#party girl clarke griffin

[procrastinationstation101]

Summary: Thanksgiving break!

[1for5]

TO ALL THE GIRLS I’VE LOVED BEFORE

paige bueckers x uconn student!reader

with caitlin clark, aubrey griffin, nika muhl, and emily engstler

───────── ⋆⋅🏀⋅⋆ ─────────

PROLOGUE

ch 1 ch 2

Y/n’s always been into books, poems, and anything literature. As someone who is shy, the stories she read accompanied her throughout middle school and even through college.

She had a lot of books surrounding her room, and she spent her free time at the library the most. She is now currently at her house, fixing her messy room before she goes back to her college, UCONN, before the school year starts.

Another fact about Y/n is that she keeps everything. All the notes from her friends, all the receipts she’s gotten, she keeps it all in a box. To add, she also keeps her memories of her past crushes safely. Y/n has a box full of letters addressing to her past crushes. She in total has 4 letters, each letter has a different emotion and meaning to it.

The 4 letters are addressed to: (1) Aubrey Griffin. South Carolina Basketball Player. Y/n had Model UN with her in high school, but Aubrey quit to focus more on her basketball dreams. Aubrey had an aura which made Y/n attracted to her during their MUN days. Y/n and Aubrey were quite close, and became good friends when you both learned that you will be going to the same college. She had a good basketball career in UCONN, but decided to transfer to South Carolina. She is still doing great.

(2) Caitlin Clark. Iowa Basketball player. Y/n had a good time with her during their junior halloween party. They both dressed quite silly, which brought them to talk to each other. Y/n felt seen for the first time.

(3) Paige Bueckers. UCONN basketball player.. She was Y/n’s first kiss. Going back to grade 6, Y/n knew her as her (then) bestfriend’s crush, and apparently the whole population in school has been crushing too. Y/n and her (then) bestfriend were invited to their first party and when they arrived, a truth or dare has been going on. When it was Y/n’s turn, Paige’s friend dared her to kiss Paige. Y/n was hesitating, and Paige was the one to come closer to Y/n, closing the gap. Y/n’s bestfriend felt hatred, while Y/n felt something different, which she shrugged off.

And (4). Emily Engstler. WNBA Connecticut Suns player. Her first girl friend, with a space. She is her neighbor, a good basketball player, and her childhood bestfriend, however, things changed when emily started dating Y/n’s sister, Nika. It was a bit of a heartbreak for Y/n, as she liked Emily ever since childhood days, all until up to Y/n just getting over Emily for her sister.

The last fact about Y/n is that—her letters are missing. Gone and out of the box.

“Nia? NIA!” She called her little sister, and asked her if she knew anything about the papers inside of the box.

“No..” she answered. Y/n groaned out of frustration, looking everywhere for her letters. The letters she made had the dorm addresses of her past crushes.

After moments of looking, Y/n was called to dinner. She sat on the table, along with Nia, Nika, Emily, and her dad. Her mom unfortunately passed away when she was little, and they all surely miss her.

As they were eating, Nika shared that she will be moving from UCONN to Iowa. She is an amazing basketball player, along with Emily. Maybe she started your exposure to the basketball players you used to have eyes on.

Emily was surely happy for Nika, but somehow got sad with the sudden decision. Nika then called out Emily and went to the living area to talk to her.

After an hour, Y/N felt defeated, hoping that the letters will come back to you or are in a garbage bag. She got her suitcases ready for her flight back to UCONN tomorrow.

While finishing up packing, Nika knocked on Y/n’s door. “Emily didn’t take it well?” she asked Nika, who replied back with a nod. “I know long distance is hard. I had to end it too. Mom didn’t want specifically me to get a partner while in college, and I really have to focus on basketball now.” Nika gave her little sister a hug. “You what?” Y/n was confused, Nika and Emily were surely so in love with each other. Y/n comforted Nika, and they both slept after being tired the whole day.

The following day, the girls’ dad brought Nika and Y/n to the airport to get ready for a new school year. They all bid their goodbyes, and went to the different terminals as the two sisters are now in separate colleges and states.

While waiting to board, Y/n was listening to songs with her headphones. A tall blonde figure then came into her view. “Emily. Hi.” Y/n spoke. “Hi. Ready for a new year?” The basketball player asked, putting down her personal belongings.

“Yeah. Hey.. even if your trip didn’t end well, thank you for visiting. Hope you have a fun time with Connecticut Suns.” Y/n removed her headphones and had a conversation with Emily.

“Flight to Connecticut, now boarding.”

After the flight, Y/n and Emily bid their goodbyes and gave each other a “good luck.” Their friendship may have faded away due to relationships, basketball, and college, but they will always care for each other, just like when they were 5/6 years old playing with toys.

-

A week later, Y/n was running around the field for her P.E. Class, which she hated the most. As she was running, a familiar face was walking towards her.

“Hey look Y/n uhm. I just got out of a relationship, and..” the figure stated. Y/n felt confused. Why is Paige Bueckers suddenly talking again to her after years of not talking to each other?

“What? What do you mean?” Y/n stopped her tracks. “The letter was nice but, I don’t like you like that L/n.” Paige explained, showing Y/n an envelope addressed to Paige’s dorm.

It all made sense to Y/n now. She didn’t expect for her letters to actually be sent out, and it’s giving her a small panic attack. “Look, you do not get it..” Y/n began to explain, however, her voice stops when she sees another tall blonde figure walking, Emily, holding a letter that is most likely Y/n’s “love” letter to her. Did Emily drove here just to show the letter? Y/n thought.

“Holy shit” Y/n stated, and pulled Paige Bueckers into a kiss. That was Y/n’s first kiss that is not from a party game, and she did not know how to act.

Paige also did not know how to act, and just went with the flow. After about seconds seconds seconds of their small “makeout” session, Y/n pulled away.

“You run not kiss! Why is Bueckers here? And Y/n! Another lap for you.” The P.E. Teacher fumed and rolled their eyes.

“I am sorry.. and thank you!” Y/n awkwardly said and started to run her lap, which left Paige dumbfounded.

[hedawanheda]

secret recipe- prologue

Clarke has been given six months to find a serious and genuine relationship or else her father will hand over the company to Cage Wallace. Lexa just wants to cook.

or

Lexa is the Griffin’s personal chef.

Clarke Griffin is a leader. She’s a girl who knows what she wants and she doesn’t care how she gets it. When she talks, people listen. When she walks by, people stare. She exudes a confidence and energy that makes everyone who knows her respect her, while also fearing her a little. Her life is dedicated to her work, the Fortune 500 company her family had built from the ground up.

So when her father announces at his retirement party (that she flew all the way from California to attend and moved back home for this promotion) that his temporary successor would be Cage Wallace, she is understandably pissed.

“Don’t cause a scene,” her mother whispered harshly to her as she watched Cage walk up and shake her father’s hand. Clarke was in utter disbelief, waiting for her to wake up from her nightmare or for Ashton Kutcher to come out and say she was punk’d.

Cage caught her eye, sending her a gloating smile as he posed for the papers. Clarke felt the heat rise to her cheeks as her anger began to take over, clenching her glass so tightly that she was surprised it didn’t break. That should be her up there.

As the applause for Cage continued, Clarke downed the rest of her drink. Then the rest of her mom’s. Then she flagged down a waiter who was passing out shots to celebrate Cage’s promotion and Jake’s retirement.

And then she doesn’t remember the rest of her night.

She wakes up in her childhood bedroom which she miraculously got to somehow in her drunken state. The sun shines into her eyes way too early, rousing her from her deep slumber. Her rumbling stomach, pounding head, and dry mouth are too much to ignore, so she dragged herself out of her bed and trudged her way down to the kitchen in search of a greasy breakfast and some aspirin.

She opened the refrigerator and let the cold air hit her, taking a deep sigh and rubbing her forehead before searching for the orange juice. When she found it, she took a swig from the bottle, letting the citrusy flavor cost her parched tongue.

“Good morning, Miss Clarke,”

Clarke dropped the bottle of juice, startled by the other presence in the room. She was so hungover that she didn’t realize that she wasn’t alone.

“Holy shit- Lexa?!” she gaped. Clarke hadn’t seen Lexa since the girl went off to culinary school in Paris a decade ago.

“Welcome home,” Lexa smiled, ignoring the blonde’s disheveled appearance. Clarke was grateful for that, considering she was in a pair of flannel pajama bottoms and an old oversized college sweatshirt. Her hair was piled into a messy bun, and she undoubtedly had bags under her eyes from her late night. “Can I get something started for you?” Lexa asked politely.

“Huh?” Clarke was so shocked from seeing her old friend that she didn’t take in her appearance. Lexa was wearing a white chef’s coat and black pants, her hair tied back in braids. She was standing behind the kitchen counter, hands folded behind her back with an array of skillets and knives laid out in front of her.

“For breakfast,” Lexa explained patiently. “What would you like?”

“What are you doing here?” Clarke asked, answering Lexa’s question with one of her own. “The last time I heard you were at some Michelin star restaurant in the French Riviera.”

Lexa pretended that she didn’t hear that. “There’s pancakes or waffles, I could also do crepes if you wanted those. Omelets, eggs Benedict, frittata-“

“Wait, hold on-“

“Oatmeal, French toast, bagels-“

“Can you just stop for a minute-“

“Your dad has me hide his sugary cereal from your mom, I can dig that out-“

“Lexa! Stop listing breakfast food!” Clarke said, exasperated. “What are you doing in my house?”

Lexa paused, looked down and avoiding Clarke’s eyes. “Isn’t it obvious? I work here,”

“But… why?” Clarke was genuinely confused. Why would someone give up a great and promising career to cook for her parents?

She didn’t get her answer, because her father entered the kitchen with a bright and cheery smile on his face. Clarke instantly scowled. She may not have remembered how most of her night had gone, but she remembered being burned by the person she called her father.

“Good morning, sweetie. Good morning, Lexa,” he said gleefully. He walked over and kissed the top of Clarke’s head, ignoring his daughter’s sour face. “Isn’t today a glorious day?”

“I see you’re enjoying your first day of retirement, sir,” Lexa grinned at him. “Shall I prepare your usual?”

“Please. But add extra bacon, I feel like celebrating,”

“Didn’t you and your bestie Cage do enough of that last night?” Clarke grumbled. Jake turned to her, smiling, and placed his hands on both sides of her face.

“Lighten up, sweetie. I’m sure once you have some food in you, you’ll be happier,”

“Food won’t make me happy,” Clarke said through squished cheeks. She removed her father’s hands from her face, angrily crossing her arms. Jake chuckled at his daughter’s death glare.

“You’ve haven’t had Lexa’s cooking in a long while. She’s like a food Midas, anything she makes turns to gold,”

“What happened to Alie?” Jake’s smile fell while Lexa looked down at her hands. “What?” Clarke asked again, looking between her father and Lexa. It was weird seeing Lexa at the house and not having her mom there, the chef the Griffins had since before Clarke was born.“What are you not telling me?”

“My mother passed away last year,” Lexa said quietly, not meeting Clarke’s eye. “Cancer,”

This morning has turned out to be quite the surprising event for the blonde.

“Excuse me?!” Clarke said angrily, turning to her father. “You didn’t think of mentioning this to me over the past year? That the woman I’ve known for as long as I’ve known you died?”

“In his defense, she wanted to keep her illness private,” Lexa explained calmly. When Clarke looked at her, her gaze softened. She wasn’t the one Clarke was rightfully angry towards. “The funeral was a small affair. Just family,”

Clarke frowned. Wasn’t she considered family? “That still doesn’t mean it was okay not to mention it to me,”

“You’re right,” Jake sighed, holding up his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry, that was wrong of me. Why don’t we sit down and have Lexa make us a nice breakfast. I’m sure there’s something on your mind,”

//

“Why did you pass over me for the promotion?” Clarke asked as Lexa slid plates of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast in front of her and Jake. “Why did you choose Cage of all people?”

“I know what you think of him, but he’s actually a brilliant man,” Jake started digging into his meal, talking with his mouth full. “Difficult, but brilliant,”

“But I don’t understand. You’ve been preparing me to take over for you since I started at the company. And I actually worked my way up from the bottom,”

“Cage is only a temporary solution,” Jake explained. “He will be interim CEO for the next six months before I decide if you’re fit enough to take over,”

“And what do you consider that to be?”

“How do I say this?” Jake rubbed his chin. “Clarke, you need a life,”

Clarke looked and felt offended. “What are you talking about? I have a life,”

“You’re a twenty eight year old workaholic who’s never had a serious partner before. Your mother and I are worried about you,”

“And where’s Mom now? Work.” Clarke snapped. “And the partner thing? A little misogynistic, don’t you think?”

Jake sighed. “Honey, don’t start. If I gave you the position right away, you would never find time to settle down,”

“So what are you saying? I can’t get the position I earned until I get hitched?”

“Not exactly,”

”Not exactly?”

“Well, not married per say, but a relationship, yes,”

Clarke stared at her father, eyes widened in disbelief. “You’re serious,”

“I am,” Jake nodded. “You need to get out there and actually live in the world, Clarke. There’s so much more to life than an office.”

“I do yoga,” Clarke pointed out. “Work’s not my entire life,”

“Honey, I don’t think you realize how sad that sounds,”

Clarke slumped down in her chair. “I could just hire someone, you know,”

“I know. But I’m using the honor code here. I just want you to be happy, to settle down,”

“I can be happy and not be in a relationship,”

“But you’re not,” Jake folded his hands on the table, pushing his empty plate away. “Just try. Put yourself out there. As long as I see you’re at least making an effort, the gig is yours.” This made Clarke sit up straighter in her chair.

“Really?” she asked. “So I have to just go on a few dates?”

“Emphasis on the effort, Clarke. And besides, six months is a long time, who knows? Maybe you’ll find your person,” Jake smiled warmly at his daughter, who rolled her eyes. “You’re a little too old for that now,”

“And I’m also a little too old for you to be telling me what to do,”

Jake sighed. “This isn’t a punishment. I really do want what’s best for you Clarke. Six months. That’s all I’m asking for,”

“Fine,” Clarke huffed, throwing down her fork on her partially eaten plate. She had lost her appetite, no matter how good it looked. “I’ll agree to this, no matter how dumb it is. It’s not like I’m actually going to fall in love just because you gave me a deadline.” Jake smiled, doing a little happy dance in his chair.

“I think this is going to be good for you, Clarke,” he said. Lexa came in and began clearing away the dishes as quietly as she could, trying to go unnoticed. Clarke watched her, not wanting to look at her father’s triumphant grin. She didn’t realize her eyes were trailing the girl until Lexa left and her father cleared his throat. When she turned back to him, his grin was faint, but there was a twinkle in his eye as he looked between Clarke and the doorway where his chef exited.

“Something amusing?” Clarke asked.

Jake chuckled. “No, nothing at all,”

read on ao3!

[heda-in-the-clouds]

Finding Your Love by Moonlight

Clarke Griffin did not want to be at this Halloween party right now. She was dragged here by Raven, whose girlfriend, Anya, was hosting said party.

Dragged here against her will, Clarke refused to put any effort into her costume, chosing to simply wear her old Sailor Moon shirt, a nod to her old childhood crush.

However, Clarke did not expect her current crush, Lexa Woods, to be at this same party. Moreover, Clarke was not prepared to see Lexa dressed immaculately as Sailor Moon.

In stark contrast to Clarke's pathetic shirt, Lexa wore the full costume, including the iconic blonde wig, white gloves, red boots, and the signature sailor uniform with its sinfully short skirt.

To her embarrassment, Clarke was spotted by Lexa from across the room, making her feel so underdressed compared to her crush who strutted towards her.

"Nice costume. I didn't know I had competition, Clarke." Lexa giggled.

"Thanks, Lexa." Clarke nervously replied as she found herself face to face with her real life crush dressed up as her childhood crush.

"But let's be honest. You're actually Sailor Moon with your costume. You look amazing!" Clarke confidently reaffirmed as she checked out Lexa from head to toe.

"Thank you Clarke. That means so much to me." Lexa smiled widely as her cheeks blushed from Clarke's compliment.

"I actually made this costume myself. My guilty pleasure is cosplaying and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to dress up as my favorite superhero. I swear I had the biggest crush on her." Lexa gushed.

Clarke's eyes widened in surprise. She couldn't believe Lexa, the hottest girl she knew, was into cosplay and shared the same crush as her.

"No way! I had a crush on Sailor Moon growing up too. She was actually my bi-awakening." Clarke confessed with pride.

Surprisingly, the conversation flowed easily between them once they discovered their shared love of Sailor Moon. Clarke loved seeing how passionate Lexa became when she discussed how she made her costume so it didn't come as a total surprise when Lexa asked her

"Hey Clarke. Would you like to take a closer look at my costume? We can go somewhere quieter and more private like my room if you want."

"I'd love that." Clarke eagerly replied as she allowed Lexa to grab her hand and lead her away from the party towards her room.

Coming soon to AO3

I'd like to thank the lovely @lexa-griffins for creating this amazing moodboard for me and beta'ing this drabble

Also, here's my manip of Lexa in her full Sailor Moon costume

[cohenatwood]

Clexa Fanfic Series: something wicked (this way comes)

Synopsis: After the death of coven leader Thelonius Jaha, Gustus Woods' banishment from Polis, Massachusetts is lifted and he moves back with his two daughters, Anya and Alexandria Woods, who have no idea of their family lineage or the prophecy that had been foretold long before either were born.

Chapter 3: the dinner party (words: 11,984)

Aurora and Abby begin sifting through the boxes of Jake’s life, looking for anything he may have discovered before Gustus and Caroline’s banishment. So far only finding more Griffin journals and grimoires but nothing else of substance. Clarke and Octavia are situated in the living room, also going through some boxes, still confused on why they were having to go through her dad’s boxes. Her mother, still keeping things from her.

“We could always ask Gus. I mean, he hinted he did something, that they did something, and he took the fall.” Aurora suggests, Abby shakes her head.

“Whatever they did together clearly didn’t work. I know Jake. If he and Gustus had been involved at the beginning I know he secretly was still finding a way, something Gustus may not even know about.” Abby states, Aurora sighs, nodding and continuing to look through the boxes. Abby grabs another box and sets it in between Clarke and Octavia in the living room. Both girls groaning.

“How many more do we need to look through? Also, it would help if you told us what the hell we’re even looking for.” Clarke tries.

“To be honest Clarke, I don’t even know what I’m looking for.” Abby says, and she is telling the truth, she’s looking for anything that may suggest Jake had been able to research the prophecy. “I promise a few more boxes and then I’ll buy us all dinner.” Abby looks at both girls and Aurora, who nods. Abby goes back to where Aurora is in the kitchen, and Clarke and Octavia resume the sifting.

“Is it weird?” Octavia speaks low, posing the question to Clarke.

“What? Going through my dead dad’s private things looking for something we don’t even know what we’re looking for? My mom being cagey and secretive? No, not at all.” Clarke deadpans. Octavia chuckles.

“Yeah, that was a stupid question.” Clarke’s phone vibrates and she sees a text from Lexa, not able to contain the grin that spread across her face. “Lexa?” Octavia smirks. Clarke nods, reading the text.

Lexa Woods: I think I found something. Can we meet?

Clarke texts Lexa back, letting her know it might be a little hard for her to get away, but wants to know what Lexa found. They had been investigating Jaha’s death together, along with Wells, since Lexa’s dad has access to everything regarding the official police investigation, and Lexa suspected maybe other things not related to the official investigation.

“How’s that going? I know you’ve been waiting to divulge any details until both Rae and I are together, but I’m kind of dying here.” Octavia says dramatically. Clarke rolls her eyes at her best friend but can’t help the smile that also plays at her lips.

“I mean, it’s new. We kissed. We talked. We kissed some more.”

Continue reading here!

[ithinkyouhealedmyheart]

Ghostwriter CH 8

Unbetad Unedited Unhinged || AO3

Character(s): Kendall Knight, James Diamond, Logan Mitchell, Carlos Garcia, Mercedes Griffin, Veronica Clark oc

Pairing(s): Kendall Knight/Veronica Clark, James Diamond & Veronica Clark, Carlos Garcia & Veronica Clark, Logan Mitchell & Veronica Clark, Mercedes Griffin & Veronica Clark, James Diamond & Kendall Knight & carlos Garcia & Logan Mitchell

Word count: 3k

“I always go to the mall on Fridays. Even though moving to Los Angeles has shaken up my routine significantly, I’m at least trying to keep something.” 

“Ronnie, babes, you don’t have to explain anything to me.” Mercedes giggled and looked up from texting. “I totally get it. Every tomboy needs a break from four teenage boys occasionally.” 

“That’s not– Sure, let’s go with that.” Ronnie sighed and leaned her chin in the palm of her hands. She didn’t need a break from them– okay, she needed a break from Kendall. 

The songwriter has somewhat ignored the frontman for the past five days. Of course, she couldn’t ignore Kendall at work and was overtly respectful towards him, but it was a different story outside of work. She started hanging out with James a little more. The brunette even helped hide her from Kendall once or twice. But it was nice to have a break from all of them. 

On Wednesday, Carlos started a pet grooming business to get some extra pocket change, which inevitably erupted in him when Bitters found out. Ronnie spent the day running after dogs that got loose in the Palm Woods with Carlos. It was fun until Bitters yelled at both of them when one of the escaped dogs jumped in the pool and scared tenants. 

It was nice to kick back with Mercedes. 

Ronnie was still on high alert, worried that Mercedes would ask her father to fire her if this didn't go well. She felt obligated to. It wasn’t like she was forced to hang out with the rich girl. Not that her company wasn’t great. Hanging out at the mall with Mercedes was like hanging out back home. Only Ronnie didn’t have to witness whatever courting ritual Addison and Callie were a part of. 

“Do you even take care of your nails?” Mercedes pointed her nail file at Ronnie and raised a perfect brow. 

Ronnie hummed and furrowed her brows, looking down at her hands. The answer was no, but the blonde didn’t wait for verbal confirmation. 

“This is the perfect opportunity to go to the spa!” Mercedes beamed happily and stuffed her nail file in her purse. “It’ll be my treat!” 

This whole trip was technically her treat. The bubbly girl didn’t allow Ronnie to reach for her debit card in her wallet. 

“Oh, maybe then we can touch up our wardrobe! It’s L.A. and nearly eighty-plus. I have no idea how you wear that sweatshirt everywhere.” 

“It’s comfortable…” 

“Is sweating to death that comfortable?” She batted her eyelashes and stuck out her bottom lip. 

Ronnie rolled her eyes and couldn’t stop herself from smiling slightly. 

“Okay, okay. You got me there, but I’ll only part with it to try on clothes.” 

“Party pooper.” Mercedes pouted. She bounced out of her chair and grabbed her fancy fountain soda drink. “Now, come on. I saw this cute dress in one of the windows, and I think it would look nice on you!” 

Ronnie’s face heated up. She swore she was blushing. Addison always told her she looked good whenever they tried on clothes together, but something about how Mercedes said it felt far more genuine. 

“That made you bashful? Oh, girl, we have a lot to work on.” Mercedes giggled behind her hand. When Ronnie stood up, she hooked her arm through hers and led her off with a bounce in her step. 

Momentarily, the songwriter couldn’t help but think about Addison and Callie. Addison would be over the moon to go shopping in Los Angeles. She would walk up and down Hollywood Boulevard a hundred times over and go into each store multiple times. It would be paradise for her. Although Ronnie hadn’t been gone for long, she hoped they would visit her soon. It wasn’t the same without them. It was nice hanging out with others and expanding her social circle, but she wanted to see her old friends again. It wasn’t the same without them. 

Clothes were piled in her arms as Mercedes took them from the wrack. Ronnie couldn’t hear what she was saying and struggled to peek over the growing pile in her arms. 

“Oh! I think this would look good on you!” Mercedes tossed something yellow on the pile. 

“What are you talking about–” Ronnie glanced over her shoulder and was promptly pushed into the changing room by the blonde socialite. 

Instead of being left to choose which clothes worked best, Mercedes had Ronnie come out of the changing room and model for her. The blue-haired girl felt like a Barbie doll. It was hard work to wear and model the clothes for Mercedes. When she got an idea, the rich girl would mix and match the tops with bottoms and circle back to other garments. Ronnie was reasonably confident she would never shop in Hollywood, but unfortunately, the universe had different plans for her. One outfit Mercedes liked was a black and pink tank top with distressed jean shorts. Ronnie crossed her arms in front of her chest and tried to hide her arms. It felt so wrong to be showing this much skin above the waist. 

“Do you… Actually, like this?” 

“Yes! You look hot!” Mercedes clapped her hands. “Those guys won’t know what hit ‘em!” 

“I look like a… slut.” Ronnie muttered. 

“Nonsense! Maybe you need a different top, or perhaps add a jean skirt instead!” 

The songwriter groaned and pushed open the door to the dressing room. If this was what it meant to be Mercedes' new best friend, she might have thought more about that prospect. It wasn’t like the socialite was forcing her to do anything against her will, so she agreed to dress up and model clothes for the rich girl. But, the prospect of getting fired by Mercedes’ CEO father was far more intimidating than doing anything she asked. The next outfit she wore was an off-the-shoulder gray t-shirt with a skull and a pair of boot-cut jeans. Mercedes tilted her head and hummed, tapping her chin. 

“What is it missing?” The blonde squinted in thought. 

Eventually, Ronnie’s torment came to an end. Unfortunately, it was extended for a little longer because Mercedes insisted on buying the clothes she thought Ronnie looked good in. The blue-haired girl tried to protest, but the blonde didn’t want to hear it. At least shopping torture was better than Gustavo’s school of Rocque. She was the only student sitting in a supply closet-sized classroom with a teacher who didn’t want to be there. Instead of math, the washed-up celebrity ranted about how Big Time Rish would become a Big Time Fail. So, while the boys get to go to the school in Palm Woods, their songwriter has to deal with Gustavo at Rocque Records for more than just work hours. 

“Speaking of boys,” Mercedes mused as they returned to her car. “I could get you a date with anyone in Hollywood. Name your type,” 

“Huh?” Ronnie wobbled from the weight of all the shopping bags. “What do you mean?” 

“You know? Do you like hockey players? Musicians? Singers? The sensitive, emotional boys? The bad boys?” Mercedes raised a brow. 

“I mean… I guess I like hockey players…” Ronnie shrugged and tried to catch a bag before it fell. “They are kind of cute.” 

“Wait, really? You like hockey players?” Mercedes' eyes lit up. 

Her nose was buried in her phone, and she was barely paying attention to what was happening around her in the parking lot. Ronnie’s arm shot out when a car backed out of a parking spot. 

“I do have his phone number!” The blonde gasped. “What do you know about Curt Haverfield?” 

“Who?” Ronnie furrowed her brows. “He sounds like a cartoon character.” 

“He’s from North Carolina, and the L.A. Kings are considering him.” 

“I’m guessing that’s the hockey team,” Ronnie rolled her eyes. “I’m also assuming your dad wants him to represent RCM CBT because it could get him more recognition.” 

“Curt is an excellent hockey player. I’ve only talked to him a handful of times, and he’s super nice, too. I think you’d like him.” 

“I don’t know…” 

“Give me your phone.” Mercedes held her hand out. 

Ronnie stared at her open palm for a second and struggled to get her phone out of her pocket. She handed the girl her phone and couldn’t help but cringe. It wasn’t anything fancy. It was a Samsung Epic 4G from Sprint—one of those phones with a QWERTY keyboard. It was nothing compared to Mercedes' iPhone, but the girl didn’t comment. The socialite was more concerned with punching in a phone number with strict concentration. 

“There! You have Curt’s number! I’ll let him know who you are and maybe get him to visit you sometime.” Mercedes chirped happily. 

“I don’t– How– What– “ Ronnie stared wide-eyed at the bubbly girl. 

“Do you… By any chance, do you have anyone I could meet?” Mercedes batted her eyelashes. 

Ronnie opened and closed her mouth; the neurons in her brain hadn’t yet connected. Quickly going through her contacts, she found the only guy that would be a viable candidate. Tyler-Joseph “TJ” Miller. He helped her decide to go to Hollywood.  She handed her phone back to Mercedes. 

“He’s a sweet guy. Knows a little French.” 

“Oh! International!” 

“No, no.” Ronnie shook her head. “He’s from Vermont. I went to high school with him.” 

“Oh–” Mercedes nodded slowly. “If you think so highly of him, he’s perfect!” Mercedes copied his number from Ronnie’s phone. 

When she got home, she was surrounded by what could only be mountains of laundry and empty shopping bags. Ronnie sat in the middle of her room and looked around at everything piled up in the past week. She groaned and leaned back into a pile of dirty laundry. It had been a week, and she still had no idea where the laundry room was. Walking around with a laundry hamper filled with laundry wasn’t the best idea when four hockey players from Minnesota were around. 

“Wait, wait! Ronnie, watch out!” Kendall called her, but it was too late. 

She couldn’t see because of the hamper she was carrying. Their makeshift hockey puck, a simple rubber ball, was under her foot. Her feet flew in opposite directions, and her laundry fell all over her and on the carpeted floor of the lobby. Ronnie sat up and pulled a shirt off of her head. 

“Why are you playing hockey in the lobby!” She snapped. 

“Hockey in the lobby?” It was like Bitters was a bloodhound for trouble. He came out of nowhere, inspecting the scene before him. “No hockey in the lobby!” He pointed to a rule board that also came out of nowhere. “And you, clean up your laundry!” He snapped at Ronnie. 

“They made me drop my laundry!” Ronnie huffed and started picking up her clothing. “Couldn’t you guys have played that outside?” 

“Well, no.” Carlos chuckled awkwardly, helping her pick up her clothes. “There’s a movie shoot outside.” 

“I'm Sorry, Ronnie. I told you to watch out.” Kendall apologized as he helped her up. 

Ronnie narrowed her eyes and turned to her clothes on the floor, kneeling to pick up her garments. Whenever the guys were around, something embarrassing happened. 

“Why are you doing laundry anyway?” Logan asked. “Don’t you have… Too much clothes.” 

“Camille took me shopping, and then Mercedes took me shopping. I couldn’t say no!” 

“I get that,” Logan chuckled awkwardly. 

“I’ll help you carry it. There’s no plausible reason you should be forced to carry this much,” James had gathered some of her clothes in his arms. “It’s only fair.” He shrugged. 

“Do you even know where the laundry room is?” Kendall asked. 

Carlos, Logan, and James could tell quickly that Ronnie was ignoring him. Of course, Kendall was oblivious to it. 

“James, can you show me where the laundry room is?” Ronnie asked, moving aside a piece of clothing so she could look at him. 

“Oh, yeah, sure!” James flashed Kendall a smug grin. 

Kendall’s smile fell off his face. Okay, now he realized she was ignoring him outside of work. Instead of moping, he followed James and Ronnie to the laundry room. It was strange for the four boys to sit in the laundry room while she loaded the washing machine with her laundry, but they kept her company at least. She hummed a melody stuck in her head as she measured laundry detergent. 

“Hey! You could make a song out of that!” Carlos gasped, tapping his foot to the beat. 

“What? No, it was just a silly little tune. It would not be sufficient.” Ronnie laughed and shook her head. 

“Are you seriously doubting your songwriter talent?” Kendall scoffed. 

“I mean, yeah, it’s the melody for Invisible, but that’s not boy band material.” 

Kendall rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall with a pout. 

“Well, what’s invisible about?” Logan asked. 

“I– You really want to know?” Ronnie raised a brow. 

The boys nodded with sparkly eyes. 

“I wrote it when I was in a really bad space. I felt like I was all alone and wanted someone to tell me, ‘Hey, you’re not invisible. I see you.” 

Kendall’s gaze softened, and he shifted. He shoved his hands in his pockets as the gears in his head were turning. 

“That’s perfect! It would be totally relatable for our demographic!” Carlos exclaimed, jumping up from his seat. “Can we see the lyrics? Is it finished?” 

Ronnie took a step back. 

“Yes, it’s finished. No, you can’t see the lyrics.” 

“Why not?” Logan furrowed his brows. 

“You’re our songwriter!” James cried. “Write us some kickass songs!” 

“No.” The washing machine door shut with a loud thud. “It’s a personal song, and there is no way I am letting you four sing all my intimate thoughts!” 

A grin stretched across James’ face, and he nudged Kendall. 

“We would love to sing your intimate thoughts!” James snapped finger guns at her. 

“I can write you another song, but there is no way you’re having that one. It’s mine.” Ronnie set a timer on her phone and sat in an empty chair. 

“Then we can help you make a new one!” A lightbulb went off in Carlos’ head. 

“We just have to orchestrate lyrics.” Logan built off of Carlos’ idea. 

“They’re not listening to me…” Ronnie groaned and leaned her head back. 

Her laundry was done in two hours, and she had to listen to the guys prattle on about the lyrics of their new song. Part of her considered letting them sing Invisible, but she wouldn’t be in the room if they did. The good thing about having four boys in the laundry room with her was that she could make them fold her laundry when it was dried. Hockey players from Minnesota were decent enough at folding laundry. It was her least favorite part about folding laundry, and they were eager to help her faster so they could get started on a brand-new song. 

But when she had to carry her clothes up, Logan, Carlos, and James made some pretty bad excuses and ran away before she could ask them about it. Kendall was nice enough to help her with her clothes. 

“So, is there a reason why you’re ignoring me?” 

“Huh?” Ronnie moved her head around the pile of folded clothes in her hamper. 

“Since the party, you’ve been ignoring me.” 

“So?” 

What– I thought we were friends.” 

“Oh, right. I’m still waiting for that apology.” 

“What apology?” 

“Kendall,” Ronnie sighed. “You were sober. How come I remember what happened?” 

“I didn’t do anything wrong?” 

“Oh, right, because you never do anything wrong. You’re just the sweet boy next door.” Ronnie mocked with a grimace on her face. 

“Okay,” Kendall sighed. “Maybe I was a little too hard on you…” 

“A little? Since you met me, you’ve been giving me the stink eye, and I’m pretty sure you’re under the impression I did something to make your ex-girlfriend leave you.” 

“What do you know about Jo?” 

“Apparently, I know a lot…” Ronnie exhaled sharply. 

“Okay, okay. My breakup with Jo has nothing to do with you whatsoever. I’ll admit it, but I wasn’t expecting you to show up right after she leaves.” 

“What? So I was the metaphorical salt in the wound?” 

“Well, yeah…” Kendall shrugged. 

“You have serious problems.” Ronnie stretched her neck from side to side. 

“It’s not my fault she was my first girlfriend!” 

“Uh, yeah. It is your fault.” 

“Come on, I’m helping you! Can’t be at least be nicer?” 

“I dunno, this is kind of like payback.” 

Ronnie put her laundry hamper down and looked around for the keys to her apartment. Kendall shifted the folded pile in his arms and waited patiently. He followed her into the apartment but stopped before her bedroom door and waited for her to relieve him of the clothing in his hands. This was the second time he had brought clothing to her apartment, and it was the second time something embarrassing had happened in the guys' presence. 

“Thank you.” Ronnie took Kendall's folded pile and opened a drawer in her dresser to put away her shirts. 

Out of curiosity, Kendall leaned forward. He didn’t dare step into her room in case her dad was waiting to snap at him. There were posters on every inch of her walls—Insane Clown Posse, Boyz City, Incubus, My Chemical Romance, The Front Bottoms, etc. 

“You… Uh… You like a lot of bands.” Kendall felt awkward standing there. 

“You can come in. The doors open.” Ronnie rolled her eyes. “I don’t bite.” 

“What’s your favorite band?” 

“Is this a trick question?” Ronnie raised a brow. “I can’t just pick one, but it depends on my mood and what genre I want to listen to.” 

“Not a trick question.” 

“Right now? I’d say Green Day.” 

“Green Day? I thought you were going to say Big Time Rush!”

[butmakeitgayblog]

I just got home from a party and there was a girl who I went to school with like 15 years ago or something. She had different classes than me so all I know about her is her name. BUT. today she looks like season 2 Clarke fucking Griffin. Didn’t even talk to her and she had me in a chokehold 😩

And you didn't even talk to her did you. Did you. This is the most useless lesbian ass energy I think I've ever gotten. And I've gotten asks about actual lesbian sex

[lexa-griffins]

Quiet, shy Lexa uses Halloween as an excuse to finally come out of her shell and wear a slutty costume to a party where she meets Clarke

Lexa has been avoiding parties since freshman year of college. She finds no value to dancing drunk people grinding on each other as they try to get lucky. Not to mention the hallowen version of that, a thin excuse to wear as little as possible and have it be socially acceptable, all to have sex with someone you night not even recognize the next day.

And yet, here she is, standing at the doorstep of the biggest mixed frat on campus, wearing what might be the sluttiest woodland fairy costume she could have find.

Its her last year of college, fuck it!

She wanders for a good hour and, as she suspected, she absolutely hates it here. She has swatted about four hands away from her ass and has had one very friendly conversation with a girl suddenly turn into a near fingering ride she did not sign up for.

She's outside by the bushes, questioning if she should leave or not after she finishes her drink when someone sneaks up behind her.

"Not many bushes for the garden fairy to hang out by inside?" The voice is right by her hear and makes Lexa startle, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you there."

Lexa turns to face Clarke Griffin. Fratgirl extraordinaire, she is also a senior and president of the frat. They have barely spoken despite sharing many classes and being dorm neighbors for a whole year. Lexa finds her beyond hot, sparkling blue eyes and an easy smile. And right now she wears a firefighter costume with a simple black bikini top covering her chest, contrasting with the yellow baggy pants and helmet on her head. Despite the softness of her stomach Lexa has seen her at the gym and knows there is a hardness below it.

"Shouldn't you be inside entertaining guests." Lexa comments, motioning inside where the music is booming.

Loud cheering comes from inside as the vague image of someone being given a lapdance can be seen.

"They seem plenty entertainted to me." Clarke smiles, "you however do not. I dont think ive ever seen you at one of these."

Lexa shakes her head with a closed smile, "Not really my thing."

"And yet here you are. Looking really good if I may add." Her words slur just a bit and Lexa can tell she is a few drops past drunk.

"Thank you. You look..." Lexa tries to think of a word that isnt /sexy/ or /hot/, "very authentic too."

Clarke flashes her a bright smile at that and Lexa can feel her legs shake and her heart beating faster.

"Thanks! You're Lexa right?"

Lexa nods, her smile growing slightly bigger at the fact Clarke knows her name.

"Im Clarke." The girl introduces herself and Lexa has to hold back a chuckle. Who /doesn't/ know who Clarke is.

"I know who you are Clarke, everyone does."

Clarke seems almost bashful at this, bringing her hand to sctrach the back of her head, "eh, I mean you always seemed to not really care who i was so I thought id introduce myself."

Lexa's heart flutters again but she says nothing.

"So why did you decide to come this time?"

Lexa shrugs "its our last year of college and I thought I might as well pretend I had some fun. Even if I'd rather stay behind this bush all night than go back inside.

Clarke chuckles, a low and deep chuckle that makes Lexa feel something tingle between her legs.

They stare at each other for a minute, and Lexa is hyper aware of Clarke eyeing her costume - or lack the off - fully. She has to admit it looks great on her. The fake leaves that make up the bra give her a wonderful lift and the skirt in so short it could classify as a belt. She made a point of adding some glitter to her skin that shines now underneath the low light of the patio.

"That costume looks so fucking good on you." Clarke comments once more, eyes hodded as she stares at Lexa's body.

"Youre drunk." Lexa states although she cant deny how Clarke's stare is affecting her.

"So are you. Your words are more loose, youre ususally so uptight when you talk."

Lexa stares down at her cup, already empty. Maybe she has had one too many.

When she looks back up, Clarke is right in front of her, her chest touching her. Lexa closes her legs firmly, feeling herself growing wetter. She shouldnt.

"You're so hot. The beautiful kind of hot."

Suddenly Lexa feels something poke her. Looking down, she can see Clarke's pants have become a tent

"Clarke...."

She can feels Clarke's breath on her face, her hand on her hip. Their lips inches away.

"Tell me to stop and I will." Clarke whispers.

Lexa closes the gap.

She feels so fucking free right now.

She throws her arms around Clarke, pulling her closer to her. Almost immediately Clarke's hands find her ass, using it as leverage to hold Lexa up into her arms.

"Fuck, I knew you were strong." Lexa moans as she wraps her legs around Clarke's waist.

Clarke chuckles, cocky, before slamming their lips together once more.

"Wanna see strong?" Clarke asks with a smirk and Lexa nods rapidly. Quickly the shorts she wore below her skirt are gone, her wet cunt bare to the autumn air. The sound of clothings hitting the floor follow it and she feels Clarke's hard cock against her.

"Take a deep breath my little fairy, im gonna make you soar."

The colors of the lights coming from inside the house all blur into one as Clarke slams her dick inside of Lexa repeatedly, the shorter girl somehow able to move her hips upwards and she moves Lexa up and down on her dick.

Its sloppy and fast but the thrill of being sressed up and being a bush while a party happens so close by is enough excitment to leave Lexa close to the edge rather fast.

"Ah, Clarke, im gonna cum!" Lexa moans in Clarke's ear, probably louder than she should have, but the loud music muffles her moans.

"Fuck, me too baby, im so close."

With one last thrust Clarke buries herself inside of Lexa fully, cumming hard inside. Lexa locks her legs with as much strength as she can manage around Clarke's waist, bringing them impossible close and sending Lexa over the edge.

"Clarke? You're here?!" The sudden voice alerts the two girls someone is close. Without much time to react, Lexa hops off Clarke in search of her shorts. She slides them on, realizing just as they are in place she is still filled with Clarke's cum. Shit.

"Oh, there you are." It's Octavia, one of Clarke's frat friends, "who's this?"

Lexa looks up to see Clarke fully dressed as if nothing had happened while Lexa shifts on her feet, feeling Clarke's cum drip on to her shorts. Fuck.

"Oh this is Lexa, we have a few classes together." Clarke says casually, "She was about to head out so I was just saying bye to her."

Lexa nods at Clarke's excuse, glad she's giving her an outing given her... state.

"Yeah, sorry. These just arent really my thing." Lexa apologizes, voice somehow steady.

After some quick goodbyes, Clarke accompanies Lexa to the front. As Lexa gives her a polite goodbye, Clarke grabs her hand, forcing Lexa to turn around. They are once again face to face.

With a roll of eyes and a smile, Lexa closes the gap between them again.

"Dont be stranger." Clarke whispers as they pull away, a hand finding Lexa's core from behind and pressing on it, feeling the wetness she created gather between her legs.

Lexa moans softly before pulling away with a shy smile.

"I'll see you Clarke."

She still doesnt like frat parties. But oh doesnt she looove that frat girl.

[owl127]

You’re probably so over the prompts about 3Cs but god you have a golden story here, I can’t stop thinking about it literally every day, imagining what could happen you know ? I’m a big fan of your work but this one is addicting, can’t wait to read more about this one, I’m looking forward anything, any prompt, any CRUMB

Anya was the luckiest woman alive.

She kissed Raven’s giggles as she tossed her wonder woman mask away, finding the girl’s mouth in a fit of laughter of her own. Raven sighed contently and made more room for them in the passenger seat. The 20-year-old Malibu groaned, but held firm as she spread her legs on top of Anya. Raven was always blabbing about how soon the car would be vintage, the old grandma holding firm for two generations of Reyes. That seat had seen its fair share of college kids making out on top of it, and Anya didn’t mind adding a few miles tonight.

As the windows fogged and pants grew unnecessary, Anya was ready to invite Raven back to her apartment, but a loud noise outside made them stop.

“If anyone hit grandma, I swear to God…” Raven said as she rolled the window down, the music from the Halloween party they had abandoned filtering inside.

“Lexa, wait!”

Anya was so ready to ignore whatever commotion was going on, but Clarke’s voice broke her away from Raven’s neck.

“Griffin?” Raven asked, but Clarke ignored the girls in the car as she ran past it.

“Clarke, let that shrimp go.” Another voice joined Clarke’s, and Anya peeked out the window.

She saw Lexa’s bee antenna stomping away, and Clarke was trying to follow in her cumbersome honey jar costume, but another woman stopped her. “Come on, Clarke, stay. I’m sure she’s fine.”

Anya growled when she saw Nia, the party host and also the host of one of the greatest sticks up her ass. Everyone on the lacrosse team hated Nia. She was on the team because of nepotism alone (her aunt dated their coach) and she made everyone’s life miserable with her lack of talent and many opinions.

She threw a mean party, though.

“Let’s go back.” Nia reached for Clarke’s arm, but Clarke shook it away.

“Everything alright, Griffin?” Raven opened the door, face steeled. She was the meanest pirate Anya had ever seen, with the fake parrot dangling from her shoulder adding to the character.

“Everything good, ladies?” Anya followed Raven outside without missing a beat, crossing her arms and glaring at Nia. Both Clarke and Nia seemed surprised at the couple leaving the parked car, though while Clarke showed relief at the sight of her friend, Nia bared her teeth in annoyance.

“Woods. Great to see you,” Nia said with the delicacy of a hammer. “Your sister just stormed out of here.”

“Clarke, do you need a ride?” Raven asked Clarke, ignoring the dick measuring competition going on between the two alphas.

Clarke sniffled, a tear falling on the rumpled card box that was her honey jar, and Raven helped her friend inside the car.

“I’ll drive her home.” Raven fished her keys from Anya’s back pocket — who knows how it ended there — and kissed her cheek.

“I’ll go after Lexa with my bike,” Anya said, returning the kiss.

Give it to Lexa to cockblock her sister.

Spotting the shaking bee was easy, but convincing Lexa to go back to Anya’s apartment took some time. Lexa finally relented under the frosty rain, her bee antenna squashed under Anya’s spare helmet as they drove away.

“I’m fine,” Lexa said between trembling teeth, though she sighed in relief when she held the steaming mug Anya placed in front of her. Her red, hard fingers thawed under the warmth, and so did her rage.

Anya eyed her sister, noticing the running makeup, the red nose, the stained bee costume. It wasn't always that Lexa looked like a mess, but that night was one of those days.

“Are we going to talk about it?” Anya asked, pouring honey into her own mug.

Lexa took the tiniest tea sip.

Anya would hate this so much less if making Lexa talk about her feelings wasn’t like pulling overgrown wisdom teeth. “Why did you storm out?” Anya probed, searching for an angle. “And why is Clarke upset?”

“She’s upset?”

Bingo.

Lexa’s red eyes widened, but then she frowned.

Anya checked Raven’s texts since they parted:

Raven Babe 00:37am

Griffin is crying.

I think they fought. Ask Lexa.

We stopped to get chocolate and honey. Her costume is surprisingly effective.

“Raven is with her now,” Anya said, flipping her phone face down on the table before Lexa could peek. “So, are you still drunk or?”

“Ugh,” Lexa said intelligently, lowering her forehead to the table. “Do I sound drunk?”

“You sound miserable.” Anya sat next to her sister, touching her shoulder and squeezing it. “So what? You had an argument while a little tipsy. That’s normal, Lex. Apologize to Clarke in the morning and it will all be good.”

Lexa lifted her head from the table, her eyebrows knit. She looked like a bee who had been expelled from the hive and left to die in the wilderness if that bee was also a little drunk. “I don’t want to apologize.”

A simmering kind of emotion bubbled in Anya’s stomach, and she recognized it as anger.

“What did Griffin do?” Her tone didn’t betray the surge in protectiveness for her younger sister.

Lexa’s head hit the tabletop again with a muted thud.

“Maybe I’m just overreacting,” she mumbled to the abused wood that had never seen a single coaster.

Anya breathed through her curiosity, giving her sister time to process her thoughts. Lexa had always been slow to make her opinions heard, but alcohol made it like walking through molasses.

Anya waited, as some big sisters were known to do. The good ones, at least.

“She laughed at me,” Lexa said, her voice as small as she looked. “Nia was talking shit about the team, as usual, but then she said things about me and Clarke—” there was that knot between her eyes again “—Clarke just laughed.”

“I’m sorry,” Anya said, the frown on her forehead the same as the one on Lexa’s. “But maybe she didn’t mean it that way?”

Lexa nodded solemnly, processing the idea in her inebriated brain.

“Clarke adores you, Lexa. Did she apologize?”

Pink blossomed over Lexa’s cheeks.

“Is that when you stormed out?” Anya asked, one eyebrow up.

Lexa nodded, but shameful consolation replaced her serious posture.

“Sleep it off,” Anya said, standing up. “It will make more sense in the morning.”

Lexa took an hour showering and used all the hot water. Anya would be mad about it another time, though she will hold against her sister the whole cockblocking thing. Anya had been looking forward to fuck Raven in her wonder woman costume.

Anya let Lexa sleep on the mattress that was usually under her bed, a little wet clump of teen hormones on the floor of her bedroom. She pretended not to, but saw the text exchange between her sister and her girlfriend, and sighed with a heavy sense of completion as Lexa drifted off to sleep.

Another night of being the best big sister ever.

Lexa 2:15am

I'm not mad

Clarke, I love you.

Clarke 2:15am

I love you too.

[aaronstveit]

new septembers readathon book recs

i like making lists so i thought it would be fun to make a list of recommendations that fit at least one prompt in case people were struggling to find books!! every book on this list, i have either already read & enjoyed, or it's on my tbr:) books i have not read yet will be marked by an asterisk! and if you're not joining the readathon, this can still help you find some good books to read this autumn :)

The Witch Haven by Sasha Peyton Smith (a book about witches)

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna* (a book about witches, a cozy fantasy)

Our Shadows Have Claws: 15 Latin American Monster Stories edited by Yamile Saied Méndez and Amparo Ortiz (a creepy/horror book, a short story collection)

Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang (dark academia, a book that takes place (partially) in september)

Mexican Gothic by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia (a book about a haunted house, a creepy/horror book, a gothic novel)

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman* (a book about witches, an autumnal romance)

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (dark academia, a book that takes place (partially) in september)

Weyward by Emilia Hart* (a book about witches)

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (a gothic novel, an autumnal classic)

Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper* (a book about witches, an autumnal romance)

Your Lonely Nights Are Over by Adam Sass (a creepy/horror book, a september 2023 release)

Wild Is the Witch by Rachel Griffin* (a book about witches)

Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones (a creepy/horror book)

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling* (a book about witches, an autumnal romance)

After Dark with Roxie Clark by Brooke Lauren Davis (a murder mystery, a book with a red cover)

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston* (an autumnal romance)

Saint Juniper's Folly by Alex Crespo (a creepy/horror book, a book about a haunted house)

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow* (a book about witches)

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio (dark academia, a book that takes place (partially) in september)

Legends & Lattes* by Travis Baldree* (a cozy fantasy, an autumnal romance)

Hollow by Shannon Watters, Branden Boyer-White, Berenice Nelle, and more (a graphic novel, a retelling/reimagining)

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas* (a book about a haunted house, a creepy/horror book)

M Is for Monster by Talia Dutton (a graphic novel, a retelling/reimagining)

Slasher Girls & Monster Boys edited by April Genevieve Tucholke (a creepy/horror book, a short story collection)

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake* (dark academia)

You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron (a creepy/horror book, a book with a red cover)

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher* (a creepy/horror book, a retelling/reimagining, a gothic novel)

Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie (a murder mystery, a book with an orange cover)

Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill* (a creepy/horror book, a retelling/reimagining)

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Joseph Andrew White (a creepy/horror book, a gothic novel, a september 2023 release)

A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson* (a creepy/horror book, a book about vampires, a retelling/reimagining)

Why Didn't They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie (a murder mystery)

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher* (a gothic novel, a creepy/horror book)

Ophelia After All by Racquel Marie (a book with an orange cover)

House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson* (a book about vampires, a creepy/horror book)

Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson (dark academia, an autumnal classic)

Over My Dead Body by Sweeney Boo* (a graphic novel, a book about witches, a book that takes place at a private/boarding school)

Suddenly a Murder by Lauren Muñoz (a murder mystery, a september 2023 release)

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu* (a creepy/horror book, a book about vampires, a book with a red cover, an autumnal classic)

Thieves' Gambit by Kayvion Lewis (a book with a red cover, a september 2023 release)

Coven by Jennifer Dugan, Kit Seaton* (a graphic novel, a book about witches)

Where Echoes Die by Courtney Gould (a creepy/horror book, a book with an orange cover)

The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes* (a book with a yellow cover)

I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman* (a book with an orange cover)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson* (a creepy/horror book, an autumnal classic)

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas (autumnal romance, a book with a red cover)

The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie (a murder mystery, a book with a red cover)

She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran* (a creepy/horror book)

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (an autumnal classic)

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien (an autumnal classic, a book that (partially) takes place in september)

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland (a creepy/horror book)

She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott, Alyson Derrick* (a book with a yellow cover, a book that (partially) takes place in september)

These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall (a creepy/horror book, a book about a haunted house)

Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall (a creepy/horror book)

The Gathering Dark: An Anthology of Folk Horror edited by Tori Bovalino (a creepy/horror book, a short story collection)

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (an autumnal romance, an autumnal classic, a book with a red cover)

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand (a creepy/horror book)

Dracula by Bram Stoker (a book about vampires, a creepy/horror book, an autumnal classic)

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson (a creepy/horror book, a retelling/reimagining)

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (a murder mystery)

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (a creepy/horror book, an autumnal classic)

The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow, Liz Lawson (a murder mystery)

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (an autumnal classic)

A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro (a retelling/reimagining, a murder mystery, a book that takes place at a private/boarding school)

Macbeth by William Shakespeare (an autumnal classic)

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson (a murder mystery, a book that takes place at a private/boarding school, a book that (partially) takes place in september)

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill (a murdery mystery)

If I Have to Be Haunted by Miranda Sun* (a book with an orange cover, an autumnal romance, september 2023 release)

Her Body and Other Parties: Stories by Carmen Maria Machado (short story collection, creepy/horror book)

On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta (a book with a yellow cover, a book that takes place at a boarding/private school)

The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould (a creepy/horror book)

Crooked House by Agatha Christie (a murder mystery, a book that (partially) takes place in september, a book with a red cover)

Ace of Spades by Fariday Àbíké-Íyímídé (dark academia)

Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas (retelling/reimagining)

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (a cozy fantasy)

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (an autumnal classic, a creepy/horror book, a book about a haunted house, a book with an orange cover)

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (an autumnal classic)

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (an autumnal classic)

Tripping Arcadia by Kit Mayquist* (a creepy/horror book, a gothic novel)

[blu3haw4]

Clexa au idea for the sex lives of college girls and fortnite

Clarke and Lexa attend the same college who are introverts and keep to themselves. They both meet playing fortnite and love chatting with each other. There's lots of flirting too online. After learning they attend the same school, they make plans to meet up. One thing leads to another and they have sex

OKAY FINE! Not where i thought we were going, but fine. If you insist 😌

Let's do some character work, bc the first thought of an introvert for me is like... shy maybe, and I know that's not it but... Clarke Griffin isn't SHY (Lexa either but, let's do Clarke first)

I'd like a definition of introvert for Clarke as in 'i don't like people but I'll do it if i have to, and I'll look fucking great doing it'

When she says she's an introvert people don't believe her bc she's easy going and can be fun with anyone, she's a natural leader bc she knows how to direct people and how to delegate, and people like her, not always, but enough people, still, though she has friends and likes to hung out with those she likes, or go out and party, she'd much rather be by herself. Her social battery runs out often and she's the type of person to realize that only once she gets home and is suddenly drained, she's not the type to suddenly become quiet and bored, she slowly starts to get easily irritated until she realizes she just wants to go home.

I think it's so easy to make her and Raven bbfs for this one, where Raven is so much more of an extrovert that still loves her alone time bc she loves herself a lot, like she likes herself a bunch 'i love spending time with that bitch' typa-vibe and that bitch is herself. She also loves going out and being around people she likes, her definition of fun is having people around and doing something.

I think they meet in college and become fast friends bc they're roommates. If we're trying to keep a little of tslocg they would be four roommates that haven't met before, living in a dorm with one common area and two shared rooms, Clarke and Raven would share and the other two girls... I would have to thing about.

Octavia would be Lexa's friend, so let's jump to Lexa's definition of introvert, bc, though i can cope with her been shy, i don't necessarily like it much. So she would be 'I do a lot of thing that put me around a lot of people but that doesn't mean i want or like to interact with them'

I think like Clarke people also assume she's more of an extrovert but it comes as less of a shock that she's not. I think she's the type of person that is really quiet and might come off as rude sometimes but she's also around people that often think she's joking so they think she's fun; I'm talking a sport, music groups, maybe some science related extracurricular, she does them all and bc of it she has to hang out and be polite a bunch of people but she'd much rather be alone, she enjoys her time alone.

I think her and Octavia became friends over the sport (before college, probably high school) and maybe Lexa got her into music as well, i think Octavia was the kind of person to hate nice people and was drawn to Lexa for her somewhat coldness, i don't think Lexa liked her much at the begging, not for anything in particular but Octavia kinda just decided that they'd be friends, the type that didn't talk much and just gravitated towards each other and it just kinda... stuck. Lexa realized at some point that it wasn't just Octavia sitting beside her or picking her as a partner in class, now she was also looking for her, and they talked to each other about things they didn't talk to anyone else and Oh! Would you look at that? Now we're bbfs.

I think the explanation to them never seen each other before is mostly that they don't try to know people so they don't talk with anyone unless they have to, and also is a pretty big campus and they don't attend the same events like ever, Lexa doesn't do parties and Clarke doesn't do extracurriculars.

Oh, oh! Andddd they're both open to meeting people on (in?) games bc they're very competitive and sometime you find really good players and also sometimes really nice people, so that's how they meet. Open mic dous on a day they're both up to it. I think they only interact through they game up until the day they decide to meet up, kinda like they only talk while playing and maybe discord too but only to know when they're playing again. The flirting would only be during the game and the type that is like 'are we flirting? Or are we just joking'

SO i think all im missing are like... details 😅 and well their sexual life/experiences and I should be ready to out line it and write it AFTER im done with my college stuff lol (practically next Friday) 🙂‍↕️ but today im relaxing so hit me up with questions about these two as individuals so I can draw a better picture of them in my head

Also who do you think are the other two roommates for Clarke?🤔

[procrastinationstation101]

Summary: The morning after, then a little hop, skip and a jump to Halloween!

[1for5]

TO ALL THE GIRLS I’VE LOVED BEFORE

paige bueckers x uconn student!reader

with caitlin clark, aubrey griffin, nika muhl, and emily engstler

───────── ⋆⋅🏀⋅⋆ ─────────

CHAPTER 1: Contracts and Parties

prologue ch 2

You know that feeling wherein a name is introduced to you, and you start seeing them all over the place? That is what Y/n is feeling, but it started when the incident with Paige happened. Yes, Paige was everywhere, whether it was on a poster or during school events. However, Y/n kept on seeing her every time you’re at the library, the halls, the cafeteria, and hell even the bar.

On a Wednesday morning, Y/n was free till after lunch. She had a chance to eat outside, especially since the weather was good. Y/n craved Japanese food–particularly Udon, and headed to a Japanese Restaurant. To no surprise, Paige had also just arrived at the restaurant. While waiting for a table, multiple buzzes came from Y/n’s phone.

Emily

Hey, can we talk?

About the letter.

Y/n had no intentions of talking to Emily, as she thought that it would end their friendship and maybe even have her sister dislike her, hence why she is ignoring Emily. When Y/n was signalled to sit down and check the menu, the tall blonde also sat at the seat in front of her. “So.. you going to ignore me or what?” Paige started talking. “We just don’t really talk.” Y/n shrugged, playing with the corner end of the menu. “Why are you seated in front of me?” Y/n added. “I am alone, and you’re alone so..” Paige said and scanned the menu.

It was awkwardly silent after Paige made the comment. “You won’t acknowledge the letter L/n?” Paige cut off the quiet noise. “You are not the only one I wrote a letter to, Bueckers. Don’t act so cocky. I only wrote the letter because you were my first kiss, and it was quite significant to me” Y/n called the waiter and ordered her food.

“So I'm not the only one? And it was all because of that truth or dare kiss? Damn you’re a player” Paige felt shocked. “Well no, that’s not it. I wrote these years ago. Each person at a different time. I wrote four.” Y/n explained, taking a sip of water.

“Four? Care to let me know?” Paige grew curious. “No way!” Y/n protested. “Well you could not tell me and I’ll tell the whole school that you like me..” Paige’s cocky smile grows.

“Excuse me? I am NOT delusional? And plus, no one cares anymore about anyone in college.” You scoffed. The food arrived, and you both thanked the waitress.

“Are you sure? You’re a head school writer too, people know you.” Paige giggled, and took a bite of her food. You rolled your eyes at her, giving a “Don’t test me” look.

“Fine, fine! Okay so of course you’re part of it, then Aubrey Griffin..” you start. “No way! She was my teammate before! But I agree, she is very fine.” Paige laughed.

“Mhm! Moving on.. I also wrote to Caitlin Clark.” You said, starting to get embarrassed. “I see your type. She was our schoolmate for like a year right? But. isn’t she straight?” Paige clarified.

“Oh. I didn’t know and still do not know. She’s very pretty though.” Y/n explained. “Okay next! Er.. Emily Engstler? Do you know her? She’s in the WNBA now.” Y/n continued.

“And another player.. But I know her! I know all things women's basketball. Wait wait.. isn’t she your sister’s girlfriend? Nika?” Paige gasped, and drank from her iced tea with shocked eyes.

“I mean Emily was my best friend, and she was the first person I liked. Didn’t show my feelings though.” Y/n stated. “It feels so damn awkward, and I certainly do not want to talk to Emily about my (then) feelings about her.. so I kinda just.. kissed you? I’m trying to ignore her.” Y/n added. “Damn, that’s crazy L/n. How’d you even become friends with Engstler?” The blonde asked.

“She was my neighbour, and we are 2 years apart, so we kinda related to each other. We were so close, until her and my sister became a thing. They still invited me to their dates but I would always still feel different.” Y/n continued, reminding herself of the friendship she had with Emily.

Paige then got an idea, which Y/n knew was going to be a bad one once she gave you that “I have this crazy idea that I like but you might not like however I want to convince you” look.

“You know that my ex, Mia Clarkson, our school mate even from grade school, fumed when someone told her you kissed me.” Paige started. “Probably. She was my best friend, but our friendship broke after that truth or dare kiss with you.” Y/n shared.

“No way! I never thought that she would have a “history” with you. Anyways, well.. What if we start fake dating? Emily would stop trying to reach you, and Mia would want to get back with me when she sees how I am with another girl!” Paige shared her idea, your head not believing that she just said those words.

“No way. I mean, really?” Y/n wasn’t convinced. “It would be great. When Mia sees us, she would come back to me in no time, especially with your history with her. And if Emily checks her social media apps, then she would see that we are in a relationship, which would give you that boundary.” Paige explained further.

Y/n thought for a while. This could either go so fast or so slow. She thought hard, and weighed the pros and cons. People may hate her, however, she could stay away from Emily for a while till she knows how to approach her. And this could give her new experiences too.

“Fine, deal. But we have to make a contract though.”

“Contract? What would we need a contract for?” Paige asked. “This will be my “first” relationship, and we need boundaries. I do not want my first relationship to have all of its firsts being fakes.” Y/n explained. “I get you. What do you want to put in the contract?” Paige got a paper from her oh so big gym bag. “You probably have your whole life in that bag! Anyways, first rule. I do not like kissing.” Y/n starts.

“How can we show affection then?” Paige followed up. “You can hug me. Oh! You can put your hands in my back pocket.” Y/n smiled. “What are you, an 80s kid?” Paige snickered. “Leave me alone, it's romantic!” Y/n defended herself. “Whatever. Okay next rule. You have to come to my games, and I can come to any programs you would want to bring me to.” Paige wrote on the paper.

“Okay. We would also have to post each other on social media. Not always, but at least make our relationship known.” Y/n took the paper from Paige and wrote the rule. “Deal. Oh! I will give you simple notes, Mia always asked me to give her, but I never did. She’ll go crazy if she sees me give you notes.” Paige said. “And.. You will have to come with me on the annual UCONN ski trip.” Paige added.

The UCONN ski trip? That’s like a day of easy room access for intimacy. Those who did not lose their virginities during high school lost their virginities during the ski trip. Y/n thought. “That’s three whole months from now! Would we even still be doing this by then?” Y/n questioned. “All couples go on the trip. We can just apply this rule if we are still doing this in three months' time.” Paige stated.

“Okay. Fine.” Y/n playfully rolled her eyes at Paige. “We almost forgot the most important rule. We can’t tell anyone, I mean anyone, about this agreement. It would shatter us both.” Y/n took the paper from Paige and wrote the rule with a big font.

“Deal.”

-

A week has gone by, and the “couple” has two events that they would have to go through: (1) UCONN party held by the women’s basketball team, and (2) a basketball practice game of the women’s team against the men’s. The party is on a Wednesday, as it is the last day of Midterms. The practice game is on a Friday. The game in fact is an annual “event” that many people look forward to, especially those who are fans of both the women’s and men’s team.

It is Wednesday afternoon, and Y/n is preparing for the party. She wore a UCONN t-shirt given by Paige, and simple jeans. Y/n was not sure if she should feel excited or nervous, as it will be the first time she and Paige will be seen together.

While putting on make up, Y/n got a text from Paige, saying that she is near. Paige is automatically the designated driver of the relationship, as Y/n has not earned a license yet. After minutes, she heard a car honk, which stated that Paige was there. She got her bag and headed out to meet Paige in the car.

“Hey, you ready for the party?” Paige asked once Y/n was able to settle down at the front seat of the car. “Yeah.” Y/n nervously smiled.

-

Arriving at the house where the party is, before opening the door, Y/n was tying her hair up, however, Paige quickly got the hair tie not letting Y/n put up her hair. “I prefer your hair down, and I will keep this scrunchie of yours” Paige placed her hand in the scrunchie. Y/n scoffed, “You better not lose it.” she said firmly, as it was her favourite tie, given to her by her sister Nika.

Paige nodded, and got her phone out. She opened her camera and asked Y/n to pose for her. Y/n placed her hands on her cheeks, and the camera took a shot. Paige smiled and made it her wallpaper. “Mmm. Smart. Let me take a picture of you too.” Y/n laughed while Paige was giving her poses for the wallpaper.

After the wallpapers had been set, they went on and headed inside the house. The whole UCONN women’s basketball team was there and approached Paige. “Paige! Thought you wouldn’t come! Oh! Who’s this pretty girl?” KK Arnold was the first to approach Y/n, the rest following and stating their hi(s) and hello(s). “Guys, I want you all to meet my girlfriend.” Paige announced loudly enough for the whole house to hear.

“No way! You bagged her?” Azzi jokes, which made Y/n laugh. “You are so so pretty!” Ice complimented Y/n. After a while, Y/n slowly got the hang of being the “center of attention.” The UCONN team made her feel like home, giving her stories about Paige and making funny jokes.

“Okay, enough of us talking. What made you like Paige?” Q asked Y/n. Y/n, however, did not know how to answer that, only knowing the person for only a week. “Well, she has this side of hers that she only showed me. Paige is really hard working, compassionate, funny, and a whole lot more.” Y/n did not completely lie. She and Paige had an agreement only they knew, and referring to the posters and sports posts, she knew Paige had an excellent personality especially on the court.

Paige smiled when Y/n was speaking, however, her eye saw the figure of Mia Clarkson, who signalled her to follow her to the bathroom.

“What do you need?” Paige asked Mia, closing the bathroom door. “Why are you with her?” Mia asked, clearly showing that she was jealous and mad. “That is none of your business” Paige said firmly, looking at herself in front of the mirror.

“Oh what’s this?” Mia then acknowledged the scrunchie being worn by Paige, and got it out of her hand. Mia then fixed her hair, and asked Paige if she “looked good tonight.” “You always look good.” The blonde slightly smiled. Mia smirked, and walked out of the bathroom, leaving Paige alone.

Paige did not know why she did not make a move, it was clear that Mia was already showing signs of interest again. She didn’t feel the “spark” she was hoping to feel, maybe it was just that it’s too early into the agreement, and Paige always reaches for that sense of accomplishment, which she wouldn’t have felt if she already made a move on Mia.

The blonde just shrugged it off, and headed back to her team and Y/n.

[thelastpresidentprincejosephius]

-College is DEMOCRACY

- Aph-letic

-Director & Produce isnt Amature

Fraternity: Pasific

ks104

Merv Griffin/ Dick Clarke / Paul Harvey/ Rod Serling/ Lorne Greene/

Film Companies United States of Americian

-Merchant Ivory

-Lighthouse Film Studio

-20th Century Studios

-Focus Features

-AMC

-Blue Line Cinema

-Castle Rock Entertainment

- The Samuel Goldwyn Company

-SYFY

-Haunted Summer

-James Bond: You Only Live Twice

Pizza Hut

Taco Bell

T.G.I.Friday

Wendy's

-Earth Girls are Easy: Smashing Pumpkins

-Journey to the West

-The Grandmaster

Zach Parise, Sidney Crosby

Kate Moss sister of Brandon Moss

Parker Poseiy sister of Buster Posiey

Daria sister of Jake Lang

Eric Clapton

Michael Bolton

kenny loggins married brenda k starr

William Shakespeare Isaac Bashevis Singer

and wife Lauren Bacall

Some Kind of Wonderful (2 daughters) Bridget Fonda, Lea Thompson

Sister Molley Ringwalnd & Murray Gell-Mann

Christopher Reeves, Robert Palmer, Melissa Benoist

-#1 Were

Wear

Where the Boys are

-#2)A Separate Peace

-#3)Flirt

-#4) Tower Inferno

-#5) Starship Trooper & Super Trooper

-Elvira Mistress of the Night

-Kiss of the Damned

-The Monsters

-House Party series

Mary Shelley,

Queen Margot

Percy Byshe Shelley,

A Royal Affair

Lord Byron,

Barry Lyndon

Alexandre Dumas,

Iron Mask

Voltaire

Cantorbury Ghost

Emelia Brontë married Dwight Eisenhower

family and the president after George Washington (2 Sons) Thomas Jefferson Emelia had son with Paul Andrew (Dad) Zachary Taylor (Son)

Charlotte Brontë,

Sound of Thunder

Jane Austen,

Hammer of God

George Eliot

married

Robert Frost

An Ideal Husband 43

The Browning Version

Jack London

Sea Wolves

Robert A. Heinlein

Franz Kafka Washington brother of George Washington

-Event Horizon Series

-Time and Stars

-Sabeina

-Kiki Delivery Services

-Perfect Blue

-Chinese Christmas Ghost Story

-Seven

-The House of Mirth

-Gosford Park

-Emma

-Mansfield Park

-A Room with a View

-Worlds Collide

-Kafka film

-Fight Club

-Donnie Darko

Stephen King

-Christine 

-Sleepwalker

-The Shining

-A Return to Salem's Lot

-inkheart

-Near Dark

-The Rocketeer

it wasn't Soap it IS Tara Reids family

-Mom Tara Reid of the tv show Chears,

-Dad Bob Uecker,

(4Sons)Daniel Bakula, Tom Everett, Zach Braff, Cary Elwes,

(1 Daughter)Diane Lane

Patty Duke Mother writer of Ted & Grace his mother Grace Allen

Ted Turner Four Sons

Harry Connick Jr.

2 Albums

-That Would Be Me

Chet Baker

Dizzy Gillespie

Hal Hartley

[kinetic-elaboration]

January 20: Excerpt

Apparently the end of last week messed me up more than anticipated and I needed to sleep for like 12 hours last night. So I did not do a lot today. I hope this is not me falling back into bad habits.

I didn't do any writing today, though I'm still hoping I'll get back to the Time Loop tomorrow. Here's an excerpt from it in the meantime. Sightly spoilery.

Maybe she should pose or something. Maybe this is what ghosts feel like, when they first begin to haunt their loved ones. All she can do is stand with her hands at her side and let herself be quietly observed.

All she wants to do is stare at Bellamy: his tortoiseshell professor glasses, the cable knit sweater he pulls out every autumn, his hair where it is just starting to curl. She wonders if he still has a folder on his hard drive labeled DRAFTS, if it's still full of manuscripts no one but her has ever read.

Her focus, though, needs to be on Octavia. Her gaze steady and open, half the room between them but still eye to eye. If she looks at this woman long enough maybe she'll see her again as the little girl who used to play Princesses and Monsters with her, battling with swords made out of sticks in the Griffins' backyard. The girl who got lost in corn mazes, overturned the popcorn during horror movies, learned how to drive stick with her on the back roads, scaring up crows. Time can be visualized as a series of concentric circles, echoing out from one fixed point. The ripples of even the strongest event become just tiny waves against her fingertips—she pictured those ripples again and again, free-painting en plein air with the ocean wind salt-laden and rough off the shore.

"Clarke—"

"Octavia." She cuts off her own name before Octavia can say the rest. Clarke, what are you doing here? Clarke, get out of my house. Her voice is strangled enough on the name; she won't make it through the rest.

Once cut off, she doesn't try again.

Clarke tries to smile, the same slow and gentle movements she might use in befriending a wounded animal. This is more palatable than bowing and scraping like a serf before her queen. She reaches inside her bag and feels around for the box there, takes it out—small and square, plain brown with an orange bow wrapped around it for festivity—and holds it out into the gaping space between them. "I brought you this," she says. "As a peace offering, since I'm crashing your party."

Octavia's face spasms, a brief scowl across her features, and she makes an uncertain gesture toward the box, as if she weren't sure if she was reaching for it or trying to bat it away. As Clarke steps closer, Raven and Murphy crowd out of her way, just as the rest of the room falls back, and nothing matters but her eyes locked onto Octavia's face.

[ithinkyouhealedmyheart]

Ghostwriter CH 22

Unbetad Unedited Unhinged || AO3 Wattpad

Character(s): Kendall Knight, James Diamond, Carlos Garcia, Mercedes Griffin, Curt Haverfield, Calliope Anderson oc, Addison Tate oc, Veronica Clark oc, TJ Miller oc

Pairing(s): Kendall Knight/Original Female Character, Kendall Knight & James Diamond & Carlos Garcia & Logan Mitchell, Kendall Knight & Jennifer Knight,

Word Count: 5022

 “What are you doing?” 

Ronnie screamed and whirled around. She tensed up, and her face turned red. It was safe to say the songwriter assumed that no one would be around after work, but yet again, Kendall was around. She brushed hair from her face and coughed into her hand. Britney Spears was playing over the sound system. Kendall leaned against the doorway, arms crossed. One day, she would shave off his eyebrows to get him back. 

“Stop sneaking up on me!” She looked around frantically for her yellow sweatshirt. The blue one was in the wash. 

“It’s not my fault you’re pretending the recording studio is a dance studio,” Kendall chuckled and pushed off the door frame. “Why do you do that?” 

“Because it’s easier than dancing in front of people,” 

“Yeah, but like… Did you have that entire choreography memorized?” 

“Yes? Why is this a shock to you?” Ronnie rolled her eyes and put the broom down. She went over to the speakers to turn them off, but Kendall stopped her. 

“Teach it to me,” 

“What? I’m not a dance instructor!” The tips of her ears turned even redder. 

“So?” Kendall shrugged. “You know it well, don’t you?” 

“Obviously, but I can’t just– No!” Ronnie pulled her hair into a ponytail. 

“It would be fun, come on.” Kendall pleaded with big, sad eyes. “You’re so mean to me,” 

“God, I can’t believe I’m doing this…” Ronnie muttered as she restarted the song she was previously listening to. 

Oops!... I Did It Again came on, and she ensured there was enough room for the both of them. Her feet were cold, and her hands tingled. She was nervous. Primarily because she didn’t think she should listen to Britney Spears’ music. That was reserved for gorgeous girls who soaked up the spotlight like a sponge. Kendall watched her top half fold down, and her feet started to move. She moved in sync with the music. At first, he thought she was teaching herself the choreography, but it seemed more like she understood it without looking. He could only imagine that she danced alone in her room because she was worried about showing someone else. The blonde could hear her heavy breathing as she moved but wasn’t sure if it was embarrassment or exhaustion. He was weirdly hypnotized. Although he wanted to be able to follow her movements, he was stuck. His feet wouldn’t move. It was wrong of him to watch, but he couldn’t stop watching. 

“Ronnie!” Mercedes burst through the door. Everyone in the room froze. “I didn’t know we were having a dance party,” her eyes lit up. 

Ronnie tripped over her shoelace and faceplanted on the hardwood. Kendall jumped and pulled her to her feet. 

“Anyway, I was going to tell you all about my date with TJ, but… I can see you’re occupied. I’ll take it you, and Curt didn’t have a good date last night.” 

“What?” Ronnie’s eyes widened. “No! We had a great date!” The songwriter laughed awkwardly. 

“Oh. I figured since you’re in a room alone with Kendall that–” 

“Nope! No! Let’s go talk outside!” Ronnie said loudly. She laughed awkwardly as she dragged Mercedes out of the recording studio by her arm. 

Kendall stood there, confused and a bit awkward. Did Mercedes think they were dating? Wait, what happened with Ronnie and Curt? He let them leave. They didn’t need him, and he didn’t want to hear them talk about girly things like boys or their dates last night. The thought of eavesdropping crossed his mind, but he couldn’t do that to Ronnie. No matter how curious or nosy he is. Then again, there was a backup solution. 

Thankfully, James also stayed at Rocque Records. He found his best friend in the costuming department looking through the clothes. It was well known that James took a lot of clothes because they were flashy or couture. He had a very voguish style. Kendall had only worn this costume once, but it was time to dust it off and use it for good purposes. Well, he had innocent intentions. Eavesdropping gave him insight into Ronnie’s relationship and feelings towards the band. He was more interested in what kind of boyfriend Curt was. 

“Hey, James?” Kendall looked through the rack of dresses. “Do we have that black wig?” 

“Why do you want the black wig– Are you hiding from the paparazzi?” James gasped and spun around. “Wait, wait, wait. Can we both go out there in costumes.” 

“Why?” 

“Please!” 

“Okay, fine.” Kendall pulled a hanger off the rack and tilted his head. “But I’m not the only one dressing up as a woman.” 

“Wait, we’re dressing up as women–” 

James wasn’t happy, but he would support his friend no matter what. At least he wasn’t satisfied until he looked in the mirror. Playing with the brown wig and adjusting the sundress, he smiled and leaned forward. Carefully, he touched up the makeup in the big mirror while Kendall sat at the vanity, adjusting the black wig on his head. 

You should dress up as a girl more often,” James said casually. He moved from the mirror to the shelf, holding purses. To him, this was the most challenging part because he needed a purse matching his eyes. 

“Really?” Kendall nearly choked on his spit. He only wore this costume when he and Jo tried to avoid the paparazzi, thanks to Jett Stetson. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen Jett for a while. 

“Hey, maybe Ronnie might like this?” James chuckled, picking up a tan purse with gold accents. 

“No, I don’t– She’s not gay– Is she? Do I have a crush on a gay girl?” 

“What? No,” James spun around. The skirt of the dress spun with him. “It’s not like you’re cross-dressing every second of the day.” 

“Okay, okay. I do not want to hear anything else.” Kendall tossed the black hair over his shoulder. “How do I look?” 

“If I didn’t know you, I would have no idea who you are.” James grinned. “What about me?” 

“You look like a girl.” 

“That’s the point!” 

Mercedes and Ronnie were in Griffith Park. Mercedes sat on the blanket while Ronnie lay on her back, looking at the clouds. Every once in a while, the songwriter looked at her phone and then put it down with a heavy sigh. The blonde girl dabbed at her lipgloss in the handheld mirror. 

“You’ve stalled long enough. Tell me what’s going on with you and Curt.” Mercedes tossed her hair over her shoulder. “From what I saw last night, it did not look like you two were having a good date.” 

“It’s nothing,” Ronnie drummed her fingers against her stomach. Her body language alone made it easy to tell she was anxious. “It’s been at least a day, and he hasn’t responded to me. It’s not like he hasn’t answered my texts in a week.” 

“Yes, but it bothers you.” Mercedes stuffed her mirror in her purse. Her dog was rolling around in the grass nearby. “You can’t keep these things bottled up, or they’ll explode when you least expect it.” 

“How was your date with TJ?” Ronnie changed the subject poorly.

Mercedes paused; the words tingled the tip of her tongue, but she frowned and crossed her arms. She slapped the girl's upper arm. 

“You can’t just change the subject either!” 

“What? There’s nothing to talk about,” Ronnie squinted to discern the shape of one of the clouds. It was either a heart or a rubber duck. 

“I hardly think there’s anything to discuss when your boyfriend hasn’t responded to you in nearly 24 hours.” Mercedes huffed. “Aren’t you worried?” 

“Why should I be? If he wants to talk to me, he’ll talk to me.” 

“So you’ll wait until he decides he wants to talk to you?” 

“Yeah? I don’t think I did anything wrong on our date, and I don’t know what I should do in a situation like this, so I’ll wait it out.” Ronnie propped herself up on her elbows. 

“If– If I knew he would be like this, I would have never given you his phone number.” 

“It’s not your fault.” 

“I’m partially responsible!” Mercedes lay down next to the songwriter on the checkered blanket. “When I met him, he started flirting with me, and I told him I wasn’t interested. Then he asked if I had any friends I could set him up with,” 

“You say that like it’s a bad thing…” 

“Not necessarily bad, but sleazy.” Mercedes tucked her hair behind her ear. Her golden curls encircled her head like a halo. 

“Whatever it is, I’ll wait until he decides to talk to me.” Ronnie sighed and opened her phone again, but Mercedes took it. 

“Stop looking! You’ll freak yourself out!” 

“I’m not going to freak out.” Ronnie rolled her eyes. 

“Okay. So, who’s supposed to message you?” 

“No one…” 

“Exactly. You’re checking your text messages and wondering when Curt will text you back!” Mercedes sat up. “I know what you need, something to take your mind off him.” 

“Does Curt even like me? He seemed… off at dinner.” Ronnie covered her face with her hands. “God, why are relationships so complicated?” 

“Because people are complicated,” Mercedes chuckled. “But trust me, it’ll be okay. Maybe he’s busy.” 

“Yeah, that’s it. He’s busy.” Ronnie nodded. But she didn’t believe Curt was busy. Even when busy, he always found time to talk to her. It was strange that he was radio silent all of a sudden. She knew that if a guy wanted to, he would move mountains for whoever he liked. For a second, she thought about Kendall. He always spent time with her, even if she didn’t want him to. He was annoying, but she knew he wanted her around. 

“What are we doing here?” James whined. Since the last time he dressed as a girl, he had been practicing how he walked in heels. 

“Just wait,” Kendall put a finger to James’ mouth. He looked around, scanning the faces of everyone at the park. 

The boy in the dark wig spotted the two girls lying on a blanket, looking at the clouds. He dragged James by the hand to get closer, or at least within earshot. Eavesdropping was morally reprehensible, but Kendall couldn’t care less. Ronnie probably wouldn’t open up to him because Ronnie couldn’t trust him. He seemed to have forgotten how they started on the wrong foot. No matter how much he tried, nothing could make up for the horrible first impression he gave her. Of course, he couldn’t blame her. Looking back at it, Kendall most likely would have kicked himself or punched himself if he ever talked to her like that again. All he could hope for was that their rocky first impressions wouldn’t ruin anything further down the line. Whether they ended up together, he would be content with being her friend. He dragged James over to an empty bench and sat down. On the way, he grabbed a newspaper from someone to cover their faces. 

“You know, I almost set you up with Kendall.” 

The singer’s ears perked. James gave him a questioning look. The brunette wasn’t aware that they were spying on Ronnie and Mercedes. 

“Kendall? Please, that would have been a disaster.” Ronnie laughed. 

“Oh! Don’t say it like that! You never know what can happen,” 

“Right, right.” Ronnie snorted. “It’s just funny!” 

The blonde’s shoulders slumped, and he frowned. Maybe he hadn’t been the nicest to her, but he was making up for it, or at least trying. He wanted to be there for her and to pick her up when she fell. It might be motivated by something more than platonic feelings, but he would never act on those feelings unless they were mutual. Kendall lowered the newspaper hesitantly. His green eyes peeked over the grey paper. He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but he liked her laugh and how she smiled. 

It had been a few days since Curt stopped responding to her texts. Meanwhile, more of the songs for the second album were being completed. She sent him good morning texts and good night texts. Ronnie had yet to learn if Curt opened or looked at them, but she hoped he would respond soon. She sat outside Rocque Records with Freight Train, trying to create another song for the album. She and Gustavo were closer to finishing than they thought, but the entire rehearsal and accompaniment came. 

“Hey, Birdie!” 

Ronnie looked up even though she wasn’t sure if the voice was addressing her. Kendall came out of Rocque Records, and she rolled her eyes. If it weren’t for the fact they worked together, she would assume he was practically following her at this point. 

“Birdie?” She closed her songbook, tucked the pen inside, and wrapped the leather cord around it. “What the hell does that mean?” 

“Your hair,” Kendall gestured awkwardly. “First, it was blue, and suddenly it’s green. What’s next? Red?” 

“No idea. I have to see what hair dye I have.” 

“How's the album coming along?” 

“It’s going great! We’re almost finished.” 

The duo settled into silence. It wasn’t awkward. The conversation fell flat. Ronnie cleared her throat and drummed her fingers on her thighs. 

“You’re a guy, yeah?” She looked up at him. 

“I’m not sure if I like where this is going.” 

“I don’t flirt a lot. Could you help me flirt with guys? I want to uhh be flirty to Curt, so maybe he’ll want to talk to me.” 

Kendall’s brain flatlined. His mind went blank. Did he hear her right? Did she really ask that? The tips of his ears burned, and he tried to contain his embarrassment. She was so shamelessly forward about it, but at the same time, Ronnie was still so awkward about it. 

“Okay, first of all, you can’t ask a guy like that, especially not if you’re in a relationship.” Kendall sat down next to her. “But do you seriously not know how to flirt?” 

“No.” Ronnie shook her head. 

“I– “ Kendall paused and looked at her. He was taken aback. She was serious. “I don’t know how to teach you to flirt with your boyfriend.” 

“Worth a shot,” she shrugged and stood up. “See you at home, I guess,” She gave him a half wave and started walking away. Fright Train didn’t move. He was employed to look after the members of Big Time Rush, not their songwriter. 

“Hey, wait!” Kendall ran after her. He stopped in front of her and grabbed her by the shoulders. “You can’t– You can’t just say that and walk away like it’s nothing.” 

Ronnie blinked twice and furrowed her brows in confusion. 

“That was flirting! This,” he gestured between the two of them. “We are not a thing. You can’t flirt with me.” 

“I understood you the first time.” 

“Because then that would be cheating, and cheating on your boyfriend wouldn’t be the smartest idea, considering there are cameras everywhere–” 

“I don’t care,” Ronnie shouldered past him. 

“You don’t care?” Kendall turned on his heel. 

“No. I don’t care. I can always explain it to Curt, and the public can think what they want as long as I know what actually happened.” 

“You don’t get what it’s like living in Hollywood, do you?” Kendall fell into step beside her. “You’ve been thrust into the public spotlight, and you’ll be scrutinized no matter what.” 

“So? It can’t get that bad, and besides, who has enough time on their hands to send death threats over people you know nothing about.” 

“I– Okay, I guess I underestimated how naive you could be.” 

“I am not naive.” She shoved his shoulder. “The paparazzi doesn’t own my life,” 

“Okay, okay. The paparazzi don’t own your life yet.” Kendall conceded. 

“Exactly. I have no need to fear them,” 

Yeah? What about when Curt outed your relationship to the media?” 

“It wasn’t that bad.” Ronnie tucked hair behind her ear. “Okay, so if I can’t ask you to help me flirt with a guy, can you at least answer a question?” 

“Guys aren’t hard to understand, but I’ll answer your question.” 

“What does it mean when a guy won’t answer your texts?” 

The question wasn’t blunt, but it startled Kendall. From an outsider's perspective, he would have assumed that Ronnie and Curt’s relationship was going well. He would have never guessed that something was going on. Curt made her happy. Nothing was going on, even if he did get his hopes up a little. Was it wrong to want them to break up? 

“It– It’s not– Not– “ Kendall stammered. How should he word this? The last thing he wanted to do was freak her out. “There could be a million reasons why a guy won’t answer your texts,” he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “How many texts are you sending him?” 

“Since Thursday? Two.” Ronnie furrowed her brows. “What would that have to do with him not texting me?” 

“Well…” He cringed, trying to explain. “If you sent more than two texts, he could have been overwhelmed when his phone always goes off, but… That can’t be it if you’ve sent him two texts in four days.” 

“Okay? Then what else?” 

“Isn’t he endorsed by RCM CBT? He might be doing PR meetings or shooting commercials to sell products. That, combined with hockey practice, he’s a pretty busy guy. I don’t think he would ignore you on purpose.” 

“How can you be so sure?” Ronnie narrowed her eyes. “You could be saying this to mess with me or– or to put a wedge between me and Curt.” 

“I’m not, I promise!” Kendall put his hands up. “If you don’t believe me, then we can… Pinky swear on it!” 

“Pinky swear? What? Am I ten?” Ronnie was not impressed. 

“Okay, fine. If I break the promise, then you can order me around like a butler for a week.” 

“Seriously?” 

“I have to do whatever you say without complaint.” Kendall waggled his pinky finger. 

“Alright, fine.” Ronnie wrapped her pinky around his. “But, so that you know, this pinky swear is binding verbal consent.” 

“Yeah, yeah. I know what I agreed to…” 

“Good! You’re aware of the stakes!” 

Although Kendall had been vague, his answers were helpful. It eased her mind for a while. She returned to the Palm Woods with a pep in her step. There were infinite possibilities and reasons as to why Curt wasn’t answering her texts, and she was sure that almost none of them had anything to do with her. Or, at least, she was sure of it. Other resident passed by her to get to the pool with their floaties and towels. Looking to her right, she noticed many more people in the pool area than there used to be. When she first arrived at the Palm Woods, it was mostly vacant except for a few people scattered around, but it was like they were having a party out there. Then she noticed the blonde girl dancing on top of the speakers. It didn’t seem like she knew the blonde until she realized Addison loved parties. Some guy with a mullet and a multicolored leotard was shredding on an electric guitar. Residents in swimwear cheering and hollering surrounded him. Ronnie was surprised Bitters hadn’t come by to shut this outdoor party down. It looked like her friend was having a great time dancing on the big black speakers. 

She spotted Guitar Dude, Lucy, and Stella in the back corner. The songwriter only met Stella once during freshman year when TJ brought her over to his house to study for their French quiz. Back then, his little sister was shorter and had her head buried in her phone. Her braids were decorated with gold and gemstones. Stella adopted the aesthetic of L.A. pretty quickly. She seemed to blend in, but TJ, Callie, and Addison stood out. Lucy strummed on her guitar and sang a song that could barely be heard by the somewhat small crowd of teens and the guy with the mullet shredding on his guitar. Guitar Dude, aka Kevin as she knows him, was reading one of Pop Tiger’s latest magazines. Ronnie and Curt were on the front cover. 

“Veronica!” Stella’s eyes lit up, and she waved the songwriter over. “I didn’t know you were famous! I can’t believe you’re in a magazine!” 

“What?” Ronnie furrowed her brows and looked at the magazine Kevin was holding. 

Is Hollywood’s new teen couple being invaded by a rising star? It was written in bold white letters on the bottom right corner of the image. In the bottom right of the cover was a smaller image of Big Time Rush accompanied by an inside scoop on how they write their music. The green-haired girl couldn’t quite figure out why the tabloids gossiped about her relationship, but it didn’t matter. Curt and Ronnie knew their relationship was going well and a breakup would not be imminent. Would it? 

“Yeah, dude, some paparazzi snagged a picture of you and Kendall on your birthday.” Kevin turned the magazine to show her. In the middle of the article was a picture of Ronnie and Kendall running through the streets of L.A. 

“That’s taken out of context.” Ronnie felt her face heat up. Was this the reason Curt wasn’t texting her? Did he assume she was cheating on him? 

“They’re always taken out of context. But at least Curt knows what happened, right?” Lucy shrugged. “They can’t do anything if nothing is going on.” 

Panicked, the songwriter pulled out her phone and frantically texted Curt. Kendall’s answer from earlier slipped her mind as she quadruple-texted him. She needed him to know that nothing was going on. She needed him to know she loved him. She needed him to know that she and Kendall were friends and would only ever be friends. 

“You’re texting Curt, aren’t you?” Lucy deadpanned. 

“I didn’t know there was an article about this!” Ronnie sat in one of the lawn chairs placed around the unlit bonfire. 

“Didn’t he ask you about your birthday?” Kevin asked. 

“No. He didn’t ask me about anything last night. He was oddly quiet. Instead of looking at me, it was like he was looking through me.” Ronnie’s shoulders slumped. 

“Wait, what happened on your birthday? Did you get drunk and accidentally kiss a guy who isn’t your boyfriend?” Stella’s eyes sparkled. “Because I’ve also done that, and I’m here for you,” 

“I didn’t tell Curt about my birthday, and instead of telling him once the guys found out, I just… Sort of let Kendall take me ice skating. But I mean, it was platonic, and he only took me ice skating because I was upset about my birthday.” Ronnie anxiously twirled a strand of hair around her finger. 

“Okay, how many dates have you gone on with Curt?” Lucy set her guitar aside. 

“Two. Why?” 

“And how many have you gone on with Kendall?” 

“We haven’t gone on– “ 

“How many times has Kendall taken you somewhere, and it’s only been the two of you?” Lucy corrected herself. 

“He took me sightseeing around L.A., and then he took me to the zoo that once, then the ice skating thing, which was all platonic. He only took me to the zoo because I wouldn’t leave my apartment.” 

“So, you’ve gone out with Kendall more times than you’ve gone out with your own boyfriend?” Lucy sucked on her teeth and nodded. “Okay,” 

“Something tells me Kendall likes you more than your boyfriend.” Stella chimed in. “Did you initiate the dates, or did he?” 

“It’s about 50/50 for that.” Ronnie shrugged. 

“But, compared to Kendall, who’s asked you to spend time with him….” Stella hummed and tapped her chin. “It’s pretty clear who you should be with,” 

“Hold on,” Lucy sighed. “Putting that conclusion aside. Do you feel like Curt wants to be with you?” 

“Well, yeah. He called me his girlfriend and kissed me on the forehead. We hug and hold hands all the time.” Ronnie anxiously fidgeted with her hair. “Is there something else we’re supposed to do?” 

“I know! Has he ever kissed you? Like really kissed you?” Kevin asked. “Girls are always talking about that,” 

“Do forehead kisses not count as real kisses?” Ronnie knit her brows in confusion. “I don’t– What are you guys trying to say?” 

“Nothing!” Lucy shook her head. “We’re not trying to imply anything. We’re trying to get you to think about your relationship.” 

“In that case, I think Curt and I are more than okay with being boyfriend and girlfriend.” Ronnie crossed her arms. “We’ve said we loved each other,” 

Curt checked his phone and sighed. What was with all these texts? He was giving her the silent treatment. Shouldn’t she have figured this out already? Part of him wondered if Ronnie would even notice he was upset. If she hadn’t seen it at this point, she was too self-absorbed. Of course, that’s what you get with today's rising stars. Far too self-involved to care about how other people feel. It was sad. He thought he liked her enough. She was pretty and had her quirks. The hockey player at least thought he could look past her quirks because she would be famous soon enough, considering she was writing music for the Big Time Rush, but the tabloids barely knew her name. She was doing all this for zero recognition. It was as if she was putting herself on display simply because she could. 

A girl wearing a cropped leather jacket with curly brown hair and striking dark brown eyes walked into the room. The highlighted points on her face glittered with the studio lighting and accented her dark skin. Confidence was radiating off of her. Curt had no idea who she was, but Lindy Lam greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. The two walked over to the directors' chairs placed in the set, where the hockey player was sitting idly. 

“Okay, this interview is a big one. We need you both on the same page.” Lindy carefully brushed her hair back. “Curt, we’ll be asking you all about your girlfriend Veronica what’s her name? Lynette will answer any and all questions you have regarding girl behavior.” 

“What?” Curt blinked twice. 

“Excuse me?” Lynette scoffed. “That was not why you invited me on Starstruckk entertainment. You said you would interview the two biggest stars from RCM CBT Globalnet Sanyoid.” The black girl crossed her arms and slouched. 

“I thought you would ask me questions about my hockey team.” Curt furrowed his brows. “What’s will all this curiosity surrounding my girlfriend? I’m famous, too!” 

“Compensating for something?” Lindy giggled behind her hand. “I can’t reveal much, but when we’re live, everything will be explained. Trust me.” 

“I can trust you as far as I can throw you,” Curt grumbled. 

“Just because you’re my aunt doesn’t mean you can do this.” Lynette brushed her hair from her face and sighed. 

“And we’re going live in 3… 2…” 

“Good afternoon! My name is Lindy Lam, and I’m here with the youngest hockey player for the L.A. Kings, Curt Haverfeild, and the dancer for the rising girl group Kat’s Crew, Lynette Smith!” 

Curt and Lynette waved to the camera with tight, awkward smiles. 

“The fans are just dying to know. What is going on with your relationship, Curt?” Lindy turned to him with a customer service smile. He was starting to sweat under the lights. 

The camera panned to him and zoomed in on his face. 

“What’s to say? We’re doing great!” 

“Are you sure? Sources tell me that Veronica, your girlfriend, has been seen running around with Kendall Knight from Big Time Rush.” 

“They work together, of course, they would be running around…” Curt chuckled awkwardly. Lindy discreetly nudged him with her foot. “Obviously, I am a little concerned with BTR’s rising fame and how much time she spends with them, but I can’t stop her from going to work.” 

“If you could, would you?” 

“In a heartbeat,” Curt answered without thinking. His eyes widened, and he looked at the camera, sweating profusely. He shook his head frantically. “No, no. I wouldn’t get in the way of her dream. I would never forgive myself.” 

“I see,” Lindy had this look in her eyes, and her smile turned into a grin. “So, Lynette.” She turned to the girl on the other side. “Didn’t Hawk Records announce they were going to be working with the girl group? What happened with that?” 

Lynette was equally as sweaty under the stage lights. She gripped the arms of the chair with white knuckles. “I don’t know what happened, but Rocque Records has welcomed Kat’s Crew with open arms.” 

“Yes, Kat’s Crew initially signed with Rocque Records a few months ago.” Lindy looked at the camera, and it zoomed in on her face. “We contacted Rocque Records for insight, but they have declined our calls.” 

Lynette squirmed. She didn’t like being on live television. Curt didn’t like it either. 

“Lynnette, how would you feel if someone you were dating was cheating on you with a rising celebrity?” Lindy asked the girl. 

“Cheating? Ronnie is not cheating.” Curt tensed up. “I would know if she’s cheating on me,” 

“Oh? That seemed to get your attention.” Lindy chuckled. “Are you aware this photo was taken of Clark and Knight on her birthday?” 

Behind them, the screen projected a somewhat blurry photo of Ronnie and Kendall running through downtown L.A. Curt cringed. It hurt being reminded that his girlfriend hadn’t told him about her birthday, and it was even worse because Kendall knew. The boyband she worked with knew more about her than he did. The image could have been taken out of context at a glance, but something told him that he didn’t have anything to worry about. Ronnie wouldn’t cheat on him with Kendall. The media was trying to spin it into something it’s not.