#she used her at first and kept lying to her about Allison/her own stuff

[inkdemonapologist]

[BatIM Call of Cthulhu Masterpost]

WE STARTED.... A NEW SCENARIO..... as you may have read in Boo’s summary post, for some unknown reason aLL MUSICAL AND PERFORMANCE ABILITY SEEMS TO BE??? GONE??? Sammy woke up, realised he couldn’t hold even the simplest tune in his head, and immediately lost THIRTY-ONE SANITY in one hit

..... YOU KNOW THAT MAKES SENSE HONESTLY

 anyway i have a some out-of-context quotes from the game for u all under the readmore if ur into that kinda thing!!!

[Sammy is played by me, Joey is played by Boo (inkyvendingmachine), Henry is played by Maf (inkcryptid), Jack is played by Mochi (whatyouwantedmetosee) and Thren (haunted-hijinxer) is our GM!]

[GM] It's a tough voice to do, so you can't be as choosy, and your resident Bendy cannot act to save his life, so that's no good-- [Joey] Uh-oh. [Jack] Sorry, Lurks. [Joey] I'm just so worried he's going to have to act now... [Jack] Clearly, he should've used the time between scenarios to train that! [GM] Yeah, that's just what everybody wants I'm sure, is the Lurker training in LYING. That sounds like a great idea!

[GM] *asking for dice rolls to see how well our actual jobs are going* We can do a little bit of mundanity to, to treasure, and keep you warm later!

[Henry] Should I spend Luck points on this? No, I'm not spending Luck on work. [Sammy] That's a good general life policy

[Jack] Does Jack have any contacts? [Joey] No, he has glasses! :D [Jack] noooo that's my job! It's my job to make Jack's puns! ....Contacts probably didn't exist in the 1930s, that's okay. [Sammy] No, don't say that! Boo's going to have to look it up now!

[GM] What spell is Joey working on? [Jack] (Spell of Make Investor Like You)

[Joey] I think he probably has filing cabinets specifically to put occult stuff in and lock. And then the rest of his office is just piles and tables of animation stuff that you're like "...shouldn't this??? be??? in the filing cabinet???"

[GM] Allison remarks, "The companions of our childhood always possess a certain power of our minds, which hardly any later friend can obtain." [Sammy] Y'know, normal, just nORMAL CASUAL CHATTER, [GM] Tom, working on the pipe, just kinda mutters, "I enjoy friends, dear not only by habit and association, but from their own merits." And she gives him a look! [Jack] ...love at first whATEVER THIS IS,

[Sammy] ...Sammy's not amused. [GM] The band's amused! [Jack] Jack is probably amused.

[GM] So far things are going very well, but y'know, [Jack] Only so long until we crit fail something! [Sammy] NEVER TOO LATE TO MESS IT UP!

[GM] Allison's vibe is like, I Didn't Study This Exactly, But I Was Hoping It Could Just Work Out! [Jack] ...She has a lot of practice at just... making things work out, huh.... 

[GM] Is there anything else Joey would try to show off? [Joey] Tries to think... what else is at the Studio... [Jack] "Do you wanna talk to our janitor? He's really cool!"

[Joey] I roll to see if Joey can put two brain cells together,

[Jack] I have to appreciate that Bendy said he didn’t have the keys today. He’s been stealing them before, but THIS TIME isn’t his doing!

[Sammy] If there’s anything he needs to do himself, then he’ll come in early, but I don’t know what state we’re in -- [Joey] Uh, New York. [Sammy] ...what? [Joey] You didn’t know what state we’re in. :) [Sammy] [Sammy] thanks

[Joey] Oh Joey’s absolutely coming in early. Joey woke up, and felt great, so he’s going to menace every other department today, because he has the energy to get his fingers into everything! [Sammy] *distressed sounds in the background*

[Sammy] Hey how come when we did a Halloween cartoon, we all went to Haiti, but we’re doing a cartoon about a fair and we’re not going to a fair? [Jack] [Jack] I think we all know why.

*trying to decide who goes to Joey’s fancy dinner with an investor* [Sammy] I don’t know if Sammy will help you... [Sammy] Unless you bring Sammy and put him on a piano, like a small child that needs to be immediately handed crayons.

[Joey] Joey will say that they’re essentially the second hands in each of the departments-- [Jack] Yeah, Abby, the second hand… entire Art Department director, [GM] Uh-huh. [Joey] She… she knows,, [GM] Joey, [Joey] She knows that Joey… is … Big Gay for Henry,,, [GM] This is true, but I think she likes nominal acknowledgement that she holds a position, [Jack] He can just say that they’re high-ranking, and not-- [Joey] No I rolled badly, Joey’s going to say that Sammy and Henry are busy, so he brought his second-best! :) [GM] Abby is massaging her temples. [Joey] Sorry, Abby. He is,, an idiot,,, [GM] I think she’d be a lot more bothered if she couldn’t go and commiserate with Henry about it. Like, “why can’t he keep it straight?” [GM] ……………….well. She knows why he can’t keep it straight.

[GM] It’s about midnight, and something... strange.... happens. The trumpet player, who is leading the band -- [Joey] -- has a trumpet for a head! [GM] what no

*Joey succeeds a sanity check, Jack fails it* [GM] Joey, roll 1d10! [Joey] Uh, 3? [GM] Okay, you’re only down three sanity, that’s not so bad! [GM] Jack, roll 6d10! [Jack] what? [Joey] Six??? SIX d10s????? [GM] Yeah! [Joey] nICE KNOWING YOU, JACK!!! It’s time for Sillytime Jack.

[Jack] Smash cut to Henry, curled up in bed, nice and cozy,

[GM] I will also note, you cannot seem to Fast Talk. [Joey] ...what else can I do? [GM] Just normal talk. Like a normal person.

[Jack] I feel like Jack probably has a hunch that it’s weird nightmarish horror nonsense, on account of he just lost nineteen sanity,

[GM] Abby’s gonna try to take him to the hospital. [Jack] Jack’s just going to let that happen, because he’s shaken enough that he doesn’t have any significantly better ideas! Other than AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA,

[Sammy] *rolling sanity damage* 9… 9, stop that…. 4, [Jack] You’ve already lost more than Jack! [Sammy] 2, ...6, and 1! [Joey] That’s 31. [GM] Okay, Sammy has six sanity! [Sammy] eXCUSE ME?????

[Joey] Joey does want to head home… what day is it? [GM] Friday, the 13th! [Jack] HM, [Sammy] I GUESS IT IS, ISN’T IT… I wasn’t keeping track, but I guess it sure is! [GM] A delightful treat for myself, when I was looking up days in July, in 1934, [Sammy] WAIT, NO, ITS ACTUALLY A COINCIDENCE? Oh my gosh, [Jack] Because Friday the 13th wouldn’t even be a spooky day at this point in time! [GM] It is now! [Jack] It’s spooky, but just for us!

[Sammy] Sammy would try to call Jack, he’d try to call Joey, he’d try to call Henry -- probably several times, [Henry] sammy gets jack’s cat [Henry] phone is answered with meows [Jack] That does seem fitting for a really bad luck roll; the phone gets answered, and Sammy’s really relieved -- and it’s just the cat. [Sammy] Sammy, at 6 sanity: “jack’s tuRNED INTO A CAT,”

[Joey] The phone kept on ringing, so the cat just batted it off the cradle, [Jack] I feel like Jack probably doesn’t usually get a significant number of calls, so like, this many calls in a row is just obnoxious! [Jack] Cat’s having none of it. [Jack] Phone ring isn’t breakfast! [Jack] Where is the soft provider of food.

[GM] Oh no, you know what’s going to happen? Henry’s gonna get through to Jack, and then when Sammy calls it’s busy! [Sammy] cALLS JACK IT’S BUSY, CALLS HENRY IT’S BUSY, [Jack] I was gonna say maybe Henry would call Sammy first, because Sammy was one of the original three. [Jack] …Henry calls Sammy, Sammy is busy because SAMMY is trying to call someone, and then Henry calls Jack, and Sammy tries to call Jack again-- [Sammy] *laughing* THE HORROR, The deep, bone-chilling horror of A TIME BEFORE CALL-WAITING!!

[Henry] Is Joey there? [Jack] Yeah. [Henry] Are you guys alright? [Jack] ……………….hm,

[Jack] Cat is just sat on Joey, purring. Something is wrong with the human. Purr to fix the human.

[Henry] I called Sammy to make sure he’s okay, but-- [Abby] Was he? [Henry] No.

[Joey] Joey is going to be… obstinate feels like the wrong word? [Joey] He’s being the cat where you put the leash on, and the cat just sits down. [Joey] That is the Joseph mood right now.

[Sammy] *muttering* First one boyfriend turns into a cat, now the other boyfriend’s voice is wrong, today is terrible,

[Joey] This is Joey’s everything. [Sammy] That’s Joey’s contribution to the party! That’s like, your bard can no longer play music. [Sammy] ……….which is also true, but Sammy contributes other things. [Jack] Like Intimidate! [Sammy] Right now he contributes paranoia!

[teenwolffanclub-me]

Season 1, Episode 10: Co-Captain

Hey there beautiful reader! If you’re new here, this is a series I’m writing where each chapter is an episode from the first season of Teen Wolf. If you’ve been here before, hey! I missed you! Previous and future chapters are linked at the end of each part if you want to catch up.

Pairing: Stiles x Psychic! Reader (eventually)

Notes: I somehow forgot that Deaton existed until I wrote this. My bad guys, but he’s not really that relevant in the first season anyway so...

P.S. Kate needs a therapist, Sheriff Stilinski is kinda bad at his job, and so many people almost die. Seriously, it’s getting ridiculous at this point.

                                                    ————————

Lydia huffed in annoyance, struggling to keep up behind me in her high heeled boots. The ground crunched with each quick step I took, the dirt barely visible through a thick layer of dried leaves. I pulled the sides of my jacket tighter around my sides, feeling a chill run up my spine as a gust of cold air blew against me.

“Allison. When you said you needed to run an errand before we went shopping, a five mile hike in the woods was not what I was expecting.” Lydia had been complaining nonstop since we got here, and didn’t seem likely to give up anytime soon.

We’d been walking through Beacon Hills Preserve for at least ten minutes by now, Allison leading us with a big bag slung over her shoulder. She seemed aggravated, practically running with a tense look on her face. I had no idea what the hell we were doing. She’d been acting weird all week, more angry and on edge than usual.

We were supposed to be shopping for winter formal dresses at the mall. Lydia had been begging us to go all week, since the dance is next Friday. I kept dodging her invitation because there were just so many other things going on right now.

Me and the guys had spent the week trying to figure out where Peter’s been hiding, while keeping Jackson from spilling the werewolf beans to the whole school every time he got pissy.

I wasn’t sure who either of them were taking to the dance, and I honestly didn’t care much. I wasn’t planning on going. No one had asked me, and stuff like that wasn’t really my thing anyway. I definitely wasn’t annoyed that a certain spastic boy hadn’t even mentioned it yet. Not at all.

“Before I forget, I wanted to ask if you’re okay with something.” Allison quipped, not even bothering to turn around and look at us. “Jackson asked me to winter formal.”

My eyes widened and swept toward Lydia quickly to see her reaction. I wasn’t expecting that, even though the two of them had been incredibly flirty lately. It was obvious that Allison still had feelings for Scott, and Lydia for Jackson, so the whole thing was just a big mess.

“Did he?” She tried to sound unaffected as she nearly stumbled over a rock. My arm instinctively stuck out to steady her, and she sent me a small, grateful smile.

“Just as friends, but I wanted to make sure you were okay with it first.” 

Lydia pursed her glossed lips tightly and flicked a lock of hair away from her eyes. Her gloved hands tightened into fists at her sides. “Sure. As long as it’s just friends.”

Allison scoffed quietly, seemingly annoyed. I quirked a brow at her back in curiosity. Yeah, she and Lydia had a bit of a love hate relationship, but stealing her boyfriend was a little over the top. Something was clearly bothering her. I’d been trying to figure it out for days, but she never wanted to talk about it when I asked.

She stopped suddenly, and I nearly toppled over as I narrowly avoided running into her. Her bag dropped onto the leaf covered ground with a thud before she knelt down to unzip it. Lydia and I both watched in curious silence as she pulled out a huge bow and inspected it carefully.

It looked like something a professional would own. I’d nearly forgotten that she was into archery as a kid, but that thing was intense. Plus, why she felt the need to do this right now, on a Saturday afternoon while we were supposed to be shopping, I had no idea. She popped back to her feet quickly and screwed a big cylindrical arrowhead onto her arrow.

“What does that do?” Lydia shivered beside me and crossed her arms tightly as another gust of wind blew past us.

“We’re about to find out.” Allison muttered, more to herself than us, as she strung the bow.

She turned her back to us and raised her arms up beside her head. I watched closely as she narrowed her eyes and scanned the area for a good target. After a moment of wobbling, she let out a breath and squared her shoulders. Then, she let go.

The arrow whizzed through the air with a zip before landing in a tree a few yards away, immediately exploding with a bright waterfall of sparks.

I jumped back, not expecting that at all. “What the hell was that?”

That was not an ordinary arrow. I wondered for a moment how she even got it. It was most likely her dad’s, so she either stole it or knew way more about her family than she was letting on.

She dropped her arms with a jerk and whipped around to face us, her eyes glassy. Their hard edge had disappeared entirely, replaced now with something close to fear. “I need to tell you guys something. It’s going to sound really ridiculous and I-I don’t want you to laugh at me.”

Her sudden change in demeanor was a little jarring. It seemed like this was coming out of nowhere. I glanced at Lydia, who was doing a terrible job of hiding the fact that she thought she was completely crazy.

“We would never laugh at you.” I narrowed my eyes at Lydia, silently pleading with her to be nice. She just pouted and looked at Allison expectantly.

“It’s about my family.” Allison let out a heavy breath and wiped at her eyes. “Awhile ago, I caught them in a lie. A little one. But now, I’ve been overhearing some really strange conversations. I think...I think some of it has to do with Derek.”

“Derek?” I sputtered, my breath catching in my throat at his name. I’d learned earlier this week that he was, in fact, alive after our encounter with Peter. They’d both shown up at school a few days ago to intimidate Scott into joining their pack, which was honestly so much worse.

I let out a sigh and cleared my throat. “I mean, are you sure?”

She nodded, glancing around the trees as if he could be spying on us right now. “Yeah. I don’t think he is who he—”

She suddenly stopped, her whole body stiffening as something rustled in the leaves nearby. I watched her closely as she looked from side to side, wondering if something happened that she wasn’t telling me about. She was acting so jumpy and weird.

“Hold this.” She absentmindedly handed her bow to Lydia, who balanced it on her upturned palms as if one wrong move would set it off.

“What? Why?” Her emerald eyes widened in horror.

“Because I thought I heard something.” Allison whispered harshly, as if that would help the situation at all.

She turned her back to us and took a few timid steps forward.

“Allison,” I sighed, moving toward her. It was probably nothing. And if it wasn’t, she shouldn’t be the one going to investigate. “I’m sure it—”

She turned around just long enough to shush me before continuing on her way. I paused, my lips parting in surprise. Did she really just do that?

I stood in place, my eyes firmly planted on her back until she turned a corner, disappearing among the trees. I was ridiculously confused by her sudden personality change. Up until this week, she’d been terrified of anything even remotely out of the ordinary. Especially after we spent that night in the school.

“She’s being weird. Right?” Lydia breathed from beside me, still standing completely still and holding the bow gingerly.

I nodded, eyes narrowing in the direction she’d gone. I guess there was a chance the noise was something supernatural, but we were in the woods. It could’ve been anything and was most likely harmless. Still, part of me wanted to go after her and make sure she was okay.

“Very.” I moved to walk away, but stopped when Lydia’s panicked voice sounded from behind me.

“Um, absolutely not. You are not leaving me alone with this thing.” Her wide eyes glanced down at the bow apprehensively.

“Oh, for God’s sake...” I stepped toward her, quickly plucking it from her hands, and she visibly relaxed with a heavy sigh.

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes as I dropped it on top of Allison’s bag. She was always so dramatic. I motioned for her to follow me and continued forward. Allison couldn’t have gotten far yet, so I figured we’d find her pretty quickly.

I rounded a corner and immediately staggered to a stop as my eyes landed on Allison only a few feet away. She was crouched on the ground hugging Scott, who looked like he’d just fallen or something. His eyes found mine and immediately widened as he shook his head frantically with a wave of his hand.

I whirled around and nearly ran right into Lydia. Her eyes narrowed into a glare as I grabbed her biceps and jerked her the other way. I had no idea what he was even doing here, but I didn’t want to ruin their moment. He’d been trying to get back on her good side, and apparently it was working if what I just saw was any indication.

“Y/N, what the hell is wrong with you?” Lydia snapped, turning her head to try and see what I was taking us away from.

“Uh. It was a...wolf.” I cringed at my pathetic attempt at lying. I’d always been complete shit at it.

She gave up on tying to see what it was and let me continue pushing her forward, but still glanced at me as if I’d lost my mind. “There haven’t been wolves in Beacon Hills in—”

“Sixty years. I know.” I let out a huff as we made it back to Allison’s bag, and finally released her.

If only she knew how wrong she was. 

                                                  —————————

I crossed my arms over my chest impatiently, watching as Stiles fumbled with his house key for several seconds before finally managing to push it into the doorknob. He was always such a spaz, no matter what he was doing.

We didn’t have much time, but in my experience, Stiles and rushing don’t mix well. We were only stopping here so that he could grab his laptop before we met up with Scott at his house. The three of us were trying our hardest to find a pattern in the people Peter was trying to turn, so that we could hopefully stop him before he kills anyone else. 

“Why would Jackson want to be a werewolf?” I asked slowly, not fully believing what he'd just told me.

He turned around long enough to twitch his eyes at me incredulously before facing the door again. “Because it’s Jackson.”

I mean, fair enough. 

I’d been delivering dinner for mom at the hospital when Scott texted us that he wanted to meet up. Stiles came to get me, since she would need the car to get home in the morning. On the way here, he’d filled me in on his and Scott’s afternoon.

The three of us had a new policy: no more secrets, and no more lies. 

They decided to follow Jackson after school because they still don’t trust him and also, they’re nosy as hell. Apparently, he didn’t make it far before being cornered by Mr. Argent, so it was a good thing they have no concept of healthy boundaries. The fact that they saved his ass didn’t stop him from threatening to out Scott—again—if he doesn’t give him what he wants.

Stiles also casually mentioned that the Argents are actively trying to kill the alpha and his beta, who they think could be Scott, Jackson, or Derek. 

Things were a shitshow, basically.

Stiles popped his front door open and I trailed in behind him. My eyes immediately landed on his dad, who was sitting at their dining room table surrounded by various documents. Stiles perked up at the sight and practically ran to his side.

“Whatcha doin’?” He sang, peering down at the mountain of papers.

“Work.” Mr. Stilinski muttered curtly, his brows furrowing as he scribbled something down onto a notepad.

“Anything I can help with?” Stiles’ voice rose eagerly as his eyes continued flickering around the table.

His dad let out a long sigh and rubbed a hand across his forehead. It looked like he hadn’t gotten a good nights sleep in days. “You know, if you poured me an ounce of whiskey, that’d be awful nice.”

Stiles jerked upright and nearly bolted to the kitchen. I just stood in place by the door, watching him curiously. It was like he’d completely forgotten that we were supposed to be doing something. He had a tendency to be forgetful, especially when stressed. I’d say he was pretty wired lately, since he could barely go a minute without worrying about Scott and all his werewolf issues. 

He reappeared in the doorway a few seconds later, the bottle of alcohol and a shot glass in hand, and quickly pulled out a chair next to his dad. I decided to join them because I was honestly really curious about what he was working on. Plus, getting Stiles back on track usually took a lot more effort than I was willing to give right now. 

“Any leads?” He put the stuff onto the table and picked up the closest paper to him.

“Hey.” Mr. Stilinski swatted his hand away before wagging a pencil disapprovingly. Stiles cried out dramatically and rubbed at his fingers. “You know I can’t discuss that with you.”

“What about with me?” I slid into a free chair on the other side of the table, my lips pulling up into a teasing smile. It instantly dropped at the unamused stare he gave me. 

Okay. Do not joke with a tired Sheriff. Got it. 

I cleared my throat and glanced at Stiles for help, only to find that he was already looking at me, an amused smile twitching at the edges of his lips. He was trying to be discreet about it, so his dad wouldn’t see, and it was ridiculously adorable. 

He sagged back into his chair with a sigh. “Son, the last thing I need right now is you and your girlfriend shoving your noses into my classified investigation, so if you could just—”

My heart nearly stopped beating in my chest at his words. I looked at Stiles with wide eyes, but he was too busy sputtering silently toward his dad to notice. “Uh, we aren’t—” 

We still hadn’t talked about that. Sure, we’ve kissed a few times, but we haven’t gone on a proper date or anything yet, and he didn’t even ask me to the dance. As far as I was concerned, we were...friends? That sometimes kiss?

“Yeah. No. We-we haven’t...” He rushed the words out as he finally remembered how to talk, his cheeks turning bright pink.

“Look. I don’t care.” His dad sighed before sliding his glasses off and massaging his temples. “Just please go do...anything else.”

“Alright. Fine.” Stiles started pouring a shot of the whiskey, his eyes widening after a moment as if an idea dawned on him. He kept going until the glass was almost full before sliding it across the table. “Bottoms up.”

He got up just as quickly as he’d sat down, striding around the table to take my hand in his. I nearly tripped over my own feet as he pulled me out of my chair and up the stairs quickly. He shoved his bedroom door open before practically throwing me inside and slamming it behind us. 

I just stared at him with wide eyes as he leaned back against it with a sigh. 

“I didn’t want him to notice what I did.” He glanced at me fleetingly before pushing himself off the door and walking briskly toward his desk. 

I swear, he never slows down. 

“Which is...?” I drawled, turning around to watch him dig through each of the wooden drawers. 

He tongue swept across his bottom lip in concentration. My eyes followed the movement, my own lip rolling between my teeth. I was always surprised that he could manage to make even the smallest things attractive. “I’m gonna get him drunk. He talks a lot when he’s drunk.”

“So that’s how you know so much about police stuff.” I wandered over to his bed and plopped down, figuring I might as well get comfortable if we were going to be in here for awhile.

He stopped rummaging through his stuff to frown at me. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“Manipulating a Sheriff into giving you classified information? That one’s not exactly north on the moral compass.” I dragged my toes along the hardwood floors and leaned back on my palms.

He rolled his eyes and turned back to the desk, searching for another few seconds before letting out a frustrated huff. He practically slammed the last drawer closed. One of his hands came up to scratch at the side of his head as he turned and let his eyes flicker around the room. 

“Where the hell did I leave that thing?” He muttered, more to himself than me.

He suddenly perked up, as if remembering something, and took a few big steps toward the bed. He bent down in front of me and started moving his blankets around. I leaned to the side in an effort to give him more room, since it seemed like he somehow forgot I was sitting right here. My eyes flickered over his face, which was only a few inches away from mine. 

The window beside his bed let in just enough light to perfectly illuminate his freckled skin. It reflected off of his eyes, making them look like molten amber. His nose was scrunched adorably in concentration as he weaved around me to look for the laptop. He suddenly stopped fidgeting and moved back slightly. 

“Ah ha! Got ya, you little...” He trailed off as his eyes met mine. He froze, as if only just then realizing how close we were. 

I stole a glance at his lips before deciding to close the distance between us. It was hard to think about anything else but kissing him when he was this close. My hands moved up to the sides of his face and I tugged him those last few inches closer. When my lips slanted over his, he stiffened against me, as if caught off guard. The contact only lasted a few seconds before he pulled back with with shaky breath. 

I took one look at his stunned expression and erupted into a fit of giggles. 

“What?” He frowned and moved away, his eyes searching mine.

“Why do you always kiss me like you think I’m going to punch you in the face right after?” I chuckled and let my hands drop back down to my lap.

It looked like he was about to argue as his mouth opened and closed a few times. He eventually just dragged his tongue against the inside of his cheek and sighed in defeat. “I just���uh. I want you to be comfortable, and I don’t want you to think that I want you to do something that you don’t want to do.”

My brows furrowed as I tried to figure out what the hell he just said. 

“I’m gonna go check on my dad.” He jerked up to his full height and rubbed at the back of his neck before practically running out the door. 

I watched it bounce off the wall from the force he’d used to open it, and shook my head in amusement. I wasn’t sure how he still managed to be such a spaz around me after all this time, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t endearing as hell. After a few seconds, I wandered out of his room and down the stairs to join him.

“You know, Derek Hale would be a hale—” My eyes landed on Mr. Stilinski, still sitting in the same position we’d left him in, as he stopped slurring for a moment to chuckle at his own slip up. “A hell of a lot easier to catch if we could get an actual picture of him.”

Stiles was sitting in the spot beside him again, already nose deep in some document. I padded over to the table and slid into the empty chair on the other side of the table. I finally processed his words and looked at him in question. They didn’t have a single picture of Derek? He’d been arrested at least two separate times now. How was that possible?

“How do you not have a picture of him?” Stiles’ eyebrows pinched as he voiced my thoughts perfectly.

His dad peeled a small piece of paper off the table and studied it as if it held a code he had yet to decipher. “It’s the weirdest thing. It’s like, every time I try to get a mugshot, there’s like two laser beams pointing at the camera...”

Stiles ripped the picture out of his hands and inspected it closely. I leaned over the table to get a look, my eyes widening at what I saw. It was definitely Derek, but only a fraction of his face was visible through the two bright circles that took up most of the shot.

“Nice.” I breathed before sitting back down, honestly impressed. That was a pretty cool trick and could probably come in handy later on.

“Oh my God.” Mr. Stilinski groaned and slid his glasses off before leaning back in his chair and rubbing his hands down his face. “That ounce hit me like a brick. I’ve said way too much, and if you repeat any of this...”

“Dad. It’s me. I’m not gonna say anything. Come on.” Stiles scoffed and put the picture down, as if his dad questioning him at all was offensive.

The Sheriff’s eyes swept toward me and I swallowed, feeling nervous under his intense gaze. It was like he couldn’t turn off the whole cop thing. Or maybe he just really didn’t like me. I looked away from him and picked up a nearby file to distract myself.

“And Y/N, she’s ya know, trustworthy...too.” A frown pulled at my lips. That stuttering mess made me sound anything but. How did he still manage to be awkward even in front of his own dad?

“See, the thing is, they’re all connected.” Mr. Stilinski started, that jumble of words apparently enough to convince him to continue. “The bus driver that was killed was the insurance investigator assigned to the Hale house fire.”

My eyes widened as I realized I was looking at that very man’s file. I flitted through the pages quickly, looking for anything relevant. 

“Terminated under suspicion of fraud.” I read the words slowly, wondering if it had anything to do with the fire.

I glanced up toward Stiles, who fidgeted in his seat uncomfortably before moving his attention to his dad. “Alright. Who else?”

“The video store clerk who got his throat slashed? A convicted felon with a history of arson.” 

“What about the other two guys? The ones in the woods?” My eyes swept back to Stiles quickly. I’d nearly forgotten about them. They were “mysteriously” killed the night Stiles took Scott into the preserve to get drunk after Allison broke up with him. 

“Priors all over their records. Including—”

“Arson?” I quipped, putting the pieces together easily.

Every single murder was connected to the Hale house fire. But why?

He breathed out a heavy sigh and let the papers he was holding flutter back down to the table. “There’s just so many questions. I mean, if Derek wanted to kill everyone involved with the fire, why start with his sister? She didn’t have anything to do with it. You know, why make it look like some kind of animal did it?”

Stiles looked away from him, his jaw clenching. His eyes flickered to mine fleetingly before moving down to his fingers as he tapped them on the edge of the table, his brows furrowing.

“And, when that cougar showed up in the parking lot, I checked with animal control. Did you know that the incidents of wild animal reports are up seventy percent over the last few months? It’s like they’re just going crazy and running out of the woods.”

It was in that moment, as I saw him so confused and dejected, that a heavy wave of realization crashed down onto my shoulders. Allison wasn’t the only one being hurt by the secrets in Beacon Hills. Not even close. There were so many layers to the problems that all of this shit had created. I hadn’t even considered how it would effect people like Stiles’ dad. 

But it made total sense. Of course, how would they solve any of these cases without the most important piece? He’d run himself into the ground trying to figure out the impossible. Until he knew about the supernatural aspect, he wasn’t going to make any progress. The thought made my heart twist uncomfortably in my chest.

I finally realized how much it was weighing on Stiles, too. It was clear that it pained him not to tell his dad everything. His jaw was tight as Mr. Stilinski rambled on about the unknown, his lips rolled into a thin line. He couldn’t sit still for more than a few seconds, and he kept fidgeting with his fingers. 

It dawned on me then, too, that he wasn’t just complacent in all the lying like I thought this whole time. He was a caretaker. He quite literally couldn’t help but try to protect everyone around him all at once. I had a feeling that even if Scott said it was okay to tell his dad everything, he still wouldn’t.

“Or something’s scaring them out.” Stiles finally sighed, looking defeated. 

Just then, both of our phones dinged with a notification. I pulled mine out of my pocket, brows furrowing at the somewhat incoherent text we’d gotten from Scott.

Mom. Date. PETER!

A second later, another message came through.

MY MOM IS ON A DATE WITH PETER. FREAKING OUT. HELP.

Holy shit. What? That is beyond bad. That’s so fucking terrible I can’t even put it into words. 

My eyes jerked up when Stiles’ chair scraped against the hardwood floors loudly. He bolted to his feet and practically ran around the table, grabbing my arm in the process. He muttered something about us having to be somewhere over his shoulder, but his dad was too far gone to think twice about our quick departure anyway.

We scrambled out the door and into his Jeep, peeling out of the driveway as I recited the address and license plate Scott had sent over. Neither of us said a word as he sped to the other side of town.

After several tense minutes, I spotted the car up ahead. My eyes widened as I realized that it was parked on the side of the road. That couldn’t be good. I saw the silhouette of a man in the driver’s seat, but couldn’t find anyone else inside. 

Oh, God. I hope we aren’t too late.  

“There.” I said, pointing at the car. Stiles immediately veered off the road, but he wasn’t slowing down. I put my hands on the dash for support and looked over at him frantically. “Uh...Stiles?”

I lurched forward, my seatbelt digging into my shoulder as he slammed into the rear bumper of the car. My jaw dropped in shock as smoke started pouring out from under the Jeep’s hood, which was now bent. 

The passenger door in front of us popped open, a very angry looking Ms. McCall tumbling out. “Oh, God! Stiles!”

Well, at least she was still alive.

“Ms. McCall?” He scrambled out of the Jeep, looking flustered despite doing that very much intentionally. 

“Yes!” She threw her hands up in exasperation as she walked around to survey the damage. 

“Wow. Well, this is just crazy. What a coincidence!” Stiles chuckled nervously as he met her between the cars. 

I threw my door open and slid out, immediately shivering as the freezing night air wafted over my skin. My head tilted up to the sky as it started sprinkling. Great. That’s just what we need right now. I came to a stop beside Stiles, crossing my arms tightly over my chest to hold in of my warmth.

“I-I really don’t know what happened. You guys came out of nowhere.” He let out a huff and put his hands on his hips, eyes twitching as he raised his eyebrows, hoping she would buy the excuse. 

“Came out of nowhere? We were parked on the side of the road, Stiles!” Yeah, she so wasn’t believing any of this for a second. 

“How crazy is that?” His voice rose with panic as Peter came striding toward us, looking equally as unamused. “Man, we should probably call the cops. Do like an accident report or something?”

“I don’t think that’s necessary.” Peter drawled, shoving his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. What was with the Hale’s and leather? Was it a fashion statement? A werewolf thing? Or did they just not own anything else?

Either way, being this close to him was making my skin crawl.

“Are you sure?” One of Stiles’ eyes squinted shut as he lifted a hand to rub at the back of his neck with a forced grimace. “I think I’m feeling a little bit of whiplash.”

“Whiplash?” It looked like Ms. McCall was going to injure him herself as her voice became sharp with frustration. “You hit us!”

Peter suddenly turned his back to us and began muttering something under his breath. I peered around Ms. McCall’s shoulder and watched as he seemingly talked to himself. My brows furrowed in confusion and I pulled my phone out of my pocket. As I suspected, there was a new text from Scott saying that he was here a few minutes ago. 

I looked around, but couldn’t find him anywhere. My eyes landed on Peter again as he continued taking slow steps away from us. He was clearly talking to Scott, who would be able to hear him from a good distance away. But where was he?

“You know what, I seriously can’t do this right now.” Ms. McCall threw her hands up and walked back to the car with a huff. 

Without thinking too hard about it, I started walking toward Peter. I wanted to know what he was saying, and what the hell he thought he was doing by going after Scott’s mom. If I stopped for even a second I would’ve realized how epically stupid that was, but at the current moment I was too angry to care. For some reason, putting a human face to the alpha had made him just a little less scary. 

I only made it a few steps before a firm hand on my wrist stopped me. I turned to see Stiles staring at me with wide eyes. “Are you out of your freakin’ mind?”

At the touch of his skin on mine, I suddenly felt like the earth shifted beneath my feet. I staggered back a step, a gasp escaping me as a vivid image of Scott flashed in my mind. The only thing I could see was his face, scrunched into a pained grimace.

Stiles ripped his hand away and I was dropped harshly back into the present. “Whoa. What? What?”

I stumbled to the side, feeling lightheaded, and met his wide eyes. He stared at me with parted lips, his eyebrows raised in shock. The vision had come and gone too fast for me to see what was going on, but I knew it couldn’t be good as my stomach tightened uncomfortably.

“Do that again.” I rushed the words out in one breath. “Touch me again.”

He stammered silently for a few seconds, his confused eyes searching mine. I jutted my arm out toward him expectantly and he rolled his lips into a thin line, looking uneasy. After a few moments of hesitation, he slowly wrapped his hand around my wrist again. 

My eyes fluttered closed as the image of Scot instantly returned. I could no longer feel the rain on my face or the chill of the night air. I was just looking down at Scott, watching as he writhed around on the leaf covered ground, a wet stain on his shirt just below his heart slowly expanding.

A thick liquid stained his lips and chin. It looked like blood, but was almost black. He took in a hoarse breath, his chest heaving from the effort.

Suddenly, my eyes snapped open with a jolt. I nearly toppled over as my legs gave out under me. Stiles wrapped his hands around my biceps and studied with me a hard look. I blinked at him a few times, trying to get my eyes to refocus.

“I’m sorry, but I had to stop. It looked like you were in pain. What the hell was that?” His voice was tight with concern as his eyes flickered around my face.

I rubbed a hand against my chest in an effort to steady my breathing. My head pounded harshly as I looked around, trying to convince myself that I was actually back in the present. 

“We need to go. Right now.” I made a move toward the Jeep, but Stiles stood firmly in place, stopping me easily. 

He gave me a hard look and shook me slightly as he spoke. “Okay. You’re really starting to freak me out. What’s going on right now?”

“I’ll explain on the way. Just...please. Trust me.” His eyes twitched as he swallowed slowly. I tried my hardest to silently convey how serious this was. If we were going to make it to Scott before whatever the hell that was happened, we needed to go. Now. 

He hesitated a moment, looking at me as if he wasn’t convinced of my sanity, but eventually nodded in agreement. I let out a breath of relief, casting a final quick glance at Ms. McCall and Peter as I climbed into the Jeep. I was nervous about leaving her with him, but right now Scott was the priority. 

I just hoped we would get there in time. 

                                                —————————

I squinted through the darkness, using my phone’s flashlight to help illuminate our path as we walked through the woods. It was nearly midnight now, the sun long gone. I was starting to lose hope that we would find Scott. It looked like he was somewhere in the preserve during my vision, but we had yet to run into a single other living thing yet. With each passing minute, it seemed more and more likely that I was actually just crazy.

“So I’m your anchor? Me. Stiles.” He asked from beside me, for the third time in ten minutes.

I sighed, pulling his jacket tighter against me as a gust of wind brushed along the back of my neck. He’d given it to me without hesitation when we got out of the car, already assuming I’d be cold. Since we had nothing else to do while looking for Scott, I told him about what I saw by the cars and explained how Derek helped me with my visions last week. 

He wasn’t happy, to put it mildly. He probably hated the guy more than any of us, and had since let me know how much he despised the idea of me being alone with him. Repeatedly. 

“Don’t go getting a big head about it.” I quipped, mostly joking. “I’m sure I could pick a new one if I wanted to.”

He stopped walking and looked over at me, utterly offended. When he leaned forward to narrow his eyes, I noticed something over his shoulder. I took a big step toward him and shoved his head out of the way quickly.

“Hey! What the hell was—”

“Oh my God.” My heart instantly started hammering in my chest as I saw a crumpled figure a few feet ahead. “Scott!”

As I sprinted toward him, I heard a low, pained groan. Within seconds, I fell onto my knees beside him. His eyes were fluttering as he stared vacantly up into the sky and clutched his injured side. My hands twitched in the air above him, wanting to help but having no idea what to do. Thick smoke started pouring out between his fingers, and I reeled back in disgust. 

Stiles scrambled to his other side a moment later, wide eyes flickering back and forth between Scott and I as if he couldn’t believe that I was right. Honestly, I couldn’t either.

“Allison...” Scott choked the word out, barely able to get a breath in. 

“Seriously?” I shouted urgently as panic surged through me. “You’re literally dying and that’s all you can say? What the hell happened?”

“Derek...Jackson was...” He sputtered and coughed, thick blood oozing from his mouth.

I groaned in frustration. This whole gasping out one word at a time thing was not working for me. I looked up at Stiles desperately. “We have to do something.”

“Uh. Right. Okay...” I could practically see the gears turning in his head as his eyes flickered around spastically before finally coming back to mine. “The clinic. We have to take him to the clinic.”

“What?” I breathed, surprised by the suggestion. 

“Just, come on. We don’t have much time.” 

We both draped each of Scott’s arms over our shoulders and started dragging him back the way we came. I was obviously Incredibly freaked out because he was dying right in front of us, but I was angry, too. I was so mad at myself for not being able to see this sooner. If I had control over my visions, we could’ve been here before he even got hurt. I couldn’t help but feel partially to blame for the whole thing. 

Within minutes we were barreling through the vet clinic’s doors. We came in using the garage, the same way Scott had told us to when Derek was in this same position. It was obvious that he’d been shot with a bullet covered in wolf’s bane, since he wasn’t healing at all. Stiles and I dropped him onto one of the metal operating tables the second we got in the room.

He was passed out cold at this point. I bent over to rest my hands on my knees, my chest heaving with labored breaths. He was heavy as shit, and Stiles and I aren’t exactly the peak of fitness. After I caught my breath, I stood up straight and immediately froze at the sight of Deaton in the doorway.

He was just standing there, observing us curiously. We were so screwed. He could charge us with breaking and entering, at the very least. Plus, Scott was laying on his table with a bullet hole in his chest. There was absolutely no way to explain this, and we didn’t have time anyway.

“Uh...” I stammered, not sure what to say. 

“Remove his shirt.” Deaton said slowly, his eyes firmly planted on Scott as he walked across the room. 

Stiles and I exchanged a quick glance, but did as he said. I grimaced and reared back as I saw the bullet wound properly for the first time. It was still discharging that weird smoke and was oozing a thick, nasty looking black liquid. Deaton returned to the table with a pair of long tweezers, gauze, and a small jar. He looked strangely calm as he peered down at Scott’s unconscious frame.

“I thought you were a vet.” My eyes trailed over him as he snapped on a pair of medical gloves. I appreciated the help from an adult right now, but he wasn’t exactly a doctor.

He glanced at me fleetingly before picking up the tweezers. “That’s correct. And ninety percent of the time I’m mostly treating cats and dogs.”

“Mostly?” Stiles muttered from beside me, his eyes glistening down at Scott with worry. 

Deaton paused just before digging the tweezers into Scott’s side. He looked at the two of us, a small smile pulling at his lips as if he knew something we didn’t. “Mostly.”

Just then, my phone started ringing loudly. I winced at the high pitched tone and reached into my back pocket to fish it out, but stilled when I came up empty. My brows furrowed as I patted my hands against my jeans. I could’ve sworn I put it back in there once we found Scott. 

“What are you doing?” Stiles eyed me curiously from the other end of the table. 

“Have you seen my phone?” I muttered, walking around the room to look around the floor. The ringing kept getting progressively louder, to the point that it was almost painful. I rubbed at my ears as I continued searching. 

“Y/N...” Something about his tone made my attention snap back to him. I glanced down at his hand as he held it out toward me. “You dropped it in the woods so I picked it up...”

My breath caught in my throat as I looked down at the screen. It was black. There was no one calling me, but I could still hear the ringing even now. It didn’t make any sense. I took it from him with a shaky hand, avoiding his concerned gaze. I nearly jumped out of my skin as it started actually going off the second my fingers touched it. 

My eyes flickered up toward Stiles and Deaton, who were both watching me closely. I cleared my throat and turned my back to them before answering. 

“Y/N!” Allison yelled harshly, panic clear in her voice. I immediately stiffened. What more could go wrong tonight? “You’re never going to fucking believe this.”

“What?” I breathed, my heart already beating erratically in my chest with anticipation.

“My aunt just showed me this creepy room we have in our basement—which I didn’t even know was a thing by the way—and you’ll never believe who she has chained up in there.”

I blinked a few times, taking a moment to process what she said. “Allison, just spit it out already.”

“Derek fucking Hale! And—and that’s not all. He was...he’s. Oh my God, I can’t even say it. He’s a...a...”

I pinched my eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable bomb to drop. How did he always manage to get himself in these ridiculous situations? Like, are you kidding me right now? As if dealing with Peter wasn’t enough, he goes and gets himself kidnapped by the Argents too.  I turned back around to face Stiles and Deaton, my gaze shifting to the fresh bandage on Scott’s side. I took the relieved look in their eyes as a good sign that he was going to be okay. I held onto the small hope that Allison’s innocence had been preserved and she wasn’t about to say what I thought.

“You’re going to think I’m crazy, but he’s—she said that he’s a...werewolf.”

Yeah, I knew we weren’t that lucky.

Episode 9                   Episode 11

[allisondraste]

You’ll See

Pairing: Nathaniel Howe X Female Cousland

Summary: Allison missed Liss and Nate so she made up some stuff.  Liss and Nathaniel take a trip to a special pond, and live out a shared teenage fantasy.

Author Note:  Long time, no see! I've been thinking about Liss and Nate a lot lately, so I figured I'd write a one-shot to get them out of my system. This is actually a scene that I had originally planned to be in the Eplilogue of Temperance, and decided that there were other, more important things that needed to happen in that chapter. I hope those of you who read, enjoy! Thanks for stopping by.

[AO3 LINK]

Nathaniel awoke to a jarring shaking of his shoulders, causing him to wince and blink until the sleep faded from his eyes and he could see the source of the disturbance clearly.  Liss hovered over him, face inches from his watching him expectantly as her fingers continued to grasp the sleeves of his shirt.  He’d grown accustomed to her waking him up in the middle of the night, typically for comfort after a particularly bad nightmare.  He never minded, but she didn’t look upset.  In fact, she seemed almost giddy.

“Wake up, sleepyhead,” she said, almost in a whisper, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

He rose up on his elbows and glanced over at the window.  “Liss, it’s still dark outside.”

“That’s the point,” she laughed and hopped up grabbing his hand and tugging it to urge him out of bed.

“The point of what, exactly?”

“You’ll see.”

Liss opened the door to the room they’d been staying in, her old bedroom that Fergus had kept vacant for her visits to Highever, and stepped out into the hallway, still in her nightgown.  She motioned for him to follow her with her index finger, and so he laughed, shook his head, and did as she wanted, stone floor cold against his bare feet.  She grabbed his hand as he caught up to her, lacing her fingers through his.

“Where are we going?”

“Shh,” she snapped her head to look at him and whisper, “You’re going to wake up Fergus.”

“Is there a reason we shouldn’t?” It felt oddly like their childhood, sneaking about Castle Cousland past their bedtime trying not to alert her parents to their mischief.

“It’s rude, Nate,” she scolded him playfully, “Not to mention, he’s a horrible grump when he’s woken early, and… well, you’ll see.”

“You keep saying that,” Nathaniel hissed as he continued to follow behind her, “If you were anyone else, I would be concerned that I am being led to my demise.”

Liss stopped abruptly and turned to face him, smiling deviously. “How do you know I’m not?”

He brought her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “I trust you with my life, my lady.”

“Cut it out,” she said playfully, pulling her hand away from him, “You will not charm me out of my secrets.”

He snorted, rather ungracefully, and she let out a laugh she’d clearly been trying to stifle.  She grabbed his hand again, and continued to lead him through the hallways, down several flights of stairs, and all the way outside.  He’d spent many summers in Highever, many warm days and nights by Liss’ side, hand-in-hand, allowing her to lead him into whatever trouble she desired, anything to hear her laugh and see her smile at him with glittering eyes.  This time, almost eleven years since he’d left for Starkhaven, was the only time he’d ever been free to truly admire her.

They made their way through the courtyard and out the large wooden gate.  The guards on watch looked at them curiously, but did as the teyrn’s sister bade, opening and closing the door behind them.  Nathaniel knew where they were going now, he no longer needed to ask.  There was only one spot outside the grounds she’d want to go.

The small pond in which they used to swim as children had not changed in the years he’d been away, untamed and wild compared to anything within the castle walls.  He remembered the times he and Liss had always visited after dueling practice to cool down, how they’d always try to push the other into the water first.  They would lay on the bank for hours talking as their clothes dried, linking fingers and watching the clouds.

“You coming,” Liss called to him from the water’s edge.  In his reminiscing he had not noticed her slip out of her gown, and his face grew hot at the sight of her in nothing but her smallclothes and illuminated by moonlight.

“I… “ He rushed over to her, suddenly feeling entirely too far away and completely incapable of speech.  He averted his eyes out of habit, something he had not yet been able to break.

“That hideous, huh,” Liss asked knowingly.

“No, it’s just-” he cleared his throat and forced his gaze upward to see that she’d removed her undergarments and was now twirling them around one of her fingers.

“What?” She dropped the garments and began to wipe at her cheek. “Is there something on my face?”

He laughed and gathered himself enough to close the distance between them, reaching out to brush a lock of curly golden hair from her shoulder.  “There’s nothing on you at all,” he managed, voice low.

Liss looked down at her own naked body and back up at him.  “Huh, how about that?”

Before Nathaniel could respond, she’d turned and jumped into the pond, sending a spray of water up to dampen his shirt and breeches.  He might have been annoyed had it not been for his beautiful lover swimming to the bank, then resting her head on her arms as she peered up at him, batting those ridiculous lashes of hers.  He was almost certain he’d dreamed about this before, multiple times, and he wasn’t entirely certain he was not presently dreaming.  So, he just stood, bewildered and blinking down at her.

“What’s the matter Nate,” she teased, “You look properly bashful.”

He let out an embarrassed laugh and brushed a loose strand of hair back from his face. “Would it be completely inappropriate for me to tell you that this was one of my teenage fantasies?”

“Only if, in those fantasies, you just stood there completely clothed the entire time,” she quipped, matter-of-factly.

“Shut up,” he joked as he began unlacing his breeches and untucking his shirt.  His fingers were hurried and clumsy despite the many times he’d disrobed in front of her.

“Make me,” came her retort as she pushed away from the bank and out into the middle of the water.

It was a game they’d played for as long as he’d known her, a little verbal spar that never failed to endear him to her even further, even when he was certain he could not become any more fond.  He finished undressing and jumped in the water, swimming over to where she floated, back facing him.  He wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin in the curve of her neck, noticing how she did not stiffen at his touch, how she wasn’t even surprised to find him there so suddenly.  She spun to face him, mischievous grin spreading across her lips. She shifted her gaze from him to the water between them and then back up, swiping her arm through the water so that it splashed up into his face.    

He winced reflexively as she burst out into laughter.  He couldn’t help but laugh with her, as much as he wanted to be stern.  “You arse.”

“I earned that.” She swam forward to close the distance between them again, pressing her chest flush against him and reaching up to pinch his nose. “Too bad you still want to kiss me.”

“I want no such thing,” he lied, leaning forward so that their foreheads touched, “In fact I’ve never wanted to kiss you less.”

“I’m not convinced,” she breathed.

“It’s the truth, my lady.” He pressed his lips to hers as gently as he could, delighting at her sharp inhale at the gesture. “I find the idea repulsive.”

“Well-” she interrupted herself to return the kiss, allowing her lips to trail down his neck to his shoulder, which she bit playfully- “I wouldn’t want you to make yourself ill on my account.”

She feigned an attempt to swim away but he caught her arm and pulled her back into him, tangling his hand in her damp hair.  She laughed again, and he shook his head, looking down at the woman he’d loved his entire life, the one he’d dreamed about being able to kiss in the very pond where they were.  His gaze must have softened as Liss’ furrowed her eyebrows.

“What?”

“I love you,” he said, startled by the strain in his own voice.

Liss smiled warmly, and brought a wet hand up to his cheek. “I love you, too.”

Nathaniel had always regretted the many opportunities he’d missed to be with Liss just as he was now, all of the times he chose not to tell her how he felt, the years he’d let her think that she wasn’t the single most important person in his life.  He’d come to terms with the fact that he could never take those moments back, that he wouldn’t ever get to be seventeen again, drunk on rum and the smell of her hair where he’d nearly told her he loved her.  He’d never get another chance to be a stubborn thirteen-year-old sitting at the edge of the water, too afraid of his feelings and his father to play with his best friend.  However, they could make new memories in those very same places, and he was more than content with that.  They spent the next few hours outside under the stars, holding one another, and lying on the bank talking about everything and nothing as they watched the sun rise into the morning sky.

[asterekmess]

1/7 I’m actually a fan of the idea behind Scott and Stiles’ friendship and the story Scott told. Scott and Stiles worked together well when they first started in Season 1, because they were obviously complementary. I even liked how Stiles was able to shrug off Scott’s jealousy and possessiveness and kept putting up with Scott despite Scott treating him like trash (“I just made first line! I got a date with a girl who I can’t believe wants to go out with me, and everything in my life is perfect!

2/7 Why are you trying to ruin it?!”) and ditching him for the popular crowd as soon as he could. It wasn't a perfect friendship, but it worked well enough. The problem, of course, is that through the course of the show, Stiles grew up and Scott didn't. Stiles would lock himself up and sacrifice his own life to save everyone else’s (that’s literally the theme of Teen Wolf Season 3B). Meanwhile, Scott would gladly sacrifice other people’s life to save his own and to keep his true alpha title

3/7 (Scott begging others to do his dirty work for him is literally the theme of Teen Wolf Season 6A&B.) Stiles focused on responsibility and building relationships with other people, while Scott took them for granted; it bugged me how many times Scott would treat people as friends that he could make demands of just because he said so (Stiles, Lydia, Boyd, Danny, Kira) and then abused other people’s patience (Derek, Chris, Isaac, Allison, Malia, Liam.) Scott boasted about being a true alpha and

4/7 smarted off to his enemies because he knew that his friends would have his back. Until the last, for Scott McCall, it was always someone else's fault when Scott McCall fucked up. There's nothing more annoying to me than Pissbaby Scott Getting Pissy in the club in Rave because Allison had the nerve to prioritize saving Jackson’s life over Scott’s jealous fits and temper tantrums.

5/7 There's nothing more pointless than Scott lying about Kira’s fox to control her and then playing up his shitty little chest wound that had long healed just to convince his friends not to abandon him again. Scott was so tone deaf to other people’s pain, traumas and history that it seemed like he was obsessed with minimizing what they had gone through and making it ALL about himself instead. And even that wouldn't have bothered me if they had allowed Scott’s friends to say "Quit it, Scott.

6/7 You're 18, not 8." If they had allowed Stiles to get angry with Scott without portraying it as a crime, or Derek to beat the ever living crap out of Scott for violating and dehumanizing him, or Isaac to clap back when Scott abused him in front of Melissa, or Kira and Allison to shout at Scott when he lied to them. But the production didn't. The show basically said that "Stiles is a hero and a good friend because he lets Scott use him and gaslight him to his heart’s content and doesn't leave.

7/7 The show basically said "Allison loved being yelled at and stalked around so much, she started dating Scott." The show basically said “Derek realized that Scott violated and dehumanized him for his own good, so he doesn’t have to hold it against him.” The show basically said “Isaac accepted being hit and abused by Scott because he deserved it for looking at Scott’s woman.” It didn’t have to be toxic, but it ended up being that way.

A lot of my issues come around to the writing of the show. I honestly believe that we’re a little spoiled in our fandom world. There are so many fics with so much depth. So many writers that put so much effort into making proper foils and character arcs. They wait and wait and wait, revising until they know they’ve got the fic exactly how they want it, and then they post it.

Writing a tv show doesn’t really allow for that. Sure, they write a script and it gets looked over a few times, but there’s no time to stew in it. To consider how that episode’s script and plans interact with previous episodes, to consider how it will effect future episodes and the direction they should go in. The time is crunched, there’s a couple read-throughs and then you get those actors in front of the camera and go. I get it. I hate it, but i get it. My frustration came in my expectations of the forethought that I believe would’ve gone into the show before it ever came out. BEFORE it gets a pilot or green-lit, or whatever the terminology for that is (I’m a stage actor, not a tv actor), it was my assumption, that there would be so much thought out. If I’m working on a series of fics, I have at least a basic plotline for every volume. If I’m writing a 100k fic, I make an outline and I decide on the general plot and then? Then I decide what the character development/arcs will be. Taking a writing class, you get told constantly to think about how the characters should change from beginning to end. You get told to consider turning points in the story. You need to have a concrete understanding of each character’s personality, backstory, behavior, and have a PLAN for what to do with each other them and how you intend for them to grow (be it good or bad)

So when I went to watch this show the first time, I was totally caught up in YEs werewolves! Yes full moons! Yes, fangs and claws and superstrength! YEs even the human gets to do fun stuff! But that excitement quickly faded, because the foundation I thought I was seeing, wasn’t actually there. I saw Scott attacking people and yelling at his friend for trying to help. I saw Derek threatening people and clawing Jackson. I saw Jackson and Lydia being stuck-up and that stereotypical ‘popular’ kind of pompous and cruel. I saw Stiles being vicious and impulsive. Allison showed up as this...perfect person? I saw it and I thought that was the point. That they would all learn and grown and depend on each other and that this show about werewolves that spent so much of Season 1 talking about ‘pack’ would turn these people into a pack. That they would call each other out for their various issues and everyone would grow. That Allison would seem like this beacon of goodness, until she revealed a deep character flaw that she would have to work on like everyone else. And then we got to the second season, and it all just went sideways. Derek just got meaner and Erica and Isaac both joined while being just as mean. Boyd seemed like a decent dude, that voice of reason. And then he was barely there. Stiles kept hitting on Lydia and wouldn’t stop. Scott was awful to Allison. It all got worse and they were suddenly split into Sides. Derek and the other Hales that popped up were never actually a part of Scott’s pack/group. They were always on the outside, even after Derek just sort of...gave in and said Scott was in charge now? It was frustrating and confusing, watching bits of their personalities flip-flop all over the place to suit a plot that felt like it was just trying to cater to the audience, without having any actual backbone of plot. If you write something JUST for other people, it’ll never have integrity. The growth of these characters was constantly either completely skipped (characters going from bad to good in an instant), cut off at its ankles (killed off or sent away), nonsensical (Derek had to lose all his powers to become a full-shift wolf, and that somehow had an effect on his personality??), or it never happened (Scott. And, to some extent? Stiles.)

I find that I have the most fun in this fandom when I take canon and use it as a sort of malleable clay to play with and make my own worlds out of. I get to keep my favorite characters around (Boyd, Erica, and Isaac, and even Jackson sometimes), get rid of characters I don’t like (Ethan and Aiden, usually Jennifer and Gerard, and sometimes Scott), and toss what I’ve got into an au or a canon-divergence and see what they do. I mean, that’s basically what all fandom is, but for this one, it’s a bit like SPN. I refuse to acknowledge anything that happened in SPN after like...season 6 or something. I haven’t even seen past s8 (just like in TW i haven’t seen past S4) and it doesn’t matter. i mold the tv show to make whatever I want.

Canon gave me some good ideas, but I don’t like to stick to it too strictly in my own creative works.

I’m sorry that canon let you down, but fanfic will always be here for you.

[make-me-imagine]

Hello dear, may a get a Percy Jackson ship with prompts 6 and 2? I'm into both guys and girls. I'm 5'4", curly brown hair and eyes, and curvy. I enjoy exploring and listening to music as well as learning new things and swimming. I'm somewhat introverted, but also very sassy and sarcastic, I care for others quite a bit, and according to tests, I would be a daughter of Hades.

+ Addition of Teen Wolf ship & Correction; Daughter of Apollo 

[Possibly Fun Fact; when taking Riordans “official” quiz, my Godly Parent would be Athena). 

Ships are now CLOSED

-

Percy Jackson: 

I ship you with Percy. You and Percy would love to go exploring together, as well as swimming. Sometimes you spend your evening lying together on the couch, each with an earbud as you listen to music, sometimes singing along together. You both love introducing each other to new songs and artists. He loves your sarcastic and sassy side, because he also gets sassy and sarcastic. God forbid someone be on the end of this from both of you, they’d want to throw themselves out of a window. *coughs* Grover *coughs*

Prompt #2: First Kiss

Percy looked all around for you, calling out your name. Where had you gone? Were you hurt? Were you lost? 

You had gotten separated during your most recent quest when everything went to shit. Everyone was fighting and there was chaos everywhere. By the time it was over Percy had no idea where you had ended up. And he was worried.

There were people hugging and cheering, but he had yet to find you. The longer time passed the more fearful he got. He had to find you. He needed to know that you were okay.

“Percy!”

Your voice carried over the crowd as he spun around, his eyes darting around to find you. Seeing you dodge your way through the crowd, you met eyes.

Instant relief flooded over him as he saw you were okay. You looked a bit beaten up, but you were there, alive, safe.

He began moving towards you quickly, his heart pounding. And as you met, without thinking he pulled you towards him, pressing his lips against yours suddenly in a deep kiss that shocked you. 

When he pulled away he pulled you to his chest, wrapping his arms around you ‘I was so worried when I couldn’t find you”

Pulling away from the hug he saw your surprised face “Y/n, what is it?”

“You kissed me” you said plainly.

He stared at you for a moment “Yeah, but why d-” you saw the moment realization struck as he paused and a shocked look appeared momentarily before he cleared his throat “Right. I hadn’t done that before had I?”

You chuckled “No. But it’s alright, I didn’t mind. We are dating after all”

He chuckled as well “Yeah, right. Well” he looked at you before bringing his hand to your face “I’m gonna do it again” 

He smiled as he leaned in, pausing for a moment as he met your eyes, seeing a small smile form on your face he leaned the rest of the way in, kissing you once again.

Teen Wolf: 

I ship you with Scott. I almost shipped you with Allison because I think you would go well together, but I really like the idea of you and Scott. He isn’t the most extroverted so I think he would really appreciate alone time with you, or just the two of you wandering around town together, having your own little adventures. He loves that you genuinely care for other people, and that was one of the things that made him fall for you in the first place. As well as you looks, music tastes, sassiness, sense of humor, etc etc. he just really likes you for every piece of you, and never wants you to change. 

Prompt #6: First ‘I love you’ ( This came out much longer than I thought it would lol, so I hope you like it! :) )

Scott noticed you had been a little distant lately, but didn’t understand why. He was smart, but also pretty fucking dumb sometimes, so of course he wouldn’t link it together. 

Kira had come back to town, and they were hanging out more often. hey hadn’t seen each other much since you all graduated, but you knew they sort of kept in touch, mostly due to supernatural stuff, which is also why she had come back to town. But you were afraid that he was falling back in love with her, and that he would leave you behind. 

You were contemplating talking to him, but it scared you. So you decided to wait for him to say something, if he would at all. Maybe they were just staying friends, at least you hoped that was all it was. 

The knock on your door startled you from your thoughts. Looking at the clock and reading 7:25pm you frowned in confusion. You quietly walked to the door before cautiously checking through the peephole, your heart picked up speed when you saw Scott standing on the other side. 

You contemplating not opening, but you knew he could hear you, he probably knew you were standing on the other side of the door.

Confirming this though was Scotts voice calling gently from the other side “Y/n? I know you’re there, can you please open the door?”

You sighed as you opened the door, meeting his eyes you smiled at him “Hi Scott, what are you doing here?”

He smiled sadly “Can’t I come visit my girlfriend? I mean, I used to come over around this time a lot’

“Yeah...used to” you said quietly as you turned and walked back into the house, leaving the door open so he could come in,

Scott frowned at your comment, realizing you were right. He hadn’t been coming over at all lately. 

“Is that why you’re mad at me?” he asked cautiously as he entered, closing the door behind him.

“Who said I was mad at you?“ you asked without looking at him

“Well, I just assumed. I mean, you haven’t really been talking to me much. I know I’ve been busy, so I wanted to come apologize” 

You didn’t really acknowledge his comments, as an annoyance built up out of nowhere, your frustration coming to light “I thought you were supposed to be doing something with Kira again?” 

He stared at you for a moment, sensing the anger coming off of you. Realization struck him that he also sensed jealousy, and...fear? He then realized just how much time he had been spending with Kira, his ex, rather than you. No wonder you were peeved, and jealous.

“Y/n” he took a few steps closer to you “You don’t think that me and Kira...” he trailed off as you stopped what you were doing. 

You scoffed “Why wouldn’t I Scott? It’s hard enough that I can see she still might have feelings for you, but when you begin spending all of your time with her, and not telling me about what exactly is is your doing, it’s hard to think otherwise”

He frowned as he looked down at the ground, guilt pulsing through him. Looking back at you he walked the rest of the way to you, lifting your face to look at him “I promise that I do not have any feeling for her, I only want you Y/n. YOU are the one that I love.” Seeing the shock that crossed your face he smiled lightly “I love YOU, and no one else”

“You love me?” you asked quietly.

“Of course. And I’m so sorry for keeping you in the dark, and not coming over. I promise I will tell you everything from now on, and I will come over every night from now on...okay?” 

You nodded as he pulled you into a hug “Scott?” 

“Yeah?”

You tightened your grip around him “I love you too.”

[randomly-random-jen]

The Completely Inaccurate Misadventures [2/?]

[part 1]

2. In Which Mistakes Are Made

A hum built around Church then a POP. Carolina was suddenly staring at him, head cocked. “Where’s your armor?”

It took him a split-second to register her confused words. He glanced down at his clothes and shrugged. “It’s not like it matters what I look like. I’m a frickin computer program. I’m non-corporeal. I don’t need armor if I can’t be shot.”

She laughed.

“What?”

“I didn’t think you knew what non-corporeal meant.”

“Hey, fuck you. I’m not an idiot. I have a Ph.D. in like five things. Uh- computer science, and uh-” He rubbed his forehead. “Engineering.”

Carolina kept laughing. “For someone that’s made entirely of memories, you sure forget a lot.”

“Not enough,” he muttered. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at his shoes again. That right lace was still untied. Stupid shoelace.

Her laughter tapered off. “Church, what’s wrong?”

“Epsilon. My name is Epsilon.” He couldn’t take it anymore. He blinked out, cocooning himself in the little corner of Carolina’s brain that he’d claimed for himself. He could go back into the memory chip in her armor, but, yeah, that wasn’t fun last time. Carolina’s thoughts tickled the back of his mind. He burrowed under the covers. “Go away.”

“Jesus, Church, do you ever clean up after yourself?”

He tossed the blanket off to find Tex looking around, lips curled in disgust. She picked up an empty pizza box then dropped it, wiping her hands on her pants.

“What the hell are you doing here? Get out.”

“I thought we established that you’re stuck with me.”

“Well go find your own place to live.”

“Carolina know she’s renting brain space to a slob? She was always super meticulous about tidiness even as a kid.”

Church groaned, tossing the blanket back over his face. “When will this nightmare end?”

He felt the side of the bed dip then Tex pulled the blanket down. He just glared at her.

“I’m sorry,” she finally said.

“For what?”

“Making you question your existence.”

“Fucking existential crisis,” he muttered, looking away.

“Move over.” She nudged him with her leg so he scooted over to let her lie down. They didn’t say anything for a long time, but Church was very aware of the side of her body pressed up against his. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to remind himself that none of this was real. The room, the pizza box, himself. None of it was real. Just ones and zeroes he arranged in a comforting pattern.

“This is worse than our first apartment. Remember, in Boston?”

Church snorted. “It wasn’t that bad.”

“There were rats, Church. Rats.”

He chuckled. I remember you climbing up on the counters. The big, strong Marine—scared of a little mouse.”

“It was a fucking rat. They carry diseases and stuff.”

Church couldn’t hold back the laughter at the memory. Or how offended Tex sounded right now. Then she punched him in the arm.

“Ow.”

“Jerk.”

They stared at each other a long time, lying on that bed. A whole hurricane of emotions swirled in Church’s head. And as always, Tex was at the center of them. “We had some good times, right?” he finally asked. “It wasn’t all bad.”

“No, it wasn’t all bad.”

Memories he’d tried to keep locked in one of those boxes leaked out. The apartment with the rats, his graduation from MIT, their first house, feeling utterly lost when she deployed, the Christmas he tried to make turkey and didn’t know you had to thaw it for days, and she just laughed and laughed that a genius could be so dumb. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to stuff them away before they overwhelmed him.

But they didn’t. They slowed, and the noise in his brain quieted. The memories were still there, though. Tex in a wedding gown. And combat boots. Because she’s Tex. He’d never been so in awe as that day, watching her walk down the aisle. How could he be so fucking lucky? The image morphed to Tex painting a room. Bright sunny yellow. Stomach just started to swell.

Tears slipped from the corners of his eyes.

He was rushing to the hospital. He’d been at a conference in London. He’d hitched the first red-eye home he could get, but the traffic was awful, and his heart was pounding the whole drive. He’d stumbled into the room, tripping over his goddamn shoelace, and found Tex cuddling a little pink bundle. He’d stopped breathing. He took back the awe thing. This day was the most awe-inspiring day.

Sorry, I’m late, was all he could say.

Tex had shaken her head like she expected him to be a complete disaster. And accepted it. “It’s okay,” she said, motioning him over. “You’ll just have to make sure you’re on time for the next one.”

“Next one?” He hadn’t even gotten used to the idea of this one.

She laughed at the terrified look on his face.

There was no next one, though. The memories faded, leaving him with a sort of confused contentment. “Did you do that?” he whispered. “I’ve never been able to control them. Not the-” He waved his hand in the air, unable to articulate his meaning. “They always overwhelm me.” He pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes. “I fucked everything up,” he mumbled. “After- After Allison died. I fucked it all up. My life and Carolina’s. And all the Freelancers and basically the whole fucking galaxy”

Tex leaned her head on his shoulder. “That was someone else, Church. You’re not that person.”

“Then why am I stuck with his memories?”

She didn’t answer. They just laid there staring at the ceiling fan. After a while Tex sighed. “You should think about getting a bigger place. Or at least cleaning up. This, Church, is gross.”

“Why? You moving in?”

“Epsilon? Epsilon? Get out here,” a distant voice called.

Church groaned. “The landlady can be such a pain sometimes.”

Tex laughed. “Are you going to answer her?”

“No. I’m mad at her. First, she doesn’t believe me when I said someone was calling my name then she turned me off, and then she treats me like she owns me. I’m not- I’m not a-” He sighed. “I don’t know what I am anymore.”

“Epsilon!”

“She sounds pissed.”

“Yeah, and she’s just like her mother when she gets angry. It’s pretty fucking scary.”

Tex smacked his arm, making him laugh.

Carolina’s tone changed. “Church? Please, I’m sorry for whatever I said. Would just come out here so we can talk.”

His heart seized up.

“Please, Church.”

He glanced at Tex then blinked. He stood in front of Carolina, arms crossed. “What?”

She sighed. “Thank you. I’ve been calling for ages.”

“I know; I’ve been ignoring you.”

Her shoulders slumped, and Church felt like a complete ass. Before he could say anything else, though, she let out a deep breath. “I wanted to apologize. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

He cocked his head at her. “I’m a computer program; I don’t have feelings.”

“What is with you today?”

The anger was bubbling up again until he felt a calming sensation start at the back of his head. An image of Tex tossing all of his stuff out the window. “What?” she asked. “This place is gross.”

He pressed his fingers against his temples. “Just stop. Everyone stop.”

“Church, are you okay?” Carolina sounded alarmed. And when he loosened the barrier between their thoughts, he could feel the concern. And a tinge of fear. Shit shit shit. If there was one thing Leonard Church was good at it was hurting the people he cared about.

He swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, Carolina.” He realized he had no idea what he was apologizing for anymore. An image of a girl in pigtails on a swing yelling, “higher,” filled his head.

“Stop doing that,” he growled getting another concerned head cock from the woman in front of him. “Not you,” he told her.

That didn’t help the situation. “I think there’s something wrong with you,” Carolina said slowly. “Maybe your program is degrading or something. I’m worried, Church.”

He blinked at her. “I didn’t think you cared.”

“What?”

“Never mind.”

“No, go back.”

He groaned. This day was getting better and better. Carolina stared at him, waiting.

Fuck. “I gotta go.” He popped into the memory unit. It was much quieter. Not like when she turned it off, but the outside world was turned to a dull hum. “Finally.” He quickly built a wall around himself.

“Church, don’t do that. Get out here right now. Quit being a baby,” Carolina said, her voice distant.

“You’re going to have to deal with her eventually.”

He growled. “Can we discuss this whole deletion program again?”

Tex rolled her eyes and squatted in front of him. “You know you don’t want that. I can feel it.”

He sighed. “Well can you stop fucking with my memories and reading my thoughts?”

“Okay. On one condition.”

“Anything.”

“You clean out that pigsty you call a room.”

“Fine, whatever.”

Tex brushed the hair from his face. “Go talk to her.”

“But I don’t wanna. She’s going to yell at me again.”

“Do you blame her? You’re acting like an asshole.”

He looked away. “Well, she’s scary. And intimidating. And scary. She’s way bigger than me. She can turn me off. Do you know how terrifying that is?”

“Yes. Now go tell her.” Tex gave him a hard shove, and he stumbled back into reality.

“The fuck?”

Anxiety rolled off of Carolina where she stood—he didn’t even need their flimsy neural link to feel it. “What is going on?” she asked tensely. “Is there something wrong with your programming. I need to know.”

“No,” he said, kicking imaginary dirt. “There’s nothing wrong with my programming.”

She sat down in front of him. “Then what’s wrong?”

He shrugged. “Just got a lot on my mind.”

“Is this about the whispers.”

He looked out at the trees. Anywhere but at her. “Maybe.”

There was a soft hiss, and when he looked back, she was pulling off her helmet. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “You weren’t making any sense. I had to do something.”

“You turned me off. I didn’t like it.”

“Oh.”

“That’s not fair, you know.”

Carolina was quiet a moment. “I guess I didn’t think about that.”

“Because I’m not a person to you; I’m just a tool. I tried to tell her that.”

“Her?”

He cringed when he realized what he’d said. Then sighed. “Tex. She’s in here, too. Apparently, I’m unable to get rid of her.”

“Tex is in there. In the memory unit?”

“In my head. My code, you know. I tried deleting her. Right before you rescued me from the storage unit. I did delete her. It was better for both of us because all we ever do is make each other miserable. And she was gone for a while. But I guess there’s some part of my coding that rewrites her every time she’s deleted.”

“Tex is in there,” she repeated.

Church sighed. “Look, I know you two have had your differences, but-”

“I don’t want to talk about this.” She got up and walked away.

What? “Hey, I was talking to you,” he yelled, but she kept walking. He popped up in front of her. “You can’t actually get away from me, you know.”

“I could turn you off again.”

He froze, watching her walk away, insides twisting, before appearing next to her again. “Please don’t do that, Carolina. Don’t do that ever again.”

She glanced at him then quickly away, face tight. “Then put your armor back on.”

What was with her and the 180 change of subjects? “Why?”

“Because you look like him,” she shouted. “And it makes it really, really hard to talk to you right now.”

“Oh. Right.” He just stared at her, but she wouldn’t look at him. He sighed and imagined himself back in his armor. “Better?”

She still didn’t look at him. “God, can we not do this?”

Church was quiet. “Okay. I’ll be right back.”

He popped back into his room. His stuff was shoved into a corner. “Hey, you brought it back in.”

Tex shrugged. “Seemed mean to get rid of it all when Carolina was already kicking you around like a puppy dog.”

He shook his head. “You know, most people don’t kick puppies.”

She laughed. “You okay?”

“Do you care?”

Maybe she sensed that he wasn’t trying to be snarky because his tone sure didn’t convey it, but he was tired and confused and frustrated. Tex pushed his glasses up his nose. “Yes, I care, Church. I’ve always cared even when I didn’t show it.”

“Okay.” He didn’t look at her. “I’m not sure what’s real anymore. I’m not even sure what’s going on.”

“Do you want me to leave?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know. Things were a little less confusing without-” She was gone. “Oh, come on, Tex, don’t be like that. I didn’t mean- Aw, fuck it. I’m done with this shit.” 

Maybe there was something wrong with his code because he felt like he was losing his fucking mind. He ran every diagnostic he could think of, and they all came back normal. Well as normal as they ever did because Church had always been a little unstable. There was this sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, and he didn’t like it.

“Carolina?” he asked the empty room. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to fight.”

She didn’t answer.

God, he was so tired. Which made no sense because he was just code. Code couldn’t get tired. But that’s how he felt. Like he could just delete his entire program and not care.

“Please don’t do that.” Carolina’s voice boomed in the small space. “Church?”

He popped up in front of her but couldn’t look at her. The shame was overwhelming. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m just an asshole, I guess.”

“Church, I-” Her voice caught, getting his attention. “I don’t want you to leave. It was just a fight. People fight. Roommates especially.” She looked away.

“Roommates?”

“You are taking up space in my brain.”

Church smiled weakly. “I guess. About that—Tex thinks we should get to have more space. Maybe two bedrooms. One to sleep in and one for my junk.”

She frowned at him. “Are you serious about Tex?”

He nodded. He didn’t know how to explain it. He kicked one of those invisible rocks again. “Please don’t make her leave. She will if you ask, but-”

Carolina rubbed her temples in a very familiar way then reached behind her and yanked his memory unit from her armor. It was like having his existence ripped from him. The room was gone. The quiet murmur of her thoughts—white noise he’d gotten used to. Gone. He just stared at her.

“Why did you do that?”

“I need a break, okay? And you asked me not to shut you off.”

“Oh.” He felt cold. Empty. lost.

“What’s Tex got to say about that?” The disdain rolled off her lips.

Church swallowed hard, not looking at her. “She’s just complaining about interior decorators.”

Carolina blinked at him then shook her head like he was just too difficult to understand.

“Nevermind.”

“Can I see her?” she asked softly after a while.

“I- I don’t know. I mean, she’s inside my head.”

“She’s code like you, right? Can’t she just be like you can?”

“I guess. Hold on.”

The memory unit was dark. And empty. “Tex?”

“This is a bad idea, Church,” she said coming up behind him. 

“Maybe it’ll help.”

She scoffed. “In what reality has me and Carolina speaking ever helped? She hates me.”

Church stared at the ground. You’d think he’d imagine his shoe tied by now. He bent down to fix it.

“Fine.”

He looked around. Tex was gone. Shit. He blinked back outside. Tex was flickering next to him.

“Okay,” she said, “this isn’t as easy as it looks.”

Church was suddenly filled with apprehension. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.”

“Mom?”

They both froze. Carolina’s face was streaked with tears. Church had forgotten Tex didn’t have her armor on. And she wasn’t wearing the face they’d given the beta AI. He didn’t know what to do now. Tex looked just as shocked and confused and terrified. Then Carolina was gone. Running. She hit a burst of speed from her equipment and was out of sight.

“Um, can’t we just go get her?”

He looked down at the memory unit. “She pulled me.” He blinked up at Tex. “She left me.”

“I’m sorry, Church. I’m sure she’ll come back.”

He sat down, head in his hands. “Yeah, because this is a valuable piece of tech.”

Tex sat next to him. “Because she cares about you.”

“I’m just a computer program, remember. That’s all I’ll ever be.”

“When did you get so melodramatic?”

He snorted. “When did I meet you?”

She bumped into him, nearly knocking him over. “What do we do now?”

“I guess we wait and see if she comes back.”

And if she doesn’t? He heard the words inside his head.

He didn’t want to think about that.

[part 3]

[sharada-n]

Broken Toys - 1/?

Kind of inspired by @duckie-gordon​‘s prompt about a “what if” scenario where Luther loses the use of his legs in the accident instead of what happens in canon.

Dedicated to @rogue205​ for being the one who pointed me to the prompt in the first place and also talking Tua with me!

(AO3)

Vanya must have been staring at that door for a solid ten minutes before she could finally muster up the courage to go inside.

It shouldn't be as intimidating as it was. Really, she was just coming home - coming back - to the place she grew up in. And yes, maybe there weren't a lot of fond memories tied to this house, but there were some. Small pieces of joy she held onto on darker days and after the fallout of her book. She was trying to hold on to those pieces now as she pushed the handle on the front door, finding it predictably unlocked.

She wondered who would be here first. Vanya couldn't remember how long it had been since she had spoken to her siblings, besides the few text messages she had exchanged with Allison over the years. They had not taken to her biography kindly, as cathartic as writing it had been for her. Part of her doubted if they even wanted her here. If maybe they rather she kept out of it altogether, but at the end of the day they were family and this was important.

The entrance hallway was almost unchanged from how she remembered it, with tiles along the floor polished into a perfect shiny finish. Vanya stood there for a moment, shuffling her feet and clutching the shoulder strap of her bag closer, taking it all in. As a kid, she would often get the feeling of not belonging here and this hadn't changed either.

“Vanya?”

Allison was coming down the big stairway across from her, arms loosely at her sides and a small smile on her face. It instantly put Vanya at ease and she strode further into the house, ignoring the discomfort lingering at the back of her mind. “Allison.”

“I didn't know if you would come,” Allison said, though she seemed to regret it almost immediately, the smile slipping into more of a contrite expression.

Vanya shook her head. “No it's fine, I didn't uh... I wasn't sure if I should have come either.”

Allison leaned in for a hug and Vanya found herself opening her arms on instinct, receiving the physical affection hesitantly. They let go of each other just as quickly, though the smell of Allison's perfume lingered.

The silence that ensued was just slightly south of uncomfortable. Allison was the only one of her siblings Vanya had really spoken to in the last couple of years, but nothing more than vague pleasantries or holiday greetings and she didn't know many details of Allison's personal life aside from the rare gossip she picked up from trashy magazines, so starting a conversation about that felt unnatural. Her eyes wandered the room, recognizing the same paintings that had hung on the walls since their childhood, and lingered on the staircase. Nothing really had changed, except-

They both opened their mouths to start speaking at the same time, stopping and laughing about it. Vanya inclined her head, gesturing for Allison to try again but she smiled instead. “No, what were you saying?” she asked.

“The staircase,” Vanya started rather lamely, already regretting her thought before she could finish it. “It's just that I didn't know dad had gotten that bad.”

Allison turned her head, smile faltering. “Yeah, me neither.”

The sleek white rail that ran along the side of the staircase stood out against the more old-fashioned wood and the rest of the mansion's interior. Their father hadn't been too fond of technology, but Vanya guessed even Sir Reginald Hargreeves had to compromise when it came to mobility. Still, the stairlift looked as out of place in this house as Vanya herself did.

“Anyway,” Allison said, redirecting the conversation with the practiced ease that spending a lot of time at interviews and movie premiers had granted her and putting one hand on the small of Vanya's back, making the tight coil of unease in her gut unfurl a little. “I think the others are already waiting in the living room. You're up for this?”

“Not really,” Vanya admitted with a grimace, adjusting the bag strap for the umpteenth time. “But maybe I should just get it over with?”

They walked into the other room together. Klaus was splayed on the couch, gangly legs dangling off the end and he was even paler than Vanya remembered him being, which should probably concern all of them, but she didn't know if it was her place to say something. He greeted her with a wave, which she shyly returned. Diego was sitting on the other couch with his legs spread wide and arms crossed, the utter image of defiance. Vanya had a hard time meeting his eyes, the irritation on his face not helping matters any.

“What is she doing here?” he asked, addressing Allison instead of her.

“Diego...” The tone in Allison's voice was sharp-edged with unspoken warning and surprised Vanya. Diego waved it off with a hand motion, giving her the impression there was some prior conversation about her presence here she wasn't privy to.

“I know, I know,” he grumbled, rolling his eyes and tightening his stance some more, feet braced against the ground aggressively. “I don't care, really.”

Vanya knew he did care but just swallowed.

“I do hope Luther called us all here for a reason.” Klaus sat up a little, making room on the couch though neither Allison nor Vanya took him up on the offer. “I'm a busy person you know. Got places to be, people to see...” he trailed off at the end, lying back down when it became clear he got the seat all to himself.

Diego targeted him with another glare, though Klaus had his eyes closed and wouldn't notice. “I'm sure your drug dealers can wait.”

“Not if I want the good stuff.”

Ignoring him, Diego started to get up. “Whatever. I'm not going to be waiting around forever.”

“Twenty minutes is hardly forever, number two.”

They all turned to the door at the same time, Diego probably with some retort halfway out his mouth, though it never made it out completely. Vanya heard Allison smother a gasp and the empathic 'shit' Klaus let slip out.

Luther looked back at them, expression neutral and as if their shocked reactions weren't what he expected. Then, he cleared his throat and expertly rolled the wheelchair he was sitting in further into the room, maneuvering around the furniture as if he'd done it a million times before. He came to a stop on the other side, perfectly posed between both couches. “I guess we should get this started. So, I figured we could have a sort of memorial service-”

As if the mention of the funeral had snapped him out of his stupor, Diego cut into what Luther was saying. “Wait, what the fuck is this?”

Luther blinked at him, sitting back in a slightly defensive gesture. “I'm talking about Dad's memorial service.”

“Jesus, Luther,” Klaus groaned from the couch, scooting aside quickly so that Allison could sit down, because she looked about ready to faint. Vanya put one hand on her elbow to steady her.

“This. I'm talking about this.” Diego said, gesturing at the wheelchair.

Luther looked down at his own legs. “Look, we're not here to talk about-”

“No, we do need to talk about this.” Klaus got up to circle the wheelchair, almost as if to check if it was real. Vanya felt very strongly that was a bad idea, but Luther allowed him to examine it, even letting him grab the handlebars, though the breaks were on. “So when the fuck did this happen?”

There wasn't an immediate answer. Allison rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand, not crying yet but coming close to it. “Luther, when?”

Luther was still staring at his feet, shrugged just a little bit. “Uh... about three years ago?”

There was another round of noises. Luther brushed Klaus' hands of the wheels he was now finicking with, while Vanya sat down next to Allison. Even Diego had deflated against the cushions, shoulders sagging.

“Why didn't you tell us?” Allison asked simply, pushing her hands into her lap. Vanya could see they were shaking.

“It's really not that important,” Luther said eventually, much too calm for the current situation. It sounded like something he had been rehearsing, practicing in front of a mirror. “And technically I did tell you.”

Allison sighed. “And you conveniently left out this part? You only told me you got hurt, not that it was this bad.”

“Wait, hold up.” Klaus had given up on his wheelchair explorations and was now sitting on the ground crosslegged. “Are you going to clue us in or is this the Allison-Luther club now?”

Diego chuckled, but there was no humor in it. “Just like when we were kids.”

After throwing him a look, Luther spoke to the room in general. “About three years ago I was on a mission and things went... badly. Spinal cord injury in the lumbar region. Grade B, sensory incomplete from the waist down.”

Klaus raised both eyebrows, leant back on his palms. “That's a lot of big words to say you're paralyzed.”

“Pretty much,” Luther responded, clearing his throat again. “The injuries could be a lot worse, dad saved my life.”

The last part was added with a certain intonation that left Vanya feeling uneasy.

Diego just scoffed. He had taken out a knife from one of his many pockets and was fiddling with it one-handed, balancing the blade on a finger, a nervous habit he had since they were kids. “I'm sure dad was real fucking pleased to see his favorite toy broken.”

Vanya had to try not to cringe at those words. Even to her it felt like a slap in the face and she wasn't the one they were directed at. She wanted to say something but anything that came to mind would only escalate the situation so she bit her lip instead, so hard she tasted blood.

Luther didn't say anything either, gripping the armrests tight enough to have his knuckles turn white. Then he released the breaks of his wheelchair and left the room.

Waking up had been painful in more ways than one.

First, the literal pain. Luther could hardly move without pulling on some stitch or bandage and the throbbing in his head made concentrating enough to find the movements that didn't hurt in one way or another difficult. He probably spent the first hour or so just staring at the ceiling, every breathe shaking in his lungs, going over what happened in his mind.

He had fucked up. Fucked up real bad. He wasn't dead, he thought to himself, hadn't brushed close enough to justify failing the mission either.

But that was before he had tried getting up.

Even without leaning up onto his elbows, he knew his legs were still there. He could feel the cold metal against his skin, the faint brush of the cover against his toes. But no matter how hard he tried, Luther could not get them to move. His efforts only ended up with him rolling off the table and landing on the floor, the heart monitor spiking first at his accelerated heartbeat and then cutting off into a long monotonous noise as the cables disconnected. The IV pulled out of his arm and the stand clattered onto the floor next to him.

He knew he was about to puke but as it had been days since he had last eaten he only dry heaved from an empty stomach, sour bile at the back of his throat refusing to make its way out.

They explained it to him later, sitting in the temporary hospital-style wheelchair Grace got him until a proper one made-to-measure could be delivered. Luther pretended to listen, tuning out to what his father was saying for probably the first time in his entire life. He studied the books on his father's desk, the papers organized to meticulous perfection. With his fingers, he traced the grooves in the wheels of the chair.

He slept on the couch for a week, waiting for the stairlift to be installed. Grace offered to help him up to his room and Luther had yelled at her, screamed at her to leave him alone. Later at dinner, he apologized but still felt the guilt rest heavily in his gut.

His father, he barely saw. There were no more missions and no more training, leaving Luther with a lot of spare time to fill. Mostly he made model airplanes at the kitchen table or watched documentaries about space. Once he could go upstairs again, he would listen to his records too, though it wasn't the same anymore. His injury had confined him to the mansion in every imaginable way, making it hard not only to go outside, but even limiting where he went in the house or what he did.

He broke the mirror in his room two months after the accident. The shards on the ground reflected him back in a kaleidoscope of ways as Luther stared at himself in them. He could grasp his knees and he could feel the pressure, feel the bruises of fingertips pressing too hard, but he couldn't move his legs. Would never be able to move them again.

It was the first time he wondered if maybe it would have been better if he had just died.

The thought was frightening, smothering, and he shook it off physically like it was something he could just unthink now that it was out there. “Dad saved me,” he told his reflection, staring into red-rimmed eyes he barely recognized. “Dad saved my life.”

And as much as he wanted to, he wouldn't allow himself to wonder if it was even a life worth saving.

[venmomejoy]

The Lucky Ones- Pt. 4

Summary: After years of living on the run, Neil Josten is offered a role on The Foxes, one of the most popular shows on television. Accepting is probably one of the most foolish things he could do; he would be exposing himself to everything he had spent years running from. But Neil can't help himself.

part one / part two / part three

read it on AO3 here!!

Whoever it was, they had been careful. Every single item was in the exact place Neil had left it, not a hair out of place. His clothes were stacked in the correct order, his shoes pressed to the bottom of the bag, his binder snug in between a ratty gray shirt and a pair of black sweats.

His binder.

He whipped out the plastic folder, furiously flipping through the pages, looking for anything amiss. Neil loosed a sigh when he saw that the pages of contacts and coordinates were all still there, the cash he kept on hand seemingly unskimmed. Most of the information was coded, so he doubted the pilferer understood what he was looking at, but it still unnerved him that someone had seen the most important thing he owned, the information that keeps him alive.

But there was no way for him to code the news clipping and magazine articles he had stuck in there. Pages and pages of information on Riko and Kevin's career, dating back several years. Whoever saw this likely had a myriad of questions for Neil, and he didn't know how he would explain. The other documents he might be able to dance around, but the articles about Kevin and Riko were so straight forward, there's no way he could twist it into anything that wouldn't raise suspicion.

Neil clenched his jaw, fingers twisting into the fabric of his bag until his knuckles turned white. No one in this house had shown any interest in Neil's past, his belongings, besides Andrew. And he got the feeling only Andrew would cross this kind of boundary without provocation.

He stood abruptly, shoving his duffel bag under the bed. He needed to find somewhere safe to put it, somewhere that could not be infiltrated by prying hands; that was priority number two. Priority number one was confronting Andrew.

Neil shouldered Andrew's door opened, only to be met with an empty room. The comforter was pulled down, the sheets were ruffled in such a way that Neil knew Andrew had been lying here earlier tonight. He had walked through their lounge on the way to Andrew's room and hadn't seen him, so he shuffled downstairs to check the rest of the public spaces, coming up short. Until he got to the kitchen.

Andrew was perched on the countertop, spooning ice cream into his mouth. He dragged his eyes to Neil, the heavy glare in his eyes not faltering as he took in Neil's gritted teeth, his clenched fists. Andrew didn't want to mess around; good, Neil didn't either.

"You went through my bag."

This got Andrew's attention, his eyes flicking up to Neil's. He probably thought he had been so thorough, so meticulous, that Neil would never realize what he had done. He probably thought he would be able to catch Neil by surprise, ambush him with questions while he was reeling from all Andrew had discovered. Neil's blood boiled.

"What makes you think it was me? There are eight other people in this house, it could have been any one of them," Andrew mused, twirling his spoon in the air.

"It was you. What's your deal with me?"

"Ah, Neil, the real question is, what's your deal with Kevin?" Andrew asked, pushing himself off the counter.

Neil willed his voice to be steady. "I don't have a deal with Kevin."

"The shrine you have in that binder of yours says otherwise."

Neil had only been a child when he had started collecting those articles. He knew it was weird, but...it was a way to cope. Looking at these articles, watching Kevin and Riko grow up, reminded Neil of the life he could have had. He could have grown up with Kevin and Riko, could have been adored by millions, instead of being chased down dirty alleys with a bullet in his shoulder. All three of them were in the room that day; why did they get to live lavishly while Neil took off running? The articles were an impulse Neil let himself give in to, the resentment and burning jealousy a vice he indulged in. But he couldn't exactly tell that to Andrew.

"You shouldn't have gone through my things. I meant what I said Andrew- get off my back."

Andrew's body twisted so suddenly that Neil barely had time to react before there was a knife pressed against his abdomen. "Neil, you're efforts at intimidation are valiant, but pointless. You'd do well to start doing what I say; you don't want to get out of my good graces." The menacing smile creeping on his face had Neil questioning how "good" his good graces really were.

He would be stupid not to see the threat in Andrew's eyes, but all Neil could see was red. "Fuck you."

The laugh Andrew gave was nothing short of sinister, but before he could continue, a lengthy shadow fell over them. "What the hell is going on here?" Kevin questioned, using his fist to rub the sleep out of his eyes. "Did I not tell you to get some sleep tonight? It's fucking 3 am."

Maybe he didn't understand exactly what kind of fucked-up relationship Kevin and Andrew had, but Neil knew that Kevin played a part in this too. He may not have sanctioned it, but Kevin and Andrew seemed to act in each other's interests. Neil didn't particularly feel like yelling at Kevin in front of Andrew, but he couldn't make him leave, so he did the next best thing. He felt his nostrils flare, his brow tighten as he turned to his castmate and began speaking in furious French. "You need to keep your pets on a tighter leash."

Kevin didn't try to hide his surprise at Neil's language switch, and Neil couldn't help the stab of satisfaction that surged through him at his shocked expression. When it became apparent Kevin wasn't going to speak, Neil continued. "Andrew went through my things. Call your dog off."

Kevin's mouth tightened. "I don't control what he does. Don't provoke him and he won't bother you."

"I thought you were leading this cast. Do you have so little authority here that you can't keep your own underlings in check? Guess they don't want the Moriyama's sloppy seconds."

His nostrils flared. "Fuck you, Neil. You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Keep your friends in line. If one of you messes with me again you won't like the consequences."

"Is that a threat? From a skittish thing like you?"

"I'm not scared of a spineless cripple."

Kevin went stock-still, face pinching as he subconsciously cradled his bad hand. "The fuck did you call me?"

"I called you a passé coward whose career is circling the drain."

That seemed to snap something in Kevin. He pushed out of the doorway and advanced on Neil with murder in his eyes. Neil slipped around the island, narrowly avoiding Kevin's grasp, and sprinted out the front door before Kevin could catch him. He didn't wait to see if Kevin would pursue him, only set off in a sprint to the nearest convenience store. He moved on to priority two: securing safety for his belongings. He bought the first safe he found that fit the size parameters for his binder, along with a fresh pack of cigarettes. He would still need to hide the safe, but having it would significantly ease his anxiety.

He walked back home, a cigarette burning between his fingers, letting the smoke drift upwards without breathing any in. The smoke calmed his racing mind, and for a moment, he could pretend his mother was still here, that she would take care of this stuff, would make sure he wouldn't screw up this massively again. But when he looked over, it was just him on the street.

                                                                                                                         --------------------

Neil pushed himself off of his bed, residual anger and premature anxiety waking him hours before his alarm went off. He let himself run for an hour before returning to the cast house. Raiding the kitchen left him with two apples and some greek yogurt, which Neil quickly ate before jumping into the shower. He could hear signs of life outside of the porcelain tub, muffled conversations drifting up to him from the floors below.

After drying and dressing, Neil made his way downstairs and found everyone eating in the kitchen, sans Andrew and Allison. From what he'd seen of Allison, she spent a good amount of time perfecting her appearance, so Neil imagined she was somewhere primping, but he didn't know what Andrew was doing, and he didn't care. Someone had gotten donuts, and everyone was thoroughly enjoying the sugar, except Kevin, who was scowling at them all from the corner while he munched on a granola bar.

Nicky noticed him first. "Neil! You want breakfast?"

"I'm okay, I ate earlier."

"Oh, okay, no problem. More for Andrew- that man is a sugar fiend."

"Well, tell Andrew to take them to go, because we have to leave in ten if we want to make it to the studio on time," Dan said, pushing her chair back as she stood.

"Speaking of Andrew," Seth says, rubbing at his temples, "What was all the yelling about last night?"

Curious eyes turn to Kevin, who simply sneers, inclining his head towards Neil. Neil squirmed as everyone's attention shifts to him, but their expressions were full of worry and apprehension. From the absence of curiosity on their faces, Neil assumed Aaron and Nicky had been filled in on last night's events.

"Neil, are you alright man? What did Andrew do?" Matt asks.

"Who says I did anything?" a sardonic voice drawls from the staircase. "So quick to defend the man you've known for one day. Your prejudice against me is inappropriate and erroneous."

It's Dan who speaks this time. "We know you, Andrew, so don't play innocent. What's the issue?"

"Oh look, Neil's little army, coming to his rescue! Who knew you were so adept at making friends? I thought someone like you would know better."

Ignoring Andrew completely, Neil said, "It was nothing, just a little disagreement." They looked unconvinced.

Andrew scooped up two chocolate donuts, both covered in rainbow sprinkles, before swinging onto the counter. "I'd suggest putting on some shoes, Neil. We're leaving in five."

He shot his eyes up to Andrew's and held the blond's stare, even as that delirious smile spread across his face. Neil couldn't refuse, not now that Andrew had been through his binder. He could expose all he'd seen at any moment; Neil would be at Andrew's mercy until he could get this situation under control.

Neil turned on his heel, refusing to give Andrew the satisfaction of seeing him yield. Sliding into his shoes took seconds, the journey up and down the stairs minutes, and by the time he was in the living room again, Andrew was swinging his keys around his finger. He turned towards the door without a second glance, tossing the keys to Nicky as he went, trusting the others to scamper behind him. Kevin might lead this cast, but Andrew undeniably leads this group.

Nicky turns to him as they walk. "So... French, huh?"

Neil levels an unimpressed look at him. "Yes."

"You're fluent?"

"Not completely, but I know enough."

"What made you pick French?"

Neil had contemplated this answer last night. He figured Andrew and Kevin would be curious about his language switch, and he needed to have a believable response at the ready. "My mother's family was French. She insisted I picked it for my foreign language credit."

"I studied German in school. I even studied abroad in Germany. That's where I met Erik," Nicky said, his eyes turning soft.

"Your boyfriend?"

"Yeah. He was the son of my host parents, and we just... clicked. He really helped me with a lot of stuff, and he's unbelievably hot. He's in Germany still, and as soon as my time on The Foxes ends, I'm moving there."

"Why'd you leave at all? For the show?"

"Not exactly. Someone had to take care of these two punks when Tilda died, so I became their legal guardian. We didn't get Wymack's offer until after I moved back." Neil inferred that Tilda was the twin's mother, but he couldn't comprehend the gravity of what Nicky had done for his family. He had left the man he loved, the place he loved, to become the caretaker of two extremely volatile and difficult children. Neil couldn't understand why he would do something like that, especially with how ungrateful the twins seemed. They separated before Neil could respond, him to the back and Nicky to the driver's seat.

Neil found himself pressed in between the twins, Andrew on his right and Aaron on his left. Aaron was staring intently out the window as Nicky pulled onto the road, but Neil could feel Andrew's eyes boring holes into his head. His grin was already in full-gear when Neil met his eyes. "Neil, Neil, Neil. Here I was, thinking we were getting along splendidly, and you just had to come and start a problem."

"I didn't start anything. If you don't want problems, stay out of my things."

"Oh, when will you learn? I do what I want. Don't try to control me; it makes me want to hurt you."

Neil can't help his scoff. "You can try."

"Ohhhh, Neil, don't tempt me." He looks Neil up and down. "You might turn out to be fun." He throws his head back in laughter.

When he settles, Andrew says, "Tell your secretary to clear your schedule for tomorrow night. We're going to Long Beach, and I have graciously extended an invitation to you."

Neil didn't know what Andrew was paying at. He knew Andrew had no interest in turning over a new leaf, knew this was not some offer of friendship from any of them, but whatever scheme they had planned in Long Beach, Neil still couldn't refuse. Andrew knew too much. He would have to hope his survival instincts were enough to get him out of Andrew's game unscathed.

"Trust me, it'll be fun," Nicky said, angling his head towards Neil without taking his eyes off the road. "We used to live in Long Beach, so we know all the good spots. We'll get dinner and then head to the club. And, we have a place down there, so we don't have to worry about driving home wasted."

"I don't drink. Or party." Crowds are easy to hide in, which would usually be a good thing, except they are easy for other people to hide in too. He has too many enemies to lose himself in a huge party, where someone could easily sneak up on him, where he could easily be taken without anyone noticing.

"That's alright, you can just hang with us and make fun of all the stupid shit intoxicated people do." Nicky finally glanced towards Neil, and his eyes looked hopeful. Neil didn't know why he cared. "Come on, man, let's not let this little scuffle ruin the rest of the season. We are going to be working together for the next few months, so let's put all of this behind us and start over. There's no reason why we can't get along."

Neil didn't trust it. But what could he do?

He wheeled on Andrew. "If I go, promise me you'll never touch my things again."

"So paranoid," Andrew says, eyes roving over Neil. "What makes you think you're so interesting that I'd want to go through your belongings multiple times?

Neil just stares at him, unfazed by the sarcasm. He wouldn't roll over on this.

Andrew flicks his hand in dismissal. "Fine, fine. This should be fun."

                                                                                                                 --------------------

Dan and Matt were scanning Neil from head to toe as soon as he got out of the car, checking him for injuries.

"Look, he's not hurt." Nicky put his hands on Neil's shoulders and pushed him in a little circle "See?"

They still look skeptical. "Nowhere we can see," Matt grumbles.

"And you can't see emotional damage," Dan shoots, glaring at Andrew as she does. He only smiles.

Kevin pulls Neil away from the bickering, leading him through the main doors. Neil thinks he's probably still upset about what happened last night, but for the most part, he seemed to have put it behind him for rehearsal.  

"Abby Winfield is our personal acting coach. We meet with her twice a week to work on technique and connection and anything else you can think of. Usually we'll run scenes from the show, but sometimes we pull outside scenes or improv. I know I told you that you have talent, and you do, but that doesn't mean you're good- it only means you have the ability to become good. You need to hone your skills and learn real techniques before you'll be anywhere close to ready for filming.

All of the people on this cast has years of experience on you, so you're going to have to work double-time to catch up. We all need to look of the same caliber on screen; it's the weakest person's job to match the skill of the strongest. I don't have time to coddle you. We need you to be ready in two and a half weeks, so we can't slow down to cater to your ego. If Abby or I critique you on something, you accept it, make the change, and keep moving."

Neil greedily accepted all of Kevin's instruction. The bubble of excitement in his chest was unfamiliar, but Neil liked it. It had been so long since Neil had looked forward to anything that he had forgotten what the feeling was like.

As soon as Kevin swung the door open, Abby was striding over to them. She stuck her hand out for Neil to shake as soon as she was in reaching distance while she introduced herself before ushering them into the training room. Someone had assembled ten metal chairs in a semicircle, and Neil chose a seat at the end. Unfortunately, there was no seating chart, and Andrew plopped into the seat next to him.

"So, Neil, David tells me you don't have any screen acting experience?" Abby asks, a pen poised over her clipboard.

"No, just a little bit of theater."

"Christ above," Seth mutters, "our ratings are going to plummet with someone as inexperienced as this kid dragging us down."

"Don't forget, Seth, we all have to start somewhere. Not everyone had the opportunity to start acting young." Abby levels a stern look at Seth, who just rolls his eyes, before redirecting her attention to Neil. "Well, looks like we have our work cut out for us. Let's get started."

They did a few warm-up exercises before moving into the actual acting, deciding to use scenes from the script, which Neil had just about memorized. They started with a scene Neil was not in so he could get a feel for what the sessions would look like. In this scene, Dan was arguing with Allison. The conversation felt a little stilted, but the anger on their faces was incredibly realistic. Abby gave them a few critiques before turning to Kevin, who gave some of his own. Their critiques were minor and quickly fixed when they ran the scene again. Happy with the outcome, Kevin let them reclaim their seats.

"Neil, you're up," Abby calls. "Let's run act three, scene two. Start on page 31."

Flipping to the correct page in his script, Neil walked to the center of the room. Matt and Nicky were in this scene with him, both greeting him with big smiles. Neil's character Alex had met all of the other characters in the earlier scenes, but this would be where he meets Ethan, played by Matt, and Henry, played by Nicky. Alex is cagey and mistrustful, hiding something big. It was easy for Neil to slip into character.

They had barely been rehearsing for two minutes before Kevin stopped them. "Neil, the dialogue is too stiff. It's painfully obvious everything you're saying is scripted, and it needs to feel like this is a real, natural conversation. Loosen up and try it again."

Neil nodded, taking a deep breath before jumping back it, but Kevin halted them again soon enough. "Neil, this isn't Shakespeare. Stop fucking talking in iambic pentameter. People don't naturally talk with that kind of syncopation. Listen to me talking right now. Do you hear the pacing of my words? This is how your lines need to sound. Stop overthinking and let it flow."

They worked that scene over and over again. It felt like as soon as Neil fixed one thing, Kevin was found another to pick apart, and his criticism wasn't exactly constructive. It was often instruction mixed with insults, or sometimes insults meant to instruct. Abby spoke up every now and then, but for the most part would just nod along with Kevin's statements, occasionally wincing at his harshness. They worked on his pacing, on making his movements feel more natural, on drawing from the other actors' energies. They ran that scene for at least an hour before Kevin waved him down. They decided to end the session on a scene with the twins.

Andrew and Aaron played twins in the show- Eli and Grayson, respectively. The scene is pretty emotional: Grayson has just been released from prison after being framed for murder, reuniting with his brother for the first time in months. Aaron quickly morphed into his character, tears welling in his eyes as he speaks to his brother, rambling about how scared he was, how he never thought he would get out. Neil was thoroughly stunned; it's not that he didn't expect Aaron to be a good actor, he just hadn't seen Aaron in anything other than a scowl, so the intense emotion he was pouring out caught Neil by surprise. Andrew, on the other hand, did nothing. In the script, Eli is trying hard to remain strong and put-together, since his character has always been the stoic type, but it is meant to be obvious he is putting on a front, that he is really just as affected as his brother. But Andrew is standing still, looking at his brother unfeelingly, not even bothering to say his lines after Aaron finishes his monologue. Everyone waits for a minute, but Andrew just laughs and gives a mocking clap to his brother. Aaron snaps out of character, rolling his eyes and turning to Kevin, who looked as if this behavior was normal, but still disappointing.

Abby finishes scribbling onto her clipboard before saying, "That was a good session, guys. Neil, that was really good for a first rehearsal, especially with no practice on the screen."

"It was sloppy," Kevin interjects. "You're incredibly far behind us all. You're going to have to work a lot harder than that if you don't want to make an embarrassment of yourself on set."

"But we're all here to help you, Neil," Abby says, sending Kevin a sharp look. "Don't worry too much."

Neil nodded his head, drained from the energy he'd exerted today, both in the acting and restraining himself from killing Kevin. As they walked out, he asked Nicky, "Why doesn't Andrew rehearse?"

Nicky just shook his head. "Andrew's complicated. He doesn't care about acting, doesn't care about his performance, doesn't care how the show looks or how it's received. In order for Andrew to try, he needs incentive."

"Incentive?"

"Yeah. Usually, during filming Wymack lets Andrew come off his medication. I'm assuming you know that Andrew's drugs are court-ordered?" Neil nods. "Yeah, so, if he's caught unmedicated he could go to jail, since it's a breach of his parole. And Andrew hates taking the medication, but he doesn't want to risk jail time, so he does it. But Wymack lets him sober up while we film in return for his effort. Wymack doesn't extend his offer to rehearsals, so Andrew doesn't try. He never does, but Kevin's still disappointed every time. He thinks one day he'll get Andrew to care."

Neil scoffs. "I thought Renee was the optimist."

"She is." Nicky grins back. "Kevin just thinks that everyone's as obsessed with acting as he is. His isn't optimism, it's a break from reality."

They stopped and grabbed take-out for lunch on their way back to the cast house. Kevin had designated today as a binge-watching day, and since it was only 1 pm, Neil figured they could get through a significant chunk of season one. The grabbed their food and fell into formation around the TV while they started up episode four.

Neil was entranced. The acting definitely needed work, but the plot was really engaging and well planned out. They broke after episode eight, with just two left in the season, and Neil thought he'd developed a pretty good grasp on the premise: The Foxes centered around Kayla, a junior at Palmetto High School, whose world is rocked when her best friend Madi, played by Renee, is found dead. The police name a group of suspects, namely people close to Renee. Ethan, played by Matt, is Madi's older brother. Nicky's character, Henry, is Ethan's best friend, and happens to be secretly in love with him. Allison plays Audrey, a schoolmate who always went out of her way to be mean to Madi. Seth is Austin, Madi's current boyfriend, although their relationship is pretty new. Aaron plays Grayson, Madi's ex-boyfriend, Andrew his fiercely protective brother, Eli. Kayla feels unsatisfied with the police's techniques and decides to look into the case herself, teaming up with Ethan to look for answers. The two become very close as they do, and just had their first kiss in the last episode they watched. So far, they are looking at Audrey; the girl had always been unnecessarily cruel to Madi- who knew how far she would go? Personally, Neil felt like it was all too wrapped up. There was something they weren't seeing.

They had stopped their watch party because Wymack showed up with dinner. They sprawled around the dining table, scarfing the food down as they filled Wymack in on their training with Abby before Dan asked, "What do you think so far, Neil?"

"I like it a lot. I was surprised when Kayla and Ethan kissed in the last episode. I didn't see that coming."

"What?" Nicky exclaimed. Neil was receiving looks of confusion from everyone, except Andrew, who seemed to find the whole thing amusing. "You're joking. Tell me you're joking."

Neil just frowned and shook his head. Why was this such a big deal?

"Neil, they built that kiss up from, like, episode one. Did you not see the secret glances, the suggestive dialogue? There was so much sexual tension you could choke on it."

Neil felt uncomfortable. "I don't know, I just didn't notice they had feelings for each other. I thought they were just working on the case."

"You're unbelievable," Nicky said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, who do you think did it?" Matt questions.

"I'm not really sure. I know they're leading us to think it's Audrey, but I think the whole thing feels too easy. Grayson has the most motive, being Madi's ex and all, but he seems too even-tempered to kill someone. I'm leaning towards Henry. I feel like he's the only one who hasn't even really been considered."

"Hmm," Matt hummed, and everyone looked on in amusement at Neil's musing.

The rest of dinner was filled with idle conversation, recounting the scenes they had watched and remembering funny moments from when they had filmed them. When they were all finished, Wymack plopped onto their couch and started flipping through channels, content to let his actors clean up.

In the middle of drying dishes, Neil felt Kevin freeze from where he stood next to him. He looked over at him, but Kevin's eyes were glued to the TV. Wymack had turned on a talk show, but the reduced volume couldn't hide the image of Riko Moriyama. Kevin's face was pale, his hands shaking as he strode over to the couch, turning up the volume before Wymack could say anything.

"So, Riko, when does Evermore head back to production?"

"Well, we're set to start filming again in about four weeks."

"Ahh. Isn't that around the same time your old friend Kevin Day will return to filming on The Foxes?"

Neil could see Riko's face tighten at the reminder, as if he was hiding a sneer. It was so minuscule he doubted anyone would have noticed, had they not been trained to analyze every little movement for a possible threat like Neil had. Glancing over, Neil knew Kevin saw it too.

"I believe they start a little bit earlier than us, but around the same time, yes. Ironic, isn't it?" His smile was camera-ready, but didn't reach his eyes.

"It is indeed. Well, perhaps you can wish him luck for us on his second season with The Foxes!"

"I would, if Kevin and I still spoke." His words were met with gasps from all around the audience, and quite a few from their living room. "I haven't heard from him since his accident."

Kevin was whispering something from where he stood, something that sounded like a prayer.

"He wouldn't dare," Allison said.

The host recovers from his shock. "I must say, Riko, this is surprising. You two were as close as brothers- I don't think anyone thought you two would have a falling out."

"Yeah, I didn't either, but Kevin took the accident really hard. We all did. And when we found out he couldn't finish the season? Well, it was like you said, I felt like I lost my brother. The emotional stress of it all took a toll. We had been acting together since childhood; I don't think either of us knew how to go on without the other. And we eventually just lost contact. There was no loss of love, at least on my part. I miss Kevin dearly. I'm actually hoping to see him soon."

"Is that so? Hollywood's favorite pair, reunited after over a year apart?"

"We'll see." Riko's smirked.

With that, the show ended.

The silence in the room was deafening for a moment, everyone looking at Kevin. His eyes were blown wide, the shaking in his hands spread to his whole body. Neil could here his hyperventilating from where he stood. "Fuck," was all Kevin said. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!"

Kevin started pacing, dragging his hands through his hair and tugging. Wymack stood up and grabbed his shoulders. "Hey! Kevin, stop. Sit down."

"No! I can't- I just-" Neil had never heard that kind of panic in Kevin's voice. "I told you, I told you he was going to come for me, and now..."

"He's not going to touch you, Kevin. He can't. You're signed with me for the next two years. He has no claim to you. "

"They can pay my contract off a hundred times over and you know it! There's no way for me to escape him. I've already angered him so much, if he finds me he'll-"

Andrew strode forward until he stood directly in front of Kevin, Kevin falling silent. "Kevin."

Kevin just looked at the ground, breathing erratic.

Gone was any trace of humor in Andrew's eyes, replaced with an empty stare. "Kevin, look at me." Kevin's eyes were frenzied when he raised them to Andrew's. "I don't make promises I can't keep. I told you he wouldn't touch you, and he won't. Have I ever failed you before?"

Slowly, Kevin started to relax. Neil could tell he was still nervous, but whatever Andrew had promised him seemed to calm him. He fell back into the couch, burying his head in his hands.

Everyone's faces were pinched with concern, even Aaron and Seth looking uneasy abut what they heard. Neil just watched the scene in confusion. He didn't know why it was such a big deal that Riko wanted to get back in touch with Kevin. Riko seemed psychotic, sure, and his family seemed like a cult, but he and Kevin had always seemed like they loved each other.

Wymack noticed Neil's confusion, sighing before he waved him over, leading them into the hallway. "Neil, there's something you should know if you're going to be a part of this cast."

Neil just looked at him. "Okay."

Wymack opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again, before asking, "The Moriyama's aren't who you think they are."

Neil froze. He didn't like surprises, and he got the feeling he wasn't going to like where this was going.

"The Moriyama's- they are big in the film industry, yes, but that's not where they make their money. The Moriyama's are a gang."

[askdawnandvern]

Vernon: Admittedly...it's been sorta er...hard to do anythin' in the bedroom with the youngin's on high alert fer ol' Santa Claws.

Dawn: Ally's hearing is nearly as good as her fathers, even if they aren't related genetically.

Vernon: And while I've got my er...big O' howl purty close to under complete control, We really don't want to take the chance of breakin' down our door lookin' fer Santa and well...er...findin' him? Sorta...I mean, what's more festive then ruttin' yer mate dressed as a sexy Santa Claws, right?

Dawn: And I was supposed to be his naughty reindeer toymaker. *Giggles* Sadly though, we couldn't do that for Yule's eve.

Vernon: Thankfully Wade was willin' to let Eddi and Ally spend the night over in Tundra Town a few days before so....I mean, we got our little...' reindeer games' in.

Dawn: *Giggles* Oh Puppy.

Vernon: o' course we kept Paige home cause she weren't gonna burst in on no one. Sides, we didn't want to saddle Wade with a newborn.

Dawn: Not that we don't trust him, we just thought it would have been more fun for him and the pups to not have to worry about Paige's needs.

Wade: Nice save.

Vernon: I'm sorry, y'all wanted to Pupsit Paige too? Considerin' that Paige basically starts cryin' if anyone other than me, Dawn, Allison, Eddi 'er Ma hold her?

Wade: I...er...Okay...that's fair.

Vernon: Wouldn't have been easy takin' a newborn snowboardin' either...

Dawn: Alright, alright...So...what about you and Giselle? You do anything special for Yule?

Giselle: Well, we were toying around with some...erotic body paint...

Wade: Edible stuff, Yule themed. I was gonna paint her neck up like a yule candy cane and lap it off.

Vernon: Was?

Wade: Well...I er...

Giselle: *Giggles* We both sort of underestimated just how long that much time that would take.

Wade: It was erotic at first, but by the time I got about two-thirds of the way done we were both kind of done with it. It went from foreplay to chore play...

Giselle: *Giggles* We decided to cut out the middle-mammal at that point and just get to the actual rutting.

Trenton: Me and Qails tried that once...granted it was a lot easier to do. But they don't warn ya about just how bad a hairball yer gonna earn lappin' that edible paint back up, so y'all dodged a bullet there.

Qali: *Giggles* Yup. I think that stuff was made with short furred mammals, or sheep in mind.

Trenton: As fer us,. This year we did a Yule campout in Qails family Yule tree fields.

Vernon: In the snow?

Qali: Hey, we were built for snow. *Giggles* Well, I was anyway...

Trenton: Sides' , we had a space heater. Still, y'all would be surprised how invigoratin' it feels gettin' intimate with yer mate with nothin' but a tent seperatin' y'all and the snow storm brewin' outside. Feels almost...like primal. Like how our ancesters musta felt.

Vernon: Our ancestors didn't have space heaters.

Qali: Still it was lovely...and no one could hear Trenny's mating howl over the wind! So we didn't whip the neighbors into a howling frenzy!

Trenton: Ehhehe...*Blushes* Foxes Glen is right near Wolfsborough so...you can get a purty nasty howl whipped up under the right circumstances.

Kodi: Val and I did the camp out thing too...granted that was in the Sahara dunes.

Val: We spent the night watching shooting stars...*chuckles* Among other things.

Kodi: It wasn't exactly very Yule-ly, but it was pretty magical...

Val: And somebody was howling quite a bit out there if I remember correctly.

Kodi: Well...*Chuckles* I wasn't the only one, was I?

Val: Heh, maybe not Cremepuff, maybe not.

Ada: Tankfully dere ain't dat many wolves in Seaotta', udderwise my little Mookie would set da whole place off on da regulas.

Yuri: Damnit Ada...why d''yall gotta tell 'em that fer?

Ada: like dey didn't know you was a howler anyways! Dey grew up witch yas!

Xavier: She isn't wrong.

Ada: Besides...it kinda toins me on when I know I'm givin' it to yas good enough to get ya to howl! *Cackles* Day said, we's didn't do all dat much outta da usual. Ya knows, da sexy festive lingerie and a love bite here and dere....*Chuckles* Yuri said i looked just like a present.

Yuri: Y'all did...*mumbling* I mean...*whispering* Best present a wolf could ask fer. *Coughs*

Ada: What was dat?

Yuri: That rut was the best present I could ask fer. *Laughs*

Ada: *Gives Yuri a playful punch* Real classy. And youse wonder why youse are on da naughty list.

Yuri: If the naughty list rewards me with a gift like that, I swear to be naughty till my dyin' day!

Melanie: Ah, you went with the gift wrapping thing too huh? Great minds thing alike I suppose. *Chuckles*

Gus: I was out getting some last-minute groceries and what do I find when I open the door to our apartment? Melly all trussed up to our electric fireplace and dolled up like a present.

Melanie: Hardest thing was to get the ribbon's tied around both wrists so I could kinda hang it from the stocking hook. I mean, I didn't tie it tight or anything, but still...

Gus: She even laid her...uh...stocking out so that it was lined up to...well...I er...*blushing* it made kind of a runway...

Melanie: I wanted to make it clear that I wanted my Gussy to 'stuff' my 'stocking'.

Vernon: And y'all fainted didn't ya?

Gus: I...I did...*Blushes*.

Melanie: *Chuckles* But he was fine after ward...mhh...more than fine...

Gus: Geeze Melly...

Zach: Looks like that makes three couples that used the whole 'festive wrap' trick eh...granted ours was more of a combination of what Dawn and Vern did to...but...

Vanna: Goofball...please...*Blushes*

Vernon: Y'all had a Santa Claws costume?

Zach: The ones we had from the station, y'all know we do the whole 'orphanage thing' every year. Part of the NMPD community outreach. I mean, we technically own the costumes...so lets just say we got a little more use out of 'em than normal this year...well, them and some ribbons.

Vanna: Zaaaachhh....!

Malcolm: Don't worry Darlin', I'll swoop in and save y'all with a story of my own.

Xavier: Oh heavens, please don't tell them...

Malcolm: What? It's funny. Sides' iffin' we can't laugh about it what's the point.

Vernon: What happened?

Malcolm: There wasn't too much 'festive' frill to our little Yule day ruttin' session.  Me and Xavey got warmed up on some eggnog after openin' presents...and well...y'all can see where this is goin'...

Xavier: Gingersnap please...

Malcolm: So we started makin' love by the tree, but we got so into it we sorta forgot where we was and ended up knockin' the tree over onto us durin' the thick of it.

Yuri & Ada: *Cackling*

Zach: Pfft...*Stifling laughter* T-That's a new one, I'll admit...

Xavier: *Shakes head* Sigh...

Malcolm: *Chuckles* It did sorta spoil the mood in a way, but it made us laugh so hard my gut was fit to bust.

Yuri: So y'all busted a gut instead of bustin' a -

Xavier: I'll bite you if you finish that joke, I swear it.

(WT: Just so you know, those of who follow my other art sites might like to hear that there is currently a pin-up featuring Melly in that exact described scenario. Check out my Sofurry or Furaffinity, but warning, it’s NSFW.)

[thisdiscontentedwinter]

Bad Blood - Chapter 17

You can read it on AO3 or find the Tumblr Chapter Index here. 

___________________

Stiles wakes up sometime late on Friday night when his phone buzzes. He rolls over to grab it off his bedside table, and squints at the screen. It’s from Allison: Get in loser, we’re going shopping. That… Stiles doesn’t get that reference. He texts back: What?

A moment later her answer comes: I’m parked up at the gate on Northwood St. Hurry up.

Stiles rolls out of bed and dresses quickly in his jeans, Converse, and a black hoodie. He listens in the darkness for a moment, but can’t hear any movement in the house. He opens his window carefully, and drops down onto the garage roof. From there it’s easy enough to get onto ground level.

Ten minutes later he scales the fence near the gatehouse on Northwood Street, and jogs toward Allison’s little silver car.

“We’re not really going shopping, are we?” he asks as he gets into the passenger seat.

She raises her eyebrows. “You don’t watch many movie, do you?”

There’s a hint of a smile on her face, and Stiles hasn’t seen one of those from her in days. It makes his chest ache, so he disguises his swell of sudden emotion by fumbling with the seatbelt.

“Not really,” he says. He used to, he thinks. He loved movies and TV and comic books and gaming, but he has to focus on his training now, and Gerard says anything that takes away from that is a waste of time. “So where are we going?”

“We’re going to get milkshakes,” Allison says, and puts the car into gear.

Stiles glances out the window as she drives, and wonders if he should at least text Kate and let her know he’s out with Ally. He doesn’t think she’ll mind. Or at least he doesn’t think she’ll mind enough to punish him for it. If Allison is going to be sneaking out, better to do it with Stiles at her side than on her own, right? Even Gerard will have to agree with that.

But he doesn’t send the text, and he’s not sure he wants to think about why. Of all the ways he’s betraying Allison’s trust, this is probably the smallest. But it’s also the only one Stiles has control over. Maybe that’s the reason he doesn’t want to tell.  

In the days following Scott McCall’s death in the woods, Allison has become a fixture around the house. On one hand, it rankles because Stiles hates lying to her. On the other hand, he loves Ally and feels a certain kinship with her—he’s a liar, and she’s being lied to, and both of them are powerless to do a thing about it. They’re the kids being kept from the adults’ table, even though Stiles is supposed to be a man and a hunter. That rankles too.

“How was school?” he asks as she drives.

She rolls her eyes. “You sound like my dad when he’s trying to make awkward conversation with me.”

Things have been strained between Allison and her parents. She thinks they’re angry she was seeing a boy and didn’t tell them. She thinks they’re horrible for not letting her go to Scott’s funeral. She’s so caught up in being the teenager whose parents don’t understand her that she doesn’t see the lies she’s being told are covering up a far larger truth. Chris and Victoria aren’t just coming down on her for arbitrary reasons, but that must be what it feels like.

“Hey!” Stiles exclaims. “That’s not fair. When your dad does it, he’s being weird and awkward, but I’m asking from a place of genuine curiosity. Home schooler, here. I want to know all about bad cafeteria food and pep rallies. What is pep, and why does it need its own rally?”

She laughs at that, and Stiles doesn’t know whether to feel pleased or guilty, or a weird sickening mix of the two.

“We don’t have pep rallies every day,” she says. “Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever been to a school that had a pep rally.”

“Well, so much for you being my inside source,” Stiles tells her.

She laughs again.

They drive a little while longer, and then Allison pulls in to the parking lot of an all night diner. It’s a dinky little place that looks straight out of the 1950s. Stiles half expects to see waitresses on roller skates, but apparently the retro-flair starts and ends with the décor, not the staff.

They get a booth, and Allison orders a chocolate milkshake. Stiles orders strawberry, with a side of curly fries. He hasn’t had curly fries in—

His mind stutters over it.

He hasn’t had curly fries since the last time he lived in Beacon Hills and his father bought them for him. Jesus. It was possibly even this exact same diner.

“Are you okay?” Allison asks.

Stiles grips the edge of the table until his dizziness passes. “Yeah. Low blood sugar or something, probably.” He forces a smile. “Guess we’re in the right place to fix that, huh?”

Allison’s answering smile is cautious, and Stiles wonders how long it will take for her to realise that he’s part of the conspiracy of lies wound as tightly around her life as the web of a spider, slowly constricting the fluttering moth caught in the middle.

When his milkshake comes, it doesn’t taste as nice as he thought it would.

Stiles sips it, and thinks of a hundred different ways to tell Allison the truth. A hundred different ways he’ll say it, and she’ll hate him for having lied to her. Scott was a monster,he wants to tell her, but he can’t even bring himself to say the words, let alone fully believe them.

Because Scott was a werewolf, but maybe that’s not the same thing.

The milkshake sits heavily in his roiling stomach.

***

“What happened to your neck?” Allison asks as they’re walking back across the parking lot to the car.

Stiles reaches up and touches the bandage on his throat. The wound is healing quickly, but Stiles has kept wearing a bandage because he doesn’t like to look at it. He’s been hurt before, but not like that. Not with such slow, careful intent. And that’s not even the part he doesn’t like to think about. It’s the way that Derek saved him. The way that the other werewolf, Peter, just stopped when Derek said his name. That’s not how werewolves, mad with bloodlust, should act.

“A mole,” he says. “Well, I’m covered in them, but this one was weird.”  

Allison’s brows draw together. “You didn’t say anything about it.”

He shrugs. “It was last week, in the middle of everything. I didn’t want to worry you.”

He feels a rush of hot guilt at the way her expression softens.

“Oh, Stiles,” she says, and grasps his hand. “We’re friends. You should have told me. Is it all okay now?”

“Yep,” Stiles says. “Turns out it just looked weird, but it wasn’t a melanoma or anything.”

He tugs his hand free of Allison’s before she notices that he’s shaking.

“Come on, he says. “You’d better get home before your parents notice you’re gone.”

***

In the morning, Stiles wakes later than usual. He heads downstairs to find the house empty, and checks his phone to find a message from Kate. Her and Gerard have headed to LA to make a pick up. Of reinforcements or weapons, Stiles isn’t sure. He feels like he’s being treated like a child in Beacon Hills, when at least back in Kroměříž he’d been treated like a hunter. The lowest one in the chain of command, sure, but a hunter still. It has to be because they don’t trust him. Because they think that being back in Beacon Hills, back in a place thick with the memories of a childhood spent with his father, that he’s more susceptible to his father’s weaknesses. That he might succumb to the same treachery.  

And a part of Stiles is afraid that maybe they’re right. He hasn’t felt as unsure of the ground underneath his feet in years.

Stiles makes oatmeal in the microwave, and pours a glass of water to take his Adderall with. He’s still in his sleep pants and an old t-shirt when the doorbell rings. He pads to the door and opens it.

Chris is standing on the doorstep.

“Chris,” Stiles says, and moves aside to let him in.

“I’m not coming in,” Chris says. His gaze drops to the bandage on Stiles’s throat, and then he lifts it again to look him in the eye. “I followed Allison last night.”

Stiles doesn’t react. He can’t read Chris as well as he can Gerard and Kate. He knows Chris doesn’t like him—he gets narrow-eyed whenever he looks at Stiles—but he’s never felt like the man’s actually going to hurt him or anything. Still, it wouldn’t be the first time Stiles was wrong.

“I want to know what you two talked about,” Chris says.

“School,” Stiles tells him. “Teenage stuff. And Scott McCall.”

An emotion Stiles can’t name flickers in Chris’s blue eyes. “What did you tell her?”

“I didn’t tell her anything,” Stiles says. “I let her vent.”

“And that’s all?” Chris asks.

Stiles nods. “That’s all.”

Chris stares at him without saying anything, and Stiles tries not to fidget under his scrutiny. He knows the stories. Stiles’s father and Chris Argent were legends, once upon a time. They were heroes. And then Stiles’s father left, spitting on hundreds of years of proud history, and Chris Argent—his best friend, his hunting partner, the man who’d been so close to Janusz Stilinski that he’d married his cousin—was tarred with the same brush. Chris was no traitor, but the facts never got in the way of speculation. Mud sticks. Who knows that better than Stiles?

Stiles wonders if Chris hates him for being his father’s son, or pities him for it.

“You wouldn’t have to follow Allison if you told her the truth,” Stiles says, lifting his chin. “She’s an Argent, and one day she’s going to be head of your family and—”

Chris takes a sudden step forward.

Stiles flinches back.

Chris stops. For a moment he looks puzzled, and then a weary sort of resignation overtakes his expression.  He nods, and takes a step back, as though he’s dealing with a small, frightened child, and not a fellow hunter. His gaze settles on Stiles’s bandage again. “Take care of yourself, Stiles.”

Stiles flushes.

“I’m glad Allison has you as a friend,” Chris says at last, and then turns and walks back down the front path toward his SUV.

Stiles closes and locks the front door behind him.

Then, his unfinished breakfast forgotten, he heads downstairs into the basement and spends the next hour unloading his fear, his shame, and his uncertainty into a punching bag. He works it until his muscles ache and he’s too tired to think.

And then he keeps going.

[axelsagewrites]

Stiles Stilinski*Sister

Masterlist HERE

Wattpad HERE

Requested by Annon:

TW imagine Stiles younger sister by a few months, and he treats her like a child, and she gets sick of it that he doesn't give her chance just because monsters exist and he's paranoid and he gives her feelings that she doesn't want to feel, and he makes her feel useless and hurts her feelings and sometimes embarrassed the reader.

From birth (Y/N) Stilinski was treated like a fragile china doll. Born almost 3 months early with several complications they were concerning from the start. The baby was barely even a ‘viable’ birth. Sheriff Stilinski was panicking over the birth as his wife brought their first daughter into the world. Stiles was only 10 months old when (Y/N) was born and had no clue why the man who’d bring him food was pacing around the room inside of playing peekaboo. But as he got older, (Y/N) not that far behind, he inherited his father’s protectiveness over his sister. Of course, the Sherriff was concerned about both his children, only being heightened by his wife’s death, but (Y/N) was always the ‘most vulnerable’. The pair did their best to protect her while she tried to prove she didn’t need to be protected. Stiles would tell her not to follow him and Scott on the big climbing frame scared she’d fall. Okay well, I’ll just climb the slide then, (Y/N) would think. And so (Y/N) would and normally be up there first. School was different. The Stilinski family decided to send the two to school together as they just fit in the year’s requirements. Stiles was one of the older ones while (Y/N) was one of the youngest. They’d compete in tests, games, and anything else possible. (Y/N) would do their best to embarrass Stiles while Stiles attempted to protect (Y/N) from bullies. Even though Stiles was their prime target. Despite being in the same year they decided not to deal with each other in school. (Y/N) had her group, Stiles had Scott. It worked. Of course, Stiles still looked over the girl, but he saw she could take care of herself. Well, until the wolves came to time.

Stiles and Scott were both thrown into the supernatural world. Despite Scott being the werewolf, it was still as bad for Stiles. He had to go through a lot of the same things with none of the powers. Being human in a supernatural world makes anyone panic but Stiles had (Y/N) to think about. But (Y/N) was really into myths. Greek myths, Roman myths, strange creatures. Didn’t matter. (Y/N) had taken their late mothers’ old collection of books of myths when she was young and got hooked. As Stiles was trying to help his friend he would ‘borrow’ her books without asking. And she would notice. So (Y/N) found out. Stiles wasn’t the best liar, yet, and (Y/N) knew her brother. So (Y/N) became like Stiles; the human with the info. (Y/N) had to admit Stiles had great intuition but she had the prior knowledge. She was useful. But Stiles didn’t care. It was too dangerous. She could get hurt. You’d be safer at home. Every time he said one of these she’d sigh and walk away. there was no fighting Stiles, the boy was delusional. She did meet Derek, Deaton, and Peter. Well, she wasn’t supposed to meet Peter, but she did. Stiles had been on extra edge recently and (Y/N) didn’t know why. She’d thought it was strange he was hanging with Lydia and Allison now, but nothing was ever explained. All the involvement she had with the supernatural was either answering their questions, meeting Deaton to ask her own questions, and occasionally being dumped on Derek to ‘look over’ her. But stiles were finally talking to girls so (Y/N) didn’t want to ruin it. “So,” (Y/N) said, trying to make it casual, “What’s up in the land of wolves?” They were sitting on the sofa watching some crappy movie, eating dinner. Sheriff was at work and Stiles had cooked his best dish; take out. Stiles gulped, “Um not much. Wolfy stuff and you get it…” he waved her off. (Y/N) crossed her arms, “SO this movie huh?” (Y/N) scoffed “I’m not an idiot. Your panicking, Scott’s panicking, and Deaton’s avoiding my questions,” “You talk to Deaton?” Stiles tries to change the subject. “Yes,” (Y/N)’s eyes narrow, “I like this sort of stuff. I know about it. I can be useful too,” “I know,” “Stiles you’re treating me like a child,” (Y/N) told her brother. He sighed “I’m just…protecting you. It's more dangerous than your storybooks,” “They’re not story books!” Stiles gave her a look, “Maybe when we were 7 but now it's real. I can help.” “No,” “Sti-“ “I SAID NO!” (Y/N) flinched. “It's too dangerous. End of,” Stiles crossed his arms and sulked back. Wiping a quick tear away, (Y/N) stood up, “Fine,” she spat. “But know one day you’ll need help and I won’t run to you,” She turned on her heels and rushed upstairs. “What about your dinner?” Stiles went after her, standing at the foot of the stairs. (Y/N) paused, fighting tears, “I don’t care,” She yelled back. Stiles flinched as her door slammed with a bang. He slumped back down onto the couch, trying to find a better show to watch. It wasn’t safe. He kept telling himself. I need to protect her, for dad. (Y/N) didn’t feel the same. Lying face down on the bed, (Y/N) fought back tears and lost. He always did this. She wasn’t strong enough. She wasn’t smart enough. She wasn’t capable of protecting herself. It made her feel not enough. “Why can’t he let me,” she whispered to the photo on her bedside of her mum holding her in her arms, Stiles in dads. “I’m not a baby. You’d want me to be strong. Like you,” (Y/N)’s words fell on deaf ears of an old photo. He’d never changed. Stiles doesn’t do change.

But Stiles couldn’t control the world. The alpha pack wanted to know everything about each kid and their friends and family. They knew everything about Melisa, Danny, and even (Y/N). but they didn’t see a use for her, well not right away. Stiles and Scott were forced to stay back for Lacrosse so (Y/N) would either go to a friend or walk home. They only had the jeep and (Y/N) knew better than to ask for a car they couldn’t afford. (Y/N) knew she had to study, after all, she was in high school, so decided not to go to her friend’s house. She waved goodbye at the gates, shoved her headphones in, and started home. The walk wasn’t too bad and (Y/N) did like to be somewhat healthy with all these werewolves running around. But despite her dads’ warnings not to have her music on full because she’d be unable to hear her surroundings she did. Her dad had tried to teach the siblings a little fighting but soon gave up on Stiles. But despite the self-defense training, her dad gave her when the hand clamping over your mouth has claws on it, you just scream. Off course the large werewolf paw muffled it and his running meant anyone who heard wouldn’t see them for long. (Y/N) would like to think she’d kick them in the balls when they put her down and run but, in reality, she fought back sobs. She thrashed and struggled but the twins were still able to tie her to a chair. “Did you bring it?” A cold voice asked. (Y/N) head whipped to the side to see a man walking in with a cane and a woman guiding him. When the twins spoke, her head turned to them, “Right here,” “Good,” he smiled a creepy smile. The woman let go of his arm and he sauntered over to her chair. He grabbed her jaw, although light still strong, “Well done,” (Y/N) pulled her head back, not caring if she hit it off the back of the chair, “Fighter?” “Not really,” Aiden chuckled. (Y/N) glared and as the man went to touch her face again she bit him. Screw manners. He pulled his hand back with a hiss. Suddenly she couldn’t breath and claws were starting to pierce her neck “I wouldn’t do that,” he growled, “you won’t just get rabies from our bite,”

When Stiles saw the dinner sitting on the counter, not even heated yet, he was concerned. Scott was busy raiding his fridge for after game snacks as he called out “(Y/N)”. when no one answered the pair shared a look, “Those damn headphones,” Stiles realized. He walked over to the stairs and yelled louder. No response. He huffed and ran upstairs, throwing open her door and yelling “(Y/N)-“ but cutting himself short. “(Y/N)?” he said in confusion. Stiles went back downstairs and Scott was looking at him with a questioning look. “Maybe she went to a friend’s house?” Stiles shook his head, “No we’ve got that English test she wanted to study for,” Scott shrugged as Stiles frowned, “I’m calling her,” Scott groaned, “She’s not gonna like it,” “I don’t care,” Stiles said like it was the most obvious thing. Scott sighed, sitting the food he was eating down, “You embarrass her. Like really embarrass her.” Stiles barely glanced at him while he pulled out his phone, “Stiles! She feels crappy. Last time I was here I swear I heard crying. Just text her and give her half an hour. Then you can phone,” Stiles paused, holding to phone against his chin in thought, “Crying?” “Yeah, stiles,” Scott said, walking closer, “You make her feel useless. Give her a break,” “Okay. Half an hour,”

As the alpha’s chilled casually around the run-down living room (Y/N) panicked. Stiles was usually so protective. He would’ve got out of Lacrosse 20 minutes ago, home 10 minutes ago, and defiantly called when he couldn’t find her. It was her turn to heat dinner up after all. (Y/N)'s lip was going to go raw at her chewing. They’d took her stuff and sat it in a pile, but the phone still hadn’t buzzed. The blind man had left, and Ethan was studying something half-heartedly on the sofa. The girl sat, picking at her obnoxiously sharp nails while Aiden went between working out and playing on his phone. Then the worst thing happened, “I need to go to the bathroom,” (Y/N) pipped up with little enthusiasm. Ethan chuckled but didn’t look up. “Tough,” The girl said, clearly not caring. Aiden, however, spared a glance. He doesn’t have feelings, (Y/N) thought. “Like I really need one,” it was unfortunately not a lie. She hadn’t been allowed to go since lunch and that was hours ago. PE was last so water was gulped before the end of the day. Don’t think about water. “Too bad,” the girl told her, more aggressive, “Should’ve gone before you came,” “I didn’t get the choice,” (Y/N) snapped before she could stop. The girl let out a hollow laugh, approaching (Y/N) at a torturously slow pace, “Little girl thinks she has claws. I got these ones,” She waved her fingers slowly in front go her face, “And I’m desperate to use them,” “Just take her to the bathroom,” Aiden groaned. The girl shot him an angry look, coupled with red eyes. “She looks like she’s gonna wet herself. And I’m not cleaning it up,” “You take her,” The girl crossed her arms. “I’m a dude,” “Too bad,” The girl stood her ground. Ethan sighed from his spot, “Just stand outside the bathroom,” he told his brother, “We’re three stories up. If she jumps she’s not getting far,” (Y/N) shot Aiden a sorry look and he groaned. “Fine,” Reluctantly he stood up and untied (Y/N), her hands going to rub her wrist to soothe it, “C’mon,” (Y/N) wasn’t about to argue and followed the werewolf. The bathroom looked even more dire than her situation. Aiden motioned for her to go in and turned to lean against the wall across from the door. (Y/N) walked in, slowly shutting the door and locking it. As soon as the door was locked she sped up. Ethan was right, she was too far up and above the concrete. Not to mention she couldn’t imagine fitting through that window without being heard. After (Y/N) washed her hands she looked in the mirror and sighed, her hand going up to grab her locket. He must be a werewolf. (Y/N) told herself. She opened the necklace and let the dust fall into her hand, holding it tight. She opened the door with the other, taking a deep breath. Aiden had barely looked up from his phone when she flung the dust in his face. He coughed a little before he slumped. (Y/N) quickly grabbed him, struggling, and placed him on the floor, knowing he would’ve made a thud. The apartment seemed to go silent for a moment as (Y/N) crouched next to Aiden. When no one came she stood slowly, walking through the corridors. The only doors were the bathroom one and one other before the corridor ended and you were in the open planned living room kitchen. (Y/N) looked at the other door and saw it was a dingy bedroom with a stained bed. The dust had been a strong type of wolves’ bane she’d got from Deaton. Although not knowing the whole situation (Y/N) had known something was going to happen. She always kept a few things on her. Mountain ash, mistletoe, wolf’s bane, and such but all in her backpack. Which was currently in the corner of the living room. But (Y/N) was beyond lucky. The bedroom had a fire escape. Cringing as the window creaked, (Y/N) opened the window as quietly as possible. You could tell from the fire escape that it would creak. She sat on the window ledge, feet hovering over the metal. RING! RING! RING! (Y/N) jumped a little when she heard her phone go off. Although not having wolf hearing (Y/N) knew that they would grab her phone and probably go to find her. Maybe the noise would mask her noise. So (Y/N) jumped onto the fire escape and rushed down, metal clanging with her footsteps. As she was almost on the ground she heard one of the wolves run through the apartment and someone yells for Aiden. Well, that’ll be a nice surprise, (Y/N) thought. She looked over her shoulder as she began to run out the alley and saw the woman looking out the window. Luck seemed to finally be on her side as she was looking the other way and (Y/N) was able to scamper. (Y/N) pressed herself against the front of the building, knowing she’d be out of eyesight. Once she’d took a couple deep breaths she began to sprint. The wind ripped at her skin and her legs felt like jelly, but she pushed on. (Y/N) had only sort of saw where they went but she didn’t care where she ended up. The first thing she recognized was her friend's house at the end of the street. But (Y/N) paused. They had to know where she lived to have found her. She’d be putting this on her doorstep. But at least she could get home from here. (Y/N) ran before she could think. But as she ran past her house she only stopped to grab her bike and speed off even faster. What was a human house going to do? The jeep wasn’t even there. (Y/N) jumped off her bike, letting it fall and crash into the wall, and ran inside the vets. “Wolf,” She panted when she saw Deaton, ignoring the strange look from a couple picking up their dog. Deaton’s eyes widened and he ushered her behind the counter and into the back, “Wolf’s her dog,” He told the customers, “Out of surgery not that long ago,” they nodded in understanding and left, unsuspecting. Once the place was empty he asked, “What wolf?” “Twins, some girl, a blind guy,” She said through pants. “I used the wolfsbane. I-I ran. I’m going to be sick,”

When Scott and Stiles got their Stiles rushed to (Y/N) who was sitting down, cradling her.  She wasn’t crying, or smiling, or showing anything. Deaton filled Scott in, glancing over at the siblings occasionally. “We’ll deal with it (Y/N). don’t worry,” Scott told her, crouching to the sibling’s level, “But can you help?” “Scott!” Stiles glared at him. (Y/N) nodded slowly, “It was Aiden and Ethan. Some girl and a blind guy,” “Yeah, but where? I need you to think,” She shook her head, “That apartment was just a stop. They don’t live there,” Scott nodded but there was still defeat in his eyes, “I-I through wolves’ bane at Aiden.” “I heard,” Scott looked down, “We’re gonna have to get you protection. I don’t know what yet-“ “Teach her,” Stiles cut him off. “What?” Stiles sat up properly, “You or Derek or even Deaton I don’t care. Someone’s gonna teach her. Its no use her having protection. She’ll be alone sometimes, and she needs to be ready,” (Y/N) nodded in agreement. Scott stood up, nodding and pulling out his phone, assembly for Derek, “I guess you’re in the pack,” Stiles sighed. “There’s a pack?”

[aparticularbandit]

[1/2] Hey, do you mind if I ask you about some headcanons you might have for Luisa? I've been rewatching earlier JtV and started wondering about her marriage with Allison, though we don't see much of it. Do you think Luisa stayed with her to get over Rose, or that they really did love each other? Obviously Allison was a sore spot between Roisa, but it surprised me that Rose didn't know about their breakup, because it meant Luisa didn't tell Emilio either!

[2/2] In fact, we never see anyone comfort Luisa about her (assumed) divorce. I know a lot of this is because Luisa’s not a main character, but it made me wonder how close Allison was to the family, and (coupled with the flashback in ch 77) whether Rose ever even met her, since she apparently wasn’t invited to their wedding? It’s so weird that Allison basically never comes up again despite being a huge part of Luisa’s life for years. Anyway, just wondered if you have any thoughts!

i think allison is a particularly, ah, hard spot in terms of general headcanon, for me.  a lot of my thoughts on her have shifted depending on fic or thinking about it too much or writing the characters so long that stuff just changes. and headcanon really should find its roots in canon, so, when looking at allison, we should be looking at the two episodes where we see her and what we learn about her from those episodes (as well as what we hear about her from luisa in chapter fourteen).now, this gets long, so placing it beneath a read more.  and, again, apologies to those of you on mobile if that doesn’t work for you.

as far as canon facts about allison, we get this:

luisa was in a relationship with allison when she met rose.

rose wasn’t there when luisa and rose got married.

allison had an affair.

luisa guessed she was having one.

allison told luisa she was crazy like her mother.

allison tried to apologize the next morning.

allison and luisa did not live at the marbella.

after the divorce, luisa lives at the marbella (or at longbourne or at wherever she is this season) - she doesn’t live in their apartment/house/etc.

additional facts worth remembering:

emilio solano got married and divorced multiple times.

the show doesn’t tell us how many, but this is apparently a frequent occurrence.

petra and rafael’s marriage assumed that she would get nothing from rafael if they got divorced within five years.

rafael tells luisa to leave his marbella party to go home to be with her wife.

luisa was 34 days sober when she met rose.

we don’t see luisa wearing a wedding ring.

additional fun thoughts:

with the exception of rose and allison, luisa has a type.

juicy, susanna, and eileen are all blonde.

juicy and eileen both appear to be spiritual people on the same level that luisa is.

similar.

eileen may be a construct, but she fits the type that rafael would expect from luisa so this is still relevant.

juicy and susanna are both physically active.

juicy is a wrestler.  she’s ripped.  this is obvious.

susanna is a police investigator.  she has to be in shape.

she can also catch fish barehanded.  like yo that’s got to be some physical prowess right there.

and, like with eileen, susanna may be a construct, but she still fits a type and luisa didn’t know she was a construct.

so, all of this together can give us a fairly good idea of some things, assuming we extrapolate from there.

either luisa loved allison or allison fit into her type somewhere (or both).

i tend to think that allison was athletic.  i tend to think she’s a runner/jogger.  she’s fit.  so, in my head, she at least in part fits luisa’s type.

but she’s not blonde, so….

luisa and allison may have had an open relationship.

luisa seems to have no qualms having sex with rose multiple times while in a relationship with allison - and that’s just talking rose and luisa’s first meeting, that’s not including any other trysts throughout the five years between that meeting and the beginning of the series (and going off of luisa’s comments, it is likely there were other trysts, but that’s not part of your queestion).

luisa guessed that allison liked the other girl she was with.

i think luisa was more upset that allison was not open with her.

open relationships rely on trust; allison breaks that trust by 1) lying to luisa about it and 2) implying that luisa is crazy for considering this a thing.

luisa and allison may have had a rocky relationship.

luisa has a girlfriend.  she is 34 days sober.  why is she in a girl bar by herself when she first meets rose?

we can also guess that luisa is only four days out of rehab if we work with the assumption that a rehab would keep her the first thirty days.  not necessarily always true, but tends to be my headcanon.

it is possible that she was supposed to meet allison there, which leads to the following possibilities:

allison stood her up

allison ran into work issues that kept her from getting in touch with luisa

allison and luisa were having the first date post-rehab

which would mean that maybe they were dating before luisa went to rehab

maybe, if they were dating before luisa went to rehab, luisa was unsure of the nature of their relationship post-rehab.

maybe she caught allison with someone else when she got back (not likely, in my opinion)

maybe she wanted to see if she could still hit it off with someone even though she wasn’t drinking

luisa and allison may have had a really quick marriage shortly before the start of the series

if rose wasn’t at luisa’s wedding, then it’s likely emilio wasn’t there either

emilio would have been at luisa’s wedding if he’d had the opportunity

this implies that their marriage was likely both quick and unexpected

rafael told luisa to leave his party to go be with her wife

this is something people say to someone who is newly married

then again, it may be that he’s newly recovered from cancer and she’s been spending time with him instead of with her wife, but i don’t think that’s likely

the solano/alver family is super prepared for divorces but allison still got something out of her divorce from luisa

their residence

although it’s possible that it was allison’s from before they got married - but even so, it seems to me that allison got to keep pretty much everything they, as a couple, had together

allison made bank on that divorce

but not money, probably

if this had been better planned, luisa likely would have had an agreement with allison similar to the one rafael had with petra (which is likely the same one emilio has with his wives)

however, we can also use this to guess that allison and luisa have been married for five years, but given what we know from chapter fourteen and rose’s comment about luisa’s marriage, this is really unlikely

luisa loved allison

i don’t want to say it, but luisa loves easily

as with rose, allison (as we see her in chapter seventy-seven) seems to go against luisa’s type, which means there’s something more than that keeping her around

luisa doesn’t really talk about her mother or her own mental instability often

she talks about a lot of other things, but this seems to be something she keeps close to the chest

luisa told allison

more to the point, luisa seems to have downplayed allison’s comments that she was crazy like her mother, and we know that this phrase is especially problematic for luisa - although it may be that this is just as much as a reminder of allison’s words as it is an indicator of what she’s afraid to be - she does not display this phrase with rose or rafael, but she seems to have done so with allison, so

either allison has to be some level of super important

or luisa is used to allison making these kinds of remarks offhand - which leads back to the rocky relationship point

allison, to some degree, loved luisa

she was around for five years (if we assume they kept in touch throughout the five years between when luisa met rose and the beginning of the series)

either she cared about luisa or she was just after the money

allison doesn’t seem like a gold-digger to me, and since rafael’s struggle with cancer (as well as petra’s miscarriage - which luisa did blame herself for) are both during that time period, allison staying around for all of that (and luisa went back to rehab.  twice) is a pretty clear indicator to me that she did care - it’s important to recognize that, i think

allison was a rock in terms of her relationship with luisa

when luisa turns to rose, rose asks her why 1) she didn’t talk to rafael or 2) she didn’t talk to her wife

this implies that allison is equal to rafael in terms of her relationship with luisa.  she trusts them both equally.

rose comes after the two of them

luisa only turns to rose for things when she cannot turn to rafael or allison - that’s the implication here

now, i do want to go a little further in terms of - i think allison and luisa had a shotgun vegas style wedding and i think they were both drunk.  i think luisa turned to allison for something, and i think she was already drinking (or allison was less firm on the no alcohol at all front than we tend to believe rose is or, if we want to take this in conjunction with luisa still getting drunk when she was with rose, we can see this as luisa is just extraordinarily good at getting alcohol and getting herself drunk even when other people don’t want her to be drinking)–i think the marriage wasn’t intentional.  i think they woke up the next morning hungover and married and they did already love each other so they made the best with what they could.  (or luisa impromptu proposed and did the let’s just get married thing and they just got married with no notice because she didn’t want to deal with the lawyers she knew emilio would want her to get involved as far as prenups.  either of these work.)  i think this is likely why luisa doesn’t have a ring - and, like, it’s blatant that she’s not wearing a ring - in the scene with the party at the marbella where raf tells her to go be with her wife, her left hand is very clearly seen.  no ring.i think allison had met the family but that most of them were preoccupied with other things: emilio got married to rose; rafael got married to petra; petra had her miscarriage; rafael had cancer; rafael got the marbella - i think she was around but she was luisa’s person in a way that kept her…separate.  if that makes any sense.i do think she and rose met, because it’s hard for me to imagine that luisa and allison were together that long without them meeting once - but if we go direct quote, rose says she would like to meet her (in chapter seventy-seven), so this would imply that they probably haven’t met - which, i mean, this could be consider indicative of the strength of luisa and allison’s relationship (maybe its strength isn’t that good, since she hasn’t met rose) or it could just be indicative of rose avoiding meeting allison for as long as possible or luisa keeping allison away from rose for as long as possible (and of these, i think this latter is most likely).as far as comforting her on her divorce - it was a quick marriage and they likely didn’t expect it to last, even if luisa and allison had been together (or in even just in touch, as friends) for five years.  the solanos (and probably luisa, to some degree) don’t seem to put much stock in marriage lasting.  luisa was also basically ostracized from the family - rafael didn’t want anything to do with her (because jane), if the pilot script is anything to go by petra hates her (who knows why? and i don’t necessarily think this is the case - but they rarely have scenes together where petra’s not trying to manipulate her for whatever reason) and let’s be real petra’s having her own problems (getting her own divorce from rafael, the murder of her boyfriend, she’s being blackmailed, etc.) - emilio probably did comfort her to some degree - but given that rose seems to be the only one who understands everything that luisa is going through and noticing it (rafael’s nonchalant “oh, yeah, luisa’s probably on a bender because she hides when she drinks” as though rose wouldn’t know that - who in this family cares about luisa?  emilio does as much as he can, but his ways of helping don’t really work with luisa or rafael, which leaves rose.  and we know how rose comforted her.  like, the solano/alver’s history of emotional support is shitty at best, and whatever happened may have been off-screen if at all.possibly during the two weeks that we don’t see while we wait for jane’s artificial insemination to take root - there was a two week time jump there, even if luisa does still refer to allison as her wife immediately after that (so - not a super quick divorce, but there’s no reason to believe they dragged it on).  but i feel like that would have been the time most likely for family members to have comforted her, and since we did skip that time period, that may be why we don’t see it on-screen at all.  after that, everyone’s so caught up in everything going on that they wouldn’t have even thought of it (emilio, at least, makes sure that luisa knows she’s still included in the family and that he’s glad she isn’t drinking).–i think that covers what you wanted?  i hope?  maybe?  if not, feel free to ask for more.  ^^

[gluupor]

A 10 Things I Hate About You AU written for the Andreil Week prompt: fake dating

Katelyn squared her shoulders as she looked up at her new high school. It wasn't the first new high school she'd attended, hell it wasn't even the fifth. Her father's military career led her family to moving so often that she was used to being the perpetual new kid. Not again, though. Her dad had promised this time. Even if he got transferred he would let her finish out the year at the same school. She had one chance to make friends in order to have the best senior year possible.

She found the administrative office easily and she was pleased to find that another student had been assigned to show her around. This was common practice, and it was generally an outgoing overachiever who volunteered to help her. Based on the biceps of the girl waiting to show her around, Katelyn guessed that she was involved in sports.

"Hi, I'm Dan Wilds," said her guide.

Katelyn introduced herself, and Dan led her out of the office making small talk. Dan walked her to her first period class, gave her directions on how to find her other morning classes, and promised to pick her up right before lunch.

Her morning passed easily: she was stared at a normal amount due to her new kid status and she even chatted with a few friendly people. In chemistry, they did a mini first day experiment. They were assigned partners alphabetically and she was paired with a short blond guy.

"Do you know why chemists enjoy working with ammonia?" she asked her lab partner, unable to stop from embarrassing herself in front of the cute boy.

He frowned at her, confused. "No," he said suspiciously.

"Because it's pretty basic stuff."

He stared as if he were worried for her mental state, before he cracked a smile. She had a feeling that it was a rare sight. "What do you do with a sick chemist?" he asked in return.

She smiled, wanting to dance in happiness that he was countering her nerdy joke with one of his own. "What?"

"If you can't helium, and you can't curium, then you might as well barium."

Her laughter caught the attention of the teacher, who instructed them to get back to work.

"That was your fault," her partner grumbled, without irritation.

"Not just mine," she said. "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate." He gifted her with another sunshine smile.

By lunchtime, Katelyn's stomach was growling and she was happy to see Dan. Dan led her over to a lunch table that already had several occupants.

"This is my boyfriend, Matt," introduced Dan. "And our friends, Allison and Kevin. Guys, this is Katelyn."

After Katelyn fielded the usual questions about where she was from and whether she was liking South Carolina, Allison leaned forward expectantly. "So, seen any cute guys yet? Or girls? Anyone you're crushing on?"

"Well," said Katelyn, feeling her cheeks heat. "There was a guy in my chemistry class. Short, blond, named Aaron?"

"Aaron Minyard?" asked Allison. "Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no."

"Why not?"

"Hey Nicky!" Matt called out to a boy sitting at a nearby table. "Come join us for a sec."

The boy looked up and nodded, making his way over to their table and sitting across from Katelyn.

"The new girl's got a thing for your cousin," explained Matt.

"The saner one," added Allison.

"Oh, honey, no," said Nicky sadly. "You'll never get anywhere with that."

"Why not?"

"My cousin is a twin," said Nicky. "And a couple years ago his mother died."

"Oh no, I'm so sorry," said Katelyn with genuine sympathy.

Nicky waved her comment away. "Not the point of the story. Anyway, he and his brother promised to stick together after that. So now Aaron's not allowed to date unless Andrew does too."

"Guys," said Katelyn, looking around the table. "This really doesn't seem like an insurmountable problem."

Matt gestured over Katelyn's left shoulder. She turned, and saw a boy who must be Aaron's twin. He was a little more muscular than Aaron, and dressed in all black. A student passed close by the table where Andrew was sitting with a white-haired girl, and leaned over to say something. Andrew responded by brandishing a knife.

Katelyn gasped. "That must be against the rules," she said. "And the law."

"Andrew hates everyone," said Nicky. "He's never going to date. We thought that he and Renee-" he indicated the girl sitting with Andrew "-would start going out, but they both came out as gay last June. Now there's no hope. Aaron's going to die alone."

"No, this can still be fixed," said Katelyn, her stubborn nature showing itself. "I'm sure that Andrew's a good guy deep down." She glanced back and found Andrew's dead-eyed stare focused on her. "Er, very deep down."

"The only way that someone will date Andrew Minyard is if you paid them," said Allison flippantly.

There was a brief pause. "That's not a… bad idea," said Nicky.

"You'd have to find someone who isn't scared of him," said Dan.

"Everyone's scared of him," said Kevin, speaking up for the first time. "And for good reason. You remember how he reacted when I asked him to join the exy team."

"Well, you were slightly… over persistent," said Matt diplomatically.

"Anyway, it's not like I have money to bribe anyone," said Katelyn.

"Don't worry about that," said Allison. "I would pay just for the fun of it."

"That still doesn't solve the problem of who would agree to go out with him," said Matt.

Katelyn had gotten distracted, watching as Andrew said something to a boy passing his lunch table. The boy turned to regard Andrew and Andrew again slid a knife out from somewhere. The boy just rolled his eyes, gave Andrew a salute, and walked away nonchalantly.

"What about him?" she asked.

"Who?" asked Matt craning his head to see. His jaw dropped in incredulity. "Neil Josten?"

"He started going here at the end of last year," explained Dan. "We tried to make friends with him, but he blew us off."

"I heard that he killed his own father," said Kevin.

"I heard that he's in the mafia," added Nicky.

"He's at least half-cryptid," said Allison.

Katelyn shrugged. "But he didn't seem afraid of Andrew," she said.

"He was apparently raised by stabby psychopaths," said Dan. "Maybe Andrew just reminds him of home."

"Neil is very pretty," said Matt hesitantly.

"True," agreed Nicky. "If Andrew hasn't noticed then he was lying about being into dudes."

"And his clothes definitely indicate that he needs the money," mused Allison.

"And he and Andrew are perfect for each other, in that they're both terrifying assholes," said Dan.

"Great!" said Katelyn happily. "It's settled. We’ll bribe Neil to date Andrew so that I can date Aaron." She was certain that everything would work out in her favour: she'd made up her mind that she was going to have a perfect senior year and she was very good at getting what she wanted.

After classes ended for the day, Allison tracked Katelyn down and led her out to the school's football field. The field hockey team was practising and several students, including Neil Josten, were running around the surrounding track. Allison kept her attention on her phone as they waited, but Katelyn watched Neil run. He was faster than he should be, based on his height.

They approached him when he was finished, stretching out his leg against a bench and gulping down sports drink.

"What do you want?" he asked, wiping the sweat off his brow with the sleeve of his t-shirt.

"I have a business proposition for you," said Allison.

Neil snorted. "Pass."

"I will pay you $100 to take Andrew Minyard out on a date," continued Allison, ignoring Neil's input.

He straightened and eyed them in consideration. "Why?"

"I want to go out with Aaron," said Katelyn, making herself as earnest as possible. Maybe if he sympathized with her, he'd help her out. "And he's not allowed to date until Andrew does."

"That doesn't really take what Andrew wants into account," said Neil.

"Oh, don't put yourself down, Josten," said Allison. "You're a catch. He should be grateful to get a date with a specimen like yourself."

Neil gave her a flat look. "And what's in it for me?"

"One hundred dollars," said Allison slowly. She turned to Katelyn. "I already said that, right? I'm not imagining things, am I?"

"I have my own money," replied Neil.

Allison gave him a very judgmental once-over. "Do you?" she asked, sounding generally curious. "Then why do you look like… that?" She waved her hand, indicating Neil's entire body.

"Besides, I know you're aware that I'm not interested in dating," continued Neil. "I told you during your interrogation last year."

"That was a friendly getting-to-know-you chat, you giant drama queen," huffed Allison. "And it's just a date; we're not even asking you to get to first base. Just take him out somewhere nice, on me."

"I don't need your money," Neil reminded her. "But," he said, raising his voice to cut off Allison's reply, "you probably can get me something that I do want."

"And what's that?"

"I want on the exy team," he announced. "I missed the tryouts last spring."

"You can't be on the team just because you want to be," said Allison, rolling her eyes.

"You're friends with Kevin Day. Get him to agree to give me a fair chance at a tryout and I'll ask Andrew Minyard out on a date," bargained Neil.

Allison's eyes narrowed. "It's a deal," she said, and stuck out her hand to shake his.

"Why are you doing this?" Katelyn asked Allison as they took their leave. "You seem very invested in this."

Allison blushed slightly and averted her eyes. "Andrew spends all his time with Renee Walker. I was hoping that if he had someone else then she would be looking for some companionship."

"Ah," said Katelyn, sagely. "So you're also just a giant loser with a crush."

"Shut up," said Allison. "I'm not a loser, I'm a queen."

The rooftop access door slammed open and Andrew automatically lit a second cigarette, passing it over as Neil took a seat beside him.

"I received some interesting information," said Neil, clearly trying to get Andrew to ask him for his news. Andrew remained quiet, just to be contrary. Neil huffed, but continued anyway, "The new girl has a crush on your brother."

"It doesn't matter," said Andrew. "It doesn't affect me." Aaron wasn't going to break his promise and start dating, not until Andrew decided that he could.

"And that's where you're wrong," said Neil. "Somehow she's enlisted the help of Allison Reynolds and the two of them are bribing me to take you out on a date."

"They're bribing you?" repeated Andrew.

"Yup," said Neil. "Allison's going to get Kevin to agree to let me tryout for the exy team."

Andrew shook his head with mock severity. "I should have known better than to trust a junkie like you. All it takes is a single offer of your drug of choice and you're selling me out."

Neil knocked his shoulder into Andrew's. They'd met during Neil's first week at school, when he'd been searching for somewhere to sneak a cigarette. Since then they'd been meeting here regularly, slowly becoming almost-friends. Andrew was surprised by how much he liked the casual contact.

"Wanna go on a date with me?" asked Neil.

"I hate you," said Andrew.

"We just started sonnets in English," said Neil. "You could write me one: 'How do I hate thee? Let me count the ways.'"

"We don't have enough time for me to make a detailed list."

"Maybe just a Cliff's Notes version, then? Ten things you hate about me?"

The ten things Andrew hated most about Neil were also the things that Andrew found most attractive about him, so he didn't respond.

"The deal I made is that I have to ask you on a date, not that you have to accept," Neil said. "So technically I've already done what I said I would. After all, I can't take you out if you say no."

Andrew smoked and considered his options. Agreeing to date Neil, even as a ruse, appealed to him. Maybe he could take advantage of the situation and somehow convince Neil to date him for real. However, if Andrew suddenly started dating then Aaron would follow. Was this something for which he was willing to loosen his hold on Aaron?

"Where would you take me on the date?"

Neil blinked once, obviously not expecting the question. "I was thinking of doing something like paintball," he said casually.

"Why paintball?"

"What, you don't want to attack people without them threatening to call the cops?" said Neil. "I know you prefer knives to guns, but I'll teach you how to handle a gun: I'm a crack shot."

The fact that Neil had obviously put thought into where he would take Andrew, specifically, on a date made up Andrew's mind. "What will you give me if I say yes?" he asked.

"What do you want?" Neil volleyed back.

What he wanted was for Neil to not ask stupid questions. "A bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue," he said instead.

"Deal," said Neil, his eyes shining. "I'll see if I can get Allison to pay for it."

Andrew was aware that this was a stupid plan that was going to end in pain, probably his own. He was giving up his hold on Aaron for what would surely turn out to be a pipe dream. He should know better by now, but Neil hadn't let him down yet. Perhaps, if he played his cards right, this was something that he could have.

[hufflepuff-ravenclaw-reviews]

The Umbrella Academy Season 1 Episode 6

Vietnam, 1968. I thought that Klaus had been drafted, but I suppose that if he had ended up in America at the time, he probably would have just been some kind of transient, and just drifted around aimlessly until he figured out some way to get home (or not). But instead, he just jumped right into the middle of a military tent, and was shipped out. There, he met a man named David, that he fell in love with. We know that Klaus met somebody that he loved very deeply, because he told Diego as much in the previous episode. We also know that David died. It doesn't take a genius to figure out soldier and Vietnam and death, unfortunately.

We don't see too much of Klaus's time in Vietnam, but we do see the moment that David was shot. Klaus tried to save him, but he obviously failed.

Back in the present, Luther calls Diego, Klaus, and Allison and tells them what Five told them. He's also kind of evasive about the fact that they're all going to die. They argue a lot about what they should do.

Vanya and Leonard show up, but Vanya is just reminded of how much of an outcast that she is. She tells them that she thought that her ostracization was a symptom of their father, but clearly, everybody's just an asshole.

She storms out, but Leonard stays behind in order to steal an Umbrella Academy collectible figurine that Reginald had on display (I couldn't quite make out which one he took).

As they're walking down the street, Vanya's powers not only make it rain, but also crunch the nearby cars and bend the street lights. Leonard points it out to her, but she dismisses it, saying that it had been like that.

They later return to Leonard's house, where Vanya watches a news report on the bent lamp posts in the area. Leonard assures her that he thinks she's special... Which doesn't seem to reassure her very much.

Later that night, Vanya's getting ready for bed, and Leonard leaves with some dirty laundry. Vanya notices Reginald's journal lying on the floor, and she flips through it, only to find proof of her own power... but also that he'd kept her heavily sedated so that her power would be repressed because it was dangerous.

Meanwhile, Luther seems to think that Reginald was doing something with all of the moon samples and data that Luther was sending back. He goes in search of it in Reginald's office; Pogo tells him that it was hidden under a rug. However, Luther is insanely disappointed to realize that all of the bags were still sealed, exactly the way that he'd sent them off. He's also angry because he spent four years on the moon, because his father didn't know how to deal with him after his accident.

Years ago, when the kids were still kids, Allison and Luther had been a thing. This has been hinted at a few times. When Vanya and Allison went for drinks, it was probably the most direct that the story had been about the Allison/Luther business, but the narration was still insanely vague.

However, we finally have proof of this. They snuck out of their beds late one night, and tried to drink soda, eat what I assume is candy, and dance to music. Luther gave Allison a golden heart locket that said A + L on it. However, they were caught by Reginald, and presumably punished.

Back in the present, Allison is getting ready to go back to LA, to be with her daughter before the end of the world. She finds the locket, and then goes to Luther. She then takes him up to the greenhouse, where they'd made their little... somewhere between a blanket fort and a love shack. The sodas remained after all this time, but they're gross. Luther says that Reginald isn't around anymore, so they leave, and go to the park. Allison says that she should get to the airport, but Luther asks her to dance. There's an ungodly dance sequence, which seems more imaginary than not, if only because Luther has a normal physical shape, rather than a half-monkey shape. They kiss, and Allison then says “we should get to the airport.” Emphasis on “we”.

While that's going on, Klaus asks Diego to tie him up, because the last time he was sober enough for his powers to function their best, it was when Hazel and Cha-Cha tied him up. Diego ties him up, but then Klaus says he has to pee. But when Diego tries to tie him up a second time, Klaus starts fighting, as I'm sure that most of the junk in his system has started to wear off. Diego is stronger though, and ties Klaus up, before handing him a bucket. For puke or pee or anything else. Klaus tips over, and manages to see David.

The time travel lady takes Five to the 1950's, where they have their home office. I was questioning it for a while, especially since they're all using typewriters. Like, why not be in a time of computers and printers, at least? But then I realized... they couldn't go to the times of digital cameras and the internet, because people would see them. Being too late in time would probably make people question “just what is this business anyway?” But the typewriter thing would probably suck balls, not going to lie.

Anyway, there's an entire organization, which we've seen hints of. Hazel and Cha-Cha have been getting messages from somebody, that disappear into the walls or in the motel mini-fridge and such. (And how that's time travel, I don't know. But whatever.) But there's field agents, and then there's the people who say “so-and-so needs to be killed in order to preserve the time line”. Because there are fixed points in time that must happen at all costs. But there's also that pesky free will, which just makes people say stuff like “Meh, I don't feel like assassinating Lincoln today.” And if Booth decides not to do that, then an order must be given to a field agent, who steps in to correct the time line; either by just assassinating Lincoln themselves, or by convincing Booth to assassinate Lincoln.

The lady introduces Five to the lady who was in charge of his case, who's in charge of all apocalyptic events. (We'll get back to this in a moment.) He's then given a desk, and an event that must happen, the Hindenburg. Five writes up a mission statement, which is to kill some guy. He's the Hindenburg captain's butcher, but his son reportedly never ever washes his hands. So if the butcher dies, the son gets the shop. And this makes the captain's roast tainted with bacteria, which gives him food poisoning, so he's late to the ship, which makes the ship run through a storm, which... Well. You know how that flight ended. They applaud him for his good work with that.

As they break for lunch, Five steals a file from the apocalyptic lady's desk, but before he can do much, he's ambushed by the manager lady in the bathroom. There, he admires her collection of “antique” weapons, like the gun Hitler used to kill himself, and some grenades from Vietnam.

Later, he goes to the room where all of the messages are sent out to field agents. He was told off lightly for trying to send a message on his own without going through the lady who works in that office. Five teleports behind her, knocks her out (with a stapler???), and intersects a message that would have set the world on the path that he saw in the future. He then sends two messages, before the manager comes in. She starts shooting, but Five just teleports away until she runs out of bullets in her tiny Hitler gun. He then throws one of the grenades at her. He runs to the room where they keep all of the “time travel briefcases”, grabs one, and then uses another grenade to blow up the other briefcases, so that they can't follow him.

Then, the entire episode does this rewind thing, and Five jumps back to the moment when Allison, Luther, Diego, and Klaus were first talking about the end of the world. He tells them that it's time to stop the end of the world... for real this time. He pulls out the message that he intercepted, which is to protect so-and-so.

And finally, Hazel and Cha-Cha. Upon their return to their motel, they get official “stand down” orders about killing Five. Hazel leaves the room, and Cha-Cha gets an order to terminate Hazel.

They go to the woods, under the guise that the mission statement said that the briefcase was out there. However, Cha-Cha finds that she can't kill Hazel. He also says a lot of stuff about not wanting to be told what to do, when to do it all the time.

They go back to the hotel, but Hazel leaves “to get dinner”. Cha-Cha follows him to the doughnut shop, where she finds him canoodling with the waitress.

There's some missing time that we don't see, and when she gets back to the hotel, she shoots up the shower, thinking that Hazel's in there, but instead, she just finds a mission statement that had been sent to Hazel: terminate Cha-Cha.

(And, following finding out what Five did at the office, I'll give you one guess who sent those messages.)

[palmettofoxden]

It’s time for a continuation of the post where Andrew keeps giving reporters different conflicting answers to their questions about why he and his ex-teammate turned rival Neil wear matching armbands.

So, get ready for Neil’s responses to reporters reading Andrew’s latest responses plus Andrew and Neil getting asked about them together after their teams play each other.

Andrew gives a different answer every interview and interviewers hope that Neil will give them a more helpful answer but instead, Neil just enthusiastically agrees with and adds details to Andrew’s story of the week.

A reporter quotes Andrew’s “Kevin’s marking his new exclusive court team with the armbands. So far we’re the only ones picked.”

Neil responds “That’s true. We’ve all been planning on playing court together since my first year with the Foxes.”

A reporter quotes “It only took a few months of knowing him to know he was going to be my mortal enemy, so I marked him with the armbands so everyone would know.”

Neil responds “He already knew I was his enemy before the armbands, but they marked the point when I became his absolute worst enemy. I have been ever since.”

A reporter quotes “Neil Josten is a copycat piece of shit with no sense of personal style.”

Neil responds “Anyone who was on the Fox team my first year can confirm this. They kept aggressively insisting that they needed to take me clothes shopping and then they’d never let me pick clothes out at the store. They kept giving me outfits to wear when they had to be seen in public with me and now I don’t know how to dress myself anymore, so I just copy Andrew.”

A reporter quotes “We’ve been together since university. We secretly live together. We own cats. It’s disgusting.”

Neil responds “We rescued them. Their full names are Sir Fat Cat McCatterson and King Fluffkins, but we usually just call them Sir and King. Andrew still hates the names, but Nicky was pretty insistent on that being Sir’s name.”

A reporter quotes “The armbands are how Wymack marked the worst troublemakers on his team. Neil was so awful no one managed to rank after him.”

Neil responds “I can’t believe Wymack didn’t just retire mid-season from how much trouble I caused that first year. I think I aged Kevin five years from things I said in interviews alone. No one seemed worthy of ranking for armbands in comparison afterwards.”

A reporter quotes “Neil lost a bet and has to wear those armbands for ten years.”

Neil responds “I didn’t think he’d actually hold me to the ten years, but Andrew takes his word very seriously. I haven’t seen my own forearms in years.”

A reporter quotes “They’re to hide our matching sleeve tattoos from a drunken night his freshman year.”

Neil responds “We don’t want matching sleeve tattoos, but we both like how ours look so we’ve been waiting years to see who will budge and get theirs removed first. I’m not budging any time soon.”

A reporter quotes “I forgot about his birthday and had an extra pair lying around so I used them as a shitty present. He’s been wearing them for years. Pathetic.”

Neil responds “Weeks after my birthday he shoved them into my chest and stormed off. He didn’t even wrap them.”

A reporter quotes “What armbands? I have never seen him wear armbands.”

Neil responds “He wears armbands. I wear long-sleeved shirts under the rest of my clothing. It’s totally different. I don’t know why people keep saying we’re wearing matching armbands.”

A report quotes “Wymack marked his best players with them. What a shame his own son didn’t earn any. Kevin cried the day Neil got his.”

Neil responds “Kevin trained and he trained and he pushed himself past his limits and no one ever gave him any armbands. I’m pretty sure he’s still jealous of mine. Maybe, he’s still trying to earn some.”

A reporter quotes “Which one’s Neil again? Is he that really tall dealer? No? Then who am I thinking of?”

Neil responds “No, I think he’s right. Isn’t there a dealer named Neil on one of the other teams? No? What’s his name then? I know the one he means. He’s really tall. Taller than Matt. Are you sure his name isn’t Neil? It’s something that starts with an N.”

A reporter quotes “Nicky gave us the same gifts every year because apparently ‘we are impossible to shop for’.”

Neil responds “Nicky spent hours shopping and still had no idea what to get either of us the first Christmas I knew him, so he got us matching jackets. He’s been using it as an excuse to get us matching presents every year since.”

A reporter quotes “Wymack marked the players that smoke with armbands ‘as black as our lungs are going to turn’ to try to shame us into quitting.”

Neil responds “Clearly, his strategy didn’t work. Did you know these are actually great for carrying cigarettes in?”

A reporter quotes “They used to be friendship bracelets, but now they mark my burning hatred for him.”

Neil responds “He invited me into his group my freshmen year and then realized how much he hates me. He’s been telling me for years all about his hatred for me. He hates every inch of me every second of every day. Sometimes he wakes me up in the middle of the night just to tell me how much he hates me.”

A reporter quotes “Neil Josten changes his appearance so suddenly and extremely, we had to mark him so we would recognize him when he showed up to practice. I guess he got used to wearing them.”

Neil responds “My appearance drastically changed every few weeks that first year. Kevin hated how distracted the team got. After a while, he got an extra pair of armbands from Andrew and made me wear them so everyone could tell who I was when I came to practice so I would be less distracting. I’d been wearing them for years already by the time I graduated, so I got used to them.”

A reporter quotes “Neil’s so pale if his arms see direct sunlight, he gets third degree burns. No one knows why. It’s just his arms. Doctors are stumped.”

Neil responds “Doctors have never seen anything like it. I have to be super careful. If I expose my forearms to direct sunlight, I could end up with burns so bad I have to sit out games.”

A reporter quotes “He stole them from me years ago and wears them at all times to taunt me. And so that I can’t steal them back.”

Neil responds “He broke into my dorm room and went through all my stuff, so I broke into his and took his armbands. He’s been pissed about it for years.”

A reporter quotes “He hides knives in them. He’s a real danger to himself and everyone around him. I can’t believe no one’s stopped him yet.”

Neil responds “It truly is astounding that anyone can get away with carrying knives onto the court, no matter how hidden they are. Although, with the gear overtop the knives are more dangerous against my skin than they are for anyone else. Can you believe I’m stupid enough to play with knives strapped to my skin?”

There is still no clear answer and the fans are still questioning if Andrew and Neil are friends or hate each other when their teams play each other. After the game, they both take press duty and an interviewer takes the chance to ask them both about the armbands. They continue to answer in the same fashion and the reporter can’t get a word in as they just go back and forth listing off more origins for Neil’s armbands.

Neil answers first with "I have cold arms."

Andrew corrects "He's had bad rashes on both arms for years. It’s disgusting."

Neil says "I just wear them because I like them."

Andrew says "It's so we can tell him apart from his secret twin."

Neil says "One time I tried on a shirt that was too small and I couldn't get it back off, so I had to be cut out of it. The sleeves are still stuck."

Andrew says "He's a stubborn piece of shit, so we've had a bet going for years on who will take theirs off first."

Neil says "Allison bet twenty bucks I wouldn't wear them and it was about time she lost a bet. I wear them as a reminder that it is possible to win against her."

Andrew says "Neil has the memory of a goldfish. He writes everything he needs to remember on his wrists and covers the lists with armbands."

Neil says "Andrew superglued them to my arms and, at this point, I'm too embarrassed to try to figure out how to get them off."

Andrew says “They’re compression sleeves. Our wrists are fucked. Neil fucked his up from the way he landed after he tripped over his own shoelace and fell down the stairs.”

Neil says "I decided when I grow up, I want to be just like Andrew. I’ve been wearing them since and trying to become just like him."

Andrew says "He only wears them because he knows I hate it and hate him."

Neil says "Andrew begged me to wear them. He's trying to start a new trend."

Andrew says "I'm sponsored by the company that makes them. Every time I trick Neil into wearing them, I make extra money."

Neil says "He got them buy one, get one free, gave me a pair as a gift, and then made me pay half the regular price."

Andrew says "He has a skin condition where his wrists are rotting. It's why he smells so bad."

Neil gets distracted and argues “Fuck off. I do not smell.”

Andrew says “You reek. I'm getting sick standing next to you.”

Neil insists “That's because we just played a game. You stink too.”

Andrew shrugs and then looks into the camera as he says “At least I don't always smell like this. Neil Josten doesn't know how to use deodorant. Sitting in a car with him is torture.”

Neil says “Shut up. I use deodorant. I do not stink.”

Andrew says “Liar. You smell worse than King right now.”

There is still no clear fan and media consensus on whether Andrew and Neil actually live together and own cats or if that was just them lying even more. Fans are still arguing over which answers about the armbands might be true or if they are all lies.

[askmetaborrowers]

An Accidental Grip pt. 4

Allison’s eyes scanned the lobby for what seemed like the hundredth time. The two of them had been waiting behind the potted plant for ages. And still no sign of Mark or Jack. What the heck were they even doing?

Allison sighed and was just about to give up when the sliding front doors opened. She glanced in that direction, not expecting much, but lit up when she saw a set of familiar humans. Finally.

“Amanda! I see…” Allison paused. “What are you doing?”

“Shh, I need to focus.” Amanda said, swinging her hook around. “I’m gonna try and climb in to get that fruit snack out of the vending machine.”

Allison blinked and shook her head. “We don’t have time for that! They’re right there!” She pointed towards Mark and Jack, who were quickly making their way across the lobby.

“Oh!” Amanda scrambled to gather up her hook, winding it back up. “Why didn't you just say so? Well let’s go then.”

Allison nodded and waited for them to pass before following a few human feet behind them. Her friend following close behind. This was risky and extremely dangerous, but right now, she didn’t care. She just wanted to get back home.

“We’re gonna have to time this perfectly.” Amanda whispered, jogging to keep up with the slow, giant footsteps.

“Right.” Allison whispered back and they continued to follow until the two humans stopped at a door. They hid behind one of the plants lining the hallway and waited for the chance to dart in.

“That panel was awesome! But I am ready for bed.” Jack chuckled, he searched his pockets for the keycard, frowning when he couldn’t feel it. “Um, you have the card, right?” Jack gave a sheepish smile.

“I thought you had the card.” Mark lied, watching Jack look worried for a moment before Mark burst out laughing. “Nah, don’t worry, I’ve got it right here.” He pulled out the card and swiped it, waiting until the light turned green to open the door.

“Now!” Amanda began to bolt towards the door.

They both ran for it and Allison thought, for a second, that they would make it. But just as they reached the door, it slammed shut in their faces.

“Ow…” Allison rubbed her face. “Well, that didn’t work.”

“Crap.” Amanda groaned, hitting her fist against the door in frustration. She looked up to see the green light still lit up. “Wait, I’ve got an idea. Keep a lookout for me.”

Amanda took a few steps back, taking out her hook. She began to swing it around, giving it a good toss to try and latch onto the handle. The first few attempts failed, but Amanda kept going.

“Okay, I see your plan. And it’s good, it is. But what are Mark and Jack gonna think when there door suddenly opens by itself?” She raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. Her eyes, however, still darted down the hallway, always on lookout.

“I’m sorry, do you want to wait around in the hall for another 10 hours?” Amanda glared at her friend. “Besides, humans see weird stuff all the time but they just brush it off. They’ll probably think it was the wind or something.” Amanda grinned as her hook finally reached the handle, only to watch as it slid right off a moment later. “Rats.”

“Or they’ll actually go to investigate and catch us. You can’t just bet on something that they might do.” Her eyes focused on Amanda, sending her a small glare.

“Just shut up.” Amanda muttered, not liking when Allison was right.

“Look, I don’t care if we have to wait ten more hours. I just don’t want us to get caught, okay?” She rubbed her arm, letting a bit of her fear convey through her tone.

“We’re not gonna get caught, Allison.” Amanda sighed, giving her friend what she hoped was a comforting look. “It’s gonna be okay. We’re gonna go home and never come back here again. It will be like nothing ever happened. No one ever has to know we were here.”

“THERE THEY ARE!” Both borrowers whipped around to see the human from earlier, pointing right at them. Amanda gulped.

Allison froze and looked around the halls. There was nowhere to run, not from a human. Hiding wouldn’t do them much good, but it was their only option. “Back to the plant!” Allison whispered and dragged Amanda towards their last hiding spot. She prayed the human would just leave them alone.

“Dan! People are sleeping.” Phil whispered, looking at his best friend in concern.

“No, I saw them!” Dan continued to almost yell. He began to storm over to the spot where the borrowers had stood moments before. “They went behind that plant.”

“Oh no.” Amanda clutched her friend, suddenly very scared.  “I forgot my hook back there.” Sure enough, the hook was lying right in front of Mark and Jack’s door, abandoned.

“I think that’s the least of our problems at the moment.” Allison said as the human stormed closer. He knew exactly where they were. There was nothing they could do. She started to shake.

“Seriously Dan, there isn’t anything there. Now come on before we wake someone.” Phil followed Dan and tried his best to drag him back to the room. Dan needed more sleep or something.

“Phil, just help me move this plant.” Dan argued, trying to shift the heavy pot. Amanda flinched as the pot moved. She closed her eyes and prepared for the worst.

“What is all the racket out here!” Jack shouted as he opened the door. He paused when he saw who it was.

“Dan? Phil?” Phil gave a small sheepish wave.

“Uh...hi.” Dan stood there, awkwardly half-crouched with his hands on the pot. “This probably looks a little strange.”

Jack blinked. “Um, yeah just a bit. What the heck are you two doing?”

“Well, it’s gonna sound even stranger.” Dan cleared his throat. “I’m, uh, looking for...tiny people?”

Jack just stared at him while Phil facepalmed. “Tiny...people?” Jack asked slowly.

“I saw a tiny girl steal my pizza last night..” Dan finished lamely, slowly beginning to stand up as he let go of the plant.

Jack leaned over to Phil. “Is he okay?” He whispered. Phil shrugged.

“Honestly, not sure.” Phil shook his head. “Come on Dan, let’s head back to our room.”

“But the-!” Dan stopped, seeing the look on Phil’s face. “okay.” Dan followed Phil into their room, glaring at that plant the entire time. Dan knew what he had seen, even if everyone else thought he was crazy.

“Night!” Jack waved to them and was about to go back inside his own room when something on the floor caught his eye. Curious, he picked the object up and studied it. It seemed to be an earing with a string attached to it.

“That’s weird.” Jack muttered to himself. Well, he wasn’t about to leave it out here. He closed his hand around it and went back into his room.

“That was close.” Amanda breathed out once she could feel her heart beating again. She looked up to see that Mark and Jack’s door was locked, as the green light had turned red.

“Way too close.” Allison said, still shaking a little. She looked back at the closed door. “Looks like we’ll be waiting a little longer…” She trailed off.

“What are we gonna do about your hook?” Allison asked, worried. Their hooks were arguably the most important tool to them. Without it, it was near impossible to get around.

“I don’t know.” Amanda shook her head sadly. “But as soon as we get back in there, I’ve got to find it. Do you remember how long it took us to find two earrings in the first place? I’m not gonna sit around for months or, heck, even years hoping an earring appears in a grown man’s house while you’re stuck doing enough borrowing for the both of us.”

Allison winced at the thought of borrowing all that stuff alone. “Yeah, hopefully he puts it somewhere that’s easy to find and get into.” Allison sighed and leaned back against the wall.

“Welp, guess we got some more waiting to do.”

“Oh, great.” Amanda threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. “And what are we gonna do when Dan comes back? Because you know that he’ll come looking for us. He’s seen too much.”

Allison sighed. “I guess we just have to hope Mark or Jack open the door before then? I don’t know. We can’t exactly move, we need to be here when the door opens.”

Amanda huffed, sitting down on the floor and keeping both eyes on the door. She hated being patient.

Both girls froze when a different door opened, Dan peeking his head back out into the hall.

“No, Dan.” Phil said, pulling him back in and closing the door. Allison blinked and couldn’t stop a small chuckle from escaping.

“Okay, that was kind of funny.”