#she's a red flight groupie

[ooc-miqojak]

How do you feel about the Dragonflights as a whole?

"As a whole? I... am a bit biased, really. While serving in the Northrend Campaign, we worked alongside the Reds to fight both the maddened Blues, and the Scourge, and I became fast friends with the young drake I fought alongside. We were both defenders of life, with so much in common... and you often grow close to those you fight alongside in war, no? But we've saved each other's lives more than once over the years, and I have nothing but respect for him and his flight - and frankly, all the rest as well. Their jobs aren't easy ones - they probably have the most burdensome responsibilities one could imagine... and the Titans just fucked right off. They altered them and left... a feeling I know well. I don't share their love for their makers, and I think it was a shit thing to do... especially considering the ramifications for all life when Neltharion went mad, at the whispers of a thing unknowable. Did the Titans not know about the Old Ones? Did they not think them capable of turning such powerful creatures, if the Titans, themselves, could?"

Here, there's a long, slow sigh - and a roll of slender shoulders, "I don't blame the dragons for the hubris of the Titans. They were made pawns, and have been made pawns more than once in Azeroth's history, because everyone wants a piece of their power - so I respect them, really, more than any other mortal leader. Who else could have borne the charge that Alexstrasza has, since practically the dawn of time, at that, and could have remained impartial? Who could forgive, and help mend wounds to any being, regardless of race, politics, harm done... I may find them too forgiving, but I respect their capability to do so, all the same."

[elliewithcellie]

Girl, Interrupted

summary: Eddie crashes by your home when you least expected, but everything happens for a reason, right?

wc: 1.8k

cw: PURE SMUT (MDNI 18+), basically no plot, friends to fwb?, oral (f receiving), Eddie is a tease, fairly bold reader lol, fingering, talk of p in v sex, hair pulling, orgasms idk let me know what else

a/n: my bestie bought me slutty pajamas for my birthday, and since I'm a hypothetical whore, this has been on my mind nonstop. Finally took a break from my spn series to write this down. This is the filthiest thing I've written to date but definitely short and sweet

Eddie’s jaw fell slack as the door opened before him. He knew he shouldn’t have shown up to your place uninvited. Sure, you were his best friend, and of course, you had said he could come over whenever, but that never truly meant unannounced. He was already kicking himself for showing up as late as he did when you opened the door.

Your oh so short pajama shorts were the first thing that caught his eye, how your thighs spilled out beneath them, the cotton begging for relief. His eyes trailed higher to your tank top one size too small. The hem rested just above your midriff, the outline of your hips more prominent than he had ever seen. Your face was flush, pinks and reds lining your cheeks. He fought the urge to pinch himself, scared that he was dreaming, scared that he’d wake up to the absence of you and very real feelings emerging.

“Eddie? What are you doing here?” you asked, your arms crossing over your chest. “I thought you had a date.”

Date, what date? Eddie’s mind was going numb. His brain was flatlining at the mere sight of you, more exposed to him than he’d ever seen you. Fight or flight kicked in, debating on whether to say something or just turn around and leave. He was almost sure he was not supposed to see you in this state.

“I—uhh—it didn’t go well, so I cut it short. But I know you love the place, so I figured I’d bring over the leftovers.”

“Oh, sweet. Thank you.”

Eddie hesitated, scared to ask, but his interest piqued. “Is someone—you’re alone right now, right?”

Your eyebrows pinched together. You exhaled a dry laugh. “Please, I’m always alone. Come in. Tell me about your date.”

You ushered Eddie inside and settled into your couch. You pulled a blanket over you, and Eddie released a sigh. He couldn’t believe the hold you suddenly had on him. It was like he was in high school again, ready to combust at the sight of a shoulder. At least with your legs covered, he was less inclined to think about spreading them.

“Was it really that bad?” you asked, drawing Eddie from his thoughts.

“She was just so boring,” Eddie complained. “Like, there’s nothing wrong with her, but it was like we were from different planets! She didn’t know Metallica! How am I supposed to bond with someone when there’s nothing to relate to?”

“Did you think of showing her?”

“Showing her what?”

“Metallica!” you laughed. “Wouldn’t that be kind of romantic, you know, to introduce that to her? Maybe tell her you’re in a band? It’d be like showing her a whole new world. And maybe you’d get a groupie out of it.”

Eddie swatted at the air. “It’s not worth it. We were both bored. And it was clear she wasn’t looking to rock with a guitarist.”

“Oh, I highly doubt that.”

“You didn’t meet her. She’s pristine, a Chrissy Cunningham type. Meant to be with a lawyer or some shit.”

You leaned in closer to Eddie, your blanket sliding down your thighs. “Those are the girls who fantasize about guys like you the most. Those girls on the straight and narrow, the ones who seemed destined to be sweet stay-at-home moms or perfect career women, those are the ones who dream of just one night doing something they never thought they could. Something so wild that when they’re taking their kids to soccer practice, or their ‘perfect husband’ is asleep on the recliner while they're doing the dishes, they can think back to that wild night when they fucked a rockstar.”

Eddie’s lip trembled as chills coursed through his body. You leaned back against the couch and shrugged like what you said was nothing. You had to be on something, he decided. Never had you been so frank when the topic of sex came up. Your face was still flushed with color, and you couldn’t seem to find a comfortable position on the couch, shifting yourself from one side to the other to no specific rhythm. Heat radiated off of you, though you weren’t known to be the furnace between the two of you. Something struck Eddie as so foreign but so familiar as he took you in.

“Would you fuck a rockstar?” Eddie found himself saying.

Heat rose to your cheeks. “Do I seem like one of those straight-and-narrow girls to you?”

“That’s not what I asked,” Eddie said, a newfound confidence overtaking him. “You came up with that way too fast to act like you don’t think of it, too. So, would you fuck a rockstar?”

You bit your lip and shifted in your seat. You huffed into the couch. “Wouldn’t anyone?”

“Why so shy all of a sudden?” Eddie asked, egging you on. “You’ve been squirming since I got here, sweetheart. Is something on your mind?”

Your eyes trailed from his eyes to his lips, then back to his eyes. “Tonight is not the night to ask me that.”

“Why is that?” Eddie chuckled. “Were you in the middle of something? Was something left unfinished when I so rudely interrupted? And now all you can think about is the ache between your legs?”

You shuddered at his words. “Eddie,” you said, your voice shaking.

“I could help you.” Eddie leaned closer, his words almost a whisper. “Because I may not be a rockstar, but I’m sure I could give you the night of your life.”

Your breath hitched in your throat. “Don’t tease me. It’s not funny.”

“No one’s laughing.” Eddie pulled the blanket back, his hands resting on your thighs. Your legs slightly opened on instinct. “What kind of friend would I be, huh? If I didn’t at least offer?”

Eddie didn’t know where this bravado came from, but he didn’t care. All he knew was the longer you looked at him like that, the harder he got.

You grabbed him by his shirt and forced his lips on yours. Nothing soft or sweet came from your lips. You were needy and desperate, clinging to him like he was the air in your lungs.

The urgency shocked Eddie, but he quickly found your rhythm. He smirked against your lips as he pulled his jacket off. His hands snaked from your thighs to your hips to your ass, lifting you onto his lap. You groaned into his mouth as he rolled you against him.

He was sure he was dreaming now. Only there did he ever picture you above him, grinding your hips into his. Only there did he imagine you moaning from his touch. But never were his dreams this vivid, this real, this fucking good.

He pulled you from him and pushed you back onto the couch. You whined at the loss of contact. He’d never seen your eyes so dark, so lustful, so hungry for him.

He slid down to the floor onto his knees and pulled you to the edge of the couch. “You still want my help, sweetheart?”

You nodded emphatically.

“I need to hear you, baby. Say it.”

“Please help me, Eddie. I need you. Please.”

“Atta girl.”

You lifted yourself up as Eddie pulled your shorts down your legs. Eddie’s cock jumped at the sight of you. He bit his lip to maintain what little composure he had left.

“Aww, your poor little pussy’s just as needy as you, isn’t she?” He spread your knees apart, the cold metal on his fingers sending chills up your spine. The throbbing between your legs only intensified, a small whimper escaping your lips.

Eddie couldn’t wait any longer. There was no time for teasing, no time to explore. You needed him, and he was going to deliver.

He dove into your aching pussy like a man starved. You jumped at the contact, your hands flying to his hair. His tongue worked overtime, kitten-licking your clit before diving in for more.

“You taste so good, sweetheart,” he said, smiling against you. You moaned in response, grabbing a fistful of his hair and pulling him closer.

Your sounds turned him on even more, searching for his own release as he rubbed himself against the couch. His mind was in a daze, in utter disbelief that anyone could look so perfect for him with your legs spread and your back arched. Your chest rose and fell to the rhythm of his tongue, and your lips formed a perfect ‘o’. Oh, how Eddie wanted to feel your lips around his cock. How you’d sink down on him, your perfect innocent mouth being completely sinful just for him.

He placed a finger at your entrance and pumped in and out, his thumb now circling your clit. Your head fell back. “God, yes, Eddie. Just like that.”

“I need you to do something for me, baby,” Eddie said as he added a second finger.

“Wha—what’s that?” you asked, breathless.

“I need you to tell me what you think of when you get off. Tell me what you were thinking of before I showed up at your door.”

“I—I oh god,” you shouted as Eddie’s lips found your clit. “I—I thought about you on your fucking date.”

“Oh fuck,” Eddie groaned into your pussy, the vibrations shooting up your spine.

“I pictured you fucking her from behind, her skirt hiked up to her hips, her panties to the side as you fucked her in front of the bathroom mirror.”

“Fucking C—Christ,” Eddie stuttered, his hips rutting into the couch faster. “Keep going.”

“Then it was me you were fucking. You grabbed me by the hair, so I could watch what you were doing to me,” you said, your voice shaking with every word. “Eddie, please. I’m close. Please.”

“Come on, baby. You can do it. Tell me what I was doing to you.” He was past dreaming at this point. He was sure this was heaven. Hearing your words had him reeling. He didn’t want to stop, didn't know how to stop. He just knew he needed to see you come.

Your lip trembled. “Your hands were all over me, playing with my tits, your lips on my neck, and—and your big cock pounding into me over and oh-ver and—and Fuck! Eddie, don’t stop! Please, please, please!”

Your orgasm crashed down on you, expletives and Eddie’s name on your lips. Eddie continued to pump his fingers in and out of you like a madman as he lapped up your cum.

“Oh god, oh fuck!” he moaned against you.

You pushed his head off of you and caught your breath. Eddie took a breath, too, leaning back against his heels. You pulled him back up to you and kissed him, tasting yourself on your lips.

“That… was so hot,” Eddie said, releasing a breath.

“Can it be my turn to help you?” you asked, looking up at him through your eyelashes.

Eddie’s cheeks rouged slightly, his eyes trailing to the growing wet spot on his jeans. “I had a turn already,” he said, guilt painting his words. He leaned in toward you, a devilish smirk joining his features. “But I’m not done with you. Not yet.”

[picqued]

( RILEY KEOUGH .  CIS WOMAN .  SHE/HER)  - the  chicago  resident , (  ROBYN "BOBBIE" SUMMERS ) ,  was  heard  blaring  (  RED DRESS / SUGABABES  )  this  morning  .  the  ( THIRTY-TWO )  year  old  is  a  (  rock journalist  )  in  the  city  &  has  lived  the ( west ) tower  for  (  six months  ) .  since  being  here  ,  they  have  been  told  to  be  ( -  irreverent )  ,  but  also  ( + irrepressible ) ,  i  guess  we'll  find  out  soon  !   [  n  ,  25+  ,  gmt+8  ,  she/her]

HISTORY (badly written abridged edition)

born in san francisco. neglectful parents. great uncle was wonderful though, she idolised him. but he got old and died. sad.

bobbie started living the nomad life, living out of a van or a tourbus. a concert groupie if you will. she loved going to gigs. lived for it. she was going to amount to absolutely nothing and she didn't care. she watched friends hit 28 and suddenly switch their priorities, get real jobs, start thinking of responsibilities, insurance, health, bills, marriage, blah.

so what did she do? she started putting her feelings on social media. she documented her lifestyle, the groupie life. viewers started piling on because it was a little bit of a joke. until a few of her video commentaries started going viral on tiktok. oops.

long story short, the attention accumulated and she was offered a guest spot on a weekly column in a small magazine.

then on-video press junkets for musicians. now she's that one critic people try to watch their mouth with. she's annoyed. but it's nothing partying with the artistes won't fix!

PERSONALITY, TRAITS, HABITS, HEADCANONS

very athletic and a thrill-seeker, is the type to go cliff-jumping, drag-racing, and skydiving on a regular weekend, every weekend, if she's not at a gig

vintage girly

has too many vices

volatile, but also somehow careless and irreverent

the personification of bugs' bunny's 'nyeeeahh.... what's up doc?' only instead of a carrot she's chewing gum

can be immature

messy

will slash your tires if she decides you deserve it

fucking talks way too much

will annoy you to death, has no concept of boundaries

free the nipple baby

terrible enabler

has a sister who she hates so naturally she avoids family gatherings like it's the plague. family who?

amateur dj, she has no skill

will shove your enemies down a flight of stairs for you and then smile prettily

is the epitome of jessica simpson asking 'is this fish or chicken? what i'm eating' iykyk

CONNECTIONS

she needs mom-friends clearly

people she met on her travels years ago made an impression and disappeared into the night like a figment of their imagination and then suddenly she's in their building kicking the vending machine

weed-buddies

exes

i'm bad at this i'll come up with more, eventually.

basic information:

full name: robyn evangelista "bobbie" summers

nickname(s): bobbie, bobberino, bob-cat, bambi

age: 32

date of birth: november 28th

place of birth: san francisco

nationality: american

gender: cis woman

pronouns: she/her

orientation:  bisexual

language(s) spoken: english, bad spanish, bad mandarin

accent: basic californian accent

family ties:

mother: courtney summers ( estranged )

father: gill summers

siblings: none

spouse / partner: none

children: none

pets: groot, her pet rock

[brunette-barbie4562]

Uncharted (Duff McKagan X OC)

Summary: Unsure of her next steps in life, Carreen Joy "CJ" Thompson finds herself taking a job working under the Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan during the Not in the Lifetime... Tour. She faces the fast-paced and foreign world of rock n' roll, touring, and groupies, as well as blossoming taboo feelings for her boss.

-

Chapter three is here :) There is a lot of dialogue in this one and a flashback. Let me know what you think!

Trigger Warnings: Child abuse, drug use, homophobia

-

3

May 2017

Conrad Dublin Hotel / Dublin, Ireland

CJ stood by the entryway of the hotel room, unsure of what to say or do as Axl beamed at her. His red hair was cut short, compared to the long straight hairstyle she had seen him with as a child. He looked casual in a pair of torn blue jeans and a graphic T-shirt, which helped her relax about her own laidback appearance. The room was a large suite and looked to have multiple rooms. She had walked into the living room area. She felt very put on the spot and smiled shyly back. He stood up and moved to hug her. As awkward as she was feeling, she readily accepted the hug, looking for some sense of familiarity in a foreign environment. He smelled lightly of cologne. When he pulled away, he said,

“It’s so good to see you CJ, it’s been so many years. Come sit, let’s talk.” He offered her the second armchair, opposite the one he had been sitting in. “Do you want anything? Water, tea, coffee? How was your flight? Any issues?” CJ opened her mouth and closed it again, unsure which question to answer first.

“I’m uh- I’ll just take some water, thanks.”

“Sparkling, or no?” She had to think for a moment to process what he had said. She didn’t think she had ever had sparkling water.

“Regular is fine.” He reached into a mini fridge and pulled out a water bottle and handed it to her. Beta had disappeared into another room, leaving them space and time to talk. She remembered the second part of his question and said “The flight was good, no issues. Just a quick layover in JFK.” He had taken a seat in the second armchair, sipping on a cup of coffee.

“And your pick up at the airport went well?” He looked at her with genuine concern. Other than her aunt and her aunt’s girlfriend, CJ had never had someone act so concerned over her.  

“Ya, it went well.”

“Good, I’m excited you are here.” He took another sip of his coffee. “You may not know this, but your aunt was a great help to me back in the day.” CJ smirked at the thought of some of the stories her aunt had told her and said,

“I know a little bit.”

“Your aunt has kept me up to date on you and your studies. I know you’ve been thinking about going back to school.” CJ had not expected him to ask about her schooling.

“Ya, I’m just not sure about it. Graduate school is such a commitment and I’ve been trying to weigh the pros and cons. I’ve been out of school for a few years now and I feel like I need to decide. I’ve wanted to work in the mental health field for most of my life and most of those positions require a master’s degree.” He smiled at her with that familiar bright white smile that she remembered from so many years ago.

“Well, you can spend at least the summer working with us and think about it, make some money, I want this arrangement to be perfect.” He put his drink down and laced his fingers together, leaning back thoughtfully. “Ever since your aunt gained custody of you, and even before that time, we spoke frequently about you. Time and different circumstances have kept me from visiting in person, but I feel like I’ve watched you grow up from afar. Mindy is family to me, which means you are family.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “You and I are very alike in our history and the fact that you are wanting to help others means a lot to me.” She sat in silence and did not dare interrupt him. “I’m not sure what you know about me or the others.” It wasn’t until he gave her a questioning look that she realized he wanted her to respond.

“Oh, uh, not much to be honest. I mean I’ve heard your music growing up with my aunt obviously and I love it.” CJ was somewhat more aware than she was letting on, not wanting to seem eager. She was not comfortable enough to tell him that as a child, she had spent her nights lying in a cold van or a roach infested bed listening to Guns N’ Roses on a CD player on repeat at a high volume, either to drown out screaming or to try to feel some connection to the aunt she desperately wished she could go live with on the other side of the country.

“Well, you’ll have plenty of time to familiarize yourself,” he said with a soft smile. “You have a few days before our first show. It’s late now, you’ll meet the others tomorrow.”

“Will I be spending most of my time with you and Beta?”

“You’ll see us often, especially Beta. I don’t leave my room much when we are at hotels, it can get chaotic. So, she does most of my errands for me.” CJ felt a twinge of confusion. If she was supposed to be an assistant, it seemed that Beta had already filled that role for Axl. He saw her perplexity and said, “You’ll be working alongside our bassist, Duff. His assistant had to leave unexpectedly for a family emergency and won’t be back anytime soon.” CJ could not remember which one Duff was and tried to think back to the old pictures she had seen of the band in her aunt’s house. “You’ll like him, he’s a good guy, not an ass. He has some daughters you’d probably enjoy meeting. Younger than you, but whenever they’re here there aren’t many other girls or women around.”

“Don’t forget Melissa and Meegan.” Beta called out from the other room, making CJ slightly jump.

“Ya, them too, they’ll enjoy having you along.” He reached over to an end table and picked up a folder. He opened it and pulled a key card out of it, handing it to her. “This is your room key, we are all on this floor, your room is 803 just down the hall. Your bags should already be in there.” He handed her the folder and said, “This week’s schedule is in there, up until we leave for the next show in Spain. Duff may have other additional things going on that aren’t on there, but this is the overall schedule for everyone.”

CJ quickly scanned the paper, feeling the creeping sensation of being overwhelmed. Axl must have seen it in her face and said, “Don’t worry, you’ll be able to meet him tomorrow and go over everything, but for the rest of the night,” he waved his hand in the air, “go relax, order some room service, and get comfortable, sleep-in late tomorrow.” She shut the folder and slipped it into her backpack. “Just text me when you’re awake and I can arrange for you and Duff to meet.” She pulled out her phone and had him add his phone number. When he was done, she stood up and hoisted her backpack up. While she still wasn’t completely understanding everything and needed time to process, she could feel the gravity of the situation and the opportunity she was being given. She was almost a little disappointed that she would not be working as Axl’s assistant. She had been there for about 30 minutes, and she could already sense his eclecticism and the intensity of his character, as well as his genuine care and concern for her. She never had a father figure in her life, or at least a good one that had stuck around.

“Thank you for everything,” she said, with a smile. Beta had opened the door for her, and she turned to leave.

“And CJ,” she turned back to him as he called after her. “Don’t be afraid to come hang out when you have free time. Like I said, you and your aunt are family to me. I want to get to know you.” At that, she grinned, felt tears come to her eyes, and her heart swelled.

“Definitely.”

-

Back in her room, CJ sat on the bed, still in somewhat of a daze. She had wiped the tears from her eyes. Her emotions had snuck up on her, as they usually did when somebody other than her aunt showed her a high level of affection or kindness. Even with extensive trauma therapy as a child and teen, it was not something she had been able to shake.

CJ let her backpack slide off her as she looked around. It was a large hotel room, not a multi-room suite like Axl’s, but still larger than a typical hotel room, or at least the ones she had been in. She stood up and walked over to the bathroom entryway, switching the light on. There was a beautiful garden-style tub that she suddenly could not get into fast enough. She turned the faucet to the highest heat possible to let it fill up as she stripped, tripping over her own feet as she pulled her shoes and pants off.

As CJ was about to step into the semi-filled tub, her phone began to ring, and she could see Mindy’s name flash across the screen. She picked it up, realizing she had forgotten to text her that she had made it in one piece.

“Are you alive?”

“Yes, I’m alive,” she said, “I just got to my room.”

“I was getting ready to text Axl and see where you were. Michelle and I were worried you know?” CJ heard Michelle, her aunt’s girlfriend, call out to her in the background.

“Well, I’m fine, everything went fine.” Before her aunt could speak CJ said, “You never told me you were so close with Axl Rose.”

“I thought you knew that.”

“I knew you were friends but he’s acting like I’m his niece or something. Talking about how we are like family. I was just surprised is all, I was not expecting such a grand welcome. Felt like he was rolling out a red carpet and the last time I saw him in person was over 20 years ago.” Mindy was silent on the other end and CJ thought maybe the line had gone dead. “Hello?”

“He’s had a hard time with his mental health.” Her aunt’s tone had dropped an octave. “I was there for him in some of his worst moments, Carreen. For a long time, I was always worried he wouldn’t make it. When he began touring and I moved away from Sunset, we didn’t see each other in person, but he’d often call in distress, needing help.” Throughout her childhood and teen-hood, CJ had never inquired about her aunt’s evening phone calls with the vocalist. “At one point, in fall of ‘96, he offered me a job to come work for him and live in LA, but I couldn’t at that time. I was at consumed with trying to track you and your mom down after she had fled. I had spent years setting up a stable life and home here in Redding in hopes of gaining custody, saving money for a lawyer and a private investigator. You were my priority, he understood that. Fortunately, he had Beta to support him in person.” CJ let her aunt’s words process and could only say,

“Wow.”

“He was a great help to me too. When you came to live with me and I had won custody, I thought I was over the hump. I didn’t realize there would be so much more. I hadn’t thought about it, I was just so happy to finally have you safe.” CJ understood that her aunt meant her PTSD. “I thought my love, safety, and warmth would be enough. But I was wrong. I didn’t know how to handle some of it, even with the professionals I had to help. I didn’t know what it was like for you. But he knew. He gave me the insight I needed to help you in the way you needed. He knew what it was like to grow up that way.” Her aunt’s words were sombering. She had processed much of her trauma in therapy over the years, so much so, that her PTSD symptoms were mostly dormant. Residual sensory hypersensitivities, some self-esteem issues, and the occasional nightmare was all that she dealt with anymore. But she had been unaware of the fact that her aunt had struggled so much in the beginning. She should have figured, but she had never thought about it.

“Well, that makes sense. He seemed to know a lot more about me then I had expected.”

“I’m going to tell you something that you cannot tell him that you know.”

“Ok.”

“I told you that your financial aid had covered all your college expenses, that wasn’t true. When Axl found out you were going to college for psychology, he paid for the entire four years.” CJ stood in stunned silence. “He insisted. He has no children of his own and he already felt invested in your upbringing, after all the help he gave me in the beginning. But he didn’t want anyone to know, he doesn’t like recognition for things like that.”

“Damn, next you’re gonna tell me he’s my dad.”

“No,” Mindy said with a laugh. “Trust me, your mom was nowhere near Sunset in 1988.” CJ had stopped wondering about who her father was a long time ago, she doubted her mother had even known. Now that the seriousness of the conversation had been broken, Mindy asked, “So, did he set you up in a nice room?”

“It is really nice,” said CJ, “We talked for a bit, he told me to sleep in tomorrow and then I’ll meet everyone else.”

“He doesn’t already have a fuck ton of work for you to get through,” said Mindy jokingly.

“No actually I’m not working under him, I’ll be working as an assistant for a guy named Duff.” She heard Mindy scoff.

“Duff? He didn’t tell me it was Duff who needed an assistant.” She could practically hear Mindy rolling her eyes through the phone. CJ laughed in amusement at her aunt’s annoyance.

“Why what’s wrong with him?”

"Nothing, he's just-" Mindy paused and didn't complete her thought. "He's sober now with a family, so I'm sure he's different."

"I was afraid you were gonna tell me he was a prick."

"No, he won't be to you. I'm sure you'll do fine with him." Mindy paused before saying, "Or you call me, and I'll take care of him for you."

“Well, that was like 100 years ago,” said CJ with a joking tone.

“I’m not that old, don’t you age me up like that.” said Mindy playfully.

“I’m hoping to catch onto things quickly for him, I don’t want to be a drag.”

“You will, just don’t forget to enjoy yourself too.”

“I’ll try.”

“Ok, well I’m gonna head over to the office to get some work done. Michelle and I are taking off Thursday to go down the coast for a little vacation, so I have some things to finish up before then. Especially now since DUFF has hijacked my trusty office assistant.” She emphasized Duff’s name with a hint of annoyance that made CJ smile.

“Ok sounds good, I’m gonna settle in and maybe order some food. I’ll text you before I go to bed. Love you.”

“Love you too.” CJ set her phone down on the bathroom counter as the call ended. Her conversation with her aunt had resonated within her. She hadn’t known things had run so deep between Mindy and Axl, but it made everything make sense.

CJ was suddenly aware of the cold air on her naked body and the tub nearly running over. She jumped to shut off the faucet.

-

After her bath, it had taken CJ an agonizing 30 minutes to decide what she wanted to eat from the room service menu. There were so many good options, and she was painfully aware of the expense of everything. She knew it was covered, but she felt herself weighing the price of everything as she selected what she wanted. If they were in America, she’d be able to go across the street and grab some Subway or maybe Chipotle, but she wasn’t about to leave the hotel in an unknown country to try to order something cheaper elsewhere. Additionally, all she had eaten for the past 16 hours was airport food and she needed something substantial to balance her stomach out. CJ’s growing hunger overtook her moral hang-ups about the expense of everything, and she finally settled on an appetizer of salmon gravlax, butternut squash ravioli for her meal, and crème brulee for dessert.

While waiting for food, CJ lay on the bed and flipped through television channels, not finding anything that piqued her interest. Instead, she took out her phone and decided to do some Googling. She first googled “Guns N’ Roses” and several pictures popped up. She pressed on the first one, which looked like it was from the 80’s. She immediately identified Axl Rose, front and center of the group, with his long red hair. Which one was her boss. She scrolled over onto another picture, which was much more familiar to her. It was a photo of the band, all sitting on a rug together, with Axl standing up on the right. It was the picture that was on the back of the Appetite for Destruction CD case her aunt had gifted her so many years ago. The CD and a CD player were the last things she had been given by Mindy before her mother had decided to flee California to avoid Children Protective Services.

_

July 1995

Mindy’s House / Redding, California

A 6-year-old CJ trembled in excited anticipation in the backseat of her mother’s little four door sedan as it cruised down a familiar wooded backroad. It was a hot 90-degree day in the dead of summer. CJ had been waiting for several months to see her aunt Mindy and return to her house in beautiful rural northern California. Her mother had been telling her they would go visit her aunt “soon.” She always told her “soon.” CJ was never sure how soon “soon” would be.

It had been about 4 months since they had last visited her aunt. CJ missed the days where she and her mother had lived with her aunt. They had lived with Mindy for about six months back in 1994. CJ had loved it. She had gotten to go to school, had all the food she wanted, and slept in a quiet, safe, and warm house. She didn’t have to wonder when her next meal would come or where she would sleep, listen to fighting or screaming, or tip toe around her explosive mother. The arrangement had gone badly when her mother and aunt had begun to fight about her mother’s increasing drug use, her lack of attention to CJ, and tendency to steal money to buy more heroin. It wasn’t long after that her mother had decided to move in with her new boyfriend in Sacramento. He had kicked them out recently, and now they were back to couch surfing and staying in her mother’s car. CJ was hoping that maybe, just maybe, she would get to stay this time. She often wished that her aunt was her mom.

The car turned off the main paved road onto a dirt road and CJ sat up higher in her seat to get a better look out the window. There were a few other homes scattered alongside the roadway and it was a five-minute drive to the end of the road where her aunt’s house was. The trees thinned on the right and finally opened up to an expansive field. The road curved along the edge of the trees, all the way up to her aunt’s light blue ranch-style home at the end. The house faced the rolling field and backed up to the forest.

As the car pulled up to the house, her aunt Mindy stepped out the front door, grinning widely. The car had barely come to a stop when CJ opened the door and jumped out. She ran to her aunt, who picked her up and held her in a tight hug. CJ hugged her back as best she could.

“I missed you, auntie.”

“I missed you too sweetheart, very much.” Her aunt gently set CJ back down. CJ’s mother approached the two slowly, a pinched look of annoyance on her face. Mindy’s smile disappeared as she looked up at her sister and her tone changed.

“Heather, good to see you.” Unable to contain herself, CJ couldn’t help but blurt out,

“Can we stay with you this time? I don’t like sleeping in the car. I want to stay here.” There was a flash of distress on Mindy’s face before she smiled softly at CJ and said,

“We’ll talk about it later. For now, why don’t you run inside and grab some cookies. I just took them out of the oven for you.” Her focus now on cookies, CJ gasped and darted in the house, leaving her mother and aunt in a tense silence.

-

After she had her fill of cookies, CJ wandered around her aunt’s home, going from room to room. It was your average middle class American home, but to CJ it was like a beautiful, quiet, and clean safe haven full of soft furniture, an abundance of toys for her to play with, and the delicious smell of cookies. She looked out the window at the beautiful rural landscape. The rolling green fields went on for a mile before dissolving into a distant tree line. It was a sunny day, and beyond the trees, she could see distant mountains. Everything was so quiet and peaceful here compared to Sacramento. She was eager to get outside and play in the field. The tall grass was the same height as her and it gave her a sense of shelter and peace to lay in it and look up at the deep blue sky. Additionally, there were so many little critters and insects for her to observe and investigate. Her focus was broken as she heard her aunt call out to her from the kitchen. She turned away from the window and saw her aunt standing in the doorway, holding a wrapped gift.

“I just thought I’d give you your birthday gift. I know it’s a little late, but I didn’t get a chance to give it to you last time.”

“What is it!?” Her aunt sat down on the couch and held out the package to her.

“Go ahead and open it.” CJ quickly climbed up onto the couch with her aunt and made quick work of the wrapping paper. Based on the box, she quickly recognized that it was a CD player. She had never been gifted anything so expensive or special. “Here, this goes with it.” Her aunt pulled out a small CD box. “This is my friend’s music; I hope you’ll like it.” CJ could not read the words on the front, but the picture depicted a cross with five skulls on each end. It could be any type of music, it didn’t matter. CJ finally had something that was all hers. She watched intently as her aunt opened the box for her and plugged the headphones in. The moment was broken when she heard her mother clear her throat. CJ looked up to see her standing in the doorway, watching them with disdain. CJ felt cold fear. That look was usually followed up with a beating. She jumped when she felt her aunt run a hand softly down the back of her head and say,

“Why don’t you take it out into the yard and give it a listen. I’ll get dinner started.” Never one to question adults, CJ nodded and hopped off the couch and scurried out the back door, happy to be away from her mother’s glare.

-

Mindy waited for her niece to close the back door before she rounded on her sister. She wanted to leap from the couch and hit her, to show her the same treatment she had been giving to CJ. But instead, she took a deep breath, calmly standing up. If this was going to work, she needed to stay calm and collected. She could not lose her cool. Her niece’s life was at stake. She cleared her throat and said,

“Why don’t we go sit down and talk, catch up. It’s been awhile.” Heather didn’t respond and continued to glare at her. Mindy didn’t wait for her response and began to walk towards the kitchen, her head down.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing,” Heather hissed at her. Mindy paused at her sister’s words, thinking carefully about the best way to respond. “This stupid little act you’re putting on. Auntie of the year. We shouldn’t have come. I knew this would happen.” Her sister turned to leave the room and Mindy looked up at her.

“Where did the bruises around her neck come from Heather?” Her sister stopped in her tracks but did not look at Mindy.

“It’s none of your goddamn business. You’re not her parent.” There was a moment of silence and Heather finally looked up to meet her gaze. Mindy looked her in the eyes, unafraid of her sister’s erratic behavior. She was reminded of how alike they were in appearance. The same long wavy dirty blonde hair, brown eyes, heart shaped face structure. However, the healthy fullness in her sister’s face had been lost to drug addiction. Her eyes were sunken and cold, she was pale, and her face was covered in scars and acne from prolonged drug abuse. A stranger on the street would no longer peg them as siblings, even though it had been obvious when they were both healthy. Her sister continued to speak, “Don’t think I don’t see what you’re doing here. The cute little house, a stable job for the first time in your life, you’re not taking her.” Mindy’s entire plan to gently approach her sister about relinquishing custody was blown. Since her niece’s birth, Mindy had tip toed around her sister, realizing how poor of a parent she would be. She had initially tried to be optimistic, hoping Heather would pull it together for her child, but it quickly became abundantly clear that she wouldn’t. Mindy had not wanted to lose access to CJ, but she could no longer sit and watch Heather neglect and abuse her. Mindy took a deep breath and said,

“I’m not doing anything Heather; I want you two to come here and have a safe place to start over, without the drugs and the revolving door of men.” She looked at her sister imploringly, wanting to plead and beg. “CJ should be in school, spending time with other kids, you should be happy and healthy here with me. I want things to be how they were when we were kids. Do you remember how we were? We told each other everything.”

“Bullshit,” said Heather, “You were always mom’s favorite. I was always doing something wrong. Mom never let me forget it. And now you’re still trying to continue to be miss perfect. I am raising CJ how I see fit, it’s none of your business. I’ll do what I want with her, she belongs to me.” Mindy moved closer to her sister, and gently took her hands in her own.

“Please Heather, please stop this. Come stay here. Let me get you the help you need. I’ll pay for whatever you and CJ need. Just stop using, it’s made you a stranger. I love you two so much.” Heather roughly pulled away from Mindy and continued towards the door.

“We are leaving, this was a mistake, I knew it.” Mindy felt a flare of anger. She did genuinely care for her sister, but her primary concern was her niece. In a bitter voice, she called out after her.

“Where are the bruises from Heather? What’s your excuse this time? You can’t tell me that child “fell” on the playground, or she did it to herself. I know you have her in and out of drug houses. If you didn’t do it to her one of your boyfriends did.” Her sister turned and exploded in anger.

“You don’t know anything you stupid dyke!” Mindy was unbothered by the slur and against her better judgment, she quickly stalked over to her sister, getting up in her face, looking down on her. Mindy was 6 foot tall compared to her sister’s smaller 5’6”.

“You can give me custody, or I’m calling CPS. You are abusing her, exposing her to strangers who could hurt her. It’s a miracle she isn’t dead already. That child should be in school. At her age, it’s illegal that she’s not, and the state will investigate for that reason alone, never mind the bruises and malnourishment. I have documentation of your abuse and neglect from day one, don’t think you can win this battle Heather.” She expected her sister to physically attack her. But instead, Heather smirked and said,

“You call CPS and hire as many fancy lawyers as you want and see how that goes for you. You’ll never see us again.”

-

CJ was in her own world, sitting cross legged in the backyard, messing with her new CD player. She had just begun to listen to the first song on the CD when she felt a hand grab her by the upper arm and abruptly pull with enough force that she was lifted into the air. She screamed, clinging to her CD player and CD case so she did not lose it. She heard her mother’s angry voice.

“Let’s go, we are leaving!” It took a moment for CJ to realize what was happening. Her mother was roughly dragging her towards the car, and she would not be staying with her aunt. “Say goodbye, you’ll never see your aunt again.” CJ screamed and cried, fighting against her mother’s pull.

“NO, I DON’T WANT TO LEAVE! LET ME STAY!” She began to scream for her aunt to help her as her mother had pulled open the back door of the car and was trying to stuff her inside. CJ held all of her limbs out against the frame of the car door like a starfish, in an effort to prevent her body from being shoved in. A cold shot of panic and adrenaline had set in, and CJ was able to briefly shove her mother backwards. However, it was not quick enough. As she tried to dart away, she was rag dolled and disoriented by a hard punch to the face. Her vision was blurry, and she could no longer summon any physical strength in her small body to fight back. She could hear her aunt screaming in horror and protest from somewhere nearby. She was aware of being roughly laid down in the backseat of her mother’s sedan. By some miracle, she could still feel the gifts her aunt had given her clutched in one of her hands. The driver’s door opened and shut with a slam and the car was suddenly moving abruptly. CJ caught a glimpse of her aunt’s tear streaked and screaming face in the car window. She could hear her hands clawing and pulling at the locked door handle in an effort to save her. But it was too late, her mother accelerated, and her aunt’s face was gone from the window. She tried to sit up but could not. Her head was pounding in pain, and she felt faint. She could do nothing but lay there and slip into unconsciousness.

-

May 2017

Conrad Dublin Hotel / Dublin, Ireland

A sharp knock on the hotel door distracted CJ enough to break her out of her trip down memory lane. She quickly closed the safari app on her phone. She got up and opened the door to find her dinner waiting on a tray. She quickly brought it inside, not wasting any time opening the trays and chowing down. The food was good, perhaps some of the best she’d ever had. She got halfway through her meal before she realized she had not ordered a drink. Not wanting to mess with the mini bar, she decided to go search for a vending machine.

-

Duff had finished his FaceTime call with Grace and lay back on his bed for a moment in his silent hotel room, taking a breath. His divorce two years ago had put an initial strain on his relationship with his daughters. Things had slowly grown back to normal, and they spoke on FaceTime most nights, especially he and Grace. Grace had always seemed to identify more closely with him, and the divorce had affected her harder than it had Mae. The girls had yet to join him on tour and trying to coordinate a time they could both come out was difficult with all of their activities. As amicably as things had ended, he still felt a sense of guilt over his daughters that he could not shake. He loved being a father, and his girls were his pride and joy.

The room felt warm, and he sat up to get himself a cold glass of water, not knowing if the room was actually hot or his anxiety was setting in. He got a glass and filled it and then searched for ice. When he realized he didn’t have any he remembered an ice machine at the end of the hallway. Duff listened at the door and couldn’t hear anyone outside. As much as he appreciated fans, he wasn’t looking to run into anyone tonight. He cracked the door to see no one out in the hall and decided to walk out. A small room at the end of the hallway was where he located the ice machine. He was surprised to see a woman standing at the vending machine, her back to him. Her long, thick, curly, brown hair hid much of her from view. He stuck his glass under the dispenser and pressed. The machine roared to life and the young woman jumped in surprise. She turned to look at him with a flash of fear across her delicate features. He was struck at her beauty; heart-shaped face, dark brown vixen eyes, light pink full lips, taller, and a killer hourglass figure that couldn’t be hidden under her sweatpants and cropped T-shirt. She was large-chested, and he couldn’t help but notice she didn’t appear to be wearing a bra. Not wanting to look at her too long, he smiled and said,

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” She gave him a small smile and turned back to the vending machine. She leaned down and grabbed her soda out of the slot before walking back up the hallway. He couldn’t help but glance at her one more time, admiring her. Don’t be a fucking creep McKagan, she’s gotta be half your age. Maybe if it was twenty years ago. He had a rule about keeping partners at an age-appropriate level. He didn’t want to be seen as one of those “old creepy rockstars” who solely went after young women. Since his divorce, he had fooled around a bit, but hadn’t been serious with anyone. He hadn’t dated in so long; he wasn’t sure he knew how to anymore. He kept his high libido satisfied and that’s as far as it went. Duff finished getting his ice and headed back to his room, trying to put the young woman out of his head.

[celinamarniss]

We Can't Keep Meeting Like This, chapter two, continued.

I'd like to post this chapter in its entirety next week (for personal reasons) which means I probably won't have time to serialize the entire thing on tumblr before I post it. That's why these chunks are so big, but even still, I think the chapter will go up on ao3 before it goes up here. That's just how things worked out this month.

Enjoy this preview. The whole chapter will be on ao3 soon.

Scorfo Brax made his money peddling spice and slaves, and his clubs were notorious for their vice and violence. The Vicious Diamond was a tower of neon, glass and steel in the Leisure Zone. The first two floors were dedicated to dance clubs, the pounding music and flashing lights spilling out onto the surrounding streets. A pair of tall KX-security droids, their black metal frames polished and gleaming, flanked the entrance. 

When Din held up the pass Greef had given, a green light at the top of the small device blinked on. The eyes of the bouncer droids flashed green in response. “An upper-level pass,” one of the droids said. “Go on up, gentlebeing. The pass will guide you.” 

The pass lit up as he stepped through the entryway, a blue-limmed holo of a map hovering in the air over the device. It led Din through the noisy clubs, up three more flights, and past several security checkpoints to the private lounge where Brax entertained a more exclusive clientele. 

The music here was slower, more intimate, pitched to provide a soothing background and not overwhelm conversation. An elliptical melody wound out of a chanteuse’s vocoder as she swayed on the bandstand, backed by two suited instrumentalists. No one was dancing. 

To Din’s left was a bar that curved out from the wall opposite the bandstand, with a wide array of colored bottles glowing under the lights, straight ahead the lights of the city gleamed though a window that stretched the length of the far wall. 

Various hangers-on in sequins and shimmerslik drifted around the room, interspersed with slaves and men who were obviously paid muscle. Most of the hangers-on were either doped into a drowsy haze or talking too loudly, laughing with the manic edge that meant too much spice consumption. 

One of Brax’s guests looked up and started intently at Din as he made his way through the room. The woman beside him lifted her head and followed his gaze, absently lowering the cocktail in her hand as she caught sight of Din. 

It took Din a moment to recognize the Jedi. 

They were dressed like the rest of Brax’s groupies. The low-cut silk shirt Luke wore was shot through with silver and his black pants and boots were very tight. The exposed lines of his collarbones shimmered with gold glitter. 

Mara wore an equally low-cut gown in black shimmer silk. Her hair was a shade darker than Din remembered—auburn instead of red-gold—but he couldn’t tell if it was just the lighting or if he’d been wrong about the color in the first place. She had it pinned up with a glittering array of decorative pins that caught the light as she turned he head. 

In heels she was about the same height as her husband—though he wasn’t acting like her husband now. He hovered at her elbow like one of the many obsequious slaves scattered around the room, attending to the every needs of the party’s guests. 

What were they doing among the sycophants in Brax’s inner circle? Had he completely misjudged these people? 

Mara was better at hiding her surprise than her husband. She flicked Din an indifferent look out of the corner of her kohl-rimmed eyes and turned back to continue her conversation with a thin, heavily tattooed woman beside her. Luke didn’t look away, and Din could feel his eyes on his back as he made his way through the lounge. 

Scorfo Brax was a barrel chested Berchestian with black glyphs tattooed across the maroon skin of his bare head. He sat sprawled across a large leather couch underneath the window the dominated the outer wall. A pair of bodyguards—a Kiffar built like a Imp walker and a tall Devarorian—stood behind the couch, and another pair—both human—sat in nearby loungers. 

When Brax saw Din, he passed his drink to the Zeltron slave plastered to his side. “How can we help you, Mandalorian?” he boomed. Several heads turned to watch. Din wondered if Mara and Luke were watching as well. 

“I was sent to collect Petyr Trask,” Din said. 

Brax nodded with a lift of his chin. “Yeah, heard you were coming. Shoudn’t be a problem, bounty hunter.” He jerked a hand at one of his thugs. “Go find Trask and bring him here. He’s probably holed up with some spice and a girl.” 

“It might be a while,” he said to Din. He waved at the room. “Enjoy yourself. My pleasure slaves are the best in the sector and the spice is free.” 

Dismissed, Din nodded and backed away, keeping one eye on Brax and his his entourage, though it seemed as though they had already put him out of mind. Brax had pulled the Zelton on to his lap and she was giggling loudly. Only the Kiffar had an eye on him. 

Another one of the Zeltron slaves approached Din, sauntering over with an exaggerated sway to her hips. The microscopic outfit she wore was a lavender several shades darker than her skin and made of some sort of material as slick and shiny as polyplast. A slave collar ringed her neck. 

“Can I get you something, sir? Ryll? Glitterstim?” 

“No, thank you,” Din said. 

“We have a in-house blend—the strongest in the sector.”

“No.” 

“A drink then. Companionship?” She batted heavy artificial lashes at him. 

“No, I don’t need anything right now. Thank you.” 

“Ah,” she sighed, eyelashes fluttering again. “Let us know, then.” She moved off toward the bar, hips swinging. 

Din could feel eyes on him. He shifted his weight, wanting to retreat to the shadowy edges of the room but not wanting to give the impression that he was there for any other reason than to pick up his bounty. 

He clocked movement to his left and turned his head to see the tattooed woman approach, drawing Mara along with her. Luke trailed behind them.

“Well, look at you,” the tattooed woman crooned. The tattoos running up her arms had a layered look, as though they had been re-inked to cover up old designs. “So shiny.” 

“A Mandalorian,” Mara said. “How novel.” Her accent was different than before—it was crisp and cultured, like something out of a holo. 

“I’ve heard of this one,” Tattooed said. “They say he never takes off his helmet.”

“Really? Never?” 

“It’s the way of my people,” Din said. 

Mara’s brows drew together, as if it was an answer she wasn’t expecting, but she didn’t question his answer. Luke had half-turned away from them, talking to a slave with a tray of drinks. 

“Your people don’t take vows of celibacy or anything like that, do they?” Tattooed asked. 

“Uh—no. Not…” 

“That’s good news,” Tattooed said. She leaned over and whispered in Mara’s ear. 

Mara dropped her eyes, slowly lifting them to crawl up Din’s body, from his boots to his helmet, as if she could see right through the armor and liked what she saw. The look on her face was predatory, hungry. Din felt heat rush to his face and was glad for his helmet. 

“Mmm-hmm,” she hummed. “That is something to think about.” 

“Greedy, Arica.” Tattooed chuckled, her laugh husky and suggestive. “You already have a toy to play with.”  

“Why not both?” 

Both? For a split second Din felt his brain grind to halt as he scrambled to comprehend what she meant by both, but before it could supply him with images to go with the words, Din shoved the thought firmly aside. He was losing focus. 

“Mistress?” Luke murmured. 

“Hmm?” Mara lifted her hand and Luke slipped a glass between her fingers, filled with a slightly frothing mauve liquid. 

“Yolec sent this drink over with his compliments.” 

“Thank you, pet,” Mara purred. She glanced across the room as clicked her tongue. “I suppose we’ll have to acknowledge him. How tiresome.” 

“Oh, but let’s go and see what he has to say,” Tattooed said. “It’s always outrageous.” 

“If you say so.” Mara flicked Din one last glance, and then turned to follow the other woman, Luke a step behind them.

[toomanystoriessolittletime]

Fantasy

Summary: Your fiancé Marcus takes you out to a concert of a band in a bar, neglecting to inform you of the part where he was part of said band.

Pairing: Marcus Pike x fem. Reader

Wordcount: 2.4k

Rating: E

Warnings: lil fluf, mostly smut (unprotected sex, oral male receiving, hint of cumplay, public sex)

A/N: Living out my groupie fantasy with this one

The doorbell rang as you put the finishing touches to your lipstick.  A bright red tone you had bought earlier today. Something bold, something you hadn’t tried before. 

You buzzed your visitor in, knowing who it was because he had texted you the moment he got here. 

You waited until there was a knock on your door, the familiar nervousness in your belly, the good kind. Because you knew when you opened the door he would be standing there. 

Your fiancé. Marcus. 

Fiancé.

You still couldn’t believe it, even when you looked down to your hand and saw the ring he had put on your finger last week. 

Marcus and you had met at the airport four months ago. 

He had been stuck on the same delayed flight from San Antonio to Washington after spending the holidays with his family. 

You had woken up mortified with your head leaning against his shoulder after the flight had been delayed for more than four hours. You had fallen asleep on a complete stranger. Thankfully without drooling on him. 

Instead of making a big deal out of it, he had invited you for coffee where even though you were sleep deprived, you had the pretty much perfect first date. 

You had never met anyone like Marcus Pike. 

He had the biggest heart, could always make you laugh, was incredibly good looking. Of course you fell head over heels for him. 

So when he asked you a week ago, kneeling in front of you in his boxer shorts after spending the night and making breakfast in the early morning, if you wanted to marry him, you had kissed him, mumbling yes against his lips while he slipped the ring on your finger. 

You had been sure he was the man you wanted to spend your life with the day after meeting him when he checked in on you only an hour after you parted ways at the airport, asking you out on a date the next day. 

You opened the door, finding Marcus already smiling at you, wearing dark jeans and a black henley. You bit your lip and he smirked.

Casual Marcus was still like a rare treat, even if you saw him naked almost every single day. 

“Hi sweetheart,” he said, stepping into your apartment, closing the door behind him. 

“Hi,” you smiled, pulling your hand behind his neck as you got on your tiptoes to kiss him softly. 

“You look very pretty,” he mumbled, kissing your nose, before he looked down at you. You had put on a loose skirt and a shirt when he had told you he would take you out to a concert at a bar. 

He took your hand, his smile widening when his thumb brushed over the ring, bringing your hand up to kiss it softly. 

“Ready?” he asked and you nodded. 

The bar was packed but Marcus led you right through it, your hand in his as you made your way towards the counter. The woman behind the counter greeted Marcus like an old friend, gesturing to the two empty seats with a wink after he had introduced you. 

“So people know you here, huh?” you asked after he sat down next to you, putting your hand on his knee. He smiled and nodded. 

“When I came here two years ago I… well you know I wasn’t in the past place and I got lost in the neighbourhood and landed here. Abby here became a very good paid hobby therapist for me since then,” he nodded towards the woman who walked over to the two of you with two bottles of beer in her hands. 

“And my wife thanks you for the tips. They paid for a whole weekend trip in the mountains,” she grinned and your eyes widened before you laughed at Marcus sheepish expression. 

“Just how much time did you spend here, baby?” you teased leaning into him. 

“I plead the fifth,” he smiled before he pecked your lips.

You sat with your back towards the counter, leaning with your back against it as you watched the band step on stage and begin to set up. 

“What are they playing?” you asked Marcus. He shrugged. 

“A little of everything?”

“They any good?”

“Might need some more practice,” he winked and you chuckled, taking a sip of your beer. He got up from his seat, kissing you softly.

“Save my seat for me?” he asked and you frowned.

“Where are you going?” 

He just grinned as he turned from you, making his way through the packed bar as you looked after him in confusion.

Which changed to you being absolutely speechless when he stepped on the stage, bumping his fist with the other men on stage. He pulled the sleeves of his shirt over his elbows and picked up the bass guitar. 

Your mouth dropped open as you saw him step towards the microphone, a small smile on his lips as his eyes found yours. 

Fuck. 

“Hi, we still don’t have a name but you know how it goes. If you have a suggestion, there’s a jar on the counter. Anyway, this is Under Pressure.”

You were… so fucking proud of him as you watched him on stage, playing his bass, singing some songs. He looked like he was having fun and the crowd absolutely loved it. 

You had crossed your legs as you watched you financé on stage. 

“He didn’t tell you huh?” you looked over your shoulder, finding Abby leaning over the counter looking at you with a grin. You shook your head. 

“I had no fucking idea,” you laughed turning your head to look at him again. You bit your bottom lip as he kept his eyes on you, his fingers flying over the strings of his bass. 

No wonder he was so good with his fingers. 

“They’re almost finished,” Abby said and sat a new bottle of beer down on the counter for him. You nodded thankfully at her as she leaned in.

“There’s a private bathroom down the hall that’s not in use,” she whispered against your ear and you chuckled quietly.

“Am I that obvious?”

“Yes, but the fuck me eyes he’s giving you were helpful too,” she grinned and you you shook your head, not even embarrassed before you turned towards the stage again. 

He made his way back to you through the crowd, shaking hands on the way. 

Meanwhile you could only stare at his hands and arms as his muscles flexed, leaving you an even bigger horny mess for the man who stopped just in front of you. 

His hair was sweaty, the top of his shirt unbuttoned, giving you a peak of his chest hair. 

He was smirking at you, as you tried to not jump him in front of all these people. 

Fuck, did he just get even more attractive? Your panties were drenched and you just wanted…

He leaned over you, his arms caging you in against the counter as he softly pressed his lip on yours. Softly. You groaned, bringing your hand up, one resting on the back of his neck while your other hand ran through his damp hair, bringing him closer to you. 

“Do you have any idea how wet I am for you?” you whispered against his ear and he parted from you, looking at you with dark eyes. One of his hands left the counter, now on your knee, slowly running up your thigh and under your skirt. Your eyes never left his, oblivious to the people around you as his hand went higher and higher until his fingers brushed over your soaked panties and he bit his lip with a groan. 

You kissed him again before you brought your lips to his ears. 

“Follow me to the private bathroom down the hall in a minute,” you whispered, kissing under his ear, before you jumped off your seat, putting your hand on his chest lightly so he let you out, looking over your shoulder as you made your way to the bathroom. 

As soon as the door clicked shut behind Marcus you had pushed him against the wall, your lips finding his in the barely lit room. Your hands ran down his chest, your fingers already working on his belt. 

“Fuck, sweetheart…” he sighed, tilting his head back as your hand pushed into his pants, your fingers wrapping around his half hard cock. 

“Do you have any idea how fucking hot it is to see all these people eying you and knowing you’re mine?”

You kissed his chin, his throat, his neck as you pushed his pants down, freeing his cock. 

“Wanted you in my mouth the whole fucking time…” you hummed and he huffed a breath. 

“So I take it, you liked my surprise?” he asked as you slowly got down on your knees in front of him, looking up at him with big eyes. 

“I fucking loved it. Let me live out my groupie fantasy, Pike,” you grinned, wiggling your eyebrows. 

“Ye’s Ma’am,” he laughed, his eyes on you as you spit on his cock.

“I want you in my throat Marcus,” you whispered, pumping his cock slowly.

“Jesus…” he moaned, one of his hands cupping your cheek.

You licked a trip from base to the head, kissing away the drops of precum already glistening at the tip, before you took him in your mouth. 

You sucked him off, starting out slowly, needing to get used to his size, taking him deeper and deeper, keeping your eyes on him and his beautifully wrecked face. He put his hand from your cheek to the back of your head, guiding your movements. 

You took him deeper, relaxing your throat so you didn’t gag. Saliva was dripping out of the corners of your mouth as you almost fully took him inside your mouth.

The red lipstick you had put on before leaving, left a red circle on the base of his cock. 

“Fuck… Fuck… Stop I wanna fuck you…” Marcus groaned and you let go of him, keeping your hand on his cock, pumping him slowly. 

“How do you want me?” you asked, your voice a little hoarse. 

“Get up and turn around,” he said and you let go of his cock, getting up. Before you turned around he grabbed you, kissing you hard, his tongue dipping into your mouth, as his hands ran up your thighs, pushing your skirt up. 

He let go of you and you turned around, your hands bracing yourself against the wall as you felt his hand on your ass, his fingers pulling against your panties until he ripped them apart, making you gasp, one of his hands dipping between your legs, his finger brushing through your folds. 

“Seeing me made you this wet?” he hummed. You nodded, biting your lip as you looked over your shoulder. He looked at you, bringing his fingers up to lick them clean before he stepped closer, his cock between your legs. One of his hands pulled your skirt up, keeping the fabric in his fist, while his other hand guided his cock inside of you in one fluent motion, making you both moan. His hand came to rest on your hip as he began to fuck you. 

Usually he took his time, taking you apart little by little until there was nothing but him on your mind but this… this was a pure feral need to have you. 

“So fucking sexy waiting for me…” he groaned, fucking you hard, the room filled with nothing but the sound of skin slapping against skin. 

“Want to fuck you all the time,” his fingers wrapped around your throat, keeping a loose grip.

“My future wife…” he moaned, his other hand letting go of your skirt, his hand finding its way under your shirt, squeezing your breast. 

“Baby…” you moaned, meeting his thrust as he fucked into you. 

“Gonna make you cum so hard on this cock…” he played with your nipple and you let your head fall back. He kissed your neck and you tilted your head until his lips found yours, his hand dropping from your breast to find your clit as he pulled you with your back against his chest. 

“Come with me,” he hissed against your lips. “Come with me so I can lick my cum out of you once we’re home.”

“Fuck… Marcus,” you gasped, his fingers flicking your clit as he pumped into you. 

“Gonna cum…” you whimpered just before your orgasm washed over you, making you hold on to Marcus arm still at your throat. 

“Fuck… Always get so fucking tight…” Marcus groaned fucking you through your orgasam until he stopped, flooding you with his cum. He kissed your shoulder, before he kissed you again, a small smile on his lips. 

“I love you,” you smiled against his lips and he chuckled. 

“Sorry for ruining your panties,” he said as he slowly pulled out of you, using the fabric to clean you up. 

“They’ve been ruined since you stepped on stage” you grinned and he chuckled. 

“If I had known you would fuck me in a bathroom of a bar if you saw me and my band, I’d have taken you on a concert on our first date,” he joked, as he threw your panties away into the trashcan next to the sink. 

“We would be married by now,” you joked. 

“I don’t see a problem with that,” he smiled before he kissed you.

You made out for a moment before he sighed against your lips.

“Come on, let’s get home.”

“Which one?”

“Yours. It’s closer,” he mumbled as you nodded. 

“I can’t wait till we move in together next week.”

“Me neither.”

He took your hand, opening the door and you grinned up at him. 

“What?” he asked. You got on your tiptoes, your lips against his ear.

“I wonder if you can behave yourself until we’re home now that I’m not wearing any panties,” you whispered and felt his hand squeeze yours, before he let go and gave you a little slap on your ass, making you laugh. 

You were home almost two hours later. 

Marcus could in fact not behave himself on the way home. 

[caravelmp3]

❛  H O N E Y ❜ CHAPTER TWO: CHOCOLATE CANDY, JESUS CHRIST

1970s au ✫ josh kiszka x fem!oc ✫ word count: 7.8k

notes on this chapter: smoking, recreational drugs, & alcohol consumption. the boys have finally made their appearance, and it’s a sweet one. hope you all enjoy xx 

fic tag ✫ playlist

Two hours after she finally fell asleep in her own bed, Hanna was back awake and on her feet. In the twilight outside the apartment, Arabella helped her load her bags into the back of a taxi, and after a somber goodbye hug, Hanna left for the airport where she met up with a very sleepy and equally disgruntled Phoebe Gray at the airport bar. She had a whiskey glass in front of her, eyes shielded by dark sunglasses while her tousled hair rested on the collar of her fur coat.

To Hanna, Phoebe had the look of a textbook groupie - the short, blonde curls that framed her slender face, her light eyes in a permanent state of seduction, always wearing red lipstick no matter the day or hour that stained the butt of her cigarettes and the rim of her drink glasses. She was raised as a flower child, but her heart was set in rock n’ roll, which was why her and Hanna got on like a house fire. But Phoebe wouldn’t be caught in the walk of shame after a rowdy night in the Continental Hyatt House. It wasn’t her style.

“It’s not even 6:30 yet and you’re already a drink down?” Hanna teased from a small distance when Phoebe looked up at her under the fluorescent airport lights. “Jesus Christ,”

Every passing pair of shoes squeaked on the linoleum floors and everything smelled vaguely like disinfectant. The morning airport rush hadn’t even hit yet, but everyone was either at the bar or spread across a row of seats with their eyes closed. The sun was just starting to lift over the horizon of fields around them.

Phoebe groaned and smacked her palm on the barstool next to her, signaling Hanna to take a seat. “Yes, now join me,”

And Hanna let out a small laugh, sliding her bag off her shoulder and onto the floor before joining the blonde. The bartender looked at her for just a split second before Phoebe was already ordering two more whiskey neats. And they sat at the bar, yawning between sips from crystalline glasses until their gate was called, but when their feet finally touched the aisle of the plane, all of the excitement inside of them began to buzz.

The flight to Atlanta was only an hour, but Hanna and Phoebe were throwing back airplane shooters with sips of juice while giggling and talking about what they pictured the tour to be like as they soared above the clouds. They both pictured themselves in the days of sunshine on venue grounds, they pictured nights filled with dramatic makeup and strobe lights from the side stage, they pictured drinks, laughter, and bar hopping until the early hours of the morning. They had no idea what else to expect.

Hanna’s dress blew in the dry southern wind as she and Phoebe unloaded their suitcases from the back of their rental car. She looked up through her rose colored sunglasses to see the sign she recognized from a movie - the Georgian Terrace Hotel, a hotel in midtown among the few skyscrapers popping upon here and there, the white letters of the hotel name printed across a deep blue canopy over the entrance. She smiled and tucked the envelope of papers under her arm before continuing into the lobby behind Phoebe. They were welcomed with a rush of cold air and the smell of old flowers as Hanna placed the envelope of booking information on the desk, and the room greeted them the same - cool, with the overpowering scent of fresh roses.

The heavy white door clicked shut behind them when they stepped inside the suite, leaving their suitcases on the foyer steps while emerging further into the room. It was an all expenses-paid-for suite, full of white and dusty pink colored furniture and deep green rugs, black and white patterned curtains that hid a view of the city surrounding them. Their eyes were wide as they took in their surroundings. For two journalists, working for a fairly new music magazine, they were doing alright for themselves in the industry. And, well, Ken's leniency with the company bank account helped too.

“Holy shit,” Phoebe said, followed with a laugh while she sank into the sofa cushions, giving Hanna a look that drew her in. Hanna ran over, launching herself onto the cushions of another sofa, sinking into the comfort compared to the hard airplane seats. “Can we just tell Ken that we’ll take every job the magazine gets from now on?”

Hanna nestled her cheek against the yellow throw pillow, humming. “Then we would be the rockstars.”

Phoebe’s eyes drifted closed and she felt like she was drifting upon a cloud. “It’s a good deal. I would take it.”

“I would too,” Hanna yawned.

☼☼☼

Hanna stared at herself in the full-length mirror on the wall, twirling in the patterned dress she had picked out from her suitcase, watching it bloom around her legs and move with her. 

What was a clean suite when her and Phoebe arrived hours ago was now destroyed by the remains of a nap, rushed take-out dinner, and how quickly both girls unpacked to get ready for the night out of pure excitement and adrenaline. Hanna’s room became a mess of clothes and shoes as she tried on different outfits, then took them off, tossing them to the floor before moving onto the next one.

“Nope,” she huffed to herself, pulling the straps of the dress off her shoulders and allowing the dress to clump on the floor. It didn’t fit what she pictured herself wearing that night. She wanted a more laid-back, yet put-together look to meet the new band, their roadies, and do her job.

Picking up the dress, Hanna tossed it onto the bench at the end of the bed and stormed back to her suitcases, picking up different articles of clothing, and then tossing them aside when she deemed them unworthy. Across the suite, she could hear Phoebe cursing, doing much of the same as she riled through her bags.

Throwing open the last suitcase, she pulled out a pair of shoes and laid them aside, and then pulled out a piece of folded red material. Holding it out in her hands, she tilted her head and then stepped in front of the mirror to hold it up to her body. She pictured herself wearing it with a pair of bell bottoms and her trusty boots, and then she finally pieced it all together in her head.

“Any luck?” Phoebe asked, her bare feet on the cold hardwood as she crossed the suite in just her underwear to poke her head in Hanna’s room. She saw the girl turning around, holding a red top to her shoulders.

“Think so,” Hanna spun around, placing the shirt on the bed to begin searching for her trust jeans. “What about you?”

“Not a single sliver of luck in my case,” she huffed, “you have anything I can wear?”

Hanna hummed and looked at the chaos of her room. There were clothes, belts, shoes, everything everywhere. “Give it a shot, lovebug,” she said before pulling out her bell bottoms from another bag.

While their taste differed - Phoebe had a more monotone sense of fashion with blazers and slacks or jeans while Hanna went for more earthy toned and up-to-date fashion with bright prints and colors, Phoebe was giving every piece of Hanna's wardrobe a chance. Nothing was too bright, too out there, too small or too big.

They were like two headless chickens running around the suite, trading clothes, borrowing lipsticks, and giving critiques when asked.

Two hours before showtime, Hanna and Phoebe stood in one of the suite bathrooms, staring at their reflections in the mirror hanging on the deep green tile above the sink. Phoebe had chosen the last dress that Hanna had tried on - a burnt orange number that hung just above her knees, paired with her white wedge sandals, and Hanna had chosen a long-sleeved red top with a low neckline and wide cuffs, a pair of light denim jeans, and her silver platform boots that she took everywhere, which boosted her height, and her ego, just slightly.

Looking between them both, they giggled, leaning into each other. “How fuckin’ bomb do we look, sugar?” Phoebe asked dreamily. 

The younger girl beamed, doing a three-sixty in the mirror. “So cool,”

Phoebe looked at Hanna, noticing that she hadn’t finished her makeup yet. She reached out with a stern hand, grabbing her arm just above the elbow. “You need lipstick,” she said, guiding Hanna to the side of the tub where she pushed her shoulders, motioning her to sit on the edge. Hanna sank down and Phoebe turned to her makeup bags on the counter, pulling out a tube of lipstick and then looking back at Hanna. “Come on, pout for me,”

Hanna’s rounded eyes stared up at Phoebe before the blonde lowered down on her knees in front of her, and Hanna pursed her lips, letting her smear the red tinted balm across her lips in long swipes. She rolled her lips once, then twice, and then Phoebe smiled, pleased with her appearance.

“That’s better,” she said pinching Hanna’s thigh before standing up. “Okay, okay, we probably should get going now.”

They both rushed out of the bathroom and back into Phoebe’s room.

“I need to get my camera,” Hanna said before sliding into the living room where their other bags were spread out on the sofa. She went to a particular bag, pulling out her trusty Canon camera, making sure to tuck another roll of film in her bag, too. “Make sure to grab your recorder!” She called out to Phoebe.

Phoebe immediately shot a hand down to her bag, touching the leather to feel out the recorder on the inside. She let out a sigh of relief. “I got it!” She called out.

Hanna tucked away her camera and film, and she saw Phoebe walk into the living room while shouldering her own bag. “How are you feeling? Excited?”

“Yeah,” she said with a nod, “yeah, I’m excited. How are you feeling?”

“Kind of buggin’,” Hanna said hastily, getting it off her chest. She was excited, but her nerves were starting to get the best of her already.

Phoebe’s eyes softened as she walked over to lean against the back of the sofa across from Hanna. “What’s got you buggin’?”

“Just don’t know anybody on this tour. I knew all of the promoters and producers of the last few gigs because everybody knows everybody, but this time, it’s a whole new group of people.” She said with a small shrug.

Phoebe pursed her lips. “At least they aren’t British,”

Hanna snorted. “The Brits really are a different species, aren’t they?”

“Truly,” Phoebe said. “And you won’t be saying ‘bloody’ for months like you did after the tour with Zeppelin.”

Hanna laughed. She had only spent ten days with Led Zeppelin but picking up on their British slang was truly like speaking a different language, and it took a few days to get used to it, but once she did, she rolled with it. A lot of times she was like a translator to hotel concierges and restaurant waiters when the band rolled up post-show for a meal.

Phoebe walked around the edge of the sofa, crossing the space between her and Hanna, and grabbed her shoulders, holding her tight as their eyes met. “But there is nothing to be worried about. You are so good at meeting people and making friends with them, and they are going to be lovely. So don’t bug out about it.”

Hanna let out a deep breath and nodded as she listened to her friend’s word of affirmation. Their platonic support extended great lengths when it came to making each other feel comfortable as themselves. She always felt like Phoebe was the perfect older sister, and that they had the perfect sibling dynamic. Phoebe as the veteran writer and older sister who knew the ropes of the industry and got Hanna into clubs to cover gigs while underage, and Hanna as the newbie and little sister who asks Phoebe a bunch of questions and buys lunch on Fridays. It was even down to the trope of borrowing each other’s clothes.

“Let’s just go and give it a chance, alright sugar?”

“Yeah,” Hanna cleared her throat and nodded, “yeah, let’s go.”

Grabbing their last-minute things, and after a last-minute change of jewelry by Phoebe, the girls left their suite and took the elevator down to the lobby. Walking through the lobby, the two girls were immersed with workers, businessmen, and b-grade musicians, and they strolled by and out the glass doors to the streets of downtown Atlanta.

A cotton candy sunset filled the sky as the girls walked down the block, passing lit lamp posts decorated with ribbons and gig posters, guiding them straight to the Fox Theatre just down the street. The city was buzzing - cars passing by to drop people off, news vans camping across the street to report on the show, and fans were wrapped around the block. Phoebe and Hanna walked down the front of the venue, their eyes set on the beige building and it’s large marquee; FOX written in bright white letters bolded by red. Along the marquee were the guests of the night; GRETA VAN FLEET presents MARCH OF THE PEACEFUL ARMY TOUR. MAY 13, 1973 - SOLD OUT

Hanna looked at the pictures of the band that were tacked behind glass windows out front, along with the ticket prices and showtimes. There were four of them against a black background, standing out against a wall with bright colorful pieces of clothing and long hair.

They walked around to the side of the building to the back entrance, grabbing the handle of the door and pulling it open to hold for Phoebe behind her. Cold air rushed from inside, pooling around their legs and nipping at their cheeks, flushed from the late-spring heat. They stepped inside, flashing their laminated press passes in the face of the guard behind the desk, and they were allowed past the check-in.

Backstage of the Fox Theatre was unlike most venues - while doubling as a theatre for actual productions, there were paintings and signatures on every corner of every wall - murals for productions and specific actors, signatures from actors, signatures from the bands who had roamed the same halls. The bright lights bounced off the red concrete floors and onto the colorful artwork. As they walked past the production offices, a voice called out to them, pausing them in their tracks to look to the right.

“My Cherry girl!” Both their heads snapped up to see an older man in a powder blue suit heading in their direction with a bright smile and yellow-tinted glasses perched on his nose. “Phoebe Gray, how are you doing, my darling?”

Hanna heard Phoebe laugh and step to him, his arms opening to grab her shoulders, and they air-kissed each other's cheeks. She listened from behind as they chatted briefly, and then Phoebe reached a blind hand out behind her, grabbing Hanna’s hand to pull her closer to her.

“Hanna, this is Dick, he’s the booking promoter, and Dick, this is Hanna Hart, she’s a new addition at CHERRY BUZZ.” She jumped into a small story of how she and Dick met in 1969 after The Rolling Stones’ show in Philadelphia, when she threw up on his shoes in the dressing room bathroom.

Under the dark lights of the backstage area, Hanna could make out the aged wrinkles in Dick’s face, the gold tooth snagged just behind his lip. He reached out a ringed hand and she took it, firmly shaking it with a small smile as she nodded to him in a greeting.

“So I get two Cherry girls instead, a dream come true,” he grinned before looking back to Phoebe. “Are you both covering tonight?”

Phoebe turned, flashing the pass she had tucked on her bag. “What else would we be doing, Rich? You know I don’t stop working.”

“Always on the move,” he tsked. Down the hallway, loud laughter bounced off the concrete floors, and they all glanced down the corridor before Dick turned to them, pointing a steady finger. “Come on, let me introduce you gals to the main stars of the night,”

The two journalists followed behind the promoter, letting him lead them down the concrete corridor to a large green room on the right. When he stepped inside, the talking hushed, and then the girls stopped in the doorway, allowing Dick to introduce them.

The green room was filled with bodies, white carpet, and black leather sofas. Hanna’s eyes gazed right over the faces, landing on a wall behind the sofa which was plastered with colorful show tickets from previous performers and artists.

“Guys, here are the girls that are going to make you famous,”

Through the haze of smoke that filled the room, five heads turned and eyes landed on the two girls standing in the door. Hanna’s green eyes darted around the room, picking and choosing what to focus on in one swoop to avoid catching a gaze for too long - long hair, feathers, bare torsos, and a lack of shoes. She tucked her hands into the back pockets of her pants and stepped further inside when Phoebe’s shoulder pushed her forwards.

“Girls,” Dick turned to them as all the bodies moved to the center of the room to greet them, “this is the magnificent drummer, Daniel,” he motioned to the taller, dark-haired man, and Hanna quickly extended her hand, meeting in the middle for a handshake as they smiled at each other. Dick turned to the man next in line, clamping a hand on his shoulder, “this is Max, the band’s publicist,” she saw Max leaning against a vanity, and they shook hands quickly. “And this is Sam, the gloriously groovy bassist, and this is Jake, the guitarist and the man who never seems to have a shirt on,” they all briefly greeted with laughter and hand shakes, following down the line to the last person, “and girls, this is the lead song-singer of this generation, Josh,”

Hanna met Josh’s brown eyes across the small distance of the room, and unaware of her movements, she shuffled straight into the edge of the coffee table, causing them all to laugh at he clumsiness. Her cheeks flushed with a chuckle and she looked back to meet Josh’s eyes before shaking his hand.

“And boys,” Dick paused, holding out a hand to motion to the two girls, “this is Phoebe Gray and Hanna Hart.”

“Lovely to meet you ladies,” Josh said first as their hands dropped and he shook Phoebe’s hand next.

Hanna smiled. “Likewise,”

“Are you here to cover all of us?”

The two girls shared a glance and a smile before Phoebe licked her lips and looked back at Josh. “For the first leg in the south and northeast, you’re not going to be able to get rid of us.”

And all of the previous nerves that wracked Hanna’s mind calmed when he shot them a smile. When they all turned and looked at each other after being introduced, Dick spoke up again, clapping his hands to get their attention;

“Alright gals,” he pointed two fingers at them, “what’s your drink of choice? All of it’s on the house tonight.”

Dick’s eyes first set on Phoebe and the girl’s first alcoholic drink came to mind, “an old fashioned on the rocks.”

Dick nodded and then turned to Hanna, whose eyes went wide. Her and Phoebe had drunk that entire morning at the airport and during their flight, but she assumed that it would be better to continue drinking than to ride the rest of the night without one. “A martini, straight, please,”

“Two cocktails for the gals, got it,” he said before patting Danny on the back as he exited the room.

As everyone slowly turned their attention back to the room and each other, Phoebe gently elbowed Hanna, earning her attention once more. “You jivin’ yet?”

Hanna laughed, both at Phoebe and at her former self for being so anxious about nothing at all. She felt welcomed immediately, and that was all a journalist like her could ask for.

“Absolutely,” she said, lowering onto the leather sofa with a smile. There was a bowl of chocolate candy on the coffee table, and she plucked one from the bowl to toss into her mouth. Phoebe rolled her eyes with a smile and joined her on the sofa.

Backstage felt electric.

Up and down the halls, roadies and techs were making last minute checks and getting everything together, fans were starting to pour in through the doors. The opening band for the night was rehearsing in the basement green room, vibrating the floor under their feet, and there was a sense of familiarity in the air in the room when they all joined in to hum the familiar lyrics to Bob Dylan's It Ain’t Me Babe.

Across the room, Jake’s and Sammy’s fingers plucked the strings of their acoustic guitars and the tip of Danny’s drumsticks met the wood on the corner of the coffee table. Hanna leaned her head against the cushion of the sofa, listening in with a smile as Josh’s voice filled the room. Unfamiliar with their music, she wasn’t sure what they were singing until they changed to another song - that time she knew it was the Band’s The Weight. It was played in every Nashville karaoke bar for years that she learned the words by force.

Dick returned with their drinks, rushed from the bar just down the hall and right into their hands. Hanna didn’t wait, tilting the martini glass up at her lips and downing a couple solid sips while she listened in close to the four playing and singing together. There was a pause of admiration of their voices, as if everyone in the room wasn’t there for them specifically.

Hanna’s eyes watched as Josh sang, listening in closely to his bluesy, soulful controlled voice. He looked so young - maybe it was the feathers and curls that took off a few years - to have a voice much more mature than him.

Leaning onto the edge of the sofa, she propped her chin in her hand, captured in the moment. Josh sat, straddling an ottoman, singing as the others focused on their instruments in hand. As they cut from the second to last verse of the five-minute song, Josh looked at Hanna, and he grinned as if something sweet came to mind; “To get back to miss Hanna, you know she’s the only one who sent me here with her regards for everyone,” he sang and her eyes softened as the others in the room laughed at the improvisation.

It took another chorus for Hanna to remember how to breathe.

An hour passed and the drinks kept coming as stage time neared. Everyone was opening up, loosening up, drinking the nerves away, but not drinking enough to be absolutely incoherent for the show. Hanna and Phoebe sat backstage with them, toasting beers and laughing at small conversations. They weren’t focused on their jobs more than they were focused on getting to know each other. Warming up to the band and having them warm up to you was the biggest feat, and the biggest part of their jobs. Without a relationship, they wouldn't be able to do their jobs. So they cracked a few jokes, asked a couple of questions, and talked to them as if they would anyone else, and slowly, they all began to fall into place.

Just before stage call, Hanna sat on a rack case on stage-left, looking through the small split in the curtains where she could make out the spotlights on the dark flooring, the heads of thousands packed into the theatre. Her camera was perched next to her thigh, a drink in her hand, and a smile on her lips as she watched everyone run around, grabbing last-minute microphones and chords, taking last-minute shots in preparation, and for luck. 

She watched Sam cross the floor with a thud of his bare feet, the mint bass firmly secured with a strap around his neck and shoulder. When he spotted her camera, he pushed his hair back behind his shoulders; “Hanna, Hanna, take a picture of me.” He snapped his fingers and pointed to her camera. “Need you to remember this pretty face,”

“How could I ever forget it,” she said with a laugh, picking up her camera and sitting it in front of her face. She held the camera to her eye, using her other hand to adjust the focus before getting him in frame and pushing the capture button. He was holding his bass by the neck, pointing the end of the guitar straight at her with a serious face, and she captured it all in a single swift click.

She heard Sam’s chuckle and she lowered the camera from her eye, a smile shielded behind the camera body. Max was then at Sam’s side, sliding an arm around his shoulder;

“Alright, man, it’s time to do this.” Max grinned, feeling the buzz that carried throughout the building. The first show of the tour was always the most invigorating. It set the pace for the rest of the tour. He turned to Hanna, raising a brow, “make sure to make these boys look good.”

“That won’t be hard at all.” She said, eyeing the other three who stood with Dick and Phoebe just off the stage. They were all dressed - sparkly cropped suit jackets and vests, boots, and leather pants galore. “They already do that on their own.”

Out in the theatre, the lights dimmed, and the room felt like it was vibrating. Hanna and Phoebe locked eyes through the moving bodies and smiled. The older journalist sent one last dazzling smile to the boys as they walked through the curtain on cue, and then she was at Hanna’s side, grabbing her hand and pulling her through a smaller curtain and door, and to a spot just below the stage.

When the lights flickered on, Fox Theatre exploded, and Hanna paused in her boots, staring out at the thousands of heads, even in the highest rafters. It was an endless sea of people screaming, whistling, chanting their name over and over and over. When blue and purple lights filled the room and the first sounds of a song was heard, the room was deafening.

Hanna and Phoebe looked at each other and they smiled. They lived for this. It was an atmosphere they wanted to dive into, that they wanted to live in.

“1! 2! 3! 4!” They heard Danny yell with each clack of his drumsticks before Jake’s guitar took over, sending the room into a frenzy of smiles and cheers.

Walking the small space between the first row of seats and the bottom of the stage, Hanna tilted her chin back and looked up, watching the four closely as they jumped into their first song of the night, feeding off the eyes that were all on them.

Josh was front and center, the purple lights bouncing off his black velvet vest, off the white feathers that hung in a perfect halo on his head and down to his shoulders. Hanna brought the camera to her eye, steadying it in her hands as she squinted through the viewfinder, and she caught him as he paused to stand at downstage, bending down to sing to the fans who were right up front. It was a group of three girls - their arms extended out to him, holding white roses, yelling his name with eyes of admiration.

He was the lead man, and it was obvious just looking at him. It was in his walk across the stage, the way his legs kicked out, the way he moved his hands while singing, in how he smirked, the way he lived in the glow of the lights and the screams for his name. He was meant to be on the stage.

Jake stood to Josh’s right, his cropped emerald green jacket hung just to his hips, the cherry Gibson slung right at his waist as he focused all his attention down to his hands. He bounced - back and forth, back and forth, skipping in his solos to reach the pedals near the amplifiers, and when he closed his eyes and lolled his head back, fingers still working fast as ever on the strings, she saw the passion radiating from him. When he began his solo in the second song of the night, Hanna perched herself right beneath him off the stage, shooting upwards as he approached her, knee drawn up with his hair stuck to the sweat on his neck.

When the second song ended and Josh took a second to greet the crowd, earning thousands of cheers in response to “playing it pretty for Atlanta”, Hanna took her chance to get another photo of Danny. He had paused, holding both drumsticks in his hand, and his knees were bouncing. Catching something that Josh had said, Danny chuckled, and Hanna pressed her shutter button, capturing him perfectly at his drum set.

And she caught Sam, who stood on the far right, moving gracefully with the heavy bass across his shoulders. Moving in front of security guards and around pieces of sound equipment, Hanna made it to the side of the stage, camera propped in front of her eye as her finger hovered above the button. She waited for Sam to pause, his feet firm on the black stage, and then she snapped a photo, followed by another as the lights shifted to gold behind him.

After claiming the gig immediately after the offer, Hanna talked to Ken and a few others in the office who knew about the band of four. While they were still relatively new to the music scene, only jumping in a couple of years ago, their influence was widespread. Almost everyone at CHERRY BUZZ had either heard of them or seen the band multiple times, just for fun, during their recent stops in Louisville and Memphis, and they only had raves to say about them.

And Hanna could see why.

She saw many bands before - many frontmen and many guitarists and bassists and drummers, but only a few made her feel like she was floating.

Her and Phoebe met at the middle of the pit, grabbing hands and smiling wide as they sang to their cover of Cream’s White Room. For a second, they became a part of the crowd of fans, staring up at the stage with eyes of joy and singing loudly, feeling their hearts lurch in their chests.

Greta flew through the thirteen-song setlist in a whirlwind in drum and guitar solos and colors. They snuck in one last cover before the end, The Weight, just like they had practiced in the green room hours ago. With the camera out of her face and an arm around Phoebe’s shoulders, they waved their hands high in the air while singing along. And just like they had practiced in the green room, Josh slipped Hanna’s name into the song, pointing to her off the side of the stage and she laughed, pointing right back at him before continuing to sing along loudly with him.

Four thousand people in that room joined together as one.  

It was a rapid show of equally rapid emotions and movements, and like any true rock n’ roll show, it was followed by celebratory drinks. Despite the night being their first show of the tour, they were knocking back shots and drinks like it was going to be the last show of their career.

Backstage was packed with people - fans, local musicians, the opening band and their groupies, they were all hanging around just off stage, hoping to catch just a glimpse or word from the main act, and they all gathered in the dressing room for drinks while the roadies cleaned up. Once they drank the venue bar dry, the party moved to the hotel bar just around the block. Suites with comfortable king-sized beds awaited them upstairs while the empty hotel bar downstairs awaited their arrival with ice buckets of champagne and a fresh stock of every alcohol known to man. And they took advantage of it.

"Wait, wait, gimme your shoulder," Hanna motioned to Phoebe as her head swirled from the cocktails in her system. The blonde tsked before laughing and allowing the younger girl to wrap an arm around her shoulders, and they followed the band and others through the winding backstage corridors, heading to the loading dock out back.

They were a walking cloud of laughter and loud voices while they strolled out of the back door of the venue, greeted with at least two dozen or more fans packed at the back gate. Max had warned them moments before that fans and local journalists would be looking for them, crowding around and being borderline obsessive to see them, and they just brushed it off, slinging on their jackets and strolling out anyways.

And when the fans began to call out their names, the band were like moths drawn to a flame. Hanna, Phoebe, and a couple of the groupies hanged back as the two bands stepped forward to sign albums and t-shirts and chat with those lined around the gate. Fans were talking, rattling off the same repeated sentences about the show and how much they loved them, journalists and photographers were in the back snapping photos over the heads up front, sending pinpoint flashes in each direction.

They were eventually able to break away from them when venue security sent the fans home packing and the band and their additions broke off, heading around the block to their hotel on the east side. Everyone slipped inside, feet rushing on the marble flooring, and they walked into the bar roped off on the first floor.

The bar was fancy with dim lighting and off white walls and French trimming, velvet booths lined along white marble tables, but as fancy as it was, it was still a hotel bar. It smelled like cigarettes and cheap cologne. Everyone rushed in, falling into booths with a laugh, and loudly calling out orders to the panicked bartenders standing in front of the full shelf. The bartenders definitely weren't paid enough.

Hanna didn’t make it far into the room, placing her purse on the bar and hopping onto the cold stool while Phoebe followed the flow of bodies straight to a booth and they yelled at Jake when he showcased the bottle of whiskey he had grabbed from the venue bar and hid inside of his jacket pocket.

They all knew it was going to be a long night - the first night of tour always was. It was normal to stay up all night, or at least for as loud as they could, create a bond and have a laugh with those they're surrounded by because the weeks to follow would be tense when the sinking of homesickness and annoyance with each other finally began to set in.

Max was the first to get everyone together, ordering a round of beers for everyone, and then offering a toast as he stood in the middle of the room. “Hey, come on guys!” He called out, grabbing a chair to stand on, finally allowing him to be the tallest in the room. “A toast!” A sudden rush of quiet settled over the room as everyone held up their beer bottles. “To the fucking amazing March of the Peaceful Army Tour of 1973!” And whistles came from the mouths of the bands as the girls laughed, and they all took a drink, or a shot, or a gulp.

Hanna brought her beer bottle to her lips, feeling the cold glass press against her palm as she took a sip. It tasted like pure wheat, but she didn’t complain, it was a better beer than the cheap cases she would buy on her college student bank account. CHERRY was not only a lead way for her to do something that she loved, but also a lead way into the finer things in life - hotel suites, private jets, fine dining, everything that an ordinary student could ever afford. She chose to indulge every time, but when she did, she put on the façade that no one knew her life was any different than the one she was living.

A part of touring was being surrounded with new people - publishers, booking agents, guards, journalists, radio hosts, photographers, groupies, all new people and new faces, so many that no one exactly kept count or remembered names. In tis lifestyle, you could be anyone that you wanted to be, and no one could tell the difference. On her first tour, Hanna was the shy and humble journalist, but by her second gig, she had put on the façade of the lavish writer who enjoyed champagne and caviar in a first class transatlantic flight. This time, she wasn’t sure what or who she would be.

“Sugar!” Hanna’s head turned at the sound of Phoebe’s voice calling out across the bar, and she turned away from her conversation with Harry, the lead for the opening band, to cut through the smoke and see the blonde perched in a booth. “Come ‘ere! Join us!” She waved a ringed hand, signaling to the table she was seated at.

Hanna smiled and held up a hand, then turned back to Harry and the groupie attached to his side. Her name was Jodi - she was beautiful - tall and wore a dress that complimented her dark skin. She had her arms around his torso, hands locked at his hip, and Hanna said a silent prayer for Harry in the morning if he had to sneak out or kick her out of his room at the break of dawn, or if he happened to fall in love that night. Jodi had a face anyone could fall in love with. With a small smile, she grabbed her glass of whiskey and coke and crossed the floor from the bar to the booth.

“What’s up?” She asked, approaching the booth filled to the brim with people. There was no more space so Sam had to pull up a chair at the end of the table. She stood next to Phoebe on the edge, resting her hand on the back of the booth cushion, looking at the table filled with empty bottles and glasses, cigarette packs, and a deck of cards spread out in different formations.

“Do you want to play poker with us?” Phoebe asked, looking up at Hanna with glassy eyes.

Hanna licked the inside of her bottom lip, eyeing the cards. “I actually never learned how to play poker.”

“You don’t know how to play?” Sam asked abruptly, a hand slamming down onto the table as he looked up at her in fake disbelief. She laughed and shook her head.

“No, I always just watched everyone instead.”

“Here, here,” Jake collected the cards from the space in front of everyone. “We need to change that. Take your poker virginity.”

Phoebe scooted further into the booth, hip pressed tight against Danny’s, and she grabbed Hanna’s hand to pull her in alongside her. The younger girl lowered into the booth, leaning on her hip as she sat her glass down on the table, watching Jake shuffle the cards and then deal them back to her.

“How much we dealing in? Ten?” Hanna asked off the top of her head. She knew enough from watching movies and others play in the past to learn the basics.

Jake pursed his lips, “it doesn’t have to be about the money-”

“We could do strip poker instead.” Max butted in with a chuckle as he swooped over next to the booth. He wiggled his eyebrows. Everyone just chuckled, denying the idea before it even had a chance.

Josh held out a hand, quieting those throwing in offers. “We’ll just teach her first. Metaphoric money.” His eyes met Hanna’s across the table and he raised a brow high. “Unless you feel like streaking through the hotel lobby.”

Hanna hummed, “I’d rather not. That’s more of a… a week on tour idea.”

The four boys at the table and Phoebe tried to walk Hanna through the game of Texas Hold’em, step by step, piece by piece with terminology and moves. After a quick round, Danny became the dealer as she played against Jake, and Phoebe was in her ear, whispering details, basically becoming the girls own physical cheat-sheet.

When her and Jake came into the final showdown, she looked at the two cards in front of her on the table before placing them down. It was a great hand, which is what both Phoebe and Sam were telling her from their side of the booth, but her poker face was nonexistent.

Trying to keep both her eyes and mouth straight, the corners of her lips couldn’t help but turn into a smile - she had a great hand, she played a great match, she had too much to drink. Across the table Jake faked being annoyed, throwing his two cards down, “you’re gonna win and you’re not even good at hiding it!”

“I’M TRYING!” She called out as she laughed with him.

They both flipped their cards over a second later, but Jake’s move was much more in defeat as Hanna’s hand held the highest value.

“You’re just too nice.” Sam said, patting her shoulder as they shuffled the cards back together in the deck.

“A sweetheart, she is,” Phoebe cooed.

Letting Jake take her cards, Hanna shrugged loosely with a smile and grabbed her beer. She just didn't have the skills of a poker player. Trying to keep a straight face in times of laughter or comedic moments was never her strong suit. Her father once made her laugh at a funeral - earning a swift scold from her mother.

Across the booth, Josh snuck a glance at Hanna, and then another. He nodded at whatever Sam was saying before turning away to talk to Phoebe. Leaning his head back against the seat, and his eyes landed on Hanna again. She had a peculiar glow about her. And Josh couldn't look away. He watched her talk with Phoebe, her hands grabbing her arm as they laughed together. Under the dimmed lights, with a warm smile, he felt something kick in his chest.

"Sweet like honey," he said softly.

Hanna's eyes followed back to Josh as he looked at her. She smiled behind the rim of her bottle before takin another sip. Even as quiet as he was, she still heard it. Her cheeks flushed and she quickly looked away when Jodi called out her name at the bar for a round of shots, and Hanna was off, leaving them behind for another round of poker so she could hide the sheepish smile.

Two hours later, after a few more drinks and gushing about Jodi's shoes with Jodi's friend Sapphire, Hanna grabbed her bag off the bar and walked in the footsteps of the others into the hotel lobby. The opening band and Max were still kicking even as the hours of the morning winded down. While she felt tempted to stay up, Hanna ultimately felt tired - she desperately needed a good nights rest after an entire day on her feet.

In front of her, Phoebe was latched onto Danny's side, Sam's cardigan was slung off his shoulders as he waltzed through the hotel half-naked, earning a glare from behind the hotel front desk. The band looked like typical rockstars and their tag-alongs - half-naked, drunk, high, ready to wreck a hotel room or damage something along the way there that would ultimately cost thousands of dollars in repairs.

In comparison to the others, Hanna was more on her feet. She had slowed down her intake in the last hour and snuck in glasses of water between beers, politely declining every shot that was offered her way, no matter how hard Harry and Sapphire urged her to take it.

The lobby lights were blinding as they bounced off the marble floors and the ding of the elevator echoed in their ears when it arrived on the bottom floor. Hanna was the last to step on the elevator - her eyes locked on the wall, shoulder brushing with Josh's while the others talked loudly and passionately behind them through slurred words. They were talking something along the lines of the color of Max's shirt - Phoebe said it was yellow, Sam arguing that it was orange. She pressed the button for their floor and the doors closed, encasing them inside.

The elevator swiftly carried the six up to their floor, the doors parting to reveal the dark maroon carpet and cream walls, and they fumbled out, scanning room numbers to find their own. Hannah opened her purse, pulling out the room key tucked inside as she walked. Reaching the familiar number on the wall, Hanna unlocked the door and Phoebe ran a hand along her back and shoulder as she stumbled around her and into the dark suite.

Behind them, Danny continued down the hallway with Sam as they yelled at each other, shouting out potential three-digit combinations of their room number;

“Was it 802?”

“I thought it was 820!” Their voices echoed as they walked further away.

Hanna stepped inwards to follow Phoebe into their suite when a voice broke through the hallway; “It could be your new nickname, you know,”

She spun around, spotting Josh behind her. His and Jake's shared room was just across the hallway. She looked past Josh and into the room, watching Jake walk inside, flip on the light, and then fall face-first into a bed in the middle of the room. She let out a quiet laugh and then her eyes met Josh's again, and she tilted her head to the side, urging him to continue.

“Honey,” he reminded her, "it fits,”

She paused before nodding. “Honey Hart,” she said out loud and it sounded a lot better rolling off the tongue than she thought. She imagined it as her new pen name, adorned right on the by-line just below the title of an article. It made her feel like a rockstar of a different kind. “I like it,"

Josh nodded and glanced into the room where Jake was calling out for him in a muffled voice, and then he looked back at her. “Goodnight, Honey,”

Hanna let out a quiet laugh at the neediness in Jake’s drunk voice, looking back at the eldest brother. “Goodnight Joshua,” she said softly before they went their separate ways into their rooms on either side of the hallway. The doors clicked shut behind them, the only sound in the empty hallway.

[maggyme13]

Sugar (10/?)

AN: I apologize for the long wait for this 10th chapter of my Sugardaddy Loki fic.

and THANK YOU to all those lovely readers that reblogged and let me know what they thought^^

Masterlist

Sugar- Masterlist

Part 9

The flight took five hours. Five hours you used to worry about your mother and to make plans on how to give her money without her noticing or her being able to decline.

That task, you failed miserably.

Why had every single one of your family such a thick head?

“My aunt just send me a message. The guest room is free and will be ready when we arrive. She also let me know that dinner will be ready as well. Hope you are hungry, the way I know my family there will be more than enough for two days. At least.”

“Anything else I need to know?”, the man chuckled.

“My Ma has a dog, well Bamby is really my dog, but she stayed behind to guard the house. She is a Pit, not very trusting of strangers but a real cuddle bug once she knows and trusts someone.”

“I am not afraid of big dogs, if that is your concern. What is the general stance on weapons in the house?”

“Not at the kitchen table or around children. Cleaning only on the porch or in the garden.”, you answered like you were reciting, “Why are you asking?”

His only answer was him lifting the leather-jacket he was wearing, showing of a nine mm in a holster right against his rib cage.

“The only one?”

“Do I need more?”, he asked with lifted eyebrow.

“Well, if you ask a cop, probably. The neighborhood went downhill for the last couple of years. But there are mostly older people living, with the occasional low income family. It was no easy area to grow up in.”, you breathed.

Bucky´s answer was only a hum.

“Please prepare for landing.”, came over the intercom and the two of you did as the pilot had asked.

45 Minutes later the jet was parked and Bucky and you stepped out.

“Mr Barnes, the car is waiting. Please follow me through the TSA and then towards the private parking lot.”,  a manager like person greeted your companion but ignored you.”

“Thank you. Please lead the way.”

Not even ten minutes later, you sat next to the man in a dark SUV with slightly tinted  windows.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The streets looked just as you remembered, only a bit older and more run down. Some where empty now and others looked empty but where still lived in.

It has been a long time since I was here.

“You can park the car in the garage. My aunt said she will park Ma´s in the driveway then. It is the one house over there. You see, the one with the white fence and red letterbox.”, you pointed at the house of your childhood.

“Yes, I see. Alright, lets get you the rest home. I am starting to get tired.”, Bucky chuckled.

“Come in, come in. You must be Bucky Barnes. Thank you for tagging along (y/n), though she is old enough to travel on her own, I believe.”

“Auntie!”

“Yes, that is me. Of course she can travel alone, but she is too important for the firm to risk her getting hurt. I am just here for her protection and muscle, in case there would be heavy lifting.”

“I bet you can.”

“Auntie!”

“What?, you have seen his muscles, didn��t you?”, your aunt chuckled, “Well come in, your Ma is waiting for you in the kitchen. Dinner is ready in a bit.”

“I missed you. I should have come home earlier.”, you mumbled, pulling your aunt into a tight hug.

“Munchkin. You took your own way in life. There was no place for me.”

“There is always a place for you and Ma and you know that!”, you almost shouted, “But I know what you mean.”

“Honey, is that you??”, the weak voice of your Mother called out of the Kitchen.

“Yes, it´s me.”

“Well come in! I won´t get any younger!”

“Yes Ma.”

You stepped into your childhood home and felt tears rise, it had not changed a bit.

“Let me take a look at you.”, your Mother smiled,”This job of yours is doing you good.”

“Thank you, Ma. I really like it. But, where is Bamby?”, you frowned at the last part.

“In the garden. Samuel and her don´t get along, so she is outside.”

“Samuel? Who is Samuel.”

“A... friend of your brother.”, Your Aunt huffed.

“Why is he here.”

“Your brother asked him to help us-”

“But he is useless.”

“Ms. Why is he still here then?”

You chuckled. “Well. My brother is a real thick head, so if you don´t want to argue for days and weeks, you just go with it; as long as it does not go to far.”

“Exactly. And Samuel does nothing than sleep and eat. He does help within the household, but only the bare minimum. He is currently out with your brother.”  , your Aunt shook her head.

“Well, I will get Bamby inside and then we can talk.”, you smiled walking to the backdoor where you could see your dog dancing in front of the window.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

It was the third day of you staying with your mother when you met Samuel for the first time. He went back to his room, only to emerge ten minutes later to serve himself some food and beer without even acknowledging anyone of you.

You realized something was off with him, when you took your mothers wallet to get the recipe from your last grocery -shopping trip and noticed the money you had put inside were gone.

I just put two hundred bucks in it. Where is it?

“Bucky?”

“Yes, (y/n), what´s up?”

“I did put money in the wallet, didn´t I?”

“Yes, why?”

“Because there is none anymore.”, you frowned.

“Samuel?”, he asked.

“Samuel.”, you answered, “I have to speak with my aunt.”

“You have to speak with me about what?”, your aunt spoke from the door.

“Money went missing.”

“That bastard.”, she grumbled, “Your brother doesn´t want to listen. He thinks he knows best.”

“Alright. This has to stop. I will go and speak with him.”, you growled.

“(y/n) you don´t have to. You and-”

“No arguments, I will go and make sure he takes this asshole back.”, you growled, “We might not look eye to eye with a lot of things, but a thief in our house- if he won´t call him back, I will ask one of the others.”

“Where are we going?”, Bucky asked.

“Charming.”, your aunt answered.

“Let´s go.”

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-..-.

One hour later the SUV entered the parking lot of the garage your brother officially  worked at as a mechanic.

“Bucky-”

“No need. Boss did a very good background-check on you. We know who your brother is.”, the man next to you spoke.

“And still-”

“You are not your brother.”, was his simple answer.

Smiling, and nervous, you got out of the car and walked towards the office to ask for your brother.

“What do you want.”, his voice growled before you were even half way there.

“Nice to see you too, Happy.”, you greeted him with a warm smile.

“Fuck this shit. What do you want? Are we suddenly good enough for you again.”

“I am here because of Samuel.”, you answered him.

“Who?”

“The brother of yours you left with ma.”

“What about him.”

“He is stealing her money.”

“Ya think?”

“I know. Call him back.”

“Since when do I take orders from you?”, he growled back, hate in is eyes.

“You never did. You never even talk to me, you fucking hate me. I know that. But Ma has cancer and now one of your brothers steals her money. Call him back or I will go to the cops and file a report about it.”, you threatened, causing your brother to puff out his chest.

“Don´t even try and intimidate me. You won´t harm me no matter what, because unlike you, Ma loves me; just as much as she loves you.”, you squinted at him.

“Fine. Who is that, your boyfriend?”

“I am her bodyguard. (y/n), Boss called, he wants to speak with you about a gala next month.”, Bucky answered.

“I am coming. Get Samuel out of the house. And Ma asks if you will be there for Christmas dinner this year.”, you nodded.

“Maybe. Now fuck of, I don´t want the others to see me talking to you.”

“Is was a pleasure. As always. Let´s go. Oh, one last thing. Please answer your phone when Ma calls; she is worried about you.”

“Fuck off.”

Asshole.

“What is his problem?”, Bucky sneered.

“My biological father. I got used to it. He always hated me. I don´t , I don´t want to talk about it.”

“Sorry.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

“Who´s that?”, you mumbled upon returning home.

“Looks official.”, Bucky stated.

“Yeah, bad official.”

–.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Part 11

AN 2.0. So what do you think is going on?

REBLOGS and comments are appreciated:)

Thank you very much.

~MaggY

Taglists:

Permanent:

@jadepc​@pacifyhxlsey​ @thankyoukarenclifford​

@thankyouforanonymity​  @punkrockhufflefluff​

@scarletraine @buckycaptspideypool  @markusstraya @graveyard-groupie @markusstrayya @randomgirlkensy @the-soulofdevil

@marshyrebelcloud

MCU:

@yknott81​    @banner-and-bucky-are-life​ @forext20​ @dyanlzbb​  @so-finster-die-nacht @emmii4​ @bitchwhytho​ @ladyofmyst​   @jilldsumner​ @momc95​ @appreciating-fanfics​

Sugar:

@bits-and-bobs-and-kawaii-stuffs @mimmie666​   @fullranchwolfoperator

@cluelessnitwhit​ @youknowitsclouds @his-paradox @purplerainharry​

@spootgaai2000 @iamsuperjenna​ @nikkipea​   @alexakeyloveloki @timelordy-fangirl2 @girrafeeeeeee @emilyjane44x

I couldnt tag a few of you… sorry.

Want to get tagged as well? Comment, Reblog or send an ask to let me know.

[canadian-buckbeaver]

Tales of Old and Bone

Beginning of a commission for a very special reader of mine :)  @alextris 

Chapter One: Horrortale Sans meets a friend

( @redtomatofan I think you would appreciate this too ;) )

The old lady stared at the fruit through her thin watery eyes, her hands slightly shaking.  Was it a nectarine or a peach?  Or maybe that weird apple that Jennifer was talking about yesterday. She wasn’t sure.  There wasn’t even a fragrance that she could smell with it. She gave a soft sigh and put the fruit back.  It had been so much easier when her husband was here.  He always knew how to make her smile and forget about how the passage of time had not been kind to her.  And yet she had still outlived him by at least ten years.

Well.  She would see him soon… especially if the cost of groceries kept going up.  She might find herself running out of money yet.

With a soft sigh she put back the fruit and shuffled over to the hazy yellow shapes, her gait unsteady.  Those at least she knew those were bananas.  And they were probably cheaper than whatever apple-hybrid that that new generation was eating.  Where had the world gone so wrong?  Back in her day her grandparents had retired at the ripe-old age of fifty and were able to afford their house, cars, groceries, have money left over to spoil grandchildren and even leave a healthy inheritance to their loved ones when they passed.  The good old days.  Before greed and capitalism took over and rotted everyone’s minds.

And nowadays she could barely afford to eat.  Thank god that she and Harold never had any kids. She couldn’t imagine the disappointment on their faces when all she had to give him were the trinkets that dotted her little house. Tears dotted her eyes.  She was so scared of the future.  What would it hold for her?  And…

She bumped into someone.  “WATCH IT HAG!” The loud, acidic voice snapped.  She couldn’t see the boy’s face but, judging by the way the voice wavered between octaves, he had to bet between fourteen and eighteen. Still so young.

And already so cynical with the world.  She felt bad for him.

“My apologies, young man.  I did not see you there…”

“Of course you didn’t, you old bat.  Your glasses are about as thick as Kardashian’s pussy!”

The words were clearly meant to try and surprise her. Or maybe to make her disgusted. Such language.  Children never truly changed, did they?  Especially the ones with the high opinions of themselves…

* * * * *

The boy sneered to his friends as he pocketed the older lady’s wallet.  It had just been laying on top of everything inside of her purse, just ripe for the taking. He couldn’t resist.  They needed it more than her, the price of their favourite vodka had gone up.  He doubted that she would even miss it.  She had on a wedding ring.  Her husband would just give her some more government-funded money and she could go out and buy more yarn and pea soup.  He gestured at his friends to continue walking.  Act natural.

“Seriously, I think it is about time that those older folks know your place and just die.  Their time is over.  Make way for the young.  Over population is a serious issue these days and, you know what happens when a chicken can’t lay eggs or work anymore…”

His wrist, the one holding the lady’s wallet was seized, clasped tight in deadly grip, never letting go as they slammed the wrist into a nearby display.  The boy cried out, pain radiating from his wrist and traveling up his arm, forcing him to drop the wallet.  But that was the least of his worries.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM?” he demanded, eyes unable to focus on the shadowy figure due to the pain. Whoever had attacked him had a death wish. But his mates weren’t backing him up.  Instead he could see them slowly backing away, leaving him on his own.  They were murmuring something as they disappeared to the other aisles.  

Cowards.  Here he thought that his friends were true.  Fine.  He could do this on his own if he needed to.  He didn’t need anyone to hold him back.

When his vision returned, he could feel his stomach drop.

Long, curved bones were wrapped around his warm skin, just digging into him hard enough to make a slight mark.  There was not an ounce of flesh on the bones, he could see every knuckle, every joint, every crack in the bone.  And the noise…. He wasn’t sure how best to describe the grating noise that they made when they moved slightly.  It was enough to cause a shiver to go down his spine.  But still the boney hand held him tight, not letting him go.  The grip was as cold as steel and just as strong, keeping him pinned where he was against the display with little effort.

Slowly, against his better judgement, the boy’s eyes traveled up, scanning his attacker.  A dirty, threadbare hoodie caught his attention next.  It was obvious that there had been an unsuccessful attempt at cleaning the rag before being seen in public, but whatever had been spilled over it had stained it.  Deep browns mixed with a rust had intermingled and dried across what used to be a blue hoodie.

Up, up, up.  What he saw made no sense.

A manic grin smirked, the grin unwavering, unflinching, at him, lending to the unsettling atmosphere. Two deep, flickering, red eyes stared him down, unblinking.  Unafraid. Almost challenging him to make a move.  Give him an excuse to attack and fight.  The curve of the skull was interrupted by the chunk that was missing out of his skull…

Wait.

A skull.  He was staring at a skull.

No.  He was looking at the full thing.  A real live, honest to fucking hell skeleton stood in front of him.  Pinning him where he stood.  But… but that was impossible.  He had heard of the monsters escape, it had been all over the news.  Hell, even his old man had joined an anti-monster gang to try and keep the monsters out of the school system and out of ‘regular’ areas.

And here he was, being pinned by one in a grocery store of all places.  He could see that, up close, the skeleton wasn’t looking as smooth as he had originally thought.  The monster was absolutely covered in scars and raised bumps.  This… this monster had been in several fights.

The boy had the feeling that he did not lose.

“Let me go.” He snarled, trying to pull his hand away from the creature.  The creature didn’t even move, made no indication that he had even heard at him.  Those red eye lights just stared at him, unblinking. Uncaring.  The boy yanked at his arm again.  “OI I SAID LET-”

“Do you know what happens when a young rooster gets too big for his feathers?” a cracking voice asked.  It sounded unused, unneeded.  Like two rocks had been grinding together to make the noise.  And yet it was so soft, the boy could barely hear it.

“I beg your par-”

“I asked you a question.  Do you know what happens, when a young rooster gets too big for his feathers?  Tries to take over the roost?”  The voice had definitely come from the skeleton.  The eyes were focused in on him, watching his every move, every struggle.

The boy tried to pull away again.  “Let me g-”

“Answer the question first, and you’ll find yourself free.” The skeleton demanded, giving a yank to his hand.

Wincing slightly, the boy glared up at the monster.  He would make sure that they would all pay. “No. What happens when that happens?”

The skeleton almost seemed to like that answer.  The grin widened, stretching across his skull, the red eyes took on an extra sparkle.  The skeleton’s free hand slowly reached down, pulling the hoodie away from his body…

Exposing the large, silver axe that he had stashed there.

His breath caught, his heart clenched, and he felt his arms and legs go numb.  This wasn’t the first time that he had been in a life-or-death scenario.  His gang initiations came to mind as well.  Fight or flight.

But he didn’t have his knife or gun this time.  His so-called friends had held them for him this time.

The skeleton gave a low, rumbling, sinister laugh.  “The old rooster and the young battle it out. To the death.  The loser loses everything, to be fed to the wolves or others that night.  The winner walks away a proud winner, free to lead the hen house as he sees fit.” The skeleton leaned closer to him, dusty breath brushing against his ear and cheek. “Cock-a-doodle doo.”

Message loud and clear.

“What do you want from me?”

“Oh there is many things I could want from you. You to stop bothering the innocent patrons of this store.  You to leave innocent old ladies alone. And for you to leave her wallet where it is.” This last little bit came out as a snarl.

The boy gulped.  “I don’t have the wallet.  I already dropped it.”

The skeleton took his time to appraise him and then check the ground.  The pale, well-worn pink wallet was under the display that he had the boy pinned on.  He gave a cold, satisfied, chuckle.   “Good.  Starting to learn already.  Now. Go find your little groupies and get the hell out of here.  And if I ever find you in this area again… well.  You’re not the only rooster I’ve plucked and dressed for dinner.”

The threat was very clear.  

The boy grit his teeth, hating every second, but ran off as soon as he was able to.

Sans watched him storm out of the store, swearing and stamping his feet, the little useless groupies soon following along behind him.  He chuckled softly, letting the red eyes lose their glare, releasing the hold on his sinister magic.  He hated doing that in public.  Quickly, before any other costumer could get any bright ideas, he reached under and grabbed the woman’s wallet.  “Excuse me, ma’am.  I believe that you dropped this?” he said, limping up to the elderly lady.

[cali-holland]

Teenage Love Story, Part Four- S.M.

Pairing: Shawn Mendes X Reader

Prompt: Shawn’s big day- performing at Rogers Centre, and the first time you two see each other in months.

Word Count: 3400

Previous Parts: Teaser   One   Two   Three

~~~

“Shawn, stop.” You whined breathlessly through a fit of laughter.

“Never.” He laughed, continuing to tickle you with his hands roaming viciously around your hips.

“I need to pack.” Your words made his smile falter and he stopped his actions with an over-dramatic sigh. His hands rested on your waist as you leaned up to peck his lips.

“Do you have to go?” He asked, pulling away from the kiss with a small groan.

“To college? Yes.” You said with a small giggle, your fingers making their way to lightly tug on and twist around his curls at the nape of his neck.

“You could always just stay with me on tour, you know?”

“I’ve spent all summer with you.” You teased. After you two graduated, Shawn took off on his tour for Handwritten and you followed him all over North America. You stayed with him in Pickering for his birthday, and now you had a day to finish up packing back in Nashville before moving out for college. Shawn had pulled you away from your anxious thoughts on getting everything gathered for college with a tickle fight, making you appreciate him being there with you even more.

“Mmm,” Shawn hummed before shaking his head, “I’m going to miss you. The shows won’t be nearly as good without my number one fan there supporting me.”

“I’ll always be with you. I’m going to miss you too.” You told him and he gave you another kiss.

“Just promise me that you won’t go falling for any college guys, yeah?”

“Promise me that you won’t have any groupies, and we have a deal.”

“Deal.” He laughed, and you kissed him for a third time before moving away from him to continue packing, just like you had been doing earlier.

“You know, next time I see you, you’re going to have two albums out.” You stated, thinking about how his new album, Illuminate, was dropping in a month. You sat in front of your dresser and began to hand him your clothes and he placed them into your suitcase. 

“And then I’ll really count as a rockstar.” 

“You’ll count once you get Rogers Centre.” You teasingly remarked. Shawn chuckled as you absentmindedly gave him some of your underwear. You scoffed when you looked over and realized what he was laughing about.

“Want me to take these with me, huh, babe?” His face was red as he continued to laugh at his own humor. 

“Shut up, just put them in the suitcase.” You rolled your eyes at him.

“Nah, I think I’ll take this for the road.” He held up a single pair of your black underwear, discarding the others into the suitcase.

“Shawn,” You sighed, quickly taking it from him and placing it in your bag. Your eyes darted towards your open bedroom door, making sure your parents hadn’t passed by, “That’s it- you’re on shoe duty.”

“Aw, come on, you don’t want to take my underwear with you?” Shawn teased.

“Yours probably smell disgusting. Why would I want them?”

“I’ll keep that in mind for when I do a Calvin Klein photoshoot.” You playfully hit his shoulder and he pulled you in for a kiss, not wanting to lose the opportunity to show you just how much he loved you.

As you were drawn away from your deep sleep, all you wanted to do was kiss Shawn again. Back then, it seemed like the two of you would share countless kisses for all of time- that you would always be happy together. It was with a heavy heart that you realized that it may never happen again.

Today was a big day for you- and well, definitely a bigger day for Shawn. His first stadium show was today at the Rogers Centre, and today was the first day you would see him in person since the airport all those months ago. After calling Aaliyah a few weeks ago, she had managed to get you a ticket to the show. It was for the same VIP area that she’d be in with the rest of the special guests such as his entire family and his close friends.

You let out a large sigh as you climbed out of your bed that felt unusually cold last night. Yawning and stretching, you got ready for the day, already trying to plan a simple outfit for later tonight. If you were feeling brave enough, you’d even dare to go backstage with Aaliyah after the show, an offer that she had made to you in an effort to get the two of you back together. You had told her that you’d at least wait until after the show to see him, if you were even going to, because the last thing you wanted to do was to open that wound right before his big show.

Later that night, you made your way through the stadium’s crowd nervously. You knew his fans recognized you, you knew it was currently going around on social media that you- his ex-girlfriend- were here at his show. As you arrived to the VIP area, you immediately went to Aaliyah.

“Y/N, you made it.” She smiled, pulling you in for a hug the moment she saw you.

“I wouldn’t miss it. Thank you for this.” You said. Your eyes trailed over to Karen and Manny, and you suddenly felt guilty for the past nine months. They were like second parents to you- they treated you like their own daughter, and you hadn’t reached out since the break up.

“It’s so nice to see you again.” Karen stepped forward first, breaking the awkward tension in the air. She gave you a warm hug, one that you didn’t know you had missed.

“It’s nice to see you too.” You replied kindly. You took a deep breath as you looked around the stadium. It was even bigger than you had imagined, and you felt so overwhelmingly proud of Shawn.

“One day I’m going to headline it.” You could hear his voice in your head, so sure that one day he’d be right here. The soft moment was broken by intense screams as ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ began to play.

“That’s his cue.” Aaliyah told you happily. She pulled you over to the barricade so you could stand right there with her, in the front row. Soon, the song ended and the familiar notes of ‘Lost in Japan’ started. Aaliyah cheered beside you as Shawn’s silhouette appeared. Smiling, you cheered on your rockstar too.

“All it’d take is one flight, We’d be in the same time zone,” Shawn began to sing as he stood with the microphone stand. Your heart almost burst as you watched him sing and move happily- you had always told him that he belonged on stage, and he never proved you wrong.

It wasn’t until the bridge that he swiftly moved across the stage to where you were standing. You wanted to sink back into the crowd, to hide your face from him, but Aaliyah kept you close to her and you knew the fifteen year old wouldn’t let you leave easily. That sad feeling in your heart vanished when Shawn saw you. He did a double take, blinking a few times to check that you were in fact there. He smiled breathlessly at you and you could tell he was trying his hardest to keep it together. 

“Do you got plans tonight, I’m a couple hundred miles from Japan, and I,” He sang, sending you the smallest of winks before turning to walk towards the other side of the stage. You were mesmerized by him- you couldn’t take your eyes off him, even as you bit down on your lip to hold back a few tears.

“Don’t start crying on me now.” Aaliyah playfully nudged your arm with her elbow. You let out a small laugh, keeping your eyes trained on Shawn. You didn’t know how you made it nine months without him, but now you knew you couldn’t take another day of this pain.

After the concert, Aaliyah led you backstage and you watched from the sidelines as the team and Shawn’s family crowded around him, cheering on the sweaty singer. You stood away from everyone else, not wanting to infringe upon his moment. You took that moment to watch him- he was all smiles; his curls had started to stick to his forehead, but they were still just bouncy enough; his white tank top clung to his body, showing off his new butterfly tattoo- the only tattoo that you didn’t literally hold his hand as he got it; he hugged every single person that he could, overwhelmed by the fact that he just ended his first stadium show.

You suddenly didn’t feel brave anymore. He was so happy, and you were worried that seeing you would ruin it. He saw you in the crowd, but maybe he had winked at Aaliyah, maybe he had forgotten what you looked like, maybe he didn’t care, maybe he didn’t love you anymore. Your stomach began to turn anxiously and, with some tears starting to form in your eyes, you quietly snuck out of the room and down the hall and out the door, praying that no one noticed.

But someone did.

Shawn had been searching for you since the second he got off stage. He wanted nothing more than to run to you, to talk to you, to tell you that he’s missed you, to kiss you, to love you again. As he navigated his way through the hugs from the group surrounding him, his eyes went around, trying to find you. It wasn’t until you were walking down the hallway that he saw you. He watched your disappearing form and his smile faltered. You were here, and, just like that, you left- and he never got to tell you how he really feels. His heart hurt, but he kept a happy face as he continued to celebrate with his family, his crew, and his friends through the night.

~~~

You didn’t sleep much that night. You couldn’t close your eyes without picturing Shawn on stage. Your bed felt cold the night before, but it was freezing tonight without him there to hold you and keep you warm. 

Finally, the sun was up and you found yourself at the small piano in your apartment- you had a few days to stay before you left for your last semester of school. Your fingers grazed over the keys, playing the soft melody of ‘Lover’.

A knock on your door pulled you from your thoughts. You considered calling back to them, saying ‘go away’, not wanting to be disturbed. They knocked again, and you groaned at the persistence of this unknown person. You pulled your loose robe tighter around your body, not wanting whoever was at the door to see you in your pajamas- which consisted of one of Shawn’s old t-shirts and loose shorts. Getting up from the piano, you made your way over to the front and opened it.

You didn’t know what you expected when you answered the door, but you definitely did not expect to see Shawn standing there, holding two cups of coffee from your spot in Pickering while displaying a smile that looked like a mix between a nervous one and a tired one.

“Hi,” Shawn said quietly.

“Hi,” You replied, your voice just above a whisper.

“Can I- Can I come in?” He asked, clearing his throat.

“Yeah,” You nodded, opening the door wider and letting him into your apartment. He walked inside and you shut the door behind him. The two of you stood there awkwardly in your living room, trying to think of the proper way to go about everything. “What do you have there?”

“Your usual.” He stepped forward and outstretched his hand to you for you to take the coffee. You slowly took it from his hand and took a sip, reassured by the warm, familiar feeling of your drink.

“Thank you.” A silence overcame the two of you once more, before you spoke up again. You smiled genuinely, “I was at the show last night. It was amazing.”

“Thanks. I saw you in the crowd a few times with Aaliyah.” Shawn replied, “I listened to the album. Your songs are incredible.”

“I had a lot of inspiration.” You said.

“Well, I’d love to hear the backstory.” He stated, his voice suddenly more hopeful and lively as he smiled at you.

“You see, about nine months ago, my boyfriend and I got in this stupid fight and we broke up. I wasn’t ready to move in with him then, but-” You paused and set down the coffee cup, trying to think of what to say next.

“There’s always a but.” He raised his eyebrows at you playfully, also putting his cup on the counter.

“But I am ready now and I’m afraid it’s too late. I’m worried that maybe he moved on.”

“Or maybe he hasn’t. Maybe he can’t get her out of his head; maybe he wanted to give her some distance and that’s why she never heard from him; maybe he listened to every word on her sister’s album, trying to figure out what parts were about him; maybe he had his first stadium show tonight and almost backed out of it because he thought she wouldn’t be there; maybe he wants her back more than anything else; maybe he’s still madly in love with her- his lover.” Shawn pleaded, his sad smile never once faltering as he spoke.

“Every word?” You asked quietly and he nodded.

“He can’t listen to ‘Death by a Thousand Cuts’ without crying.” He laughed.

“I love you, Shawn.” You said, your hands reaching out for his.

“I love you so much, Y/N.” He grabbed your hands in his and pulled you in for a kiss. As you kissed him, you felt yourself begin to cry, overwhelmingly grateful that you had him back. It wasn’t until he pulled away and you opened your eyes that you realized he had started to cry too.

“Damn, who knew nine months apart would bring on the waterworks.” Shawn laughed, letting go of your hands to wipe away your tears. His hands rested on your cheeks as you wiped away his tears too.

“What do you say- want to try again? I don’t want a future without you.”

“On one condition.” His hands went around to the back of your neck and he gently took off your necklace. He held up the ring to you, “This stays where it belongs, no hiding it.” He slipped into back onto your ring finger and placed a soft kiss to it.

“You did tell me that you were replacing it one day.” You teased.

“I still fully plan on marrying you.” He reassured you, “Remember, you’ve loved me for three summers now and you want them all, lover?”

“There’s nothing I want more.” You wrapped your hands around the back of his neck as he rested his hands on your waist. “By the way, I’m kind of graduating in December and I got a job offer already- in Toronto.”

“Toronto, hm?” He bit his lip, raising his eyebrows at you again.

“I figure I should accept the position- that way I can actually move in with my rockstar boyfriend.”

“I think he’d appreciate that.” Shawn leaned down and kissed you for the second time that night, and you knew it wouldn’t be the last of the night either.

~~~

December 2019

“What do you think about this?” Shawn asked jokingly, holding up a green soap dish with a white bunny rabbit on it. He smiled as you laughed at the object.

“We can’t have a rabbit themed bathroom.” You giggled, your hands resting on the cart. It only had two objects: a sleek black mug rack for all of Shawn’s coffee needs and a fluffy blanket that you insisted on getting. Having finally graduated, you moved into Shawn’s apartment in Toronto. Since he hadn’t really been around to keep it homey, and he didn’t have the best eye for interior design sometimes, you two decided to go shopping for new things to bring life to the apartment.

“I don’t know, I think this bunny would match the frog butter tray.” He replied and you immediately looked over at the cart, seeing that he had managed to sneak the glass object by you. It was a cute idea, but the frog looked tormented and you definitely thought it was haunted.

“Shawn, no.” You whined playfully, taking it out of the cart and returning it to the shelf. You took the bunny soap dish from his hands and put it back on the shelf. “We have a butter dish, and who uses bar soap anymore?”

“But what if we start using bar soap?” He joked, reaching for the dish again.

“No,” You swatted his hands away from it as he laughed at you. He stepped behind you and put his hands on the cart, trapping you between his arms. The two of you kept walking through the aisle of miscellaneous kitchen and bathroom dishes. Shawn paused in front of the salt and pepper shakers.

“What if-”

“We are not getting the fire hydrant dog one.” You said, already knowing what he was eyeing. The salt and pepper shaker sitting in front of all the others was a bulldog lifting its leg to pee and a matching red fire hydrant.

“You’re really no fun sometimes.” He pouted and you turned around in his arms to kiss him.

“We already have shakers.”

“But we don’t have a dog peeing on a fire hydrant.”

“I’m done in this aisle. I’ll be in the picture frames.” You took the cart from his hands pushed it down to a few aisles over. When you stopped in front of the hanging picture frames, Shawn wasn’t behind you and you lightly rolled your eyes, knowing he was probably distracted by another random, animal themed dish. You smiled, seeing a black heart picture frame. You carefully picked it up and examined the wood detailing, trying to decide if it’d match the few picture frames Shawn already had.

“Whatcha got there?” You laughed as you heard Shawn’s voice when he finally caught up to you.

“Cute or cheesy?” You asked, holding it up to him.

“Cute.” He nodded, and you looked down, noticing the few objects in his hands. You raised your eyebrows questioningly at him, and he let out a small chuckle. “They’re just towels.”

“Do they have dinosaurs on them or something?” You teased.

“God, I wish.” He held up the two light blue towels to show a matching embroidered ‘Mr.’ and ‘Mrs.’ on each towel. “What do you say?”

“Cheesy, but cute.” You replied. You placed the picture frame down in the cart, expecting him to do the same with the towels, but he didn’t.

“Yes or no?” Shawn asked.

“To what?” You laughed suspiciously, trying to figure out if what you thought was happening was actually happening.

“I have to do everything, don’t I?” He joked, putting the towels in the cart before getting down on one knee.

“Shawn,” You breathed out and he reached into his pocket to grab out a ring box.

“Y/N, I’ve loved you since I was sixteen. This past year has been crazy without you, and I never want to let you go again. I know we’re young and you’re going to argue that we should wait, but you’re worth the wait, you’re worth everything to me. I only want to be with you. Will you be my Mrs., my lover? Will you marry me?” Shawn smiled hopefully, the delicate ring sparkling in the velvet box in his hands.

“Yes, my answer will always be yes.” You said, tears in your eyes as you watched him slowly take off your leaf ring and replace it with the diamond ring.

“Told you I’d replace it.” He kissed the new ring before placing the old one on your other ring finger.

“I love you so much.” You told him as he stood on his feet again. You pulled him in for another kiss. “I can’t believe you just proposed to me in the middle of a store.”

“What, do you want me to redo it?” Shawn asked, faking offense from your teasing comment.

“No, I love it.” You smiled as he leaned down to kiss you again. With a new ring resting on your left hand, you knew these sweet kisses with Shawn would be endless and you couldn’t want anything more.

Part Five

~~~

Tag List: @peterparkyourassonme @someinsanefangirl @kbearr12 @learning-howto-be-myselfx3 @haute-shawn @winterin127 @loveylangdon @wasteddarlinglover @turtoix @green-lxght @clairestarkparker @marissje @shawnandconnor

[bard-of-worlds]

Truth Between Worlds Ch1 /It Begins

A black background, Danny is in the rubble of a building on his hands and knees as he seems to be struggling with pain as to his right Tucker is trying to get to him as to his left a giant stone Dragon is rearing its head back with its mouth open as the GIWS watch from behind Tucker wounded as Sam is behind them, a shadow with bat wings behind her.  

 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 A white hared teen in a black jumpsuit with a black tail in place of his legs flew through the air over the town of Amity Park.   Another slow night, nice.  But I can’t help but fell something is coming, something that will change me.  Danny thought as he flew.  He shivered suddenly released a breath of cold air.  He looked around and saw a ghost octopus flying towards the far right side of town and smirked.  “Hello misplaced aggression!”

 Danny flew after the ghost and smirked as he charged up a blast when suddenly the octopus dodged and fired back at him, hitting him and sending him falling before he caught himself and stabilized his flight.  

 “That’s new, they never did that before.” Danny said as he shot after the ghost, seeing it at the edge of his sight. He fired a few blasts and the ghost fired back and they flew downwards towards the ground and it reached down with its tentacles and grabbed a rock it threw at Danny who blasted it into dust but some of it got into his eyes.  He rubbed it away but when he looked up he saw that the ghost had used his distraction to slip away.

 He flew in the direction that it had gone and after a few moments he had reached a decrepit construction site that had been left abandon.  This is great, a ghost octopus able to fire blasts and smart enough to find a way to distract me so it could get away, just wonderful!  He thought as he looked around for a few more moments before scoffing and letting his legs reform and drop to the ground.

 “I can’t believe that it got away from me, this is perfect Phantom, real good.” Danny muttered to himself as he looked around and looked around the site, down into the foundation and frowned, he took a step towards it when he suddenly went to a knee as his head started pounding.  After a few moments he got back up and shook his head as the pain in his head lessened and he got his bearings.  That was something, I mean I’ve been getting headaches for the last few weeks but that was even stronger than normal.  I gotta get something

 as he was about to investigate farther he heard what sounded like a car coming towards him.  Not wanting to scare anyone or give any would be ‘groupies’ a chance to see him he went invisible and flew away, not bothering to stick around.  A car drove by moments later and a light from a flashlight went around the construction site.

 “Nothing, thought I saw something, must have been a my eyes playing tricks on me, well once tomorrow’s done I can either get some help or I can say goodbye to this place.”  The drive said as he panned the light over the site and after a few passes back and forth he drove the car away and the site was left as it was before Danny and found it.

 Within the foundation the ghost octopus had slipped into a cave and looked out into the darkness as the light panned over the darkness and grinned as it moved out of the cave and bounced off the opening.  It looked confused before it went still as heat came from behind it.

 “IT HAS BEEN SOME TIME SINCE FOOD HAS COME OF ITS OWN ACCORD.”  A voice boomed behind it and the ghost turned around and screeched as it saw what was there.

 Outside above around the construction site the screech died out and the few animals that were still around looked at the

 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

  Danny sighed as he walked into Casper High, his head still bothering him. what the hell is wrong with me, I mean I haven’t felt like this since just after the accident!  Danny thought before he looked around and spotted the busses were dropping kids off and heading towards the back of the school.  “Of course that half day and trip, they must be waiting until it’s time to leave, hope they’ve got a book to read.”  

 Danny sighed before he walked in, hoping his headache would go down.  As he moved through the school towards his locker, he dodged the other students and paid them no more mind then they did him.  After dodging Dash and his fellow football jocks bothering a band member Danny reached his locker and had just finished getting ready for class when suddenly….

 “Hey Danny.” A voice from behind him caused him to turn and see a girl his age with light skin, black hair, purple lips and violet eyes with a black choker around her neck, a black tank top that exposed her midriff with a purple oval in the center, black striped skirt with a green crosshatch design, purple leggings, and black combat boots. She had on a pair of black bracelets around both of her wrists.  She looked tired and her eyes looked like she had been crying and Danny felt his heart break a little as he looked at her. I can’t believe this, she doesn’t deserve any of this!  Her parents are slime and only care about appearances and now this, her only alley in the family?  I don’t care what I will after to do I will help her however I can! Danny thought as he fought to keep his feelings from showing and kept his face kind.

 “Hey Sam, I guess the news is bad.”  Danny said as Sam nodded as she tried to gather herself back together and sighed.

 “Grandma has maybe a few days left according to her, the doctors think it will be longer and then there’s the fact that she wants to talk to me today after school.”  Sam said and Danny looked at her and Sam looked away. “Strange as it is, she’s at peace with it.”

 Danny looked at her concerned and worried about just what was else bothering her, knowing that she wouldn’t look away because of what was happening to her grandmother.  “Sam what is it? You know you can tell me if anything is bother you.”

 “Yeah….. is it bad that I’m so scared that my parents might send me away to a boarding school to turn me into a 60’s housewife once she’s dead? ” Sam asked and Danny shook his head.

 “No Sam, it’s not.” Danny said and put a hand on her face and smiled at her.  “People are complicated, that’s a truth I’ve learned over my life and about my other secret."

 “Thanks Danny.”  Sam said as she looked at him and sighed. “I…. can you come with me after school, Grandma asked me to bring someone I trusted with me.”

 Danny looked away and blushed.  “I’m honored that you trust me.”

 Sam looked away with a blush and smirked, trying to play it off.  “Why shouldn’t I?  And what’s wrong with that you?”

 “Headache since my run last night and the kalamari I had for a snack almost went down the wrong pipe.” Danny said with a scowl and Sam sighed.

 “Again?  That’s a bad sign.” Sam said and Danny chuckled and grinned at her.

 “Hey Guys!” A cheerful voice caused them to turn and see Tucker, an African-American teen with turquoise eyes, black hair, and black glasses. He had on a long-sleeve yellow shirt and green cargo pants with a black belt and brown boots along with a red beret and a backpack.   “Isn’t it great that we have a half day, and because of Vlad of all people!  And there’s a sale at the Tech-Shack that starts after lunch so life is good!”

 “Tucker, get real.” Sam scoffed and Tucker frowned and looked at Danny who stared stonily back. They didn’t notice the new school janitor move closer to them, close enough that he could hear what they were saying.

 “What I miss?” Tucker asked in total confusion and Danny sighed as Sam face palmed at his obviousness.

 “Why would Vlad give us a half day?” Danny asked and Tucker frowned and looked from Danny to Sam

 “I don’t know, why?” Tucker asked in total confusion.  “Is he trying to score points with Danny or some other reason?”

 “So Danny could be there if something happens.” Sam answered with her arms crossed and Tucker’s mouth dropped open.

 “Oh, I did not see that. Okay let’s see if I can find anything about the building they’re taking down.”  Tucker said with a shrug as he brought out a PDA and started to type. “Done!  By the time the bus leaves I should have something about what’s being destroyed.”

 “That’s the best we can do, we just have to hope this is just another business thing and not an other thing.” Danny said with a scowl as Sam sighed.

 “Why do you think he’s trying to score points with Danny?” Sam asked and Tucker grinned.

 “Well there is the weekend cruise next week remember?”  Tucker asked and Sam sighed as Tucker started to stare into space, knowing exactly what he was thinking about.  “The ship has free wifi, the best food and a two pools, one inside and outside!  I can’t wait until I can see the girls in their suites!”  

 Sam snorted and was about to say something however before she could speak some called out from behind them

  “Ahh miss Samantha, there you are on this gloomy day.”  The voice caused the three friends to turn to see three teens their age walk towards them, a boy leading two girls. Each of them was what most people would consider ‘goths’, pale and a somber air about them but Danny wasn’t too sure about that, something about that wasn’t ringing true to him.  The boy was Bob ‘Belphegor’ Jonson, a tall teen with black hair and eyes and always dressed in black cloths with a black coat that went to his knees.  To his right was a red head girl with a curvy body in a black shirt and skirt that was only one inch longer then regulations and she hair in a bun while in school but they had seen her about town with her hair down to her waist and she seemed to always have red painted bedroom eyes above blood red lips and talked with a sensual purr to her voice and while she had been named Helen but preferred the name Hecate. To Belhegor’s left was a blond haired girl with blue eyes, black lips and the same figure as Hecate who wore a red shirt and tight black pants and her hair short and was named Lyla, but only answered to Lamashtu.

 “Wonderful, Bobby and his bimbos, just what this day needed to start it!” Sam said as she glared at the three other ‘goths’ as Paulina always called them.  The three had been trying to get her to join their ‘coven’ for years, ever since puberty they had been after her with more fever.  

 “Oh Sam, why won’t you come and embrace your true self?” Lamashtu asked as Sam glared at them and snorted.

 “Your way, is not mine.” Sam said and Belphegor smiled in what he felt was inviting but made Sam shudder and caused Danny to glare at him.

 “But it could be your way my dear, all it takes is to but take a single step and invite the change in.” Belphegor said with a smirk and reached out with a hand towards her but dropped it when Sam glared at him.

 “I think I know my path better then you.” Sam said and Lamasthu giggled.

 “But then they say no fool is like the fool who’s lost their way.” Lamasthu said as Hecate laughed as Belphegor sighed and shook his head.

 “Well this time my dear I will let you go without showing you the truth, but you will learn it one day.” Belphegor said and Danny looked at him with a hard look.

 “Sam is allowed her own choices, and I’ll be helping her make them, every step.” Danny said and Sam looked at him with a smile that Hecate saw and scowled.

 “Come Belphegor, let’s leave the poser with the normals.” Hecate said with a sensual purr and as she turned away, a scoel on her face.  That one has always been different since that accident a year ago, but this is pto much!  Will we have to break their relationship before we can finally gain a fourth? She thought as she add a swing in her step that drew the eyes of the other boys beside Danny as the blond laughed musically as she walked away.

  “Your right, Hecate, Lamashtu. We have better things to do with our time before 2nd period.”   Belphegor said as he turned

 “What about 1st?” Tucker asked and Belphegor snickered as they walked away.

 “Study hall.”  Hecate called out as the three walked away as she and Lamasthu laughed.

 As soon as they were out of hearing Lamasthu scowled and it kept all her voice low.  “Why can’t that girl understand we are the people she should be with, she looks so sexy I so want to see her after we’re through rocking her world!”

 “And she’s a brunet, we so need one in the group!”  Hecate said with a pout and Belphor laughed a little.

 “Don’t worry my pets.” Belephor said as he put an arm around both of the girls and started to smirk. “I have a feeling that soon that will happen.”

  Back with Danny, Sam and Tucker Sam stared at them as they walked off before scowling and slamming her locker closed.

 “I don’t know why I don’t slug that bastard and his bitches!” Sam snarled as she clenched her fists.  “Or better yet, send the GIW after them!  There has to be a way to send them!”

 “Calm down Sam, I get it.” Danny said smoothly.  “I hate Joseph too, have for years.  And ever since he ‘realized who he is’ I’ve always felt he was slim, but let’s not give the teachers a chance to actually do something to us, and we have a half day because of that Vlad thing.”

“There’s that at least, all we have to do is see a speech and then I can get to the hospital.” Sam said as she smirked and Tucker chuckled a little.  “What is it Tucker?”

 “Nothing, it’s what Danny said.  The teachers probably punish the rest of the school because they have to do something to control the school after being up the A-List’s assess, I wonder what Dash’s smells like?” Tucker said with a laugh as they walked to class, none of the three noticing the new janitor had overheard them and was scowling at what he had heard.

 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 A black limo pulled up to a building on the edge of town and as soon as it stopped a man with short white hair and a goatee got out and wearing a black suit with a scowl on his face got out and walked towards a foreman before three Bulldozers and two backhoes and a standing before a gate connected to a stone wall, a four story house painted brown could be seen through it, the building had black stone gargoyles on it, at least ten a story with a large one on the roof with a few stone heads pointed over the wall here and there.

 “Mayor Masters, hey. Look I know we should have gotten the wall down but.” The foreman began when the black suited man exploded

 “Why haven’t you started yet?!  This place is part of the new industrial park and we need to break ground within weeks!” Vlad Masters barked and the foreman looked over his shoulder behind him and Vlad looked and was able to see an old man standing between the machines and the wall holding onto a grey walker.   “Of course, him!”

 The old man huffed and puffed as Vlad walked towards him and glared at him.  “I don’t care what you say, this land is mine!  As long as I breath I will protect this place!”  

 “I offered you a perfect settlement and then I had to pass a motion that forced the issue, you don’t even live in there!” Vlad said as he looked at the man who glared back.

 “I’m not supposed to live in it, I’m supposed to protect!  As long as I live I will protect the……..” The man began before he went still and fell backwards.  Vlad looked at the man laying down before he dropped to his side and felt  for a pulse.  Finding none he tried to get the man’s heart beating but after a few moments he stopped and sighed and shook his head.

 “Mayor Masters?” The Foreman aksed as Vlad walked away and looked tired.  

 “Call an ambiance, this man was right, as long as she drew breath she protected this place.” Vlad said solemnly before he stopped and looked around as he thought he heard a roar from a long distance away.  Looking around Vlad saw the other workers were spooked as well, and given how the town was that was saying something on its own.

 “Did you hear something sir?” The foreman asked and Vlad shook his head.

 “No, I didn’t hear anything.” Vlad said as he reached out with his senses and didn’t feel anything at all like a ghost beyond the few traces that he had left for the law he had made to have this place fall under his new law.  I never thought that the old man would die like this, but all in all good for me!  I’ll use a quarter of the money to give him a nice funeral and then……….why am I having a problem believing that this will be something simple, why do I think that this will cause more problems than I know?  Vlad thought as he looked around and moved towards the podium being set up. “Why do I have the feeling that I should contact the GIWS sooner or later?”

 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 “Move it people, calm and orderly, first ones go to the back, we full up a bus we go to the next, we’ve got all of them so don’t worry there’s room for all.” Mr. Lancer , a bald man in a blue shirt and black pants and a goatee said loudly and as Danny came out of the school with his backpack on and looked around the yard and saw that the A-Listers, were staying towards the school’s front doors, waiting until they could sit up front and the new janitor watching them.  

 “Of course they do the something they always do, use the system against us.” Sam muttered as she stood there with her own backpack and Danny laughed a little.  “Hey where’s Tucker?”

 “Said something about grabbing a book, his search bot should be finished and there he is.”  Danny said as he looked around and saw Tucker walking towards them with his backpack in one of his hands.  “Hey Tuck, got by without Dash seeing you?”

 “Guys, I found something on a blog about the city’s myths and history, it’s something.” Tucker said ignoring what Danny had said, something that caused looks of concern to be shared between Sam and Danny.

 “Hey guys, want to sit together?” A voice caused them to turn and see Valarie Grey, an African-American girl with long, curly hair and dark green eyes and a little curvy figure and was wearing yellow sleeveless shirt and orange skirt with white tennis shoes and had two bracelets on each wrist, one yellow and the other orange. She had been an A-Lister until her dad lost his security company when a ghost dog that his one of his customers had trained and used as a security system until Valarie’s dad had a more high tech replacement and the whole pack had been put down.  The dogs spirits had merged together into the ghost dog, Cujo as Danny called and it had rampaged until it recovered it’s favorite toy.  Unfortunately Vlad had found out about how Valarie blamed everything on ghosts and given her a high tech suit and she had been on a one woman crusade against all the ghosts in the world, until Danny had to destroy it but it had been upgraded by Technus.  Since then she been a terror for any ghost that fell into Amity Park, from accidents to attackers all were her enemy and subject to destruction, Danny couldn’t count the number of times he had to save ‘good’ ghosts from her, but recently it had spike to once every other day, and he didn’t want to know if she delivered some to Vlad he never heard about.

 “Hey Val, didn’t think you weren’t going?” Sam asked and Valarie shrugged.

 “Yeah well my dad might become the head of security to the complex while it’s being worked on so I might as well go and see what it is.” Valarie

 “Miss Valarie, with my please!” Lancer called out . “Next Bus!”

 “And Lancer is on my case lately.” Valarie said as she walked off and Danny frowned.

 “Think Lancer and the others are stepping up protecting the A-Listers more than normal?” Sam asked and scoffed when Danny looked at her.  “Come on, this has to be because she defended that girl a few days ago from Paulina.”

 “The new girl, Kimiko right?” Danny asked as the three friends moved towards one of the buses, hoping to keep Lancer or any of the teachers from noticing them.

 “Yeah, I mean I always thought they were just bad teachers, but maybe they’re just sell outs.” Sam said as she eyed the few teachers around them and Danny felt his headache spike and kept a sigh in as he realized that Sam might be onto something.  “But what’d you find Tucker?”

 “Come on, I’ll tell you the bus.” Tucker said and moved towards the bus and they were soon in the back and noticed that they had the fewest students as the A-Listers claimed a bus for themselves and Danny shook his head as the convoy of buses started.

  “Okay, this was…..interesting.”  Tucker said as the bus moved off.  “The demolition is in the area of the city that was called, Rich Clan Road, a kind of gated community that was proposed about one hundred years ago.”  Tucker said and looked at Danny and Sam.  “But after the first three buildings were finished the development fell through and the company went under, the three houses did have residents lined up but all three families died and then the houses were in limbo beyond a single caretaker.  But until about twenty years ago people would always report seeing lights from the buildings, and the one that Vlad is flattening was the first finished.”

 “Anything else?” Sam asked and Tucker looked concerned.  “Tucker……”

 “Okay, okay.”  Tucker said and released a deep breath.  “A while back I wanted to look into old town legends, there’s a story about how people would hear a strange roar once or twice a year that started about thirty-five years ago but stopped twenty years ago.  The tale goes that it started after a circus came through town burned down, and they never found all the animals or attractions; among them was a supposed lion; a lion cub that responded to orders otherworldly if you know what I mean  and what’s worse is that the records of missing pets dropped drematicly around here twenty years ago to .”

 “Oh hell.” Danny said and Sam winced; once or twice they had seen some of the Zone’s ‘animals’ feeding on each other and self-aware ghosts.  And what was worse was he had found a few ghost ‘Animal’ eating from garbage or dead birds in Amity Park .  From what Frostbite said that was normal and a reason for Kingdoms to gather to gather, to protect themselves as Lairs could be broken into if the ‘animal’ was strong enough.

 “And Freakshow proved that people can control ghosts.”  Sam said and then went still.   “Twenty years, both stopped twenty years ago?”

 “Right after the Fenton family moved in with their ghost tech, yeah.” Tucker said and Danny winced.

 “Okay, so what about after they made their greatest invention?” Danny asked and Tucker shook his head knowing what Danny meant.

 “No sightings at all, not surprising really.  Only person even went there, until about three months ago when Vlad passed a law that any abandoned house that hasn’t been lived in where ghosts are detected is to be demolished to ‘chase away any spectres’.”  Tucker said and Sam sighed. “Yeah, those are my thoughts exactly.”

 “So Vlad wants to do something with the land, any ideas?” Sam asked and Tucker looked down.  

 “It’s supposed to be a new industrial park.” Tucker said and held up a hand to cut Sam off.  “And before you say anything about it, while only the first three buildings were finished, the other lots were cleared of all plants and they all have at most half-finished buildings and were left to grow wild.”

 “Anything about that circus?”  Danny asked as he looked out the window and frowned.  Wait, I’ve seen some of these structures before….. Danny thought as he started to feel worried.

 “Nothing, it was long ago but I checked the Index of Circus, government agency to keep an eye on those things, don’t ask why, but nothing.” Tucker said and shook his head.   “But something about that name……. I don’t know.”

 “What name?” Danny asked as he looked ahead and frowned as his mind was recognizing the general location but he wasn’t exactly sure how.

 “The name of the circus, I don’t know……. “  Tucker said with a shrug.  “I’ll look over the name and see what my database back home has.”

 “You have a database?” Sam asked and Danny turned his head and looked at Tucker who grinned.

 “Custom built, got the parts from the salvage lard, I head there once a week and get a few pieces to sell online, built up a good offline system.” Tucker said with a smirk.  Danny listened with one ear as he felt that strange feeling he had last night and then as the bus turned a corner he realized where they were going.

 “Oh hell.” Danny breathed and Sam and Tucker turned to him in concern.  “This is….”

 “Danny?” Sam asked as she put a hand on his shoulder and Tucker looked at him.

 “This is where I started to get sick last night on my walk.” Danny said and Sam eye’s widened and Tucker looked between them

 “How’s you get sick?” Tucker said and Danny looked around before he spoke.

 “Calamari that I had for a snack last night.” Danny answered and Tucker winced and looked around the street as the buses stopped and looked at the construction machines.  As the buses stopped Danny could see a news van with a reporter setting up and he wondered if the school was here for a publicity stunt for Vlad.

 “Well maybe this won’t be so bad.”  Tucker said as they got out of the buses and looked towards Vlad standing before a podium. Danny said nothing, he just looked around before going still, causing Tucker to walk into him.  Following Danny’s eyes Sam and Tucker found what Danny had, an ambulance that was driving away and without its lights on, the sign that whoever it was carrying was dead.

 “Hey Fen-turd, you and your losers have a fun time so far?”  A nasal voice caused Danny to scowl as he turned and saw the A-Listers coming towards them in their usual arrogant swagger.  Leading the way was Dash Baxter the quarterback of the football team, a musical blond teen with blue eyes in a red-and-white letterman jacket, with a black t-shirt underneath and dark blue jeans and white shoes.  Next to him was Paulina, the captain of the cheerleaders; a tan skinned Latino girl with curly black hair that went to her waist had a seductive figure. She was wearing her usual cloths, a pink shirt that reveals her midriff, light denim capri pants and white flats.

 “You know I expected them to be up front you know?” Kwan said.  Kwan was an Asian teen with black hair and eyes and was wearing the same clothing as Dash and next to him was Star, another cheerleader with a figure like Paulina and had hips-length golden blonde hair with spiky bangs and turquoise eyes and was wearing a white T-shirt with a thin orange collar, orange cuffs, and a backwards P in the middle, dark orange jeans, and white flats.

 “Just ignore them guys, they don’t matter at all.”  Danny said as he started to move and ignored them, after the last year he had finally wised up and thrown the ideas about the school social hierarchy was nothing but trash.

 “What was that Fen-turd!” Dash growled and Danny just waved him off.  “Running away with your tail between your legs like that sister of yours, always running her mouth!”

 Paulina giggled a little but stopped when she saw Star had paled and turned and saw Danny slowly turn, a hard edge in his eyes that scared and shocked her.

 “If it isn’t the Asshole-Listers I didn’t hear you, how have you been lately, forced some students to do your homework or something?” Danny asked sarcastically and Dash actually looked shocked and Sam smirked.  

 “Now Danny; don’t taunt the stupid.” Sam said with a cold edge to her smile as she looked at them, glad that Danny had finally decided to let loose.  “After all this is the best they will ever have it, once they’re out of school it’s all downhill.”

 Paulina looked at Sam and Danny as they seemed to exclude a sense of rage and danger as she tried to catch her breath and suddenly Star was in front of her.

 “Guys, I know Dash went a little far with that, but let’s not give the teachers something alright?” Star asked with big eyes and Danny calmed down and looked at Sam who nodded and they walked away.  

 Vlad looked over the students and then he saw Danny and his friends move away from the A-Listers and he smirked as he caught enough of the reaction between Danny and the so called popular crowd that he could only smile, Danny was so much like him that once he tour him away from Jack and Maddie was his it wouldn’t be too long that he’d have a perfect heir.

 “Everyone can hear me, this is on?” Vlad asked into the mike and as he heard his magnified voice he smirked. “Excellent.  This place has been a blight on Amity Park for years, a gaping wound on our city that time has finally caused to be healed, and it’s going to be a major part of our future!  This is the site of the new technology park, a development that will bring in new jobs and new members of our family once construction is finished! I don’t have to tell you that chance can be terrifying, but it can also be a good thing!”  

 Vlad looked at the students as they looked at him, a smirk threatening to break out on his face as he saw Danny and Sam both trying to figure out what he was after.  Poor little badger, you wouldn’t understand my plan until it’s done.  After all this is chess, and I am just making my opening moves.  Vlad thought with a grin.  “This place was never finished, the people these houses were meant for died before they even stepped into them, so let us watch as we return this place to history!  Start the construction of the newest part of Amity Park!”

 At Vlad’s scream the bulldozers started and as the students cheered they crashed into the wall and revealed an overgrown garden with over twenty black stone statues of gargoyles at least five feet tall here and there, some on stands of white rock.  Each gargoyle had bat wings on their backs, clawed three fingered hands and two clawed feet and mouths barred in grins of savage looking teeth.

  Danny looked at the statues as the bulldozers moved towards them and frowned.  

 “You think Vlad would want to recover the statues at least, maybe sell them at an auction or something.” Sam said and then Danny went still and paled.  “Danny?”

 “Dude?” Tucker asked and Danny shook his head.

 “Guys, move slowly towards one of the buses, now.” Danny said calmly.  “I think I saw one of those statues move its head.”

 Sam and Tucker looked at each other and moved backwards slowly, hoping that Danny was wrong this once but knowing differently.  As one of the bulldozers speed up and charged at one of the statues it suddenly came to an abrupt stop as soon as it hit the gargoyle.  The drive could only look on in confusion that turned to horror as the statue turned its head to look at him before it roared and flared its wings.

 As soon as the first gargoyle roared the others started to screech and move, some taking flight and flying at the crowed who screamed and ran towards the buses.  

 “Keep moving, get to the buses!” Lancer roared and looked around when he realized that Valarie was gone from his sight.  Danny was lost in the rush, pulled away from Sam and Tucker who had gotten onto a bus and as Dash, Paulina and Kwan piled onto a bus and Dash closed the doors, locking it in place As one of the teens pounded on the door a gargoyle came towards them but as it reared back a blast of red energy hit it and sent it flying away.

 “GET AWAY FROM THEM!!” A voice roared as the Valarie in her Red Huntress guise, her black and red armored form riding her hoverboard appeared from above the bus and started to fire away at the gargoyles and the teens cheered, especially when Valarie shot the locked door and it fell inward. The other teens climbed into the bus, most of them glaring at Dash, Paulina and Kwan, Star amongst them. As the drive climbed into his seat he looked at the kids and saw that he was over capacity and cursed himself for what he was about to do.  

 “EVERYONE HOLD ON!!” As the words died down the bus drive started to drive, the other bus following him as the other teens who couldn’t get on ran after them, some cars the construction crews and the single news van following behind them, the back doors open and full of teens who grabbed those who couldn’t get on

 Danny saw the bus’s carrying his friends away from the battle from the side ally where he had ducked into when he had gotten to the back of the pack and willed a white ring that spilt in two and transformed him into his Phantom form and shot into the air and blasted a gargoyle that had attacked Valarie’s back.  Valarie heard the explosion and scowled when she saw Danny hover there firing at the other ghosts as far as she was concerned.

 “Phantom!  I knew you had to be behind this!” Valarie snarled as Danny looked at her with an exasperated look.

 “Of course, because I’m blasting what I control, sure it’s all part of my plan!” Danny said sacristy and went intaglable to avoid a gargoyle but it shoulderslammed him anyway and carried him to the ground.  He looked up as it reared back but Valarie shot it’s head off.

 “I’m the only one who gets to destroy you spook!” Valarie spat as she flew at another gargoyle and used the energy blade between it to cut off its head and as the head roared at her the body decomposed.  The head is still ‘alive’ but the body was destroyed., so headshots! Valarie thought as she started to fire at the heads of the gargoyles but only two went down.  “What the hell?!”

 A roar caused Danny to look towards it and see thirty more gargoyles coming towards them, ten of them hovering in front of the mansion as the other twenty charged at them.  “What, are they protecting that place, why?!”

 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 Vlad meanwhile had gotten to his limo drove off, setting in the back as he watched from a drone he had launched as he had left, scowling as he watched the feed.  “Oh I do hate it when I’m right about this, I can only hope that the area won’t be too damaged once this is done.”

 Vlad looked upwards as he heard the sound of jet engines and smirk.  “Well let’s see what will happen when the GIWs come out to play!”

 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 Danny dodged another blow from one of the flying Gargoyles and stole a look at Valarie and saw twelve GIW skysleds with four loaded out for bombardment and cursed.  “HUNTRESS, UP NOW GIW BOMBARBMENT INCOMEING!”

 Danny shot skyward and Valarie looked at him for a second before willing her board to climb skyward as well and moments before that happened missiles hit the gargoyles and the mansion, covering all of them and the mansion in an explosion that almost caused Valarie to be blown from her board.

 “What the hell?” Valarie breathed and looked and saw the mansion had been destroyed but the gargoyles had gone still and they had turned towards the mansion, the missiles having turned it into rubble, the stone creatures not moving.  Those stone things are still, was the mansion the source of their life?  What the hell are they, they can’t be ghosts but what?  Valarie asked as she moved her board forward an inch before a bolt of blue energy flew past her.

 “FREEZE!!!” A voice barked from the direction of the other skysleds and Valarie turned and saw four skysleds face her and she stared as she saw that their weapons were pointed at her and she grew angry as she tried to comprehend

 “What the hell are you doing, I’m not a ghost!!”  Valarie said as she looked at the GIWs who only looked at her and tried to figure out what they were doing.

 “Red Huntress by order of the Federal Anti-Ecto Control Act, Article 4, Section 2, subsection B you are under arrest!” Operative K, a brown skinned bald man in the uniform of the GIWs, a white suite with black tie, black gloves, boots and black sunglasses said as others GIWs aimed at her as four skysleds aimed at Danny as he hovered there and formed two blasts with his hands.

 “What the hell are you doing?!” Valarie demanded as she prepared herself to react to whatever the GIWs did next.

“The Anti-Ecto Control Acts also limits what hunters can use.” Danny said as he looked at the GIWs and scowled.  “Maybe even how many ghosts one can capture, it’s all about control with them.”

 “Quite ghost. Surrender for experiments, lots of painful experiments.” Operative K said and Valarie went pale as she heard that.

 “Experiments?” Valarie said pale and her eyes dilated and then she gritted her teeth as parts of her family history flashed through her eyes and she prepared herself to go down fighting at least when suddenly…..

 “RROOOOAAAR!!” A savage roar came from the mansion and as the rubble was flung away and a dust cloud covered the land.  As they watched two large wings made of black stone suddenly burst out of the clouds, a black stone serpentine head on a long neck connected to a body with a crest and four long legs with that ended in four clawed hands and a tail that ended in a spiked ball, a black stone dragon as long as the mansion was that roared and fired a blast of black energy from its mouth at the bombardment skysleds as twenty of the gargoyles screeched and shot towards the GIWs while the rest of them charged after the buses.  

 “Procedure Omega operatives!”  Operative K barked and the GIWS began firing against the charging gargoyles that swarmed closer and started to claw at their foes and destroyed a few of the sky sleds sending GIWs falling to the ground.  Danny could only look at the carnage and swallow.  This is beyond anything I could have imagined happening today!  Wait those others are going into town! Danny thought as he looked around and then looked towards the center of town.

 “Huntress, go after the gargoyles heading into town, go and protect the people!  I’ll try and handle this but just go!” Danny called to Valarie who looked at him and readied her gun as she looked at him as the GIWs tried to handle the Gargoyles.

 “And why should I listen to a ghost?” Valarie barked and looked at the gargoyles as they moved into town.  But he’s right damn it!  if regular people are hurt and I could have stopped it from happening!  She thought as she grimaced before scowling at Danny.  “Fine! But not because I agree with you ghost!”

 As Valarie flew away Operative K saw and overheard everything and notice the treason of the Red Huntress before a gargoyle roared and charged at him but he dodged it and saw that he had lost all of his bombardment sleds and two of the others. “All forces fall back, contact base and request all operatives to sortie!”

 As the GIWs fell back, Danny stayed and fought on, blasting apart ten of the gargoyles before the Stone Dragon took notice and roared, taking flight and charging at him. Danny dodged to the left and three gargoyles slammed him to the ground.  As he struggled to get free he looked up and saw the Stone Dragon hovering, its head pointed at him and its mouth open as it built up a charge.

 Danny tried to struggle free but after a few moments he realized he couldn’t and tried to figure out how to survive.  Think Phantom, think!  How can you get out of this how can you…….Danny went still as he realized just what he had to do.  

 “One chance!”  he called out as the Dragon released its blast as he went intangible moments before it hit and the blast destroyed the Gargoyles and sent him down and into the ground, but Vlad’s drone didn’t see him as the explosion kept what was happening from its sight.

  OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Smash.  A glass dropped from Vlad’s hand as he watched with widened eyes as the Dragon took flight and the Gargoyles followed after it. I can’t believe this, so that thing was able to best him.  and it’s coming into town!  Vlad thought as he quickly pressed a button and sighed when he heard a siren in the distance and saw people look up and start running towards the nearest safe location, cars all moving in the same direction as they abandoned everything else to get to safety.

 “Well at least the public safety announcements worked.” Vlad muttered as the limo entered into a garage attached to town hall and he moved towards his office to handle this, smiling as the security guards the GIWs had trained moved to prepare to defend the seat of government.  “Maybe I should look into getting a station set up near the school……….. in a weak they’ll probably have enough on the teachers there to blackmail and get those people blacklisted.”

 Vlad walked into his office and looked at his secretary who was waiting for him.

 “The shields are up at all shelters sir, the GIWs just contacted us, all operatives have been deployed and the police are getting whoever remains to the safe zones.”  She said as she walked into the office after Vlad, the glow of the shield visible through the windows.

 “And them?” Vlad asked as he sat down and called up a holographic screen with a map of the town showing the shelters and the Gargoyles path into the city.  He frowned as he looked at the screen and frowned.

 “The Fenton’s contacted us and that they’re taking their Assault Vehicle to backup the GIWs.” She said and she looked out the window and took a step back, Vlad frowned before he heard the sound of blasters firing and he realized the stone creatures had reached the town hall.

 “Do activate the secondary defenses, and call me if something changes.”  Vlad said as the woman nodded before running away and the doors closed automatically.  The ringing of his phone caused him to look at it and sigh when he saw the number.

 “Ahh Amy!  It’s a little bit of a problem, you missed something when you looked over the property, it seems the town is under attack by a flock of stone Gargoyles led by a Dragon of all things!” Vlad said and listened to the reply.  “Yes I’m sure the town can survive the problem, the GIWS are out in force and I expect him to handle this the second time.”

 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 Danny shook his head as he got up from where he had fallen.  “Okay Phantom, that wasn’t the worst thing that you’ve ever been hit by, so walk it off! Now where am I?”

 Danny looked around and beyond a few slivers of light from above it was completely dark.  Danny formed a ball of energy and as the light from it chased away the darkness he saw he was in a natural cavern with a large mass at least five feet tall at least twenty feet away from him that Danny saw move up and down slowly and rhythmically. Yikes, that’s something.  If it didn’t react to me then and the chaos above its sleeping deep! And speaking of upstairs I need to get back to it!  Danny thought as he silently flew upwards and hit a barrier as he reached the celling. “What the hell?!”

 “This is?” Danny muttered to himself as he felt along a strange barrier that kept him from moving through the stone.  Okay, this is acting like the ‘Zone, but this is the human world, so how do I get around this?  I mean how on earth could someone make this place impassable for ghosts one way but not the other…….. that’s a mouse trap or a prison……wait prisons have prisoners….. Danny’s thoughts trailed off as realized just where he was.

 “YOU CAN NOT LEAVE THIS PLACE HALFLING, ONE ONLY MAY LEAVE.”  A rumbling voice caused Danny to turn and stare.  The mass was unrolling into a large brown lion at least ten feet tall with a mane of crimson flames and claws of black obsidian, two tails that ended in rubies that blazed with a crimson light and it had two eyes of jade flames and saber fangs of obsidian. “THIS PLACE HAS BEEN MY PRISON FOR MANY YEARS NOW, BUT WITH YOU I MIGHT FINALLY HAVE ENOUGH ENERGY TO ESCAPE!”

 “Okay, so how can I help you get us out of here?” Danny asked causing the lion to chuckle. “What’s so funny?”

 “YOU MAY WILL HELP ME BY BEING MY FOOD HALFLING, AS ALL OF YOU HALFLINGS ARE SUPPOSED TO  BE.” The brown lion said bluntly and Danny pales more and looked at the creature as it slowly padded towards him, moving away from it.

 “With me, wait you want to eat me?!” Danny said as the creature nodded its head as it stalked towards him.  Wonderful, first a stone dragon and now a giant lion wants to eat me!  he thought as he looked around, trying to find any hint of a way to escape.

 “YES, SINCE I ESCAPED FROM MY FORMER CAPTIVES I HUNTED THE FLESH OF THE LOW BORN HERE AND GREW STRONGER AND THEN HUNTED THE HIGHBORN UNTIL A MIDDLE BORN TRAPPED ME HERE AND SIPHONED OFF MY POWER TO CREATE THOSE THAT ATTACK THE MIDDLE BORN ABOVE US.” The lion rumbled and Danny prepared himself for a fight, the lion only looked resigned.  “THEN YOU WILL NOT LET ME SLAY YOU SWIFTLY THEN.”

 “Sorry but I have a real problem with helping those who try and kill me!” Danny said as he took flight and the lion looked at him with what Danny thought might have been respect.  

 “THEN SO BE IT.   KNOW THAT I AM VOLEO! LET US DO THE ONLY DANCE THAT MATERS, THE DANCE OF BATTLE AND EVOLUTION!!!” Voleo called ut and charged at Danny, throwing two orbs of fire from its tails that he shot and dodged as he flew about the top of the cavern, taking shots that didn’t faze his foe.  Voleo looked at Danny and flicked its tails until it had formed twenty fireballs that it sent at him.

 Danny scowled as he sped up and dodged the fireballs as he tried to figure out a way to defeat this thing. My running blasts aren’t doing anything, if I can charge a shot then maybe but I’ve never really tried to charge it while I was moving!  Still first time for anything!  Danny thought as he flew and cupped a hand, forcing a blast but letting his energy build up instead of releasing as it reach the maximum he fired it, hitting Voleo’s right hind leg and blasting it off, causing the ‘lion’ to stumble and fall to the ground.

 “YES!” Danny called out with a smirk that fell when the leg flew back towards Voleo body and remerged with it as it got back to its feet.  “No.”

 It looked at him with a tense air for a few seconds before it reared back and slammed it’s front legs down and four spears of rock flew at Danny, one of them scoring a cut on his right side, the wound oozing greenish red blood.

 Danny held back a snarl and fired a few bolts at the Voleo and the lion slammed a paw down and shot stone arrows that intercepted the bolts.  As Danny flew around the chamber the lion looked at him and roared, sending a flash of heat that almost sent Danny to the ground.

 “An Ice powered Halfling, then this is over.” Voleo rumbled as Danny tried to struggle to his feet and as the lion moved closer.  This can’t be the end, I won’t let it! I have to fight back I can’t let this thing eat me, if it does then who will protect Amity?!  Who will protect Sam……SAM!!  Danny thought as he reached beyond what he knew and grasped something that had always been within him and it exploded in a wave of black energy that sent Voleo flying away from Danny.

 Voleo looked up and saw Danny standing there, a cloak of black energy surrounding him as he got up and a black energy scythe formed in his hands and as his eyes blazed red.  

 “What is this, wait you’re not a!” Voleo bellowed and roared as it fired a blast of lava at Danny who disappeared and sliced down with his scythe taking off Voleo’s right foreleg and as the lion moved away Danny appeared and sliced down and Voleo sent a stone pillar at him that he sliced through and tore through it and Voleo moved away and looked at Danny, two fangs showing from his upper mouth as he grinned at Voleo.

 “So that is what you are, then this is not as easy as I thought it would be.  But I took the battle dance seriously, so may evolution favor one of us!” Voleo said as it roared and charged at Danny but Danny disappeared and bisected Voleo and it roared as it condensed into a spark of brown energy that hovered as Danny collapsed to the floor, his eyes closing as the energy scythe and aura died down.

 A few moments later Danny woke back up and held his head, his transformation dropping as he woke up. “What happened…..wait where’s that Lion and how’d I detransform?”

 Danny looked around and saw the hovering spark and looked at it as he saw what color it was.  That has to be the lion, but what happened to it?  And why am I dawn to it? Danny thought as he approached the spark and touched it, going still and screaming as a well of energy blasted upwards, breaking the ceiling as the energy well climbed high into the atmosphere.

 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 Sam looked around the gym as everyone huddled in small groups as she leaned against the wall as Tucker tried to get a signal through the barrier as the teachers tried to keep the students under control.  Of course they act like they care about everyone when a crisis happens, otherwise it’s only the A-Listers who matter!  Sam thought in disgust as she looked at the teachers as Tucker typed away at his phone.  “Any luck?”

 “Nothing, I can’t even get a single channel or update and the net’s down!” Tucker said and shook his head with a disgusted expression.  “I thought these things Vlad donated let wireless signals through.”

 “That’s what the specs we read at the Fenton’s said……. But give a guess why that is here; think about where we are.” Sam said with a snort and Tucker looked at the teachers and nodded.

 “Yeah, I can see that.” Tucker muttered and looked back at his phone and tried to work around the blockage.  

 “Yeah, that’s for sure.” Sam muttered as she looked around and caught sight of Belphegor leaning against the wall of the far side of the gym with Hecate and Lamashtu around him, a strange and smug look on his face.  And then there’s them.  I’ve always thought that those three are wrong somehow but how they’re reacting to this is not right……… maybe I can get the guys to see what I’m talking about with them, maybe we should look into them. Sam thought before she heard Tucker cough a little.  “What is it?”

 “That.”  Tucker said point towards the teachers.  “Look alive, the only good A is coming towards us.”

 Sam sniffed, spelling the familiar scent of cat and looked up and saw Star walking towards them and frowned.  What does she want?  She’s the only one of the A-Listers that I don’t hate but she follows Paulina around and…..well that’s enough really.  Sam thought with a slight scowl as Star walked towards them.

 “Sorry to bother you, but have you seen Valarie?  I know she was on Lancer’s bus but I couldn’t see her anywhere and…….” Star began but Tucker interrupted her.

 “GOT IT!  I’ve got signal!  Let’s see what’s on the news, oh hell.” Tucker said causing Star and Sam to look at the screen and pale.  As kids around them heard and gathered they looked down as well and as the gathering was noticed and Lancer started to walk towards them.

 “  to those just turning in, again this is Lance Thunder, so far reports from all shelters show that the shields are only holding the creatures partially back but there’s reports of something bigger…….Oh god!  Folks I’m at Main Street and the Fentons, the Red Hunter and the GIWs are fighting the gargoyles but there’s a black stone Dragon flying towards us!  The people are evacuating to nearby shelters and this reporter is joining them!” Lance Thunder’s voice came over Tucker’s phone as

 Sam looked at Tucker as the kids around them heard and started to talk to the others as Lancer made it to them with a scowl, but Sam was only paying attention to the fact that Danny wasn’t fighting, that meant something had happened to him.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 Vlad looked at the battle that had spilled into Main street and scowled.  This shouldn’t have happened, everything was perfect!  I can’t believe this, but at least those evacuation plans from when the town was taken into the Ghost Zone works.  Vlad thought as he watched a screen in the mayor’s office and looked up as his secretary came into the room with a look of fear.  “What is it?”

 “Sir, the GIWs called, they want authorization to prepare something called ‘Operation Exodus’?” She said and after a few moments of silence she looked up and saw that Vlad was looking at her in shock, his pupils dilated.

 “Exodus?!?  Call them back and tell them that if they even call me back with that propsual then I will send everything to Washington!” Vlad barked as he shot up from his chair and she fled from the room with Vlad’s glare following her.

 “Exodus, of all things!” Vlad said as he leaned back into his chair.  I thought I told them not to even think about making that thing!  Once we survive this, I need to find out just what those idiots have been doing! Vlad thought as he glared at the holo map and wondered how Amity Park would survive this day.

  OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 Valarie strafed the Dragon and it roared as she blasted away at it; the evacuation of people from this part of town had almost been but when the Gargoyles had reached the area and attacked, the GIWs had made it and were only attacking the stone creatures and the and the Fentons had rolled up in their Ghost Assault Vehicle and started to blast away, saving some of the GIWs who had lost their skysleds and had used it as a rallying point as they escorted the civilians from the area as they all fell back towards the nearest shelter and she thought they could handle it but then the Dragon had appeared and the other gargoyles had surged forward, somehow stronger then before

 “Come on Mads, we can get this thing down!” Valarie looked down and saw Jack Fenton trying to charge the nearest Gargyole but Maddie Fenton held him back.

 “Stay there Jack, we need to protect the people, once their safe we can come back for samples!” Maddie said and Valarie hid a shudder as she blasted at a Gargoyle.

 “Of course those two are like that.” She muttered as she surfed on her board and dodged another Gargoyle as she fired a few blasts as she looked tried to figure out what was happening.  I really need something to see what’s happening around me, maybe I should try and make a drone or something!  Valarie thought as she flew around the battle and tried to figure out something and smirked as she saw the Assault Vehicle destroy one of the Gargoyles, blasting its body apart and destroying its wings and arms. YES!  If we take out the smaller ones first then we can gang up on the bigger…… wait. What’s that thing doing? Valarie thought as she looked on in horror as she surfed around and could only look on, shocked at what she was seeing.  As Valarie could only watch with horror as the Stone Dragon charged up and fired a blast of black energy at the Gargoyle that the Fenton’s had destroyed, and within moments the gargoyle got back to its feet, fully recovered. “FUCK!”

 The Gargoyles roared and charged at the Assault Vehicle as the GIWs started to fire away as the Fenton’s activated their vehicles weapons to meet the horde as Valarie surfed down shooting, thinking the last thoughts that she ever thought she would ever.  Where are you Phantom?!  Valarie thought as she tried to surf past a Gargoyle only one from below her struck and destroyed part of her board, sending her falling and it retracted into her suit as she landed on the Assault Vehicle and started to lend her blasts as the Gargoyles.

 “You okay Huntress, when can you get airborn again?” A voice caused her to look down for a second and saw that it had come from one of the GIWs.  Valarie saw an update on her mask about her board, it would need a few minutes to recover and then she could get back into the sky and strafed the dragon

 “Soon!” Valarie said as she looked at the Dragon as it stood there and seemed to just look at them as the Gargoyles ran into their fire.

 “How long?” The Agent asked as he battered down a Gargoyle and shot its head off

 “Just Soon!” Valarie called out as she started to fire blasts from bother her arms at a Gargoyle that tried to get around them to attack the civilians running away from the battle.

 “Not detecting a lot of trust lady!”

 “You did try and arrest me earlier, so don’t expect me to give you my tech-specs!” Valarie spat and she heard the Agent

 “Wait, What?!?” The Agent asked in shock.

 Farther back Lance Thunder and his camera man were standing far enough behind them to see but not hear the byplay but Lance winced with each Gargoyle that the GIWs sent down.

 “I so don’t get paid enough for this!” Lance said as he covered and saw the spit take the GIW agent had done.  “There’s a story in that I think.”

 “ROOOOOAAAARRRRR!”  

 They all turned as the roar echoed around them and they saw the Gargoyles break contact and move towards the Dragon as it reared back its neck as energy started to spill out it’s mouth and they realized what it was going to do.

 “hell, Everyone get to cover!  If you Fentons have anything that can block it’s blast then now’s the time to use it!” The agent barked and Valarie willed her suit’s shielding systems to form an energy wall just in front of the Assault Vehicle moments before the Stone Dragon released a large energy blast that she barely held back.  She panted as the GIWs kept shooting as the Gargoyles as the Dragon looked right at her causing her blood to freeze as she looked at the stone thing as it flared its wings.  It leap at her, and she tried to form another shield wall but her suit showed that she was too weak and she winced as she prepared to jump off the Assault Vehicle when a wall of brown stone suddenly shot up twenty feet and the Stone Dragon slammed into it.

 “Hey, I’m getting a big energy reading!” Jack called out and before they all heard the roars of the Gargoyles and the slice of something and a roar from the Dragon as the wall broke apart. Valarie stared in awe as from the dust Phantom appeared swinging a brown long sword with magma veins on it.  He had on gauntlets of brown metal that went from his hand to his elbows.  As a Gargoyle charged at him Danny slashed in in two down the middle and stood there, slowly raising his sword and pointing at the Dragon who roared as the Gargoyles charged at him.

 Danny raised his sword and stone pillars rose from the street and shot at the Gargoyles like arrows and the flying ones were destroyed as the others could only watch.  The Stone Dragon reared its head back and roared, moments later the Agent who had been talking to Valarie’s free hand went to his earbud.  

 “What…. Oh hell! Listen up!  All the Gargoyles are leaving the shelters!” The Agent barked out and started to recheck his riffle.  “I want everyone to rearm themselves and get ready, if they’re leaving the other shelters alone because that thing roared then they’ll be coming here! Before that happens we need to get the civilians out of here!  You staying or coming Huntress?”

 Valarie looked at him and tried to figure out what to do when her suit detected motion come from all around them.  “Too late, we’ve got incoming!”

 The Agent and the others looked around at the rooftops and saw Gargoyles all around them snarling and looking at the cowering civilians and swallowed before he made a choice.  

“Okay, fighting time! Fentons, move this thing backwards and use every weapon, everyone else protect the civilians!”

 “Got it, if I see a shot I’ll take Phantom down!” Jack said and the Agent looked at him before paling and grabbing Jack through the open window.  “Hey, what’s the deal?”

 “Leave Phantom alone, that stone things are the threat!” The Agent barked at Jack and he felt the stares of the others on his back.

 “Agent Z, are you sure sir?” One of the other GIWs asked as they fired at the Gargoyles as they tried to protect the civilians.

 “Directive 1; Protect the People above all else.” Agent Z said and kept firing with his riffle as he backed up and the Ghost Assault Vehicle moved backwards as Jack used the inbuilt weapons to blast away the Gargoyles.

 Valarie jumped off the roof of the Ghost Assault Vehicle and formed up her board and started to fly upwards, blasting away at the Gargoyles as they flew at the people, the GIWs and the Fentons adding their fire to hers.

 Danny meanwhile had finished off the last Gargoyle and pointed the sword at the Stone Dragon with one hand and a pillar of black and red stone sprouted from the ground and tore away the Stone Dragon’s left wing as it tried and almost succeeded in dodging what Danny caused to form under it.  It roared and flexed it’s other wing and the Gargoyles broke off from attacking the civilians and flew at Danny.  He looked up and jumped at them, spinning around and slicing with the sword and he destroyed one Gargoyle with each blow, landing one handed he pushed off and spun around in the air and landed looking at the Stone Dragon and shot at it.  The Stone Dragon opened it’s mouth and shot balls of black energy that Stone Danny dodged or sliced apart until he sliced off the Stone Dragon’s right back leg.  As it tried to balance itself as Danny ran around beneath it and sliced off it’s left foreleg, as it tried to balance itself Danny jumped upwards, his sword glowing red and he cut through its head.  The rest of the Gargoyles flew towards him when he jumped and trust his sword into the base of the neck and red veins raced up the neck before it roared and melted away, revealing a gemstone where the head had been that glowed black.  Danny pointed his free hand at the gemstone and fired a sphere of red energy that hit the gemstone and exploded, the Gargoyles eyes stopped glowing and fell to the ground as the dust settled and the gemstone was revealed to have been destroyed.  

 Danny blinked and looked around.  What the hell?  The last thing I remember I touched that spark and then……. wait what!  Danny thought as the last half hour coming back to him and he looked down at the sword in his hand as it disappeared along with the gauntlets.  

 He looked around, noting the GIWs and his parents as they aimed at him and decided to freak out later before going transparent and flew away, a frown on his face.  Somehow when he formed his legs into a tail; it felt weird.

 The people cowering behind the GIWs and Fentons stayed where they were before they started to scream and roar in happiness as they realized they were safe!  Lance Thunders looked at his cameraman with a shocked look on his face. “Tell me you got that, tell me you’re still broadcasting?”

 “You saw and heard it here folks!” Lance said with a smirk as his cameraman gave him a thumbs up. “The threat of the Stone Gargoyles and the Dragon is gone, thanks to Amity Park’s Phantom!”

 Valarie saw a squadron of GIW skysleds coming and speed off, not willing to risk that these GIWs wouldn’t attack her, a strange feeling going through her.  What happened today, I think I need to look into the Ecto-Act a bit.  And the next time Vlad sends me out after a ghost I’m going to ask Phantom about it.  She thought as she flew away.

 On the ground Agent Z removed his sunglasses and looked at the Red Huntress as she flew away, a frown on his face as he tried to figure out just why his agency had decided to go after the girl, one thing was sure, there was something very wrong with the local branch.  

 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 “WOOHOOO!”

 “PHANTOM KILLED THE DRAGON, YESSSS!”   Dash exclaimed and smiled.

 “Where’d you think he got that sword from?!” Paulina asked with stars in her eyes.  “Do you think he has matching armor?”

 “It was a broadsword, the kind of sword Excalibur was said to be, the old weapon of knights!” one of the nerds said and a few of them got strange looks on their faces.  Sam smirked and Tucker slammed a fist into his palm and grinned.  A siren from outside caused Sam to smile as she looked at the doors as one of the teachers opened it and Sam moved off, the usual habit of the school closing after a major ghost attack was a godsend since now she could go and visit her grandmother at the hospital.  

 Tucker moved to follow her when someone dropped a hand on his shoulder.  Looking back he saw Mr. Lancer looking down at him with a frown.

 “Let’s talk about how you got around the blocks we put in place Mr. Tucker.” Mr. Lancer said frostily and Tucker winced as he tried to figure out how he would get around this.

 “Isn’t that illegal under the town’s laws?” Tucker asked weakly and Mr. Lancer just looked at him stone-faced.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 Danny flew back towards the construction site and saw a bulldozer blocking a building and went through the walls and saw nobody was in it smirking he transformed back to human form. He leaned against the wall and panted. What was that, where’d that sword come from………  Danny’s thoughts died as he saw a door in his mind, it opened and the sword and gauntlets were there, waiting to be called upon.  As Danny focused on the armory he saw something beyond the sword and gauntlets but her couldn’t see it clearly, but the sword and gauntlets were as clear as day and he knew what they were .  “Volcanic Arms!”

 As he cried out he held out his hand and his lava surged up to his elbows and formed the gauntlets, the sword formed in his right hand.  Looking at the hilt he saw a ruby on one side of the pummel and a brown gemstone on the other.  He looked at the veins of magma on the blade and saw them pulse with light as he held it.

 “Amazing, but how do I?” Danny muttered as he looked at the weapon in his hands and the gauntlets on his arms.  Strange, it’s like I know what I can do with these things…… he thought as he started to swing the blade around for a few moments before he raised his free hand and a column of red crystal grew to his palm.  He looked at it and grabbed the top and broke off the top and put it down on the ground and willed the column to drop back into the earth, a little bit of dirt messed up the only sign something had been there.

 “Amazing!” Danny breathed as he pocketed the shard and walked off.  Maybe I can use this to make something from this……..any way I wonder why I’m so thirsty, and what was that? He thought as he walked back towards his home.  His phone buzzed and he pulled it out and saw a message from Jazz and he smiled.

 SkyBoy; Hey sis, heading home.  Will tell how I survived if asked, see you there.

 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

  Sam walked into the hospital and stared as she looked around and saw a lot of people waiting or being helped as doctors and nurses moved around.  

 “Do you need help?” Sam looked to the side and saw a tall Japanese woman with her black hair in a bun and a sensual figure in a white lab coat over black slacks and jeans walk towards her rubbing her eyes with glasses on her forehead.  She squinted at Sam and then brought her glasses down and then winced. “Oh it’s you Sam, hear to see her.”

 “Hey doctor Kobayashi, how’s the hospital handling this?” Sam asked and Maiko Kobayashi laughed bitterly.

 “With those government hacks commandeering the other entrance because of ‘security concerns’ we’ve had to get everyone through admissions.  Thank god we set up the emergency entrance seperatly after the first time this happened.”  Maiko said bitterly and Sam winced.

  I can’t believe what happened, the GIWs are terrible fighters but to have actually stood their ground instead of running, I might have misjudged them a little.  Sam thought as she walked and stopped when she noticed Operative K was talking on a phone near the bathroom and moved closer to listen in.

 “…..Yes, we’ve got no choice anymore.  The others will hear about this, we have to purge the labs of all our research and what we were able to get from the Fenton’s.”  Operative K said and nodded.  He started to turn and Sam slipped into a nearby room and closed the door, leaving it open slightly so she could hear him as he walked past the room.

 “Yes, we need to send copies of all the research to the secondary base……We can’t let those fools in Washington stop us now, once we have the tech right we’ll show them the truth. No the creatures weren’t ghosts, they were based on the secondary power, also Phantom was detected wielding the same power.  Yes we have to prepare Exodus no matter what Masters says.” Agent K voice came and stopped and Sam felt the door twitch as Agent K slammed his free hand against the door.  “Agent Z did what?!  I suppose the directives do say that…….. keep an eye on him, we need to be sure that he never finds out about Exodus, he wouldn’t understand.”

 Sam left the room a few moments later, worried about what she had overheard and moved to the elevator and quickly was carried to the floor she wanted.  After a few minutes walking she entered a room and saw her Ida Mansion laying on a hospital bed connected to a heart monitor.

 “Sammy, with what happened at our unhonorable mayor’s ceremony I was worried that you wouldn’t come today.” Ida said as she reached over and grabbed Sam’s hand.  Sam smiled back at her and looked at her with a look of concern.

 “I couldn’t stay aware grandma.” Sam said as she looked at Ida looked away.  “Grandma?”

 “I’m not.” Ida whispered and Sam looked down at Ida with a look of concern and confusion.

 “What are you saying?” Sam asked and Ida looked at her and sighed

 “I’m not your grandmother, I’m your godmother and guardian.” Ida said and Sam gasped as Ida looked down and away from her.  “I’m sorry that I never told ya, I wanted to before this all happened but I couldn’t every find the time or figure out the way.”

 “what?” Sam asked and Ida smiled at her and rubbed her check.

 “I took you in you because your mother, your birth mother was a friend of mine.”  Ida said with a laugh that turned into a cough and she reached for a glass of water that Sam grabbed and hurriedly handed it over.  As Ida took a drink Sam looked at her, shocked and confused.

 “What….. why didn’t you tell me?” Sam asked as she stared at her…. God-mother?  It doesn’t matter, this woman raised me more than Pamela and her husband did and this explains everything about why I’m so different from them. Sam thought as she looked at Ida who looked back.

 “I let that idiot son of mine convince me to let him and his wife take the lead, but whenever there was a decision that needed to be made to take care of you I made it.”  Ida said and gripped Sam’s waist.  “Never doubt I love ya Sammy, I kept secrets that’s true, but they were to protect you and never doubt that I love you.”

 “Grammy.” Sam whispered as tears came from her eyes.

 “No tears Sammy, this isn’t the end just yet, this is just see you later.”  Ida said forcibly.  “Now listen, I set it up so you’ll be emancipated, and with what I know you’ll be fine once you’re out of their hands.  I left a book that will explain everything you need to know, it’s in that language that you and your friends needed to talk to Big Bad.”

 “Big Bad……that’s!  You knew.” Sammy breathed in shock as Ida laughed.

 “I knew from day one Sammy, I had been watching you all and when it happened at school the first time I knew it.”  Ida asked and Sammy could only stare at her.

 “How….” Sam asked as she tried to understand the roller-coaster of events, tried to make sense of what Ida was saying and she could only look at her shocked.

 “I’ll explain next time we see each other Sammy, I promise.” Ida said before she looked out beyond Sam’s shoulder and smirked.  “But my lawyer is here to talk to you so go on.”

 Sam looked behind her and saw a woman in a business suite looking into the room and smiled slightly at her.

 “Miss Samantha, I’m the lawyer that Ida hired.  My name is Rachel Lortong, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”  Rachel said as they shook hands. “There are a few papers that you need to sign, a few I’s to dot and well it won’t take long.”

 “Go Sammy, no matter what happens we will see each other again.” Ida said and waved her off.   As Sam left Ida looked at the ring on her finger, and called up all the efforts of strength she had left.  “Come on Ida, just ten minutes more than you can rest until your back.”

 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 Belphegor walked around the destroyed battle site with a wide grin with a backpack in his hands as the sky darkened.  Oh this was wonderful, I can’t believe that my grade had to miss this wonderful carnage!  But I always thought that this place was something, but to think I never found the time, what I could have done.  Belphegor thought as he wondered through the ruins towards the building that had been destroyed by the GIWs.  “This is amazing, I mean I knew that my beliefs were true with the ghosts but this, this is proof!”

 He bent down and picked up a piece of the stone gargoyles, moving his thumb over it and smiled.  Oh what I can do with you my pretty!  All those old books I bought over the years said there needed to be a spark to give the power, being around ghosts wasn’t enough, a few of these each and then we’ll really be cooking with true power!  And if I can gain enough to craft a few items or even just alchemy, then I might be able to rule this town!  He thought as he took off his backpack and started to put as many of the stones as he could fit into it.  As he reached the limit of what he could carry and move quickly he grinned as he stood up and looked around.  “Oh, this is perfect; I don’t know who made these wonderful toys but I am sorry that they were dealt with so easily, my own plans have to reflect that.”

 “Hey, don’t hog all the good ones Belphegor!” Hecate’s voice caused him to turn and see both of the girls walking towards him with bags around their shoulders, each one having taken some of the stones from the destroyed gargoyles.

 “Don’t worry sis, we’ll share everything.  And this is only until we can find out where they’ll move the rest of these things.”  Lamashtu said with a giggle.

 “Yeah, but if we can’t get anything else then we should grab what we can and leave before anyone comes and confiscates this stuff!” Hecate said with a pout.

 “I wouldn’t worry me dears.” Belphegor said as he moved ever closer to the ruins of the building the gargoyles had come from subconsciously as he looked at the girls. “With the pounding the GIWs took, it will be a while before anyone will be back here, but I suppose you’re right, we should leave once I look over the this place.”

 As he turned around and walked into the ruins he heard a crack and within moments fell through the floor.  He dropped ten feet and hit the dirt with his feet and started to look around, wondering what he had found.   The chamber he that fallen into was lined with glowing crystals and at the far end was a tome bound in chains with an open door way behind it.  He stared at it hungrily as his meager senses could tell that it was something special.

 “Master Belphegor, are you okay?!”  Looking up he saw Hecate and Lamashtu looking down at him from the edge of the hole. He grinned back at them and looked around the chamber and saw a small corridor

 “Perfectly fine girls, I found something that I think will help us.”  Belphegor said as he walked towards the book and as he touched it the chains shot off and he felt something connect with him, something that told him that his life was forever changed moments before a unseen wave of something went out from the stand.  He picked up the book and felt a rumbling.  Looking around he saw the cavern start to collapse and ran for the door he ran up stone stairs and behind him he heard the sounds of falling rocks, all he could do was hope the girls were safe.  He saw a door and bashed into it, breaking through it into a wooden hallway in a Victorian style.  Before he could take what it looked like the grounds started to shake and he looked around and saw what he hoped was a door to the outside and he ran towards it, ramming his shoulder into and he ran into the yard, the girls seeing him waved and they ran towards where they had parked Belphegor’s car, hoping to get away.

 “What’d you find down there?” Hecate demanded as they drove away, Belphegor ducking the car into a side street as civic vehicles and Belphegor handed her a book as he drove.  She looked down at it and frowned as she read the text.  “This is Greek…… Mageía av petra…. That means Magic of Stone!”

 “Could this have anything to do with those wonderful, wonderful things Master Belphegor?!” Lamashtu asked and Belphegor started to cackle.

 “Girls we might have finally made it.” Belphegor said as they drove towards the main part of town.

[queenofthearchitect]

Star struck

A/N: this is the other request I took off @writtingrose shoulders I hope I’m doing them justice lol. She also came up with the name 🙈🙈

The name of the song in this fic is wonderful life by bring me the horizon ft. Dani Flith. The reader and her band will sing that song. So listen to it.

Summary: Hunter and Stephanie invite his celebrity crush to preform on RAW. Dean and Roman push him to talk to the Reader because he’s nervous; Requested by anon

Warnings: cussing thats about it

Parings: Seth Rollins x Singer! reader

Taglist: @theworldofotps @writtingrose @new-zealand-chic @sassyspacedust @wolfiegal98 @haharollins @the-beastslayers-queen @sausagefest1996 @itsicantbelievethis666 @thatwrestlingfan91 @queenslayer1985 @yafav-q @geekgirl007

Please enjoy 🦄

I got a call from Stephanie McMahon asking if me and my band could come preform on Monday night raw and Of course we agreed. We were on the next flight to Davenport Iowa when I was scrolling through twitter looking at WWE’s feed, I had stopped on a particular post it was wishing Seth Rollins a happy birthday and I put two and two together. That’s why we were going there. I couldn’t denie he was attractive I cleared the feed off my phone, I put my head phones on and hit shuffle on my music. When we finally landed, we walked towards the baggage carousel.

My black boots made a noise against the ground we had made sure to put on disguises so no one would know who we were. We wanted it to be a scecret as possible, my best friend walked up and looked at me. “Oh come on Y/N it’s not that big of a deal it’s just wwe it’s not like it’s a secret.” I looked at him shaking my head in disbelief. “I know but just in case let’s just stay like this please.” He rubbed his hands over his face letting out a low groan. “Okay fine but you owe me big time.” I roll my eyes at him and I rub his head. “Oh hush this little costume won’t kill you it’s only for a few more hours.”

We arrived at the arena for Monday night raw and I started to get nervous, I have no idea why I’ve always been calm before a show it’s always been one of my band memebers who got nervous never me. I played with the end of my jet black and fire engine red hair, I sat in hair and make up thinking of what to wear, I didn’t know if I wanted to do my usual black skinny jeans and t-shirt or if I wanted to wear a dress. I decided to just wear my usual, I put black heel boots on. We were last of the show so we had some time, I was doing my vocal warm ups when one of the backstage producers knocked on the door, I told them to come in and the let us know we had 10 minutes.

I looked around at my team and my band and the smiles at me. “Y/N are you ready to do this?” I looked at my manager and I nodded my head. “Yes but what if we don’t sing that guys favorite song?” She raise and eyebrow at me and kinda smirked at me. “Who says it’s for his birthday?” “Well I was looking at their feed on Instagram and his birthday today and he only listens to rock/metal music so I kinda put two and two together.” I replied and she didn’t say anything my drummer went to say something but was interrupted by the camera guy telling us we had to get into position.

Apparently they had picked out everything for us, our set list, our theme and the rest. We watched Stephanie on the monitor and they told us our cue, she smiled widely at looked at Seth. “Well Seth since you just turned 33 we wanted it to be something you’d remember so we flew out bring me the horizon.” I looked at my band and they nodded their heads and we walked through the curtain and saw the quick look of disbelief on Seth’s face and when he saw me first walk out his hand went over his mouth. I smile as the crowd erupted into defining screams.

I went down the ramp touching the hands with fans, taking pictures with most if not all of them. I walked up the steps with my band not too far behind me, Seth quickly walked over and held the ropes open for me, I walked through them and I sent him a playful wink making him blush. I walked over to Stephanie and hunter and hugged them both, I walked over to the lead microphone and I looked at my band members and watched Stephanie, hunter and Seth exit the ring my guitarist started playing a the beginning of our song wonderful life and the arena got quite for a minute and I started the intro and the crowd started singing with me and my guitarist.

The part where I screamed came up, I could tell the crowed was waiting to see if I was going to do it or not. I had made glances at Seth while our intro was happening and he slowly started bobbing his head and when I scream the whole arena erupted into cheers and Seth was head banging. Seeing him enjoy is live made me happy but while they kept singing I got out of the ring and let him come in the ring with us. Before he got in the rings few of the front rows were near the barricade jumping with us. Now believe it or not when Seth got in the ring everyone had their flash lights on jumping up and down, it was honestly breath taking how many people here loved our music.

We preformed with ease with jumping, screaming, I’m sure everyone was surprised I didn’t break my ankle because I was in heeled boots but I’ve always jumped in my performances so my ankles were use to me. I could tell Seth was having the time of his life preforming with us, I was stoked to have him in the ring with us he lit a fire under all of us and made us preform that much harder, I mean after all it was his big day. As we finished our first set we sung three more songs and said our goodbyes and thanked Stephanie and hunter for having us.

My band members shook their hands Seth’s aswell, when it came to me I wrapped him and a hug and wished him a happy birthday. The look on his face was like we just made his 33 years of life, he walked with us backstage with us with a huge smile on his face and I was just happy we made him and the wwe universe so happy. A lot of the superstars were waiting for us backstage to get our autographs and I was so flattered, I felt like I should be the one asking for autographs. I’ve watched wresting all my life and I’m sure I got on everyone’s nerves when I did watch it cause I’d scream at the tv.

I wouldn’t dare tell anyone that my team, and my band memebers knew not to tell anyone about it cause I’d kill them. My eyes kept lingering to Seth and when he’d look at me I’d look away afraid of getting caught, a few of the divas were all over my band memebers and I thought it was hilarious, groupies at its finest so I was surprised when a few male and female superstars walked up and started talking to me about how awesome we were and how Seth was so lucky. At the mention of Seth made my stomach feel tingly, honestly I have no idea what was going on with me. I haven’t even talked to kid and I feel tingly around him.

I mentally kicked myself and got my ass in gear and just pushed that away, I mean I didn’t even have time for a relationship I was always on the road, and when I wasn’t I was home working on msuic and made appearances. After the group started to die down the band went back to the dressing room and I told them I was going to go get some air but that was honestly to get them to leave me alone. The adrenaline still flowing through my veins when I heard my name getting called out. “Hey Y/N wait up.” I stopped when I heard the voice and I turned around to see Seth looking at me and smiled. “Thanks for waiting up, where ya heading too?” “Um well no where in particular just walking.” I replied and he smiled at me. “So I um was uh waning to introduce myself officially.”

I smile at him noticing I made him nervous, I mean I couldn’t blame him, I was a wild card no one ever knew what I would say or when I’d say it. “Well it’s finally glad to meet you after ogling me all night.” His eyes widened and he started rubbing the back of his neck. “U-uhm sorry about that I-I just was really stoked to meet you.” I nod my head at him and I look at him but he looked everywhere but at me. I thought him being shy was adorably cute. “Seth come on there’s no reason to be shy, We are one in the same.” He let out a chuckle and started fidgeting with the bottom of his shirt.

“I-I know b-but you are I like you.. I-I mean I like your music.” He sighed and put his hand over his face and I noticed the deep red tint on his face and I grabbed his hand. “Seth it’s okay most guys get like this when they meet me.” He let out a chuckle and he wiped his palms on his skinny jeans. “Since I’ve embarrassed myself enough I’ll go.” “Well I didn’t think the Architect had a problem with the ladies.” His eyes widened at the mention of his reputation and he hung his head low. “I didn’t but I haven’t found the right one?” I stood there and looked at him and before I could stop what was coming out my mouth it slipped. “So you just jump from women to woman?”

I could tell I had hit his ego and I hit it hard, he turned a light pink and started fidgeting with his shirt now. “I- uhm- uh I know I use to be a ass but I swear I’ve changed and I’d like to take you out but I’m sure-.” He shut his mouth and his skin turned a lighter color, he coverd his face and let out a big sigh. I let out a small giggle and I get closer to him and I see him tense some. “Wait do I make you nervous Seth?” I bite his lip and just stood there I smiled and grabbed a pen and a piece of paper and I wrote something on it and slipped it into his pocket. “If it gets leaked I’ll kill you, I’d love for you to take me out but next time hopefully you won’t be so Star Struck.” He stood there frozen while I walked away, this was officially the best night ever.

A/N: thank you guys so much for reading I love y’all so much and thank you for supporting my fics I just hope y’all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed reading it I have a series coming out and I want to thank @writtingrose for letting me snag some of her request it’s been fun. ❤️

[mccartneysguitar]

fake love

pairings: paul mccartney x reader

word count: 1.8k

request: speaking of a fake dating fic, do you think you could do a paul x reader where he has to date her to “improve his image” or something and then all the other boys start to notice that he actually really likes her

sorry for ghosting on all of you, I was on spring break but I am back now ✌🏽

You were unsure when your publicist told you the scheme he had concocted with Brian Epstein, the manager for The Beatles. Brian, for the most part, allowed the boys run free, not hovering over them like a nanny.  This time though the recent scandal was reaching new heights and was worried over the perception of the boys, he had to come up with a plan that would keep their image intact.

The Beatles were a phenomenon over in Britain but it had yet to reach the same height in the US which is where your star status would help them. You had just started your career in Hollywood and while you were well known in the US, there was not much recognition overseas. It was a beneficial transaction and nothing more than that, as long as you kept all feelings out of it you would be fine.

That was how you found yourself in London, it was your first time there and you couldn’t help but stare out the window in awe. The ride to their studio did not take as long as you would have expected, their traffic did not compare to what you usually faced.

Once you arrived at their studio you were a bit underwhelmed. It was nothing like the flashy Hollywood studios. Following your publicist inside you noticed their album covers lined the hallway alongside photographs of them. You had to admit they were a handsome group and there could be worse people to be ‘dating’. A part of you was nervous, not knowing much about them other than their good looks and a couple of their songs.

In the recording room, Paul was sitting next to John focused intently on the papers in front of him. George and Ringo were off on the other side of the room, playing with what you believe were marbles? In those few moments of observations, you were able to see a lot of their personality shine through, the workaholics and the relaxed ones.

Brian made his way over, shaking your hand, “I��m so glad you were able to make it. I hope you found your flight enjoyable?”

You nodded, “Yes, I was able to catch up on my sleep and read up a bit. This is my first time in London and I have to say it is not quite what I expected. Thank you for having us.”

“That’s great to hear, hopefully, once you have time to explore it will meet all your expectations. Boys, please do pay attention. This is YN, remember the talk we had. Best behavior please.” He called over through the speaker. Three pair of heads snapped to attention, with one of them seemingly glaring at you. You entered the room to properly introduce yourself, smiling shyly at them.

“Oh don’t worry about John. He doesn’t have his glasses that’s why he’s staring at you like a mad man. I’m George and this is Ringo.” He remarked with a grin. You, of course, knew who they were and nodded.

“That one over there lost in his world is your prince charming, Paul.” Ringo chimed in. You grimaced at his statement unable to control your reaction. They caught on to your reaction and let out a roar of laughter, catching the attention of Paul. He was, after all, a well-known player and you did not want to be a name in his back book, you were here for your job and nothing else.

You managed a small smile and introduced yourself to Paul. Just as you were going to ask him a question Brian and your publicist came into the room, ready to mediate the oncoming conversation. They all knew of the situation and how the press had a field day with his escapades. YN was being brought in to change that, Hollywood’s sweetheart, would surely not be dating a philanderer.

“Now YN has a premiere coming up. If YN were to take Paul as her date that would bring a lot of attention to the couple.”

“Yes, and as for Paul’s commitments having YN appear at the concerts and be seen around with him in London would be more than enough.”

“What about me and Ringo? “

Brian just sighed already tired of their antics, “What about you and Ringo?”

“Does YN have any model friends she can introduce us to? I don’t think its fair Paul gets to have all the fun.” George whined. You couldn’t help but laugh.

“You know with a face like yours I don’t think my friends will mind at all.” You said with a wink.

Paul cleared his throat and said, “We start our tour in the coming week, I reckon you should visit me on a couple of stops? This is also your first time in London, I hear. Do you want a tour?”

You turned to your publicist as if asking for approval and nodded. “Great,” he said as he grabbed his coat. You could hear the teasing the boys were giving Paul, as he scoffed and threw them a look.

Knowing that there would be onlookers and possible photographers in the city you entwined your hand with his and excitingly pulled him along to see the streets of London. While you did appreciate having someone who knew the area with you, you always preferred to get lost in the city.

While at first, it was a bit awkward you realized he was naturally a flirt and really easy to get a long with. You realized that fake dating him wasn’t going to be hard as you thought it was, he was someone you could actually be friends with.

***

When Paul arrived at your door nearly an hour early before you were set to leave you were a bit surprised.

“I brought these for you,” he said as he handed you a bouquet of flowers.

You couldn’t help but smile as you took it from him, “These are my favorite, how did you know?”

He stuffed his hands in his pocket looking abashed he responded, “You mentioned it a while back.”

“Thank you, they are very lovely. You can come to my room, I am almost done getting ready. How are you finding California so far?” You questioned as you made your way back to your room. He followed after and took in the room, messing around with the trinkets and clothing you had lying around.

Wearing a barrage of your random accessories he sauntered over to you, “It is hotter than the last time I was here. I’m going to return permanently red at this pace. What do you say, YN? Am I ready for the red carpet?”

Stifling a laugh you responded seriously, “I think you look absolutely stunning,”

***

You knew there was going to be a lot of press at the premiere of your latest film but this was on another level. Their attention all turned to you and Paul the moment you stepped on the carpet. Their yells to pose for them or give them a smile was a roar to you.

Paul could sense your uneasiness and squeezed your hand giving you a small comforting smile. It was an instinct that you leaned forward and kissed his cheek. The look of shock and his slight blush did not escape either you or the camera.

Over the next couple of months, the press was all over your relationship, how you had tamed his ways and your favorite how you had him wrapped around your finger; which unfortunately was all a ruse. A part of you wished your relationship was real but you knew he preferred to be with his groupies and slew of random women and so you stifled your feelings and continued to play the part of his fake girlfriend.

Paul for his part had stopped with the groupies and the random flings. It wasn’t an intentional thing, no he just didn’t feel the same excitement he used to get. He was slowly falling for YN without knowing.

Paul during the last couple of shows had somehow always managed to bring up YN in conversation. They would be out exploring when Paul would happen across a candy store and mutter out, “Those are YN’s favorite candies, I should get some for her.”

“You sure you aren’t really dating her Paul?” Ringo questioned.

“No, you know this is all part of the scheme.”

“AlL pArT oF tHe ScHeMe. Sure. You talk more about her than any of your real ex-girlfriends. YN this, YN that. You’re making me jealous.” John fired out.

“He’s right ya know.”

“Shut it the lot of you.”

For the rest of the day, Paul kept thinking about what Ringo and John said. Sure he did spend a lot of with you but it was to help his image and not to mention you never failed to brighten his day. Whether it was taking a walk or just hanging out at his apartment listening to music it was never a boring time. The near-daily phone calls when he was away on tour, it had become more than the plan.

The realization of how he felt finally hit him, he loved you. Emboldened by his realization he called you from his hotel room. It rang two times before you eagerly answered, already knowing who it was.

“YN, I have to get something off my chest. I know this was all a plot but somehow along the way, I fell for you. Just your smile makes me feel things I have never felt before. When I’m away from you every little thing I see makes me think of you. I would deal with Hollywood and the California sun just to be with you every day. I think I love you, YN.” Paul blurted out not wasting any time with pleasantries.

You paused for a second taking his words. You opened your mouth to respond but it was as if you had forgotten how to speak.

“I uh- can I call you back?” You managed to mutter out before hanging up. You were overwhelmed, it felt like you were dreaming. You had to pinch yourself several times before realizing it wasn’t a dream.

***

Paul was moping in the room, playing random tunes on the piano. The day had passed by without YN calling back, he felt like an idiot ruining what he had with them by confessing. His brooding was interrupted by a series of hurried knocks.

“Leave me alone John,” he yelled out. The knocking continued.

He dragged himself from the piano to send John away but was met with YN at the door.

Before he was able to say anything YN immediately pulled him into a kiss and muttered out, “I think I love you too.”

[caroline18mars]

A Man On Fire - Chapter 52

That's close enough” she calmly said as he kept on wanting to come as close to her as she would allow, she judded her hip pushing her hands even deeper into her pockets, this wasn't ok, he had too much time to think of a whole lot of excuses. “Coco..I..” he stuttered, “I know my own name, Jay, was there anything else?” she snarled, her patience was starting to run dangerously low “nothing happened..” he quickly said, his mouth awfully dry, “are you really sure about that? Because I'm not, if nothing happened then we wouldn't be here”. A shiver ran down her spine as he waited too long to answer again “it's simple really, either you start talking or I start walking..and the truth this time, I need..no I deserve the truth”. He bit his lip just a little too hard, this was ridiculous, fuck this, I'm out of here “Harper! no..wait!” he jumped in front of her wanting to head back to the door “I'm telling you the truth..nothing happened, she can say whatever she wants but I didn't sleep with her”. Harper looked up at him, she could tell if he was lying right? she could see it in his eyes, he wasn't that good an actor or a liar for that matter, all she saw in those blue pools was a crushing sadness, give him the chance to explain “I'm listening” she backed down a little. To her surprise he walked over to the nightstand, picked up the phone and ordered some roomservice “sit down” he said as he put the receiver down “please” he repeated when she hesitated, “you need food and a drink? Really? It seems to me you're just trying to buy time, Jared” she was cold, the cold in her heart started to spread through her body. “I'm not..it was Shannon..that last day with you in New York, he sent me a text in the plane..she was there, apparantly just dropping by..” she sat down just watching him, was there a spark in his eyes when he talked about that trollup? Nope. “I'm not gonna lie, we were together for quite a while, she was..a groupie, you know, the classic story, model agencies send models to shows, benefits, thrive on the fame of..whoever they can get their claws into, were we exclusive? No we weren't, we'd hook up when we were in the same town and then stay together until one of us had to leave again” he blurted out, it sounded too credible “oh, so I was just a testdrive inbetween hookups with her, right? I should've known, goddammit I can be so naïve, I always thought that love..real love is as simple to everybody else as it is to me, just one on one, simple, beautiful, true” Harper sighed shaking her head “I don't care if I sound old-fashioned..”. Jared couldn't hold back any longer and sat down next to her putting his finger over her lips “you're not a testdrive and Val is nothing to me alright? How many more times do I have to tell you that? You are..you..I would fly to the moon and back for you..what I feel for you is something I've never felt for anyone..”. There was a knock on the door “just a second” he had trouble disconnecting his eyes from her mouth before he got up and let his roomservice being rolled in, “you hungry? I ordered everything you like..”.

”Back and forth, back and forth, I keep giving my heart to you and every time I get it handed back to me, nicely diced and sliced on a silver platter, I'm done with that shit, Jay..isn't it too early in this relationship to constantly cheat? Obviously you're not 100% happy with me and I don't know what else you want from me” Coco took a sip from her latte and put it down again. “I didn't cheat..I swear! How many more times do I have to tell you? Yes I woke up naked with her next to me, I told her to leave over and over again, the last thing I know is that she did..I went to sleep and..the only thing I can think of is that she spiked my drink at the club..I mean she even stole the key to my room, she just can't be trusted” his heart jumped in his throat, please just believe me, it's the truth “if I wasn't competely happy and satisfied in our relationship, would I go to these lengths to try and explain, to try and convince you of the truth? I know you find it hard to believe, and I know that there's a lot of prejudice about the music industry with the sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll clichés, but I swear I'm telling you the truth?!”. His question was met by her staring him down “if you are, then you've got a psycho on your hands..” she licked the milky moustache from her toplip “so what are you planning to do about it?” there, the ball was in his court now. Wait, did that mean that they..wowww “because I'm at the end of my tether with you, Leto..” she added “I'm not gonna keep doing this with you over and over again, so you tell me, what are you gonna do about it? If you wanna keep me you're gonna have to convince me that I'm the one you want, because let me be absolutely clear with you: I would absolutely leave you before I have to share you, so either you make a clean break with those past lovers or I walk”. How did he even deserve this creature? She got up and straightened her shirt “so if you're not gonna talk, I am” she started making her way to the door, “wait! Where are you going?” he shot up as well, “I'm going to talk to 'your Val', see what she has to say, what room is she in?”.

”Coco, if you go in there, it's gonna be drama all over again” he tried to stop her, “First, I'm never gonna be able to sleep with all this caffeine running around my system, if anything I want to walk off these lattes, second: so frikkin what? She's put me and you on the spot, I say we give her a cookie of the same dough, besides if you have nothing to hide then there's nothing to worry about, except for the fact that she tried to 'rape', intimidate and abuse you” she turned with a funny look in her eyes. She was right though, he hadn't done anything wrong and it was high time he got to spend some quality time with his lover, she seemed to be willing to listen to him. The fact that he actually had to call his brother to ask what room Val was in, lifted her mood a little, so it could be true after all that they didn't hook up, or maybe everything went down in his room..fuck it Harper, just wait until you heard her side of the story ,“528” he looked around and pointed at the door behind them and she didn't hesitate to knock on the door. Val opened the door and seeing them stand there a scowl fromed around her lips “Hello again Val” Harper didn't hesitate and pushed past her, “ah! Packing already I see?!” she let her eyes glide over the open suitcase, “no, I'm not packing” Val stuck out her chin to her, “well, you're not unpacking either, so in order for you to catch the first flight out of Rome at first light, let's not waste any more time so how about you show me the compromising pictures or a video would be even better” Harper gave the room a quick look around “where's your phone? Oh! There it is!” and strutted over to the nighttable.

“What are you doing? That's mine, give it here” Val quickly tried to snatch the phone out of her hands, “true, it's your's but I bet there's stuff on there that you're dying to show me, I'm here now, so come on, show me” Harper calmly said. Which was more than could be said about Val who started to get more and more aggressive and annoyed “show you what?”. Harper gave her a calm smile and shrugged “oh I don't know, how about the proof that you and Jared got it on last night, because spoilsport here” pointing at him, Jared's jaw dropped a little “is getting really old and alzheimery and says he can't even remember what happened so I want to see with my own two eyes what happened or didn't happen”. Coco could see Val swallow hard, she definitely didn't see this coming “I know for a fact that predators and psychopaths like you will go to any length to get their prey and they make absolutely sure to get it all on camera just to relive and relive the moment over and over again and to put it on your instagram and boast about it to your thousands of friends, so how about it? You know what they say: if you don't have the pictures to prove it then it didn't happen”. Was it nervousness that made her fondle her phone and clutch it tighter in her claws? “you're calling me a psychopath? That's rich coming from a loser like you and who are you calling old? Aren't you the one who didn't even know about social media or e-mail until a few weeks ago? Let me remind you that a lady never kisses and tells, that video is for Jared and me”. Jared stepped forward and snapped “I'm here so come on..show me! I want to see everything”, if there was any more proof she needed to know that Jay had been telling the truth, then this was it, she held her breath as she watched that pouting princess go bright red, “come on Val, I'm waiting here, show me the goddamn video”. Val crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her head pretentiously “no”, and all it did was make Jared shake his head “so there isn't one, right ok..just a tip though should you want to post that video later, if it actually exists, just think about the fact that you might go and tell the police that you probably drugged and raped a guy, we could smear that out in the press and on your beloved social media, see what kind of story that'll give?..We're through, Val, we already were a long time ago and stupid old me thought we could still have a friendship, I want you out of this hotel by morning and hope that I won't press charges or you won't have a career to go back to”.

Harper felt relieved when he closed the door behind him, like a ton of bricks had been lifted off of her shoulders “some fresh air?” he certainly could do with some, “definitely”. They walked and walked talking things through, every time she dug her cold hands deeper into the pockets of her thin leather jacket he wanted to throw his arm around her but could he do that already? Oh fuck it, “hmmm, should you be doing that?..” she looked at his hand that rested on her shoulder, what? his heart skipped a beat, but then she nodded in the direction of a certain number of girls still flocking around the entrance of the hotel “I mean..do you really want to show them what we really are?” followed by a smile that could melt ice. “Hell yeah! Let's go” he pulled her even tighter against him, god, it felt so good to feel her against him until one of the girls noticed them and let out a high pitched shriek, “I'll let you handle this” she breathed and stepped out of his embrace with a slight smile. “What are y'all still doing here? Aren't you freezing? We definitely were during our nightly stroll” he openly talked with them, holding her hand tightly, something that didn't go unnoticed by anyone. “I just love your work..I do a bit of drawing and painting myself” one of them was brave enough to step up to her instead of Jared, “you do? Oh thank you that's so sweet! Wanna show me some of your work as well?” she asked the girl who held up her phone with shaking hands “relax sweetie, it's only me” she grinned to put the girl a little bit more at ease. The other girls seemed to have equal interest in her, asking him all sorts of questions. “Everyone want a last picture? Yeah? Harper, honey? You have to be in it too” that was his way of rounding up things, he wanted to go back inside and finally be alone with her again, he had missed the feel of her lips so so so much. “Oh, sure” she gave the girl she'd been talking to a smile and pulled her over to the group that was forming, Jared held up one of their phones, took the picture and finally they said their goodbyes, taking her hand again as he slowly started guiding her inside the hotel. “They were lovely..” she zipped open her jacket as the doors closed behind them, “they are..but can you just stop talking for one second?” he grinned, “huh?” she frowned, but then he cupped her face in his hands and pushed his lips on hers', he didn't care if the doorman saw or the fans that were staring at them outside, feeling her this close to him made the world around him fall away. Her head started spinning and when she lifted her arms to rest on his back she could have sworn she heard little bursts of laughter and excitement coming from outside, did it matter? No because she was in his arms again and this stupid battle was finally over.

[brownskinsugarplum76]

One Shot: Rampage at the Riot House

I've been referring to this story informally as "Robert on a leash." You'll see... 🤷🏽‍♀️ Very light smut and bondage, lots of humor (I hope). Thank you, @tremble-and-shake for the sanity check. ❤️❤️❤️

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“Are you ready, mon chat?” asked the woman Robert knew only as Miss Bisset.

“Yes,” he said, as a slight shiver ran through his body. He was out of the covers and only wearing the tiny red gym shorts that she had found in his dresser and the studded collar that she placed on him.

Miss Bisset raised an eyebrow while she placed her hands on her hips and glared at him.

“Yes, Miss Bisset,” he said, realizing his mistake. He was new to playing this kind of game. He'd have to decide when the night was over if he'd rather punch Jonesy or thank him in private for the opportunity.

The band and its inner circle were hanging out in Robert's suite, and Jonesy had introduced Robert to Miss Bisset earlier that night. Jonesy promised she was someone that Robert would find unforgettable.

Looking back, it seemed odd that Jonesy would encourage a conquest. Robert had quickly committed every curve of her body, accentuated by her tight black jumpsuit, to memory, but he now realized that Jonesy's promise had a different meaning.

There was only one empty spot left on the couch, so Robert offered his lap to his new acquaintance. Their verbal dalliance quickly escalated to canoodling, at which point Robert excused himself for a more intimate meeting with the statuesque woman.

Soon he was on the bed with his lips locked to her full ones. He was having fun at first, when his hands roamed her brown skin and then again when she removed a feather from her oversized handbag and dragged it over his naked body. He writhed and burned wantonly when she graced his sensitive cock with the softness of her lips. He instantly forgot about the party raging on the other side of the door and succumbed to the mystery lady who was clearly a master of her craft.

But then she stopped just short of completion and told him what was in store next, and why. Still high from her ministrations, he didn't quite know how to react.

Now, he downed the last of a bottle of red wine, steeling himself for something he knew he'd never be able to live down. And in Miss Bisset's capable hands, he almost didn't mind at all.

She traced the studs on his collar with one hand and grasped his curls tightly with the other. “We're going now. On your knees.”

“Yes, Miss Bisset.” Robert was filled with a jumble of emotions. His hands tensed in tight fists on the carpet as his anger against Jonesy continued to rise. His face flushed in advance of the reaction he expected when he crawled out to greet everyone waiting in the living room. But a twinge of intrigue also made his cock pulse in the cramped quarters of the shorts. Her hold over him was a refreshing, new experience.

He took a deep breath. He had lost the bet, just as Jonesy had predicted. He knew he couldn't back down. The woman looming over him, who held the leash attached to the collar, wouldn't let him do that anyway.

He shook his hair off of his shoulders and raised his chin defiantly.

“Good.” She cracked the door open a bit and called for Jonesy. “We're ready, cherie,” she said.

“Right.” Jonesy stood and faced the guests. He cleared his throat and tried to contain a smirk that wanted to boil over into a chuckle.

“I'm here, mingling with you scoundrels tonight for a good reason.” He paused and smiled. “Consider me the ringmaster for tonight's main event, if you please.”

He looked around the room. Bonzo sat cross-legged on the floor, practically bouncing. He knew of the bet and the consequences for Robert. His camera was at the ready. This would be even better than when he pulled Robert's trunks down in the pool, he thought to himself.

Jimmy sat sideways on the couch, with a brunette sitting between his legs. He clutched his Jack Daniels bottle with one hand and absentmindedly caressed her hair with the other.

Cole looked bored but intrigued. He surmised that another line would make the mystery event more amusing and helped himself to some of the nose candy on the coffee table.

The rest of the audience, a combination of roadies, techs, and assistants, and their dates, talked amongst themselves.

“Some of you know that I bet Robert on the flight over that he couldn't finish three chapters of his book before we landed. If he lost, he was to do something embarrassing, something that I was going to dream up just for him.”

He took a sip of beer. “We all know that when Robert isn't in the arms of a groupie or two that he pretends to read, but really he's checking us all out and what we've gotten into.”

Jimmy snorted. “I'm reminded of the one time our enterprising blonde scholar was very engrossed in an upside-down book.”

The rest of the room laughed, just like they did that night when Robert was busted.

“Just so.” Jonesy continued. “It comes as no surprise, then, that our dear Robert Anthony did indeed fail to hold up his end of our wager. So--”

“Tell ‘em what that cheeky bastard has to do, Jones!” Bonzo couldn't contain his glee.

“Yes, thank you, John Henry. Our very own Golden God is about to stalk out here in the guise of a lion. A tamed lion,” Jonesy added. “Tamed by Miss Bisset, one of my dear friends from New Orleans.”

Jimmy laughed so uncharacteristically loudly that he surprised Cole and jostled his companion.

“Oi, Jimmy!” she scolded.

“Shhh, love, have a sip and forget all about it.” He placed his whiskey bottle to her lips.

“You should've told me, Bonzo. I would have brought my movie camera to commemorate the event. Though I'm sure I'll remember this for as long as I live…”

“No worries, Pagey. I've gotten quite fast with this thing,” Bonzo said raising his camera. “I'll capture every second that I can, innit?”

“Are we ready, ladies and gentlemen?” Jonesy asked, already knowing the answer.

He knocked on the door. “Miss Bisset, are you and your pet ready for us?”

She crouched and caught Robert off guard with a deep kiss. Then she petted him on his head and straightened his collar. “Don't forget to growl, mon chat,” she said with a smile before she yanked the chain.

With her crop in hand, she pushed the door open.

She strutted out on her tall platforms with Robert in tow. “It is my pleasure to present to you the Lion of the Black Country, a fearsome, wanton creature who, in my charge, is no longer a threat to the countryside.”

Robert knew when he had been beaten - - both by Jonesy and Miss Bisset. With the wine easing the reality of the situation away, he decided to give his all to the role.

He stalked out on his hands and knees, with his chest forward and his head high.

He growled heartily and shook his locks and snarled. He reared up on his knees and swiped at the air with his hands.

Bonzo was on his feet and clicking away with the camera. “Bloody hell, this is better than I could've imagined, Jonesy!” Bonzo tried hard to contain his laughter so his hand would remain steady.

Cole and Jimmy exchanged glances and fell into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. “Nothing new, truth be told,” Cole said, trying and failing to be serious. “It's just Percy on the prowl!”

Jonesy grinned, satisfied with how his plan had played out.

Robert crawled toward Jimmy, and Miss Bisset walked along with him. Jimmy's girl squealed in mock terror as Robert approached and then pawed at her legs.

“Is it hunting season yet?” Jimmy muttered.

Robert growled loud enough to startle Jimmy, and Bonzo lost it again when Miss Bisset whacked Robert's ass with her crop. “Behave, mon chat,” she said with throaty authority.

The rest of the women present watched him slink toward them, one shoulder forward at a time, and his bulge in constant motion as he moved. It was the most seductive movement he could manage on his hands and knees.

“Here, kitty, kitty!” The bravest one, a redhead, got on all fours and motioned to him.

He came to a stop before her. She stroked his hair and kissed him. He purred and nuzzled his head against her breasts. She held his head in place and continued to run her fingers through his hair.

Miss Bisset yanked Robert's chain again. “That's enough, mon chat. There are still more people to greet.”

The other women greeted Robert in the same manner. The grin fighting to rise on his face almost made him break character, but he pressed on with his end of the deal.

Jonesy's smile started to fade a bit when he realized Robert had found a way to enjoy the situation. But because Bonzo had started on another roll of film, Jonesy was satisfied with how the night would live on, long after they'd had their concert and the Starship had gone wheels-up and away from the city.

After the novelty had worn off, Miss Bisset sat down on the floor. She motioned for Robert to join her. She removed the leash, and he sat on his feet with his hands placed on the carpet.

Jonesy brought her a few slices of pizza piled on a paper plate, and she fed Robert with her fingers while she ate. She petted him from time to time as she joined the conversation in the room, and he purred while he rubbed his head against her shoulder.

Jimmy teased Robert once more about his lost bet, but the only response he got from Robert was another growl.

Bonzo marveled at how committed Robert seemed to the role. He had never seen Robert so quiet before, and rather liked some peace for once. “Absolutely bloody gold,” Bonzo said while he kept taking pictures the entire night.

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The rest of my stories are here, or search for the hashtag #brownskinsugarplumlibrary.

[diaryofasupergroupie]

Abuse exists in music *TRIGGER WARNING*

I ask everyone to please be respectful, this is the most personal thing I have ever written. This was an awful time of my life and I was a totally different person when I was with him. This kind of thing isn’t okay and I am hesitantly giving this a trigger warning of emotional and psychological abuse. There are definitely people who have had it worse but it was still a bad time for me. This kind of thing happens far more than it should and I hope people can realise that from my own experience. I’m open to answering questions about this but please be respectful! Sending you all my love xoxo - K   

I talk about abuse a lot and how girls are vulnerable but I never go into detail as to why I’m so passionate about preventing terrible things from happening to the girls or guys. When you are a groupie the musician is in an immediate position of power. No matter how much of a feminist or empowered woman you are this is the dynamic. When people say abuse I think we think about rapes, beatings and girls being taken advantage of. It can be and all those things are abuse but the control, manipulation and toxic relationships are all abuse too. C never once hit me but he totally hallowed me out inside until I was barely there.

You can read all about how I met C and how we talked and got to know each other over months. There was a slow burn that was so gentle and slow it led me into thinking it was just meant to be. Also keep in mind that this was my first relationship in the scene and all other experiences I had were flings. None of that makes it okay though. While I was on tour in Europe with K and his band C and I had been talking everyday without fail. He asked me to call him and would text me lovely things and tell me he’s been thinking about where we were headed and how it made him feel. These were sweet sweet words and he had sent me flowers to the venue K was at. On the phone C told me that he isn’t usually like this and doesn’t usually want to associate himself with groupies. He thought they had no self-respect and didn’t like what they did and how they clung onto the fame he had. When a man talks about groupies or just women like that he should paint the walls red. He should set off alarms and the warning signs should be obvious. But then he told me that I was different. If I heard that now I would hang up the phone. C would tell me that he knew me so well and that he knew I was far too free spirited to tie down like that – that was exactly what he intended on doing. He told me we could be in an open relationship which tricked me into thinking I had this great freedom and he completely was on the same page as I was. I felt like he understood me entirely.

When I was in the studio with A and D and they had told me how they never wanted me to go and how I was such an angel. I was supposed to go stay with my friend A and his wife for a few weeks. I was going to go to several gigs and spend some time with A who I loved dearly. I had spent some studio time with them and I had told C just what A meant to me. A the man who was like a best friend, big brother and who I trusted and had pulled me out of some of the darkest times. But C told me he didn’t want me flying out to stay with A because it was unfair how I went to see A but wouldn’t go to see him. He made me feel so guilty that in the end I cancelled my plans and left A disappointed. A has never been good at staying mad at me and would never intentionally hurt my feelings but I knew he was having thoughts that maybe C wasn’t good for me then. But I never saw any of that. I think it’s important to note that when you are so in love with someone and they are all you can think about you don’t notice the red flags. It’s fine for people to say that I should have noticed what was happening. But real life doesn’t work that way.

C flew from America to come stay in my city for three weeks. I remember just before he arrived that I didn’t want to feel trapped. Although I was all about C I felt that maybe that was exactly what was happening even then. I had talked on and off to V ever since I just entered the scene but this was the only time that stopped. C was getting a long flight to spend some time with me and I caught myself feeling ungrateful. I wanted to feel more grateful and felt so guilty for how I was feeling. C would tell me how much he hated flying but he was doing this for me and it made me feel so special. The day he landed it happened to be my mother’s birthday and despite the fact she to this day her care for me has been patchy I had to spend the day with her. C called me and we argued extensively about it. Don’t get me wrong, fights are a normal part of a healthy relationship. But when he makes you feel guilty for spending time with your family it isn’t a good sign. Some people will think that I am in the wrong here, he flew all that way and I didn’t even play the doting girlfriend. But as A told me over and over again, a good boyfriend would understand. Regardless I apologised for being mean and that I was just as impatient to see him.

When we saw one another everything was okay and we hugged and kissed. C was so smooth and good at tricking me into doing what he wanted. He held me close and kissed me before he leaned down to my ear and whispered, I wish you didn’t start all these arguments and we could just be happy. He would always blame me for the arguments and then tell me it was lucky he was there to handle me. I knew I was a handful and to this day I still am. But never let anyone try to tell you being who you are is a fault. He would work hard to make me feel special and take me shopping. He would give me his credit card and tell me to spend whatever I wanted to make him look good when we went to dinner. I would spend £400 at a time and that was part of his talent for making me forgive whatever he said to me. He brought me a ring and then pulled me behind racks of clothes where he kissed my neck. “K,” C said in between kisses. “I love you.” I asked him what he loved most about me. “I love the way you make me feel.” He said breathlessly.

We went to dinner and I remember being in total awe of him. I could never look away from him and I would just sit and stare. I felt like we were a real couple as we sat across from one another and everyone around us believed we were just in love. We weren’t faking or on tour, we were real people now. I realised just how in love I was with him. C told me he doesn’t normally feel like this and that he never wanted to leave my side. I was completely trapped in his words and I just wanted to touch him forever. I had grown up with emotionally unavailable male family members and as a rule that’s my type. But for some reason I wanted to hear how I made him feel in love.

I can’t deny the sex was good and when he took me back to the apartment he was staying at he truly made me feel special. But I don’t want to go into any kind of detail really because then I would have to remember. He was on the rougher side and completely all for him and full of himself which coincidentally is my type in that department too. I will tell you that he likes to have sex to his own music and I think that sums him up perfectly. You have to be a certain kind of person to enjoy that and if I’m honest his music isn’t the best and at times it became a mood killer.

For a taste of just how controlling he was we went to a party thrown by one of my favourites while he was there. I was quite ill and felt awful but I forced myself to go and it was my chance to show everyone in the scene that C and I were in a real relationship. I remember stepping into the party and the newer girls just watching me. C had been so open about his feelings about groupies and it was like a smack in the face to all of them. He went to socialise and I ran off with my friend V and a band I had known for years. They were the band I toured with when I met C and A who you may fondly remember as the man who took me to watch a movie before he drew a bow on me and we had a good night. They offered me some edibles to make me feel better and in truth it did. But when C walked in and saw just what I had been doing.

He quite literally cleared the table of everything and gripped my arm. He looked at me as though I was nothing before he started shouting at me. I tried to tell him it was because I felt ill but that made it worse and I thought he would hit me. For reference he would drink and smoke but I never could. “K, this is disgusting. I’m disgusted with you.” C spat and I knew everything was starting to go sour. I’m half glad A wasn’t there because if he was I’m scared about what he would do. A wasn’t there but O was. O has always been so lovely to me. I met him years ago on my birthday when he inserted a birthday candle in his urethra. O was always high on something, had a tolerance like I had never seen and also was completely obsessed with rock stars of the past and their stories. He would save them up to act out whenever he could. He would fondly call me Princess or Darling and have such fun with all the girls. When C was shouting at me for a moment I didn’t think it would ever stop. When any arguments happen there is always a moment when people think they need to get involved because it was going too far. I remember being so scared of him. C got in my face and that was when O stepped in. O pulled C off of me and then pushed him backwards and C fell down onto the ground. I thought there was going to be some huge fight. “Leave her alone!” O snapped at him. “You are scaring her and if you don’t stop being a dick I’ll take her back to my hotel room.” The secret meaning for C was there. The only way he would stop would be to make him jealous enough to rethink how unreasonable he was. In that moment O seemed to really care about me and that was what I needed right then. C went to leave but before he did he shook his head at me like a was a naughty child which really is what he wanted his girlfriend to be. You’re a bitch, C told me angrily, call me when you’ve stopped behaving like a whore unless you’re too busy letting O fuck you. I felt so disgusting all over some edibles.

I talked myself into looking past the entire evening and apologised to him again. Everyone who had met him from my civilian life said he wasn’t good for me but I of course ignored them all. Before he left we were invited to another party and V clung to me the entire time to make sure I was okay. She had made me a flower bracelet and took me to braid the childlike A’s hair. She told me she was in deep love with him but she loves everyone and everything so it wasn’t some great confession really.

At the party there was a certain young groupie there that I had loathed for years. Her name was L and for the past year I had watched her flirt and get all my favourite men into trouble. She was underage and she was the only one I saw still being able to get men involved in this. Most kept far away from underage girls but she always seemed to find a way. She was all over C and floated around him with her hands over his chest in her short skirt and neon pink lipstick. She was seventeen barely, I just wanted her to go and get on with her A-Levels.

While she was keeping C occupied and I was glaring at them it gave me a chance to spent time with O. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders in a protective manner and told me tonight I was his Princess. He then went on to pour prosecco directly into my mouth from the bottle. When I went to the toilet I found him in the bathroom doing lines on the counter. V’s new obsession A stumbled into the bathroom and handed O some pills. He offered me one but I shook my head so he swung them all into his mouth and swallowed them dry. I don’t understand even now how he physically does it. O told me when C goes home he’ll give me all the drugs I want before he proceeded to make me a crown out of a tablecloth. While L was all over C and he never said a word to her O was much more on my side. When the attention wasn’t on him while the band hosting played their new album he opened up the 15th floor window and threw up. He couldn’t stand not being the person everyone was looking at.

It carried on like this until C left again, I knew I should have felt sad to see him gone but I felt elated. It was like I could breathe again. I was amerced in the whole string of parties then and each time I saw O he would tell me to break up with C because he’s ruining me and killing my spirit in the worst way. I tripped out at a party and then knew I had to end it or he really would kill me. Everyone could see the change and that wasn’t how I wanted to disappear out of the scene. I’ve always left on my own terms. When I tried to break up with C he told me I wasn’t allowed to and that he would ‘never let some groupie break up with him’.

The girls were furious and I never spoke to him much after that. O had been the only person who made me feel anything through it all and when C really messed me up he sent me a care package and I went to stay with him for around a month on and off. When it came time for C to tour over here again word got out pretty quickly that he had took L the groupie from earlier with him despite her being underage at the time. I thought my groupie career was entirely over then but all of the old girls that had been around years stayed far away from that tour. Sure there were groupies there but the ones whose names are the top of the list didn’t go which was nice. I made my return at a party thrown by O. I toured with them a little after that and we had quite the fling but I healed and moved on from it all. C on the other had didn’t, he dropped L right after that tour and spent almost two years stewing over it all before he wrote two songs about me on his new album all about how he used me for sex and I was the one to destroy his life and make him suffer. The original cut had my name in there but after numerous phone calls and all my contacts in the industry my name thankfully got cut. Six minutes of him telling everyone I am a bitch and sucking his own dick. But I am thankful in a way to him for letting me know musicians aren’t perfect and they can be bad people. If he hadn’t caused arguments then I would never have gotten atrocious drunk and had my dad in the scene come to my aid and kick start a father and daughter like relationship which by far is the most meaningful in all of the years I’ve been doing this. He’s bitter but he didn’t take everything from me like he wanted – don’t let anyone do that.