#saying “it means nothing” to something like cal being at the la show just ignores patterns and facts

[sockgate]

i made an observation when i saw the documentary. i wanna know your opinions over it as well. so basically dont get me wrong i really loved all the parts which had louis and his current band, i think all of them are hilarious and definitely respect and enjoy louis' company a lot and i also think that louis admires them a lot and is close with them. now saying this i also think that all the footage which were used regarding 1d was deliberately dull??? like for example at the beginning when they're showing the bts content from 1d era, i know that moment was describing louis' feelings regarding the band disbanding right but regardless of that dont you think a deliberate decision was taken to include 1d scenes where they just dont look like they are close or like yk amicable......and then after that both the scenes with niall and liam it was majorly kinda awkward and short lived and not as exciting you would think it would be and its interesting knowing that liam and louis were hanging out in the hotel room and the camera person only came when louis was leaving liam's room...it definitely could be that all the 1d boys, like louis, have been on camera 24/7 so their purpose of hanging out surely wouldnt include a camera.....but regardless dont you think the way 1d scenes were kinda presented in the doc was really dull and almost included no chemistry amongst the boys...like i feel like they could have used better videos. cause the way louis talked about 1d in the whole doc was very uplifting and different from whatever scenes that were used. now idk if it was cal's intention cause i read your post about cal aurand yesterday or it was charlie's intention, tbh i am sort of questioning charlie's motivation a little bit ngl...with how he brought up the kid and all that. or it was louis' choice personally....or maybe im thinking too much out of nothing that could also be a possibility. regardless what do you think about this?

hey anon, thanks for asking for my input!

regardless of what was filmed and what 1d footage was available, it does seem deliberate the way in which the footage was included. maybe that's just how the boys were backstage for that final show (very mellow, not speaking to each other much due to what was about to happen). and imo facing simon in that moment (which... why was he featured so much in the first place) couldn't have made them feel any better. the way that the voice over and interviews overtop of the footage did compliment that "they're beginning to drift apart" concept as well. it is very interesting to contrast the 1d scenes to lt band, they are portrayed very differently!

going back to cal, it's clear he had involvement with this to the point where the footage was provided without much pushback? since when was sony ever okay with louis speaking out after his time in 1d? i find it interesting about this is i'm surprised he was allowed to release the footage (since it contains their likeness while as a unit of 1d). if you consider the input cal had early on with the boys stunting and being photographed like zoo animals, i'd say him being at the la n1 show made perfect sense. he literally choreographed and participated in the stunt being carried out just like he was doing in the 1d days ten years back. bc what else is bg if not a sony stunt that has backfired in every respect from the start.

i know not everyone agrees and that's fine, but it seems to me that charlie knew exactly what he was getting into when he was brought on for the project (mid 2019, possibly earlier). i think the intent behind this is to solidify the underdog and misunderstood member of 1d and dad image. ultimately what came of that was this documentary. i think of it like this: charlie is an employee of louis. louis meets this director and has this overarching thing he needs to get rid of. he also has a tour coming up and has a team who'd rather sit on their ass than promote him properly (i don't think they're unable to do much with his circumstance, but i think sjpr and seven are to blame in some respects). and so charlie agrees to the terms. he comes with louis to events and promo and starts to record and bg begins unravelling the way it does (hello b setting herself on fire, hello boobgate). so louis makes the decision to have this be apart of his next move. and somewhere in there sony/simco and whoever the fuck else said, yes. take our footage and our content and do your thing. but do it our way. (i.e. simon and xf being huge parts of the start of the film and NEVER portrayed negatively). obviously, charlie deciding to participate in this to this extent is something that he agreed to. i don't necessarily agree with that choice, it seems like louis confides in him and trusts him to do this for louis and his career.

[maxverstappensflatbrim]

Show Me Yours | Matty Healy [40]

chapter forty, act five: the ballad of me and my brain

masterlist

July 24th 2017

When the plane landed and a familiar head of bright platinum hair started excitedly running towards her, Tommie forgot all her worries from the past few months.

She’d given an excuse to the guys about struggling to travel so much and deciding she would help Phoebe with her album which is due to release later in the year.

They’d given an official announcement for the fans, saying something about a personal matter she had to step away for. Tommie hasn’t been on social media, she’s too afraid to see the responses.

“So, you broke up with him?” Phoebe questions her, glancing over from where she’s sat behind the wheel of her car, driving them to her flat where Tommie will be staying for a while.

Tommie smiles sweetly, placing her hand on top of hers, “Thank you for picking me up.”

“Tommie…” Phoebe says slowly tilting her head, “You didn't break up with him?”

She pushes her hands through her freshly cut hair, it's back to being just above her shoulders, the dyed colour no longer visible.

“No, I just… we’ve seen each other like twice since.”

“Have you slept with him?”

She’s trying not to think about the drunken night just over a month ago that she and Claeb shared while she was back in LA. She wasn’t in the right mind frame, and she’d hardly call it sleeping together, more like a push-pull door they went through but didn't really come back out of.

“You did?”

“I was drunk. And I haven’t seen him since, he’s avoiding me.”

Phoebe nods, “He knows what Matty said is right, if his band makes it in the music industry it’ll be because of you. Their music is shit, I’ve seen them perform, they can’t hold a tune. He knows you’re too… you, to break up with him over text.”

“It’s rude, I’d hate it.”

Phoebe sighs, “So he’s gonna keep avoiding being in the same place as you as long as he can until their names out there, which, at this point, may be until one of them tragically dies and teenagers start a trend about it on twitter.”

Tommie groans, falling back in the seat with a sigh, “I don’t know what to do.”

“I’ll help you.”

“Phoebe?”

She hums looking over, “I need help with something else too.”

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ

July 30th 2017

Caleb audibly gasps as he opens his bedroom door to find Tommie sitting there, anxiously chewing on her nails.

“Tom?”

“I need to talk to you.”

“Uh, can it wait, I was on my way out.”

“No!” She’s standing, face to face with him, “We can’t keep going on like this.”

“Like what?”

“With you avoiding me until it all blows over, this is what we always do, Caleb. Something goes wrong, we fight, you say shit, I ignore it, I say shit, you ignore it, then we get distracted with work and pretend nothing has happened. We can’t keep- it’s not healthy.”

He shakes his head, “What do you mean, Tom? You’ve been on tour, I’ve been in the studio writing music. I can, push aside tonight’s writing session, they’re working on bass anyway-”

“Caleb.”

She shakes her head gently and he raises a brow, “Well, what do you want me to say, huh?”

She doesn’t say anything, just licks her lips and looks down.

“Do you want me to tell you how I’m terrified to give myself to you because any second you could turn around and dump me for a guy that loves drugs more than he loves you?”

“Cal-”

She’s standing now but he cuts her off, “It hurts me, it physically kills me watching you pine after him when he doesn’t give a fuck about you. I can give you everything you want from him, but you won’t let me. Do you know how much it hurts me?”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“That you’re in love with me when I can’t be in love with you.”

Caleb scoffs, and she tilts her head as she tries to further explain her statement, “But I- I don’t think it’s your fault.”

“You don’t think?” He asks.

“I’ve always struggled with my feelings, Caleb, I don’t know if I feel the way other people do. I think, sometimes- Okay, I-” She groans at herself, there’s so much she wants to say, and when she thinks in her head it’s all so clear, she just can’t get it out.

“Spit it out, Tommie.”

“I don’t think I ever did love you.”

Caleb turns away, “Are you still in love with him?”

“This isn’t about Matty, this is about us, this relationship. I liked you, Caleb, for a long time I did, but then… I started to get bored, and I know you did too. So don’t turn this whole thing around on me.”

“I have a ring.”

“Caleb-”

“I do, Matty saw it, you can ask him.”

She shakes her head and looks away from him, to the wall, where a frame used to live, with a picture of them together.

“I put my life on hold to support you, I stopped going to writing sessions to join you on tour. I stopped talking to my family-”

“I never asked you to do any of that.”

“But I did, when you need me I’m there. And now you need Matty, you need him and he’s not here, I am-”

“Because I came to you, Caleb. You only reach out to me when there’s something in it for you. An idea for a song, help with a drum beat, a cool guitar riff, for the past two years the only conversation we’ve had outside of music are arguments about my relationship with Matty.”

“Can you blame me? Look what he did to us-”

“We’re not going down that path again, let's stick to our failing relationship-”

She’s not sure who raises their voice first, but they’re both going at it, throwing insults and past mistakes at each other. Using what they’ve learned in their few years together, insecurities, weaknesses, anything they can grasp.

It’s when Caleb says something about Emma that she pauses, “What?”

“I said Emma was right.”

“Right about what?” Caleb debates on shooting himself in the foot, or twisting the knife of pain in her back.

“She came to me a few months back, she was drunk, tried to convince me to go back to Georgia with her, to get a job down there and leave you. I didn’t, because I’m a good man. She told you that you wouldn’t do the same, that if Matty came to you begging you, you wouldn’t stay loyal to me.”

“He did.” Caleb pauses, “He came to my house, he begged me to leave you. I said no.”

“You expect me to believe you?”

“No, but the reason he did it was because I told him that I was going to break up with you. That day I asked you to move in with me, I was going to break up with you. For Matty.”

Caleb remains silent, she continues on, “But he was dating someone, and- I guess it opened my eyes to me and him never being anything.”

She stares at him, he can’t take it. Her confessions, her honesty, “I slept with Emma.”

She breathes in, as if winded and he stares at the floor, “And I think part of the reason I did it was because I thought you and Matty had slept together.”

“I’m pregnant.”

“What?”

“I’m pregnant. I’m not keeping it.”

His brows furrow, “Woah, you can’t just, just tell me that and then say you’re not keeping it.”

“I just did.”

“You can’t say that and then tell me you’re killing it.”

“It isn’t anything yet, I’m not killing anything.”

“Surely I have a say in this? As the father?”

She shakes her head, and swallows thickly the lump rising her throat, “I’ve booked the appointment, I’m going tomorrow. I felt it was right-”

“Right? Fuckign right?” He asks standing above her now, “You have my child in you and you think I don’t have a right? What if I want to keep it, raise them-?”

“And bring them up to hate their mother who let their unemployed deadbeat fucking nobody father raise them alone?”

Claeb’s jaw clicks, it pops under the pressure as he grounds his teeth together, “What if I say no? Ring up-”

“Ring up who?”

“I’ll tell the press.” He threatens after a long beat of silence, “Tell them everything-”

She grabs his collar bringing him down to her, “Tell them, fucking tell them I fucking dare you. And I will make sure your band never sees the fucking light of day.”

Caleb gulps as she looks him dead in the eyes, “I’m getting the fucking abortion. Because I’m twenty-three years old, I have my whole career- whole life ahead of me. I refuse to be tied down to your old arse with a fuckign ugly kid who has a stupid American accent and can’t spell colour right. Fucking try me, Caleb Kidwall. I will end your career faster than you last in bed.”

She lets him go and grabs her jacket from the end of his bed, pausing at the door, “And I want your shit out of my apartment.”

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ

July 31st 2017

The two women sit on Phoebe’s couch, the redhead lying with her head on her shoulder, Phoebe’s arms wrapped around her as she softly pats her hair.

There’s a film playing on her tele, Fantastic Mr. Fox as per Tommie’s request.

She’s miming the words of Foxy’s monologue half way through the film about how all the animals need to band together.

‘My suicide missions been cancelled,’  She whispers under her breath just a few milliseconds before Foxy’s saying it back to them, ‘We’re replacing it with a go-for-broke rescue mission.’

“That badger’s cute.” She suddenly says pointing at the baby badger dressed in a skeleton costume and Phoebe hums in agreement.

Tommie sniffles, wrapping her blanket further around herself tiredly, “Did I make the right decision?”

“What do you think?”

“I didn’t want a child.” She says, “I don’t ever think- no, I know, I don’t want kids. That’s not me.”

“Then, you made the right decision.”

‘A crack accountant, a gifted musician, a pretty good minnow fisherman , and possibly the best landscape painter working on the scene today…

taglist

@thereisaplaceintheheart, @indierockgirrl, @sofaritsalrightt, @julezs-bl0g, @eaglestar31, @sophinthealpss, @noacfemcel, @if-my-heart-bleeds, @befrwime, @fallingforel, @sexorchocolateorpillowsorclouds, @3terna15unshin3, @1975sophie1975, @thesocraticjunkiewannabe, @littlesoldierelleora, @procrastinatinglikeapro, @beatr2x

-let me know if you want to be added :)

[themadauthorshatter]

Creative wave. And things are picking up

Red School AU/UA Headcanons/Story Arc 2 PART 2!!!!!!!!!

We pick up where we left off with Cal, confused and worried by the exchange between Mare and his father, looking between Mare as she leaves and Tiberias, who's looking back at his people as they wave goodbye.

A lot look sad, but a lot more look like they're trying to hide a smirk.

It gives Cal a sick feeling in his stomach.

Tibe notices and asks if he's alright, since he's been a little off his game for a while.

Cal turns to him with a smile and says he's just nervous because if maguc really does exist in wherever they're going, he's more concerned about being pulled underwater by a leviathan than a war.

Tibe chuckles and admits that that's one of the least of his concerns.

Cal joins him on the upper deck and the two watch the people as the boat departs, Cal sighing and hoping this goes smoothly and quickly.

He's clearly never been in a YA book series.😑

Regardless, Tibe echoes with, "Let's hope so." or "One can hope."

Now, I know what you're thinking, "OP, where's Maven? He disappeared with Elara, sure, but where is he?"

Well, we cut to their conversation, more specifically Maven as he fights a gag as the ship starts moving. Elara asks him if he's alright, and is going to be alright, and he groans he'll be fine. He then asks if she has any plans for when they arrive to they're destination.

Elara corrects him if they arrive, all things considered, but no there isn't exactly a plan.

After somer silence, Maven starts to sort of shuffle in his seat and avoid his mother's eyes, cursing himself mentally as he asks her if they really have to go through with their plan.

Elara proceeds to hold Maven's hand and remind him of how his father ignored him for Cal, kept Cal in his heart when he wouldn't allow the same for Maven. Cal's foolish, suffering from big-heart-with-feelings syndrome and tunnel vision, hardly seeing options that deliver the best results. Maven, however, doesn't have that problem. He'd rather avoid conflict and war by any means, for the most part, and is clever enough to get out of tight situations. Cal only sees a way through an obstacle, not around, over, or under like Maven.

With both her hands wrapped around one of Maven's, she assures him it is for those reasons he would make a much better King than Cal.

He nods and asks, if they continue forward, what will happen to Cal and Mare. Sure they might cause a few problems, but maybe an 'accident' can happen if/when they reach the Endless Woods, one where they accidentally lose them in the woods and SGE, maybe throw them down a well or to a dragon and say, 'c'est la vie, shit happens,' so Maven can step up. If not that, have Cal be proven unworthy for the throne and have Maven be the King.

Elara admits he's got some really good ideas, but if Cal and Mare are still alive, the mistake of letting them live will come back to bite them. As fun as it would be to shame Tibe, for putting Cal on a pedestal, and Cal, because he's the crown prince and gets nothing but Tibe's good graces, it's better that they eliminate the possibility of having Cal and Mare coming back to take the throne.

Regardless, Elara assures Maven that if he can't get his hands dirty, she'll gladly do it for him. A gift from mother to son, as she wants no th hing but the best for her boy.

With that conversation done, Elara stands and tells Maven they're needed on the deck, to show the Red villagers they're powerful because it's the idea that scares people more than the real thing.

Maven nods and says he'll be out in a second, as he wants to make a grand entrance.

Elara smile-smirks at this and hugs him before leaving.

Once she's gone, though, Maven sits back down and sighs, rubbing his face and messing up his hair; between the two of them, he might need his mother to be the one to get their hands dirty. All he needs to do is be stoic and play the right part.

But what part am I playing when I'm with them? He asks himself as he gets up and fixes his hair. Have I even been acting since Mare came here? Maven sighs and leaves the room, making that grand entrance, like he said he would.

He looks back at Elara and then to Cal, the two brothers sharing a nervous smile between them.

One thing is certain: in the end, none of it will even matter. But what will matter? And what is the ending for all of us?

CUT TO THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL!!!

In the Theater of Tales, the students are filing in and taking their seats.

We find a very fidgety Sophie as she wonders why they're assembled in the first place. With a gasp amd squeal, she wonders if the 'mistake' made on Day 1 is finally being fixed, so she can go in Good and Agatha can be in Evil.

Hester sighs that she wishes, because she and Anadil sure as hell will, if Sophie doesn't shut up, though Anadil wants her gone more because of an 'accident' in the dorm that left her rats pink. Sophie snaps she apologized for that, as the three should've left the room, if they didn't want any highlights.

Hester mutters that it's no wonder Good hasn't taken her, and even hopes that the assembly is a public 'expelltion,' so Sophie can leave and never come back.

Dot, however, simply replies that it's probably not for a transfer, but it might be about something else. Anadil and Hester ask what, but Dot shrugs, because it was called by order of the School Master himself.

Sophie isn't paying attention at all, because she's staring at Tedros as he walks in, talking and laughong with a couple of his friends as they take their seats.

They're equally confused about the emergency meeting, but, hey, whatever gets them out of their boring classes, right?

Beatrix spots him and waves from him to sit next to her, but Tedros sits behind Agatha and comments to her that he's never seen the students so chatty of whispery with each other since the fiasco with Agatha and Sophie claiming to see the School Master.

Agatha chides, as a semi-joke, that she wasn't joking about that, but if he wants to keep feeding that fluffy hair of his rather than his brain, that's fine by her.

Tedros laughs and does a mini hair flip, asking if she really thinks it's that fluffy, which makes Agatha giggle a little bit.

Now, from her stand point, Sophie notices this exchange and tries to see more and get Agatha's attention.

All that happens instead is Brone and Mona sitting down and blocking her view. She still tries to look and asks for them to sit elsewhere and Brone responds by getting comfortable whole Mona mirrors Sophie's actions, just to get under her skin.

Back with Tagatha- I mean, Tedros AND Agatha(sorry about that, my hand,uh,... slipped😶), they spot Sophie trying to spot them and Tedros glares at her, before dipping until his chin's resting on the back of Agatha's seat.

Agatha sits back as well and asks if he's still mad about the Trial and what led up to it.

"Define 'mad,'" Tedros grumbles, asking that if the person who promised to help, but left her alone to practically die, would she still want anything to do with said person?

Agatha has no response.

Good thing, too, because as the lrofessors take their places on their respective sides, above, the windows shoot open and doves and butterflies swoop in and circle the center of the stage, between the professors, who all cover their eyes as blinding white fills where the animals are circling, though Sader just smiles and laughs("Oh, this is FINALLY getting interesting!"). The animals fade from the gound up to reveal a man in a silver cloak, his robes white and his suit and boots black, wearing Good, Evil, and the Moral Grey that binds the two. He's also wearing a mask, one that's also silver, but one half is black while the other is white. They can, mostly, see his eyes though, for easier non-verbal communication for us and them.

Yes. This is the School Master, who we the audience know as Rhian; if this was a real thing, we wouldn't know yet, I'm just saying it niw because it's easier that way, and it's less tedious.

All students and the professors gasp, maybe we even see Espada look over at a disappointed Sader, about to ask why he's not surprised, before quickly remembering he's blind as hell and looks back at Rhian.

Tedros is especially flabbergasted, skack jawed as Agatha groans about how she liked what he'd worn before, an a grey and white robe with no shoes.

No one says a word, which is good because Rhian has a very, very, very, VERY important announcement to make:

The royal family of Norta is on their way, at this moment, as he speaks. The King is coming, the Queen is coming, both Princes are coming, and their betrotheds are coming, so everyone needs to behave themselves. That means no pranks, no missing classes, no slacking with hygiene(a stupid rule, but necessary because first impressions are everything and the literal King is coming, so they'd better make it count), no silly rivalries, and, most if all, they must show the unity and balance between Good and Evil, show that, yes they are opposites, but yhere are always two halves to a coin, two halves to a story. What better way to prove that than with the students cooperating.

For now, they'll have to forget who takes the next win in the Circus of Talents or the next fairytale, because fighting will do nothing to help them find peace with the new comers.

The students look each other over and silently agree; even villains know to leave a good impression.

Hester and Anadil are especially reluctant, but Dot tells them that things have been getting boring and these visitors will be a fresh change of pace from what they're used to, seeing as Sophie and Agatha are kind of old news now. She gives Sophie a quick 'no offense' and asks if she's at least got the basic idea of what she's trying to say.

Too bad Sophie tuned out at 'Princes,' which means her dream has come true: Cal and Maven are coming and can whisk her away from Gavaldon and the School for Evil. If this was a graphic novel, we'd see her monologue and smile up at a dream/vision of Cal sweeping her up in his arms as the two hug, both smiling and happy and dressed in white for a wedding, flowersand eose petals surrounding the frame with bells in the background. Her hands are wringed together, a tear's in her eye, and she can barely contain her excitement.

This thought is quite literally popped by Dot, who asks if Sophie's even listening at this point, or heard what Rhian said about them being on their best behavior.

Even though she's upset, Sophie nods, saying she'll be so good, Good itself will look Evil.

As the students file out- Sophie sprinting out to clean up and re-familiarize herself on her makeup and lotions- Agatha is still reeling from Rhian's words, stopping in the clearing on the way back to class to get her thoughts together.

Cal, Maven, and Mare are coming to the SGE. She NEVER thought she'd be able to see or meet them, but she is.

It settles in Agatha that she's going to meet them and cries tears of joy, more than excited to meet who she's been writing to for a month or so, maybeca little less.

CUT BACK TO THE SILVERS AS THEY SAIL!

Good news: They're getting closer to their destination. Bad news: it's storming outside.

The High House children, Mare, Cal, and Maven are all hanging out together because they're bored with a capital B. Ptolemus and Cal are arm wrestling with Olliver reffing, Sonya's doing a cat's cradle, Elane's taking a nap, and Evangeline, Mare, and Maven are playing Poker; they're going easy on Mare because she doesn't know how to play, though Evangeline's so bored she can't tease her for it.

The ship rocks and Sonya stops a vase from falling, Cal gets the leg up he needs on Ptolemus, and Maven holds down the deck of cards as Evangeline groans that this is a long ass trip.

As he shakes out his arm, Cal tells Evangeline it could be anywhere between a week to ten days, so long as they follow the path the School Master gave them.

Evangeline raises an eyebrow at this and stands up, asking Cal if he really believes this school of fairytales exists.

Cal admits that it's kind of late to be asking as he and Ptolemus switch arms and go again.

Ptolemus tells Evangeline to relax and try to enjoy herself; they'll be on the ship for a little while and can't afford to tear each other apart.

Sonya sighs and sets down her cat's cradle, stating that this whole thing is probably just a ploy made by the Lakelanders to invade Norta. It was an attempt made before, so she wouldn't be surprised if it happened again.

As he and Mare set up checkers, Maven states Norta should be fine. Tibe, Elara, Lucas, and Ptolemus are gone, but Volo and the rest of House Samos, House Osanos, House Merandus, and the other High Houses are still there, so they should be okay to leave for a little while. And they're sending telegrams to the Summer Palace and White Fire Palace, to fool the Lakelanders, in case they intercept their messages to compromise them.

After a few minutes of silence, brought to you by Evangeline joining Elane in that nap, Cal and Ptolemus on their feet as they arm wrestle, even throwing jabs at each other, Olliver and Sonya having a staring contest, and Mare and Maven playing checkers for some snacks.

This should all be more strategic-training stuff, but tge idea of these noble and royal kids being normal teenagers is just too gold for me.

Mare and Maven eventually give up checkers to watch Cal arm wrestle for his life, Evangeline and Elane waking to watch as wellwith Sonya and Olliver joining in and they all take they're sides: Maven, Mare, and Olliver bet on Cal winning as Evangeline, Sonya, and Elane bet on Ptolemus.

They're all bored, it's 7pm, they have a week together, so they might as well.

Caught in the fun, Cal and Ptolemus take their coats off, so they still have their shirts on, and psyche themselves and each other up.

What does the winner get? Well, the original prize was slapping the loser in the face, but Cal doesn't want Ptolemus to throw him overboard and Ptolemus, even though he's kicked Cal's ass before, isn't comfortable with slapping the crown prince in the face, so they considered the winner could PUNCH the loser in the face, but decided that was also a bad idea, so the winner just gets bragging rights. And has to do 35 pushups.

Lame prize, but everyone agrees.

The two sit down and join hands before Evangeline slaps a metal band around their hands and in the crooks of their elbows, which keeps them to the table, so they don't cheat, and Maven holds their fists in the middle of the table, fake reffing and saying he wants a clean match, so no roid rage from Ptolemus and no spontaneous combustion from Cal. The two glare each other down, fighting ring style, and then Cal sicks his tongue out just to be a dick.

Then they go at it, arm wrestling as hard as they can with their respective teams cheering them on, a little quietly though, because people might be sleeping.

There's jabs thrown, name calling, and maybe the hint of below the belt, but Cal manages to best the berserker, with the jab of, "If I was still General of the Shadow Legion, I'd make you mop floors for a week," to which Ptolemus replies, "Bite me," and Cal owns him by asking him how he won so many fights against Ptolemus in training.

The two are freed and shake hands, the teams applauding for the show.

I know this part is kinda filler, but it's fun and sillyness for teenagers who are usually not too happy with each other, let them have this moment.

Also, TIME FOR A TIME JUMP MONTAGE BETWEEN THE SGE CREW AND THE RED QUEEN CREW!

We see Hester and Anadil yell at an oblivious Sophie as she does her hair and makeup while they hold the brightly colored rats, who are now wearing bows. Cut to Mare watching the sun rise with Cal and Maven behind her, secretly high fiving at a job well done of cheering her up. Cut back to the school as Agatha organizes her room and tidies up(FIRST. IMPRESSIONS.) Beatrix and other Evergirls watch with a freaked out look, but leave when she looks over at them. Cut back the RQ cast with Tibe checking in on the captain of the ship to see they're going the right way. How do they know where they're going? Rhian sent a Stymph to guide them. All they need to do is keep it in their sight, and they'll reach the SGE in no time. Speaking of the SGE, cut to Tedros practicing some sword tricks and finishing with an introduction of himself. He asks Agatha, Tristan, and Chaddick how that was and the boys say he looked impressive, very flashy. They leave and Agatha asks if "flashy" is what Tedros wants the Silvers to see, if he wants them to see the Prince of Camelot with the arrogance of a pecock and the best at the sword, or the real Tedros, who's probavly just as scared and nervous as they are. Tedros admits he wants to be both, but admits that sometimes there can't be a 'both.' Agatha suggests he just flip the sword in his hand rather than go all out, so he can leave an impression, but still show he's someone important that's worth knowing. He thanks her and she leaves, Tedros smiling as she leaves. Cut to Maven, who's looking over a Pro and Con list and is obviously stressing over it because as much as he loves his mother and the idea of being King, he also loves Cal and Mare, so he's in a stalemate with himself. Cut to Anadil as she pets one of her rats as the other two rest on her shoulders, all three with black fur again. Cut to Evangeline and Ptolemus making sure their metal 'armor' resrs well on their bodies, forearm for Evangeline and ankles for Ptolemus. Cut to Agatha trying to doll up, but failing, which is overseen by Kiko, Beatrix, Millicent and Reena, who meet her eyes and pull her into the girl's Groom Room, where we get a match cut from Reena wiping the makeup off Agatha's face to a Red maid applying Mare's 'Silver' makeup as she reads the note Agatha sent. She accidentally papercuts herself and the calore brothers and Evangeline notice. As Maven distracts her, Cal quickly patches up Mare as a small bit of blood leaves her finger. He also hands her some gloves he found and tells her to keep them on until the cut heals. Evangeline asks if she's okay, faking it muchly, but Mare says she just scared herself. Cut to Kiko helping Agatha with her curtsey and Sophie rehearsing for when she meets Cal. Tedros is doing his own rehearsing, in the form of juggling his sword, sheathing it, and then extending a hand to introduce himself. He ultimately decides to lose the sword juggling and just go for a head bow and a hand shake. Cut to another storm with Maven and Cal giving Mare half-scared, 'sorry' smiles as she glares at them; they both saw some rocks and thought it was a cracken or leviathan. They didn't attack it, but they did scream and it woke her up.

Cut to the courtyard at the SGE, with the Evers and Nevers lined up and both are looking spick and span, even though they're all tired because it's an hour past dawn.

Sophie is giddy as hell, possibly being the only one in the Never line who's actually excited to be awake. Hester and Anadil sarcastically wonder why as Dot struggles to stat awake; Anadil's allowing her to lean on her for the time being until the Silvers arrive.

Tedros sighs and tries not to mess up his hair or fidget, because etiquette, when he spots Agatha, who's pretty as a picture and makes staring forward hard for all the students, even Sophie, who notices Tedros staring and scoffs, "She's not THAT pretty," with a flip of her hair.

Tedros compliments her and Agatha says it was Kiko's idea and Beatrix and her friends helped, because being friends with Sophie obviously taught her shit.

They take their places and watch the entrnce of the school, wondering when the Silvers will arrive. Tedros anickers that Sophie apparently can't wait, and assures Agatha they'll arrive safely. From what Cal said in his letters, that he's a soldier, they should be okay.

Funny he says that because carriages drawn by horses pull up.

Guess who's inside in groups of two? 😁🤩😃

The Evergirls all squeal, though Sophie gets hella excited for Agatha, who's trying to keep it together.

AND SO ARRIVE THE ROYAL FAMILY AND A COUPLE GUESTS LED BY TIBERIAS AND ELARA!!!!!

The students all bow and Rhian makes his entrance, with flare and pizazz, because pageantry.

From her place beside Maven, Mare chuckles, "Show off." before they start approaching.

Sophie spots Cal, and ignores Evangeline on his arm, and waves at him, even though he's in stoic, soldier, prince mode.

He catches her, because she's waving, but looks back at where they're walking, just giving a glimpse because HE'S NETROTHED TO EVANGELINE.

"You saw that girl? The one waving?" Maven murmurs.

Cal remains silent, but gives the slightest hint if a nod.

"That one's Soohie. Apparently she thinks she's supposed to be in the school where the other princes and princesses are."

The party stops in front of Rhian, who's looking absolutely incredible in his suit and cloak and mask.

It unsettles just about everyone, but Rhian bows and magucs a bouquet of navy, silver, and white roses for Elara.

"Your Majesties, welcome to the School for Good and Evil."

They all exchange greetings, though Rhian takes a second to look at Mare, noting hiw she's the only one in gloves and looks paler than the rest, almost... cakey. (Hmmmmmm?)

Regardless, he has the Silver party escorted to their rooms, Professor Dovey escorting the girls, Espada escorting the boys, and Rhian leading Tibe and Elara, hopin they don't mind if he asks a few questions.

Tibe agrees, as long as he can ask his own questions as well.

They leave and Rgian tells the students to return to their schedules and basically keep doing what they're doing, and to leave the party alone because they've had a long travel and need to rest.

He leaves with Tibe and Elara, and all the students instantly start talking, excited, giddy, and possibly in over their heads. Especially Sophie, who frets that Cal didn't see her in her refurbished Never dress that took her all week to make.

Agatha is only enamored want knows that after lessons, she's finding one of the gurls and talking to her, consequences be damned because if they travelled all the way from Norta to the Endless Woods, then there's a chance they can take her and Sophie back to Gavaldon.

Sophie, however, has a different objective, and its name is Tiberias Calore VII.

[babylon-cal]

Don’t Like Me? - Calum

Pairing : Calum x Reader

Genre : Angst & Fluff

Requested : by anon : Can I request something? I want a fic where the reader is dating Calum & the rest of the boys don't like them because they don't like the LA party lifestyle. Angst with fluff in the end (Calum reassuring the reader that it's ok to not like the LA party lifestyle because he doesn't like it either)? Make sure you write it with gender neutral reader in mind

Word Count : 1.7k

I haven’t written for the 5sos boys since 2018, so i hope this is better than what I used to write, idk honestly gjdshk i hope you enjoy it!! Tried not to make it too unrealistically dramatic because I know that in all facts, the boys would not straight up not like someone for not partying so I had to make the reasoning about more thought out. 

Unrelated, but I have some 2012 wattpad fic type requests in my inbox that are just giving me flashbacks that I’m not entirely looking forward to write but you know what we gotta pull through fam so

The air was cool outside the club and the cars that drove past would occasionally cause a stronger gust to blow against (y/n)’s hair, pushing it away from their face. The music from inside of the club sounded muffled from where they stood on the sidewalk that was cast with a soft orange hue from the streetlights, a half smoked cigarette nestled between their fingers. They took a drag from it, tasting the nicotine. They never particularly enjoyed the taste but it made them feel a little bit at ease, especially during the exuberant atmospheres of parties.

It was baffling as to why their boyfriend, Calum and his bandmates insisted on renting out clubs every other two weeks and indulging in exorbitant amounts of alcohol and dancing to deafening electronic pop until they were stumbling out of the doors in the wee hours of the morning. Calum had never made it too difficult on (y/n), trying not to get drunk too often. In all honesty he would rather stay at home with this partner rather than leave them while he was out, or even bring them along like they did tonight. (y/n) heard the music as it was unobstructed for a few seconds - assuming it was someone exiting the club, before the doors closed again.

“Mind a puff?” a voice said beside them and they turned to see Calum there, sporting his The Sensation t-shirt and a pair of black slacks. They handed him the cigarette and he placed it between his lips. (y/n) watched as the orange ring glowed and ate up the white casing slowly as he took a drag and how he blew the smoke up in a small cloud. “You alright?” Calum asked, as he handed the tab back to them, placing an arm around their waist and pulling them closer to his side.

“Yes, I just wanted some air, you know how all of this isn’t really my thing,” They dropped their cigarette, stubbing it out with their foot.

“Of course I do. Do you want to go home?” he asked, staring down at them as they continued looking out into the distance and at the bright neon from the 7-11 sign down the road.

“Actually, yeah,” they responded, looking at him once more, flashing him a small smile, which he returned before pressing a kiss to their forehead, mumbling an “okay”.

“We should say goodbye to the boys first, don’t you think?” Calum suggested and (y/n) felt their heart sink. They could never fathom why the other boys behaved somewhat hostile and cold towards them, whenever they met at parties most of the time. In the rare occasion they did meet at other smaller gatherings, the boys would only exchange a few words with them - only deciding to speak to them when Calum included them in a conversation. (y/n) would more often than not, stay silent by Cal’s side, disengaging from any conversation on the fear that they would dislike them more, in case their suspicions of their feelings were any way true.

Calum and (y/n) stepped into the club, immediately greeted by the strong smell of tequila and sweat, the cold air conditioning not really helping. Their fingers interlaced as they made their way through the stragglers, (y/n) feeling an awful discomfort at the unknown skin-on-skin contact with the strangers on top of the blaring of Physical by Dua Lipa through every corner of the room, the bass boosts giving them unsettling vibrations at the base of their throat. The couple approached a small booth where the other three youngsters sat with their girlfriends, sharing some drinks and laughing over the music. They set their eyes on (y/n) who was a few metres away with Calum, the girls giving them friendly waves which they returned with a grin which faltered quickly upon noticing the blank expressions on the boys’ face, especially Ashton.

He made eye contact with them for a second before quickly blinking away, the eye roll not going unnoticed by (y/n) which took them back slightly, feeling a small lump form in their throat upon discovering that their suspicions may be true. Maybe I’m overthinking, they thought but the not-so-inconspicuous eye roll from Michael who saw the couple reaching the table, made the whole idea seem anything but farfetched. (y/n) stood at the edge of the table, while Calum leaned over to whisper something in Luke’s ear who nodded, giving him a thumbs up and fist bump. He did the same to the other two, before returning to (y/n)’s side and giving one last wave to the table, which they did, out of courtesy as well. Only Luke paid attention, even flashing a small smile.

The car ride was awfully quiet, not much being spoken between the two except in the beginning of their journey where Calum told (y/n) that they could choose the songs to play. They stared out the window at the settled down, LA city at 1 a.m. with some shops still having their display lights on, while some had them off. They liked the city streets at this time in comparison to the multiple traffic jams and hustle throughout the day and early nights. Most of the town were indoors or at the club, leaving the roads almost empty and calm. Wait For Me by KIngs of Leon played softly in the background, as Calum turned at the traffic lights right before turning to spare his partner a glance, worried at their lack of chatter.

“Are you alright, (y/n), you haven’t been talking much tonight,” he said, resuming his attention to the road, letting his hand fall softly on their thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze. (y/n) blinked out of their daze at his contact, slowly turning to look at him while placing their hand on his wrist.

“Yeah, I’m fine Cal. Just a bit tired, that’s all,” He didn’t push it further, even though he knew that they weren’t being entirely truthful. He could read them like a book and he knew that (y/n) was only this quiet when they were upset because even when they were tired, they’d go off into pointless waffle that didn’t really make sense as much as it did in their head, which made Calum so curious to how their brain was wired in addition to finding it absolutely adorable.

(y/n) was quick to get into bed, having changed into one of Calum’s shirts that they always slept in and joggers. While he was in the bathroom, his phone pinged with a text and his phone lit up as (y/n) was scrolling through their own. They didn’t mean to but their eyes subconsciously glanced over to the strip of message that flashed on his lockscreen, covering the part of his background which was a photo - taken on their holiday to Venice - of them kissing on the Gondola as it floated under a bridge.

Mate, i hope this isnt rude

The first message read and it was from Ashton. Not long after, another message strip appeared under the other.

We think (y/n) is trying to control you bro

This hurt to read. At this point, every suspicion they had of not being liked by the rest of the band confirmed itself which broke their heart. These were his brothers. His soulmates. They were his forever before themself. What would he think of them, when his own brothers didn’t like them? Would he change his mind on how he felt about them? A tear slipped down their cheek but they quickly wiped it away, their throat tight from the lump that had formed in it. Their stomach churned and their skin burned as the phone slowly went black again. (y/n) didn’t say a word and continued scrolling through their instagram when Calum returned from the bathroom, a pair of grey joggers hanging low on his hips. He climbed into bed next to them, grabbing his own phone. They looked at him from the corner of his eyes, and saw him typing a reply to the text from Ashton, they looked away, trying to ignore it. It was difficult when his arm wrapped around their frame and he leaned down to their cheek pressing a kiss to it.

“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong and why you look like you’re going to cry?” his voice was deep but soft. It was their safety blanket. Hearing him was more than a reassurance that he was going to be there and be honest through all of their doubts. (y/n) sighed, locking their phone and placing it in their lap, leaning into Calum’s arm more causing him to nestle his chin in the crook of their neck and shoulder, his other hand rubbing down their arm comfortingly.

“Why don’t the other boys like me?” Calum’s heart sank at the intense amount of pain that they showed. “I want them to....they’re practically your family,” they added softly, their voice shaking, the tears forming again. Calum didn’t say anything at first, instead pulling them onto his lap, wrapping both his arms around their middle and pressing light kisses to the exposed skin at the top of their shoulder.

“They don’t dislike you, (y/n). They’re just a bit bothered by the fact that we always leave early whenever you come out to parties with us,” he spoke again almost immediately. “There’s nothing wrong with not liking clubs or any of that shit ok? I’m not one of those crazy party people either to be fair, and you have nothing to worry about anymore. I explained everything to them,” (y/n) looked at Calum as he finished his sentence, looking him smile back down at them. “If you like, we could invite them to lunch maybe? Somewhere that can help them have a proper conversation with you instead of just at the club all the time?” he offered and (y/n) smiled a little bit, trusting Calum.

“That sounds lovely, thank you Cal,” they shared a kiss before he hugged them tightly again, swaying them to the side slightly, making their mind feel at ease which (y/n) could not be more grateful for. 

END

[screamingatanemptyroom]

Chaos Magic Pt 2

Here’s part two to my short story of the Devil, the witch and the magic of chaos. 

Part 1 linked here. 

Hope you guys like it!

______________________________

As we stood outside the door to the building housing the Gathering Portal, I paused, looking back at the once again disguised devil.

“Just to warn you… the Witches’ Council doesn’t exactly like me all that much.”

Lucifer shrugged. “So?”

“So… as my ‘servant’… don’t expect a warm welcome. You’ll probably be looked down on. “ I studied him doubtfully. “Can you hold back from frying them with hellfire?”

He thought it over. “Probably?”

-Probably? Cal’s voice was skeptical.

“I mean, if you can hold off destroying them with your world ending chaos magic, I can’t see why I can’t hold off incinerating their worthless corpses. Even if they should be prostrating themselves before me and sobbing with fear.”

“…”

- He’ll last ten minutes before cracking.

“Don’t you have any confidence in me?!”

 I shook my head. “That’s a little overboard, Cal. He is the devil, after all.”

“At least the witch knows my true worth…”

“I’ll bet he cracks in five.”

“WHAT?” 

-Ten bucks.

“Deal!” 

Lucifer threw up his hands. “Why is no one listening to me?!” 

“We’re listening. Did you want in on the bet?”

-Yeah, join in! More money for me! Morgan never gives me enough spending cash.

“What do you mean I don’t give you enough money?! You’re a sword! What are you going to spend it on? Polish?”

-Cheapskate.

“Earn your own money then!”

“…” The devil stared at me with a tired expression as I argued with the invisible magic weapon. “Let’s just go in.”

We entered the building, only to be immediately confronted by a member of the Witches’ Guard. They were an elite force that protected the council, and the yearly Gathering, from all opposing forces. Soldiers who had trained in both weapons and magic, they were the best of the best…

Unfortunately, they were all too well aware of that fact.

“State your name and business.” A dark haired knight watched us suspiciously, his silver armor gleaming in the scattered torches around the room. His weapon, a spear glowing with a faint green light, was pointed in our direction.

“Morgan, here with my servant for the Gathering.” I held up my palm, a small intricately detailed tattoo on my palm lighting up briefly before fading back into invisibility.

The knight’s eyes widened. “A descendant of Morgan la Fay?”

“Apparently.”

The man’s gaze turned disdainful almost immediately. He turned, spitting at the ground. “Mothersbane! The cursed child dares to return?”

Lucifer shuffled uncomfortably beside me, but I didn’t flinch at his disgusted question. “Whether I dare or not is none of your business. I am a recognized witch here for the Gathering. My pass is in order. The question is, do you dare to stop me?”

The threat hung in the air between us. Finally, the knight opened his mouth, likely to spew more insults, when a more sinister, feminine voice spoke up.

“Cousin, I can’t believe you showed up!” A young woman my own age slipped by me, standing next to the knight with vicious grin. “I thought you had decided to hide away from these sort of meetings to spare yourself the embarrassment.” 

I looked at her quietly for a moment. She was a beautiful girl, but something always was slightly off about her appearance. Her features were delicate and soft, her sharp, angry blue eyes seeming out of place framed by such a pleasant appearance.  At my gaze she flipped her dark curls over her shoulder, laughing softly. 

“What’s wrong, cousin? Lost for words after all this time?”

“Your cousin?” Lucifer whispered incredulously.

“Her name is Araina. A much more distant relation then that.”  I reluctantly answered.

-Morgana’s line has always been very straightforward. There is only ever one descendant, and they always only have one daughter. There will only ever be one true heir to Morgan la Fay, and it’s my master! All these so called “relatives” are distant relations through marriage.

“Doesn’t that mean that you have to have a child to continue the line?” Lucifer glanced at me with a sympathetic expression.

“Only if I care to continue it.”

- I volunteer! You can have kids with me!

“… We don’t have time for a birds and bees talk, Cal. You’re a sword. It would never work.”

- Don’t worry, I’ll handle all those insignificant details.

Lucifer snorted. “Pretty sure you being an object is a pretty significant detail.”

- Stay out of childbearing negotiations!

“Nope, No more childbearing negotiations.” I shook my head. “Childbearing negotiations are indefinitely put on hold.”

As Lucifer and I shared a whispered argument with the suddenly enthusiastic invisible magical weapon, Araina’s expression grew more and more annoyed. 

“Cousin, don’t you think you’re being very rude?” She finally spoke up again, forcing the words through gritted teeth.

I smiled gently. “Oh Miss Araina, please refrain from calling me cousin.” I shrugged helplessly. “After all, the family cut ties with me years ago.” Patting her shoulder helplessly, I continued. “I can understand though, it can be difficult to remember major family events with limited mental capacity.”

The Knight beside Araina widened his eyes with shock at my words. “YOU DARE…?!”

 She held up her hand. “It’s okay, Martin. She can’t help but strike out at others in her own weakness.” Staring at me with a smile, she slowly continued. “Speaking of weakness… I suppose you haven’t heard of the new rule passed by the Council last session?”

What is she up to? “Rule?”

Her smile widened. “All Grade D and below witches must wear their grade marking at all times to prevent confusion during clan negotiations.”

“So just me then.” The Gathering was limited to witches of the noble clans, it was extremely rare to have a witch from these families test lower than Grade C, and the few that did refused to go to the meetings. I would be the only one to have to bear the humiliation of having my Grade marking displayed. It was my family’s petty way to discourage me from coming.

Araina’s expression was innocent. “Of course it’s not a rule just targeting you! It’s purely for the good of the clans. Here, let me help you…” She reached out towards my forehead.

-She dares to humiliate my master? Let’s chop her arm off! Cal roared silently in our heads. 

“Agreed.” Lucifer snarled quietly, hellflame gathering around his fingers. I reached out, grabbing his arm, keeping my expression bland.

A burning pain appeared on my forehead, and I knew that a shimmering grey insignia had appeared on the skin there, the words in a language that only witch’s could understand. It declared my status as a Grade E, the lowest of the low. The shame of my family. 

I grinned, ignoring the pain. “Anything else?”

That caught her by surprise. She studied my expression for a few moments, as if looking for the pain and humiliation that should be there but wasn’t. “No. I’ll go on ahead, cousin. Just remember to leave the grade marking in place.” She muttered under her breath. “Not that you have enough power to remove it even if you wanted to.”

She turned away from me, pausing briefly at the sight of Lucifer. “You… you are my cousin’s servant?” 

He raised an eyebrow. “I’m Miss Morgan’s servant.”

“You should consider changing sides while you still can. If you think you can gain any benefits because she’s in the direct line of Morgan la Fay, then think again. She’s lost her inheritance due to her own incompetence.” She looked him up and down. “You’re not really up to my usual standard appearance-wise, but I’d be willing to make an exception and take you in as one of my servants instead.”

She smiled at him, leaning over to show off her low neckline to its fullest advantage. I wanted to groan with embarrassment for her.

Is she literally trying to tempt the original tempter? This is so sad.

-Hey little devil, why don’t you take up that annoying woman’s offer? You can still get into the Gathering, and my master and me can actually take care of business without your dead weight.

Lucifer rolled his eyes. “No thanks.”

Araina frowned at his words. “Choose carefully, servant. You won’t get this good of an offer again.”

“There’s no need for any further consideration.” He smiled grimly. “I’m not switching.”

“Fine!” The young woman snapped, turning towards the portal. “Enjoy the gathering, cousin.” 

I sighed with relief once she was gone.

“Why did you let her get away with that?” Lucifer asked, staring at me with a  confused expression. 

“The insults? Or the insignia?”

“Both! Don’t you have the power to obliterate her?”

-Exactly! I like the way you think, Devil. Even if you are dead weight.

I grinned. “This is nothing. These sorts of childish games… it’s never been worth my time.”

“… You don’t think I’m dead weight like the sword says, right?”

At Lucifer’s question I stared up at the ceiling, keeping my voice monotone. “…Of course not.” 

“You’re obviously lying.”

“…No.”

 “That time was even worse!” Lucifer sounded near tears. When in the eons of my existence has anyone ever considered me dead weight?” 

-That’s what you get for hanging out with your superiors!

“Don’t say that, Cal. “ At my words, Lucifer, who had been hanging his head down, looked up hopefully.

“It’s not his fault he’s weak. You shouldn’t tease him.” 

“Both of you shut up!” Ignoring our laughter, he stomped ahead of us, walking towards the portal. 

As I followed behind him, the knight guard looked at the glowing insignia on my forehead with a satisfied expression.

“Useless trash.” He muttered under his breath.

I ignored him, stepping into the portal. But just as I was transporting, I heard a scream of pain, and looked over just in time to catch sight of the knight, who was now leaping around trying to put out the green flames which had mysteriously sprung up from the seat of his pants. 

-How long was that?

I checked my watch. “Four minutes and twenty eight seconds.”

-So disappointing. Can I use an IOU?

“You still owe me twenty bucks for the last bet you lost.”

-It’s just a run of bad luck. I’m happy to pay you with an eternity of love and affection.

“Cash only.”

-Harsh. Hey devil boy, You just had to let the hellfire loose! Your weak self control got me into this mess, pay the lady!

“Pay your own bad bets.” Lucifer grinned. “Plus, he deserved it. “

______________________________

We headed into the main Gathering space. With a few days still left before the true meeting started, there were not too many witches who had arrived yet. However even the small groups stood together, staring at the glowing insignia on my forehead, whispering to each other.

“Mothersbane.”

“The cursed one.”

“She dared to show up here?”

“I thought she was dead.”

I put their voices behind me, looking at the various glowing signs that pointed out the different directions.

“The forbidden library is on the lowest level. If you want to research up on chaos magic, and who might have access to it, that’s your best bet.”

Lucifer glanced at me curiously. “What about you?”

“I’m sure my lovely family members won’t sit still for long now that they know I’m here. Once I’ve survived whatever fallout that brings, I’ll look for clues on where to go next tonight.”

- Can we at least kill them all this time?

“And have to handle all the administrative and diplomatic  work on my own? No, better to let them enjoy their temporary titles and authority. Of course… If they get too much in my way…” I trailed off with a grin.

I caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye, and sighed quietly to myself. “They moved even faster than I expected. If you’re going to not be involved in this, I suggest you move now.”

“…” Lucifer studied at me with a thoughtful expression. “I’ll stay. With your chaos magic, you’re my best chance for getting to the bottom of this whole mess anyways.” 

“Suit yourself.” I shrugged. “Should be interesting either way.”

Four guards strode up to us, hands on their weapons. “Morgan ne Mothersbane. The matron has summoned you.”

-That old bat has gone too far!

Mothersbane. They had taken my clan name and given me a cursed one instead. 

“It’s okay, Cal. It’s just a name.” Muttering quietly to keep the magical weapon calm, I followed behind the guards, keeping my hands clenched at my sides,

One of them tried to stop Lucifer. “Just the witch has been summoned.”

“That’s my servant, he’s completely harmless.” I sent a silent prayer to no one as they scanned him with their power. 

“Fine. One more weakling won’t make a difference.” 

Lucifer caught up to me, his face stiff with rage. “Weakling? I’ll torture their souls in hell for eternity.”

I patted him on the shoulder. “Of course you will.”

-Don’t worry little devil, we’ll help you get revenge on whoever bullies you.

“I don’t need your help! I’m strong, damnit!”

______________________________

We were brought into the council room, an all too familiar sight. On elevated seats in a semicircle sat the Council members, all watching me with disdainful expression barely visible from the shadow of their black hoods. Only my Aunt Margaret, the acting Matron, stood with her head uncovered, her eyes narrowed as we drew closer.

“You’ve returned.” Her voice was flat, dislike lacing her every syllable.

“And you haven’t lost your touch with wasting time with the obvious. Anything else you want to talk about?”

Her jaw tightened at my retort, but as her eyes glanced over the Grade marking on my forehead her face relaxed into a triumphant smile. “I have family business to discuss with you.” 

I forced a smile. “I’m not part of the family. You kicked me out, remember?”

“Like it or not, you are Morgana’s sole direct heir. You have failed your primary duty of taking leadership in the council due to your disappointing weakness. But now we must consider your secondary duty.” Her eyes bore into me, almost seeming to dig into my flesh “I’m glad you decided to come on your own. Otherwise I would have sent someone to fetch you this year.”

“Get to the point, Margaret.” I felt my nails digging into the palm of my hands, and tried unsuccessfully to unclench my fists.

“You must carry on Morgan la Fay’s line. To accomplish this, we will arrange a man of suitable power for you to be given to with the hopes that your offspring will be better suited for the position of descendant than you are.” Her smile widened. “You should be grateful. With your… quality, you would never have a chance to even lay eyes on powerful men like this.” 

“And if I refuse?” My voice was cold. 

Hers was colder. “You will not be given a choice. Enslavement magic is distasteful, but has its purposes in light of the greater good.”

“And when is this to occur?” I felt a power gathering at my fingertips, a sense of destruction filling my soul. 

“After the Gathering. I have an important guest arriving, and my full attention must be given to him.”

At the words, “important guest” I noted the discomfort on many of the women’s faces, and a gut feeling had me pushing down the destructive force I had come so close to letting loose. It was difficult; the power resisted being placed back after coming so close to being able to consume everything in the room.

“Anything else?” I pushed the words through gritted teeth. It was difficult to focus on anything but the need to destroy everyone and everything. My muscles were shaking with the effort, a cold sweat breaking out on my forehead. 

“No. Enjoy the Gathering.” Her satisfied smirk made my struggle all the more difficult. “Do not try to leave, or I’ll have my men drag you back.”

“Sure.” Not that it mattered. Any men they sent after me would be destroyed.

As I turned to leave, I heard Margaret call my name one last time.  I glanced back, only to see her hold up a small silver ring.

“This was your mother’s. Why don’t you take it back, appreciate the weight of your new name. “

 She tossed it in my direction, and without thinking I reached out and grabbed it. As the cold metal touched my skin, I felt the memories my mother had left behind flood into me.

______________________________

“Face it, he didn’t give you a gift, he poisoned you! This child is stealing your life force, destroying you from the inside! Who knows what sort of monster you’re carrying.”

“No, I refuse to believe it! He loved me! I know he truly cares! And he’ll love our daughter too!”

“OPEN YOUR EYES! He killed you!”

“You’re lying!”

______________________________

 I shuddered, almost falling to the floor as I felt the walls close in. A pair of warm hands caught me, and the devil’s voice whispered in my ear.

“Should I kill them?”

I took a deep breath, trying to find a balance. With my emotions thrown out of order, my power which had been barely constrained was even closer to breaking free. “They still have one last use. Just get me to the resting rooms.”

He supported me with one arm, and we struggled out of the room under my aunt’s triumphant gaze. As we navigated the different twists and turns of the Gathering area, I slowly focused on my breathing, forcing my power down, feeling my willpower drain. Cal was uncharacteristically quiet, likely realizing I couldn’t afford the distraction.

As he pulled me into a resting room, Lucifer set me down on a bed, his eyes concerned. “Are you okay?”

I wanted to answer, but felt it was getting more and more difficult to talk. Even if I could, what could I say?

Mothersbane… they forced the name on me, but it didn’t make it untrue.

Monster… What else could they call someone who struggled not to destroy everything and everyone?

I was so tired. Why had I agreed to come back again?

Oh yeah, for a chance to kill that bastard.

As I opened my mouth to try to explain, I heard a very familiar voice speak out loud rather than in my head, a cold palm covering my eyes.

“Just rest, Morgan.”

Feeling relieved, I felt myself slip quickly into unconsciousness.

I wasn’t under long before hearing two voices discussing me quietly.

“Does this happen often?”

“Only when she’s trying to hold back the chaos magic and not destroy everything, which seems to happen more often now that you’re here.” It was Cal’s voice, but speaking out loud instead of silently in my head. Confused, I wanted to open my eyes, but I felt like my eyelids each weighed a ton, well beyond my ability to lift. 

“I don’t think you can blame me for this one.” The devil whistled quietly. “That family of hers is something, huh? They make even demons seem friendly.” 

“This? This is nothing for them.” I felt a cool hand on my forehead, the grade marking fading at the touch. “The suffering they put her through… it’s a miracle that this world exists at all.”

He wasn’t wrong. How many times during my childhood did he pull me back from the edge? From releasing all the chaos within me to destroy myself and the world with me?

“Why are they like this?”

I didn’t want Cal to have to answer. I forced my eyes open. “You heard what they called me?” 

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a golden-haired figure disappear. I rubbed my eyes, thinking it might have been an illusion.

- Are you okay?

His voice was silent in my head once more. I sighed, putting the memories the ring had forced into my head aside.

“Don’t worry, my power is suppressed, Cal.”

-That’s not what I…

“You were the one who asked, Lucifer. Did you hear the name they gave me after taking my family name?

He nodded. “Mothersbane?”

“My conception was warped with chaos magic.” I smiled grimly. “My bastard of a father wanted to end Morgana’s line, and gain a massive reward at the same time. You see, chaos magic can be grown within a soul, but it always comes at a cost.”

Lucifer studied me carefully. “What cost?” 

“The souls of others, preferably the powerful.  My mother was a young naïve witch who refused to hate my father even as her child infected with chaos slowly sucked the life from her within her womb. Of course, I was always meant to die, destroyed by chaos, a sacrifice to increase my father’s power while ending Morgana’s line with my death. “ 

- But I took advantage of the weakness created in her father as he had used almost all of his chaos magic for the sacrifice and left him, forming a pact with Morgan instead.

I smiled. “Cal is an ultimate weapon of light, of order. The antithesis to the chaos magic which wants to consume me and the world around me. The power given to me by that pact balances me out, allows me to survive.” My grin became cruel. “With the added bonus that my father was greatly weakened by not being able to reclaim his chaos magic as well as losing Cal.”

-We would have killed him too, if he hadn’t hidden deeply to recover like the rat he is! 

Lucifer stared at us both. “Who is your father, Morgan?”

“The enemy who wanted to personally end Morgana’s line? The master of Excalibur? The man who lusted for such great power that he would sacrifice his own child?” I chuckled. “Are you sure you don’t know?”

“I thought Arthur was the master of Excalibur…”

 Cal interrupted the devil.

-He was a good man, if a little naïve. He trusted the wrong man, and ended up being the first soul to be sacrificed to the chaos magic.

“Wait, you couldn’t mean…?” Lucifer turned slightly pale, his red eyes widening with realization. 

I laughed softly, before standing up. “We’ve wasted enough time,. Let’s go to the library.”

He stood up with me, his eyes still worried. “But your condition?”

“It was just the tactile memories from my mother’s ring.” I stared down at the metal object still in my hand, before opening it slowly and letting it fall silently to the carpet beneath my feet.

Lucifer looked down at it. “If it’s your mother’s, don’t you want it?”

“No.” I turned away, and walked towards the door. “I’d rather honor her memory by sending her murderer over to apologize to her in pieces.”

We headed towards the library.

______________________________

 We snuck by the guards standing watch outside the forbidden library as well as bypassed all the magical wards with surprising ease.

“I’m glad we had you here. Lucifer. My standard magic is too weak to deal with this sort of stuff, and the chaos magic tends to be an all or nothing type deal. I’m glad we didn’t have to obliterate the guards and entranceway just to get in.”

-How surprising, devil. You can be useful for something!

Lucifer sighed. “You guys really have to stop acting surprised every single time I’m useful, like I’m some sort of child. I’m the king of hell!”

“Of course! Next time we need to open a door we’ll definitely call you!”

- You are definitely the King of opening doors!

“…  I hate you both so much.”

The forbidden library was enormous, the size of multiple sky scrapers melded together, kept hidden through ancient magics that bended space. Every spare surface was covered in shelves packed with books, scrolls and tablets. Some glowed strange colors, some flickering in and out of sight. Small magical platforms moved independently around the library, transporting items in and out as they were requested. I looked around, feeling mildly impressed as always, before taking one of the transports over and heading to the area dedicated to chaos magic.

“Will they even have something helpful?”

I shrugged at the devil’s question. “I would hope so.” I quickly found the documents pertaining to major events in the last few months. Within it was a map that detailed the disappearance of witches over the past year. The seemingly patternless dots scattered across the city map glowed in a dull green light.

Lucifer sucked in a breath. “So many? How has this gone unnoticed for so long?”

- It was perfectly calculated to how many each race was willing to overlook.

“Spread across the demons, angels and witches… who knows how many normal humans and supernatural creatures have been lost as well.” Turning to the devil who stood beside me with an irritated expression, I prompted him carefully. “Can you add the locations of the disappearances you know about as well?” 

“Fine.” With a wave of his hand, red and blue dots also appeared along the map.  “The red are mine. The blue are those I know about that Heaven has lost.”

With the additional data, it became increasingly clear that there was a pattern to the locations of those who disappeared. A center of the chaos.

“We should find him there.” I pointed at the location, frowning. “But that only narrows it down to a whole section of the city. He could be hiding anywhere within.”

“I could have the demons search all the houses?”

- He would just destroy any that entered his territory. We’ll just have to do it personally.

“But that could take forever!”

“Maybe not.” I grinned. “After all, I can’t help but wonder about my Aunt’s ‘special guest’…”

-You think…?”

“The sword should be this way.” A familiar voice spoke up, from around the corner. 

“Speak of the devil.”

Lucifer raised an eyebrow. “Pardon?”

“Not you, just an expression.”

“Why does this ‘important guest’ of yours want this sword anyways? If he’s so powerful, he could just take it himself!” A petulant, spoiled, voice asked, the sound of two sets of footsteps growing closer.

- Araina. What’s she doing here?

“Nevermind that, We need to hide!” I whispered back.

“Sure.” Lucifer shrugged, snapping his fingers and activating an invisibility spell. 

- The devil was useful again!

“Shut up!”

Aunt Margaret and Araina entered the room before Lucifer could argue further. “ I told you, foolish girl! It would be bad if the council were to realize we were working with him, given our… bad history. And besides, I’d rather he not see that cursed girl until he’s finished the ceremony at the full moon tonight.”

 Finish the ceremony? My fists tightened at my side, shaking with rage. 

“Why can’t we just kill her?” Araina rolled her eyes. “It’s not like she would be difficult to get rid of!”

“We need a backup plan, in case this new cooperation falls through.” My Aunt Margaret’s answer caused me to stiffen into place, clutching the new map in my arms.  “She may be weak and useless, but she’s the only one who can continue Morgana’s line.” 

“Worthless trash.” 

“Don’t be so upset, Darling. She’s not worth your time or energy. Let’s get the sword.”

As they passed out of the room, Lucifer and I flickered back into sight.

-Killing time?

Ignoring Cal, I turned towards the devil. “We need to steal the sword, and replace it with a fake. How good is your illusion magic?”

The devil grinned, his plain disguised features melting back into his original insultingly handsome look. “I could convince half of heaven to follow me. You think I can’t fool a couple of witches?”

- I’m impressed! If this keeps up, little devil, I might even consider accepting you as my apprentice!

“Who would want to be your apprentice, you stupid overgrown knife?!”

- Morgan, the devil is calling me names! Destroy him with your chaos magic please!

I chuckled. “Aren’t you supposed to be helping me restrain my chaos magic?”

- Desperate times. 

“...Let’s go steal that sword.”

It was surprisingly easy. The two women got into several useless arguments along the way to the weapons section, allowing Lucifer and I to sneak past while invisible and reach it first.  As we entered the room with countless weapons on display, Lucifer glanced around, seeming impressed. 

“Which one do you think  they were after?”

“The only one my father would need if he wanted to have a weapon against chaos magic.” I pointed to a sword tucked away in the back corner. “A sword of order, like Cal.”

-Oh please, that hack is nothing like my great and wonderful self! Just a generic magic sword. Not even a soul to guide it.

I raised a hand, chaos magic destroying the magical chain keeping it in place. Picking up the sword, I gave a light practice swing, nodding at the light weight. “It’s still a good sword. It’s considered legendary overseas, known as the ‘sword of light.’ It’s defeated multiple world-ending foes.”

-I’m still better.

“Here.” I tossed the sword to Lucifer before Cal could get too nervous. “To replace the ones the chaos monsters destroyed before. This one can actually fight them.”

He gripped the handle, looking the weapon over briefly before strapping it to his side. “I like how it doesn’t talk constantly.”

-Hey!

I grabbed a random sword and placed it where the sword of light had been stored. “Alright, you can cast illusion now.” 

With the trap in place, all that was left was to follow my aunt and cousin as they led us right towards the center of town.

______________________________

-We were right, they’re heading right towards the location we had marked on the map. They must know where he is!

I nodded. “I shouldn’t be surprised, but I still cannot believe that those of Morgana’s name would associate with him at all. “

Lucifer glanced at me. “But didn’t your mother…?”

“He was disguised.” I interrupted, frowning. “She didn’t realize who she was being tricked by even until the end.”

“… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. The line of Morgana has been twisted for too long.” I sighed. “They rely on the name of  a witch that’s been dead for centuries, while forgetting that the enemy she fought never rested, never disappeared.”

-Morgan…

“The line should have ended with my mother, but instead it will end with me.”

Lucifer looked as if he were going to argue, but shook his head, falling silent instead. Fortunately at that time we reached a large abandoned warehouse, the sun setting behind us as the two witches knocked on the door, giving a password to the stone faced guard who opened it to be let inside. I glanced at the fading sunlight as we slipped in behind them, remembering their words.

He’ll finish the ceremony at the full moon tonight.

There wasn’t much time left. My heart pounding in my ears, I followed them deeper into the warehouse, pushing back the chaos magic that threatened to surface with my uncontrolled emotions.

- Are you going to be okay? Cal’s voice whispered in my ear, for only me to hear.

I nodded silently.

-I’ll be there with you. I promise. We’ll kill him for everything he’s done.

I kept moving.

It was time to see my father again.

______________________________

We entered the main area of the warehouse, the space much larger than what it seemed from the outside. The walls extended into darkness, making it impossible to see what was hidden in the shadows beyond. Ahead of us glowed two candles  to either side of a golden throne.

“Welcome, Margaret.” A strong, low voice spoke up from the figure slouched on that throne, as he lazily turned a hand around, making the flames from the candles dance with the movement. The moving lights occasionally lit up his features, giving me the first good look at my greatest enemy, the murderer of my mother, the one who inflicted the magic that could destroy the world on me. 

My father.

His face still was young, without wrinkles or lines, the features smooth and regular. His hair was and ordinary brown, looking slightly unkempt, falling over his face and forcing him to brush it back. He would be considered handsome by many, if not a little forgettable… except for his eyes.

The centuries he had lived showed in his eyes. Bright green, glowing with power, his eyes seemed to stare right through every person, judging them of their worth, making you feel unprotected, weak.

Margaret and her daughter curtsied deeply in front of him, cold sweat breaking out on both their faces. It seemed they felt his power even more strongly, facing the full force of his gaze.

“Milord, we brought the sword you requested.” Margaret held up the sword that Lucifer had enchanted to look like the sword of light in front of her, her hands trembling.

“…” He didn’t reach out to take it.

My nails bit into my palms, as I forced myself not to throw myself forward, putting my thpoughts into order.

I would need my magic, but it had to be controlled. Otherwise it would destroy everything.

“Are you really sincere about allying yourself with me, witch?” His voice was a whisper, but seemed like a shout despite the large space.

“Milord?” Margaret seemed confused. 

“Did you change your mind, given your family’s history with me?” He smiled, the expression threatening. “Did you decide to betray me to earn points with the rest of Morgana the bitch’s pitiful line?”

She panicked at his words. “I would never betray you! I swear! I brought the sword just like you asked!”

He snapped his fingers, and a purple smoke enveloped the sword in her hands, destroying it.

Chaos magic.

-It’s powerful, but still not pure like your magic. Cal’s voice reassured me.

Margaret screamed in pain, clutching her hands to her chest. Through her fingers blood seeped, staining her dress and dripping to the floor. His magic had corroded her hands as well.

“This is a fake, a regular weapon under an illusion, not the true sword of light.” The man stood up, glancing around the room. My hackles rose as his gaze fixed on us standing behind them, despite the invisibility spell. “And it seems you brought friends?” 

“…”

When no one spoke up he sighed. “Now, now, uninvited guests, isn’t it better if you just show yourself?” 

Lucifer sighed, waving his hand as he became visible, leaving me still out of sight. “Your insight is as keen as ever, you old bastard.”

The man’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Lucifer the king of Hell? What brings you to my humble home?”

“You really are going to act innocent after sacrificing my minions to feed your chaos magic?” Lucifer chuckled. “You always did love the dramatic, Merlin.”

My father smiled as the devil spoke his name.

Merlin. 

The great magician. The ancient power that ushered in an age of light and justice. A Grade A Magician. A man of legends.

A murdering madman.

“Can’t you be reasonable?” Merlin smiled widely. “It’s just a few demons here and there! I’ll gladly compensate you however you like?”

“And if I ask for you life?” Lucifer’s eyes seemed to freeze the room with their coldness.

Merlin didn’t flinch. “Then you’ll be destroyed. It’s a much better deal to bargain with me, I assure you.” 

“…” There was a silence as the devil looked him up and down, seemingly seriously considering his offer.

-If he betrays you… Cal sounded slightly worried.

 I shook my head, smiling.

“No thanks.” Lucifer grinned. “I already got a better offer.”

“A better offer? From who?”

I canceled the invisibility magic that was still on me, and stepped forward, the sound of my footsteps echoing loudly in the empty space. Margaret and Araina stared at me in shock as I walked past them, Araina managing to lift a hand to point, stuttering. “Y-you!”

Merlin studied me carefully, frowning. “Who are you?”

I laughed out loud, placing a hand on my heart. “What, you don’t recognize me?” I pretended to wipe a tear away. “I’m hurt.”

“…” He stared silently at me, refusing to answer.

“Well then, I guess it’s up to me to make the introductions.” I bowed slightly, keeping my hand on my heart. “My name is Morgan, last daughter of Morganna’s line.” 

Merlin’s eyes widened as I straightened up, still smiling.

“Nice to meet you, Father.”

“…”

I shrugged. “Although technically I have come to kill you to avenge my mother and satisfy my own personal hatred… So ‘nice’ probably isn’t the right word.” 

“…The child?” He whispered. “I heard you were weak, useless? Any chaos magic that you absorbed should have drained your magic and life source by now… “ Looking me up and down, he shook his head. “You don’t seem weak.”

“That’s the problem with rumors, father dearest.” I tapped my face with a finger. “You end up with inaccurate information.”

Merlin’s gaze snapped to the two women kneeling off to the side. “You betrayed me.”

“No Milord, she is useless! She’s just a Grade E!” Margaret was panicking, waving her hands wildly as she spoke. “We’ve tested her multiple times!”

“Perhaps a bluff then?” With his quiet murmur, he waved a hand, and multiple large men wearing armor, their eyes glowing a bright purple. Stepped out of the shadows, swords drawn and pointed towards me. 

“Enchanted soldiers?” I sighed. “Looks like we’re being tested Cal.”

-His mistake.

“Want help?” Lucifer called out, his hand on his sword.

“No need for just this much.” I raised a hand, and slowly released my magic.

 The floor tried to warp away from me, as reality and fate were bent and broken in the space around me. Merlin’s eyes narrowed, shocked and he lifted his hand to call his magical soldiers back.

“Too late.” With a grim smile, I pushed my magic forward, and silently each knight faded out of existence, leaving not even the slightest trace behind. It also latched on to the golden throne, forcing him to his feet as the seat disappeared out from under him.  

“Chaos magic?” Merlin covered his eyes with his hand. “I should have guessed when it never returned to me. The backlash at that time was too great, though, I had no choice but to go into hiding for my own safety.” 

“Great, glad you have that figured out. Any last words before you die?” 

“Don’t be arrogant, girl.” He snapped. “ You may have stolen some of my chaos magic, but I’ve regained plenty since!” He spread his arms, and a purple smoke surrounded him, tearing apart the space in between us. “I’ve been sacrificing plenty of souls to grow my powers, and what little you should have retained is no match!”

The smoke enveloped Aunt Margaret and Araina as they tried to scream in terror.

“Milord what are you doing?”

His gaze was merciless. “You were always meant to feed my power. As if I would let anyone who claimed kinship with that bitch Morgana survive.”

The two faded into the smoke, which seemed to grow stronger and thicker as it absorbed their fate.

My father grinned at me. “And now, with you here, I can take back some power, complete the ceremony and perfect my magic once more!”

“Strong words for a dead man.” 

“You may have chaos magic, child, but so do I! You can’t kill me with it, and you don’t have any magical powers other than that, if you are a Grade E witch.” 

He waved his hand once more, and countless monsters of chaos appeared, their glowing purple eyes fixed on me. 

“I’m one of the greatest wizards in the world, with the highest caliber of magic and you are the last pathetic girl in a worthless line. All alone with no way out.” 

I smiled, and he stepped back, startled at my reaction. “Who said I was alone?”

“Now can I help?”

- Finally!

My hand slapped to my chest, my palm connected with the golden tattoo beneath my shirt, the mark of Excalibur. From within my soul I pulled out the golden sword, and rushed into the nearest group of monsters.

Lucifer pulled out the real sword of light, and with a happy laugh launched himself into the air to land beside me, fighting back to back.

The creatures screamed with terror and the two swords of light and order swept through them, forcing them out of existence.

“Finally I get a chance to show off!” Lucifer muttered beside me, swinging his sword in broad sweeping strokes, taking out multiple creatures with each attack.

-You realize that my master is killing twice as many as you, right?

Cal let out a beams of light as I fought, taking down lines of the chaos monsters with each passing second. 

Merlin watched the fight with an increasingly pale face, backing away slowly. “No, it can’t be. Excalibur… you chose her?”

The number of monsters was dwindling, and soon, Lucifer was enough to face off the remnant as I approached my father, Cal’s blade resting lightly on my shoulder. 

“Why so shocked?” I grinned. “Just because you aren’t worthy doesn’t mean others can’t be.”

“Y-you…” His eyes darted between myself and the glowing golden blade. “You didn’t just keep a remnant of my old power, did you? You have ALL of it?” He backed away further. “That’s… that’s…”

“Enough to destroy the universe and everything in it?” I shrugged, swinging the sword behind me, cutting through a monster that had tried to sneak up on me while my attention was focused on my father. “Yes. Your point?”

Merlin was backed against a wall, trapped, and I pressed the tip of the golden blade in my hand against his chest, right over his heart.

“To think a child I made as a simple means to destroy Morgana’s line would be this powerful…” He muttered looking at me with different eyes than before, a calculating gaze.  “No… maybe it was meant to be. Both of our blood, chaos magic… and Excalibur… you’re beyond what I could have ever dreamed.”

“…” I put more pressure on the sword, and the tip slowly sank into his chest. He didn’t react, still staring at me with an avid look.

“We’ll work together… we can rule everything. Heaven, Hell, Magic, Order… all would have to bow before us.” His smile was fanatical, a hand reaching out to touch my face gently, as if I were truly precious to him. “My daughter…”

His magic reached out, pulling at my emotions, making me want to drop my weapon, follow him to the ends of the earth.

You’ll be safe with him. The magic whispered in my ear. You’ll finally have a family, a home.

-Morgan… Cal whispered my name urgently, but the magic drowned his voice out.

A part of me screamed to give in. The girl who had grown up hated, looked down on. A worthless child who had killed her mother at birth. A powerless witch in a family of powerful magic. With only myself and a magic sword to depend on.

I wanted to say yes.

I smiled, my hand wrapped tightly around the golden handle of the sword. “Sounds like a great offer.”

Merlin’s face lit up.

“Just one problem…” 

Thud. Cal’s blade pierced through the wizard’s chest, striking the wall behind him.

“I don’t want to rule Heaven, Hell or anything else.” 

Blood dripped around the blade, pooling on the floor at our feet before disappearing into purple smoke. I poured my chaos magic into the wound, trying to destroy everything that Cal’s magic wouldn’t touch.

“I’m not seeking to be a legend, or to save the world.”

The wound in his chest was turning purple, as the chaos magic within him rejected the presence of ultimate weapon of fate and order. I let go of my normal restrictions I placed on my magic, pouring everything I had into him, focused on destruction.

“I’m just a Grade E witch, a mortal, trying to live a normal life and pay rent.”

He shook his head slightly, as if confused, his green eyes fixed on my own.

“Oh, and of course avenge my mother’s death.” 

I twisted the blade and he let out a grunt, purple smoke pouring from his lips.

“You’ll… regret… this.”

“Promise?”

My father closed his eyes, and his body faded into nothingness, the purple smoke dissipating into thin air. I looked around, frowning, my chaos magic pulsing in my blood, roaring in my ears.

“Cal, is he gone?”

-I- I think so? I don’t sense him... 

“Good.” I sighed with relief, taking a deep breath. The chaos magic pushed outwards against my control, wanting to consume everything. I had let out too much, relaxed my control too far in my desire to destroy him. I closed my eyes, fighting it with all my strength, knowing that if I lost control I could unleash everything, destroy everything.

-Morgan?! What’s wrong?

I shook my head slightly, unable to answer, slipping down to the ground as all of my strength focused inward.

“Cal, what’s going on?” Lucifer’s tired voice spoke up, concerned.

-She’s losing her chaos magic!

“That’s bad, isn’t it? Like, world ending bad?”

-Yeah, it’s world ending bad! Quick, stab me into her chest! I need to help her control it! 

“S-stab her? Are you sure? Won’t that kill her?”

-DO IT! 

Despite the internal battle going on, I felt the tip of Cal’s blade push into my chest over his mark, Cal’s power merging with my own. 

Cal? I felt tired, overwhelmed, the chaos within me eroding at my thoughts, my fate disappearing into nothingness.

 The voice that had been with me since my earliest memory spoke up inside my head.

-It’s okay, Morgan. We’ll seal it, together.

He joined me in the fight, his strength bolstering my own. Slowly, painfully, together, we pushed back the power of chaos and locked it within my soul once more. 

-See? That wasn’t so bad!

Easy for you to say. I smiled silently, letting go of my consciousness in my relief.

______________________________

Lucifer stared down at the smiling unconscious girl, feeling unnerved.

I’ve been at the top for too long. He admitted quietly to himself with a grin. I forgot what it was like to face something stronger.

And Morgan was stronger than him. Having seen her wield Excalibur along with her magic, equal parts order and chaos, a force that could destroy the whole universe, he couldn’t help but feel weak in front of her. He watched her sleep, considering his options. Part of him wanted to take her out, destroy the threat while she was helpless. But the rest…

It’s not bad to have something this fun around. He grinned. Besides, I never was one for playing it safe.

“Hey, little devil, why are you smiling? Don’t even think about touching my master while she’s asleep!” Cal appeared in his human form beside Morgan, his golden eyes glaring fiercely. 

Lucifer shrugged. “Don’t worry, I have no intention of harming her. At least not anytime soon.“ Thinking for a moment, he looked at the sword, confused. “Why do you only take on a human appearance when she’s unconscious?”

To his surprise the sword blushed. “None of your business!” Looking down at the girl, he muttered. “What if she doesn’t like how I look?”

Lucifer laughed. “Well, she called me hideous, so you may be right to worry about her aesthetic taste.” With a groan he stretched, frowning as his multiple small injuries ached. “Those chaos monsters were pretty powerful. No wonder my minions never stood a chance.” 

“Or you’re just weak.”

Rolling his eyes, Lucifer turned away, looking around the empty warehouse and shrugging. “I guess we’re done here.”

Cal stood up, holding Morgan carefully in his arms. “I’ll tell her your goodbyes once she wakes up. Have fun back in hell.”

“Goodbyes?” The devil laughed. “No need to bother. See you later.”

And with that he was gone, leaving an increasingly nervous magical sword staring after him while clutching his master to his chest. “Later? What does he mean later? What a terrible thought.”

______________________________

 I was having déjà vu. 

Clutching a jar of pickles, I stared at what should have been my empty bed with a forlorn expression. “What are you doing here?”

The devil grinned as he flipped through my book, once again losing my place in the story to my dismay. “I had a favor to ask you.”

-See, I told you! Cal spoke up with an irritated voice. This is what happens when you make friends with weak creatures like him! They always want favors!

“Shut up, you stupid knife.” Lucifer grinned, setting down the book and spreading his hands. “You see, one of my old buddies in the Heavenly army contacted me…”

“So you came to brag that you still have friends?”

-Good for you. With your terrible personality it must be hard!

Cal and I clapped proudly. Groaning with frustration, Lucifer pushed back his hair and continued, ignoring us. “He saw something weird, an unexplainable magic. Something that seemed to destroy things without rhyme or reason.” 

I stared at him with confusion. “So?”

“So, it might be chaos magic! Let’s go check it out!”

“…”

-…

“Why?”

“Why?” The devil frowned. “What do you mean why?”

“It sounds difficult.”

- I’d rather nap.

“I have to work, or I can’t pay my rent.”

“But… it will be fun!” Lucifer sat up, pouting. “It’s been so boring since the last adventure! Let’s go!”

“…” I looked at the devil who was trying to tempt me out of the house, and then down to the jar in my hands.

“Sorry pickles, we’re just never fated to be.” 

CRASH! The jar struck Lucifer in the face and smashed into pieces. 

 I sighed as I ran in the opposite direction as fast as I could.

“MORGAN!” 

[wastelandcth]

love somebody - cth

this is based on three anon requests I got in the past week so I hope you guys enjoy! used this video and this song as inspo! 

anon: could i request an angsty fic with cal? i’ve been watching that live performance of ghost of you where he’s in that gucci shirt and supposedly crying during the song, maybe before the show he and his gf get into a fight over facetime cuz she’s back home in LA and he says smth he doesn’t mean & he tries to take it back but she hangs up so during the song he gets emotional thinking they’re gonna breakup but after the concert he checks his phone and sees an i love you text and they’re gonna be okay

anon: i loooooved your angst piece !!! could you write another one omg it tore my heartstrings but have a happy ending bc i can’t take that much heartbreak maybe another fight a breakdown whatever idk i just loved ur piece

anon: Okay yay!🥰 I'd really love if you could do love somebody-lauv with calum(obviously, we're all hoes) 🥰 if it can be like he's the one hurting her, even better lmao

Calum's hand were shaking when he walked onto the stage. He wasn't nervous about the show, the large crowds didn't bother him anymore. He hadn't been nervous for a show in years, no, his hands were shaking because he didn't know what he would be walking off stage too. He didn't know if she'd still be there after the show. His mind was busy running over endless scenarios as the show started, the only reminder that he was on stage as he went on autopilot was the vibrations of the drums on his feet. Even during his speech before he sang Amnesia, his mind felt like it was miles away in Los Angeles with her. 

It had been a stupid fight, something that had just snapped and before he knew it, he was spewing meaningless insults at her. She wanted more from him and he knew he was capable of giving her everything she wanted and more. Hell, Calum would give her the moon if it was possible. But he always did this, he pushed people away whenever they got to close to him. So he snapped, he reminded her that she was the one who had hesitated with their relationship in the first place, that she was the one to blame for the distance that was currently between them. By the time he realized the words that had left him, she had already hung up their facetime call. He tried calling her back, but before she could answer, which Calum hoped she would've, he was being dragged towards the stage to start the show. 

Calum had met her after one of their Friends of Friends shows. She had been hanging out by the bar talking to one of her friends which had finished performing a while ago, both of them laughing and chatting over the loud music playing around them. She had introduced herself and had complimented his leather jacket, giving him props for being able to wear it inside the stuffy club and still look so good. If Calum hadn't been so busy the rest of the night, hosting and playing the band, he might've caught the way she kept stealing glances at him throughout the show. And if she hadn't been so busy nursing the strong drink her friend had gotten her, she would've realized that Calum had been searching for her in the crowd until the club was empty and he was walking out onto the empty streets. He didn't expect himself to end up at the food truck a few blocks away, but it was funny how fate worked because the second he saw her standing in line their eyes met. They exchanged numbers that night and a few weeks later Calum stood at her doorstep, asking her to take the next step and be something more than just friends.

She had been hesitant, telling him that it was something she would have to think about. She had her heart broken many times before and she wasn't sure getting into a relationship with Calum was something she could handle. He had respected her decision, telling her to take her time to think about them and that if she just wanted to be friends, Calum was more than happy to oblige. A few days later, she had shown up at his doorstep in the middle of the night, his hair was messy from sleep and his tired eyes widened as she pulled him into a kiss under the moon. Calum swore it was the best kiss he'd ever had, it made him feel like he was on cloud nine, and every time they kissed afterward, he still felt the same. 

Standing on stage in front of thousands of people had always been something that brought Calum joy, it was the dream and he was living it out every night. But tonight was different, tonight Calum looked out onto the crowd and he couldn't help the heaviness in his heart. He missed her and he had a feeling that he had ruined a good thing over nothing. Maybe it was too good to be true, maybe the fact that he was finally happy and in love with someone was too good for the universe to believe in so he had to open his big mouth and ruin it. He was going to get home from tour next week and be met with an empty house and he'd sleep in an empty bed. 

Panic set into his heart as he thought about her leaving. His hands started to shake again, his mind no longer on autopilot as he heard Luke talking about Ghost of You. His mind was suddenly aware of all the people watching him. He stepped closer to the mic as his solo neared. He'd never had a hard time connected with the songs they sang every night. He'd helped write them, so it wasn't hard for him to relate to them. But tonight, Calum's throat felt tight as he sang out the words. He was on stage living his dream and all he wanted to know was if she was at home with tears running down her cheeks as she packed a bag to leave him. It was hard for him or anyone else to ignore the tears that ran down his cheeks as he sang or how his voice cracked when he sang out his feelings on stage 'too dumb to know things like love'. Even as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back, listening to Luke play the final notes on the piano, Calum couldn't help but let out a shaky breath and step off the stage to take a quick breather. He was grateful that the guys didn't mention him stepping off, even more, grateful when they stalled the crowd so he could control his tears. 

The rest of the concert was a blur to him, his body-switching back onto autopilot and before he knew it, he was playing along to the last song of the night. He was anxious to get off of the stage, to run back to the dressing room and check his phone, to try and stop whatever doomed relationship he'd caused. So as the lights turned out on stage, he ran off the second the tech had his bass in his hands. Sweat was running down his body as he entered the room, his eyes landing on his Duke phone case, he wasn't sure if he was even prepared to open his phone, to start a conversation he wasn't sure he could have over the phone. He also didn't know if he was prepared to see her face with tears running down her cheeks. But he also couldn't wait to talk to her, to apologize for being an idiot and pushing her away. Calum picked up the phone and chills ran down his body. Her name had popped up, a missed call, and a few text messages from her. With a shaky finger, Calum unlocked his phone and clicked on the message, a small laugh leaving his body as his nerves left him. It was a simple message, but it flooded him with relief and Calum didn't realize his body was so tense until he leaned against the counter and rubbed his face. I love you. All he wanted was to love her, to cherish her, and make her the happiest she could be. It's all she ever made Calum feel and he wanted to do everything to make her feel the same. Rereading the text message from her, Calum took a deep breath and clicked her number, waiting for her to answer so he could say the words he had been thinking on stage all night. 

"I hurt you and I'm sorry. But all I want is to love you." 

[new2fivesauce]

Please Don’t Regret Me - 3. Bad News First

Please Don’t Regret Me - 3. Bad News First

Warnings: Cursing

March 2018 - 5sos III Tour

If there was anything worse than a delayed flight, it was definitely a luggage conveyor. LAX just had to have the slowest working conveyor of all time. Nelle tapped her foot impatiently. She had two suitcases placed beside her; She needed three more before she could leave the place. She tapped away on her phone, ordering an Uber to pick her and the men of her life up. She glanced at the luggage belt, looking for black suitcases with either orange, red, or blue duct tape on the handles. Nothing.

Uber confirmed her ride and she sheathed her phone into the back pocket of her ripped black jeans. She yawned into the sleeve of her oversized black hoodie. The flight from Milan to Los Angeles had her extremely jet lag. The beginning leg of the III Tour already had her running on nothing but coffee and energy drinks with the occasional instant ramen or breakfast pastry. She needed real food asap.

She took a look behind her to see that Ashton, Michael, Calum, and Luke were not as affected by the different time zones. They were goofing around, playing hide and seek behind the airport benches and fake plants. Her eyes lingered on Luke. He was crouched down behind a pillar, his mouth covered by the sleeve of his jacket to contain his laughter as Ashton wandered around the area looking for him.

She couldn’t help thinking about the past couple of days that they’d been traveling Europe. Luke had bunked in her room 3 nights and had fought to get to sit next to her on their flight to LA. He had pushed Calum out the way, forcing him to sit between Ashton and Michael. Their nights they’d spent together were no different than the night following the release of Want You Back. They were spent watching Netflix, eating food, and innocently flirting with one another. Thinking of those nights gave Nelle butterflies and made her head feel light. What was the deal with Luke?

He was just Luke. Calum’s best friend. He was a jerk sometimes when he was hungry or sleepy. He liked pho and croissants. He was a blond giant who before only conversed with Nelle when he needed to. He wasn't mean to her or ever lashed out at her when something didn’t go his way. She assumed he just knew that her job was basically to babysit them and get them from point A to point B with the occasional errand here and there. Now he was insistent on them being partnered up for everything, but never made it obvious to his bandmates. For a moment, Nelle thought it was part of a cruel prank, but figured that Calum would never let him to do that her; Calum was extremely protective of Nelle. He’d probably disband the lot if Luke ever did something so malicious.

She shook her head. She needed to get it together. And quickly.

---

“Again.” Johnny, the sound producer, mumbled into the microphone. Luke rolled his eyes, adjusting the headphones around his head. This was the ninth again he’d heard in an hour. He huffed loudly into the mic on accident causing a high pitch ring to resonate through his booth and the sound board room. A series of Fuck, Luke and Ouch ran through the music booth.

“Sorry, sorry." He grumbled though not sincerely. “Can I get a break?” He asked looking to his bandmates through the glass that separated them. “Perhaps Cal could come in here instead and work on Babylon?” His voice was hoarse and exasperated. He didn’t even want to be here, but he was supposed to be because Calum said so. Because their manager had called them and said their album needed more work. Because Michael didn’t think it was complete. Because Ashton wrote one more song. Because he needed to rewrite and sing new verses.

Calum stood up from his spot, holding up his middle finger at his bandmate with a lopsided grin.  He waved for Luke to come out the booth. Luke sighed, relieved.

The two passed each other up as one went in and the other went out. Ashton eyed Luke curiously as the curly-haired fellow went to drop himself into the armchair Calum had just unoccupied.

Luke felt exhausted. Their short number of shows in Europe and the flight from Milan had finally caught up to him, but that wasn’t the only thing eating at him. After flying into LA and checking into their hotel for the next few days before flying to Paris, Nelle left. No explanation or anything.

He knew it shouldn’t have bothered him because she didn’t have to explain herself to him, but he thought they’d been doing so well lately. She’d been endlessly playful and flirty with him. Every time she looked his way, he felt so light, like there was no pressure on him; that he was definitely and rightfully okay. Now, since arriving in California, not even a text had been exchanged between the two. He couldn’t decide whether to be worried or not.

There was a SNAP causing Luke to blink furiously and focus on his surroundings. Michael was standing in front him, his hand still extended in the end position of his finger snap.

“What the fuck has gotten into you?” he asked. Luke scoffed, turning his face away. He mumbled a small nothing. “Bull shit.” Michael declared. “Spill…”

Luke had to face Michael now. He sized his buddy up, eyeing him up and down and even bucked at him, but Michael didn’t even flinch. Instead…

“Spill… or I tell Cal you have the hots for Nelle.”

Ashton, who was mid-sip of his iced coffee, began choking. He gasped desperately, pounding the front of his chest with no help from Luke or Michael.

“Dude!” Ashton wheezed. Michael ignored Ashton and stayed focused on Luke.

“So the fuck what?” Luke finally stated. At this point, there was no point in lying. They were going to find out sooner or later just how he had found out when they both had crushes on her.

Michael stepped back, stunned that it took so little effort to get Luke to admit that he liked Nelle. He’d expected more fight. Luke was always on defense when it came to his feelings, especially feelings for girls. He ran a hand through his knotted hair.

“Uhh. Wow. I don’t really know what to say anymore.” Michael went to sit back down next to Ashton. “I guess you can take it from here, Irwin.”

Ashton sat up straight, clearing his throat. “So… Hemmo… what the actual fuck?! Look… take this from our experience of having loved… and still love the most beautiful creature to walk the face of the planet… Calum will hang you if you even so much as look at her the wrong way. I'm surprised he hasn’t caught you making puppy eyes at her... How long has this been going on? This is all rather intriguing and downright confusing.”

With a roll of his eyes and shrug, Luke disregarded everything Ashton said.

“It’s been made pretty clear that she’s not interested in us. She refused the both of you and you, Ash, are probably the most compatible with her. I don’t see how I would be an exception.” He declared, a heavy weight on his heart.

Ashton and Michael shared a brief, but knowing,  glance with one another.

“I don’t know, mate.” Michael began. “I never seen Nelle look at anyone the way she looks at you."

That, there, it wasn’t exactly what Luke wanted to hear, but at the same time, it was exactly what he needed to hear. His heart skipped a beat and he felt light for a moment.

---

Luke trudged through the hotel lobby, hanging back from the other three. Michael, Calum, and Ashton were being boisterous, making the hotel guests and employees look their way as they joked and laughed heartily.

“Dude, c’mon!” Ashton stopped, pulling his two buds by the shirts to get them to stop walking. They waited for Luke to catch up with them. Since their recording session and getting Luke to admit his feelings about Nelle, Ashton had noticed Luke’s attitude had gone to nearly depressed. Calum was curious and had asked what was the matter, but everyone stayed tight-lipped.

Luke pulled his phone out of his pocket, checked to see if he had any notifications, and when he didn’t, he stuffed it back into his pocket.

“I really don’t want to go to Harry’s rager.” Luke mumbled, not bothering to look any of his mates in the eyes. Michael bumped him in the shoulder.

“Serious? Harry Styles is throwing the party of the year and you’re just gonna… not go?”

Luke shrugged. Calum narrowed his eyes at the guy, but didn’t say anything.

“The last time we partied with him, I ended up two cities over with no pants. I think I'm good.” Luke stated. “I think I'll just work on some music.”

Ashton scoffed at this.

“Wooow. You didn’t do shit today in the studio, gave up halfway, and now you want to--"

Calum held his hand over Ashton’s mouth to stop talking. He tried to pry Calum’s hand off his face but failed.

“If you want to stay here, go ahead.” Calum told him. Luke nodded in appreciation and began to turn his feet towards the elevators. They went their separate ways after Michael ran back to Luke to give him a quick hug and kiss on his head.

When Luke was sure that they were gone, he strayed away from the elevators and went to the front desk.

The brunette receptionist glanced over her glasses at Luke. He stood there, nervously, not really sure what to say or do since he was never the one to check them in when they arrived at hotels.

The woman cleared her throat, looking at Luke unamused. “Is there something I can help you with, sir?” Her voice super monotone.

Luke rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, the edge of his neck ran pink from the nerves. He felt his palms growing sweaty. His heart thumped against his chest hard. He could feel his vision closing in, an anxiety attack ensuing…

“My assistant… she checked us in this morning but didn’t tell me what room she was in. I need my room key from her.” Luke managed to say after a few breaths. It was a lie. He had his room key, but Nelle hadn’t told him nor the others what her room was. Right now, he needed to be with her. He wanted to talk to her. The lady, who’s nametag read Monica, raised an eyebrow.

“Do you have your ID?” she asked. Luke nodded rapidly, fumbling with his hands to reach into his back pocket of his black pants. He handed his ID to her and she typed away on her computer.

“Her name is Nelle. N-Nelle Padilla.” Luke stuttered. “My friend’s names are Calum Hood, Michael Clifford, and Ashton Irwin. We would have all been checked in at the same time.”

Monica looked at him, not entirely sure to believe him, but with a shrug of her shoulders, keyed in the names he gave off. She passed his identification back to him. “I have your friend’s names, but the first one doesn’t come up.” She told him.

Luke shook his head. He clearly remembered Nelle checking them all in. She hated LA. She wouldn’t stay anywhere else without them.

Something suddenly clicked. “Wait… could you try Eleanor Padilla?” He grimaced afterwards. He’d just found out her real first name days ago. It was a shock to him since everyone… like literally everyone only called her Nelle. The name was foreign on his tongue. He hoped to never say it again.

The receptionist tried again, typing quickly for there was a couple standing behind Luke now, ready to check in. She shook her head.

“Sorry. That one doesn’t come up either.”

Luke thanked her for her time. He headed back to the elevators, sad, confused, and downright annoyed.

His anxiety was gone. Now he was just irritated. He made his way to his floor, still wondering where Nelle could have gone. He checked his phone, his fingers lingering over the screen on their text conversation.

Where R you? Hazza is throwing a party. U down?

He stared at his text unsure if he should send it. He didn’t want to go to that dumb party, but if it got a response from Nelle, then it was worth it. He rethought the wording then deleted it as he got to his room. He let himself in. The lights were on. He furrowed his brows; he knew he’d turned them off before they’d left for the studio earlier. He entered cautiously, aware that the TV was on as well.

Stepping into the main part of his room, he sighed of relief.

Nelle was sitting on the bed, a pillow already placed in the middle of it splitting their sides. Her hair was damp so she’d had to have just gotten out the shower. It was drying into her waves. For the longest, Luke had thought she had straight hair. Now in the recent weeks of getting to know her, he now knew that it was naturally wavy. He decided he liked it like that best.

Nelle smiled at Luke; it wasn’t her typical genuine wide smile, but a small, closed lipped one. Her eyes looked sad but he didn’t want to question it. He was just glad that she was here. And Nelle was glad he was there too. She had been MIA all day since arriving in LA that morning. She’d sent the boys to the studio, leaving herself to have a meeting with their manager. The meeting had ran long, almost all day and part of the evening. She was mentally drained. She wanted to tell Luke about it but the second he’d walked in, she found herself suddenly feeling guilty and cowardly.

“I missed you today.” Luke mused, looking over at her. Nelle eyed Luke, her amber eyes trying to read his blue ones. He was being sincere. Nelle lowered her eyes, afraid to give her emotions away.

“Missed you too.” She mumbled back.

------

It was a sunny, cool morning in LA. It was 24 hours until their departure to France. Nelle wandered through the streets of Los Angeles, a coffee tray and a bag of bagels in her hands. 5SOS was back in the studio today for a bit. Every minute for the next 24 hours was booked solid and Nelle was determined to not let anything slip through the cracks, even when California always treated her unwell.

She made it the studio building with her arms full and without spilling a drop of anything. The girl at the front desk said hello to her as she carefully made her way to the elevators.

Ironically, the guys were located on the fifth floor. Anything in regards to the number five was almost always a good sign according to Ashton, who believed in that kind of good luck/bad luck thing. Nelle sped down the hallway to the studio room.

Michael was the first to see her through the thick glass door. He jumped off the recliner he was lounging in and hopped over Ashton’s body on the floor to open the door for her. Nelle entered the studio, trekking over Ashton’s legs, to set the coffees and bagels on the table next to the recliner Michael had just left empty.

“Luke just stepped outside. Cal is in the booth.” Ashton said as he raised his body from the floor to get himself a bagel. Michael was already an arm deep into the bag of round bread when Nelle chastised him.

“If you’re gonna get a poppy seed bagel, you better eat the seeds, Michael.”

Michael mumbled something under his breath before pulling a plain bagel out the bag. He grabbed the coffee with his name on it from the tray and went back to his recliner.

Seconds later, Luke walked back into the studio room and Calum entered from the booth. Johnny, the producer excused himself to make a phone call and to run down the street to the nearest McDonald's.

The room was quiet for a while as everyone ate and drank. Luke kept glancing at Nelle who was sitting next to Ashton on the loveseat couch. She could have sat between him and Calum on the long couch. He pushed that bit of jealously down with the gulp of his coffee but it quickly rose up again as Ashton put one of his hands on Nelle’s thigh. It was an innocent gesture, but his hand was pretty high on her leg and he couldn't help but feel slightly green. It also didn’t help that they were whispering amongst each other with their faces pretty close.

When everyone was finished eating, Nelle stood up from her spot next to Ashton. She picked up the boys’ trash, putting it all in the bag that it had come in. She cleared her throat afterwards and all four of them looked in her direction. She stood awkwardly in the middle of floor, pulling the Led Zeppelin shirt she’d borrow from Luke that morning tight around middle. Luke noticed the way the shirt now clung around her curves and his mind flashed back to that morning when he’d woken up to see Nelle hopping around the hotel room, struggling to pull her pants over the curvature of her hips and ass. Luke hadn’t meant to stare, but he had and when she’d finally succeeded in buttoning her pants, he pretended to be asleep to give him some time for his prick to go down.

“Everyone…” Nelle announced. “I have an announcement to make.”  

Calum looked worried. The way Nelle had said that made goosebumps raise on his body. He shuddered as Nelle cleared her throat to keep talking.

She let out a deep breath, eyed Calum for a brief second for some quick reassurance and then spoke, trying hard to not let her voice break. “I… I am not joining you for the rest of this tour… I am not going on promo for the next single… and I am not going on tour for Youngblood.”

Blue, green, hazel, and brown eyes all widened in shock. The room was dead silent except for the vibration of someone’s phone but no one dared to move.

Michael seemed the first to react as his body collapsed backwards into the recliner, his eyes watering immediately. Ashton groaned in discontent.

“Is this some type of joke?” Calum asked. His eyes darted around the room to his mates; Luke had an unreadable expression and Nelle was not sure what to make of it. He seemed not phased at all.

“It’s not…” Nelle replied. “I—“

“What the fuck!?” Michael interrupted her. “What do you mean you’re not coming with us? This is a bit fucked up, Nelle! We’re in the middle of a fucking tour. We’re about to release our third album and you’re just gonna drop this shitty ass bomb on us like that!”

Nelle had not expected Michael to react so angrily. In fact, she had mentally prepared herself for Ashton to be the one to get mad, not Michael.

“It’s been a long time coming, Clifford. Did you really think I wasn’t ever going to leave? I mean… compared to other assistants we’ve come across, I’ve been around a lifetime… but I need to do my own thing. I’ve been putting the four of you ahead of my own life for almost six years now. I have to do this for my own good.” Nelle clarified but the more she spoke, the more it upset Michael. Ashton scoffed whereas Calum shook his head.

“So we’re a nuisance to you now.” Michael chuckled coldly. “Wow… I can’t even look at you right now.”

Nelle neared Michael, but Ashton gave her a warning look. “Look… I don’t want to leave, but lately it’s just been so much, so fast, and I’m tired. It’s hard to keep my own life organized when I have to organize four other peoples’ lives as well. I haven’t done anything for myself since I decided to come along with you guys. I got into Yale last fall…”

Calum gawked at her. “What the hell? Why didn’t you say anything, Nelle?”

“I did.” She shrugged. “You all were too busy beginning the new album. I got in, they understood my situation, and I’ve been doing online classes since we travel too much for me to attend actual classes.

“You know I love you, all of you” She met Michael’s eyes when she said this and Luke felt a slight pang in his heart. Why didn’t she look at him? “But… that break before you started the new album, getting into this prestigious university, it just made me realize that I need to put myself first now. I wouldn’t take back anything in all these years, but…”

“Can you just get out?” Ashton finally spoke, his voice on the edge of breaking, but he spoke with a cold force that made Calum double-glance at him to make sure it was him speaking. Nelle turned towards Ashton, her heart cracking, a huge lump in her throat. “We don’t need to know why… just fucking go. We’ll call Richard and figure all of this out on our own.” Ashton shooed her away towards the door.

Nelle took another look at the four of them. No one else said anything else, not even Calum, who had always been there besides her and took her side. She tried to meet Luke’s eyes, but he was turned away from her. She inhaled deeply, holding in her tears, and she left.

<<>> 

When the glass door was shut and Nelle was out of sight, Luke turned on Calum.

“WOW! And I thought you were her brother.” He mocked. Calum straightened up real quick, his brows creased.

“You didn’t say shit! Don’t come at me!” Calum argued. “What the fuck did you do to her to make her want to leave?”

Ashton’s eyes darted between the two and then to Michael. Michael, though still incredibly upset, suddenly felt troubled. Maybe he shouldn’t have gotten so upset.

“I didn’t do anything. Maybe it was you selfish assholes.” Luke voiced back. “She does so much for us and we couldn’t even return the fucking favor.”

Luke’s statement made all three of them lower their heads in guilt. He wasn’t wrong, yet no one bothered to admit it. Luke stood up hastily, his footsteps heavy as he walked towards the door.

“I’m not gonna let her leave on bad terms. She deserves the fucking world for everything’s she’s done for us.” He said. Calum sneered.

“Since when do you care so much about her?” he asked. Luke rolled his eyes.

“Since when have you stopped?” Luke shot back before he left.

<<>> 

Nelle stopped before the elevators, her emotions getting the best of her. She leaned back on the wall across the elevators, between two potted plants. Her tears guzzling out before she could stop them. This was not the reaction she had expected.

She knew they were going to be upset, but she hadn’t known they were going to be outraged by her departure. She wanted her last moments to be hugs and kisses and I going to miss you. She hadn’t anticipated getting practically kicked out. She’d wanted to spend the rest of the day together, even if it was going to be spent working. She wanted to drop them off at the airport before they left for France and her Australia. She wanted to make sure their new assistant who was going to be at the airport waiting for them knew every single thing about them because she wanted to make sure they were in safe hands.

She let out a loud sob, forcing herself to rub her face with her hands to clean away the tears. She sniffled, wishing she’d thought to bring her purse because she was really in dire need of tissues and there was no way she was going to wipe her face on Luke’s shirt. She inhaled and exhaled the way she’d taught the guys how to when they got too anxious. Her head was bowed down with her eyes closed, but when she finally felt calm and her tears were now just silent trickles, she opened them up.

She glanced up quickly after noticing a pair of black boots in front of her own. Her wet tawny eyes met a pair of cerulean blues; her body buckled forward and luckily Luke had expected it. He caught her and held her close. This was the first time he’d ever hugged her… and the last his mind was quick to remind him.

Nelle drew in Luke’s scent, the same clean, zesty smell that been clingy to her, his, shirt all day. She pulled away from him, but stayed close enough to where he could keep his arms around her.

“I’m sorry for the way they were…” Luke whispered down to her, his forehead pressing against hers. Their noses touched and it took nearly everything in Nelle’s body to keep her from tippy-toeing up just a few centimeters to capture his lips. She wasn’t going to lie to herself and pretend that she didn’t find Luke attractive. She’d been doing all she could to distract herself from that fact especially in these days that they’d finally become friends. She was keeping her feelings at bay because she had already thought of quitting for a long time. That was why she couldn’t date within the band she always told herself. But Luke was different.

“I’m sorry I dropped the news like this.” She told him back. Luke shook his head when he noticed Nelle’s eyes watering again. He pressed her face into his shoulder, squeezing her body gently for comfort. It took a few seconds for Nelle to calm herself again. She dragged her body away from Luke’s again, this time completely. She couldn’t think straight with him so close.

“I need to go.” She said rashly. Luke looked at her with sad eyes just as Nelle tried to speed off. She managed to push the down button for the elevator before Luke could react. He reached out, grabbing her hand and pulled her back to him. Nelle yanked her hand away, Luke’s face dismayed by her rebuff.

“I don’t want to start anything we can’t finish.” She uttered just as the elevator doors opened. She stepped back into the metal box, pushed the Close Door button quickly before pressing the 1st floor button. She gave him a single wave just as the doors closed. He didn’t even get to wave back.

[irwinkitten]

Laura I need daddy!ash finding out that you’re expecting a baby

For your new dad!Ash series, what about the daughter getting a sibling? I reckon that would be so freaking cute

for the daddy!ash series i would love to see ash talking to you about having a child of your own together!!!!

UAHSJSJSS ash and y/n dining out shes pregnant??? and trying to explain to princess shes getting a brother or sister im CRYINGG

Yo,,,,,,sooooo dad!ash finding out that you’re expecting a baby together. And you’re kind of scared because how is princess going to react? Is Ashton going to leave like Jamie did?

IF ASH AND BABY MAMA DON’t end having their own kid I’ll hate you forever!! Okay I wouldn’t hate you, but would very much curse Ashton never to wear red again.

ok but daddy ash getting a surprise from y/n and shes expecting and they have to explain to princess that shes getting a new brother/sister :-)

listen i am soft as fuck so i’m coming for ur hearts. 2.5k of fluff fluff and fluff.

masterlist is linked in the source

this is part eighteen

—

As you went around the various people, unable to let go of Anne for more than three seconds in amazed disbelief that he’d flown them all the way out to LA for this, your little girl was animatedly chatting with Cal, sat on his shoulders as she described how she helped Ashton pick out your ring.

“He took such a big risk getting all of you out here to celebrate a potential engagement.” You hummed to Anne whilst the two of you stood in the kitchen, away from the chaos. Ashton was in the lounge his laughter ringing clear through to the kitchen.

You smiled.

“When you’re sure about someone, you know it’s going to be a yes. The last time I saw him so sure of something was when they decided to really try it as a band. When we met both of you for the first time, and I saw how he interacted with you and the family, I could see how he fell in love so quickly with the both of you.” Your cheeks flushed a dark shade as you felt the tears build up.

“If it’s any consolation, the way you’ve accepted both of us, it means the world to me. You’ve made more of an effort than my own family, the same with the boys and it’s so overwhelming and I shouldn’t be crying.” You laughed as you wiped the tears that had fallen.

Anne wiped her own as she pulled you in for another hug, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead as she pulled away.

“It’ll be official soon enough, and I look forward to officially welcoming a new daughter and granddaughter to the family. Even when said granddaughter already calls me her nana.”

Almost as if she were called, Calum entered the kitchen with her sat atop his shoulders, a beaming grin on her lips.

“Look at the two of you!” Your phone was out fast as you snapped a photo of the two of them. Calum laughed.

“Nana! Uncle Cal helped me be taller than daddy!” You both giggled a Calum helped her down so she could give Anne a hug.

“You alright?” Calum’s voice was quiet as the two of you watched her wrap her arms around Anne’s waist and lean her head back, talking a mile a minute to Anne. To Anne’s credit, she nodded in the right places.

“Yeah, just a bit overwhelmed. Don’t get me wrong, I am absolutely loving this, and thank you so much.” You leaned up, kissing his cheek. He smirked, throwing an arm over your shoulder as he squeezed you tightly.

“Hey, you’re officially family now.”

“Not till the wedding.” Calum shrugged.

“Your munchkin made us family the day she called Ashton her dad. And there was the pang once more, the wish for your mom to be there to witness it.

“I just—I sometimes wish my family didn’t turn their backs on me when I found out I was pregnant. She’d have been spoiled rotten. They would have loved Ashton.” The hitch in your voice caused him to pull you outside, Anne craftily distracting your daughter so you could escape unnoticed.

Pulling you into a tight hug, you allowed the tears to fall, just for a few moments.

It was times like these, big milestones in both of your lives that you wished you could share with your family.

But they’d taken the route of turning their backs on you when you had announced your pregnancy. Your mom had been a staunch supporter, especially after your little girl was born. The rest of the family actively ignored you both.

It was only when you’d come home to find your mom in tears, did you learn why they’d cut you off completely.

“They think that you were too influenced by a single parent. Should’ve married someone who would’ve treated you right enough to teach you family values. Said our line was cursed, single parents out of all of us.”

You’d called them that day, screaming about how dare they take their so called beliefs and turn their backs. But they’d come back with crueller insults.

As you pulled away from Cal, he wiped the few remaining tears from your cheeks and you sighed.

“Better?” You snorted at that.

“Not really. I miss my mom. I wish my family weren’t such dicks. I’m surprised they haven’t come knocking yet.”

“What would you do if they did?”

“Honestly? Tell them to get bent. I found a new family in Shay and Marc, in you guys, with Ashton. I’m good.” He grinned before glancing  up as the backdoor opened.

“Everything okay?” You turned to see Ashton, holding your daughter on his hip, smiles on both of their faces.

“Yeah, we’re good.” You returned the smiles with ease and Calum gave you another soft squeeze before heading to the backdoor.

You watched in amusement as your daughter reached for him and he lucked her from Ashton’s arms.

“C’mon cuddlebug, I think it’s time we try to beat Uncle Mike at Mario Kart. You wanna help me?” You could hear your daughter cheering as the door shut, muting the sounds inside as Ashton moved closer to you.

“I know you said you were good, but was that for her sake or mine?” His lips met yours in a soft kiss and it hit you that you were the lucky sod that got to marry this man.

“Just, slightly maudlin over family stuff.” Ashton sighed, his fingers lifting up, gently tracing down the side of your cheek. You leaned into his touch with a small smile.

“I hate that they did such a thing. I know it happened before I met you, but as good as you are lying to your daughter, you’re not that good with me.”

This caused you some soft laughter before he pulled out his pulled out his phone. You watched as he stuck on a playlist of soft songs before taking your hands within his.

“Dance with me?” You could feel your heartbeat pick up a little before it settled once more, a feeling of content washing over you as you slow danced with him.

“So I’m an open book to you, huh?” You teased playfully as your bodies moved slowly to the music.

“Not all the time. I think I’ve got it nailed down close though. Whenever she does something, your eyes are full of joy, but your smile isn’t all there sometimes. Especially her big milestones. Don’t think I didn’t hear you crying after her first day of school.” You knew that the comment held nothing but love behind those words.

“She’s growing up so fast Ash, and I’m scared that when she’s ready to leave, I won’t be ready for her to go.” His lips pressed against your forehead as the two of you swayed.

“I can’t offer great advice because I’ve only entered her life when she was already starting to grow up and when my siblings were growing up, I was already on tour and out of the house.” The two of you traded small laughs.

“I just, I want her to stay this age. Where she wants her days with us, and her uncles. And that Nana is the best thing since sliced bread because she listens like no one else does.” More laughter followed from the two of you.

It was easy to lapse into silence, your head resting on his chest as the two of you danced around the porch. Neither of you noticed the curtain twitching.

As the opening chords of Elvis’ Can’t Help Falling In Love began playing, you found yourself smiling as his head tilted down and he began to sing along softly.

You enjoyed the moment of peace that seemed to wash over the two of you, nothing but you and him, dancing together on Calum’s back porch and him serenading you.

“You best pull out all the stops for the wedding.” You finally murmured and he laughed, his lips meeting yours softly.

“You know I will.”

—

As you adjusted to being engaged, you found yourself almost brimming with a lot more confidence.

It was certainly noticed and appreciated by Ashton, especially on the days where your little girl spent the day with one of her uncles. They were god sends during the summer holidays, especially on the days that Ashton had to be elsewhere and she wasn’t able to tag along.

You’d had a sit down dinner with Shay and Marc to celebrate your engagement.

“So now that you’ve announced to the world that you two are engaged, are there any solid agreements on a wedding date?” The two of you traded small smiles and Marc chuckled.

“This is where they tell us they eloped.” You gave Marc a very scandalised look, prompting both Shay and Ashton to laugh.

“Not eloping, no. But the boys have an album coming out, followed by another world tour. So we’ve been looking at dates and realised that if we get married before or during the tour, it’ll feel like a rushed honeymoon.” You explained and Ashton smiled softly.

“So we figured, we’ve been together this long, why not a little while longer? So we’re looking into dates the following spring.” Ashton explained to the almost bewildered couple.

“So not next spring, but the following spring?” Shay clarified and you nodded. “Well at least they can’t say you’re rushing into the wedding.” This set off a round of laughter.

When you got home later that night, with the promise of another get together with Shay and Marc soon, you took advantage of the quiet house.

Or at least, you were going to until a wave of nausea hit you and had you running to the bathroom, that nights dinner showing up in the toilet bowl.

You knew then that the mood for the night was ruined, giving a pouting look to Ashton after you’d cleaned your teeth and gotten changed.

“It’s rare we get a child free house.” You grumbled at him, making him laugh.

“I know, but if you’re throwing up your dinner, lets not tempt fate, shall we?” And you knew you couldn’t argue with that.

So when you woke up the next morning, long after Ashton had kissed you goodbye, a sudden thought hit you as you scrambled for you phone, checking the health app.

Your period due date had come and gone. And instead of morning sickness when you’d been pregnant the first time around tended to happen in the evening.

“Okay, deep breaths. Buy a few tests, see if you throw up tonight and tomorrow. Once is chance, twice is coincidence. Third time’s a pattern.” A soft pang hit your heart at the words your mom had often told you.

You carried on with your day, locking away the internal panic as you added the pregnancy tests to the grocery run you did.

When you got home, you shoved them in the cabinet under the sink and distracted yourself from the way your thoughts were going.

The process worked until  you were throwing up again, and Ashton was running up the stairs in worry.

“Are you sure you don’t have any kind of bug, love?” His fingers pressed a cool, damp cloth to your forehead and you sighed in relief.

“Not too sure. Do you think Mike could keep her another night? If it is a bug, I don’t want her catching it.”

“I’ll text him now. She’ll be overjoyed she gets another night with him.” This made you giggle before the wave of nausea hit and your head was over the toilet bowl once more.

The next day, Ashton stayed home all day. He kept you on dry toast with lemon and ginger tea which seemed to be doing wonders for your stomach.

But when you were running for the bathroom once more, even after having only had toast throughout the day, you felt your heart flip at the possible reality of being pregnant.

So once you shooed Ashton out of the bathroom, you got the three tests out, taking a slow, deep breath as you peed on the sticks and waited.

“Babe, are you okay?” You opened the door, and pulled Ashton inside.

“I wasn’t too sure, but mom always say ‘first time is chance, second is a coincidence and third time’s a pattern,” you rambled to his confused face, “so I worked out that my period is late and I’m suffering with the same sickness I suffered the first time around and I went ahead and bought some pregnancy tests and-”

Ashton covered your lips with his hand and you stopped talking.

“Breathe, angel.” And you did.

It took a few times to slow your heart rate down and you could feel your heart and stomach flutter in nerves and anticipation.

“I’m suffering the same symptoms I had when I was pregnant the first time around. So I got some tests. I wanted to wait because, it’s stupid but mom always said-”

“First time is chance, second is a coincidence and third time’s a pattern. You wanted to be sure it wasn’t just food poisoning.” You nodded at his words.

“How much longer do we need to wait?”

“They should be done. Ash, I’m scared.” You finally blurted out and he took his hands in yours.

“We’re in this together. I promise.” He whispered, pressing a soft kiss to your lips.

Taking in a deep breath, you looked down to the test and you felt your heart stutter.

Pregnant.

You were pregnant with Ashton’s child.

“Baby?” You whispered, your eyes turning to him and you could see the tears gathered in his eyes and panic flooded you for a second before his lips curved up into the biggest smile you’d seen him wear.

His gaze turned from the tests to you and you couldn’t help yourself. You were grinning with him.

“We’re gonna be parents again.” He whispered and you couldn’t stop the sob of joy as his arms picked you up, laughter bubbling from both of you.

“We’re gonna be parents again!” Came from your lips this time, and as he danced around with you in his arms, you felt lighter than ever.

He placed you on your feet, immediately falling to his knees afterwards and his fingers pushed up under your bed shirt, caressing the skin softly, his eyes studying the soft skin with an awe like look upon his features.

“Hiya peanut,” he whispered so softly that you almost missed it, “your mommy and daddy are gonna take real good care of you.” His lips pressed against your stomach and you giggled through your tears, running your fingers through his hair.

He tilted his head back, a few tears falling as he took you in.

“You are an amazing woman.”

“I’m still the same woman, just pregnant.” You giggled again, leaning down to meet his lips with yours.

“That still makes you amazing. Holy shit, we’re going to be parents again.”

—

tag list: @cals-babylons , @plainwhiteluke , @calumspeachy , @wrappedaroundcal , @holidayhood , @mistletoemichael , @merryashmas , @hereforlukescruff , @astroashtonio , @catchinqcalum , @roselukes , @5saucewho, @babylon-uncrowned , @dontstopisagoodsongchangemymind , @therainydays4 , @asht0ns-world , @silverchainbee , @hidd3nfangirl , @doodleasouarus , @hemmomfg , @mylovehes , @songforhema , @kinglyhood , @youngblood199456 , @makecoffeenotwars , @5squash , @negative-love , @softboycal , @you-of-ghost , @dannisos , @balsamichood , @meetyoutheremgc , @lmao5sosimagines , @lietoash , @aw-hawkeye , @biggestslutforcalum , @drummerboy794 , @itkindajusthappenedreally, @mycollectionofnuts , @coreybryanttrash , @abitloudforanaccousticset , @boytoynamedcalum , @teampreator , @dukehoods , @hoe4hemmo , @calumhampton , @sassy-asht0n , @toofadedtofight , @gigglyirwin , @blue-skies-are-alright , @hearts-to-the-sky , @tiddlerrr , @all-i-want-is2b-loved-by-you , @thesensationalcalum , @ashtxns-hxe , @cakeassx-blog , @hopelessxcynic , @5secondsof-im-so-dead , @baby-loba , @captivatingcal , @rosesfromcth , @esoltis280 , @cal-puddies , @rosecoloredash , @jpgluke , @cathartichaoss , 

[geekygoddesss]

The Talk

Luke

He’s nervous as fuck.

There was a lot of things he was good at but just dropping such a metaphorical bomb on people just like that wasn’t one of them, especially to someone like (Y/n), he never in his life would have thought he would be in such an awful place.

He’s been pacing here and there for hours, almost to the point of feeling a slight discomfort on his feet for standing such a long time, but he couldn’t help it, he was too nervous to just stay on the living room waiting for her. He needed to move, he needed to rehearse his words, he needed to prepare himself to what may happen because this is the first time he was going to do such a thing and only god knows how bad it might be.

He eventually stopped to take a break for himself, after almost an hour of just going back and forth between this, he stopped and grabbed some whiskey, he just needed a bit of alcohol in his system to get through this. This was going to be such a mess.

The moment she crossed their apartment’s door with that smile plastered in her face instantly made him feel like such a bad person, because it was beautiful to see her this happy, on a normal situation he would have held her and made sure she kept smiling for him, because seeing that smile on her face was almost like a gift for him. Not tonight though, this was hard, really hard, but it was going to be harder to ruin her night in just a second.

“Hey” He said in an unexpected serious voice, he didn’t want to come at her too severe at first, but again, he couldn’t help it.

“Hi” She said in a happy voice, leaving her jacket on the table and shoes at the door “How are you?” (Y/n) asked, almost running to the sofa and just jumping down in the spot next to him.

Holy shit, she was really happy. Why? Why tonight?

“Pretty good, just here- chilling” he said, drinking the whole cup of whiskey in one sitting. Maybe it will get him drunk faster and everything would be easier, in his wildest dreams.

“Okay” she said a little weird out  “You’re being weird” she nervously chuckles and sits down straight on the sofa “Is everything okay?” she asks, caressing his hair with the tip of her fingers.

“Yeah- no” he says, being pretty straight forward and just going at it. better sooner than later, right? “I’m sorry, can we talk?” he asked, turning to look at her, finding her eyes, that slowly showed a worried frown at him.

“We are talking” she said in a mumble before getting more serious “What’s going on?” she asks.

He tries to speak but the words can’t come out. He was blocked, which was ironic, Usually words came out very easily for him but this time it was just too hard to do it. He needs to man up, he needs another whiskey, he needs to just let this out and get over with.

“Are you okay?” she asks worried, looking for his hand, but he moves it away the moment her fingers touched his.

“No, not really” he shook his head repeatedly as he set the cup down on the table. Just say it, he said to himself, You wanted this now go for it.  “Look, before I say what I have to say I just have to tell you that this has nothing to do with you, it’s all me, I don’t want you to put take the blame cause you did absolutely nothing wrong” he started, almost wanting to punch himself out but after that, he just said it “I am sorry but this isn’t working anymore”

she froze and the light in her eyes simply faded “You mean, like, Us?”

“Yes” he nods, pressing his lips together “I don’t feel like our thing it’s working” he explains. the inner him is just waiting for her to say something but she doesn't, she’s too quiet “I love you, I really do but I don’t think I feel the same anymore, we’ve been together for such a long time and it’s been the best ever, you’re beautiful and so sweet-”

“Cut the bullshit” she snaps, cutting him off and also taking him by surprise, she was mad and also at the verge of breaking on tears, he couldn’t handle that “Don’t try to sugarcoat, please by all means, If you are going to break up with me come up with a better reason” she says and now he just feels like crap. it had definitely nothing to do with her but he was indeed sugar coating it, for her own good.  “Have a gut, I know for a fact that’s not the real reason” she said. her head shakes  “I’m sorry, I'm being rude, I just don’t understand” she apologizes, taking a deep breath and trying to take it all in.

He definitely ruined her day.

“I know you’re upset, I’m sorry” he tries. Searching for her hands with his own would be dumb but he still does it. Maybe that is the only chance he has to comfort her and if he could do it, he would take that chance “The truth is” he said trying to look for the right words to say this  “I met someone”

There’s a painful silence between them, it was killing him, the tension was real.

She took her hands away from him. she knew that this hasn’t been the same for neither of them for the past months and acting like nothing had happened was her easier way to go through it, but sadly this had to end sometime. She knew that he would never cheat on her, ever, but the fact that he was in love with someone else broke her heart in a million pieces, because the truth is, she was hoping to someday be his one and only.

“Is she nice?” she asks, being the only thing that crossed her mind at the moment.

He sighs “Yes, we connected very well” He said, regretting his words almost instantly “I’m sorry, I don’t think you want me to talk about her”

“I think this is it then” she said, not thinking about it at all and getting up her seat “I-I-I have to go” she stutters.

she walks to the door and grabs her purse, there are tiny sobs leaving her lips but he tries to ignore them, he could almost hear her heartbreaking and he knew damn well that this would just break his heart in an instant, but there’s nothing he could do about it.

“No, (Y/n Luke said, trying to stop her “You’re upset”

“No shit” she laughed ironically “I have to go”

He said, blocking the door with his body “I am not letting you go out like this”  he said, that being his last statement “Let’s just sit down and have a talk”

“I can’t, Luke, I can’t” She snaps breaking into a bunch of cries in one second “Let me go, I can’t” she repeated herself with a broken voice “I thought you loved me”

“and I do”

“But you love her more” She says, breaking into sobs right in front of him. He hated to see her cry, he really did  “You change me for her”

“I’m sorry” he said, being the only thing he thought it was the right thing to say. The truth is, she is such an amazing woman but his feelings speak to someone else, he needed to stay true to his feelings.

“I just- I need to think” she nodded and somehow he just moved from the door. She needs space, she wouldn’t be able to think clearly with him being there. “Someone will get my stuff later” she said, to then just walk out, from him and his life.

“I love you” he said almost as a reflection, this was something they said to each other every time they left for something. who would have thought this would be the last time he would say this to her

“I am a terrible person”

Calum 

“What’s on your mind?” He asked me as he sat on the couch.

It was just a normal day in a LA, just another day where Calum had not any work to do and we could just lay around the house and chill. Those were my favorite days in my opinion.  My mind was just all over the place right now, it was hard to explain, ever since last week I saw so much stuff differently there was a bunch of stuff that wouldn’t leave my mind ever.

“Nothing” I said, smiling to him, rolling on to look up at him “Just something really beautiful, that’s all”

“Uhhh thats nice” He smiled handing me a penny for me to take it “Penny for your thought?”

“Smooth” I chuckle, taking the penny from his hand.

“I know” he said, being pretty confident with himself “What’s up in that pretty little head?” he said, kissing my forehead softly.

“Have you ever thought on the future?” I ask him innocently“Like us together”

He looks up and thinks about it for a second before nodding “Yeah” he says “a Fair amount of times I would say, You are my girl, of course, I think about our future”

I smile “That’s good” I say leaning more towards him “you know, I’ve been thinking and We’ve been together since high school, we live together, we’re engaged, we’re on our late twenties, everything is so beautiful” I say, taking his hand and just playing with his fingers “What if we -you know- make a little add up on our life”

“an add up like?” he says raising his eyebrows.

“A baby” I say and he goes silent.

it takes him a minute to finally answers. I knew it, there was no way to bring this up easily but I had to anyways. “Wow” he says in a mumble “honey, that’s a big decision”

I shrug, not really trying to make it a big deal, even when I was freaking out on the inside “I know, but I just thought, we did great with the dog” I say innocently, interviewing my hand with his “We could try something else, make something that’s ours”

“Are you suggesting we make a baby?” he says, looking at me with a tiny smile on his face  “Right here, right now?”

“Why not?” I chuckle “If there’s a right time, it might as well be right now” I say, pecking my lips with his in a quick move “I love you, Cal, I want a family with you, I want everything with you, You’re the love of my life” I say, speaking nothing but the truth “So, what do you think?”

He looks down at me with dreamy eyes, looking so cute I just wanted to cover him in kisses “I love you so much” he says, taking my hand and kissing the back of it “I think we could make a great baby”

I nod and laugh at his statement, not helping myself but just throwing myself at him and catching his lips with mine, pressing his body against me tightly, feeling his presence more than ever. I loved this guy more and more every day, this felt so right, i felt home and I couldn’t wait to make a family with him.

“Actually” he says, separating from our kiss just a little “I think the factory is opening now” he says teasingly, kissing my cheek shortly

“Maybe we should go in” I smile.

“Maybe you we should get to work” he says, getting up the sofa while grabbing my hand and pulling me with him towards the bedroom“C’mon, we have a baby to make”

This day was just getting better and better. 

Michael

“I missed you so much” I said as I hugged myself to my boyfriend as we cuddled on the couch “Did I say that already? I felt like I didn’t”

“Yeah, you did” He said chuckling while looking down at our intertwined hands, while he played with my fingers “You definitely did”

He was acting a little weird today, I don’t know why, he has just been extra awkward today and that kind of worried me in some ways. I tried to hang out with him all day long but that was just impossible, with college duty coming in and my roommate being a bitch with me like usual, it was hard to get to see him all of the time while he was chilling here at his house. So when I got the chance to finally come in and see him I came here in no time. I missed him so much. I can’t believe he was away for 4 months.

But he was acting weird, not bad weird, just weird. I don’t even know.

“Hey, are you alright?” I ask, caressing his cheek with the back of my hand.

“Yes” he says softly, nodding a little and hugging me into him even more.

“You seem kind of zoned out a little, that’s all” I shrug, resting my head on his chest.

“Can we talk for a second?” he says almost interrupting me, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“ Yeah sure, Is everything okay?” I say, sitting up a little and looking up at him, waiting for him to say what he had to say.

“Everything is perfect” He says shaking his head “I just- I’ve been wanting to talk to you for while now”

“Okay” I nod and smile at him, hoping to make him feel a little better “I’m listening, What’s up?”

He sighs before saying “You know I love you, right?” he asks and I nod “I mean, it’s something it’s been wandering around my head for a while, We’ve been together for a long time now, I don’t think I’ve ever been with anyone for this long and I love you, it kind of terrifies me” He chuckles nervously while shaking his head a little “On this last tour I’ve just missed you the most, I couldn’t stop thinking about you even when I was having the time of my life it pained me so much to not see you there with me when I come home and I don’t know” he shook his head and covers his face with his hand in embarrassment  “Oh crap, I don’t know how to put this together, I’m sorry”

“It’s okay” I say putting my hand on his back and caressing it softly “It’s not something bad, is it?” I ask.

Gosh, I hope it’s not something bad.

“No, no, not at all” He chuckles, looking up at me again “Would you- Would-” he tries at first but he is not making himself clear “Would you be interested on moving in with me?” he asks and I freeze.

“What?” I ask back. This was not happening.

Did I heard him right? Is he really asking me that?. Oh my godness.

“You don’t have to, I would totally understand if you don’t want to” He starts talking, explaining himself a little bit too much, but he seems cut off when I get up on the bed and jump with excitement, landing on my knees and straddling his waist.

“Yes! Oh my gosh, Michael, yes I do want to” I exclaim, hugging him against me. There was no way I would reject him from this offer, the answer was yes. I love him and I love being with him, I would take this next step with him anytime “I can’t believe this” I laugh, kissing his cheek and looking at him with a huge smile on my face.

On the other hand, he was hyperventilating a little.  “What? are you okay?” I ask brushing his hair back.

“I’m kind of panicking, it’s fine” he says breathing a little heavily but still leaning in to steal a kiss from my “I can’t believe you said yes” he says against my lips, kissing me one more time “God damn I love you”

“I love you more” I say kissing him again but I stop in track feeling his chest with the palm of my hand. His heart was pounding.  “Damn”

“What?” he says with a little frown, looking at me with his bright eyes.

“You’re so damn cute but you are indeed panicking, let me get you some water” I say kissing his cheek as he nods. He was overthinking stuff again and this is the result of it, but it’s alright, he will get over it.

I enter the kitchen and pour him some water in a cup. I can’t help it but stop myself so I can watch the whole place carefully and then realization hits me. This is amazing, who would have thought? This is incredible if this wasn’t the greatest thing ever I don’t know what is, I will be living here with my boyfriend. I am moving in with Michael!.

I am too lucky.

Ashton

“Do you ever think about the future?” Ashton asks while we lay on the ground over a blanket and just stare at the stars.

We were camping together for the first time with our friends and family and everything was going so well, I was having the time of my life. Times like this were the ones that made me love my life more and more every time, we’ve had such a great time, I didn’t wanted it to end ever.

We were just laying there, after everyone has gone to sleep, enjoying our last night of camping together and talking about everything and nothing. A moment to remember.

“Yeah, of course, yeah” I say turning my head to look at him“Do you?”

He nods, not looking at me at all “I do, a lot actually”

I reach for his hand and take it on mine “What’s on your mind?”

He shakes his head a little “Well, i think in at least ten years, I want to get some more albums out, that’s for sure” he says as a start “I want to work with big people in the industry, I would love to buy a house in Australia” he adds before looking over at me and mumbling “I want to marry you” In very clear words.

“What?” I say as a huge smile appears on my face “So you want to marry me?”

He nods and panic a little before adding “Not right now, not in this close future, maybe a couple of years from now” he explains, giving a soft squeeze to my hand  “I see you there, with a white dress and waiting for me on a beautiful wedding”

I can picture it, I’ve day dreamed about my wedding day so many times, that picturing it with Ashton just made me feel so good and I just wanted to make it come true. It makes me so happy he feels the same way as me.

“Oh, Ashton, I didn’t know that” I smile at him “We never got to talk about it”  

“I wasn’t sure how to bring it up before” He says, chuckling nervously and looking at the sky again “But yeah, that’s been going around my mind lately, I wanted to know how you feel about that”

“Well” I say, switching my position and just resting my weight on my bent arm. Getting to look at him from a different angle  “I’d love to marry you, one day” I say in a very clear voice “I’m not going to lie, I’ve definitely seen you in my future, I just don’t really, think about it too deeply” I say shrugging a little “But I love you and I definitely want to be with you and spend the rest of my life with someone I care” I say, rolling and getting a little closer to him “You’re the only person I would like to do such a thing”

“I am flattered” he said with a smile. He pouts a little with his lips and I take the clue and just lean to kiss him. We share a short kiss, before just staring at each other in the eyes for a long second “I love you” He whispers to me.

“I love you more” I say back, pecking his lips one more time before mumble “I am so tired”

“me too” he chuckles, grabbing my hips in his big hands “But you know what I’m thinking?” He says smiling at me “I think we should not sleep”

“And eat the popcorn we have left” I say completing what he was going to say because I knew he was going to say that.

“Yes” he says and we laugh “You get me”

I wink at him “I know”

Great minds think alike, we just happen to be connected. I love him so much, I don’t think I can even imagine life without him in it, he is such a great man, I can’t even believe I am this lucky to have him.

And there is one thing no one can deny, We are completely made for each other.

[nicknharry]

gryles ficz

If This is Love

He's not fucking thirty yet, but he is way too old for Harry fucking Styles.

Or: Nick Grimshaw has done some stupid, ridiculous, mad things in his life, but falling for Harry Styles might be the stupidest thing yet.

Begin Again

Nick's hand is open and empty on the stark white hospital sheets and somehow it's the most terrifying thing Harry's ever seen.

Something Good (And I Don't Just Mean Your Chips)

Nick's uncle's will left his seaside cottage, his fishing boat, and all the contents of both to Nick. Coming off the back of months of very poor life choices, a brand new start in a Yorkshire seaside village seems the last remaining option for Nick, but he hadn't bargained on the guy in the chip shop sneaking his way into Nick's life with a bit of bread and butter and a chip shop special.

First and Last

Harry and Nick are boyfriends and do boyfriend things like bake and cook and paint the guestroom and have sex. That is pretty much the entire plot.

Date Night

based on the prompt:

I want fic where Nick has a date. In order to impress said date, he goes out and buys a cookbook and fresh ingredients (even though he can't cook) and spends all day practicing making a meal. So, that night he makes the meal for his date, but the dude stands him up. He's about to crack open the bottle of expensive wine he bought to go with dinner and and drink it all alone, but then Harry texts him and asks him what he's up to. He tells Harry he's just been stood up, tries to make a joke out of it, but twenty minutes later Harry shows up at his door and they eat Nick's food and drink the wine together and it's the best date Nick has ever been stood up for. And then there are makeouts. The end.

You Can Trust Me Not to Think

“Please, Grimmy, you’ve been gone on Harry from the first night you met him,” she huffs. Nick can hear more things banging and then an ominous sounding sizzle and Annie cursing. He’s about to ask if everything is all right but she starts first and says, “Anyone with eyes can see it. Well, except for you and apparently Harry.”

or, Harry goes on a date and Nick gets jealous

You Help Me Sing My Song

"He thinks that part of the problem is that lately he’s been thinking about it - about marrying Harry - and suddenly the idea doesn’t seem as ridiculous as it once did and that scares the crap out of him."

or, Nick and Harry get married fic

And How Many Years I’ve Missed You

“So my god, Nick,” Harry folds himself down into a chair, his long legs splaying out under the table. His foot knocks into Nick’s and Nick kicks him back reflexively, his body remembering how to act around Harry even after all this time. “This is bloody crazy,” Harry shakes his head. “It’s been ages, yeah? It’s got to be like, what, five years or something?”

Seven, Nick thinks to himself. You were just nineteen and I was twenty eight and it was seven years ago, not five.

or, the one where Harry and Nick haven't seen each other or been in touch in seven years and then they meet up and things happen

Kiss Me Under the Light of a Thousand Stars

“All right, out with it,” Nick says when Harry stumbles back, hand flitting over his mouth and eyes darting away guiltily. He stares at the ground and kicks the toe of his boot against the pavement. Nick crosses his arms over his chest and glares. “What’s going on with you?”

Harry huffs. “Nothing.”

“Bullshit,” Nick says.

Harry juts his bottom lip out. “Piss off.”

“I’m not going to piss off, because this is not nothing,” Nick says, completely ignoring the way Harry’s trying to deny it. “What’s been going on with you lately, are you trying to get us found out? Like, is this some elaborate scheme of yours that I’m just not privy to?”

“No,” Harry insists. Nick stares him down. Every time Harry tries to look away Nick follows him with his gaze until Harry finally sighs and runs his hands through his hair. “Maybe,” he finally mumbles. “I don’t know.”

or - a kind of five times fic that Harry almost gets him and Nick found out in public

Out of love I made you a cake. (Also out of milk, eggs, flour, sugar, and vanilla.)

fic for the prompt: Nick wants to learn how to bake so that he can impress on a lad he met. He asks Harry for help, but insead of falling for his newfound lad, he falls for Harry. Harry falls right back at him.

I Think I Love You Better Now

Just because Harry’s around doesn’t mean he’s going to hear from him or get to see him at all.

Nick doesn’t even expect it, it’s been so long since he’s got anything more than a perfunctory text letting Nick know where on the earth Harry is, so when his phone remains silent through the next few days Nick’s not disappointed nor surprised; he’s pretty much come to expect that by now.

or, Harry gets home from tour and see Nick for his birthday

Just You and Everyone You Know

“The problem with pop stars,” Nick says, “is that everyone wants a piece.”

Tear Up the Planks

He stares at the dildo some more, then places it carefully back on top of the condoms and lube and slides the drawer closed. He’s just going to forget he ever saw it; that’s the only thing to do, really. He and Harry are best mates but if Harry’s never mentioned to him that he sometimes gets lads off in his bed with toys, well, that’s apparently Harry’s business to keep. Nick’s fine about it.

and I'll steal us a car, and we'll drive to the stars

“Fuck it,” Harry says firmly. “You’ve got a few days off; I’m taking a few days off. We haven’t hung out in forever and you need some time to get away. I don’t care where we go, let’s just…I don’t know, Nick, let’s just drive and figure it out or something. Let’s just go.”

or: Harry takes Nick on a roadtrip.

Want It to Be You and I Forever

“So we make a deal, yeah? If neither of us are married by what, the time we turn thirty? Then we get married to each other,” Harry says simply.

Nick stares. He’s waiting for the punchline or for Harry to yell gotcha! and let Nick know this was all just a big joke of an idea. He keeps waiting though, and it doesn’t happen.

“So stay single until we turn thirty,” Nick says calmly. “And then if we’re thirty and not with anyone we marry each other.”

“Right.”

“Like...like in one of those terrible Mills and Boon novels my mum reads.”

“Yes,” Harry says and grins. “Exactly.”

or: Harry and Nick make a marriage pact.

In a Sky Full of Stars I Think I See You

“No, it’s not - ” Niall takes a deep breath. “It’s just been a rough fucking day. He was out with Cal in Cal’s car. Cal was driving and it was - it was nothing, really.” Niall laughs bitterly. “They weren’t being chased, there were no paps. It wasn’t the motorcycle or anything to do with who we are or who Harry is or anything. It was just...just a lady who wasn’t paying attention and ran a red light. Could have literally happened to anyone.” He laughs again, quiet and a bit sad. “She didn’t even know who Harry was when the ambulance got there. Leave it to Hazza to get hit by the one person in all of LA who’s got no idea who the fuck he is.”

Nick closes his eyes. Talking to Niall is making him feel better, at least a little bit. Niall is joking and only getting sad for quick moments, so Nick’s sure that Harry’s not dying, it’s just…

“How is he?” Nick asks softly.

Niall’s quiet for a moment before he says, “He’s pretty banged up.”

or - Harry gets hurt and Nick goes and takes care of him

[jawllines]

OKAY THIS IS WHAT  I HAVE OF THE FIC SO FAR

NOW YOU CAN SEE WHERE IM GOING WITH IT, IF THERE’S ANYWHERE SPECIFIC YOU’D LIKE ME TO TAKE IT, HE L  P ME IM IN A RUT

i.

Y/N didn't want to do this.

She blames her reluctant willingness on just being a damn good friend and an even better worker -- honest to goodness, she doesn't think Jeff pays her enough for all the mire he forces her to sludge through. Growing close to the Azoffs in the short time of knowing them hadn't seemed like the worst possible idea she's ever had, but after the first few sticky situations she probably should've weeded herself out before she became to entangled in the warm, cozy feeling of belonging that they bestow upon her (which was nice, especially since she was so far away from home). From having to soothe a very angry, very pregnant wife of a client with saltwater taffies she'd gotten as a gift (she was still very bitter), to running around the entirety of LA trying to find a replica of a gold trimmed, rose broach Jeff had accidentally broken of his wife's grandmother's.

Doing it all with minor complaint, Y/N must've lead him on to believe she loves terribly tricky tasks.

However, sailing across the sea last minute to find a replacement for the Swedish model that was meant to be apart of Jeff's upcoming projects wasn't particularly her idea of a great time. Neither was packing up and hitting a jet with a pop star still buzzing from interviews, album releases, and promos, but since the curly haired, green eyed prodigy was already headed that way, had a vision in mind for what Jeff was looking for, and happens to know quite a few people at the modelling agency she was meant to visit. Nor was the short notice of doing it tomorrow morning, catching a 6AM flight out to the UK.

Yet here she was, watching with a despondent slump of the shoulders as he booked two rooms for her and Harry Styles, who had agreed easily on the other line of the phone.

Jeff took a look back at her, before rolling his eyes, "Don't look so shattered, Babe. Really it's like m'sending you on a vacation while I leave the brunt work to myself."

Y/N huffs, sinking in her seat and her dress rides up a bit but she pays no mind to it, "Can't I just go to your sister's wedding as a stand in? Heard I'm great at impressions."

Snorting, he clicks the bright red BOOK NOW button to seal her fate, spinning back around in his chair, "Yeah, just reconstruct your face a bit and I'm sure that'll totally pass over well." He leans forward and straightens out a stack of papers, patting them down on the table in a heap, "You'll be fine. 'sides Harry'll be there, and he knows his way around London well, so you've nothing to worry about."

Y/N doesn't know how to tell Jeff that Harry going might actually be the  worst part.

Harry and Y/N have a -- well, a weird relationship. While they don't hate each other, Harry takes to teasing her relentlessly and Y/N fires back whenever he does. He seems to love getting her all grumpy and flustered and pokes at everything he can to just rustle her feathers, which is better dealt with in small doses, but a two week expenditure of constant jabs, was enough to make her shudder.

Believe it or not, Y/N had been a big fan of Harry before this. When she met him she was all jittery and wiggly and squeaky but somehow managed to place herself on his shit list, without doing  anything.  . .okay! Okay, maybe she accidentally spilled a tray of drinks on his lap and ruined his suit, but in her defense it was a heavy tray. Though she didn't think that warranted his tireless taunts for the rest of forever. Surely the loved by all, sweet guy could turn around and show her some of that soft side, right?

Wrong.

So the mere idea of more than 168 hours with Harry makes her want to scream a bit, especially when she has no time to mentally prepare.

"With how you're reacting, you'd think I'm sending you off to war." Jeff jokes with her, but Y/N pouts at him, beginning to gather up her things, "Just don't stress it."

"Stress it? What's stress? Why would I ever do that?" She rambles off, shoving papers into her large tote quickly and nearly crumbling them, "Just have to go home, cram two weeks of life into a suitcase, call someone to watch my cat and water my plants, have someone collect my mail, and now I definitely won't be able to take any meditative soaks in the comfort of my own home -- yeah, what does the worst stress even mean, Jeff-y Babes, why worry about anything ever at all!"

He's holding back his laughter, she can tell, but she's too disgruntled to think much of it, "God, who knew you could be such a frazzled lil thing? Don't worry about your cat or your plants or your mail, I'll be round to do that. As for the bath, the hotel I booked you has a nifty Jacuzzi tub and Harry's got stellar vanilla lavender bubbles, he'll probably let you use." He soothes her, "Now get home and pack up, you've got an early flight tomorrow! A car will be there at 4:30AM."

That was that, Y/N supposes, as she stands up and pivots on her heel with a small goodbye.

"Hey," Jeff calls just before she's out of the door, and for a glimmering moment she hopes he's about to say he was pranking her; an elaborate trick to mess with her. However, he merely says, "Play nice."

Y/N snorts -- she's not the one he should be worrying about.

                                                                            .                         .                       .

Y/N comes heave hoeing her luggage to Harry's private jet's terminal, at 5:40 AM, with sleep puffy eyes and hair mussed to a fair degree. Waking up at 3:50 for a shower really did her in, especially when she wasn't able to sleep the night before. So now she's sulking towards Harry Styles himself, who is waiting for her patiently at the stairs, leaning against them and scrolling through his phone. It takes him a minute to catch the sound of her baggage's wheels on the concrete, but once he does he looks up, a sly smile pulling at his mouth.

"G'morning Sunshine," Harry greets her, with voice clear of any rasp and looking as good as he always does, which is infuriating, "Ready for our romantic getaway?"

"Am I ever?" She answers grumbly, starting up the stairs. Y/N's been in a few private jets in her days thanks to Jeff, so the wonder of it has wilted some as she shoves her things in the overhead compartment before tugging her, soft, plushy comforter out of her duffel and throwing it around her body, a ball of yarn taking up the seat besides her as she settles and tries to suffocate pre-flight anxiety with the dream of making at east 3 pairs of socks in the time she has on the plane.

Harry snorts at her as he walks by, "Could you be more like my Nan?" He questions, plopping down in his seat across from her, sliding his phone from his pocket. He's got that smile that he only pulls for her -- like he knows that he's Jeff's favorite, and he knows how much he can get underneath her skin -- it's really annoying, "Jeff tol' me you were a bit reluctant on coming, 'cos you're scared of big cities by yourself --"

"I'm not scared." Y/N answers a little to quickly, frustration with Jeff making her miss the loop she was trying to crochet into, "I just don't like impromptu fly outs when I haven't had a chance to check the city out first."

Rolling his eyes, Harry continues, "--but I know this place like the back of me hand."

"Are you trying to comfort me?"

"No," Harry leans back and shuts his eyes, "I'm letting you know if you piss me off, I'll take you to the middle of the city and leave."

Y/N doesn't know if it's a bluff or not, as she digs into her duffel for her phone and sends Jeff an all capital message.

YOU ARE THE WORST!!!!!!!!

Harry is -- well Y/N has seen Harry be the nicest guy in a building with thousands of other people, and turn around to sneer at her. She's seen him hold the door open for Grimmy, and let it swing shut in her face (or, if he's feeling really passive aggressive, shoving it open with a fake smile and ushering her in). Y/N's had to sit and listen to him compliment each and every person up and down, left and right, then completely skip over her with a small passing glance.

So sure, she spilled her drink on him, but that'd never been vindictive in anyway. Y/N guesses Harry was just set on hating her from the moment he'd got a look at her -- their stars must not align, or something of the sort, because that'd be the only reasonable explanation.

While Jeff doesn't have an inkling of an idea of how terrible it could be (Harry is his pop star and long time friend, Y/N wasn't about to drag him into something, especially when she knew very well who's side he would pick), Cal has noticed. Told her not to worry about it, and that how he's teasing her seems to match up with how someone might taunt the person they like, but Y/N knows better than that. Has seen him with the girl's he's dated or pursuing, and none of them are greeted with a sly remark and a mischievous grin, nor does he manage to make them look like the bad guy for defending themselves.

Y/N's learned to just keep quiet and leave it be, however, because he's Harry Styles -- the world's sweetheart to everyone apart from her -- and she knows how to pick and choose her battles.

This is not the battle to pick.

About halfway into the flight, Y/N had pulled out her tablet to watch a movie -- and she had thought this would go unnoticed, but Harry clears his throat and when her eyes flicker up, his flicker down towards the ipad in her hands, nodding towards it, "Wha' movie, you got?"

"Robin Hood." Y/N answers, readily prepared to go back to the movie, but he keeps going.

"Oh, that crummy 2010 remake? Y'need better taste, Babe."

Y/N rolls her eyes, "What you're in one movie and now you're a modern day Hitchcock, is that it?" She shuffles in her seat, "'Sides, m'not even watching that one. Watching Robin Hood: Men in Tights."

With a grunt, Harry goes back to his phone, a hint of a smile playing at his lips.

She ignores this in favor of fantasizing about a young Cary Elwes.

                                                                       .                        .                         .

It's rainy, as expected from London weather, so Y/N had her head hidden beneath the hood of her coat as she tried warding away shivers from the chilly air. If not for the thick, faux feathered filled cloth, everyone within a miles radius would she was hardcore nipping, and the goosebumps only furthered the fact she got too lazy to shave her legs the night previous. She'd prepped for the chilly weathered though, which was good, though she can't say the same for Harry, who is casually strolling from the airport to the car waiting to take him to the hotel.

Absently had she wondered why he didn't just go stay at his London home, but she figured Jeff coaxed him into the hotel life so they'd be within close proximity of each other, which also might've been for her benefit. Y/N had never visited London before and she presumes Jeff doesn't trust her not to get lost, or to try and hitch a ride back home without the model in tow (which she can't fault him on, really, it's not that far of a stretch). This meant that Harry will either be his regular, moody self towards her, or he'll be even snippier that she's the reason he must live in a hotel for a while.

"Oi, would like a minute without paps on me tail, so stop shiverin' like that, you're making a spectacle of yourself. ."

"And you're not?" Y/N grumbles at him, "Your pants are brighter than the sun today, but m'shiverin' is really doing us in, innit?"

"We've been here for little over five minutes, and you've already garnered that London attitude." Harry slips around to the driver's side, taking the keys from the man adorned in black before nodding, smiling his thank you, "Hate to see what it must be after a week here, already a little firecracker."

"Bite me." She shoves her bags into the trunk, along with her folded up blanket.

Harry tosses his duffel into the backseat, "Don't tempt me, Sweetheart."

                                                                            .                        .                      .

Just as Y/N's luck would have it, upon arriving at the hotel, they find that Jeff didn't book two rooms, he booked one room with two beds, and there were no other rooms left where they could switch to due to several conventions (including a model scouting one they might become privy to) going on. This meant a week and a half of non-stop Harry, unless he went out, but he'd always have to come back -- whether it be drunk or hungover, neither she particularly wanted to deal with. This also meant she would have no peace nor time to collect her thoughts without something going on in the background, especially since this was strictly a bedroom with a TV -- no extension of living room like some might have.

"Well, this is shit." Harry mutters to himself, setting his duffel down at the bottom of the bed he'd chose and huffing as he collapsed back onto the bed.

"What? You're not stoked to spend day and night with me?" She says sardonically, sat on the edge of the bed as she kicks her shoes off. The room is nice enough, aside from the glaring problem with their situation, but at least the comforter felt soft enough and the carpets were pretty cozy on the toes. Maybe if she just keeps her eyes closed and music in her ears she'll be able to enjoy her stay here.

Harry, however, seems to be pretty peeved, "Was gon' go out, invite people back for a spell, do some wooing. . ." he trails off, "You're oddly quiet about this. With how uptight you are, I figured you would've blown up at that guy."

"M'not uptight." Y/N decides to say first, "And I'm tired, is all. Just want to eat and go to bed. 'Sides, maybe me being here will do you some good -- no use getting all rowdy with models at the bar, especially with this new solo stuff out."

"What does that matter to you?" He asks, propping himself on his elbow and turns to face her, head tilted, "So what if I get rowdy?"

"Rowdy equals media problems. Media problems are Jeff's problems. Jeff's problems are my problems."

Y/N knows he wouldn't -- despite his question, and a small kiss of his teeth, she knows he isn't stupid. Knows how to work his way around the media -- it's how he's ended up being America, England, France's, Spain's -- just about every country's damn Sweetheart, when he could be such a grade A jerk (if you ask her). Though it's realizations like these that irk her. What had she done to make the "sweetest boy alive" be so cruel to her?