#so our literal only hope is mondays

[copper-dragon-in-disguise]

please. please let monday work for d&d

PLEASE

[goldensunset]

aarraRRFHGHGGHHRAAAAAGHHGGGGGG

[causticsunshine]

.

[running-in-the-dark]

it only got worse from there!

he kept coming back. he was mean and rude to everyone every single time. he demanded we be done by 8pm. the one time he dared say that while I was around I said we are going as fast as we can, and that's it (well, he then responded that "I" should have started three weeks ago and I very sternly said that I also had to write my thesis at the same time, so I did as much as possible. that shut him up.)

like. it's fucked up to insist that we get done on Saturday at all. but especially because he has previously said it'd be fine if we needed until late February, then it became the 15th. and now suddenly the world is ending because we cannot do it in one fucking day.

well. in the end he somehow got my husband's parents to pay him a ridiculous amount of money so that we can finish by Monday. I fucking hate this guy.

going crazy here.

the landlord keeps coming in. AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN.

now he's apparently fixing the lock on the front door

like dude fuck off?? he's constantly making comments that we won't be done by 8 tonight. yeah man maybe if you keep on distracting everyone!

[a-b-riddle]

Hey!

I just finished reading your poly!141 x reader fic where reader leaves them because they neglect you

I saw you said in like August that you are still planning more chapters, I was just wondering if that's still the case? I know writing is a long process and a lot of stuff can get in the way of it, so don't feel rushed or anything! I just loved the fic and was curious ❤️

Yes! Absolutely. Unfortunately life has just gotten busy with wedding planning and work so I honestly just try and put it out what I can/want. I think with the way things are right now I'm just on a mindset to be very angsty because I'm a little stretched thin and down as it is so I haven't had an interest in writing it at this particular time.

I'm getting married on Sunday (yayayay) and I only have off Thursday-Monday because we can't honeymoon until the summer because of our work schedules. I love my job, but it's just a busy season and there have been a lot of other stressors with the wedding like none of the wedding party's suits fitting. The caterers canceled on me a week prior so we are literally just having olive garden. So I am hoping that once things calm down and we get into my favorite time of the year, I can focus more on continuing the series. But I am so glad you liked it!

[makethemhoesmad]

first sight

dancing with our hands tied part one!

paige bueckers x reader

—

brooke’s pov

“holy shit brooke,” taniya shouts from her room. 

“what,” i yell back. it’s a questionable method of communication, but it works for us. i hear her footsteps clambering towards my room, then my door bursts open and taniya, my five-foot-barely anything roomate flings herself onto my bed.

“paige FUCKING bueckers commented on your post and all you did was like it? i thought i taught you better than this, bee,” taniya says, shaking her head at me.

“well, it’s not like-“

“HOLD ON,” taniya cuts me off, “she liked this comment saying ‘the spine tattoo…my god’ brooklyn mae johns she’s fucking in love with you.”

i roll my eyes at taniya’s wild predictions, which aren’t new to our friendship. “first of all, my name isn’t even brooklyn, second of all, wait, check my phone, who’s that message from?”

taniya picks up my phone, reads something, then screams at the top of her lungs and chucks my phone at me.

Paige💕

Hey was just wondering what college you went to?

i stare blankly at the screen, starstruck. taniya nudges me, motioning at the phone to respond.

Brookee🐝

Uconn, like you. 

Paige💕

Oh shit really? I didn’t know you knew so much about me😏

“is she really tryna flirt with me IN MY DMS right now?” i say out loud. taniya giggles.

“no shit sherlock, that’s why she slid into your dms. tell her you like basketball or something!”

Brookee🐝

i mean, i like basketball and my dorm isn’t that far from gampel. the mcdonald’s like twenty minutes away is like ten times cooler tho.

“you sneaky shit,” taniya snickers.

Paige💕

Fr you should meet me there in like 30.

Brookee🐝 

No shit?

Paige💕

Yeah i’ll see ya then

i swipe out of instagram and start pacing around my room, opening drawers and holding things up to my body.

“bee, cool it. paige is about to show up in team travel gear, so your sweatpants and cute ass tank top are fine. put on some mascara or something if it’ll help you chill, but you’ll look great.” taniya is a little psychotic most of the time, but she’s calm as fuck in these situations.

i twist my hair up into a clip and climb into my car, palms sweaty. i don’t know why i agreed, this is so creepy and random.

Paige💕

i’m otw, u almost there?

Brookee🐝

yeah almost, ps don’t text and drive

Paige💕

hypocrite

Brookee🐝

😔

~

“hey brooke!” i hear a voice from behind the booth im sitting in, nursing a sprite and a small fry.

“hi paige,” i say, grinning. she smiles back, and slides into the other side of the booth, then reaches over and takes one of my fries.

“get your own,” i chide, while sliding the fries closer to her. “besides that, why’d you randomly want to know what college i go to?”

she shifts in her seat. as she opens her mouth, a waitress comes by with a happy meal. paige opens it up and dumps her fries into the other end of the nugget box. before she eats, i quickly snap a picture.

“you don’t mind if i post this? it’s kinda how im paying for my guilty pleasures.”

she nods, “yeah, tag me. anyway, i asked you about what college you went to because i thought i knew you from somewhere, but i just could not figure out what. also, you’re like, really pretty so i wanted to talk to you.”

she blushes at the last part, which makes my cheeks go a bit pink. 

“well, you’re not exactly bad looking yourself. when can i see you again, because it’s getting late and i want to see my bed,” i say. taniya would be proud of my straightforwardness.

“Well, i’ve got tickets to a Sun & Fever game for monday, and the person i was going with just bailed on me, so do you wanna come?” 

i blink at paige in shock. i’ve literally known her in person for maybe twenty five minutes and she’s already offering me things?

“i mean, im not doing anything, and the Sun’s arena isn’t that far, is it?” i ask, hoping to get any more information on whatever she’s proposing.

“yeah, it’s probably only like an hour with traffic, but i can pick you up and drive you home if you want? or we can get a hotel? i have a hotel, but i can cancel it if you wanna you home, i just didn’t want to drive again after the game because leaving would be hell.”

i nod, hoping it looks cool and confident and not utterly confused.

“yeah, we can keep the hotel, it’s okay.”

“aight, i’ll get you on monday around three.” 

paige walks me out to my car, and as i climb in, she grabs my hand and squeezes it. once i see that she’s gone, i call taniya.

“Bitch do i have so much to tell you.”

[lurkingshan]

Love in the Big City Book Club: Drama Live Watch

Hello hello book clubbers! We are only two weeks out from the start of the live airing of the Love in the Big City live action drama. Soon we will see Young's story in all its messy glory on our screens. Here's what we know about the structure of the show:

Sang Young Park was involved in adapting the screenplay for the show (as opposed to the film, in which he was not involved)

The drama is structured in four parts, just like the book, with a different director for each part doing two episodes each

All of Young's important love interests are present in the story, with some additions as well

This show is gonna be so fucking queer, y'all

What we don't know yet:

The exact airing schedule (it starts Monday, October 21st, but we don't yet know if it will air one or two episodes weekly)

Where international fans can watch (it will air on TVING in Korea, and I am hoping we will have an international platform confirmed next week)

That said, here's the plan for book club: Mondays will be for regular show viewing. On the Tuesday after each set of two episodes airs (either weekly or every other week, depending on the final airing schedule), I will post book club specific discussion questions with an assist from @bengiyo and invite folks to post responses or other discussion through the week. We'll repost the original questions from that part of the book, plus new ones based on the drama adaptation. As always, book clubbers are invited to respond to any, all, or none of them; they're just there to prompt thinking and discussion. We'll tag all book club relevant posts with [#litbc book club].

I am including everyone from the original tag list below the cut, and will do so for all the discussion posts. If you want to be removed, or if you're not on this list but want to be added, just reply to this post to let me know. I'm so excited to watch this show with all of you!

@becomingabeing @belladonna-and-the-sweetpeas @blalltheway @elimstillnotgarak

@colourme-feral @doyou000me @dramacraycray @dylogpenchester @fiction-is-queer

@hyeoni-comb @littleragondin @literally-a-five-headed-dragon @loveable-sea-lemon @my-rose-tinted-glasses

@neuroticbookworm @poetry-protest-pornography @profiterole-reads @serfergs @starryalpacasstuff

@stuffnonsenseandotherthings @thewayofsubtext @troubled-mind @twig-tea @wen-kexing-apologist

[genericpuff]

In other news, I've lost my glasses. I've misplaced them before, but never to this extent that I haven't been able to find them at home, at work, or in our car. So... yeah, that's a huge bummer, unless they turn up somewhere random where I didn't think to look before (but that would just beg the question of why they'd be in such a random location in the first place) I'm gonna have to replace them.

I need to get my prescription updated anyways so this time around I'm gonna just do the appointment, get my prescription and measurements, and then order some new ones online from like, Zenni or something (I've heard good things about them and their prices are DEFINITELY more reasonable). I just really liked the frames that I had, so I'm really hoping I can find the same ones again or something similar; and honestly even if I do go with a cheaper place like Zenni, I need transition lenses for my light sensitivity so it's always gonna be pricey no matter who I buy them from 😭

Unfortunately there seems to be a high volume of appointments rn (probably because it's the school season, idk) so the place I usually go to is booked up until December. Then when I called another place to check their booking schedule, they told me they could get me in next Monday at 4... which just so happens to land at the tail end of a 3 hour shift that I have to do at my second job, a job that I literally only work 3-6 hours a week for 💀 Sooo the odds of that are kind of astounding (and incredibly frustrating) but apparently cancellations are relatively common so they have me on a waitlist, and worst case, if I don't get called in sooner on account of a cancellation, I only have to wait until mid October, about a month away. Still a pain, but better than waiting until frigging December LOL Like man I just need to replace my glasses, why is this so frustrating 💀

[sacredthethreadgvf]

Limelight | Jake Kiszka x Reader | Part 1.

Word Count: 13.7k

Prologue

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

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

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

Enough of me rambling, I hope you enjoy!

****

July 28th 

STARCATCHER

Houston, TX.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“The limelight scares me.” You both laugh. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Uh, yeah I do sometimes.” 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What a douche..

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

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

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

No no, stop thinking like that you just met him 

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

***

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

Everything had gone terribly wrong. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Idiot?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“You're twins?” You were surprised. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Thank you Josh.” You smiled softly. 

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

***

July 29th. 

Denver, CO.

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

10:44 AM

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

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

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

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

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

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

What a way to start a day. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Hey.” You said softly. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You clicked your pen, “Of course!” 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jake nodded. “Deal.” 

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

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

You giggled. “I think I already have.” 

***

August 4th.

STARCATCHER

Seattle, WA. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Things did not in fact go smoothly…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Was that? No..

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Was he doing this on purpose? 

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

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

“Sure.” 

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

***

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

Towels by his guitar case. Check. 

One towel on the amp. Check.

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

Snacks and drinks in the dressing room. Check. 

Wine bottles in guitar case. Check. 

Water. Big check. 

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

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

Everyone nodded collectively.

“Let's have a show!” 

***

August 10th

STARCATCHER

Los Angeles, CA.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Thats fucking stupid!” 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Greaaat, now I'm caught in the crossfire.  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Huh?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Oh. 

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

***

August 20th

HOME SWEET HOME…

Nashville, TN. 

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

Jake Kiszka

Hey, you busy tomorrow? 

Oh. This is unexpected. 

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

You 

Nothing planned, what's going on? 

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

Jake Kiszka 

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

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

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

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

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

****

August 21st

GVF, LLC OFFICE.

Nashville, TN.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Mhm, suuure.” 

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

***

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Yes! Jakes in! Now who else?” 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I will make sure that I do!” 

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

“What were you and Danny talking about?” 

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I'd like that Jake.” 

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Jake?” You asked softly.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Fair enough Y/N.” 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“What?” Your eyes widened. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

****

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

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

[scapingthebottomofthebarrel]

Hello!

I saw that you were accepting requests so can I request a Tom Holland ( Spider-Man) x a reader who faints a lot. Like she blacks out multiple times a day. How overprotective would Spidey be? If you can, then maybe can please incorporate Steve Rogers in the story too. I have been obsessed with them..♥️

Please delete if this uncomfortable or bad🙏

I had fun writing this! I hope you like it!

Emergency Tylenol

“I forgot the Tylenol. We need to go back. Actually wait a second. I think…yup! Secret back up Tylenol!” You can’t help but smile as you watch Peter mutter to himself and dig around in his bag. You watch him lay out all the supplies from his bag. “Ok so we’ve got secret back up Tylenol, ibuprofen, ice packs, bandaids, neosporin, your emergency meds, and two water bottles.” He says proudly.

“Peter I promise you don’t need to carry all of this around with you. I have some stuff in my bag. I’ll be fine.” You insist for what must be the millionth time today.

“I absolutely do, sweetheart. As your boyfriend it’s my swore duty to take care of you and I can’t do that if I’m not fully equipped.”

“Peter, we’re literally in a private limo on our way to the Avengers Compound. I don’t think I could be any better taken care of.” He seems to consider your words for a moment before shrugging and opening the bainaid container to reorganize them.

“You could be. Trust me, I keep stats. You’re-“

That was the last thing you heard before everything went black. When you open your eyes you find yourself on a bed in a room that you slowly recognize at Peter’s bedroom in the compound. You look around for any sign of him but only find a bottle of water, some Tylenol, and a note the simply reads

‘Boom. Prepared.’

You can’t help but smile at your boyfriends antics. The ache in your head prompts you to take the pills. You quickly finish the water bottle and slowly get up as to not black out again. After a moment when you’re sure you won’t faint you make your way to the nearest lounge.

“There they are!” Steve says with a soft smile.

“How long was I out for?” You ask as you plop down onto the couch next to him.

“About 20 minutes.”

“I’m coming back around quicker. That’s nice.” Steve nods as he fishes out his phone

“Peter’s in the lab with Tony. I told him I’d text him when you woke up.” He explains while he slowly types on his phone. “You’d think the kid didn’t know what was going on.” He says it with a fond smile.

“We’ve been working on him not being two inches from my face when I wake up.” You say with a laugh. You’ve known Peter since 7th grade and you began dating your sophomore year of high school. Despite that he still treats each black out with meticulous care. “Oh! Guess what!” You say excitedly remembering the whole reason for you coming to the compound today.

“What?” Steve asks with just as much enthusiasm.

“I entered you in an art contest and you won first prize! I submitted that picture you drew of Peter and I.” You quickly scroll through your email looking for the one about the contest results. “Well there not actually a prize, but it’s nice to be acknowledged ya know?” Steve chuckles and leans back a bit to clearly see the screen you’ve shoved in his face. As he reads the email you hear the soft sound of the door to the lounge opening.

“I’m glad to see you’re up and about sweetheart.” Peter says as he comes to lean on the arm rest next to you. “How are you feeling?”

“Well it’s four o’clock and I’ve only blacked out three times today, so pretty good.” Peter gives you a once over before nodding.

“Ima have to steal her for some studying Captain Roger’s.” Your eyes go wide at this.

“Oh no we have that test on Monday!” You groan sinking into your seat.

“Yup. So we gotta get some snacks and get to studying.” Peter takes your hand and pulls you up from the couch before leading you towards one of the kitchens.

“See ya later Steve! Don’t forget to revel in your victory!” You shout as you walk away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You and Peter have been studying for two hours and you’re starting to feel a little light headed from the stress.

“Why don’t we take a break?” Peter suggests before you can voice your discomfort. You smile gratefully knowing that Peter saw the signs of a black out starting to appear. “Sweetheart, you can tell me when something is getting too much.” He reminds you and you both close your books and migrate from the table to the beanbags where all your snacks are.

“I know. I’m just so worried about this test. I know I’ll probably do fine, but it’s such a big grade.” You sigh as you poke a straw into a juice pouch.

“We’ve been studying for two weeks. We’re gonna do great. It’s Friday why don’t we relax?” You ponder his words for a moment before nodding. “Great. I’ll dim the lights and grab your meds. You pick a movie.” Never in your wildest dreams would you have thought you would find someone. You’ve blacked out three times today and each time Peter was nothing but caring. You take a second to watch Peter as he grabs you some water and your meds before meticulously diming the lights to the setting he knows is perfect when you’re starting to feel faint.

“I love you.” You sigh happily. Peter nearly drops what he’s holding.

“Wh-what was that?” He asks slowly.

“I love you. I never knew I could love someone this much.” You explain. “I’m so happy it’s you I’m in love with.” Peter gets a dopy grin on his face and hops over the couch you sitting on to be next to you. He puts his hands on either side of your face and kisses you all over.

“I love you too!” He practically squeals. You can’t help but giggle and you two slowly settle in on the couch. “It was the emergency Tylenol wasn’t it? No one can resist.” He adds after a moment. You can’t help but burst out laughing.

“Yes Peter, it was the emergency Tylenol.” You and Peter both know that this is it for both of you. No other love could ever feel like this.

[heinouscolette]

Study Muffin

Genderbent!Loud Siblings x Reader

Linka groans from the sight of her paper. Her test was marked with an F. She rests her head on the desk, defeated. “I don't get it, Claudia. Usually, I'm a good student but lately it's been all C's and D's and now an F.”

Claudia grabbed Linka’s test paper and grimaced at it. “Ugh, and a frowny face too. Girl, I cannot.” Claudia’s reply made Linka groan even more, disturbing others around them. “If I don't turn this around, I could fail fifth grade!”

“Linka, you can't! If I go to middle school without you, I could fall in with the wrong social group, and get frosted lips, and start being into bubble nails." Claudia shivered.

Linka just stared at her best friend blankly almost lost hope but she remembered she knew someone who could get her to tutor.

That is… no other than Levi!

“No.” Levi refused while staring blankly at his sister. The two siblings are at home. Linka approached her brother the first thing after she came home from school.

“But, Levi!” Linka whined, Levi is the only one who could help her right now as he is the prodigy intellectually among her brothers. With no way out, she tried to do puppy dog eyes at him to try and persuade her younger brother to give in and help her.

“Cute, but you really thought that would work on me? Sorry, Link. Unfortunately I am completely booked. I got math with Lars on Mondays, geology with Lynn on Tuesdays, finger painting with Leon on Wednesdays, et cetera et cetera." He showed Linka his schedule for the rest of the month which made the girl sigh.

“Oh, since you did the puppy eye thing, I’ll give you an advice. I've heard through the tutoring grapevine that some high school students tutor for extra credit.” With that, Levi turned to walk away from Linka.

“Hey, you said the puppy eye thing didn’t work!”

“Oh, pish-posh.” Levi grinned and left. At a distance, he could be heard yelling at Loni about being tardy with the Pre-Cal tutoring session.

Your phone dinged as someone sent you a message about being interested of booking you as a tutor. Finally, the time has come! You’ve been growing anxious about being a tutor. Although this isn’t the first time teaching another student, it’s still nerve-wracking since it’s a stranger this time.

It really wasn’t your idea to offer tutoring sessions but your friend suggested that it might be a good idea to build an image for college applications in the future.

You opened the message and found that you would be tutoring a fifth grader since she’s bound to flunk if she continues to fail the remedial. Your body relaxed a little knowing the lessons would be a bit easier to teach and nothing could go wrong.

You ringed the door bell to what you assumed the Loud Residence as this was the address the tutee gave you. Within a minute, a young girl with striking white hair opened the door for you and gave you a welcoming smile. “Hello, is this the Loud Residence?” you gave her your professional smile you practiced prior.

Her eyes glimmered and gave you an affirming nod. “Yep! You must be my tutor. I am Linka.”

After introducing yourself, she led you to their dining table and set up her textbooks. “I really appreciate this, (Y/n). I have a big multi-subject test coming up, and I need to ace it.”

You smiled at her, “I’m sure you’ll be able to ace it, but after thorough assessments from our sessions of course. So, I’ll do my best to help you.”

“And I thought that angels only exist in heaven.” Linka dramatically says while clenching her fist on top of her chest. You only laughed at her.

“So, I'm like, if you literally don't know the difference between rugby and football— Oh, Linka brought a new girl friend around.” A male voice spoke which caught both of your attention. His tone was a bit playful.

“Loki, get out! Can’t you see we’re studying here?” Linka hissed but the boy never faltered. “Oh really? This is our kitchen, Link. I can do whatever I want.” You turned to look at him as you can feel his presence between you and Linka. He ruffled Linka’s hair, satisfied at annoying his sister.

Must be a family of blondes. Loki has a common blonde hair compared to Linka. He also has a light stubble that complimented that growing smirk of his. He suddenly turned his head and made eye contact with you. “Don’t ogle too much, it’ll be harder to concentrate.” He grinned at you, but instead of being flustered, his comment only irked you.

“Wipe that smirk off your face before I do it for you.” You undoubtedly replied not thinking it through. You only came to your senses when it suddenly became quiet and Loki looked at you dumbfounded. Your cheeks became flushed and felt embarrassed. What were you doing in your first day of tutoring?!

You hanged your head low, mentally facepalming yourself. You’re sure Loki caught on about your reply. “Yeah, right! Give him an uppercut!” Linka instigated.

Yeah… an uppercut…

While looking down, you saw that Loki dropped his phone and handed it to him. “Loki, you dropped your phone.” However, when you looked up, you’re sure that his cheeks were tinted pink or maybe your eyes were just playing with you.

His silence broke Linka from her uppercut suggestions. “Loki, are you okay?”

Loki rubs the nape of his neck and trying to build “I uh… I am… I’m fi—“

“I heard a goose! I call dibs!" A young blonde came into view holding a net, however upon seeing you, he was a bit confused. “What’s a pretty stranger doing in this house?!”

“A what?” Another boy came into the kitchen. He’s wearing a clay mask and has cucumber slices in his eyes. He removes the slices and made eye contact with you. “AAH! MY FACE!”

Yep, a family of blondes. Your claim was disproven immediately when the rest of the siblings came into the kitchen probably curious about the commotion.

Ah… there are lots of them.

All of them started talking at the same time. Unfortunately, you can’t comprehend any of this as their voices became inaudible. You just stared at them amused of how this family caters a lot of siblings.

The one who cleansed his on-going skincare came back and greeted you. “Hey, guys. Oh, Linka, I didn't know you were entertaining. Hi. I'm Loni.” Is this guy for real? He acted as if he wasn't here minutes ago. You can’t help but let out a laugh about his silliness which caught the siblings’ attention.

You became self-conscious when they all stared at you. Their stares made you a bit shy. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m Linka’s tutor, (Y/n). It’s nice to meet you all.” You nervously laugh.

“Ugh, could all of you please get out? We’re trying to study!” Linka snapped at them but the sibling with a crown pushed a chair between Linka and I, and sat, "It's a free country, Linka. We can go where we want to."

"I'm standing here!" The boy with the net stood next to you while smiling ear to ear. You're now trapped between these cuties. They resemble each other, must be twins.

"The heck you are!" The princely twin retorted, but before any punches were thrown you immediately disputed it. "Boys, I know you're interested in joining Linka and I, but she can't concentrate if eyes are observing her." You grabbed something from your purse

"And mouths yapping" Linka raised an eyebrow at his brothers.

"Yes- wait-, what I mean is she can't focus if there are distractions." You grabbed something from your purse. "Here, I'll give these to you since I'm hoping you'll behave accordingly." You handed each twin a lollipop and gave them a wink.

Their smiles grew wide and immediately shoved it in their mouths. "Roger that!" They saluted and walked away with puffed chests. You turned to the remaining brothers. "We'll just occupy the space for a couple of hours, if you don't mind."

"No problem, Love." A brunette with a faux hawk leaned his arm on your chair gave you a boyish smile. "You can be here anytime of the day. You can even join me on my rock sessions upstair-- Ow! Lane!" On instinct, you leaned your head away when a brunette with braces karate chopped his head. "No, you're not, you just want both of your strings to get attached. Haha! Get it? Strings!"

"Come on, (Y/n)! Let's go somewhere a little less crowded." Linka dragged you away from her swarming brothers. She's clearly annoyed with her brows furrowed.

She led the both of you to the living room and settled on the couch. When she was opening the textbooks, voices were heard outside the house. "The one who catches Geo wins!" The younger brothers were playing in competition with each other, and Linka could see that they were showing off to impress her tutor.

"What are they doing?! They're literally disturbing you. I'm sorry, (Y/n)." Loki sat next to you on the couch and started typing on his phone. His presence made you a bit shy, being this close made you notice his arms' lean muscles, and his full eyebrows. You instantly looked away as he might caught on that you were staring. "Ooh, Linka, you have so many books. What's the story about?" You were caught off guard by a voice coming from behind you. When you turned your head, you saw Loni peeking his head behind the couch. He emits a clean and sweet scent, and he also looks neat.

"I think it'll be better if we went to my room instead." Linka gathered her books and gave the stink eye to her older brothers while escorting you to her room. They only responded with a smirk. Living with ten brothers her whole life, Linka knew what her brothers' antics are all about. They can't even hide that their expressions are living subtitles of their intensions.

After entering upstairs, you saw a brother with an eyeglass interrupting Linka for dragging you to her room, “I need to borrow (Y/n) for a second. I'm tutoring Lexx.” She only gave him a questioning look. You look your tutee with worry, but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to help a little.

“Okay, but I can’t stay for more than 5 minutes. I’ll just explain an specific topic they’re having a hard time with.” Levi stared at you with a creepy smile and made a creepy giggle to go along with it.

“This is called a gluteus maximus, otherwise known as the butt.” Levi pointed his pointing stick at the side of your ass cheek. "Wait, what?!" You jerked away from Levi face flushed from embarrassment. You held your hands up to the level of your bust and backed away. "I'm so sorry, I know it's educational but I think I'm not the the best model-- Oof!" Your back bumped into someone's torso. Before you could apologize you were interrupted, "Don't worry about it, (Y/n). These boys are just getting cheeky." Lane came in and pinched both Levi and Lexx's ears which earned a yelp from each sibling. "Wait, I just made a pun! Get it? Cheeky?" Lane laughed to himself.

"All right, all right, CLASS DISMISSED!" Linka grabs your arm and dragged you away from the scene.

"I'm sorry about that, (Y/n)." Linka opened her door and got scared when a goth kid started talking "I wrote a poem about you. (Y/n). Pretty face. Mysterious eyes. Pretty cool for a living girl. (Y/n)."

"Everybody out!" Lexx screamed at Linka's door. "It's time for The Knight, The Princess and The Dragon. You're the Princess, (Y/n). You don't have to do anything your beauty is enough." Lexx giggled. "Lexx, what did we agree on earlier?" You raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "Oopsies." Lexx nervously laughed and bowed before leaving Linka's room.

"Finally, we can get down to business." Linka rejoiced and set her books on bed. "I'm so sorry about my brothers, (Y/n)."

"I'm sorry too, Linka. I should've been more stern with your brothers because tutoring you is my priority." You apologized too. "It's okay, you just met us. I'm sure you just wanted to help." Linka is so cute and can't help but hug her at being understanding. You girls laughed and continued studying.

Hours later, Linka completed the assessments you provided for her. Surprisingly, she got good marks. "Linka, you're spot-on in all of your lessons. Even surrealist art." Linka looked at her assessment scores in confusion, "It's weird. I thought I needed so much help."

"May I ask what happened the day you failed your test?"

"Well, Mr. DiMartino became the substitute for the day--" "Wait Mr. DiMartino? The hunk teacher in elementary?" You laughed at Linka but she only gave you a questioning look. "Girl, no wonder why you're getting distracted and failing your test. Mr. DiMartino is so hot that girls ogle at him and lost their focus."

"Oh my god, you are so right." Linka must've went through a flashback while you're yapping about Mr. DiMartino "I almost failed too because of him. A piece of advice, try not to look too much and you won't worry about failing fifth grade." You winked at Linka and patted her back.

You arranged your things and Linka escorted you downstairs. "It's all in your head, Link. There's no reason you shouldn't be getting top marks on your exam. Well, I guess you won't be needing me anymore." You gave her a hug.

You could hear the whining from the younger brothers about you leaving while the older ones frowned. "Thanks for having me guys!"

Linka tapped your arm just before you left the door. "Can we still hang out after this?" She looked at you with that puppy dog eyes. you only grinned aat her, "You really thought that's gonna work on me? I am a professionally at that, but since you tried, we can 'literally' hang out." You peeked behind Linka and see the guys smile a little.

I guess these dudes needed a playmate.

[heartbreakgrill]

Delicate: Vessel (Sleep Token); Pt. 5, "Is it cool that I said all that?"

A week passed, just like that. We had flown to Germany at the beginning of the next week, where we’d be for just fourteen days before we’d move onto France. 

Oliver and I didn’t have many chances to see one another. We were always on different wavelengths. Him, with rehearsals, vocal rests, writing sessions. Me, with the delicacies of travel. The only times we really saw each other were during breakfast or dinner, two places he’d been making a point to show up to. No one really noticed his newfound presence- no one but me, considering it seemed to previously be a way for him to spite my very existence.

His first appearance happened the very next morning after our conversation on the bus. After he kissed me like he was going off to battle, we rode the elevator up our floor, departed at my door, and just an hour later, he ended up texting me goodnight. That message alone was enough to have my heart beating crazily. 

The next morning, I was still feeling that aftershock while sitting at the breakfast table, talking to Ronnie about her brother’s baby. The elevator doors dinged, opening up like the literal gates of heaven. I barely paid any mind because everyone who normally came to breakfast was already seated at our table. But, I did spare a glance and caught sight of his dark figure, slinking towards us. I gave a second look, stumbling over whatever it was I had been saying to Ronnie. I covered up my stutter by clearing my throat, but she didn’t really notice, nor did she seem to care. Oliver sat at the end of the table, greeting everyone with his same simple nod. My heart was going again. 

I tried not to stare, tried not to even look at him for fear of melting on the spot, even when I felt his eyes burning into my face. I was blushing, bright red. My knee shook, nervously, under the table as I brushed my hair from my cheeks, behind my ears. I caught his eye from the corner of my own and he smiled, ever so slightly. 

I was done for, I knew it. 

It became a delight to see him at these meals, even if we never got the chance to speak to each other; even if, afterwards, he’d shoot back upstairs to his room. That was always my favorite part, when he disappeared from the table because, shortly after, he’d text me. 

Something like:

Oliver: your hair looked pretty today. 

Daisy: you looked alright 🤷

Oliver: wooooooow

I compliment you and this is how you treat me

Daisy: oh im so super sorry

Oliver, you are so handsome and gorgeous and amazing and awesome

Better?

Oliver: sure, sure 

That’s where most of our conversation took place, over text, especially that first week that whatever this was began to take place.

He’d text me good morning and good night, nearly every single day. He’d ask how my day was, ask me what sort of plans I had. I kept waiting for this question to evolve into another one, something like, “Wanna hang out later?” I’d settle for a damn booty call, if that’s what he wanted. I tried not to get frustrated when that first week drug on, knowing he was insanely busy. I couldn’t expect him to drop everything else and prioritize me. But, a small part of me hoped he would. 

I just wanted a little bit more of his attention. 

Luckily, I- eventually- got it.

We were in Germany for the next week. We flew out from Italy that Sunday, settled into our hotel in the early afternoon. I hadn’t planned anything for that Monday, hoping to just rest a bit, leisure across the city, maybe. I knew, too, that the band was off that day. Maybe a small part of me was making sure I was available in case he wanted to grace me with his presence. I wouldn’t admit it, though, because it just wasn’t healthy. 

But, my hopes amounted to something. 

At first, things seemed to regress. There were no messages from him on my phone. 

I thought about texting him first, but I felt strange doing so, like he’d be annoyed if I reached out instead. I then tried to ignore the sinking feeling that this put in my chest. Maybe he was done with me. Maybe he realized that this wasn’t ever going anywhere, especially considering we hadn’t so much as had an in-person conversation in a week. Luckily, I hadn’t slept with him. 

My mind began racing too much, so I pulled myself out of bed and started getting ready for the day. Sam was already gone. He told me yesterday that he, Cy, Adam, and Ronnie had made plans to go do something. He offered me to come with, but I really wanted to just laze about. There was an infinity pool and today was going to be one of the warmest days of the summer for this country. Soaking up the sun seemed like a good way to truly relax. 

So, I put on a bathing suit, slipped a sundress overtop, and rubbed sunscreen all over myself. I wasn’t about to battle a sunburn on top of jet lag. Then, I packed my purse with my water bottle, my latest book, headphones, and my wallet. Just as I went to grab my phone, sling my towel over my shoulder, head out, a knock came from the door. 

I turned to the sound with furrowed brows. Housekeeping wasn’t supposed to come until we told them to. And, as far as I knew, we hadn’t scheduled a cleaning. 

“Who is it?” I called out, stepping towards the door. 

“It’s me,” a low voice responded, hushed in volume. 

A thrilling excitement suddenly rushed through my veins. I tried not to rush over to the door and instead, forced myself to take slow steps. I set a hand on the handle, already feeling a shake in my bones. Just being this close to him pulled some sort of chemical reaction out of me. 

The door opened and Oliver turned his head straight, to really look at me. He had been checking over his shoulder, paranoid about any passerbyers. As soon as he saw me, he grinned, wide. Then, he didn’t hesitate to shove me back into the room, his hands on my hips, his lips grasping for mine. He threw the door shut behind him. 

It took me a second to find my footing. But, when I did, I became desperate, hungry. I tugged at the front of his hoodie in an attempt to get him as close to me as physically possible. Oliver ran a hand up my hip, across the front of my body, between my breasts, up around my neck. His fingers were slotted just beneath either side of my jaw. He pressed down, ever so slightly, to ensure my mouth stayed on his. 

As he kissed me, I could tell he was basically starved. This was even more evident when he nipped my bottom lip, drawing just the thinnest drop of blood. I moaned, involuntarily, at the feeling of his teeth pulling at my skin, though it was only for a millisecond. 

Oliver reared his head back, looking down at me with furrowed brows. He processed what had just happened, assisted by the size of my pupils and the way my lips sat, open, waiting for him to come back. A smirk twisted onto his lips, “Oh, darling…”

He pulled me back in, running his tongue across my bottom lip to clear the blood. My knees were weak. Luckily, he moved, so that he was sitting on the bed and tugged me down into his lap again. He didn’t hesitate to grab my ass, grip on my throat tightening a bit. He moved his lips to my cheek as his movements became painfully slow. 

“You’re so pretty, Daisy,” he whispered against the apple of my cheek. I felt his eyelids flutter across my skin as he moved away from my lips. I nearly shivered at the goosebumps, a stark contrast to the heat pooling all over my body. 

He moved his other hand to my neck, too, brushing the hair down over the back of my shoulder. In doing so, he placed his hand back where it had been. Then, his lips made their way to my bare skin, right where my neck curved into my shoulder. His sweet, soft kisses suddenly turned into small nips, his teeth tugging at my skin. 

I squeaked at the first one, but, then, as he carried on down my neck, I found pleasure in the nipping pain. I gripped at his shoulders, a hand moving to his hair, as my desperation took over my body. I couldn’t sit still anymore. I ground my hips down into his, eliciting a huffed breath from Oliver. I wanted to grin at the power I knew I had over him, but I really just wanted to stay as I was- putty in his hands. I didn’t want any control. I was his to use, his to manipulate. I would do whatever.

But, I did find a little bit of a rhythm in my hips, if only because I needed the friction. I was motivated when I knew it was making him feel good, too. As I did so, Oliver’s lips came to my skin again. They caressed the edge of my earlobe, where I could hear his sweet breathlessness. 

“Daisy,” he whispered, nearly moaning my name into my ear.  

I shuddered a sharp, audible breath at the sound of this. I couldn’t take it anymore. I needed him- everywhere. The anticipation, all of these long weeks- even just this one- it was killing me. 

I pressed my forehead against the side of his head, whispering my own words into his ear, “Oliver, please!”

He finally listened. His hand found the bottom hem of my sundress and he quickly tore it from my head. It landed somewhere across the room. Eyes still dropped shut, I went blindly for his hoodie. But, Oliver caught my hands in his, stretching my arms out on either side of us. 

I opened my eyes curiously, brows furrowed. His gaze was dragging itself down my swimsuit-clad body, a sly grin on his lips. I blushed at the look on his face and wanted to pull my arms back around myself. But, he held me open. He kept admiring. 

“Daisy, darling,” he rolled his eyes back up, over my chest, until he met my stare. A wider grin stretched across his face. “Daisy…you are gorgeous.”

I scrunched up my nose and looked down at our laps. He dropped our hands and took my face in his hold, pulling my eyes back to his. “Don’t do that. We’re not gonna do that, okay? Even if you have to pretend, I won’t let you be ashamed of yourself when we do this, okay? You are…so fucking beautiful.”

I took a deep breath as the sincerity of his words sunk into my skin. I nodded slightly. 

Oliver eyed my lips and slowly leaned back into me. This kiss was different. The hunger, the ferocity, slowed. It was almost…loving, gentle. But, then, I moved my hands back to his hair, tugged slightly, and he went back to ravishing me. 

I helped Oliver shed his hoodie. Then, I had my turn, admiring his toned chest, scarce of any dark makeup. I didn’t have to say anything to him. I knew that he could read all of my thoughts through my eyes. 

What I wanted to say, but couldn’t quite find the words to, was that he was something out of a Greek myth, something untouchable. Something that would never be real. 

I drug my fingers down his chest as he kissed me again. I undid his belt. When I tugged at his jeans, I found my footing on the floor, moving off of him, so he could stand to pull the pants down. His hands were back on my body in an instant. Though he began to tug me back on his lap, I had my own plans. Just as I began to crouch down to his knees, Oliver opened his mouth to protest, but-

A knock sounded from the door, followed by a taunting, “Daisy…”

Shit. 

Max. 

My spine straightened so fast, I thought it would snap in half. Mine and Oliver’s head whipped towards the door, my own gaze widened with utter shock. Oliver formed a fist with his hand, punching the palm of his other in slow defeat. 

He looked back to me, fear in his pupils, “What the fuck?” 

I shrugged defensively, bewildered. I went to whisper back when Max spoke again. “Daisyyyyyy, darling- I know you’re awake. Was wondering if you wanted to hang today, since we’re both free. Cmon, open up-“ he rapped his knuckles against the door again. 

Everything occurred in a desperate haste: Oliver rounded up his clothes, arms stuffed full of them, within five seconds flat. I tracked down his shoes as he did so. Then, I nearly pushed him onto the floor of the bathroom. He stumbled on his feet, barely catching himself on the counter. As the door fell shut, he shot me a panicked, worrisome expression that I could only scrunch my face up at. I didn’t know what he wanted me to do, but he was acting like someone was here to murder him. 

I went to the door, sweating a bit, and lay a shaky hand upon the knob. Then, I realized I was half-naked and rushed to pull my dress back on. Before he could knock again, I let Max in, hoping I looked anything but suspicious. 

As soon as he came into view, Max was elbowing his way inside. He held a tray with two drinks and a small brown pouch that wafted a delicious smell past me. 

He carried an energy that was far too excited for my current nervous stature. “Good morning, darling! Sleep well? I sure did. What are your plans for the day? I’m thinking we lounge out by the pool for a few hours, maybe catch a late lunch, then hit the town? Drop by a few bars? Maybe we can round up the rest of the group, force Oliver out of his self-inflicted prison, have some fun? Yeah?” 

As he spoke, Max moved around the room, unloading one of the drinks into my hands, picking out a few napkins, presenting a pastry on the small desk in the corner, seating himself onto the bed all casually with a leg crossed over the other. When he finished, he took a slow sip of his coffee, brows raised expectantly 

I toyed with the lid on my drink, eyes darting nervously towards the bathroom. I knew it wasn’t true, but I almost felt like I could hear Oliver’s breathing. Smell his cologne. I worried Max would, too. 

Everything would be over. 

“Um-“ I cleared my throat. Then, I tried to relax my shoulders and approach Max with a friendly smile. “Yeah! Yeah, that could be fun. I was planning on going down to the pool anyway.”

“Wonderful, darling,” Max approved, “Well, why don’t you go ahead and finish getting ready and we’ll get going.” 

I looked around me, trying to remember where I had left off this morning, when Oliver had barged in and interrupted my routine. 

“I just need to grab my stuff, actually. I was heading out the door before O-“ I cut myself off from my explanation, lips pinched together in a way that I could only assume looked quite guilty. I swallowed thickly, ashamedly glancing towards the bathroom again. I tried to save myself, “before you started knocking, ha! What a coincidence!”

“Coincidence…” Max followed my glancing gaze. I snapped my eyes back forward, and he met me there. The edges of his pupils seemed to squint, like he was reading between the lines, but he didn’t say anything else. “Well! To the pool we go!”

We were in the clear…for now. 

-

Oliver: i am so fucking sorry 

Hes a prick

So fucking daft

God

I love him 

But what a bloody idiot

Daisy: LMFAO

I dont even know what to say 

I feel bad for you!!

Theres gonna be a witch hunt for you if anyone ever figures it out

Oliver: god dont remind me

Youre so worth it though

We spent hours poolside, like two beached whales, glistening with sweet sweat on our shoulders and sunscreen in our skin. I dipped into the water infrequently, if only to cool myself down, but spent most of my time finishing up a book (texting Oliver between its pages). I cursed Max for his lightly tinted shades, praying to whatever God above that he wasn’t side-eyeing me, that he couldn't see my illicit grins, my quick thumbs. 

I tried to get Oliver to come hang out with us. If I couldn't have him to myself, I’d take small doses of him with others. But, as vampiric as he was, laying by the pool was just not something he wanted to do. Besides, in his own words:

Oliver: I just wouldn't be able to be so close to you without doing something

Especially with you in that little bit of cloth you call a swimsuit 

I should be a dick and make you squirm

Make you think about me while you’re all peaceful by the pool

Make you think about my hands

My teeth

Daisy: Oliver…

Asshole

Oliver: sorry, darling

But after that incident with the cake?

And that bathing suit

Yeah i think it's my turn

(1 attached photo)

The heat outside was nothing compared to what I felt in my chest. I ensured my jaw was shut tightly, unwilling to let the saliva pooled in my mouth dribble down my chin. Then, I scrounged through my photo albums, cursing myself for having deleted my most intimate photos. Instead, I had to just stare (drool) at the one he’d sent- his hand, his bare stomach, the very edges of his pitch black boxers. 

I would never lose this game- I just couldn't. But, in this moment, I was! While I liked being submissive in the end, I enjoyed being the one doing the teasing. That slight upper hand I got from it gave me a headrush. I was, I guess…bratty. 

So, I watched Max carefully from the corner of my vision, thankful for my tiny bathing suit. I could make do- if he’d just leave. He was reading his own novel, hunched over a little bit. It had been a while since he’d gone to the bathroom or really even moved. He had to eventually.

My wishing on invisible stars worked because Max excused himself to the bathroom. He first paused to ensure I was doing okay. I thanked him for his concern with an urgent smile, quick nod of my head. And then he was gone. 

Daisy: I really don’t get what all this fuss is about. I think this suit covers me up just fine, don’t ya think?

(1 attached photo)

Oliver: behave, miss thing

You have no idea what’s waiting for you

Daisy: sure, sure

Needless to say, Oliver put me on the very edge of my seat all day. I only had the one photo that was taken in the heat of the moment. He had…an empty hotel room and an imagination like any other. He never let me see past those stupid boxers though, holding out on me to only intensify that anticipation. 

As was Max’s plan, we grabbed a late lunch. I had hoped we’d change beforehand, but he was so hungry, we had to rush out of the hotel. And, as per usual with Max, he took his good old time eating, strolling leisurely, dropping by every single shop that caught his eye. Don’t get me wrong- it was a lot of fun. I was grateful to have some one-on-one time with him. 

But, I knew what- who was waiting for me back at the hotel. So, I was a little distracted.

Eventually, the day was coming to a close. No one really wanted to go out drinking because the band had rehearsals early in the morning. Instead, we were all going to meet up for a light dinner in the hotel bar. 

I tried to escape Max as soon as we entered the hotel, but he insisted on walking me to my room. Meanwhile, Oliver was shooting me a dozen messages- he was in his room, he didn’t have a shirt on, and he was waiting for even the shortest possible breath that he could take at my lips. 

Max stood outside my door, yapping about some shop lady who had made a joke to us earlier. He kept laughing, kept going over the punchline. It was funny, sure, but I was literally trying to close the door between us, a forced smile aching on my cheeks.  We had to be at dinner in just half an hour and I needed to shower. I would sacrifice all that time for Oliver, but I was sure I smelled of sunscreen and sweat. I needed to rush under the hot water, and then rush into his arms. 

“Ha! Can you imagine? What kind of-” Max kept going. 

I faked another laugh, positive that one of my eyelids was winking shut, visibly displaying the max level of insanity that I felt right now. I took another step back into my room, preparing to bid farewell.

Luckily, Max caught sight of the time. “Holy shit, Daz,” he looked up from his watch, “it’s so late! Sorry to cut our wonderful day short, but we better hit the showers before everyone wonders where we’re at.”

“Ah! Good idea!” I bumped the heel of my hand against my head, shock on my face. Then, I pushed up onto my tiptoes to give him a short kiss to the cheek, “Thank you for today. I really just had the best time ever! Love you, Max!”

Then, as he began to respond, “Aw, darling, me, too! I love you-” I shut the door on him, “Oh- yep! I’ll see you in a bit!”

The speed at which I moved through that hotel room was sure to rip the carpet up off of the floor. I kicked off my sandals, sending one right into the window. It made a loud clanking noise, which I flinched at, before landing on Sam’s bed. But then I was already moving onto my sundress, tearing it off, ripping my swimsuit down my legs, over my head. Once those were off, I jumped in the shower, grateful that I didn’t need to wash my hair so I could do a quick rinse. 

I was back out of the shower as quickly as I’d gotten in, doing my hair up into a claw clip, pulling on an outfit that didn’t require much thought, but was still concise enough to be cute. I barely had my phone and purse in hand before I was shooting across the hall, like a chicken crossing the road. 

Oliver opened the door before I could even take a breath, tugging me in by my hips. 

He had my back pressed up against the door, one of his spare hands already holding the base of my throat like a goddamn rosary. His dark eyes stared down at me, hungry, like he was about to consume every inch of my flesh. I went to say something, brows already lifted on my face in their devious position. In the process, my hands fished for him, grabbing at his shirt.

In one easy moment, Oliver grabbed both of my wrists, stretching my arms up and above my head. He squeezed my throat, ensuring my eyes were on his. My back arched from the movement, my chest pushing through the air as a small whine escaped my lips subconsciously. 

Oliver drug his eyes down my body, smirking pleasedly at the movement he drew from my body. “We have five minutes. Shut the fuck up and be a good girl for me, yeah?”

“Okay.”

We weren’t really being realistic about how much time we would get together.

Two minutes later, Oliver was on his knees below me, his large hands bruising either one of my thighs, my hands were entangled in his hair, my underwear were somewhere far across the room, and his breath was ghosting my core. Just as he inched painfully, teasingly closer, someone was knocking on his door. 

It was my turn to hide as Adam and Cyrus ushered Oliver from his hotel room, excitedly telling him about some new song they’d just heard. After ensuring in the bathroom mirror that I didn’t look disheveled, I watched through the peephole as they neared the elevators. Oliver peered over his shoulder, the smallest of smiles on his lips. I rolled my eyes. Of course he’d find it funny- he was winning again. 

Then, when the hallway seemed clear, I quickly left his room and tried to casually make my way down to the dining room.

Oliver was trying not to laugh, I just knew it- his lips were pressed together, a humored look in his eyes as he pretended to be occupied with the potatoes he mashed around with his dinner fork. I glared at him as I approached the table. 

Then, Sam was talking to me, asking me and Max about our busy day and I had to pretend like their best friend hadn’t just been on his knees for me. 

This was killing me. 

-

Surely, I thought to myself as dinner came to a close and everyone began heading to bed, surely we would find the time. Surely our luck wasn’t that bad. We’d get some time alone- we just had to. 

So, as the elevator that Sam, Ronnie, and I caught closed, and carried us to the fifth floor, I quickly texted Oliver. I crossed my fingers behind my back, hoping, praying, wishing this would work. 

Daisy: soon as Sam goes to bed, i can be over

A heavy heat of anticipation sat right on top of my chest, shooting off butterflies in my stomach, making me breathless when I said goodnight to Ronnie.

I waited, patiently, for about an hour- no, exactly an hour and ten minutes. I waited an hour and ten minutes for Oliver to text me back. I stared at the numbers in the top middle of my phone screen as I pretended to read a book. Then, when Sam lay down and shut off all the lights, I rolled onto my side, the dim glow of my screen filling my corner of the room. My eyes glazed over numerous times while each little number morphed into the next. Slowly but painfully surely, the delightful anticipation began to dissipate. 

I really wanted to be chill, to be normal and casual and just…go to bed. Accept that maybe he had fallen asleep, maybe his phone had died. Pretend like there wasn’t a small hole sinking in my stomach. 

But, I saw him begin typing forty minutes in. 

And then he stopped. 

And I still waited another half an hour for him to respond. 

He never did.

- 

The next morning, I was able to forget about it. 

I focused on the productive conversation we’d had in the bus, the one where he set a boundary with me, where he told me he couldn’t really offer me much in terms of connection or romance. The one where I practically begged him to just have me in whatever way he could. 

And, I forced myself to stop worrying about the fact that he never responded. The world, after all, did not revolve around me. I needed to be reminded of that and have patience with him. Besides, I wasn’t going to allow myself to feel that- disappointment. Small bits of heartbreak. This meant basically nothing, right? We were just hooking up, hanging out. It wasn’t that big of a deal, like we discussed. 

I’m chill with that.  

I ate breakfast with the band, discussing with Ronnie some of the best tourist attractions that she suggested I seek out. Oliver was a little late this morning, feet dragging a bit. When I saw him round the corner to the dining room, I sat up just a bit. He seemed tired as he took a seat at the opposite end of the table, hoodie up, as per usual. He didn’t really touch any of his food, but instead nursed a cup of tea. So, I ignored the sinking feeling that came when he didn’t even look at me. 

He showed up. That’s what really mattered. 

I tried not to be distracted as Ronnie told me about some sort of monument, but it was a struggle when my concern for Oliver was as relevant as it was. There was just something off about him…and it almost felt like it had to do with us, with me. Or maybe I was just reading into things a little too much. Again. 

Everyone else finished up their breakfast before me. So, the group broke off before long, a few headed out the door to the venue, some up to their rooms to grab last minute items. I watched as Oliver straggled behind Adam and Cyrus, towards the elevators. When he first stood to follow them, I tried to meet his eye, tried to shoot him a reassuring, encouraging smile. He evaded my gaze. My shoulders dropped a little. 

When they were out of sight, I took my phone out and grappled with texting him. I felt like I should, just to see if he was okay. But, then, the part of me that knew there was nothing serious between us fought against that want. It wasn’t weird, right? If I texted him, just to see how he’s doing? 

But, then, come to think of it…he never even said good morning to me. So he probably just wanted to be left alone. I should probably just read the signs he was clearly giving and just provide him with some space. He didn’t need me up his ass at every waking moment, constantly expressing my concern for his every move. Especially not after the conversation we’d just had. 

I felt a little insecure, a little worried, going back over every interaction we’d had like I was responsible for a grown man’s feelings. I pushed aside the overthinking my brain was ruminating on and decided to just get up, to just get started with my day. 

This thing between us was not going to work out if I overanalyzed his every breath, if I let it all get to me. I needed to chill out- just be chill. Cool. 

I headed for the elevators, purse slung over my shoulder. The doors were already opened, so I stepped inside. When I faced forward, Oliver was there, following me in, my name barely a greeting off his lips. 

“Daisy…”

“Oliver, hey-”

He interrupted me, lips on mine before I could even take a breath. I was taken aback, just briefly, before getting swept up in his soft touches, his hungry mouth. My purse slid off my shoulder. Oliver’s fingers caressed my cheek, my hip, pushing into me until my back was against the wall. 

We kissed until the bell dinged, signaling that the doors were opening up to our floor. Oliver pulled back, quickly distancing himself from me. His chest heaved a little, out of breath from our encounter. His pupils were shot, wide, blown up. I furrowed my eyebrows as I carefully eyed him. I was trying to read between the lines here, but I couldn’t. 

And he was gone before I could ask for any answers from him. 

-

I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, rubbing moisturizer into my freshly clean face. Taylor Swift was playing softly on my phone, a subtle soundtrack to my evening routine. It had been another long day of perusing across Europe. My feet ached from the 10 miles I’d walked,  my stomach was full from the delicious dinner I caught on the way home, and my brain was buzzing with all of the sights and sounds I’d taken in. I was going to cherish these evenings for the rest of my life. 

I had even managed to stop worrying about Oliver, had let the pitiful racing thoughts that had been taking up space in my mind fall away. I was going to be cool about it. I was going to be the chill, casual girl. 

What we had, what we were doing, was just hooking up. We hadn’t explicitly agreed on keeping any strings to ourselves, but Oliver had told me he couldn’t really offer any in the first place. And that was okay! It’s not like I needed to be in a relationship anyways. I was going back to school in the fall and I’d probably, honestly, never even see him again after this summer. 

Casually hooking up with someone would probably be good for my development, anyways. It would teach me to become more comfortable with my body, to be more patient, to be more understanding. To just chill the fuck out, honestly.  Yeah, I’d totally gotten rid of those racing thoughts…ha. 

Anyways, even though I wanted to text him, to see what was going on, to see if he was okay, I just wasn’t going to. I was gonna tuck myself into bed, get a goodnight’s rest, and prepare myself for another long day. Focus on me, my happiness, my health. 

My plan was going well, too. I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Then, at around midnight, I woke to my phone buzzing on my nightstand. 

I lazily brought the device to my ear, murmuring some sort of greeting through half-lidded eyes. “Hello?”

“Come over.”

“What- hello? Oliver?” I sat up in bed, a little jolted by the situation. I spoke in hushed whispers, eyes on Sam’s figure to ensure that he was passed out still. 

Oliver’s voice replied in an exhausted tone, “I can’t sleep. Come over.”

I took my sweet time, not wanting to seem desperate, not wanting to be at his beck and call. I pulled a hoodie down over my torso before slipping out of the room. I guided the door shut, flinching when it clicked a little louder than expected. Once I was sure the hall was clear, I headed towards Oliver’s door.

He must have been watching from the peephole, waiting for me to arrive, because as soon as I made it, the door was open and he had his hands on me again. His touch was more desperate than ever before, fingers harsh, tongue rough. 

I could barely gasp for air as he gorged on my lips, overfeeding himself. I was growing more concerned for his mental health, considering it seemed like he was displacing whatever he was feeling onto me. I probably already knew what was going on- the stress of the tour, of making the next album, it was all getting to him. 

He barely had any time to himself anymore, barely had any chances to breathe, to execute self care. He was overworking himself. He was just exhausted. 

I felt guilty kissing him, touching him. It felt exploitive and dirty.

So, when his hands traveled down my body, up under my hoodie, to my pants, I brushed them off of me. I took a big step away from him, reaching out my own touch to keep the distance between us.

“Oliver-” I took a deep breath, trying to ground my dizzy head.

His eyes were bloodshot. He hadn’t tasted like alcohol, so I assumed he must be high. Or he had been crying. I didn’t really know which one. 

Whatever exhaustion pooled in his gaze dissipated as it was replaced with worry. He took a small step towards me, palms out in a wary manner. “I’m so sorry- what is it? Are you okay, darling? What did I do?”

My jaw was a little slack, concern drowning my features and tone. “No, no- nothing! Sorry- nothing! You’re good. We’re good. I promise.”

He breathed a sigh of relief as his shoulders slumped a bit forward. “Thank fuck. I thought I hurt you or something.”

“I mean you were being a little rough, but that’s okay,” I managed a breathy chuckle.

Oliver ran hand through his hair, glancing around the room, to his feet, back to me. “Why’d you stop, then? Everything okay?”

“I’m fine,” I emphasized, “I’m more worried about you.”

Oliver sighed, loudly, posture dropping a bit more. He wiped his face as he looked away from me again. “Why?” He sounded annoyed with me. 

“I’m not gonna pry, cause I know it’s not my business, but…”

“It’s not,” he cut me off. 

I reared my chin back. I thought carefully, choosing my words delicately, as I crossed my arms over my chest, “I know. I know it’s not my business. I just- just want-”

“What?” He spoke impatiently. 

“Just want to make sure you’re okay.”

Oliver didn’t respond. He stared at the floor beside my slippers, as though he could bore a hole with his eyes, sink into it, and slip away from this moment. I looked past his head. I didn’t want to pressure him with pervasive eye contact. 

Then, after a minute or two, I heard him sniffle. I still didn’t move too much, but ran my eyes over his face. He wiped away a few tears. Oliver bit into his bottom lip, which wobbled around a bit. He didn’t want to give into the emotions overwhelming his nervous system, but he was going to have to.

I couldn’t hold myself away from him any longer. He needed connection, touch, gentleness. So, I walked right up to him and hugged him, tugging his head down into the crook of my neck. I felt his arms squeeze my entire self into him, like an anchor at his shores, calming his seas. 

For the next twenty minutes, we stood there, my heart sitting just underneath his own, beating into one another. He didn’t really cry too much, probably unwilling to. I didn’t like to cry in front of others either. It was vulnerable, too vulnerable. 

We just hugged each other. I caressed my fingers through his hair, hoping to soothe him, to provide solace. He just squeezed me back, tight as ever. It felt really good. I wasn’t going to pull away first, but he eventually did. 

He let out one of those embarrassed laughs, wiped the tears clean off his cheeks, and moved to sit on the bed. I offered a kind smile, but still didn’t say anything. He would come to me with whatever was on his mind whenever he felt ready to. 

“Sorry…about- that. Probably, uh- probably weird.”

“Not at all,” I waved him off, moving slowly towards him. 

He looked up to me, his palms resting on the edge of the bed, and motioned for me to sit. I did. 

“I’m just…just tired,” he shrugged. 

I knew it was more than that. I knew that he harbored a lot of negative feelings towards himself, something he had confirmed for me just last week. He held himself up to a crazy standard and, of course, never met those expectations. No human being ever could. 

I wouldn’t convince him of this fact, not in just one moment together. But, I could tell him one thing that he probably needed to hear. Something he’d value and treasure for longer than just a moment. 

“I’m proud of you,” I spoke softly, turning my head to meet his eyes. 

He didn’t say anything. He just swallowed, rubbed his lips together, thought long and hard. Then, he glanced away, brought his eyes back to mine and nodded, just once. I saw the words slot themselves into his mind, stored away for just him to hold onto. I knew he valued my opinion, so even though it wouldn’t fix his issues, it would provide some support. Support was the only way to get to recovery, to healing. 

Oliver set his hand on mine, a thoughtful look in his eyes. “When I first met you, you told me you were trying to discover life this summer. To find deeper meaning. The more I get to know you, the more I disagree with that.”

“Oh?” I furrowed my brows. “And why’s that?”

“It’s just not accurate,” he shrugged, “you have so much meaning. You’re…you’re so sweet. And kind. And intentional with everything you do. You put so much goodness out with even just your gaze. I just…”

I stared up at him with, I’m sure, these big dopey eyes. Words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them. “I really like you, Oliver.”

He frowned slightly as he brought a hand to my face, thumb brushing the apple of my cheek. I searched his eyes and couldn’t find the answer needed for what I had said. So, the distant smile on my face twisted upside down, worry lacing my features. Had I gone too far? 

“I know, darling,” was all he said. 

Moments of silence passed between us. 

I knew he couldn’t give me much, but maybe now that my feelings were out there, clear as day, written in the sand, maybe it would help him feel more secure about whatever this was. Maybe he’d jump in with me. After all, I was scared, too. Hell, as of this morning I wasn’t looking for a relationship. But- we could be good together. He could be good for me. I know I would be good for him. 

Maybe we could l-

“I don’t know that I communicated this to you well enough,” Oliver went on. 

“It’s okay…”

Oliver glanced away, seemingly ashamed of whatever he was gonna say. “I can’t be in a relationship with you, Daisy. I just…I’m not good. I’m not ready. I don’t want to hurt you. I think you deserve better. We’re on different paths- I have a million excuses.”

I don’t know how I managed to avoid the tears because I could feel them threatening me from behind my eyes. But, I did. I put on this facade, acted out the role. Stood, nodding slowly, painting a sweet smile on my face.

“It’s okay. I understand. I’ll just…I’m gonna leave,” I headed for the door.

But, Oliver was grabbing my hand. “I don’t want you to. I know it…it’s so selfish of me, but I want you anyways. We have two more months before you have to go home- so who says we can’t just be casual, have fun for the rest of summer? I’d…I know I can’t ask that of you, but…I’d like that.”

I would hate him for this. I would hate myself for it, too. 

But, having pieces of him was better than nothing. 

I could push aside my feelings- fuck, I was already getting good at it. 

I would be the cool girl, even if it killed me.

Even if it killed us. 

[jungshookz]

y/n is some rich badass boss of some huuuugge corporation and bts is working under her (reception, assistants, janitors, errand boys)......valet!tae and valet!jin are DOWN BAD and one day y/n pulls in and one of them makes a sly comment about y/n stepping on them OR about ruining/ripping her clothes

➺ wordcount; 1.2k

➺ currently spinning on the record player; i know this is such a short little drabble but it’s really giving be mean by DNCE 

»»————- ⚡ ————-««

“i desperately need coffee,” jin’s mouth opens in an obnoxious yawn as he turns his head so that taehyung doesn’t have to look into the depths of his giant mouth, “how are you never tired in the morning? our shift starts at six and i’ve never seen you yawn, ever. it’s actually kind of concerning.” he exhales slowly, blowing out his lips as he tries to shake the sleepiness out of his system 

“maybe i’m just more suited for this job than you are,” taehyung whistles, dancing along to the music crackling out of the little radio sitting on the podium (taylor swift’s new album just came out and even he has to admit some of the songs on there are a vibe), “but also i chugged, like, two redbulls before the start of our shift, so there’s that, too-"

“okay, well, that’s just cheating and it doesn’t mean you’re more qualified for the job, it just means you’re more insane and you treat your body like a dumpyard-" jin snorts, standing with his hands behind his back as he looks up at the early morning sky, the soft shade of blue nice and easy on his sleepy eyes, “what time do you think the boss’ll be here? i’m wondering if i have enough time to run in and get a coffee for myself before she gets here…”

“well, you’re more than welcome to go and get a coffee while i help y/n with her car,” taehyung flashes jin a boyish grin, “i hope she comes in her mclaren today. i love driving the mclaren.” 

“hey, you got to drive the mclaren last time, it’s my turn if she comes in it today!” jin frowns, eyebrows furrowing before he shakes his head, “her new BMW is nice, too. it’s the new electric one. i drove it the other day and it rides like a dream… but the mclaren, i haven’t tested out yet. it’s only fair that i get a turn!”

“why don’t you just stick to the cute little mini cooper she has? you can’t handle the mclaren,” taehyung scoffs, reaching up to adjust his tie, “besides, it’s my sexy little car and she only responds to daddy-" 

“okay, that-“ seokjin immediately makes a face and rolls his eyes, “jesus, keep it in your pants-" 

the sound of an engine purring smoothly and bright headlights rounding the corner makes the both of them stand up straight immediately because it’s seven o’clock on the dot and you always come on time, taehyung elbowing jin excitedly when he sees that you decided that it was mclaren day today and he has to stop himself from bouncing up and down on his heels excitedly like a little boy on christmas because it’s mclaren day today

“i know exactly what you’re going to do and i already told you it’s my turn-“ seokjin says through gritted teeth while keeping the smile on his face, already walking closer to the edge of the sidewalk so that he can get to your door before taehyung can, “you got to park it last time, it’s my turn-" 

“you can literally suck my dick, i’m not passing up the opportunity to get my hands on my mclaren- good morning, boss!” taehyung chirps, shoving seokjin out of the way to open the door up for you, “mclaren monday, hey?”

seokjin resists the urge to tackle taehyung from behind as he shakes his head subtly, taking a few steps back and maintaining his professional composure

whatever

but next time the mclaren is definitely going to be his  

“your favourite day, i know,”  you laugh lightly, “morning, you two-“ you swing both legs out of the car and seokjin feels his nose twitch slightly at the pleasant scent of what he’s pretty sure is a mixture of vanilla and sandalwood emanating from your hair (you always smell so insanely sexy and it drives him crazy) 

“good morning, y/n-“ seokjin bows his head politely, “new shoes?”

“how very observant of you, seokjin!” you toss your keys up in the air behind you with a jingle and taehyung catches them in one swift swoop, wriggling his eyebrows at seokjin teasingly because ha-ha, he got the mclaren, “you like them?” you pause, lifting the back of your leg for a second to flash the sexy red bottoms before raising a shoulder with a laugh, “i don’t usually gravitate towards platforms, but i do love a bratz doll moment-"

“oh, i-“ seokjin chokes for a second before letting out a laugh, “no, i love them- they’re- they look great, boss. they make you look- tall. very tall.” 

“mm.” 

seokjin’s eyes widen a little when you take a step towards him, reaching over to adjust the collar of his shirt and smoothing it out before patting his chest, “there you go. still a little sleepy this morning, aren’t you? collar wasn’t sitting right.”

“i guess so, yes.” seokjin smiles sheepishly, hands clenched like crazy behind his back because he just got a full whiff of your perfume and you just smell so damn good

you twist around on your heels to look at taehyung, tilting your head with a teasing smile, “you gonna take care of my baby, taehyung?” 

“oh, i’ll take care of you, baby,” taehyung purrs, his cheeks heating up when he realises that that wasn’t just an intrusive thought and he actually said it out loud, “i mean-" he laughs, reaching up to rub the back of his neck, “i’ll take care of your baby.” 

“alright, baby, i’ll see you two when i go out for lunch later-" you turn back around and head towards the large revolving doors where namjoon is waiting patiently for you with his iPad tucked under his armpit and an iced coffee in one hand and a paper bag with a random pastry in the other hand (he likes to surprise you every day with something new), “be good while i’m gone!” 

“…i want her to step on me.” seokjin blurts out as soon as you’re out of earshot, his jaw hanging open slightly as he reaches up to smooth out his own collar, “like i- my god, she could do anything to me and i’d thank her for it.” 

“tell me about it,” taehyung murmurs, body slumped over the open car door as he takes his bottom lip in between his teeth, “she called me baby. the crimes i would commit to get her to call me other names…” he stands up straight again when he sees you turn to glance at the two of them over your shoulder, flashing them another one of your signature smiles and a flirty little wave 

…god, he loves this job. 

🎙️ tell jin to close his mouth or tell taehyung to get out of the mclaren (talk to my characters!) 

📚 why not explore the rest of the library while you're here? (full fics!) 

💫 or perhaps you want something shorter to read? (drabbles and mini series!)

🌟 or something even shorter? (teeny tidbits like this!) 

[nightlyrequiem]

Be Still My Heart

Chapter 3- Trials and Tribulations

Masterlist AO3 Next Previous

New Chapter Every Saturday

You're the best in the meth industry but a new product suddenly pops up. You and your boss, Valeria, must figure out who is making it so you can take back the market. All the while tension is building between the two of you.

A/N: I have a job interview on Monday! Hope I get the job, but also the idea of working is filling me with dread! But also, I need to start saving up for university! And I need to get my application ready by early October! The only stress relieving activity I have is my writing now.

Tags/Warnings: Illegal Substances, Boss Employee Relationship, Angst, Some Hurt/Comfort, Violence, Manipulation, Suggestive Themes, Smut (But Only in CH20.), Dual POV

The incessant buzzing of the obnoxious florescent lights rarely bothers you, but tonight they're giving you a terrible headache. One that started at the back of your neck and slowly migrated to behind your eyes. A steady, painful throb. Your back is growing sore from how long you've been hunched over your desk, one hand holding up your head, the other lazily scribbling down words and numbers. A growing pile of discarded papers ripped from your notebook mock you from the red tiled floor. A physical reminder of your inability to come up with something satisfactory. You should take a break, you know this, but you fear stopping will disrupt your flow.

And what a great flow it is. It has more in common with a trickle of rainwater beside a sidewalk than it does with a roaring river. You didn't think it would be so hard to add more sugar to a meth recipe, but you're unsure if it will even mix correctly with some of the other ingredients. There's also the matter of its state. Should you melt it? Just pour it in the mix as is? You sit straight and stretch. Raising your arms and twisting your back. There's a dull crack and a slight pinch in your lower spin but the stiffness is alleviated for the time being.

You're feeling stressed about this. What happens if you can't figure out a way to correctly mix the sugar in? You frown, which only worsens your headache. Everything was so simple when all you had to worry about was making the meth high quality. Now you have to contend with new mixtures. You're not even a real chemist, you just took a natural shine to it in high school and didn't do anything more with it. Now instead of honing in on your natural understanding of the chemical world and working with scientists on vaccine or medicine or literally anything actually important, you're hidden away down in an underground lab cooking meth for a drug lord.

The metal door creaks open, and you hear light footsteps approaching. Turning to look you see Corra and her full head of curls approaching you. She smiles easily, full lips pulled back to reveal slightly uneven teeth. It's one of those contagious smiles that make you smile back despite your mood. 

"You've been down here for hours." She remarks, leaning against the wall. Corra looks around, surveying the space. "Do you even have a bathroom down here?"

"I pee in a cup." You deadpan. Corra just looks at you, brows furrowing. You feel the need to clarify. "I'm joking."

"Oh." She huffs, breaking out into a small, relieved grin.

Corra leans over your shoulder to peer at your mess of notes.

"What's all that?" She asks you.

"I'm trying to come up with a different recipe for my meth." You sigh. "There's something new going around the streets and it's sweeping through our customers like a disease." You feel a fresh wave of bitterness. At first you marveled at the creation of the orange substance but now you're just pissed off. You're sure it's not originating from Las Almas which means it's big enough to hop cities, states, maybe even the border.

"Looks complicated." She frowns. "You must be so smart to be able to do all that."

You don't feel very smart. If you were, maybe you wouldn't be down here still trying to properly form ratios. "Thank you, Corra." You respond politely. You've learned to just accept compliments even if you don't really believe them. It makes conversations so much easier.

Corra walks up to the large metal cooking contraption and lifts a finger up, caressing the cool surface. You can make out her distorted image on the side. The curving metal dulling her colours.

"How does it work?" Corra inquires. Turning to look at you.

"Uh.. well." You stand up. "I have to measure out the ingredients carefully then mix them together in a certain order." You explain. "Then I pour the liquid solution into this-" You tap two fingers against the metal container. A dull thudding ringing out in the room. "-It heats it and after a couple of minutes travels through those pipes were it slowly drips into the pan. The crystals grow from the dripping liquid."

Corra nods but there's a pinch to her brows that tells you she's still confused. You don't blame her.

"Sounds like a lot of work." She murmurs. "Pretty impressive."

You smile at her praise. It's simple work when you do it enough times. "Thanks."

"Want to go to dinner with me on Friday?" Corra asks suddenly. Looking too casual for someone who just asked another person on a date.

"Like as a date?" You furrow your brows. Feeling nervous now.

"Yeah."

You consider Corra. It's not every day that a pretty girl shows interest in you. You don't exactly feel all that much for Corra, but you think you could. Love is supposed to come when you least expect it, and you certainly aren't expecting it.

"...Sure, yeah okay." You nod. Corra flashes you that smile again and nods, the curls along her face bouncing at the action.

"Great, see you Friday." She turns and walks out of the lab, leaving you to consider her words.

You're getting older. You're not thirty yet but it won't be too long before you are. Not that thirty is old but considering how aged and weathered you feel now... you don't want to think about it. Your dating pool is sad and dry. Not even a puddle. It could be because of how reclusive you are, or the fact that you live in a small town so the population of sapphic women is limited, but you aren't even approached by men either. Not that you want to be, but you aren't sure as to why no one seems interested. Corra is though. You've still got it. You regain your bearings and turn back to your notes. Your headache has reduced into a barely noticeable ache, making it easier for you to think.

after another few grueling hours, you finally finish up three experimental ratios to present to Valeria. You lean down and gather the heap of papers and dump them. You clean up your space, even though you're bone tired and ready to go home and sleep. You gather your notebook and other personal items and make your way to the exit.

You stop at Valeria's office, but she isn't there. You're so used to seeing her sat behind that old desk that your mind blanks at her absence. You turn around and walk down the hall with uncertainty. Unsure of where to find her. You roam around for a while before finally swallowing your nerves and asking one of the grunts. You feel uncomfortable around them. Admittedly, it's a little silly of you to be. Their tatted arms and white wife beaters and chains rouse suspicion in you, despite the fact that you both work for the same evil woman. You're told Valeria is up on the roof so that's where you go.

You walk out onto the roof and see Valeria standing at the railing. Smoke billows from the lit cigarette between her fingers. You approach and begin to speak but stop when she startles.

"Jesus!" Valeria eyes you. 

"Sorry." You reply absently. Valeria shakes her head in response.

"We need to put a bell on you." She remarks. "You're disturbingly quiet."

You like the way those words make you feel. "I finished a few recipes for the sugar meth." The sky is darkening. The last of the sun's rays spill over the tops of the mountains in the distance. Lighting up the dusty, orange desert. Not much can survive out here. Besides thorny bushes and tall, spindly cacti. Of which their shadows stretch over the landscape.

Valeria nods. She's relaxed tonight. There's no rigid tension in her shoulders, even her usual scowl has been smoothed away into a resting frown.

"That's good." Valeria says appraisingly. "I appreciate how quick you are with things. I wish the other idiots here would share your work ethic."

Her words amuse you. The corners of your eyes crinkle ever so slightly to show it. "If only."

"I want you to stay late on Friday." She says. "I want you to walk me through the process."

You're about to agree out of habit because you usually don't have anything else going on. Then you remember you have a date.

"Oh. I can't actually..." You say awkwardly. Valeria fixes you with a frown. Dark brows pulled together.

"Why not?" She more so demands an answer than asks for it.

"Well I have a date." You reply. Feeling a little proud. See? You're desirable.

You almost expect Valeria to be dismissive or just not care at all, but she goes quiet. She looks surprised and a little something else you can't quite name.

"Oh." She finally says, her voice sounding oddly pitched, like she's attempting to be nonchalant and failing. "Stay late on Saturday then." She drops her cigarette and snubs it out with her boot just a little too roughly.

"Okay, thank you Valeria." You say. Assuming she's pissed because you're choosing your personal life over work. Well, she'll just have to deal with it.

"Mhm." She turns away, disinterested. "Have a good night."

You offer your own farewell and leave. Feeling a little ruffled by her sudden coldness.

[kiwiana-writes]

Single Sentence (Drabble) Sunday

Thanks @cha-melodius @henryspearl @eusuntgratie @littlemisskittentoes 

@indestructibleheart @larkral @onthewaytosomewhere for the tags! I am looking forward to reading all your snippets later. I have actually written some sentences this week, but I’m not gonna share them just yet (even if they did make @clottedcreamfudge yell “Oh my god W H A T MJ EXPLAIN” because I’m instead hoping to maybe have them posted very soon. Fingers fucking crossed.

HOWEVER. I joked to @rmd-writes about the time she tagged me in a “share your last sentence written and tag as many people as there are words” and I literally could not do that because my last written sentence was a 61-word run-on monstrosity, and she was like “kinda wanna write a single sentence drabble” and… well, brain went buzz. So I'm publicly throwing down the gauntlet. We’re also fully ignoring that both Rae and I are well into our respective Mondays by this point, because the alliteration wasn’t as good.

So, if anyone else would like to play, the rules are: write a true drabble, aka exactly 100 words, that is also one sentence long. That’s it. Topic, fandom, etc is up to you. Let your emdashes, semicolons, and purple prose run free, and just have fucking fun with it.

Alex has had a decent amount of sex in his life, so even if he hasn't done exactly this, he doesn't think the mechanics will be any different; he's fully prepared for how it will feel to press inside Henry for the first time, except for how he's not actually prepared at all—nothing could prepare him for the tight clench of Henry's body around him, for the breath that punches out of Henry's chest when the head of Alex's dick first presses past his rim, for the way the universe shrinks until it only encompasses the two of them.

Tagging everyone tagged above as well as @agame-writes @affectionatelyrs @anincompletelist @blueeyedgrlwrites @cactusdragon517

@cricketnationrise @dumbpeachjuice @everwitch-magiks @firenati0n @getmehighonmagic

@happiness-of-the-pursuit @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @inexplicablymine @jellibuns @junebugclaremontdiaz

@leaves-of-laurelin @lilythesilly @lizzie-bennetdarcy @matherines @myheartalivewrites

@ninzied @nocoastposts @nontoxic-writes @notspecialbabe @orchidscript

@petrodobreva @piratefalls @read-and-write- @sherryvalli @sparklepocalypse

@stereopticons @thesleepyskipper @thinkof-england

@tintagel-or-cockleshells @welcometololaland @whimsymanaged and, as always, anyone who wants to play! (If you take the open tag please tag me so I can see!!)

[homeofhousechickens]

heyy, I'm really sorry, if i shouldn't ask you for advice like this, but searching this up online didn't really bring up satisfactory or really fitting answers, so I'm hoping you might be able to help me.

a couple of days ago we found one of our hens in a bush and sitting on some eggs agter she had been missing for 2-3 weeks and today she was walking around with three healthy looking chicks. in the nest were two unhatched eggs, a dead chick and a living one that had it's eyes closed and didnt make a sound, even when i picked it up. I've been keeping it warm for the last three hours or so and occasionally dipping it's beak in water and trying to feed it (right now i could only offer it a bit of cooked egg, since we don’t have any chick specific feed until the shops open back up on monday). it sometimes opens it's eyes a bit or even fully, but keeps them mostly closed. it will hobble-crawl back under my hand if i move it away and occasionally chirps for a few seconds at a time. it can hold it's head up on it's own and shakily stand for short moments. we don’t have a warm/heating plate so I've been using a warm water bottle (with warm water, not hot) and my hand to keep it atleast somewhat warm from above. we do have an old heating lamp, but I'm not sure, how safe it would be to use.

do you happen to have any advice on how to keep this chick alive and get it to a point where i can put it back with it's siblings and mother? or would it be less cruel to put it out of it's misery?

You can try to save them but ill tell you right away to temper your expectations. It does sound like the chick isn't doing to well, they may have been chilled for to long or they may have something else internally wrong which is why the hen abandoned it. Hatching is very exhausting and if a chick gets significantly chilled during that their chances of survival plummet. Since you don't have a heat plate or pad i would go ahead and use the heat lamp if you are aware of the risks. The chick needs to be at 95 degrees at this age with the ability to get away from the heat. If this chick is day old it may be better to leave them be so they can rest and get warm before trying to feed them. If this chick is two days old or older then i suggest syringing them drops (literally one drop at a time) of egg yolk in till their little crop is visible. If they dont show interest in moving around on their own and opening their eyes after a few feeding of egg yolk then they are likely not going to make it. I suggest talking to them and letting them cuddle against your skin if they want that but make sure they dont get chilled. It will be a good sign if the baby starts peeping loadly for you and pacing around, they should start to peck at food and water on their own after you coax them in a day or so. They are doing bad if they continue to be lethargic, and weak.

If the chick does make it, it may bond to you very strongly and might not want to go back to the broody. If this happens i suggest stealing a sibling from the broody for them to have a friend.