stop.  

Joe stepped back and let her mother you for a second, told one of the guys who worked at the hotel that you’d gotten up from the sun lounger and then just… fell.  

The lady asked if you’d eaten, and you tried to convince her you were fine and that all of the fuss was a bit much, but then you had to confess that you hadn’t actually eaten and you’d also not slept very well the night before, and the night before that, and, you actually hadn't slept normal in ages, and your shoulders hurt, lower back too, and you’d drank a lot the night before, and, Jesus Christ, you were so fucking cold.  

“Someone get her something to drink, she needs sugar,” 

“And a sandwich maybe? Something to eat?” Joe added, making the other man scurry off.  

There was a moment where the lady and Joe looked at each other and then both looked back at you and you felt so stupidly embarrassed.

“Can I– I want to go back to my room,”  

So you could fester in your own embarrassment by yourself in peace and quiet. Without people staring down at you, and no doubt from all around the pool too with all the commotion that was made.  

“They’re getting you a drink and some food, and you need your eyebrow looked at,” the lady smiled politely at you, using a finger to wipe some of your hair away from getting stuck in the blood there. 

You moved a hand up to touch it, to feel how bad it was, but saw Joe reach an arm out that he quickly snapped away when you halted. You moved it to your mouth instead, to bite at the thumb nail to stop your teeth from chattering.  

You were outside and people were barely wearing any clothes and seemed fine – why were you still freezing?  

“Are you cold?” the woman asked, already looking around for a towel to drape over you. 

“I’m fine,” you lied, and heard Joe huff a laugh. Obviously, you weren’t.  

“Here,” he said, and you saw how he handed over the white hotel towel from his sun lounger. It got carefully placed over your shoulders, and it helped a little, but you just wanted to go upstairs and crawl back into bed. Get under the warm covers and sleep this off.  

The first aid kit arrived, and this random hotel guest in a bathing suit took it from the guy who’d brought it over. She took over completely, cleaned your face with disinfectant and asked for Joe to help her cut a piece of tape to bandage it up. You saw his fingers fumble, shaking a little bit, like he seemed nervous.  

A plated club sandwich and a can of coke arrived. After plenty of “How are you feeling?” and you repeating that you were fine over and over and over in between sips and bites, you were finally asked which room you were staying in, and if you were there with someone.  

You hesitated to answer, afraid that if you said you were alone, they wouldn’t just let you go back to your room. They should, of course they should just let you do whatever, but there were three strangers doting over you all worriedly, and then also a fourth one who, even though you'd gone through everything he brought on this trip, was still technically a stranger too.  

“It’s okay,” Joe then said. “I’ll take her up to her room.”  

And before you could complain about it, he’d slung his towel around his neck, had taken the glass and the plate, then bent sideways and stuck an elbow out for you to loop an arm through.  

It was a little weird to walk into the hotel with Joe. To get into the lifts with Joe. To step into your room with Joe. 

It was a little weirder to say you were going to shower and that you were fine, thank you.  

It was a little weirder when Joe didn’t just accept that and looked at you with worried eyes before he asked if you could shower with the door open, and if he could sit just outside in case the hot water did silly things to your blood pressure. What if you dropped in the shower and no one would be there to stop you from drowning?  

“Drown? It’s a shower.” 

“Place could flood.” Joe shrugged. 

It was weird when you looked at each other a second and you realised he wasn’t going to leave. Wasn’t going to let you shower with the door shut and locked, and so, fine. 

Joe awkwardly stood in the middle of your hotel room, plate and drink still in hand, when you moved the desk chair closer to the bathroom door.  

“I’m sorry, I just, that lady from downstairs will murder me if I don’t make sure you’re okay,”  

You laughed at his excuse and gestured for him to put all he was holding down on the desk.  

“I’ll be quick.” You said, finding a change of clothes to take into the bathroom with you. 

“Please, take your time. Don’t rush.”  

You didn’t rush, but were quick anyway. You now had a man waiting for you to finish a shower and you knew you’d gone through all of his things, but leaving him alone in your hotel room surrounded by all of your things felt invasive.  

The warm water was nice and managed to relax your shoulders a little.  

Not a lot.  

But, you know, all little bits helped. 

“I’m okay,” you called when you shut off the water, hoping maybe Joe would reply, ok great, and maybe leave. He didn’t. Just said, “Good.” and then stayed put.  

When you emerged with wet hair, in soft shorts and a white tank top, Joe smiled at you. His eyes immediately went to the wet bandage that covered your eyebrow still, the tape strong enough to have kept it in place. Good. That was good.

His smile quickly disappeared however, when he saw you rub a hand at your neck, your face displaying a painful grimace. 

“Your jacket,” you pointed and Joe looked. Saw his jacket. Had seen it already. 

He didn’t move to grab it, instead turning back to you. His eyes flicked between your face that displayed painful discomfort and the hand that was squeezing at the flesh of your shoulder now. 

“All right, I’ll leave you alone in a second, but before you tell me you’re fine again, can I… can I just…” Joe held both his hands up. You just looked at them and didn’t move. Joe, in turn, placed both hands on top of your shoulders and frowned at what he felt.  

“Jesus, all right,” Joe turned, looked around the room, eyes darting and brain going at top speeds to put a plan together.   

“Do you mind if I…?”  

Perhaps Joe could start actually finishing his sentences, you thought, although you thought you knew what he meant and shrugged both your shoulders up to your ears.  

“No,” Joe’s eyes grew wide before he tutted at you. “Don’t, that doesn’t help. Come, sit,” 

Joe sat down on the edge of the bed before you did.  

“Face that way,” Joe pointed towards the windows, away from him. You followed instructions without question and felt how he collected your hair into one hand before carefully placing it over a shoulder so it’d be out of the way. 

“You know this isn’t what this is meant to feel like, right?” You could hear the humour carried in his voice. Of course you knew that. You knew you also weren’t meant to bite at your nails until your fingers bled. Weren’t meant to wake up sweating and panting because you’d hallucinated being trapped in a small dark place again.  

You felt the mattress level out behind you as Joe got up and stepped forward. He bent to the side a little, getting his shoulder in front of your face. 

“Here,” he touched himself where he’d touched you just before. “Feel this bit, how you can easily squeeze the soft tissue here?”  

You reached up, hesitated for a moment, but then touched Joe over his linen shirt that had a few buttons done up now, and squeezed where he told you to squeeze. Like it was normal.  

That was… that was all muscle.  

Not as thick and hard as whatever was happening to your shoulders, but these were Joe’s warm muscles you were pressing your fingers into. 

“Now feel yours,” Joe moved back, touched his fingers to where he wanted you to feel, and made you squeeze yourself in the same spot and, yea, okay, that was a big difference.  

“I am also here to relax, but clearly one of us needs it more than the other,” Joe huffed a laugh through his nostrils as he sat down on the bed again behind you and he got back to what he was doing before. 

“I've not gotten a good night's sleep in months,” you revealed as Joe dug thumbs into where it hurt.

Hurt good. 

Hurt so good. 

“You should book a massage,” Joe spoke softly, but kept massaging your shoulders, the bottom of your neck.  

“Hmmh,” you replied, afraid that if you’d say anything else, he’d stop what he was doing.  

Joe kneaded and pushed and squeezed and touched for a while, and you noticed you were starting to have to work really hard at not flopping over. At sitting up right and keeping your eyes open. You repressed yawns and tried to remember to breath properly, but you’d just had a nice shower and you’d barely gotten any sleep before and now you were on your bed in a comfortable outfit and Joe was massaging you with his big hands and maybe you could rest your eyes, for just a second, you know? 

“Here, lay down,” Joe suddenly whispered and without acknowledging how weird it was that Joe just sat outside your bathroom whilst you showered and was now massaging you to sleep in your hotel room, you just laid down. Instantly got comfortable on your stomach leaving enough space for Joe to sit on the side, one knee folded onto the bed and the other dangling down the side still.  

“There’s a– do you feel this?” Joe pushed knuckles exactly where you wanted them. “Huge knot.” 

“Feels nice,” you whispered, breathy and exhausted. 

“I can loosen it up a bit more, but this– you really should get a professional massage,”  

Joe kept working strong fingers and even stronger knuckles into the same spots until you couldn’t even feel it anymore. Just felt numb. Or maybe you were just falling asleep and not stopping yourself from slipping under.  

Joe’s hands never ventured much lower – maybe just a little, but nothing inappropriate. You were only strangers after all. He thought that you knew who he was but then you didn’t and now the playing field was level and, sure, you knew more about him because you’d gone through his whole suitcase, but he was in your hotel room now and you were falling asleep under his touch.

Fell asleep under his touch. 

You woke up in an empty hotel room hours later, covered by the folded-over other half of the duvet you were lying on top of.  

You felt… well rested. Only a little disoriented. A little thirsty. Nothing crazy. 

The last thing you remembered feeling was Joe’s fingers trailing from your shoulders down your arms and back up again and you felt a little sad that he wasn’t there anymore.   

It was still light out, but the sun was setting and it felt like the whole day had passed you by today. You stretched, body feeling looser. Better. Joe was right though, you needed to book a massage. Maybe two. Or three.  

When you looked over and saw Joe’s jacket still there, slung over the back of the chair that was now back in its spot behind the desk, you couldn’t help the huff of laughter that escaped you. He could’ve taken that – should have taken that, and yet… 

Yea, the day had been weird.

Had been weird from the start.

The weird night's sleep, Joe's toiletries bag, the wound above your eye, the empty coke can on the desk, the massage that had put you to sleep for several uninterrupted hours, and, Joe's jacket.

Weird.

And then room service was weird.

And watching the sunset from your balcony was weird.

Then trying to get back into bed for actual nighttime sleep was weird.

All of it, just... weird.

Room 907.

You'd said you would return the jacket today.

And then he'd been in your room and he'd stayed with you until you'd fallen asleep and then he hadn't taken it.

Joe's jacket was still in your hotel room.

Weird.

You tried ignoring it. Tried to watch TV. Scrolled on your phone. Thought of taking a long bath, maybe.

But that stupid jacket. It kept calling your attention from across the room.

Even after turning off all the lights and tossing and turning for about an hour, you could still feel it there. Taunting. Whispering dares.

Bring me to his hotel room.

Take me there.

Come on.

And...

Fuck.

All right.

You sat up in bed, flicked on a light and squinted both eyes at the sudden brightness.

There it was, still in the same spot. Joe's jacket.

“Fine. You win.” you told no one and slung your legs out of bed, grumbling with annoyance as you took the jacket from the chair and found your hotel room key on the side.

Room 907.

The hotel was quiet as you took the lift down two floors and found Joe's room quick enough.

You stalled a second, unsure if you should knock, but then thought, fuck it. You were there now, jacket in hand, and you'd said you'd bring it back today. You knocked softly, then waited and listened. Nothing. Just to be safe, you knocked again, and then heard the soft click of a light switch. You ignored how that made your heart thunder in your throat.

It didn't take long for the door to open. When you saw Joe's tired face, you immediately knew you'd made a mistake.

You should've waited 'til the next morning. This wasn't a cool move.

“Your jacket,” you felt so dumb. Looked so dumb.

But then you caught sight of the smallest of smiles as Joe took it from you, holding the door wide open as he did.

A beat of silence followed where you hoped Joe'd say thanks, so you could tell him thank you for letting you borrow it in return.

The thanks never came.

Instead Joe stepped aside, door still wide open, and gave a tiny backwards nod that welcomed you inside, followed by a quiet whisper.

“Come on.”

---

The Taglisted

@adoreyouusugar, @alana4610, @ali-in-w0nderland, @alwayslindie, @babybluebex, @barfightzanddiscolightz, @bettyfrommars, @cancankiki, @capricornrisingsstuff, @chaoticgood-munson, @choke-me-eddie, @demonsanddemogorgons, @did-it-work, @dirtyeddietini, @dylanmunson, @eddies-puppet, @electricmunson, @emma77645, @emmamooney, @everythinghasafacee, @figmentofquinn, @frogers, @frootvelvet, @ghost-proofbaby, @ghostinthebackofyourhead, @harringtonfan4, @haylaansmi, @jasminearondottir, @jewellethief, @joesquinns, @kellyxo1, @kennedy-brooke, @lovelyblueness, @manda-panda-monium, @miserybeans, @nadixq, @paola-carter, @pepperstories, @phyllosilicate-s, @roosterisdaddy36, @sherrylyn628, @sidthedollface2, @thebellenouvelle, @thefemininemystiquee, @thewondernanazombie, @tlclick73, @werepartnersnow, @winterwakesthewolf, @witchwolflea, @yelyahcardella

taglist currently full, sorry

[siddyyyyyyyy]

University Romance

Johnny 'Soap' McTavish x female!Reader

part three; two, one

wc: ~3k

summary: You and Johnny are two professors at a university, and he often catches you working late in your office. Also, you're just really good friends and there's probably more to it.

warnings: none, no y/n used, 'crazy' chemistry professor Soap, Johnny and Reader are about the same age, the name of the university is fictional

a/n: this is probably the most cheesy and frustrating part of them all. Have fun!

Redcrest High Acedamy, Friday 12:30 PM

»Dad wants to grill tomorrow. Some relatives are joining too.«

Johnny is thrown out of his thoughts, not having seen you approach him. He puts his empty food tray away and processes your words, finally looking at you.

»Oh, nice... and I'm invited, I guess?« You huff at his question, crossing your arms at him.

»I wouldn't tell you if you weren't.«

He nods again at your words, pretending to have been sarcastic about it.

»Right, right... I'll also be there tomorrow. Just text me when.« You stop walking at his words, expecting something more from him. He also stops, looking at you confused.

»We'll go shopping before that. Together.« You clarify, making him feel dumbfounded. Of course you'd need to go shopping together. How was he this stupid to miss out on that? Seriously.

»Oh, right. Yeah, right... um, when's that?« He asks this time and rubs the back of his neck, probably trying to come as casual as possible in front of you. In reality, Johnny is experiencing five stages of grief in his mind. Grilling with you and some relatives, also going grocery shopping with you before that? There's absolutly no reason for him to try and create another personality just for that occasion at all.

From the day he got to know your father, he also found out about the so-called relatives. All very close friends from your father that had a history in the military or CIA. He knew he was doomed. Not exactly knowing why, but he is sure everyone would be at least a little spooked by your family once they hear about their professions.

Eventually, you decided to go straight to the shopping mall after the last lecture. It was a little over seven in the evening once you arrived in the grocery store; it had the perfect temperature for a nice walk. Finally, you are inside the store and can start following the list your father sent you this morning.

Going around the aisles, you made Johnny carry the basket while putting the items into it. It's mostly him following you around and inspecting the grocery store at the same time. Once you get to the meat section, he can't help but make a joke.

»Oh, I know bigger meat than that.« You pause at his comment, keeping the pack of raw ribs in your hand, and look to him beside you, puzzled.

»...Those are ribs, Johnny. What do you mean?«

By the dumb smirk on his face, it's not clear if he is more amused by your confusion or his own joke. He tries again, taking a subtle step closer to you.

»You know, the-«

»Soap? Miss Price?!«

Another voice from behind you luckily interrupts you both, making you glance behind your shoulders. The rather annoying voice is instantly recognised by Johnny; you are having some trouble with it, however. But judging from the way the younger man had used the nickname his students gave Johnny, it's not hard to put the pieces together.

»Carl...« Your colleague sighs out, his shoulders slumping down as he looks to his student. Of course, you had thought about possible students spotting you in the grocery store, but you've also never thought there would be actual students of your university in here.

»What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be doing the assignment I gave you?«

Johnny continues in a more firm tone, but Carl is definitely not fazed by it, instead looking between the two of you briefly. It must be weird for him to see his professors at a grocery store, only having seen them in the university. They have a life outside of that building?

»Yeah, but I also have to take care of my groceries. I'm also an adult, you know?« Carl counters back easily, his eyes fleeting to the basket Johnny is holding and at the ribs in your hand, briefly.

»Oh, are you preparing for the grill party you talked about?«

Now this makes you look to Johnny with a rather scolding look, having thought he stopped talking about you in his lessons. Johnny scoffs as he senses your look, really needing to get out of this situation. He eventually shakes his head and tries to say something appropriate, even when he wants to curse his student out and make him fail all his classes.

»Carl— really bad moment. Do you really want more trouble? You already failed that experiment and almost caused a fire, I would just walk away in your position.«

Finally, Carl nods and looks sheepishly to the ground. A brief moment of silence goes by before he speaks up, more quieter this time.

»There are steaks in sale in the last row... Just so you know.«

He mumbles before finally stepping off and possibly making his way out of the store. However, very unfortunate for Johnny, you are still there and clearly bemused by the situation.

»I thought you stopped talking about me in your classes. We talked about this.« You put the pack of ribs with less gentleness into the basket, huffing out slightly.

»Look, I know... this, well...I really just told them about a grillparty. I never said your name or anything.«

Johnny is trying his hardest to not make you any more annoyed by him, being angry towards his poor student now. He hovers his hand by the small of your back, subtly guiding you around the store to try and keep you close, at least.

»I really, really didn't say anything about you. I promise you, I just said, 'I'm going to a grill party this weekend, don't expect me to grade all your stuff 'til Monday.' That's literally all I said, and the boom-box just had to be noisy.«

He rambles out while you keep your eyes on the grocery list in your phone, not being able to actually be upset for long. He is practically using the beat up puppy look on you now, which is why you won't look at him. After a few silent seconds, you relent by rolling your eyes and exhaling softly.

»Just tell your 'boom-box' to stop being so noisy and loud. And, for the love of God, stop talking about your private life in your lectures.«

Johnny smiles relieved and finally puts his hand on your back properly while guiding you to the last row. He apologises again and keeps closer to you this time, as if afraid you would change your mind if he went away for a minute.

In the end, you brought all the necessary stuff from the grocery list your dad wrote, standing by the cashier now. The elder lady scans the products while you go through the list one last time, noticing you're missing an item.

»Oh, Johnny, could you grab some mushrooms, please?«

He nods and eventually lets you sort the scanned items into the basket for now, making his way to get mushrooms. While he is away, the cashier smiles warmly at you and finally speaks up.

»You guys are lovely! I love seeing fine gentlemen like your husband; I really wish my son was as nice as your husband, he really needs someone to settle down with. But I am really happy you have such a man like your husband, there needs to be more men like these.«

Before you could respond to her ramble, Johnny was already back with the mushrooms you sent him to get, taking back the basket from you and continuing to sort the items into it like before. He is oblivious to your flusterness from the lady's words. Johnny, the fine gentleman he is, ends up paying for the groceries and carries them back to his car with you.

While driving you back to your place, he can't help but notice how quiet you've become. Did you change your mind and are still upset about him and Carl? Should he actually let his student fail at his class?

He decides to not address it for now, hoping he is just overthinking again and shouldn't even think in the first place.

----

House of your Dad, Saturday 2:16 PM

The time you should all meet was 2:15 PM, however, Johnny is one minute late. He is also the earliest one. Always has been by far.

You're preparing the stuff for the grill in the kitchen with your dad, hearing the door ring. John, your father, makes his way to greet the first guest, already assuming it's that chemistry freak of yours.

And after opening the door, he's greeted with Johnny McTavish, in his flesh. They greet each other as usual, a strong bear hug, followed with the usual small talk they have as they're catching up.

They finally arrive in the kitchen, helping you out with getting the ingredients ready. Both John's are now setting up the grill, while you get to greet the other guests; Laswell with her wife arriving at second.

Nikolai, or as you call him, Uncle Nikolai, arrives almost right after the pair and gives you a warm hug as well. He settles on helping on the grill while catching up, a cup of a sweet drink in his hand. Lastly, Frank arrives, or as Price usually calls him by his nickname, 'Woods'. Or Uncle Woods, for most of the time, for you.

The names really are bizarre, but you've stopped questioning them after the third time of asking as a kid. Seriously, Woods? Like, the one's in the forest? Price? Like, the tags on stuff? What kind of names are those?

Besides the funny names, all these close friends of your father were and always are nice to you. Even with their obscure, horrifying, and action-filled stories that they carry around, these are always people you can trust and feel loved by.

Laswell takes you out of your thoughts, as you're all sitting at the table in the backyard, while the others are standing by the grill with a few drinks in hand and making sure everything is nicely cooked.

»How's work, sweetie?«

As always she smiles kindly at you and waits for your answer, her wife sitting beside her as she also waits for your answer. You three mostly talk about the typical stuff, getting into small talk before Laswell gets to tell you a story from probably a few years ago, when she still worked with your dad together before retiring.

»... But Nikolai didn't know and thought he just fell out, informing John, and he almost lost his mind! Imagine; your father stressed, while following the vehicle that I was taken hostage in; finding out his sergeant fell out of the helicopter. Insane, right? But luckily, they rescued me and nothing bad happened.«

You listen to the story as your aunt laughs lightly, finding some kind of humour in that horrifying 'story'. It was clear that your father and his friends had a broken humour, hardened by all the things they saw, but it always manages to amaze you.

»He did have his safety-rope on, right? Nothing happened?«

You ask, wanting to hear her clarify that again, and they aren't laughing about somethig tragic now. Nikolai joins by, sitting down on the chair beside you.

»Oh, he did, he did... He was as fine as a cucumber.« He answers your question with a soft chuckle, seeing the rather worried look on your face before you relax again.

Soon Johnny is placing the grilled meat and sausages on the table, your father joining at the table with more sweet drinks and glasses. Woods also joins eventually, sitting down with a small grunt besides your dad. Everyone is settled, getting some salads on your plate and the grilled goods, enjoying the light atmosphere as some R&B playlist is softly playing in the background.

»When are you getting married, son?« Nikolai nudges Johnny lightly and waits for his answer. Of course, the most dreaded question on the table comes on. Johnny just shrugs, trying to answer casually and shrug it off as best as possible.

»When my students will stop giving me grey hair.«

Uncle Woods barks out a laugh at the opposite of the table, looking to him. »Don't. You'll wait until retirement if you keep that up.«

»When I was your age...« John, your father starts, not meaning to sound like a total boomer but still gets interrupted by Laswell.

»Yeah, you were almost working yourself to the bone at his age and locked up one of the most wanted terorrists. Don't start talking.«

She scolds lightly, taking a sip of her drink while Johnny sulks secretly beside you. Your aunt didn't mean to sound mean or as if Johnny didn't achieve anything in his life, but it still makes him stare at his plate full of regret for a brief moment.

The evening goes by with fun chats and more unbelievable stories from the time from their military time, eventually sitting contentedly at the big table. The sun is lower on the sky now, making up for a casual orange tint across the backyard. After talking some more, you decided to clean up the table together, Nikolai helping you while doing so. Johnny tried to help out as well, but got held back by Price, letting him sit at the table for now, while you and Uncle Nik are preparing to put the cakes out and get some warm drinks.

»Now, son... I've got a mission for you.«

Price starts in a low tone, turning to face him better and make sure the message comes across. Woods leans his forearms on the table in front of him, also looking seriously to the oblivious chemist.

»If you won't make a move on my daughter, I will force you. We already talked about this, you know? Either now, or never.«

Woods joins on it, speaking up while putting his most serious and threatening expression on. »Damn right. And keep in mind; Price doesn't let anoyone get this close to his daughter. You are lucky we even like you.«

Johnny gulps as he hears these men talk to him like this, feeling his own body tense as they size him up him. »Just promise me to finally grow a pair and ask her out.«

Your dad doesn't say anything more and awaits his response. Laswell and her wife can't help but crack a small smile at the whole interrogation act they pull on him, but not interrupting for now. Finally, Johnny answers with a calm tone. At least he hopes he comes off as calm.

»I will, Mister Price. I'll... I will do it soon.«

After his response, the go back to being normal like before and seem satisfied with him for now.

»You know, it took me one year to take up my courage and speak to my wife. Don't be so hard on yourself.«

Price waves her comment off dismissively, looking to Lawell now. »You're lesbian, Kate. That's different.«

The table resonates with laughter once you walk into the backyard with Nik, a simple cake in hand while your uncle carries the few cups in for some coffee and tea. You're oblivious to what they were discussing just now, seeing them all laugh and have a good time.

You set down the cake in the middle and cut it into eight pieces while Nik and Woods are pouring warm coffee and tea into the cups, handing it around the table. The sun is slowly sinking on the sky, creating a more calming atmosphere as it's getting a little chilly out. Eventually, you're sitting beside Johnny again, eating a pieece of cake while chatting with the rest.

----

House of your Dad, 8:07 PM

After some longer while it's time to say goodbye, finally cutting the chemist some slack. As your dad guides everyone out, you and Johnny are cleaning up the table in the backyard before loading the dishwasher in the kitchen together. As you're at the last few dishes, Johnny takes up his courage.

You're washing your hands by the sink as he steps closer beside you and lean against the counter while looking to you.

»I've been thinking about this for a while now, and... do you want to go out some time? Like... in the new restaurant by my place?«

As you're drying your hands, you look to him too and nod without hesitating or thinking too much about it. You two have been talking about that restaurant before, having planned to go there for a while.

»Sure, we could go there sometime. I won't mind.«

Johnny smiles, feeling his heart stutter in his chest at your words. He can't believe this is real, you agreed so easily to it.

»Really?«

He asks, trying his best to keep cool and not totally freak out from the surge of excitement he feels right now. Finally, it has been so easy all the time, and he was too afraid to actually ask you out. He could jump out of happiness.

»Yeah, we're just hanging out, right? I'm sure I'll have some time for that.«

You ask and watch him, waiting for his answer. He, on the other hand, freezes at your question. Did he really need to mess up this badly?

»Uh... sure. We'll just hang out. And stuff.« He manages to answer, gripping the counter for dear life he is leaning on. You notice the way he seems pained, but your dad walks in, checking in to see if you both need some more help. Eventually, you three guide Johnny out and watch him drive off to his own home finally.

»I would marry him if I were you.« Price pats your shoulder before he enters the house again, leaving you on your own at the porch. ...what?

a/n: this is very frustrating, but I promise you, the next part will be longer and better. Hope you ennjoyed it!

and yes, the black ops and helicopter mission reference is real

[ingravinoveritas]

martinsharmony replied to your post “Another tidbit from Rob Wilkins at Ineffable Con…”

!!! I did not know that David would not let go! WHY DID I NOT KNOW THIS

@martinsharmony I don't think any of us knew! At least not besides the folks who attended Ineffable Con last year. I don't remember this ever being mentioned after the event, and I'm floored at how it somehow didn't come out until now.

And now I can't help thinking of what else we don't know about the kiss, even though so much of what we do know and have heard has already painted an incredible picture. This new information also has me thinking of Michael's comments on The Assembly with a fresh perspective...

That maybe the reason Michael and David didn't talk about it beforehand was because there was so much emotion involved. Because they both knew exactly what to do to bring what was needed to that kiss, without saying a word. And that the reason they don't talk about it now is because they both already know exactly what it meant, to the characters and to themselves.

For my part, I would've thought for certain that it would be Michael who couldn't let go. But David. David is like the dark horse that no one ever saw coming...and yet somehow this feels so much like him, like what we have seen before with David more often expressing himself through actions than words. David, who very possibly knows too well what it's like to have such powerful feelings pent up for so long, feelings that he could only pour out into one beautiful, sorrowful, perfectly imperfect kiss.

And that also makes me think of something else David said about the kiss, about the most difficult part being other people's awkwardness. The kiss kept going and going, and David wouldn't let go, and maybe that's what others were seeing. The reason why he wouldn't let go. That there was something so deeply intimate happening between him and Michael--beyond the physical--and in that moment, there was no hiding it or disguising it or playing it off as a joke. Maybe David wouldn't let go because somewhere along the way, he stopped acting and started being, just the same way that Michael did five years ago with Aziraphale.

So yes, I am very much blown away by what we've learned today, almost exactly a year after seeing the kiss in GO 2. I can only imagine what we'll continue to find out in the weeks, months, and years ahead...

[abybweisse]

Ch213, Spoilers part 3

They get to the resort hotel, and as they exit the carriage, they are greeted by a bellhop.

Someone else is greeting them, too, but Sebastian looks around, not seeing the person the voice is coming from.

Then he looks over and down to see this very short man in a suit and top hat, looking for all the world like a fancier version of Milburn Pennybags (the Monopoly™️ guy).

There's an odd grin on his face as he bows...

...and when he looks up again and speaks, both our earl and Sebastian look shocked. It could be that he recognizes them -- perhaps even addresses them by name -- and still invites them in. It reminds me of how Joker answers the door at Kelvin's and says they were expecting them.

And this place -- The Nectar Springs -- doesn't look like the place we saw at the waterfront before.

Now it's giving me Mother3 vibes, comparing it to Empire Porky Building, where the lobby includes hot springs.

I tried to find this building and have not, though I did find Queen's Hotel and Spa:

And the Royal Albion seaside hotel:

Elements of these Brighton resort hotels might have been included in the manga, but neither one matches the grandeur of The Nectar Springs' height and balconies. I'll keep looking. Let me know if you find any good contenders.

[rin-may-1103]

The Wrong Robin AU Posts

The Master Post

The Wrong Robin AU:

Tim Drake saw Danny do a quadruple somersault, which resulted in him believing Danny was the first Robin for years. He still figured out Bruce but thinks Dick is in the dark. Now with the second Robin dead, and Batman quickly reaching the end of his sanity, Tim takes it upon himself to get Robin to come back.

Danny is very confused when this random kid tries to blackmail him into becoming Robin.

Ao3

Art!

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven(to be written).

[sweetprfct]

The Hate Formula

Joseph Quinn x Fem!Reader

Summary: Living in the same building, across from each other shouldn't be much of a problem, right? But how come you and Joe tend to always push each other's buttons every day? Is it because you both truly just hated each other or is it because there was something more to it?

Author's Note: Alexa play Guilty as Sin? by Taylor Swift. 👀

Disclaimer: 18+, smut

Wordcount: 4K

part one - part two - part three - part four - part five - part six - part seven - part eight - part nine - part ten

The night started off slow. It wasn’t like you were expecting anything exciting that could happen on this blind date. In fact, you were sort of dreading it, but you already have promised Sara that you were going to try. It wasn’t just for you. You were doing this for her too. You knew that you have been such a pain in her ass, and the fact that you both were close to getting kicked out of your apartment was also your fault. Blind dates weren’t really your thing, but if it meant getting out of the apartment building and not seeing Joe, then you would do it. 

For you and for Sara. 

Staring at yourself in front of your tall mirror, you fixed the strap of your dress before grabbing your coat and purse. Garrett was waiting for you outside in your living room, and you were sort of nervous to finally meet him. Walking out of your bedroom, you found Sara and Garrett talking and laughing together. Then, the room went silent when they heard your room door open. You saw as Garrett gave you a smile, his green eyes studying you before he slowly walked towards you. 

“Hi.” He smiled. 

Sara introduced the both of you together as you gave him a small smile and said, “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“You too. I heard a lot about you from Sara.” Garrett turned to Sara and gave her a smile. 

“Good things, I hope.” 

Sara and Garrett chuckled softly as he replied, “Great things, actually.”

Pursing your lips, you felt the blood rushed to your cheeks as Garrett and Sara exchanged looks before he offered you his arm. 

“Shall we?” He asked.

Shifting your eyes to Sara, you saw the excited grin on her face as you nodded your head and slid your hand on Garrett’s forearm. Walking you out of the apartment building, Garrett opened the passenger door for you as you thanked him and slid yourself inside the car. You took a deep breath and settled on your seat as Garrett walked around and slid himself in the driver’s side. You didn’t know how to really start the conversation. You were never good at dating. You were never good at talking to men, and you were always awkward or flustered. 

As Garrett drove towards the restaurant, you were glad that he was more talkative than you. He would tell you things about himself and what he did for work, while you just smiled and listened. You would also share some things about your job and some hobbies you would do outside of the office, but you found yourself still feeling a bit closed off towards him. You weren’t sure if you were just nervous tonight, or you just weren’t too interested in him. 

“Do you like to go hiking?” Garrett asked you later that night at the restaurant. 

“Um… not really.” You suppressed a chuckle. “I’m not really an outdoor person.”

See, that was one of the things you have picked up on as you continued to get to know Garrett. He seemed to like different things than you, but you couldn’t help but scold yourself to stop judging him so much already. Even if he had different interests, he was still kind and a gentleman. You needed to stop making excuses just because this was your first blind date.

As the night went on, the both of you had found yourselves in a bar, drinking and talking. You felt a little looser now that alcohol was now dominating your system. You were more talkative and found yourself a little more touchy and flirty with Garrett.

“Did you know I was kind of hesitant about this?” You whispered in Garrett’s ear, making him grin. 

“It’s alright. Sara had mentioned, but I was feeling the same.” He replied. “But I thought you were really pretty and Sara had been saying nice things about you. I had to take my chances.”

You laughed softly as you felt Garrett’s two hands sliding on your waist. He was sitting on the stool by the bar, and you were standing between his legs, your arms wrapped around his neck. His green eyes were glassy from all the alcohol that he had been drinking, and you could feel your cheeks flushed as he studied you carefully. You were now just realizing as you stared at him, your faces inches from each other, that he was actually attractive. Sara was right. She always knew your type and knew how to pick the men for you even when you wouldn’t agree with her at the beginning. 

Maybe this could be something good in your life. 

Then, as you grabbed your glass of martini from the counter, you drank the rest of it and felt Garrett’s lips pressing soft kisses on your jaw. You smiled, setting the glass down and pulled him close to you. 

“Do you want to go somewhere else?” Garrett whispered in your ear, his lips pressing soft kisses on your cheek. 

You let out a soft hum and whispered, “Your place?”

Garrett immediately grinned and got up from his seat, paying the bartender before intertwining his fingers with yours. Your brain was already a bit hazy. You couldn't remember how you ended up at Garrett’s place so quickly. You just felt both of your grabby hands tugging on each other’s clothes, and your naked body in his bed. A soft moan escaped your lips as he towered over you and kissed down your neck and down to your chest. His hand softly squeezed your breast before sucking on your nipple. You could barely open your eyes as he licked and kissed down your stomach, making you arch your back. 

Pushing your legs to open them wider, Garrett didn’t take his time before you found his mouth sucking and licking your wet clit as you moaned his name softly. Your mind was spinning as he continued to eat you out. Your mind wasn’t anywhere in the room anymore, especially when you felt Garrett pushed himself inside of you and thrusted deeper and faster. 

“You’re so tight, baby.” He groaned softly as he continued thrusting roughly. 

You could feel your legs tremble from his rough thrusts, digging your nails on his back. He continued to thrust inside you as you closed your eyes, feeling your head spin even more from everything that was happening. You moaned softly, burying your face on his shoulder. You were panting hard when he flipped you over, and you found yourself on your knees. Your moans echoed in his room as he thrusted himself back inside of you from behind.

“Garrett—” You whimpered as he roughly continued to thrust.

His pace was faster, rougher. His hand smacked your bare ass, making you whimper again and feeling your legs tremble. Flipping you over again, Garrett towered over you, kissing your red lips.

“God, you feel so good.” Garrett groaned. “Come for me, beautiful.”

Panting hard, you scratched your nails down his bare back as both of your pleasures crashed together at the same time. Your legs tightly wrapped around his hips and both of your bodies tremble in pleasure. Catching his breath, Garrett collapsed his body against your flushed one. You smiled softly as he kissed you again passionately on the lips. 

Not far too long, sleep took over you quickly. 

It wasn’t the first time where you went on a date and all you did was end up having sex with the man. Though, when you had woken up the next morning next to Garrett, you sort of felt bad over the fact that you barely paid attention to what he was saying last night about himself. You could tell he was trying his best to get to know you and open up himself up to you, but your mind was somewhere else. You couldn’t admit it last night to yourself because you were too busy trying to deny the thoughts of it, but your mind kept switching back to the thought of Joe. 

It irritated you, honestly. 

Because why the fuck were you thinking about Joe? Of all people, why did you keep thinking about him? It wasn’t even something specific. It was just the way Sara’s voice echoed in your mind about how you should go on a date to keep yourself busy other than getting your button pushed by Joe everyday. If you hated him so much, then why did you keep thinking about him when Garrett was literally moaning your name last night? 

“G’morning.” Your thoughts were interrupted by Garrett’s low and sleepy voice. 

You turned your head to face him and gave him a small smile, “Good morning.” 

Pushing the thoughts away, you pulled the duvet close to your chest and got up from the bed. The night was over. The date was over. You needed to get out of there before your thoughts could betray you again. You were quick to slide your clothes on your body and when you turned around, you saw Garrett sat on the bed and staring at you. 

“What?” You asked, giving him a shy smile. 

“I had a great time last night.” Garrett said. 

You felt your heart racing inside your chest as you walked over to him and sat at the edge of the bed. For a moment, you let your eyes wander on his facial features. Your index finger slowly slides down his chest and down to his stomach, tracing the hills and valleys of his muscles. 

“Me too.” You murmured. 

“I want to take you out on a date again.” Garrett leaned close to you, pressing a soft kiss on your lips. 

“Okay. Just let me know when.” You smiled and leaned in to kiss him softly. “I’ll see you.” 

Just like that, you got up from your bed, grabbed your coat and purse and walked out the door. There was that guilt feeling that was brewing up inside of you as you sat on the subway that morning. You needed to stop putting your attention somewhere else that didn’t matter and focused it somewhere where it actually did. 

Besides, even if you were thinking about Joe last night, it wouldn’t change the fact that he was an asshole and a player. He was always going to be like that since you first met him. You couldn’t change that about him even if you tried.

No one could change that about him. 

Walking inside your apartment building, you were taking your keys out of your purse when you saw your front door opened. Exiting out was Sara and a girl. You knitted your brows as you tilted your head towards the girl that she was with. 

She looked familiar. 

“Hey.” Sara’s eyes widened, frozen in her place by the doorway. “Y…You’re home early.”

Pursing your lips, you turned your head to the side and gave Sara a side eye. She looked like she was caught doing something illegal, and you didn’t know why. Was that why she sent you to a date with Garrett because she had a girl over the apartment? 

Then, the sound of a door opening behind you caught your attention. 

“Lucy?” You heard Joe’s voice as you looked over your shoulder and saw him standing there with a surprised look on his face. 

Lucy?

You furrowed your brows as you turned your head back to Sara and towards the girl, who’s apparently named Lucy. 

Lucy? Lucy? Lucy?

Your eyes widened, your lips parting, your jaw dropping to the floor when you realized who it was. 

That was why she looked familiar to you! You have seen Lucy before! 

You bumped into her one time in the hall when you were coming back home from work. She was exiting Joe's apartment, and she was one of the girls that was about to burst into tears when she was walking out the door. 

“Ohmygod.” You whispered. 

You let out a snort before clamping a hand over your mouth to stop yourself from laughing. Immediately, you saw Sara’s eyes rolling towards the back of her head as she intertwined her fingers with Lucy’s and passed between you and Joe.

“Ignore them. Let me walk you out.” Sara told Lucy. 

Joe was still standing by his front door, looking dumbfounded from what he just saw. As soon as Sara and Lucy were out of earshot, you dropped your hand from your mouth and started laughing. Joe furrowed his brows at you as you continued to laugh in front of his face, tears were literally almost spilling out of the corner of your eyes. Joe, on the other hand, didn’t look too entertained. 

“You know what that means?” You laughed, taking a step forward towards Joe. 

Joe’s eyes studied the amusement in your expression, his face all rearranged from the way you were making fun of him. You could see the fire that was slowly raging inside of him, but you were enjoying this moment too much. No one was going to stop you from acting obnoxious in front of him since that was all he ever did to you all the time. 

“That means…” You paused, trying to control your laughter. “That means even your dick wasn’t satisfying enough.”

“Shut up.” Joe rolled his eyes, shaking his head. 

He couldn’t say anything as you continued to laugh at him, your face all flushed. It wasn’t until Sara had come back and immediately, her hand found your forearm and dragged you away from Joe. 

“Okay, that’s enough.” Sara muttered. 

You smirked at Joe, giving him a mocking sad pout, your index finger running down your cheek as if it was a tear rolling down your face. You continued to laugh until Sara had completely dragged you inside the apartment and closed the door behind her. Your laughter slowly died down as you took a deep breath and shook your head. You couldn’t even believe that this was happening right now. The look on Joe’s face somehow gave you some enjoyment after everything he had done to you. It was almost like karma knocking on his door. 

In this case, he found it across the hall. 

You turned to face Sara and saw the stern look on her face as she shook her head in disappointment, her hands finding her hips. 

“Is this why you sent me out to go on a date with Garrett?” You asked. 

You were still chuckling at what happened but then, you saw that Sara was actually upset and disappointed at your reaction. You stopped laughing and chuckling as you cleared your throat and composed yourself. 

“Yes, because I know you will make fun of it, and you’re going to rub it in Joe’s face every chance you get.” Sara answered. 

You cocked your head at her and said, “Sara, if you wanted to do that, you didn’t need to send me away. Just let me know.”

Sara paced in front of you for a moment, letting out a frustrated sigh as she rubbed her forehead. She didn’t want you to find out this way, but she had no choice now but to face what happened. 

“I would, but I know you.” Sara stated. “I know that you would use this to make fun of Joe!”

You let out a scoff and said, “So? He deserves it!”

“I actually like her, okay?” Sara argued, her eyes pleading at you. “So please, just… don’t be whatever you are with Joe.”

Now, wait a minute. What was that supposed to mean?

“Whatever I am with Joe? What’s that supposed to mean?” You furrowed your brows, folding your arms in front of your chest. 

“Please!” Sara rolled her eyes before giving you a look. “Do you think I don’t see it? The reason why you’re making all this trouble?”

For a moment, you were quiet as you gave her a side eye. You didn’t know what she was talking about or maybe you did, and you just didn’t want to admit it out loud. You weren’t making any trouble. In fact, it was Joe who was always pushing your buttons, so how was this your fault? How were you going to be the villain in this situation all the time, and Joe was always off the hook? 

Everyone was just being unfair. 

“I know you like him.” Sara’s words sent shivers down your spine. “That’s why you’re always so pissed whenever he comes home with a girl because from the moment you saw him in that hall on our first day here, you liked him!”

Suddenly, you felt exposed.

You felt called out, and you could hear your heart drumming in your ears. You could feel all the defensive emotions coming up in your throat. The fact that it was Sara who told you this in your face made it even worse. She was your best friend, and she was supposed to be on your side! 

Your mouth literally made an “O” as you tried to find the right counterargument for the ridiculous accusation that she just threw at you. 

She was wrong. 

Joe was nothing but just someone who loved to pester you, and you had enough of it. You had enough of everyone always taking his side too! 

“Yes, he’s attractive.” You admitted. “Yes, I did fall for him when I first met him but that was before I found out how much of a pig he is.” 

Sara shook her head in disbelief, smiling comically. She saw how you got all flustered the moment she called you out, and she knew that she was right. Your whole face was red and even your neck was flushed. You could barely make out a sentence. She knew she hit a sensitive spot in your emotions that you have been trying to hide for the last two years. 

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Sara said sarcastically. “But please, don’t drag me into your mess with Joe. I actually like Lucy.” 

Defeated, you held your hands up in the air and said, “Fine.” 

Letting the warm water run down your skin later that day, you fluttered your eyes closed as you basked in the feeling of it. You let out a sharp breath and leaned against the marbled walls of your shower. Sara’s words from earlier echoed in your mind and then your mind shifted towards the thought of Garrett then back at Joe. To think of it, you did have a good time with Garrett last night even if your mind was somewhere else. He was nice and a gentleman, and he made you feel safe. There was nothing wrong with that, right? 

Maybe it was time for you to stop these nonsense thoughts and give Garrett a chance for once. Maybe this time, it would actually work out. Maybe Garrett could actually make you happy and treat you better than your past relationships. 

Walking out of the shower, you heard your phone vibrate from your bedside table. You wrapped your robe around your body and picked up your phone, seeing Garrett’s name on the screen. 

I had fun last night. Do you wanna go out next weekend?

Biting your lower lip, you gazed out the tall glass window in front of you for a moment and thought about your decision. It wouldn’t hurt to try. Maybe he could be the one for you. 

I had fun too! :) Sure, I’d love to.

Biting your nails, you watched as the three bubbles appeared on the screen indicating that Garrett was typing. You waited for what it felt like an eternity and finally, he replied. 

See you Saturday then. Pick you up at 7. 

This was good. This was a new thing in your life. You deserved to be happy too, so you decided to give this a chance. 

Flopping yourself on your bed, you stared at the ceiling and sighed. As you thought about Garrett, a small smile tugged on your lips. Your mind started pondering about what you should wear this weekend for your second date. It had been a while since you have gotten excited over a date, and you wanted the night to go well. 

However, as you went on with the week, you only heard from Garrett on Tuesday and then for some reason, his presence had disappeared. You weren’t sure what happened, and you just figured maybe he was busy at work. Sara had mentioned to you that he looked a bit stressed in the office when you had asked her about him. So, you decided to give him his space. Then when Saturday came, Garrett was sweet enough to come and pick you up. You couldn’t help but think how good he looked tonight. However, you sort of noticed something different in him. This time, it seemed like he was the one that was stuck in his mind. 

Dinner was nice. He took you to a fancy restaurant, and he made you laugh with his jokes this time. He talked to you and told you more about himself. You started opening up to him too. You told him about your family and how you weren’t good at dating, but you decided to give this a chance. Garrett couldn’t help but chuckle. 

“I’m lucky then.” He joked that made you blush in front of him. 

Though, you couldn’t help but wonder what happened this week for him to act a bit off. Even if you were enjoying dinner, you could tell there was something indifferent about him. 

“Work has been stressful?” You asked him that night when he took you for a walk at Central Park. 

“Kinda.” Garrett let out a sigh. 

Silence befell between you as you watched the kids run around the park. There was a summer lights show that was being set up at the park, and it looked beautiful during the night. 

“Is everything okay?” You paused in your tracks, taking his hand in yours gently.

You felt Garrett squeezed your hand softly and said, “I really am having fun with you, you know?”

“Me too.” You smiled. “I’m not gonna lie. Like I said before, I was sort of hesitant about this, but I am having fun with you.”

Garrett hung his head low, shaking his head before taking your other hand in his and squeezing them both softly. 

“What is it?” You tilted your head, cupping his cheek. 

His green eyes dimmed as he gazed up at you, looking into your eyes. “The thing is that… I just got out of a relationship, and I really thought I have moved on.”

“Yeah, Sara had mentioned that to me.” You caressed his cheek softly with your thumb as he leaned against your touch. “I understand. I know it takes a while to move on.”

Garrett hitched a breath, setting his hand over yours that was on his cheek. 

“The thing is that my ex called this week.”

You felt your heart pound inside your chest the moment you heard the sentence he just told you. 

Everything was starting to make sense.

“And she still wants to work things out. So, I’m not sure if this thing between us—” 

“No, it’s okay. I understand.” You cut him off as you slide your hand away from him, stepping back. 

“I’m really sorry.” Garrett apologized.

You could see the sympathetic look on his face, and you didn’t want to make him feel guilty about this. You have been in this situation before, and you knew how hard it was to move on from another person, especially when they have been a big part of your life. 

“I understand.” You gave him a small, understanding smile. 

“I didn’t mean to lead you on like this.”

“It’s okay. There’s no need to explain.” You took a deep breath as you both started walking down the park again. “I had fun with you. I think maybe it’s not the right time yet.”

“Yeah.” Garrett gave you a small smile. 

As you both continued down the park, you gazed up at the sky, seeing the twinkling stars above you. You wondered maybe it was the Universe telling you that Garrett wasn’t just the right man for you. That even if you had tried to open yourself up, maybe he just wasn’t meant for you. 

You tried to lean into the comfort of that thought as Garrett walked you back to your apartment that night. 

Maybe there was just someone better for you out there. 

*******

Taglist:

@palomahasenteredthechat @sunvick @eddies-acousticguitar @demonsanddemogorgons @joesquinns @mmunson86 @ghostinthebackofyourhead @corrodedcoffincumslut @figmentofquinn @tlclick73 @munsonluvrr @ali-r3n @ficsbypix @capricornrisingsstuff @missonlypost @ali-in-w0nderland @amberolivia666 @lalalala-melmosworld @niallersfreckles @nanas-lasagna @emma77645 @indulgence-be-thy-name @readergf @ladamari68 @1paire2vans @d4rk4ng3l86 @paleidiot @josephquinnsfreckles @readergf @mvnsonlover