#slow runners make fast runners look good

[peachesofteal]

Ghoap x reader zombie apocalypse AU? 👀 just gonna leave that here...

Ooh anon you got me with this. Thought about it all night. A full fic of this dynamic in an apocalypse setting would be so good. Sadly, I don't have it in me to write an entire fic for this but I scratched it out as a dead disco au down below on my phone (I took bits and pieces of zombie media and smashed them together as I like):

18+ MDNI / angst, death

It was an accident.

All you had wanted to do was try to find some mushrooms. You knew this part of the woods usually had a fair amount to forage, and you were pretty good at distinguishing the good ones from the not so good ones. You hadn't meant to get distracted.

You knelt down to the forest floor, picking at a piece of bark on a downed log when you heard the rustling, the suspect sound of something moving through the brush near you.

You expected one of the slow ones. The ones that usually found themselves this far from the city, wandering aimlessly, looking for the next meal. Decaying and rotting flesh hanging from their limbs, a sign they had been long infected, the decomposition marking them as something easily escapable.

You did not expect a runner.

You screamed- a huge no no, as Simon had been drilling into your head- when you saw it, far too late, tripping over yourself to try to get away, your hunting knife pressed into the palm of your hand.

You stood little chance against a runner. They were fresh, muscles still intact, lactic acid burning through their bodies, movements fast and sharp, able to take down an entire human in one fell swoop. They even looked like you, still holding their pallor, their posture, their fine motor skills.

Only their minds were gone. Addled by the infection, brains turned to hot mush inside their skulls.

They had one objective.

Eat.

You managed to clear the log, sprinting as fast as you possibly could, trying to take long, deep breaths through your nose just as Johnny taught you.

"More oxygen that way, love. It'll help your endurance, keep you runnin' longer."

They were always doing that now, equipping you for survival. Trying to train you like a solider, teaching you the finer points they thought you should know.

"We're gonna make it, together." Simon had said, the morning they showed up in the middle being away for work, clad in full tactical gear, guns in hand. "As a family."

"Ye have to listen to everything we say, alright darling? Everything's goin' to be okay." Johnny promised at the same time as you tried to pack some essentials into your backpack with trembling fingers.

They were obsessed with trying to instill as much of their knowledge into as possible, trying to prepare you, help you, listing off rules they thought were key, ensuring you knew to follow them.

One being: don't get distracted.

You curse yourself, feet flying underneath your body and heart thrumming in your chest with panic. You're too slow, and you can hear it behind you, sprinting just as fast as you are, preparing to launch and take down it's next meal.

You don't see the snare of brambles until you're in them, nearly slamming to a stop, thorns scratching against your skin as you fight against the thicket. It's too dense, slowing your ability to get away... and the runner is still hot on your heels, working its way through the mess, snapping its jaw like a shark.

Simon comes out of nowhere. One second you're hacking away at the branches and the next, there's a massive, solid warmth at your back, standing between you and the snarling monster. He's facing away from you, brandishing a knife, engaged in a full fight with the runner, taking it to the ground in an attempt to get the blade into its temple. You watch mouth wide, frozen, holding your breath until the job is done, and Simon is hauling himself upwards, pulling you into his arms before stepping back to look you over.

You burst into tears. You've always told them, you're not for this kind of world. You're too gentle, too sensitive. You're a painter, for fucks sake. Not a killer. You're too soft to survive.

They say it doesn't matter. That you can be as soft as you want, because you have them, and they'll be the killers. They'll be the hard ones.

"Did it get you? Let me see, c'mon-" He checks your arms, your neck, the tear on your shirt but finds nothing. "Alright, you're alright." He's telling you, and himself, relief exhaling from his body with each syllable. "You're alright, darling. I've got ya. Come here." He holds you tight, rubbing your back, kissing your cheek, your forehead until you're calm, breathing deeply and wiping your face.

You believe the worst has passed, until you blink up at him, and see the blood on his neck.

The bite.

"We need to make a plan."

"We're nae makin' a bloody plan." Johnny hisses, and Simon closes his eyes like he's tired. "We keep goin'. We'll make it to the rendezvous with Price and they'll have a solution. We dinnae even know how fast it spreads."

Simon lets loose a sigh, heavy with exhaustion. With the toll that this life has become. With the weight, of everything. He tucks you into his body, wrapping his other arm around Johnny, and holds the two of you close. Tightly. Tighter than he ever has before.

"Alright."

The next morning, everything is different.

You woke up last, fire still barely smoldering, little energy bar on the ground next to you. The guys sleeping bags were already rolled up, stacked neatly with Simon's pack, and the long gun that Johnny carries.

But they were nowhere to be found.

Confused, you slid free, stretching with a silent groan, scanning your surroundings until you spot them on the edge of the woods, locked together on their feet, Johnny's face mashed against Simon's neck, strong arms holding him close.

"What's going on?" The question comes out confused when you get close, and Johnny pulls away with wet eyes, hands shaking. What's happening? Why are they both crying? Fear screams through your body, red alert systems firing up as your brain struggles to put all the pieces together.

"Simon-" Johnny begins, but stops abruptly, eyes slamming shut, lips pressed together in agony.

"'m not feelin' too well." Simon explains gently. "You and Johnny are gon’ start on ahead, and 'm gonna stay here for a while." Something, something logical, something smart, is shouting at you from the back of your mind but you shove it away, opting for delusion instead.

"Okay, you're going to catch up though, right? You said. We'll find-" You frowned, looking from him to Johnny as a sick feeling grew in your stomach. "Johnny?"

“Look at me.” Simon combs through your hair with trembling fingers, unsteady for the first time in your entire existence. “I love you, darling. I love you so, so much.”

“S-stop, we're supposed to stay together, you- you said-“

“You have to go with Johnny now, okay? He’s gonna take care of you.” He jerks you forward, closed mouth pressing against your forehead. "I love you."

“No, Si.” You sob, fingers curled in his vest. “You have to come with us. You have to, we’ll fi-find a cure, they’ll be help, somewhere.”

“Johnny.” He chokes, and a strong arm wraps around your waist, Johnny’s heavy, tearful breathing echoing just above your ear. Someone works your fingers free, pulling your hand away but not letting go, holding onto you like a lifeline.

You look up between him, to his face, to Simon’s and realize. They’ve already said goodbye.

Simon strokes the back of his fingers down Johnny’s cheek, tears dripping down his own.

“I love you both, more than anything. More than life.” He squeezes your hand, rubbing a thumb over the back of your knuckles, and then steps away, pulling the handgun from the holster on his thigh. "Take care of each other."

"NO!" you scream, but Johnny is dragging you backwards like a rag doll, away from where Simon stands in clearing, gaze never breaking from the two of you, face wet with tears. "Johnny!"

"Darling-" he chokes out amidst a sob. "Shhh, please. Please." He begs you to be quiet, to hush, but you can't, you can't stop screaming, or fighting him, trying to get back to Simon, to reunite your family, to stay together. You scream and scream until Johnny’s hand claps over your mouth, his own words clogged by his cries, pleading and begging until he's cutting off your oxygen with a desperate apology and lifting you over his shoulder like dead weight.

The last thing you hear before you lose consciousness is the sound of a gunshot.

[sacredthethreadgvf]

Limelight | Jake Kiszka x Reader | Part 1.

Word Count: 13.7k

Prologue

Chapter Warnings: Smoking the herb, Jakes kind of an asshole, kissing and making out. Slight mentions of poor mental health that could be triggering for some. Mentions of self pleasure (f).

A/N: Thank you for being patient with me while I put this story together for you meticulously. I cannot wait to continue to share this story with everyone and I truly hope you all enjoy the slow burn that is only part 1 of our dear series. Buckle up, we have quite the journey together. I have to give the biggest shout out to @joshym, my dear Elisabeth, this story would truly be nothing without your insight. Thank you for your undying support while I navigate this story and for helping me button it up to share with everyone. 

Dear readers, as always, if I have forgotten to add something to my warnings or if there is anything that is triggering, please mention it so I can add such to my warning label. 

Enough of me rambling, I hope you enjoy!

****

July 28th 

STARCATCHER

Houston, TX.

Your alarm blared wildly at 3 am on a Monday morning to your dismay. You had barely slept unfortunately due to the dread of getting on a plane and meeting your new boss in about 13+ hours. Normally, when you are contracted with a new artist there’s a meet and greet between you to see how you would mesh together, to understand what your new boss is looking for in their assistant, what was a big no and what was a necessity. You took this part of your job very seriously. 

When Brian informed you that the boys were already on the road and you could not meet in the safe haven of the office with Brian one seat away from you, your heart sank. 

You were going into this new job knowing nothing about your boss other than what you were able to research on your own.

Jake Kiszka. A young guitarist seemingly at the height of his career with his brothers and his friend.

Your flight to Houston had ultimately gone faster than you wanted it to. Your anxiety grows more and more as you watch the time tick by on your phone screen. You tried your best to distract yourself with music and reading but found that trying to force your brain to not think about something only made it mock you and remind you about it more. Once you landed, you were immediately meeting with the band's current assistant Rose, who was coming to pick you up from the airport with a “runner”. You were going to be thrown to the wolves quite literally tonight. There was a show and you were told to be ready to go to the best of your ability. 

Grabbing your bags off the carousel you walked to the doors in the busy airport, your lungs begging for fresh air after sitting in a stuffy plane for a few hours now. Stepping out you felt the Houston heat invade all your senses and looked to your left to see a short brown hair girl waving you down with a big smile in front of a white van. That must be Rose. 

As you approached closer you got a good look at her features. You could describe her as a cute “mousey” looking girl. Small nose, adorable little smile, and a short bob with bangs which she tried her best to tie up and away from her neck. 

“You must be Y/N!” She said, greeting you with a wider smile. 

“That would be me!” You smiled back at her. 

“Here let me help you with your bags.” You helped her pick up your very full suitcase and lay it in the van. You followed her into it shortly after you got your luggage situated. “Alright Chris, were ready to go!” She said, patting the headrest of the driver's seat. She turned to you and gave you a soft smile. 

“So, Y/N! Tell me about yourself. I already know a bit from what Nick told me about you after connecting with your agency but tell me more!” 

You softly giggled at the energy Rose was giving off. You knew you two would be fast friends. 

“There's not much to tell honestly!” You really hated questions like this. 

“Oh cmon, how did you get into the industry!” She sat a little closer to you as the van made a sharp turn. 

“Let's just say my love for music really attracted me to this career choice. I have zero musical talent but I do love being around it. So I figured I would settle for the fun life of knowing what goes on backstage and working with artists one on one.”

“Ah, you're chasing after the limelight huh?” Rose grinned at you.

“The limelight scares me.” You both laugh. 

After a few beats of silence and a quiet moment of watching the bustling city streets from your window Rose spoke up again. “You'll love the boys. They really are the most genuine down to earth men I have ever had the pleasure of working with. And you'll love Jake,” She winked at you once she had your attention. “He's a looker and a sweetheart.” 

You blushed a bit thinking back to your wine fueled night when you went down a spiral into Greta Van Fleet on the internet. 

“So,” Rose pulled out a little notebook. “Your main focus is Jake tonight, don't let any of the other boys try and con you into helping them out, they're probably going to ask you to do some ridiculous favors just to test you and get under your skin. Especially Joshua.” She rolled her eyes and smirked. 

“I thought you said they were all sweethearts.” You snorted. 

“They are, but they also all have an affinity for trouble. It seems to follow them everywhere.” She giggled. “I'll try to introduce you to Jake when we get to the venue and he can take it from there. I do apologize I cannot show you around much, we are a couple of hours away from the show now and my attention needs to be on Joshua as he can be quite the diva.” 

You raised your eyebrows at her and she rolled her eyes. “Don't ask.”

***

You had a brief moment to drop your bags off at one of the tour buses, which you watched immediately get placed into one of the compartment bins on the side. ‘There goes the promise of a shower and a comfy bed tonight’ You thought to yourself. You were running behind Rose attempting to keep up with her speed walking through the back doors of the venue into the noisy white brick halls, clearly on a mission. 

“Were later than expected,” Rose said, her tone alarming as she glanced at her phone. “Were already past soundcheck, gosh I hope it went okay.” She muttered to herself.

“Here I got you a pass so you don't get thrown out of the venue.” Her tone lightened a bit but you could still see a hint of anxiety in her eyes. “You could easily pass off as one of the boys’ fans and we cant have security throwing out a newbie on day one.” 

You took the little lithograph pass and hung the lanyard from your neck observing its intricate details in the picture. Rose had then given you her phone number and directed you to sit in a dressing room and wait to meet Jake, she apologized profusely that she had to go run off to tend to Josh and you waved her off, understanding that you were the one that was in the way today. 

Sitting on the little loveseat in the room you took your time to observe your surroundings. The typical food and drink set up in an artist's dressing room caught your eye. So he likes wine,  you noted that to yourself for future reference. You noted the neatly placed hairbrush, dyson air wrap, little make up bag. Your eyes finally settled on the silver suit hanging from the back of one of the doors in the room. You pulled your phone out of your little bag and sent a text to your roommate and parents letting them know you at least made it to the venue and you would catch up with them at a later time as you now had to prepare yourself for work mode. 

Your silent moment was interrupted as a tall gentleman who you recognized as the boys’ manager Nick, walked through the door followed by the young guitarist himself. They clearly were in the middle of cracking a joke back and forth as the sound of laughter filled up the once peaceful room. 

“Miss Y/N!” Nick waved towards you with a gesture. “Glad to see you made it here in one piece! Thank you for coming on such short notice, I understand this is moving quite quickly for you. Probably more than you're used to, no?” 

You stood from your spot and extended your hand to shake Nicks. “It's no problem at all. I am a fast learner.” 

“Love to hear that!” He stepped aside briefly and gestured towards the other man occupying the room. “And here is Jake!” 

Jake. Everything you didn't expect and more, although you shouldn't have been surprised. You had only seen photos of Jake on stage when you were doing your “homework”.  As you two got closer to one another, his bergamot cologne overpowered your senses but not in an unpleasant way. He was dressed casually. Almost too casually. A cut off shirt with another button down and jacket laid on top and a pair of way too baggy slacks hanging off of him and a pair of sunglasses hiding his eyes from your view. His hair having a slight wave to it hung from his head.

“Hello Y/N.” He smiled softly at you and extended his hand out for you to shake. You just met the man and yet you already loved the way your name sounded coming from his mouth. 

“Hi.” You heard your own voice squeak in your ears. Why am I like this? You internally rolled your eyes at yourself. 

“Well,” Nick said. “I will leave you both to it. Show time soon Jake. Be ready.” 

Jake nodded and saluted Nick as he walked out the door leaving you both alone. Timidly you watched as Jake waltzed around the dressing room comfortably, grabbing a corkscrew and picking up a bottle of wine from the selection displayed on a table in front of him. 

“You drink?” He asked as he began to pour himself a gracious cup of the red liquid. 

“Uh, yeah I do sometimes.” 

“Would you like a glass?” He reached across the table in front of him to grab another plastic cup and gestured to you. 

You waved him off immediately, “Oh no, no I'm okay thank you.” 

“Cmon, have a bit of wine with me. It's customary when I meet someone to break into a bottle.” His sunglasses still hide his full face from your view.

“Maybe another time,” You sat down on the couch in the room and pulled a notepad out from your back pocket with a pen. “What do you need me to do for you tonight?” 

Jake's eyebrows raised. “Suit yourself I guess.” He approached the vanity opposite where you were sitting and leaned back against it, one ankle crossing over the other. 

“I suppose since we don't have much time I will get myself ready tonight as usual.” You could almost hear the hint of distaste in his mouth.

You watched his Adam's apple bob as he took a big gulp of wine. “I'll just need help with side stage stuff.” His eyebrows furrowed. “Why are you writing that down?” 

While his tone had a hint of curiosity you easily picked up on the scoff that passed his lips. What a prick.. 

“Just want to make sure I dont forget anything important is all. That a problem?” You challenged. 

You watched as his eyebrows rose slightly over his sunglasses. “No.”

“So what is it that you need assistance with at the side stage this evening Mr.Kiszka.” 

He smirked slightly. “Just need to make sure my towels are swapped out every few songs, make sure I have water nearby, and make sure this,” He gestured across the room to the display of wine. “To stay pretty full at all times.” 

“Seems simple enough.” Your pen lifted off of the paper. “Anything else?” 

Jake shook his head no and smirked at you. “Wanna read that list back to me or what?” 

What a douche..

“I'm good thanks. Hey, you good here for a moment? I want to go grab something from my bag on the bus.”

He took another gulp of wine and you watched as his demeanor changed. “All good.” 

You felt like you couldn't get out of that room fast enough, your anxiety taking over. But for what? Why exactly were you feeling like this? Was it the fact that you felt like you couldn't handle the workload given to you? The very minimal workload at that. That couldn't be the case. You had done so much more before this job, juggling multiple members of bands before as a stagehand. Maybe it had something to do with the rather attractive guitarist that you were now working for. 

No no, stop thinking like that you just met him 

He definitely was not what you had expected to be in person. 

***

The countdown for show time came faster than you really wanted it to. You felt like you weren't even close to being prepared for what was ahead of you for the evening. Rose met back up with you again and pulled you along with her to the greenroom where the rest of the band had gathered to say a little prayer before walking to the stage. You picked up on a few things that were said, “May Josh's vocals shine bright, may Jake's guitar never fail, may Danny's drums not break, and let's pray that Sam's bass and mellotron carry us along for a journey.”

“Alright boys!” Rose said rather loudly next to you. “Time for stage!” 

You were not yet prepared for all eyes landing on you at once and for some reason it made you feel rather small all at once. 

“Boys, this is Y/N! Jake's new assistant. Be nice, we want to keep her around.” Rose gestured to you. You watched as chocolate eyes all were focused on you. 

“Hey Y/N!” Everyone but Jake said in unison. 

“This is Josh, Danny and Sam. You will have more time to chit chat and get to know them later on,” Rose said. “For right now, we are cutting it a bit too close for comfort so lets get a move on!” 

Following the boys, security and Rose through the hallway that led to the venue you could hear the screams of anticipation in the background mixed in with the sound of classical music. You could feel a hint of nervousness and tension fill the air as the boys got their cue to enter the stage. This venue was huge, bigger than the ones you were used to seeing. The sound of screams from loyal fans going up an octave once they saw the boys enter the stage which prompted the rest of the venue to follow suit. 

Nothing at all could have mentally prepared you for this moment, nor the events that followed.

***

Everything had gone terribly wrong. 

You had managed to miss every one of Jake's stage cues. To your defense though, you didn't even know what those cues even were or what he had wanted. To further your frustration and embarrassment, you even had a roadie get mad at you and take over grabbing Jake a fresh towel and placing it within reach for Jake. By the time Jake had come off the main stage to go to B Stage in the back of the venue, he was glaring at you. 

“Why don't you just go sit in the dressing room, you're clearly just in the way!” 

You wanted nothing more than to hide away but Rose had come up to you after watching the little incident between you and Jake and encouraged you to stay, just stand stage side on the main stage and let Jake breathe it out. Your heart had been beating wildly in your chest and you couldn't wait for the show to finish to have a moment to yourself.

Rounding the corner your mind felt like it was a mess, buzzing away at a rapid pace with anxious thoughts. Were you made out for this? Smaller bands it was a breeze helping out and working for them, but this felt bigger than you anticipated. Jake seemed to get more and more frustrated with you as the show went on until that moment before the encore. You're praying to the heavens that your face doesn't give away the fact that you were crying, thankful you had packed your mascara into your little purse you had. 

Backstage was buzzing with people. Everyone was currently packing up bins and rolling them to the buses, others shouting orders to one another and pointing in many different directions. The chaos was unnerving compared to earlier before the show. Walking down a long hallway you passed through a few curtains hung up for privacy between the dressing rooms when you heard him. 

“This might have been a mistake.” Jake softly spoke to someone. “She managed to ruin every single thing that I needed tonight.” 

Just let it go, you thought to yourself. It’s not worth getting upset over. He just had a long night.

You just tried to keep yourself busy, helping out in any way you could that didn’t leave you in everyone’s way.

But just as you had decided to pretend as though you were oblivious to his harsh words, it was what he said next that had you throwing that sentiment clear out of the window. 

“I mean, Jesus. You’d have to be some kind of an idiot to not be able to handle something so simple.”

Idiot?

That was most definitely not going to sit comfortably with you. At that point, it wasn’t about “letting it go,” it suddenly became necessary to defend yourself to your new boss who felt the need to say such horrid things about you on your first fucking night.

Your eyes burned with tears of frustration and exhaustion after your long day. You burst through the black curtain and marched up to Jake. 

“First of all, I just fucking got here and had no time to adjust to anything or learn anything about you or what you needed or where to find it.” Your arms crossed in front of your chest. “Second off we don't even know each other and you expect me to know you like the back of your hand? New flash Jake, I dont. So don't just blow me away and throw me to the curb because of one bad night and give me a damn chance.” Your chest was practically heaving by the time you were done speaking. Both Jake and the roadies eyes were wide as saucers staring at you. 

Jake's mouth opened a few times but no words came out. 

“How about instead of undermining me we sit down and actually talk about what you need from me and how I can actually do my job and in a week if I dont ‘have a grasp’ on anything and Im still fucking up? I'll leave you without a word and you won't have to hear from me again. Deal?” 

The roadie Jake was speaking to failed to cover up a laugh with a fake cough and you shot him a glare. He glanced briefly at Jake whose eyes were locked on you with an unreadable expression and then turned away and left you two alone. 

“Y/N, I-” Jake seemed to find his voice just as you started to walk away. 

“Save it.” You shot back at him over your shoulder and muttered under your breath. “Fucking prick.” 

Walking through the same black curtain you had burst through not moments ago you collided with someone who must've been standing close by. “Oh my god Im so sor-”

“That, that was fucking awesome.” Frontman Josh Kiszka himself was grinning wildly at you. 

Your heart leapt out of your throat. “Jesus! Eavesdropping much?” You clenched a hand to your chest. 

Josh laughed and wrapped an arm around your shoulder and began to lead you down the hallway, far away from Jake. “No one other than myself or my other brothers really stand up to Jakey boy. You're really giving him a run for his money. I like you!” He flashed you a wide grin.

“Im s-so sorry,” You stuttered. “That was so unprofessional of me to say-”

“No! It was not unprofessional, dont worry about it.” Josh's arm dropped from your shoulder. “Trust me, he's been such a prick these last few weeks he really needed someone to stick it to him other than his own family.” 

You weren't listening to Josh and you were letting your anxiety get the best of you for the second time tonight. You could not lose another client due to a complication. As much as your boss stuck it out for you, you knew he was also not thrilled with your recent issues with the last band you worked with. 

You broke away from Josh and sat in a rouge chair in one of the hallways and held your head in your hands to shield the tears that were beginning to bubble up again in your throat. 

“Hey, Y/N right? That's your name?” Josh asked, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder. You nodded but refused to look up at him until he pulled your hands back from your face. “Give him some time. Like you suggested, just have the sit down with him and figure out what the hell he needs from you. But maybe save it for tomorrow? No offense, but you look like shit.” 

You huffed a laugh and wiped the rouge tear that slipped down your cheek. “Gee, thanks.” 

“Just trying to lighten the mood,” Josh's voice rang like a song and you felt him reach for your hands. “You seem like you've had quite the day my dear. Here, let me show you to the tour bus and your bunk! I'm assuming you will be riding with us since you're going to be hitched to Jake.” 

“Your assumptions are correct, unfortunately.” You gave him a soft smile to which he returned. 

“My twin definitely has quite the temper sometimes, let me tell you.” Josh sucked a breath between his teeth. “But I promise he's nice. Underneath all the mystery he likes to pretend he holds, he's easy going.” 

“You're twins?” You were surprised. 

“I'm five minutes older so I'm superior.” He threw you a wink.

“A superior pain in the ass.” Jake's voice rang out behind the two of you. Your breath caught in your throat again as you took a glance at the man who you had raised your voice at not nearly 15 minutes prior.

He had apparently showered in a short span of time and his hair was dripping onto his soft beige button up he was now sporting. His eyes were hidden by the same pair of sunglasses from earlier and you watched as he slung the backpack he was carrying over his shoulder. 

“Don't you have somewhere else to be?” Josh rolled his eyes. “Come now Y/N, were almost there.” 

“Don't go stealing my assistant now.” Jake shot back at his twin and Josh just shook his head. Clearly there was some twin telepathy that you were missing as you felt the tension between the two rise.

For a moment there was uncomfortable silence held between the three of you and you did not have the heart to speak up. That silence was quickly broken by the sound of diesel engines roaring in the distance and the footsteps of the twins as you walked in between them. Your arms crossed against your chest again, a sign of defensiveness and protection around the strangers you had just met only hours prior. You three walked through a wide entrance into a huge garage lined with at least 8 buses. Chaos was ahead as you watched workers and roadies buzz about getting things packed into different compartments and wheeled to their respective places. 

Jake's pace sped up and he weaseled his way around you and Josh who were now walking side by side. You watched as Jake got on one of the tour buses and disappeared deeper into it without another word to either of you or the workers around. 

Josh sighed next to you and grabbed your hand briefly and you both stopped walking. “Listen, if he gives you a lot of trouble, come find me. Or Sam. Or Danny. We will keep Jake in check. You seem like a really nice girl and already a great addition to the team. Don't let him get under your skin. He will come around.”

“But Josh, you barely know me. I feel like I messed up big tonight and-” 

Josh held a hand up to stop you from talking which you obeyed. “I don't believe that. Give yourself a chance. I can tell you have the vigor and the right attitude to do this job and I expect we will see great things from you. Plus we have all the time in the world to get to know each other” He winked at you and bumped you with his elbow. 

“Thank you Josh.” You smiled softly. 

“Anytime.” He held his arms open for a hug which you graciously accepted. “Now let's get you settled on the bus yeah?” 

***

July 29th. 

Denver, CO.

You awoke to the sound of multiple voices talking back and forth and the sound of shuffling feet and bags. The clear ring of Josh's laugh falling through the tight hallway of the tour bus bunks. You rubbed your eyes and reached for your phone out of the side pocket of the bunk. 

10:44 AM

Your moment of peace in your secluded bunk was disrupted by a small pull on the drapes of your bunk and you shielded your eyes from the bright light coming from the overhead lights. 

“Rise and shine sleepy head,” Rose smiled at you softly. “Duty awaits.” 

Rose was gracious enough to re-close the drapes to your bunk to shield you from the prying eyes of anyone walking past to exit the bus. You quickly gathered your water bottle phone and charger and pulled the curtains back, still feeling groggy and not processing your surroundings. You realized pretty quickly that having a moment to sit in peace and quiet was not an option as you made eye contact with Jake's reflective sunglasses lenses and Danny's smirk, the aisle of people sitting at a stand still similar to the aisle of a plane. 

“Well well, looks like someone got a good night's sleep.” Danny said, smiling at you and gesturing to your head. 

You felt your hair with your hands, a clear rat's nest on one side of your head and then noticed the feeling of drool on the side of your mouth. Your eyes widened, horrified and you pulled the curtain closed again to hide from the men standing eye level right next to you. An absolutely horrifying experience as you heard the two giggle and mutter something along the lines of ‘I remember when I used to crash in bus bunks like that.’ ‘I remember when I had my first real night's sleep.’

You wished at that moment that you could curl up and cease to exist. 

What a way to start a day. 

Voices and the sound of feet got further away in a few moments and you peeked your head out of the curtain and saw the coast was clear enough for you to finally crawl out of your tour bus coffin and seize the day ahead of you. 

After gathering your necessities and locating your bookbag tucked away in a random corner on a couch, you walked off the bus which was located in a back parking lot of a hotel and you were met with Rose once again awaiting your arrival. “Here, I grabbed your suitcase for you. I'm sorry, I should've told you to keep your book bag stocked last night, at least for small items like your hairbrush for the bus. That was my fault.” 

You grimaced as you were trying to work out the knots in your hair with your fingers. “It's no worries, I think I was too tired to properly function anyways yesterday to even consider it.”

“Get used to it kiddo,” She began walking towards the hotel. “You will have to learn how to thrive on no sleep with these hooligans. They will surely give you a run for your money.” 

“Were not all that terrible!” Danny had caught up with you and Rose.

“That might be the best joke I have heard all week!” Rose said.

Danny covered his heart with his hand. “I'm wounded Rose, I'm wounded real deep.”

Rose rolled her eyes and looked back at you as she approached the front doors of the hotel. “I already gathered everyone's room keys and checked the team in, something one day you and I will hopefully switch off on because it can be a lot of work.” You watched Danny grab a hotel key from Rose's hand, you weren't even sure where she pulled it from. 

“You will be rooming with me for most of this tour so we can assist each other with duties. Even though you primarily work with Jake it will be easier for me to help you with things from time to time to make sure we are all on the same page with the band.” 

You nodded at her in agreement and followed her into the hotel elevator. 

“I wanted to apologize for last night. I really did throw you to the wolves and that was my fault. I told Jake to come by our room in about an hour so we can sit down and discuss your duties in further detail so what happened last night doesn't happen again.” She threw you an apologetic look as you grimaced.

“I feel bad about last night.” The elevator dinged announcing your arrival onto your designated floor. 

“Seriously Y/N, don’t. Shit was all whacky and all over the place and you had no clue what to expect. I should've had you shadowing someone, I should've had you shadowing me for the night so you could see how the boys work. I blame myself for this one.”

You arrived at your room and Rose swiped the keycard for entry. The room was modest, two queen beds, tv, little desk and table in the corner and bathroom. The beds white linens looked rather inviting for a nap later on if you had the time to take it. Just as both of you were getting settled into the room, you for a shower and Rose unpacking a few of her personal items you heard her sigh rather loudly. 

You paused what you were doing, “What's up?” 

“Hmm? Oh nothing,” Her head softly shook. “Just Josh needing a multitude of things. I will be back shortly, I must go tend to the king of vocals.” 

You both laughed. “Enjoy your shower!” She said, and with that she was out the door and you were left alone in peace.

Your shower was not living up to your standards with the dang water pressure being practically nothing but the warmth of the water, the smell of your favorite soap, and the normalcy of your shower routine put a satisfied smile on your face. 

Hopping out, you wiped some of the steam that had collected on the mirror and stared at yourself. Thank goodness for showers giving you and your hair a fresh start. That rat's nest had been worse than you expected this morning on the side of your head, understandable why the boys smirked at you.

You heard a soft knock at the door, assuming it was Rose you didn't bother to put on any clothes and just clung the towel closer to your body. Unfortunately for you, when the door swung open you were met with the young guitarist whose eyes seemed to bug out of his head at the sight of you wrapped in a skimpy white towel. 

“Oh my god I am so sorry,” You panicked and pulled the towel tighter around yourself. “I thought you were Rose.” 

Jake cleared his throat and attempted to maintain eye contact with you. “It's, uh, its not a problem.” 

“Uh, come on in, I just need to grab some clothes really quick.” 

You stepped aside to let Jake into your room, heart in your throat out of embarrassment that your new boss has seen you in your current state. You quickly grabbed a tshirt and leggings from your bag while Jake made himself comfortable at a little table that was in the room, pulling out a notebook and setting it in front of himself. You locked yourself back in the bathroom and took a deep breath to ground yourself. 

You made your way out of the bathroom to find Jake now across the room looking out of the window at the view of Denver, Colorado and its bustling streets below. His damn outfit makes your head feel fuzzy. His half unbuttoned shirt half tucked in his pants.

“Hey.” You said softly. 

Jake turned around and you watched as his wandering eyes traveled across your now fully clothed body, briefly meeting yours as his lips curled in the smallest, barely there smirk. “Hello,” he uttered, the corner of his mouth still upturned.

“Listen, I want to apologize for raising my voice at you yesterday. I totally understand if you want to drop me as your assistant, that was highly unprofessional of me .” 

Jake waved you off quickly. “No, it was unprofessional of me to even be talking that way about you. If anything, I’m the one who should be sorry. You were right, I haven't even given you a chance.” He gave you a soft smile, his chestnut eyes glimmering as they peered into yours. “How about we start over. Forget about last night, yeah?” 

“I think I’d be okay with that.” You gave him a soft smile back, finding it hard not to at his contagious charm.

“Great,” he says, offering you a firm hand for a more professional greeting.“Hello I am Jake,” 

“Hi Jake, Im Y/N.” You took his hand in yours, fighting back a giggle as the blush began to rise on your cheeks. The goosebumps instantly began to prickle your skin at the feeling of his touch. You gasped softly at your own body's reaction and tried to cover it up. You were unsure if you were successful or not but Jake did not acknowledge it so you were hopeful. 

“Y/N, it is nice to meet you. I look forward to working together.” He gave you a wide toothy grin now which naturally, you should've guessed, was breathtaking. 

No wait, stop. Don't think like that. This is your boss, your job. Remain professional dammit..

Jake gestured to the table behind you, “Why don't we get started.” 

You nodded and grabbed your own notebook, pen and planner from your bookbag and joined Jake at the little table. 

“I'll go easy on you I swear.” He flashed you another dazzling smile, this time with an added wink and a sweet chuckle under his breath. Why God..why.. 

“Rose might have some more things for you, I know she's excited there will be someone else around to assist but you are first and foremost my assistant so you'll be handling my things primarily and then I may share you with the rest of the crew as needed. You okay with that?” 

You clicked your pen, “Of course!” 

“Fantastic.” He opened up his little notebook which had a little bullet point list written down. You glanced at it and were able to read out most of it but averted your eyes out of respect. You didn't want him to think you were nosey. At least not yet. 

“I know we already talked about most of this last night so it may be repetitive, my apologies for that. I'll keep things pretty simple for you and just reiterate some things,” Jake wiped the corner of his mouth. “Pre shows Im just looking for help with getting ready. Making sure my suits are ready to go, my boots that I need are clean of scuffs. Might need help with make up here and there,” He cleared his throat. “Just some eyeliner nothing fancy like Josh. Maybe some things with my hair but I'm not sure.” 

 “I can definitely help you explore some ideas.” You gave him a soft smile that he returned. 

“Rose usually handles the food and drinks and making sure the venues have everything we need, I'm not sure if she wants to keep it that way or not but we will have to ask her.” 

“Might be easier for her too but yes, we will discuss.” You said. 

Jake turned a page in his little book, “Okay now on stage stuff, I know you also got a brief idea of what that would be for me.” 

You grimaced slightly at the memory of Jakes harsh tone at last nights show telling you to ‘fuck off’ when you were so clearly in his way and not helping. At least now that you're sitting down, hopefully that won't happen again.

“Basically I just need those fresh towels ready, need my drinks to stay topped off like I mentioned, making sure the roadies follow the schedule for which guitar for which song, yada yada. Making sure I have guitar picks ready to go.” He paused to turn the page again and read down the list. “Then I guess just tending to my basic requests throughout the tour. I promise I'm really not that high on maintenance even if it didn't seem that way last night.” He gave you another soft smile. 

“This is all very doable for me. My only request is to keep an open communication with me and work with me, not against me if things go a little haywire while I get used to the flow of your tour.” 

Jake nodded. “Deal.” 

“So I guess Rose is not making this little meeting of ours.” You giggled softly and began packing up your notebook and pen.

“I'm not surprised,” Jake said, mirroring your actions. “Josh can be very demanding of attention you'll learn that pretty quickly.” 

You giggled. “I think I already have.” 

***

August 4th.

STARCATCHER

Seattle, WA. 

“Damn, you really have some dedicated fans.” You said, looking out the van window at the fans lined up on the street along the venue. 

Jake pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. “We really do, they're awesome.”  

You subconsciously twisted the rings on your fingers in your lap from the feeling of anxiety creeping up in your throat. Jake was the biggest artist that you have worked for so far. Even after your conversation with him the other day where he laid out everything he needed from you in detail once again, you still felt unsure about how tonight would go. 

You felt Jake's hand on your shoulder pulling you back to reality. “You okay over there? You're a million miles away.” 

You glanced over at him and smiled softly, “Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Just a little nervous I guess.” 

“No need to be Y/N, things will go smoothly! I promise not to be an asshole tonight.” You both shared a soft laugh.

Things did not in fact go smoothly…

When you and Jake had initially arrived at the venue you were met with a very frazzled looking Rose and others bustling around. 

“Rose, what the fuck is going on?” Jake had sat her down on the couch in one of the green rooms. Josh on the opposite end of the couch, threw his arm around her for comfort as tears streamed down her face. Across the room Sam and Danny stood unusually quiet and still. 

“One of the runners,” She blew her nose. “Dropped off your stage outfits at the dry cleaners too late and I don't know if we will even have your stage outfits ready to go, let alone everything else adding up. Were missing mic packs somewhere and-and..” She hiccuped. Across the room you saw Danny give Sam a slight nudge with his elbow. 

“Okay deep breaths Rose Bud, remember like we practiced the other day?” Josh said, pulling her closer to him. “We will get this figured out. Don't forget Y/N is here, maybe she can help out a bit.” 

“Yeah, Y/N can help out.” Jake spoke up, volunteering you. “I don't really have much on my list today and I don't need her until later.” 

Rose sniffled and looked up at you. “Would you be able to help?” 

All eyes were on you and the panic you felt in the van crept back up in your throat. “Yeah, uh yes I can see what I can do.” 

Rose jumped up off the couch and gave you a tight hug, “Oh thank the heavens!” 

Shortly after Rose had calmed down a bit, everyone dispersed for the most part. You followed closely behind Sam and Danny as they exited the green room. You picked up on their quiet whispers shared between each other as you turned the corner, your presence apparently going unnoticed. 

“Dude, you gotta go get those mic packs.” Danny whispered, bumping Sam with his elbow like he did in the green room. 

“I know, I know!” Sam responded, squeezing past a few dolly boxes. “I have to go dig them out from my case.” 

“Okay,” You spoke up. “So am I to assume that you two had something to do with the disappearance of those mic packs?” Both of the boys' heads turned quickly in your direction and their eyes grew wide. They had been caught. 

“I do not know what you are talking about Y/N.” Danny gave you a sly grin, turning around to face you. 

You rolled your eyes, “Of course not. You know, you two have some impeccable timing it seems.” 

“Well it's not like we knew everything would go to shit today!” Sam threw his hands up defensively. You couldn't contain your giggle as a smile broke across both of their faces. 

“You two are terrible and you're officially on my radar,” You pushed on both of their shoulders lightly. “Lets go get them. At least then maybe Rose will stop crying.” 

To your luck, the boys had not so sneakily hid the mic packs in plain sight in Sam's wardrobe case and you had them returned to Rose who swore up and down that you were a good luck charm. She had directed you to give them to Dale who was managing sound and tech for the shows. Walking through a little passageway you made your way into the arena where the beeping sounds of heavy machinery seemed to bounce off the ceilings. Techies and roadies alike were bustling around hanging lights, hooking up mechanicals and wires. The stage was being built and even chairs were already being set up on the floor. You had found Dale pretty quickly who seemed relieved to see the mic packs in your hands and thanked you before turning back to a few other workers and continuing directing them on where things will be going.

You took a moment before reentering the winding halls of Denver's Ball Arena to admire how big the venue was from where you stood on the floor. You couldn't begin to imagine playing to an arena packed full of people like this night after night. The empty seats reaching as high as the ceiling made your stomach churn at the thought of sitting up that high. You wondered how many people would pack in tonight to see the boys play their music. You then noticed a small movement out of the corner of your eye as you panned the rest of the arena in awe. 

Was that? No..

Your lips separated with a low gasp. Jake was running. He must've been doing laps around the arena. You stood frozen in your spot watching him closely as he rounded the corner of the venue furthest away from you. His hair was tied back in a low bun against his neck, he had abandoned his usual attire and was sporting a pair of running shorts (something you couldn't picture him wearing) and the skin of his bare torso so clearly glistening in the lighting from the sweat on his body. 

You hadn't realized how hard you had been staring until he rounded the corner and was running towards you. He smirked at you as you locked eyes and your heart leapt in your chest at the realization that you had been caught ogling him. You quickly turned on your heel before he got any closer and booked it down the hall. 

What the hell is wrong with me..snap out of it..

“See something you like?” You heard his voice ring out behind you. Cocky bastard.

You turned around and looked at Jake, it was even worse having him up close to you now. Subconsciously you waited until he caught up to you to continue walking down the hall. 

“Cat got your tongue or something?” He smirked at you as he wiped his sweaty face with a towel. His cologne became ever more powerful as it was radiating off of his hot skin. It was intoxicating. The scents of bergamot and vanilla create a sensual aroma that clouded your mind. Your mouth ran dry and you tried so hard not to steal glances at his sweaty chest. You probably looked like an idiot screaming at yourself mentally to respond to him. 

“What would you like for lunch Jake?” You cleared your throat finally. “Anything specific you like for your post run ritual?” 

“Mmm, a hot shower.”His tone caught you off guard.

Was he doing this on purpose? 

You took a chance and looked his way and you caught what you thought was the tail end of a wink sent towards you. Was he fucking flirting with me? No, no…no way. 

He let out a booming laugh, “I just usually have some sort of chicken wrap. Rose should have it already somewhere if you don't mind grabbing that for me.” He wiped the back of his neck and let his hair down as you two got closer to his designated dressing room. 

“Sure.” 

His fingers grazed your lower back as you cut the corner to the dressing room and your skin felt like it was on fire.

***

The rest of the day ended up running a lot more smoothly than the morning did. Rose was able to get the dry cleaners to expedite the cleaning of the stage outfits and they were back at the venue right as the boys finished their soundcheck and you and Rose hastily worked together to get Josh's jumpsuits laid out for the evening after hanging up suits in other dressing rooms. You had written down a small list in your phone of everything you needed for Jake to have a smooth show tonight. 

Towels by his guitar case. Check. 

One towel on the amp. Check.

Check with Tim to make sure Jakes guitars are all tuned and ready. Check. 

Snacks and drinks in the dressing room. Check. 

Wine bottles in guitar case. Check. 

Water. Big check. 

You felt really prepared for tonight and mentally ready for his cues on stage. Luckily for you, Jake said he had a handle on getting himself ready for tonight and you found him laughing along with something Danny and Sam had apparently said as you walked into the green room for final checks before the walk to the stage. 

“Alright boys!” Rose clapped her hands together. “Everyone has their wireless packs all charged and ready to go?” 

Everyone nodded collectively.

“Let's have a show!” 

***

August 10th

STARCATCHER

Los Angeles, CA.

The morning had gone smoothly thanks to your multiple alarms set to ring every 5 minutes no matter how many times you snoozed them. You were exhausted. Everyone was exhausted actually. The last week of what felt like back to back shows, sleeping in tour bus bunks and arriving at venues, the first thing at the crack of dawn was catching up to everyone. You wanted nothing more than to keep your head buried underneath the soft white linens of the hotel bed sheets with the AC blasting on full, but duty calls and you had to get your adult child to the venue sooner rather than later. Rose of course was up at the crack of dawn and out of the room already tending to the frontman of the band who unfortunately for her, was an early riser regardless of the time he went to bed the night before.

As you did your morning routine and applied some concealer underneath your eyes you were thanking the universe that you were heading home tomorrow. Just one more day, you thought. One more show after this and I can sleep in my own bed and shower in my own home. 

Getting yourself moving in the morning was not bad after you had a few sips of your favorite caffeinated drink, however, getting Jake moving in the morning was another thing. He had a tendency to sleep in until the last moment possible. Not to mention actually getting him ready and out of the hotel room on time was like trying to put a coat on a toddler, near to impossible without some sort of fight. Yet, to your surprise today, he was already up and waiting for you to meet him. He had even called a runner for you two already and was waiting with a breakfast sandwich ready to go. 

“When the hell did you get this?” You asked Jake as you buckled up in the white van. 

“Shortly after I woke up and decided I was hungry.” He smirked. 

You rolled your eyes and decided not to press any further. Thankfully, it seemed as if everything at the venue was in working order. You and Rose caught up on administrative things for the band throughout the day, made sure everyone had their plane tickets booked and ready to go for a quick and easy trip home to Nashville tomorrow. Naturally of course, just because the morning and afternoon had gone smoothly, this meant something had to go haywire before the show. 

Rose had finished Josh and Sams make up for the night. You had been giggling to yourself listening to Josh and Sam. You officially learned what a “Rhinestone Diary” was as the bands social media manager, Kaiya, helped put it together. While the Rhinestone Diary offered a moment of fun for a few, for others, tensions were high after so many shows. Lack of sleep and being cooped up together for a period of time was really taking a toll on everyone's emotions. 

You were typing away on your computer next to the main green room meant for the band to hang out when raised voices pulled you out of your focus. 

“Thats fucking stupid!” 

“Jake,” Josh raised his voice. “You cant just make changes like that last fucking minute because you dont want to play Frozen Light.” 

“Jake,” Rose spoke softly. “We already sent out the setlist to the sounds and light guys.” 

“Okay and?” He snapped. “It's not the first time we've made a last minute change.” Your typing paused and you closed the lid on your laptop. 

“Were not fucking playing Highway Tune!” Josh practically screamed. You had never heard Josh raise his voice that loud. You had heard stories of how bad fights between the Kiszkas could get before but nothing could have prepared you for witnessing it in real time. 

You had abandoned your laptop and you leaned up against the door frame just as Jake seemed to be exiting the room. 

“Fucking selfish prick you know that,” He turned around and looked at Josh. “You know this is just as much my band as it is yours, its called fucking compromise.” 

“It's not much of a compromise when we completely change something that I do not want!” Josh's arms crossed and Jake glared at Josh, you and Rose. 

Greaaat, now I'm caught in the crossfire.  

“What fucking ever.” Jake threw his hands up and brushed past you in the door frame. He began walking down the short hallway towards his dressing room before turning to you. “You coming?” 

Without a word you pushed off the door frame and walked over towards him. Your arms had been crossed against your chest in defense from the rising tensions between the boys. Following Jake closely you watched as he yanked his jacket off and set down on the chair in front of his mirror, he seemed defeated. 

Your arms uncrossed, “Anything I can do for you Jake?” 

“Uh, yeah, I could use some help with my eyeliner pencil,” He let out a breath. “Im shaking so damn bad I can't sharpen the thing.” 

You nodded your head and dug through the little makeup bag that was set aside for Jake specifically and located the little black eyeliner pencil that was more than halfway used. The sound of you sharpening the little pencil was the only noise that you heard in the room as you felt Jake observing you. 

Unfortunately for you, the soft tip of the pencil kept crumbling in the sharpener as you kept twisting it and twisting it. 

“Fuck.” You muttered and felt Jake's eyes glance up at you. “God dammit.” You muttered again as the tip broke for the third time.

“That's the only one I have, stop sharpening it!” Jake snapped at you.

“It's fine Jake we're going home in a day or so, we can get another one.” You kept sharpening the pencil. 

“Youre fucking wasting it!” He snapped at you again. This time, he had snatched the pencil and the sharpener out of your hand. “Just go fucking get my phone charger off the bus Y/N.”

“Huh?”

“Go fucking get my charger from the bus. Its not that fucking hard to follow directions.” 

You instantly recoiled at his raised voice and your head dropped, you felt like you haad fucked up again. When you took a chance to glance at Jake his back was turned to you and your shoulders slumped. You watched as he examined the pencil in his hands and then threw it forcefully into the garbage can across the room.Great, there I go again. It was a usual occurrence for you to blame yourself for others emotions even if you were not consciously aware of it. 

The walk to the tour bus gave you a breath of fresh air at least and allowed you to clear your mind. 

By the time you got back into the arena it was already showtime and the boys had been walked to the stage by security. You plugged Jake's phone in and set it on the vanity in the green room, briefly glancing at his notifications but not trying to pay any real attention to them as you saw a list of texts and a few other notifications. Not my business….

Grabbing a bottle of Cabernet off of a nearby table you began your descent to the stage just as you heard the opening lines of what you quickly learned as The Falling Sky and slowed your stride. You knew Jake was angry but you hated that the anger was directed towards you. He had no right to take his frustrations out on something that you didn't cause and you made a mental note to put him in his place another time. Right now, your focus and your job was on Jake putting on a good show for his fans. 

Walking up to the side of the stage you checked in with Brian, Jakes “right hand” roadie, that all of his guitars were ready along with additional strings and made a note to tell Rose that you needed more nylon strings for Jakes acoustic as he had already broke a few since the last few shows. Standing near the side stage you observed as the crowd went wild for any little movement the boys seemed to make. Josh's voice echoing like siren through the venue echoing off the same walls you had observed in other venues still made your heart stand still 

These boys had talent, talent beyond comprehension, and though you had only known them for a short while you were mesmerized by the craft they created for as young as they were. You found your eyes closely following Jake and while you tried to convince yourself it was because of your job, having to know what he needed at all times, deep down you knew it was because he was the most mesmerizing of them all..

Watching Jake play guitar was like a drug, something you didn't think you needed until it was right in front of you. The raw talent and animalistic way that he played the guitar, the way he made it sing, the way he made it moan and bend to his every need..

Your thoughts were cut short as Rose came up beside you and signaled to the break in the setlist in front of you. Almost simultaneously Jake looked back side stage and signaled to his amp where his cup of wine lay hidden. That was your cue. Staying out of sight you twisted the cap and graciously poured his cup half full. He gave you a half smile and a small thumbs up as a thanks but you returned his gesture with a frown because fuck his attitude earlier. Even if he was feeling better from the energy from the fans in the room doesn't mean that you had forgotten how he had snapped at you. 

You made your way back down the stairs side stage and stood by with your arms crossed thinking about how much you wanted this show to end so you could go lay in your hotel room bed and forget about today. You took a deep breath as you heard Jake's guitar wail again, You'll be in your own bed in a few days time, you'll be in the quiet of your apartment, just keep hanging on Y/N..

You watched in horror as Jake approached you, his red gibson swinging on his hips. He stepped down the back stairs with confidence and handed you the white rose he was carrying, “I'm sorry I was a dick to you tonight.” 

Oh. 

You stood frozen holding the long stem with the white flower delicately on top as Jake gave you a small smile and walked back up the stairs. This was definitely something you were not expecting. 

***

August 20th

HOME SWEET HOME…

Nashville, TN. 

It had been a little while since the day Jake presented you with his apology. You had accepted the rose willingly when he handed it to you, but you felt in utter shock over it. That evening after the show Jake had sat you down and told you he was really going to work on his attitude towards you, that it was unfair you were taking the brunt of it when his anger had been all towards his brothers. You had parted ways on good terms after coming home to Nashville and you were enjoying your quiet time away from the limelight, and the chaos. You had just sat down on your couch and cozied up for the night when your phone screen lit up next to you unexpectedly.

Jake Kiszka

Hey, you busy tomorrow? 

Oh. This is unexpected. 

You were snuggled up with a glass of your favorite beverage in hand and your roommate's cat, Beans, purring against your leg as you pet him softly. You had the tv on in the background but you were curled up with your favorite book at the moment, rereading it for the fourth time. Seeing Jake's name across your screen caused your heart to jump in your chest. You haven't heard from him in a few weeks, since the day you parted in the airport to head home when your roommate Addison came to pick you up. 

You 

Nothing planned, what's going on? 

You laid your head against the couch pillow and felt as Beans stretched his paws against you, you smiled in content at the small animal. Your phone vibrated again. 

Jake Kiszka 

I could use your help cleaning out and re packing my cases for tour in a few weeks. We always make it into a party too with food and drinks and music too so I promise I won't work you too hard :) 

You caught yourself smiling a bit. Even though this was going to be work related, the thought of seeing Jake again made your stomach fill with butterflies. Fuck no, stop smiling like that..this isnt right this is your boss for crying out loud…

Yet, you couldn't deny it anymore. You were so clearly lying to yourself.

You were crushing on Jake Kiszka whether you wanted to or not. You couldn't deny how your heart felt at the thought of him and to your demise, you couldn't help but think about him constantly since you ended the first part of the tour. Especially, it seems, at certain moments late at night when your vibrator had fully charged.

Okay, whatever, you were “down bad” according to Addison. You felt ashamed for feeling this way towards your boss but as long as you kept yourself professional around Jake what was the harm in a little crush..right?

****

August 21st

GVF, LLC OFFICE.

Nashville, TN.

You swore you didn't pick out this outfit because you were seeing Jake today. No definitely not the flowy powder blue sundress that was hanging in your closet begging to be worn. You had simply forgotten about it being in there and today was so hot, it was perfect weather for a dress, yeah. 

You swiped on a little bit of your favorite lip gloss and fluffed your hair when you caught eyes with your roommate in the reflection of the mirror and yelped. “What the hell is a matter with your Addison?! Don't you know how to knock?” You clenched your heart over your heaving chest trying your best to calm your erratic heart. 

Addison wore a proud smirk as she leaned against the door frame, steaming cup of coffee in hand. “Who are you getting all dolled up for? Is it your sweet Jaaake?” 

“Mind your business” You turned towards your reflection one more time. One last look to make sure everything was in place. “Don't you have something to do today? Somewhere to be?” 

Addison was barricading you in the bathroom. “Nope. Cmon, just admit that you have a crush on him already and I'll leave you be!” 

You pushed past her not wanting to acknowledge the feelings growing in your heart and naturally, she followed you as you walked into your room to grab your purse to head out the door. “Keep denying it to yourself and it'll get worse.” 

“Yeah well, there's nothing there to begin with, so I don't know what to tell you.” You slipped your favorite comfy shoes on near the front door of the apartment. 

“Mhm, suuure.” 

At that, you walked out of the door with a dramatic eye roll. 

***

The Kiszkas sure knew how to throw a party it seemed. 

What had started off as an innocent afternoon unpacking and repacking crates and boxes while listening to music, quickly turned into what Jake deemed “a shit fest” as soon as Sam had located a bottle of tequila hidden in one of his crates. 

“Woah!” He had announced to the room, waving the bottle around like a prize. “Lookie what I have here. Who wants shots?!” 

Rose stopped packing the box of Tide To-Go sticks in Josh's case. “Sam, were not even finished yet!” 

“Why should that stop us? We just struck gold!” 

You and Jake made eye contact as you were standing near his dolly box and you both smirked at one another. “Let's go Sammy boy!” He turned and yelled across the room. 

“Yes! Jakes in! Now who else?” 

One shot turned into, well, several in a short matter of time. You realize the energy had shifted from work to party mode once the music in the room had picked up in volume. To Rose's dismay, the tasks at hand had been long abandoned and swapped in for everyone mingling with each other. The glow of the afternoon sun had settled into darker hues of pink and orange as the sun began to set on the city of Nashville and you had a nice little buzz flowing through your veins. You felt yourself actually relax and let loose and have fun for once, without worrying about being too professional. You were growing quite comfortable around here. Around your little tour family.

You had been perched up against the pool table across the room watching the shenanigans of Jake and Sam fighting each other with plastic swords dramatically. Josh had taken it upon himself to be the ref and Jake had been on and off yelling about how Josh was terrible at his job. You smiled in content as you watched others scattered around the room, watching the childish display or talking amongst themselves. 

“What are you smirking at?” Danny approached you. 

“Oh, nothing, just uh, feeling happy for the first time in a little while. Grateful I'm here.” 

“We're very grateful to have you. Jakes is very grateful, I know.” Danny shot you a small wink over the rim of his cup. Oh?

You were in the middle of talking with Danny about one of your favorite albums to listen to on your self dictated “Vinyl Sundays'  in your apartment when you felt a nudge on your shoulder and heard a soft ‘hey’ in your ear. You turned around and were met with Jake, sunglasses on now of course even though the sun had just fully set and a playful smirk resting on his face. A hint of a British accent grazed past his lips when he spoke. “Cmere, wanna show you something.” 

Your heart skipped a beat, did you mess something up? No, you couldn't have, not with his body language. You smiled softly at Danny. “Excuse me, it seems my attention is needed elsewhere.” 

“Not a problem Y/N, it's been nice getting to know you. You'll have to bring me that vinyl so I can listen to it before the tour starts up again.” He smiled softly back at you. 

“I will make sure that I do!” 

You followed Jake through the hallways of their management office, both of you silent for a beat before Jake threw a smile over his shoulder at you. 

“What were you and Danny talking about?” 

“He was asking me about my vinyl collection actually.” You said proudly.

“Vinyl collection huh? Anything good?” He tipped his sunglasses down to throw you a quizzical look. 

“Quite a bit actually,” You nodded. “Between my parents collection and my own I would say I have a couple hundred lying around. I try to listen to a new album every Sunday even if it's an album I know or have listened to on a streaming service.” 

“Couple hundred?” You couldn't see it now that Jake's sunglasses found their rightful place once more on his nose, but his eyes practically bugged out of his head. You had caught him off guard and you didn't even know it.  “Thats, that's quite impressive actually.” 

You sighed, “I take pride in my collection but I really owe it to both of my parents, mostly my father, for having quite the exquisite rock and roll and folk collection.” 

Jake hummed and flashed you a gut wrenching smile. “I might have to come and listen with you sometime.” 

“I'd like that Jake.” 

“Which one were you talking to Danny about?” You turned yet another corner in what seemed to be a maze of hallways. 

“Oh, I was just going through another box in my parents basement the other day and found quite the gem. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll. One of my favorite songs is on there, Crimson and Clover.” 

Jake smiled to himself, “Crimson and Clover, hmm.”

“What..” You were fully ready to defend yourself. 

“Oh nothing, seems fitting. Seems very you, you remind me of a little clover. A little good luck clover. You've made my life so much easier on tour lately; it's like you're my little good luck charm. My little Clover.” Jake's fingers played with the stubble on his chin and you felt your cheeks grow warm with blood. “Ahh, and there's the Crimson to go along with it.” 

You couldn't hide the smile any longer. The tension was so thick you felt as though you could cut through it with a dull knife. 

“Jake?” You asked softly.

He turned towards you, eyes still hiding behind his RayBans. “Yeah?” 

“Where are you taking me?” You couldn't help the infectious smile that broke across your face yet again. He was simply electric. 

Jake stopped walking and you followed suit. “Ah fuck, Im sorry, I probably should’ve asked this before I pulled you away but do you smoke?” 

“What?” You weren't sure you heard him correctly.

“You know.” He pinched his pointer finger to his thumb and raised it to his lips, eyebrows lifting simultaneously in question. 

“Oh,” Your arms crossed against your chest. “Yeah uh, sometimes. Not often though.” 

“Hmm,” He hummed and reached into the front pocket of his button down shirt. “Well, there's this secret room here that I like to hide away in sometimes and take the edge off after a meeting with the hooligans. Figured I could show you and we could, you know.” He trailed off and his head tipped down towards the ground. 

“I'm down I think,” You smiled. “It's been awhile since I smoked though so I might not smoke all that much.” 

Jake grinned at you, “Fantastic. No worries, we don't have to smoke it all. Cmon were not far.” 

You followed Jake down yet another hallway towards a solid door with a bright exit sign hanging overhead. As he pushed through the door the August humidity engulfed you for a moment but it was short lived as Jake opened another side door from the outside of the white brick building and gestured to you to enter. You were surprised as you stepped into what looked like a, possibly still used, darkroom. Red lights were shining through the room, you could see bins on tables and clotheslines hung up along the walls. At the present moment though, no photos were hung up to dry.

“Woah.” You whispered as you heard Jake close the door behind you. “Is this?”

“A darkroom? Yeah,” He smiled at you softly, his sunglasses finally coming off of his face. “We like to come here and develop the film that we capture. Well, mostly Sam and Josh but I dabble with it sometimes as well.”

“This is really cool.” You said as you walked further into the room. “Kind of disappointed that there's no film developing right now, honestly.” 

You heard the click of a lighter behind you and the sound of Jake inhaling. “Yeah, we wouldn't be able to do this though if there was.” He blew the smoke out of his mouth and you watched it engulf his face for a moment in the red light. 

Damn these red lights, you thought. Jake somehow looked even sexier than he normally did in the low red lights. He looked like he was damned to steal your soul from you, like he was put on this earth to bewitch you into falling in love with him. He smirked as he blew out another big hit. “Are you just going to keep staring at me or would you like to take a hit of this?” 

Your eyes widened with fear and you felt your face flush hot. Okay, thank god for these red lights actually… 

You reached out to take the blunt from Jake and pulled it to your lips. You took in a generous hit, not aware of how much you had actually inhaled. But your lungs made sure to point that out to you pretty quickly though as a coughing fit began to wrack through your body. 

“Woah Y/N, take a breath if you can.” Jake came up beside you and began rubbing your back, pulling the blunt from your fingers and holding it away from your body. Thankfully, you had carried a small water bottle with you and you were able to stop coughing enough to finally take a few deep breaths. You felt the instant head buzz from the high settling into your body. It wasn't alarming or anxiety inducing, you felt calm. Like your worries had no longer room in your mind. 

“There we go.” Jake said softly, his strong hand still rubbing comforting circles along your back that definitely awoke a different type of feeling low in your stomach. “Ready for another?” 

“Hell no.” You choked out a laugh and his throaty laugh followed suit. His laugh was music to your ears. How could it be possible that a damn laugh could sound sexy?

“Fair enough Y/N.” 

You watched as he lifted the blunt to his soft looking lips that were glistening even in the red light. His eyes flicked to you again as the smoke began to leave his lungs and float through the air. Your eyes snapped to the ground out of embarrassment for being caught staring at him yet again. You hated how his lips tilted up in a little smirk as he realized, as well, that he had caught you again.

Clearing your throat you broke the silence, and the tension “What kind of film do you all usually produce here?” 

Another cloud of smoke engulfed the space around you, the red lights showing that the room had a slight haze to it now. “Mostly pictures from the tour. I know Sammy boy is more into this than anything, surprisingly. He constantly carries his camera around with him.” 

You hummed and pretended like the clotheslines with hooks were suddenly the most interesting thing in the room rather than the man who was dripping with sex appeal next to you. 

“Want one last hit before it's done?” Jake asked, gesturing to the now very small blunt. 

“Uh, I'm probably okay, I'd like to avoid another cough attack if possible.” You giggled softly as you waved him off.  

“Hm,” His lips pressed into a tight line for a moment. “You ever shotgun before?” 

“What?” Your eyes widened. 

“You ever did a shotgun with someone while smoking?” He tilted his head at you. 

“I uh, don't think so no.” You fidgeted with your fingers as nervousness crept up in your throat. 

You watched as he moved a little closer to you, closing the space and making your throat constrict. “‘S pretty easy, I take a hit and then blow it in your mouth. It makes it so the smoke isn't as harsh.” 

The spicy bergamot of his cologne rolling off of his skin began engulfing your senses and coaxing you into yet another intoxicating cloud of lust that was Jake. Now, of course, this sense was heightened with your current state of mind. 

“Wanna try?” He whispered as he moved even closer to you again. You watched as he stepped in front of you so you two were facing each other head on now.

You slowly nodded your head in fear that your voice would fail you if you tried to speak. You bit your lip in anticipation of what was going to happen next. Jake sucked in a soft breath between his lips and brought his hand up to your chin.

 “Don't do that,” He whispered. “Drives me crazy when you do.”

Your lips parted slightly as his calloused thumb swiped along your mouth, that very thumb catching the fullness of your bottom lip for just a moment as you released it from your teeth before he pulled away. 

Your mouth was undeniably dry as he smiled down at you and you felt the buttons of his shirt graze softly against your skin. The heat coming off of his body was noticeable and by God did you suddenly wish he would just press himself fully against you. 

“Okay, s’easy. Trust me yeah?” He brushed your hair away from one side of your face and your heart leapt out of your chest. You didn't have time to fully comprehend what was happening as you watched him bring the blunt to those perfectly soft looking lips and inhale a deep cloud of smoke. What happened next was simultaneously going too slow and too fast all at once. Your brain struggled to keep up with what was happening as his fingertips dipped into your hair and pulled you closer to him by the back of your neck. Holy shit.  

You finally felt Jake's body meld with yours as best it could, the feeling of being pressed between the man you desired most and a shitty little table was instantly the most intoxicating feeling you had experienced in a long time. You didn't feel like you could have prepared yourself for the set of events that unfolded shortly after. 

You felt that same thumb from earlier brush softly at the bottom of your ear as he tipped your head up towards him slightly. You wanted to close your eyes but your couldn't bring yourself to find the strength to do so. You watched as he leaned in and gasped softly as you felt his lip softly against yours. Your heart sank to your stomach at the feeling of finally being close to him in ways you only had wished for the last few weeks. You suddenly remembered what got you into this position in the first place as you felt Jakes nose nudge softly against yours. Your mouth parted slightly to accept the smoke tucked away in his lungs currently.At your acknowledgement that you were ready to accept what he was giving to you, you felt Jakes lips press a little harder against yours and you felt the hot smoke flood your mouth. You inhaled as best as you could but you also were frozen in place.

Instead of pulling away immediately as you exhaled the smoke from your own lungs, Jake took a chance and softly closed his lips against yours to which you softly reciprocated as well. This kiss was cautionary and you confirmed how both of you felt in the moment as Jake pulled slightly away, hand still tucked in your hair. You couldn't read his facial expression all too well but his eyes had a determined look. 

You made the first move to fully kiss him at this point. You tipped your head up and pressed a more determined kiss to his lips. Jake welcomed the kiss. His lips engulfing your own in a soft, pillowy dream of lust. You felt goosebumps spread across your body as you melted further into him, wrapping your arms around the back of his head and you pulled him impossibly closer to you. As your mouths moved back and forth a little less cautiously at this point you made a mental note for yourself how Jake's bottom lip was most prominent in the kiss. His mouth was warm, and so soft but rough against your own as the sexual tension built up in the room. You felt his hands rubbing down the sides of your body and settling on your hips giving them a soft squeeze as you two deepened the kiss further and your tongues touched for the first time. 

Inhibitions clearly out the window, you felt him lift you up onto the table behind you without breaking the heated make out that was now happening. As his tongue dipped further against yours, you couldn't help but moan softly. He seemed to appreciate your reaction as he squeezed your hips tighter and dragged you closer to the edge of the table, your clothed core making slight contact with the buckle of his belt. Nothing mattered anymore. Nothing mattered other than Jake and how he felt. Your fingers found their way into his soft hair and you pulled slightly releasing a moan he had been hiding away from you. It didn't feel like enough. More. You needed more….

The shrill sound of an iPhone ringtone broke through the silence in the room making you both jump. 

“Dammit Josh,” Jake swore as he looked at the screen of his phone and lifted it up to his ear. “What!” His body was still pressed up against yours and his fingertips were dragging along the exposed skin on your hip. From this position you were in, he looked fucked out and by God he looked delicious. 

“I just ran out to my car to grab something dude,” Jake spoke angrily into his phone and rolled his eyes. “No im not in the fuckin, whatever man. Im coming back now anyways chill the fuck out.” 

You heard the three beeps of a call ending and Jake sighed and glanced at you, “Sorry Clover” 

His fingers grazed across your cheekbone. “Here, let me help you down.” 

You felt his hands squeeze your hips again and you felt like you were out of breath. The weight of what happened between you and Jake now settling slowly into your consciousness. Before you could think much further, his fingertips tipped your chin up and he softly pressed his lips to yours one more time. As he pulled away he smiled softly at you and you couldn't help but reciprocate. 

He was like a drug, and now that you've had a taste, you weren't sure you were going to be able to give it up. You pressed your fingertips softly to your tingling lips to hide your smile as Jake walked his way out the door, turning around to blow a kiss to you and wave his fingers. His sunglasses take their natural place sitting on his perfect nose once again. You followed shortly thereafter and giggled as you watched the remnants of the smoke pour out the door. 

“Cmon darlin,” Jake wrapped an arm around your shoulder. “Let's go have ourselves a party, yeah?”

You smiled and wrapped an arm around Jake's torso, “Lets!” You'll deal with whatever just happened tomorrow. Yeah, tomorrow is good.

Remember that harmless little crush you thought wouldn't get in the way of anything?

Yeah, well you might've been wrong but you definitely won't be telling anyone about it.

****

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taglist: @brujamagik @anythingforjtk @jakesguitarsolo @do-it-jakey-baby @vanfleeter @violetstarcatcher @myownparadise96@ignite-my-fire @nina-23-45

A/N: If you would like to be added to the taglist let me know :)

[nathanbatemanfucker]

Mellow Embers: The Kindling

summary: takin’ our time, let the world turn.

pairing: no outbreak!joel miller x f!reader

contents: 18+/NSFW/MINORS, eventual smut (in pt. ii), internal angst if you squint, impatient!reader, joel being a balm to the rushing soul & a lovely (modern but still a little traditional) southern man, unkmowingly insecure!joel, first date, kissing

wc: 2,604

an: a song based fic that inspired this concept! everyone say thank you kacey musgraves <3. perhaps…perhaps i am back. i hope to be, pls be patient with me.

misc. masterlist | the crescendo (pt. ii)

Quick, fast, and in a hurry.

That’s the mantra you always lived your life by, passed down from generation to generation. Raised in the most independent hoard of women, you were taught that you didn’t have a choice. You have to work hard, diligently, fast in order to get things done. There is no sulking, no thinking, no waiting. If you want something done, you’ll do it yourself and you’ll do it with a brisk ease. Everything in life is a task– even finding someone you want to spend your life with.

While you have some hesitancy about putting the petal to the metal when it comes to love–what with the failed marriages of your mother, and her mother and mother– you know no other way. You know no other way, until you met Joel Miller.

Joel trudges into your bar one night and you can’t take your eyes off of him. His eyes are a warm brown that rivals the shine of amber, his jacket a bit dusty, his hair a little wild. He’s moving a bit slowly, rubbing at his back when he takes a seat on the stool a couple strides down the bar from you. You wrap things up with the patron in front of you, sliding their food order down the bar to a runner before making your way to this mystery man.

You lean over the bar with a cheeky grin, pushing your cleavage together, “What can I get you? It's on the house.”

“Whiskey, a double. It ain’t good manners not to pay,” He murmurs, throwing down a couple bills.

Your interest is further piqued. What’s a southern man like him doing in a place up so north? You wonder where he’s from, what his life was like before coming to live in a city such as this one.

“Isn’t it rude to refuse good hospitality?”

He shrugs, the tiniest smile on his face, “I personally like to take my flirtin’ a little slower.”

You tilt your head, raising a brow at him, “But not your conclusion jumping? Who says I was flirting?”

“You’re not very good at being discreet about your stare, sweetheart.”

Your face grows extremely hot, and for a moment you open your mouth to give him a rebuttal but soon close it once you realize you don’t have one. Instead, you murmur something about his drink and turn away to fetch a glass and a bottle of whiskey. When you return, your pour is fast. You’d been eager to talk to him and now you couldn’t be more eager to get away.

The man leans across the bar, as he takes the drink from your hand, careful not to touch you. “I’m sorry.”

“No need to be. Can I get you anything else?” The words fly out of your mouth, almost slurring together with how quickly you say them.

“You just can’t slow down, can you there, honey?” His tone isn't unkind or condescending, just observant. You find yourself growing defensive anyway.

“It's a bar, it comes with the territory.”

“So does the quick flirtin’?”

“I know what I want and I go after it. What’s so wrong with that?”

“Doesn’t give you much time to appreciate things,” He says thoughtfully.

“Right.”

“I’m interested, darlin’. I am. But let’s take our feet off the gas. I’m Joel,” He introduces himself, holding a hand out to you.

You take it, unable to look away from his warm, inviting eyes despite his hesitancy. And that was the simple, slow start of you and Joel.

Syrupy slow. Thick as molasses.

—

It takes weeks for Joel to ask you on a proper date. He’s said he was interested, and clearly was by how often he frequented the bar you work at. He’d order the same double, sit at your end of the bar, and then the two of you would chat between patrons. He’s charming and hilarious, and so godly fucking slow at dating. If it wasn’t endearing, if he wasn’t so handsome you wouldn’t give him the time of day.

It’s nearing the end of the third week you two have done this but it’s Friday, and tonight Joel stays until your shift is over so he can walk you to your car. He even helps you clean once all the other patrons are out, wiping down the bar for you as you finish loading glasses in the dishwasher.

The summer air is a little chilly once you two exit the bar, and Joel notices the way you shiver in your tiny little top— the one that shows cleavage that he tries to be conscious of, that he tries not to look at. He’s successful…most of the time.

“S’a little dusty, but here,” He murmurs, shrugging out of the jacket he’s wearing, gently draping it around your shoulder.

It’s shit like this that keeps your heart so tender for a man you haven’t even held hands with. You’ve wondered if it’s just his southern charm, or if someone before you had hurt him and made him more mindful of the way he pursues women.

His gesture has your heart fluttering, palms growing slick like you’re back in high school, having your first date with Nathan from second period. Sometimes you think about what your family might say about Joel. That he’s too traditional, that he probably wants you barefoot and pregnant in his kitchen, a ring on your hand. But, you don’t get that vibe from him. You think that maybe he just wants to treat you well, and maybe you finally think you deserve something like that. Even if it’s moving much slower than you would prefer.

“Thank you, Joel,” You say, feeling uncharacteristically shy.

Something about Joel and his soft, slow intensity is different than anything you've ever had before. Once to your car, you start to slip out of his jacket but he shakes his head.

“Keep it, darlin’. I’ll come get it tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?”

“Wondered if I could take you out to dinner tomorrow since you're off.”

“Finally,” You huff playfully, grinning at him.

If you’re not mistaken, Joel blushes, scratching the nape of his neck. “Alright, alright, don't you start now.”

“I’m just giving you a hard time. You know we could do breakfast instead— or lunch,” You suggest, feeling a little impatient. Did you really want to wait the entire day to see him?

“Dinner,” He repeats, a knowing grin on his face. “Be patient, girl.”

“Fine, fine. Dinner, I’ll just twiddle my thumbs all day.”

“We both know you’ll be runnin’ around like a chicken with its head cut off by 10 a.m.”

It feels good that he knows you. You laugh, nodding begrudgingly. He’s right— it might even be earlier than that.

“Just make sure you pace yourself on the coffee.”

“I make no promises. Goodnight, Joel.”

For the first time since your handshake, Joel touches you. He takes your hand into his, helping you into your car, and before shutting the door behind you, he presses a chaste kiss to your skin. Warmth spreads slowly through your hand, creeping up your arm and neck, into your cheeks.

“Goodnight, honey.”

—

Joel doesn’t touch you again the entire night. He’s careful when you return his jacket, careful when he’s guiding you, only letting his hand ghost behind you as you walk. It’s driving you nuts. You wore a silk dress, floral and clingy in all the right places— even wore a flower in your hair to match, and still there was nothing. Well, he had called you beautiful, so beautiful to be exact, when you answered the door.

During dinner, he told you about his daughters, Sarah and Ellie. Things sort of clicked, of course, he would want to take things slow when there are children involved. He doesn’t speak ill of Sarah’s mother when he mentions that they co-parent, explains that Ellie is sort of a stray he ended up taking in. It’s impossible to miss the way he lights up when speaking about his girls. He says that Sarah welcomed Ellie with open arms, that they’re nearly inseparable and do nothing but give him a hard time together.

You don’t say it, but you hope that one day you’ll get to meet them. With your disposition, you wouldn’t be opposed to meeting them right now. But that’s now how this works, especially not with Joel in the driver’s seat.

You respect it. You respect him. It doesn’t stop you from being a little forward when he walks you to your door.

“Do you want to come in?”

Joel gives you a shy smile, shaking his head. “You know the answer to that, sweetheart.”

You nod, pouting a little. Joel thinks it’s adorable, and wants to reach out and run a thumb over the swell of your bottom lip to push away. But he knows you, and the moment he laid his hands on you, you’d bounce on him. He’s not sure he’d be able to resist, even with his reservations.

“Well, there was no harm in me trying,” You say salaciously, raising a brow at him.

“I appreciate your eagerness, but we’re still takin’ this slow.”

“I know, I respect it, Joel. It’s just not something I’m used to.”

He doesn’t like the way you deflate a little, as if you’re feeling some sort of shame. He’d never want you to feel that way.

He takes a step forward, cupping your cheek gently, “You know there’s nothin’ wrong with taking things fast, honey. But, I think this is good for the both of us. How does it feel?”

How does it feel? When you get beyond the initial impatience, the clumsiness of not always flirting and immediately getting physical, it feels…certainly different, and maybe good. Really good. To know his interests, and intentions, his values, and pieces of his life before diving in head first. Yeah, it feels good. Because there is no making things work as they come at you— Joel is slowly showing you what you get with him, proving as time inches forward that you two fit together just fine.

You don’t have to rush into it to make him stay. He just will.

That restless energy you feel like you were born with settles as you try to formulate your answer. How could you tell him all of that without seeming like you were rushing into things feeling perfectly right?

You decide to keep it vague, feeling a little nervous for once. “It feels good. Nice. Different…not what I’m used to, but nice.”

Joel’s thumb slowly skates across your cheek, trying to soothe you. His voice is a soft gravelly hum. “Feels good for me too, sweetheart.”

He’s making your head foggy, with his gently dominant disposition. Unable to stop yourself, you lean further into his palm, enjoying the callousness here and there. His eyes don’t leave yours, as if they’re looking into you and not just at you. His presence is overwhelming, a single glance from him consuming you. You find yourself trembling slightly despite the dreadfully warm air tonight.

Joel bends slightly, his nose just an inch away from ghosting yours. “I’m gonna kiss you now, alright?”

You make a soft, affirmative sound, the ability to find your voice escaping you.

It’s so slow. So Joel. It feels like the slow drip of caramelized sugar. Like a snail making its way across the pavement. Your brain slips away further there's nothing but warmth and happiness and pleasure as Joel kisses you on your porch. He presses his mouth to yours, guiding your head back with the hand that still cups your cheek. He takes your hand, bringing it up so that you mirror his actions. Once your hand is there his drops away, taking your other hand and guiding it to his chest.

He wants you to feel. To take this moment to stop time and not get lost in it, not drift away like you were before. He wants you to stay present, to savor every languid stroke of his tongue against yours.

And as if you can feel him saying that through the simple connection of lips, you become sharply aware of what the sensation of kissing Joel Miller feels like.

How his lips are as soft as they look, his tongue tasting of the dark ale he drank at dinner. How the shadow of a beard that trails his jaw tickles at your palm. How firm and solid and warm his chest feels beneath your fingertips. More than that— both of his hands now cup your face with a gentle intimacy you’ve never experienced, not even with others who have seen and touched much more of your body than he has.

Despite sinking into him and his patience, there’s a hunger inside of you that you can’t ignore. You give into your urges and instruments. It’s as if this was the calm before the storm— the storm being you, starting to clutch him closer, kiss him deeper, frantically so.

Joel chuckles into your mouth when he feels the way you start to pillage him; there’s no other word for it. Your message is as clear as his: you want more and you want it now.

“Down, girl,” He slurs into your mouth, getting a grip on your hands and gently prying them from the fabric of his flannel.

“Sorry,” You whisper, completely breathless. You take a step back towards the door, your expression apologetic. “Sometimes— most of the time, I get a little carried away. I didn’t mean to cross a line.”

“You didn’t cross a line— at least not one I don’t eventually intend to cross,” He assures you softly, taking a step forward to maintain proximity to you.

It makes butterflies flutter in your tummy even as you laugh, nodding in understanding. He was being genuine despite moving slower than molasses. He’s worth the wait. At least that confirms the worst of your worries. He’d said from the day you met he was interested but there was a silly part of you— insecure and swirly, you try not to engage with it much— that thought that maybe he was just being a gentleman. Taking pity on you, giving you the time of day to boost your confidence and spare your feelings.

“What do think about say to us doin’ this again next week, sweetheart?”

“I think…I would really like that, Joel.”

“Great. Now hold your horses and let me kiss you again.”

He does that thing again like he did last night, his voice infused with honey, low and delicious as he crowds you up against your door. The combination is threatening to make your legs give out and you brace yourself by the doorknob, looking up at him with eager eyes.

Joel kisses you breathless once more, taking both of your wrists in his grasp if only to keep you at bay, and maybe to feel soft your skin is under his palms…how you let him take the lead despite it being a new concept. The thought has his cock stirring and he pulls away, knowing that he’s pressed his luck enough with you tonight.

He raises his eyebrows, unable to keep the smirk off his face. “Goodnight, honey.”

“Goodnight, Joel,” You murmur, feeling tingly all over.

You let yourself in and watch Joel walk to his car through the screendoor. And when he pulls off, he gives you a cute little wave, one that you return, warmth blooming in your chest.

Joel and his sweet southern charm, sweeping you off your feet.

joel taglist: @honeybrowne, @campingwiththecharmings, @lesbianhotch

[ronsenthal]

Ron Speirs x Reader

Summary: Nobody really stands alone at Currahee even if you try. Sometimes we try to run away from our thoughts and demons but sometimes they catch us on the race for the better or worse.

A/N: This fic was written on the sole purpose of filling the big void in my heart caused by the showrunners who refused to gives us Ron in Toccoa, it was based on this post ignited by this military AU prompt. Also slightly based on the fact that Speirs used to be a runner for the athletics back when he was a student.

Since he was a kid he loved to run, he ran all the way from school to his home trying to get there as fast as he could because it meant more time to play with his toys and his friends. When he got a bit older he loved to run because it was a relief for his troubled mind, but also because he was so good at it, he was always a competitor and the winning feeling gave him joy and praise it was his runaway.

Life was going fast and there was no way to stop him, in his mind there was a clear path, study, get a job, get a house and so far everything was going in the right direction, but that was until the news about a war came and he had to put a hold on everything he thought was in his path.

It’s been some weeks since he arrived at Camp Toccoa for his basic training, so far the physical requirements were the last of his problems, he even enjoyed the preparations and of course his favourite part was the endless running exercises. He has always been smart, but the endless morning classes studying maps, sand tables, aerial photos were a torture, not because he couldn’t understand it, no! In fact he understood it better than the old officer trying to teach them, and that was the problem, they were too slow and he was a natural born tactician.

One afternoon after a torture session was over he had some spare time on his hands, so he quickly changed into his PT gear and headed towards the mountain he was getting so acquainted. When they said that Currahee means “Stands Alone” he could understand why the natives gave this name to the 1.700 foot tall giant. It was the chance for his mind to go blank for some time.

*

You wanted to get better, you HAD to do better for you and for all the women who couldn’t yet join the army, this was always on the back of your mind, you embraced every chance to get some extra training. Each company had 5 women to the personnel as part of the government development plans (and propaganda), of course being ever so lucky you got into Easy Company, the same company that had the worst CO in the entire battalion.

Herbert Sobel enjoyed every chance he got to torture and make the whole company miserable, at first you thought it was some personal hatred towards you and the other girls, but turns out he seemed to hate everyone. He pointed out the most ridiculous reasons to make everyone run the goddamn mountain, once he didn’t like the way you tied your hair during a friday night run. After the incident you decided to cut your hair short to prevent any other problems, poor Bull was furious when he saw you that it took Martin, Luz and Christenson to hold him back from trying to strangle Sobel. 

One afternoon you decided to try to improve your time running Currahee so you got your mussete bag filled with some fruits you charmed Winters to give to you back in the kitchen and your water canteen. You were finally alone this time which gave you more liberty without feeling watched every step.

After some minutes you saw that there was someone else behind you but didn’t paid any attention as you looked at the watch on your wrist and so far your time was good, so you decided to maintain your focus and keep your good rhythm. The landscape was slowly changing as you was getting closer to the summit of the mountain, suddenly you looked at your left and someone was passing you like a lightning bolt, “oh great another show-off fucker trying to prove that he is better than me” you thought to yourself and muttered a “dickhead” after he was gaining advantage so you pushed yourself harder and harder, but he was so quick you couldn’t catch him.

Some more 15 endless minutes later you arrived to the highest point of Currahee, you once again looked at your watch, a new record!!! You got so proud that instead of running down the other 3 miles you decided to stay and enjoy the landscape down bellow. You chose a nice spot to sit down under some plants that were covering at least a tiny little bit of the sun and decided to take a fruit, but then you saw him.

Being in the army surrounded by some handsome men gave you at least the useful ability to pretend not to stare down a shirtless man, but this one was a completely different story. The dickhead you saw earlier was laying down on the sun just a couple of feets away from you, using his PT shirt under his back as some kind of towel to protect him from the rocks and the gravel underneath.

As the sun was kissing his sweaty pale skin and his dark hair you watched how his toned chest was going up and down in some uneven rhythm, your mind was racing, your heart beating faster and your breath was matching his so you tried to shrug it off telling yourself it was the adrenaline from your effort, wrong again. You watched as his long eyelashes rested so peacefully as his eyes were closed, then once again you tried to change your thoughts and peel the orange on your hand.

You took your knife to split the fruit and when you finally opened it the citric smell filled the air, the man near you slowly opened up his eyes as he was taken from some trance and scanned your face, he took a look at his watch and smiled to himself as he closed his eyes again to which you rolled your eyes. As if reading your mind you heard a hard voice suddenly speaking.

"I'm not judging you, on the contrary, I'm quite surprised you were so quick, I had to push harder to get past you" he said opening just one of his eyes to glance at you.

That took you by surprise, you could feel your cheeks burning after the compliment and you only mumbled some weird thanks.

After an awkward silence he started to get up to sit down, now his dirty shirt was thrown over his left shoulder, you followed his movement as he was so close you could see the freckles in his back. Trying once again to change your focus you reached your canteen to get some water, he glanced at you and gave a soft smile to witch you could only understand as a quiet plead for some water.

"You want some?" you said reaching it for him to take.

"Don't your admirable CO forbid you guys to drink water while running up and down here or something like that?" he asked raising one of his eyebrows in a playful way.

"Sometimes yes but thankfully he is not here" you said trying to hold your laugh.

"He got quite a reputation for himself, poor bastard, couldn't imagine being in his skin" he said giving back your canteen and nodding his head with a silent thank you, his eyes carefully watching you.

"Wait how do you know I'm from Easy Company?" you said suddenly curious after realising that you had not yet introduced yourself.

"Well, you got quite a reputation too, a better one, the toughest girl on the whole battalion" he said with a grin on his face "that and the fact that I saw you running up here with Winters, a girl and a redhead is quite a sight here, you know"

"I'm Y/L/N" you said with a polite little smile.

"Speirs" he said in return as you shook hands .

"Well Speirs, nice to meet you but now I need to return now or I'll be in big trouble" you said shoving your stuff into your bag again and cleaning your hands in your shorts.

"Want to race?" he said suddenly getting up and wearing his shirt, you could swear.

"Winner buys a drink?" you said laughing.

"Smartass" he replied and started to run down the mountain

You tried to keep up with him for the biggest part of the trail and tried your best but before he was fast, he reached the finishing line and then he watched as you finished too.

You both were trying to catch some air and exchanged some looks while sharing friendly smiles.

That night at the bar as you waited while he went to get a couple of beers for you both you couldn't help but smile as you realised that nobody stands alone at Currahee.

*

When you saw someone running through the streets of Foy and through the enemy lines you heart almost stopped, you knew it was him, you knew nobody could be this fearless and run so fast like Ronald Fucking Speirs.

At this point everybody knew he was at little bit crazy on the head and he got quite a reputation too. The thing is he was almost too crazy for his own good and once again you were the one holding your breath and silently praying for no harm.

When everybody thought he was crazy enough here comes the lunatic running again after passing some info to I Company. You could see the happiness and relief on the faces of your friends, Lipton even got a dumb smile in his face. They were all happy that Easy finally got a good leader again.

As soon as he got his helmet off and sit down to rest you came furious stomping you way towards him.

"You crazy son of a bitch are you out of your goddamn mind?? Fucking stupid dickhead" you said slapping him on the arms and even giving little punches to his chest

Everyone else was sharing a confused look while watching this scene, Ron had no reaction and was somehow also confused looking at you. He let you curse and hit him, he knew why you got to that point.

"Woow woow woow, Y/N, calm down it's okay, look thanks to Lieutenant everything went fine" Lipton said holding you by your shoulders and carefully taking you away from Speirs.

"No you don't understand" you shouted as tears started to roll down your cheeks.

"Yes I do, okay, I might seem dumb but it's not that hard to figure where you were running away to every night since Aldbourne" he said giving you a comforting look you two often shared "Besides, it was so fucking awesome what he did there you must admit" Lipton said giving you a little wink.

You rolled your eyes at your best friend while trying to wipe away the tears. You felt a hand on your back and you turned around to see him but before you could curse him once again you felt his lips gently pressing yours.

For a moment you could swear that even the world stopped spinning around, the only sound you could hear was your own heart pounding on your chest, for a moment you were back at running Currahee, you could even smell some citric scent on the air. His lip were soft, his hands warm just gently squeezing your hips.

After the two of you went for the drink as part of the bet made on the summit of Currahee a friendship began. At first he was just a good friend but then you started to feel things you've never experienced before, it was love. Your first kiss was before making the jump on D-Day, on France you almost lost your head but he was there to help you, at Holland you almost lost him and thought you would never see those eyes again, on Bastogne you survived the freezing temperatures and used every opportunity to use his scarf to cover your face with the excuse of hiding from the cold when you were sick. He was always there, for you.

When he parted the kiss the smell of metal, gunpowder and dirty came all back like a punch, you looked at him once again and all your anger was gone, he was okay and so were you.

"Dickhead" was everything you said before he gently kissed your forehead, adjusted the M-1 on his shoulder and started to run between the line barking orders to the men.

Taglist: @mads-weasley, @footprintsinthesxnd, @sweetxvanixlla, @xxluckystrike, @malarkgirlypop, @lostloveletters, @next-autopsy, @ewipandora, @executethyself35, @easycompany123, @whollyjoly and @basilone

[factorygirlsstuff]

Currently watching: Queen of Tears, The Midnight Studio, Lovely Runner, Into The Ring, Flower of Evil, & Link: Eat, Love, Kill

I started watching kdramas in May 2023 (updated 4/17/24)

My personal top 10:

It’s Okay to not be Okay (top fav) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A road to emotional healing opens up for an antisocial children's book author and an employee in a psychiatric hospital. (amazing chemistry & found family)

Crash Landing on You ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A paragliding mishap drops a South Korean heiress in North Korea - and into the life of an army officer, who decides he will help her hide. (lots of crying but worth it)

Hometown Cha Cha Cha ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

At a crossroads, a dentist moves to a seaside village where she meets a handyman intent on helping his neighbours. (my most rewatched)

Her Private Life ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Dedicated art gallery curator Sung Deok Mi is a fanatic fan girl of White Ocean's Cha Shi-an, a dark secret she hides from everyone. (really supportive relationship, weird last couple of eps)

Business Proposal ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

In disguise as her friend, Ha-ri shows up on a blind date to scare away her friend's prospective suitor. However, plans go awry when he turns out to be Ha-ri's CEO and he makes a proposal. (my first kdrama! Super cute & funny)

Touch Your Heart ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A famous actress, gets caught in a scandal with a son of a rich family; with her career declining quickly, she looks for one last hope to get back on the screen. She lands a role playing a secretary in a drama & then becomes a real secretary in order to play the part. (Healthy relationship, office romance)

Welcome to Samdalri ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

After suffering a fall from grace, a photographer returns to her hometown and bumps into her childhood friend, rekindling an unfinished romance. (childhood friends to lovers & slice of life/healing)

Happiness ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The residents of a high-rise apartment fight for their lives against a deadly infectious disease while Sae-bom and Yi-hyun try to find the person because of whom the virus spread. (I think I really love friends to lovers)

Something in the Rain ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

When a single career woman reunites with her best friend's younger brother after he returns from three years of working abroad, their efforts to reconnect grow into romance. (they just felt so real to me, the romance was 🤌🏼, worst mom)

Cheer Up ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A working-class girl joins her college's down-and-out cheerleading team, where she finds friendship, love, and an old-school campus mystery. (idk they felt real too, worst SML though)

Other kdramas I finished:

Healer ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (binged in 2 days)

What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (love PMY)

Love to Hate You ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (Maybe I binged it too fast, but I don’t remember it lol)

Our Beloved Summer ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (too slow for me & I usually don’t mind slow)

True To Love ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (main leads romance was everything)

Forecasting Love & Weather ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (something was off/missing)

Vincenzo ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (🫰🏼)

When the Weather is Fine ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (kinda slow but I binged it fast lol)

Squid Game ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

All of Us are Dead ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (I like zombie shows)

Alchemy of Souls ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Alchemy of Souls: Light & Shadow ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (the romance 🫰🏼)

Suspicious Partner ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (dragged in the middle but loved this couple)

Save Me ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (so good, just hard subject matter)

Shooting Stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (loved the main couple so much & so many other cute couples!)

Doona! ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (omg her visual, binged so fast)

Itaewon Class ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (binged so fast)

Descendants of the Sun ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (binged in 2 days)

Castaway Diva ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (first kdrama to watch while airing)

The Matchmakers ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (first sageuk, thought they were adorable)

Crazy Love ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (it was good, but didn’t do it for me 🤷🏻‍♀️)

Moving ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (I didn’t like all the flashbacks, but it was good overall)

Backstreet Rookie ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (for some reason I loved this couple so much, problematic SML & annoying SFL)

School 2017 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (just perfect)

Dalie and the Cocky Prince ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (the pet names 🥰)

Soundtrack #1 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (another friends to lovers)

Behind Your Touch ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (idk why but I loved it, it was so funny to me lol)

Thirty But Seventeen ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (great romance & cutest found family)

Kiss Sixth Sense ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (really liked it, last 20 minutes idk 🤷🏻‍♀️)

I Am Not A Robot ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (loved this, dragged a little in the middle)

My Man is Cupid ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (SML annoyed me, the cutest ending 🥰)

Gyensong Creature ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (I liked it, but it didn’t end I guess. So I’m waiting for season 2)

Cafe Minamdang ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (loved it so much! It made me laugh & loved the FL!)

My Man is Cupid ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (it was cute)

Marry My Husband ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (it was a lot of fun & loved watching it weekly with everyone)

My Holo Love ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (it was fine, only 12 eps so it was quick & slow burn romance.)

Queen of Divorce ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (it started off really interesting, but some things were never explained & I wanted more romance between the leads)

Doom at Your Service ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (I really liked it, the romance was SO good, but I was a little confused about how the contract worked.)

Doctor Slump ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (loved it SO much! Everything was so cute & loved the romance)

Flex x Cop ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (really loved it, gave me Castle vibes. #1 drama I was looking forward to every week. No romance, although we are getting a 2nd season so fingers crossed.)

Chicken Nugget ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (it was definitely weird, but I laughed a lot)

Wedding Impossible ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (really liked it, cute romcom)

Fight For My Way ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (loved it so much, binged it in a day! I could not stop watching, friends to lovers really is the best.)

Rookie Cops ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (really liked it at first, put on hold for a month, then the last few episodes were good again.)

Parasyte: The Grey ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (it was really good)

Mad for Each Other ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (so good! Loved everything about it, especially the couple)

Dropped: (I might try again 🤷🏻‍♀️)

Run On

Goblin

Hotel De Luna

Weight Lifting Fairy, Kim Bok-joo

King the Land

My Demon

True Beauty

The K2

Destined With You

The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract

Perfect Marriage Revenge

Moon in the Day

A Good Day to be a Dog

Open to recommendations!

[cuprohastes]

See strange new worlds... and go for a walk

So there you are, your little Xenobiological survey, and of course, your assigned Human, who's there to pick stuff up and do human-related things.

You've heard about these creatures. They're from some weird hell world where there are ice deserts on the poles, one of which has land under it, the other is apparently just a continental-sized block of ice, and then around the middle, it gets hot enough to make you re-read the report.

And these creatures apparently will happily live there and every 3 Tictar, the climate switches from cold enough to freeze water to warm enough to evaporate it all into enormous clouds which apparently build up a static charge and just float around randomly vaporizing stuff.

Wack.

And then one of your self-driving Sintral all terrain vehicles gets a little too much I in its AI and wanders off, of course with all the gear loaded up and... how do you even deal with that?

It's a wild planet. There are things out there, they have teeth! And Claws! you know -- You saw the human belly rubbing one of the predators, and you're kind of still wondering how that happened.

So now you need to go get the autonomous vehicle back, and of course you're taking the Human. You're a good runner, if anything large and hungry leaps out, your plan is to run faster than the human.

Everyone agrees that there's a 50% chance the Human will just outright murder it, 30% chance they'll hug it and ask it who's a good boy, and Xosh in Maint says there's a 5-10% chance they'll settle down and start a family. The other 10% you'd feel really guilty about.

What nobody told you is that this Human is going to show up with a truly massive pack strapped to it's back, and then proceed to walk. And Walk. And Walk.

There is no reason this thing should be able to do this. It just keeps walking. It's not even tired. It's got a ridiculous hat on and it's singing and it won't stop talking.

"It's been two [hours]!" you say. Walking for 2 hours on your world is considered pretty impressive.

The Human jsut shrugs and says "Yeah?" - but no it's been two [hours] - you're starting to stagger. You know you can run faster than this thing but apparently, if it wanted to it'd just keep strolling after you as you dashed away and then when you stopped to pant it'd just mosey on up.

You start to realise that this is why everyone's got anxiety about this thing turning feral. You can't run from it. It'd just keep coming after you. You couldn't sleep, or rest, it'd just keep coming like some horrific death snail.

And that's when you realise the Vehicle is hunting you. The tracks you're following curve and meet up with the tracks that have your hoofprints and the human's weird mutant leg-hand coverings. It's following you.

The human of course thinks this is fascinating.

You decide to go back but now the vehicle is in front of you, waiting. Horrified you realise it's watching you with LIDAR and SONAR, and Chu-Wave resonance.

You run. You drop everything and you run. Let the vehicle pick the slower target - If you can climb a rock, maybe you can hide. Maybe you can survive.

Your lungs are raw from panting, and you're trying to call the survey camp. You turn around and look down.

The human and the vehicle are facing off. The Human is... talking to it.

OK well that's weird.

Now the human is climbing in... Into a rogue AI vehicle? Will it even let them back out?

The vehicle trundles off, turns, comes back, and circles the rock, making slow, comfortable passes. It's tracking you.

The sun starts to sink and you realise that you're alone out here. Help is not coming.

Then the vehicle stops and the door opens. The Human hops out and just ambles up. Ho hum, just a normal day on a wild planet with a rogue AI and some sort of unceasing predator who seems to treat this all as jolly good fun.

"You can come down." they say. Because that would be the sane thing to do. Yes let's all stand in front of te very heavy, very fast possibly killer vehicle with the insane brain.

"We had a chat - The car, uh well it's got a name now, Herby, it just wanted to follow its programming to transport things. It's quite worried about you." the Human says.

Say what now?

"Yeah it uh, well it got bored I suppose because it wasn't being taken out. So it went to do a topological survey of places it'd never been. Once it realised we were following it kind of panicked because it knows you can't walk long distances comfortably, and it wants to uh... well drive you around so it'll feel better?"

This is way too much. You can barely move. Your muscles are full of anxiety toxins and quivering from over-use. You can barely move now.

The human climbs up the rock with ease, picks you up and puts you in the car. The air conditioning and filtering! Ah! No pleasure, no rapture, no exquisite sin greater... than Sintral Air!

And now the Human and the car are chatting to each other. Apparently, the agreement is to take the long way back, and a promise to go out more often. You're too tired to care.

You're more or less OK with this until the Human starts to teach the car to sing...

---

Because @marlynnofmany asked why there weren't any stories about humans being persistence predators for great justice, or AI vehicles that weren't evil and I thought "ooh writing prompt"l

[allaboutnayeli]

Plz more trinity😊

beach day fun! [t.rodman x reader]

prompt: you and trinity spend a day at the beach.

author notes: the people wanted more trin and i love her so i'm giving it. this is so summer vibes since i miss summer so bad. hope y'all enjoy!

one of trinity's favorite pastimes during vacation is to go to the beach. the feeling of the sand under her feet, the sun hitting down on her skin, and the coolness of the water. the best part of the beach is definitely bringing you along.

you two are laying on the beach in matching white bikinis. trying to get alittle tan or whatever trinity was mentioning. your skin touches hers as y'all lay side by side. "so how long do we have to do this?" you mumble as you open your eyes, squinting as the sun is nice and bright today.

"just like thirty minutes," she says with her eyes still closed. you groan in mock annoyance. tanning isn't the most fun beach activity. your girlfriend slaps your arm, laughing, "it's not that bad."

"it is that bad. don't you get another tan from soccer all day?" you groan out again. the american player opens her eyes just to roll them.

"ugh, you know it's not the same, babe" she sits up, pulling her knees up to her chest as she looks at you. that bikini on you looks great especially with the sun beaming down your skin. the whiteness of the sunscreen on your skin does ruin the sexiness factor of the sight a bit though.

you sit up beside, leaning your head against her shoulder. "i want to go get into the water or even try to surf!" you grin. interlocking your arm with trinity's. "we don't even know how to surf," she giggles as she turns her head to give you a quick peck. you return the kiss, smiling against her lips. not wanting to have a mini make-out session on the beach you are the first to pull away. trinity pouts at you, "do you just hate me?"

"as if!" you laugh loudly as you stand up, pulling her along with you. trinity shoves you as she almost stumbles over her own feet. you just laugh even more.

"last one to reach the water has to pay for ice cream!" you shout out as you go off running. the sound of trinity's laughter behind you makes you try to run faster. huge emphasis on the try. trinity is still a fast runner so she catches up and even goes past you as she runs. reaching her arm out to hit your shoulder as she pasts. "hurry up, slow poke" the american player teases. sticking out her tongue at you after she reaches the water.

you shove trinity fully into the water the moment you come close enough to her. she falls back. frowning once she comes back up from the water, "babee, my hair!"

"that's your fault! stop being so fast and your braids wouldn't be wet right now" now it's your turn to stick out your tongue. teasing trinity doesn't last long as she grabs onto your ankle and pulls so that your full body falls into the water as well.

"now we're both wet."

you two play around and swim in the water for a good hour. you forcing trin out of the water the moment your skin got alittle too wrinkly for your liking. she whines the whole way to the ice cream stand. only stopping once the vanilla ice cream is in her hand.

"thanks baby" she leans close to kiss you on the cheek, but you move away. giggling as she continues to try to kiss you. "ew no! you have ice cream all over your lips," you start to physically run away from your girlfriend. she chases after you. trying to make sure her ice cream wasn't dropped during the chase.

unfortunately for you, halfway though the chase your ice cream falls out of your hand. landing straight into the sand, leaving you with just the cone. trinity bursts out laughing as she comes closer to you.

"that's what you get for rejecting my kiss," she shrugs before slinging her arm over your shoulder and pulling you against her. "shut upp," you cringe as she kisses with all that melted ice cream on her lips. leaving a vanilla colored kiss mark on your cheek.

once the sun starts to set is when you and Trinity stop playing around. y'all have gotten ice cream twice, tried to surf & failed horribly, swam for half of the day here, and even went on the boardwalk to grab some food.

now you two are back where you started.

laying on y'all's beach blankets, looking up at the sky but this time around trinity is forcing you to tan. pink, red, and orange paint the sky to look beautiful as the sun sets. trinity turns to you, smiling, "can we come back tomorrow?"

"and do this all over again? sure baby" you smile back at her. she pulls you into a kiss. you happily kiss her back. this time around you allow it to turn into a lil make out session. it's not that many people still at the beach regardless.

what a great day at the beach, you were 100% ready to do it all again tomorrow.

[writeforfandoms]

Island 3

Find the series masterlist

You do your level best to make sure these four can survive the Island, if anything were to happen to you. Things don't always work out as planned.

Warnings: Violence, dinos, most everything is trying to kill people, dinos are hungry and people look tasty I guess, swearing, injury.

Word count: 2.1k

The next days passed quietly. No drops in sight. No attacks. 

Just teaching. 

You took the group of them out to gather berries and plant fibers. You showed them how to weave baskets to the best of your ability - you were far from an expert, after all. 

You took them hunting again, a skill they already had mastered. But you made sure they all practiced getting cuts of meat. 

You made them all help you with cooking, too. Cooking was an essential skill, one they would need. 

Just in case. 

You weren't surprised when Price brought up taming again. 

“Taming.” He stood in front of you, arms crossed, head tipped to look down at you. 

You huffed in soft amusement. “It is week two,” you agreed. “Alright. I assume you want the hands on version.” 

That got you interested looks, Soap and Gaz lifting their heads and looking at you with blatant curiosity. 

“Right, okay.” You couldn't help but smile, amused. “Grab your weapons, I'll get Bessie.” 

It didn't take long before the group of you were headed down towards the beach. The hyaenadon had insisted on coming, and trotted happily between you and Gaz. 

“Think we could find another one like her?” Gaz motioned down at the hyaenadon. 

You shrugged. “They're around, though not so far down as the beach,” you mused. “But they're hard to start taming, you have to sneak up on them.” 

“Probably don't have ghillie laying about,” Gaz guessed with a little grin. 

“Funny you should mention that, actually.” Your lips twisted in a complicated mix of emotions. 

“What, really?” Gaz turned wide eyes on you. 

You shrugged, fingers twitching restlessly at your sides. “I have a set that more or less fits me, and two more sets. Plus some bits and pieces. It's one of the things that can be found in the drops.” 

Gaz nodded slowly. “I'd like to see that, and what else you have,” he said. “Later.” 

“Later,” you agreed, pausing at the tree line just at the edge of the shore. “Right. Who's volunteering to try this?” 

There was a moment of silence as the men all looked at you, clearly unwilling to volunteer to be the first. Until Price huffed and stepped forward. 

You nodded. “Right, good. Pick a dino. Anything you can see around here will be an easy tame.” 

Price turned a slow circle, taking in the beach, the various creatures walking around, and the sight of his men all huddled together like school children. He huffed. “What are the advantages to each?” 

You couldn't help your little smile at that. “Don't bother with dodos, they're not good for much but food. Trikes are good defenders and they can carry a lot of weight. Parasaurs can carry a fair bit too, and they're good watch towers.” You shaded your eyes to look around again, to see what else was around. “Let's see… that looks like an iguanodon, never had one before. If we can find one, gallimimus are pretty fast runners.” You shrugged, looking back to Price. 

His brow furrowed as he looked out at the iguanodon. This one was mostly green, with darker green stripes along its back and a lighter belly. Not a bad choice for a first tame. 

“That one, then.” Price looked back to you, shoulders straight and even. 

“Right.” You stood straight and looked at the other three. “I'm leaving you lot here with Bessie and the hyaenadon. Too much activity will spook the iguanodon. So I expect you lot to stay here and keep your eyes open. Yes?”

“Yes ma'am,” Gaz agreed easily, while Soap murmured an “Aye”. Ghost said nothing, but his chin dipped towards you, just enough acknowledgement that you took it as agreement. 

You grabbed the bag of berries from Bessie's saddle and handed it to Price, whistling for the two tames to stay put. The hyaenadon whined but sat next to Gaz. 

The walk towards the iguanodon was quiet, Price keeping pace with you. He stopped when you did, crouching next to you in the long grass. 

“Here, take these.” You handed him a bag of berries. “Start rolling berries towards it. You want to entice it closer until you can hand feed it.” 

Price gave you a bit of a side-eyed look but did as you instructed. The iguanodon slowly lumbered towards the two of you, eating berries along the way. You smiled, just a little.  So far, so good. 

The iguanodon stretched out its neck slowly, cautiously, until it could take a berry from Price’s hand. It was a little less shy the next time, until it didn't hesitate at all taking the berries from him. 

The look on his face was priceless, a bit shocked and a bit awed. 

The iguanodon lifted its head and lumbered away, not fast like it had been alarmed. Just like it was done eating. 

“Good,” you murmured, watching it go. “How do you feel?” 

He wiped his hand off on the grass, shrugging after a moment. “That was… interesting.” 

You laughed quietly. “Yeah, I remember. Okay. Think about it. How many more times do you think you need to feed the iguanodon?”

“Once.” He blinked after he spoke, like he hadn't quite meant to say that. 

You nodded knowingly. “See what I meant?”

He huffed, but his lips twitched in amusement. “I do see,” he agreed. “So, what now?” 

“Now we head back. Or, I suppose we could do a bit of hunting while we're out.” You stood up and stretched, working out some of the ache that had settled in your muscles while you waited. 

He stood with a little grunt, nodding for you to lead the way. 

“So? How'd it go?” Soap asked as soon as you two were close enough, clearly intensely curious. 

Leaving that one to Price, you simply rolled your eyes and tucked the bag of berries away again for now. Right. How best to divide the group of you…

“Gaz, you and I are going to gather berries. You three can hunt.” 

Gaz didn't even protest, just nodded once to you. 

By now, you trusted those three enough to not get themselves hurt while hunting, so you just whistled to the two tames and started looking for berry bushes. Gaz kept pace with you easily, glancing over at you every so often. 

“Think I could tame a hyaenadon?”

You snorted. “Sure,” you agreed with an easy shrug. “If you really want to, we'll figure it out.”

He grinned. “I'd like that.” 

You chuckled. “She is sweet,” you agreed, looking down at her. “We'll see if we can find you one to tame in a decent area.” 

“Thanks.” Gaz grabbed an empty bag and started picking berries. You stopped at the next bush down, focusing on not getting pricked. A soft curse from Gaz made you chuckle. 

“Thorns?” You asked, deceptively mild. 

“It was hiding,” he grouched, making you smile. 

Companionable silence fell between you as you focused on picking berries, moving around each other easily. 

“Think you'll make more of those biscuits?” Gaz couldn't quite keep the hopeful note from his voice. 

You laughed softly, shaking your head in amusement. “That fond of them, huh? Yeah, I'll make more. Although we'll need to find a supply drop soon, I'm getting low on some things.” 

“We'll find another one soon, I bet.” Gaz tied off his bag and went to get another, wandering off to find a different type of berry. You just watched him go, a little ache in your chest. 

They'd all learned fast, had taken to living here more easily than anyone else you'd seen. It was incredible, and heartening. 

Even if something happened to you, they'd be fine. 

The rest of berry gathering went quickly and quietly, and the two of you went back to see what progress the others had made with meat. 

Between you and Price, it didn't take long to get things packed up on Bessie. (Soap still eyed the dino with mistrust, but he was coming around.) Soap and Ghost took the lead, Soap chatting as they walked. Price walked next to Bessie, keeping an eye on the rear, leaving you and Gaz walking together in the middle of the group. 

Everything was fine. You didn't see any movement around you, didn't hear anything unusual. 

Soap shouted ahead of you, and a gun boomed through the relative quiet. You took off, swearing when you spotted the long body on the ground. 

“Fuck,” you hissed, skidding to a halt at Soap's side. “Did it bite you?”

“Aye,” Soap hissed, looking down at his leg. “Burns.” 

“Shit.” You dropped to your knees, leaning closer. Sure enough, blood seeped from the bite mark, punctures clear from the fangs. 

You didn't have anything for this at base. Not for a titanoboa bite. 

“Get on Bessie,” you ordered, pushing back to your feet. “Now.” 

“But–” Soap looked confused for a moment. Ghost, fortunately, didn't care, and bodily moved Soap to the trike. Price didn't ask, just helped shove the mohawked man up onto the dino. 

“We need to move.” You didn't look back at them, just started towards the base. Gaz kept pace with you, shooting worried looks towards you. But you didn't say another word the entire way back to base, too busy thinking of what needed to be done. 

This was not going to be easy. You felt like a fool for not having anything for a titanoboa bite. But you hadn't seen one for a long time, hadn't thought they came to this area… 

It was still your fault. You hadn't prepared them for all the dangers of this place. 

You hadn't been prepared for this. 

If Soap died… 

No. No, you weren't going to let that happen. 

You pulled the gate open and ushered the others in. “Get him inside,” you said, glancing at Soap, who had gone pale and sweaty already. 

“What can we do?” Price asked, even as he helped Ghost get Soap down from on top of Bessie. 

“Get everything else inside,” you answered, barely waiting for Soap to be out of the way before you started unloading bags. “Keep him cool. Do whatever you have to, but he will be running a fever.” 

“There must be something else,” Gaz pressed as he took some things from you. 

“No,” you snapped. “You all are staying here. I am getting the things I need for the antidote.” 

“One of us should go with you,” Price argued, even as he took things from you too. 

“No. I'm taking Ripper. Nothing else will keep up with him.” You pulled off one of the bags from Bessie's side, putting it aside and unloading the second bag. 

“Let us finish this,” Price ordered, coming back out with Gaz. “Do what you need to get ready.” 

You didn't bother arguing, just dropped everything and jogged over to Ripper's paddock. The raptor huffed at you, prancing in place a little. 

“I know,” you murmured. “Hold still.” It took a little longer than you liked to get his saddle on and fastened properly. It had been a while since you'd ridden Ripper. But you finished and led him out of his paddock. 

“How long will you be gone?” Gaz hovered nearby, shifting his weight as he watched you. 

“Don't know,” you admitted, glancing at him for only a moment before the guilt threatened to render you useless. “I'll be as fast as I can, I swear.” 

“Be safe.” Gaz stepped closer, taking your hand and squeezing it. “Okay? Come back safe.” 

“I'll bring back what we need,” you promised instead. It didn't matter if you were safe. Speed was more important than safety. It mattered that you saved Soap, nothing else. 

Gaz squeezed your hand again, but didn't press the issue. Instead he backed up, giving you and Ripper room. 

“Stay,” you told the hyaenadon finally, leading Ripper to the gate. “Keep him hydrated and cool,” you reiterated to Gaz. “Whatever it takes.” 

But you didn't give him time to respond. You pulled yourself up into the saddle and clicked your tongue at Ripper. Finally free to run, the raptor took off, long strides eating up distance much faster than any other tame you'd ever seen. Except maybe a horse. 

You knew where you needed to go. You knew what you needed to get. But you didn't know what you'd encounter along the way. 

Dammit. 

But you wouldn't let Soap die. Not on your watch.

[james-is-here]

I've had this idea for three months and it took so long to put into words because I was trying to come up with...not lyrics so to speak but what I think it feels like in a position like this.

Zombie Au? There's an infection and it's spreading but it's not necessarily zombies. Felix is your little brother.

Blogs: @belladonna6-6-6 @heartbinn @leezanetheofficial I genuinely forgot who else wanted tagged, please let me know again if you want to know when I post

Tags: Death, angst, you might cry (I genuinely cried), I'm so sorry if you cry 🥺, blood, kn1fe, Felix being the precious soul he is even in a dire situation, lots of crying, th-the use of st-stuttering since i've once read that the stuttering is annoying so I'm just warning. LMK if I forgot anything.

You ran and ran, hand tight around your brothers as you keep looking back to make sure he's still keeping up with you and also look out behind the both of you.

You shouldn't be outside at night but your original camp was surrounded by the creatures, slimy, gross, deformed creatures which use to be human beings. It was dusk, barely enough light to see where you're going.

The slow ones were called draggers, the fast ones were called runners, three runners were currently chasing you and your brother. You look back in front of you to find a couple draggers and skid to a stop, running to your left but you went to fast and Felix tripped, loosing the grip on your hand and falling to the ground with a grunt before shuffling back to his feet and catching up to you, taking your hand again.

His fumble unintentionally let the runners catch up to you both as you pant heavily. You still don't know where you're running, the road you're on unfamiliar as you run past buildings after buildings.

You suddenly hear a high pitched whistle and look ahead to your left, a person waving you over to an abandoned convenience store, they wear some sort of head cover that they seem to wear to blend in with the monsters but you saw their eyes and the fact that they were waving you over. You're quick to run over to them but suddenly your hand is empty again.

Turning around, you weren't expecting to see a dragger on your brothers foot. "Felix!" You dash over to him, kicking the dragger in the head before picking your brother up and running into the store.

You set Felix down, cradling his face and looking over him to make sure he's okay. "You guys okay?" The person- or the man- took his head over off and you see someone around you and Felix's age. "Yeah...Yeah, I think we're good. Thank you." "No problem. I'm Chris." "I'm Mn, this is my little brother, Felix." "It's nice to see a few new faces. Come on, there's a few more of us in the staff room."

The other survivors you met were really nice, they were friends of Chris'. Minho, Changbin, and Seungmin. They all lost someone to the infection.

Minho lost his lover, Jisung.

Changbin lost his best friend, Hyunjin.

Seungmin lost his little brother, Jeongin.

and Chris lost his wife and daughter.

You and Felix lost your whole family, you only had each other.

You both were currently on the floor in front of a fire Chris made, everyone else either somewhere in the store. Felix was curled up in your arms between your legs, one leg extended and the other you had your knee up the Felix leaned back on, your body was like his own little bubble, his comfort as your arms were secured around him and you just stared at the dancing flames in front of you.

He shifts, burying his face further into your neck as he slept but slowly he began whimpering and shifting, squirming in your hold as he tried to bury further into your neck. "Felix, bubs, wake up." You rub his arm gently, trying to wake him up and you know he's awake when he moves to face you, you move your legs to hold him properly in your lap as he cries on your shoulder. "Felix..." "I'm so scared, Mn..." "I know...I-I am too." "N-No, I-I'm scared of being in here..." "Wha- Lix, What do you mean?"

He sniffs, moving off your lap to rest his leg on your lap and pull up his pant leg. "No-" The tears hit you fast as you sob and gently graze your finger over the wound. "Th-The Dragger g-got me...I-I'm s-sorry, Mn. I-I'm so s-scared." He's started sobbing now and you just bring him into your arms, holding him tight. "I-I'm sorry..." You shush him, gently rubbing his back. "I-It'll be o-okay, Lixie." You bury your face in his shoulder and hold him tightly. "I-It'll be okay..." If you were reassuring him or yourself, you couldn't say.

Although, someone over heard you, and they were happy that an infected was now in their safe space.

In the stillness of the night, I hold you tight.

As time slips away, fading out of sight.

Every beat of your heart, a whispered plea.

Begging for salvation that I cannot decree.

There was one night, or day, you don't even know the date anymore, that you all gathered near the fire ring, conversing about anything and everything. Chris was telling stories of his family and Changbin told stories about him and Hyunjin, it hurt to learn that Changbin loved Hyunjin but never got the chance to tell him until Hyunjin got infected.

You and Felix were sitting on one of the break room tables, you could tell he's getting weaker, he was getting more tired and he didn't have as much energy anymore.

"I'm sorry...I have to say something before we're all dead." Minho suddenly spoke up and stood up, pulling a knife from the counter. "Woah, hey, Minho! What are you doing?!" "There's a runner or dragger here and I need to take care of it before we're all dead."

Your protective instincts gave it away as you stood and stepped in front of Felix. "Mn?" Seungmin questions your sudden shift before standing up, watching you protect the boy. "Minho, please..." "You really expect that'd change my mind?! Come on, wouldn't any of you want to kill the infected before it took your loved ones?" "Minho, this is my brother, my baby brother, he's all I have left, Please." "You'll end up loosing him." "But I still have him! I still have him now! I don't- I don't want to loose him yet, I-I just can't." You cry, turning towards Felix and cradling his face, gently shushing him as he sobbed, holding onto your wrists as he placed his forehead on yours.

He's muttering that he's scared, that he doesn't want to go, that he doesn't want to leave you and it hurts you even more, leaning back to kiss his forehead before returning to your previous spot.

Suddenly there's hands on your biceps, pulling you away from the boy and you sobbed, begging that this doesn't happen, trying to pull out of Chris' hold but he's stronger than you in the moment. "No, No P-Please! Please, just a little longer please!" Chris pulls you to the back wall of the break room, you try to pull your arms out and run to your brother but suddenly Changbin and Seungmin are holding you in place by your shoulders, keeping you from escaping Chris' hold. You struggle against them as Felix limps backwards away from Minho before falling to the floor.

"I-I'm sorry, Felix..." Minho stutters before driving the blade into his stomach. "No!!" You choke, watching Minho do it a couple more times before dropping the blade and stepping back. "Felix!"

They finally let you go and you dash over to your brother, kneeling next to him and bringing him into your hold, placing a hand on his heart and sobbing heavily. Every other beat is strong but the in between beats are slow and barely there.

"Felix, No..." He sobs, tilting his head into you and you lean further down to connect your foreheads. "I'm scared, Mn..." "I know...I know, bubs, I'm so sorry..."

Your breath grows faint, a fragile sigh,

Yet in your eyes, a fire refuses to die.

I'd trade my every breath to keep you here,

But destiny's grip, I cannot interfere.

His chest begins to rise and sink slowly, but when you lean back to look at his eyes, they almost look alive still, wide and looking up at you the usual way he looked at you, like you were the most amazing guy in the world. He always looked up to you, he loved you as his big brother.

"I-I wish I c-could take your place...give you all that I have. I w-wish you didn't have to go th-through this, Lixie...I-I'm such a terrible brother, I-I'm so sorry." You place a slightly bloody hand on his cheek and wipe his tears away. "Y-You're wrong-" "Ssh, save your breath." He chuckles weakly. "Ironic." His eyes glance down to his stomach where his shaking, bloody hands rest.

Through every gasp, I whisper tales of our past,

Each memory a lifeline, meant to last.

Though time may steal your earthly form away,

Our love's immortal flame will forever stay.

"You'll be with Mama...a-and L-Livy...a-and Rach..." "B-But th-they w-were turned..." "No, that's- That's not them...they're somewhere b-better..."

You move a few strands of hair out of his face and reach down to hold his hand. You don't care about the blood anymore.

"I-I don't w-want you to g-go, Bubs...Y-You belong h-here." "I-It w-would've h-happened...s-sooner or l-later." He inhales shakily, squeezing your hand. "I'm n-not r-really l-leaving." "What do you mean?" He raised a hand slowly and pointed at your chest. "I-I'll b-be here...y-you'll always l-love me, Nn. I-I'll a-always be here..."

I'm here by your side, my love, don't fear,

In the darkness, I'll be your light, my dear.

Though I cannot save you from fate's cruel art,

I'll stay with you, till the last, never apart.

"I-I don't want to leave you now...D-Dying is s-scary, I-I'm s-so s-scared." "It's gonna be okay...I'm gonna be here with you, it's okay. It's okay..."

You stayed the whole time, rubbing your thumb back and forth on the back of his hand and occasionally kissing his forehead. "I-I wish I could've s-saved you. I-I wish th-this didn't have to happen, I-I'm so sorry, Felix..."

You were gonna stay until his last breath.

As your eyes meet mine, in the final gaze,

I'll be the guardian of our love's eternal blaze.

Though you depart from this world's embrace,

You'll find me waiting in love's timeless space.

You had your eyes closed the whole time, you couldn't handle seeing him the way he was but you finally open them, Felix should see you before he goes.

"I-It'll b-be okay, Nn." He raised a hand to the side of your face and you held it tight. "Stop fighting it, Lix. I-I know you are, it's okay. I'm here, y-you're safe. S-Say h-hi to th-the girls and Mum if you see th-them...a-and l-let me know y-your with me every- every once in a while, mkay?" "I-I will a-and t-take m-my locket..." "Lixie..." You choke out as your eyes remain locked and you watch the light fade, his eyes filled with tears and his hand goes limp. "Lix..." You sob with a whine as the others finally kneel by you.

"I'm really sorry, Mn..." You were silent, sobbing over your brother. "Mn, we should move him." You sniff, moving a shaky hand to his neck and Minho gently helped you unclasp the locket, you clutch it in your fist before you leave a final kiss to his forehead and close his eyes. "Okay." You say softly, barely above a whisper.

You pick him up and turn to the other guys. "I-I can't...I-I don't have the strength to just l-leave him somewhere." "I'll take him for you..." Minho offers with his lips pressed together in a soft, apologetic smile. "I-I happen to know a nice area nearby so he won't just be out in the open." "Thank you..." His eyes widen at your words, he just killed your brother, why are you thanking him?

"Wh-When it got worse, I-I don't think I-I'd h-have the strength to actually l-let him go..." He hums in reply and steps up to you, letting you place Felix in his arms before he walks away. "Wait!" Minho turns around and you walk over to him, taking Felix's bracelets, putting them on, and any other items he had on him. You also snatch the pocket knife you saw from a nearby table and cut a part of his hoodie off, the only light blue part of his sleeve that wasn't covered in blood, and put it in your pocket, saving it to make something later. "Thanks." Minho nods before walking away again.

It's lucky the convenience store still has running water as you move to wash off the blood. "Hey, found the clothing section for you." Chris announces, placing a hoodie and jeans on the counter next to you. "In a convenience store?" "Well, from the thrift store next door." "Light Blue?" "Had a feeling...if that's okay?" Tears gather on your lash line before you nod and extend an arm. With Chris' small nod and a gentle smile, he lets you hug him tightly.

"I'm surprised you're not mad at us." Seungmin commented and Changbin slapped his arm. "I-I'm actually grateful...Yeah, you let my brother...b-but it was a necessary thing to do...I-I wouldn't have had the strength to do it my-myself when i-it got worse."

"I'm back." You leave Chris' embrace and turn to Minho. "Thank you...again." "It's no problem...Sorry I got a bit angry before." "It was understandable. Now if you don't mind, the state of my clothes is making me want to cry again so I'm gonna change."

"We'll be out here." Chris said as you walked to the bathroom with the clothes he got you.

When the door closed, Chris turned to the others. "Him thanking us for killing his brother is weird right?" "A little but it makes sense. Were you watching back there? He held his to his final breath. I could tell he wouldn't have been able to let him go if the infection got worse."

"How'd you know?" "Saw them a couple nights ago, Felix showed him the bite on his ankle from the dragger that attacked him before they came in here. I could see him changing and didn't want Mn to keep him to the point of turning into one of those and attacking us." "Did it hurt?" Changbin asked.

"So much. He looked as precious and kind, I really didn't but I was protecting us." You then walk out of the bathroom, throwing your old clothes into a nearby empty box. "Can I hug you, Minho?" "Uh, yeah, sure." He asks hesitantly and you walk over to him, wrapping your arms around his back and shoulders as he did the same to you.

"Thank you-" "Stop thanking me for killing your brother, it's kinda weird." You laugh, pulling away and joining the others on the floor. "Was gonna say thank you for protecting us...although I was against it...what you did makes sense...as much as I want to hate you for killing him you did it to protect us so...guess that skims off some of the hate." "Some?" He looks at you bewildered and the rest of you laugh.

"You killed my brother, you expect there to not be at least a little hate?" "Yeah, but you said some which means there's more hate then gratitude." While you and Minho went back and forth, the other three watch small smiles.

Even in a world of chaos, there's still time to find joy.

😭 I'm sorry if this made you cry and also I wrote this in like three hours it was like 1:20am when I started and now it's 3:41am so I'ma go to bed.

The angst is angsting 😩

His locket had a picture of your family on one side, and him and you together on the other.

[skiiyoomin]

I feel like there isn't enough for Newt from The Maze Runner Series. Could you please write for him?

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Content: slight violence? swearing, gn reader! oblivious reader

Summary: You were a Runner who had the unfortunate luck of getting bitten by a Griever. You had assumed your death, but when you woke up, you were in a completely different Glade, surrounded by completely different people, by boys.

a/n I´m sooo sorry I took so long to answer but it´s finally here!! (ive been having huge writers block so i hope this is good enough) I totally think there's not enough tmr ff!! we have to revive the fandom 🥹 my friends helped think of the plot so props to them!! :D

✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:

ღFrom afar | Newt

Your feet pounded on the hard ground, your heavy pants echoing through the hard rock walls. You turned your head back every so often, the sound of screeching of metal on rock not much further behind you, forcing you to quicken your pace.

A mere few minutes ago, you were peacefully resting on one of the many walls inside the maze, you were unaware of the Griever close by until it was too late. You could have run straight back to the Glade, but you couldn't risk letting the Griever close to the doors and putting in danger the rest of the girls.

Your lungs burned, terribly so, but you didn't stop. You couldn't. It all backfired when you turned the corner and found yourself in a dead end. You heard the roar of the Griever too close for comfort and without thinking, you ran straight to the end wall, grabbing onto one of the many vines and pulling yourself upward.

You looked down when you deemed yourself to be high enough, a mistake really, because in a flash, the Griever snapped the vine you were holding onto. The fall felt like it went by in slow motion, and in those few seconds, you quickly assumed your death. You felt a sharp sting on your side. Did the Griever sting you? Well, you were a goner anyway, what did it matter. Your vision began to blur, black spots engulfing your sight until all you saw was pitch black, and then, unconsciousness.

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Minho ran around the maze, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, as per usual. When he turned a corner, his feet abruptly stopped.

"What the..."

A few steps in front of him laid a body, a female body. As he slowly stepped closer, he immediately took note of your sickly looking skin. His eyes landed on a spot on your arm, or rather a bite. There were dark protruding veins going up your arm, the sight bad enough to make anyone grimace.

That's when Minho snapped out of it and came to a quick realizations. You were stung by a Griever. But how did you get here? Where did you come from? Who are you?

Despite the thousands of questions flying through his mind, he knew if he didn't take you back to the Glade you'd be a goner. He gently lifted you in his arms and raced back as fast as he could.

As expected, he got a lot of stares and was asked many questions he simply could not answer.

"For the last time Alby, I don't know. I found her laying on the ground, what was i supposed to do, leave her there?"

Under all the sudden chaos, Newt, a natural diplomat in these situations, was uncharacteristically quiet. He simply did not know how to feel about any of it.

Eventually you recovered, gave your side of the story to Alby and began your new life in a new place. Undoubtedly it was hard. Recovering from the sting was a process filled with agony and confusing thoughts. Settling down in a place full of boys whose horomones skyrocketed was just as hard. Despite the uncomfortableness of it all, you began to befriend the right people and soon enough you had gained your place as a Runner.

Through all of this, Newt had made sure to stay far far away from you, watching you without making a move.

"You're gonna scare her off if you keep looking at her so much"

Frypans voice had startled him out of his daze, his eyes moving from you to him in bewilderment.

"What are you on about"

Frypan shrugs at this "You keep staring at her, if you like her that much you should just talk to her"

Now he was bewildered for sure, like you?? How is that even possible. He debated in his mind, Frypans words leaving him in a confused state. He was sure he didn't like you, yet why is your smile so heart warming, your hair looks especially nice today too.

Crap, maybe he does like you after all.

Little did he know, you were having a similar conversation in one of the many tables.

"He totally makes eyes at you, I don't know what you're talking about!"

Minho exclaims, rather loudly at that, making you slap your hands over his mouth to shut him up.

"Shut it you slinthead, he's gonna hear if you talk so loud"

Minho simply rolls his eyes before saying "Good, maybe that'll have you make a move"

You scoff "He probably doesn't even like me, he barely talks to me!!

And just like that, you were both in a never ending spiral of confusion and overthinking thoughts. And obviously, everyone noticed, with how obvious you two were how could they not?

And obviously Minho decided the best thing to do was to set up a plan.....for everyones sake.

Your days had started off normal. You got to work, went out to the Maze, came back and jotted down what you had seen. Nothing out of the ordinary.

As you were finishing up in the Map Room, Minho had bursted in, making you jump and look at him in surprise.

"I need you to help me, come quick"

Without much of a question, you followed him until you reached the Homestead. As you walked up the stairs, you stopped in front of a small unfamiliar room. Minho pushed open the door, holding on to the door knob and waving his hand, motioning you to walk inside. Before you even realized what was going on, he had slammed the door shut, locking you inside the room.

You whirled around to face the door, a look of perplexion on your face. You heard Minhos loud voice boom from the other side

"I´m not letting you out until you talk to each other!!"

If possible, your confusion only grew as you mumbled "Each other?"

"He means us"

You heard a voice from behind, the British accent all too familiar. Turning around, you were met with the sight of Newt sitting on the floor with an unimpressed look on his face. You felt the all too familiar feeling of your heart hammering in your chest. Taking a deep breathe, you sigh shakily as you sit down beside him.

You rest your head on the wall behind you, your thoughts wandering and your brows furrowing more and more.

"What do you think he meant by talking to each other?"

Newt glanced at you for a second, then, unexpectedly, he leaned forward and placed his thumb between your brows, gently rubbing the area until your frown completely disappeared.

"I don´t know but what I do know is that you´re gonna get wrinkles if you frown so much"

In a dazed like motion, he traced his thumb over your brow and down your temple until his entire hand was cupping your cheek. Your cheeks flushed under his hand, wide eyes staring deep into his brown ones.

However, as soon as the moment was there it was gone just as quickly as Newt backed away, apologies flying his mouth.

Your hands moved before you could even process what you were doing. You cupped his face in your hands, forcing him to look at you.

"Stop apologizing you idiot! I don´t mind..."

You mumbled the last part in embarrasement, your eyes trained on the floor underneath you. The feeling of his rough calloused hands pulling yours away from his cheeks made your eyes shoot back up at him in surprise. You thought he would push you away, instead, he pulled you close until your head was resting on his shoulder, his long arms wrapping around your waist.

"Then...do you mind if I do this?"

When he felt you shake your head, he breathed out a sigh of relief, his tense muscles relaxing, letting you nuzzle your face deeper against the crook of his neck. You were in that position for what felt like ages when Newt called out your name. Moving your head so you could look at him better, he took this as a sign to continue.

"I- I don´t know how to say this without making it awkward, but...well I always get this feeling around you, like my hearts going to fly out of my chest...or how I get all jittery"

As he rambles, you push your head back to fully look at him, your cheeks flaring up at his words.

"What I´m trying to say is I really really like you"

In a flash, you had cupped his face with your hands and slammed your lips to his. Whatever words he had were gone once he felt your soft lips on his. When air called, you pulled away, breathing deeply.

"I like you too Newt"

You´ve never seen someone smile as much as he did in that moment, dazzling smile taking your breath away. This time it was him who leaned in for a kiss, deeper this time and full of passion.

If you had known it would be like this you would have kissed him long long ago. Guess you have Minho to thank now.

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

BONUS!!

"You think he asked her out already?" Asked Minho.

"They´ve been in there for a while that´s for sure" Was Albys reply.

"Do you think they´re-"

"DON´T finish that sentence Minho"

"I don´t think I would´ve wanted to know anyway" He says with a grimace.

[petrichor-idyllic]

Hello, I loved your Minho stories and I want to make a request. Minho and female reader are in a dangerous situation and one of those saves the other and the one that's been saved kisses the others cheek as a thank you and the tension is like super high. Thank you♡♡

Ooo yesss finally I get to write some action! I've been waiting for this.

Also, I know it's not really fluff, but that was the only category I write that I could fit this in on my masterlist lmao.

HIDE AND SEEK

MASTERLIST | MINHO MASTERLIST

SUMMARY: See above. Takes place before the arrival of Thomas.

WARNINGS: Inappropriate language, pure unbridled panic.

"Will you hurry your ass up?" Minho shouts from ahead of you, already irritated by your slower pace than him.

You're a Runner. Well, you're going to be a Runner. You're currently in your awkward training phase, which means that until you get good enough to run on your own, you're stuck with the grumpy and sarcastic Keeper.

Honestly, Minho was reluctant to agree to it. You're a girl- the only girl, and he's not exactly prepared to deal with you or your shit. So, when Alby put you forward to be a Runner after one of the boys got injured, Minho was quick to decline.

He figured you wouldn't be able to handle it but he was swiftly reminded by Newt about your first day.

It was definitely a Greenie day to be remembered. First, a girl shows up, shocking everyone.

And then you ran.

Unbelievably fast, grabbing the sides of the metal cage of the Box, hurling yourself up, and using the boys' momentary confusion to make your escape. It wasn't unusual for Greenies to run; there's actually an on-going inside joke about it.

What stunned them was when Gally caught you as he'd ran from another direction, and you socked him so hard in the jaw that the Med-jacks thought he'd broke it. It's a bit of a blur now, but you managed to take down three boys twice your size before Newt hit you in the head with a shovel.

You still have the scar.

Honestly, Minho wishes he would've been there to see it, but alas, he was not. Though the uproar he returned to was like no other.

Your fiery energy and impossibly high stamina is perfect for running the Maze, and Minho was forced to accept that.

"Hey!" He grinds to a halt, spinning around and snapping at you, "The shuck are ya doin'? We gotta move!"

You had stopped in front of one of the walls, examining the lettering under the ivy.

"There's words!"

"Yeah! I know, come on!"

You groan.

Minho is relentless. At first, you were thrilled you were getting some alone time with the very attractive Runner- but you quickly came to learn he's just as draining as any other boss you'd have.

"I'm just looking, man," you jog over to him, "what's the big deal? We're already ahead of schedule."

"That doesn't mean we can stop. I told you- we can never-"

"Yeah, yeah, 'never stop running'. I know, I know. Just lemme be curious for a second, a'ight?"

"We don't have time for that," he starts walking ahead, preparing himself to break into another sprint before actually doing it.

"Sure we do; it's kinda like the whole point of the gig," he raises his eyebrow, looking at you over his shoulder, "yanno? To be curious about the Maze?"

Minho doesn't even bother responding, probably because you're right, but he's never going to admit when he's wrong. He takes off running again, and you huff, grumbling to yourself that he doesn't have to be such a dick. But you still follow him without hesitation.

He turns another corner. Then another. And another.

Until he stops dead in his tracks. He stops so suddenly you nearly run straight into the back of him, just managing to slow in time.

"What are you doing?" You hiss, but he looks back at you, anger flashing in his eyes for a second before he presses a finger to his lips, telling you to shut up.

He then points ahead and you follow his finger, eyes widening at the sight.

Around the next corner, you can see the long, sectioned tail of a Griever. Its scorpion-inspired stinger on full display as you suck in a deep breath.

"Back up," he mumbles, his voice barely a whisper as you're frozen behind him, "slowly."

You nod feverishly, taking a step backwards. Suddenly, you've become his best student yet, ready to listen to anything and everything he tells you to do.

Minho follows suit, not letting the creature out of his sight, and you're preparing yourself to make a straight sprint back to the Glade. Maybe he was right- this Runner shit might not be for you.

"Okay," he basically hums, "once we're back round the corner, run for it."

"Sounds like a plan," you attempt to push out, but your knees are shaking as adrenaline makes your heartbeat jump into your ears.

You take another cautious step back and Minho is quick to follow.

Only for you to almost pass out from fear when a load mechanical screech shakes the walls of the Maze. You don't even get to see that the Griever has turned around, but judging by Minho's reaction, it had.

"Go! Go! Run!" You scramble slightly, your hands hitting the floor from how fast you spin around. Minho half catches you, even though you don't need him to. He pushes you forward, giving you an unnecessary but appreciated head start.

Minho is hot on your heels as you bolt through the Maze, allowing you to take the lead. Not that he has much choice.

"Minho!" You're suddenly overwhelmed with concern for the boy and you glance over your shoulder.

"Don't look back!" He yells, breath heavy and his footsteps hitting the solid floor that echos through the walls. "Don't worry about me, alright? Just run!"

You caught a brief glimpse of the monstrosity hunting you down. It's surprisingly fleshy, its bulbous skin is shiny, and multiple metal arms stick out aimlessly in multiple directions as small spikes cover its slimey body.

You'll be seeing that in your nightmares.

You're fast to turn another corner, nearly tripping over some vines- 'breadcrumbs' as Minho calls them -that you'd cut off of the wall earlier.

"Hey, watch out for-" you have no time to fully warn Minho as his foot catches on the severed plant, his body tumbling to the floor.

You stop immediately, your companion taking forefront in your list of concerns as you run towards him. He's quick to get back on his feet, your grasping hands doing very little to actually help him.

"Come on! Come on!" You shout as Minho finds his feet again.

The Griever is closer now, the clicking and whirring noises are far too close for comfort as you start running again. It's right behind you as it suddenly dives forward.

It bumps against Minho, knocking him down and colliding with you, forcing you onto the floor as you roll a few feet, groaning.

The creature is quick to get on top of you. It's metal spider legs trap you in place as it's gross, dripping mouth opens, letting out a terrifying scream that sounds like a mix of animal and machine.

You cry out in response as it lifts its tail, holding the pointed syringe that's attached above your head. It's almost teasing you, like it enjoys watching you squirm and scream for your life.

Out of nowhere, a rock hits the creature square in the head as Minho stands stunned, his chest rising as falling. The Griever lifts its face away from yours to face him, and he immediately backs away as it lets out another ferocious animalistic noise.

You take the opportunity to squeeze between its legs, just managing to slip through. Half-crawling, half-running, you rush to Minho.

He grabs you, yanking you up straight as you run back in the direction you just came from. The Griever is slow to react to this.

As you remember Minho saying; "they're dangerous bastards, but dumb as klunk."

You both take what you can get, the pure stress distracting both of you as Minho is still yet to let go of your hand.

"Come on," he's almost breathless, something you've never seen before, "I've got an idea."

You blindly follow him. Not that you have much choice as he's practically dragging you.

You're definitely not cut out for this type of work yet. Your sides burn as anaerobic reparation kicks in and the muscles in your legs feel like they're about to give in at any second.

You turn another corner, and Minho sharply pulls you to the right. He starts rummaging around the ivy, muttering to himself. "C'mon, c'mon!"

"What are you doing?" You snap, your voice breaking. He ignores you.

"Yes!" He pulls back a chunk of ivy to reveal a dip in the wall. It's small, less than a metre long and a few feet deep into the wall.

He steps into it, his back pressed to the side as he ushers you to join him. You pause for a second until the noises of the approaching amalgamation of horrors fills your ears.

He pulls you in with him, and you struggle to fit, your back against the other side and your front to his. He reaches out, pulling the ivy that falls back in place, covering you both back up.

The ivy acts as a blanket, light breaking in and reflecting off of Minho's face, which is beaded with sweat. You both hold your breath as you hear the creature cover the ground of the stretch of corridor.

You screw your eyes shut, only allowing yourself to open them once the shadow of the creature passes.

You look at Minho. His head is thrown back against the wall as his chest rises and falls, relief visibly washing over him.

Several minutes pass as you both will your bodies to calm down. Your body has turned to mush, and you're sure that if it weren't for Minho and the wall, you would've collapsed by now.

"Are you okay?" Your voice comes out as strained and scratchy. To your surprise, Minho scoffs.

"Are you?"

"Yeah," you pant out, "I think so."

"Not stung, are ya?"

"You didn't give it chance." He scoffs again. "How'd you know this was here?"

"I've run this thing every day since I can remember," he explains as you look at him, "I know these walls like the back of my hand."

It's impressive. It really is. What Minho's capable of is almost superhuman. The Maze is huge- you've run his routes with him for a couple of days, and that's just the parts he normally covers. This little crevice isn't even on his normal path, yet he knew almost exactly where it was.

Neither of you moved for a while, only now becoming aware of how close you are. Your chests are pushed together, and your faces are merely inches apart. The whole thing would be very hot if you hadn't just nearly fucking died.

"Alright, come on," Minho reaches out, pushing the leaves out of his way again and shuffling to fit out, trying his best not to push against you more than he has to.

Once out, he holds the plant in place as he jolts his head, gesturing you to join him, "We're good. It's clear."

You nod, also stepping out of your safe place, taking an anxious look either side. Just in case.

"We're going back to the Glade, right? 'Cause fuck continuing after that." He attempts to give you a smirk but it falls flat.

"Yeah, we're going back. When klunk like this happens, we normally call it a day. There's only so much I can take, too."

Neither of you have the energy to break into anything more than a jog, but time is on your side, so it's not a problem. You also want to save your remaining energy for another potential Griever attack.

The events of what just happened flash before your eyes, and it doesn't take a genius to realise you'd be dead if it weren't for the boy. You trail behind again but he doesn't shout at you this time.

You're not as used to dealing with this as he is, after all.

As the Glade slowly approaches, your new feelings of appreciation run strong as the experience slowly starts to sink in.

You owe Minho your life- you owe him everything. If he didn't think fast and throw that rock, you would've been stung. Or worse. You shiver at the thought.

But that doesn't stop you from picking up pace slightly, catching up to him. Delicately, you touch his wrist. You know you're safe here- Grievers don't come this close to the Glade in the day.

"Hey, Minho," he glances at his wrist and then up to your face.

"Yeah?" Your words fail you for a second. Even in his disheleved state, he still looks pretty, and the way he's looking at you right now could make you melt. He seems softer than before, almost like he's coming to terms with what's happened himself.

Instead of speaking, you stand on your tiptoes, leaning in and planting a kiss on his cheek.

You pull away, examining his face. The harmless gesture has made Minho's face red. Well, redder, at least, as blush dusts his tanned skin.

"Thank you," you whisper, your faces almost as close as when you were hiding in the wall.

"For what?" It's not cocky. He seems genuinely dumbfounded at what you could possibly be appreciative of.

"For saving my life. Duh."

His eyes flicker to your lips, seemingly unintentionally as his body turns more towards you. The action makes butterflies form in your stomach, causing all the fatigue to evaporate from your aching muscles.

He leans in further and you don't move, your noses brushing for a second until you jolt backwards, startled as a voice reaches you from the Glade.

"The shuck are you shanks doing back here?" Alby's deep voice sounds like a frown, "It's not even lunch yet!"

Minho passes you one more look. A look that's full of an emotion you can't quite read.

"We nearly shuckin' died, you slinthead!" He shouts, stepping away from you and towards the Leader lingering at the Doors. "That's what!"

You're left standing in the corridor. You can hear Minho already start to bicker with the older boy, who seems more irritated than concerned for your well-being.

You can still feel the ghost of Minho's close presence lingering around you, causing another adrenaline spike. Your heart is pounding in your chest like it's trying to break free from your ribcage.

For the second time today.

This was genuinely so fun to write. I literally sat down and wrote it in one sitting. I really liked this promt and just knew I had to do it as soon as I saw it.

Requests are still open, and I hope you enjoyed :))

[fandom-blackhole]

Ok so what about Joel comforting reader after like nearly getting got by a runner and having a panic attack? Tysm!!🫶🫶🫶

This was such a good prompt to write! The angst, the comforting, the reassurance 😩. I hope you like the way this turned out! <3 (NOT EDITED) NO SPOILERS

WC: 1.1k

Empty clicks. Your world narrows to only empty clicks and the shrill scream of the infected woman running towards you. Panic numbs your arms and legs, freezing as you know you're cornered in that room surrounded by dead infected you'd managed to kill, but your weapon now useless and you yourself not strong enough to fight back without a pipe or bat. 

The closer the runner gets, the more your brain screams at you and time seems to slow around you. You curse yourself for getting your knife stuck in the neck of the first infected you'd killed, you'd not had the time to try and yank it back out having instead let it drop with the body with intentions of grabbing it after it was safe to do so. But now…now as the blood shot yellowed eyes of the woman come closer to you, her matted hair glued to her scalp with blood and clothes torn to pieces and jacket just barely hanging on her arms, now as you fate comes crashing towards you at a speed of too fast and too slow you wish you'd taken the few seconds to pull your knife free, you wish you'd slowed you'd pace just a little so you weren't alone in this room, that Joel might be there save you, to help you.

Your fear has frozen any yells for help, eyes watering and your throat tight you can only watch as the confused and ravenous eyes of the runner get closer, her jaw opening readying to bite, and arms outstretched to grab you. You couldn't help but push back against the wall and let out a quiet, hollow, "fuck."

But her hands never reached you, nor her snapping teeth. Instead she was yanked backwards by that loose jacket so hard she went flying into the wall across the room from you. Through water eyes you could see Joel’s broad silhouette slamming her head into a desk corner and throwing her to the floor before crushing her head in with his boot.

You were safe now, you knew this in the back of your mind, but the panic consumed you still. It muffled your head, made things feel fuzzy and filtered out all sound but the pounding of your heart and heavy breathing. Your legs felt weak, and you felt any balance you had in you leave your body as you slid down the wall you'd braced against. 

You hadn't had a panic attack like this in years, but everything had happened so fast, death had come too close and it felt like he'd wrapped his hands around your neck anyway, it felt like you couldn't catch your breath. The world felt entirely numb and overestimating all at the same time at that moment.

In your panicked state, you hadn't heard Joel’s approach, you hadn't heard him calling out your name several times, nor did you notice him crouching in front of your curled form. You did however jerk away from his hand when Joel gently laid it on your shoulder. Your head snapped up only to find worried and tense amber eyes staring at your own. You saw more than heard as Joel said your name again and watched as he slowly reached down and pried your hands away from your gun, just now noticing how your fingers ached from holding the metal too tightly.

"Hey, look at me," Joel’s gruff voice slowly broke through the fog, and you looked back up to him, "Are you hurt? Did you get bit?"

Eyes wide, voice still failing you, a tear finally dropped from one of your eyes, clearing your vision just enough to be able to make out Joel’s somber expression. You watch as he nods once, but rakes his eyes over you anyway, looking for any blood that may be a little too fresh to be from any of the infected, but ultimately sighing when he noticed nothing. 

Standing, Joel tucked your empty gun into his waistband before reaching down with a soft, "come on," grabbing your forearms and helping you stand once more. He didn't break away once you were standing like you thought he would though. Instead he looked you in the eye once more, his eyes boring into you in a way that made you unable to look away.

"You sure you're good," he asked, voice genuine and filled with worry and that's what broke you. Tears fully broke free as you left out a shuttering gasp.

"I…I'm sorry, Joel…"

Joel’s hands tighten their hold on your arms, one sliding up your arm and only stopping to settle at the junction where your neck met your shoulder. Joel whispered your name again trying to get your attention, but you ignored it.

"I should have been smarter. I shouldn't have gotten my knife lost like I did. I should have been better with my gun, and shouldn't have wasted so many bullets with bad aim. I-i…I should have wait for you-"

"Hey, hey, hey," Joel interrupts your rambling, "Look at me. Look at me. You're ok, you're fine, darlin'. It's not your fault."

Joel’s hand squeezed your shoulder while his thumb just barely rubbed the skin of your neck that peeked from your shirt. Your lip wobbled as you took a few deep breaths and closed your eyes. You could still feel Joel eyes on you though, their piercing nature paired with the wait of his rough hands on your arm and shoulder slowly grounding your back to reality.

After a minute you took a step back opening your eyes as Joel’s hands dropped from your frame. You let out a pitiful laugh and wiped your face of the tears you'd shed. You didn't look back to Joel, but you did turn to retrieve your knife as you spoke, your voice a little hoarse, "God I must seem pathetic."

Ripping your knife free you used the clothes on the runner you'd stabbed with it to wipe it clean of the concealing brown blood before standing. You didn't move though, just stood there looking down to the dead man at your feet as you heard Joel’s footsteps approach you.

You only lifted your head once Joel finally stood in front of you. Meeting his gaze as he grabs your hand and presses a quick kiss to the palm then holding it over the flannel covering his heart, the heavy beat you could feel under the fabric calming you back into your normal state finally, wiping you of the panic that'd encompassed your heart and soul only moments prior. 

"Just promise…promise not t' go too far. I don't think I can lose anyone else. Especially not you, darlin'."

Have a request for Joel? My askbox is open!

[soapyghostie]

Hi! i love reading you little stories about danny ‘jed olsen’ johnson!! I was hoping you could make a post about how he would look, like: many body scars, soft muscular body, or strong and tougher kind of body. Hope you understood what i was asking for, i tried to explain it the best i can! <3

You mean like general headcanons? I did a mixture of both his appearance and his personality if that’s okay. There is a link of a visual of what I think Danny looks like at the very bottom. Hope you enjoy!

The Ghost Face/Danny Johnson

This man has many scars all over his body from his victims trying to defend themselves, but failed. Where he has scars the most is definitely his legs and chest where victims have landed sharp objects deep past his suit, into his skin. I guess his leather suit can’t protect him all the time. He has a giant scar running right through his left eyebrow. Him being the cocky bastard he is, he loves to show it off to his coworkers and make up an insane story for it. The crazy thing is that they actually believe him. 

His gaze can intimidate anyone. He has these stern yellow eyes that will make you shrink into your skin if he glares at you. However, when he gives someone puppy dog eyes, you can’t resist. There’s no way you can say no to those gorgeous yellow eyes. Additionally, I just wanted to say, his eyes make him look cat-like. 😂 

Danny has a very lean body. He has to be strong so he can overpower his victims. However, he isn’t bulky because he also has to be fast and carrying a ton of muscle will slow him down. He definitely works out a lot. I’d say he runs 7-8 miles and hits the gym at least two hours everyday because, let me tell you, he is definitely shredded. (I’m sorry. This headcanon is definitely the runner coming out of me.) 

Danny has short, but fluffy black hair. He makes sure to keep it silky soft so he can easily run his hands through it. Also, to wow the ladies; he knows women love a man with gorgeous, silky hair. Dingus. 

Dude, this man is literally so silent. He can judge which floorboards creak, which doors squeal when opened, what shadows keep him hidden from sight. It’s insane. Literally a god. 

I think we all have gotten a glimpse of how much of an asshole and narcissist he is. He’s extremely mischievous, confident, and thinks he’s the biggest lady-killer. Spoiler alert! He really isn’t no lady-killer: he can’t even get a lady for the life of him. His cheesy pick-up lines and flirting skills are full of crap. He better be glad he has his looks or he’d get himself slapped across the face. 

Danny is a fantastic photographer. He makes sure that any photo he takes is on point. He’s a perfectionist. If he takes a photo, no matter if it’s for work or snapping photos of victims, it has to be perfect or he scratches it out of his camera roll. 

He is a great writer as well. I don’t know why the Roseville Gazette would hire him if he wasn’t. 🤷‍♀️ Anyways, a fucking unit at punctuation. He uses semicolons way too much than he probably should, just like me, and he knows it too. Hey! If it looks good and sounds good then that is all that matters. He’s also a pretty fast typer and always proofreads his writing at least 4 times before turning it in for publishing. He tends to get all his work done before all his coworkers. 

He keeps a journal where he writes important information about his victims: where they live, their daily routines, and stuff like that. He also sketches out what each and every one of his victims looks like next to his notes. 

He’s pretty cold-hearted and has an obsession for fame and recognition. He wants everyone to know who he is and to fear him. He’s addicted to the fear frozen on his victims faces when he calls them and has dozens of pictures of his victims hidden in his nightstand drawer to use for his articles.

Even though he’s a phenomenal journalist, he doesn’t get paid that much so this man literally lives off of ramen. However, he loves himself a nice home cooked meal: anything that takes a long time to cook to be honest. He would cook if he wasn’t so bad at it. 

He loves himself a good bargain; he loves the power they hold over someone. The moment someone breaks their side of the deal, he can break his and they’re over and done with if you know what I mean. 👀

He loves drama. He’ll listen to all the tea and no one will know he’s listening in either. He’ll start spreading it around to all the other coworkers. Now everyone knows the business. That’s why you never whisper shit while Danny is around because he’ll get a hold of that gossip one way or another. 

Danny Johnson visual

Hey you guys! Just a quick note that I’ll get to your requests on Saturday. This was the easiest request in my inbox so I didn’t have to think about what I wanted to write as much as I have to with other requests. I’m just so exhausted from camp, but I wanted to post something new for you guys to read. I hope you enjoyed it.

[drainslo]

Brains & Brawn- Chapter 6: Games

You were filled with dread as the other team celebrated, now high-fiving each other in a group huddle.

If you had to guess, their odds of winning were much higher if they waited for you to run to free your teammates, and captured you instead of the flag.

The fastest one was definitely the smirking player, who had chased down the clubs player. His friend was the second fastest. The other two people seemed average, and not huge concerns.

You started to jog lightly to warm up your muscles. Your only feasible option was indeed to sprint across their side and tag two players with your hands. It would be close, but you could free two teammates before you were tagged.

The clock in the stadium read 50 minutes. You had time. The other team spread out across the field and watched you hungrily.

It reminded you of how Niragi killed animals in the six of spades. Your trail of thought deviated from the game briefly as you wondered what was wrong with Niragi. Where was the man who saved you during the nine of spades? You couldn't pinpoint the exact reason, but it was as if he lost himself. In this world, you didn't know if that was for the better.

You shook off your pondering and kept jogging. You had to concentrate on formulating a plan. Firstly, you should definitely try to avoid the fast players at all costs. You looked towards the field. He was standing on one end and his friend on the other. The two in the middle stood side by side, engaged in conversation.

Double fuck. It would be infinitely harder to try to go through the middle since there were two players there. 

But would it? Finally, a plan came to mind, making you smile.

You took your time warming up your muscles and stretching. You needed to have all the energy you could for sprinting.

The team seemed to grow frustrated, trading wary glances at each other as they watched you. You nervously felt ready, and squeezed your hands together tightly.

“Hey ugly!” You yelled, pointing at one of the men in the middle. 

“Me?” He replied angrily, seeming startled by your sudden call.

“Yeah, you! You look so disgusting you make me want to throw up.” With a deep breath, you calmly crossed the threshold dividing the two sides.

“Why you bitch! Get over here,” the man began chasing you. You jogged slower than your usual pace until he came dangerously close, and sped up. You ran around him in different patterns that brought him closer and closer to the boundary. 

His teammates weren’t chasing you just as you had hoped. They seemed cocky that he would get you despite how slow he was, and were loudly cheering him on.

You finally crossed the middle line, and he followed you eagerly as you let him grab you. 

“Tagged you bitch. Game over.”

He seemed puzzled when the game didn’t end. You didn’t give him time to contemplate the fact he was on your side, instead darting straight towards the middle at the other man. 

The two fast runners were looking towards the timer in anticipation, not realizing your trick yet. You had a good 10 seconds to run as fast as you could before they caught on.

The remaining man in the middle looked surprised, but he started to run towards you. Now, all of the team was attacking you. When you were almost face to face with one of them, you slid on your knees under his waiting arm and stumbled up quickly.

You heard him bump into another runner when there was a crashing sound and swearing. Your teammates cheered and all stuck their hands out eagerly. 

“Not so fast bitch,” you heard the smirking guy say as he tagged you. 

But not before you grabbed Chishiya and the clubs player’s hands. 

You pushed the clubs player and said out of breath, “Go to the flag!” He seemed confused but started sprinting to the flag as the smirking guy realized his direction and began to chase him. You stood in the jail with his girlfriend anxiously, watching as Chishiya followed the pair lightly jogging.

The rules never said that you couldn’t target the flag after being freed from jail. It actually insured your safety while doing so. 

It was odd how nobody seemed to notice Chishiya. The man made it into the safe zone with Chishiya in tow. The smirking man swore, and met with his other groupmates. Your side wasn’t guarded at all, you realized nervously.

You watched as Chishiya whispered something to the man in the circle. He nodded. He started sprinting out towards your side. The team chased him while Chishiya walked over to you and tagged your hand. He handed you the flag, and whispered, “Run.”

You didn’t hesitate as the attention was still on the clubs player being chased. You saw him get tagged in your peripheral vision and get sent to jail. So Chishiya guessed it was also unsaid in the rules that the flag ruined your immunity.

You crossed the border and collapsed on your back. 

GAME CLEAR

You closed your eyes as you heard the lasers come down from the ceiling.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chishiya drove the car back to the Beach as you were too tired from running. He also had the five of spades card with him, which you nearly forgot.

You learned in the car that the woman was Jubi, and the clubs man was Suraku. The woman was rather mild-mannered, which reminded you heavily of Mira. She gave you the same uneasy feeling despite not saying much.

Suraku was more of the opposite, filling the car with boisterous jokes and trying to get you to laugh despite being so tired. Chishiya and Jubi were listening quietly, with Chishiya interjecting sarcastic remarks from time to time.

“Suraku, it hurts to breathe let alone laugh at your story,” you protested as he started telling you the story of how he almost got beat up over a violin.

“I’m sorry, but you have to hear this. So this guy, he’s like a year older than me I think. He was in my orchestra and thought that his viola was the violin in my hands, when it was clearly not–” you closed your eyes hearing Suraku’s voice trail off into the background. You stayed that way awash in the chatter of conversation until the car stopped.

The sound of the car door opening made you jolt upwards. “I don’t know about Jubi, but I know that I’ll be seeing you again,” Suraku said myseriously and left with Jubi.

You didn't feel like bringing the card to Hatter, and wanted more than anything to grab a drink.

“Could you bring the card to Hatter? I don’t feel like speaking with him.” 

You left Chishiya in the car without waiting for his response and stumbled back to the room. You flopped backwards on the bed for a moment before clumsily pouring gin and vermouth together to make something that resembled a martini. You knocked back a glass right away, and poured your second one.

You were halfway through the second until you heard the door open, and Chishiya shuffled in. 

“No update on the room situation with Hatter, apparently. He’s absolutely delighted at the fact that we haven’t killed each other. He said he’d even stop by,” Chishiya said while sighing in disbelief. You were glad that you hadn't had to talk to Hatter sober.

“Fuck Hatter. And his cards. Drink with me,” you poured another semi-martini in a glass and held it out to him. “I want to play a game, a real one.”

Chishiya and he looked distant for a moment. He absentmindedly ran his hand through his silvery blonde hair in a way that made you catch your breath. You thought he wasn’t going to drink until he tentatively took the glass from your hand, and brought it to his lips. You anticipated his reaction fervently.

“This is awful,” he said simply.

You slumped over in disappointment, but you knew he was right.

“It has a lot of alcohol, and that's fine enough. What drinking game should we do? Two truths and a lie?” you frowned at your own suggestion, and cut yourself off. “Nevermind that’s for highschoolers.”

“High schoolers?” Chishiya raised an eyebrow at what you were suggesting and sat down on his bed across from you.

Ignoring Chishiya’s inquiry, you continued, “Truth or dare. But just truths, because I’m afraid of what you’ll dare me to do. Take a shot when you don’t want to answer.” You finished your martini and poured yourself a third glass. The pleasant buzz of the alcohol started kicking in, and everything seemed humorous.

“Are you trying to get me drunk?” Chishiya seemed offended, but you didn't care. He was already humoring you by sitting with you.

“Maybe? I’ll go first,” you paused to think of a good question when it came to you. “Oh! Why were you an asshole to me when I was first shooting with you? Then you were really nice and took me for drinks, which was odd.”

Chishiya didn’t answer for an uncomfortable moment. He lifted the drink towards his mouth briefly, but lowered his hand. “I wanted to see if you would get emotional.”

You felt like there was an underlying reason he wasn’t letting you know, but he asked his question before you could ponder further.

“Have you ever considered leaving the Beach?”

The death to traitors rule instantly flashed across your mind. 

“What are you playing at?” you asked angrily, jumping up in a rush because you weren’t sure if you had heard him right. “Why would you ask me that?”

It wasn’t a thought that you ever dared to have, because the price for being a traitor was paid in blood. You weren’t going to let Chishiya knock you out of your executive position by marking you as a traitor.

For a moment you thought you saw something that looked like uncertainty in his eyes. “Nevermind, it was just a thought that I wanted to confirm.”

You aimed to change the topic with a question for him, but were found it unusually difficult. You didn’t know anything about Chishiya.

“I have no idea who you are, what even were you before the Borderlands? Certainly not into anything athletic,” you mused aloud before breaking into laughter.

You watched Chishiya take a drink. “Hey! That’s not a hard question to answer,” you objected in vain. He grimaced like it was acid.

“You know what I don’t know about you?” He spoke carefully for once.

“What?” You found his tact very amusing, which made you drink more. Everything was so glorious. Why were you even stressed ever?

“What happened at the nine of spades?” he said softly.

You immediately stiffened and felt yourself sober a little. Obviously he was trying to find a way to ask that. Stupid you even brought it up earlier, probably reminding him.

However, the faint buzz of the alcohol was still there, and you felt like talking. You were so tired of keeping it bottled in. You could die anyday, and nobody would know of your sin.

“Like I mentioned earlier, it was my executive game in a park. Niragi was there supervising. It was a game where there was a tagger, and he was trying to kill us,” you paused to take a drink.

“The difficulty was a nine because the game would end when all players were dead, or the tagger was killed. Niragi and I both went in with guns but the tagger was unusually good. Immediately like 5 people died so we had to hide. I was separated from Niragi.” You felt your voice crack at the memory of sprinting for your life while hearing gunshots behind you.

You took a shuddering breath. “I found an angle to take a shot at the tagger. He was approaching this young girl, and was about to kill her. I took aim and fired. There was so much blood.” The blood seeped into the cracks of the sidewalk, staining it red. 

“But the blood wasn’t coming from the tagger,” Chishiya interjected correctly.

You gave a low sob as the memory resurfaced. The sea of red, of course, was coming from her.

“Surely the tagger would’ve noticed you after you missed?” Chishiya questioned, wanting you to finish despite your tears.

You wiped away the wetness from your face and recovered your composure. “Of course he did. I would've died but Niragi fired at the same time, and killed the tagger. He told Hatter that I was the one who made the shot I would be promoted to an executive.”

You pitifully recollected the morning after Chishiya first reminded you of the game. “I used to have nightmares all the time about it, but they went away mostly. I think I was forgetting about it until you reminded me and brought them back. Now I’m so afraid of accidentally hurting someone.”

He paused thoughtfully, and reclined against the bed. 

“You spar with Kuina,” he stated obviously.

You rolled your eyes. “That’s different. I used to do Karate. I still try to restrain myself so I don’t do anything extreme.”

“And you also drink yourself to death now? What a pity,” Chishiya didn’t elaborate further.

One final question dawned upon you amidst all his sarcasm.

“Have you killed anyone?” You asked nervously, but you felt like you already knew the answer.

He leaned close to you to flick the lamp off, and you felt your face flush. From the alcohol, obviously.

Chishiya’s brown eyes glimmered as he whispered, “Of course, haven’t we all?”

You were supposed to feel bitter. You were supposed to feel angry. Yet, somehow hearing him made you feel relieved instead. You weren't as alone.

Nobody knew about the nine of spades game except Niragi, and now, Chishiya.

The click of the light switch came without warning. You faintly saw the blurry outline of Chishiya recede away from you.

“I was a medical student,” he said as the room faded to black.

A/N: Chapter Reupload with editing b/c I wasn't as happy with it.... Thanks for reading <3

[lilydoeswrite]

THE MERCILESS SIREN | CHAPTER TWELVE

wattpad link previous chapter series masterlist next chapter

summary: It is the 66th Hunger Games when Oceana Fontaine is reaped as tribute, and at just thirteen years old, the odds are certainly not in her favour. As much as it is seen as an honour for Oceana to represent her district in the games, it is also practically a death sentence. But Oceana knows she needs to go home and is determined to, no matter how low her chances are and with the help of her mentors, she might just do that. But if she is to win, she will have to learn where her biggest strengths start to turn into her biggest flaws and weigh her options carefully as she starts making choices that pushes her morality and the lengths she will go to for love.

tags: slow burn (finnick x oc), violence, death, canon typical violence the usual stuff when it comes to the hunger games, weapons, not sure what else

The countdown is antagonising as I keep my eyes on the Cornucopia. We’re required to stand on our metal circles for sixty seconds before the sound of a gong releases us. Step off before then? The land mines will blow your legs off. Adrenaline is running through my veins as I listen to the countdown as the seconds go down, all I can focus on is getting to the Cornucopia as soon as possible to grab some knives and some food supplies. The Cornucopia is iridescent under the harsh sun, it’s shaped rather oddly with spikes but you can make out the rough shape of it– a cone with a curved tail and a mouth. It’s shaped differently every year but it doesn’t matter to me. There are weapons in the very middle and as I look at them, the more I want to snatch every one of them. They’re all calling out to me. Then, I recall Ms Bronte’s words to me before I left for the Capitol which I magically manage to remember in the intensity of everything. They don’t have tridents, but they have knives, which I’m apparently deadly with. I spot a bow and a dozen arrows in the middle as well. Around the Cornucopia are other supplies and the further out from the horn they are, the less of value they are. I don’t care about those, though, I care more about the weapons although I figure I’d pick up a backpack. 

Behind me is a body of water and another island– it’s the same for the other sides. The only place to run to would be the other islands but most of the tributes won’t know how to get there as they have no idea how to swim. This is where I have an advantage. My heart is racing and my nerves have turned into adrenaline as the countdown gets closer to zero.

I hear Finnick’s voice in my head. “Do it scared.” I’m a fast runner, probably a faster runner than most of the tributes, I can grab the knives and bow and arrows before a bag. I know I’m likely to be a target, most of the high-scoring tributes are. I watch as the final ten seconds approach and adjust my stance. 

Nine…Eight…Seven…Six…Five…Four

This is it.

Three…Two…One.

I sprint as fast as I can to the middle and I keep my eyes on the dozen knives which I quickly snatch. Everything is a blur as I watch as tributes try to scramble away with bags of supplies. My mind goes blank and I’m not thinking when I start throwing my knives at them. I watch as they fall to the ground one by one. Slinging a backpack on my shoulders, I turn around to look for the bow and arrow which is now gone. There is no time to mourn the loss of it, though. There is a red-headed girl charging towards me but before she can reach me, I’ve thrown a knife at her and she collapses to the ground.

“Oceana, duck!” I hear a shout from not too far away and do as they say, watching as a spear flies over me and hits a tribute square in the chest, causing him to collapse backwards. 

My breathing is rapid as I collect all the good things in the Cornucopia with the help of Gill who had just saved my life. By now, everything is a blurry mess but I can make out that all the other tributes are trying to run as fast as they can to the other islands. I’m contemplating if I should pursue them but decide against it. No, I’m not thinking properly. I know I’m not in the right state of mind as of now. My breathing continues to quicken as everything around me now seems more overwhelming than it actually is. Then, I feel someone take hold of me and in instinct, I throw a punch at whoever it is.

“Ouch!” I hear Gill’s voice as he releases me as he stumbles back.

“Oh!” I exclaim as suddenly everything clears up and I’m aware of what’s going on. “I’m so sorry, Gill,” I say as he nods, telling me that it was okay.

“You okay?” He asks and I nod. “Well, good job just now,” he praises and I’m confused until I look down at my hands holding knives and then around me. 

The red-headed girl is lying motionless on the ground, a knife plunged into her chest as a pool of blood surrounds her. I feel nauseous as I look at her, had I done that? Then, I look into the distance where four other tributes all lie on the ground, lifeless and limb, all with knives sticking out. Shakily, I approach the girl which is closest to me, pulling the knife out from her chest, thick red liquid coating the metal blade. “Oh my goodness.” I cover my mouth as my eyes widen, looking at her pale face. Scared, I turn to Gill who looks at me rather concerned. “Did I do this?” He stays quiet and I raise my voice. I’m exasperated. “Gill Wade, did I do this! Did I kill her? Did I kill all of them?” He nods slowly and I stare at him in horror. 

I had just killed five tributes. Not tributes, kids. I had just killed five kids.

“Oceana, it’s okay, we’re all fighting for our lives here,” he says and helps me retrieve the other four knives, wiping them clean with a piece of paper he had found. I nod, he has a point, we’re all fighting for ourselves here for a chance to head home and killing is inevitable. Although I can’t help but let the guilt eat me slowly, then I remember Finnick’s words, “You have to be fierce, you have to show no mercy, you have to be tough– physically and mentally.”

We gather the remaining bags and weapons and place them in the middle where Briar, Alvise, Chase and Giselle have done the same. We try to smile as we greet one another before splitting up the resources between each other, putting them in our individual backpacks as we organise the weapons we’ve gathered. I take the knives and daggers although I would’ve loved to take the spear, which is the closest thing I can get to a trident, placing the knives and daggers in a holster which I had found. The cannons still have yet to be fired but it’s normal on the opening day. They don’t fire the cannons until the initial bloodbath and fighting’s over because it’s too difficult to keep track of the fatalities. We’re the only ones on the island which means that there must be some kind of fight on the other islands. We sit next to the Cornucopia and plan our next move and soon enough the cannons fire. We sit in silence as we listen to each fire and I count them. One…two…three…on and on until they stop at ten. Ten dead, fourteen left. Then, hovercrafts appear out of thin air to retrieve the bodies. I can tell at least two tributes died of drowning and I know what happened to five of them. 

The guilt is killing me although I repeat all the advice I had been given in my head. I have to show no mercy. I shift the sleeve of my jacket so I can see my bracelet. It’s a reminder of home and now, a reminder to stay strong. 

“Come on, let’s head to the other islands,” Alvise says, taking off his pants and jacket before stuffing it in his backpack, leaving him in his boots and wetsuit. “The jacket and pants will weigh us down even more, the boots have enough weight already. Keep them in the bag, it’s waterproof, and we’ll put them on later,” he says as he heads into the water, swimming to the island on our left, “most of the tributes went this way!”

We all collectively shout in agreement before doing the same, swimming across to the other island. For some reason, the fact that the other Careers from 1 and 2 can swim surprises me although I know it shouldn’t, but it’s clear that Gill and I are the stronger swimmers which comes as no surprise to anyone. I don’t want to put my pants and jackets on after I’ve reached the island, it’s pointless to me and I’m fine just being in my wetsuit although it feels like a crime to be wearing boots with it but Gill makes me wear them again for whatever reason. We spend a few hours hiking up the dense and hilly forest as we talk to each other, holding our weapons close to us. 

“Hey, I think I see someone there,” Giselle whispers as she pulls out her sword. “You guys stay here, I’ll go check it out.”

“I’ll come with,” Chase says with much confidence, following Giselle. Their nonchalance when it comes to killing someone surprises me. I don’t understand it, how can you be so casual when it comes to killing someone? Does guilt not eat them up? Do they not feel bad? We’re all just kids at the end of the day with family and friends we want to get back to. I understand that it’s the Hunger Games and everyone wants to be the lone survivor to head home to their family but that doesn’t equate to being completely ruthless. But then again, it is the Hunger Games. You have to kill, you have to do whatever it takes to win or survive.

In the distance a cannon goes off and not long after Chase and Giselle both come back running with wide smiles. “We finished him off, put him out of his misery, besides he was heavily injured already,” Giselle says

I say nothing as Briar praises them and we continue hiking through the trees. The sun will be setting soon and I’m getting thirsty for water so I pull out my flask to take a sip. We debate amongst each other if we should go back to the Cornucopia or continue hunting through the night but we ultimately decide to set up a temporary camp in the woods after we’ve found a spot. The sun has now started to set and night creatures are coming out and all of us are unsure whether or not we’d be seen as a source of food although we’re prepared to fight back. 

I’ve set up a few snares and have caught some rabbits by the time we’re done setting up the tents and Alvise has made a fire for us to sit around. Silence falls upon all of us apart from the occasional hoot or howl and the crackle of the fire. “How about we take turns sleeping?” I ask after I’ve chewed and swallowed the piece of rabbit I’ve chosen over the food in my bag. “I mean, we’ve already set up a camp, why not make the most of it?” I shrug to try to appear carefree although on the inside I’m terrified of what they’d say. I can tell they’re itching to use their weapons.

“Seems like a good idea to me,” Gill says, looking at me before looking at Alvise, “rest is really important, but if you guys want to go hunting we could sleep for half the night and go hunting the next half.” 

“Seems like a decent idea,” Chase nods, smiling at Gill and me before turning to Alvise who seems to be in deep thought. “What do you think Alvise?”

“I say why not,” he finally answers, “that way we can spend all of tomorrow covering this island–”

“Or maybe we can make the plan tomorrow, see how things go,” Briar says, patting Alvise on his back as she heads into one of the tents, “not everything has to have a plan, it’ll be easier to do things based on what happens. Anyways, I’m headed to sleep if that’s the plan, I’ll take the last shift.”

Her relaxed nature surprises me although I don’t let it show and silence falls once again. Unlike how it was in the Capitol, talking about home is now the most painful thing so there’s now nothing to talk about except for our strategy for tomorrow. I’m not sure if they’re aware that Gill and I will be leaving after the fifteenth death but I don’t mention it. 

Night has just come when the anthem that proceeds the death recap can be heard throughout the arena and I look up to the sky to see the seal of the Capitol which floats in the sky. The anthem fades and the sky goes back to being dark for a second. I wonder if Aurelia, mother and father are watching this right now or if they had all watched the beginning of the games. Would they be proud that I had managed to kill five kids? Because at the end of the day, we’re all kids in this arena, not tributes and that is a hill that I will die on. I also wonder if Cordelia and Pearl are watching this or if it would be too painful for them. How about Ms Bronte? Surely she is watching the games as always. Back home, what would be played would be the full coverage of each and every killing, but that’s not the case in the arena as that’s thought to give an unfair advantage to the remaining tributes. Here in the arena, we are shown the same headshots and photographs they showed when they had televised our training scores. But instead of the scores, it is district numbers which they put.

The first to appear is the boy from District 3. Then the red-headed girl from District 5 appears. Her picture is haunting and I try my best to brush away the wave of guilt I feel but don’t exactly manage to. Both tributes from 6. The girl from 7. Both tributes from 8 and 9. The boy from 10. The girl from 11. Eleven deaths in total so there’s now thirteen of us left. Then, the Capitol seal is back with its closing music then the darkness and quietness of the forest resumes. 

“Chase and I will take first watch,” Giselle smiles as she sips some water from her flask, looking at Chase who nods. “You two catch some rest, I’ll wake you up when it’s time for you to take your watch.”

Gill and I nod, heading into one of the three tents and open our sleeping bags. At first, I find it rather hard to sleep out of worry but seeing as though Gill and the others, minus Chase and Giselle, have fallen asleep, I allow my muscles to relax and shut my eyes. 

I’m awoken by Gill shaking my body gently, telling me it's time for our watch so I slowly climb out of the tent and exchange seats with Giselle. The fire is still cackling which keeps us warm in the coldness of the night. Gill and I don’t exchange any words so I fiddle with my bracelet which I’m still wearing, admiring the pearls and added charms. I had no idea about Finnick’s doing with my bracelet but it came as a pleasant surprise.

“Is that your item from home?” Gill asks, looking down at me and my bracelet.

“Yeah,” I smile, “What’s yours?”

Gill seems happy that I’ve asked and unclasps the golden necklace which hangs from his neck. It’s a locket and he opens it. “This is mine,” he smiles. “My parents and my siblings,” he points to the picture on the right of two adults, a boy which looks older than Gill and a girl who looks around my age. “My girlfriend,” he points to the picture on the left. “I think of them every night,” he sighs, his voice cracks up like he’s about to cry but he doesn’t, instead he asks about my bracelet. “What do your charms stand for?”

“Well, the seashell is one I collected from the beach near my house one day and I found it rather pretty,” I explain, “The sea-star, surfboard and pearls are new additions. Finnick asked Valeria to add them as a surprise and I just saw it today,” I’m grinning from ear to ear as I say that, “I’m guessing the surfboard is because of how much I love surfing and the sea-star…I’m not sure but I think it’s because he calls me that sometimes.”

“So you’re close to him?” Gill asks, “sea-star is a nice nickname, he calls you Oce as well, right?”

I’m surprised Gill has been paying attention to our conversations and I nod, “I’d like to think we’re friends.”

“Just friends?” questions Gill and I look at him confused before he shakes his head, “it’s just, you guys seem really close and that’s a really sweet thing for him to do.”

“Yeah,” I nod, “it’s a nice reminder of home…” As much as I try to steer clear from the subject of District 4, I can’t help but talk about it.

“Yeah,” Gill smiles, he seems relaxed when talking about home. “I remember I used to go on my dad’s boat and fish all day, sometimes I would have fun in his jetski as well,” he laughs as he tilts his head backwards. “Fun days, fun days.”

“No way!” I smile, “I’ve always wanted to go on a jet ski!”

“It’s thrilling, I swear,” he’s grinning, “going as fast as you can on the vast water with the wind blowing in your face, that feeling is one I’ll never forget. I wish I was back home doing it right now but here we are. I mean don’t get me wrong, it’s an honour but…sometimes you can’t help but miss the things you love.”

“Yeah,” I nod, “to think I might not ever experience any of that again–”

“Don’t say that, Oceana,” Gill cuts me off. “Have faith in yourself.”

“I do,” I chuckle, “it’s just that there’s a very real possibility of that which I can’t ignore.”

“Oceana, if there’s one thing I know is that one of us will be getting out of this arena,” he says, his voice suddenly stern, “and I sure as hell won’t let you die under my watch.”

author's note: and the games have begun! thank you so much for reading all the way here, i really appreciate it and i'm so so sorry that i'm so bad at writing violence! as always if you like this, please consider commenting or reblogging, it will mean a lot to me! and constructive criticism is always welcomed!

[snwusberry]

#17: "he thinks i'm pretty"

warning(s): none

note: these are just characters and do not depict the actual people therefore the behavior of said characters won't be accurate to the actual people.

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not proofread

"you're who san set me up with?"

"bro why do you sound disappointed?"

we stand in front of each other not really saying anything, just staring at each other.

"i don't know i feel like we've met before." seonghwa comments with playful smirk creeping up on his face.

SMASH.

"really? you don't look too familiar if i'm being honest."

now i don't know if i should tell him my friend stalked him and found him. would that be creepy?

"shall we?" he asks and i nod so we walk into the diner and place our orders.

when the waitress returns with our food we just sit in the awkward silence hearing nothing but the sound of silverware clanking against the ceramic plates.

"so we're just gonna pretend we haven't been talking for like 2 months?" he asks making eye contact with me for the first time since we walked in.

"you know, i was gonna ask but i didn't want it to get even more awkward than it already was." i respond, clearing my throat.

"you're a lot more shy in person, aren't you?"

"i wish, and you will too once you get to know me."

"so that means we'll be seeing each other again?" he questions, taking a bite of his food right after.

his voice is so deep right now which is distracting me to no end.

"that's only if wanna." i mumble in response and he let's out a brief, breathy laugh.

"i'd like that."

we spent the whole day just hanging out and talking, getting to know each other and laughing at dumb shit. conversation started getting easier over the hours and we feel slightly more comfortable around each other.

i could hear him talk all day, his hushed, deep voice is easily becoming addicting and now i'm left developing feelings for him all over again but this time the real person and not his online persona.

"wait so you becoming friends with san was a complete accident?"

"not accident. more like we saw each other the second time and figured why not exchange numbers. our first conversation was completely out of the blue but interesting nonetheless." i tell him as we walk aimlessly through the city.

the air is cool, pinching my skin ever so slightly to keep me present in the conversation.

"now seonghwa. what made you subscribe to my channel?" shit why did i ask that? now it sounds like i'm fishing for compliments. "actually-"

"you're a pretty girl making what my friends call comfort streams on a camsite. who wouldn't be interested?" he responds plainly, just straight to the point which makes me smile. he thinks i'm pretty.

"horny men." i respond dryly making him laugh briefly.

"good point... look, i hope you don't think i have bad intentions." he says, his tone shifting to that of worry and i shake my head to reassure him.

"you're lonely, i get it." i tease him and his head snaps to me.

"hey i'm not lonely."

"are too."

"hey."

"lonely." i say sticking my tongue out at him and making a run for it.

"zaraha!!" i hear a laugh as he says my name, running after me and that's when i pick up pace noticing he's approaching pretty quickly.

"hey slow down a bit, i'm not a fast runner!" i try asking him, a little out of breath but he's already caught up. "no fair." i breathe out when i feel his arms around me.

i look him in the eyes, getting lost in them a little too quickly. our faces inch closer before i change direction and place a kiss on his cheek instead.

"i don't kiss on the first date."

"let me take you on another then." he asks and i feel my cheeks heat up.

"deal."