#so anyway we become bffs and talk all the time and decide to start banging again

[maggotwithanf]

four more days til i get to hang with the bestie again

[twooneztaylorthecat]

When Nobody's Around - Adam Stanheight / Reader

A/N. There was a clip of the song 'Better' by Khalid on TikTok, and that inspired this story. Anyway, continue.

It was dark in the area, December twenty-fourth. The wind howled loudly as it whipped through the tree branches and sent snow spraying everywhere. The air was freezing cold, and the ground was icy. Even snow boots couldn't dull the slip from anyone who tried to walk on it. It was difficult not to tense up against the chill, or even not to zip up the jacket around one's shoulders, but no matter what you did you just couldn't get warm. You kept your head bent and plowed on through the snow. The coffee in your Starbucks cup made your palms hot, but you liked it that way; you didn't like the cold anyway. Adam Stanheight was following closely behind you, along with your best friend. You guys had a mixed friendship, or so it seemed. You knew what you had with your bff, you didn't need to question it. But your relationship with Adam was quite another thing entirely, it dissatisfied you, dismayed you. Often times he'd play off his flirting to be nothing more than jokes, and it hurt you a little. His mixed signals were confusing you. You clutched your tote bag closer and sped up your speed. Getting home was your biggest priority right now; you felt so flustered being around Adam. It made your heart beat faster and your stomach swim chaotically.

In your head you knew there was something there, or at least you wished there was, but you couldn't stop yourself from feeling it. You rounded the corner very urgently. You were in the lead, Adam and your friend had been talking earlier about politics, you didn't want to discuss that. But unfortunately for you, your friend called out to you. "What's your opinion?"

You, who had not been listening, turned around slowly and looked at them dumbly. You could not remember what they had been talking about before. "I wasn't paying attention," you admitted.

"Oh, come on. I was asking-"

"-No, no," you interrupted. "Right now I have other things to worry about than what side of the political spectrum you are on. I'd like to keep our friendship strong before Christmas, then we can ruin it."

"Fine. Then at least tell me this. What side of the 'romantic relationship' are you on? You know, with..." Your bff elbowed Adam in the ribs.

Adam made a face. " 'Romantic relationship'?" He repeated skeptically. "What the fuck are you on about?"

You turned back around and started to cross the street, your heart heavy. The light, which was blurred by the snowy fog, changed red suddenly, and you were pulled back by a strong force. It wasn't like you could have saved yourself, but you did appreciate the thoughtfulness. Not to mention, there weren't any moving vehicles out right now to plow you over, so it didn't really matter. "Thanks," you mumbled, and pulled your arm out of their grasp, you expected it to be your friend.

"Hey. Where are you going?" The voice sounded right behind you. It was quiet and soothing; it sent chills up your spine; like it always did. Apparently the political conversation was over now.

"A-Adam..." you gasped. "I... wasn't expecting you to be there."

"No?" Adam pressed up against your side. "You seem cold. Mind if I warm you up?"

You gagged, feeling embarrassed, and tried to get away, but Adam held you close. "Where are you going?" He asked again.

Your best friend came up to you. "Yeah. No romantic relationship here. What's up love-birds?"

Adam released you. "Tch," he scoffed. "What are you talking about? We're just friends. Can't I care for my friends?"

You stared at him miserably. "Christmas at my house?" You asked, changing the subject.

Your friends looked at you cluelessly. "Oh sure," your bff agreed. "I won't have to rearrange any plans if we go to your house."

"You live in the same place," you muttered.

"That's the point..." your friend grimaced.

Adam had fallen behind you both while you discussed this. He seemed quiet now, and lost in thought. You wondered what he was thinking about. You wished he was talking with you again. You wished he would try snuggling again.

The discussion wasn't a long one, and it ended right as you reached the other side of the road. "So, Adam," you hummed out quietly. "You need anyone to help with baking? I know you said you would like it if someone came over tomorrow morning."

"Only one someone..." Adam winked at you, and laughed. "In all honesty, I just want the company. It gets lonely over there."

"So... No baking?"

"What would you guys be baking?" (Bff's name) asked. "Not like Adam is having anyone over. Not like he CAN. Everyone would be falling on their asses."

Adam muttered something under his breath, then spoke up, "No, you're right. I... will do the baking myself." He chuckled. "That is, if I stop taking pictures of it first."

"You're not planning on doing any baking, are you?" You realized.

"I... was? Actually."

"Pffft." Your best friend sounded dubious.

You yourself were a little doubtful too, but you had the sense to shut up about it. You blew out a breath, which made your bangs fly into the air.

"You look kinda cute when you do that," Adam commented and held your hand lightly.

You blushed, waiting for his infamous 'jk' or stupid reasoning as to why he was 'pretending to flirt' with you, but it never came. You exchanged glances with you friend, but alas Adam caught it, and let go. "I should really stop doing that, shouldn't I?"

You huffed. "I... like it..." You said inaudibly.

Adam had heard you, but he chose not to respond. He started talking about the snow instead.

Fuck, you thought.

Faulkner walked you both to your condo, and held the door open. You were the first inside, but didn't get too far. Adam called you back as your best friend stalked past you to the stairs. You fell back and leaned against him. What was going to happen now? Adam got all cozy with you when you guys were alone, and now that your friend had left, you wondered what was going to happen. "Hey, Y/N?" He looked directly into your eyes. He never flinched or gazed away, but his body language said he was nervous.

You felt obliged to ease his stress. "Yeah? Are you cold, why don't you come in for a minute and warm up?"

"No," Adam said boldly. "I... just wanted to..." He looked away finally. Your heart nearly stopped in anticipation. "Well, you see... I've been thinking about this for a while. Ever since October."

You stared at him silently, hoping he wasn't psyching you up just to joke with you again. "What is it?" You asked in irritation. "Are you playing with me again?"

"What do you mean by that?" Adam didn't seem to understand that you were referring to his 'fake flirting.' Honestly, sometimes you thought that he was completely unaware that he did it. Or maybe he simply pretended to be innocent?

"I'm not kidding around right now, I'm being serious. Here's the deal. I-I wanted Christmas at my place, if that's alright with you. I don't mind if you bring

(Bff's name,) But... Yeah."

Your stomach felt hollow after hearing that. Whatever you had been expecting was entirely not up for debate. You were simply 'friend-zoned', at least it felt like it. You thought about his words for a short moment, then stared at him questioningly. "Will your apartment be clean enough?" It was a joke, but not really. Adam was notorious for have a messy living quarters.

"Haha," Adam said sarcastically. "I cleaned it yesterday... well enough, that is..."

You nodded halfheartedly, still feeling disappointed. "Sure. I'll tell (Bff's name,) the change of plans."

"Yeah," Adam agreed.

It was awkward after that. Adam stayed in the doorway, and you kept the door open. Neither of you knew what to say after that, but you didn't have the heart to close the door and leave him there. It was so intense that you could feel heat rising to face in the cold forty degree (Fahrenheit) weather. Snow was starting to fill up the inside. "I guess you should go?" You didn't want to be rude, but asking it instead of saying it didn't help the bluntness of the sentence.

"Um..." Adam shrugged. "I was wondering something else..."

You looked at Adam in disbelief. In the fifteen minutes standing in the cold, he didn't think to bring this up? "Well, alright then. Any time would be... perfect." You noticed for the first time, how fidgety he had become. You'd never seen him like that before. Something else was on his mind, you knew him well enough to know that. "Go on," you encouraged.

"Why don't you come to my place for the night?" Adam asked unexpectedly. He got straight to the point, you liked that. He added clumsily, "Unless... Uh, you're busy... in the morning? I understand, you know. Of course I understand. Um... Y-Yeah, I just- I wanted to make sure you knew the invitation was there."

You smiled shyly. Having Adam stumbled over his words was a little bit cute. And then you realized what he had actually asked you. Wait a minute!? This couldn't be real! Stay the night with Adam Faulkner Stanheight!? Who could turn THAT down? Not Y/N. Definitely not Y/N. "Okay," you agreed politely, suddenly feeling self-conscious. You ran your hands over your clothes quickly, trying to smooth them out. But Adam didn't care about the wrinkles in your shirt, he just wanted you with him. He pulled you outside again, the chill biting you immediately. You huddled up next to him, trying to get warm.

Maybe this time it would be different? Maybe he'd snuggle with you?

But Adam was not as observant to his surroundings. He led you to his car, which was parked beside the road.

"What's with the car, Adam? We live close enough, you know," you joked.

Your companion only scowled at you as he snapped, "I was at a client's house when you called. And I decided not to leave the car here on the way home."

You sat down in the passenger's seat happily. Adam, of course, took the driver's seat, and as he started up the car the radio blasted you guys unexpectedly, hollowing out each one of your ears. Instead of turning it off, Adam just turned it down. He seemed much more laid back now that it was just the two of you.

In the silence, however, you were able to pick up what song was currently playing. It was Better by Khalid, and this surprised you. You didn't usually listen to this artist very much, but the radio seemed to love playing this song in particular. You hadn't been expecting it to come on while you were in Adam's car though.

Due to the quietness you could hear the words now. You'd never really listened to them before, but now that you could hear them, you felt suspicious.

"Say we're just friends, but I swear, when nobody's around. You keep my hand around your neck, we connect, are you feeling it now?-"

Adam rolled down a window suddenly, cutting off the next part.

You raised an eyebrow, thinking to yourself. Why the hell am I relating to this song so much? No wait, an even better question is, why would it come on the radio when I'm in the car with Adam? It doesn't add up right.

Almost instinctually, you asked, "D-Did you do this on purpose?" You hadn't meant to blurt it out. In fact you usually were pretty good about thinking about what you were going to say or do before actually performing it. This was a rare scenario.

Humiliation engulfed you as soon as the words left your mouth. You rolled your window down hurriedly, trying to act like you hadn't spoken. It was all for naught.

"What?" Adam asked dully.

"I-uh..." you stammered for a minute, then quickly regained yourself. "Yeah. I was just wondering if you chose the song, or if it was the radio?"

"Why would I have chosen it?" Adam sounded confused. "There would be no reason for me to choose it."

"oh... You're right..." You stared out the window and let the wind blow into your face. It was cold but you didn't say it out loud. You did wonder though, how Stanheight managed to live through it. It was so cold it felt like it was burning your skin off. You closed the window again.

Adam pulled to a stop in front of his apartment. "Don't mind the neighbors," he warned. "They don't like newcomers."

"I know. We've had this discussion before."

"I know," Adam said regretfully. "But... I just... like to remind you."

As you both shuffled into Adam's apartment, you gazed at the floor. He told you he'd cleaned up yesterday, and it showed. The normal empty boxes, or bits of laundry, had been taken care of, as well as the large stacks of photographs laying around the place. Adam was nothing if not passionate about his job, and that made you happy. It still amazed you to be able to see the wooden floor beneath your feet, and you desperately tried not to notice the counter, on top of which was an ashtray, which was piled with cigarette ends. The scent of cigarette smoke was thick, definitely fresh, but... you didn't mind it really.

Well, that was a lie. You did mind it, a lot. But that was the thing, that smell reminded you of Adam, so... you didn't mind it THAT much. Come to think of it, having the scent of smoke remind you of someone was probably not a good thing. Not for you or Adam. In fact, Adam probably had it worse. Imagine hearing someone say that the scent of smoke reminded them of you. That didn't seem like a positive thing to hear.

You shuddered at the thought.

"Come sit down over here," Adam said from the couch. "Sorry about the... Everything... I did try to keep the windows open but... it was way too damn cold. And I guess I couldn't stop... If you know what I mean?"

You did. You could understand completely.

Gently, you sat next to Adam, crossing your legs over each other delicately. It was warm in here, or was it Adam's body heat? You were sitting so close to him it was hard to tell. "I'm glad you came over," he said nervously. "You know... It's kinda stupid, but I only said I wanted your help with baking 'cause I didn't know how to invite you."

You smiled at him. "That's sweet. I would have done the same thing," you reassured Adam.

Adam slowly wrapped an arm around your shoulders. In a low tone, he said, "I didn't get you anything for Christmas. I'm sorry, I... Well, I mostly didn't know what kind of things you liked and didn't like."

"It's okay," you said. "I wasn't planning on having Christmas here until my parents' flight got canceled."

"So, you didn't get me anything either?" Adam's voice held some relief.

"Well, no," you tried to disappoint gently. You knew how it felt when you realized you weren't the only one who had done something a certain way. It was very reassuring. Maybe a bit too reassuring. You didn't want to crush his bubble so violently, but there wasn't any way to say it softly. At least, not one that came to mind. "I actually did think of something."

"Oh?" Adam didn't seem bothered, that was good. "What is it?"

You scoffed. "Like I'd tell you. You have to wait."

You had baked everyone some cookies this morning. That's what you were going to give your friends for Christmas. It was the first thing that came to your mind last second.

Adam leaned away from you hesitantly. "Well, there might be something that I thought of, too, but... I don't know... I guess I got scared..." He glanced at a nearby clock, and shrugged. "Is one fifteen AM close enough to Christmas?"

"I don't know," you said honestly. "I'd say, at least six AM."

"Fuck that," Adam exclaimed. "I... don't think I can wait any longer." He laughed nervously. It lasted for so long that you started to wonder if you had missed the joke.

"I'm sorry," you sighed. "I don't think... I follow."

Adam stared at the floor. "No, I'm sorry, that was unnecessary. I just got... scared?"

You narrowed your eyebrows sympathetically. "What is it, Adam?"

"Well... Will you be my significant other? The time we spend together means a lot, not to mention I enjoy your company a lot, too. Our dates have been nice... I know I should have asked you long ago, but... I don't know... I couldn't get up the courage..."

You smiled, but it was only out of uncomfortableness rather than actual happiness. You had no idea if he was playing with you or being honest with you. "Uh... Heh. You're joking, aren't you?"

"No," Adam gasped. He looked flabbergasted. "Why... What makes you ask that? I wouldn't joke about something like this."

Oh, right, you thought dryly. Just everything else about our relationship.

Out loud you said quickly, "Nothing." You regretted doubting yourself. It just made this situation very embarrassing. You felt the need to clarify your answer now. You didn't want to leave Adam hanging after such a significant question. "Well, Adam. The answer to your question is yes! I thought you were never gonna ask me. Well, actually, I thought you were bullshitting me the entire time."

"I didn't go about it the right way," Adam admitted. "That's my fault." He pulled you down so that your head was on his lap, and started to comb his fingers through your hair. "Merry Christmas, Y/N," he murmured. "That's my gift to you."

You inhaled deeply, feeling a strong wave of affection flood you. You had no idea anyone could feel so much emotion at once. It awed you. Gazing at the ceiling you felt your heart swell up. It beat in your chest heavily, loudly, nervously, but you felt soothed at the same time. And in this exact moment, you had good feelings. Maybe it was too soon to tell, however something in your gut told you that you were going to have a long, successful, future with Adam. "Wow," you hummed out quietly. "Christmas is going to be a hell-of-a-lot different this year." Adam didn't stop brushing your hair. You yawned and smiled. "But I can't wait for it."

[mackloveswriting]

Royal Pain - Tom Holland

Summary: Y/N has just turned 21 and she is fixing to go through her coranation to become Queen as her grandmother steps down. One problem, she must be married before she can take her place as Queen. She has 30 days to find a guy to marry before her crown gets handed down to the man who wants to steal her Crown, Tom.

Requested: No.

Pairing: Tom Holland x Female Reader

Warnings: Arranged marriage, cheating. The POV will switch from Grammer like “Y/N” to “You.” Sometimes it will switch to “I and we” as well.

Based off “Princess Diaries 2” Since I’ve been watching it recently. So, it’s going by the PD2 plot. This is obviously an AU.

Dear Diary,

Well, it’s me! Brand new collage graduate and princess. I can’t believe it’s been five years since my grandma told me that I was a Princess. Right after, my mother surprised me by marrying my high school teacher, Mr. Donnelly. It must be going well, because now they are expecting a baby. Y/bff/n is now finishing her college up at Berkeley, how is Michael You May ask. Well, we’re just friends now. He went off to tour America with his band.

“Princess Y/N.” Y/N’s security told her as she looked up from her father’s Diary that she was now carrying her stories in now. “Look out your window, and welcome back to Haelan.” She Did as told and smiled when she seen the palace that she would be living in for the next little while.

Of course, I’m a little excited to be going back. But I’m also a little nervous. Grandma Marie will step down by the end of this year, being queen and I will be taking her place since I am now 21. I know I studied diplomacy and political science at school but there was no course in ‘Queen’ it ‘How to run a country 101’. But grandma is going to help me and hand it over when she thinks I’m ready. Of course... I wonder if I’ll ever be ready. In the mean time, I am going to be living in a beautiful palace, like a fairytale and eventually sit on a thrown a rule the people of Haelan. Is that scary or not? Well, maybe my dog Louis can give me some help.

“Princess Y/Full/N has arrived!” The guards outside announced in the loud voices they use.

“Welcome home princess.” Your grandma’s assistant or helper greeted, holding her clipboard and giving you a friendly smile.

“And her royal puppy, sir pup Louis.” The guard announced as your puppy ran up the steps and into the palace before you could get out of the car.

The one downer in my fairytale is, I’ve never been in love. However, this evening is my 21st birthday party. Our tradition says that I have to dance with all the eligible bachelors of Haelan. So maybe I’ll meet my Prince Charming tonight.

Y/N looked herself over in the mirror before letting out a pleased smile at the image before her. She had changed into a beautiful dress that a princess would wear and her hair was curled but neatly put into a beautiful updo.

She heard her Grandma’s entrance as she heard the trumpets and made her way to the room that she was supposed to be in so she could walk out when she was announced. Right as she heard the securities stick bang against the door right on the other side, she took a deep breathing seeing as the doors were about to open.

She could hear her grandmothers little speech as she was about to let her walk out. “Presenting, her royal highness y/full/n, Princess of Haelan.” The guard announced as he banged the stock two times as the other guards opened the door.

Y/N walked out and stood up to where everyone could see her with a friendly soft smile. Everyone raised their glasses and toasted to her birthday.

*an hour or two later*

All the Queens, Kings, Princes and Princess we’re surrounding the entire ballroom as you had to dance with every guy who was single, you were now on your fourth guy, and seeing how you came from America and he came from another country. You couldn’t understand what he was saying and he didn’t speak English. You guessed that was the trouble of not knowing you were descended from Haelan until your sophomore year in high school.

After the guy who spoke Greek danced with you, another guy cut in. He was looking down at his feet the whole time and counting steps, seeing as he couldn’t dance. You mentally sighed as you had to go through this your whole night. After trying to dance he finally stepped on your foot causing you to gasp in pain.

After that dance, you decided to take a break from dancing with the guys for a while. You walked over to the dessert table and made sure no one was looking before moving a candied flower and take a small bite of cake before placing the flower back.

“I saw that.” A voice said. You quickly turned around to apologize and exclaimed yourself before you seen one of your friends that you had met last time you were in this country. “I haven’t seen you in forever how are you?” You asked you two made your way through the crowd.

“Good. but more importantly, how are you?” She asked as you started to tell her before you bumped into someone and stomped on their foot.

He grunted lightly, “Oh, your foot.” You said quickly as you placed your hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry.” You trailed off once you looked over his face. He was the most attractive guy you had ever seen, “Are you alright?” You asked softly as you looked over him but locking your eyes with his.

“Yeah, I’m alright, your highness.” He told you in a soft tone. “The fault was entirely mine.” He added as you gave him a smile.

“Are you sure that you don’t want to exchange licenses and proof of insurance?” You asked almost jokingly as he let out a small smile.

“Uh, no. The shoes were a little big anyway, the swelling should help them fit.” He told you as he nodded to your before walking around you and away from you.

You and your friend caught up until it was time for you to start dancing with the men again. You sighed as you sat your drink on the table and made your way to the dance floor with some men, who probably didn’t know how to dance.

The man you were currently dancing with wasn’t as bad as the other one, but he wanted to show off. Except it wasn’t impressing you. You could tell that people were making fun of the guy you were dancing with as all eyes are on you. You hate that people was talking about it but with his dance moves, he was kind of scarying you to much to notice.

The next man you danced with wasn’t much better. Instead of the usual waltz, he just grabbed your hand and kept on dipping your arms. You were enternally wishing for this night to be over. He was talking about how you reminded him of an animal that he would find in a forest. “Oh, woodland animals are a lovely thing to be compared to.” You told him with no emotions as you two stopped dancing.

“May I?” The Guy you stepped on earlier came up to the person who was dancing with you. The guy you were previously dancing with bowed and you did a goodbye princess bow as the dude you stepped on grabbed your hand and waist.

“Your timing is impeccable, thank you.” You told him as you two started dancing.

“You’re welcome, your highness.” He said as he started dancing with you gracefully.

“Y/n/n. I like to be called y/n/n.” You told him. “You are?”

“Tom.” He replied. “Just Tom.” He states as he gave you small smile.

“Well, I’m glad to see that my clumsiness hasn’t affected your dancing.” You told him with a smile as your eyes stayed locked on each other’s. “I’m sorry I stepped on your foot.” You apologized again.

“You can step on my foot any time.” He told you as you two continued dancing. You stopped dancing once someone patted Tom’s arm.

“It is Prince Jock’s turn.” He announced as you smiled at Tom and he smiled back before walking away from you. “Your highness.” He said in his baby voice. He was literally only like, 10. “If this was my party... we’d be kissing by now.” He states causing you to almost cringe. He was far to young for you and was making you slightly uncomfortable dancing with someone so young. “May I blow in your ear?” He asked.

You gave him a look, “can you reach it?” You asked him as he leaned up but then leaned back down.

After dancing with a few other guys you finally made your way around and talking to different people. Before you made your way to your grandma’s assistant and helper. “Princess, there are other parliament members I want you to meet.” The prime minister told you as you nodded with a fake smile.

You turned to Sheri, you’re grandma’s assistant, “Sheri, how many members of parliament is there?” You asked.

“Only two left your highness.” She told you as you nodded and gave her a thankful smile. You went to follow the prime minster before one of the servers knocked your crown off your head.

You turned around to see it fell into the hands of an older man who was wearing the parliament symbols and such on his outfit. You accidentally let out a screech when it happened. “Oh.” You gasped as your turned around.

“Oh, your highness. Dear, pardon me I am so sorry.” The server said I panic as you gave him a soft smile and told him everything was fine. He thanked you then left in a hurry.

“Thank you so much.” You thanked the man as he placed the crown back on your head and you gave him a thankful smile.

“You should be more careful your highness. Somebody might try to take that away from you.” He told you as you gave him a small smile.

“Oh, I would hope not.” You told him as you let out a soft chuckle. “But thank you so much for all your help.” You added before turning around and walking towards Sheri. Forgetting all about the member of parliament the prime minister wanted you to meet.

“Someone like me.” The man whispered to himself as he watched you walk away.

After the gathering in the ballroom last night, everyone went to their proper places and you ended up having to sleep in your grandmother’s suite. She had made arrangements for your suite but according to the designer it wasn’t done when you arrived. So, you were lounging in your grandmother’s living room, watching the gossip news that tells all of the Royal lives. You looked at the door when you sensed someone walk in and seen two maids. “Oh, I’m so sorry.” You apologized as you turned off the tv. Your breakfast tray was sitting right beside your chair as you got up. “I thought I was alone.” You told the two maids with a smile as you sat your pup down and he ran out of the room.

“No, I’m Margaret.” One of the Maids greeted as She curtsied. “I’m Amelia.” The other one greeted as you nodded.

“I’m y/n/n.” You told them. “But, please, don’t curtsy like that.” You told them with a small smile.

“Not like this?” Amelia said as she did it how she did it before.

“How about like this, maybe.” Margaret said as they both started doing different curtsies.

“No, I didn’t mean-“ you were cut off by Sheri walking into the room. Her usual clipboard and ear piece hanging around her.

“The Queen bids you good morning Princess. She’s in session with Parliament.” She told you as you nodded. “I see you’ve met your ladies maids.” She announced.

“Yeah, Uh,” you fake laughed as you leaned over towards Sheri. “How do you get them to stop curtsying?”

She gave you a smile before turning to the maids, “enough bowing, back to your chores.” Sheri told them and they nodded before leaving the room and going back to their chores.

“Her majesty will meet you in one hour, in the throne room.” Sheri told you as you agreed and picked up your glass of coffee before putting some milk into it. “I’m sorry your suite isn’t ready yet, but you’re more than welcome to stay here.”

“No, no, no. That’s fine.” You told her nicely, “Hey, Can I explore the palace a little bit?” You asked as she agreed.

“The throne room in an hour.” Sheri reminded before she walked out of the room to go back to what she was previously doing before.

“I wonder what exactly is in this palace.” You wondered to yourself as you went to get changed so you could explore.

[-Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed this, it’s a new series I started. Actually it’s my first series because it’s going to have more than 2 parts to it. I hope you enjoyed it. If you watched Princess Diaries 2 then you know how it’s gonna work out because I am following that plot since I think it’s a cute plot. Anyways part 2 will be up soon.]

Let me know if you wanna be tagged in anything.

Requests are open.

Part 2 ~ coming soon

Tag list: @averyrogers83 @bookgirlunicorn @royalestrellas @embrace-themagic @pignolithecookie @richiethotzierz @tomshufflepuff @smexylemony @super-slick-side-kick @heyhayhayyyy @cierrajhill @leasly @crimsonredcoco @untoldshortsofthefandoms @15-shades-of-fangirl @spider-strange-iron-loki @irelad0703 @clockblobber @akaduds @-thatgirloverthere- @tearsforhan @ive-got-some-lies-to-tell @let-me-luve-you

[absolutely-legit]

BFF

This is so absolutely outdated I know.

But it was in my brain and I needed it out.

~*~

„He did WHAT?“ Bam Bam yells and Jinyoung flinches. Apparently he had not expected such a noisy response. And if Bam Bam were honest, he did not expect it himself really either. He just can’t help it. Normally he is all chill and easygoing. That’s what people like about him.

But this… this just makes him furious. He can’t help the flare of anger rising up in his chest, clogging his throat. He wants to spit, yell, maybe punch something. “That’s not okay” He hisses and crosses his arms defensively.

Instead of flinching again, a sly grin begins spreading over Jinyoung’s lips and Bam Bam thinks it might end up being him that he’s going to punch. “Why would you care?” Jinyoung asks innocently. “You don’t live in the dorms anymore…”

Bam Bam scoffs and turns away. Doesn’t want to look at Jinyoung any longer, who, after losing eye contact instead starts humming a song he’s been humming a lot in Bam Bam’s presence recently.

“AM NOT!” Bam Bam yells under his breath and walks away.

Bam Bam finds Yugyeom in the opposite corner and walks straight up to him. “Are we bringing people back to the dorm now?” he asks grumpy and flops down into a chair near his best friend. Yugyeom turns around and eyes him confused. “What?” he inquires and Bam Bam pouts. “Jinyoung told me.”

Yugyeoms tilts his head. “Yeah well… the Hyungs didn’t care... Why do you?” Bam Bam doesn’t. He does, of course. But he doesn’t have a reason. It’s not about people, anyways. “Well, it’s just… we don’t do that and also… ugh… privacy…” He defends himself weakly.

This has been going on for a while. A long while and it was about time for Yugyeom to finally pick up on Bam Bam’s strange behavior. Where for the longest time Yugyeom would be oblivious, innocent, confused… He now looks back at Bam Bam with an expression on his face that is undoubtedly one thing. Sadness.

Bam Bam’s chest hurts, but before he can say anything else Youngjae comes bouncing up from the other end of the room, singing.

“Why does Jinyoung-Hyung keep singing “Jealousy” to himself all the time?” Youngjae complains. “Now I got it stuck in my head again.”

Bam Bam’s thumbs fly over the keyboard of his phone, typing swiftly. He has a lot to say and he gradually loses all hesitation to send all that he types down.

He knows the others in the group chat are noticing it by now. He does not know, however, that they’ve all been talking about his strange behavior secretly. He does know, though, that the target of his bad mood has long ago picked up on it. Long before Yugyeom did and Bam Bam does feel sorry. It’s nothing personal, really.

He wants to send another snippy remark, but before he can hit the button, a large hand grabs for his phone and snatches it out of his grip. “Hey, give it back!” Bam Bam demands and when he turns he finds Yugyeom holding his phone as far away from him as possible.

Bam Bam unconsciously crosses his arms again.

“We have to talk.” Yugyeom states and tucks Bam Bam’s phone into his pocket. Bam Bam goes into Baby-Mode where he refuses to listen and shakes his head.

“I know you’re upset.” Yugyeom says and he sounds really really sad, to the point where it stings in Bam Bam’s chest and he actually looks up. “I’m sorry that we’ve never talked about this… But… I wouldn’t have thought it’d make you so angry…” He sits uncomfortably on the armrest at the other end of the sofa. As far away from Bam Bam as possible.

“I’m just…. I can’t change it, okay?” Yugyeom plays with his fingers nervously. “Just please…. Don’t vent your anger out on Kookie…. He thinks you hate him.”

Bam Bam crunches his nose over the mentioning. Kookie here, Kookie there. It always has to be about him! “Maybe I do!” he snaps. He doesn’t. Not really. He used to like Jungkook a lot, he just doesn’t like him with Yugyeom. Doesn’t like them spending so much time together.

Yugyeom sniffs. “Fine.” He says and it sounds choked. “But it’s not his fault. You should hate me instead. I will tell him to stop trying. And you… Whatever I don’t care.” Yugyeom whips out his phone and throws it at him. Then he gets up and walks away and Bam Bam is left looking after him, wondering what happened.

He’s conflicted. He wants to feel angry, but he feels more regretful than anything else. Maybe instead of behaving so childish he should have tried harder…

It doesn’t take Bam Bam all that long to decide to reconcile with Yugyeom. He’s chill and easy going after all. He’s Yugyeom’s best friend and he loves him dearly. And he is the older one, too.

Even though he doesn’t live in the dorm anymore, doesn’t mean he never goes there. All of the members that moved out are still welcome in their old home. Bam Bam punches in the Code and pushes the door open when it beeps.

He’s not sure if Yugyeom is even home with all of them having followed their individual schedules that day. Someone is home definitely, as Bam Bam can hear the TV running in the living room and he decides that it would be fine waiting for Yugyeom to come home if he has someone to keep him company.

Except, when he takes off his shoes and attempts to make his way to the living room, he startles and hesitates. He can’t understand what is being said in the TV-program that’s running… if it is one. But just now there was a noise that sounded a little bit too naughty. While he stops and listens, he can hear it again. A deep, grumbling moan and another, higher-pitched squeaky one.

Bam Bam frowns. He can’t believe that manners in the dorm have dropped to such lows in the short time he has not been living there anymore. That members are watching porn in the living room now, at full volume, instead of hiding away in their bedrooms or the bathroom to do so.

He goes back to walking, hearing another moan as he does, blissful enough to spark his curiosity. The closer he gets to the living room, the more sounds he can make out. Not just moaning, but pleasured gasps and sighs and for some reason the low squeaking of their leather sofa.

And as he gets even closer, he can hear the conversation going on in the TV-drama that is running and that is not pornographic in the slightest. And he realizes more and more that the sounds he figured were porn coming from the speakers… must be coming from some very real life people occupying the living room.

It would be the nice choice to turn around and leave, Bam Bam knows that. But he can’t believe manners in the dorm have dropped THAT low that members would openly be having sex in the living room. And he feels like barging in on them, hoping to gain himself some kind of leverage to make fun of a Hyung or scold them. Whatever he feels like.

He grabs the door handle with a mischievous grin and throws it open with sudden force, making it bang into the opposite wall.

The two people on the sofa startle. There’s a screech and some yelling and cursing. Bam Bam hears a lot of naughty words and something along the lines of “You said nobody would come home.”

Yet, while he listens to the mess of slurs and cries and watches the chaos unfold on the sofa, the happy grin on his face fades slowly.

It’s not one of his Hyungs devouring a Hook-up on the sofa. It’s Yugyeom. His one and only cute best friend Yugyeom and his arch enemy. Jungkook.

Jungkook who was comfortably nestled between Yugyeom’s spread legs before Bam Bam interrupted them. Jungkook, whose stupidly muscular arms were flexing and tensing from holding himself up, hovering above Yugyeom’s naked body. Jungkook who jumps away, trying to cover his nakedness, except all of his clothes are scattered around the floor and the only thing in reach is one of the sofa cushions he desperately presses over his lap.

Jungkook who fidgets and shifts and doesn’t dare to look at either of them, whose eyes flicker as he cowers in fear like the scared little rabbit that he is.

Yugyeom sits up and looks back at Bam Bam with a lot less shame and guilt than Jungkook. “What the fuck do you want?” He spits, unfazed by how his bare manhood is a little distracting, even to Bam Bam who’s probably seen him naked more often than his own mum has. Though usually Yugyeom isn’t that hard, nor is his face as flushed or his skin as sweaty.

Bam Bam doesn’t answer right away. He’s too confused. Too slow. He’s processing what he’s seeing. What it means. Trying to figure out where he’s been wrong.

“Uhm…” he makes eventually. “I actually came to… you know… talk?” He tries to look Yugyeom in the face. Tries not to get distracted by Jungkooks cowering figure slumped behind Yugyeom and attempting really hard not to be seen.

“Bad timing.” Yugyeom hisses and Bam Bam nods. Yeah, well. He knows that now, too. “Apologize.” He adds, a little fazed. “For being mean. I wanted to.” Bam Bam thinks he should be forgiven slight grammar errors considering the situation.

Yugyeom’s angry expression falters a little. “Okay…” He mumbles. “But, uhm… later, okay?” As if he just now becomes aware of the situation his cheeks tint a deep pink. The kind that Bam Bam is envious of, because his own skin is too dark to color so prettily.

Bam Bam’s toes rub over the floor nervously. If he’s not absolutely stupid… he’s wondering if he’s always been angry for nothing. Wondering if he still has a chance. If things aren’t as dark as he thought they were. He knows he should leave, but Bam Bam never had the best manners… and manners in the dorm are really at a low apparently.

“Are you guys…” He begins, looking back and forth between the two. “Like… dating?” Yugyeom frowns. “Well, duh!” He makes and his crossed arms finally untangle. “Now leave?”

Bam Bam’s upper body turns halfway away, but he does not really plan to go just yet, still looking at them. “He’s your boyfriend?” He gestures at Jungkook, whose lips are pressed into a thin line and who is completely still and quiet.

“Bam Bam!” Yugyeom scolds. “That’s what we’ve been fighting over!? Are you that happy right now you’re keeping us from… being intimate…?” his voice is suddenly a lot smaller with the last words.

“That’s not what we’ve been fighting over…” Bam Bam gives back aghast. “Then all these times when you said you’re going out with Jungkook and didn’t ask me to come along, it was because you were actually, like… going out?” He asks anxiously. He’d been so enormously hurt every single time Yugyeom preferred to hang out with Jungkook instead and didn’t even bother to ask him.

Yugyeom gives him a bewildered look. “Why the hell should I ask you to come on our dates?”

Bam Bam can’t help it. Tears dwell up in his eyes and he juts out his bottom lip in a pouting manner. Something he has not done in a long time. And never has done to Yugyeom in the first place. But they have never misunderstood one another like this either.

“So you didn’t replace me?” He asks and besides everything walks a step towards him. “I‘m still your best friend?!“

Yugyeom‘s jaw drops. He stares up at him, dazed, mouth hanging open. „O...of course.“ He stutters and blushes a little extra. “He’s your boyfriend, right?” Bam Bam asks again, just to clarify and Yugyeom nods in his dazed state. “And I am still your best friend? Not he?” Bam Bam points at himself, speaking with pressure.

He notices that Jungkook finally looks at him and his face is in disbelief. “Is that…. Why you were angry?” Yugyeom’s voice is strained, almost as if he is about to cry or yell. Bam Bam is a little bit embarrassed. “How could I know you were actually…” He gestures vaguely in their direction. “That.” Jungkook buries his face in his hands and Bam Bam thinks he might need to apologize to him, but then again, nobody bothered to clarify their relationship for him, so it’s not really his fault is it?

“I won’t replace you as my best friend.” Yugyeom whines desperately. “Now can you please get out and leave us alone?! We’ll talk tomorrow!”

Bam Bam shrugs. “’Kay.” He grins and waves. “Bye guys. I love you. And please… You should wait at least like,  15 minutes to get your boners back, please. Or I’ll throw up.”

He turns around and leaves the dorm and he bounces down the stairs thinking that he hasn’t been in such a good mood for weeks.

~*~

[vardasvapors]

DRUNK LIVEBLOG OF THE AKALLABETH BC I PROMISED @rose-of-the-bright-sea​

Uh unfortunately i’m not too drunk since once again my job was to bounce everyone once the party ended but uhhh it is early morning and i’m still not asleep and i did just spend 5 hours dancing and doing shots so...

ANYWAY: first scene of the Akallabeth, remember how the edain were the only Men who fought against morgoth in the war of wrath etc, and when morgoth was defeated the Evil Men who fought for him ran away and conquered all the Stupid Men who were still living in the middle earth area and these men’s lives sucked and were constantly attacked by orcs and monsters and they were dumb and wild and stuff. this explanation is like 20 kinds of LMAO NARRATIVES but also not like, in a lying way, just in a framing way.

otoh the edain got given a giant island in the middle of the ocean as a reward for fighting against morgoth and stuff, osse and aule and yavanna did it. (valar: ‘have an island way out in the sea’ elros: ‘SOUNDS LEGIT’). meanwhile the elves of ME are long-sufferingly granted permission to come to tol eressea because their lives kinda suck. the difference in the tone of the edain’s gift and the elves’ gift is totally not noticed by the narrator but the fact that avallone was build on the eastern edge of tol eressea where it could be seen from numenor is. lol.

there’s this super gorgeous entrancing description of how earendil burned super bright so that he shone night and day and the edain followed him over the calm enchanted sea until they found the island of numenor -- andor the land of gift, elenna that is starwards. however we all know all this incredible rich storytelling stuff isn’t important compared to the tiny scrap of smugness that can be wrung out of making elros hate earendil and/or elves, bc everyone knows that no character’s narrative matters except the feanorians’.

elves of ME also brought all the edain to numenor and elves of tol eressea gave the edain a ton of tools and gifts and stuff to help build their new nation, but you know it’s fun to headcanon elros as a bitter chest-puffing supercilious self-satisfied little prick who finds these elves embarrassing and blinkered and their existence pitiful and tut-tuttingly Wrong. bc that makes sense and is woke for some reason.

the numenoreans became taller than all the sons of middle earth, not all the men of middle earth, so numenoreans are taller than elves. also they didn’t have a lot of kids, bc i guess population explosions on islands with almost no death outside of like 300 years of old age is a Bad Time.

also “and the light of their eyes was like the bright stars” hahahahahahahahaha lmao! kill me! lies down. does not get up.

WHITE TREE FRACTALS

the numenoreans are super cool and get to talk and visit with both elves of tol eressea and elves of middle earth, which seems to lead to the completely inescapable conclusion that numenor is a place where the peoples of all lands can pass messages to one another but this is never mentioned. the numenoreans could totally also have prob defeated the evil human kings of middle earth if they tried but they were totes peaceful -- at an undefined point in time. nice vague timeline blurring bruh.

instead they like, instructed the dumb middle earth men on how to grow grain and grind flour and make stuff out of wood bc uh i guess the middle earth men are too dumb to figure it out, for “the ordering of their life, such as it might be in the lands of swift death and little bliss” hahahahahaha this is the most condescending line in the entire silm it’s great.

then the numenoreans start getting dissatisfied with how they still gotta die and stuff. it’s vaguely described as being something to do with how even their long lives are still not as long as elves’ loves, but every time i read this it reminds me how pissed about mortality i’d be if my great-great-great-uncle who was totally allowed to choose to become immortal kept popping in to talk about how he got to see the cool millennia of my country’s history first hand and debate with my revered ancestral founding king. so.

however the numenoreans totally brush over these sorts of super compelling and sympathetic and valid points and instead just whine about how they’re A Bigshot Kewl Superior Race and HDU Say We Can’t Control Everything If We Wanna, 36 Presents? But Last Century I Got 37! because they’re fucking useless dumbasses.

The valar reply that Aman Will Not Make You Immortal, Yo, and also that elves being immortal and men being mortal aren’t rewards or punishments, which are reasonable points. they then go on to go ‘TBH shouldn’t WE be the ones envying YOU bc you get to peace out of this clusterfuck world, huh, huh whaddaya think about that. also btw the whole mortality thing is some Secret Plan To Fight Inflation eru came up with, and none of us will know it until you and a bajillion generations of your descendants are all dead, lol!!!!’ THANKS VALAR. THAT’S REALLY HELPFUL. GREAT JOB OF ACTUALLY ADDRESSING ANYTHING THE NUMENOREANS ARE BOTHERED ABOUT. KUDOS. i love dumb gods.

the numenoreans are super dissatisfied but instead of anything constructive the king decides to hold his breath and throw a tantrum stay king until he’s totally senile and his son is old, bc of spite, then numenor gets divided into the king’s men and the faithful. the faithful are also bleh about death but assume that the valar have some kind of good reason for what they said, because um, reasons, i guess. no one says if the reasons are more mindless dogma or more a grounding and strengthening faith, but since numenoreans sound like RL humans to a tee it’s probably both. the king’s men aren’t skeptics tho -- they just conquer and enslave and colonize and steal from middle earth, bc ‘the west was denied to them.’ some fans find this to be a ‘yes, but--’ where it’s not the best thing to do but sympathetic and better than those un-nietzschean faithful. i’m gonna assume every single person who finds this nod-worthy is as White as sour cream.

later on Ar-Gimilzor bans the Faithful’s language, sends secret police or smth to find out everyone who is Faithful and forcibly remove them from their homes, relocate them to Romenna, and corral and watch them, call them and the elves of tol eressea spies, chase them out of numenor, and force the faithful leader’s sister to marry the king. some fans still somehow think this was a morally grey and understandable thing to do because secular-culturally-christian libs are vile and have never parsed a history book in their lives.

Tar-Palantir becomes king after being secretly taught Faithful stuff by his secretly faithful mom, but nothing he does to fix things helps and he eventually dies young from depression. His daughter Tar-Miriel becomes queen but her cousin Ar-Pharazon forces her to marry him and give him the kingship instead. exactly how this happened remains unexplained! Boo! I want more details. Anyway Pharazon is a Fragile Masculinity poster boy and when sauron starts causing trouble he decides he’s just gotta go capture him and bring him to numenor to show off and stroke his ego, bc he is an Heir Of Eärendil and Respect Meehhh!! God this guy sounds SO UNPLEASANTLY FAMILIAR DOESN’T HE EH. (parenthetically i am delighted beyond words at how absolutely bang-on it is that the King’s Men, both here and earlier with the convo with the Valar, totally Do Not Mention the fact that they’re heirs of Elros, not just Earendil, bc that would be super inconvenient to their vision of themselves and their mortality grievance!! lol!!! i love it!!!! god!!!!!!!! *fingers and thumb in a circle emoji*).

anyway sauron is super smart and an awesomesauce genre-savvy villain and way too good for pharazon and he flatters him and manipulates him into making him his councilor and convinces him that the valar are lying and and to worship morgoth and slaughter the faithful by sacrificing them on.....hm....altars....as rebels and as scapegoats for all numenor’s Problems(TM)....>_>....lmao tolkien can be really fucking dumb and scattered about his mythology and religion patchworking, and yet the wokeness-masturbating section of fandom is infinitely worse in the most predictable ways.

WHITE TREE FRACTALS (this time featuring bonus BAMF and Super Awesome And Lovable 21 Year Old Isildur......have i mentioned recently how much i hate peter jackson......)

anyway when Pharazon has a mid-life crisis about getting old sauron also convinces him he can become immortal by invading aman, which he should totally do bc The Strong Do What They Will And The Weak Bear What They Must (remember this is tragically admirable if flawed, because it’s defying fate!) and a super armament is built to invade aman and ar-Pharazon’s ex-bff Amandil who’s secretly friends with the Faithful freaks and makes secret plans to sail to valinor to beg the valar to do something and has his son elendil prepare to go to middle earth to see the elves who are hunkered down there doing.....uhhhhh???? probably hiding from numenorean conquest????

but anyway when pharazon invades aman and chases the elves out of tol eressea and then tirion, he has a Uh-Oh I Think This Was A Bad Idea feeling but can’t back down now so he lands ashore and camps out around tirion and then manwe prays to eru to bail everyone out and says he will lay down rule of arda for a minute since he doesn’t know what to do, presumably a la ‘omg dad i fucked up and totally crashed your car,’ and eru solves this by getting ar-pharazon & co buried under a mountain until the end of the world (funny how so few fans ever address this thing re: tirion in valinor fanfic eh? oh yeah i forgot silm fans don’t give a shit about humans), opening up a big crack in the ocean, pulling aman and tol eressea out into space, turning the earth from flat to spherical, and letting the island of numenor get buried under the resulting tidal wave and fall down the crack to wherever. because you know overkill is great! also sauron is too busy doing an Evil Villain Laugh to realize he’s about to get drowned and he totally dies and has to make himself a new body out of Anger and he’s now ugly, which sucks for the fanartists.

anyway manwe saves elendil and his fleet (it doesn’t say manwe, but it does say ‘but the great wind took [elendil], wilder than any wind that Men had known, roaring from the west, and it swept his ships far away...’ which, duh) and they wind up washed up on middle earth, but totally grief-stricken over the destruction of numenor.

I can’t liveblog the rest any better than verbatim so I’ll just quote:

Among the Exiles many believed that the summit of the Meneltarma, the Pillar of Heaven, was not drowned for ever, but rose again above the waves, a lonely island lost in the great waters; for it had been a hallowed place, and even in the days of Sauron none had defiled it And some there were of the seed of Eärendil that afterwards sought for it, because it was said among loremasters that the far-sighted men of old could see from the Meneltarma a glimmer of the Deathless Land. For even after the ruin the hearts of the Dúnedain were still set westwards; and though they knew indeed that the world was changed, they said: 'Avallónë is vanished from the Earth and the Land of Aman is taken away, and in the world of this present darkness they cannot be found. Yet once they were, and therefore they still are, in true being and in the whole shape of the world as at first it was devised.'

For the Dúnedain held that even mortal Men, if so blessed, might look upon other times than those of their bodies' life; and they longed ever to escape from the shadows of their exile and to see in some fashion the light that dies not; for the sorrow of the thought of death had pursued them over the deeps of the sea. Thus it was that great mariners among them would still search the empty seas, hoping to come upon the Isle of Meneltarma, and there to see a vision of things that were. But they found it not. And those that sailed far came only to the new lands, and found them like to the old lands, and subject to death. And those that sailed furthest set but a girdle about the Earth and returned weary at last to the place of their beginning; and they said:

'All roads are now bent.'

Thus in after days, what by the voyages of ships, what by lore and star-craft, the kings of Men knew that the world was indeed made round, and yet the Eldar were permitted still to depart and to come to the Ancient West and to Avallónë, if they would. Therefore the loremasters of Men said that a Straight Road must still be, for those that were permitted to find it. And they taught that, while the new world fell away, the old road and the path of the memory of the West still went on, as it were a mighty bridge invisible that passed through the air of breath and of flight (which were bent now as the world was bent), and traversed Ilmen which flesh unaided cannot endure, until it came to Tol Eressëa, the Lonely Isle, and maybe even beyond, to Valinor, where the Valar still dwell and watch the unfolding of the story of the world. And tales and rumours arose along the shores of the sea concerning mariners and men forlorn upon the water who, by some fate or grace or favour of the Valar, had entered in upon the Straight Way and seen the face of the world sink below them, and so had come to the lamplit quays of Avallónë, or verily to the last beaches on the margin of Aman, and there had looked upon the White Mountain, dreadful and beautiful, before they died.

[goldenscript]

neighbor!monsta x

author’s note: let’s just blame @wangpuppo for enabling me to write this mess.

read under the cut for more~

cr.

hyunwoo

the relatively quiet neighbor

very self-sufficient, can cook like eggs, bacon, and rice pretty well

does his own laundry and usually likes to kick back, watch some tv when he has nothing else to do

his friends love to come over and pester him so sometimes he pretends he’s not home

will even fall asleep when he’s hiding from minhyuk or jooheon

sometimes you forget he lives in the building bc literally no sound comes from that side of the wall

well, not always (you found this one out come about a week into your arrival into the complex)

so unknown to everyone else’s knowledge except his buds that inhabit the building, hyunwoo’s actually a dance instructor

a lot of the time he’ll actually do his routines at home, often having to rearrange furniture and play the dance song and all, and unfortunately, this means making a lot of.... sounds

this is the first time you’re experiencing this so you’re actually not sure what to think considering you’ve just moved in next door

all you hear is the furniture getting moved about and music starts playing and oh god you hear grunting too

you’re actually very sure you heard someone enter his apartment too though you can’t really hear their voices

it’s not like you tried to hear it or anything though you admit your neighbor’s extremely attractive you’re seriously not trying to think of what he’s doing and why he’s being so goddamn loud and oh god it’s like the fifth time in a row you hear the next bout of music and grunts and you’re actually a little traumatized

for the most part, you try not thinking about it whenever you see him but jesus it’s too hard when you’re grabbing your mail and he comes out looking all sweaty and exhausted and yeah nope abort

you do your best to avoid making eye contact with him even if he’s your super attractive neighbor with nice arms and a nice smile :(

the only time you’ll ever notice him is if he sees someone (either you or one of the elderly tenants) struggling to carry some things like groceries and he’ll be there in a flash

like you were at the entrance with like two boxes stacked from your old place and hyunwoo just appeared and said “oh!! lemme help you with that”

and of course you couldn’t really say no bc he’s already taking them from you and already making his way up the stairs since the elevator would be under renovation and he actually makes an effort to chat with you about life and how you like it in the building and even though you feel awkward about remembering that tidbit he apologizes for always dancing so late and probably blasting his music so loud

and you’re like “wait what”

and he goes “well, yeah i’m sure you’ve noticed the music! i’m a dance instructor so i practice a lot and my friends come by since they dance too so if we’re loud then i apologize-”

you’re just like “oh thank god”

him: o: “what”

you sheepishly admit you thought he was having sex for like five hours straight and he really almost drops your stuff in shock and he cheeks get all beet red and he’s stammering like that isn’t possible

and you just laugh, trying to calm him because you’re just grateful he wasn’t banging someone for that long so many times a night

and he goes “i assure you i’m very single” and oh dear lord he really actually set the boxes down at your doorway to facepalm

and you just wink at him and say, “well, i’m glad. i’ll see you around, hyunwoo! maybe you can teach me a dance or two~”

hoseok

probably the flirt neighbor ngl

he’ll usually throw a pick up line or two your way even to the elderly ladies who always love to call him handsome

knows how to cook and clean but his cook skills are limited to probably ramen and rice

definitely knows how to make a mean cup of coffee (lolol)

relatively the nice in between of quiet and loud unless he has over his loud af buds who don’t know the definition of quiet

you kinda peg him as a fuckboy at first glance so you don’t really talk to him

contrary to common to belief, he actually doesn’t really flaunt his physique and tramp around without a shirt so long as he can help it

he’s actually quite shy so he actually looks really upset when the fire alarm goes off on the whole building and everyone has to be evacuated and he wasn’t able to pull on a shirt because mrs. lee on the third floor needed help getting down the stairs and he couldn’t wait

luckily you managed to grab a blanket before you were forced outside in just a pair of sleeping shorts and loose top and you actually hand it over to him because well he isn’t as bad as you thought

at least considering the fact that he went up to most of the tenants asking if they were okay, checking on mrs. lee and mr. kim even mrs. diaz who had a relatively mean streak unless it was hoseok asking

so you decide he isn’t that bad and you offer him your blanket when the fire men are checking on the fire in what turns out to be minhyuk’s apartment because his attempt at cooking was far from successful.... rip the poor pasta he boiled

anyway he kinda looks at you with wide eyes because you aren’t trying so hard to gawk at him like the other tenants and you certainly aren’t giving him that huffy cold shoulder like before

you just smile, “take it, seriously. you’ve been a really good sport, checking up on everyone like that” 

but instead of taking it, he tries to say that he doesn’t want you to get cold so you roll your eyes and shove the flannel material over his shoulders and keeping some of it on yourself

“we can share then” you say with an attempted straight face but the astonished look on his features and the light blush on his cheeks makes it hard

enter a few disappointed grumbles from his little fans

and he just grins and says “okay”

he just rests his arms on your shoulders when he feels you beginning to shiver and the warmth of his skin just settles nicely and he grins over at you because you just nestle into his touch

like seriously hoseok is so cute and even when you deemed him a fuck boy you had to admit just how attractive he is

so for the rest of that night until it’s safe to enter you both end up chatting away and getting on somewhat closer terms

before you part ways you actually stop him and apologize though he’s very confused about why

you admit that you misjudged him at first and then he shrugs it off and tells you he’s used to it but that makes you feel even more sorry

and it becomes a stammering mess of apologies (it’s like 3 AM so of course this was gonna be a mess) until he leans in really close and grabs your shoulders and says, “it’s ok y/n i promise”

you nod with a small smile “okay, hoseok”

“see you around” he says leaning back near the wall with a faint dust of pink resurfacing on his cheeks

you grin, “i hope so~” before you two officially part ways

you soon discover he’s the cutest boy ever who will literally chat you up with meaningful small talk because somehow most conversations with him are far from awkward

like he’ll ask how your day has been, what you like to do in free time, and input his own likes and dislikes and all that good stuff

hell, y’all even had an entire discussion on your favorite eevees because dammit vaporean is top dog in your opinion

he thinks that the regular eevee is better since they’re the original types and honestly it’s been a major discussion since you both discovered your infatuation with pokemon

it’s such a progression for you two considering you spent a good two weeks avoiding him since you moved into the building and you enjoy your little conversations with him that last until you part ways either at your doors or at the bottom of the stairs when y’all have places to go in opposite directions

then one day he actually asks if you’d like to go sit somewhere that isn’t either of your apartments and at an actual food place

you agree and say “i thought you’d never ask” with a grin

minhyuk

he... is definitely the friendly neighbor

definitely the kind to greet you when he sees you, ask how your day’s been, and ask what you’re up to

he doesn’t do this out of courtesy at all either

like he does it because he genuinely cares and will even ask you about it a week later and how it went

you once told him you wanted to try out this crocheting class the first week you moved into the complex and he asked you how it was going nearly a month later

you found it pretty endearing that he’d remember such a simple tidbit and ever since then you’ve remembered him out of everyone else in the building

to say the least that’s exactly what minhyuk hoped bc he may or may not have a massive crush on you...... and if he’s anything but subtle then maybe he’d be able to keep it a secret

but he canNOT

he makes it so painfully obvious that sometimes he facepalms himself for being too dorky or “too weird” but when he sees you laugh or giggle at his actions, he can’t help but flash his big, ol’ pearly grin at you

anyway, he’s been meaning to ask you out for ages but always chickening out

always

just the mention of “date” and you gets him so flustered and tongue twisted, he ends up mentioning something completely random like “cavities are bacteria’s poop” (this is actually very true so when you looked it up, you were extremely perplexed that he knew such a fact)

but it gets you even more interested in your rather perky neighbor who is constantly at war with the downstairs tenant aka his bff kihyun LOL

one time minhyuk was vacuuming at 3 AM and when it comes to that.... we all know it’s to piss off the pink-haired hamster boy below

so out of spite and the extreme fatigue kihyun has had to suffer after hearing about you for the 892739857239874298th time in a row, he takes matters into his own hands and right outside your door he begins trying to hype up minhyuk to ask you out

even when minhyuk is shushing him since you’re about to head out to the library as per usual around this time

it doesn’t work as right as you open the door you just hear

minhyuk: kihyun, drop it. i like her but i can’t ask her out

kihyun: like who?

minhyuk: are you deaf? have you been listening?! i like y/n!!!!

and you just stand there wide eyed like “you like me, minhyuk????”

if you could see minhyuk looking at kihyun, it was actually a deathly sight but as kihyun waves and walks off you distract minhyuk with a grin and tell him that you’re free tomorrow night if he wants to accompany you for some street food by the market

he agrees and can’t really hide the elation since you actually asked him out

when you two go on your date, he pays - his only excuse is that he didn’t get to confess and ask you out the way he wanted so he wanted to at least do that soooo you make a proposition to him

if he does things the way he wants to then you two can start splitting the bill bc why the hell not???

of course he agrees

even asks you out by knocking on your door, shyly with these cute flowers that you place in a vase and watch as he shyly asks you out for a dinner at his apartment since he really wanted to do something special

and it is pretty special

at least to him since.... well..... minhyuk can’t actually cook

everyone knows not to let him anywhere near the kitchen

that’s why kihyun will drop food off or feed the poor kid

even changkyun delivers a few pizzas for him

for some reason, anytime he goes near his apartment’s kitchen, it’s waiting to burst into flames just by his touch and it’s deterring for him but he really wants to do it right just to do something that special for you

so on the night of your date, he invites you instead, helping you get comfy as he rushes back to the kitchen trying to stir the simple pasta

man oh man.... it was not that simple

somewhere along the way, the pasta was getting over boiled or something during his extensive chat with you about the most iconic Shinee song

you swear it’s ring ding dong but he says it’s lucifer and yeah well

rip the pasta and the fact that y’all had to evacuate the floor because it was smoking way too much inside the apartment and even the fire department came and well

as disappointed as minhyuk was, you appreciated his effort and you both ended up walking to a 24-hour convenience store for the cup noodles and the hot water stations and were pretty satisfied with that after all the fire department hullabaloo

kihyun

he’s probably the best damn tenant to ever exist

he cooks, cleans, doesn’t blast his stereo (*cough* jooheon *cough*), and he’s usually a pretty friendly person to chat with

unfortunately, he has another side to him

a dark side

he is also the petty neighbor

if you’ve ever seen this meme then just know that the person holding the vacuum upside is kihyun and minhyuk’s the one vacuuming at like 3 AM disrupting his sleep

and to emphasize: kihyun values his beauty sleep

it’s actually very safe to say that he needs it or he’s literally the definition of the devil’s incarnate because

a) sleep is important b) if he gets less than 8 hours he will not hesitate to bite you head off and spit it back at you just to say that it tasted worse than hyungwon’s cooking  and c) let the damn hamster boy sleep, please

please

unfortunately, minhyuk loves to test this and make sure that kihyun suffers just because the feelings are generally vice versa

it’s honestly a miracle that kihyun continues to make food for the guy though you can best believe that shit ain’t flying if he gets just 7.5 hours instead of his necessary 8 LOL (then minhyuk is changkyun’s problem unless kihyun gets to the youngest boy first)

anyway

when kihyun doesn’t get his sleep, it’s best to steer clear

no matter what

he won’t care if you’re dying, just don’t bother him dammit

unfortunately, you did not get this memo

being his next door neighbor, you usually hear all the hullabaloo from all his quarrels with the tall, loud boy from down below and it also means that on occasion you end up receiving kihyun’s mail in your mailbox for some reason??

so you do the nice thing in delivering it to him under his door

but for goodness sake it’s an actual package with god knows what and you don’t just want to leave it at his door so you knock and hope that he isn’t in his really grumpy mood

sadly, he is

and he just stares at you with dead eyes and a snarky remark on his lips because damn he really shouldn’t be disturbed right now

but you just hand him his box and snark right back that you wouldn’t have knocked if it wasn’t important so he should just calm his panties because you were only doing a courteous deed before stalking off

he watches as you do, eyes softening ever so slightly because damn he might’ve just met his match LOL

and that should raise concerns considering kihyun rarely ever does this.... though you don’t care much for it or him

you do see how he is pretty grumpy without sleep

debra’s small talk wasn’t just fake talk but you can’t help but wonder if it’s probably because of his friend constantly fucking around with him and maybe he’s just grouchy because he needs his sleep

you don’t think too much on it but it resurfaces as soon as you see him again, carrying like a box filled to the brim with what looks like groceries as he scurries his way toward a room in the hall where one of your friend jackson actually stays and watch curiously as you wait

he sees you from the corner of his eye but continues to impatiently knock until minhyuk answers and they have their usual quips

as kihyun closes the door, he just flashes you a smirk and wave before jackson opens his door

you ask about minhyuk and kihyun and he just explains that they have a close friendship since the latter can’t take care of himself, kihyun’s basically his mother lol

and you kinda feel a pang of sympathy despite how much of a grouch he can be

he takes care of his place and even his friend which is only a little sad but it’s commendable

anyway, the next time you deal with a grumpy kihyun, you just grumble “here” before passing him a small neatly wrapped package and disappearing back into your room

when he opens it, it’s a pair of ear plugs and he’s never been more grateful to you (”:

instead of knocking on his door, he knocks on yours with a smile on his lips and a lack of bags before he hands you his rather famous and delicious casserole as a thank you

hyungwon

that one neighbor who you check on once in a while because his friends are worried he might die without them knowing one day

hyunwoo and kihyun begged you to at least knock on hyungwon’s door once every two or three days just check on him

they’ve had to do this with previous neighbors

mostly because hyungwon can be too lazy to even pick up his phone

but anyway, he just worries his friends so they look to you to help them out and let them know that he’s doing okay and living and breathing

you do, of course, just for their sake since you’re sure you’d want your friends to be okay if they acted in the same way

but honestly.... he’s such a grouch LOL

like every time you knock on his door, he doesn’t respond, hoping you’ll just go away but you even rummage out a spare key because kihyun really was serious about checking up on him

and you just find him underneath his covers and he’s just like

“i’m trying to sleep go away”

you just snap a picture of him and send it to kihyun, telling him that his friend is fine, just a grouch

you continue this up for a few weeks, making the visits at least twice a week or so

each one getting a little longer without either of you actually realizing it

during those times you both have your little quips here and now especially if hyungwon’s awake and just lazying around his apartment bc “what’s so good about the outside world??? i have everything i need here, food, bed, and a toilet”

when you point out sunlight and social interaction, he points at the window and he says you socialize with him and his friends when he lets them in or whenever they let themselves in

you shrug, just rolling with it but you notice that he’s been sniffling quite a bit and sneezing too

when you bring up that he might be sick, he just brushes you off and tells you to leave for being such a worry wart

 come your next visit and guess who’s sick?

that punk

you just look at him all bundled up in his bed sniffling into tissues with an expectant look but he turns away from you and says “shut up not a word”

“i told you so” you say while straightening his blanket out, setting down some tylenol and medicine

you even make him some tea and let soup boil on the stove until it’s ready before bringing it over to him and he begrudgingly accepts it and visibly enjoys it, looking much better than he had been earlier

with a sigh, you instruct him to take his medicine before turning to leave and he mumbles a thank you that he hopes you hadn’t heard (you did)

within the week, he feels infinitely better but as of late you hadn’t visited

instead kihyun and shownu alternate between checking up on him but since you stopped coming by, he anxiously waits by the door in his living room, hoping to see you

not that he’s worried or anything....

ok maybe a little

he actually goes over to your place and knocks, hoping you’re there and come as he hoped, you’re there bundled head to toe and holding a cup of tea and he was just ready to ask where you’ve been but the words are stuck in his throat bc you’re sick and very pouty

you grumble, “you got me sick, punk”

and he keeps you company for the most part and even makes you soup but jesus it tastes horrible but you appreciate the effort

but he feels awful since you helped him so he... actually... asks... kihyun... for... advice (hyunwoo wouldn’t have known what to do so his motherly friend is hyungwon’s best bet)

but the moment hyungwon mentions you, kihyun gets all *eyes emoji* and hyungwon’s like “y’know what nvm i’ll just ask jin”

kihyun: you better Not. I am your only mother friend, you ungrateful brat. now tell me your problem

hyungwon: how....do...i....make...soup......

and kihyun helps him make this batch of soup LOL

it actually tastes edible and kihyun couldn’t be more proud (and same for all of us honestly) (”:

anyway he brings it to you, and you carefully taste it and just eat it well and that makes hyungwon sooooo happy

you even smile at him and say that you’re glad that he finally left his apartment LOL

and he just looks away and tells you to eat your soup, even wiping away some of the excess broth from the corners of your mouth

him: i probably didn’t tell you this earlier but thank you

you: you’re welcome (:

honestly everyone thinks it’s a miracle you got hyungwon out of his house, but they really thought you were some savior when they found out from kihyun that he took care of you (bc mama kihyun will be damned not to brag about his achievement)

jooheon

the loud neighbor

he splits costs with his roommate changkyun, a lowly college student who works at a pizza parlor on the side

neither of them know how to cook

usually he depends on changkyun to bring back leftover pizza or he will actually call changkyun’s workplace, order a pizza and request changkyun, just so he can mess with the poor boy

next to that he forever bumps his stereo with his newest mixtape

he means no harm in it until people rudely tell him to turn it down because let’s be real jooheon is that type of person who would stare you down with a blank expression as mr. jones from 4b tells him his mixtape is crap and to turn down his devil music and jooheon... just.... turns it up.... louder.... toward the “max” end of the stereo knob and he gets more complaints but he’ll just mouth he can’t hear them before turning up to his own music

it’s hell for some of the rude tenants but it doesn’t leave you from the suffering either

you’re usually studying or doing something that will require some quiet to get this thing done so when music starts reverberating through your walls you’re actually a little miffed

you want your thing done, you really do

but the one time you were ready to give him a piece of your mind, you see him react to mr. jones and watch jooheon’s rbf

to say the least, jooheon’s rbf is really intimidating

he just looks like he’s staring into your damn soul and you’re just like “fuck”

so you just try to suffer through the music even if it kills you sometimes

you found refuge in the library but it’s one particular night when it’s being closed for some special event and you’re forced to go back to your apartment bc it’s pretty late

you find jooheon’s still turning up to his music

on any normal occasion, you would’ve shrugged your shoulders and let it pass but this was a very important set of work that you needed to do and the music wasn’t going to help any bit

so

you decide to brave his rbf and hope that he won’t like eat you alive or anything

and the moment he sees you, his eyes widen ever-so-slightly and he turns the knob to his music lower so he can hear you since your voice can barely breech the sound barrier with his goddamn surround sound

he’s just like “oh hi, what’s up?”

you’re not as scared of him when he looks so.... friendly and maybe it shows since you’re not as tensed up as before

and now that you have a good look at him... he actually looks pretty cute.... but you’re there for a reason outside of admiring LOL

you just look at him apologetically because you get that he was probably having a good time considering some of his friends were over and all but you have to ask

so you say, “i know it’s like a saturday night and all but i really have this important set of docs to do and i was wondering if you’d maybe turn down your music? please?”

he just kinda stares at you, cheeks a little pink and somewhat dumbfounded but he nods, already turning it down to a semi-reasonable volume but enough that the rest of his posse can enjoy it

though he ignores the complaints he receives from there just to flash a small smile at you

before you turn to leave, he stops you and says “i’m sorry if i was -um- distracting you....” 

and you just smile at him and say that it’s fine

you mention you even like the song and you head back to your apartment and he’s just so..... starstruck LOL

like damn you’re his superduper cute neighbor who likes his song and was really kind to him and jshfkjhfakjf he really didn’t care that his friends were giving him grief

even when minhyuk calls him whipped he just shrugs his shoulders bc how could he spite his super cute neighbor when you kindly asked him to turn down his music???

a few more times you’ve done this and he gladly does it

but one time, on a random tuesday night, you stop by and he’s ready to apologize and fumble with the knobs when you stop him and ask him to tell you about it

and oh my god

that boy has never been at a loss for words until that very moment

even his roomie changkyun thinks it’s a miracle that’s possible but hey the guy turned his stereo down just for you so y’know

never say never

changkyun

the college student neighbor

basically the kid who comes back to the complex at like 2 or 3 AM with dark shadows under his eyes, a monster in one hand, an americano in the other and a huge ass backpack filled with papers

he majors in mechanical engineering but he’s also doing comp sci bc computers are cool??

he’s generally the more responsible one between him and jooheon

often reminding the older boy to pay for the utilities when needed because changkyun absolutely refuses to be caught out in public covered in sludge because dammit someone fucked up with the sewage and he had to fix it somehow right as their damn water went out LOL

anyway

he spends a lot of his time studying like crazy but also delivering pizzas for that extra money

fortunately, one of his consistent customers happens to be you aka his very cute neighbor who happens to like him but would rather hide under a rock than tell him LOL

you’re both actually students at the same university and you’ve seen him around, especially in class

a few times he’s actually helped you with calculus work and there was just something about him that made you really really smitten with him ok

like smart, good looking, nice voice???? hell ya

and you actually didn’t find out he delivered pizza until he walks out of the nearby pizza places and you just... decide that maybe you can chat with him this way?

your roomie jennie encourages this, considering she thinks you two would be absolutely adorable together but also cuz she really can’t believe you’re crushing on the neighbor like what are the odds????

anyway, you do this

but you do it at least like... once a week

and that is definitely not how jennie saw this whole thing going

even changkyun is a bit concerned with the growing amount of times he’s had to deliver pizza to his neighbor’s place so often (not that he’s complaining too much since you’re pretty darn attractive)

though he really is like “why does this person eat so much pizza omg???”

and jennie is honestly just Done with answering the door and casually calling you over to get it so she just leaves it to you

but

she devises a plan because she knows you’re serious about telling changkyun that you like him

after all, you know can’t keep watching him in passing forever

so she orders the pizza online, typing into the special request box to have him specifically deliver the pizza with a cute pick up line signed off with a “from a meddling roommate who just wants you and y/n to go out already pls” and and and he’s absolutely baffled by the request but hey you’re not the only one trying to woo the other ok

changkyun just hasn’t been so sure about doing it tho he’ll occasionally put in extra effort to chat with you and even ask how your day’s been

and he actually has been looking forward to all your weekly pizza orders

it’s just.... nice to see your face and the way your visage lights up at the sight of the pizza tho he hopes it’s cuz of him dsjhjsdhfksj (*whispers* it is)

hell, he even remembers you from math!!!!

anywayyyyyyyy

he decides to go through with it because why the hell not??? here’s his chance no matter how embarrassing it is

jennie forces you to answer the door, waving you off with a mischievous smirk that makes you all too suspicious before disappearing to her room and all you see is a really flustered changkyun

he just stutters out a pick up line:

“I’m in the mood for pizza... a pizza you, that is!”

he actually debated on a pizza one but he didn’t want to completely die of embarrassment but his red cheeks are almost too much and the only thing he can think to do is scribble his number onto the pizza box and just dip

you’re still in shock and as you turn the pizza box over to see his number and you turn as soon as you hear jennie’s giggles

“FUCKING FINALLY”

“WHAT DID YOU DO SLKDHFJSHFKSJFH”

“THAT. YOU’RE WELCOME”

and even tho you really wanna get mad at you, you seriously can’t help the goofy grin on your lips or shake the image of a very flustered changkyun scurrying off after that little ordeal

you finally got that boy’s number and you couldn’t be happier <3

hell, even changkyun’s pretty proud of himself... minus the immense cringing..... heh

it’s all worth it when he gets a notification from his phone and it reads:

[9:54 PM] unknown: hey, it’s y/n. i was definitely in the mood for a pizza a you too... (oh god kajsfkjahfaj pls excuse that....) just know that i really am glad you did that. sorry for my roommate! maybe i can make it up with some sushi?

he decides it won’t hurt to respond:

[9:56 PM] changkyun <3: sure, i’d like that (: no more pizza references... please

[redcoatoflight]

The Summer at Lake Valor: Chapter One

Fanfic Link Here

Summary: When Top Coordinator Dawn Berlitz finally gets chance to meet her penpal Drew Hayden, she decides to use this as an opportunity to reunite him with his old flame, May. But little do they know, everything is about to change when the lives of Dawn, May, Misty, Gary, Drew, and Ash collide at Lake Valor’s Hotel Grand Resort. Major Pokeshipping, Contestshipping, and Cavaliershipping.

RoseradePetals has just logged on! Dawn was in earshot of the ping noise her laptop made from receiving the notification. That was probably Andrew, her internet pen pal from Hoenn. They’d been exchanging messages through the pokepen chatrooms for the past several months. Pokepen was nothing like your average social media site, full of demanding creeps who harass others. Pen pals were assigned here, paired up by interests and trainer description. Andrew was a Coordinator, just like Dawn. And she was determined to meet him today at the Lakeside Resort’s Grand Hotel at Lake Valor for the summer trip.

NoNeedToWorry has just logged on! Dawn slid into her seat and clicked on Andrew’s chatbox, opening up the new message he sent her.

RoseradePetals: I imagine that username of yours only makes people worry more. LOL!

NoNeedToWorry: Oh, give me a break “Roserade Petals” what were you even thinking?

RoseradePetals: Hey, Roserade is a very elegant Pokemon! You wouldn’t be knocking my username if you knew a thing or two about that. :P

NoNeedToWorry: All of your usernames always have something to do with roses, makes me wonder if you’re even a guy. Probably a catfish. :o

RoseradePetals: Well you’re about to find out today, aren’t you? Who knows, you’re probably the catfish, Dawn! How do I know you’re not like, Team Rocket or something behind those emails? Probably reeling me in so you can force me to join you!

NoNeedToWorry: UM! Morbid much? That was like the worst thing you could come up with lmao but Arceus, never! Anyways, don’t worry, you’re going to meet two coordinators today because my BFF May is going to be there right next to me.

RoseradePetals: Whoa, wtf that’s crazy you know, cause’ I dated a Coordinator named May at one point lmao

NoNeedToWorry: “Dated” as in past tense, because you probably scared her off with your obsession with Roserade petals.

RoseradePetals: Let’s see if you’ll be so cheeky when we meet IRL!

NoNeedToWorry: Same to you! But you know I don’t mean that.

RoseradePetals: Better. She… truly meant a lot to me. It’s a long story.

NoNeedToWorry: Maybe you could tell me at the Lakeside Resort if you feel like it.

RoseradePetals is typing…

“Dawn!” A voice called from outside, followed up with a sound of a car honking. That was May, waiting for her to come outside. Her little red car was visible from the corner of the window.

Shoot, Dawn sped over to her window and opened it, “Hold on, May. I’ll be right there!” she quickly popped back down her chair to say goodbye to Andrew.

NoNeedToWorry: Anyways, I gtg. Ttyl.. irl I’m actually really looking forward to it!

RoseradePetals: Yeah, same here. See you!

NoNeedToWorry has logged off.

RoseradePetals has logged off.

“Coming!” Dawn yelled out, shutting off her laptop and packing it inside her suitcase. She ran downstairs and made her way out. Johanna kissed her goodbye and saw her off as she rushed into May’s car.

“God, Dawn. What was holding you up?” May put her foot on the pedal and turned right out of Dawn’s house, checking her mirrors. “Was it that pen pal of yours again? Andrew?”

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Dawn strapped on her seatbelt slumping into her seat, “We were just talking and we’re finally going to meet at the Lakeside Resort! I get to spend the whole summer hanging out with you and my pen pal in person! How great is that?” For Dawn, this was going to be a great experience. Only the most accomplished Pokémon Trainers were invited out to this year’s summer trip. Both Dawn and May had become grand festival champions at some point over the years, which qualified invitations for each of them. That meant Andrew had to have been a pretty good Coordinator himself.

But May, however, was not all that enthusiastic. She was silent, uncomfortable. When the traffic light turns red, her eyes were staring straight at the road, contemplating something. She and Dawn had kept a pretty solid friendship over the years. They even began travelling together right after they both won a grand festival contest from their respective regions. But the last several months hadn’t exactly been so easy for May, not since Dawn had signed up for a pen pal service over the internet. She was never against her communication with Andrew. It’s just that the more Dawn talked about him, the more he sounded like-

“Um… May?”

May shook her head, snapping from her daze, “You’re fine, Dawn. It’s just—your pen pal somehow reminds me an awful lot of my first true love.” Her heart tightened up at the confession.

Dawn raised her eyebrows in surprise, “What?! No way! Oh, come on, May. Now you’ve gotta tell me everything.”

“Okay, I used to date this Coordinator I was traveling with before I competed at the Grand Festival in Hoenn again, and I know that has absolutely nothing to do with your pen pal but when you told me he was a Coordinator from the Hoenn region, that was the first person I thought of. Those letters Andrew sent you reminded me of everything I used to share with him.” May said this all in one breath, trying not to reel from her memories because she was on the road.

“I’m so sorry, May. I had no idea.” Dawn’s voice took on a soft but shocked tone. She supposed this was just one of the few things she didn’t know about her. But with the disappointment layering over May’s face, Dawn couldn’t blame her for not talking about it. But then she suddenly remembers the message Andrew sent her. That’s crazy you know, cause’ I dated a Coordinator named May at one point. May didn’t know that Andrew told her that, though. “I don’t mean to pry, but could you tell me his name? Are you two still in contact?” Dawn asked, her eyes filled with curiosity.

She paused, trailing off, brown bangs falling over the corner of her eye, “His name was Drew. And I never saw him ever again.”

The moment the light turns green again is exactly when Dawn put two and two together. Andrew, the name clicks into her brain, with emphasize on Drew. Dawn didn’t think much of it then, but now she knew just exactly who she’d be looking for.

The Lakeside Resort is bustling with crowds of elite trainers and top coordinators. Most of the were recognizable because of the fame they’d obtained. When the both of them arrived, their baggage’s were picked up by a few bellboys to be moved to wherever their assigned suite was.

“I wonder if I’ll see anyone I know.” Dawn said, referring to old friends rather than celebrities she’d competed with in the past. She’d hope to be able to see what they were all up to after all these years. It was mostly all in the news.

Ash went back home to Pallet Town to start all over and won the Kanto League.

Brock achieved his dream of becoming a Pokémon Doctor, working alongside Nurse Joy.

Cupid Lyra managed to beat out Lance and became Johto’s newest Champion… and opened a matchmaking business after that.

Kenny finally became a Top Coordinator.

Nando became a Top Coordinator and made top four in multiple conferences.

Barry became a poketech model.

And Gary Oak was now one of the most renowned Pokémon Researchers to date.

Lastly, there was Zoey. She was still a traveling Top Coordinator, but Dawn never heard much from her after they competed against each other for the second time in the Sinnoh Grand Festival, which resulted in Dawn’s first victory against her.

It was nice to know they’d all become so accomplished, but it wasn’t quite the same as when Dawn was traveling with Ash and Brock.

“After that Veilstone City traffic I had to go through, I just hope I don’t see some of my old rivals here.” May puffed, crossing her arms. “Anyways, my suite number is 192. So, meet me there if you need me!” May waved, taking off.

“Alright!” Dawn waved back, waiting for May to be out of sight before initiating her plan. As Lyra used to say, for this matchmaker—it’s cupid time!

“Could I get this note to go to Drew’s room? You know, the Coordinator Drew? It's very urgent.” Dawn slipped a hundred-dollar bill to the receptionist with the note.

The receptionist nods, taking the cash and sending a bellboy to do the favor.

“Thank you so much!” Dawn winked, waving off, “You’re a huge help!”

“Please don’t tell me that was a love letter to the famous Top Coordinator Drew.” A voice crept up on Dawn from behind.

“Oh, as if!” Dawn put her hands on her hips, her chin raised up, not facing the source of the sound. “I’ll have you know, I’d never have feelings for someone I haven’t even met! Let alone write a love letter.”

“Well, that’s good, because then I’d have to trash this poem I wrote for you if you had eyes for someone else.”

“Huh?” Dawn’s eyes perked up, that voice sounded familiar. Her blue locks whip around her shoulders when she turns around to face the source. “Gary?! You’re here too?!”

Gary chuckled, his brown hair was messier than ever, “Surprise, haven’t seen you in a while.” His arms spread wide open.

“No kidding! Oh, my god, I missed you!” Dawn exclaimed, skipping over to give him a quick, tight hug. “Tell me how you’ve been! I haven’t seen any of my old friends in forever, you know. C'mon, you’ve gotta tell me about the cool adventures and breakthroughs you’ve had as a researcher!”

“And I will, Dawn.” Gary assured her, “But not before you tell me about your journey leading up to your fame as a Top Coordinator. You’ve been in so many Grand Festivals!”

Dawn beamed at him, “Well, that’s no fair because I asked first!”

“Okay, we’ll play rock, paper scissors. Best two out of three! Loser has to go first.” Gary pumped his fist.

“Oh, you are so on!” Dawn pumped up her fist as well.

“Rock, paper, scissors…”

An envelope slipped in room number 190, Drew Hayden’s suite. His eyes perked up in curiosity, picking it up and opening it.

Hey there, Andrew!

Or should I say RoseradePetals?

Today is finally the day, huh?

Anyways, if you’re reading this, it means we’ve both finally arrived.

So, I’ve got this great idea.

In thirty minutes, come meet me at Suite #192.

It’ll save the trouble of looking for each other in this huge crowd.

- NoNeedToWorry

Drew chuckled. So, she’s finally here. And only two doors down from him, too. He flipped his green bangs from his eyes, Alright, Dawn. See you later.

“I cannot believe we’re roommates!” May exclaimed excitedly, hugging Misty, “If I’d known you’d be here, I would’ve told Ash when he called me from the PC in the Pokémon Center!”

“Wait, Ash is going to be here too?!” Misty gasped, “I haven’t seen him since he won the Kanto League, god he’s becoming a greater trainer each and every day. It’s like he turned into a full champion right before my eyes! May, he looked SO different when we reunited in Kanto. It was like the boy I once knew finally became a man!” she said that last bit in a dreamy tone.

May blinked, going through her thoughts, “Misty, are you and Ash…” she twiddled her thumbs, which has been a habit for her every time she asked a question that made her feel uncomfortable “…You know— ”

There fire set in Misty’s eyes were as red as her hair, “NO FREAKIN’ WAY!” she yelled, tossing a nearby pillow at May, causing her to fall face down on the ground, “AS IF I’D EVER! NOT WITH THAT KID!”

“G-Guess it was wrong to step on that minefield…” May stammered, her body lying flat on the floor.

Before Misty could spit out anymore disgust with May, there was a knock on the door. A voice rang from the other side. “May, open up! It’s me!”

“O-Oh look, right on time! Misty, you really need to meet my best friend Dawn, she was also one of Ash’s traveling companions!” May rushed up off the ground and ran to the door, pulling Dawn in and shutting it quickly.

“Uh—” Dawn started, only to be cut off by May.

“Dawn, Misty. Misty, Dawn.”

“Oh, my gosh!” Dawn clapped her hands together and beamed, “You’re even cuter as a full sized human!”

“Um, what?” Misty uttered in confusion.

“Oh, when Ash and I journeyed together, we went fishing once. And he took out the CUTEST red-headed fishing lure and told me you gave it to him. He wouldn’t even let me touch it!”

Misty nearly blushed, “H-He still kept it? After all that time?”

“Wow, Misty. He must have told Dawn all about you.” May smirked at her.

The faint red streak from Misty’s face had vanished as soon as May said that, shooting a deathly glare at her “For the last time, May—”

“Anyways,” Dawn announced, shaking her head, “Listen up! I came here because my pen pal is going to be knocking on that door at any moment, we’re finally going to meet him for the first time!” She directed that last bit to May, looking her in the eye.

“A pen pal? Misty tilted her head, letting the reality of what she said seep into her brain before scrunching her face in repulsion, "YOU MEAN SOME GROSS, CREEPY STRANGER ON THE INTERNET IS GOING TO KNOCK ON OUR SUITE?! DAWN, YOU’VE GOTTA GET RID OF HIM!”

But Misty would find that it was too late, as someone was already knocking on the door, “Oh, great…” Misty softly grumbled, rushing over the kitchen counter to hide while May followed suit.

“Shhh,” Dawn whispered, placing a finger on her lip, “Quiet.” She turned on the handle, revealing a mop of green hair on a male figure.

“Dawn?” his yes dilated upward.

“Mhm, Andrew.” Dawn nodded, smirking.

“Well, what do you know.” Drew flipped his bangs with his fingers, “My pen pal was the Top Coordinator Dawn. And here I thought I was talking to a complete nobody.” He laughed at his own joke.

Dawn beamed at him, “Trust me, today is going to be full of surprises. Guess I was wrong about you being catfish, why don’t you come in? I want you to meet May and Misty. She widened the door opened.

He took a few steps inside the suite, with Dawn following behind.

"Okay, guys, you can come on out and meet Drew.” Dawn said with as much clarity in her voice possible.

“Wait, Drew?” May’s head was the first to pop up. She walked over to him in disbelief, “No way…”

Drew took a step back, the shock was slowly morphing its way into his face, “May?!”

Dawn stood by and watched the scene unfold as the two stared at each other in awe and surprise.

“Hey.” May started.

“It’s been awhile-” Drew beamed at her faintly.

Misty popped out from the kitchen counter angrily, “You invited a fuckboy into our suite?! Dawn, I’m going to let this one slide since you probably didn’t know any better, but he can’t be trusted!”

Drew’s eyebrows furrowed, “Okay, who’s the redhead and what the hell her problem?”

Misty quickly jumped in between May and Drew and got in his face, “LISTEN HERE, ROSE BOY. I’M THE GIRL WHO HAD TO LISTEN TO MAY CRY ABOUT YOUR SHITTY ASS REASON FOR BREAKING HER HEART. SO, I’M NOT ABOUT TO LET YOU PLAGUE DAWN’S LIFE AS WELL!”

“Misty, stop! It’s okay!” May grabbed her by the arms, holding a thrashing Misty back from rearranging Drew’s face.

“Whoa!” Dawn exclaimed, running over to help May, pulling Misty back from him as much as possible.

“HOW DARE YOU SHOW YOUR FACE HERE! YOU THINK JUST BECAUSE YOU GOT ALL YOUR FANCY RIBBONS AND TROPHIES NOW MEANS THAT YOU CAN WORM YOUR WAY BACK INTO HER LIFE?!” Misty swung her arms and legs over and over, “MAY, DAWN, LET GO OF ME. I’M ABOUT TO SHOW THIS NO-GOOD SNOT THAT HE CAN’T FLOWER POWER HIS WAY INTO EVERYTHING!”

Dawn tightened her grasp on Misty’s arm, “Drew!” she grunted, “Step back!”

“Drewy-kins!” A familiar, feminine voice interrupted, the sound of heels clicked into the room, “Are you done meeting your pen pal yet? I got tired of waiting.”

“Drewy-kins?” May grimaced, loosening her grip on Misty.

Dawn let go, whipping her head to the source of the voice. From the bottom of her Mary-jane heels to her signature pastel blue dress and strawberry blonde hair drills—it was Ursula.

“What’s the prissy Barbie doing here?” Misty snorted as soon as she stopped her thrashing completely.

“Excuse me, Ariel but my name’s Ursula and I’m here because you and your little friends are holding my boyfriend hostage.” She rolled her eyes, and shot Dawn a look, “Nice seeing you again, Dee Dee.”

“Boyfriend?” May snapped her head towards Drew, who looked at her with as much disappointment.

Looks like my matchmaking plan was a bust. “Why don’t you come over here and say that to my face!” Dawn challenged her, stepping forward with her fist clenched, only for Misty to grab her wrists. Never in her life did she hate Kenny so damn much.

“It’s not worth it, Dawn. The people in China would just make another one in her place.” She smirked at the displeasure surfacing in Ursula’s face.

“I just love it when exes downgrade.” Misty’s smirk doesn’t falter.

“Oh, please!” Dawn exclaimed, “Drew is way too down to earth to go out with someone like you.”

“Well then, I hate to break it to you Dee Dee, because we’ve been an item ever since he started sending letters to that pen pal of his.” Ursula nearly hissed, “So which one of you is it?”

“That would be me.” Dawn said sweetly, watching the lines scrunch up on Ursula’s forehead.

“Well, Drew. I think it’s time for you to leave! You wouldn’t want to catch dandruff in your perfect hair now, would you?” Ursula smirked.

Dawn took out Pachirisu’s pokeball, “I’m about to show you how I got that nickname in the first place!”

“Dawn, stop.” Drew finally said, “And you stop, too, Ursula.” He shot a glare at her, “She’s my friend and she’s just as important to me as you are. So, can you guys please try to be civil? At least around me?” he pleaded.

Dawn was the first to give in to agreement, pocketing away Pachirisu’s pokeball. “Okay, sure.”

Ursula rolled her eyes, letting out a very exaggerated sigh before responding, “Fine, but you’re coming back to my suite once you’re done!”

Misty interjected, “Actually, he should just get going right about now. I mean, you do know that it’s rude to leave your trash in other people’s suites, right?”

“Misty.” May hissed, “That’s enough. If Dawn and Ursula can agree to be civil with each other for Drew’s sake, then you and Drew should do it for mine.”

Misty looked at her guiltily, “I’m sorry, I was just trying to look out for you.”

“Hey, I was civil.” Drew pointed out, “She was the one that started it.”

Misty shook out of her apologetic mood, cracking her knuckles together, “Why don’t I go ahead and finish it then, huh?”

“You guys!” May yelled.

“Okay, sorry we’ll be civil.” Both Misty and Drew said in unison.

When all was said and done, Drew and Dawn made reservations at the Seven Star Restaurant to have lunch tomorrow. It was the end of the day, and Dawn hadn’t even got a chance to see her suite yet.

“Alright, #191 is right next to May and Misty’s suite.” Dawn took out her key card, sliding it through the lock, “I wonder who my roommate is going to be…” she murmured to herself, walking inside the room. Her bags were placed near the living room couch, next to a few other different suitcases.

Maybe it’ll be someone she knew, like Zoey. It would’ve been great for them to catch up again, it might even be a gym leader like Candace or Maylene. Dawn always got along with those two very well. Or, it could’ve be Lyra. That didn’t sound too bad.

Dawn nearly dropped her jaw at the pastel drenched figure with stiff strawberry blonde hair curls. “Arceus, hell no.”

Or, it was Ursula.

“Hell no is right.” Ursula retorts, “What do you think you're doing here, Dee Dee?”

“What am I doing here?! This is my suite!” Dawn whipped out her key card, “My room number. #191.”

Ursula also whips out her key card in response, “Well, you’re mistaken because this is mine!”

“Oh my ARCEUS. Please don’t tell me you’re my roommate.” Dawn groaned. “There’s no way I’m going to share a room with your sabotaging ass!”

“We’re not roommates, Dawn. Because this is MY room.”

“As if I’d just hand it over to you!”

“I got here first!”

“Right, just like how you were also the first to get eliminated from the Wallace Cup, but that’s none of my business!” Dawn stuck her tongue out as she played the petty card.

“Bringing up a loss from what was years ago?” Ursula’s irritation became visible in her twitched eyes, “Grow up, Dee Dee!”

“That’s because you keep using that age-old nickname from all those same years ago!”

“You’re not getting this room!”

“I have a right to be here too, Ursula!”

“Fine! We’ll share.” Ursula hissed, “You stay out of my way, I stay out of yours.”

“Hmph!” Dawn crossed her arms, “And we both get equal halves of this suite.”

“Deal.” Ursula quickly but reluctantly agrees.

I’m probably not even going to be here all that often. A thought ran through Dawn’s head, followed by a mental sigh.

Over by the docks, three young men had emerged from a small little boat. The one with a Pikachu on his shoulder took a nice, long stretch as the boat sailed off, while the one with the sketch book started a sea portrait. The tallest of them all lowered the map in his hand, knowing for a fact that they’d arrived at Lake Valor’s Grand Hotel Resort.

“Alright, Pikachu, we’re here!” Ash beamed, pumping his fist up in the air, “Man, we haven’t been here since the Wallace Cup. I’m so psyched to be here!”

Tracey finished up the details to his drawing, “Viola, my first Sinnoh Sketch!” he held it up with pride, “This trip is already off to a great start.”

Brock stepped forward, eyeing the hotel, “May did say the girls would be here, right Ash? It’d be nice to have the whole gang together again. And it’s about time Dawn finally met Tracey.”

Before any of them could say a thing, the girls had already been ahead of them. Running towards the docks were Misty, May and Dawn- ready to greet the boys after many years of separation.

“No freakin’ way, it’s Ash!” Dawn exclaimed as she gave him a hi-five.

“It’s so great to see ya, Dawn!” Ash smiled widely, touched that she remembered their signature hi-five after all these years.

“Gosh, Tracey, you barely just got here and you’ve already finished a full portrait. You just never stop drawing do you?” May giggled.

“Some things never change.” Tracey beamed at her.

Misty almost cried when she saw Brock, “I haven’t seen you in forever! And what’s this about you being a doctor now? Oh my god. I bet you became a doctor just so you can get close to Nurse Joy, huh!” she smirked, arms crossed.

Brock scratched his neck awkwardly, “Well, you see…”

The six chatted it up for a little while, mingling amongst each other. Dawn and Tracey were finally acquainted. Misty and Ash reunited. And May could not wait to explore the Lakeside’s mall district with the only guy that didn’t dread shopping with her.

She snatched the map from him, pointing at the shopping district, “Brock, you have no idea how many new stores they’ve put up here! If we go now, we’ll have a full six hours to shop before the midnight curfew!”

“Speaking of time,” Misty started, “It’s about time Ash caught up with the rest of us and actually got himself a car. Everyone else drove here!”

“Misty, do you have any idea how expensive cars are?!” Ash flinched at the amount of zero’s that amounted to the price. Pikachu became dizzy at the idea of Ash strapping him to a seat belt, meaning he’d be restrained. (Although Pikachu had a very exaggerated version of seat belt restraint playing in his head.)

“Yeah, but you’re the Kanto League Champion now. You could afford it.” Misty shrugged.

“Driving takes away all the fun from the adventure!” Ash curled his fingers into his palm, “Plus, uh, I almost backed up mom’s car into Gary’s house once, so…” he smiled shyly.

“Typical Ash behavior.” May beat Misty to the punch as she said that, “But at least someone here finds it charming.” she smirked at Misty.

“Don’t you dare test me!” Misty chided.

“Huh?” Ash tilted his head, “Who finds me charming?”

Dawn snorted. But after witnessing what Misty almost did to Drew, she knew better than to interfere with matters involving Misty.

“No one.” Misty said, a little too quickly, “As if any girl would wanna date a guy who doesn’t have a car!”

“Guys, I wanna go shopping!” May almost whined, “And I’m also hungry… Brock, let’s go!” she tugged on his arm.

“Wait!” Brock stopped her, “What’s the rush? We’re all here together now, and most of us have traveled with each other before. Don’t you think this little reunion calls for a group picture?”

“Oh!” Ash’s eyes perked up, digging in his backpack with his hand, “We can take it with my phone. It’s the latest model so it’s got the best camera!” he pulled out a slim white phone with a pokeball case, installed with the latest Pokedex Updates.

“Whoa, that’s so cute!” Dawn exclaimed dreamily, “I’m so getting that model!”

“That’s Ash for ya.” Misty rolled her eyes, “Always got his priorities messed up, picking a new phone over a car.”

“Well, I don’t need a car to become the greatest Pokemon Master!” Ash stuck his tongue out at her.

“Uh,” Tracey coughs, speaking in a way that only Ash could hear, “However, you do need one if you’re planning on taking a certain special someone out on a date.”

“THAT’S RIDICULOUS!” Ash yelled, his Pikachu shook his head.

Dawn whips out a hairbrush and started carefully brushing through her locks, “So, are we gonna actually do this thing or what? I wanna look as good as I can for our reunion picture! C'mon, it’s a pretty big deal.”

“Alright, alright!” Brock projects his voice and manages to settle everyone down, getting them ready for the picture.

“Let’s take more than one, I wanna send a couple of these to Max back in Hoenn.” May smiled and struck a pose.

“Okay… one… two…” Ash beamed for a final click as he raised his phone up in the air to get everyone in the picture, “…Three!" Snap.

"Pika pi!”