#so she taught me how to do different types of braids n stuff

[spectrum-spectre]

imagining a fic that takes place after El and the rest of the younger party graduate, she decides to go to Beauty School (cosmetology) then Steve realizes "holy shit, that's an option?" and signs up with her. They take turns using Eddie as their hair model, maybe the Sinclairs give them tips about working on Black Hair, just sweet fluff w/ El & Steve bonding <3

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

By Your Doorstep (Part 2)

Summary: Dean lets Sam in on a secret of his as to why he’s previously sworn off all dating before he and the reader go on their first one together. But it’s not just a simple first date when they realize they have more in common than they originally thought...

Pairing: Doctor/Neighbor!Dean x reader

Masterlist

Word Count: 4,200ish

Warnings: language, mentioned past sexual assault (not graphic)/child abuse, talk about sex toys, self-worth issues

A/N: Enjoy!

_________

Dean’s POV

“Hey,” said Sam a little over an hour later as he walked in the front door. Dean nodded and put the pie he’d brought into the fridge, walking back over to take a seat on the other side of the wrap around couch. “Your eyes are red.”

“That’s what happens when you cry, genius,” said Dean. He sighed and pulled his blanket over himself, rolling his eyes when Sam got up and sat closer. “It’s embarrassing.”

“Embarrassing was me being really sick when I was sixteen and shitting my pants and you didn’t say a damn thing about it other than you got me cleaned up. Dean nothing you can say will make me laugh. Fuck, I’m scared somebody…” said Sam.

“You’re gonna find out stuff about my sex life,” he said.

“You taught me about sex. Dean, I’m not gonna judge you.”

“I hooked up with a chick after work once. I had some meetings so I wore a dress shirt and tie that day. We got a room, it got heated, and my first mistake was letting her tie my hands to the headboard with that stupid tie. I shouldn’t have asked but I did. I must have been in a mood cause...I asked her to stick a finger up there cause it feels good with a blowjob. I told her the tip of a finger and she didn’t really seem to care when I told her to stop pushing inside with a dry fucking finger. She didn’t care when she shoved practically her whole hand up there no matter how much I told her to stop. Eventually once she realized my boner wasn’t coming back she washed up, untied me and left. I’ve always been leery of relationships but after that I said fuck no. Until I met this girl today. She seems sweet.”

Sam didn’t move and Dean threw his head back. 

“Say something.” 

“I’m so sorry that happened to you,” said Sam quietly. Dean risked a glance over at him and was surprised to see Sam’s scrunched up face. “Did you ever say anything?”

“No and I don’t want to. It was over two years ago. I honestly forgot about it until today and I met that girl,” said Dean.

“I hope she’s a good fit,” said Sam.

“Me too.”

“Just um, for the record, doing that stuff isn’t weird. I’ve had my share of experiences,” said Sam. 

“Thanks,” said Dean. “Don’t go on treating me any kind of way or anything, got it? This was a one time thing.”

“That’s what you said the last time,” said Sam before he gave Dean a hug. 

“Loser,” said Dean as he returned it. “You staying the night? It’s pretty late.”

“Yeah if you don’t mind,” said Sam as he sat back. He stretched and Dean looked him over. “What?”

“You were at the office, weren’t you.”

“So,” he said with a shrug. 

“Sammy you’re twenty seven. Friday nights are for fun or hanging out at home, not work. I told you I didn’t like that firm you work for.”

“It’s not a very kind place to work,” said Sam. “I’ve been thinking of leaving honestly, coming closer to home again.”

“Really?”

“I miss my friends, our friends. You’re alright too,” he said, Dean resisting the urge to tease him for it.

“Move in here. If you want your own place, you can find one with no rush. I wouldn’t mind company,” said Dean. “There’s plenty of law firms downtown. You’d have no problem getting a job.”

“I gotta stay another two months for them to finish paying off my loan,” said Sam. “But after that, yeah I think I’ll come back home. I just had to go out on my own without you watching my back, you know?”

“Yeah. I was still always watching your back though,” said Dean. “Don’t be trying to get me to eat all that healthy crap or I’ll kick your ass to the curb.”

“You are literally a doctor.”

“And doctors are literally the worst patients. Trust me,” said Dean with a smirk. “What kinda pie you bring me?”

“Blueberry,” said Sam.

“I gonna ruin whatever cleanse you’re on if you have a slice?” 

“You got ice cream?”

“Always were a sucker for ice cream,” said Dean. He hopped up from the couch and hummed as he went over to the kitchen, Sam watching and following after a moment. Sam took a seat at the counter while Dean put a plate in front of him, putting the ice cream on top of the pie how he liked it. “There you go.”

“Thanks,” he said before he dug in. Dean took his time with his own piece, leaning back against the counter. 

“Thanks for coming over tonight. Never told anyone before.”

“I’ll never say a word,” said Sam.

“I know you won’t, Sammy,” said Dean. He got out a pair of beers from the fridge and handed one to Sam with a smile. “You doing okay? Been awhile since we talked.”

“Mhm,” said Sam quickly.

“Want to tell me what it is? Whatever you’re not telling me? I think we established that-”

“Mom contacted me this week. At work. My number and picture was on the company website so she called there,” said Sam.

“What exactly did Mary have to say?” said Dean, setting down his plate and nursing his beer instead.

“She said she and dad have been together again for a few years. They went to couples counseling and dad stopped drinking and a whole bunch of other bullshit.”

“Wouldn’t happen to be the fact I’m a doctor and you’re a lawyer and her stay at home ass wants a nicer lifestyle, hm?” said Dean. “Tell her to shove it up her ass and to get a job if she wants money.”

“She sounded different, Dean. Like maybe she’s in trouble or something,” said Sam.

“That’s the same crap she pulled on you when you were eighteen and twenty one and twenty four and guess what, it’s three years later again. Time for her to lie to you, right on schedule.”

“She’s not the devil, Dean.”

“She slapped you in the face.”

“I was backtalking her. I deserved it.”

“You were an upset kid-”

“I was 14.”

“You were an upset kid and she hit you. That was the final straw for me and it should have been for you too,” said Dean. “You should stay away from her, Sam.”

“I’m not going to suddenly start hanging out with her. She just wanted to know if I’d consider meeting her and dad again and I told her I didn’t know and if I wanted to talk to them, I’d reach out, otherwise they could leave me alone. Happy?” Sam pushed his plate away and crossed his arms, pursing his lips while he stared at the counter.

“I just don’t want you to get hurt, Sammy. I wish our parents were normal. I’d kill to have had them. But they weren’t and they sucked and they’ve tried to manipulate us our entire lives. Just keep no contact and you’re better off.”

“Why don’t they ever contact you?” Sam looked up and Dean turned his head.

“They hate me. I hate them so that’s fine,” said Dean. 

“But why-”

“I got custody of you. I took you from them in their eyes, ergo they hate me.”

“I mean, do you ever think about-”

“No. I don’t plan on speaking to either one of them for the rest of my life,” said Dean. He finished his beer and picked up his pie plate again. “I know you want-”

“I used to want a lot of things. It wasn’t what was best for me though and I shouldn’t have given you so much shit for taking me away as a teenager.”

“Well alright then,” said Dean, picking at his pie again. 

“You ever gonna tell me how exactly you pulled that off? It was handled outside of court and I know you gotta have some shit or something on them,” said Sam.

“Maybe I’ll share someday but not tonight,” said Dean, his voice firm. “Why don’t you grab another couple beers and we’ll throw on a movie, alright? Polish off this pie.”

“Alright. I’m stealing some of your clothes though. I want to get out of this office crap,” said Sam. He stood up and headed for the stairs when Dean grunted. Sam looked back over his shoulder and Dean nodded.

“I’m glad you came over tonight,” said Dean.

“Me too. This girl must have made a hell of an impression.”

“You don’t know the half of it.”

Reader’s POV

“Tessa. Oh my God, it was fine the first time,” you said as she worked on your side braid again. “Dean’ll be here any minute.”

“Relax. Make him squirm,” she said. “How are you so shit at braiding hair anyways?”

“Cause mom never taught me, that’s why,” you said.

“I think it’s cause you’re just shit at it,” she said.

“You shouldn’t say shit all the time you know.”

“Seriously.”

“Just don’t do drugs and don’t get pregnant and I’m happy.”

“Well for the record, I’m a virgin,” she said.

“Good.”

“I actually do have a question.”

“You waited until I literally can’t move away, didn’t you,” you said as she moved your hair together.

“Yes, I did,” she smiled. “Um it’s kinda…”

“Go ahead and ask. I guarantee I had the same questions.”

“What’s a vibrator? One of the girls was talking about it in gym class and I didn’t...get it,” she said.

“Do you understand how girls masturbate?” you asked. She nodded and you bit your lip. “So you know how when you rub your...when you rub your clit it feels good, right? Some people like to use a vibrator which is normally a stick type thing that has different settings with a head end that’s rounded. If you put that against your clit, it can feel really, really good...and get you to orgasm pretty hard.”

“Oh. Okay,” she said as she finished with the braid. “So what’s a dildo?”

“Similar but basically a fake dick,” you said. 

“Uh, what?” she said as the doorbell rang.

“How about we talk about all this stuff tomorrow, okay?” you said.

“Okay. I’m still hung up on the fake dick thing.”

“Block it out of your head for now,” you said, shaking your head. “If I’m not back by the time you head to Hailey’s lock up and remember to bring Toast’s bed with you this time, okay? He likes it better than the hard floor.”

“I know, I know,” she said. You jogged downstairs and opened the door, Dean in a pair of jeans and a black tee shirt. 

“Howdy,” he said with a big smile.

“Hi Dean,” said Tessa out her window. 

“Hello Tessa,” he chuckled. “Torturing your sister today?”

“Always,” she said. “You two kids have fun now!”

“Oh you don’t even know what a fake dick is,” you said. “Do not go looking that up on the internet either.”

She groaned as you grabbed your purse and locked up, Dean laughing to himself.

“Sorry. She decided to literally start asking about sex toys right before you got here.”

“Sounds fun,” he said. You hopped down your steps and saw a very nice muscle car parked out front. “Hungry?”

“Starving.”

“I know the perfect place.”

“Okay, Winchester. I will respect your food truck game,” you said, munching on your taco. “Normally I’m leery but this is good.”

“Told you so,” he said. He took a big bite of his across from you, slurping down some lemonade. He burped and blushed, covering his mouth. “Excuse me.”

“You’re almost cute with that pink on your cheeks,” you said.

“I liked this better when you were the shy one,” he said. You smiled and ate quietly for a few minutes, Dean nodding when you were both finished. He took your hand and you started to walk around the big park in town, finding a walking trail after a few moments. “I like your hair. It’s cute.”

“My sister did it. I’m not you know, good at that stuff,” you said.

“I liked your hair yesterday too,” he said. “So how does one name a dog Toast?”

“I thought it’d be funny,” you said. “Tessa was on a limited diet at first at the hospital. Toast was the one thing she liked. When they talked to me about a service dog, I got in touch with some people and they were training a new litter so we got to name the dog and I picked Toast. It was just a goofy thing I suppose.”

“Is he always on duty?” he asked.

“No. His vest comes off at home and he’s a normal one mostly. Tessa’s staying with a friend tonight so he’ll go with her. He’s very protective of her. It’s why he ran home and got me yesterday.”

“Smart dog,” he said. “My brother always wanted a dog. It never quite fit with our life though.”

“How old is he?”

“A year younger than you. He might get one soon I think.”

“What about you?”

“I don’t think I’d be very good at it. My yard is big enough though,” he said. “I’m over on Fern Lane. The blue house.”

“You got that big cool balcony over the garage right?” you said.

“That’s the one,” he said. “I haven’t been there too long. It’s a nice neighborhood.”

“It is. We grew up here. I was out of the house but I moved back for Tessa. You from Lawrence?”

“Yeah. East side of town though. Always wanted to live over here,” he said. “Everything seemed so perfect over in the nice part.”

“Mostly,” you said. 

“It does get easier. Trust me.”

“I hope so,” you said. He bumped your shoulder and you smiled. “So what kind of doctor are you?”

“Obviously I’m a brain surgeon,” he said. You rolled your eyes and he laughed. “General family practice. I’m boring, I know.”

“That is still way too hard for me,” you said.

“I bet you could do it if you really wanted to. So what do you do? I overheard you say to Tessa you got a new job.”

“I was a paralegal at a law firm. On Monday I start as a junior investor at Sandover, the big marketing firm.”

“My friend Charlie is head of IT there,” he said. “She says it’s a pretty decent place to work.”

“Oh. That’s good. I hope it works out,” you said. 

“I bet it will. Just don’t let ‘em work you to death,” he said.

“I’m gonna try. I’m excited. This could be really good for us. Tessa doesn’t know how...tight things have been.”

“Leeman’s over on the east side, it’s a pretty cheap grocery store. It’s not fancy but we used to go all the time as a kid. Way cheaper than the box store over here,” he said.

“I’ll have to check it out,” you said. You looked him up and down, Dean smiling to himself. “You grew up kinda…”

“Poor? Yeah. It’s okay. It’s not a bad word,” he said. He ran his thumb over your hand and you smiled back at him. “You learn to get by. My brother’s a lawyer now so we don’t have to worry about that too much now.”

“Maybe Tessa’ll be a doctor,” you said. “That’d definitely help us.”

“I’m sure she’ll do something good. You can just tell she looks up to you. She won’t let you down.”

“Fingers crossed,” you said. “So why choose general medicine?”

“Thanks,” you said, sticking your arms through Dean’s flannel later that evening.You took his hand again, walking through downtown back towards his car.

“I don’t remember the last time I spent a Saturday like this, hanging out with someone,” he said.

“Been a while for me too,” you said.

“Is this still considered the first date?” he asked.

“Probably. Why?”

“You want to come over my place...for coffee?” he asked. 

“Oh.”

“No, no. I mean like, literal coffee. I have pie at home and...if I was talking sex I’d be a big boy and just ask,” he said.

“Oh. Well in that case, sure,” you said. “Guys that want sex on the first date normally don’t end up getting a second one in my experience.”

“Well I definitely want a second one,” he smirked. “Also I really want some pie and I need to know your pie stance because this could impact the future of this relationship greatly.”

“I see,” you laughed. “I like a man who knows where his priorities lie.”

“Damn straight I do,” he said. He threw his arm over your shoulders and chuckled. “It’ll knock your socks off, I guarantee it.”

“Alright, this is pretty good,” you said twenty minutes later as you sat at Dean’s kitchen counter, munching on a piece of blueberry pie. 

“Told you so,” he said. He ate another forkful, getting some whipped cream stuck on the tip of his nose. He didn’t notice and started to giggle as you stared at him. “What’s that face for goofy?”

“You got a little…” you said, reaching over and wiping it off with your thumb. You licked if off and he blushed for probably the tenth time that day. “You don’t strike me as shy around women, Dean.”

“Normally I’m not. You make me nervous. Good nervous but still nervous.”

“What about me is so intimidating?” you asked, stealing a tiny piece of his pie. 

“You remind me of me. I’ve been in similar shoes to yours. I know how easy it is to get set off and how people don’t realize you don’t mean what you’re saying.”

“Pushing people away you mean.”

“I don’t want to get pushed away or cross a line.”

“Tell me a secret and I’ll tell you one of mine,” you said.

“I took custody of my brother when I turned eighteen,” he said. You stared at him, Dean nodding. “My mom walked out when I was a kid more than once and my dad was...unkind at times. I protected my brother from it as much as I could. When I was able to, I left and I was given guardianship of my brother. I’ve not seen either of my parents since. I understand raising your younger sibling when you are scared shitless. Most people don’t. They don’t get that I’m still fucked up from the stuff that happened as a kid and when I took in my brother. People don’t get that, not all the way. Not even my best friends or my brother. But you have this look and I know you understand the same way I do so I’ll be nervous because I like you more than just because you’re pretty and helpful and a good sister. You get some part of me that I don’t talk about and it’s the part of you that you don’t talk about and maybe we can make that work.”

You leaned forward and kissed him, Dean sliding a hand to your cheek, a soft but comforting weight to it.

“What’s your secret,” he said quietly, your forehead resting against his.

“I lost my job,” you said. “I lied to Tessa. She worries so much already and I can’t let her know the truth. I’ve been working as a cashier the past month.”

“Y/N, you gotta tell her the truth.”

“She already feels guilty because our parents were picking her up from basketball practice when the accident happened. She goes to therapy, Dean. I can’t tell her. Not now.”

“Can you afford to stay in the house?”

“It’s almost paid off. She can afford four years at the university with my share of the inheritance.”

“Y/N. You can’t go bankrupt just to send her to a university.”

“Lots of people do.”

“Y/N. I practice general medicine because the state pays off my student loan debt if I do. You have to tell Tessa the truth about what’s realistic.”

“My seventeen year old sister currently makes more money than I do. I can’t take anything else from her. She deserves to go to the school she always wanted to.”

“Well...we need a new lab tech at work. Do you want it?” he asked.

“Dean, I’m not asking for a job.”

“I’m not giving charity either. You have a degree, you’re smart and I know you could do it. I don’t know the pay but it’s got to be better than minimum wage.”

“Dean.”

“Someone helped me. I was an eighteen year old kid with a part time job and I had no idea what I was doing. Someone helped me and it gave me a chance to live, to have all this. It’s not charity. It’s decency and everyone deserves that.”

“Never tell my sister,” you said.

“If you take the job I won’t.”

“Okay,” you said with a nod. “This was a more fun date a few minutes ago you know.”

“But now we’re really starting to know one another,” he said. You were quiet, playing with your fork for a beat.

“Can I stay over? I don’t like sleeping in the house alone.”

“Of course,” he said. You flicked your eyes up, Dean offering you a smile. 

“How do you get happy again?”

“Having a stranger run by shouting about toast helps,” he said. You rolled your eyes and he shrugged. “I’m not joking.”

“Why are you single?”

“I’m more complicated than I look at first glance. I’ve been told it’s not an attractive quality.”

“Well fuck whatever bitch said that.”

“I really like you,” he chuckled.

“I have my moments,” you said. You sat back, Dean pushing the bit of pie left on his plate around. “Was that too much...me sharing that.”

“No. I’m glad you did,” he said. “You want to watch something?”

“Whatever you want is fine.”

“Come on,” he said. He showed you upstairs and gave you some clothes to sleep in before he showed you outside to the balcony over the garage. “I sit out here at night sometimes.”

“It’s gorgeous,” you said. You settled down into an oversized chair with him, looking up at the dark sky.

“Yes, it is,” he said as he looked in your direction. 

“So what’s your favorite kind of pie?”

“Oh well if you want to go down that road I can chat your ear off all night.”

“Good morning,” said Dean as you made your way downstairs. You yawned and gave him a smile, Dean handing you a cup of coffee.

“Much appreciated.” You took a long gulp, stretching out and taking a deep breath. “What time is it?”

“After ten. We stayed up pretty late talking,” he said.

“I guess we did,” you said, rubbing the back of your neck. “Can I have your phone for a sec?”

“Sure,” he said. You put in your number and handed it back.

“Text me sometime,” you said.

“I think I’ll take you up on that,” he said. “I gotta run and do a few chores this morning but I’m having a few friends over later to watch football if you and Tessa would like to join.”

“You really want my sister hanging out with us?”

“Yeah. As long as she’s like, not a devil worshipper or doesn’t like pie she’s always welcome.”

“Only you would categorize those two things together,” you laughed.

“I am quite serious about my pies.”

“Oh I learned that last night,” you said. “I’ll invite her. She’s seventeen though so not sure how much fun she’ll have.”

“There’ll be a couple guys her age if-”

“She’ll definitely be there then,” you said.

“Great. Let’s have some breakfast quick before I drop you off at home.”

______

A/N: Read Part 3 here!

[syilcawrites]

for your zelink prompt,,,how do you feel about a modern AU where the two bike to the beach and have a picnic?

a/n: I added ‘high school’ to the prompt too hope you don’t mind asghjjhas (’: Also this turned out a lot longer than I planned hope that’s okay ;-; I want to practice writing in Link’s voice more so this is in his pov!! Anyway! I hope you enjoy this, and thanks a lot for the prompt <3

ao3

hot buttered apples with chamomile tea

There are two types of monsters: ones that sleep under your bed and ones that sleep behind your eyes. For Aryll, it's the former.

And Link saw a lot in the latter.

He rubbed his eyes to try to erase the bags that rest stubbornly underneath them, but he wondered if he was just making it worse. Probably. But why did it matter anyway? He usually got three hours of sleep tops, so he always liked to think that darkness had become a permanent edition to his features. He tapped his toes against the pavement, waiting, peering around the corner of the school's brick fence, trying to catch a glimpse of the black car that Zelda usually pulled up in. With five minutes left until school started, he was beginning to worry—she was never late. And for the first time in his entire high school career, he was early.

It was a last minute trip they had planned, when they had snuck onto the school roof after class yesterday.

"I want to see the ocean," she had told him, under the summer's unrelenting heat. They were both sticky with sweat, even though they were sitting under a shady area, and the next thing she said made no sense to him. "I've never been to the beach before." Living here and never once going to Hateno Beach? He thought she was kidding at first. But she stared at him dead in the eye with her lips pressed into a thin line, as serious as ever. When he jokingly proposed that they ditch school the next day to go to the beach, she didn't hesitate to say yes.

It had taken him practically the whole day yesterday to convince her to sneak up onto the rooftop, and yet she was completely fine with ditching an entire day of school to go to the beach.

She was weird and unpredictable and he loved it.

He decided to check his backpack again for the twelfth time in the past hour, just to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. His memory was pretty terrible to begin with. He always found something new that he had forgotten whenever he went to check his backpack. The first time he checked, he realized he didn't bring any cups. Just that one thermal bottle whose lid doubled as a cup. The second time he checked, he realized he had forgotten napkins. If worst came to worst, he guessed he could just offer up his jacket or something, if she really needed to clean her hands or wipe her mouth—would that be any better though? When was the last time he washed his jacket?

"Link?"

Before he could try to sniff his sleeve, Zelda's voice pierced his thoughts.

He zipped up the backpack once more and peeked around the corner again—and finally, he saw her familiar twin braided blonde hair bobbing up and down as she ran toward him.

With… a frenzied kind of pace.

"Link!" she shouted again, breathless, as she waved her arms up and down in panic. Behind her he could hear another person shouting—but it was hard to hear their voice, since it was drowned out by the sound of Zelda urgently telling him to go, go, go.

Fumbling, Link lifted the bike away from the brick fence and rolled it out, hopping onto the front seat.

"I thought you said you had two bikes!" Zelda exclaimed, quickly tossing herself over the second seat without missing a beat.

"I mean, this is kinda like two bikes isn't it?" She only learned how to ride a bike three days ago and he wasn't comfortable with leading her down a rather windy road to get to the beach on her own. The last time he taught someone how to ride a bike was Mipha, years ago, and she almost face planted into a cliff because he let go of her bike and had forgotten to tell her how to brake.

Besides, he had to bribe Aryll fifty rupees to take the tandem bike out today. If he wanted to borrow her regular bike, she would've asked for a hundred. That was equivalent to a week's worth of mowing Tokk's front lawn.

Link was probably getting scammed by Tokk, but he was only 40% sure about that.

"Won't we look ridiculous riding this around?" Zelda scoffed as they began pulling out onto the road. "I thought we were supposed to be discreet? A tandem bike—Oh Hylia!" She kicked his shin with her foot, urging him to hurry. "Impa's coming!"

"Who?" Impa? He didn't think Zelda had mentioned her before.

"Miss Zelda!"

Link glanced at the direction that Zelda had come from, and he saw an angry looking young woman in a black suit racing toward them at an alarming speed. A chill ran down his spine as they locked eyes.

"You!" Impa shouted, pointing a furious finger at him. "Who are you!"

Without a second left to waste, Link clicked into gear and pedaled away fast before that angry finger could intentionally poke out his eyeballs. They shot down the road, with Zelda's exhilarated laughter mixing in with the sound of the rushing wind whistling by them.

For some reason, it was a strange and distinct sound, like it was reverberating all around him; he felt trapped in it.

Until her laughter abruptly stopped.

"Look out—!"

He looked up; but by then, it was too late. An apple that hung low from the tree smacked him square on the forehead with a resounding thud.

——————————————————————

"You know," Zelda said, accepting his hand as he helped her down the rocky cliff that led to the shoreline, "the beach looks different from above."

Link hadn't been to Zelda's home before, but he knew what it looked like from below. It was an odd-looking building that used to be an abandoned lighthouse, but then someone moved into it a couple of years ago, and that someone had hammered on weird platforms and objects to it, so now it looked like Hateno's novelty sculpture.

"Your room's at the top of that lighthouse building right?" Link asked, grunting as he jumped down onto the sand with a hefty thud. He turned around and held out both of his hands to her.

"Mhm. Purah let me have the upper loft when I moved in with her. The view's amazing at night, you can see all the stars." Zelda crouched down and gratefully accepted his hands. Her hands were rough. She jumped down.

Link couldn't see the stars from his bed, because a gigantic tree was right in front of his window.

Her prickling stare withdrew him from his thoughts—she studied his face as if she was observing every detail on it. He could count the sun freckles that had begun appearing around her cheeks; heat climbed to his cheeks as he leaned back a little, finally aware of how close they were.

"I hope that apple won't leave a bruise on your forehead," she muttered, her eyebrows furrowing together, with that little crease appearing between her brows. Always one crease, never two. "You took quite a hit back there."

"I—" he paused, his mouth still slightly ajar.

What was he gonna say? That he was too focused on the sound of her laughter to the point where he wasn't paying attention to the road?

She tilted her head quizzically, waiting for him to speak.

Link let go of her hands to adjust the straps of his stiff backpack. "I know a spot near the rocks," he muttered, turning to a cluster of boulders near the water. It was flat enough that they could place the blanket down and set the lunchboxes and thermal bottle without having to worry about them falling over.

They walked side by side.

"The patterns on the rocks are so symmetrical," she murmured, tapping her chin with her finger. "Like the cliff we just climbed down from—you could tell during high tide the water reaches it, just barely though. I've always found it fascinating that exposure to water erosion could create such beautiful patterns. Don't you agree?"

Link nodded, and a smile quirked up on her lips. The hop in her step was a little higher than usual as she sped up to reach the cluster of rocks faster. He liked listening to her observations of little details, even though he didn't offer much opinion of his own. It was nice to hear and see Hyrule through a different kind of lens.

She was already climbing up the rock by the time Link reached it, and she stood there proud and tall with her hands on her hips, facing the vast ocean.

"We should eat before the food gets cold," Link called up to her, unzipping his backpack to hand her the picnic blanket. It used to belong to his mom. At one point he stole the key to his dad's chest and opened it up to find a bunch of things that used to be hers, probably, because there was a picture of her in there, squished in with a bunch of other stuff. He stole that picture too. And to this day, his dad still hadn't noticed anything was missing.

Link wondered if his dad knew, and just let him... have it.

"Of course," she said, her eyes glinting hungrily. She grabbed the blanket from him, and with it, his thoughts.

She spread it out as he climbed up to her.

Her reactions were always funny whenever Link brought food for her. For some reason, she always tried to mask her excitement—but she was terrible at hiding the anticipation that gleamed in her green eyes, and even more terrible at trying to keep a smile from erupting on her face while he pulled out the two lunchboxes.

"Chamomile tea," Link stated, as he pulled out the thermal bottle next. He paused to watch her, and her mouth formed an 'o' as she greedily grabbed it from him, opening the cap up. He popped open the lid of one of the lunchboxes and slid it toward her.

There were sliced hydromelons, egg pudding, honey crepes and fruits, and her favorite—

"Hot buttered apples!" Zelda exclaimed, reaching for one.

In the other box he had a handful of savory foods—maybe he should've opened that one up first.

"I'm glad you took my suggestion." Her fingers paused just before she picked the slice up. "But first, the tea," she said quickly, as if she was reminding herself. She poured it into the lid of the thermal bottle, handing it to Link.

"I want to see your expression when you try it," Zelda insisted, beaming. She was smiling a lot today—more than she has in the past two years that he'd known her. "You take a bite out of the apple first, and then drink the tea, and then it tastes amazing."

"Just like that?" he asked, eyeing the light crisp color of the chamomile tea she handed to him. It reminded him of apple cider.

"Trust me, Link. You'll want to keep eating it," she promised, tugging down at her two braids. She always did that when she was waiting for something—every time she was standing in line at the vending machines to get the both of them candy pop sodas at school, she did that same little tug. "I'm picky with my food, so you know I wouldn't simply be saying this without meaning it."

Link picked up the slice—the hot buttered apples had turned into warm buttered apples by now, but he figured it wouldn't change the taste all that much. As soon as he took a bite out of it and took a sip from the tea, her eyes sparkled.

The combination of the two warmed his stomach—the pinch of cinnamon she had recommended he put on it really kicked it for him, and he had to refrain from shoving at least ten more into his mouth. Considering how much she was staring at the hot buttered apples, he wanted to save the majority of it for her.

"Good? Right? They both have that toasty taste but it's a different kind of toasty. The chamomile tea, when brewed correctly of course, has that touch of floral kick to it too! And the hot buttered apples with that sprinkle of cinnamon just melts in your mouth and it's the most wonderful thing ever, isn't it?" She quickly thanked him as she accepted the tea when he handed it to her, and she picked up a slice to take an eager bite of her own.

"It's really good." He wasn't the best at expressing himself through words, but despite their simplicity, it seemed to have gotten through to her, as that gleeful glint in her eyes only gleamed brighter. "Did your parents—" He paused mid-chew, realizing just a little too late that his question was going to dampen her brightness.

And it did, just a little.

Idiot.

Whenever he asked about her immediate family, she would tense up—just like now. She cast her eyes down at the lunchbox, eyeing all of the food that he had prepared, her lips pursed. She would always be on the brink of telling him, but then she would turn away in the end.

Maybe… she needed a little push, to talk about it.

"My mom hated apples." The words felt weird in his mouth—he's never spoken about his mom to anyone, and he only brought her up once to his dad. Link raised his eyes to meet hers. Zelda had stopped chewing too, and looked at him with wide, curious eyes.

"That's what my dad told me at least, when I asked him what she hated the most." No one in his family ate apples that much, and it all made sense when he found out about that little fact a couple of years ago. It was hard for his dad to talk about her—time didn't heal the pain behind his voice when he told Link those three simple words: She hated apples.

And behind those three simple words were years upon years of grieving, and he never asked his dad about her again.

He watched as Zelda picked up another slice, her mouth parting slightly. "My mother loved making all sorts of meals with apples."

Loved, Link thought.

Past tense.

They sat in silence for a bit, just munching on those hot buttered apples, while passing the tea back and forth between each other.

"My mother made a snack for me that always involved apples in some way—whenever I was sad, angry, or when she was proud of me." He expected her to look lost in thought as she spoke, but she wasn't. She was as present as she could've been, and he was... it made him feel a little better. Less alone. "Hot buttered apples with chamomile tea was my favorite. She made it for me quite often," she said, chuckling. "What was your mother like?"

She gave him the last slice.

He hesitated; both in accepting the last piece and at her question. The only thing he had was a worn out picture of her, weathered down by age. And that blanket. "I don't know, I don't remember anything," he admitted, taking the slice from her.

Her gaze softened.

Link once punched another classmate in grade school because they asked him, how could he be sad? If he had no memories of his own mom? What was there to be sad about, since he couldn't remember anything? And for the longest time, he didn't let himself be sad over her. How could you be sad about someone you had no memories of?

But one day, Aryll barged into his room—her face red, with snot running down her nose, crying, because she had an argument with their dad. "What if I forget about her, Link?" Aryll had said to him in between her choked up sobs. "I feel like if dad never talks about her, she'll disappear forever."

He knew then that there was pain with memory, and pain without memory. One wasn't more valid than the other.

Because either way, no one won anything in the end.

"I wish I could've met your mother," she said. "I'm certain I could've changed her mind about apples."

There wasn't a lick of a tease on her face. She was serious.

For the first time in a while, Link laughed.

[goldenspecter]

Wash and Go

summary: wash and go (or wash 'n go) - a method of cleaning and styling hair without the use of heat, protective styling or any other manipulation techniques and a staple in the natural hair community.

Valerie hadn't expected to style a ghost kid's hair, especially one as powerful as Clockwork, but she believes that everyone should have a good hair experience. She just didn't think it would be the start of something new.

Word Count: 6,970

Archive of Our Own FFN

This fic takes place early season 1, like maybe a week or so after "Parental Bonding".

-I headcanon Clockwork to be black and queer/nonbinary and express that through all my fics that I've written. Maybe not as explicit as calling out skin tones but through little things like AAVE(African-American Vernacular) and their hair type. So at the very least, they were coded to be read as black whenever I write them. Valerie uses AAVE terms so if there are words that pop out at you that you don't instantly recognize/aren't sure of, that's AAVE and it's used in its correct context. This fic serves as a reclamation of blackness/black culture for CW, Valerie and Tucker, for more on that, it’s included on the AO3/FFN versions but not this one since I didn’t want to clutter it any further with notes.

-Music in this phic: Green Eggs and Ham by Princess Nokia and VRY BLK by Jamila Woods ft Noname

---

It’s quiet in her room and the young, small, blue ghost that she mysteriously acquired is laying in her bed, watching a video on their prized console. They-Clockwork, is quiet, curling in on themselves, as if to make themselves smaller than what they truly are and it rubs Valerie the wrong way. She’s not quite sure how, but she knows that something is off. As an attempt to ease the small child, Valerie moves in to run her fingers through their hair in an attempt to comfort them when her fingers are stuck in thick silver curls and Clockwork hisses in pain, but doesn’t make any move to pull away or pry her fingers out of their hair. 

“Chile, do you not comb your hair? When was the last time you ran a comb through that?” Valerie asks, gentle maneuvering her fingers out of the thick, nappy hair. 

“You’re supposed to comb it?” asks Clockwork, voice tinged with confusion. 

“Yes, you’re supposed to comb it!” Valerie almost shrieks, because what parent doesn’t teach their own child to comb their hair or style it for them? Hair was such an important thing for children. It spoke volumes about people, the luscious curls, vibrant blacks and deep browns that stand proudly on top of your head, and she knows each and every hairstyle she rocks is breathtaking and commands attention to her personhood. She can’t imagine a child not being taught to take pride in their hair and the fact that this child hasn’t been taught to be prideful of their hair both saddens and enrages her. She notices the subtle flinch before she softens her voice,  “Sorry about that but do your parents really not comb your hair?”

Clockwork is silent before shaking their head, “They said it’s too much trouble,” they say, voice soft. “So they cut it short when it grew out too much. Saved everyone time.” 

Valerie’s eyes darken in rage and she has to take cartoonishly deep breaths before she can speak. What kind of parent does that shit? To give up on their child, not bothering to take care of their needs and all but giving up on them? She takes another deep breath and speaks in a low voice,  “Well, we’re gonna change that.”

Clockwork furrows an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”

“I’m going to do your hair,” she says, “That is, if you’re okay with it.”

“No one wants to do my hair,” Clockwork says quickly, “It’s a pain to do and I’m too much of a baby for anyone to do it. I always cry and scream too much when my guardians try.”

It takes every fiber in Valerie’s body to hold back a venomous retort about how shitty Clockwork’s parents sound, because at the very least, she knows that her anger at their parents will be misconstrued and that Clockwork will grow to be afraid of her. Instead, she puts a hand under their chin and gently turns their head to make them look at her. 

“Getting your hair combed sounds scary, I get it,” Valerie starts, “However, it's not healthy to keep avoiding it like this. You gotta do it at some point, and if you decide that after this you wanna get your haircut and keep it short, that’s fine. But at the very least, you deserve to have a good experience when it comes to your hair and I would like to be the one to provide that for you if you like.”

Clockwork falls silent, before nodding hesitantly. 

Valerie is surprised that they agreed to something like this so quickly, that they trust her with something so intimate, but she does nothing to convey her surprise. Instead, she stands up and puts her hands on her hips. “Alright, first step is to wash your hair.”

Fifteen minutes later, Valerie gathers two combs, shampoo and conditioner sets them down on the counter of the kitchen sink as she finishes cleaning off the counter. It doesn’t take her long to do so, and when she finishes, she gently motions for Clockwork to come over. Clockwork obediently comes over, tightly holding the dry towel to their chest, their grip tightening when they eye the combs laying on the counter. 

“Will it hurt?” they ask, looking down at the ground.. It’s not how a child typically asks when parents have to disinfect cuts and scrapes, but from a child who knows and has been through some serious pain. Valerie’s heart aches for this child she barely knows. She’d love to meet their parents because she has a lot of questions to ask, most of which involve a lead pipe. 

“Yea, it will,” she says honestly, not wanting to lie to Clockwork. “Especially since you’ve never had your hair combed but I promise you I will do my best to not make it hurt anymore than it has to.” 

“You promise?” Clockwork asks.

Valerie nods. “Come on up here squirt. Let’s get started.” She helps Clockwork onto the counter, moving one hand on their back while the other rests on their chest and she slowly but gently guides their head to hover above the sink. Once Valerie thinks that Clockwork is steady, she slowly removes her hands and moves to turn one of the sink knobs. She slides her hand under the water, slowly waiting for it to get hot enough before she touches the knob for cold water. Valerie puts her hand under the water again, deems it warm enough before she pulls out the spray head and starts to wet Clockwork’s hair. 

“Is this too hot?” she asks. 

Clockwork squirms a little, pulling their head back from the water. Valerie holds their head still but moves the nozzle away from them and turns the cold water on just a little bit more. She puts the nozzle back at their hair, “How about now?”

“Yes, thank you.” they say. 

“No problem. I promised you would have a good experience and this is an important part.” Valerie says, moving the nozzle around to thoroughly wet Clockwork’s hair. 

Valerie occasionally fluffs their hair as she wets it. Once she determines that it's fully drenched, she places the spray head back into its socket, grabs the shampoo and opens it with a loud click. 

She squeezes a nice dollop of it in her hand to start out and begins to massage the shampoo into Clockwork’s hair. “I wasn’t sure what scent you’d like best so I picked out lavender to start with. We can shop for more if you want to keep this up.”

“I like lavender.” they say, then a moment later, “If I want to keep this up?”

“Yea, if you like how this turns out, then we can keep this up. We can try out different hairstyles, do whatever you want. I can ask dad to buy more hair stuff from the store.” Valerie answers, adding more shampoo to Clockwork’s hair and deeply massaging it in with the soapy suds coating her hands. 

“You want to keep doing my hair?” asks Clockwork and Valerie knows that they’re asking much more than that. You want to keep trying? You aren’t ready to give up hope on me? You don’t want to quit?

“Yes, if you let me.” Valerie says, because she loves doing hair. She loves styling it. Taking something that’s so beautiful in its raw form, magnifying its beauty with braids, twisting, heat is a magic all on its own and she’s so glad that she’s able to take part in that magic. 

Clockwork lets out a tiny ‘ok’ so softly that Valerie has to really strain her ears to hear them. She can tell that she’s made them uncomfortable so she quickly dries her hands, opens Spotify on her phone and plays some music. Her voice and body falls into the trap that the music lays out for her and so soon, she swings her hips as she sings proudly while still continuing to wash Clockwork’s hair. 

“Love my inner child, Kool-Aid smile

I been like this for a while

Going into town, gonna find a crowd

Right by the kids in the park with the style”

Her joy is contagious, as Clockwork begins to tap their hand against their chest with the beat. Valerie’s nails scratch against their scalp, causing Clockwork to let out a groan. 

“Something wrong?”

Clockwork immediately shakes their head, “No. Just- that felt good. Can-can you keep doing that?”

“Of course,” Valerie says as she presses her fingers into their scalp, massaging the skin with varying pressures to both distribute the foamy substance and pamper the neglected area." “Is it too much pressure or good enough?”

“Uhh...good enough?” Clockwork answers, and Valerie can tell that she’s hit the sweet spot. “I like the pressure, I don’t know why.”

“It’s okay not to know why,” Valerie reassures them, pulling the nozzle and rinsing out the shampoo before adding more into the child’s hair. “But to be honest? It just feels good to have someone massage your hair and that’s okay.”

“Really?”

“Mhmm. When my dad used to wash my hair, I loved it when he massaged my hair.” Valerie says, continuing to massage their hair. Her music is still playing, hiding a smile when she hears Clockwork softly humming to her music. 

Her hands pull at several strands of silver hair at the nape of Clockwork’s nape. “Do you hear any squeaking?” 

“A little? What does it mean if it’s squeaking?”

“Your hair’s clean. Hold your ears closed, I don't want water to get in them. Swimmer’s ear is hell.” says Valerie, thoroughly rinsing out the soap and suds before she adds more. “I’ll wash it again just to make sure. I want it completely free of any build up of dirt or dandruff before I style it.”

Valerie washes Clockwork’s hair a third time, this time making sure that she completely scrubs out all of the dirt and dandruff that might have built up before she rinses out the soap and suds for the last time. She gets the bottle of conditioner, begins to squeeze it out, and rubs into Clockwork’s hair.

Once there’s an ample amount of condition in Clockwork’s hair, Valerie reaches across the sink to grab one of her combs, a golden wide tooth comb and readies it in her hand. Clockwork eyes the comb with great suspicion, instinctively scooting away from the menacing comb. 

Valerie notices and rests her hand on their chest to stop them in their tracks. “Look, I know, I know. It’s scary, it’s going to hurt a lot, especially since you haven’t had a lot of experience with this.” Valerie begins, voice soft. “If you need to scream, cry, whatever, then go ahead and do it. I’m not going to stop you. Okay?”

“Okay.” Clockwork whispers, bracing themselves to feel the teeth of the comb dig into their hair. 

Valerie places the comb at Clockwork’s edges, pulls the comb through the hair to form a part, occasionally having to pull the tangled strands apart by hands. During this Clockwork hisses, kicking the side of the island in pain. She does this two more times, effectively parting the soaking wet hair into three sections. Valerie fully sinks the teeth of the comb into their hair, starting at the scalp and begins to pull the comb through, collecting dead hair as it goes through stopping at the ends. Valerie focuses on the ends, where its the most tangled, combing it through multiple times to get it to that silky smoothness. 

She retracts the comb from their hair, pulls the dead hair piling in between the teeth of the comb and puts it in the strainer at the bottom of the sink to be collected when she finishes. Valerie combs through the first section one last time and nods in satisfaction at how easily she can run the comb through their hair. 

Sticking the comb in Clockwork's hair, she does a quick check in. “How are we feeling?” she asks. 

Clockwork quickly wipes away any tears pooling at the corners of their eyes before they turn their head to look at her. “It hurts, but I think I’ll be okay.” they say.

Valerie quirks an eyebrow. Getting hair combed hurts like hell, even when combed often. They have to be in some serious pain for how tenderheaded they were. “You sure?” she presses, “I can stop for a few minutes if you like. It’s not a big deal, Clockwork.”

The small child shakes their head, “No,” they say, a soft sob itching to be let loose but they manage to suppress it. “You can keep going.”

“Okay,” Valerie says quietly, pulling the comb out of Clockwork’s hair and resumes by starting to comb out the next section. Clockwork continues to hiss in pain, but doesn’t do anything to stop her. 

Dead hair continues to gather at the bottom of the sink as she combs through the sections. 

“What’s this song? I like it.” Clockwork asks, Valerie muses that they’re trying to focus on something other than the pain.   

“VRY BLK by Jamila Woods and Noname. It’s one of my favorites.” She pulls the hair from the teeth of the comb before returning the comb through their hair. “Would you like me to turn it up?”

They nod, “Yes please.” 

Valerie dries her hands on her shirt, grabs her phone to turn the volume up and starts the song over. A soft steady percussion starts up and slowly takes over the kitchen.

“Black is like the magic, the magic's like a spell

My brothers went to heaven, the police going to, yeah, they're going to

Hello operator, emergency hotline

If I say that I can't breathe, will I become a chalk line

Up to see the movie, line up to see the act”

Valerie takes pride in her voice, as she continues to sing as she finishes combing out Clockwork’s hair, and smiles as she can hear them sing along to the chorus very softly. They aren’t flinching from the pain as much and she considers that to be a monumental improvement. She runs the comb through several more times to make sure that their hair was fully combed out before she rinses out the conditioner in their hair. 

When the conditioner is completely rinsed out, she turns the water off, gathers the clumps of hair sitting in the strainer and dumps them in the trash can. She returns to the sink, helps Clockwork sit up, pulls the towel away from them, and drapes the towel around their neck. Valerie holds out a hand for Clockwork to hold onto and pulls them off the counter.

“How was it?”

Clockwork runs a hand through their hair, eyes widening in surprise that it’s free from kinks. “It’s...good. It felt good.”

Valerie beams, “Good.” She grabs the combs, her phone, and a chair that’s in front of the kitchen island and takes with her into the downstairs bathroom. “Come along Clockwork!”

Clockwork follows after her, droplets of water forming a trail behind them.  They’re standing outside the bathroom when she wordlessly gestures for them to sit in the chair in front of the mirror. Clockwork struggles to get in the chair since it’s the chair is a bit higher than them but they manage to hop in. when they finally hop on the chair, they are entranced by their reflection staring back at them in the mirror. They pull at a few strands of silver hair, looking on in curiosity as it unravels and coils back once they let go. 

This was what their hair looked like when it was combed, washed and treated with care? Impossible. It looks.. too good. Healthy. It’s on their head, so it has to be their hair. Maybe they shouldn't get too attached because Valerie says she would be willing to keep this up, but what if she grows tired of doing it and ends up cutting it like the Observants.

“Looks great doesn’t it?” Valerie says, cutting them out of their thoughts. 

Clockwork nods, “I can’t believe that this is what my hair looks like.” they say in awe, because holy shit this is what their hair actually looks like. Their vision blurs and before they can wipe their tears away, Valerie’s hands are already there, whipping away the tears that spilled over. 

“If you think this looks good now, just wait until I’m finished.” Valerie says, excitement bleeding in her voice. She takes the towel off their neck and drapes it across the chair. Grabbing the comb, Valerie quickly combs through their hair and sections it into four big plaits.

Valerie takes down one of the braids in the back, pulls out a jar of curl defining creme, opens it up and scoops some out with her fingers. She then slabs the cream on top of their hair before she takes time to really work it through, pulling her fingers through the hair to define the curls. Her hands dive back into the jar to scoop out some more and continue massaging it through Clockwork’s hair, saturating the hair with the cream. 

Clockwork is quiet throughout the process, casually stimming as Valerie did their hair and they honestly couldn’t believe how easy it was so far? Why couldn’t the Observants do something like this?

“It’s so smooth,” Clockwork says. 

“Yea, glad I combed your hair out right?” Valerie jokes with a smile.

She gets a fervent nod as her answer. "Me too. Otherwise, it would be a helluva lot harder to do this." 

The music still plays in the background as Valerie finishes one section, takes down another braid and continues the process. It takes about an hour to do, and that hour goes by quickly. 

When Valerie finally finishes, she proudly puts her hands on her hips, "What's the verdict so far?" she waits for Clockwork's reaction. 

Clockwork leans forward in the chair to get a closer look at their hair. This is actually, really their hair. Fingers slowly pull at some of the defined curls hanging in front of their face and coming away with a build up of the cream between their fingers. 

“It’s so pretty.” Clockwork says in awe, and as much they don’t want to, they can’t help but be prideful of their hair. They look at Valerie. “What now?”

“We let it dry.” says Valerie. “It takes a few hours to do.”

“I’m a Time Master!” Clockwork answers, gesturing to the clock in their chest. “I can speed time up, and you won’t even notice!”

“Oh we don’t have to wait that long.” Clockwork says simply.

“How so?” Valerie answers, “Unless you’re talking about a hairdryer, I don’t know what you’re on about.”

“You? A Time Master?” Valerie asks, seeing Clockwork nod enthusiastically, quirks an eyebrow. “You’re so young.”

She doesn’t give herself time to think about how she literally just did a Time Master’s hair. Because holy shit, if this child is so powerful, then how powerful were their parents?

Clockwork frowns, “That’s what everyone says. The Observants think so too, but here I am!” They force themselves to smile and Valerie thinks there’s so much more to that bright and cheery optimism that Clockwork is exuding. 

“Yea, you are. But I think using your powers to dry up your hair is cheating.” Valerie says gently. “If you want to truly experience this, then you gotta wait like the rest of us mere mortals.”

“How long does it take?”

“Four hours. Give or take.” says Valerie, “Sometimes I use a blow dryer to speed it up a little bit if I’m not in the mood to wait that long. I can use a blow dryer if you want?”

“Yes please.”

“Okay.” Valerie goes into the bathroom closet, rummaging through the piles of towels, hair products, and bed sheets until she comes across the blow dryer. She gets, heads back to the sink, reaches over Clockwork to plug it in the wall, and drapes the tower over their neck. “It’ll get a bit hot, just let me know if it’s too much.”

“I know it’ll get hot, that’s what they’re supposed to do. I’m not a baby.” Clockwork says smartly and Valerie can’t help glaring at the small child. 

“You and I, we finna fight.” She says with a smile. “But seriously, tell me if it’s too hot, okay?”

“I don’t see the point, but okay I guess.” Uneasiness grows in Valerie’s stomach, what the hell has this child been through for them to not take their own limitations seriously? What the hell have these Observants done?

Valerie is seriously starting to question that she needs a lead pipe when she finally does talk to these Observants.

Valerie turns the blow dryer on, keeping it several inches away from Clockwork’s hair, moves it around their head, the heat of the blow dryer slowly but surely drying it a bit. She occasionally wraps her hand around the curls, to feel how wet their hair is and to make sure that she doesn’t dry it too much. 

“How’s the heat?” She asks.

“Hot.”

“That’s what blowdryers are supposed do.” She mimics from earlier, laughing when Clockwork glares at her. “Is it too much?”

A firm shake of the head, “No? I don’t think so? It feels kinda nice.”

“Cool, cool. I’m only doing this for another minute or two since I don’t wanna dry it out too much.” Valerie blow dries it for another 5 or so minutes before she cuts the blow dryer off, unplugs it, wraps the cord around it and stuffs it back in the closet. 

Clockwork slides off the chair, shuffles towards Valerie, who presses a hand against the top of their hair. 

“Hmm, it’s still somewhat wet. It shouldn’t take more than two hours for it to fully dry out.” Valerie guesses. 

The child fumbles with their gloved fingers. “What do you normally do while you wait?”

Valerie rests a hand under her chin. “I watch tv, play a game or two, read a book if I don’t have homework to do.” Eying Clockwork, she continues. “Homework isn’t that important though, what would you like to do?”

“I dunno?” Clockwork says shyly, pointedly looking at the ground. 

She doesn’t say it out loud because she’s certain it would embarrass them, but the way Clockwork acts is oh so similar to the little kids that she babysits for some quick and easy money and that in and of itself is so damn adorable. 

“What do you normally do then?”

“I mainly watch the timestreams! Or I train on my powers! Sometimes I have to attend some meetings or handle some crisis that the timelines are going through at times.” 

‘Does this child do nothing but work?’ Valere thinks to herself. “Do you do anything for fun?”

“I don’t have time for fun. Not when there’s important work to be done.” Clockwork says with a derisive snort, sounding so much older than the seven/eight year old they are. “Humanity’s a little bit more important than me having fun.”

“I’m sorry but what the fuck is wrong with your parents?” Valerie snaps.

Clockwork flinches and Valerie immediately regrets it.“There’s nothing wrong with the Observants. They’re doing just fine.”

Valerie growls, pressing her hands to her temples, trying and failing to suppress the frustration that she’s experiencing right now. “Yes there is. My dad doesn’t make me work all the time, your parents shouldn’t either.”

“But that’s different!” Clockwork shouts.

“How the fuck is it different?”

“You’re a human child! You wouldn’t understand!”

“You’re a child too!” Valerie shouts. “You are a literal child! You’re younger than me!”

Clockwork sputters at that, trying and failing to come up with a response. “But I’m a Time Master-”

Valerie clasps a hand on one of their shoulders, “You might be a Time Master, but you are a child first and foremost. That’s the most important thing for you to be and the Observants are wrong to teach you otherwise.”

The teen pulls Clockwork into a tight hug, “How about we play a game or something? We can do whatever you want.”

Clockwork’s muffled voice mumbles out, “Really?”

“Really.”

“Can I show you my tower?” Clockwork asks excitedly, pulling away from her and she can visibly see the way Clockworks eyes light up.  “It’s really cool, there’s a lot of rooms, hallways and books-”

Valerie presses a finger against Clockwork’s lips, “Why talk about it when you can show me it?”

"I'm not really the best at teleporting. I have accidents sometimes," Clockwork admits softly. "I don't think I'd be any good teleporting two people."

She shrugs, "Maybe you aren't. Perhaps there's other ways to get there." 

"There are but natural portals take forever to form and there aren't any in Amity Park." Clockwork says, "Guess we'll have to teleport there."

Valerie raises an eyebrow, looking down at the young Time Master. "I thought you weren't any good at it." She says suspiciously.

Clockwork doesn't say anything as they run towards Valerie. "We'll have to find out won't we?" They say, jumping up, diving into Valerie, wrapping their arms around her. A portal formed behind the two children, both of them falling through the portal and Valerie landed on her bottom as they came from the other side with Clockwork buried into their chest. Clockwork sits up, looks down at Valerie and tilts their head. 

"Did I do good?" Clockwork asks. 

Valerie pulls herself up, uses her elbows to keep herself propped up, and looks around. The simple bathroom that her and Clockwork was in is gone, the house, everything that she knew is nowhere to be found and was replaced with scrying portals twice her size and clock gears of various sizes. Valerie questions why there are so many gears here, since it seems like it would be dangerous for a young kid like Clockwork to be around no matter how smart or cautious they seem. But she doesn't say it out loud, instead, saving it for whenever she finally meets these Observants.  She looks to her left and her right, the seeing the hallways that Clockwork mentioned from earlier, but the more she stares down the hall, the more they grow in size and loom over her, the discomfort that started off small growing until she can actually feel it gnaw at her. 

Clockwork taps her shoulders and she jolts, tensing her shoulders before remembering that it was only just Clockwork as she loosens the tension in her shoulders and lets out a deep breath. 

"Did I do good?" they ask again. 

Valerie looks around one last time, really taking in the scenery of the tower, how everything the tower touches seems to be saturated in green overtones, the overwhelming sense that everything about this place feels so unnatural, disconcerting and wrong and that a simple human like her wasn't meant to be here. Slowly, she nods her head, not wanting Clockwork to pick up on her uneasiness. 

"You did great buddy." she says. "You mind getting off of me?" 

Clockwork beams at the praise, floating off of Valerie and helping her stand up. Once she's up off the ground, they look up at her with wide expectant eyes. "Can I give you that tour now?" They ask, tail flicking behind them excitedly. 

"Yea, sure buddy." Valerie says, yelping when Clockwork takes her hand and begins dragging her through the halls to give her the tour of the citadel. 

As Clockwork gives the tour, she takes note of all the empty rooms that have been repurposed for gardens and apocatheries, libraries brimming with rare books that are worth more than what her father will make in his entire life time, how Clockwork is just so enthused with bringing someone along to show them empty rooms devoid of life and personality and she has to wonder how lonely they have to be. 

She's not sure how long the tour was, but it felt like it was over before it truly started. Green eyes catch a door with a startling amount of locks on it and her curiosity shines through. 

"What's behind that door?" she asks. 

Clockwork tenses, the grip they have on her hand tightening. "It's nothing." they say with a tight voice, pulling Valerie along as the two move away from the door. "Let's go." 

"Is it dangerous?" 

"Tour's over." they say cryptically. 

So it is dangerous. "Why is there something so dangerous in your tower?" She asks, walking behind them. "Why would these Observants leave something like that with a little kid? What if you got hurt?"

Clockwork shrugs, "It's not like I don't heal up, I'm usually fine." 

"Usually? What about when you aren't?"

"I heal. Eventually. and I get over it." Clockwork says, leading Valerie back to the area where they started from. "That's it."

"Don't these Observants help you heal or get better?" 

Clockwork raises an eyebrow and shakes their head in a manner that says 'dont ask stupid questions.' "No? Why would they? I get myself in trouble, I get myself out of it." They say nonchalantly, turning their back to Valerie as they wave a hand to change the image on their scrying portal. "You wanna see something cool?" 

Valerie begins to shake her head to argue about the Observants, but whatever she is going to say dies down in her throat when she sees the hopeful look on Clockwork's face begging her to drop the subject.

Reluctantly, she nods her head, "Sure why not?" 

Clockwork beams at her, grabs her hand and pulls her into the scrying portal. Valerie doesn't have time to think about how she feels like she's wading through jelly as she goes through the portal and how her body goes numb for several seconds after she stumbles through the portal before she finally catches herself awkwardly standing on her tippy toes, body lurching forward and just one misstep away from falling flat on her face 

Time travel, she supposes, isn't really meant for humans. 

"Are you okay?” Clockwork asks, “I’ve never had a human travel with me before.”

Valerie nods, before her throat coats itself in bile, feels it rise and fills her mouth and she immediately shakes her head. The fourteen year old throws herself over the closest ledge, leaning over and throwing up the bile that came out of nowhere. Her legs buckle as she continues throwing up before she finally stops,  resting limply for a few moments. Valerie pushed herself off of the ledge, shakily pulls herself back together, before turning around to face Clockwork. 

“If I wasn’t fine before,” she rasps out. “I’m fine now.” 

Clockwork raises an eyebrow, “Are you sure?”

Nodding her head, “My mouth feels gross but some water should do me some good.”

“Okay.” Clockwork says, slipping their hand into hers and guiding her away from the stone ledge. “There’s a resturant around here somewhere, we can get you some water.”

It finally crosses Valerie’s mind to ask where she is. “Where are we anyways?”

“Rome.” Clockwork says offhandedly.

“Ancient Rome?” Valerie asks.

“Noooo,” Clockwork says with a laugh, looking up at one of the street names before crossing the street. “Present day Rome. Don’t get me wrong, ancient Rome is cool and all, I just didn’t think you would like to see gladiators, deal with the stench-Romans bathe but like, Rome is still gross and all the other nastiness that goes on.”

Oh. She didn’t consider that. She wonders from the way they’re crossing the street, with no one really paying attention to them, if they were really there. “Can they see us?”

“Who?”

With her only free hand, she vaguely gestures to everyone around them. “Them!” 

Finally understanding who Valerie was referring to, Clockwork shakes their head. “No. to them we don’t really exist? I don’t know how to explain it, but whatever we do right now isn’t really going to impact the timeline.”

Valerie doesn’t really get it. Maybe it’s because she’s not a Master of Time and doesn’t really understand the complexities that come with the passage of time and if she was quite honest, she’s grateful that she’s just a human who interacts with time in such a simple and straightforward way. Valerie doesn’t get it, but she trusts this kid that’s pulling her through the streets of Rome. 

The two walk by several clothing shops before finally making it to that restaurant that Clockwork mentioned earlier. Valerie looks up to see the name of the restaurant and is taken aback when she sees the white double arches standing out against the black drapes. 

“McDonald’s?” Valerie asks, a hand on her hip. “Of all the places in Rome and you choose McDonald’s?”

“McDonalds is considered a restaurant, so I technically brought you to one.” Clockwork says arrogantly, curling their fingers around the door handle.  “You don’t have to come in if you don’t want to.”

Clockwork pulls the door open and enters. Valerie grumbles and begrudgingly follows after them, slipping through the open space before the door closes, her potential complaints dying down when she saw the interior of the McDonalds. Black bricks on the floor, with dining booths covered in leather, each one separated by wood and marble. She takes a few steps forward, taking in how...sophisticated this McDonald’s looks. As she marvels at the decor, her eyes move away from the furniture and flooring before they linger and gaze in awe at the sculpture cornered a few steps away from the tables. 

Valerie steps in front of the statue, a beautiful Roman woman with a dress. Her arms were missing, and the dress rests below her chest, each of the folds immaculately sculpted in the marble. Valerie reaches her hand out to touch the detailed folds of the dress, but retracts her hand in fear that if she touches something so beautiful, it’ll break and crumble in her hands. 

“It’s not going to break, you know,” Clockwork says, “It’s not the original sculpture, the original is in a museum if you want to see it.”

She looks down at them, then back at the sculpture. “Do you know who did it?” 

Clockwork shrugs. “I dont know but it’s no Venus de Milo.” They turn away, walking down the steps, and heading into the main area of the restaurant. “You still want that water?”

Remembering how dry and parched her throat is, Valerie nods, stepping down and walking into the main part of McDonald’s and she’s taken aback at how fancy it looks. The Nasty Burger could never look like this, “It’s a fancy McDonald’s, I’ll give it that.”

“I thought all McDonald's look like this?" They ask. 

"Chile no," she scoffs, they walk past the people and stop in front of a self-service kiosk. Valerie taps the screen and orders herself her much needed water. 

"Can you throw in some fries please?" Clockwork asks. "Nuggets too!"

"Aren't you hungry?" She teases, adding the requested items to the cart. "I could go for some fries and a chicken sandwich myself." 

Adding the items to the order, she taps finish, and when the payment page comes up, she turns to Clockwork. "And how do you propose we pay for all of this?" She asks, "I don't have any of my money on me." 

Clockwork bites their lip, before leaning over and tapping the screen, and fiddling with it before it shows that the order was paid for it. The kiosk spits out a receipt, Valerie takes it and eyes Clockwork suspiciously. "What did you do? I thought you said we don't really have an impact on the timeline."

"I just took advantage of a little loophole in the system," they say innocently. Looking up at Valerie, they shy away from her disapproving frown, turning away from her appearant disappointment as they explain themselves. "It's not going to hurt anyone, and we don't really have an impact on the timeline right now."

Valerie notices how they turn away from her, and decides to let up, relaxing the tense muscles on her face. She wasn't happy that they technically stole from the people here, but she won't harp on them too much. They say it won't really have an impact on the people here, so that doesn't make it that terrible right? Shaking her head, Valerie moves away from the kiosk, towards the register and waits for their food to be served. Ten minutes pass by, she hears their order number called out, grabs the food, rolls the top of the bag inward to keep the food hot, and searches for a table that isn't too full to sit at. Clockwork stays close to her, and she offhandedly notices how their hand slips into the crook of their elbow and latch themselves close to her. Something foreign blooms in her chest but she squashes it down before she can put a name to it or fully explore it, blaming it on the weirdness involving Clockworks powers. 

She finally finds them a place to eat, an area that seemed to be a bit secluded and didn't have as many people in the area. Valerie and Clockwork sit down at a semicircle shaped booth several feet behind a case of glass holding cups with plants in. Clockwork slides in the booth first, Valerie slides in next and sets the food on the table. Opening the bag, she pulls out the Clockwork's food along with some ketchup and honey mustard packets and gives it to them.

Clockwork pulls their fries and nuggets close, dips some fries in the ketchup and sticks them in their mouth. "Thank you!" they say happily, swinging their feet as they continue to eat. Valerie doesn't say anything back, opting to open her chicken sandwich and taking a bite out of it.The two children  eat in silence-rather, Clockwork talks about whatever crosses their mind, while Valerie occasionally nods along and asks a question or two of her own. She ignores that little feeling in that chest from earlier as she listens to Clockwork talk, as she's certain that it's just some weird pain in her chest or stomach that'll go away.

Valerie finishes eating about twenty minutes later and puts her trash in the white paper bag. Clockwork notices her, looking up at her, "Did you want to see more of Rome?" they ask, "There's a shopping district a few streets away, if that's what you're into." 

She doesn't say anything as she grabs a napkin, folds it in half and reach out to the little Time Master's face to wipe off the remaining honey mustard and ketchup from the corners of their mouth. With her other hand, she feels Clockwork's hair, gently patting the top and middle parts of their hair, rubbing the curls between her fingers to truly feel it, and pulls her hands away from them with a smile. "I'll take a raincheck for that," she says with a smile, gently tapping their nose,  grabbing their trash and tossing it in the trashcan next to  the table. "But we need to go back home, I have to show you something." 

Clockwork tilts their head before nodding. The seven year old snakes their hand into Valerie's, tightly clasping their hands together, scrunching their eyes close and before Valerie knows it, the two are back in her kitchen. 

"How'd you do that?" she asks, "Last time, you needed a portal."

Clockwork shrugs, "I dunno? You said we had to go home," they say, "This is home."

Oh. Valerie isn't quite sure how to feel about that admission, and she has a lot of feelings about the way Clockwork easily and honestly calls  this house, where she lives, home. So she'll bury them for right now, maybe unpack them later, maybe ask her dad about these emotions. She senses that Clockwork is staring at her, realizing that she spaced out, plasters a wide smile on her face to make up for it. Valerie covers their eyes, shushing their protest when she walks them over to the bathroom and stops in front of the mirror. 

Slowly, she lowers her hands from their eyes, watching with joy as Clockwork stops their protesting to stare at themselves in the mirror. Valerie moves behind them, fluffing their curls up a bit, so they can be at full volume. "Do you like it?" she asks, "Be brutally honest, Clockwork."

Clockwork stands there in shock, a hand reaching up to tug at one of the curls at the edge of their forehead. "It's so pretty," they say in awe, then noticing Valerie standing behind them. "It can't be mine. There's no way this can belong to me." 

"Yea, it is." she says simply, shifting her weight to one side of her body and leaning against the bathroom door. 

For the second or third time that day, Clockwork cries. Valerie bends down a little bit, right until the two were eye level and pulls  Clockwork in for a hug. She feels them trying to hide in her neck but she shakes her head, gently guiding their head to look in the mirror, "Every single strand of hair belongs to you," she says, wiping away their tears. "I know you don't believe me, but your hair is so beautiful. I meant what I said earlier, I'll keep doing your hair as long as you want me to."

"You mean that?"

Valerie nods, "I meant every word I said."

"Can you…?" they begin, but they go quiet, still unable to ask the question. 

"Yea," she answers, pressing a kiss on their forehead. "Come back next week, okay?"

"Okay." Clockwork says. 

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Riding High Ch 4: Skating The Issue

Chapter Summary: It’s Fliss’ turn to host Frank and Mary and both adults seem to be skating round a particular issue…

Chapter Warnings: Bad Language words. 

Chapter Pairings:  Frank Adler x OFC Fliss Gallagher 

A/N: I know I said we would be diving into the Gifted story line in this Chapter but, well, I lied…next chapter we start! As always I’m a ho for a REBLOG and COMMENT! 

Chapter Song: Chasing Rainbows by Shed Seven

Series Masterlist Main Masterlist

“Hey Cowgirl, how do you cook a skate?" 

Fliss had to read the message twice "I’m assuming you’re talking about the fish…”

“No an ice skate…” the sarcasm dripped of his reply and she could just imagine him rolling his eyes.

“Where the fuck did u get an ice skate in South Pass?” she giggled to herself as she typed her response.

“U deliberately being an ass?" 

"Why did u get a skate when u don’t know how to cook one?”

“I don’t know how to cook a lot of things. And there was a guy at the harbour giving them away. Extra catch he said. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth etc…”

Fliss pondered something for a moment before she leaned back in her chair and continued the conversation “Well why don’t u bring them round tonight and I’ll do them. I still haven’t cooked for you after the BBQ the other week”

“Don’t worry, I haven’t taken it to heart that every time we’ve tried to arrange it you’ve cancelled”

“Piss off!” She laughed to herself as she replied

“It’s this weather man, it’s so hot… not my fault I’ve had to rejig all my lessons and exercise my own horses at 9pm… you’ve been busy too don’t forget!”

“Busy time of year for Sailing, what can I say? As it happens I can do tonight but I’ll have Mary. Is that ok?”

“No, Frank I expect you to leave her at home on her own… ”

“Trust me if I could I would, she’s driving me insane at the moment.” “Why?” Fliss frowned slightly. Whilst she hadn’t really seen Frank other than the previous week for Mary’s riding lesson they talked often by text and he hadn’t mentioned she was playing up.

And then she suddenly realised. It was the last week of the Summer holidays.  Mary started school on Monday. And she had already made her feelings about that very clear to Fliss, several times.

“I’ll explain later. What time?”

Fliss checked her watch. It was 4pm.

“Say 6 ish? I’ll send you the post…I mean zip code…why the fuck do you lot call it a zip code anyway?”

“Stands for Zone Improvement Plan” 

“That makes no sense" 

"Course it does. Zip, its fast, as in the mail travels more efficiently, and more quickly when people use it”

“And you wonder why Mary is such a smart ass!" 

"Whatever, see you at 6.”

“Bye Sailor.”

Standing up she slipped her phone into the back pocket of her riding breeches and headed out onto the main yard. It was empty. The weather had been scorching recently, so hot she had been forced to cancel a lot of lessons and offer something different to her students. She had been taking the younger kids on trail rides through the grounds that surrounded her yard and onto the waterside and then taught them basic horse care and grooming routines, whilst the older clients who wanted to continue their training had moved their sessions to earlier or later in the day. That said, she had no one left to teach today and she was giving her own 3 a rest so it was a case of making sure waters in the fields were topped up ready for evening turn out.

Thor was flopped in the shade of one of the stables, flat on his side. He cracked an eye open as she passed and his tail lazily thumped on the floor. “Oh boy…I know it’s hot…” she said with a chuckle, bending over to give him a scratch before she stood up and he did the same, trotting obediently at her heels as she headed through the gate and down the dirt tracks which led to the turn out paddock. Joanne, Ruby and Ellis her head groom and stable hands were busy with the water truck topping up the troughs in the bottom field.

“Hey guys.” she smiled “All ok?”

“Yeah…” Joanne nodded “We’ve topped all the others up, this is the last one.”  

“Great, ok well let’s get them fed and then we can get them turned out and have an early finish.” Fliss smiled. “Ruby, Ellis, keep an eye on the water.”

The girl and boy nodded and then Katie and Joanne headed back towards the yard.

“So, you doing anything tonight?” Joanne asked.

“Oh, erm, Mary and Frank are coming over for dinner.” Fliss said

“As in Mary and Frank Adler?” Joanne looked at Fliss. Fliss nodded.

“God he is dreamy.” Joanne groaned “Total fuck boy though.” Fliss laughed, “So you told me. He’s a nice guy though, I enjoy talking to him.”

“Talking?” Joanne deadpanned “Seriously, you’ve got a sure thing there and you’re talking?”

Fliss snorted “Trust me I’m not looking for anything else, certainly not at the moment.”

“Yeah well, you never find anything when you’re looking for it do you?” Joanne said lightly as they walked into the feed store. “It’s always when you’re not looking that you come across it.” Fliss looked at her for a moment. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t attracted to Frank, she’d have to be blind not to be. But she wasn’t lying when she said she didn’t feel ready for a relationship just yet and it would have to take someone very special to change her mind. With a sigh she jerked her head in the direction of the containers which held the horse feed.

“Start scooping that lot out.”

Joanne did as she was told and a little over an hour later everything was turned out, fed and she made sure the staff knew who was on duty in the morning. With that she dismissed them early and set off to the store grabbing the ingredients she needed.

***** “Woah!” Mary said as Frank pulled up outside the gates “Does Fliss live here?” “According to the directions…” Frank said. He pulled out his phone and gave her a call.

“Hi, you at the gates?” she asked.

“I think so…” Frank said.

“Ok hang on…” she instructed and Frank waited. A few seconds later the iron gates swung inwards. “Drive past the main house on your right and keep coming until the drive bends round. The annex is to the left behind the garage. Door’s open, just come on in.”

Frank took a deep breath and headed through the gate. Mary was looking out of the window at the large villa style house as they passed, her mouth hanging open. Bill emerged from the double garage to the left and Frank smiled at him, halting the truck.

“Alright lad?” Bill said, leaning on the top of the truck, talking through the open window. “Hey kid.” “Hi Mr Gallagher.” Mary said, smiling “We’re off to Fliss’ for dinner.” “It’s Bill, Mary, my dad was Mr Gallagher.” he smiled “And you’re a lucky girl, Lissy’s cooking is superb!”

“Anything is better than Frank’s…” she said and Frank rolled his eyes.

“Mine too. I burn water.” Bill chuckled. “You can’t do that.” Mary frowned, “It just evaporates.”

“It’s a figure of speech Mary, you know, a joke…” Frank looked at her shaking his head as Bill laughed.

“Well I’ll let you go.” he smiled, “Straight down the drive. Have a good evening.”

He straightened up and whistled, calling a small terrier to his heels before he headed over to a gate at the side. As he opened it, Frank just caught a glimpse of a spacious back yard and a pool before the gate snapped closed. Setting the truck forward again, he followed the drive and it turned left just before the fence, opening up into a space behind the garage where the small annex was set. It was a little detached, 2 storey building that was a similar style to the villa with a wooden door and a large bay window. The door was open and as Frank climbed out of the truck, the wrapped paper package of skate in his hand, Thor came bounding outside barking excitedly.

“Hey boy.” he said, giving the dog a pat before Thor turned his attention to Mary.

“Found it ok then?”

Frank looked up to see Fliss in the doorway. She was dressed in a pair of denim shorts that finished halfway up her toned thighs and a tight grey T-shirt which was distressed around the sleeves. Her hair was fastened back in a loose braid and she was barefoot. Frank felt a certain, and very unwelcome, pooling of arousal in the base of his stomach. Swallowing slightly he pushed it down and smiled at her.

“Nice place.”

“Well the rents got a fair whack when they sold up in the UK so…” she shrugged “Sadly it’s not mine!”

He smiled, “This doesn’t look so bad.”

“Suits me, for the time being anyway until I can get my own place.” she smiled “We’re in the middle of re-decorating it so there’s stuff all over the dining room. We’ll eat outside if that’s ok?”

“Sure.” Frank smiled.

Fliss gave a sharp whistle and Thor immediately headed back towards her and into the house as Mary followed, pausing to give Katie a hug. She led them inside and Frank looked around, the small porch area led into a square living room with a wooden floor which sported a large, light blue fluffy rug and a coffee table in the middle. There was a grey and black L-shaped sofa which ran along one wall and jutted out slightly around the edge of the coffee table and a huge flat screen TV and entertainment system nestled in the other corner which was surrounded by a huge rack of DVDs. On the wall above the sofa was a large framed photograph of Fliss with a chestnut horse, giving it a kiss on the nose, smiling as she did so, sunglasses covering her eyes. There were various other family shots in frames on other walls too. Taking it all in, Frank followed Fliss through an archway into the tiled dining room, which held a table against one wall and a display cabinet against the other which was full of trophies and rosettes. The walls were stripped bare and just as Fliss said there was a pile of decorating equipment sat in the corner. To the right a staircase headed upstairs and in front of them were double butler doors which led into the small country style kitchen. The rear doors were open onto a small flagged yard which sported a decking area upon which sat a table and some chairs. Various pot plants were scattered around the yard area and there was a wicker sofa and chair set with a smaller table and a hot tub nestled into the corner of the fence and the wall, under the kitchen windows.

“This is an annex?” Frank deadpanned looking around. Fliss turned to him, blushing slightly.

“I know, I’m very lucky.” she shrugged. “It’s as good as having my own place.”

“It’s really cool” Mary said “Can I go outside?” “Knock yourself out.” Fliss said as Mary disappeared into the yard, Thor following. “So, where’s this fish?”

Frank dropped the package onto the side and Fliss peeled the paper open.

“Oooh they look great!” She grinned. “So I’m gonna pan fry them with some lemon, garlic and then I’ve done some potatoes and salad…nothing fancy but…” “It sounds great.” Frank said.

“Is there anything Mary doesn’t like?”

“Tomatoes.” Frank said “I mean if they’re in a sauce of pasta she’s fine but…”

“Devil veg.” Fliss wrinkled her nose.

“Actually they’re a fruit…” Frank teased as she looked at him.

“You ever seen a tomato in a fruit salad?” she shot back, reaching around him to open the large fridge.

He laughed and moved out of her way “That’s exactly the reply Mary gives me.” “Like I said, smart kid.” she said, grabbing 2 beers before bumping the fridge door shut with her hip. She opened a door and grabbed a bottle opener, flipping off the cap before handing one to Frank.

“Thanks.” he said. “So, is there anything I can do to help or…” “No, everything’s done bar the fish so…” she shook her head “Stand and watch Sailor, you might learn something.”

He stood leaning against the counter as she worked, settling into comfortable chat, watching as she cleaned, skinned and filleted the fish before squeezing fresh lemon over it and tossing it into a hot pan with a few cloves of garlic.

“It doesn’t take long” she said, “Do you wanna grab me a few plates?”

“Sure.” he nodded, “err…” “Cupboard behind you, to the right.” she said over her shoulder as she pulled a salad out of the fridge and drizzled it lightly with a mixture of balsamic, oil and lemon. She did the same with the cold potatoes before she turned the heat off the stove and divided the fish up into 2 larger pieces and a smaller one for Mary. 

She gently slid the slices onto the plates and then she nodded. “All done.” “Well that looked easy.” Frank said

“You can try it yourself next time.” she looked at him, handing him the two bowls “Can you take those out the table?”

He picked them up easily and carried them outside, Mary instantly scrambling up from where she had been sat on the outside sofa with Thor and following him.

Fliss walked out with the plates which contained the fish and they all settled down, Frank placing some potatoes and salad onto Mary’s plate before doing the same for Fliss as she headed back inside for 2 more beers and an apple juice for Mary.

“This is really good!” the 7 year old enthused.

“Don’t talk with your mouthful.” Frank looked at her and she gave him a filthy scowl which made Fliss laugh.

“She looks a bit like you when she does that.” “I do not.” Mary replied indignantly.

Fliss merely smiled as she stabbed another potato and popped it into her mouth “Whatever you say.” Mary shot her another look which earned her one back from Frank. She met his eyes with her own and gave a shrug, diving back into her food.

“Fred would like this.” she said, looking at her fish.

“Good job because I saved him the scraps.” Fliss said.

“Did you?” Mary looked at her, smiling. Fliss nodded.

Frank watched the easy exchange between the two, smiling softly. Mary had been in a foul mood all afternoon after he had taken her shopping for a few outfits for School. She had been kicking off about the fact she had to go on Monday, but he was sticking to his decision. She needed to go, be a kid, have a normal life.

“You alright?” Fliss looked at him and he nodded

“Yeah, just thinking that’s all.” he said, “Nothing serious.” Fliss accepted his answer, even though she didn’t believe him and she changed the subject, telling Mary about a few of the things she had planned for her next riding lesson which wasn’t for another 10 days seeing as she had been for one the Saturday before.

“Can I not come this Saturday?” she pleaded.

“Mary…” Frank sighed, rubbing at the buttons on the top of his t-shirt collar line “We discussed this, once a fortnight…” Mary scowled again and Frank let out a groan.

“Well, if it’s ok with Frank you could come up later in the day and help me with my 3.” Fliss said, looking at him. “You can help Joanne with the poles on the jumps and the feeds.” “Oh, please Frank can I?”

Frank looked at Mary then to Fliss “You sure that’s ok?”

Fliss nodded “Course” “Alright.” Frank nodded “But one more tantrum about school between then and now and you’re not going understood?”

Mary pouted a little, clearly considering this bargain before she sighed “Ok.” When they had finished eating Frank helped Fliss clear down the table. She told him to drop the dished into the sink whilst she placed the left over salad into tubs and back in the fridge.

“So School still a sore subject?” She queried.

“Oh fuck me…” Frank sighed “Sore?” he rubbed at his temple “Monday is gonna be a nightmare.” “She’ll get used to it.” Fliss said “She’s bound to feel a little put out a first but she’ll settle.” “I just hope I’m doing the right thing” Frank said.

“You can’t do anything but your best Frank.” Fliss said softly “That’s all any of us can do.” “Yeah, suppose.” he shrugged. “Anyway, enough about that…been meaning to ask, how’s it been with shuffling all the lessons around?” “We’ve managed.” Fliss said, heading back outside “takings are down but…well, you always get peaks and troughs.” “Tell me about it. Boat work slows up a lot November through January.” Frank shrugged.

“You should branch out into tractor fixing.” Fliss said, settling onto the sofa next to Mary who was busy flicking through a book she had brought. Fliss glanced down and grinned “Moby Dick?” “Yeah…” Mary looked at her “You read it?”

“A while back. I used to read a lot.”

“What’s your favourite book?” Mary asked.

“Honestly?” Fliss smiled “It’s Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire.” “Isn’t that for kids?” “Mary…” Frank groaned “You are a kid.”

“Fliss isn’t” Mary shot back.

“No but I was when those books were released. The first one came out in 1997, I was only 13. I grew up reading them.” Mary contemplated this. “And they’re good?”

“Yeah.” Fliss smiled “I love Harry Potter. That’s what this is…” She pointed to the tattoo which circled her left ankle Frank glanced down at the writing, which curved around and then formed into the outline of a stag’s head on her Achilles tendon. It was quite a delicate design. Mary studied it carefully.

“Expecto Patronum…” she said, reading it out “What does that mean?”

“It’s a spell.” she said, “So in one of the books Harry has to cast it to protect himself from these creatures…and his Patonus, the thing the spell conjures, takes the form of a stag. The writing, see…” Fliss traced it with her finger “That’s the author, JK Rowling’s handwriting. I had it done a year ago, kind of a reminder to me that no matter how bad things get there’s always a way to make it better.” Mary nodded thoughtfully. “Maybe I’ll read them then.” “Do you want to borrow the first one?” Fliss asked “And then once you’ve done maybe one night we can watch the movie.”

“Please.” Mary nodded.

Fliss stood up and nodded for Mary to follow so she did. “be right back.”

Frank waved them away and Fliss led Mary upstairs into the spare room. It was still full of boxes, some which littered the bottom of the bunk beds. She dug into a box, found the book, and handed it to Mary. Mary took it gently and examined the cover.

“Thank you. I’ll take good care of it I promise.” Mary nodded “Can I see your bedroom?”

Fliss laughed and nodded “Sure.”  she led her across the hall into the larger bedroom and let Mary walk in and look round at the airy room, glancing at the bed which was made and adorned with a light blue and yellow bed spread and a few cushions.

“It’s tidier than Franks.” she mused and Fliss laughed.

“I’m a girl.” she shrugged. “We’re always tidier than men.” “Is that you?” Mary asked, striding over to a photo that was on the bedside table.

Fliss nodded as Mary looked at the frame, which contained a shot of her and her parents with her brother.

“That’s my brother Steeb…I mean Steve.” “Steeb?” Mary looked up.

“When I was a little girl I couldn’t pronounce his name properly.” Fliss explained “I called him Steeb, or Steeby…it just kinda stuck.”

Mary gave a snort of laughter as she placed the frame down and Fliss waited until she finished looking around before she headed for the door. They made their way back down the stairs and outside, where Frank was looking at something on his phone. He looked up at them as they walked back through the bi-folding doors.

“Did you say thanks?”

“She did.” Fliss nodded.

“Good.” Frank nodded. He took a sigh and looked at Fliss “I don’t wanna rush out but it is getting kinda late and someone will be a crank if they don’t get to bed soon.” “Yeah he’s always grumpy if he doesn’t get enough sleep.” Mary quipped and Frank shook his head with a huff of laughter as Fliss giggled.

They all made their way inside and Fliss retrieved the wrapped up fish scraps for Fred which Frank took, his fingers gently brushing against hers which again sparked that damned fire in his belly. What the fuck was wrong with him?

Fliss merely smiled at the contact and turned to Mary “So remember, no being a pain in the bum about school or…” “Yeah yeah I know…” she shrugged.

“Something tells me she isn’t gonna pay a blind bit of notice.” Fliss said, watching as she bounded to the truck.

“Nope.” Frank agreed, shaking his head. “Thanks for dinner Fliss, it was great.” “Not a problem, if you’re happy to play hunter gatherer I’m always happy to cook.” “I’ll hold you to that.” he smiled at her, and after a seconds hesitation he leaned down and pecked her on the cheek. “See you Saturday.” She smiled and watched him head down to his truck where he paused and looked back at her, giving her another smile which spread across his handsome face and Fliss felt the butterflies in her stomach stirring in the way they always seemed to do whenever he looked at her. Tossing him a wave she watched them go before she shut the door and leaned against it, taking a deep breath.

“Stop chasing rainbows Lissy…” she muttered to herself, before she headed for a glass of wine and her latest book before retreating outside for the rest of her evening.

******

Surprisingly Mary kept most of her vitriol about going to school at bay, something Frank knew was down to the promise of visiting the yard. There was the odd grumble, which he shut down fairly easily. He had no illusions about the fact it would no doubt start in earnest on Sunday but for now he was simply happy to have a reprieve from the subject she had been complaining about for the past few weeks.

Seeing as she kept up her side of the bargain, he kept his. Fliss was more than happy to see them, and if he was completely honest, Frank was happy to see her as well. They talked to each other by text every single night now, it had just become a habit more than anything. And a habit he was happy to indulge.

They arrived at the yard a little after 5pm and Fliss was already on board a large, black horse with 4 white socks and a white blaze. She waved in acknowledgement but as they made their way to the paddock to watch, the horse gave a sudden sharp kick with its back left before stopping dead and launching its ass into the air. For a moment he thought Fliss was going to come unseated but she merely smirked and sat back, giving the horse a quick kick on. It moved a few steps and repeated the move. “Give up you little shit…” he heard Fliss mumble and he bit back a snort as there was nothing little about the brute she was on. She kicked again, but this time nothing, and the horse threw both its front legs up in a rear. Frank swallowed, as Fliss stood up in her stirrups throwing her reins forward before the animal landed down and she gave it a sharp tap with her stick. At that it moved forward a few steps and Fliss gently encouraged it to continue with a little squeeze of her legs. “No worse than normal…” she said to Joanne who was grinning at the horse’s antics. “He’s an ass…” Joanne laughed “you would think he’d learn he never gets away with it…” “That’s…that’s normal?” Frank sputtered out and Fliss who had just struck the horse up into trot laughed. “Yip” she called out, moving the horse on down the long side of the arena “He likes to fart about does Bronson”

Fliss warmed the horse in and then gestured to Mary to come into the paddock. She climbed the fence and sprinted over to where Joanne was.

“Ok so Joanne is now going to put out some poles…see.” Fliss looked down at her from her vantage point aboard the tall, black gelding. “The ones before and after the jump wings are take-off and landing poles. They are to help him and me figure out where he needs to be taking off and landing.”

Mary nodded eagerly

“Not all horses need them, but Bronson is still learning so it helps him to understand.”

Frank simply stood watching as Joanne directed Mary to help her set out the lightweight, brightly coloured pole before Joanne looked at Fliss and asked her something. Fliss nodded and Joanne set up a small cross-pole. Fliss circled the horse and sent it at the fence, Bronson hardly leaving the ground the fence was that low.

“Stick it up a foot!” Fliss called as she circled.

The fence was put up and Frank noticed Mary was watching every movement with utter rapt attention. She tugged on Joanne’s sleeve who turned to her and she pointed at the jump and Joanne nodded. Fliss sailed the horse over the next one and it was put up again.

This practice continued until one time the horse slammed on at the fence and skidded to a halt. Fliss fell onto the horse’s neck and Frank felt his heart stop but she didn’t fall. Instead she shuffled back onto the saddle, turned him and sent him straight. This time he didn’t stop.

“So do you know what happened there?” he heard Fliss ask. Mary shook her head. “So his striding was off. He was trying to rush and I asked him to sit up and pay attention, because of that he got his striding confused so he wasn’t right to take off when I needed him to. That’s why he stopped.” “So he wasn’t being naughty?” Mary asked.

“Nope.” Fliss shook her head. “Genuine mistake. See he’s only 6 so he’s a baby really, not like Cap who could jump a course with his eyes closed.” “Cap?” Frank looked at her, and she turned to him. “Seriously, you have a dog called Thor and a horse called Cap?” Fliss grinned “His full name is Captain Chaos…he was already named that when I got him but it fits my Marvel obsession perfectly.” He shook his head with a smile and watched as this time the jump was higher again. Joanne moved Mary to stand under it, to show her how high it was and Mary’s eyes grew wide and she looked at Frank. He gave her a thumbs up and she moved out of the way as Fliss brought Bronson down again. The horse took off but clipped the pole with his front legs, knocking it down.

“That was because he didn’t pick his feet up enough…” Fliss called as she circled back round, coming again. “He’ll do it this time, watch…” And he did. Fliss repeated the jump 3 times and Frank couldn’t help but marvel at how in tune with the animal she was. It was like they were working as a unit, she made it look effortlessly graceful, her hands and legs moving in coordination as she folded with the horse, as if jumping over a meter off the floor on the back of a half-tonne animal was the most natural thing in the world to do. The mere thought of it scared the crap out of Frank.

After the 3rd time, Fliss nodded to Joanne and slowed the horse down, letting him stretch.

“Always end on a good note” she grinned at Mary as she patted the horse. Frank could see Mary was thinking something and with that she nodded to Mary and rode the horse over to Frank.

“She wants to sit on him…” She looked at Frank “Is that ok?” Frank swallowed “Isn’t he a bit…big?” he asked.

“Yeah but he’ll behave now…he’s knackered…tired…” she corrected her English slang. “She can sit up here with me if you’re comfortable with it?”

Frank bit his lip. “Are you sure he will be ok?” “Trust me Sailor, I wouldn’t let her up here if I wasn’t convinced I could keep her safe…” Fliss said, removing her hat. She passed it down to Mary “Put that on and I don’t EVER want to see you on a horse without one, ok…do as I say not as I do.”

“Frank says that to me all the time…” Mary took Fliss’ hat and clipped it on. It was a little big but would do the trick.

“Sound advice…” Fliss grinned. “You wanna lift her up?”

Frank nodded and scaled over the fence, lifting Mary easily by the waist. He passed her up and she swung one leg either side of the saddle and gave a gasp.

“I’m so high!”

“Yup!” Fliss grinned, shifting back so Mary could settle in front of her  “Ok, hands on this strap…” she indicate to the leather line around the horses neck “I call this my Oh sh-I mean, Oh No Strap…” she said “If anything goes wrong I can grab it and hold on.” “You can say the word…” Mary looked up at her “Frank does.” “Stop tattle telling.” Frank sighed.

Fliss laughed and gently nudged the horse on and walked it around a few laps before changing direction and repeating. Frank spotted Joanne was putting the jump wings away so he went to help and the girl beamed at him as she directed him to where they were stored by the hay barn. By the time they had finished Fliss and Mary were stood by the gate.

“You ready to get down?” Frank asked. Mary nodded so he reached up and gently aided her off the horse before Fliss dismounted.

“Wanna lead him in?” she looked at Mary, taking the horse’s reins and moving them over his head. Mary nodded and Fliss let her lead, all the time remaining nearby. This time they didn’t head into the main barn they walked further round to a smaller private block of 4 stables.

“So these are mine.” Fliss said. “That’s Cap…” she pointed to a large black and white horse, “And this is Heidi…”

Frank stopped in front of the large chestnut mare who looked at him before snorting. He jumped back and Mary laughed as Joanne took Bronson off Mary and led him into one of the stables.

“Yeah she’s a bit particular…” Fliss teased “But she’s my pride and joy. Had her since I was 16.”

“Is she the one you did the Olympics on?”

“No.” Fliss said, “That wasn’t my horse. It was a sponsor’s. Heidi was my competition horse before I started training for the Olympics but I couldn’t part with her. I’ve had her since she was 4 and she’ll be 21 this year.” “Do you still ride her?” Mary asked, reaching up to stroke the mare’s head.

“Yeah.” Fliss said “She can still jump and work…not as hard but it’s important to keep them going. She’s my baby…”

The mare leaned over to nuzzle at Fliss and almost as if he could sense it, Thor appeared and walked into the middle of them, sitting down, nudging Fliss with his nose.

“And you of course…” Fliss grinned, patting the dog.

They headed back out into the yard and Joanne took Mary to the feed room so she could help whilst Fliss carried the tack back to the room.

“Here…” Frank offered as she was juggling the saddle around so she could tap in the code. She handed it over with a smile before opening the door and directing him to the racks. “Thanks.”

“Least I can do.” Frank smiled, dusting his hands down on his jeans “Thanks for this.” “For what?”

“Letting Mary come tonight.” “It’s no problem, she’s never any trouble.”

“No, she just asks a lot of questions…” Frank snorted as they walked out to see Mary was now carrying buckets to the horses to feed them.

“I don’t mind. Questions are great, shows they care and want to learn…” Fliss spoke over her shoulder as she moved to take 3 buckets into the barn for her own horses.

“Still it takes a lot of patience.” Frank smiled.

Fliss scoffed “Mary is nothing, you ain’t met my brother’s kids.”

“I’d like to meet them.” Mary chipped up and Frank looked at her, holding his hands out in a ‘what?’ gesture.

“You want to meet other kids?” he looked at her “You spent half the last fortnight ranting about not wanting to go to school!”

Mary scowled in response, giving him a filthy look.

“You two really need to work on your communication.” Fliss looked between the pair of them as they stood facing off in the yard.

“We do communicate.” Mary shot back, and Fliss gave a hmmm as the girl continued “He just doesn’t listen.” “Well I’ve decided to ignore dumb remarks.” Frank shot back, adjusting his shades

“Passive aggression is just childish, Frank.” Mary shrugged and he shook his head, looking at Fliss.

“I literally…” he trailed off with a sigh “See what I mean?” Fliss chuckled as she watched Mary moving over to speak to Joanne about something.

“She makes me laugh.” “Glad she amuses you.” Frank arched an eyebrow.

“Well it’s funny watching you get out smarted by a 7 year old, what can I say?” Fliss smirked.

“You know I really wish I could deny that, but…” Frank sighed as he walked towards Mary, dropping a hand on her shoulder “Right, time to go short stack…”

“Oh, oh one more question?” Mary looked up at Fliss.

“Ask and walk…” Frank instructed her, giving her a gentle push “What do you say to Joanne.” “Thank you!” Mary looked at her.

“Any time kid!” Joanne said as the 3 of them made their way to the parking lot.

“So what was the question?” Fliss said as they walked.

“Oh, right so I was watching a video…and they were doing side saddle…have you ever done that?” “Yeah.” Fliss nodded, stopping by Frank’s truck “I did it on Heidi when I was a lot younger. Didn’t like it though. I prefer a leg on each side…” There was a pause as she realised what she had said and flashed bright red as Frank let out a huge below of a laugh, as she gave an adorably embarrassed groan and hid her face in her hands.

“Oh god…” she groaned out “That…I didn’t mean…”

“Course you didn’t” Frank teased between his laughs and she punched him lightly on the arm.

“I don’t…I don’t get it?” Mary asked, looking up.

“Tell you when you’re older.” Frank said, “In…” he pointed to the truck.

Mary gave an exasperated groan “You always say that. You know I AM Seven!”

“Going on seventy…” Frank grumbled as she opened the door to the truck. He looked at Fliss and pushed his glasses up on top of his head so could see her properly. “Thank you, again.”

“Like I said, any time…” Fliss nodded, before a wicked smirk crossed her face “Next time she can sit on and jump with me.” “Over my dead body.” Frank levelled her with a look, making her grin even more.

“Not even a little one?”

Frank rolled his eyes “Now I know why you two get on so well. Both a pain in my ass.” “Don’t pretend you don’t love it Sailor!” She teased and he grinned.

“Well it kinda lightens up my day a little so…”

He trailed off and looked at her, and she blushed a little, tucking a stray strand of her auburn hair behind her ear. He couldn’t help but feel a little pleased at her bashful reaction. “Anyway I better…” “Yeah, sure…” she nodded, “I’ll catch you later.” “Yeah, you will.” he said “I’ll probably fire out an SOS tomorrow night when she’s kicking off about school.”

“Well you know where I am.” Fliss said, genuinely “And I mean that. If you wanna talk or anything just…” “I will, thanks Lissy.”

There was a moment’s pause and Fliss could tell Frank was inwardly cursing himself for the slip of his tongue, using the nickname her dad had for her. But instead of correcting him she simply smiled, because, if she was honest, she kinda liked hearing it from him.

“Anytime, have a good evening.” “You too.”

He climbed into his truck and watched as she headed back to the yard, looking back once with a smile.

“Roberta says you and Fliss would make a great couple.” Mary said and Frank jolted slightly and looked at her.

“What?” he spluttered “Why would…”

“She says you just need to grow up and see what’s in front of you.” Mary shrugged and sat back in the seat.

“Well I say Roberta just needs to shut up.” Frank shook his head as he put the truck into gear “Jesus Christ.”

@the-omni-princess  @momobaby227 @geekofmanythings16 @angelofhell-666 @thewackywriter @marvelfansworld  @cobalt-gear  @asgardlover75 @jennmurawski13  @jtargaryen18 @saiyanprincessswanie  @navispalace @patzammit  @joannaliceevans-fanficblog @djeniiscorner  @ayamenimthiriel  @coldmuffinbanditshoe  @disneylovingal @madzmilllz  @sgtjaamesbaarnes @sweater-daddiesdumbdork @southerngracela @goldenfightergir @kellymat @official-and-unstable-satan​ @icanfeelastormbrewing 

[almitvs-blog]

hey  y’all  it’s  kat !  this  is  my  little  ray  of  sunshine,  finley  seo !  we  can  definitely  plot  on  here  or  through  my  discord (  kat ✨#9443  ) .  also  big  big  BIG  apologies  for  not  posting  my  intro  until  now  ...  i  may  be  on  fall  break  but  that  studying  grind  for  the  exams  that  come  afterwards  just  make  me  wanna  S C R E A M !!  n  e  wayz .. let  me  stop  rambling  and  get  to  the  good  stuff ( partial  good  stuff  ..  my  brain  is  all  ..  mush  so  let’s  hope  i  make  some  sense )

(  im nayeon , cis female , she / her  ) who  is  that ?  oh ,  it’s  just  FINLEY  SEO .  the  TWENTY - FOUR  year  old  has  been  in  beauhart  for  TWO  YEARS  and  is  currently  a  PEDIATRICS  NURSE .  i’ve  heard  they  can  be  BENEVOLENT  and  CHARMING ,  but  also  STUBBORN  and  INDECISIVE .  maybe  that’s  why  their anthem  is  WICKED  GAMES  by  KIANA  LEDÉ  and  PASTEL  COLORED  SCRUBS ,  A  LARGE  ASSORTMENT  OF  FALL  SCENTED  CANDLES ,  and  A  POCKET  FULL  OF  DIFFERENT  COLORED  PENS  makes  me  think  of  them .

⋆ ° BASIC STATISTICS .

FULL  NAME :  finley seo NICKNAMES :  fin ,  finny ,  fi AGE :  twenty - four DATE  OF  BIRTH :  july 10, 1995 HOMETOWN :  boston ,  massachusetts ORIENTATIONS :  biromantic  and  bisexual OCCUPATION :  pediatrics  nurse  at  the  hospital ZODIAC  SIGNS :  cancer sun ,  sagittarius moon ,  and cancer  rising  ( we  LOVE  being  a  double  cancer ) HOGWARTS HOUSE :  hufflepuff  with  v e r y  tiny  hints  of  slytherin  tendencies MORAL ALIGNMENT :  chaotic  good 

⋆ ° AESTHETICS .

messy  french  braids ,  a  heavy  helping  of  parmesan  in  her  caesar  salad ,  a  pocket  full  of  different  colored  pens ,  several  framed  drawings  &  cards  from  her  patients ,  a  complete  collection  of  the  harry  potter  movies ,  a  jar  full  of  ticket  stubs  from  all  the  movies  she’s  seen ,  light  pink  colored  scrubs ,  lavender  lattes ,  a  jewelry  box  of  dainty  gold  necklaces ,  a  collection  of  platform  sandals  by  the  door  of  her  apartment

⋆ ° PERSONALITY .

BENEVOLENT :  probably  one  of  her  main  personality  traits .  goes  out  of  her  way  to  always  help  someone  no  matter  what  it  is  –  big  or  small ,  finley’s  the  girl  to  help  you  out .  she  spent  some  time  with  habitat  for  humanity  every  summer  since  she’s  entered  college .  that’s  why  nursing  was  the  best  choice  for  her ( although  she  did  consider  going  into  social  work for  some  time  during  her  third  year  in  college )

CHARMING :  fin’s  known  to  be  extremely  charming ,  especially  when  she  speaks  to  her  patients .  she  always  has  a  smile  on  her  face  and  likes  to  joke  along  with  her  coworkers .  consider  this  like  BIG  angel  energy , u  feel ?  whatever  it  takes  to  make  people  feel  comfortable  around  her .

STUBBORN :  she’s .. a  tough  cookie .  hates  being  told  what  to  do ? especially  if  she  was  already  going  to  do  something ,  and  you  tell  her  to  do  it  &  she  didn’t  like  how  it  was  said ? ha  ! good  luck  with  her  growl  and  unwillingness  to  do  it ( some  may  call  it  pettiness ,  but  she  does  what  she wants nonetheless )

INDECISIVE :  this  is  her  ..  most  annoying  trait :/  as  much  as  she  likes  to  pride  herself  in  knowing  what  she  wants ..  it  only  applies  to  like  long  term  things .  short  term ? y’all ,  good  luck  with  that .  you  ask  her  what  does  she  want  to  eat ?  give  her  like  ten  minutes  to  decide .  or  what  movie  to  go  see ?  just  pick  it  out  tbh .  save  yourself  the  headache .

⋆ ° BACKGROUND .

***DEATH TW, BLOOD TW***

grew  up  in  boston ,  massachusetts  and  raised  by  her  aunt  and  uncle .  her  mom  passed  away  a  few  hours  after  she  was  born  due  to  the  doctors  not  catching  her  internal  bleeding .

she  lived  a  relatively  normal  childhood  with  her  family ,  they  treated  her  like  she  was  their  own  daughter  and  her  cousins  didn’t  even treat  her  like  a  cousin .  she  was  a  seo  and  that  was  that . 

she  asked  about  her  mom  all  the  time  and  why  her  father  was  never  around .  her  uncle  refused  to  ever  talk  about  the  man  that  left  his  sister  to  fend  for  herself .  regardless  of  him  not  knowing  about  finley , it  was  better for  her  to  not  know  who  he  is .

her  parents  met  while  they  were  at  school  at  columbia  university  –  her  mother  studying  engineering  while  her  father  was  studying  business .  her  father  was  an  international  student  at  the  time ,  being  whisked  away  to  new  york  to  get  the  best  education  that  he  can  while  her  mother  was  there  on  scholarship .  it  was  a  whirlwind  relationship .  both  falling  hard  for  each  other  until  graduation  came  around  and  her  mother  found  out  who  her  boyfriend  really  was .

little  did  the  seos  know  that  he  is  at  the  forefront  of  the  company  that  his  father  passed  down  to  him  in  korea .  while  finley’s  mother  was  pregnant  with  her ,  she  knew  that  she  wasn’t  going  to  be  able  to  live  comfortably  with  her  boyfriend’s  family  breathing  down  her  neck .  they  were  the  type  of  family  to  avoid  scandal  at  all costs .  so  once  she  found  out  she  was  pregnant  with  his  child ,  she  ran  back  home  to  boston  where  her  brother  and  mother  still  lived

finley  being  stubborn ,  she  didn’t  know  when  to  stop  pursuing  knowing  more  about  her  father .  especially  when  she  entered  college ,  she  tried  to  find  out  more  about  her  father .  going  as  far  as  going  to  new  york  during  spring  break  to  speak  to  whatever  faculty  taught  her  mother .  all  she  had  was  a  picture  of  her  father .

fast  forward  to  now ,  finley  has  been  diligently  searching .  still  hoping  to  finally  be  able  to  find  her  father  and  see  what  went  wrong

⋆ ° RANDOM BITS .

she’s  left  handed !

actually  has  matching  tattoos  with  her  cousins  that  she  grew  up  with !!  they  have  little  stars  according  to  the  order  of  when  they  were  born ( finley  is  the  third  oldest  out of  five  ..  so  she  has  three  stars !  think  ..  dragon  ball  z  stars  minus  the  circle  aldfljldjg ) 

loves  loves  loves  fall .  all  things  fall !!!!!!!

doesn’t  see  the  hype  around  peanut  butter  and  why  people  eat  spoonfuls  of  it ??  primarily  because  of  her  cousin  having  a  peanut  allergy  so  she  was  never  inclined  to  have  it ?

but  will  gladly  eat  reese’s  puffs  for  breakfast  bc  it  hits  different

[artificialqueens]

So Emotional (Sashea) Chapter 3 -MissChimKi

A/N: It’s been a minute. School has started full time for me again and I’m still working, but I’m going to try to update like every other week. I also have a few other projects I’m working on as well. I’m going to try to finish this before I start any other chaptered works though. Anyways I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Summary:

That wasn’t really the problem though. Sasha could admire the beauty of others without feeling attracted to them. Most of her friend group were beautiful queer girls and she hadn’t even thought about hooking up with them. The problem was her undeniable connection with Shea. In not even a month of knowing her it felt like a lifetime. Even though she didn’t know this huge part of Sasha’s life, she still knew about almost everything else. They related on a personal level that Sasha had never experienced with anyone else before. They could talk for hours on end and Sasha had never had a friend like her. .

In which Sasha and Shea are roommates for their freshman year of college and Sasha is a useless lesbian who doesn’t want Shea to know that and Shea is just trying to live her best Chicago life while being in NYC.

Sasha’s day to day routine was becoming second nature now. Almost a month into school and she finally felt like she had it down pat. It wasn’t necessarily hard, school had never been hard for her, but it was a lot. It required a delicate balance and Sasha could admit she was struggling with it a little. She hadn’t even visited Bob’s since school started.

It felt strange to her to be so close to home but also be completely cut off from it. She texted her dad every day and still sent snaps and memes to all her friends, but it wasn’t the same. She knew they missed her and she missed them, but she had to have her priorities in order if she wanted to be successful, which was definitely something she intended to be.

The way her schedule was set up, she consistently had 8am classes. It wasn’t the worst thing in the world because it meant she had plenty of time after her classes to get stuff done. She had fell into a routine of going to classes, studying and working out.

Spending time with Shea had become a constant as well. They got food and studied together almost every day. Shea understood her dark sense of humor and they could talk for hours on end. Sasha found herself getting less sleep at night because they would just stay up talking for hours. Luck was on her side with getting Shea as a roommate and now friend.

She had also been adopted into Shea’s friend group in a way. They spent a fair amount of time together and would always invite her when they met up for coffee or to study. She got along with all of them well considering they had just met. She even had a class with Trixie. The two of them sat in the back and made snide comments back and forth, trying to hide their obvious laughter.

She’d made friends in her other classes too. Given that she’d taken a lot of her general classes back in high school, she could jump straight into her major classes which had more upperclassmen in them. It was nice to be surrounded by people who cared about what they were majoring in and who probably wouldn’t be switching out anytime soon.

Her professors had been great too. Choosing a smaller, liberal arts college had been the right decision for her. She had professors that cared about their students for both her majors and it showed in how they taught. It was a completely different world from high school and she loved it. Raja, one of her art professors, was her absolute favorite. It was one of her 8am classes but she engaged the class still. Raja wasn’t too thrilled about the time either, always rushing in five minutes late, looking unruly in contrast to all of her pictures online. She made the class fun and Sasha was learning a lot from her even if it was an early class.

All in all, her life was going extremely well, but it could be better. Since coming out, Sasha had no intention of ever going back in the closet. Yet here she was, living her dreams but constantly feeling worried about her secret coming out. She hadn’t really admitted it to herself yet but the main reason she hadn’t gone to Bob’s was because she was embarrassed to admit how insecure she’d been. Those people were her family and she didn’t want to let them down.

So she kept that part of her life to herself and she threw herself into school and her new friends. It was almost too easy to keep it a secret. She tended to keep to herself anyway and was more reserved especially around new people. That meant it wasn’t a problem as long as no one who really knew her saw her.

She had managed to successfully avoid Dusty and Aquaria the whole time she’d been on campus. With both of them being in completely different majors she didn’t have to worry about having classes with them. Every time one of them asked to meet up with her it was easy enough to make an excuse about classes and whatnot. They knew how serious she was about school so it wasn’t that much of a lie, but she knew she could only keep up the rouse for so long. Luckily she knew they both had their own love lives to worry about which kept them fairly occupied for the time being.

Sasha sighed as her class was dismissed early. She hadn’t really been paying attention for most of it but she figured it couldn’t be too important. She could always ask one of her classmates for the notes if she needed to. It was her last class of the day and it was nearing lunchtime. She knew Shea had a break about now so she sent her a text asking if she wanted to meet up for lunch. They ate together pretty much every day sometimes multiple times a day depending on how their schedules lined up. It was nice having a friend she could always meet up with. Not that she minded eating alone but she didn’t mind the company either.

Shea responded quickly, saying that she’d meet her in the dining hall by Sasha’s class in five minutes. Sasha headed into the hall to find seats and grab her food while she waited for Shea. She had already started eating her salad when Shea walked in spotting her quickly, her face lighting up as she made her way over.

“Hey girl,” she greeted, setting her stuff down, “I’m absolutely starving, I’ll be back soon,” she made her way to pile her plate with food before returning to the table and digging in.

They chatted about their days and how much Shea couldn’t stand her mean design professor. “She bullied someone into dropping out the first week of classes. People are only staying in because they have to, and of course she’s supposedly the best teacher in the department. I think that’s bull,” Shea complained.

Sasha frowned, “You’ll have to give her an awful review at the end of the semester then,” she felt bad since she loved all of her professors.

Shea nodded, “I’m sure everyone has but everyone probably does well enough in the class for it to not make a difference.”

Sasha gave her a sympathetic look and they continued on with their meal. Shea telling her about the hot guy from her classes that was now hitting on her. Sasha felt some type of way about it. She knew it was jealousy but she couldn’t tell if she was jealous of the guy or that Shea could talk so openly about her love life. Sasha knew that was her own fault though and not really Shea’s. She kept quiet as Shea talked about it. Focusing a little too much on her food. Shea didn’t seem to pick up on it though, or if she did she didn’t comment on it which Sasha was grateful for.

Sasha changed the subject to Trixie once she was done, “She was texting Katya literally all period. It’s getting hard to watch. The poor girl is so in love that Katya has to know it doesn’t she?”

Shea shrugged, “You’d think but from what I’ve heard she’s either completely oblivious or just doesn’t want to hurt Trixie’s feelings.”

“It’s so sad. I really want to meet her. Trixie talks about her like she’s the whole world but I’d like to see for myself.” Sasha felt for the girl. At least Katya liked girls according to Trixie. Maybe that wasn’t great though because it made Trixie feel like she had more of a chance and Sasha didn’t want to see her hurt.

“Yeah I wouldn’t mind meeting her either so I can give her a piece of my mind,” Shea joked.

“That’s probably why she doesn’t want anyone meeting her. She’s afraid you’ll tell Katya all her secrets,” Sasha said, only half kidding.

Shea looked mock offended, “I would never. Kim on the other hand.”

“I wouldn’t put it past either of you, whether it’s on purpose or not. Clearly it means a lot to Trixie so I’m assuming if we do ever meet her it will be unplanned.”

Shea nodded as they stood up to put their plates away. “Do you want to go to the library to study with me? I have a quiz this afternoon that I need to review for.”

“Yeah, I’ll help you review if you need me to,” she offered, holding the door open for Shea to follow her out.

“You’re honestly the best. I don’t know what I would do without you,” Shea beamed giving her hand a quick squeeze. It was something Sasha had a hard time getting used to at first. Shea was definitely a touchy feely kind of friend. She loved to braid Sasha’s hair when they were talking or rest her head on her shoulder when they were watching Netflix. Sasha didn’t read too much into it though. This was how she was with her other friends too so it didn’t mean anything more than friendship.

They reached their favorite library quickly. It was on a far corner of campus and it was rarely busy. Typically they were the only ones in there which was nice. They never had trouble finding a study room.

They spent about an hour with Sasha quizzing Shea on the content. It was just for a general English class so none of the content was hard necessarily it was just a lot of memorization. At this point Shea pretty much had it down pat and they were just goofing around when Sasha heard her name being called. She turned around to see Aquaria standing there with an awkward smile on her face.

“Oh hey Aqua,” Sasha felt obligated to invite Aquaria to join them since she was one of her oldest friends. She had gone to school with Aquaria since she moved to New York. She had stayed by her side when Aquaria got kicked out of her home for being gay. The two were close friends and at some points in their relationship a little more. Sasha was a little relieved to see her friend but at the same time she didn’t really want her and Shea to interact.

Aquaria looked awkward as she moved to stand at the edge of the table but she smiled at her friend, “I thought you’d dropped off the face of the earth. I haven’t seen you since we’ve been here.”

Sasha felt bad but she plastered a fake smile on her face, “Yeah I know, school’s been kicking my ass. Basically all I do is go to class and study.”

Aquaria seemed to accept her answer, nodding sympathetically.

“Hey,” Shea interjected, “You’re in Miss Del Rio’s class aren’t you?” she asked Aquaria.

“Yeah,” she nodded, “What a bitch honestly,” she giggled, “sorry for not introducing myself, I’m Aquaria,” she had a worried loom on her face probably hoping that she didn’t insult Shea’s favorite teacher.

Shea took her extended hand, “I’m Shea, Sasha’s roommate.”

Aquaria nodded in understanding, still awkwardly standing at the end of their table.

“You can sit if you want, were just pretending to study at this point,” Sasha offered, noticing how she eyed Shea uncomfortably. Aquaria had never been good around strangers. It took forever for her to get comfortable with Sasha and now she never stopped talking but at first she hardly said anything.

Shea seemed to pick up on the tension, “I actually am going to head out. I want to get coffee before my quiz and I know how obnoxious those lines can be. I’ll see you back in the room,” she said goodbye to Sasha, “Nice actually meeting you, I’m glad I’m not the only one who can’t stand Miss Del Rio,” she addressed Aquaria before heading out to the coffee shop.

Aquaria took her seat once she had left, “So that’s why you’ve been MIA then?” she raised a perfectly plucked brow.

Sasha rolled her eyes, “I’ve genuinely been busy. Adjusting to college hasn’t been a breeze,” she defended herself.

Aquaria put her hands up, surrendering, “It hasn’t been easy for me either and you’d know that had you been around.”

Sasha looked at the ground, guilt starting to eat at her, “I’m sorry Aqua, I really am. This has been a new beginning for me and I know I’ve been focusing so much on that that I left you and the others behind. I have to do better, I know.”

Aquaria gave her a sympathetic look, “We just miss you is all. It’s not the same there without you.”

Sasha nodded, “I miss everyone so much honestly.”

“You should come Saturday for open mic,” Aquaria pushed excitedly, “There’s a new girl that’s been coming and she’s absolutely amazing I think you’ll like her a lot.”

Sasha smiled back feeling Aquaria’s enthusiasm rubbing off onto her, “That sounds great, I’ll try to be there.”

Aquaria’s eyes narrowed, “You’ll try to be there or you will be there?” she pressed.

Sasha sighed, she really couldn’t put this off for any longer. It was truly shocking that she’d managed to go this long without going to the bar. “I’ll be there,” she decided, reveling in the genuine smile she got from Aquaria. Her friend had been through a lot and seeing her happy always lifted Sasha’s spirits.

“You can bring your roomie if you want,” Aquaria suggested.

Even the thought of doing that terrified Sasha. She was sure Shea and the rest of the girls would enjoy it especially since most of them were queer. It was different with Shea though because Sasha had to share a room with her for the rest of the year and Shea was straight. She didn’t want anything to be uncomfortable. She didn’t fall for straight girls, she knew better, but she would be lying if she said she had no attraction to Shea. Physically she was gorgeous. She pulled off every look she tried and Sasha envied her confidence.

That wasn’t really the problem though. Sasha could admire the beauty of others without feeling attracted to them. Most of her friend group were beautiful queer girls and she hadn’t even thought about hooking up with them. The problem was her undeniable connection with Shea. In not even a month of knowing her it felt like a lifetime. Even though she didn’t know this huge part of Sasha’s life, she still knew about almost everything else. They related on a personal level that Sasha had never experienced with anyone else before. They could talk for hours on end and Sasha had never had a friend like her. Sure she had closer friends but no one she’d ever had this much of a connection with upon first meeting them.

“I’m not sure if it would be her scene,” she decided on saying.

Aquaria frowned, “Is she homophobic or something? You two seemed to get on so well I can’t imagine that she would be.”

Sasha shook her head, “It’s a little complicated. She doesn’t know I’m gay.”

“She is homophobic then?” Aquaria looked confused.

“I don’t think so. She has a lot of gay friends and seems completely okay with them, but it’s different with me because we’re roommates. I just don’t want to make her uncomfortable,” Sasha explained.

Aquaria didn’t look any less confused, “Why would you being gay make her uncomfortable. If it did that would be her problem to deal with. The only issue would be if you’re attracted to her.”

Sasha hated that Aquaria could see right through her, “I’m not like in love with her or anything but she’s stunning it would be hard not to notice that.”

She didn’t miss the eye roll that Aquaria gave her. “That’s not how you are though. There’s plenty of beautiful girls that you don’t feel anything for but with her there’s something else or else you’d have just come out no problem,” Aquaria pointed out.

The thing was both girls were confident in their sexuality no matter how scary it had been. Aquaria came out to her family hoping against all odds that they would accept her or at least try to but they didn’t. Sasha came out to her Russian dad and it wasn’t easy at first but she knew she had to live her life being authentically her. And this, this was not doing that.

“You’re right,” Sasha gave in, “I hate that I don’t know what to do about it,” she sighed.

“I think you should just tell her. It’s only going to get harder the longer you wait,” Aquaria suggested. She was right, Sasha knew this but it didn’t make it easier. “I also think you should come to the bar and talk about it with your closest friends. It’ll help you more than you think.”

That was the truth. Their bar family had taken Aquaria in when no one would. Sharon had essentially taken the role as her mother, letting Aquaria move in with her. Most people though it was a sugar mama type of deal but Sasha knew it wasn’t. It was a woman who had been ostracized by her family for being gay taking in a girl who had been in the same situation. The difference was that Sharon hadn’t had anyone to do that for her when she was young and she didn’t want to see anyone else go through that.

“I know it will. You guys are the best form therapy for me right now,” Sasha agreed. It was time for her to face the music and her fears.

Aquaria beamed at her before getting up, “I need to get to class now but I’m texting everyone that’ll you’ll be there so now they can hold you accountable too.”

Sasha chuckled, “Thanks for having faith in me.”

Aquaria winked before disappearing from Sasha’s view. A sigh escaped Sasha’s lips. It was going to be difficult explaining why she hadn’t been around in a month. Even though she knew that no matter how long she was gone, they’d be there to welcome her back with open arms. There were still some nerves she couldn’t shake, but she knew they would have her best interests in the end and give her good advice.

~

Saturday came quicker than Sasha was prepared for. As it got later, she got more nervous. She was getting ready in her room. Shea was away somewhere with her friends, they’d invited Sasha, but she told them she had a paper to finish. She was glad to have the room to herself for the time being, it would have been difficult to explain where she was going and why Shea couldn’t come.

She was putting a final coat of lipstick on her lips when Shea, Kim and Trixie stumbled in, laughing loudly. They had clearly already started pregaming. It was evident by the flushes on their faces and them talking over each other even more loudly than usual. Sasha laughed at the sight of them. “It’s not even eight yet. Are you guys even going to be able to make it to wherever you’re going?”

Shea plopped down beside her and plucked the lipstick from her hand, “This shade is seriously the bomb. Do you think it would look good on me?” she held the tube close to her lips and puckered them dramatically.

Sasha rolled her eyes and tried not to let them linger on Shea’s lips, “Girl please you know everything looks good on you,” she snatched the lipstick back without any difficulty given Shea’s reflexes were pretty much non-existent when she was tipsy.

“Don’t compliment her, it’ll just go to her head and then she’ll think she’s somebody when we’re out tonight,” Kim joked to which Trixie let out a scream of laughter.

Shea flipped them both off before turning back to Sasha again, “You’re all dolled up. Did you change your mind about coming out with us?” she asked hopefully.

Sasha shook her head, “I’m actually meeting up with some friends. You remember Aquaria?” Shea nodded. “Well she managed to convince me to meet up with her and a few of our other high school friends tonight,” she explained.

Shea pouted, “Lame, you should totally come out with us instead.”

“Next time,” Sasha promised, giving Shea’s shoulder a squeeze. “I gotta get going, enjoy your night,” she waved bye to the two other girls before leaving the room and heading to the place that had become her second home over the years.

She arrived at the bar a little before it opened. She texted Bob letting her know she was outside and waited to be let in. The first time she had come to Look Queen was in her sophomore year of High School. She, Aquaria and Brianna had managed to sneak in. Though they didn’t really sneak in at all since it was Brianna’s mom that owned the place. They did however sneak drinks. Back then she had no idea how much this place would become home to her. She remembered feeling humiliated when one of the resident queens called her out for being too hairy, that was back in her unibrow days and she was still struggling with accepting her sexuality so having any attention on her terrified her.

The queen later apologized and snuck Sasha drinks. After that night the trio would go there every weekend. Sometimes they were joined by Brianna’s sister Monet and Dusty but mostly it was just them. They all had a close bond as they were in the same boat with figuring out their sexuality, which had led to some experimentation over the years. While Sasha cared for both girls, she never really had romantic feelings for either of them. Not the way they had for each other, or at least the way Aquaria had for Brianna.

She was greeted at the door by Peppermint, the vibrant woman smiled excitedly and pulled her in for a squeeze. “Sasha, girl it has been too long.”

Sasha knew she’d be in for these reactions the whole night, “I know, I know, school and all,” was all she offered for an explanation.

“We’re gonna talk more later,” Peppermint told her, “But right now you’re gonna go get a drink and apologize to Bob for making her worry.”

Sasha nodded guiltily and followed her inside. It was no surprise that the place hadn’t changed. Still brightly colored with glitter everywhere. Still smelling like booze. The mural she’d painted still covering the far wall. And still feeling like home. Sasha smiled at everyone when she walked in. Most of the people she was closest to would hang out before Bob opened to the public, either talking or preparing for their show. This particular night was open mic night which basically meant everything goes. Sasha frequently did spoken word there, it helped tremendously with her confidence and she enjoyed doing it. She hadn’t yet decided if she wanted to do anything that night, if she did it would just have to be a classic from her repertoire. One she could recite in her sleep.

Bob stood behind the counter of the bar, tidying up and making sure things were in the right place. Brianna was sitting on the counter, chatting animatedly with her sister when she spotted Sasha come in. “Sasha!” She yelled, jumping down from the counter and running to give Sasha a huge hug.

“Hey,” Sasha greeted the armful of blonde hair. Monet walked over to them as well, giving her greeting too.

“Look who finally decided to show up,” Alexis glanced up from the magazine she was reading to give Sasha a smile.

Bob seemed to be purposely ignoring her, which she understood. Since she’d been coming there Bob had taken such a motherly role in her life. She had sat and listened to all of Sasha’s worries and helped her come in to herself. She was the first person Sasha told about her acceptance into Charles and she had set up a bar night in celebration, with all the tips they had received that night going into Sasha’s college fund.

Bob meant the world to her and she felt awful that she had let her down. She slowly made her way over to Bob, knowing it was best to just rip off the band aid. “Do you need any help setting up?” she asked, in lieu of a greeting once she’d reached the counter.

“No I’m mostly done with everything,” Bob shrugged, stopping what she was doing to turn to Sasha. “Do you need any help?” she returned the question.

Sasha sighed, “I know I haven’t been around in a while, but the truth is that I’ve just been caught up in the new world at school and the longer I stayed away the more I felt bad about coming back,” she admitted.

Bob’s hard stare softened a little, “Aquaria told me about your roommate thing,” she told Sasha.

“Well there’s that too,” Sasha smiled sheepishly.

“I can’t tell you what to do, but just know that I’ll go rough a bitch up if I need to,” Bob informed her. It was said like a joke but Sasha knew he was completely serious. Sure Bob wouldn’t actually hurt anyone but she would for sure go have an intimidating conversation with anyone who disapproved of Sasha.

“I know that. And I know she wouldn’t disapprove of my sexuality but I’m worried she might pick up on whatever feelings I have towards her,” she explained.

Bob nodded in understanding, “And those feelings are romantic? Or at least more than platonic?” she pressed.

Sasha shrugged, “Yeah I guess. I don’t really know how to categorize them but they’re there and they probably won’t be going anywhere so I’ll just have to learn how to deal with them for this year.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to force yourself back in the closet for a year,” Bob pointed out.

“At least until I figure out how to tell her. She’s such a good friend now that it complicates things more for sure.”

“Maybe if you found yourself a lovely gal it would make it easier. Both in getting over her and coming out to her,” Brianna interrupted their conversation.

It wasn’t a bad idea, but no one had caught Sasha’s eye in a long time. She wasn’t necessarily picky when it came to people, but her personality didn’t jive well with everyone’s and that could cause trouble for her love life.

“Maybe,” Sasha offered. Brianna shrugged and got in position behind the counter. Bob went over to open the doors signifying that the conversation was over, at least for the time being.

People began to file into the bar. Brianna handed her a gin and tonic with a wink before getting to work. Sasha made her way over to where Dusty was chatting with Alexis. She easily slid into conversation with them while slowly sipping on her drink and waiting for the open mic to start. “Are you gonna perform tonight?” Dusty questioned.

“I’m not sure yet,” Sasha told her. The bar was filling up quickly with lots of familiar faces and some new ones. She saw Aquaria at the bar with a girl she didn’t recognize. They were getting drinks from Brianna. She briefly wondered if Aquaria was with the stranger to make Bri jealous, however she didn’t look too phased, chatting happily with them while she shook their drinks.

Once the bar had started buzzing with people Thorgy took to the stage to announce sign-ups for the open mic. Sasha watched as a bunch of eager people rushed to sign up while others stayed behind wanting to get their courage up before signing up, which meant doing shots.

The line would die down in a bit and she would probably sign up whenever that happened. She was deciding on what piece she wanted to do when she was interrupted from her thoughts by someone bumping into her.

“I’m so sorry,” the girl apologized, reaching a hand out to steady her. “Oh hey Sasha, I didn’t expect to see you here.” Of course it was Pearl that had bumped into her.

“Yeah, this place was kind of like my hangout in high school so I’m just visiting with everyone,” she explained. It wasn’t a lie really, just not the whole truth.

“That’s crazy, I’ve been coming here with Vi recently I love it,” Pearl responded in her soothing voice.

“I’m just now realizing that your girlfriend is Violet Chachki.” Sasha didn’t know why it took her so long to put it together. Violet and Fame had been coming there almost as long as she had. She always though there was something between them, but maybe they were just close friend.

“Yeah. You know her? I guess you’ve never been around when she is so I never thought about it,” Pearl shook her head, “That’s weird though,” she lamented.

They talked for a while and Sasha found out that Pearl was originally from New York, but she moved to Chicago after she finished high school early to live with her dad and go to beauty school. Thankfully she hadn’t asked about Sasha’s sexuality yet or mentioned it if she already knew. Hopefully she wouldn’t say anything to Shea. Sasha didn’t want to risk anything by asking her not to so she just kept her mouth shut.

Violet came over to join them and they had a commentary about all of the people on the stage. Some were awful but there was one girl who did a spoken word about having the same parts as the boys who flirted with her. Everyone found it to be hilarious. It was early in the night so most people were lackluster or regulars that Sasha had seen many a times.

One girl, however, caught her eye. It was the girl that had been talking to Aquaria earlier. Sasha recognized her when she stepped out onto the stage but she had no idea what to expect. The girl was confident as she graced the stage. She didn’t even announce her name before she launched into a rap about being an art god. Sasha stood mesmerized the whole time. The girl was articulate and enchanting and Sasha was hooked on her every word. When it was over Sasha clapped loudly along with the rest of the crowd. The girl smiled widely and exited the stage.

“Did you guys catch her name?” She asked Violet and Pearl, eager to know who the mystery girl was.

“Oh, that’s Aja. She’s been coming these past few weeks. She’s a huge hit,” Violet filled her in.

“She’s incredible,” Sasha told them.

“Yeah she’s been really good every time we’ve seen her,” Pearl agreed.

Watching the performance left Sasha feeling inspired, “I’m going to go sign up for a spot. I’ll see you guys later,” Sasha waved at them before going to put her name on the list. After she’d signed up she went to get another drink for good measure. She figured she wouldn’t drink anymore until after she went and she would be fine.

She went to find Aquaria and hopefully find out more about Aja. Aquaria was sitting with Dusty and Yuhua, the latter loudly laughing at something. She greeted them all before taking a seat.

“Have you signed up yet?” Aquaria asked.

Sasha nodded, “I just did,” she told them, “I was feeling really inspired after Aja’s performance. Is that the newbie you were talking about?”

“Yeah,” Aquaria said excitedly, “Wasn’t she amazing? I knew you’d like her.”

“She was great,” Sasha smiled, “Is she around anywhere? I’d like to compliment her.”

“Hm, I think she’s off with her friends somewhere. Probably smoking in the bathroom honestly. I’ll introduce you guys later,” Aquaria promised, “but in the meantime let’s do some shots!” Dusty and Yuhua agreed happily.

“Save mine for after I go please,” Sasha laughed, “I’m not going through that mess again.”

The others laughed, “We would love to see that again though,” Dusty joked.

Sasha rolled her eyes as Aquaria went to get them shots. She cheered for the others while they took them. It wasn’t long before her name was being called to go. The others wished her luck while she took the stage.

She mainly just did spoken word about whatever was on her mind. This particular piece was something she wrote while coming to terms with her sexuality. It was one of her favorites and it related to her just as much now as it did back then. Especially since she’d pretty much entered the closet again. She briefly worried about Pearl hearing it, but it wasn’t too obviously about her being gay. Pearl didn’t seem like the kind of person to care all that much or sell her out, so she decided to go for it.

She always blanked when she performed. She couldn’t really tell how the audience reacted during because she was so in the moment. Once it was over she would come back to her senses but something about performing made her a completely different person. It was good though, she supposed, because back in her stage fright days she was just in a state of fear the whole time.

Once she was done the crowd cheered for her. Her friends shouts being louder than the others and she felt warm and happy. She loved this group of people more than anything else and she had no idea how she managed to stay away from them for so long.

Aquaria greeted her with a shot once she got off the stage, which she took with no hesitation. “C’mon, I think I saw Aja by the bar,” Aquaria tugged her arm, leading her to Aja and her friends.

“Aja,” Aquaria called loudly to get her attention.

“Sis,” Aja smiled turning her attention to them, “And you’re Sasha. I’ve heard so much about you,” she said, eying Sasha up and down before offering her a warm smile.

“You too,” Sasha responded, “Everyone’s been telling me about you.”

“You too. I was starting to think you weren’t real,” Aja joked, “I’m glad you are though. You’re spoken word was brilliant for real. I used to feel exactly the same way it was weird hearing it in someone else’s words,” she complimented.

Sasha blushed, “Thank you so much. You were the amazing one though. Your flow was insane and so natural I have no idea how you do it.”

Aja grinned proudly, “Lots of practice,” she admitted.

“You’re seriously talented. I can’t wait to see more of your work.”

“Yours too. I heard you do art as well?” Aja inquired.

Sasha nodded, “Yeah, it’s actually one of my majors.”

“That’s so cool!” Aja exclaimed, “I’d love to see it sometime.”

Sasha pointed to a mural that took up the back wall of the bar, “That’s actually my work over there,” she explained.

Aja’s eyes went wide, “You did that? It’s always caught my eye when I come in, I had no idea it was yours.”

Sasha nodded sheepishly, “Yeah Bob had me do it once she found out I painted. It was a good project for me, I’m glad I was able to add to the environment of this place.”

“For sure,” Aja agreed, “You want a drink?” she offered.

“Sure, I’d love one,” Sasha agreed. She spent the rest of her night drinking with Aja. They traded stories and compliments. Relating with someone on an artistic level was so refreshing. Sure she had her classmates but it was less intimidating this way. It was nice to have an informal and relaxed artistic conversation without the pressure of grades and being better than everyone else. It was incredibly chill talking to Aja and they shared the same humor. She was disappointed when the bar started to close and they had to leave. She walked out with Aja and her friends, making sure they got in their uber safely before making her way back into the bar.

Luckily she had exchanged numbers with Aja before they got too drunk. She definitely wanted to talk to her more. She made her way over to Bob to talk with her while she closed up.

“You and Aja hit it off then?” Bob asked.

Sasha nodded happily, “Yeah, she’s super chill and very talented like wow I’ve never met anyone like her,” she tried to explain, fumbling over her words a little.

Bob laughed, “Everyone knew you guys would get along, I’m glad you finally met.”

“Me too,” Sasha hummed in agreement. Bob finished cleaning for the night and offered Sasha a ride home which she accepted quickly.

The ride back was fairly quiet, Sasha beginning to get sleepy. Bob dropped her off at her dorm and got out to give her a hug goodbye. “I’m glad you came back,” she told her after letting go.

“Me too. I could never stay away long,” Sasha said. “Text me when you get back.”

“I will,” Bob agreed even though they both knew Sasha would be fast asleep. “Love you kiddo,” Bob told her before getting back in the car.

“Love you too,” Sasha called, watching Bob pull away and then walking into her dorm. She fumbled a little with the key to her room but she managed to get in successfully. She noticed Shea was already asleep when she got in. Her makeup still on her face and she was snoring softly. Sasha chuckled at the sight before climbing into bed and passing out quickly.

[clevernewdimension]

Unearthly Delights Part Six (M)

Preview, One, Two (M), Three, Four (M), Five, Six (M), Seven (Coming soon!)

Genre: Drama, Smut, Action, Romance, Supernatural Creatures and Monsters AU

Pairing: JunmyeonxCharacter (This part has smut with Jongin though!)

Word Count: 5.6K

A/N: Pretty short but oh well. Trigger warning for things like PTSD and such. Also sexual assault.

Falling asleep at Junmyeon’s was much easier than I thought it would be. Normally it takes me a while. Especially after what happened. Here, underground, away from the city, I felt safe and secure. It was very modern. The floor was wood, in a criss cross pattern. Each plank of wood had a thin piece of a purple wood between it, making it look weird but pretty in an odd way. The walls are white, some pieces of arm and decorative metal things on the wall. The bed was huge, at least a queen and covered in a nice purple comforter and about fifty small pillows that I threw to the floor immediately. Everything was very clean, almost too much.

I stretch, sitting up and look around. If it wasn’t for an alarm clock on the bedside table, I would never know what time it was. I slide out of bed, moving to the left and opening an adjoining bathroom. I speak out in the silence, “Alice?”

“Yes, Miss. Avelyna,” The voice asks out in the darkness.

I turn a light on, “Um… I need a change of clothes. And stuff to brush my teeth.”

“I will make sure everything you need is provided for you,” Her voice says.

“Ok. Tell Junmyeon I’m showering if he comes looking for me. Tell him if he’s feeling daring that he could totally meet in in there too,” I say, before starting to strip my clothes. Pulling the shirt over my head was easy, as the rest quickly falls to the ground too.

“I will be sure to pass along the message,” Her voice says, as I turn on one of the showerheads.

This bathroom is as nice as the master bathroom at Taemin’s place. This isn’t even the master bedroom, it’s just a guest room. “Holy shit,” I mutter, stepping into the hot water and turning on the other two shower heads. One to the right, one to the left and an overhead one. Small ones on the sides, spraying water literally everywhere you could see. After taking a few minutes to just stand there enveloped in the hot curtain of water, I turned one off and started to actually wash myself.

The door opens as I peek out from the wall separating the shower from the rest of the bathroom. I see Junmyeon, his hair dripping as he places some clothes and a unopened toothbrush on the counter. I smirk, “So you are feeling daring, hm?”

He looks over, his face going red a bit. He look away, trying to look everywhere but me.

I laugh, “What? It’s all hidden. Not like you haven’t seen it, anyways. I bet you have that video saved.”

His face was burning red as he turns, “T-there’s breakfast when you’re done.”

“Where are the clothes from,” I ask, causing him to pause in the doorway.

“Your house. I sent someone to get them for you. Can’t you tell? They’re all black, after all,” he says, a bit of a teasing tone in his voice.

“So thoughtful,” I say, before moving back into the water.

It didn’t take me long to finish showering. Turning off all the shower heads and drying off was quick. I brush my teeth, braid my hair and get dressed as my stomach was growling loudly. The mention of food woke my stomach up, apparently.

I pull on the clean underwear and by that was picked out, smiling at the choice that whoever went got for me. A pair of my black skinny jeans and a tight t-shirt that I turned into a crop top. It was black, pretty much just an advertisement for Four Roses bourbon. It was just black with gold words, until Taemin got a hold of it, that is. He stitched two roses on either side and turned it from a full shirt to a crop shirt. Something about ‘You have abs, Ava, show them off!’ I think it was just Taemin wanted to see them, though. He’s told me he likes to look at pretty things and I suppose I was no different.

I quickly braid my hair into two pig style ones before pulling on my leather jacket, socks and shoes. Opening the door, I could hear light jazz music being played as I follow it. It was upbeat, the kind people probably dance to.

Junmyeon was standing in the kitchen, a chef in front of him cooking as he was looking at something on his phone. He glanced up, smiling. “Hello Ava. Anything you’d like for breakfast?”

“Bourbon,” I say with a smirk. “Or at least a mimosa.”

Junmyeon sighs, “I meant actual food.”

I look over to see what the chief was making. “How about french toast?”

The chief looks back, a smile on her face. Probably silently thanking me for not making her have to cook a whole other meal. “Done,” She says, her short hair in a small afro. Her nose was pierced and overall she looked like a really cool person. “No mimosas. Or bourbon. No alcohol in this house.”

I look over at Junmyeon, absolutely flabbergasted. “How do you survive?” I move to sit at the bar seating next to him.

He just looks at me, “Healthily with no alcohol dependency. I have to live long enough to get revenge, after all. Can’t do that with a rotten liver.”

“What you call being alcohol dependent, I call peace of mind,” I say, with a pout. I reach over, grabbing his orange juice and pulling it over. “Thanks for the drink.”

Junmyeon just smiled. It’s like nothing I could do could bother him. “You could have just asked Jayla for a drink, you know.”

“She working, I’m much rather bother you,” I say with a grin. I pull my phone out, looking at the low battery before quickly stealing his charger. I smile, looking over my messages. A picture from Yixing of glittery runes on my door with the message ‘all done! :D’

“That reminds me,” I say looking over at the standing merman. “Your tattoo. On your back. Should I get one?”

“If you do, make sure it will only effect Ventures,” He mutters, frowning at the fact I stole his charger. “My phone is almost dead too.”

“Doesn’t sound like my problem,” I say with a smile taking a long drink of the orange juice. “I have to get some charge to leave with, after all. Unless you want to take me home?”

“Sure,” He says, as a plate is placed in from of him. He pushes it over my me, “Here, you eat first.”

“I’m not going to say no,” I say with a grin. I take the fork in one hand and a piece of bacon in the other, shoving it into my mouth as a rather tall man enters the room.

“Perimeter of the estate has been checked in. It’s all secure, no one has been tampering with the magic protections,” He says, his voice gruff and hard. He was tall and built like a bus. Muscles on muscles on muscles. His head bald and his skin a dark tan. He was dressed in a suit, black with a white shirt.

Junmyeon nods, “Thank you, Kekoa.”

The man look over at me, before back at Junmyeon, an eyebrow raised.

I grab the maple syrup, “Ava Vass. Professional alcoholic. Aloha Kamaʻāina.”

The man smiles, “How did you know I was Hawaiian?”

“The name,” I sau as I cut my french toast into smaller bites. “I lived in Austin for a bit where I met a woman named Kona. She taught me basics after ranting to me about white people who fuck up at hula dancing.” I smile, thinking back. “Then she made me try and told me I was awful too!”

The man lets out a booming laugh, causing Junmyeon and Jayla to smile. “She taught you well! Barely any accent!” He whites the tears of laughter gathering at his eyes, “But she is right. Most people that are not from Hawaii are awful at hula.”

“Well,” I say, opening the bottle and pouring a rather large amount of syrup onto the plate, “She was apparently a competitive dancer for a while, so I think she’d know. She made me dance all the time even though I was awful at it. Still in Austin, trying to move back to Hawaii.”

“I go back and visit family when I can. Thankfully Mr. Kim let us have quite a few vacations,” He says, smiling fondly at Junmyeon. He looks at him, “I like her, hoaloha!”

Junmyeon just shakes his head, “You have no idea the amount of trouble she causes. Ava is the type to punch first ask questions ever. Don’t even get me started on her drinking problem-”

“It’s not a problem as long as there is some,” I sing, before starting to devour my food.

“And she’s the absolute greediest person I know,” He says, looking over at the tall man. “Kalani wanted me to tell you thank you.”

The man just smiles, “He doing well, eh?”

Junmyeon nods, looking at me, “Kekoa and his family found a green sea turtle that was badly hurt when he was visiting his family a few weeks ago. I had it brought here and rehabilitated.” He looks back at the friendly giant, “He’s doing very well. He can’t swim like he use to, but he’s happy to stay in the tank instead of out in the ocean.”

Jayla sets another place infront of Junmyeon as I slyly take one of his slices of bacon, giving her a wink. Just just smiled, biting her lip to stop from laughing.

“Thank you so much, Tita will be pleased to hear that,” He looks up, “I, however, need to get back to checking the security of the house. It was nice meaning you Ava!”

“You say that now,” I say, quickly munching the bacon I stole as I stab more of the french toast and shove it in my mouth. With my mouth full, I say, “Most people regret knowing me!”

The man just laughed at that as he walked out the room. Junmyeon quickly cut up his food, “I know you stole a slice of bacon, Ava.”

“You have no proof,” I say with a smirk.

Junmyeon was reading over the newspaper as he ate, so I took to my phone and checked the messages. A text from Taemin, who pouted at the camera in the picture he sent. His hair was back to black, his eyes covered in glitter. Under it, the message said ‘I miss you tiny human champion. I’m shocked you haven’t found an underground fight club to join yet. Though from what I hear from Jongin, the fights seem to find you.’

I take a picture of myself, giving a middle finger and sending it off.  ‘Tiny my ass, you fuck. I would say I miss you, but seeing your clothes all over the closet feels like you’re right next to me all the time.’

It chimed quickly, ‘Just be careful, Ava. The Ventures are one group you don’t want to get involved with. Jongin did tell me they killed your mother, though, so I understand if you don’t take my warning. They’re why I left.’

I frown reading that. Taemin never told me why he left New York. Just that it wasn’t the city for him. He comes and goes, but never stays for more than three days. ‘What did they do?’

A few minutes of silence as I nibbled on the last of my bacon. A small ding and I looked, seeing the message.

‘Ask Jongin.’

I frown. The Taemin I know would talk about it if it was important. He’d rather tell someone something to their face. I scroll through my contacts, finding the Incubus’s name before starting a text chain.

‘Hey, you free? Want to get dinner?’

There was a reply instantly.

‘Out of the blue, but sure. Where you thinking?’

‘Don’t know the city well enough. I do know I want burgers and beers sort of place.’

‘Bill’s Bar and Burger. The Rockefeller center one.’

‘Meet you there at 7?’

‘Done.’

I smile, before turning and seeing Junmyeon, who was looking over some emails. He frowns, looking up, “I’ve got to be at the bar tonight. We’re opening back again tomorrow and I’ve got some business to sort though.”

I get up, wiping my mouth on the napkin that was placed for me. “Well then, let’s go. I’ve got to go look for some more clothes. I have maybe two weeks of clothes. Never had a stable job to actually bother worrying about it.”

“I’m sure you can kind some place that carry black on black on black,” Junmyeon says with a teasing smile.

“There are a lot of places that carry black clothes, thanks,” I say, sticking out my tongue.

Junmyeon picks up his keys, nodding at me. I stand, “Fucking tasty,” I yell back to Jayla, who just hold a thumb up to me. I slip my phone in my pocket, feeling my keys and wallet in my jacket pockets. “How about you just drop me off in the middle of the city so I can get some of these damn clothes shopping done? That way you don’t have to go out of your way.”

“Sure,” He says, as we take the elevator up. He pushes the ground floor, and rubs his eyes. He’s already tired.

“Did you sleep at all,” I ask, leaning against the wall.

“No,” He mutters, “But I did just lay there and rest.”

“I’m fine,” I say, “Trust me, I’m ok.”

He takes something out of his jacket pocket, before tossing it to me. It was the knife. “Keep this with you. After killing one of theirs, they will want to come after us.”

“I’ll be fine,” I roll my eyes, before putting the knife handle in the pocket of my jacket. “I’m a tough bitch, after all.”

Junmyeon didn’t look amused, “Do you not remember the conversation we had? You’re strong. For a human. You are not going to be hunted by humans.”

“But I’m crafty. And I fight dirty.”

Junmyeon just rolled his eyes, letting it go as the elevator opened. I follow him, as he opens the door to a garage. A few cars in there, some vintage, some new. He just shrugs, “Most of these were my fathers.”

“Some of these could fetch a pretty penny,” I was with a whistle. He presses a button on his key fob, as one comes to life. It was black, nice looking. I don’t know the brand, nor care, but it looked expensive as hell.

Junmyeon just shakes his head, “You sure do love money, huh?”

“Absolutely,” I say, walking with him and opening the passenger door before he could, helping myself in. He just shrugs, before walking around and getting in. “I love it. The smell of it, feeling it all over me. The color. Stunning.”

“Didn’t anyone tell you how dirty money is,” He asks, buckling his seatbelt as I did the same. He presses a button, the garage door opening. Starting the car, he put it in drive.

“Not as dirty as the things I’m willing to do for it,” I say, giving him a wink.

I could see his face heat up as he just carefully drives us out the property, the front gate opening with ease. I just laugh at him as he just keeps his eyes on the road.

The drive didn't take long, and after another safety lecture from him, I was alone in the middle of the city. It was just a few minutes away from the club. I quickly ducked in a place called The Cast, getting just a few pairs of their black jeans and a pair of the black leather shorts. I also snagged a shirt that had three daggers on it that I though looks pretty awesome. From there I got onto the subway. A few rides and I was out at fifth avenue. A few stops here and there, about three grand down the tube, I quickly went and dropped them off at Taemin’s place before going back and meeting Jongin.

A few middle fingers shown to cat callers later, I enter the bar. Immediately I see the silver hair of Jongin at a table, his phone in his hand as he wait. I walk over, sliding into the booth in front of him. He glances up, smiling. “Hey!”

“Waiter come yet?”

He shakes his head, “No. She’s been flirting with the bartender. I’ve been waiting to see how long it would take-”

“WE’D LIKE TO ORDER,” I yell, holding my hands around my mouth. The girl jumps, before her faces goes red. She quickly surries over.

“I’m so sorry,” She says, her voice very soft. Her dyed blonde hair is back in a bun as she gets her pen ready.

“Do you have Shiner,” I ask, looking at her.

She nods.

“Cool, a bottle for me, and I’d like a cheeseburger with no veg except pickles and some bacon. Also a side of hot wings, ranch instead of blue cheese,” I say, nodding.

Jongin just smiles at me as he orders his sandwich. The girl blushes as she looks at him, obviously attracted to him. I just roll my eyes. “You’re no fun,” He says as she walks away.

“I’m hungry. I’ve been lugging bags around all fucking day,” I mutter as soon she places a bottle of beer in front of me and a pint in front of Jongin. I tap my bottle to his glass, holding it up before taking a sip. I let out a small moan, “God I missed alcohol.”

He leans back, crossing his arms over his chest. He was wearing just a plain white tee and some black pants. His hair was pushed out of his face, making it look like he was just napping. “How can you miss alcohol?”

“I haven’t had any today, Jongin. That’s how,” I say, pointing at him. “Actually, I wanted to ask you about something-”

“Taemin told me,” He says with a sigh.

“That motherfucker can’t just wait a damn minute, can he,” I mumble.

“He had a group,” Jongin said, “I was dying ages ago.” He winces as he remembers, “Someone tried to murder me. I was friend with Taemin without knowing what he was, and when it came to light, the people from my home stabbed me and left me to die.” He smiles a little, “Taemin did some weird demon magic and turned me into what I am. The first ten years of it, the magic of it was keeping me with him. At first it was rejecting me, and if it did that I would have died. But it didn’t. Taemin is like my brother.” Jongin takes a large gulp of his drink, “He had friends. Four others. They did something that pissed of some Venture fuck who was high in command. They were killed.”

I frown, wincing at that. I knew the feeling all too well.

“Taemin saw, and they let him live. It was his fault, apparently. At least, that’s what he says. So he was scared and he left. Every now and then someone comes to hunt him but he slips away. They’ve left him alone for a few years now, though.” Jongin shakes his head. “So, when he says you need to be careful, listen to him.”

I just shrug. “So, what drew you to Unearthly?”

Jongin let out a laugh, leaning forward on his hands again. “Junmyeon did. We all joke saying that he takes in all us strays.”

“Strays,” I ask, genuinely interested as I take a drink from my beer. The atmosphere was nice as some music was playing softly, filling the air.

“Junmyeon and Minseok were the first, from what I heard. They made the club, though it was all paid by Junmyeon. Not that he needs more money.” He says, with a shrug as he quickly takes a gulp. “Then, after them, Minseok brought Chanyeol and Kyungsoo into the fold since they fought together. They’re the only two left in their pack, and as the oldest of the two the leader was Chanyeol, but he renounced the title. Yixing was, well, kicked out and Junmyeon found the poor guy lost in a big city. He felt bad and took him in. They lived together for a while, but now he has a place all his own. Jongdae and Baekhyun were both alone. They’ve been together for ages and they managed to piss off a friend of Junmyeon’s. The merman took pity on them and offered then a deal. Sing in the club some nights, or else.” Jongin laughed, “As it turns out, Junmyeon was never going to hurt them. They were starving, close to dying.”

“What about you and Sehun,” I ask, slipping my jacket off.

“Sehun is actually older than he looks,” Jongin says with a frown. “I’m older than Junmyeon, I’ll tell you that much. I was turned into this when I was twenty four. Sehun… he was born a human. He was taken and tested on by vampires. They were trying to combine vampires and shapeshifters to make a new race of vampires. He’s older than Minseok. When I found him, he was just bones, his eyes rapidly changing as he was just learning to control the power.” Jongin takes his drink, chugging the last half of it as he sets it down. He looks at me, “They turned him into a shifter and never let him learn to control his power. He’s different. Most shifters are not immortal. He should have been dead. They somehow made him immortal and a shifter.”

I shift in my seat, a bit uncomfortable finding this out. “Is he going to be angry you told me all of this?”

“Probably,” He says, as he looks to the left just as the waitress comes by and drops off our food. He holds up his glass with shy smile.

I point to my beer as well, “I’d also like another, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“No problem,” She says, smiling at me too. I watch her as she goes over to the bartender, smiling and asking for what she needed as she tried to subtly flirt with him.

Jongin picked up my bottle, “Is it any good?”

“Shiner is about the only beer I care for. Probably from being in Austin. I love their Cheer one and the Strawberry one they released over the summer,” I shrug, before picking up a wing and ripping some of the meat off the bone. I look back at the waitress, watching her flirt away.

Jongin takes the last bit of the beer, drinking it. He makes a gross face, “Taste weak and like syrup.”

“I never said it was the best,” I mutter as I dip the meat into the ranch, eating quickly. The waitress came back with our drinks in hand, asking if we needed anything else. “Actually,” I say, smiling at her, “I can’t help but notice the eyes you’re making at the bartender.”

Her face goes a bit red, “It’s not what you think. I don’t have a crush on him or anything, I just think he’s super hot.”

Jongin watches in amusement as he keep eating. His eyes go from her to me, back to her, just waiting to see how this goes.

I nod, ripping more of the chicken off the bone, “So you’re only interested in-”

“I just want to fuck him, yeah,” She says, casually moving and sitting down next to me for a second.

I nod, “Well, I think there is an approach you should try. I’m sure my friend here can attest to it.”

“Ava, what are you thinking,” Jongin asks, before taking a bite of his burger.

“You’re hot,” I say, pointing at her. “Like, in a attainable way, not ‘starve myself for four days to shoot in a bikini’ way. Which trust me, works so well in your favor.” I quickly dip the chicken and stuff it in my mouth, chew it and swallow it. “I think you should just go up to him and ask him if he wants to fuck. If he says no, then honestly give up and move on.”

“You can’t just ask that,” She says, her eyes wide. “He’s my co-worker!”

I look at Jongin, “Wanna fuck?”

She rolls her eyes before Jongin could answer, “Please, you’re probably dating-”

“We’re not,” I say, deciding to just rip the meat off the wings and then eat it. “We work together. At Unearthly Delights. We’re co-workers. This is the first time we’re hanging out just the two of us.” I glance back at the Incubus, “So, do you want to have sex with me or not?”

Jongin’s smirk grew a bit, turning from playful to sexy. “Why not?”

I look back at the girl, “See,” I look at her name tag, “Hannah, how easy that was? Make your intentions known, and if he doesn’t want to, then move on and go look elsewhere. There are plenty of men out there who would be willing to make you scream if he doesn’t.”

She bites her lip, looking back over at the bar. She nods, standing. “I’m going to take my break, ok? If you need anything, just yell for Leslie.”

I nod, watching carefully as she gets up and walks to the bar once more. Jongin casually looks back, watching just like I do. I could see her face become a bit red as she asks, but the man at the bar just nods, a smile coming to his face. His black hair was short, styled into a quiff and he had a pierced eyebrow.

I smirk, returning to my food. Quickly jongin and I eat, both of us naturally fast eaters. I was about to start talking to him as she stiffens, smiling as he open his eyes. They glow red. “Hanna is putting her break to good use after all,” He says, biting his lip.

“The world would be a better place if people would just be open about what they want,” I say, polishing off my beer. “You know, part of me was asking that question just to get Hannah to buck up and ask him. I absolutely meant it, though.”

“Dinner and a meal, huh,” He asks with a smile, “How kind!”

“That’s the first time anyone has ever said that about me,” I say with a laugh. I pull on my jacket, getting my bill and placing a hundred on the table, writing a note to Hannah to keep the change. Jongin paid for his, as we walk out the restaurant and out into the bustling city. I zip my jacket closed as we turn, just walking. As we pass by the alley, the sound of muffled moans could be heard. I smile, hearing Jongin let out a light one of his own.

Unlocking the door to Taemin’s place is usually easy. However, when your head is swimming in lust, some of the most kissable lips leaving marks on your neck and shoulder and a hand rubbing you through your panties, it gets a bit difficult. The moment the door opened, I was moved in the blink of an eye. Suddenly my back was on the closed door, knocking the breath out of me slightly. I looked forward, seeing Jongin’s eyes glowing a deep red.

“Where,” He asks quickly, before moving and kissing my neck again.

“I don’t care,” I mutter as he pulls my jacket off of me, letting it fall to the floor. I move my arms, pulling my shirt over my head as Jongin reaches  and unclasps my bra. I throw it to the side, smiling as his gaze drops to my chest.

In the blink of an eye, I found myself sitting on the kitchen counter. Jongin just smiles, pulling his shirt off before moving to unzip my boots.

“I heard so much about how amazing it is to fuck a incubus, try not to disappoint me,” I tease, watching him throw my shoes and socks to the side.

He just smirks, the sex hungry demon in him taking over. “I haven’t even started using my powers on you yet.” He unzips my pants and I lift my hips to let him pull both my jeans and underwear off at the same time. “I hope you’re ready to be up all night, Ava. I haven't eaten since the day before yesterday and I’m starving.”

The growl in his voice when he said that made me want to moan out. I could feel a sense of warmth all over me as it seemed like everything but him blurred in my vision. “What-”

“Don’t worry, it’s just me,” He says as I watch him go to his knees. “You told me not to disappoint you, remember?” I spread my legs as he places soft kisses on my thigh, before looking directly at my core. He licks his lips, moving and licking a long stripe up. I gasp, my back arching. Just him licking me softly felt like he was licking and hitting all the right places.

“This is why people pay me for this baby,” He pratically purs as he licks a long stripe again, making me gasp and let out a loud moan. I’ve looked up about incubuses. They magnify pleasure in order to draw people in. The more they please, the more they feast. My hands wind in his hair as he starts to gently flick his tongue at my clit, making my eyes tear up at the pure bliss it feels like. He hasn’t even been eating me out for a minute and I already feel like I’m about to burst. His fingers slowly enter me, finding the spot in me that makes me weak. I pull at his hair, “Fuck,” I yell, feeling the sensation come to a peak as I moan out, yelling as he just keeps going, though now faster. I could feel tears come to my eyes as he just watches me, an amusing gleam in his eyes. His eyes were glowing as bright as I’ve ever seen them, his mouth moaning against me. His other hand moves, reaching up and grabbing at my breast.

The warm sensation was back and stronger. The power of him making me even more sensitive as wrap my legs around his head. “J-Jongin, Please!”

His fingers were sliding in and out at a slow pace, his tongue moving faster as I find myself about to cum yet again. My hands pull at his hair, making his eyes meet mine as he has the audacity to wink at me.

“You f-fucking-” I couldn’t finish my sentence as I screamed out. My back arching and my hand tightening their grip. If he keeps doing this I may rip out his hair as I thrashed my body. His hand moves, holding me down and making me stay and keeping me right where he wants me.

The orgasm crashed into me as he pulled away, smirking, his face dripping as he take his fingers, licking them as he watches me recover. My breathing was erratic and my body just shivering.

“Ava, your sexual energy is so delicious,” Jongin practically moans. He moves up, his lips kissing up my body. Every now and then leaving a red mark.

He leans over me, his hands massaging my breasts as he kisses my neck. “Now Ava, you know Taemin’s place isn’t sound proof,” He says, biting my neck softly. “No screaming,” He mutters.

I go ridged, my mind going back. The vampire over me, overpowering me, smirking, talking about what he did to my mother…

“No screaming,” He says, that sickening smirk. “No screaming,” A vile voice. “No screaming.”

“Ava!”

I snap back, now on the floor. I was breaking heavily as I was looking around. It’s Jongin. Just Jongin. His eyes no longer glowing. He was looking at me worried. He was keeping his distance, looking pale as he just watches me.

“What…,” I ask, “I’m ok, I’m fine-”

Jongin just shakes his head, “No you’re not, Ava. I felt it, you can’t pretend what you felt.”

I wipe my face, feeling tears fall from my eyes as I was shivering, “It… it’s not you. It.. he said that and I just… I just froze-”

“You’re not fine, Ava,” He says, quietly and calmly. He stands from his crouch, “I’m going to get you some clothes, ok?”

I just nod, running a hand into my bang and just wipe my tears away. My hands were shaking, betraying me. A few quiet moments later, Jongin came back with a large tshirt and a pair of pajama pants. I stand, pulling the clothes on quickly as my eyes still leak tears even though I try so hard to stop.

I lean against the counter, just letting it go and letting myself cry. I couldn’t stop, I felt so awful and weak that I couldn’t stop.

I move to Jongin, wrapping my arms around him and just cry my eyes out. He hugs me tightly, just holding me and silently comforting me.

“It’s ok,” He mutters, “It’s ok. You’re ok. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

“I’m sorry,” I cry, “I’m s-sorry. It’s not y-you I p-promise.”

“I know,” He says, softly running his hand over my back. “Trust me, I know.”

Words couldn’t stop me from feeling so stupid and weak for this. I was embarrassed and felt humiliated. The memory of that man making me shake and cry as I clutch onto Jongin tighter and tighter. Tears flow and fall late into the night and the whole time he just hold me and mutters comforting words.

[ellie-bee242]

My Heart Bleeds For You-Part 3

“Three chapters in three days?” Yes. Simply because I have ideas. I just wanna warn you though it probably won’t always be like this.

Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4

Chapter 3: Going to Hell

Song rec: Going to Hell by The Pretty Reckless

Word count: 1,623

Warnings: Swearing, violence (beating up a poor innocent punching bag, throwing glass to the floor)

“Jesus Christ, I said I don’t care what you do. This needs to get done now.” Hurley’s voice snapped over the line.

“I’m trying, it’s not like becoming integrated in someone’s life is an instant process.” Mitch huffed into his phone.

“Well not if you’re gonna be her friend it’s not.” Hurley sassed.

“I’m sorry, sir, I don’t think I get what you’re trying to imply.” He prayed the older man wasn’t saying what he thought he was saying.

“I’m saying date the chick. It’ll get you access faster.”

“You told me to never let it get personal-”

“And you don’t have to make it personal. Just date her until she introduces you to her parents. It can’t be that hard, like five dates.”

“Sir, I don’t think-”

“Yeah you don’t. Do it, Rapp. We need to take this guy down, his next ‘auction’ is scheduled two months from now. There’s a time limit and you can’t take it all up braiding her damn hair as she gradually tells you her secrets.”

CLICK.

Mitch squeezed his phone tightly in his hand and his sigh came out as more of a snarl before he locked the screen and shoved it in his pocket. He pushed away from his car and looked at the front of the gym, now dreading going inside.

He knew Hurley had made a good point. Becoming (Y/N)’s friend would be a much longer process than if he just dated her, but it didn’t mean he had to like it. He wasn’t a fan of using innocent people. And (Y/N) definitely fit under that category. The chick was practically saint-like with how sweet she acted, and how she taught a completely free self-defense class--simply out of the goodness of her heart.

He cursed and rolled his head on his shoulders before heading inside. He made it half way to the locker room where he was going to change and prepare for his first personal training client when the door to (Y/N)’s office flew open and banged against the interior wall. She came out carrying an overflowing vase of roses and looking like a goddess of pure fury.

“(Y/N), what’s wrong?” Mitch asked but she just marched right by him, leaving the air practically sizzling with rage in her wake as she headed for the front door. Mitch followed after her, as did Elle and both of them watched as she stomp kicked the door open before hurling the vase of flowers onto the sidewalk with an enraged scream.

“I know you’re watching! So you can take your roses and whatever else and shove them up your ass, thorns and all!” She called into the parking lot before turning around and marching right back inside.

Elle made sure to step out of her way and then watched as (Y/N) stormed into her office and slammed the door. She put her arm in Mitch’s way to block him when he made to go after her and shook her head.

“It’s best to let her cool off for at least ten minutes after this happens.” She instructed him.

“She hurls vases of flowers a lot then?” He asked.

“Only when they’re from a particular person.” Elle shrugged. “And before you ask, no one knows. She rips the cards to shreds before we can read them. My guess is an ex who cheated.” She sighed.

“How often does this person send flowers?” Mitch wondered.

“Every month or so. It’s been going on for as long as I’ve worked here.” She frowned.

“And how long have you worked here?”

“Three years.” She nodded at his widened eyes. “Yeah.”

“And how long have you been in love with (Y/N)?” He asked next. Elle spluttered and stared at him, mortified.

“What- how-”

“I’m pretty sure the only person who hasn’t noticed is her.” He muttered. Elle flushed.

“Three years.” She said reluctantly. “She’s very clearly not interested in me.” She sighed.

“Sorry. Any pointers on getting on her good side?” He asked. She gave him a look.

“You wanna date her?”

“Yeah, why?” He frowned at the way she was looking at him.

“You just.... You look like the type who doesn’t wanna date anyone. Ever. A perma-scowl, and a terse attitude.” She shrugged. “But hey, who knows. She likes when people are genuine. No dorky pick-up lines, at least not seriously. She does like flowers, despite that whole display you saw. And don’t do over the top stuff. She’s not the flashy kind.” She listed.

“Alright then.” He nodded. “Thanks.”

“Yeah, good luck.” Elle said genuinely. The door to (Y/N)’s office opened again before he could reply and (Y/N) stepped out into the main space, taking in all the people who stared at her, wondering if she was gonna go off again.

“I’d like to apologize for what you all witnessed.” She said formally. “Now, I’m going to go and handle my aggression in a safe manner. If anyone needs me I’ll be by the punching bags.” She ducked into her office quickly and came back out with hand wraps and MMA gloves clutched in her hands before she strode over to the punching bags that lined the wall she dropped the gloves and wrapped up her hands.

“I’d go now if I were you. Help hold the bag and ask her out after she gets a couple good hits in.” Elle urged Mitch.

“I can’t. I’m supposed to have a client coming in soon.” He frowned.

“He canceled. (Y/N) was gonna tell you when you came in but then the flowers got delivered. The guy got a stomach bug or something. You’re free today. Now go.” She made a shooing motion. “I’ve got glass to clean off a sidewalk. If I come back from storage and you haven’t moved over to her I’m going to shout out that you have a huge gigantic crush on the boss after only two days.” She threatened.

“You’re evil.” He accused.

“I know. It’s what makes me so fun.” She smirked before skipping towards the storage room. Mitch sighed, looked at the girl who was furiously punching at the bag when it wasn’t swinging around on her, and groaned before making his way over to her.

“Need some help with that?” He asked when she stopped her assault to steady the bag again.

“Sure, if you want to. Thanks.” She muttered and waited for him to get behind the bag and hold it for her. He gave her the green light and she went back to attacking the object with a flurry of different punch combinations. She even threw in a couple occasional kicks when she felt her hands needed a rest.

“Any face in particular that you’re imagining is on the receiving end of these jabs?” He asked after she paused to catch her breath.

“It’s not your face.” She assured him before straightening and sending her fists flying again.

“That’s comforting. Makes my question easier to ask.” She stopped punching when he said that.

“What question?” She demanded.

“Do you wanna, maybe, go out sometime?” He asked, coming around the side of the punching bag to see her face.

“You’re asking me out?”

“Not if you’re gonna start punching me.” He joked and she realized her hands were still in position. She lowered them immediately.

“I’m not.” She promised. “I just...... You wanna go on a date with me?” She asked, confused.

“Yeah.” He nodded. “Is that so hard to believe?”

“Well.... You don’t look like you date...” She explained.

“Why do people keep saying that?” He huffed. “I date.” Well not anymore really. He admitted to himself.

“Okay.... But you look.... Surly. Like you couldn’t be bothered.” She shrugged.

“Is that a no then?” He wondered.

“No. No! I mean-” She smacked her hand to her forehead. “I’ll go on a date with you. When?” She asked, lowering her hand and looking up at him expectantly.

“Tomorrow night?” He offered.

“What will we do?” She asked next.

“Well, what do you like to do?” He shot back.

“I know a good bowling alley?” She suggested.

“Sounds good to me.” He smiled and she blinked at him.

“Okay... You know how I said you shouldn’t smile when we first met?” She asked.

“Yeah?” He asked, confused on the turn the conversation had taken.

“I totally take it back. If you smile like that... It’s a good look.” She complimented.

“Okay then.” He said awkwardly. “Anyways, if you want to keep beating up this poor innocent bag, I’ll hold it for you.” He said just to change the subject away from him smiling.

“Oh, no... I’m good now... My aggression... Is pretty much gone.” She smiled and backed up right into another punching bag. “Oh sorr-sorry...” She flushed when she realized she’d just apologized to an inanimate object. Mitch couldn’t help the chuckle that slipped out.

“You okay?” He asked.

“Fine.” She eeked out.

“I was talking to the bag.” He joked.

“Tsk, jerk.” She pouted. He smirked in response and watched as her cheeks went pink. “Okay, I’m gonna go.... Paperwork to work-... on.” She cleared her throat and turned around abruptly before walking purposefully to her office.

“Hey, (Y/N).” He called, causing her to almost trip she turned so fast to answer. “Try not to run over anything else.” He taunted. She gave him a special finger salute before turning and walking into her office, closing the door behind her. He grinned for a second at her response before he remembered why he’d asked her out in the first place. “I’m going to hell.” He muttered to himself with a sigh before heading over to the locker room to change so he could lift some weights.

[selfignitingimagines]

Liam- As Long As You’re There

Request-  hi I love your writing!could you write a Liam one where the reader is tutoring him and she's like really shy and awkward but she likes him a lot and Liam is super oblivious to it so she asks Lydia to help her be like more appealing to him but when she shows up all made up he makes a weird comment so she gets sad and runs away and then someone tells him he's dumb and she likes him so he goes to her and tells her he liked her just the way she was before her makeover and it's all cute and stuff?

A/N- Last imagine in the ask! I’ll be opening it up soon.

You stood in front of the stained bathroom mirror, quickly combing through your hair with your fingers. Maybe it was a little ridiculous to be worrying about your appearance when all you were doing was tutoring someone, but today was different. Liam made you worry, because between all the joking and the laughing and the algebra, you realized that he wasn’t just a dumb lacrosse player. He was sweet, and unlike some of the other kids you were assigned to help, he actually treated you like a human being, and not some smart freak. Maybe you didn’t care so much about makeup or fashion. Those just hadn’t been your priorities, but you figured the kind of girls Liam dated weren’t exactly the kind that cared about grades and extracurriculars that weren’t cheerleading. That’s stupid, you suddenly thought. I barely even know him and I’m already judging his taste in girls. You shook off the thought, telling yourself you shouldn’t assume anything about him, and went back to brushing your hair out of your face. “Now who are you trying to look pretty for?” You jumped at the voice, and glanced back to find Lydia Martin leaning against the wall behind you. You blushed furiously, and stood up a little straighter. You hadn’t even noticed her in the mirror. She was a teacher’s assistant for your English class, and one of the only people you even talked to. The problem with being the weird smart kid was that when you took a regular class to get a break, everyone treated you like you had some kind of disease. The only moments when you weren’t contagious just happened to be when someone needed to copy a homework assignment. Lydia had been your saving grace throughout that class, and while you were grateful to her, she still kind of scared you. “No one,” you lied quickly. “I’m just-” Lydia rolled her eyes, causing you to pause. She peeled herself away from her post on the wall and walked toward you, pursing her glossed lips. “Y/n, it’s okay to want to look pretty for someone. It doesn’t make you any less intelligent.” “No, I-I know. I just…” You sighed and looked back at yourself in the mirror. “He’d never feel the same way.” “Does this he just happen to be Liam?” You flushed, and had the lovely opportunity to watch yourself turn beet red in the mirror. “How’d you know?” “You tutor him on Wednesdays and Fridays don’t you?” she asked. “Besides, I see the way you look at him. Total heart eyes.” “But he’s so popular,” you protested. “And I’m just...I’m not.” “That doesn’t matter at all,” Lydia told you firmly. “Take it from someone who learned the hard way. If you like him, and he likes you, nothing else counts. It took me way too long to realize that, and I don’t want you missing out.” “But that’s only  if he even likes me back.” “I think you’d be surprised just how much he likes you. In my opinion, Liam just hasn’t learned the art of being proactive.” “So what do I do?” “You be the proactive one,” she began, but when she saw your frightened face, she rolled her eyes. “Or you do something that turns him into the proactive one.” “Like what?” Lydia sighed. “I don’t know, Y/n. Maybe make him jealous?” “Jealous?” you repeated. “Lydia, have you seen me with guys? What about...what about a makeover?” “A makeover?” she asked with a frown. “Yeah!” you told her. “You’re amazing with makeup. You could make me beautiful.” “Y/n,” she said, her face softening. “You are beautiful.” “But not Liam’s kind of beautiful,” you pressed. “Y/n, if that’s not who you are-” “It’s who I can be,” you cut her off. “I mean, I have potential, right?” She sighed once more. “You have loads of potential. More than you think, but I just-” “Please,” you begged. “Please, Lydia. This might be the only way to get his attention.” She pursed her lips and stared at your face for a while, taking in your serious expression. “Fine...but I’m only doing this to prove that he’d like you with or without the makeup.” “Okay, whatever,” you agreed. “You have no idea how much this means to me.” “Yeah, yeah. Don’t thank me yet. How about Friday morning? I can pick you up and do your makeup before school.” “Yes!” you breathed. “That’s perfect.” “Good, now get to the library. You don’t want to be late to meet Liam do you?” You froze, and quickly pulled your phone from the pocket of your jeans. You cursed when you looked at the time, and quickly rushed out of the bathroom. “Thanks, Lydia!” you called, sparing her one last glance before you rushed out of the bathroom. She watched you go with a tiny frown, hoping she wasn’t making a mistake by helping you out with this. Makeup and fashion weren’t everything, and she certainly didn’t condone transforming yourself for a guy. She knew Liam was on the lacrosse team, and she knew you didn’t think you were his type, but she also knew that he didn’t really care about that. She just hoped that you’d get the picture before you turned into someone you weren’t. Outside of the bathroom, you rushed back down the hall to the library. When you pushed open the doors, Liam was already sitting at your usual table, scanning his algebra textbook and frowning. You hurried over and slipped into your usual seat, causing him to raise his eyebrows at your haste. “Hey, sorry I’m late!” Liam smiled. “Y/n, you’re only five minutes late.” “Still,” you continued. “You look like you’re having trouble.” He shrugged, casting his blue eyes down toward the book. “A little. Mr. Bryant didn’t finish the lesson, so he told us to look in the book, but I don’t understand how any of that has to do with what he taught us.” “Hm,” you said, leaning over the table to take a closer look. You rose to your feet and walked over to stand beside him, examining the page before you. “Notes?” “Oh yeah,” he said, pulling a handful of crumpled papers from his backpack. You stared at them with pursed lips, and then looked back at Liam. “What?” “Nothing,” you told him with a smile, smoothing them out on the edge of the table and then placing them beside his textbook. You leaned in to take a closer look, and Liam was all too aware of how close your shoulder was to his. The scent of your shampoo filled the space around him, like coconut and vanilla, and he fought the urge to lean in closer. “Okay, so it looks like it’s the same thing,” you began to explain. “And they only call it something different. It’s the same technique. Do you want me to show you?” You looked over at Liam, and while he was looking at you, he didn’t seem to hear you. “Liam?” “What?” he asked, his face going bright red at the fact you had caught him staring. “Do you want me to show you?” you repeated. “Oh, uh, no...no I think I got it. It’s just the same technique, right?” “Yeah,” you told him slowly, almost sure that he hadn’t been listening. “So you’ve got it from here?” He nodded. “Yeah. But I think you should stick around, just in case I need more help with the homework.” You shrugged and went back over to sit in your normal seat. “That’s what I’m here for.” Liam frowned. “So, uh, are you doing anything fun this weekend?” “Nope, not really,” you told him, rooting through your bag. “Aren’t you supposed to be getting started on your homework?” Liam swallowed, and quickly glanced away. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.” You looked back up at him, but he was diligently working through the worksheet on the table. You frowned slightly, realizing that maybe you had said the wrong thing, but you didn’t know what to say to remedy the situation. You cursed yourself for being so oblivious, and it occurred to you that Liam might have been trying to show some interest. It didn’t matter, you decided, because on Friday, Lydia would make you look so amazing that you wouldn’t be able to do anything to mess it up. “Pout your lips,” Lydia ordered as you sat in the parking lot. “More...okay, there you go.” You were sitting in the backseat of Lydia’s Toyota, perched on the seat as she brushed, curled, and painted what she claimed to be a masterpiece. Your stomach was twisting with excitement, and maybe a little something else, because while you trusted her, this was totally new to you. “You can look,” she informed you, pulling a mirror out of her purse and holding it up to you. “Woah.” A soft gasp left your throat as you gazed at yourself in the mirror. The girl before you looked alien, foreign, and even though she was you, it seemed as if she was an entirely different person. You trailed your fingers along the intricate fishtail braid Lydia had woven your hair into, and smiled. “Lydia, you made me look gorgeous.” She shot you a look. “You always look good, Y/n. It’s just enhanced now.” You closed the mirror and shot her a look, but your lips were wobbly from keeping your smile in check. “Thank you.” “You’re welcome,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “Now all you have to do is wow Liam...though it’s not like he isn’t already.” You smiled and grabbed your bag, then reached out to open the door, shooting her one last glance. “You’re my hero, Lydia.” “Go be your own hero,” she promptly told you, before rolling her eyes once more. You grinned as you headed toward the school, ready to do exactly what she said. You were rifling through your bag when Liam walked into the library later that day, trying to find some of your algebra notes. Your heart was hammering in your chest as you fumbled with the zipper, and it took you so long that by the time you finally got the bag closed, you had already heard the grating of chair legs on the floor. “Y/n?” Liam asked, raising his eyebrows as he looked down at your ducked head. “Yeah?” you asked, picking your head up. Instead of replying, his mouth fell open and he let out a sort of choking noise. His blue eyes were wide with surprise, and you smiled at him. “Do I look good?” “You...you definitely look different,” he told you, his voice strained. You frowned. “Lydia did it this morning. I thought...you don’t think it looks good?” “It’s just so...it’s so weird,” he said thoughtfully. He came around the other side of the table and reached out to touch the end of your braid. “I mean, you just don’t look like...you. That’s all.” Your heart began to sink in your chest, dragging all your self confidence down with it. You had been so sure that Liam would love the makeup and the hair, but now, as he stared at you with a frown on his face, it occurred to you that maybe no amount of makeup would ever make him feel the way you dreamed he would. “You’re right,” you muttered, rising from your seat and grabbing your things. “It’s stupid. I’m gonna go to the bathroom.” Liam blinked those baby blue eyes in confusion, and you just couldn’t stand them on you anymore. You turned away, walking as quickly as you could toward the doors and trying to fight the tears about to fall. “Y/n, wait!” Liam called, but you burst out of the library before he could decide what to do, and soon all he could see was your back through the small windows in the doors. You bitterly wiped your cheek, hating the fact that you were crying over a boy, but you couldn’t help it. Maybe this is why Lydia didn’t want to do it in the first place, you thought angrily. Maybe she knew and didn’t want to get my hopes up. You darted into the bathroom, not even caring enough to glance around and make sure the coast was clear. You simply let your backpack fall to the ground, and rushed into one of the empty stalls. After you locked the door, you finally let yourself cry without holding back. Tears dripped onto your cheeks as you cursed yourself for being so silly, and so naive. How could you think that some mascara and a braid would make a boy fall in love with you? A knock on the door of your stall suddenly startled you, causing you to pause your sniffling. “It’s taken,” you called out, your voice already hoarse. “I know that,” a sharp voice informed you. “Why else would I be knocking on a stall when there are three empty ones right near me?” You blinked, and straightened up. “Lydia?” “Open up.” You stood up and reached for the lock,only to slightly crack the door. You were met with one green eye peeking into the stall, and part of an eyebrow that you knew was arched. “What do you want?” “What do you think?” “He hated it, Lydia.” She rolled her eyes. “Did he say he hated it?” “Well...no,” you said hesitantly. “But you were in the library. You heard him. He said it was weird.” “It is weird,” she countered. “The definition of weird is something uncanny or out of place. You don’t normally wear makeup, so yeah I’d say it’s weird. That doesn’t always equal bad.” “It does to me,” you muttered. “Then maybe you should change the way you think,” Lydia fired. “Y/n, how can you expect someone to love you if you don’t love yourself? I guarantee you that Liam is into you. The only reason I didn’t want to give you a makeover was because I didn’t want you thinking you needed something else to make him like you.” “Well he clearly doesn’t like me at all.” “Bullshit,” she breathed, giving an exasperated sigh. She reached forward and shoved open the door of the stall, causing you to stumble back in shock. “Lydia-” “Listen to me,” she ordered, staring straight into your eyes. “Love is not about looking a certain way, or being something you’re not. Love is about seeing a person for who they are, for what they are, and knowing that whatever that is, being with it everyday makes you happy. And if you keep trying to fight who you are, you might be fighting someone who’s going to give that to you.” You pursed your lips. “What do I do? I just...I stormed out on him.” “Go back there and talk to him,” she suggested, staring at you like it was obvious. “Besides, he might not be as far as you think.” “What?” you asked, but she gave no response other than the raise of her eyebrows. “Fine.” You grabbed your bag from the floor and headed out of the bathroom, but you barely made it two feet before you almost slammed right into Liam himself. You took a step back and glanced up at him, not having a clue what to say. Luckily, you didn’t have to say anything. “I never meant to hurt your feelings,” he blurted. “I mean, you look good in the makeup. Really good. I was just surprised, cause I’ve never seen you look like that.” “Yeah,” you said slowly. “And, don’t get me wrong, I liked you before. I really liked you...and I still like you.” “You like me?” you repeated softly. He nodded. “As more than my tutor. A lot more. I was trying to ask you out last time I saw you...but you didn’t seem interested.” “No!” you blurted out. “Liam I-I was distracted. I was so worried about this makeover, and I thought you would like it.” “Y/n,” he said softly. “I’ll like you no matter what.” “Yeah?” you asked. “Yeah,” he promised. “So maybe, instead of you tutoring me today, maybe I could take you out?” You grinned. “Yeah. Yeah that’d be great.” “And you can look however you want,” he assured you. “Makeup, no makeup, whatever. As long as you’re there, I don’t care.” A light blush covered your cheeks. “Okay.” Liam broke into a wide grin, and he held out a hand that you gladly took. His fingers were warm in yours, and slightly sweaty, but you didn’t care that he was nervous. You let him lead you down the hall, and after a few moments, he spoke. “You look really beautiful by the way.” They were the words you had been waiting to hear all day, and while you were flattered, they didn’t seem to matter so much anymore. “Thanks Liam,” you said with a grin. “I just don’t think it’s me.” He shrugged. “You’d still be beautiful if you took it off.” You smiled to yourself as you followed him out to the parking lot, thinking that you would have to thank Lydia later. Not only had she been right all along, but she insisted on helping you figure out what mattered when you were too stubborn to face it. In the end, you still had Liam, and you knew now that he didn’t care about hair, or makeup, or clothes. He simply cared about you, and he always had, and nothing as trivial as that was going to change it.