#second time in a row where people have shown up without even having their homework done

[vanishingmoments]

why are people in my math class acting like i'm the teacher's assistant or something when they put us in study groups

[ddaengtae]

see you around || jjk

pairing: jeon jungkook x reader

genre: college, strangers (idiots) to lovers, fitness instructor! jungkook, fluff, smut

word count: 13.9k

summary: you know those beautiful strangers that you admire from afar and obsess over with your friends, but know there’s about a one percent chance they’ll ever talk to you or even know who you are?  that’s precisely what jeon jungkook was to you; a piece of delicious eye candy that you could daydream about all you wanted, but had to accept that it was too unrealistic to ever happen.  or so you thought.  after an embarrassing accident at the gym that makes your worlds collide, maybe you had been wrong about your chances all along.

a/n: when i came up with this idea in my head, i guessed it would be around 5k words.  guess my hands slipped.  this is only my second bts fic, but after getting good feedback for my first one, i decided to give it another try and this is what happened.  i tried to edit closely, but there may be a few types so i’m sorry!  thanks for reading & pls lmk what you think. :)

Another week, another million reasons to be stressed.  It really seemed like that was the never-ending pattern of the college lifestyle.  The weekend was never long enough to truly allow yourself to unwind.  Sure, those two days were great, but how was two days enough to destress from the agony of multiple all-nighters to keep up with the shitload of work that all of your professors always deemed it acceptable to assign?  There was no way for you to prove it, but you believed in a conspiracy theory that all of the professors would meet up at the beginning of each semester and choose to make all of their huge assignments due on the same days just to fuck all of their students over.  There could be no other explanation for the hell that was midterms season.

While during your first two years of college you would barely be hanging on by a thread during the busiest weeks of the semester, you were now a junior and had at last adopted a regime that helped you burn off some steam when the tension became all too much.  Somewhere along the way, you started to realize that inhaling mozzarella sticks and Red Bull at two in the morning the night before an exam did very little to make you feel better and that it would probably be a better idea to take up a healthy lifestyle and better time management skills sooner rather than later.  In the process of getting your life together, one Tuesday evening in the spring of your sophomore year, one of your roommates had convinced you to accompany her to a group fitness class at the gym on campus.  To your surprise, you fell in love with it and the feeling of adrenaline and accomplishment that came along with making it through the hour.  From that day on, you vowed to yourself to make it to the gym most days of the week.

There was something about group fitness classes that made you feel much more comfortable than going to the gym and working out on your own.  Perhaps most glaringly, the classes were dominated with like-minded girls who just wanted some peace of mind for an hour.  Most of the instructors were girls too, except for a few guys who seemed to understand why a lot of women chose to avoid the rest of the gym.  It was quite unsettling to work out by yourself on the main floor and be surrounded by conceited guys who always seemed to either be undressing you with their eyes or judging you because, god forbid, you couldn’t squat three-hundred pounds like they could.  The whole place just always reeked of toxic masculinity, or so that was what you had thought until you found out about the group fitness classes that the facility also held.  They seemed to be a sort of heavenly escape from the rest of the place that resembled a fraternity initiation ceremony.

That was precisely where you found yourself this Monday evening.  In dire need of a break from studying, you found yourself sitting on the floor of the group classroom surrounded by your equipment and waiting for your favorite instructor to arrive.  The concept of a high-intensity circuit training class had initially terrified you when you first decided to try it out last semester, but it had quickly become your favorite class and one that you attended every week without fail.  It was incredibly satisfying to track your progress and watch your body evolve as you adapted to be able to lift heavier weights and make it through the cardio outbreaks without feeling like you were going to drop dead every second.

Taking a long sip of your water, your eyes remained down on your phone as you heard the door of the room open and close again.  As it was still ten minutes before class, you didn’t think much of it and assumed it was probably just more people piling into the room and rushing to get their equipment ready.

“Uh, hi guys!  The usual instructor for the class is unfortunately sick so I’m filling in for her tonight,” an unfamiliar-- but yet also eerily recognizable-- male voice echoed through the room.  “I was just recently certified so this is actually the first class I’ll be teaching here.  I promise I’ll try to live up to her hype.”  The unknown source let out an awkward laugh, which was met with relative silence from the rest of the room.

The moment your eyes moved up to fall upon the new instructor, your breath hitched in your throat, causing the water you had been attempting to drink to flow down the wrong pipe.  This wasn’t just any unmemorable college boy filling in to instruct the class.  There at the front of the room stood none other than Jeon Jungkook.  The breathtaking Jeon Jungkook was going to be leading the class and you were supposed to be able perform-- let alone breathe-- properly?  Oh no.

You and Jungkook were not friends by any means.  Hell, it was highly likely that the boy didn’t even know who you were.  You know those beautiful strangers that you admire from afar, yet know there’s about a one percent chance that they will ever know who you are or ever speak to you?  The ones you tell all of your friends about and you go out of your way to use your FBI-level stalking skills to find their social media in hopes of finding out more about them so you can daydream about your nonexistent, fantasy future together?  The ones you’re always hoping you’ll cross paths with while walking to class because even a glance of them will make your day a little more exciting and give you something to talk about with your friends?  That was what Jungkook was to you.

Jungkook had become known as ‘hot coffee shop boy’ amongst your friend group after you had noticed him studying in the same coffee shop as you one day in the fall of your sophomore year.  As you always chose to study at the least favorite and therefore least populated coffee shop on campus, it was shocking the first time someone as beautiful as Jungkook sat down at one of the tables across from yours and settled in to do his homework as well.  His presence offered you a paradox; while seeing him looking like a model wearing his oversized clothes and sighing at his laptop screen was certainly a distraction at times, it also served as a form of motivation to force you to focus because you didn’t want him thinking you were slacking off.  He seemed to enjoy the quiet ambience of the specific shop because after that first day, he began to frequent it almost as often as you, always sitting at the same table by the third window.  On some occasions, one of his friends who always seemed to be changing hair colors would accompany him.  After some research completed by your enamored friend Jennie who sometimes accompanied you, she discovered his name was Park Jimin.  He quickly became known as ‘iced chai’ after that seemed to be his regular coffee order.

It was an exciting day amongst your friends on the first day of classes in the spring of your sophomore year when Jungkook happened to enroll in the same Earth Science lecture as you to satisfy the science gen-ed requirement at your university.  Rocks and rivers weren’t exactly interesting, but the back of Jungkook’s head from the row in front of you certainly was.  The group chat really blew up the day he spun around in his chair and asked you if he could borrow a pen.  They were right that it would’ve been easier for him to just ask one of the people next to him, but you were smart enough to not think into it too much.  Maybe you just seemed like the type of person to carry around an abundance of stationery materials (you weren’t, and you ended up not taking any notes that day after giving him the only pen you had).

So here you were, practically choking on your water as Jungkook started to set up his own equipment at the front of the room.  How dare he invade your safe space?  You suddenly felt as if you barely remembered how to do a jumping jack, let alone have the facilities to pick up a weight.  

After organizing his weights at the front of the room, Jungkook’s eyes began to scan the participants in the room, likely counting how many people had shown up.  The moment his eyes met yours, your whole body froze in place.  Oddly enough, his seemed to do the same.  His doe eyes became wide and his mouth fell into an ‘o’ as he looked at you for a few seconds too long, and you swore there was an expression of recognition on his face.  Before you could convince yourself that anything of the sort had truly happened, Jungkook was blinking rapidly and shaking his head at himself before his eyes darted away to scan and count the rest of the room.

“Alright everyone, we’re going to get started in a minute here,” Jungkook announced a minute later, looking down at his phone as he connected his music and began blasting it through the speakers.  “Just remember to follow my lead and please don’t hesitate to wave me over if you have any questions or are struggling with form.  I’ll try to keep an eye on all of you and come over to help you out anyway.”  His eyes crinkled into crescent moons as he offered the class a big bunny smile.  Oh god, you were going to pass out.  “We’re going to be starting with a pretty intense cardio circuit here to bring those heart rates right up and set the tone for the rest of class.”  Great.  Your heart rate was already accelerating through the roof just at the sight of him.  “Try to keep up, but if you need to grab some water or take a break at any point, please don’t hesitate to do so.  We’re going to get started in 3… 2… 1… Go!”

To your surprise, you were able to make it through the first couple of circuits without too much trouble.  You made it your mission to zone in on each of the exercises you were doing, and that every time you were forced to face forward you would fixate your gaze on the back of the girl in front of you.  It was shockingly easy to forget about the beautiful man in front of the room while you were gasping for breath after numerous rounds of burpees and mountain climbers.  The goal was to look calm and fit without calling attention to yourself.  Outside of your heavy breathing that was likely being drowned out by Jungkook’s loud music, you could say you were succeeding.

About twenty minutes into the class, Jungkook signaled a transition into an upper body circuit.  While you were delighted to get a break from cardio and to allow your heart rate to calm down for a bit, following the exercises now required you to face forward and watch for his cues.  This would be fine as long as you didn’t focus on his gorgeous face that was currently glistening with sweat in the most pleasing way possible, right?

“Alright, we’re going to start off here with some overhead shoulder presses for the first minute.  I’d recommend something on the lighter side, but make sure you’re challenging yourself.”  With a slight nod of his head, Jungkook picked up his own weights and counted down the class to begin the first exercise of the circuit.

Shoulder presses weren’t bad.  You could do this.  Inhaling a deep breath, you made an attempt to wipe your sweaty palms off on your leggings before picking up your dumbbells and getting in position to begin your shoulder presses.  After the first few reps, you quickly fell into a rhythm that was both comfortable yet challenging, feeling that delicious burn in your shoulder muscles.  At the halfway mark through the minute, your eyes had remained glued to the same girl in front of you.  You finally felt a sense of peace.  One look at Jungkook couldn’t hurt, right?

Wrong.  

Against your better judgement, you decided to shift your eyes to the front of the room and take a good luck at a combination of both Jungkook’s back and the reflection of the front of his body through the mirror before him.  

The string of events that occurred immediately after that moment was a blur.  As Jungkook pressed his set of dumbbells above his head, his baggy shirt slid up his body, exposing his sweaty, toned abs that looked as though they were sculpted by the gods themselves.  What was likely an audible gasp escaped from your lips as your eyes remained frozen on the sight in front of you.  It was unclear if it was your mesmerized state, your sweaty hands, or a combination of both, but seconds later, the dumbbell in your right hand slipped out of your grasp and quickly went crashing downward.

“Oh my... Fuck!” 

There was a moment of dissociation before you realized that the loud cry had, in fact, come out of your mouth, and that the dumbbell that had glided out of your hand had, in fact, come crashing down onto the big toe of your right foot.  Your head was spinning as you began to process the throbbing feeling radiating throughout your entire foot, as well as the weight of what had just occurred.  Within moments, the eyes of all of the participants were on you, as well as the eyes of the one person whose attention you really did not want in such an embarrassing moment.  No, no, no.

“Oh my god, are you okay?” Jungkook’s panicked voice echoed throughout the room as he spoke into his headset and he quickly dropped his weights on the ground.  “Um, okay, the rest of you can keep going!  I’m going to get someone else to come in within a few minutes so I can help her.”  Within moments, he was shoving his way through the room until he was right in front of you and pulling the microphone away from his mouth so the rest of the class wouldn’t hear your interaction.  “Are you alright?  Oh my god, you shouldn’t be putting pressure on it.  Let’s get you out of here and get some ice.”

You genuinely thought you were going to pass out.  It had little to do with your toe, and a whole lot to do with Jungkook’s sudden closeness.  His concerned face was just inches away from yours as his eyes scanned yours for any sort of explanation for what had just unfolded.  His presence was intoxicating.  You could smell the combination of his cologne and sweat, and you had yet to tear the image of his gleaming six-pack out of your mind.  Oh my god.  That had really just happened.  The first impression you made on Jungkook, AKA hot coffee shop boy, was you making an absolute fool out of yourself and possibly breaking your toe while doing a simple exercise.  You were never going to live this one down.  You were going to throw up.

When you hadn’t responded to Jungkook within a few seconds, he took it upon himself to drape an arm over your shoulders and pull your body against his side.  “Here, lean against me so you’re not putting weight on it.  I’m going to bring you to the first-aid room and get you some ice…  At the very least.”

It was quite possible that your brain had chosen it was better to black out the memory as Jungkook began to pull you out of the room, yelling to one of the workers at the front desk to quickly find someone else to take over the class.  Your legs felt like jelly as they moved beside his, only functioning out of muscle memory rather than true volition.  Here you were, body pressed against that of the guy you had admired from afar for over a year.  In any other circumstance, this would have been like a dream come true.  Instead, you wished the ground would swallow you up and put you out of your misery.

It wasn’t long until you were pulled into what was likely the first-aid room and instructed to sit on top of the counter by a very stressed Jungkook.  The more you thought about it, the more horrible you felt.  Not only was this the Jeon Jungkook of your fantasies, but it was also the Jeon Jungkook who had informed the class before it had started that this was the first class he had ever led.  You had quite literally ruined his first class, and had set an appalling example of what he would expect going forward.  If your toe hadn’t been throbbing, you would have seriously considered running right out the door.

“Okay, if you don’t mind, just take off your shoe and sock while I try to find an ice pack,” Jungkook commanded as he nervously raked a hand through his already-messy hair, frantically rifling through the cabinets.  Your eyes watched his back as you followed his instructions, guilt filling your entire body.  He seemed stressed.  Nervous, even.  It made sense, if you thought about it.  Your foolish accident had just become his responsibility, and he was a new employee.  You would be nervous too.

“Found one,” he breathed out, hitting it against the counter a couple of times to activate the coldness.  As he turned around to face you, his eyes wandered down to your exposed toe.  “Oh no, that looks pretty swollen.  Does it hurt really badly?  Are you okay?”

“It doesn’t feel great, but I’m okay.”  No, no you were not okay, but you needed this to be over.  Meeting his eyes, you realized those were the first words you had spoken to him since this whole debacle had unraveled.  He probably thought you were crazy.  Taking the ice pack from him, you chewed on your lower lip.  “I’m… I’m really sorry.”

Jungkook furrowed his brow as he looked up from your foot to meet your gaze, tilting his head to the side.  “Huh?  You have no reason to be sorry.  Accidents happen.  I get it… I’m pretty clumsy too sometimes and have hurt myself much worse than this for much stupider reasons.  Really, don’t worry.”  He was rambling, and if you hadn’t been so distraught, you would have perhaps realized just how nervous he really seemed.  Offering you a shy smile, his eyes averted away from yours as his cheeks flushed a shade of bright red.  Redder than they should have been from just working out.

Looking down at your foot, you placed the ice pack on top of it and shook your head.  It was difficult to form words with him so close, but you knew you had to if you wanted to redeem yourself at all.  You already had created a mental plan to avoid him at all costs and hide from him whenever that wasn’t possible, but this was the least you could do.  “No, I’m really sorry.  You said at the beginning that this was your first class and I… I kind of ruined it for you.  I’m sure you were really excited about it.”

Jungkook remained occupied with your toe as he moved the ice pack to the side, feeling around the bones and moving it gently in various directions to see how bad the pain was.  “I don’t think it’s broken.  Definitely pretty swollen, but not broken.  However, I’m clearly not a doctor so you might want to get a second opinion.”  Standing up straight, he offered you a warm smile.  “But seriously, don’t worry about it.  There’s always going to be more classes for me to teach and I wasn’t just going to let you suffer there.  I’m happy to help.”

God, not only was he gorgeous, but he was also this friendly?  It was possible that he was just being nice to keep you calm and keep his job, but regardless, he just seemed so perfect.  So perfect that you feared being so close to him, for your endless flaws felt as if though they were being magnified.  Clearing your throat, you forced yourself to return the smile.  “Thanks.  I really appreciate it, but I’ll be fine.”  You needed to escape.  You needed to get out of there so you could cry to your friends about just how mortified you were and how you now really never stood a chance with hot coffee shop boy.  “I should probably get going.  Don’t want to hold you up any longer.”

“You’re not holding me up at all, I promise,” Jungkook responded a bit too quickly, but yet again, you were too focused on your own embarrassment to notice.  Crossing his arms over his chest, the tall man tilted his head to the side.  “How are you going to get back to your dorm?  Do you have a ride?  You definitely shouldn’t be walking on your toe.”

Fuck.  He had a good point.  Regardless of the pain flowing through your foot, you were willing to walk on it just to escape this situation.  However, you knew you couldn’t tell him that.  “I, uh, one of my roommates has a car and I was going to call her to pick me up.”

“I have my car here.  I could drive you.”

Wait, what?  Had he really just offered you a ride?  If you had met his gaze, you would’ve seen that he looked just as surprised that such an offer had slipped out of his lips so casually.  Instead, you stared down at your lap as you attempted to process his suggestion.  If the situation had been even slightly less humiliating, a car ride with the Jeon Jungkook would have sounded like one of your fantasies come to life.  However, at the current moment all you could imagine was the intense awkward silence that would likely fill the car as you contemplated how to successfully fling yourself out of the window.  That would not do right now.  You were not in the right headspace to muster up any coherent form of small talk.  The offer was likely just extended out of pity anyway.  He was a good guy and deemed that that would be the righteous thing to do.  No need to burden him and actually make him follow through with it.

“No, no.  I wouldn’t make you do that.  I’m going to text my friend right now,” you assured him, weakly smiling as you moved the ice pack to the side to retrieve your removed sock and shoe.  “You have a workout to finish anyway.

“It wouldn’t be any trouble,” Jungkook insisted, watching intently as you carefully put your sneaker back on and tied it up at lightning speed.  When he realized you had no plans of speaking again, a defeated sigh pressed through his lips.  Why was he so set on helping you?  “Okay, okay.  As long as your friend is coming soon, that’ll work.  I can walk you to the lobby though.”

Realizing he wasn’t going to let you just run out of the room alone, you forced yourself to nod your head in agreement.  You were being dramatic.  You could handle one more minute in his presence before you imploded.  “Sure, thanks.”  The response came off a bit snappier than you had intended, but did that really matter at this point?  You weren’t going to be able to show your face around him ever again to begin with.

Once you pushed yourself off of the counter, Jungkook encouraged you to lean most of your weight against him as he led you out the door.  As you were already on the first floor of the facility, the walk to the lobby luckily didn’t take too long.  Upon arrival, you plopped down in one of the plush chairs by the door, fishing your phone out of the pocket of your hoodie and pretending to draft a text.  In all honesty, the moment Jungkook disappeared, you intended to wobble your way back to your dorm by twisting your foot to the side to avoid putting pressure on the big toe.  You were well aware that you were going to look ridiculous, but nothing could be more mortifying than what you had already experienced.

Jungkook stood over your chair, rubbing the back of his neck as he rocked from side to side on his feet.  Something about him just exuded nervous energy, and it was making you feel even more on edge.  “You’re sure your friend is able to come soon, right?”

Nodding your head in response, you lifted your hand into a thumbs-up that you regretted the second your hand formed it.  God, you might as well have hit him with some finger guns.  Could you be any cringier?  “Yes, don’t worry.  She’s on her way.  Really, thank you though.”

Shoving his hands into the pockets of his athletic shorts, Jungkook’s eyes scanned your face one last time.  It was almost as if he was searching for any hint of a lie, but if he had been, he wasn’t able to find it.  “Okay, okay… If you insist.  I’m sorry this had to happen to you.  I hope it heals quickly.”  His lips stretched into that signature bunny smile you had witnessed so many times while seeing him with his friends in public, but it almost looked a little more… Bashful.  “I’ll see you around, okay?”

No, no he would not.  You weren’t even sure that he had recognized you from being at the same coffee shop so often, but regardless, you had already planned to avoid the location at all costs.  You couldn’t stand the thought of him possibly approaching you out of pity to check and see if you were okay.

Instead of expressing any of these concerns, you twisted your lips into a small smile and nodded your head at him.  “Mhmm.  See you around.”

After lifting his hand in a wave, Jungkook smiled at you once more before turning on his heel and slowly starting to make his way back toward the main area of the gym.  You watched as he began to disappear, as you planned on rushing out the door the moment he was out of sight.  Right before he rounded the corner, his body twisted to face you once more.  If you hadn’t been so fixated on your own embarrassment, maybe you would’ve noticed the way his cheeks flushed a deep shade of red before he nervously laughed to himself and rounded the corner quickly so he was out of your line of vision.

The moment he disappeared, you gathered your belongings and rose to your feet a bit too quickly, immediately noticing how you forgot to avoid putting pressure on your toe.  Fighting through the pain and fighting to maintain any sense of pride you had left, you began your walk-- or rather, wobble-- home.

God, you needed some wine.

The rest of the week passed by without much trouble, but maybe that was due to your advanced avoiding skills.  Due to having three midterms throughout the week, most of your time was spent holed up alone studying.  While you usually would do most of your studying in your favorite quiet coffee shop, you made it a point to steer clear of it at all costs.  You were well aware that Jungkook also spent a lot of his time in that specific location, and you weren’t ready to show your face to him if it could be prevented.  He had been right; your toe wasn’t broken, but instead just badly bruised.  While your toe may have been fine, your ego certainly wasn’t.  After stumbling home after the incident on that Monday evening, your roommates had a laughing fest at your expense over a few too many bottles of wine.  They attempted to convince you that what had happened really wasn’t that embarrassing, that Jungkook seemed to be really sweet about it, and that such a chaotic event would be ‘the most epic story to tell people about the start of your relationship at your wedding.’  Although you indulged in their pipe dreams for the time being, you were going to stick to your plan: avoid Jungkook at all times possible until enough time had passed that he likely forgot about your humiliating catastrophe.

After a week of cramming for exams and perfecting your evading abilities, you were beyond ready to take a night to unwind and destress. That was precisely why you found yourself out at one of popular college bars by your campus with your friend Jennie on Friday night.  The pair of you weren’t exactly the type to go out and let loose very often as you tried your best to prioritize your studies, but once you allowed yourself to get dressed up and had a few vodka-crans running through your veins, you understood why a lot of college students went out so often and remembered why you used to so much during your freshman year.  The sensation of being tipsy and laughing with your friends was truly therapeutic and a much-needed antidote to counteract the toxic environment of never-ending stress.

Having been at the bar for over an hour, it started to get quite crowded.  As you twirled your straw around in your half-empty drink, you watched as Jennie began to look around at all of the new faces in the bar before freezing and pursing her lips. “Okay, not to make you freak out or anything… But hot coffee shop boy AKA sexy fitness instructor boy AKA Jeon Jungkook is here,” she whisper-yelled at you as she leaned toward your ear.  “He seems drunk… Like really drunk.”

Blinking rapidly as you tried to process this new information, you pulled back from her and began to shake your head.  This certainly was not what you needed to hear right now, but the alcohol in your system calmed you down at least a little bit so you didn’t immediately book it out of the place.  “So what you’re telling me is that I need to hide in the bathroom for the rest of the night?”  Despite your fears, you really wanted to get a glance of him.  Although the bar was quite large, you told yourself it would be too risky.  If experience had taught you anything, it was that even one glance at him could be fatal for you.

“Stop being ridiculous,” Jennie scoffed, shoving your shoulder before taking a long sip of her drink.  Her gaze remained set on the area of the crowded bar that you refused to look toward.  “He’s…” She paused for a moment before her eyes widened.  “Okay, I might be a little drunk, but I’m almost positive he keeps looking over here.”

“Maybe because you’re staring at him and drawing attention to us,” you scolded, narrowing your eyes at her.  “Please stop before I jump over the actual bar and hide behind it.”

Jennie laughed at your dramatic suggestion, eyeing your nervous persona up and down.  “Relax, relax.”  She looked over your shoulder yet again.  “Oh, wait.  He’s on the move now so I don’t think you have to worry.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, you took an extra long sip of your drink.  “Thank god.  I don’t need to relive my earlier trauma on a night out.”

“Wait, fuck.  I think--”

“Ah, is that toe girl?!”

Your whole body froze as you heard the close proximity of a very familiar male voice behind you.  You wanted to believe that your initial guess of what was occurring wasn’t true, but the mixture of shock and amusement on Jennie’s face as she looked over your shoulder at the sight behind you confirmed that your worst nightmare was, in fact, true.

Sucking in a deep breath and downing the rest of your drink before placing it down on the bar, you gave yourself a mental pep talk before slowly turning on your heel to face the source of the voice.  If there hadn’t been a decent amount of alcohol in your system, you were quite certain that you would’ve passed out right then and there.

There before you stood Jungkook with a cheeky grin spread across his lips and arms crossed over his chest as he stared down at, unfortunately, you.  He was sporting a pair of tight, ripped black jeans and a matching black t-shirt.  The clasping of a beer bottle in one hand and the way his arms were folded made his bicep muscles protrude in a manner that had you ready to start drooling.  Jennie had been right; his face was glowing a bright shade of red, likely due to a great deal of alcohol consumption.

Clearing your throat, you forced your lips into a shy smile as you folded your hands together in front of you.  You wished you hadn’t finished your drink so you had something more natural to do with your hands.  It felt as if though your heart was going to explode through your chest, but he was here now and there was no escaping.  “God, is that really what I’m known as now?”

“I mean, kind of.”  Jungkook let out a loud laugh, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he did so.  How was he so fucking gorgeous?  And why the fuck was this beautiful man going out of his way to talk to you on a night out?  “But I won’t call you that anymore.  It’s Y/N, right?”

Your brow furrowed as your mouth opened in surprise.  Wait, what?  Jungkook knew your name?  It felt like your mind was moving at a million miles a minute trying to process just how that could be possible.

A hand reached out from behind you to squeeze your shoulder, Jennie stepping forward and revealing herself after you had forgotten about her existence for a minute.  Her lips were twisted upward into a mischievous smile.  “I see a couple of my friends from one of my classes.  Gonna go say hi to them.  I’ll meet up with you later.”  After not-so-discreetly wiggling her eyebrows at you, she mouthed what appeared to be “good luck” before sauntering off.

“Looks like you’re stuck with me now.”  Jungkook chuckled quietly as he watched Jennie walk away before setting his eyes back on you and smiling warmly.  You were convinced that his smile was going to be the death of you.  “Hopefully you won’t try to run off as quickly as you did the other day.”

“I did not run off!” you scoffed immediately, crossing your own arms over your chest as you feigned offense.  Once again, thank god for alcohol, for you were well aware that this conversation would not be happening without it.  He was right, but you hadn’t realized he had noticed your urgency in escaping that day.  ‘I… I wasn’t even aware that you knew my name.”

“Suuure you didn’t.  You couldn’t get away from me fast enough,” Jungkook teased, leaning forward a bit to nudge his shoulder against yours.  The area of skin he touched immediately felt like it was on fire, as did your cheeks.  “But of course I know your name.  We had Earth Science together last year and you’re always studying at the same coffee shop by North campus that I do.  You’re kind of hard to miss.”

You?  Hard to miss?  Not to mention, the Earth Science class was a lecture with over one hundred students in it, and the professor hardly ever took any form of attendance.  Sure you could say the same thing about you knowing his name, but that was only because you had gone out of your way to find out who he was after becoming captivated by him upon seeing him at the coffee shop.  This didn’t make any sense.  Were you dreaming?  Hallucinating?

Raising an eyebrow at him, you decided to keep your response simple.  “You’ve never talked to me, though…”

“I know, I know.”  Jungkook unfolded his arms and clasped both of his hands around his beer bottle, staring down at his fingers as he tapped them against the glass.  Maybe it was the dim lighting in the bar, but you could’ve sworn his cheeks darkened as he avoided your eyes.  The aroma of cologne and beer coming off of him at the close proximity had you feeling light-headed.  “I’ve always wanted to.  Planned to talk to you at the coffee shop this week, but you were nowhere to be seen.  You just… I… You’re really pretty and you’re always smiling and I kind of freaked out when I saw you taking that class on Monday.  I’m pretty shy and not exactly the most confident person so I have no idea why I’m saying this right now… Definitely all of the beer I’ve drank… But I probably shouldn’t be overstepping or saying any of this anyway since I’m starting to realize that you’ve probably been avoiding me or think I’m weird or something.  Sorry for offering to drive you home the other day… I realized after that that probably seemed creepy coming from a total stranger.”  He looked to the side as he began to nervously tap his foot against the floor.  Something that sounded like a nervous laugh pressed through his lips.  “Fuck.  This is why I barely ever drink.”

Your body remained frozen as you stared at the side of his face, fully aware of the fact that your jaw had dropped and you were visibly gaping at him.  No.  There was absolutely no way that those words came out of his mouth and he meant them.  It had to be the excessive amount of alcohol in his system, right?  Or maybe he was just sweet talking you to try to get laid.  That had to be it, right?  You weren’t sure if you were going to throw up, pass out, or do both at the same time.  The vodka taking over your own system was preventing you from being able to form any sort of coherent thought.  Still, he deserved a response.

“What?  I don’t think you’re weird at all,” you reassured, chewing on your lower lip as you tried to read the expression on his face.  God, you really could have come up with something better than that.

Jungkook’s doe eyes at last met yours again, a disbelieving look in his eyes.  “Then why’d you lie and say your friend was picking you up and end up walking home on a possibly broken toe instead of letting me drive you home?”

Oh my god, he had seen you do that?  You were certain he was completely out of sight when you had dragged yourself out of the building.  To be fair, you hadn’t taken into account the fact that the place was covered with windows that would have given anyone access to see outside the front of the building, but why would he have been looking anyway?  Just as you thought that day couldn’t have gotten any more embarrassing, it did.  

The mix of alcohol in your system and your heart pounding in your chest was quickly becoming too much to handle and making you lose control over your faculties.  Maybe that was why you blurted out, “I-I don't know… You make me nervous.”

“You make me nervous too!”

Before you could even begin to comprehend the weight of his words, another male figure popped up beside Jungkook and draped an arm over his shoulders.  His bright pink hair made him easily identifiable.  It was iced chai, also known as Park Jimin.  If Jennie had noticed he was there, she certainly would have been freaking out.

“There you are!  I’ve been looking for you.  You just disappeared on me,” Jimin informed Jungkook, his gaze quickly moving to set on your distraught form.  If you hadn’t been so out of sorts, perhaps you would’ve noticed the look of recognition in his eyes as they set on you.  “I’m sorry, is he bothering you?  He never usually goes out with us and gets drunk like this, so I’m sorry if he’s a little chaotic.”

Shaking your head at Jimin, you offered him a comforting smiling.  You could feel Jungkook’s concerned eyes burning a hole into the side of your face.  “No, no.  He’s not bothering me at all, don’t worry.”

“Oh, thank god.  I was worried he might do something stupid.”  Jimin let out a sigh of relief, looking between the pair of you.  Could that ‘something stupid’ be what had just occurred?  At last, he gave Jungkook a firm pat on the shoulder.  “We have to get going right now.  Hoseok thought it’d be a good idea to down five tequila shots in a row after all of the beer we drank back at the dorm.  He has his head down on the bar with his eyes closed and I want to get him out of here before he starts puking everywhere.  Afraid you might end up in the same state if you keep drinking at this pace too, dude.”

“I’m fiiine,” Jungkook snapped back at him, rolling his eyes as he shrugged Jimin’s arm off of his shoulder.  He peered at you for a quick second before his eyes averted downward, the nerves that had been there before refusing to go away.  After taking a few moments to ponder what his friend had just told him, he let out a defeated sigh.  “Fine.  We can go.  Only because it’s Hoseok though.”

“I’ve already requested the Uber so we should head outside now,” Jimin urged, glancing over toward where Hoseok likely was sitting at the bar.

“Um.” Jungkook at last forced himself to look at you, his lips curving upward into the slightest smile.  It seemed forced though, and you knew it was because you didn’t have the opportunity to elaborate on and finish the conversation you were having before Jimin butted in.  You also felt as if though you were about to self-implode and needed some time to comprehend what had just unfolded.  “Sorry.  I have to get going, I guess.  I’ll see you around though, okay?”

Nodding your head in agreement, you allowed yourself to return a reassuring smile.  “Okay.  I’ll see you around.”  This time, it was possible that you meant it.

After he gave you one last anxious look, he turned on his heel and followed Jimin’s lead, disappearing out of your sight.

Where the fuck was Jennie?

After scoping out Jennie in the corner of the bar, you had convinced her that it was absolutely necessary to immediately take an Uber home to debrief on what had occurred.  Within half an hour, you had managed to arrive back safely to your dorm and had replaced your uncomfortable clothes with pajamas and your vodka crans with a bottle of wine.  Although your mind felt quite foggy from trying to piece together everything that Jungkook had said, you were able to provide Jennie with at least the majority of the details.

“Wait, hold on.  Let me think about this.”  Jennie threw herself back against your bed, staring up at the ceiling after her head hit the pillows.  “So basically what you’re telling me is that you are to Jungkook what Jungkook is to you?  Like he pretty much admitted to admiring you from afar and being too afraid to talk to you all of this time?” she questioned, eyes wide in amazement.  “God damn, why can’t shit like this happen to me?  This is like some fairytale shit.  You’re so fucking lucky.”

Taking a big swig directly out of the bottle of cheap rosé, you let out an exasperated sigh.  “I don’t know.  It seems too good to be true.  Like, what if he was just really drunk and didn’t know what he was saying?  You even said he seemed really drunk.  Or like, what if he was just being nice because he was trying to get laid?”

“Y/N, don’t be ridiculous.  I know this all seems so unreal because we never thought something like this was possible, but the things he said to you were way too specific to just be a fluke.” Jennie sat up straight again and pulled the bottle of wine out of your hands, taking a sip herself.  “Besides, I was watching you guys from across the bar.  He looked absolutely smitten with you and ridiculously nervous, drunk or not.”

“Fuck, I’m so much better at just daydreaming about guys than actually knowing how to talk to them and attempting to form actual relationships,” you groaned out, closing your eyes and resting your head on Jennie’s shoulder.  “What am I supposed to do?”

“I hate to break it to you since I know this is very out of character for you, but you’re going to have to make the next move.  He laid his cards on the table, and now the ball is in your court.”  Jennie allowed her head to fall on top of yours and passed the bottle of wine back to you.  “Based on what you explained to me, you didn’t really provide him with a whole lot of reassurance that the feeling was mutual and he’s probably feeling super embarrassed right now… Like, definitely more embarrassed than you felt after the whole gym incident.  You have to let him know that you’re interested in him too.”

Letting out a huff, you tapped your fingers against the glass of the bottle of wine.  Jennie did have a valid point, as much as you hated to admit it.  Regardless of Jungkook’s intentions and just how drunk he may have been, he had seemed incredibly flustered after rambling on and exposing what he had to you.  As much as there was still a part of you that was convinced that he hadn’t meant what he said, there was a bigger part of you that was excited about what this could possibly lead to if you followed through with it.  You would have to throw away your nerves and muster up the tiny bit of confidence you had if this was ever going to happen.

“Okay, so what’s the game plan?”

The plan you and Jennie had concocted ended up being a lot more difficult to follow through with than you had initially imagined.  The original scheme involved you approaching him at the coffee shop you both always studied at, but despite the numerous occasions you dropped by and spent hours studying there over the next week, he was nowhere to be found.  It was almost as if he had adopted the same avoiding technique you had the week prior after being embarrassed at what unfolded at the gym.  You weren’t exactly surprised, but it was making this whole thing a lot more complicated for you.  Furthermore, the longer it dragged out, the more anxious you got that maybe this was all a bad idea and that you had misunderstood what he said at the bar.

After a week with no luck, Jennie had convinced you that maybe it would be a better idea to try to track him down at the gym.  Despite going almost every day and keeping your eyes peeled for him, he was nowhere to be seen.  It wasn’t until a few days later that it dawned on you that the group fitness class schedule was posted online, and that it was possible that he now had some classes that were officially assigned to him.  Sure enough, upon checking the recreation website, you quickly discovered that he did have a couple classes that he was set to teach.  While this information certainly was helpful, it was quite unfortunate that every class he led happened to be at the ass-crack of dawn.  God, were you really interested in the type of guy who gets up extra early to work out?  Apparently so.

So that was precisely how you found yourself rolling up to the gym at 6:45am on a Tuesday morning, eyes heavy with exhaustion as you searched for the room the class was being held in.  Your heart was pounding and your palm was sweaty against your water bottle, but you were too dedicated to turn around at this point.  You had spent over a week trying to track him down, and you at last had.

When you entered the room, Jungkook had not arrived yet.  There were already quite a few girls in the room setting up their equipment, so you followed suit.  As most participants were often too intimidated to take the spots up front and center in front of where the instructor stood, you took it upon yourself to do the honors.  Of course you knew this would make Jungkook want to run the other way, but the thrill of making him as nervous as you were that last time was too exciting to turn down.

The door of the room opened and closed once more, and you didn’t even have to look up to feel his presence.  Here we go.  “Hi, everyone!  Welcome to class.  My name is Jungkook and I’ll be your instructor toda--” His voice cut off at the end of his statement, and when you finally allowed your eyes to set on him, he was already looking at you with wide eyes and tinted cheeks.  Within a millisecond, his eyes found the ground and he apprehensively took his spot directly in front of you.  The poor guy didn’t have a choice.  “U-Um, if you guys have any questions before we get started, please don’t hesitate to wave me over!”  You had a very strong feeling he was praying you wouldn’t wave him over.

The plan you had created before arriving was to wait until after class was over to ask him if he could talk for a few minutes.  You knew it wouldn’t be fair to put him on the spot before class, and you didn’t exactly feel comfortable confessing your feelings for him in front of twenty other girls who were probably drooling over him as well either.  

You managed to follow through with the plan, not communicating with Jungkook at all before and throughout the class except for a few soft smiles and some attempted eye contact.  The eye contact thing didn’t go over so well though, for whenever you did manage to get Jungkook to lock eyes with you, he’d immediately turn bright red and force himself to look everywhere but at you.  His nervous stammering through the microphone when giving instructions was almost too cute to handle.

When the class finally did come to an end and you were a sweaty mess, you sucked in a deep breath as you watched the rest of the participants start to put away their equipment.  Setting your eyes on Jungkook, you smiled slightly.  “Hey, can we talk?”

Jungkook looked up from his phone, eyes wide and clearly panicked.  He scanned your face carefully, almost as if he was trying to guess what your intentions were.  At last, he swallowed the lump in his throat and shoved his phone into his pocket.  “U-Um, sure, I guess.  Let’s just wait until everyone clears out.”

Nodding in agreement, you sat back and watched as the rest of the participants put their materials back in the closet and slowly began to file out of the room.  With each person that left, you could sense Jungkook getting more and more anxious.  He seemed to be mindlessly checking things around the room, his eyes darting back and forth between the door and any part of you that wasn’t your eyes.  By the time the last girl exited, your heart was pounding in your chest as well.

Clearing your throat, you watched as Jungkook walked to the front of the room to shut the door, seeming to take as long as humanly possible to pull it closed.  Just as you were about to speak the pitch you had practiced in your head and to Jennie numerous times over the past week, he opened his mouth.

“Look, I’m not sure exactly what’s going on here and I know that I might have been a bit overbearing when I was drunk last week, but if you’re just here to make me nervous and make fun of me and my awkward self for having a crush on you, you can just leave.”  He at last whipped around to face you, a sad expression taking over his features as he began to pace back and forth, running a hand through his sweaty hair.  He resembled something like a wounded puppy, and the longer you stared at him, the more you noticed just how exhausted and agitated he looked.

That definitely was not what you had expected and you felt awful that he had spent over a week thinking that you were probably teasing him with your friends for what he had said to you at the bar.  Furrowing your brow, you pushed yourself up to your feet and crossed your arms over your chest.  The planned speech was not going to do in these circumstances.  You would have to cut straight to point.

“I dropped that weight on my foot because I’ve been ridiculously attracted to you for over a year and got embarrassingly flustered at the sight of your shirt riding up during class.”

Jungkook stopped dead in his tracks, clasping both of his hands behind his head as he at last allowed himself to look at you.  His eyes were wide in shock, his head tilted just slightly to the left.  “Wait, what?”

“I didn’t want you to drive me home because I was already so embarrassed and was so nervous that I would’ve only embarrassed myself more trying to talk to you without making a complete fool out of myself.”

As you spoke again, Jungkook hesitantly took a couple of steps in your direction.  It seemed as if though his expression was slowly softening, and what almost appeared to be a small smile was fighting to form on the corners of his lips.  “I asked you to borrow a pen that one time in Earth Science with plans to work up the nerve to talk to you at the end of class when I had to give it back, but instead I just kept it and ran out of the room because I got too nervous.”

Unable to hide your own smile now, you allowed yourself to take a step toward him.  The closer you got to each other, the more the tension in the room built.  “I lied and said that I had an extra pen that day, but really I gave you my only one and just didn’t take notes that whole class.”

At last, that familiar bunny smile stretched across Jungkook’s whole face, his chest bubbling in laughter as he threw his head back.  “I once tried to ‘accidentally’ drop a book near you at the coffee shop in hopes that you’d pick it up and talk to me, but instead I just dropped it and tripped over it.”  Another step forward.

Giggling quietly, you chewed on your lower lip as you advanced forward.  “My friends and I have collectively referred to you by the code name ‘hot coffee shop boy’ ever since the first time I saw you there.  Also, ‘sexy gym instructor boy’ since last week.”

Jungkook’s eyes were boring into yours at this point, his body inching forward just slightly as his toes finally bumped against yours.  The tension-- not just from what was happening at the moment, but also from a year of pining after each other-- was so close to bubbling over.  “My friends and I know you as ‘hot coffee shop girl.’  Also, ‘toe girl’ since last week.”  The warm smile on his lips had twisted into a sort of mischievous smirk.

Leaning your head forward the slightest bit, your breath hitched in your throat as you could feel the warmth of his breath against your lips.  “If I haven’t made it clear yet, I’m extremely into you.”

Jungkook’s eyes-- which had darkened quite a bit over the last minute-- flickered down to your lips, his own head leaning forward an inch.  With this movement, the tip of his nose brushed against yours.  “And if I haven’t made it obvious yet, I’m extremely into you too.”

Before you could utter another word, Jungkook closed the minimal space remaining between the two of you by crashing his plump lips into yours.  His hands moved up to cup your cheeks, one moving along the back of your head to tangle into your hair.  Your own hands gripped to the front of his shirt as you stumbled back a bit due to the impact, your back bumping against the mirror in the front of the room.  The tension that had previously been building had popped the moment his lips met yours, but as his fingers tugged on your hair and his tongue found its way between your lips, you felt it resurfacing, this time between your legs.  You felt a bit flustered getting turned on this quickly by him, but when you put it into perspective, you had been waiting for this moment to unravel for over a year.  As your hands slid up the front of his shirt to rest on his defined core, you were certain you could feel his length getting hard against your thigh.

Pulling away after a minute, Jungkook rested his forehead against yours and stared deeply into your eyes as he breathed heavily.  There was a playful smirk on his lips as he dropped the hand from your face and rested it on your hip.  It was nice to see that he had finally let his guard down.  “So, I have to ask.  Are you more for sex first or a fancy date first?  I’m happily offering both, but we’re both kind of coming off a bit impatient here.”

Biting your tongue to hold in your laughter, you couldn’t ignore the way that the heat in the pit of your stomach was quickly sinking down lower between your legs.  “You know, if you hadn’t been so difficult to track down this past week, I may have taken you up on that fancy date first.”  You ghosted your fingers over his stomach, eliciting a surprised jolt out of him.  “But after you made me wait so long, I think you just might have to fuck me first.”

Jungkook’s eyes widened in surprise at your lewd words before he smirked and pressed his body against yours a bit harder, leaning forward to kiss a trail of wet kisses down your jawline.  “I’m happy to be at your service, but we’re kind of out in the open here.  I could drive us back to my room, that is if you’ll actually get in the car with me this time.”

Rolling your eyes at his teasing comment, you shoved at his chest.  Regardless, you couldn’t deny the fact that you were feeling incredibly impatient and weren’t sure you would be able to handle the wait while he transported you across campus.  Chewing on your lower lip, your eyes scanned the room.  “Equipment closet.  It’s spacious enough, it locks, and there’s no windows.”

“Jesus Christ,” Jungkook muttered under his breath, eyes searching your face for any hint of a lie.  When he didn’t find any, he smirked and pulled back, grabbing your hand in his.  “You know, I had planned on doing a lot of things today, but fucking in an equipment closet at the ripe hour of eight in the morning certainly wasn’t one of them.”

“Get used to it, hot coffee shop boy.”  Smirking to yourself, you allowed him to drag you towards the closet, pressing your back against the door after he closed and locked it behind you.  “Are you complaining?”

Rapidly shaking his head, Jungkook leaned forward and peppered kisses along your neck and collarbone, only pulling back to tug your shirt and sports bra over your head.  “No, no.  Just concerned you’re going to be the death of me before I even get started with you.”  Taking a step back, he pulled his own shirt over his head before allowing his eyes to rake up and down your body.  A combination of lust and admiration filled his eyes as he stepped toward you again.  “God, you really are so beautiful.”

Despite the fact that you had both been completely open with each other and the current situation being far from romantic, you felt your cheeks heating up at his compliment.  Shaking your head, you poked him in the stomach.  “Speak for yourself.  That’s the reason why I almost broke my toe.”

Throwing back his head in laughter, Jungkook stepped forward and wrapped his arms around your waist, lifting your body up and placing you down on top of a few stacked crates full of equipment.  “Mmm, I can make it up to you right now.”

Leaning forward, you pressed a few kisses along the corners of his lips and his jaw.  “And how are you going to do that?”

“Shhh, patience.”  Jungkook grinned as he bent down, slowly kissing a trail down your neck and collarbones.  When he reached your breasts, he slowed down his pace, carefully taking one of your nipples between his lips and softly sucking at the skin.  Once he established a rhythm that he was satisfied with, he lifted a hand and latched it around your other breast, kneading the skin between his fingers.

Letting out a soft moan, you threw your head back in pleasure and closed your eyes.  Your hands fastened around his neck, gently tugging at the hair on the back of his head.  The longer his lips and hands worked at your breasts, the more the heat between your legs throbbed.  “How am I supposed to be patient when I’ve waited so long for this?”

Jungkook’s eyes flickered up to meet yours, his lips making a popping noise as he removed them from your breast.  “You make a fair point.”  Kissing down your stomach, he urged you to lift your hips as he tugged your leggings and panties down your legs and allowed them to fall into a pile on the floor.  Kneeling down on the floor, his lips trailed their way up the inside of your thigh.  “Mmm, so wet already and I’ve barely even touched you.”

Whimpering softly at the feeling of his lips so close to where you needed them, you bucked your hips upward in an attempt to feel any sort of friction.  “P-Please.”

Chuckling quietly, Jungkook’s dark eyes remained on yours as he ghosted his lips over your dripping pussy.  The shy, insecure boy that he claimed to be earlier was nowhere to be found.  Instead, he was now indulging in the power he held over you.  “Who made you this wet?  Tell me.”

“You, J-Jungkook.  You did,” you whined out, attempting to push down on the back of his head.

Jungkook flashed you a satisfied smirk, nodding his head.  “That’s all I needed to hear, babe.”  Without another word, he gripped his hands around your thighs roughly and lifted your legs to drape over his shoulders.  Leaning forward, he closed the remaining space and attached his lips to your pussy.  Rather than making you wait any longer to have the tension relieved, he immediately went to work on your throbbing clit, gently sucking at the sensitive bundle of nerves.  Once he was pleased by the moans leaving your lips and the clenching of your thighs, he pulled his lips off and replaced it with his tongue.  Expertly circling his tongue on your clit, he reached one hand down and, without warning, began to pump one of his fingers in and out of your pussy.

“F-Fuck, oh my god, Jungkook,” you moaned out loudly, pulling harshly at his hair with one hand and reaching the other up to pinch at one of your nipples.  “R-Right there.”

“Mmm, need to get you stretched out and ready for my cock,” he murmured against your heat, quickly inserting another finger and curving them at the perfect angle to hit your g-spot with every pulse.  After circling your clit with his tongue a few more times, he encircled the bud with his lips yet again, this time humming against it to add an extra feeling of friction.

The sensation of his tongue and fingers working on your pussy and the sight of his glistening face was quickly becoming too much to handle.  With every movement, the bundle of nerves in your core was getting closer and closer to snapping and sending you into that blissful state you so longed for.  Biting down on your lower lip roughly, you closed your eyes tightly.  “I-I’m close.”

“Open your eyes.  I want you looking at me while you cum all over my tongue,” he rasped out after pulling back slightly, only leaning back down once you obeyed his command.  After a moment, he wet two of his fingers on his tongue before quickly beginning to circle them on your clit, moving his tongue in and out of your cunt at the same speed.

“F-Fuck, Jungkook!” you yelled out, forcing your eyes to remain open and fixed on his as you were quickly sent over the edge and into a state of ecstasy.  Your walls spasmed around his tongue as your vision became blurry and filled with stars.  The feeling was only prolonged as Jungkook kept moving his tongue until you couldn’t take it anymore and reached forward to push his head back slightly, left completely breathless as you stared at him.

Getting off his knees and onto his feet, Jungkook stared down at you in awe, leaning forward to press his forehead against yours.  The sight of your release on his lips that he refused to wipe off had your core already begging for more.  “God, that was so fucking hot.  You’re so fucking beautiful.”  Letting out a deep breath, he pecked your lips a couple times.

“How are you so fucking good at that?” you muttered against his lips, blindly reaching forward in search of the tie on his sweatpants.  Once you found it, you tugged roughly at it, sitting up straighter to urge both his pants and boxers down his thighs.

Chuckling to himself, Jungkook assisted you and pulled the articles of clothing down the length of his legs, stepping out of them once they reached the floor.  “I’d like to think that I’m a gentleman in the streets and a freak in the sheets…” His eyes wandered around the room for a moment.  “Or in the gym equipment room, apparently.”  

Rolling your eyes and giggling at his joke, you pulled him forward again to peck his lips.  “You know, if you moved to the side and let me get up, I’d happily return the favor.”  Your eyes wandered down the front of his body until they set on his hardened cock resting against his stomach, the sight of it causing you to clench your thighs together.

Shaking his head in response, Jungkook flashed you a shy smile.  God, how could he be so sexual yet so cute at the same time?  “As enticing as that sounds and as much as I would never turn that down on any other occasion, I’m afraid I’m not going to last if I don’t fuck you right now.”  Stepping forward, he looked down before cursing under his breath.  “Fuck, I don’t have a condom on me.  We don’t have fuck to if you’re not comfortable.”

“Wow, you didn’t bring a condom with you to your 7am fitness class?  How irresponsible of you,” you joked, shoving his shoulder before pulling him closer to you.  “I’m on the pill and I’m clean, so as long as you’re clean it’s fine with me.”

“You know, you’re going to regret teasing me,” he warned, laughing softly as he nudged his nose against yours.  “But yes, I’m clean too.”

Wrapping your arms around his neck, you raised a mocking eyebrow at him.  “Oh yeah?  And why am I going to regret it?”

Without another word, Jungkook reached down and grabbed his cock with one of his hands.  Rather than pushing it right inside of you, he instead slowly started to rub its angry red tip up and down your folds.  His eyes remained on yours, a teasing smirk tugging at the edges of his lips.

Biting on your tongue to suppress your whimpers, your eyes wandered down to the area between your thighs.  “W-What are you doing?”

Pressing his lips against your jawline, he let out an amused chuckle.  “Nothing until you tell me what you need.  Use your words, sweetheart.”

Reaching around him, you dug your nails into the skin on his upper back.  It wasn’t in your character to beg during sex, but the sight of the tip of his cock glistening in your juices from your first orgasm was enough to make you give in.  “P-Please fuck me, Jungkook.”  You forced yourself to lock eyes with him, hoping that the desperation you were exuding would be enough to make him cave.

Grinning in amusement against the skin of your neck, he nodded his head.  “Good girl.”  Sliding his cock down your folds one last time, he slowly slid it inside of your entrance once he reached it, a loud groan escaping his lips as he pushed all the way inside of you.  “F-Fuck, you’re so tight.”

Moaning out in pleasure at the feeling of fullness, you whimpered as you watched the sight of his cock disappearing inside of you.  The spectacle alone was enough to make the heat in your core reemerge, and your body was pleading for him to do more.  “M-Move.  F-Faster, please.”

Grabbing one of your legs, he extended it upward and propped it over his shoulder.  After getting a good grip on it, he quickly began to thrust in and out of you.  “Yeah?  You like that, babe?” he breathed out, his eyes screwing shut in pleasure before he buried his face into your neck again.

Dragging your nails down his sweaty back, you were sure you were going to leave some marks behind.  It only took a few moments for the feeling of overstimulation to wash away, and a new, deeper pleasure to replace it.  With your leg hanging over his shoulder, his cock managed to hit you at just the right angle with every thrust.  Using your grip on his back to press your body closer to his, you took the opportunity to wrap your free leg tightly around his waist.  The new position made it so his cock brushed against your clit every time he pulled it out of you, the feeling nearly having your eyes rolling to the back of your head.  “O-Oh my god, right there.”

Jungkook’s half-lidded eyes remained fixed on yours as he lifted one hand off of your thigh, pressing his index and middle finger together and moving them toward your mouth.  “Open.”  Once you complied, he inserted his fingers into your mouth.  His teeth dug into his lower lip as he watched the way you closed your lips, swirling your tongue around his digits a couple of times before sliding your lips back up and releasing them with a loud ‘pop.’  There was a mesmerized look in Jungkook’s eyes as his thrusts slowed for a moment.  “J-Jesus fuck, that was hot.”

A cocky smirk initially tried to spread across your lips, but it was washed away the moment he began to circle his lubricated fingers over your clit, his cock pounding in and out of your pussy at a pace that had you ready to unravel at any second.  “I-I’m close.”

Letting out what sounded like a combination of a groan and a whimper, Jungkook leaned forward and brushed his lips over yours.  “Cum all over my cock for me, babe.”

“J-Jungkook, f-fuck!” The sound of his raspy command and the feeling of his cock inside of you was all it took to push you over the edge again.  Your second orgasm hit you even harder than the first, a sensation of rapturous bliss overtaking your senses as your toes curled and your thighs were left convulsing around his body.  While your mind went foggy for a few seconds, the strain that was left in the back of your throat suggested that you had yelled out in pleasure quite loudly.  The euphoria was dragged out even longer as Jungkook had yet to reach his own high, his thrusts becoming sloppier as you stared up at him with hazy vision, gasping for breath.

“I-I’m close too,” Jungkook whimpered out, eyes screwing shut as your walls continued to twitch around his cock in the aftershock of your orgasm.  “W-Where do you want me to cum, babe?”

Coming back to your senses, you blinked a few times until your vision returned back to normal.  Finally processing his request, you used quite a bit of your strength to push him back a bit, ignoring the confused look on his face.  Using the space in front of you, you pushed yourself off of the elevated surface before getting down on your knees.  “My mouth.”  Reaching forward, you grasped his shaft in one hand, pumping his length a few times before leaning down and capturing his tip between your lips.  After circling your tongue around it a few times, you hollowed out your cheeks and began to bob your head up and down.

“O-Oh my… F-Fuck, Y/N.” Jungkook quickly adapted to the new sensation, his hands reaching around your head to tangle into your hair and urge your head down his cock further.  He locked eyes with you from above, his legs trembling around your head.  Taking notice of just how close he was, you forced your mouth down further to accommodate the rest of his cock in your mouth, swallowing around his length at the bottom.  The motion and the feeling of the tip of his length hitting the back of your throat was enough to make you gag, and that was all it took to push Jungkook to his climax.

Jungkook was a groaning mess above you as he released his load down your throat, unconsciously thrusting into your mouth further a couple of times to ride out of high.  After a few more spurts of his hot cum filled your mouth, you worked your mouth back up his length.  Once your lips popped off of the tip of his cock, you pulled back and swallowed thickly, the salty taste of his release lingering in your throat.

After taking a few moments to catch his breath, Jungkook reached down and grabbed your hand, pulling you up onto your feet in front of him.  Despite the crude nature of what had just occurred, the smile stretched across his lips seemed so… Innocent.  “Well… That happened.”  He reached up and pushed the sweaty hair that was sticking to his forehead out of his face.

Laughing softly at his words, you bit your lip and crossed your arms over your chest.  “I mean, that’s certainly one way to work out at the gym.”

Jungkook’s whole body shook as he erupted into laughter, leaning down and beginning to grab all of your discarded clothing articles off of the ground.  He sorted through them and handed you back yours, beginning to redress himself after.  Once he was dressed, he grabbed a towel out of one of the crates and made sure the area was clean.  “Don’t forget we worked out before too.  That’s two whole workouts.  We’re going to need to fuel up with some electrolytes or coffee or something.”

Forcing your damp leggings back onto your sweaty body wasn’t exactly the easiest or most enjoyable thing to do, but you managed.  Once your shirt was back on, you looked back over at him and feigned an exaggerated amount of excitement.  “Oh my god, am I going to be able to get coffee with hot coffee shop boy?”

“Only if hot coffee shop girl would be so willing to accompany him,” Jungkook jived, nudging your shoulder with his before unlocking and pulling open the door of the closet.  To your relief, the room was still empty and there seemed to be no one lurking outside of it.  Grabbing his backpack at the front of the room, he slung it over his shoulder.  “It might be a good idea for us to shower first, though.  I have a strong suspicion that we probably smell prettttty bad.”

Grabbing your own bag and water bottle, you laughed in amusement as you followed him out the door of the classroom and into the main area of the gym.  “I have a feeling you’re right.  Should we shower and plan to meet up after?”

Walking through the lobby, Jungkook held open the main door for you before following you outside.  It was much brighter out now than when you had arrived at the facility almost two hours prior.  Time really does fly by when you’re having fun.  “I feel like we can’t really be trusted with the whole ‘see you around’ thing and going our separate ways just yet after the shit we both pulled avoiding each other the past couple weeks.  Plus, I’m not quite done with you just yet.”

Snickering at the reminder of your past dramatic behavior, you nodded your head in agreement.  “So what did you have in mind?”

Stopping in his tracks, Jungkook turned to face you.  “So first, I was thinking you could come back to my place and we could both shower there.  I could provide you with some clothes for the time being, but if you need to change later, I can bring you back to your place.”  The corners of his lips began to twitch upward.  “However, that would require you getting into my car with me, and history suggests that doing so ‘makes you nervous,’ or something like that.”

“Hmm, I’m pretty sure I remember something about me making you nervous too.  I think some weird drunk guy told me that.”  Scoffing at his flirtatious teasing, you playfully shoved his chest.  “Anything else planned?”

“Hey, that ‘weird drunk guy’ is the reason we’re here today,” he scoffed, grabbing one of your hands off of his chest and lacing his fingers with yours.  “Then I was thinking we could go to our favorite coffee shop.  But… And I know this is kind of a wild idea... I’m thinking we sit at the same table for the first time instead of dropping pens and books to try to get each other’s attention from across the room.”

Squeezing his hand, you began to follow him as he led the way to what you assumed was going to be his car.  “A bold suggestion, but I’m into it.  Might have you drop a book at my feet and I’ll stare at you across the room longingly just for old time’s sake.”  When you reached a shiny black SUV, Jungkook unlocked it and walked around the passenger side, opening the door for you.  “So I’m guessing these plans involve us skipping classes today?”

“Well, obviously.”  Jungkook flashed you a bright grin as you climbed into the car, shutting the door gently once you were in the seat.  He ran around the front of it and quickly hopped into the driver’s seat, leaning over to look at you once inside.  “And then once the evening comes, as I suggested earlier, I would still love to take you out to dinner, if you’d let me.”  Despite everything that had just unfolded and all of the confessions you both had shared, there still appeared to be a glimmer of nervousness and hesitation in his eyes.

Leaning to the side, you reached over and placed your hand on top of his.  Your lips formed into a reassuring smile.  “I would love to.”

Jungkook lifted your hand that was over his to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss against your fingers.  “Good.”  Turning to face forward, he started the car and began to back out of the space.  As he looked at the pathway in front of the gym, he directed a mischievous smirk at you.  “Remember that time you walked back to your room on a swollen toe to avoid getting into my car with me?  Good times.”

Letting out a groan, you covered your flushed face with both of your hands.  “If you don’t shut up, I’m about to hit you with a ‘see you around’ and roll right out of the side of your car while it’s moving.”

“Okay, okay.  I’m sorrrry,” Jungkook laughed to himself, grabbing the wrist closest to him to pull your hand off of your face.  “As compensation for your shame, I will make another embarrassing confession.”  He knitted his brow together as he thought for a few moments before chuckling to himself as a memory came to mind.  “I once accidentally liked one of your Instagram pictures that was like… 72 weeks old and almost considered moving to another country and changing my identity.  I unliked it right away and you probably didn’t even notice, but I was stressed.  There.  Does that make you feel better?”

Gnawing on the inside of your cheek to hide your smile, you glanced at the side of his face.  “Mmm, a little bit.  I think I’m going to need you to keep going.”

Jungkook scoffed as he placed your hand that he was holding down on his thigh, shaking his head in disbelief.  “How is that fair?  I think I deserve some form of payment if I’m going to keep exposing myself too.”

“Fine, fine.”  You gently squeezed his thigh, your mind sifting through all of the embarrassing things you had done in the past due to your embarrassing infatuation of the boy who was now sitting beside you.  “I tried to order you, like, a sort of secret admirer coffee on Valentine’s Day, but the barista ended up giving it to the wrong guy and I ended up leaving the shop because I was so mortified.”

“Aw, I’ve always wanted to have a secret admirer,” Jungkook teased, parking the car in front of his building.  “God, we really could go on forever with these embarrassing stories, huh?”

Nodding your head, you reached your hand up and playfully poked at his dimple.  “It sure seems that way.  We’re kind of the worst.”

Unbuckling his seatbelt and hopping out of the car, he met you at the front of it and draped an arm over your shoulders.  “Good.  Just gives me another reason to keep you around longer.”

And while ‘see you around’ hadn’t been a promise that either of you kept before, keeping you around from then on certainly was one that he fulfilled.

[fbfh]

vegas lights - piper x mpdg!bff!reader

2.3k words

wlw, friends to lovers

piper x manic pixie dream girl! best friend! reader

inspired by this concept playlist from this post (i think it’s the fourth one on the post)

You and piper met at one of those fancy boarding schools

You’ve been told you have trouble respecting authority, can’t follow instructions, and have little regard to your attitude

So more specifically, you met in detention

You had shown up to school with blue and orange hair

As you expected, that didn’t go over well

Piper hadn’t done her homework again

The teacher had left to make some copies of papers, and you were sitting one seat back and to the right of piper

“Hey, since people always talk about going back in time and making one small change that affects everything, do you think the most minute decisions we make have the capacity to change everything now?”

She turned her head and saw you leaning across your desk

Your eyebrows matched your hair, your blazer was too big and the sleeves were cuffed, and pen ink was scribbled on your arms and hands

You had a wild energy, like a strong breeze that smelled like summer you find some other time of year

“Uh…” 

She wasn’t really sure what you meant, and was still a little thrown by you

“Or like, is it the kind of thing where nothing we do matters and we’re gonna end up where we end up, so that takes off the pressure of moralizing your decisions and you end up making ‘better’ choices?”

Was this real?

The late afternoon sun cast an unsettling blue green light throughout the building, and made Piper feel even more like she was dreaming

“Maybe neither,” she mused, grabbing the first thing that came to mind

A new smile crept at your eyes, and she could almost see your perspective shift

“Yeah, like… the presence of someone who wasn’t there before was the thing to set everything off. Maybe it’s not your decisions as much as being there…” you trailed off lost in thought, “huh.” 

You pushed yourself up, and sat on the edge of your desk

“So what are you in for?”

Piper hadn’t realized she was staring until your eyes locked with hers

“D- uh, didn’t do my homework,” she sputtered

You sighed, and rolled your eyes

“God, they’re only gonna realize humans aren’t designed for constant work when we’re all dead.” 

You turn back to her

“You seem intelligent. Being smart doesn’t mean anything, intelligence is what actually matters.” 

Wow

How do you respond to that?

“... I’m Piper,” 

“Piper…” you repeated slowly

“I like that.”

Silence 

“What’s your name?”

“What do I seem like?” 

She looked confused

“What do I strike you as?”

She thought for a minute, then blurted out the first thing she thought of

“Vegas.” 

You smiled

“I love that… we’re gonna go to Vegas some time. It’ll be an adventure.”

“If I had to guess for you…” you trailed off, examining every detail of her in a way that didn’t make her self conscious

“I’d say diamond. I really like Piper too, though.” 

Her stomach fell

There it is, nothing more than a pretty face once again

“Oh, cause I’m-”

“Strong.”

Her eyes snapped up to yours

“You don’t seem like anyone can break you.”

She liked that a lot better

You asked her something about lunch tomorrow, she didn’t remember quite what, and that was the beginning of the two of you

You spent every minute you could together, which often resulted in coordinating your stunts with hers to end up in detention together

After a while the bmw story came up

You believed her without hesitation

“God, guys can be the fucking worst sometimes. I bet that piece of wet toast gave you the car to get on your good side then pulled a Nice Guy as soon as he realized it wasn’t happening.” 

Not totally accurate, but she appreciated your enthusiasm so she agreed wholeheartedly

For some reason it felt really nice to hear you say boys suck

As the semester went on, she started to get worried

You had started talking to a guy, and she had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach

She found herself having to try harder and harder to fake happy for you

She was almost surprised at how relieved she was a week later when you plop down at your usual lunch spot and denounce cynically

“Y’know that guy I was talking to? Turns out he’s not actually into philosophy, he’s a fake academic with a superiority complex.”

A weight flew off her chest

“You’re way better off without him,” 

“I know! He thinks watching rick and morty is a personality trait,” 

“Oh god…” she laughed

She had to fight a smile for most of lunch

To her despair, the cycle repeated again, less than a week later

Then again and again, you were seeing a new boy every week for a little over a month

As it progressed, she began to notice feeling worse, then better with every guy you picked up and dumped

She started to worry she was being a bad friend, possessive and jealous

You could tell something was off, and had mentioned here and there if she needs to talk to you she can

Every act of closeness from you made her feel worse and better at the same time

You had asked her to help you re dye your hair, this time a bright lime green, and she had no idea how she’d made it through the long night of just the two of you without saying something really stupid

It was almost graduation by now and she felt like she was going to break in half

“That’s it, I’m done with men. Never touching another one. Ever.”

She looked up at you shocked

“You can hold me to that.” you finish, a laugh frosting the seriousness of your statement

A flood gate opened somewhere deep inside her

Before she could stop it, the thought crept up on her from the back of her mind

‘Least now I have a chance with her,’

The organicness shocked her so much she almost choked on her food

“You okay Di?” you asked

Her pulse was racing and she felt panic and adrenaline coursing through her in a way she’d never experienced

“Yeah, I just have go to the bathroom,” she said, standing up quickly and avoiding your eyes

“I’ll come with,” 

“No! It’s fine. I’ll be right back, stay here.” 

You agreed

She rushed into the bathroom to google “does having a crush on a girl mean i’m gay” 

She tried rephrasing the question a hundred times, glad she remembered to turn on private browsing before she started

She tries to calm her breathing as she gets the same answer five times in a row

“If you keep asking if you’re gay, you probably are”

One article on realizing you have a crush on your girl best friend was actually slightly helpful

It was validating, gave advice on how to act normal, and emphasized there’s time to sort out these feelings and what they might mean later

She read it three times before the bell rang

Shit

She had half her classes with you, what was she gonna do now?

She came out of the bathroom and there you were, waiting for her

“Hey, you okay?”

“Ye- uh… yeah, I’m… sick I think. That’s why I left suddenly, and couldn’t… finish lunch,” she was a terrible liar to you, and just hoped that whatever forces had gotten her in trouble so many times could convince you this was all cause of a stomach bug

“Oh, that sucks. I have an extra bag of chips if you get hungry later, and if you wanna sleep after class instead of hang out I totally get it.” 

Her heart was palpitating

At least you seemed to believe it

“Yeah,  I probably should… and I probably shouldn’t get too close to you- like, I should stay away from you. Cause I don’t want you to get sick too.” she knew she was rambling and had no idea how to fix it.

“Okay, text me later. I’m here to talk if you wanna.” you smiled, and squeezed her shoulder, her heart squeezing at the same time

She left in a hurry to get to her next class, for once grateful you weren’t in it

Over the next week or so, the idea of having a huge uncontrollable crush on you started to be less scary

She just didn’t want to lose you

She knew everything about you

Your favorite color, violet

Your favorite singer, someone named king princess

Your favorite food, broccoli

Even your favorite lip balm flavor, cherry

She had to set all these feelings aside and be there for you as a friend, because that’s what you needed her to be

Just for another week, then you’d part ways for the summer and she could get over this before next year

She couldn’t stop the way her heart skipped a beat when you rested your head on her shoulder

Or when you were studying last night

You couldn’t figure out a problem, and put your head in her lap declaring,

“That’s it. We’re moving to a countryside cottage and becoming an old married farming couple.”

She didn’t breathe right for a second

She somehow managed to choke out

“God, please. That can be our plan b if we fail.”

Which, unfortunately, you didn’t 

You both passed, and unhappily went your separate ways for the summer

She tried to keep plans to meet up abstract, savoring that last hug on friday more than she should have

This plan will work, she’ll avoid you all summer, and come back next semester and be totally normal

It will all be fine

Or it would have if you hadn’t pressed a kiss on her cheek before she got pulled into a rented car, speeding off for the airport

Every minute between that second and seeing her dad at the airport was filled with thoughts of you

Five days had passed, and she couldn’t sleep

She had tried to keep texting you to a minimum, which only worked because of how much she was overthinking everything

Friends can kiss sometimes, right?

And yeah, you looked at her with those big sparkly eyes, but you’ve looked at her like that since she first met you

She was laying in bed, staring at the ceiling, and couldn’t get your stupid amazing smile out of her head

She was… overwhelmed

Her phone buzzed

Of course, it was you

She threw her phone on her bed without reading it

Her whole body was buzzy, her feelings had never been this strong

It was too much

She actually felt like she was going to explode in 10 seconds

She could feel a stupid impulse of some kind or another creeping up

A gentle tapping on her window snapped her out of it

‘It’s her’

No it’s not, she chastised herself, you’re practically on the other side of the country

She looked over at her window

It was you

It was you

Oh god

She scrambled out of bed, and threw the window open

You had already popped the screen off, propping it next to her window

“Hi,” you said,

“H-” she had no words

Time and time again you left her speechless

“Y-... your hair’s pink,” she choked out

You laughed and smiled that crooked little smile of yours, and she could feel her heart clench

“Yeah, d’you like it?”

“Yeah,” she said without a second thought

Something she’d read online came back to her in a rush

‘If you like your crush after they change their hair, you know it’s real’

Shit

You placed your hand on top of hers

“So… do you wanna go on an adventure?”

“Yes.” she answered, never wanting anything more

You laugh and lean forward, closer to her

You brush a strand of hair out of her face and watch as her eyes flutter closed

A surge of nerves pulse through you simultaneously, your hand still on her face

“Piper,” you whisper, sounding closer than before

“Hm?”

“... do you want to kiss?”

Relief floods her like nothing she’s ever experienced before

She nods twice, vigorously

Your lips connect in a moment of pure euphoria

You’re soft

You taste like cherry, and that gum you’re always chewing, grapefruit and pear and a little cayenne

Her lips are warm and soft and so inviting

When you finally pull away, you’re both breathless, already wanting more

Her mind is reeling

What if this is just a fling or something, what if this isn’t like, romantic kissing and it’s the kind of kissing best friends probably do sometimes?

Best friends can kiss sometimes, right???

She has to do it now, there’s no way she could possibly come back from this

She has to tell you how she feels

But how can she say it?

She can’t just blurt it out

It has to be perfect

But she also has to be able to take it back in case you say no

“Piper,” you start again

“Yeah?” she breathes

Once again you take the words right out of her, spinning them into something beautiful and easy to understand

“Do you want to be girlfriends? Like, date each other?”

She’s frozen for a second

This has to be a dream

It feels fake

She’s been dying to hear you say those exact words for months

And how much more in character could it have been than after asking her to go on an adventure

She looks into your eyes, searching for a hint of a lie

She finds nothing

And for a moment, for the first time, she sees your composure begin to crack

You look… scared

She realizes she hasn’t answered yet

“Yes!” she blurts, pulling you in to kiss you again and again

“Yes, yes, yes…” she mutters between kisses

Your giggles hit her ears, sounding different than ever before

After what feels like forever and not nearly long enough, you finally part again

“So…” you play with her hair, braiding a loose strand

“How ‘bout that adventure?”

[creepyalienghost]

Yandere.

It was Sammy’s first day of college but it was also Sammy’s first time away from home. Where he grew up in an a abusive house hold. He had never been shown love by anyone in his life. Not even at school. The students constantly bullied him and the teachers there hated him. Even his boss treated him like a robot and didn’t care how tired and overworked he was. He was numb to the pain and didn’t care for people anymore. To him they would all just hurt him one day or another. He was glad the dorms there only held one person, him. He wouldn’t ever get any rest or time to recover if there he had to worry all the time here.

His first corse came Monday the following week, Business. He didn’t care for the core but he figured it would help him in the future. The Professor spent the first half explaining the rules to the class and the things they were going to learn here. In the second half the professor told them to group up in twos for the first activity.

Sammy dreaded this activity. He could hear everyone getting up and finding there partner or friend. No one will choose him. No one ever chooses him. Ever. He gets left behind in everything all the time like-

“Excuse me?” Came a nice Southern male voice behind him, causing him to be startled and looked back. “I’m sorry for scaring you there. May I be your partner?” The man to the voice ask.

Sammy looked away from him, shyly. Why has he come to him an ask. Usually the teacher just ins up putting him in one or demanding another kid to join him so they could get on with the lesson. But this guy! He came without that or hesitation. It felt...good. “Y-yea.” Sammy clear his thought. “Yea sure.”

“Thanks” the guy replied, sitting next to Sammy. “I’m Norman.”

Sammy’s heart was beating fast and his stomach was doing all kinds of flips. Why would he want to be his partner? Why does he speak so kind to him? “I’m uh. Sammy..”He mumbled.

Norman gave him a kind smile. “That’s a nice name, Sammy.”

Sammy’s heart skip from that. No one has ever complemented him before. It was a lovey feeling. “ I-uh...t-thank you...” he mumbled again.

They were silent for a minute as they listen to the professors instructions on what the activity was. They would have to come up with a Product and try to sell it to the class. Once the teacher was finished he let everyone begin. “Alright, Sammy. Got anything in mind for a Product?” Norman asked

Sammy tried to think of something but his mind was distracted by his kindness. After a moment he shook his head. “N-no.” He replied, scared now that he’ll hate him for failing. “I’m sorry...”

Norman wasn’t mad though. He smiled at him again. A smile that flipped Sammy’s stomach. “No need to be sorry Sammy.” He replied. “Let’s do...a new game?” He looked at Sammy. “How’s that sound?”

“That sounds...n-nice..” Sammy said relieved yet confused that he still doesn’t hate him.

Sammy sat there and watched him write down some idea Though out the activity. Norman green eyes return to Sammy after he finished with his part of the list. “Do you have any ideas for this new game?”

Sammy looked down in wonder in thought. He didn’t want to fail him with this. He wanted Norman to like him. He needed it. “Maybe....a music game?...like you can play as a musician?...” he mumbled looking back at his face.

Norman nodded. “That sounds interesting.” He wrote it down and they continue to work on this.

The class ended 10 minutes later and everyone beings packing up and leaving. Sammy starting doing the same with his belongings when Norman turned around to him. “Hey Sammy. Is this your first year here?”

Sammy turned to him and nodded. “Y-yes. Why?”

“Because. It’s my second here.” Norman replied. “And I was wondering if you wanted to hang tonight? I can show you the town?” He ask.

He...He wanted to hang out with him? Like on a date? He he only experience this type of thing in shows. Sammy’s palms begin to sweet as well as his heart beats faster. “Yes!..I -I mean yes..” he cleared his throat.

Norman smiled a beautiful smile. “Great. Meet me at the lobby to the dorms at 7” with that he left the class.

Later that night Sammy goes to the lobby a few minutes before And learns on the wall, waiting. He passed the time by watching people. One guy was doing homework at one of the little tables, a group of guys were playing pool on the other side of the room and more walk in and out.

A few minutes later he saw Norman walk in and he got up as he approaches. “Hey. You ready?” Norman ask.

Sammy nodded. “I’m r-ready”

Norman smiled and leaned Sammy out. It was a nice cool night out and perfect for walking in. Norman loved these nights. It was peaceful walking and watching the people or sky watching or going to haunted places according to his friend Joey.

The first place Norman took him was a coffee shop. Hanks coffee shop to be exact. It was located on Main Street between the corner store and a diner. When they entered the shop, the delicious smell of coffee with a hint of honey hit them both. It made his mouth water.

“This is we’re I’d love to come and study or do homework.” Norman said. “It’s relaxing and a great place to get coffee.” He informed him with a smile. “Speaking of coffee wanna get one for the road?”

Sammy nodded in reply. “Yes. Coffee sounds great!”

Norman had ordered an ice coffee for himself and offered to pay for Sammy’s chocolate chip flapper chino coffee. They slowly sipped it as they walked down the sidewalk, passing other cute little shops

And places. A clothing store, a comic shop, a candy shop and many other places.

Norman brought him to the local book shop next. When they arrived inside Sammy saw rows and rows of books. From sci-fi to horror. “I’m a bit of a nerd.” Norman said chuckling. “So i come hear a lot.” He turned to Sammy. “Are you? Do you like to read”

Sammy shrugged his shoulders after a minute of thought. “I’m...I never really read anything t-that wasn’t for homework..”

Norman smiled. “Would you like me to pick you out a book?”

Sammy smiled and nodded. “Yes please! That would be fantastic!

Norman and Sammy spent hours looking around for something Sammy would enjoy. Norman ask questions to help decide what he likes like “do you like things about monsters” or “do you like a good mystery” in the end they came up with a sci-fi book. They payed for it and the two went to the diner to eat before heading back.

——

The morning after he took an hour reading his new book before classed and found himself really enjoying it. Once it was time to get to class he got ready and walked out of his dorm, passing the lobby on the way outside. But he stopped by what he saw. Norman was playing pool with another person! She was tall and fit with brown hair and Hazel eyes.

Sammy felt crush by this. Norman was laughing with her and talking to her, showing her how to play. He even offered her hang out later! This was unfair! Wasn’t he Normans friends? Why was she even around him! He needed to do something! Before he losses his own friend.

In the first class he didn’t focus on the Biology lesson the Professor was given. He was to busy deciding what to do with her. Should he push her in front of a car? Or should he trip her down the straits? No. Those are all Public. He needed something that could be done in public. He didn’t want be seen by people and get arrested.

After another minute of thinking he came up with the perfect way. A small twisted smile spread on to his face. After this Norman would be his friend again

—

Lacie entered the girls dorm after leaving the library with Norman and headed up

To her room. She unlocked her dorm door and stepped in, kicking off her shoes. It’s been a long busy day with school, work and homework that she was ready for a shower and then sleep. Lacie set her bag down on the desk and walked to her closet for some clothes, opening it. That’s when her head burst out in pain and everything went black.

When she came to she had a massive headache. The light was blinding as she slowly opened her eyes. Once she was cautiously aware she her hands were tied in the back and she was up on a chair with a noose around her neck. “What the hell!?” She yelled before noticing a guy in the corner. “Who are you?!... what the fuck is this?!”

The guy came forward with a deep glear of hatred tours her. “I’m Sammy. And Normans my friend!” Sammy kicked the chair out from underneath her, watching her fall and struggle to breath. He watched her kick her feet And try to kick the chair back to her, with no luck. It wasn’t long before she stopped moving and her body slumped.

Sammy finished his work by cutting her hands free from the rope, placed a note on her desk and slipped out into the night without being seen. He later laid in bed and thought about Norman being his friend again tomorrow.

-

Its been three days since the passing of Lacie. Everyone was shocked that she would do something like that. She always seemed so happy. So ready to take on the day. So ready for anything that life through at her. Norman took it pretty hard. He blames himself for not seeing the signs. He was just with her before she did it. Why couldn’t she had talk to him? He would’ve listened and tried to help her. The school held a memorial in her honor. Everyone showed up to pay respect. Norman was one of them that gave a speech there. She talked about how they were best friends since they were kids. This hurt Sammy a lot to see. Part of him felt sorry for hurting him but the other part was hurt by how much he loved her. Still, now that she’s gone he can have Norman be his friend. Other than that Norman hadn’t came out of his dorm in three days.

Sammy decided that he wanted to visit him tonight, to make sure he was alright. He could help him feel better and hopefully make him laugh.

After his last class of the day he stopped by the flower shop to buy a lovey Bouquet of flowers for Norman. He never been to a funeral before nor tried to help anyone feel better. He saw this idea on tv shows and movies and he thought it was a nice thing now. There were many different options and all of them beautiful but he eventually chose a set with Beautiful red and orange flowers that smelled good.

He walked happily back to campus and into the boys dorm. He heart was filled with Joy as he walked down the 5th floor to Normans room. But the Joy and happiness was instantly crushed when he saw another guy walking out of Normans room. He stopped in his tracks and hid behind a wall, listening.

“Don’t hesitate to call, alright man?” The guy said to Norman.

Norman stepped out and nodded. “I won’t. Thanks Jack.” With that he closed the door and jack began walking out. He passed Sammy without noticing the small man. Sammy dropped the flowers, stepping on them and following jack.

Sammy followed him for little more then five minutes, planning on what he was going to do with this one. When they got near a pound he knew exactly how to get rid of him.

He looked around on the ground for a minute before he stopped a good side rock and grabbed it. He then quicken his paste to get closer to him. At that point jack notice the sounds behind him and turned around to see what it was. It was to late for jack though. The rock knocked him out before he could respond.

Sammy quickly got to work. He started stuffing large rocks in jacks pockets. His Jeans, his hoodie pocket and even in his hoodie it self. Once he was finished with that he pushed jack into the pound and watched him sink. He quickly left the area.

Luckily for Sammy, It stormed that night. The rain watched away all of jack blood and smooth out there foot prints. The neck day there was a missing report on jack. The police searched for days and came up empty-handed. After a week of looking they had to call off the investigation. They chief of police finally claim was he ran away to stop a new life.

Sammy waited a few days before he decided to visit Norman. So things can calm down enough in Norman life. He seen Norman sad when he was in class earlier and wanted to help him and be there for him like he was on the first day. Sammy had been preparing a speech since Monday, again like he seen on tv shows and movies. He felt like he was ready on Wednesday to give the actual speech to Norman.

He went to Normans next class and waited outside of his class and waited for the remaining minutes. Once they were rushing out he peak in between person after person trying to catch Norman. But once he saw him he was hugging another girl. This time with short blonde hair and green hair. She was more girly then the last. She was also beautiful.

This time Sammy didn’t feel sad or heart broken or betrayed. Sammy felt anger and hate in his heart. Why couldn’t he just have one friend to himself!? Why couldn’t he have one good thing in his shitty damn life?! This was so unfair to him and he couldn’t take it anymore! He snapped.

Late that night Sammy came across campus and snuck in the girls dorm. He were a black hoodie that covered most of his face up, not like anyone would notice him anyways. In the pocket laid a knife. He went up to Susies dorm and knocked on her door. He wasn’t in his right mind now. Anger and hate lead him.

When she opened the door she couldn’t even get a word in. He took the knife out and stabbed her in the stomach, watching her gasp. He took it out and stabbed her with it again. He repeated it over and over again even after she stopped responding. It was like was in a trance. Stabbing and stabbing. He opened snapped out of it when he herd a gasp like scream.

He looked over and saw Norman at the door but backing away from him. He looked back down of what’s in front of him and gasp himself. There was so much blood on and around him! So much it scared him. He looked back at Norman and reached out for him. “No wait!-“ he called out.

Norman backed away another stepped. “Stay away from me! Don’t come any closer!” He replied and on the verge of crying. “Someone help! He killed my friend!” He yelled out.

Nothing could be done now. Sammy herd doors opening and people starting to freak out once they released what was going on. He herd the caretaker coning and some got on the phone for the police. He couldn’t run away from this. From what he just done. He looked at his hand all covered in blood then cried.

About 15 minutes later the police and ambulance should up on the campus. The police stormed up to Sammy and arrested him with no problem. He didn’t fight them, And when he was lead to the police car he didn’t look at the people watching the scene unfold. It was unbearable to see that. They put Sammy in the back of the car and drove him away.

——

Who wants a part two?!

[deanstop13billyjoeltraxx]

Superposition

a deancas college roommate AU

Chapter 6 is up on AO3! Chapter-by-chapter masterlist here. 

Good Luck

Three Years Earlier

“Psst.”

Cas looked up from his computer when something hit him in the back of the head. He was trying to survive another eight-a.m. accounting class without falling asleep. He turned around.

The girl with dark, reddish-brown hair who always sat there grinned at him. She pointed at the floor behind him with her pen and raised her eyebrows. 

Cas furrowed his brow and picked up the crumpled paper that had hit him. He turned around and unfolded it, doing his best not to seem too suspicious. 

Solitaire? It read in a hasty scrawl. 

Cas frowned. She had been watching his screen. He turned back to give her a look of confusion. She only grinned wider. 

I am attempting to at least pretend I’m engaged. Unlike you, he wrote back. He reached behind him for the girl to take the paper. 

He returned to his game, but was once more disturbed by the ball of paper. Other students were noticing the disruption, leading to the professor saying, “Hey, calm down over there.” Castiel turned bright red. He bowed his head, trying to make himself small as he opened the note once more. 

You got me, I can’t even pretend anymore. Wanna study for the test together? 

Castiel raised his eyebrows at the invitation. He was confused — he had spoken to the girl once or twice, but had never gotten her name, and never given her his. 

The professor released them a moment later, and the girl hopped over her row of seats and into his. 

“So?” She asked.

Cas didn’t look at her as he put his laptop back in his bag. “What?”

“Do you wanna study? Come on, it’ll be way more fun together.” 

Cas put his backpack on and looked at her. “Why?”

The girl looked confused. “What?”

“Why do you want to study with me?” 

“Why don’t you want to study with me?” She retorted. 

“I didn’t say that I don’t want to,” Castiel explained. They began to shuffle out of the row together.  “I’m just confused as to why you offered. We don’t know each other at all.”

She laughed a little and cocked her head. “Hun, that’s kind of the point. Ever heard of making friends?” 

Castiel scoffed as they exited onto the campus lawn. “Right,” he said. 

“What’s your name?” She asked. 

“Cas Novak,” he replied. “And yours is..?”

“Meg. Meg Masters,” she said, taking an exaggerated bow. Cas kept walking, and she skipped to catch back up with him.

“There, now we know each other,” she said. “So, now do you want to study together?” 

Cas considered her for a moment out of the corner of his eye. She was bright and open and, well, everything that Cas couldn’t seem to be. Ridiculous as it was, being that a possible friend had just fallen in his lap, he wanted to say no. He just assumed he would do something, say something that would cause her to find him unpleasant. 

But then… Dean didn’t hate him, and neither did his friends. He’d even had an entire conversation with Charlie about Lord of the Rings, and she’d made him promise to watch the movies with her after midterms were over. Perhaps people were more forgiving than Castiel gave them credit for. 

“That sounds nice,” he said to Meg, and he thought that maybe, for once, he meant it. 

“If I look at this for one more goddamn second, I’m going to lose my mind.”

Dean was lying on his stomach on the floor behind Cas’s desk chair, his ancient computer open in front of him. It was near one in the morning, midterms were coming up. Castiel’s head was swimming from staring at supply and demand graphs for the last few hours. 

“What is it?” Cas asked, turning around. 

“Calculus,” Dean groaned. “I can’t deal with these related rates. Everything was making sense until now.” 

“I might be able to help.” 

Dean moved himself to a seated position and patted the ground beside him. 

“You’ve finished most of it,” Cas said, looking at Dean’s computer. “Where’s your work for the problems you’ve missed?” 

“I usually do this kind of stuff in my head.”

Cas raised an eyebrow. “And you say I’m the genius.”

Dean rolled his eyes. “Can you help?” 

Cas gave him a look. “I am very good at calculus.”

Dean put up his hands defensively.

“Look,” Cas said, “You just have to identify which variable is actually changing. Here, it’s the radius. So you’ll take your derivative with respect to the radius.”

“Damn,” Dean said. “If someone would have told me that, like, a week ago, this would have made so much more sense. Thanks, Cas.”

“Of course.”

Cas ended up bringing his own computer to the floor to study while Dean finished his homework. He moved onto a different subject — it was simply too late for econ. He was reviewing ancient Greek philosophers and their beliefs when Dean rolled over on his back with a groan. He rested his head on top of Castiel’s crossed legs. The action nearly made him jump. He tried not to stare too intently. 

“Dude, I’m hungry,” he said.

“Hungry?” Cas repeated. “I would have expected you to say, ‘tired,’ but not ‘hungry.’”

“Dude, I’m pretty sure they say it’s good luck to eat Taco Bell while studying calculus at three in the morning,” Dean said, pulling on a flannel.

“I’m pretty sure no one ever says that,” Cas replied. 

“I’m saying it now. C’mon.” 

Cas pulled on a sweatshirt — it was cold for October — and followed Dean out the door. 

“I haven’t driven you anywhere, have I?” Dean asked when they reached the dorm parking lot. 

“Not that I can remember.”

“Oh, wait til you see her,” Dean said, excited. “My car, my baby. You’ll be floored.” 

Dean stopped at an old, black muscle car, parked at the far end of the lot, away from the rest of the cars. Castiel could see the Chevrolet logo on the back. 

“It’s quite beautiful,” he said, and Dean grinned at him. 

“Isn’t she? 1967 Chevy Impala. My dad gave her to me when I turned sixteen. She was a beater then — I had to drop a new engine and get her reupholstered. But she was worth it.” 

“You rebuilt it yourself?” Castiel asked, impressed. 

“I had a little help, but mostly, yeah.” 

Dean unlocked the doors, and the two slid into the car. The interior looked as if Dean had just driven the car off the lot hours prior. 

“You must take very good care of this car,” Cas observed. “I’ve never seen anything so clean.” 

“Like I said, she’s worth it,” Dean replied, bringing the engine to a low roar. Cas was about to remark on the sound, when something on top of the dash caught his eye. 

A half-empty package of Marlboros. 

Dean turned to him, about to say something, but dropped his smile seeing Cas staring at the cigarettes. 

“Uh, I don’t… I don’t smoke in here,” he said. “Only outside. Just keep ‘em in here ‘cause you know. Dorms.” 

Cas nodded once. He’d never known anyone who smoked. “That’s—“

“Filthy habit, I know,” Dean interrupted. “I know.”

“I was going to say it’s good you don’t smoke in your car. Seeing as you put so much work into it,” Cas clarified, clearing his throat. Dean hadn’t shown a lick of judgement toward Castiel in the whole two months of their friendship. That wasn’t lost on Cas. He wasn’t about to turn his nose up at something as trivial as a nicotine addiction. 

Dean stared at him a moment before choking out a laugh. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess so.”

“It is… Quite bad for you, though,” Castiel added after a moment. “How long have you been..?”

“Since I was sixteen,” Dean answered. “It was… Well, we were living in Terrell, Texas at the time. Not much to do down there. I was skipping class with some guys and, well, you get the idea. Man, I thought my dad was going to be so pissed.” 

“Was he?”

Dean pursed his lips as he reversed out of the parking spot. “No. I mean, it wasn’t like he was proud, but more like he… Saw it comin’, I guess. He ain’t exactly a role model, anyway -- ever since Mom died, he’s had a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other.” 

“How did he find out?”

“Went through my room one time -- he thought I was stealing his liquor -- and found ‘em under my bed. He didn’t tell Sammy, though, so at least there’s that.” 

Castiel was quiet. The light from the streetlamps reflected on the road, wet from an earlier rainstorm. Wichita was disconcertingly empty at this hour, with most working people asleep and most college students at the library, studying for the upcoming exams. 

Dean broke the silence. “I keep saying I’m gonna quit, you know?” He shook his head. “It’s harder than it seems. I don’t even know what I miss more when I’m off of ‘em -- the ritual or the buzz.” 

“I can’t pretend I understand,” Cas said slowly, “I’ve never experienced it. But I know cigarettes are very difficult to leave behind. I don’t think you’re alone in that.” 

“I guess.” 

They pulled into the Taco Bell drive thru, which, to Castiel, was shockingly busy. 

“I’ve never told anyone about this,” Dean said, pointing to the cigarettes. “‘Cause it makes me feel like a dumbass. It’s the twenty-first century, you know, what kind of kid gets addicted to cigarettes?” He laughed quietly. “But it feels good, you knowing.” 

Cas smiled softly at him. “You can tell me anything, Dean.”

Dean held his gaze for a moment, something unreadable in his eyes. Cas didn’t look away, taking a moment in the dim illumination of the Taco Bell parking lot to study Dean. He had all the hallmarks of a teenage heartthrob — the chiseled face, the dirty blond hair, the green eyes — but there was something rougher there, too, something that Castiel could never discern.  

Dean finally looked away and cleared his throat. “What do you want, man?” 

“I’m fine, really,” Cas said. 

“Dude.” 

“Hi welcome to Taco Bell, what can I get for you,” a bored female voice called from the speaker. 

“Hi ma’am, could I just get two crunchwraps, a large diet Coke, and a water, please?” 

“Is that all?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Total is eight thirty-two at the window.” 

“Thanks.” 

Dean rolled the Impala’s window back up and took out his wallet. 

“What’s a crunchwrap?” Cas asked him when they were able to pull away from the speaker box. Dean’s head shot up, his eyes shocked. 

“You can’t seriously tell me you’ve never been to Taco Bell.”

“I’ve been to Taco Bell, Dean, I’ve just never heard of a crunchwrap,” Cas deadpanned. 

“Well, ain’t you in for a treat,” Dean said.

“I told you I wasn’t hungry.”

“Yeah, and I got two anyways.” Dean shot him a grin. “Trust me, you’ll love it.” 

Cas reached into his pocket for his own wallet. “At least let me --”

He was cut off by Dean pulling up to the window and thrusting a wad of cash at the man working.

“Thanks, man,” he said when he received the brown paper bag and the two drinks. He set the bag on Castiel’s lap and handed him the water, keeping the diet Coke in his hand as he sped off out of the drive thru. 

Dean pulled into a parking spot back at the dorm, and the two exited the Impala. The smell emanating from the bag in Castiel’s hands was making him hungry, and he was suddenly thankful that Dean had thought to order him something. 

Dean walked to the front of the car and sat down and motioned for Cas to do the same. He did, taking out one of the crunchwraps and handing it to Dean. He unwrapped his own, but at Dean’s expectant stare, raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“This is a very important moment,” Dean replied. “Go on.”

Cas rolled his eyes, but took a bite. He closed his eyes — he was hungrier than he thought — and when he had finished chewing, said, “This is very good.” 

“I knew it!” Dean said, triumphant. 

So they sat on the hood of the Impala, Dean emphatically recounting his worst Taco Bell-hangover experiences, Castiel laughing loudly and honestly, stealing sips of Dean’s diet Coke (“What the hell, Cas?” “Well, seeing as you failed to get me a drink more interesting than water”). And when the food was gone, Dean asked if he could smoke, and Cas felt strangely warm and brokenhearted watching his best friend light a cigarette by his side. 

It was near four in the morning when they returned to their room. Dean collapsed onto a pink beanbag he had brought to their dorm days earlier. When Cas had raised an eyebrow at the new addition, Dean had said, “Shut up. They’re comfy, and this was all Wal-Mart had.” 

“Shit. I’m gonna be dead tomorrow,” Dean said, sighing. 

“This was definitely not the most prudent decision,” Castiel agreed as he sat down in his own desk chair. Dean reached for his TV remote.

“Have you ever seen Tombstone?” He asked suddenly. At a shake of the head from Cas, he shot up. “Dude, you’ll love it. It’s one of my favorite movies.” 

Dean moved to his desk drawer and procured a DVD case. He took out the disk and gave Cas the plastic case. 

“It’s a western?” Cas asked after seeing the promotional picture. 

“Hell yes,” Dean said as he put the disk in his DVD player, “And it’s friggin’ awesome.” 

“Dean, it’s already four a.m.,” Cas pointed out. Dean waved him off. 

“Right, no point in trying to get any sleep now. We gotta commit to the all-nighter. Come on.” Cas rolled his eyes, but relaxed back into his chair, anyway, prepared to watch the movie. 

Dean turned the lights off, and the title menu illuminated the dark room. He sat back down in the beanbag, but turned to Cas before he pressed “play.”

“Dude, what are you doing?” 

Cas tilted his head in consternation. “Um… Waiting for you to start the movie?” 

“You’re going to watch it from all the way back there?” 

“Yes?” It came out as a question. 

“Like hell. The screen is tiny.” He patted the beanbag. “This thing is big enough for the both of us.”

Castiel seriously doubted that, but got up anyway. Dean adjusted his position so he was only taking up half of the beanbag space. Cas sat down carefully next to him. He tried not to notice Dean’s shoulder pressed against his, the way one wrong move would land his hand squarely in Dean’s lap. Dean hit “play.”

Dean spent the first half of the movie commenting on his favorite parts (which mostly consisted of gushing about Val Kilmer’s… everything). When he started nodding off during the second half, Cas suggested that maybe they should go to bed. Dean stubbornly refused, but ended up falling asleep as Wyatt Earp killed Curly Bill. 

“All-nighter,” Cas mumbled to himself upon noticing Dean’s open-mouthed snores. He, too, was exhausted, fighting to stay awake. Cas was moments away from nodding off when Dean shifted. He curled onto his side, his head now placed firmly on top of Cas’ shoulder.  

Cas froze. Had he woken up? A snore answered the question with a resounding “no.” 

Cas knew he should move. He should turn the TV off, set his seven-thirty alarm, and climb up to his bed to sleep. But he was so tired. And Dean was warm, pressed against his side. And it didn’t matter, anyway. It didn’t mean anything. 

Cas didn’t have time to consider why he felt the need to point that out to himself in the first place. The TV remained on, his alarm remained off. He fell asleep, contentedly breathing in the scent of rain and cigarette smoke. 

--------

tagging @nguyenxtrang (sorry! I updated yesterday but forgot to post on tumblr)

[maverickbowie]

Simba || Maverick Bowie Moore Self Para #003

Maverick was twelve years old when he first met Leo back in Seattle. He could still remember their first interaction as if it just happened that morning. Midway through the seventh grade and he was placed with the Griffon’s. Still struggling to get used to a new placement, he was late to school, escorted into his English class they were working on some project and Leo’s partner had been out sick, so they got stuck together. At first it was a friendship built off of insulting each other. Maverick made fun of Leo’s name, saying he might as well be named Simba. Leo made fun of Maverick’s lisp. By the time class was over, they were laughing as if they had always been friends. The rest was more or less history. They hung out after school in the park, the arcade, and the music shop. Rarely did they spend time at each other’s house, both making up weak lies about strict parents or not being allowed to have company before dinner. 

As time went on, Maverick realized he wanted to spend so much time with the other because he had a small crush on him. But being thirteen and not understanding his sexuality, he simply buried those feelings, finding excuses that seemed viable to convince Leo to sneak out so they could go skateboarding around town in the middle of the night. Anything to get him away from the foster home that he hated so much. Those were nights that seemed so heavy while they avoided talking about anything serious, making each other laugh as they did simple tricks on the curbs and complained about homework they hadn’t finished yet. There was always a tension between them that neither of them talked about. If only they knew back then that those times would be easy compared with what was to come.

The McEachren House was a residential facility for unaccompanied youths providing assistance for those who were separated from their parents, were transitioning from detention centers, or for mental health reasons could no long be living with their families. Or that’s what the mission statement said. When Maverick arrived in the middle of the night, with nothing except some borrowed clothes from Silas and a haphazardly packed backpack from his social worker, it might as well have been purgatory. It was dark and unwelcoming. The entire house smelled a little musty, like unwashed sports gear and old furniture. He had been shown to a small room, already darkened since his new roommate was already supposed to be asleep and told that he would get a proper tour in the morning. After the night he had had, he couldn’t help but cry alone in the dark until the person in the bunk above his started moving. When the boy climbed down, he was more than prepared for a fight but he felt nothing but relief when he saw Leo’s familiar face staring back at him.

For the months that Maverick was in the group home, he leaned heavily on Leo for support and did the best to support his friend as well. Most nights involved one of them climbing into the other’s bunk, seeking comfort or offering comfort. In those private moments, they shared secrets and fears, things at least on Maverick’s part that he never shared with anybody else. Within those darkened hours they also shared a first in the ways of a few stolen kisses. Never anything more, never discussed, never even hinted at once the sun started to rise. It was just another secret that stayed within that darkened room, as was everything they talked about.

Just as quickly as he was put into the house, Maverick was snatched out of it. A new placement was waiting for him in Chicago. The moment he left, he regretting never telling Leo how he felt. His first crush, his first kiss, gone without any possibility of coming in contact with him again. By then he was almost fifteen and he knew the drill of being moved to a new placement. Say goodbye to your old friends, you old life, and a lot of the time your old possessions. This was one move that really effected Maverick in a million negative ways. He had been in Seattle for almost two years, building friendships with Leo, as well as Avery and Silas and Silas’s family. For a while he was even convinced that Silas’s family was going to try to adopt him but that’s a story for another time.

The months ticked by, morphing into years but there was never a day that went by that Maverick didn’t miss Leo. When he woke up in the middle of the night, filled with panic and tears, he only wanted Leo’s comfort and the safety of that darkened room back in the group home. But he knew better to hold on to hope that he might run into anybody from his past. Even after he was adopted and given permission to get social media, even encouraged to reach out to his old friends, he made no effort to do so. That was something he was scared of doing. All those memories weren’t something he wanted to fuck with. Things were safe in his memories. There was no telling what had changed with his Seattle friends in the almost three years since he had been gone.

Luxor Academy seemed like a fever dream with so many people from Maverick’s past. But he was happy to see every single one of them. Sure a lot of his biggest fears came true as his past relationships, once he held so close to his heart fell apart by his own hand. It was still something he never thought he would ever get. Reunions with those he held so dearly to his heart. Rooming with Leo in France was both a blessing and a curse. No more strangers beside him but things were rocky with Leo still after what seemed like endless fights. The odd bit was whenever they needed each other in the middle of the night, it was as if nothing ever changed.

Sharing a room with Leo again gave Maverick a front row ticket to whatever downward spiral the other was on. No matter how hard he tired, he notice almost every little change that happened, watching in concern as Leo slipped back to the condescending, hypocritical asshole that he had always been. It killed him inside knowing that he couldn’t do anything to help anymore. Although he did begin to question the legitimacy of their ability to help each other. It was more likely that they found comfort in the familiar faces in a scary new place after whatever trauma had landed them both there. Without the shared suffering, maybe they had grown too much in different directions.

Whatever the reason, it didn’t deter Maverick from still worrying and carrying for Leo, especially as he fell deeper and deeper. The weekend that he left, while it took him too long to notice that his roommate was gone, he took noticed of how distraught he was when he returned. As much as he wanted to, he didn’t know how to ask what was going on or how to begin to help. The best he could do was try. And try he did, offering help when he could, hanging out with him so he wasn’t alone. But all that did was give Maverick a closer look at how bad off Leo was and get even more concerned.

When the campus exchange to New Zealand happened, Maverick wanted to be happy. Less than 1000 miles from where they were staying was the actual Shire from Lord of the Rings, complete with Hobbit holes that he could visit. But between everything going on with him and worrying about Leo and the massive hangover, the flight from France to New Zealand was anything but enjoyable. The entire first day, he spent in his room, nursing his hangover.

The next day, he figured he should start unpacking some of his haphazardly packed bags. Everything had simply been shoved into bags and boxes with no rhyme or reason as to where they were put. The only things that were packed with care were his guitars. He was just starting to dig through his bags when he heard a crash coming from the other room. He exited his room just in time to see Leo bolting from the room, blood dripping from his hand. Panic and concern filled his chest and he raced after his friend. For a while he managed to keep pace behind Leo as he raced off campus as if the mafia was after him. But the further he ran, the harder it got for Maverick to keep up the chase. Once he realized how lost and exhausted he was, he also noticed that he had lost Leo. Trying to catch his breath, he continued to walk on tired legs in the direction that seemed right. But how would he knew for sure. At least the street signs were in English as well as the words that the patrons on the street spoke. Although they might as well have been speaking another language, thick accents with strange words muddled by the pounding in his ears from the run and the hangover that still lingered from the day before.

How long he continued to walk, he couldn’t be sure. He wanted to find Leo, scared of what the other might do or what might happen to him in this new place. He was cursing the boy and himself for following him, already preparing to tear strips into Leo when he found him, when the sounds of car horns filled the air. At first it was easy to ignore, just a random beep rather than someone angrily holding the horn down in a fit of road rage. The further he walked, the more frequent they got. When he finally decided to look into the street he saw why but he saw too late to react. Leo--his Leo--in the middle of the road as a large vehicle slammed into him. It was like a scene from a horror movie happening in slow motion while he stood frozen to the ground.

Everything was silent as the world reacted around him. Cars stopped, people screamed and talked loudly, calling for emergency responders and rushed forward to help. But Maverick was glued to the ground, his mouth open in a silent scream as he watched someone he loved crumple to the ground like a rag doll. It seemed like an eternity before he had control over his body again, but in reality it was only a matter of second. He pushed through the crowd, kneeling beside a crash test dummy version of his best friend. Bloodied and bruised and torn apart, he was almost sure this wasn’t his Leo.

Everything moved in a blur around them. EMTs arrived and asked question after question. Strangers tried to answer but nobody knew anything. It was a single question directed at him that brought him back to reality for a moment. Does anyone know his name? His name. His name. His name is so stupid. That’s why he called him Simba. It was just as stupid.

“Leo.” He spoke up, unsure if he would even be heard over the commotion. But the EMT’s used his name as they tried to get a response out of the unconscious boy. As he was loaded into the ambulance, Maverick didn’t hesitate to follow, telling them he was his brother. He sat in the corner of the ambulance, his hand into Leo’s hair as he watched them work on him, flying through the streets of whatever city this was.

At the hospital, he waited, sitting in the waiting room outside the surgery room, clothes soaked with Leo’s blood, trying to think of something to do. Who to call. But everything came up empty. He didn’t want to leave the waiting room the nurses had taken him to, just in case a doctor came out and needed something. He filled out paperwork the best he could and waited some more. The moment he was out of surgery, he was demanding to be taken back to him. Leo wasn’t awake yet, which was probably a good thing since he broke down into sobs the second he laid eyes on him, dropping to his knees beside the bed, filled with relief and anger that Leo was okay.

[sugarnospice]

The semester that lasted a year..

Its final week and I feel like I’ve lived 9 different lives in the last 4 months. 

This semester was unconventional to say the least and I feel like I’ve lived an entire year during it. This was my first full semester with all online classes. I tried to enroll in hybrid classes but soon after school started, the number of COVID-19 cases skyrocketed forcing everything to remain online for the rest semester. Of course this was not a surprise but nonetheless still disappointing. I missed the feeling of walking into a classroom on the first day and choosing my unassigned-assigned seat for the semester, usually an aisle seat within the first 3 rows. I also missed walking around my beautiful campus in between classes and catching up with people I know along the way. Most importantly I missed the atmosphere that surrounds the academic buildings and libraries during a normal semester. People hustling to get work done before the weekend hits, some girl on her 3rd espresso shot trying to finish a midterm paper, the frat boy that only came to socialize, the group that can't seem to agree on a business proposal…sigh, I never knew these would be the things I missed most.

I would say the most difficult thing this semester was getting myself to focus in my room. I have never been one to do homework in bed because my bed is for sleeping and comfort, not stress. I made my work desk to be as comfy as I could always making sure my shades were open to let natural light in. That's another thing, during a typical semester I never worried about being idle all day or not getting enough sunlight but with everything being done in my room I had to make an extra effort to keep myself in high spirits. The best thing I did for myself was create a routine. I knew each day of the week what subjects I would be working on, when I had to be at work, and when I had time to schedule a break or a workout. Soon after the semester kicked off my schedule became second nature.

Having an entirely online semester was not something I thought I would enjoy but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I did end up liking it. I got to do things on my own time and in my own environment. I have always struggled with sitting in classes and focusing on the professor and not the students around me who were shaking their legs or clicking their pens. I got to create my own school bubble and work through things the way I best knew how. I tend to need some kind of background noise when I take notes because it helps me remember content based on the song I was listening to when reviewing (sounds backwards I know, but it works for me). Finals are still winding down for me but I’m supposed to be ending my semester with a 4.0. Never have I ever gotten grades like this and I am so proud of myself for working through these past 15 weeks and staying on top of my school work.

Without even taking school into account, Fall semester 2020 has been my favorite semester of college. I started this semester out with the position of Rho Gamma for the panhellenic community here at JMU. This position entailed me being assigned 13 Potential New Members (PNM’s) who were rushing this fall. I got to work with so many other women in the Greek community here and got experience with leadership, conflict management, scheduling and networking. I was able to find 11 of my 13 girls homes and 1 even ended up in my own chapter. It was comforting to know that these girls trusted me with their opinions and they opened up to me alot during the 2 weeks we worked together.

I also moved into new housing this year and my roommates were everything and more for me. They worked hard and that motivated me to do my own work. The fact that they are all seniors and are graduating in the spring gave us all the more reason to try going out and doing things on the weekends together while we still can. Bethany is the best roommate to get my mind off of things with because she always has so much to share. I’m so excited to see how she excels at her job in the future and even more excited for her to progress in the new relationship she found recently. Sara, who is my floormate has been nothing but amazing in supporting me everytime I come home and have something I need to get out. She listened to my bad mornings after a night out and was there to give me a reality check when it was needed most. Natalie, who doubles as my roommate and big, has done so much this semester to move forward in her career and I'm inspired everyday by how hardworking and passionate she is about it. She supported me in the process of transitioning to Chapter President and was a great friend to lean on during wine nights.

Because of COVID-19, I wasn't sure how I was going to meet new people this year. My favorite thing has always been getting to know new people and figuring out how they influence my life. At the start of the semester it was difficult to do anything because we were constantly being hit with possible exposure. At one point JMU was 9th in the nation for leading cases of covid so you can imagine how scary it was at the start. Nevertheless after reflection I found that I created strong relationships with 10 new people this semester while cultivating my previous ones. My favorite friend has been my neighbor Adrian. He has been a driving force in most of the new friends I have found. I started out being very reluctant to be his friend but him being a pisces and all, I literally could not help myself. Adrian has been great at letting me break out of my shell and introducing me to new music, food, people and places and if there's one good thing 2020 has given me it was his friendship. He has introduced me to a whole world I didn't know existed at JMU. The latin community is a small one here but the culture is so strong. I finally feel like I have met people who are like me and I don't feel like I have to be more than who I am for them

This semester I was also elected Chapter President for Gamma Phi Beta at JMU. This was an intense honor and I am so excited to work along the other exec members in 2021. I often find myself lost in my feelings about being president. I have not had a leadership position this large since I was a senior in highschool and already it has shown to be a much larger role. Being in charge of 200+ girls is going to be a challenge but I thankfully have a large support system begging me, one I intend to use. While president I hope to be a role model for the younger members and leave a lasting legacy with my chapter. When I was first initiated into Gphi I knew one day this chapter would bring me to great things. The women I have been surrounded with these last 3.5 years have made me stronger, smarter and more kind. Giving back to the organization and the greek community is something I am so happy I had the opportunity to do.

To say the least, I'm excited for spring semester to begin and I'm hopeful for where it will lead me. Thank you fall 2020 for all of the laughs, the cries, the love and all of the opportunities under the sun!

Shi

[nekoabiwrites]

Animals Know Best

Hey, it’s midnight here so you know what that means???

Happy Birthday @not-so-innocent-bi-sander!!! Here’s a fic just for you!! I may have gotten a little carried away... and it’s a little long, but uhhh I hope you enjoy it~

AU: Soulmate, Human Pairings: Logicality, Prinxiety Words: 3576 Warnings: Lots of animals, mention of fire, dragons. Anything else, let me know!

Summary: Virgil is yet to find his soulmate and he doesn’t believe the old wives’ tale of their animal companions leading them to the soulmate. Patton decides that Virgil needs some relaxation time and takes them somewhere special.

---

Virgil Addams let out a silent breath as he began to walk down the street away from his apartment building. His head was down, looking towards the pavement as he avoided the eye contact of everyone around him. This didn’t stop all of it, however.

Accompanying almost every person he passed were their animal companions, most being those something someone could take outdoors without having to worry about it. Various dogs, cats, wolves and other four-legged animals caught his eye as they passed Virgil. All of them almost seemed to be analysing him for a second before their paths split. It wasn’t uncommon, and Virgil had grown used to the scrutinising from the animals.

Virgil always chose to leave his own pet at home, as he was always worried that it would fly off somewhere and he’d have no way to catch it, or that it’d set fire to someone or something in public again. Well, that and he really didn’t believe in the old superstition.

For years, his grandmother had told him the old fairy tales and stories of couples who met because their animals had led them to each other and how they’d lived happily ever after. It was something ingrained in every child from a young age, even being told to them in pre-school when they were learning to read. They were always told to simply let the animal that chooses you take you to the one who is made for you. But Virgil had seen several animal-soulmate couples break off horribly; both in his own family and in those he was passively aware of, all of which had broken that child-like wonder and belief in the old superstition.

He did try to not be too cynical, but it was difficult considering he’d yet to even have an idea of who his soulmate could possibly be. Virgil sighed to himself, pushing the anxious thoughts away as his destination came into view. ‘Well, maybe not all couples I know…’ Virgil’s lip twitched as the thought crossed his mind after knocking at the front door.

From inside, a sudden loud barking and scratching of claws on hardwood reached Virgil’s ears and the man couldn’t help that his small smile widened significantly at the sound.  It was only a second after the lock clicked and the door swung open that Virgil’s arms were filled by a fluffy mound of excitable fur, the head of which began to attack his face with licks and nuzzles.

“Faraday. Down. Sit.”

The dog, after a final lick at his face, dropped back down to the floor and sat at Virgil’s feet, looking up at him, panting happily. Behind the dog stood one of Virgil’s best friends since childhood, shaking his head.

“I apologise, Virgil. She still gets far too excited to see people.” Logan apologised, giving the still happy dog a gentle scolding look.

Virgil chuckled, brushing some of the fur off of himself, “Lo, you always say sorry for her. You know I don’t mind.” He reached down and petted the dog’s head, raising an eyebrow at his friend.

“Yes, well.” Logan adjusted his glasses with a slight clearing of his throat, a well-known gesture of his embarrassment. “Faraday, inside. Please come in and join us, Virgil.”

The man followed the request and followed the two into the house. After hanging up his outer most layer, Logan initiated a simple conversation as they wandered through into the sitting area. It was once he was standing just next to the sofa that Virgil was accosted once more.

“Virgie! Hi! I’m so happy you could make it today!”

Virgil immediately felt water seeping into his shirt, “Pat, hands.”

“Oh, whoopsie! I forgot again! Sorry!” Patton let him go and practically skipped over to the tank at the side of the room to dry his hands on the towel he retrieved from the drawer. Patton began to ask more expected questions; how his life was going and how work was, the usual. Even after all the years of knowing Patton, his animal still confused Virgil and distracted him somewhat. Especially once it started to attempt yet another escape act.

Virgil opened his mouth to alert his friend, but Patton was already far ahead of him. “Hey, we just finished play time and feeding time. You know you’re not supposed to get out!” He gathered up the tentacles of the animal and put it back into its tank, sealing all possible exits well. Patton then wiped his hands again whilst giggling, “He always seems to want to escape when you’re around, Virgil. I think Squiddly really likes you!”

Beside him, Virgil heard a soft, long-suffering sigh from the other man in the room and he couldn’t help that he wanted to grin. He approached the tank and peered in at the octopus, watching its movements lazily, “You just get distracted, Pat. We all know that.” Patton only grinned wider and laughed in response.

The three of them took seats and relaxed, while something generic played on the TV between them. It was comfortable and normal, but Virgil still couldn’t help the nagging in his brain as he looked at his two friends happily cuddled together on their sofa in their home.

Patton and Logan had been Virgil’s first friends and they’d all been inseparable as kids. It was inevitable that something would come along to change the dynamic and Virgil was already aware of this at such a young age. So, when his two best friends turned out to be soulmates with each other, Virgil was just waiting for the moment the two of them left him alone to be together. He waited and waited, through elementary school and middle school. It was only in high school, when he’d handed Patton a ripped page from his diary instead of the homework he wanted him to look over, that Virgil finally seemed to grasp the idea that neither of his friends were going to drop him just because they were soulmates. It still didn’t stop Virgil from feeling a little left out.

“Virge… It’s okay, you’ll find them when its right.” Patton’s soft voice broke Virgil out of his reverie.

The dark-clad man huffed playfully, turning away from his friends, “Yeah, yeah, I know. You tell me all the time… Still kinda sucks though…” His fingers were running through the soft fur of Faraday, who’d curled up on the sofa beside him.

A long silence stretched through the room before Patton jumped to his feet, determination blazing in his eyes. “Right! We’re doing something great for your birthday!”

Both Logan and Virgil shared a confused look at the unprompted statement.

“Patton, where did that even come from?” Logan asked, nursing the slightly red patch on his cheek that his partner had accidentally hit during his sudden burst of movement.

“We’ll do something that will get Virgil’s mind off of everything! Something with just the three of us! Like old times!” Patton said, excitedly.

And that was how, a week after, Virgil found himself sat between his two best friends in the front row seat of the circle in their local theatre. If he was honest with himself, he could barely remember even getting to his current location or what they were even supposed to be seeing. Theatre was never something that he’d shown an interest in, so Virgil had to ask just what Patton’s intention was in bringing him here.

Patton merely smiled and gestured across to Logan, which was apparently the signal for the other man to begin spewing information toward him. “You see, upon researching various forms of entertainment that are used for escapism, watching a theatrical production stood out to both of us for its lack of connection to romantic excursions.” Logan continued to spew information at Virgil, but he was boiling it down to its main points in his head, rather than linger on every six-syllable word that was mostly unnecessary.

Logan was part-way through an explanation of how the darkened theatre during the production’s performance was a benefit to the escapism ideal when the lights in the audience began to dim, thankfully cutting him off.

The obligatory “turn off all phones” message boomed from the speakers hung around the stage space, followed shortly by the introductory music as the stage lights came up, making the fairly simple set visible to the entire audience.

Virgil hunched in on himself slightly as he glanced between his friends. Of course, Patton would want to bring him to a musical, they were the only two people in the entire world that knew about his secret love for them, specifically the Disney variety. The introduction with the booming narration was so unmistakable, as was the music.

The show continued, with Virgil slowly letting himself enjoy the production. Sure, it may have been a little low budget, but the singing was fantastic, and the familiar characters, locations and story were managing to pull Virgil in. He was eagerly awaiting the introduction of the next character, as they’d been hidden from the audience for the most part throughout the entirety of the first art so far.

The heroine stood centre stage, just in the edge of a shaped bright white light. “Come into the light…” She said, her voice being just the right amount of cautious. The other character moved, sliding into the light and showing off his costumed form to the crowd, causing some of the younger in the crowd to gasp.

Virgil, for some reason, immediately felt something deep down at the introduction of the supposedly-monstrous character. He couldn’t explain it, but he was entranced. Maybe it had something to do with the handsome face that could be seen under the clearly peeling attempt at a prosthetic, grotesque mask. Perhaps it was the voice that, while evoking the iconic character the actor was portraying, still held obvious hints to the true person beneath. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but Virgil wasn’t really trying. He just wanted to see more of him.

As the first act was coming to a close, Virgil felt his entire body inflate with a heavy intake of breath. The heroine ran off, screaming about how she wanted to get out of the castle she’d been staying in, while the monster reached out after her, somehow conveying intense sadness through the still-masked face. Virgil knew what was coming as soon as the first note played.

The rest of the world fell away as he focused entirely on the man singing so beautifully on stage in front of him. His voice was entrancing, almost putting Virgil under a spell that he never wanted to break out from. The emotion was reaching him so deeply, causing tears to well in his eyes that threatened to spill at any moment. Virgil almost felt like his heart was increasing in size in his chest as he watched and listened. It was utterly perfect.

“Virgil?” Something was shaking his shoulder, bringing him back to reality.

Virgil turned to see Patton looking at him with a sunny grin, the house lights now being back up as the interval had begun. His face immediately bloomed a deep red as he was aware he’d been caught in his intense focus.

“So, you’re enjoying it, right?” Patton asked, excitedly turning almost a full 90 degrees in his seat to look at his companions.

“Uh, yeah, its… really cool.” Virgil awkwardly coughed out.

Patton’s face lit up and he threw his arms around his friend, hugging him tightly, “Yay! I’m so glad! I really wanted you to like it, Virgie!”

A hand pried Patton’s arms off of Virgil’s shoulders, “Patton, careful. You’re smothering him again.”

“Oops! Sorry!”

The interval passed with the three of them talking amongst themselves, which helped Virgil relax. Neither of them had said a word about his trance at the end of the first act. Virgil hoped with all of his might that it could be mistaken for a simple lack of awareness or something else. When the house lights began to dim once more, the man’s heartrate spiked. He was determined to not let the same thing happen.

The second act passed with little problems, until the final scene. The monster was fatally injured, the heroine cradling his body in her arms. She proclaimed her love for him, practised sobs falling from her lips as the creature went lifeless. But then his body rose in the air, lights and sounds came in waves that heightened the atmosphere. Eventually, at the climax of the music, the creature’s robes fell away to reveal an utterly gorgeous man. He was clearly the one who’d been portraying the hideous being throughout the course of the production, but now his face was free for all to see. And Virgil was taking it all in.

He was a spectacle to behold, that was something Virgil was sure of. He seemed muscular, but not extremely so, just enough to give the impression of strength, even from a distance. The beautiful green eyes shone under the stage lights, as did the dazzling grin. The man’s face was just… perfection. There was nothing else Virgil could use to describe the man in front of him, and he doubted he’d ever use the word to describe anyone else afterwards.

In no time at all, Virgil found himself walking out of the theatre doors back into the street. Patton was chatting away happily about the show, excitedly recounting his favourite parts and asking the others for their input. They were about to head off to grab some dinner, when a commotion just next to them caught their attention. A few surprised yells and the unforgettable sound of featherless wings flapping had all three whipping around just in time for a miniature dragon to circle their small group.

“What are you doing out?! I left you at home!” Virgil harshly whispered. The small dragon simply breathed out a puff of smoke in response, which only got Virgil to set his jaw and widen his eyes in pure frustration. “We’re going home. Sorry guys…” He shot an apologetic glance to his friends before reaching out for the animal.

However, it seemed the dragon had different ideas as it slipped through Virgil’s fingers as he attempted to grab a hold of it. It let out a quiet screech before flying off round into a dark alleyway next to the theatre.

Virgil was quick to give chase. “SHADE! GET BACK HERE!” He sprinted off down the alleyway with no warning, which meant he left his two friends to catch up to him eventually. Each time he was close to losing sight of the red-scaled dragon, a small lick of fire burst from her mouth, lighting his way. He rounded a couple of corners before he found himself at a fairly inconspicuous door that had light pouring from it. Virgil stopped, resting his hands on his knees as he caught his breath.

His eyes were trained on his pet, who was currently sat very calmly on the back of a jet-black cat, who was equally as calm. The cat carefully padded over to Virgil and began to rub herself against his ankles, weaving in-between them as it did so. Shade did not move the entire time.

“What the hell…?” Virgil said to himself as he bent down further towards the cat. He went to reach for his own pet, but the cat intercepted his hand and knocked the top of its head against it. Before Virgil could even pull his hand away, the light from the door was blocked and a loud voice filled the space.

“There you are, Princess! I’ve been looking everywhere for you! You know you shoul-”

The stranger’s words were cut off as Virgil looked up with wide, fearful eyes and caught his gaze.

Virgil began to panic. It was him. The gorgeous man from the play. He was here, in front of him, and he’d been inadvertently interacting with this animal that might have been his. What if the man got the wrong idea, or what if Virgil was getting the wrong idea. There was no way this man could be-

“She’s never friendly like that with anyone besides me…” The stranger spoke quietly. He crouched down opposite Virgil and reached out towards the dragon riding his cat, allowing the animal to instruct him on how to properly pet her. He scratched at the side of her face as if he’d been doing it his whole life, and Virgil was suddenly feeling a small bubble of hope rising in his stomach.

When Shade squawked when the stranger pulled his hand back, Virgil was quick to apologise, “I-I’m sorry about her… She’s a little brat.”

An absolutely enchanting laugh fell from the man’s lips as he reached back in to scratch Shade once more. “It’s no problem. I have my own little brat down here.” The cat seemed to understand the insult immediately as she meowed loudly in protest.

“I hope I’m not being too forward, but I think you may be important.” The stranger’s attention was now fully on Virgil, his green eyes boring deep into his and twinkling with a sense of mischief. It unnerved and somehow excited Virgil deep down.

“I’m not important.” Virgil replied on instinct.

“I don’t know. Princess seems to think you are.” The stranger’s voice had lowered to a quieter volume. It almost transported Virgil away, as if he could feel the conversation having moved to a much more fitting location instead of a dark alleyway next to a theatre. “She wouldn’t have allowed you to touch her if you weren’t. I think… we might be soulmates.”

Virgil’s face immediately exploded into a deep blush as the words were said aloud. He dropped his head and tried to search for something to say in response that wouldn’t be utterly stupid or ruin everything immediately. It was only when a hand appeared in his vision that he returned to looking at the man in front of him, who was now standing.

“May I ask for your name?”

“Uh… Virgil…” The man responded, instinctively taking the hand before him. The actor helped Virgil back up to full height and absolutely refused to let go of his hand once he’d gotten there. Virgil almost wanted to pull away, but the comforting touch of the other man’s hand was wonderful. There was also something that could have been a spark of challenge in his eyes, but Virgil was almost sure it was just his imagination. He felt like he was coming back to himself.

After a decently long silence, Virgil quirked an eyebrow and deadpanned, “What? Aren’t you going to share too or are we stuck here?” He nodded down to their joined hands.

“I’ll share once you tell me I’m right or you let go now and never find out.”

“…Right about what?”

“Us, being soulmates.”

“What about if you let go first?”

The actor considered it for a moment, “It’s not like I’d ever do such a thing, but I suppose I could tell you then if I did…”

There it was again. The challenge in his eyes. Virgil tilted his head to the side and regarded the man, looking him up and down for a moment as if considering the idea.

“Nah.”

The stranger was taken aback for a moment, “What?”

“I don’t feel like telling you you’re right.”

“Well, then you won’t know who I am. Guess you have to let go.”

“Like I’m letting go first.”

A dramatic sigh, “I suppose we’ll be here forever then, at an impasse, unable to break this connection of flesh. We’ll wither away and die here, as people eventually forget about the two of us and we’ll be the only two left in the- AH!”

The man let go of Virgil in order to shield himself from the incoming dive that Shade performed just in front of him, cutting off his dramatics at the same time.

Virgil could only smirk, crouching back down to pet the cat who was still rubbing around his ankles, “Looks like you’ve gotta share now.”

The stranger pouted and crossed his arms, “That’s unfair. You cheated! But I guess I’ll indulge you this time.” He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a very small pad of paper and a pencil, scrawling something down, “My name is Roman… and this-” He ripped the page from the pad and pushed it into Virgil’s hand, “-is my number. The show finishes its run in three days. Call me then. Princess, come in.”

With that, the str- Roman sauntered back into the theatre with Princess at his heels. Virgil slowly rose back up to his full height and stared at the paper in his hands, while Shade came to rest on his shoulder.

“Virgil! Virgil! Oh, my gosh! Are, are you, okay?!” Patton’s breathless voice came from behind him. “We came, running, after you, once you left. But, you’re, so fast.”

“Too fast.” Logan emphasised, also sounding out of breath, but less so than his partner, “You managed to, catch up to her then?”

“Yeah, and I, uh… got this.” Virgil held the paper towards the two of them, still a little unable to believe what had happened. That was until Patton let out a shrill shriek and happily jumped up a down.

“YOU FOUND YOUR SOULMATE?!”

---

My other stuff: http://nekoabi.tumblr.com/myworks Mobile Accessible Masterlist: http://nekoabi.tumblr.com/post/181954641376/fic-masterlist

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[sabraeal]

Rarely Pure & Never Simple, Chapter 6

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

The last entry in the 600 Followers Gift-a-thon! I meant for this to be out the last weekend in December, but dude to both illness, kiss-a-thon, and this fic turning out well over 7.5K...it just didn’t work out. Thank all of you guys for following and voting; hopefully this year I’ll actually get to finish all the 500 follower raffle fics too...

Despite the glut of graduation media Shirayuki’s been binging, trying to brace herself for-- for all this, nothing quite prepares her for what it will be like to wear her cap and gown.

“It’s plastic,” she says dully, rubbing the waffle-weave between the tips of her fingers. “It feels like a tablecloth.”

“You look great,” Nanna assures her, eyes shining, giving her arm a good squeeze.

“Besides,” Grandad adds, fiddling with his camera. They got him that two years ago, for Christmas, and even still he doesn’t know quite how it works. “At least you and all your friends will be wearing tablecloths together.”

That fact that doesn’t seem to assuage Kihal in the least.

“This is a disaster,” she wails as Shirayuki approaches, waving her hand to encompass both their gowns. “They’re practically see-through!”

Shirayuki blinks, and-- yes. At a glance, she knows that Kihal’s dress is blue beneath her robe, and Kiki’s is purple. She stares down at her own, and through the cheap plastic, the hazy pink splotches of the roses dotting her dress give the vague impression of period stains.

“Oh,” she murmurs, dropping the fabric. “Oh.”

“We’ve agreed, as whole, to aggressively ignore it,” Kiki says rationally, though by the round of her shoulders and the tense line of her jaw, it still rankles. “I’m going to warn the Junior Student Council that they need to ask for blue robes for all genders.”

“Or black,” Kihal suggests, “ditch the whole school pride thing altogether.”

Kiki nods. “Classic. I like it.” Her gaze hooks on to Shirayuki. “You’re doing a speech today, aren’t you?”

Butterflies races sickeningly in Shirayuki’s stomach. “Um, yeah.”

“Feeling prepared?”

Not at all. “As much as I can be,” she settles on. It earns her one of Kiki’s rare smiles, which at least gets the micro-fauna in her gut doing a more pleasant set of maneuvers.

“Good.” She reaches out, giving Shirayuki’s shoulder a solid squeeze. “I’m excited to hear it. Obi said it was, and I quote, ‘killer.’“

“Oh.” She knows they’re friends, of course; she met him through Kiki and Zen, and she hangs out with both of them on the regular, it’s just--

They talk about her. He talks about her, in a way that is, well, boyfriend-like. And she’s never...

Shirayuki has never been someone people talk about. At least, not without some rumor to go along with it.

“Um.” Her eyes sting, even as her mouth curves into a smile. “Cool.”

Kiki’s gaze flicks over her shoulder. “I better go check on Zen. It looks as if he might have some sort of apoplexy if he doesn’t get more help than Obi getting everyone into line.”

Shirayuki’s head whips over her shoulder, gaze fixing to where Zen stands in the gym, cheeks so red he might as well have been slapped. Right beside him is Obi, mouth hooking into his customary smirk, and something that’s been knotted in her breast since this morning loosens.

“That boy needs to get laid,” Kihal decides with a snort. “Or pick up yoga, or meditation, or something.”

A guilt heat sweeps over Shirayuki, head to toe. “W-what?”

“Wisteria.” Kihal jerks her head at him. “He’s going to pass out if he keeps walking around like a pot with its lid on, you know?”

“O-oh,” she says, now more mortified. “R-right.”

“Obviously not Obi. You’re already--” her eyes narrow-- “aren’t you already doing something about that?”

“Um!” Shirayuki casts about for anything that will keep her from having this conversation. “Looks like...we better go line up. I’m with the Ls so...I’ll see you after the ceremony!”

“What?” Kihal squawks, hands fisting on her hips as Shirayuki hurries away. “This conversation is not over!”

Tragically, Kihal is correct.

“I can’t believe you haven’t blow him.” Shirayuki glares down at where Kihal rests her elbows on the back of her chair, staring down the opposite row to where the ‘N’ section sits. “Like not even a little?”

The rehearsal was hardly three days ago, but somehow Shirayuki had forgotten the crucial fact that the ‘T’ section sat just behind the ‘L’ one after they file in.

“I don’t think this is really the time to be talking about this,” she hisses, glancing at the girl next to her, buried in her phone. To her other side is the aisle, thankfully, though when Mitsuhide throws her a small wave she can’t help but think if he was here, on this side, his staid presence might discourage this particular conversation.

“Just look at him.” Kihal gestures with the flat of her hand, right to where Obi sits, grinning, in front of Zen. “His dick is probably gorgeous. Like if I had to say who had the best dick out of everyone we know, I’d say--”

“Kihal.”

“--Probably Mitsuhide,” she admits, “but Obi would be a close second.”

Shirayuki sighs, and, well, maybe if she indulges this line of questioning, it will be over sooner. “We just...haven’t gotten there yet.”

Kihal gives her a dubious look. “It’s been what? Three months? And you expect me to believe he hasn’t mentioned it at all?”

She blinks. “No, actually.”

It hadn’t seemed odd to her-- after all, the only person thus far in her life that had mentioned her getting on her knees was Raj, and that had gone...not well, for either of them-- but now that Kihal has mentioned it...

Obi is nineteen, twenty in a month, and from every movie she’s ever avoided watching on the subject, he should be, well, more actively campaigning for an end to her dickphobia. Or at least, mentioning how he’d like her to be touching him, often and well.

“Maybe he doesn’t like it,” she suggests, at a loss. After all, she knows there’s, um, a reciprocal position, and as nice as it sounds when he suggests it, it doesn’t excite her in a, ah, intellectual sense. It’s not anything she cares about doing any time soon.

“Fake news,” Kihal grunts, “all boys like having their penises touched. If you asked him what he’d like to do to celebrate--” Shirayuki grimaces at the suggestive nudge-- “tonight, he’d say, hands down, that he wants you to blow him.”

Her menagerie of intestinal insects takes flight at the thought. “I don’t know...”

“Scientific fact,” Kihal insists, “given the choice, a dude will always want to be blown.”

“Well--” Obi meets her gaze, giving her a wink that is somehow both saucy and supportive-- “good thing there’s going to be no time for any of that tonight.”

Kihal’s gaze darts between the two of them, her mouth curling slyly. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll both find a way.”

If there’s one thing to be said for Kihal’s dogged determination on the subject of Obi’s penis and what Shirayuki should be doing with it, it’s that while she’s worrying about just how glacially slow she’s moving in her single serious relationship of her lifetime (and whether the local access cameras are near enough to pick up this entire conversation), she had absolutely no time to worry about her speech.

Which is why she nearly faceplants into the aisle when Zen announces, “Shirayuki Leon,” from the podium.

With a recovery that is as removed from smooth as she is from cool, Shirayuki shuffles up to the stage, trying not to stumble on the kitten heels Nanna insisted she wear. Distantly, she’s aware that there had to have been more lead up, that by Zen’s cheerful smile and the interested applause of the crowd, he must have said something complimentary enough to get her into heaven. But she can’t find it in herself to worry about that; instead she thanks him woodenly as he steps back, taking his seat on the stage as the Student Council President, and lets the cold breath of fear wash over her.

“Hi,” she begins eloquently, eyes scanning over the crowd. Goodness, this is a lot of people. “I’m Shirayuki, and I’m new.”

To her surprise, the crowd chuckles, fond smiles spreading across a few faces, and--

She can do this. She really can.

“I think I said that a million times my first week here.” It’s not anywhere near an exaggeration; she’d been searching for friends, anyone to make a senior year transfer seem like less of a punishment, and she’d been what she liked to term aggressively friendly. “I’d thought nothing could be worse than having to leave my old school right when I was going to graduate. How could I replace eleven years of friendship in less than nine months? How could I even become part of this school, when even your colors are weird?”

They laugh at that too, and it’s strange-- she’d thought she’d feel naked saying these things in front of a crowd, in front of classmates who had whispered behind her back, or even asked her bald questions in the hall about blowing Raj Shenezard. But it’s all so far away now, another lifetime, one that existed before Honor Society, before Mathletes, before--

Well, before Drama Club, certainly.

“But I didn’t feel that way long.” Zen and Kiki are on the stage behind her, but Mitsuhide and Kihal are were she left them in the crowd, smiling as she meets their eyes. “I made friends, good friends. The kind of friendships that last beyond homework. The kind of relationships--” her knees quiver under the podium as she glances at Obi, as she says the words she wrestled over last night, trying to make perfect-- “that last beyond a play, beyond high school, into whatever comes after. Together.”

He holds her gaze, and oh, she is-- she is not going to make it through this if she keeps looking at him>.

“I’m changed because I came here. We’re all changed because we came here,” she says, lifting her gaze to the crowd. “My Nanna likes to say that we’re not stone, but clay, constantly being shaped by what’s around us. Being here has shaped us, but it’s also shown me that we can shape ourselves if we choose to. When we leave here we’ll change again, and again, and for some of us, we’ll lose this shape entirely and becomes something new. And for others, we’ll carry pieces of what we became here our whole lives.”

With a single, steeling breath, she continues, “A few months ago, I couldn’t imagine fitting in here. And now I can’t imagine ever having been anywhere else. So as much as this speech is a celebration of all we’ve achieved together, it’s also a thank you.” She smiles, letting her gaze scan over the whole of her class, realizing she knows a name for every face. “Thank you for my senior year.”

“I cried,” Kihal informs her, fanning herself with a program as they wait for their families to find them on the field. “So I hope you’re happy about that.”

Shirayuki frowns. “That wasn’t really the point--”

“Hey!” Zen holds out his arms, wrapping her in a hug that’s only slightly stilted. “Great speech!”

“Thanks,” she says, gripping his arms as she steps back. “I was nervous. I don’t really know how much that would, um, resonate for people.”

“It’s a small school,” Kiki drawls, cutting between them to wrap her arms around her. A thrill shoots up her spine, all the way from her toes. “And you’re one of us now.”

“Oh.” Her eyes sting, like she worried they might on the podium, but this-- this-- “Thank you.”

It’s fine.

“You did an amazing job, Shirayuki!” Mitsuhide tells her, bounding up with a grin and a hug strong enough to break a moose’s back. “The best speech today!”

“Thanks,” Zen deadpans.

“Oh, I--” he grimaces, rubbing at the back of his head-- “I forgot you gave one. But It was good too!”

“Don’t hurt yourself,” Zen laughs, shaking his head. “You’re right, Shirayuki’s was much better than mine.”

“I thought that, um...” If only she could remember any bit of the ceremony that wasn’t her speech or Kihal’s opinion on oral sex, this would be a much easier compliment. “It was very good!”

“Doesn’t hold a candle to yours, though.” Obi’s arm slings around her shoulder, drawing her tight against his side. “Though maybe I’m biased.”

Zen grins at that. “You are kissing the competition.”

Obi waggles his eyebrows. “You’re always welcome to come over here and bias me yourself, Chief.”

He flushes, bright pink against the platinum of his hair, and coughs, “I’m-- I’m good.”

“Do have to say, kid,” Obi continues, dropping his chin to tangle the amber of his gaze with hers, “there was a part in the middle there I don’t remember practicing.”

“Mm.” It’s good he didn’t look at her like this when she was talking; she’d never have gotten a word out around the tangle of her tongue. “I found out I had more to say about all the, um, future stuff.”

“Future stuff?” he asks, breathless.

It would be inappropriate to kiss him here, at least the way his eyes are promising. Her grandparents are talking to Kihal’s parents just a few feet away, and all their friends are watching them, and a peck might be in order but--

But his chest rumbles under her hands as he leans in, half a purr, and as much as she knows this is more fit for a dark corner instead of right next to the bleachers, she pushes up on her toes--

“Hey, Obi, are you coming tonight?”

He steps away, hazy-eyed. Her lips still tingle with thwarted anticipation. “Hm?”

Zen darts a glance between the two of them. “My graduation party. I know you have, uh, a competing engagement.”

“Oh right.” He nods, tucking her into his side. “Yeah, I’m gonna come for about an hour, and then ditch out for Shirayuki’s. As long as that’s okay with you, Kid?”

She blinks. “Yeah, of course. I’m sorry I can’t make it, Zen, but--”

“Don’t worry,” he waves her off. “I know how it is. I might try to pop by after Kiki’s dad opens the liquor cabinet though.”

Kiki grimaces. “Me too.”

“Glad that’s settled.” Obi presses a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll stuff myself on canapes for an hour, and then I’ll come just in time to eat Grandad’s cooking.”

Shirayuki feigns a pout of disapproval. “Well, now I know where your real priorities lie.”

Kiki barks out a laugh. “You can’t be surprised that it’s his stomach.”

Obi grins at that, but his eyes grow serious. “Aw, c’mon kid,” he says, softer, pressing another kiss between her eyebrows. “You know you’re what matters to me.”

She wraps an arm around his waist, enjoying the way his breath skips as she squeezes him. “I know.”

In all her anxiety-watching of graduation movies, not one of them had managed to show a graduation party, opting instead for moonlit moments on picnic blankets beneath the floodlights of the school’s football field. Thus, Shirayuki is thoroughly unprepared for how chaotic it is.

“Shirayuki!” Nanna calls out, waving at her from across the room, “do you remember Mrs Kino?”

She doesn’t have many relatives; her mom was an only child, and her whole paternal side is shrouded in a mystery she’s only even half-interested in solving, but the party is filled to the brim with her grandparents’ friends and business associates from the pub, as well as a handful of old teachers Nanna managed to track down as a surprise. Her own friends have been filtering in and out all night: the Mathletes started here and left after the first round of chafing dishes were finished, leaving to go to another party across town; at least a handful of drama club members here since before even she managed to arrive, ever-changing, though always clustered around the refreshment tables; Kihal has been aggressively greeting everyone that walked in the door as if it were her own party, making sure that Shirayuki gives everyone at least a cursory hello and an outline of her post-graduation plans. Even Ryuu puts in an appearance around dinner, looking as if he’d like to melt into the floor as his mother gushes about what an excellent influence Shirayuki has been, how she’ll be sorely missed next year.

Still, she hasn’t seen Obi.

“He’ll be here,” Kihal promises as they take a breather in the den, scarfing down a entire plate of chicken marsala with an intensity that makes Shirayuki concerned about her future gastric health. “You know he will. And if he doesn’t I’ll kill him.”

There’s a half dozen thing she could say to that, but she settles for, “Thanks.”

“Do you mind checking to see if there’s anymore chicken?” Kihal holds out her plate with wide, pleading eyes. “It’s so good. And I know you want to see if the desserts have come out.”

More like Kihal wants to know if the desserts are out. “Can you not make it there yourself?”

“Nope.” Kihal lounges against the couch’s arm. “I’m like a California condor. I’ve eaten so much I won’t be able to fly for another hour.”

She lifts a brow. “And you still want more?”

Kihal scoffs. “Your grandpa made it. Of course.”

Technically, the staff of the pub made it, and it’s just Grandad’s recipe but-- Shirayuki takes her point and her plate. For a minute, she contemplates cutting through the party, which fills up the living room and spills out onto the back deck, but then elects for the longer, quieter route around the stairs.

“Hey, kid, there you are.” Obi’s smile lights up the kitchen, plates in both his hands stacked high with appetizers. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“Me too,” she admits, breathless, frozen in the doorway. He’s still in his dress shirt and slacks, sleeves rolled up to the elbow, and haah, she has never been more tempted to tell him that if they’re quiet, no one will know they’ve snuck up to her room.

Obi grimaces. “Sorry about that. I meant to only go for an hour, and then Zen wanted to play a quick pick up game, and it turned to two, and then I got here and...” He shrugs, shaking his head.

“It’s packed,” she agrees, “but I should have known to check the kitchen.”

His lips tick up into a grin, and he turns, leaning his hip against the counter in a way that only heightens the length of his limbs, that reminds her how good they feel around her--

“You did great, by the way,” he says, suddenly earnest. “If I didn’t say already.”

“You did.” She flinches at how awkward and hostile the words sound, but there’s no easy way to say, Kihal has reminded me you have a dick, and even though it abjectly terrifies me, I really want to make out. “I mean, thank you. Again. I’m glad you liked it.”

His mouth quirks at the corner. “Not a dry eye in the place.”

Shirayuki almost says, that wasn’t the point, but what falls out of her mouth is, “Not even yours?”

Obi lights up. “Definitely not.” His cheeks flush as he continues, “I got you a graduation gift.”

It’s on the counter just behind him, conspicuously placed away from the food: a small bag with crumpled up tissue paper, done so artlessly that she knows it couldn’t have been gift wrapped in-store, that he had done it himself. He had picked out that tiny bag, had crushed that paper in his huge hands-- his face distressed, like he’s afraid he’s doing it wrong, like he might break it just by trying-- and there’s something about it that is so sweet, so heartbreaking that she-- she--

Gosh, she really wants to kiss him.

“Me too,” she says, setting her plates down. Kihal may be waiting on the chicken marsala, but she’ll understand the delay. Probably all too well. “I left it upstairs. Should we--?“

“Oh, yeah!” Obi recoils with a grimace. “I mean, yes. Mine’s probably better given in private anyway.”

She blinks, wondering what he could give her that he wouldn’t want other people to see--

I was thinking of one of those little egg ones, the kind that just sit here–

“Obi!” she gasps, scandalized. “You didn’t...”

“What?” He catches her wary glance at the present, and his eyes pulse wide. “No! I mean, I didn’t--”

“Obi!” Nanna bustles in behind her. “You’ve finally made it! I was getting worried I’d miss you.”

With an ease that clearly comes from sixty years of practicing shamelessness, her grandmother closes the space she hasn’t managed to, enfolding Obi in a hug so tight he squeaks. It would warm her heart, normally, but all Shirayuki can think of is that bag, not two feet from them, that may or may not contain a gift that will definitely see her grounded until she’s thirty.

Shirayuki could live with that though-- after all, no one is more eager to not repeat history than her-- but-- but--

The very thought of Nanna standing here, in this room, sharing air with something at least vaguely phallic shaped that Obi would have every intention of putting inside her for the purpose of like, sex stuff and orgasms is just-- wrong. Super wrong. She tastes bile at the back of her throat just contemplating it.

“Have you had the meatballs yet?” Nanna asks, pulling away with a smile. “Colin put them on the menu for you especially.”

Pink flares high on Obi’s impossible cheeks. “Oh! I--” he blinks, gaze fixing over her shoulder-- “Lata?”

“Obi!” Shirayuki presses to the jamb to let him pass, and there’s something about the wildness of his eyes and the mussed mass of his hair that reminds her that the professor is a narrow man, but a tall one, looming over even Obi as he stumbles into the kitchen. “There you are. This place is a zoo.”

“It’s a party,” Nanna offers, wry.

He stares at her, uncomprehending. “Did I not just say that?”

“Lata.” Obi’s voice is strained, every line of his face etched with worry. “Is something wrong?”

Professor Forenzo doesn’t answer, not with words, but instead he reaches into his coat, thrusting out his hand, and--

And he’s holding an envelope. A large envelope. A golden lantern glitters under the kitchen light. “This came for you.”

Obi only stares, gaping, hands dead at his side.

“Oh!” Nanna gasps, eyes wide. “Oh, why don’t you-- you should--” her eyes meet Shirayuki’s around the professor’s shoulder-- “I’ll make your excuses, honey.”

She blinks. “But...”

Obi still hasn’t moved, and neither has Forenzo. Even from where she stands, she sees the professor’s hand shakes.

“Right.” She sets down her plates, taking the envelope from his hands as she slips her fingers through Obi’s limp ones. “We should go open this, don’t you think?”

Obi swallows thickly. “Yeah. Yes. Open it.”

She tugs on him, yanking him a single staggering step. “Come on, I know just the place.”

“Okay.” He stares at the envelope in her hand, following her woodenly. “Okay.”

Shirayuki glances at the plates on the counter. “Nanna, could you do a favor for me?”

She eyes Obi worriedly. “Anything you need.”

“Do you think you could bring a plate of chicken marsala to Kihal?” She grimaces sheepishly. “That was sort of why I came it here.”

Nanna's mouth twitches at the corner. “Sure thing. Have fun, you two.”

“Right,” Obi murmurs, every line of him tense. “Fun.”

The bleachers haven’t been broken down.

Somehow that’s the detail she hangs onto as they pull up to the field in Obi’s sedan, dew staining the satin of her flats. They’d been here only hours earlier, the afternoon sun burning bright and endless, but now fog hangs heavy over the grass with only the floodlights to break through it.

It’s strange how it only strikes her as she lays out a blanket with shaking hands, dew wetting her fingertips, that it’s all done now. Her whole life has been focused on graduating, on going to college, on not letting history repeat itself, and now it’s over, the work of a single afternoon. The moment she’s bent her whole life towards has passed.

Now she needs a new one.

“All right,” she says, settling onto her knees, feet crossed under her. “Is it time?”

Obi’s wide-eyed in the glow of the floodlights, mouth slack, his hands clenched around the edge of the envelope like he’s drowning and it’s the only thing holding him afloat. “Is it?”

“Obi.” She folds her hand over his, feeling how he shakes right down to his bones. “Whatever happens, we’ll be okay.” She gives him a confident smile she only half feels. “There’s skype, remember?”

He nods, absent. “Right. Right. I know. It’s just...”

Shirayuki knows what it’s just. She’d had plenty of time to think of every single worst-case scenario on the way over in triplicate, and now she’s just-- she’s just--

She’s tired of being afraid that something good will happen. “What’s the worst thing that could be in there? They won’t accept you? We’ve already been planning for that.” Her thumb rubs over the bone of his, soothing. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“I know, I know. I just...” He sniffs, rubbing his face on his shoulder. “Sometimes hope is worse, you know?”

She doesn’t, not really, but she knows that deep down inside, he’s still that little boy hoping his mom would fight for him, hoping that he’ll get passed to someone that will finally love him. She may not get it, but she understands.

“Okay, this is-- it’s getting dumb.” he laughs wetly, turning the envelope in his hand. “Let’s do this.”

Despite the bravado, his fingers shake as he opens it, muttering curses to himself when the flap won’t come off with one clean pull. Every time he tries to do another tear, the paper feathers out of his grip, until the edge is thousand little finicky rips that flutter off to the blanket. Shirayuki bites back a giggle as he tips the whole thing over, trying to use the weight of the packet to break through the last of it, sitting up on his knees and just shaking--

A thousand flyers flutter out, covering the blanket between them, the grass beside them, everything. Student Dining she sees on one, Greek letters on a dozen more, financial aid-- but still the bulk stays stuck inside, its squared-off corners stuck where the envelope didn’t fully tear.

“You know,” he grunts, tearing the edges off wholesale, “they don’t show you this shit in movies.”

A laugh bursts out of her, scattering the glossy papers she’d already straightened. “I think that’s because most people know how to open mail.”

“I know how to open mail,” he protests, shaking harder, “this is just unnaturally--”

The packet slips out in a slump, hitting the blanket with a weighty thwap, like the calves they show being birthed in biology class, only without all the, uh, extra gunk, or cows, or anything being actually birthed at all. They both stare at it, wide-eyed, neither of them making a move, not for the large, spiral-bound book or the crisp letter on top of it.

When Obi does, it’s for that, picking it up between his fingers as if it’s made of tissue, like all he has to do is breathe and it’ll break. Her eyes fall to the thick manual beneath it, squinting to make out the words Prospective Student Guide. Just like hers. “Obi...”

“I did it,” he chokes out. “I got in. I got in.”

In the glow of the floodlights she sees the shine on his face, and she knows, right then, that whatever her new moment is, she doesn’t want it unless its with him.

She fists his shirt in her hand, dragging him down until she can press her lips to his, until she can taste the salt under his lips and the hitch of his breath.

“I knew you could do it,” she murmurs as she pulls away, sitting back on her heels. “I’m so proud of you.”

His breath rasps out of his throat, eyes wide and gold like dollar coins, and-- and maybe this is too fast, too much. Maybe she’s too much like her mom, thinking that her high school boyfriend is forever when he’s really just right now, just what’s easy, and she--

She stops thinking when his mouth covers hers.

He whimpers into her mouth, hands digging through her hair like he can’t get close enough, like nothing less than consuming her whole will be. Her hands fly to his wrists, holding him where he is, leaning into his touch, and oh, maybe she is like her mom, falling too hard and too fast, but Obi’s right there to catch her.

With a groan, he pulls back, resting his forehead against hers. “Well, I gotta say...this sort of fucks up the gift I got you.”

“What do you--?”

He springs for the bag, set at the edge of the blanket, and thrusts it at her. “Go ahead.”

Her brows furrow as she rifles through the tissue, plucking out wads of crumpled paper. There’s two layers at least, packed tight, and even if she hadn’t heard the broad strokes of his life before he came to Clarines, she’d be worried about just what sort of childhood he had if he can’t pack a gift bag.

She unearths a blister pack, pulling it out with a twist of her fingers. There’s a headset nestled inside, blue and white, clip-on instead of buds, with the packaging boasting microphone included!

“Oh,” she breathes, running her fingers over the bubble. The bulge of the mic is innocuous, a small thing, and it’s so easy to see the way it would have slipped subtly it under a hoodie, or how she could have just slung it around her neck as she moved from class to class, never bothered by the weight. She’d believed him when he said he was serious about her, that nothing about his feelings were casual, but still, still--

He wanted to fit into her life, as unobtrusively as he could. Hours away, he wanted her to know that he was there for her, only a quick phone call away.

“I didn’t want to get the earbuds since you always say they hurt your ears.” His grin goes wide, wicked. “You know, because you’re tiny.”

“I’m not tiny,” she says, wrinkling her nose, “my ears are tiny.”

“Sure, kid.” He coughs, mouth twitching, “it’s your ears.”

“It is!” she insists, swatting at his arm. “Anyway, thank you. These are wonderful.”

Obi shrugs, just a twitch of his shoulders, cheek flushing the pales pink. “You won’t really be needing them now, I guess.”

“I guess not.” She sets them aside, right next to his student guide, and-- and it’s all so much. Too much. “It was thoughtful, though. And I’m sure I’ll use them anyway, even if it’s not for, you know, three hour long skype calls.”

“Yeah, keep ‘em.” His grin pulls even wider. “I’ll just have to make sure to get you that other gift too, to make up for it.”

She surges forward with a yelp, clapping a hand over his mouth. “Stop.”

His lips shiver beneath her palm, and despite the burn on her cheeks, she can’t stop smiling either, can’t stop thinking about this is it, he is it. “Just sayin’...”

“Yes, yes, I think you’ve said plenty, thank you,” she laughs, dropping her hand. She’s so close to him now, half on his lap, her hand pressed to where his chest still shakes with laughter, and-- “We should celebrate.”

“Oh, are you going to take me out?” His arm cinches around her, yanking her close, and she gives out a shriek, hands bracing on his shoulders. “Going to drive me out to Olive Garden and treat me right?”

“I mean...if you want,” she blurts out, wishing that she was better at conveying...stuff. Sexy stuff. “I just meant that we could, um, celebrate here, too. Now.”

“Oh.” His eyes pulse wide. “Oh. You mean...here. Just the two of us. Like...” He swallows hard. “What were you, ah, thinking?”

“I thought I might, ah--” this should be easier than it is, especially when she can feel him twitch against her thigh, excited-- “leave that up to you?”

His eyes go impossibly wider. “You mean...anything?”

“Yeah.” It’s what’s fair; she asked him to touch her, to make her come, and he should-- he should also get the choice. It’s his achievement, not hers.

Scientific fact. The words still ring in her ears, reminding her what a terrible idea this is. Given the choice, a dude will always want to be blown.

He ducks his head, fixing his gaze on hers. “Are you sure, kid?”

Shirayuki braces herself. It’s fine. She can do anything for him, even if it involves penises. “Yes. Anything.”

“Okay,” he breathes, “okay.”

That’s all the warning she has before she spills back, air huffing out of her as she hits a particularly hard clump of earth. Obi’s there in a second, wrapping her legs around him, and oh, she’d thought maybe this would be a-- a blowjob, but-- but Obi has had sex before, after all, even told her he missed it--

So it’s a real surprise when he just kisses her, open-mouthed and wanting, and doesn’t do anything.

Not that she’s complaining. He’s got one hand snug against her scalp and the other keeping her hips firmly against his in a way that is...very exciting, especially when she can feel, um, him grind into her, right where she’s starting to ache. It’s just--

“You just want to make out?” she asks, incredulous, as he slips the strap of her dress down and cups the breast he bares. “That’s it?”

He pulls back, blinking. “Is there a problem with that?”

It’s hard to locate one when he rolls her nipple like that, right between two long fingers before his mouth closes over it wholesale. But still, still-- “I thought you’d want to-- to--” she takes a gasping breath as his hand snakes up her thigh-- “do something, um, new.”

“I do,” he rumbles, mouth grinning against her breast. “I just can’t really, ah, go for it.”

“Why not?” She squirms, lifting her hips as he hooks a finger into her panties and pulls. “I said any-- ohhh--thing.”

His fingers slip against her in just the way she likes, and oh, it’s getting really hard to protest any of this. His mouth is back on her neck, kissing down to her sternum, and her arguments turn mushy and indistinct as she tries to voice them, slurring into groans and sighs as he touches her, tracing her clit and teasing her folds.

“I know,” he murmurs against her skin as she arches into a particularly good thrust. “And I appreciate it, but...it’ll feel weird if you aren’t ready.”

That gets her thinking, as much as she can in this state, but all high function stop the minute he purrs, “Good thing you are now.”

His mouth leaves her skin, the hand in her hair skipping straight down to ruck up her skirt, and still she has no idea what he could possibly mean until he puts his mouth right on her clit.

“Oh!” she yelps, hips bucking so hard she nearly knocks his chin. “Woah!”

He blinks up at her, concerned. “Is this okay?”

Oh, it’s...it’s really hard to think when she can feel every puff of breath out of his mouth like a caress, deliciously warm against her. “Yes. I mean, yes, but I thought you would want, ah, something for you?”

“For me?” His pupils blow wide as he looks down at her, bare and wet beneath him, leaving only a thinnest ring of gold. “Kid, you don’t know how much I’ve thought about this.”

“O-oh?” The worst part about him being down there, touching her, is that she knows he can feel her get wetter, get hotter. “Just...recently? Or...?”

He laughs, tongue tracing along her slit in a way that makes her sure she’s about to come right there, if only he’d keep going. “Always.”

“Always?” she breathes, curious.

She can’t really see his cheeks, but his neck definitely flushes. “You were just always perching on things with, you know, skirts on and being cute. I’m only human.”

(”--and I think we may have to move this flat,” she hums, tucking a leg beneath her, pulling her skirt back down over her knee. “Raj keeps running into it when he exits through the door, and-- Obi, are you listening?”

“Huh?” he slurs, gaze jerking up. “Were you saying something?”

She rolls her eyes. “Yes. The flats.”)

“Oh,” she pants, “oh.”

Her fingers curl through his hair, and with a single shuddering breath, she urges him down. His laugh huffs against her, so warm, and then he’s on her again, only this time better, more.

What he’s doing is just-- beyond her. His fingers thrust between her legs, so good and yet not nearly enough, hitting the rhythm she knows will bring her to the edge, but it’s his mouth that has her full attention. She’d imagined this before, sure, but she’d always though it would be his tongue where his fingers were, poking in and out, and she just assumed that would feel...good? Goofy, but probably nice, if people were always talking about doing it.

It had certainly appealed when Obi mentioned it, I could put my mouth on you, though she’d often wonder why afterward. Something that would make sense in the moment, she assumed, but not when someone was thinking with their actual brain, after.

She could not have been more wrong.

His mouth latches onto her clit, the jolt of pleasure almost too much, too intense when he give it one, strong suck. The noise she makes isn’t anything sexy, half a yelp and half a grunt, but he readjusts, tongue flicking over the tiny bud instead and-- oh, that’s...that’s much better.

Maybe a little bit too much. She wants this to last, to enjoy the feeling of him down there, between her legs, stubble tickling her thighs and mouth so warm against her, but-- she can feel it building already, too quickly, his fingers moving with his tongue in just the right way, sending her right to the edge--

She comes with a strangled cry, head tilted back toward the stars, and for a long moment she’s one with the sky above her, weightless, before she plummets back down to earth.

“Oh,” she gasps, blinking away tears, “wow.”

Obi flops beside her, mouth stretches in a grin, and pants, “Good celebration.”

She stares at him. “Is that it?”

He jolts up onto his elbow, serious. “Di you not--?”

“N-no! I did. I definitely did. It’s just...” She braces herself, determined. “It’s your celebration! You should come.”

His mouth rounds into a surprised O as he stares at her. He shakes himself a moment later, laughing, “No, no, trust me, Kid. I’m fine.”

“Obi.” She rolls up onto her elbow, fixing him with her most stubborn look. “I’m not going to make you drive back with a hard on, and then sit through more of my graduation party.”

She presses her thigh against it, just to underscore her point, and he groans, eyes fluttering shut. It should be so hot, but, ohh, it is.

“See?” she murmurs thickly. “The celebration isn’t over.”

His breath pants out of him, harsh. “Kid...”

“I-I could...”

“Kid,” he laughs, “don’t put yourself out. I can handle it. I mean, if you don’t, uh...”

“Yes!" She winces at the relief in her voice. “I mean...yes. You should-- do it now. I just won’t look.”

“Right,” he laughs as she turns over, putting her back to him. “I wouldn’t want you to feel oppressed by my massive--”

“If I’m going to see it one day, you probably don’t want to give me unrealistic expectations,” she snips waspishly, folding her hands to make a pillow.

“Oh.” The word bursts out of him, like he’s been punched. “Yeah. I mean...right.”

She can hear each tooth of his fly as he unzips, so slow she squirms in anticipation even though she’s not doing a thing, just laying here for, uh, moral support. It’s strange to think it’s right there, that if she turned over she’d see his-- his--

Well, a lot more of Obi than she’s seen before. More than she’s prepared to see, no matter how much she’s thought about it.

He gasps when he takes himself in hand, and even though she knows the mechanics of this, of boys doing that, she’s surprised at how quiet it is, how it sounds less like comical wet slapping and more like... skin on skin. It’s soft, rhythmic, lacking the weird, almost violent jerking in the five seconds of every old teen comedy she’s seen before she covered her eyes. And the sounds Obi makes...

Ah, those are...nice. Really nice.

Her thighs clench at each soft sigh, at the way his breath hitches with every stroke. Obi always said that just watching her come did it for him, and she believed him, she had, but-- now she knows how true it is. She only came minutes ago, but the sounds of him alone is making her wet, slicking the inside of her thighs and reminding her how he’d sounded in the car, months ago--

--ah, yes, like that, god – fuck, Shirayuki, I–

He moans, long and pained, and she-- she’s curious. Enough to get her into trouble, Grandad says, and sometimes out again. So she can’t help it, she-- she peeks.

Not at his-- down there, of course, but just at his face, at the safe parts. Or at least, it would have been safe, if his head wasn’t thrown back like that, if his eyes weren’t wrenched shut, mouth slack--

Yes, god, the way you sound – god, fuck, that’s so good, please –

Shirayuki rolls back, fitting tight against his side, stomach thrilling as she feels the pace of his arm rubbing against her, as she watches the way his whimpers eke out of his mouth, unbidden. He must feel it, feel the difference, because he stops, a whine wringing from his throat as his eyes slit open to look at her, so dark--

“Don’t stop,” she tells him, breathless. “Keep going.”

His eyes widen, seeking hers, and as he starts moving again, breath rasping out of his chest, all Shirayuki can see is gold. It’s too much, too much, and she leans in, covering her lips with his.

Obi gasps into her mouth, whimpering as her tongue licks against his teeth. He arches into her, hand wrapping around her neck and dragging her closer, fingers tangling roughly in her hair until he cups the back of her skull, holding her to him.

“God,” he murmurs against her lips, pulling back with each press to suck down a drowning man’s breath. “Fuck.”

His elbow works against her stomach, and she’s too curious still, letting her hand trail down his arm to feel the corded muscle there, standing out in stark relief as he strains to meet his pleasure. Her fingers trail down further, further, following those lines to his wrist, to where she can already feel the heat from his--

He whines, writhing beside her, hips bucking into her thigh, and she realizes: he’s coming.

Shirayuki jumps back from him with a pop, eyes searching his face, but it’s too late, it’s over, his head dropping back onto the grass with a laugh. In the burn of the floodlights, his face is flushed, dewy.

“You don’t, um, have a tissue or something in that bag of yours, do you?” he asks shyly, looking like he’d appreciate if the field experienced a sudden, localized sinkhole.

“Oh!” She pops up, grasping blindly for where she dropped her purse. “Yes! Here. I, um, also have hand sanitizer.”

Obi lets out a weak laugh as he takes the packet from her. “It’s not that much of a--” he hisses-- “mess, god damn.”

She dares a glance over her shoulder, mouth dry as she watches his back work. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just-- sensitive.” He casts a shy glance over his shoulder, before letting it skitter away. “It was just...really good.”

“Oh.” That is really not helping with her whole...situation. Especially now that she can see where her panties are, an arm’s length away on the grass, and she’s reminded that there’s nothing beneath her dress, that she could easily lay back and-- “Oh.”

“Yeah.” His zipper is loud in the silence, enough that she feels her own blush bloom on her cheeks. He lets out a sigh, scrubbing a hand down his face. “You know, I think it’s good you have your dickphobia, kid.”

That’s...definitely not what she’d though he’d say after all...this. “Oh?”

“Yeah.” He lays down next to her, hands raising up to grasp her by the shoulders and guide her down beside him, ear pressed firmly to his chest. His heart is beating loud, strong, and triple time. “If that’s what it’s like with you just being here, I don’t know if...” He coughs, squirming. “I’m not sure I’m ready to have sex either. With you.”

She shrinks. Of course, of course. “Oh...”

“No, no! That’s not--” he pulls back to look at her, so serious-- “I want to. I want to so bad. But, I just mean...”

He lets out a sigh, head hitting the ground with a thunk. “I’ve never done any of this with, you know, feelings too. It’s just been...stuff. That I did. To feel good. But now...”

He bites his lip, and it’s terrible how it only makes her want to kiss it, to take it into her mouth and sooth away the sting. “Like, my dick wants to have sex, all the way, all the time. Everything about you does it for me, and I just...” He lets out a frustrated groan. “I think that my...my heart...”

He presses a hand there, brows furrowed, like he’s not used to thinking about it. “Never mind.”

“No, I...” She lays a hand over his, squeezing it. “I get it.”

“It’s just that...” He takes a breath, clears his throat, and looks at her with eyes as warm as honey. “You’re not casual for me, Shirayuki.”

She can feel the smile on her face, almost too big to contain, and she leans down, pressing a kiss to his lips. “Good,” she breathes, curling fingers into his hair. “You’re not casual for me either.”

[marshmallowprotection]

Vampire AU

Pairing: Saeran x Lila, Ray x Lila

1

Lila hummed underneath her breath as she tended to the flowers.

It was a quaint day, she had been working since they opened early in the morning and hadn’t really taken much of a break. When your family was the only florists in your town, that meant that you had a lot to do and  running this business took a lot of time and energy, even though this was technically her families' business, she was the one here most often and the one working the hardest to keep things running smoothly since her Grandmother had fallen ill.

[[MORE]]

Now, they had employees and plenty of the family would drop by to make due when they had to but it was Lila that stepped up to the plate to make sure that the life work of her grandparents was taken care of. It was sort of expected of her, after all, she was the only one in her family that didn’t have what they would like to call a “conventional” career path.

She was an artist that was still trying to find her footing, and without immediate satisfaction, it left most to speak ill.

If she had her way about it, she might have been spending time out in the backroom. She had her spare easel back there so she could spend time working on her next project. She had started to finally work on her floral collection and with spring on its way, a new bloom would be likely to spark her creativity.

Whatever wasn’t in the back room at the moment was on display on the front where the walls were barren and abandoned of much else. Who needed a gallery when you could borrow the wall space from the flower shop? She thought with a weak-willed laugh.

She had dreams of being a beloved artist. But, she had to make sure that her second passion was taken care of first and foremost. After all, she made a promise and Lila didn't break her promises once she made them. Unfortunately, sometimes that meant that she would have to do things that she didn’t account for.

At the very least, this time she was doing something that she liked.

If Lila hadn’t found her passion and love for art at such a young age than she might have been working full time at the flower shop as a florist. She genuinely enjoyed doing for others and it didn’t hurt to find herself amongst the flowers. It was her safe space. Nothing bad could come to her if she was where she was happiest.

This was where she was happy.

Far from the grief and pain that she had experienced two years ago.

The afternoon sun had just begun to set, and she finished arranging a piece for a wedding, taking the time to set it aside for delivery. That was going to be a doozy.

When she peered out the front room her two workers were tending to the dead leaves and weeds stream about the garden, that was one job that was taken care of for her. However, she still just needed to count the books and make sure their ducks were in a row. The deliveries for the week would be going out in the morning, and she would make sure they had received the payments that remained.

Lila shut the door to the back behind herself and stepped up to the counter, tugging the book from one of the cubbies, opening it up and beginning to dot her I’s and cross her T’s. This and that, that and this.

The front bell to the shop jingled, and when she lifted her head she noted it was one of her regulars. "Oh, I didn't expect you to drop by today.”

She had moved into town not that long ago, coming from across the country because she was attending the university and this part of the town was the cheapest for students to find housing they could afford. Her cheeks were pink and she looked a bit nervous, her eyes downcast at the floor. "...I'm good. I've just been thinking about... um… well, you see there's this..."

Lila raised an eyebrow, seemingly picking up a hint about why she was dropping by. She laughed, suddenly, and understood why the blue-haired girl seemed scared. "Is it a special somebody?"

She fiddled with the fabric of her baggy hoodie sleeves and looked up at Lila with a mortified expression, “N-No! It’s not that,” she tried to say, before sighing. “How did you know it was about that?”

“Oh, it’s just something that I’ve learned to pick up,” Lila said. She set her pen against her book and shut it. “I’m used to people dropping by because they want to impress someone or because they have a crush and want to give them something. You wouldn’t believe how many people have come by because they don’t know what to get their partners.”

“I don’t have an um…” she swallowed.

Lila smiled knowingly. “Oh, but you’ve got the eyes for somebody, Bridgit. Is it a cute boy on campus? He must be something special if you like him. Do you wanna tell me about him? Maybe I can find you something that he’ll like.”

She panicked, once again, and shook her head. “I-I’ll have to ask you about this later, um, I’m going to work on my homework.”

Lila sighed at the young girl. It wasn’t surprising that she ran out of dodge when she got a little too excited or flustered. Bridgit was painfully shy, and she still didn’t know the ropes around just making a move. If she remembered correctly, she had ducked into her shop the first time because she had seen a particularly cute boy and wanted to avoid being seen by him.

Perhaps this was the same boy. This was the closest that she had gotten to asking Lila for advice. Maybe the next time she would be able to finish her questions without ducking out.

One of her employees looked over at her, “You think she’ll work up the courage one of these days?”

“Man, she’s been in here too many times to count. I kind of hope this guy figures out she likes him and then makes his move. ” the other discounted.

“Just because that’s the most drama you two can gab about doesn’t mean you have to start placing bets on her love life. I know it’s been a slow week but be a little more mindful of our customers. Why don’t you two go ahead and go home for the night if that’s what’s on your mind? I’ll close up tonight.”

The moon had made its way into the sky by the time she had cleaned up the shop and began to stash away the brooms. She had to adjust the temperature inside to combat the weather outside the greenhouse. She tugged up her sweater closer to her body as she grabbed it from the hook, and let out a little puff of air against that lingering winter cold.

It was too far too cold for her liking, and while it had been warm during the day, the nights still had that chill that made your spine tingle. And, she wasn’t even outside yet. What a strong chill if it slipped through the cracks of the building with ease.

With pursed lips, she went to head to the door but stopped in her tracks when she noticed that someone was in the shop. That was peculiar, nobody usually stopped by this late. She thought that it might have been Bridgit, but this figure was far too tall to be that petite girl.  This was a quiet part of town, and she knew almost everyone that dropped by.

Someone new was a rarity.

It was a guy.

He was dressed in dark, muted tones that would have made him a hazard in the roadway at night. His hair, well, the most that was peeking out from underneath a hood at least that she could see, appeared as white as the night sky; There was the faintest hint of pink there as if he hadn’t dyed it all the way that he wanted. This was a little strange but he didn’t appear to be any different than the rest of her customers.

It was possible that he was new to town just as Bridgit was, and had wandered into this part to check things out. Still, she was about to close because of the late hour and he would have to go sooner or later. Lila pursed her lips.

With her hands in her pockets, she put on her business face and lit up the bubbly attitude as much as she could. “Hello!” she greeted, “I see you’re admiring the coming spring’s bounty. This winter has been a long one so it seems. The gladiolus there is coming in well, but they’re very picky when it comes to their temperature. It hasn’t been warm enough for them to completely flourish. I'm afraid that one has been on the brink of dying as of late.”

The stranger didn’t budge from his spot, nor was he jostled by the sound of her voice like any other person would be. She had been fairly quiet when she came back into the room. He turned his head back in her direction, and she caught a glimpse of his green eyes. They seemed rather unnaturally green as if he were wearing some of those colored contacts.

“You’ve taken great care, they have just the right amount of water, it’s always often that people forget to give them what they need, thinking the rain may be enough, but you seem to know better than that,” he spoke, suddenly. His fingertips brushing against the petals of the almost blooming blossom. “They seem happy with the kindness you’ve shown them.”

Oh, interesting, she thought. He knows a thing or two about flowers.

“I do my best,” Lila said. “I wouldn’t call myself an expert by any means. I've learned by error my entire life, making mistakes and fixing them is my way of life. After all, this place is very important to me.”

“...You’re the owner, then?” he asked, then.

She let out a little laugh. “Kind of, you're in the right area. It belongs to my family, actually. I’m just the one that takes care of the place the most lately. You must be new to town, then, this is a fairly small place and I know pretty much everyone, and they know me.”

He shifted from one leg to the other, guarded.

“Yeah, you could say that,” he said, curtly. It was clearly something that he didn’t want to talk about. It wasn’t any of her business, so she paid it no mind.

“Well, if you haven’t heard it yet, welcome to town, and my shop,” she smiled. “Anyone who knows their stuff and their way around a garden is more than welcome in my shop. I never meet someone with an eye often. Is there anything that I can do for you this evening?”

The man looked away when he caught a glimpse of it.

“No,” he said.

No?

“I've just admired the view from outside the window for a while and I… wanted to see what it was like on the inside.”

Oh.

Lila smiled. She understood that much. Perhaps he was someone who hadn't been able to touch the grass in some time; If you lived in a city, it was hard to find the grass and wonder.

“Well, I'm flattered you think so much of the place.” She said, “My family also has a large garden not far from here that's open to the public, and the groves there are far better than what I've done here. If you think my shop is great, you'll see really quickly that I'm nothing special compared to mother nature herself.”

She took a step closer and leaned against the edge of the table. Her fingertips brushed against the bud still damp from its last watering, the one that he had last touched himself.

Beaming with an idea and a kind heart, she looked over at the stranger who stood still. “Gladiolus represent remembrance, as well as confidence, dexterity, and faithfulness. You seem very fond of it. Hm, since this particular one has been giving me some trouble, why don't you take it with you and breathe some life into it for me?”

He blinked, raising an eyebrow. His expression was unreadable by her, and that was when she noticed the parlor of his skin. He seemed as white and as delicate as a lily, sickly even. It dawned on her that this stranger may have had more struggles in his life, and that only made her forget any of her silly suspicions on spot. All that was on her mind was making someone's night better than it could be. It was her goal.

She wasn't taking no for an answer, either. Scooping the pot into her hand, she pressed it into the strangers hand with a smile and a nod.

“No charge. Something like this could liven up your room as well as your mood,” she said.

“You would do something like that?”

He was surprised by her sudden actions, so much so that he didn't say much else. She waved it off as a bit of embarrassment and headed to the door where she held it open for him and made sure to lock it before she stepped out into the cool night air.

Lila stole a glance at the stranger, before she started to walk in the direction of her apartment, “I'm in this business to make people happier by any means. With the right flower in your hand, and a smile, you could make even the saddest person feel again. That's something that not even money could buy.”

“...You're very kind.” she could hear him.

“Just promise you'll let me know how it turns out!” She called back at him with a laugh.

The stranger watched as Lila disappeared into the shadows and rounded the corner to her small apartment that was two blocks away. She would get their safely as long as he was nearby. This town was steadily becoming a hotbed for prowlers and he wouldn't want anything to happen to her because of that. For so long he wanted to talk to her but he never could work up the courage to do it; He took the chance tonight only because he had quenched his bloodlust the night before.

It was all too easy to find someone in a college town. Ray just hated and felt bad after he had to coerce someone for their blood. He had to survive… and that was the cost he had to pay.

He had just gotten sidetracked when he looked and saw the most lovely girl tending to a bouquet of lilies. He had intended to keep moving and to keep hiding from the underground that wanted to find him and destroy him. But he just… couldn't leave this place.

He felt enraptured and bond by the intoxicating feeling that girl gave him. She smelled heavenly and her smile almost made his heart beat again. She really was as kind as she seemed to be, he had been watching her for some time now, and he was relieved to know that she was lovely. He was so glad he came to this town, but at the same time, he knew that as long as he was here… danger would follow.

Ray stared down at the gladiolus in his hands, almost gleeful. “Perhaps this time she won't find me… maybe I can be normal again… maybe we can just exist here…”

[jaeminlore]

First Love // Lee Donghyuck

-

the prompt: can I request a donghyuck fluff scenario, can it be set like in high-school and you’re a year older so often come over to help mark study at the dorms which is when he sees you!! and he’s really nervous around you & the older boys notice except mark

words: 1309

category: fluff

author note: if haechan doesn’t get off my bias list i am going to slap someone the boy has been looking too good lately. i feel like i suddenly realized i love my best friend since childhood. anyway i thought this was cute so enjoy!

- destinee

-

The first time Donghyuck saw you, he realized what people mean when they say love at first sight. If love was sweaty palms, forgetting how to speak, and a heartbeat so loud it could lead an army into battle.

He was at the dorms, trying to complete his never ending pile of homework, when he heard Mark laughing at something. He heard a softer voice as well, and he just assumed it was another one of Mark’s endless study buddies, since the boy didn’t know how to stop befriending everyone.

It was okay at first, until the laughter got too loud for Donghyuck to focus. He must’ve read the same page five times through before he realized he would never be able to understand the content with two disrespectful people on the other side of the wall.

He sighed, and with an annoyed groan rolled off the bed he had been studying on. It was actually Taeyong’s bed, since his room was the quietest and easiest to work in.

Tucking a pencil behind his ear, Donghyuck walked into the kitchen. Just as he opened his mouth to scold his older friend, he saw you and his mouth suddenly went dry. Like sawdust had covered his tongue and rendered him mute for the next five minutes.

“Are we bring to loud?” Mark asked.

Donghyuck could only nod.

“Sorry,” Mark said. “We were just celebrating since both Y/n and I passed our exams.”

Y/n?

Donghyuck and you made awkward eye contact. You tucked a stray lock of hair behind your eye and muttered a small hello.

Donghyuck couldn’t breathe. A thousand Arabian horses ran through his ribs, shaking him into backing away and retreating into the safety of Taeyong’s room.

-

“We’re home with food!” Taeyong yelled for all the dorm to hear.

High school and college aged boys came out of the woodwork, all abandoning their studies for some well-needed nourishment.

“Where’s Donghyuck?” Taeil asked, setting down some more takeout boxes.

“He was in Taeyong’s room,” Mark said.

Taeil and Taeyong exchanged a look. They knew Donghyuck found comefort in the elder boys’ room, so it was probable that he was having difficulty with something. Although, it was just as probable that he simply wanted to take a nap without the two energetic freshmen named Jisung and Chenle to wake him up.

“I’ll go get him,” Taeyong volunteered.

He entered his room to see Donghyuck studying hard over his science textbook. “Food is here.”

“I’m not hungry,” the younger boy muttered softly.

Taeyong took the chance to sit on his bed and pat Donghyuck on the shoulder, “Is something wrong?”

Donghyuck turned around and positioned himself to look at Taeyong, a look of annoyance on his face. “I can’t breathe. I feel like I’m drowning in the deepest ocean and it’s all her fault because I was fine until I looked into her eyes and now I can’t seem to think about anything but her.”

Taeyong was impressed. Donghyuck had never shown so much emotion for someone at one time before. “Have you told her that you like her?”

“I haven’t even talked to her,” Donghyuck said in an are-you-kidding-me-type of voice. “She’s Mark’s age and she might like him.”

“What if she likes you?” Taeyong said encouragingly. “What if she felt the same way you did when you looked at her.”

Donghyuck fell onto his stomach, hiding his face in Taeyong’s pillows, “That is absolutely impossible since I am wearing the equivalent of a trash bag and she was wearing tumblr aesthetic blog clothes. Those don’t go together.”

“First of all,” Taeyong held up his pointer finger, “I’m going to pretend I know what that is.” He held up a second finger, “Second of all, have some confidence in yourself. You’re on the coolest dance team in Seoul. Where’s that confidence?”

“Down the toilet with my dignity,” the boy said, his voice muffled by the soft fabric.

“Alright my overdramatic friend,” Taeyong pulled him up by the shoulders. “You have to eat, still. If you don’t, you’ll never have the energy you need to grow.”

Donghyuck rolled his eyes and stood up to get food. “Yes, Mom.”

-

Mark was oblivious to a lot of things. Mostly because he was busy and had a time-consuming schedule that allowed little time for an analysis of his surroundings.

But the fact that he couldn’t see Donghyuck’s crush was just ridiculous.

Donghyuck decided to make an effort to try and get to know you better, but Mark seemed to always get in the way.

For instance, when you and Donghyuck were chemistry partners for combined chemistry, he pretended to have forgotten his textbook so the two of you could share.

Mark, one row ahead of him, turned around with a friendly smile. “I brought a spare that you can use.”

“That’s helpful,” you quipped, elbowing Donghyuck playfully. “Now we don’t have to share.”

“Right…” he said, bitterly thanking Mark for the textbook.

The more tests you and Mark had, the more you would come over to the dorms. Each of the boys knew you and vice versa, so it was never awkward.

Haechan hated those hours you spent at the dorms. Half of him wanted to see you, but the more listened-to half decided he should stay in his bedroom and not make a complete fool of himself in front of you.

The other boys noticed of course. At least the older ones, who could all remember their first crushes and how nervous they were.

They eventually convinced you one night to stay for a movie, so that they could set a plan in motion.

As soon as the movie started, Doyoung sighed, “I could really use some popcorn right now.”

“How many bowls would we all need?” Hansol asked before doing a head count.

“Four bowls,” Johnny answered. “Want to get those for us, Donghyuck.”

The poor boy jumped at his name he was so nervous. He was thrilled to get away from you for a few minutes, even if it was just to pop popcorn. “Sure.”

“Oh,” Yuta sighed, “Four bowls is a lot so someone else should go with you.”

Ten nodded from beside the Japanese boy, “Why don’t you go with him, Y/n?”

You, a casual and laid back person up for anything, agreed. “Alright.”

Mark suddenly pushed you back onto the couch. “Y/n’s a guest, guys. I’ll help Donghyuck with the popcorn.”

All of the older boys groaned and threw their heads back simultaneously.

You began to text someone while waiting for the popcorn. “I know what you guys are trying to do.”

Sicheng choked on his water, causing Kun to hit him harshly on the back.

“You do?” Jaehyun asked after shaking his head at the other two.

“Of course.” A soft blush played on your cheek. “You’re trying to set Donghyuck and I up.”

“Yeah, well it’s not our fault Mark keeps ruining it,” Taeyong pouted.

“I think it’s funny,” you said.

“Do you like Donghyuck?” Sicheng asked.

“Of course I do,” you answered.

You were too busy looking at your phone to notice Donghyuck and Mark had returned to the living room.

Donghyuck’s cheeks were red as he passed out the bowls of popcorn to everyone.

“Sit by me,” you said confidently, patting the seat beside you. All of the boys watched you, impressed with the way you handled the situation.

Donghyuck eventually relaxed as the movie began to play. The humor of the movie drowned out the anxiety of having you next to him. He was also relieved that you, too, liked him back.

He didn’t even blush that much when you slipped your hand into his.

“Wow,” Mark said quietly, shoveling popcorn into his mouth. “Didn’t see that one coming.”

Doyoung slapped him.

~the end~

[dr0wning-in-hell]

Get Over Her - Archie Andrews

summary : you’re trying to get your best friend to get over Betty now that she’s with Jughead, but it takes more convincing than you thought.

warning : minimal cursing, crushes, lol that’s probably it.

word count : 1.7k

pairing / characters : Archie Andrews x reader, Betty, Veronica, mentions of Jughead, mentions of Reggie, mentions of Jason 

prompt : reader tells Archie to get over Betty.

A/N : so short, sorry, but I had this idea so why not write it? Send in prompt requests, idk what to write.

master list | requests | prompt list | my wattpad

“Stop.” Y/N said to her friend.

He looked over at her, eyebrows raised. “What?”

Groaning, Y/N turned towards the ginger boy. “Stop staring at Betty like that, you like every other thirsty hoe in the school.” Archie laughed, but Y/N was being 100 percent serious. ”I’m serious, Archie. You need to get over Betty.” Archie’s face fell.

He never realized it, not until Betty and Jughead started dating, but he loved her, and now he was to late. He lost his chance, and now there was nothing he could do about it. He sighed in frustration and defeat, his head hanging low. Y/N patted his shoulder gently.

“Come on you sad lump, let’s get to class.” Y/N said, hoisting he sad friend up from the bench the two were sitting on. Betty, Jughead, Veronica, and Kevin had already left, leaving Y/N and the ginger boy to themselves. Archie huffed, getting up and following her to their next class of the day.

Y/N hated seeing Archie so upset and heartbroken, but maybe it was just because they were friends, or maybe because she love him. It was silly to Y/N to love someone that would never love you back the same way, all the pining and running. It was an endless loop of Y/N’s life. Sighing, Y/N tried to shake these recurring thoughts from her head as she wrote in her notebook. From the corner of her eye she saw Archie still staring at the blonde girl a  few rows ahead of them. Y/N rolled her eyes, ripping out a piece of paper and throwing it at Archie. He jumped at the sudden contact, his head twisting in Y/N’s direction.

“Stop staring.” Y/N scolded. To almost everyone Y/N was the ‘mom friend’ of almost everyone. It didn’t matter who you were she always acted like a mother.

Archie rolled his eyes at his friend and looked towards the board, but not without taking one last glance at Betty. The rest of their classes went along this way. Archie stared at Betty, Archie got scolded by Y/N, and endless loop of the same thing that had been happening for years.

By the end of the day, Archie had about three paper cuts from wadded up paper balls that Y/N had thrown at him. He hissed slightly went Y/N reached up to gently pat it with Neosporin. Y/N only chuckled, catching Archie’s attention. He watched the way her mouth curved and the way her dimples were shown, and the way she scrunched up her nose, and how her eyes were squinted. His heart probably skipped a beat at the sight of her looking so... pure.

“Alright, you’re ready for practice. Go, I’ll be here like always.” She said, patting Archie’s arm. He blinked quickly, getting back to reality.  He nodded slightly and slipped his helmet off, giving Y/N a small smile before he jogged off to meet the rest of his team mates. Y/N sat on the bleachers, doing homework that wasn’t due for another week, until she got bored with and started doodling on her paper. People would tell her that she was a talented artist and should do more with her skills, but to her she didn’t see why people thought her art was that good in the first place. Hell, she didn’t even think it was worthy enough to be art.

By the second hour of football practice, cheer practice had already ended. Veronica and Betty knew that Y/N would be out on the bleachers, so that’s here they head. The climbed up the bleachers, setting their bags to the sides and watched Y/N doodle. They were both watching Y/N like they would a movie or tv show. Y/N knew they were their, and she didn’t mind that they were watching her. She had grown used to it.

“You're doing it again.” Veronica stated, looking at Y/N.

Y/N rose an eyebrow, looking up at the raven haired girl. “Doing what, Ronnie?” She asked. Veronica chuckled, shaking her head.

“Drawing Archie.” The girls looked at Archie, who was to busy to notice them staring. “You do it all the time.” Y/N laughed, shutting her notebook and turning to Ronnie.

“I do not draw Archie all the time, okay? I just had nothing to do, so that happened.” Y/N said, gesturing towards her notebook. “Besides what does it matter if I draw him or not? It’s not like he’ll ever see them anyways.” Right as Y/N had said those words, a sweaty Archie Andrews came jogging over to them. Veronica and Betty nodded to one another, right before Betty snatched Y/N’s notebook from her lap. She opened up to the page, pushing it into Archie’s face.

“Look at what Y/N drew.” Betty said. Y/N reached out to grab her notebook, but Betty moved farther away. Huffing, Y/N sat back down, crossing her arms over her chest. Archie squinted as he looked over the drawing of him. He looked from the sketch to Y/N several times. His mouth felt dry, as if he hadn’t drank any water in days. Swallowing a hard lump, he look at Y/N.

“Th-that’s really good, Y/N/N. I didn’t know you could draw so well.” He said, voice cracking slightly out of nervousness.

Ronnie smirked nudging Y/N. “There’s a lot you don’t know about her.” Y/N swatted at Veronica, hitting her square in the chest. Ronnie’s hands went straight towards her boobs, a groan of pain coming from her lips. “That was my boob.” She grumbled. Y/N shrugged.

“Karmas a bitch.”

Archie’s coach yelled for the team to re-group. Archie smiled at the three girls, before jogging back over to his team. As he left, Y/N was swatting her friends.

“Why the hell would you two do that?” Y/N said as she yanked her notebook out of Betty’s hands. The blonde rolled her eyes.

“You really need to tell him you like him before he starts dating another teacher.” Y/N chuckled, shoving her notebook into her bag. “I’m serious! The whole school already thinks you and Archie are together, so why not make their rumors true?”

Y/N sighed, running her hand through her Y/H/C hair. “Because he doesn't like me, Betts. He still likes you, and I’m pretty sure he likes Valerie, so what chance do I have? There’s no point in telling him how I feel if he’ll never feel the same way?”

Betty shook her head, grabbing her friends wrists. “Don’t do what I did and don’t tell him. We all know how you feel towards him, and we are pretty damn sure that he feels that same way, so go for it! You don’t live life if you’re not taking risks right?” Y/N chuckled, nodding. Betty smiled and let go of her wrists. The three girls sat and talked, mostly gossiping over the latest things in Riverdale, which wasn’t much except for the murder of Jason Blossom.

When football practice ended Y/N waited for Archie like she always does, leaning on the wall outside of the boy’s locker room as she picked at her nails. Archie was always one of the last ones to come out from the locker room, seeing as though he almost always got into arguments with Reggie. He walked out, hair slightly dam from taking a quick shower. Y/N pushed herself off the wall, smiling at Archie. He returned the smile, but something seemed different.

The duo always walked home with one another, just to keep each other company. Tonight was just like every other night where the walked in silence, just listening to the soft sounds that surrounded Riverdale. Interrupting the silence however, was Archie.

“Do I really stare at Betty a lot? I mean, half the time I don’t even notice I’m doing it.” He says, looking down at Y/N.

She shrugged, pushing stray hairs behind her ears. “I mean to me, it’s like she’s all you ever see.” She sighed, shaking her head and swaying her Y/H/C hair. “You need to get over, Archie. Not your friendship, of course, but that crush you have on her, you need to get over it.”

Archie nodded. “I know, but-” Y/N cut him off with her hand in his face.

“No ‘but’s, Andrews. You have two girls that I know of pining after you and chasing you, but you don’t even realize it..” Now Y/N was letting out her feelings, but the poor thing didn’t realize it.

“Two girls? Who?” Archie asked, suddenly interested. Y/N’s eyes widened as the words she had just spoken hit her straight in the face.

She gulped. “Oh you know, Valerie, and... and other people.” She said, trying her hardest to avoid any eye contact. Archie laughed, tilting his head back slightly.

“Other girls? You only said two, so who could that other one be?” Y/N looked up slightly through her hair. Archie’s face went slack as the thought of it being Y/N made his heart race. “You...?” He said slowly. Y/N looked down quickly. The two stopped in front of her house, which was right across the street from Archie’s.

“I-I’ll see you tomorrow, Archie.” She said, turning away from the boy. His hands wrapped around her arm softly tugging her back to face him.

“You like me?” He asked, his voice serious but full of curious. Y/N’s head nodded slowly, confirming Archie’s words.

Y/N stuttered as she tried to explain. “I- I just didn’t tell you because you were with Grundy, and I knew Betty and Valerie like you so I just-” This time it was Archie’s turn to cut off Y/N’s rambling, but instead of his hand being in her face, his lips were on hers. Y/N was shocked, standing still for a moment, but she began to relax and kiss the ginger boy in front of her back.

The kiss was probably about one ore two minutes long, before they pulled away from each other. Y/N stepped back, the space gaining between her and Archie once more.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” She said, walking to her door. She turned her head as she opened the door. Archie could see the smile she was fighting to hold back and the slight puffiness to her lips. “And Archie? Get over Betty before you kiss me next time.”

[machihunnicutt]

Small Hot Chocolate, No Whip (Chapter 2)

(Or read on ao3.)

Chapter 2: Evan

Evan couldn't figure out whether he was happy or upset. He felt tingly all over and when he got home he tripped over Jared's shoes in the doorway.

"Dude did you fall?" The owner of said shoes said, coming out into the hallway. His glasses were crooked and he was wearing pajama pants and a t-shirt despite the fact it was only 7:30. They were alike in that respect. He and Jared had been on the edge of close for most of high school: Jared was kind of mean for a while and then it happened and there was a lot of talking and a few confessions and somewhere along the way they became friends. School was easier with Jared there.

He was a computer science major with more friends than Evan could even comprehend. King of the nerds he'd dubbed himself.

"A little. Can we talk?"

Jared's eyebrows rose in amusement.  "Sure, what's up?"

"Zoe," he started, chewing on his bottom lip. "Has a brother."

"Zoe, the barista love of your life?"

"She's n-not the l-love of my...I think her brother was flirting with me."

"Holy shit. Is he hot? Do you like him?"

Evan passed him in the hallway and collapsed on his bed. Jared followed him. "Evan Bisexual Hansen are you COURTING?"

"Leave me alone Jared," he said, blushing ridiculously. "He's just...he's cute okay? And now I'm c-conflicted."

Jared cackled. "This is the funniest shit I've heard all week and the newest John Oliver was really good."

Evan buried his face in his comforter and moaned. He wasn't good at this sort of thing. He wasn't good at a lot of things but he certainly wasn't good at this. Connor walking him home had felt like something, but today he'd been largely ignored after trying to help him outside of the cafe. Maybe he'd realized how pathetic Evan was and wanted to cut things off before they went too far? Maybe Evan had unknowingly said something offensive?

"Dude, are you okay?" Jared said after awhile of this.

"'M fine," he said, voice muffled.

"Alright," he said, giving him a comforting pat on the back. "I'm ordering pizza. "If you want to talk about your coffee siblings kink further you know where to find me."

The next day Evan was early to his climate lecture. He wasn't as early as he was the first day. Petrified of being late, he'd shown up nearly an hour and a half early and sat, knees curled to his chest in the overly air conditioned hallway. He took his usual seat in the third row and pulled out a notepad.

Dear Evan Hansen,

Today is going to be a good day and here's why:

Jared promised to go over your notes with you so you won't worry that you missed or misunderstood something. Connor Murphy is nice and has a cute smile and you don't have to see him today so you can think about what yesterday meant. You have leftover pizza for lunch.

You're doing okay.

Sincerely,

Me

The letters were no longer a therapy assignment but they made him feel better so he'd kept up the habit. He flipped over to his notes and scanned the shaky handwriting. Sometimes he had a question but was too afraid to ask it and his own fear and guilt over not being able to articulate himself made him nervous and he started shaking and spacing out and that was when his handwriting went to shit.

Today's lecture wasn't as bad. He understood all the concepts they discussed and his letters stayed even and legible. After class he made a beeline for the library, walking with purpose so he didn't have to talk to anyone. He had some homework and when he was finished he went up to the fourth floor where the windows were big and the view was better and found a book on the world's coolest trees.

"Are you stalking me Hansen?" He looked up. Of all people, he did not expect to see Connor Murphy here. For half a second he thought he was there to say something mean. But he was smiling kindly and Evan felt guilty. Connor crossed his arms over his chest. Connor was tall: all angles and lean muscles. Today he had the same black hoodie rolled up to his elbows and a new gray v-neck. Evan noticed the mess of friendship bracelets and hair bands covering both of his wrists and the new coating of black polish on his nails. His hair was glorious as usual, though it looked soft and fluffier today.

"Connor!" He jumped. "I didn't know you'd be here. I was...distracted."

Connor tugged on the strap of his messenger bag and Evan felt his eyes  looking him over. He worried that there was something on his shirt or face. C'mon Evan just communicate.

"I um...are y-you angry w-with me?" He said, feeling his heart pound rapidly. "Yesterday you seemed k-kind of..."

"No," Connor interrupted. Evan forced himself to look up at him. His eyes were big and sad. "No, I'm sorry. It was just a bad day. It wasn't you."

"Oh," He said dumbly. "Okay good. I was wondering then if we might e-exchange emails that is...if you'd want to t-talk to me and uh...be f-friends?"

"Emails? I could just give you my number?"

Emails? Emails! You idiot why would he want to talk to you in the 90s. He might well have asked if their moms could set up a play date.

"Oh! Right, your number. Y-yeah, that's fine."

"Here." He pulled a Sharpie out of his back pocket and gestured for Evan to stick out his hand. Evan was suddenly preoccupied with the idea that his hand might be so sweaty the whole message would wipe off.  "Is it chill if I write it on the back of your hand?" Instead of saying this he nodded.

"Nice to see you Hansen."

"Yeah, n-nice to see you too Connor."

Jared had trivia night at the bar down the street. Thanks to him his team was undefeated. He'd invited Evan to come watch numerous times but going meant being around fellow 19 year olds with fake IDs sipping beers he was entirely uncomfortable with.

Evan thought he was probably the most vanilla college student in existence, not that Jared ever hassled him for it or that he planned on changing his behavior.

He was almost 20 and he'd never even kissed anyone. If that could change maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing.

Because Jared wasn't there to tell him not to, Evan pulled up his Instagram and searched for Connor. Careful not to like any old photos, he scrolled through his profile with interest.

Zoe was in most of the posts. He could tell they were close. On her birthday he'd made her an ice cream cake and posted a multi paragraph caption about how lucky he was to have her in his life. Evan grinned at the older photos where he was shorter and less lean and his captions were riddled with typos.

He stopped on a photo of Connor at what appeared to be a Pride parade. His grinning face was painted: rainbow streaks beneath his shining eyes and hair swimming with glitter. Beside him, and Evan finally put two and two together then, Zoe was kissing her no doubt girlfriend who was tagged as Alana.

Connor Murphy wasn't straight. That was a sign as encouraging as the photos of Zoe Murphy's girlfriend were discouraging.

The conversation in the coffee shop the next day went about as well as could be expected until Evan let slip that he was a creepy Instagram stalker. And then the business about his broken arm...

He knew Connor didn't mean any harm but he wasn't in the habit of telling people about the time he threw himself out of a tree and laid there pathetically friendless, sobbing about how he should've died but didn't. It didn't seem like the kind of detail you revealed to a boy you liked.

He hoped he was serious about the nature walk. Despite his stumbling speech he had a whole tour planned in his head. It was dumb but when Evan was in a forest he felt at peace. His limbs that usually stirred with unwanted activity quieted; his thoughts that circled menacingly slowed and straightened out into neat and gentle lines. In the forest he didn't feel like everyone was looking at him. His flaws were not on display and he could breathe in the fresh air without worrying that he didn't deserve to.

Connor Murphy looked like he would be good at climbing trees. He could probably reach branches Evan couldn't. He was probably fast.

***

Evan didn't know how he got here. That happened sometimes when his panic was intense. The lines between past and present blurred and he got the feeling that someone had dragged a big pink eraser through his brain.

He knew he was shaking. He knew he was drawing in raspy, shallow breaths and that his face was wet with tears. After a moment it came back to him. He was locked in the bathroom at the coffee shop, curled up pitifully on the tile, and the walls seemed to be crashing in on him.

There was a knock on the door. He curled in tighter. "Hey Evan? Is that you in there?" Connor sounded worried. He didn't want to worry him.

"I...y-yeah," his voice quivered terribly. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Are you sick?"

"I had an uh...a p-panic attack," he said. "S-sorry to..."

"Evan can I come in?" He interrupted.  His voice sounded tight. "Please."

Evan got up and wiped his face with his hands. His head spun and vision swam but he crossed the room and unlocked the door. He couldn't meet Connor's eyes.

"Come in the back. I'll get you some water. Do you want to take my hand?"  

Evan nodded despite himself. Connor's hand was warm and his grip was firm. He let himself be led to a chair in the back room. Connor sat him down and brought him a cup of water. He sipped from the cup and felt his breathing slow. Way to go Evan. Now he knows you're a quivering mess and you probably have snot all over your face.

"Sorry," he muttered, looking up at Connor. "I'm really sorry for c-causing all this trouble."

Connor ran a hand through his hair. "Don't be sorry. You're fine. I just want to make sure you're okay. Do you want to talk about it?" Connor chipped at the nail polish on his thumb and his brows furrowed. "I mean I know we're not...I um," he blushed. "I just want to help. You kind of scared me."

"I'm sorry," he repeated.

"No," Connor's eyes widened. "I didn't mean it like that. I...I'm sorry Evan."

What was he sorry for? Evan was the one having a break down in public. Evan was the one whose breath still felt a bit shallow and very existence a bit worthless. He was making progress, he really was. He just wasn't making any today. Just because you feel like you're taking a few steps back today doesn't mean you won't roll doubles and move forward a lot tomorrow. Jared said to him once. It wasn't the first board game metaphor he'd thrown at him.

"Evan," Connor repeated and Evan realized he'd been staring at him like an idiot.

"T-there's no r-reason for you to be s-sorry. I'm the one who got a D on my test and is probably going to flunk out of school and end up living in a box and then I'll be basically friendless and homeless and I'm sorry I can't be rational about that and have to panic in your bathroom like a pathetic child and..."

"Evan." He liked it when Connor said his name. It was gentle. Connor didn't look like the kind of guy who could speak like that. But Evandidn't like judging people based on stereotypes.  "One bad grade doesn't mean you're going to flunk out, believe me," he said slowly. "And having a panic attack doesn't mean you're pathetic or a kid. It's okay," he said, insistent. When Evan sniffled he reached forward to put his hand on his shoulder. Evan flinched and then felt bad.

"I'm sorry." Connor drew back.

"Don't be," he said. "Let me walk you again. I can talk Alana into getting you a free hot chocolate. "

"Okay," Evan said. His face was probably so red. Great, red, snot covered, hiccuping now and he was still offering to spend more time with him. "You're really nice," he blurted. Maybe it was a Murphy sibling thing.

Connor laughed. "I'm not that nice."

Evan took small sips of the free hot chocolate and stole glances at Connor Murphy beside him.

"I freak out during tests sometimes. It uh...when I have trouble I tend to s-shut down," he muttered. It wasn't as if he had to keep up false pretenses anymore.

"Have you talked to any of your professors about your anxiety?"

He should. He'd told himself to numerous times but he always seemed to get in his own way. "I can deal with it," he said instead.

"I know," Connor said with a confidence that admittedly, Evan didn't feel. They were at his place. The lights were on and Jared's car was in the driveway.

"Thanks," Evan said. "For everything." Connor Murphy smiled at him and how could he not have a crush on this boy?

"It's going to be okay," he said seriously. He seemed to blend in with the blackness of the night. When Evan was little he was afraid of the dark. He begged his mom to leave the lights on in his bedroom and cried when she didn't. Connor Murphy made the dark seem like a big, warm blanket tucked beneath your chin.

"Thanks," he repeated because it was better than saying sorry.

"You're welcome Evan Hansen." Jared would say he should have invited him in for coffee but it seemed dumb to ask a barista that and he wasn't daring. The panic attack had drained him and Evan didn't have a lot to drain in the first place.

"Hey, um..." Connor's mouth fell open and his awkward start hung for a moment. "My sister's having a music showcase on Friday and I was wondering if you might want to come with me? It would be nice to have a friend there you know?"

A friend.

"Sure. Text me the details." Connor Murphy isn't completely repulsed by you.

"Okay, well goodnight."

"Goodnight."

He got the text while he was brushing his teeth:

CM: showcase is at 7. I can pick u up early and we can get dinner? ps: I think ur really brave Hansen. That's probably weird to say but fuck it.

Fuck it.

[ryeokai-blog]

             Most of you must have heard the movie Love, Simon, have probably watched it already or even read the book Simon vs. the Homo sapiens Agenda from which it was adapted. Perhaps, both of which have touched and moved you in certain ways you have never expected. Regardless of your sexual orientation, it is quite impossible not to be captured and inspired by the beauty of its storyline.

             I watched the movie sometime three weeks ago and became an avid fan afterwards. I then decided to read the book from which it was adapted. Again, I fell in love with its amazing characters. There were certain changes on the movie plot (most were highly reasonable and tolerable), but both revolved on Simon, a closeted gay, and his struggles of ‘coming out’.

             In a world where people would judge you from every fibre of your being, Simon’s story is a remarkable gift of an art. There was a part in the story where Simon thought Blue, his anonymous chat mate, was Cal Price, assuming he would be white. He then realized that being white should not be the default; any more than straight should be the default. He thought that there shouldn’t even be a default. We are all equal, regardless of our race, skin colour, or even sexual orientation. It is sickening that we, humans, are accustomed on discriminating others based on the very traits that actually define us as human beings.

             If anything, Simon’s story wanted to deliver us one important message­— equality for all. Each of us deserves a great love story after all. <3

               P.S. I feel like I ought to share some of my favourite highlights both from the book Simon vs. the Homo sapiens Agenda and its movie adaptation, Love, Simon. (Beware of spoilers! If you have neither read nor watched the book or the movie, read at your own risk).

 1.       Simon and Blue’s email conversations- Simon and Blue’s email conversations in the movie were quite subtle compared to the book (which is one of the minor differences between the two). In the movie, the conversations were more on exchange of their daily lives. In the book, however, their exchange of emails would never fail to amuse and fascinate you. And way more flirtatious, if I must add. Who would have thought Oreos or Reese could segue a sex invite. LOL

 Blue: “Are you doing anything interesting this weekend? We’re supposed to have suck nice weather. Excuse me, dick nice weather.”

…..

Blue: “Reese’s are better than sex? Admittedly, I wouldn’t know, but I have to hope you’re wrong about that one. Maybe you should stop having heterosexual sex, Jacques. I’m just saying.”

Simon: “I have to admit that I don’t TECHNICALLY know whether Reese’s are better than sex… And I’m guessing they’re better than hetero sex… Non-hetero sex, though? I imagine it may be a little better than Reese’s. Is it weird that I can’t talk about this without blushing?”

…..

Blue: “I have to admit I like to imagine you as a kid fantasizing about junk food. I also like to imagine you now fantasizing about sex. I can’t believe I just wrote that. I can’t believe I’m hitting send.

…..

 Seriously, some of their emails were hilarious. Don’t get me wrong though. What I liked the most in their conversations was the sincerity of their feelings, the way they shared and opened their selves to each other. The way they contemplated how it felt to be in their shoes— the feeling of being locked into their selves, how hard it was for them to do certain things but had to hold their selves back, the feeling of being afraid that people might reject them­— this, to some people, is true. Imagine how hard it is for someone, who has to live and act in a way the society wants him to be, simply because of being afraid of rejection. Imagine the struggle of being not true to yourself, the pressure of hiding your true self to the disapproving eyes of the society, as if you were a flower forced to not bloom simply because your unlikely colours are different to the default.

 2.       Simon and Cal ship- The anonymity of Blue undeniably gave the story spice and twist it deserved. It made the readers and viewers all hooked up, thinking who exactly Blue would be. I don’t know if I’m the only one (I hope not), who saw and felt the chemistry between Simon and Cal (not because white is the default, by all means). There were parts in the story that made me hope Cal to be Blue. Simon had thought him to be Blue, so I guess it was not very surprising if the audience somehow hoped Cal to be Blue too.

 Cal: “What’s up, Simon?”

Simon: “Oh well. Nothing. Hey, are we supposed to be doing anything right now?” And as soon as I ask it, I start blushing, because the way I phrased it totally makes is sound like I’m propositioning him. [Hey Cal. Are we supposed to be making out right now? Are we supposed to be having mind-blowing sex in the dressing room right now?]

…..

 “Perfect happiness is: gripping the bottom of a rolling chair with both hands, while Cal Price pushes me down the hall in a full-on run. We race against two of the sophomore girls from the ensemble. Cal is a kind of a slow-moving person, so they totally dominate, but I don’t even care. His hands grip my shoulders, and we’re both laughing, and the rows of lockers are a toothpaste-blue blur. I let down my legs, and we skid to a stop. And I guess I have to get up. I raise my hand to give Cal a high five, but instead, he threads his fingers through mine for just a second. Then he looks down and smiles, and his eyes are hidden by the bangs. We untangle our hands, and my heart is thudding. I have to look away from him.

…..

 Now tell me you did not feel the chemistry there.

 3.       The Halloween Party- This part is just so uplifting. Simon isn’t the party-type kind of a person, and seeing him step out of his comfort zone is just wonderful. I would have preferred him to see in a dementor costume though just like in the book instead of his John Lennon costume in the movie.

 4.       Simon’s Coming Out- In the movie, there were scenes that really touched and moved me after Simon came out as gay. First was his conversation with his mother. The scene showed how great a mother’s love to her child could be, no matter the odds. Simon was lucky too, that he had a family who accepted him even if he was gay. Every Simon out there just needs a mother like Emily.

 Emily: “Being gay is your thing. There are parts of it you have to go through alone. I hate that. As soon as you came out, you said, “Mom, I’m still me.” I need you to hear this: You are still you, Simon. You are still the same son who I love to tease and who your father depends on for just about everything. And you’re the same brother who always compliments his sister on her food, even when it sucks. You get to exhale now, Simon. You get to be more than you have been… in a very long time. You deserve everything you want.”

…..

 The second one was Simon’s lengthy post on Tumblr, when he confirmed that he was indeed gay. It’s just so brave of him. He became the voice of the many who share the same struggle. He was an inspiration, an eye-opener even.

Simon: “…For a long time, I was killing myself to hide that fact. I had all these reasons, it was unfair that only gay people had to come out, I was sick of change, but the truth is, I was just scared. First, I thought it was just a gay thing but then I realized that no matter what, announcing who you are to the world is pretty terrifying cause what if the world doesn’t like you. So, I did whatever I could to keep my secret… I am done being scared. I’m done living in a world where I don’t get to be who I am. I deserve a great love story…”

……

 5.       The Ferris-wheel Ride- The scene on the movie where Simon rode the Ferris-wheel and waited for Blue, was perhaps the favourite of most of you. It evoked several emotions and touched our hearts achingly. There was this bittersweet feeling. There was fear that Blue might not come at all. There was also pain for Simon; each hour and minute that passed as he waited for Blue was just unbearable. There was redemption too for Martin. I hated him as much as Simon did, but for some reason, it disappeared the moment he had given Simon one last ticket for that final ride. And of course, happiness, joy, and fulfilment when Blue finally came and shared that last epic Ferris-wheel ride with Simon. It was just romantic and surreal. The movie had different ending compared to the book, but it was an ending that surely touched the viewers’ hearts.

 6.       The ‘Catching-up on Homework’ Ending- Compared to the movie, the book ended differently. Simon’s family went for dinner after watching a talent show. Simon’s elder sister, Alice (who was not shown in the movie), had notified him beforehand, telling him he was supposed to say no and need to catch up on homework so he could have about two hours at home unsupervised. And so Simon and Bram went to the former’s house and kind of made out. It was not as moving as the movie’s ending but beautiful still.

  Sooooo, if you still haven’t watched or read either Love, Simon or Simon vs. the Homo sapiens Agenda, I strongly suggest that you do! And I hope it move and touch you the way it did to me (well, I’m sure it will struck you just on the right spot).