#social tea cookies if you’re reading this I’m so sad you used to be the chosen one

[simplyghosting]

Sometimes I think about how my mom used to give us biscuits dipped in coffee when we were toddlers but then I remember that her mother put coffee in her baby bottle and my experiences feel very normal

[endcryst4l]

favorite galaxies

technoblade x gn!reader! this is a sbi au where the reader is friends with techno and they go to the same school. they’re around 18 in this fic! enjoy :)

find part 2 here and part 3 here :]

prompt: You were going to Techno’s house to work on a physics project after the library had to close because of covid. You knew each other for a while now, sitting next to each other in your shared classes and even in lunch.

“He-” Phil tried to say to the stranger at the door before Tommy cut him off. “NEW FRIEND!!!” he yelled while running to you with his arms open. Techno told you about his brothers and how the youngest is a tiny devil. You laughed and accepted his hug. “Hey bud, what’s your name?” you asked him, not noticing that Techno was now watching you two.

“Tommy!! Who are you?” Tommy replied. “Well Tommy, I'm (Y/N), i’m here to work on a project with Techno.” you smiled at him when his eyes lit up at the mention of his brother. “Tommy please leave (Y/N) alone. You’re probably annoying them and we need to work on our project.” Techno said and Tommy and you pouted at the same time, making each other giggle. “You don’t annoy me Tommy but Techno is right.” you said to the blonde toddler. “Can I join?” he asked with the biggest puppy eyes and you looked over to techno, who was violently shaking his head no. “Only for a little bit.” you told him and Techno sighed, walking to the kitchen table, Tommy following happily.

“Sorry about him, he is really excited about meeting new people. I’m Phil.” Phil chuckled as he closed the door after you came in. “No worries, really. I’m (Y/N).” you said as you followed him to the kitchen, where Techno was already sitting in his chair and tommy was sitting next to an empty chair. “Saved a spot for me huh big guy? Thank you.” you smiled at him and he nodded excitedly. You sat down beside him and began unpacking your stuff.

“What were you thinking of doing?” Techno asked and you shrugged, “maybe something about the planets and galaxies? or stars?”

Techno hummed and began spewing his ideas about the topic, occasionally showing you some articles that might be of help. After you’ve decided on a more specific topic regarding the great above and divided the tasks you felt a small hand on your arm. You looked at Tommy, who was looking at the two of you with big eyes. “(Y/N) what is a galaxy?” he asked and you chuckled. “It’s a big system of millions of stars, together with gas and dust, all held together by a force.” you answered and he nodded, scooting closer so he could see your laptop screen. “Woah..” he commented and you smiled at him, showing him pictures of what some looked like.

Techno watched with a soft smile and felt his heart warming. This didn’t help his tiny little crush on (Y/N) at all. Phil perked up at the sound of Tommy's voice and noticed the way his son looked at the person in front of him and grinned.

You told the youngest more about galaxies in baby terms and he kept nodding, giving you his full attention. “That one is my favorite I think.” he said and pointed to the picture that was up. “Really? It’s my favorite too!” you gasped and he smiled widely. Suddenly he stood up and ran upstairs. You smiled and returned your focus back on the project, typing away about some of the tasks you got. After some time the blonde came back, now with paper and crayons. You almost audibly aww’ed and pulled up the picture of his favorite galaxy again, whilst editing some of your text. Tommy sat next to you again and began on his drawing, occasionally asking you about which color he should use. Techno’s eyes could barely leave the sight in front of him, yes Tommy was a social kid but he didn’t have the longest attention span. This was new to the whole family.

“Tech?” you called for him a second time, making him blush furiously. “Y-yes?” he answered and you giggled, “how many pages were we allowed again?”

“Ten, I believe, I’ll check it real quick,” he hummed, “yeah, ten.”

You nodded and thanked him.

Phil tried not to laugh, he’s never seen Techno this flustered by someone before. He smirked, coming up with a great plan. “Hey (Y/N), do you want to stay for dinner?”

Techno’s eyes widened and looked at his dad like he was crazy. You checked the time and frowned, seeing it would be too late to join dinner at home if you went now. “Only if it’s no issue, I wouldn’t want to be a bother.” you replied shyly and he shook his head no, “of course not! Besides, I think both of the boys would enjoy your company a little longer.”

You laughed as Tommy loudly agreed and Techno softly nodded, his cheeks red again. “Alright then. Is there any way I can help?” you asked. “No no no, you’re our guest. No helping allowed. Besides, Techno is here so it’s fine.” Phil answered and you nodded. The older man stood up and walked to the kitchen, Techno following him.

“(N/N)! Look!” Tommy said as he tugged on your sleeve and you turned around to see what he wanted to show you. “It’s done! What do you think?” he held up his drawing. “I think it looks great! I wish I could draw like that, it looks really good.” you told him as you looked at it up close. It really were just some different colored lines with black here and there but sometimes lying is okay. “It’s for you!” he giggled and you gasped, “thank you big guy, that’s really sweet of you.”

Techno watched the two a few seconds longer before glaring at his dad. Phil cackled and shrugged, “just helping you out! You obviously like them and I saw them look at you a few times and I wouldn’t be surprised if they liked you too.” The pink haired boy almost dropped the ingredients he was holding. No way, it couldn’t be possible. He scoffed and gave the ingredients to his dad. “You’ve got to be quick though before someone else steals their heart.” Phil said while nodding to you and Tommy, now drawing galaxies together. Techno laughed and shook his head, “I can’t believe they go along this well. They’re usually not that fond of kids.” Phil’s eyes widened, not believing what his son said. If anything he thought you must’ve had younger siblings or babysat. “I know.” Techno said knowingly and began chopping the ingredients his dad had washed.

~

At the sound of plates rattling (Y/N) put away their school stuff. “Let me at least help set the table.” you asked Techno when he came back from the kitchen and he firmly shook his head no. You huffed and tried to collect Tommy’s crayons, making him pout. “I know, but we have to make space on the table to eat dinner.” you told him and he nodded, helping you clean up. Phil smiled, grabbing the oven mittens. He was really hoping it would work out between you and Techno, you seemed like a great addition to the family. He was sure Wilbur would like you as well, feeling a bit sad he had to work a long shift today.

“Lasagna! The pan is still hot so be careful though.” Phil told the three of you, walking over to the table. He put the pan down on the coaster and took a seat next to Techno, dividing the lasagna in equal portions. Tommy eagerly held his plate up, making you smile. Phil gave him a smaller portion and motioned for your plate, which you held up and he put a portion down. “Thank you, it looks and smells really great.” you told him. “can’t take all the credit.” he said while putting food on Techno’s plate. Techno shrugged and smiled at you, making your stomach flutter.

You all ate the lasagna in a comfortable silence, listening to Tommy’s rants. He was telling his dad all he learned about galaxies today, you nodding when he looked at you for confirmation. After he finished he smiled proudly at his brother and dad, who clapped for him. You laughed and clapped along, impressed with how much he remembered.

After a bit of small talk and questions about school, Phil cleaned up the table and cleaned the dishes. Techno and you began talking about the new comic that came out in the series you were reading together. Tommy watched the two of you discuss the topic and began playing with your fingers. You shot him a small smile and continued the conversation. Techno’s expression visibly softened, making you blush slightly.

“Would you like some tea, (Y/N)?” Phil asked from the kitchen. You took a quick glance at the time and said yes. Not long after Phil came back with a tray that held three cups of tea and some cookies. As soon as the tray touched the table Tommy grabbed a cookie and quickly put it in his mouth. You shook your head laughing and grabbed a cup and a cookie as well.

All of you talked, Phil sharing some embarrassing stories about his sons, Techno filling up the details, you shared some stories from when you were younger and even Tommy shared some stories from the daycare he goes to.

Time flew by and after a few cups of tea you had to announce your leave. Phil offered to drive you home but you declined, it was only a small ten minute walk anyway. You quickly gave Tommy a hug first. “Come back soon okay?” he whispered in your ear, to which you nodded and ruffled his hair. You thanked Phil and told them goodbye again before following Techno to the front door.

“I’m sorry if I was too interested in Tommy, I’ll work some more on the project when I get home. Thank you for inviting me over though and for the food, I had a really good time.” you smiled at Techno.

He looked up at you with a smirk, “didn’t picture you as a person that likes children, you always laugh when they trip and start cursing them when they cry.” You laughed in response, “I know, I know. I saw my baby cousins a few days ago and they changed me.” you dramatically sighed and Techno chuckled. “He’s not going to stop talking about galaxies for forever now.”

“Hey you should be thanking me, you’re going to ace the test about them.”

Techno was about to reply when he got interrupted by a loud scream of Tommy. “(Y/N)! You forgot your drawing!” the small boy yelled while running to the door. “Oh! I knew I was forgetting something, thank you Tommy.” you said when he handed you the drawing he made. He quickly ran back to the living room, definitely not because Phil told him not to bother them.

“I really should go now, so again thank you. I’ll text you when I get home okay?” you told him and he nodded, already excited to be able to talk to you again. “See you, Tech.” you said as you kissed his cheek. His face immediately heated up and he sputtered out a bye, awkwardly waving after you. He stood shocked in the door frame for a few seconds, did you really just kiss his cheek? Was Phil right?

“Techno? Are you alright” Wilbur began asking brother before he followed his gaze and saw you walking, “oooo does little Techno have a crush?” he smirked. Techno groaned and walked back into the house again, “shut up Wilbur.”

Phil greeted Wilbur and looked at them with a raised eyebrow, not failing to see Wilbur’s smug expression and Techno looking like he had just seen the stars up close. “Well?”

“They uh, they kissed my cheek when- when they said goodbye?” Techno tried to tell them, but it came out more as a question, still unsure if it really happened. They cheered and congratulated them, catching Tommy’s attention.

“Is (N/N) coming back?” he asked with a big, hopeful smile. Phil laughed, “No Tommy, (Y/N) just left.”

The blonde boy sighed sadly and Techno nodded understandingly. Wilbur watched with an amused smile as he went to put his bag on the table, which still had the drawings on it.

“Did you make these Tommy?” he asked and Tommy enthusiastically nodded, ��with (Y/N)’s help! They told me about galaxies today and then we drew them.” “Oh really? What did they tell you?” Wilbur asked, earning groans from the other two. He huffed and listened to Tommy patiently.

~

After his little ramble Phil went to put him to bed. Wilbur looked at Techno, who was smiling at his phone. “You’re so in love it’s gross. Now when am I meeting them?” he asked him and Techno rolled his eyes, “I don’t know, soon probably. If they don’t come back soon I think Tommy will start crying. ” “Yeah just like you.” Wilbur laughed as Techno’s face went red for the millionth time today. “N-not true!” “Sure Tech. But seriously, invite them over again. A time when I’m home as well.”

“You suck.”

“Love you too.”

[13-reasons-ideas]

requests are still open yay! MontyxOc, Oc dated Monty a year ago.. things didn’t quite work out but her & Monty maintained a close friendship some say a little too close for ex’s. She stared dating (any one of the guys) but Monty continued to flirt with her she wasn’t stopping him either, She feels bad & tells Monty to stop flirting & trying to get with her... He doesn’t she starts to get fed up and on a class trip they argue over it.. the argument however ends much differently (smut)

A/N: This story contains SMUT. DNI if under 18. 18+ only. This is a long one you guys. Definitely bring a snack and a cup of tea to read it. I’m sorry if the spacing is weird. I can’t to hear what you have to say about it! Feedback is appreciated and much love as always. - Em

Friends Don’t 

I met Monty in the park. Things had been different between us recently. “Hey.”

“Hey.” He turned in my direction. I sat on a picnic table and watched him for a few minutes. He seemed like he wanted to say something but didn’t know how.

“What’s going on in that hot head of yours?”

“I don’t know. I don’t… I don’t want to mess everything up.”

“Well how will you know if you do, if you don’t take the chance?” I had a feeling I knew what was coming.

“I don’t know if I’m ready for this Reagan.” Even though I had a feeling, it still felt like a punch in the gut to hear him say it.

“For what?”

“Things to get serious.”

“Who said anything about serious? We are sixteen.”

“I don’t know. Do you want to pretend that I’m ready to date someone? That doesn’t seem very fair to you.”

I shrugged. He has a point. He’s not exactly in a great place right now. “I guess not.” Even though I didn’t want to, I felt tears starting to well up and the familiar prickle in my nose. I blinked a few times because I knew he was right. It just sucked to hear.

“I don’t want to not have you around though.”

“I know. I don’t want to not have you around either. You know me better than anyone. Best friends?”

“Best friends.”

“And if you ever need anything, I’m there. No matter what.”

“Day or night.”

“Always.”

ONE YEAR LATER

Monty and I stayed close. We kept our promise to be best friends. After all, we knew each other better than anyone. We hung out after school and got coffee. He came over and we watched movies. It was almost like we didn’t break up. Almost. For a while after our breakup things were awkward. We hadn’t really figured out where our boundaries were. After some time, we got comfortable again. Some people would say we were a little too close. It didn’t really matter that much to us if we still flirted or finished each other’s sentences.

It didn’t matter, at least until I started spending time with a certain other jock. Zach Dempsey had caught my eye before senior year but there was something about him that was different that September. He was still kind of cruel, but he was trying. He meant well. He just didn’t always know how to go about things in the best way. I knew what being forced to spend extended time with Bryce walker could do to a person. Zach and I had a few classes together over the years. Our friendship started like a lot of friendships did in school. You got stuck sitting next to someone and so you had to decide if you wanted to ignore them for the rest of the semester, or if you wanted to make your semester not suck and play nice.

We decided on the latter that first day of world history. He was late to class and the only empty seat was next to mine. I had spent time around him when Montgomery and I were dating so we were able to at least talk to each other. Our interactions consisted mostly of homework and school stuff for about a month or so. Then, slowly, we started talking about our interests and other things on our way to lunch. On one such walk to lunch, he told me about his dream of becoming a marine biologist.

“Seriously?” I asked him.

“Yeah. It’s cool. Why?”

“I don’t know. I just guess I pegged you as a guy who would want to do the athlete thing and get a business degree in case you didn’t get drafted.”

“Nah. That… that isn’t really in the cards for me.” I nodded.

“I want to go into social work.”

“No way, really?”

“Yeah.” I didn’t elaborate on why I wanted to. That was not my story to share.

“Zachy!” Scott called across the room when we got to the cafeteria.

“I- I should probably get going.” He stammered.

“Yeah. My friends are waiting.” I waved over at Jess and Alex. Zach started to walk away but turned around again.

“Did you want to get a coffee or see a movie sometime?”

“Like, together?”

“I mean, yeah.” He shrugged, trying to play it cool.

“I think I’d like that. Oh, and can you tell Montgomery and Bryce Cheerios is not lunch?” I laughed.

“But they are.”

“I guess we can discuss it over coffee.” I smiled.

“Wednesday after school?”

“Sure.”

I sat at a table with my friends. “So. I’m going on a date.” Jess and Alex looked at me with wide eyes.

“Shit. No way.” Jess smiled.

“Yeah. Zach Dempsey.” I explained, answering their unspoken question.

“Zach is nice.” Alex added.

“And he’s like… really good looking.”

“I know, right?”

“Tall.”

“Very tall.”

“Doesn’t have an anger problem.” Jess muttered under her breath. My smile faltered. I looked up and Monty’s eyes were on me. My phone vibrated. Cheerios is lunch pretty girl. I rolled my eyes. Zach said he has a date. Wouldn’t happen to be a certain girl in his world history class, would it?

I’ll give you details after. And why do you care?

On Wednesday I got a ride with Justin and Clay to school. My car was in the shop for maintenance and my house was on the way from theirs. After school, Zach drove me to Monet’s. I got to ride shotgun in the Audi. The wind feels different. Maybe it’s because this car costs more than my education will. He was a safe driver, I noticed. Soon, we had parked outside the cozy little café. We didn’t hold hands on the way inside.

Inside, I ordered a hot chocolate, and he got a cup of tea. “You like pomegranate?” I asked when we sat down.

“Yeah. It’s tart.”

“It’s pretty good. One of my favourite tea flavours.” We made small talk for a while. I wasn’t sure when the last time he had been on a date was. I hadn’t been on a real date since Monty and I broke up last year.

“Your opinion on Cheerios is wrong.”

“Wrong?”

“Yeah. It’s lunch food. Or breakfast food. Hell, even dinner food.” I shook my head.

“I will never understand boys.” He laughed and picked up his spoon. “What are you doing?”

“Just watch.” He breathed on the spoon and tried to balance it on his nose. I giggled and it stuck for maybe three seconds before falling to the table. I burst out laughing.

“Can I try?” I picked up my own spoon.

“Go for it.”

“Okay, okay how do I do this?”

Zach reached over and took the spoon, holding it in front of my mouth. “Breath on it.” I did. “Now before it dries, take it, and place it on the end of your nose.” I did as he said. It fell instantly.

“Try again?” He waved. I tried again and it fell, yet again. “One more. I think I know the spot now.”

“Go on.” This time, I was able to get it to balance for four seconds. “Does this make me champion?”

“Sure. Until we have rematch.”

“A rematch you say?”

“Yes.”

“I look forward to it. Mostly so I can win again.” I smirked slightly. We spent the next couple of hours just talking to each other about stuff. Mrs. Dempsey called him home around five.

“Yeah Mom. I’m just out with the guys going over some plays. I’ll be home soon.”

“I take it I’m getting my refill to go?”

“Yeah. It seems that way. I’ll drive you home.”

We went on like that for the next few weeks. We would meet for coffee or meet up to see a movie. Go for walks in the park or by the docks. It was nice. Different than what Montgomery and I had, but it was a welcome change. We went public at school before we decided to tell our parents. My parents weren’t exactly ecstatic about me dating in my senior year and I knew how his mom felt about girls in his life. I was still talking to Monty. All the while, we had kept up the flirty banter we had started a few weeks after our breakup. Zach didn’t seem to mind much. “Good morning Beautiful.” He said as he walked over to my locker that morning.

“Hey 85.” I smiled brightly at him.

“You look very cute.”

“Why thank you kind gentleman.” I grabbed my bag off the floor and shoved my geometry book in it. Zach threw his arm around my shoulders as he walked me to class. I rested my head against him and we chatted about our night.

“So, you guys are public now.” Monty said, walking up to us with Charlie in tow.

“That’s really cute.” Charlie said.

“Yes.” I smiled. I felt Monty’s eyes traveling my body and I couldn’t help the blush that crept up my neck.

“Yeah.” Zach said.

“That’s great.” Monty replied. When we walked away, he called out, “I’ll see you around Reagan.”

I turned and called back to him, “yes you will.”

In the following few days, Monty kept up with the flirting. I didn’t stop it. I found it kind of amusing. “Going to harp on my lunch choices again Rea?”

“No. You’re an adult. I trust you to make proper choices.”

“Now, Reagan. You should know I’ve never been good with proper.” I rolled my eyes. Oh, I know.

“Seems to have done you pretty well so far. How’s… uh… collarbone tattoo?”

“Katie?”

“Sure.” He merely shrugged.

“How’s Zachy?”

“Zach is good.” Zach said, sitting down at the table. I swatted Monty’s hand away when he reached for a cookie.

“And you should know by now to not touch my food Montgomery.”

“Oh. She full named you. What’s it like to be called out by your ex like that, man?” Bryce asked.

“You don’t get a cookie either Bryce.”

“Reagan.” He held his hand up to his chest. “You wound me.”

“That’s sad for you.” I shrugged. Zach turned to me and shot me a megawatt smile.

“Do I get a cookie?” I thought for a moment.

“You can get half a cookie.”

“It’s half more than I had before.”

“I’m his best friend. Can I have the other half?” Justin asked when he sat down.

“No. My cookies.”

“I’ll trade you my Milky Way for that half.”

“No.” I laughed. “You’re sure you’re okay to come to my place later?” I asked Zach.

“Yeah. It’s just your parents. Parents like me.”

“Did he just say ‘just your parents’?” Monty looked at me with wide eyes. I shrugged. “Reagan.”

“Monty.”

“Your dad threatened to shoot me.”

“My parents never really liked you though.”

“Gee, I wonder what gave you that impression?”

“What would have?” Charlie asked.

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe when her dad threatened to shoot me.”

“Parents don’t like you. They’ll love me.” Zach beamed.

“They don’t like you because you ruined their daughter.” Bryce laughed. Again, I shrugged. Can’t really argue with him there. Monty merely smirked, proudly. Ugh men.

“Anyway. You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. And can you remind me again why we sit here?”

“You get to see me.” Monty chuckled.

“No. No I don’t think that’s why.”

“Hurtful.”

**

In the few months after Zach and I started dating, his mom had come around to the idea of me being in his life. I spent time at his house, mostly working on homework or helping May with hers. It was tense at first but she came around eventually. Once she realized I only wanted what was best for her son. My parents were getting more used to the idea of me dating again. They saw how we interacted and seemed to approve more than they did with Monty. I had a sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with the fact that I wasn’t emptying the first aid kit my mom kept stocked every month or so.

Monty and I were still close. He had recently started seeing a girl named Kyla. I wasn’t sure how serious it was but figured it could be good for him. It didn’t stop him from flirting with me though.

“Good morning gorgeous.”

“Good morning Montgomery. Good night?” I laughed.

“Of course.”

“How was your date with Kyla?” I asked.

“It was good. She cooked for me.”

“That’s nice. Was it good?” Charlie asked, adjusting his bag on his shoulder.

“I mean, sure. Some kind of spinach something or other?”

“You hate spinach.” I said.

“Yes. And you hate tha-.” Monty started. I saw Zach walking towards us.

“Shhhh.” I cut him off. “Hey babe.”

“Hey beautiful.” Zach pulled me into a hug and placed a kiss on my head. “How was dinner at Alex’s last night?”

“It was good. His mom let me bring contraband in the house.”

“Contraband?” Bryce asked.

“He’s not allowed to have junk food.” Charlie explained.

“Something about healthy body healthy mind or something.”

“She’s not wrong Rea.” Zach said.

“I know but still. Let the kid have a candy bar once in a while. It won’t hurt him.”

“He prefers sour patch kids.”

“I know.” The bell rang and interrupted us. I sighed heavily and took Zach’s hand. He walked me to math and kissed me on the cheek as he left. I smiled brightly at his retreating form.

Monty texted me in math. As I was saying, you hate that you and Zach haven’t fucked yet. Have you even gotten to second base yet?

None of your god damn business.

I’ll take that as a no. Don’t worry. It’ll happen eventually. I could get Charlie to get Alex to talk to him. Or you could let me talk to him.

No!

What? You don’t want me to tell him all your dirty little secrets?

I swear to God, De la Cruz. I will wring your neck in your sleep.

You’d be doing my dad a favour. You’d at least get past the front door.

I’d wring his first. Now stop texting me and learn some shit.

Fine.

Zach sat with Alex, Jess, and I at lunch. Kyla was sitting with Monty. I got the impression that she didn’t really like me all that much. In order to avoid a catfight-as much as I think the boys would like to see it- I found it best not to sit with them when she was around. Plus, it gave me a bit of a break from all the sports talk I had to pretend to care about. I shared my granola with Jess. Alex ‘stole’ my gummy bears. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I had the other bag in history. Zach kept my little secret. I felt him watching me out of the corner of his eye. He was talking to Alex about some video game. Jess and I rolled our eyes. “Boys.” We said in unison.

That weekend, Zach and I went for a walk along the docks. It was a beautiful day outside. We walked hand in hand just talking. When we felt like taking a break, we sat down on a bench overlooking the water and watched the waves. He put his arm around me and pulled me into his side. He was whispering sweet nothings in my ear. “Part of me wishes it was cold out, so I could offer you my sweater.”

“Me too.” I smiled.

“You look adorable in them.”

I giggled and hid my face in his shoulder. “I do not.”

“You do though.”

“Okay.” I blushed. He grinned at me as I peeked up at him.

We spent another hour walking and enjoying our time together. When it started to get dark, Zach walked me back to his car. He held the door open for me and kissed me before closing it. He is so sweet. The radio was playing softly. We sat in content silence for most of the drive. The purr of the engine lulled me into a peaceful sleep. “Reagan.” He whispered. I didn’t want to wake up. “Reagan. Baby, wake up for a second please.”

“Hmm?” My eyes stayed closed

“I just wanted to know if you want anything from Starbucks.”

“Sleeping.”

“You can stay in the car and sleep if you want.”

“Kay.”

“I’ll get you something.” He whispered and kissed my temple before getting out and locking the car. When I woke up, there was a cup of tea in the cup holder for me. So thoughtful.

**

I was in the middle of getting ready for a date with Zach when someone rang my doorbell. Running to answer it, my eyes widened when I saw Monty. His cheek was already starting to bruise and his knuckles were bloody. “Hey.”

“Uh. Hey there friend.” Blood was dripping onto my porch. “Just a sec.” I held up a finger and ran to grab a towel. He wrapped it around his hand before stepping inside. Thankfully there won’t be blood on the floor now. He stood in the entryway. “How’s the other guy?” I asked as I pulled out my phone to text Zach. Monty didn’t answer.

I’m so sorry. I have to cancel tonight. I think I’m coming down with a cold. I want to try to nip it in the bud and sleep it off.  

That’s okay. Do you want me to come over? I can bring you soup.

No, thanks though Zach. I’m just going to go get ready for bed and sleep so I can be better by Monday.

Okay. I’m just a text or call away if you need anything. <3

Thank you. <3

Now that my plans with Zach were taken care of, I was able to focus on the boy at my front door. “You know you don’t have to just stand there. You’ve been here before since we broke up.”

“I know. I just wanted to give you some space while you dealt with whatever plans you and Zach had.” He walked into the house further before adding, “which you didn’t have to do.”

“It’s not a big deal. I told you I would be here for you, whatever you need. Do you want some ice for your hand?” I dug around in the freezer for the tray. He tried to protest but I saw the thinly veiled wince when he flexed it. Sighing, I pulled out the freezer bags and filled one with ice. Monty accepted it begrudgingly.

“I didn’t need ice Reagan.”

“And I don’t need five million dollars Montgomery. If you don’t want it though, I’ll gladly take it back. I’m sure Kerba would love to hear about whatever bullshit reason you give for your hand being fucked again is.” He shut up and kept the ice.

“Think he would believe me if I said it was an exercise accident?”

“No.” I stated, shaking my head. Monty moved into the living room, settling in on the couch. Grabbing the remote with his good hand, he started scrolling through channels.

“You know if you hit the guide button, you can just pick a channel.”

“Yeah, but then you don’t complain about it and I can’t irritate you.”

“And I wasn’t done.” He didn’t respond, so I went into the closet for my mom’s first aid kit. She kept it stocked at all times. It was hard explaining why it was so depleted so frequently when Monty and I were together and even harder to explain why it was full after we broke up.

Walking over to the couch, I sat down and opened the kit. I grabbed some gauze and took his hand in mine. There was too much blood, so I had to go get a cloth. His lip curled when the wet cloth touched his cut knuckles. My brow rose but I didn’t say anything. Monty grimaced as I wrapped his hand. “Is your cheek okay?”

“It’s fine.”

“Okay. Have you eaten?”

“Yeah. You don’t need to feed me too Reagan.”

“Okay.” I let him continue flipping channels, knowing when to not push him. He never was very nice when I was patching him up. He finally settled on some old black and white film. Neither of us watched it. We just spent the night sitting in silence. It gave me plenty of time to think about the fact that I had lied straight through my teeth to my very nice, charming boyfriend.

A couple of weeks after I had patched Monty up, I noticed he wasn’t at school. I was walking to my locker with Alex that morning. Scott was talking to Charlie about something when we passed. “I don’t know where he is, man.”

“But we have a huge government midterm today.”

“It’s Monty. He probably just overslept or decided to cut first period.” I stopped walking unconsciously. Then where is he?

“You’re probably right.” Charlie said, as he adjusted his bag. He bumped into me when he passed. “Sorry Reagan. Guess I didn’t see you there.”

“Huh? No worries Charlie.” I smiled as he took Alex’s hand and nodded to them when they left me in the hall.

“He isn’t at school yet.” Scott said, behind me.

“Okay. I don’t know why you think I care but whatever.”

Scott looked at me seriously. “You care. Might want to look like you care less though. His replacement is coming this way.” I didn’t respond.

By lunch, I had started to worry. Charlie was right. We had a government midterm today. Monty couldn’t miss it. I scanned the cafeteria. There was no sign of him anywhere. He wasn’t in math this morning either. I couldn’t stop myself from texting him. I know you aren’t this self-destructive. Get your ass to school.

“Hey baby. Who’re you texting?”

“Just Bryce. I loaned him some of my government notes in first so he could cram. I just need them back.” Zach took my hand and we walked to the jocks table. Still no sign of Monty. I didn’t sit down. “Hey Bryce, did you get my text?”

“Uh. No?”

“About my government notes that you borrowed?”

“What-?” I gave him a look. “Oh. Yeah, I put them in my locker. Meant to bring them to lunch but it slipped my mind.”

“Can we go get them? I wanted to read over them during lunch.”

“Sure?”

“Great.” I nodded towards the door. He stood and followed me out.

“So, what the hell was that?”

“Did Monty stay at your place last night?”

“No. It’s probably nothing. You know how he is. Disappears sometimes.” We stopped walking and stepped into an empty hall.

“Yeah. It’s just that he knows this is important. I worry is all. Unlike you, he actually needs to get a scholarship.”

“I need to too Reagan.”

“You don’t. But go ahead and think that if it helps you sleep.” I shook my head and pulled my history notes out of my bag. “We’ve been gone a while. Don’t want anyone getting suspicious.” I texted Monty again while we walked in silence back to the cafeteria. If you aren’t in government I will drive to your house and kick your unfairly shapely ass. You better have a damn good excuse for not being here.

When I got to government for fifth period, I sighed in relief. Monty was sitting in his seat next to mine. “Nice of you to finally show up.” I grumbled as I sat down.

“I was busy.”

“It’s a Wednesday during school. During midterm week no less. What was so important?”

“Kyla got a new piercing a few weeks ago.” He smirked.

“You’re disgusting.”

“What? Have you and Zach still not?” My silence spoke volumes. He snorted. “No wonder you’ve been so bitchy lately. Want me to talk to him? Explain that you have needs?”

“No. I want you to not skip school to fuck your,” I paused, “Kyla. Because you aren’t a dumbass.” Even though I was pissed at him, I still waited for him until he had finished his test. We stopped at his locker so he could drop off his books.

Zach was waiting for me at my locker. We had rescheduled our movie date to today under the guise of making sure my cold was for sure gone and until midterms were complete. “Hey Zachy.” I hugged him and kissed his chest.

“Hey beautiful. How was your midterm?”

“Not bad. I think I did okay.”

“That’s good. How was it actually Monty?”

“Could have been worse. No one cried, which kind of sucks.”

“Good to know.” I put my stuff in my locker, failing miserably at the organization I had at the beginning of the year.

“I’ll see you tomorrow Monty. At eight. When you’re supposed to be at school.”

“Okay. We can go with that. You kids have fun now.” I shook my head and rolled my eyes. A blush had started to creep up my neck though. Maybe tonight.

When we got to my place, I left Zach downstairs to go change. I threw on underwear that matched my bra. Just in case. I settled on a pair of yoga pants that framed my ass well and threw on a low-cut comfortable tank top. Back downstairs, Zach was taking a bag of popcorn out of the microwave. I felt his eyes go straight to my butt as he heard me come down. I smirked slightly. I hugged him tightly from behind at the counter. “You’re cute.”

“So are you.”

“I’m not cute.”

“You are. My giant teddy bear you. Oh, and there’s a box of Mike & Ike’s in the pantry for you.”

“Thanks.” He grinned.

We scrolled through Netflix for a few minutes. Nothing looked really interesting until we scrolled past Beautiful Creatures. It’s good to make out to. And I like it. Settling in for the night, I rest my head on his lap. I sighed happily as Zach stroked my hair. It was so nice to just have a quiet night in with him. He adjusted his position slightly a while into the movie and I sat up to change positions as well. Falling asleep was not in the plans for this evening. He put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer against his chest. Leaning back, I rested my head on his shoulder. I placed a few soft kisses on his neck and jaw.

Zach’s breathing picked up when my lips ghosted over a spot just under his chin. There it is. I smiled against it and kissed it again. He sighed and I pulled away to look at him. His pupils were slightly dilated. I leaned in to kiss him. He leaned in and our lips touched. It was soft and gentle at first, but quickly became deeper and more intense. This wasn’t the first time we made out at all. But this time felt different. More meaningful. Maybe it was the right choice to change my underwear. His tongue ran along my bottom lip, requesting entrance. I was more than happy to accommodate it. His hand made its way around to rest against the back of my neck. My body shifted into a kneeling position on the soft couch, so I had a better angle. One of my hands rested on his chest. The other wound its way around the back of his neck to play with the soft hairs at the top of it. So soft.

Our tongues playfully fought for dominance. Neither of us seemed too keen on winning. We were just enjoying the moment. The movie was still playing in the background, though neither of us cared. My hand traveled down his muscular body as our making out intensified. I played with the hem of his shirt. I wasn’t wanting to take it off. But I also wasn’t not wanting to take it off. My boyfriend has a very nice body. Zach took control and began leaning forward. He continued until my back hit the cushions. After some readjusting, I was laying comfortably with Zach’s large frame above me. I smirked slightly when I felt his pants beginning to tent. He only pulled away long enough to sit up and pull his shirt over his head. Ugh that is the hottest thing any man can do. The blue shirt dropped to the living room floor unceremoniously.

He kissed me once more before moving on to my neck. The initial kisses were light and teasing. He was still trying to draw a map of where all the sensitive spots were. I gasped when he brushed over my pulse point. Zach smiled softly against it. The kisses turned much less light and teasing after that. It was both sides under attack now. It felt so good. I couldn’t stop the quiet whimpers from escaping. I moaned his name and ran my fingers through his hair. Why do men get the super soft hair? God. This feels amazing. “I love you.” He breathed into my neck. My breath caught in my throat. What? It wasn’t like I had never thought I loved him. I did. I was just surprised that he said it first. When I didn’t say it back immediately, his kissing faltered. I didn’t mean to hesitate.

“I love you too.” I smiled, even though he couldn’t see it.

We continued making out for a while until it got too close to my parents getting home. It was a long weekend, so they didn’t care much if he was over late. We were both adults. On weekends, they trusted us to be alone later. Even if alone meant ‘my parents are in their room upstairs or down the hall so shhh’. On school nights, Zach was gone by ten thirty. Even though they trusted us, none of us needed to experience them walking into the house to see their daughter and her boyfriend getting hot and heavy on their couch. Instead, we cozied up on the couch under a blanket and watched a couple more movies. “It’s getting late Reagan. I should head home. Mom will probably send Deputy Standall to come get me soon.”

“Okay.” Zach and I walked to the door and hugged goodbye. I stood on my tip toes and kissed him gently. “I love you.” I whispered.

“I love you too.” He whispered back.

The next morning, I woke up with tiny purple marks on the sides of my neck. He doesn’t usually leave marks. I like it. I wore my hair down so my parents didn’t see them. I may be an adult, but they still preferred I didn’t go around sporting hickeys all the time. Probably part of why they hated Monty so much. My mom felt it was anti-feminist. It was letting a man mark their territory and property. I usually challenged that with her wedding set. Dad just preferred not to think of me as being in a physical relationship. He was aware of it of course. Just preferred not to acknowledge it. Which, I mean, fair.

At school, I couldn’t leave my hair down. It was too hot. I threw it in a high ponytail in history. Zach breathed in sharply when he saw my neck. I turned and smiled at him. “Thank you.” His eyes widened and he coughed to cover a groan. During lunch, I could feel the boys staring at me as they arrived at the table.

“Damn Zach. Didn’t think you had it in you.” Bryce sniggered. I rolled my eyes.

“I did. You finally corrupted him, Reagan?” Justin wiggled his brows at us. I blushed and hid my face in Zach’s chest. I was never this shy about marks with Monty. Maybe that was because no one made comments like that when he did it. Because it was expected. And they knew he would rip their tongues out. I expected Monty to comment. He surprised me when he only quirked a brow. I was less surprised when he pulled me aside before history.

“Don’t let your parents see those. You seem quite attached to him. Wouldn’t want your dad to actually kill him. Maybe you should leave your hair down for a while. Wouldn’t want anyone getting any ideas, would you?”

I was stunned at the unnecessary hostility in his tone. Why the fuck does he care? He didn’t say anything else. I turned as he walked away, leaving me alone in the hall. I still put my hair down though.

Zach and I continued to explore the more physical aspect of our relationship in the coming weeks. Nothing too serious, just some semi-clothed touching. Maybe the rare under clothes touches. Only enough to tease. Never enough to lead anywhere. I was both grateful and frustrated by it. He didn’t leave anymore marks on me either. He could tell I was uncomfortable with his friend’s comments and wanted to avoid it as much as possible. We had agreed to wait until we were both ready. Neither of us were virgins. But it was still new. It did leave me with plenty of time to wonder what it would be like though.

When I wasn’t thinking about all the dirty things Zach and I could get up to, or Zach in general, or Monty, I occupied my time with college applications. My top choice had been UNC Chapel Hill for many years. Even before I knew what I wanted to study. I worked hard in school because of it. There were other schools I would like to go to, but none compared to UNC in my mind. I remembered when Monty and I had talked about what we wanted to do after high school, and he looked amazed but slightly skeptical at my goal. I knew he didn’t mean anything bad by it. We both knew how big of a goal I was. Zach had a different look on his face. He looked at me with complete faith that it would happen. It wasn’t even a question to him. He didn’t verbalize the thought, but I could see it in his eyes. I just hoped he was right.

Admissions emails were due to go out any day now. I both couldn’t wait and absolutely dreaded it. I had applied to seven schools. Statistically speaking, I had to get into at least one of them. I just wasn’t sure which one. Zach tried his best to reassure me that everything would work out. Our friends agreed with him. Monty also tried to reassure me. And keep my mind off of it with his incessant flirting. It was nice. I had a constant I could focus on. Monty flirting with me, as strange as it sounded, was keeping me calm. Zach tried his best to keep my mind occupied. We talked about anything but schools unless we needed to. It was sweet.  I just wasn’t sure it was helping much.

The pring of an email notification on my phone pulled my attention away from the textbook I was reading. I quickly grabbed my laptop and logged on. Pulling up Gmail, I held my breath. It could be any email. An email titled University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Office of Registrar Admissions Decision sat at the top of my inbox in bold letters. This is it. Holy crap. I was shaking so hard I opened the wrong email first.

Back on my inbox page, I took a very deep breath and opened the email. Dear Miss Reagan Taylor, thank you for your application to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. We regret to inform you that you have not been accepted for admission at this time. I couldn’t read any further. There was more information, I just couldn’t bring myself to read any of it. My eyes had begun to fill with tears. I didn’t get in. I worked so hard. And I still didn’t get in. Numbly, I moved the computer off my lap and grabbed my phone. Unconsciously, I selected a contact and put it to my ear as I felt myself beginning to dissociate.

“Hello?”

“Hi. A-are you busy right now?”

“I don’t have to be. What’s wrong?”

“C-can you come here? Please?”

“I’ll be right there.”

I numbly walked out of my room and went to unlock the front door. In my room, I sat in the center of my bed and hugged my knees. Willing the tears to remain at bay, I screwed my eyes shut. That didn’t do much to help, because all I saw was a string of the words not been accepted running over and over again.

A knock on my bedroom door caused me to look up. I wasn’t aware of how much time had passed. He was standing in my doorway with his hands tucked in his pockets. “I didn’t get in.” I said softly. My voice cracked. His long stride had him at my bedside and sitting down within only a few steps. He pulled me close to him and I cried into his shoulder. He laid us back and he held me as I cried. I felt so vulnerable as we laid there silently.

It must have been at least an hour before we moved. It had started getting dark outside. “Thank you, Monty.”

“You needed me.”

“I know. I just,” I paused, “thank you.”

“I’ll see you at school tomorrow?”

“Yeah.” I walked him to the door and went to take a shower. When I got out, I saw that Zach had texted me. I love you and I hope you’re having a good day. I sighed to myself. I couldn’t bring myself to find the energy to text him back. Instead, I crawled into bed and fell into a fitful sleep.

The next day, I threw on a pair of sweatpants and one of Zach’s t-shirts. I was too upset about the email to really care about looking nice. I met Zach at his car in the parking lot. He had a cup of hot chocolate for me and had his adorable happy grin plastered across his face. “Morning beautiful.” I took the to go cup gratefully.

“Morning.” He put his arm around me as we walked, and I leaned against his large frame.

“How was your night?”

“It was okay. Yours?”

“It was alright. Anything exciting happen?” Exciting is not the word I would use.

“Uh, no. Not really.” We had reached my locker. I opened it and dug around for my stuff.

“Hey, Reagan.” Luke called from across the hall. I lifted my arm and waved at him without turning around.

“What’s up Luke?” I asked when he was at my locker. Some of the football team was with him, including Monty.

“You know, it goes. I heard back from UNC yesterday. Did you?”

“Uh.” I cleared my throat and tried to will away more tears. I didn’t miss the sharp intake of breath Monty made. “I uh… Yeah. I didn’t get in.” I muttered. There was confused murmuring all around me. The only one who didn’t say anything was Monty. I didn’t have to look up to see that Zach was glaring daggers at him.

“How did they not accept you?” Charlie asked.

“I don’t know Char. It was a long shot anyway. Their acceptance rate is twenty three percent total. It’s even less for out of state applicants. Applicants who aren’t being given sports scholarships anyway. No offence Luke.”

“None taken. I’m sorry Reagan.”

“It’s okay. I applied to other schools.” I cleared my throat again. “I have to get to class.

“I’ll walk you.” Zach said. I nodded and took his hand in mine.

We stopped on the way when he pulled me aside into an empty classroom. “You didn’t mention that you heard back from UNC.”

“I know. I just… I needed some time to process. Can we talk about this later? I have a reading due at the beginning of class.”

“Sure. I’ll see you at lunch?”

“Of course.” I kissed him on the cheek. I sat through my classes in an almost daze. Monty sent me a couple of texts that made me smile. Zach also sent a couple of goofy pictures to try and cheer me up. My smile didn’t quite meet my eyes as much. I attributed it to being upset about the admission decision.

I met Zach at the doors to the cafeteria and he hugged me. I smiled sadly into his chest. I picked at my lunch silently. I could feel Monty and Zach’s eyes on me. They were watching both me and each other. No one else picked up on the tension. “Did you want to come over after school Zach? My parents are at work.”

“That works. I’ll let my mom know we are studying after school.”

“Studying each other?” Justin smirked. I rolled my eyes. Zach threw a piece of cheese at him.

“Fuck off.”

“Why do you throw food at each other?”

“It’s fun.” They shrugged.

“Alright then. I have a free period so I’m going to finish a project. I’ll see you guys later.” I leaned over and kissed Zach.

A few minutes after I sat down and pulled up my assignment, someone sat next to me. “So. You didn’t tell Zach?”

“No Monty.” I didn’t look up from my computer.

“You didn’t tell him you called me either, did you?”

“No. But I’m sure it will come up tonight when we talk.”

“You’ll let me know if everything is okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. I have class so I’ll text you hot stuff.”

“You better.” I smirked.

Zach and I met each other at my place. My parents were at work and I think both of us knew this was going to become a fight, so I wasn’t surprised when he agreed to come over at lunch without a thought.. We danced around each other in silence. Neither of us knew how to react to the tension between us. With Montgomery it was easy. He would be in a mood or I would be upset about something, we would yell at each other for a while, and then… then it was fixed. I had never fought with Zach before.

“Why didn’t you tell me about UNC?”

“I told you. I needed time to process. To think. That was my top choice Zach. My plans literally changed overnight. That takes time to think through.”

“But I’m your boyfriend. I’m supposed to help you with that stuff. To be there for you.”

“I know. But I need to take time to process before I can deal, okay?”

“Right. Time to process. That’s why Monty knew?”

“How do you know he knew?”

“His reaction this morning. Plus, I heard him talking to Scott and Luke about it in class.”

“Are you mad I didn’t tell you, or are you mad I told Monty?”

“Both.”

“I don’t know why I told him okay?”

“No Reagan. Not okay.”

“I didn’t do it intentionally Zach. I just… dialed. I wasn’t even looking at my phone.”

“Is that supposed to make this better? That your instinct was to call your ex-boyfriend and not me?”

“No. I’m saying that I wasn’t even thinking clearly. All I knew was that in an instant my entire future was fading before my eyes.”

“So, you called Monty.”

“Yes Zach. I called him. I called him and he came. He dropped everything and he came to me.”

“What happened?”

“What do you mean?”

“What. Happened. Reagan?”

“Nothing. I just cried. And cried. And then he left. I was upset.”

“Why couldn’t you call me?”

“Oh my god, Zach. I wasn’t thinking. I can’t explain to you why I called him and not you. I just picked a contact without looking and it was his.”

“Do you still love him?” His question caught me off guard. Do I?

“No.” My voice sounded sure. My brain and heart didn’t believe me. Hopefully Zach would.

“You don’t. Why do you still flirt with him?”

“I don’t love him. As for the flirting, that’s just how we talk to each other. We’ve always done it.”

“Well, I don’t like it.”

“Noted.”  

Zach scoffed. “You flirt with your ex in front of me.”

“I don’t mean anything by it.”

“That doesn’t matter. Do you not think it’s weird that you’re still super close to your ex?”

“Not really, no. He is my friend. You can be friends with an ex, you know.”

“Most people can’t, actually.”

“So what? You’re mad that I’m friends with Monty?”

“I’m not mad Reagan. It’s just a lot to deal with.”

“Why?”

“Do you know how it feels to learn stuff about you, because your ex is talking about it? Or because you two are joking about something?”

“No. I guess I never really thought about it like that. It’s not that weird to us. But it does make sense.” I sat down on my couch. My adrenaline was leveling out again and I felt like an asshole.

“It doesn’t feel good.” He sat down next to me.

“I’m sorry Zach. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or anything.”

“I know.”

“I’ll talk to Monty about it. Tell him we need to stop the flirting and stuff.” Zach took my hand gently.

“Okay.” I rested my head on his shoulder and he pulled me into his lap. I was shocked that a fight had been resolved that easily and cleanly.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Monty and I met at the docks to talk after Zach and I fought. “Hey.”

“Hey sweetheart.” I grimaced slightly.

“Zach and I talked.”

“Okay. How did it go?”

“He was pretty ticked off that you knew about UNC before he knew. And that you came over instead of him.”

“But I’m your friend.”

“And he is my boyfriend. Also, for the record, you aren’t just my friend Monty. You’re my ex.”

“So?”

“So, you aren’t just my friend.”

“Why does it matter?”

“Because. The way you talk to me, it’s like we never broke up. You’re the one who said you wanted to break up. That you weren’t ready for a serious relationship. Or any relationship for that matter.”

“Is it you, or Zach that has a problem with it?” My silence spoke volumes. “I see. Well, you go tell your boyfriend that we talked.”

“Monty. I do feel bad about it. It’s not fair to Zach to have to deal with you flirting with me and making moves all the time.”

“You know, if I believed that you felt bad, or that you were honestly asking me to stop, I would. But I know you. I know this isn’t coming from you.”

“Montgomery. You need to stop. I’m asking you to stop.”

“Fine. I’ll cool it.”

“Thank you. That’s all I ask. Still friends?”

“Of course, Rea.” He hugged me tightly. I felt like I would let tight hugs slide because I liked them. We walked to our cars together quietly. I didn’t want to have to go or have things change, but I knew that if I wanted to stay with Zach, they would have to.

Monty was true to his word for all of three days. We were still friendly. The flirting had stopped though. There was still a buzz in the air when we interacted. It was easier to ignore now. At least, I thought it had stopped. I was painting my finger and toenails in the bathroom on Saturday night. It was my weekly self-care night. My phone rang before I could decide on a face mask to do while my nails dried. I smiled but rolled my eyes a bit when I saw who was calling. “Hi Monty.” I tried to sound annoyed but couldn’t keep the smile out of my voice.

“Hey Reagan.” He slurred slightly. I could hear the sound of boys falling and goofing off in the background. Bryce is having a thing, I guess.

“What’s up Buddy?”

“Jus’ guys night.”

“You don’t say.”

“You sound relaxed.”

“And you sound mighty drunk. It’s Saturday.”

“Right. Right. Girly night.” He chuckled.

“Yes. Is there a reason you called?”

“Wanted to say hi.”

“Oh.” I thought we had talked about this.

“I miss you.” He slurred. Oh boy.

“Uh. Miss you too.” I grimaced. He was drunk so I wasn’t going to just pretend I hadn’t heard him. Montgomery wouldn’t remember this in the morning.

“I’m an idiot.”

“No, you aren’t.”

“I am. I let you go.”

“Monty….”

“I love you.” My eyes widened. No. I felt the corners of my eyes begin to fill with tears. Looking up, I blinked them away. I didn’t know what to say.

“I-.”

“I’m in love with you.”

“Monty.” I whispered. Why is this happening? We talked about this. At least he won’t remember this tomorrow. But I can’t just act like it didn’t happen.

“Buddy, get off the phone and come play.” Garrison called in the background.

“Gotta go.” Monty said before hanging up. What the actual fuck just happened?

I didn’t text Monty or Zach all day Sunday. I didn’t actually talk to or text anyone aside from my parents. I woke up on Monday dreading school. I just laid in bed and stared at my ceiling. I would see Zach and have to act like that phone call didn’t happen. And that Montgomery hadn’t said what he said. I would also see him. I don’t know if I can do that. He’s your friend. He was wasted when he called you. He won’t remember it. Taking a deep breath, I threw off the covers and got up. I stopped for a coffee on my way to school to try to calm my nerves, even though I was more of a tea person.

I walked into the school and as luck would have it, the first person I saw, was Montgomery freaking De la Cruz. Thank you, Universe. Instantly, I turned on my heel and walked out of the building before he could see me. Books weren’t important now. I had to avoid him. I power walked to the nearest exit and stopped by a large tree. Leaning against it, I took a deep breath and contemplated ditching school. That wasn’t going to be possible. Because the universe decided to say fuck Reagan today. Zach was walking towards me from the parking lot. He waved. I pretended I hadn’t seen it and ignored him. He stopped when he got to my tree. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Hey. Yeah. I’m okay.”

“You’re breathing kind of heavy. And leaning against a tree.”

“I’m fine Zach.”

“Okay.” He didn’t sound convinced. Before he could say anything more, I picked up my bag and brushed past him. I took the long way around to the back of the building to physics. I slumped in my seat and doodled through the whole class. I was doing well enough that the teacher wasn’t going to call on me.

I spent the next week avoiding Monty. I didn’t answer his texts. I took different routes to class. As far as I was concerned, he didn’t exist anymore. Except for the near constant string of text messages that I was getting from him. And his confession running over in my head any time I had a free moment to think. Why did he have to do that? I was getting on just fine. Zach and I were in a good place again. We agreed that we would just be friends. Fine. Fine. Fine.

I was also distant with Zach. I felt awful about it. You love him. He can say it to you sober. He loves you. If he saw me in the halls, he would come over and I would let him walk me to class. We would hold hands. My grip wasn’t as tight as usual. He would put his arm around me. I wouldn’t lean against him. I think he could tell something was off. Being Zach, he wouldn’t bring it up though. Since I was avoiding my two favourite jocks, I couldn’t exactly sit with Zach at lunch. I sat with Jess and Alex instead. Without Zach. They exchanged looks the first day but said nothing.

I went to the baseball game after school to support Zach. And to make it seem like nothing was wrong between him and I or Monty and I. I didn’t want people asking too many questions. Questions I didn’t want to answer. Monty’s drunken declaration had brought up feelings I had spent the better part of a year and a half, trying to bury. I was the one that wanted more from him. I was the one who needed more. When it was clear I wasn’t going to get more, I settled. And then when we broke up, I was comfortable in the fact that even though I loved him and I felt like he loved me, it would go unsaid and we could just be friends. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that was why we were so close and flirted with each other. While I wasn’t in love with him anymore, I still did love him. Even though I told Zach I wasn’t. Liar. You are still hopelessly in love with him. Maybe. But I can’t have him the way I want. And I love Zach. I just haven’t decided if I’m in love with him yet.

After the game, I waited to say bye to Zach and congratulate him on the win. “Congratulations 16. You won.” I smiled as he walked up to me. I was waiting at the bottom of the bleachers.

“Of course, we did. I had my biggest cheerleader in the stands.” He grinned. I couldn’t help but melt. Pushing away any and all thoughts of Montgomery’s phone call, I threw my arms around his neck and let him scoop me up into his arms as we kissed. My legs wrapped around his waist and his hands held my thighs.

“Get a room.” Bryce called out to us as he passed with some of the guys. The jocks cheered and whistled. I flipped them off and pulled away from the kiss.

“Two things. One, you don’t have girlfriends because you whistle at girls. We aren’t dogs. Two, fuck off.” I called back.

“I have a girlfriend.” Anders yelled.

“I know. She’s awesome. That’s two of twenty. Now shut up and leave us be assholes.”

“Yes Ma���am.”

Zach let out a loud laugh when they walked away. “That was amazing.”

“Yeah. It kind of was. Sadly, I have to go work on a project. Walk me to my car?” I said as I jumped out down.

“Lead the way.”

I was working on my project when Monty called me. I sent it straight to voicemail. He called again. I let it ring out. He called back. This man just doesn’t quit. Again, I let it ring. He called a fourth time. Jesus. I answered it on the second to last ring. “What?”

“Woah. Who pissed in your tea today?”

“You called me four times in a row. What do you want Montgomery?”

“Well, I was calling to see why you have been ignoring me. But now I’m going to ask why you’re being such a bitch?”

“I’m busy. And you called me four times in a row.”

“Busy with what?”

“A project.”

“Okay. I’ll keep this quick then. Since a project is apparently more important than your best friend.” I didn’t respond. “Why have you been avoiding me, Reagan?”

“I haven’t been avoiding you.”

“Bull. I haven’t seen or heard from you in almost a week. Are you mad at me or something?”

“No. I’ve been busy.”

“With Zach?”

“No. With stuff. I have a life outside of Zach Dempsey and you, you know.”

“Stuff. Okay. What stuff?”

“School stuff. Trying to figure out what I’m going to do with the rest of my life. Stuff.”

“Alright. I don’t believe you though. Did I do something wrong?” Yes. You did. Something very wrong. That you apparently can’t even remember. Meaning you didn’t have to just be drunk to say it. You had to be wasted.

“No. I’ve just been busy.” I sighed.

“We’re okay?”

“Yes Monty. We’re okay.”

“Okay good. Did you want to do lunch tomorrow?”

“Sure.”

“Great. Rosie’s at one?”

“I’ll be there.” I threw my phone on my bed when I hung up. This man is infuriating. Why can’t I say no to him?

To no one’s surprise, Monty didn’t stop flirting with me. He made comments about my outfits or little things that he knew about me. It had finally driven Kyla away. I feared that Zach would be the next person he drove away. I didn’t fall into his trap anymore and let him bait me into flirting with him again. He tried hard. But I didn’t want to go back on my word to Zach. I couldn’t control what Monty did. But I could control how I reacted. So, any time Monty flirted with me, I ignored it. I pushed down the little flutter in my stomach and blush that threatened to creep up my neck. Zach would roll his eyes and smirk if he was around to watch the spectacle that had become Monty and my interactions. We both figured he would grow tired of not getting a response and quit eventually. I have no idea why. Montgomery De la Cruz never was one to back down from a challenge.

As the school year started heading towards its close, the big senior trip was coming up. Every year, the school sent the senior class on a trip. It was supposed to be educational and technically was fair game on any exams except our government finals when we got back. But really, it was to let us blow off some steam and get us into a different environment, so we were less likely to do a Senior Skip Day or senior prank. The only teachers who tested on it were the hard asses. This year we would be going to DC to “learn about the government and how our nation’s democracy runs.”

The senior class was abuzz with excitement about our trip to DC. It was fully paid for by the school due to it being a mandatory trip, aside from the few thousand we needed to fundraise for. It wasn’t cheer camp so people were more willing to donate for a bake sale, over Dollar Valentines. Typically, everyone shared rooms at the hotel. This year however, there was an uneven number of girls in the class. Meaning that one lucky girl, would get a whole room to herself for the week. To make it a fair draw, every grade twelve girl’s name was put into a raffle. A random teacher from the neighbouring school then pulled a name from the bunch, to keep it impartial. An email would be sent out to every girl, letting her know if she was picked.

I held my phone tightly all day on draw day. It was a week out from the day we were leaving. We weren’t told when the email would go out. Only that we would know by tonight. I hope it’s me. At dinner, my phone pringed. I shot up like I had been bitten.

“Reagan. You know the rules. No phones at dinner.” My mom scolded.

“But Mom. It’s draw day for the single room. I need to go check. Please? Thirty seconds. Promise.”

“Okay. Go check.” She waved me off. I ran to the counter and grabbed my phone. Opening the email, I read it intently. Reagan Taylor- Single room. I screeched in excitement.

“I got the single room! I got the single!”

“That’s wonderful honey. Now come finish your broccoli.” I quickly texted Zach. I got it. :) He replied while I was finishing dinner. That’s great. :)

I texted Monty after dinner as well. I got the single room. He replied while I was getting ready for bed.

Excellent. What better place for you and Dempsey to screw each other silly? Can’t wait to hear all the details.

You are such a creep.

You like it.

The Friday before we left, Zach came over after school to help me pack. My parents were having date night, so it was just the two of us for the foreseeable future. Ever the gentleman, he helped me carry my suitcase up from the storage room. The rose gold hard case set was laid out on my floor. I put Zach in charge of folding my clothes, since he was the self-proclaimed “master packer”. He pouted slightly when I said he couldn’t fold my underwear. I managed to sneak in a few more sexy sets as well. We would be gone for a week. A lot can happen in six nights.

“Do you like this shirt?” I asked him.

“It’s nice.”

“I could wear it to the Capital.”

“Yeah. Or dinner.”

“There’s going to be dinner, hmmm?”

He walked towards me and took the shirt from my hands. “There might be. There also might be a lot more than dinner.” Zach wrapped his arms around me.

“Oh really?”

“Mhmm. If you want more than dinner.”

“I do have a single room.”

“That you do. Bring the shirt.”

“Okay.” I felt a blush creeping all the way up to my ears.

After some more packing, we took a break. A very nice break. We were laying on my bed. The suitcase was still open in the corner of my room. Zach shifted so he was resting his head in his hand on his elbow. I looked up at him and grinned. He grinned back. “Hi.”

“Hi.” He leaned down and kissed me softly. I kissed him back and wrapped my arms around his neck. Zach smiled into the kiss and moved to climb on top of me. He straddled my waist so that I was on my back again. The more he kissed me, the more I wanted this to go further.

My hands left his neck and went to pull on his shirt. I was trying to pull it off without breaking our kiss. When it was halfway up his torso, he pulled away from the kiss and pulled the cotton over his head. I smiled demurely at him. He began kissing me again and our tongues did their playful dance. I moaned softly when he kissed my neck. He didn’t suck hard enough to leave any marks. I sat up to take off my shirt when he pulled it up my stomach. He kissed me once again and I carded my fingers through his hair. My breathing started to get heavier as his Zach’s hands explored my body. My hips bucked lightly. He unzipped my jeans and I wiggled them off. They were pushed to the end of the bed along with our shirts. I struggled with his belt a little. I wasn’t used to it yet. It still felt foreign under my fingers. Finally, I had removed it. I unzipped his jeans and Zach kicked them off. He moved his kisses down my chest, brushing over the top of my bra. I sighed. My hands moved to his to the front of his torso and I ran my fingers up and down his chest. The skin was smooth, but I felt goosebumps form where I touched. We were still in our underwear. This feel so… nice. Nice is good. So why does it feel like I have no clue what I’m doing?

We made out passionately. Our exploration of each other’s bodies continued. There was light teasing and nipping at spots. It felt good. Zach unhooked my bra and I pulled it off. It landed at the end of the bed with our other clothes. I gasped when he grew bolder and sucked a pebbling nipple into his mouth. His tongue flicked it a few times and I moaned his name. He used his other hand to roll and tease my other nipple. My hips couldn’t be stopped from bucking. I wanted more. I reached for his boxers. I was only able to brush his V-line. He pulled away from me.

“Did you want something?” He asked cheekily.

“Mhmm.” I moaned and reached for him again. My eyes were trained on the bulge in his boxers. They widened as he pulled them off and his cock sprang out. Reaching out, I grasped it in my hand. It felt hot and heavy. He moaned softly when I began stroking.

To make things easier and more comfortable, he rolled over so he was on his back. I sat up some and watched his face. Zach’s eyes were closed, and his brow was furrowed. He looked relaxed. I leaned down and kissed him. His fingers tangled into my hair as he deepened the kiss. My strokes became more confident and picked up speed. The quiet moans and grunts he was emitting were very encouraging. Soon enough, his hips were bucking. He sat up to stop me. I looked at him with dark eyes. He smiled at me and sat up, pushing me down on the soft mattress. Zach was gazing at me with the most kind and loving expression I had ever seen. My heart swelled.

I couldn’t wait any longer and reached to pull down my underwear. Zach pulled them down my legs and threw them towards the end of my bed. I got comfortable as he reached out for me. His fingers quickly found my core, and then my clit. My breath hitched when he rubbed it. He was gentle. I silently thanked him for that. Gathering some lubrication, he spent a little while trying different gestures and patterns as he ran his fingers through my core. There was some back-and-forth movement, as well as some up and down. It felt good but it wasn’t quite it. He tried circles and I moaned his name loudly. “That’s it. Do that. Do more of that.” My hips twisted. He leaned down to kiss me again while he rubbed me. Zach continued to rub my clit softly in circular motions. I moaned lowly as a finger entered me. It was slow and calculated. He continued to stimulate me for a few minutes, varying the speed and intensity of both his rubbing and thrusting. My hips wiggled in an attempt to get more stimulation.

Deciding I was aroused enough, he pulled away and looked at me questioningly. “There is a new box of condoms in my sock drawer.” He nodded and stood to grab one. Once the condom was properly and securely in place, he climbed back on top of me. I felt dwarfed by his large frame. He rubbed my clit and fingered me a few more times, before I felt his cock brush against my folds. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for him to enter me. I was expecting something quick. Like ripping off the band aid. Instead, he slowly pushed his way into my body. I groaned and my head rolled to the side. His breath hitched when he bottomed out.

“Shit.” He cursed in my ear.

After a few beats, he began to slowly thrust. I tried to match his slow, sweet pace. It just felt so different. Nice. Good. But still different. Zach started kissing up and down my neck again. I smiled and eventually, was able to match his thrusts. They began speeding up slightly and he intertwined his fingers with mine. I squeezed his hands. I closed my eyes when he kissed me. It almost felt like there was something missing. While I was trying to focus on the sensations coursing through my body, I realized that we weren’t just having sex. We were making love. I froze slightly but covered it by tensing up a little. I could feel my orgasm approaching anyway. I could tell it would be different than normal. I was both excited and a little scared.

As though Zach could sense my thoughts, he kissed me deeply and murmured against my lips, “let go.” His thrusts picked up speed and my hips stilled. I felt the knot in my stomach start to tighten and I clutched his shoulders. I moaned loudly as I felt the knot snap. My orgasm was different than it had been in the past. It was good, but it was less intense. There was no convulsing or extreme contortion. He continued to thrust, pulling me through my orgasm. My muscles relaxed and I slumped for a second. I could tell Zach’s high was in his reach. I began whispering dirty nothings in his ear and telling him that I loved him to try to get him to finish. I kissed his neck and nibbled softly. His thrusting became sloppy and he groaned loudly as he peaked.

With a laboured grunt, Zach rolled off of me and pulled me close to him. I closed my eyes for a second. Then I remembered I had to go to the bathroom. I rolled over and sat up slowly. When I returned to bed, Zach had discarded the condom and put on his boxers. I pulled his shirt on, along with a clean pair of underwear. Curling up in his arms, I rested my eyes for a while. “I love you.” I whispered as I drifted off.

“I love you too.” We woke up an hour later and finished packing, sneaking coy glances at each other.

Tuesday morning started unfairly early. We had to be at the airport by eight for our flight at ten. My alarm went off at five thirty. I protested as I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Slowly, I made my way to the bathroom to shower. I didn’t need to look super cute, but I at least wanted to smell good. It was a five-hour flight. I double checked that I had everything packed while my hair towel dried. My dad knocked on my door and I grunted at him. The shower had done little to wake me up. “Morning Kiddo. I’m just going to take your suitcase downstairs.”

“K.” I muttered.

Downstairs after I got dressed, I poured myself a very large cup of coffee. I didn’t really like sleeping on planes. Plus, I could get a tea after we got through security. My mom had offered to drive Zach and I to the airport, so I called him to make sure he was up. “Good morning Baby.”

“Good morning babe.” He sighed on the other end of the line.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah. Jut tired.”

“Me too. Mom just wanted to make sure you were up.”

“I am. Stuff is by the door and everything.”

“Oh good. See you in half an hour?”

“Okay. See you then. I love you.”

“I love you too.” I hung up and texted Monty to make sure he was up. Get up loser, we’re going to DC.

I’m up. And it’s too early for bending Mean Girls quotes.

It’s never too early. He replied with an eye roll emoji. I shook my head and didn’t answer.

“Reagan, are you ready to go?” My mom asked.

“Yeah.” I grabbed my backpack and rolled my suitcase out to the car. Dad lifted it into the back and checked that mom and I were securely buckled. Have to make sure my girls are safe. He had said when I asked him about doing that when I was younger. I still didn’t let him see the way I smiled about it.

Zach was waiting on his front steps for us. It was still early and May was still asleep. He waved and mom opened the back hatch for him. I looked in the rear view mirror and smirked at the way his muscles bulged when he lifted his suitcase into the car. He kissed me when he got in and greeted my mom. “Thanks for the ride Mrs. Taylor.”

“Of course, Zach.” She smiled at him from the driver’s seat. Once we got onto the highway, traffic was fairly light. It was still pretty early so we beat most of the commuters. It grew heavier as we got closer to the airport. None of us were surprised. Especially given that an entire high school senior class was descending upon it.

Mom parked in the drop off zone for the airline. Zach got out and walked around the car to open my door. He hugged me tightly as I stepped out. I breathed in the fresh scent of his cologne. “Hi.”

“Hi.” I looked up at him and grinned. Throwing on my backpack, I grabbed Zach’s while he got our suitcases. Inside, we met up with our friends. Clay was basically dragging Justin through the airport. Alex and Charlie both looked very awake for seven forty-five in the morning. Must be nice. I nodded at Monty and Scott from across the room. They were talking to Bryce and Luke.

Getting our tickets and going through security went shockingly well. Since we had so much time to kill, the teachers let us roam the gate freely. We had to swear left and right we would be on the plane. I abandoned Zach with Justin and Alex to go in search of a piping hot cup of tea. “Reagan.” Monty said as he approached me.

“Morning Monty. It’s tea time.”

“I need coffee. I’ll go with you.” We walked through the gate silently. I could feel his eyes on me. He was trying way too hard to seem like he wasn’t

staring at me.

“Can I help you?”

“There’s something different about you.”

“Oh? Like what?”

“You seem… less tense.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” He stopped for a minute. “Wait. Did you two finally?” I blushed. “You did. Was it good?”

“Yeah.” I replied. It wasn’t a lie. It was good.

“Yeah? Better than us?” I turned to him, perplexed.

“Is that trick question? How do you want me to answer that?”

“Is that a no?” He smirked.

“No. It’s not an answer. Because it’s none of your business.”

“Alright, don’t tell me.”

Tea and coffee in hand, we walked back to the gate to sit until our plane boarded. The minutes ticked by. Zach was watching YouTube videos on his phone. I peeked over my book at him. He looked up and smiled. I felt eyes on us and turned to Monty. He was smirking at Zach. I rolled my eyes, mouthed piss off to him, and went back to my book. The flight to DC was pretty boring. I was able to sit with Zach and we watched a movie for the first half of it. Afterwards, I listened to some music and read while he slept.

We spent the first night in DC relaxing after a long flight. I enjoyed having a single room. It was quiet and I didn’t have to argue with anyone about what bed I would get. Jess came to do a face mask and have some girl time. It was nice. “So, tell me. What’s new with you and Zach.”

“There’s not much to tell.” I fibbed. She saw right through me.

“Oh, come on Reagan. There is totally something to spill.”

“We finally had sex.”

“No way!”

“Yeah.”

“How was it?” I hesitated. “Girl talk.” She smiled at me and I knew none of what I said would get back to Zach.

“It was nice.”

“And?”

“Good.”

“Nice and good?”

“Yes.”

“That’s the best you can come up with?”

“I don’t know Jessica. It was nice.”

“But it’s supposed to be more than nice.”

“I know. And it wasn’t bad. It was just….”

“No. Don’t even think that. We cleansed. Remember?”

“Okay Ryan Shaver.” I laughed.

“Still.”

“I know. It was just different is all.”

“I get that.” She sighed wistfully. I tried to scrub the mental image of Jessica and Justin going at it like jack rabbits. Ew. No no. Bad.

We toured the Smithsonian on Wednesday and went to the Capital on Thursday to see Congress. I stuck close to Zach the whole time. Monty continued his flirting. It was as though he really had no idea what he had said to me last month on the phone. I did my best to ignore it. But it was starting to get on my nerves. I could tell Zach was growing frustrated as well. While it got on my nerves, I was having a harder and harder time ignoring the butterflies in my stomach when Montgomery tried to charm his way to me. He could tell. I just hoped Zach couldn’t. Our interactions had been tense since last month.

Tensions between me and Monty come to a head in DC. It was Friday night, three days into our weeklong trip. I was coming back from an evening coffee run with Zach and Justin. Monty was milling about with Bryce and Luke outside. I tried to ignore the pang in my chest when I saw them. Monty caught my eye and subtly nodded at me. No one in either of our groups noticed. I pulled out my phone and texted him. My room. 10 mins. He waited until we were inside the hotel to read my message. There was no response. I assumed he got the message and made to excuse myself to my room. “That was really great guys. I’m actually pretty tired and I still have to fill in my trip journal for the day. I think I’m going to head up to my room.”

“Okay, night Reagan.” Justin nodded. He seemed slightly suspicious. I chalked it up to him having his own experience with bullshit excuses.

“Do you want me to walk you up?” Zach asked.

“No, don’t worry. You hang out with Justin. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Alright. Text me when you get upstairs. I love you.”

“I love you too.” I kissed him softly.

Upstairs, I threw my backpack on the unoccupied bed and threw my hair up. Since I would be getting ready for bed soon anyway, I brushed my teeth and changed into my pyjamas while I waited for Montgomery. I was putting my toiletries back in my suitcase when he knocked on my door sharply. He was standing on the other side of the door, his hands once again buried in his pockets when I opened it. “You rang.”

“Hi.” I moved out of the doorway and let him in.

“What did you want to talk about Reagan?”

“No one saw you come up here, did they?”

“No. they didn’t. Is that what you’re worried about? Someone knowing that I’m in your room?”

“Of course not. Its just….”

“Zach. You can say his name. I’m a big boy.”

“I told Zach that he didn’t have to worry about you and I.” Monty scoffed, bitterly.

“Yeah. Nothing to worry about with us. Sure.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“If I was in his place, I would worry too.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean Montgomery?”

“Last month, you told me that we aren’t just friends. And you weren’t wrong. Because people who are just friends don’t look for each other in crowds. Or stop when other people are talking about them. The thing you forgot to mention is how unfair you were being to both of us.”

“I don’t do that.”

“Bullshit. I’ve seen it. And if I’ve seen it, so has Zach. He isn’t that oblivious.”

“Zach has a problem with our friendship.”

“Oh, so now you admit it. Least I got that out of you. Only took a month.”

“It makes him uncomfortable that we are so close. And I feel bad about it. I told you that already.”

“If you expect me to believe you care so much about how our friendship affects your boyfriend, then why did you call me about UNC as soon as you found out and not him? Why did you lie and cancel plans with him to spend time with me? Why is it that until a month ago, you flirted with just as much intensity as I did? Why did-.” I opened my mouth to stop him. “No. You don’t get to talk right now Reagan. It’s my turn to talk.” I closed my mouth and looked down. I was stunned and a little bit scared. He had never yelled at me like that before. “Why did you ask me to come get you when you got too drunk at a party on a college visit and not him? Even after you told me things had to change? Because I would love to hear you explain that.”

I was silent. I knew I couldn’t deny any of what he had said. We weren’t just friends. We didn’t know how to be friends. Or we never wanted to be. “Well?”

“I… you weren’t being fair to me either Monty. I’m not the only one at fault here. I wouldn’t have had to cancel on Zach if you hadn’t shown up to my house unannounced needing first aid. Again. You’re the one who started it with the flirting. As soon as you saw that I was moving on and could be happy with someone else, you fucking start flirting with me and talking to me like you had never stopped. Like you hadn’t broken my heart that day. And maybe I let it go on too long. Maybe I shouldn’t have reciprocated the flirting. But it made me feel good. And it was fun. Until it started having an impact on my actual relationship. With someone who is able to admit that he loves me. You want to stand here and talk to me about looking for someone in a crowd or stopping when people talk about them? What about when you drunk dialed me telling me that you love me? What about how anytime we are alone together you waste time leaving just so you don’t have to go? I’m not the only one at fault here. I asked you to stop flirting with me and you didn’t.”

“Is that phone call what did it?”

“I’m with someone who doesn’t have to be drunk to tell me that he loves me. And no. The call didn’t do anything. But it’s nice to know you remember it.”

“You want me to say it? I’m completely sober. You really want to hear me say it?”

“Yes.” I said loudly, exasperated.

“Easy. I love you.”

We were silent for a minute, finally aware of the tension in the air. I made the first move and kissed him. It was chaste at first. I was giving him a chance to take it back. When he didn’t pull away or stop it, I deepened the kiss. He wrapped his arms around me, picked me up, and placed me on the bed. His hands trailed down my body and played with the hem of my shirt. He sat on the bed beside me and pulled me on top of him. I straddled his waist and sat in his lap, slipping my hands under his t-shirt. When I traced his abs, he sucked in a breath. Everything with him felt so natural. So easy. I slipped my hands out from his shirt and pulled away from our kiss. He looked puzzled until I pulled off my shirt. I nodded at him and he pulled off his flannel. Next to go was his t-shirt. His pupils were blown. He was staring at me, not with hunger like I had expected, but in awe and admiration.

I kissed him again, but I quickly pulled away. I kissed down his neck, searching for the pulse point. We fell backwards in a mess of limbs and kisses on the plush hotel bed. His hands were on my hips instantly to steady me. I had found his pulse point and sucked at it harshly. There was sure to be a mark within the hour. I could feel him pulling at the waistband of my pyjama pants. “Yes.” I whispered in his ear. Monty pulled my bottoms down and off quickly. My underwear was still on and he snapped the waistband cheekily. “Bastard.” I said against his neck.

“You love it.” He moaned loudly when I bit his neck in response. I had to cover his mouth.

“Shhh. People could hear.”

“Screw people.”

With that, he flipped us over, so he was on top now. My hands went for his belt and I deftly undid it. My muscles still remembered the movements. The sound of the clinking metal as the hook hit the buckle. The way I had to tug a little harder to get it to come out of the loops because it stuck on the back one. Soon enough, his belt and jeans were strewn across the room along with the rest of our clothes. It was his turn to kiss me. He dragged his teeth against my bottom lip, pulling it slightly. I moaned lowly. His kisses traveled down my neck quickly. He always did prefer to leave marks on my collarbones and breasts. My neck was still fair game to him and he often left at least one mark on it at any given time. Just like he had so many times before so long ago, he left a clear bite mark on my décolleté. His attention was turned to my breasts then. He deftly unhooked my bra and pulled it off. It joined the ever-growing pile of clothes flung across the room.

The marks he left on my breasts were small in comparison to the one I had left on his neck. He is probably trying to hide them. I too, moaned loudly when he nipped my skin. He covered my mouth like I had done to him only moments before. The difference was that I grabbed his wrist in my hands like I was trying to hold onto him for dear life. I heard him chuckle and felt the stupid smirk against my chest. “Shhh. People could hear.” He mocked.

“Screw people.” He uncovered my mouth and pulled away for a moment. I gazed at him wantonly. I realized what he wanted a second later when he tried to both push and pull me further up the bed. Taking the hint, I shimmied my way up, so we had more room. Falling off the bed would certainly raise suspicion about what was happening in here.

Montgomery continued his journey down my body to my underwear. He stopped to place a gentle kiss to each of my hips. “Think you can keep quiet Kitten?” I melted at the nickname. I hadn’t heard it in so long.

“Yes.”

“Okay.” He pulled at the waistband of my underwear and they landed on the floor beside the bed. I sighed as he placed kisses to my pubic mound and my upper and inner thighs. Reaching down, I placed my hand on his hair. It felt so soft. Suddenly, he placed a kiss to my clit and my hips bucked. My fingers curled in his hair slightly. I moaned again, quietly this time, when he began to lap at my folds. My fingers curled in his hair more still. I couldn’t stop myself from tugging slightly. When he focused on sucking my clit I pulled on his hair. He moaned against my core and my body shook. When he added a finger or two to the mix, I had to bite my lip to keep from screaming. I had been secretly imagining this moment for the better part of a year. This felt so much better than I could have ever imagined. My orgasm began to build quickly. My walls started to flutter. Monty chuckled. He was well versed in my body’s reactions to stimuli. We both knew what was coming. His fingers thrust faster, and he stopped sucking my clit. Instead, he rubbed my clit harshly. I had to cover my mouth to keep from moaning too loudly. And then everything was bright and light for a second. I felt a, thankfully given our location, small trickle of liquid spill its way out of me. Monty gently slowed, and then stopped his thrusting and rubbing. I was panting and trying to catch my breath.

“Just give me a second.”

“Of course. Take your time.”

I looked down at him as he climbed up the bed. He settled beside me and reached down to palm at his hard dick. Once I had caught my breath, I shoved his hands out of the way and took over the palming. “You are so evil.” He grumbled.

“You love it.” I slipped my hand under the band of his boxer briefs. I hadn’t even touched his dick and he was bucking his hips already. He gasped when I brushed his dick with my fingertips lightly. I grasped it in my hand and stoked it. My movements were stilted by his underwear. After I took them off and dropped them next to my own underwear, there was much more real estate to work with. My hand was back to stroking right away. I was mostly just trying to bide time getting my energy back.

A little longer and my energy was back up to useful levels. So, I straddled his waist again and leaned in to kiss him. I wasn’t as conscious of my nakedness as I normally was. Our kiss was heated but I managed to pull away somehow. The trailing kisses down his chest made his breathing heavy. When I reached his cock, I licked a stripe from base to tip. I felt him tug at my ponytail holder. “I will never understand how this works.” I chuckled and reached up to pull my hair down. It fell in a cascade around my face. I tucked some behind my ear and repeated the same lick. The groan and hand that was winding its way in my hair told me all I needed to know. I smiled to myself before taking his cock in my mouth. I sucked slowly at first. I needed to take a few minutes to get used to the feeling. He removed his hand from my hair then, letting me do my thing. He put it back when I started to take more and more into my mouth and throat. I sighed softly when I managed to take it all. That last half inch was always iffy. His hand was wrapped up in my hair and holding it away from my face. I was surprised that he remembered not to tug when I started bobbing my head. Or maybe that wouldn’t be something a guy would forget. His hand traveled down to the base of my hair and rested against my skull. He started to buck his hips and I gagged slightly. Focusing on breathing through my nose, I kept my pace up. I knew he was holding back. I moaned around his cock and he cursed under his breath. I didn’t quite catch it. I stopped sucking to take a big breath of air.

Before I could resume my actions, Monty tugged on my hair. I looked up at him. There’s the hunger. He tugged on my hair again. He was trying to pull me up towards him without hurting me or being too demanding about it. I crawled forward towards the headboard. Kissing him again was the easiest choice I made this trip. I got lost in the feeling of his lips on mine and his tongue fighting mine for dominance. He took advantage of my distraction and rolled us over again. He always did like to be on top. “Do you have a condom anywhere?” he asked between kisses.

“I slipped one in the nightstand beside the Bible.” I breathed.

“You would put it beside the Bible.” He sat up and reached into the drawer, pulling out the blue foil packet. Once the condom was in place and the foil was discarded, he kissed me again. He was still kissing me when he adjusted our positions so he could enter me. My neck had always been a favourite spot to kiss. I gasped when I felt his cock enter me. It felt amazing. My body knew what to do instinctively as soon as he began thrusting. My hips were quickly able to match his pace. I gripped his biceps tightly, trying to convince myself that I wasn’t dreaming.

As his pace quickened, mine stilled. I was watching him. His brow was furrowed, focusing on this moment. I was pretty sure both of us weren’t sure if it would ever happen again. I reached up and brushed some hair that had fallen into his face away. Montgomery hit a particularly sensitive spot and my hand fell to his shoulder, squeezing and digging my nails into the skin. I moaned loudly and he kissed me to muffle it. “Shhh.” He cooed against my mouth. I whimpered. I felt my orgasm building again. It was coming on fast. My hips started to move on their own accord again. His thrusts started to falter, and I mewled. We were both on a rollercoaster that was speeding up to a stomach dropping fall. I covered my mouth so no one could hear the scream trying to jump from my throat. My eyes screwed shut tightly and my eyes rolled back in my head. The white light was so bright. As soon as my orgasm began to hit, so did Monty’s.

He pulled out of me quickly and discarded the used condom. All but falling over me, he rolled onto his back. We were both breathless. I was gasping for air. He was panting heavily. I rolled over onto my side, for some reason shy to cuddle up against him. It seemed silly to be concerned about that after what we had just done. But it felt like crossing a line. “Come here.” Monty pulled me closer to him.

“Are you sure we should be doing this? It doesn’t cross a line?”

“Reagan. We just had arguably the best sex of our lives and I told you I love you. I think we are way past being concerned about crossing lines.” I sighed, realizing he was probably right. Might as well get comfortable. “You need to go pee first.” I sighed again and excused myself. Back in bed, I curled up beside him again.

“We had to go and make everything complicated.”

“When has anything about us not been complicated?”

“I guess you’re right. Will you stay?” He checked his watch and thought for a minute.

“I can stay for a while if you want me to.”

“Yes please.”

I woke up the next morning alone with the blankets tucked around me tightly. There was a note on the pillow next to me written in Montgomery’s messy scrawl. I’ll be waiting. Remember that. I love you. I set the note in my lap and rubbed my face. I should check my phone. See if I missed anything important. Zach had texted me to say good night the night before, while I was… otherwise engaged. There was a text from Justin asking if I needed to talk. And Scott. He wanted to know if I knew where Monty was last night. Oh god. I forgot they were sharing a room. Oh shit. I need to face Zach now. Deciding it would be best to get it over with as soon as possible, I dragged my butt out of bed. I tucked Monty’s note in my suitcase while I got dressed.

When I looked in the mirror and saw the marks on my chest and neck, I rolled my eyes. I packed a heavy-duty concealer for my under eyes. I wasn’t planning on using it to cover hickeys that my ex-boyfriend left on me. Blending and layering took longer than expected but it was early enough that I was still done at a reasonable time. I had to leave my hair down though. Throwing on a pair of sneakers, I made my way to Zach and Justin’s room. I paused for a second when I passed Montgomery’s room. I shook my head. You can’t. Not while Zach is still a factor in the equation. I knocked on Zach’s door and he opened it shirtless. My eyes trailed down his body. I couldn’t stop the memories of last night from flooding back. “Good morning beautiful.”

“Morning Zachy. Can I come in?”

“Yeah. I’m just about ready.” I nodded and went to sit on his bed. Thankfully I wasn’t walking funny. When he was ready, we went downstairs hand in hand.

Monty was talking to Scott in the hotel lobby. I was shocked to see him awake and dressed at this time. The man likes his sleep. And we didn’t exactly get much last night. “Morning Scott. Monty.” Zach stopped to talk as we passed. I couldn’t look Monty in the eye.

“Morning lovebirds.” Scott replied.

“Zach. Reagan.”

“Morning.”

“No tea yet?”

“No.”

“I see. Long night?” I could hear the smirk in Monty’s voice. I hate you.

“I stayed up watching tv.” Zach began making small talk with the boys but I didn’t contribute anymore. I just wanted to get out of there and be alone with my boyfriend. Part of me hoped I could forget that last night ever happened. That didn’t stop me from thinking about it though. The longer they talked, the more I thought about it.

“Babe let’s go. Brunch is waiting.” I urged him to stop talking to Monty and Scott. Please don’t invite them.

“It’s not even eleven Rea. I don’t think it counts as brunch yet.” Scott laughed.

“Okay, then breakfast is waiting. Either way, I’m hungry and food that is far too calories dense to be considered a proper morning meal is waiting.”

“Did you guys want to come with?” My eyes widened. Did he just…? He did not just invite them with us.

“Uh.” Monty cleared his throat. “Are you sure you want to invite me?”

“Yeah. I mean, you and Reagan are friends. I’m going to have to get used to it somehow.”

“Why don’t we ask Reagan?” Monty turned and looked at me, raising an inquisitive brow.

“Um. I- uh.” I looked down, blushing. “I was kind of hoping we could go… just the two of us?” I asked Zach, raising my voice a couple of octaves.

“Oh. Oh, I’m sorry. I just thought…,” he paused and took my hand again, “of course we can go just us. I was just trying to be nice and make an effort.” He was looking at me so kindly that I had to look away. “Sorry guys.”

“Nah, no worries. Gotta get time with your girl.” Scott waved it off. He shot Monty a look that I didn’t like. It made me feel uneasy. Does he know? Before I could think too much into it, Zach was leading me outside.

Brunch was delicious. Zach was his usual slightly oblivious but in a cute way self. If he had any idea something was wrong, he didn’t let on. On our way back, we stopped to sit and look at the White House from a distance. “Why did you invite Monty and Scott to have brunch with us?”

“Well, I didn’t realize you wanted to go just the two of us.”

“That’s not what I meant. You don’t like Monty. So why invite him to hang out?”

“He’s your friend. As much as I don’t like it and I don’t like how he talks to you, he’s important to you. So, I’m willing to try to be nice to him.” Oh. Well now I feel like even more of an asshole.

“That… That’s really nice of you Zachy. Thank you.”

“No problem. What do you say we head back and watch a movie in your room?” He kissed my temple and stood, holding his hand out to me.

“My room? Could we maybe go back to yours? Mine is kind of messy. I had some trouble finding something to wear this morning.”

“Okay. I don’t think Justin is holing himself up in there today.”

Scott caught us when we got back to the hotel. “Hey! Can I steal Reagan for a few minutes? I need to ask her something about an assignment in Spanish.”

“Sure. We were just going to watch a movie.”

“O-okay.” I waved to Zach and trailed behind Scott to his and Monty’s shared room. “I’m hopeless at Spanish and you know it. What is this about?” Please tell me he doesn’t know.

“Are you going to tell Zach about last night?” Fuck.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“That’s crap. Are you going to tell him, or not? Because he deserves to know.”

“How do you know about it?”

“Monty didn’t come in until like two or three this morning. I hadn’t seen him for hours before that. When I saw him this morning, and the calling card you left on his neck, it wasn’t hard to put two and two together. The concealer on your neck just confirmed my suspicions. Just be thankful Zach is too oblivious to notice it.” I sighed, knowing he was right.

“I will. Just… not while we are still here. I don’t want to ruin anything. More than it already is anyway. Plus no one wants to deal with anyone getting arrested on a school trip.”

“Okay.”

“Is that all?” I turned to leave.

“Yeah. Actually, one more thing?” I stopped just short of the door. “Monty really does love you. And anyone with half a brain cell can see that you still love him. So, you deserve to be happy.”

“Thanks Scott.”

I spent the rest of the trip trying to avoid Montgomery and hold my tongue around Zach. I slept almost the whole flight back to California. School the next day dragged on. It continued to drag on for the next two weeks. Senioritis had set in hard now that we were done the D.C. trip. No one wanted to be there. We were graduating in a month. Most of us were going off to college. The last few weeks of school were basically pointless anyways. Even our teachers didn’t care as much. It was hard, but I managed to stay pretty cordial with Monty. I kept up appearances that everything was fine for most of the two weeks following the trip with Zach. On Friday I woke up and decided that it was time. I had to end things. I had to be fair to him. I had to take a chance and see if Monty and I could make things work this time. I texted Zach on my way to school. Meet me at the docks after school? The water is beautiful this time of year.

Sure.

I sat in my car for ten minutes after I arrived, trying to talk myself out of talking myself out of doing this. Zach wasn’t here yet so I got out of the car and walked around, trying to find a secluded bench where we could talk in private. I found the perfect one under a tree in the shade. It had an amazing view of the water. I snapped a selfie and sent it to him. Come and find me.

Zach snuck up and slid into the spot next to me. I jumped slightly. “Hey beautiful.”

“Hey.”

“I missed you today.”

“Yeah, I had some stuff to do. You know, last minute projects and final touches on assignments.”

“I know.” We sat quietly for a bit, just admiring the view. “You’re right. The water is beautiful this time of year.”

“Yeah.” I picked at my nails nervously. Just do it. “Listen, Zach….” I started.

“Yes?” He took my hand in his. I stared down at it.

“I- I think that…,” I paused. “I think that we need to break up.”

“What? Why?”

“I think it would be the best thing for us Zach.”

“Do you not love me anymore?”

“What? No, of course I do. It’s just… things are changing so fast.”

“Then why?”

“We are both going away to school next year and it will be too hard. I don’t want you to be tied down to someone on the other side or halfway across the country.”

“How do you know it will be too hard, Reagan?”

“Because. I’ve seen people try to make it work. We are eighteen Zach. We have our whole lives ahead of us. College is supposed to be the time where we experiment and make mistakes. To drink too many mixed drinks and wake up in someone else’s bed. I want you to experience that. And you can’t do that if you aren’t single.”

“We don’t leave for school for another two months at least though.”

“I don’t want us to wait until a week before we leave to decide that going into college single is the best choice.” Zach was silent for a while. I felt so bad. It needed to be done though.

“I guess you’re right.”  I smiled sadly at him. “You’ll always be special to me, you know that?”

“I know. You’ll always be special to me too.” I squeezed his hand and he kissed me softly for the last time. Knowing he would need time to sit and process, I was the one who stood and left him on the bench.

In my car before driving away from the docks and Zach, I sent a text message. Four words. Eleven letters. I hoped he would know what it meant. I love you too. The weight of hitting send was unimaginable. I had spent so long denying it, that I didn’t know how to feel about it. I guess I would just have to wait and see what the future held.

[peeterparkr]

perennial;tom holland|eleven.

chapter eleven: snapdragons & sunflowers (Vol. 1) 

↳ flower meaning: snapdragons: deception. sunflowers: unconditional love.

chapter summary: to ask for a kiss. 

pairing: tom holland x y/n

warnings: fluff, angst, comedy, all in one, mentions or allusion to sex but not smut :), you’ll see, alcohol. 

You’ll hate me. 

word count: 11.2K

SOCIAL MEDIA BEFORE THE CHAPTER:

masterlist & profiles  

ten (Instagram): in which they share set pictures

ten (tweets & texts:in which the groupchats are…loud

previous chapter next chapter   perennial masterlist.

perfidy  ( series masterlist)

wanna be tagged?

So, please help me out I think tags aren’t working. So yes, hope you enjoy this :)

Y/N was made of the people she loved or once loved. Everyone is, really, but y/n probably made sure it showed.

 Like her habit for photography had come from her very own best friend, of the way she started watching cooking videos because of her other best friend and always read the ingredients on any of the food she ate. Her clothing style had come from her very own first boyfriend who had introduced her to the magnificent world of the 80’s.

Her love for 80’s movies had come from Louis introducing her every night to a different one, a new story, a new song, and honestly it was good he showed her to it, y/n found her one true love. Louis, really, had shown y/n a lot of things, like how to lie to see him at indecent hours, and how  And how Louis taught her that love doesn’t have to last and that sometimes people aren’t what we expect.  

How she loved pancakes because that’s what her mother used to make them every Sunday, and how she’d learned from her father that sometimes sitting outside in the grass on a sunny day could bring back happiness to us. 

How her grandma had taught her how to have a perfect poker face, and how her grandfather had shown her how to peel an orange in a ‘correct way’. 

 How she had started to drink her tea with lemon and honey because James had once given her one like that and it brought nice memories. And how James had told her that it’s okay to love, even when people tell you not to, you have to fight for your love, you shall never be afraid of who you love. And James teaching her that she should love for herself, for her own, and not having to share her feelings if she didn’t want to. 

How y/n had started to watch subtitled films because Timmy had shown her some hidden gems. Or how she had learned from Tim to enjoy little moments, like the sunrise if she ever had to wake up early, or how she opened the windows to listen to the rain splattering. Tim had taught her too much about life, like enjoying wasting time. 

Y/N was made, the most, of the people she loved the most. Like how she made pasta the way James had taught her to once when their parents had gone out and James was left in charge. 

Or how when she was sad she’d watch that movie her childhood friend had introduced her to, and how they didn’t talk now. How y/n had learned that music was a way of healing because of that same friend. 

Or how to make a story sound great with Harry, and how Harry had shown her songs that probably were her favorite ones. How Harry and her knew that they didn’t like tequila because of that one time, and how they had learned that mixing cranberry, and grape juice and vodka tasted great thanks to Sam’s idea. 

The way that Emma had taught her to use certain hair products, and how Emma had taught her that sometimes we have to sing out our feelings, and scream and shout. How Emma had taught her the importance of a friendship and having someone’s shoulder to cry on. That she didn’t have to be lonely. 

How when she kissed she usually liked to place her hands behind their neck because she’d done that on her very first kiss with Tom, or how she usually ate some of the chocolate chips when she baked cookies because Tom and her used to do that. She had learned how to wrestle from a very young age and beat Tom, and she had learned how to play with his hair in a way to make him smile. She had learned the meaning of a rose, when all her life she had never understood about it, Tom had shown her how to approach a dog, and Tom had taught her how to cuff her jeans in a cool way. Or the habit she’d picked from him of undressing the beer bottle when they were talking or how he opened it with the table. How Tom had taught her how to kiss, from their very first one to the last one, different kisses each time, how he’d taught her each and every kiss is a journey, a mystery. How she’d learned how to deal with heartbreaks and to fall in love all over again. And how she had learned that he’d come back to her. But really, how a heartbreak feels when it’s real. 

That’s who y/n was. All the beautiful things of the people she loved. 

But she was also the bad ones, unfortunately, because people shape us. Y/N was also made of the ugly parts, very ugly parts. 

One that stood out the most, she’d learned from Tom, from James, from her family, was to avoid talking. 

Everybody wanted to talk, everybody except y/n. She knew she was being immature, but she’d learned that from everyone around her, not to care if you don’t have to. But she was too overwhelmed, everyone had something to say about, except her. How could she talk if she didn’t know what she wanted? 

Tom, Harry, Emma, Tim, James, Sam, Cherry, Aunt Eliza, even Josh and Clark.  

Everybody wanted to talk. She didn’t. 

She had caught on to what Tom was doing. She'd go along with it, he was the only one she wanted to talk to, honestly. 

And Emma, because she knew Emma didn’t judge her, Emma understood y/n, and Emma had been the only one who really didn’t tell her she was wrong. Even if Tim was her best friend, Ema understood that y/n’s heart belonged to Tom. 

“Clark is great, I may have fallen in love with him,” Emma had stated. 

Y/N nodded. “He’s great, I—“

“Why didn’t you know?” Emma asked. 

“I did know. But I didn’t—James was—you know how I’ve only dated three guys?” Y/n asked, she was putting on makeup, she had a date. 

“Yeah.” 

“James is exactly the opposite, he’s dated like half the gay population his age in London,” y/n scrunched her nose, as she was choosing between lipsticks.. “So I just—Never paid attention to any guy he dated because I never thought it was serious.” 

“Are you talking to him now?”

“I did today, only because of Clark,” y/n admitted, giving up on the lipsticks and instead choosing to work on her hair. “James is still angry I am in love.” 

“Not angry at that, you know that,” Emma pointed out. 

“Is it that wrong I am so in love with Tom?” Y/n left the brush on the table as she turned to look at Emma. 

“It’s completely bollocks y/n, but then again,” Emma sighed, “I wish I could be more like you and just love—I mean and I also wish Harry wasn’t so scared okay? He’s just so bloody scared, I wish he’d just say hey, Emma, d’ya fancy to go for a stroll? But no, we are both so… Gosh, I wish we were more like you and Tom, throwing everything down the drain.” 

“We are-” 

“You are, y/n,” Emma rolled her eyes. “He blows your mind and you basically want to yell it to the world, and he gets you all stupid, and you’re happy again, that’s alright, though-” 

Emma was laying down on y/n’s bed, her feet up against the wall, as she was nibbling on a popsicle. 

“Yes, I know, we have to talk,” she sighed. 

“Who says it has to be right now?” Emma had said. “Right now you barely have time to think, and I see you all happy and giggling, and besides, talking doesn’t have to be dramatic.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“It’s just… I don’t get it why James wants it to be dramatic, it’s just hey, you guys love each other, what else is there to know?” 

Y/N nodded, turning back to the lipsticks. 

“You do have to tell him you know about Cherry, though, which-” 

“Yeah, n, no, but I get it,” y/n sighed.

“Which, I love you’re ignoring, just pretending like she doesn’t exist, ” Emma laughed. “She just arrived yesterday, didn’t she?” 

“She did,” Y/N sighed. “Ugh, I don’t want to see her and she wants to talk, what does she want to talk about? We’ve never cared about each other before, met her like three times growing up because my mum and hers didn’t get along, which by the way, I’m scared James and I are headed in that same direction.” 

“You won’t,” Emma said. “James loves you too much to ever leave you.” 

“You never know,” y/n said. “Besides that’s not my point, my point is why does she want to talk? We have nothing in common!” 

“Dunno, you’re blood related and you both rode the same dick, seems like you’ve got a lot in common.” 

Y/n closed her eyes as she forced a laugh, “Emma!” 

“I’m just saying, y/n, that’s why you and I became close, we’ve both kissed the same two guys.”

“It’s different,” Y/N scoffed. “I—just don’t want to see her okay? Because I know I’ll be reminded of every single insecurity I have,” she admitted. “Because I know that the moment I see her I’ll get just so anxious, you know? She’s so pretty, and she’s so perfect and from what-” 

“From what I’ve gathered from Eliza, she’s also a mess,” Emma added. 

“That’s an issue, that’s Tom’s type, just look at me,” y/n laughed as she stared at a bright red lipstick. 

Emma scoffed. “Oh, hadn’t thought about that, Tom’s into messy girls with your genes.” 

“It’s so fucked up, though,” y/n said, as she looked up at the wall, she needed to change the flowers, they were drying out. She hadn’t changed them in a while. 

Emma shrugged, “considering how small his brain is, he probably thought it would feel the same way if he closed his eyes.” 

“As if it would,” y/n replied cockily, finally choosing a light pink, changing it up a bit, she’d always used bright red lipsticks with Tom,  “I’ve known him his whole life, and now I’ve—“she cleared her throat. “ I know exactly how to work him up.” 

Emma let out a loud and long laugh. “I can tell, Jesus, what did you do to him to have him oh, so mesmerized? Are you a sex goddess or why are those two men so bloody entranced by you?”

Y/N blushed and shook her head laughing. “You’re an idiot.” 

“How do you really feel?” Emma wondered, getting the conversation back as serious as it was supposed to be. 

“I don’t know,” Y/N admitted, she was still on some pair of pjs. “I… I’ve been talking with Tom, or…” She rolled her eyes. “He’s found a way to talk, and I think it’s worked out for both of us.” 

“Oh, what is it?” Emma sighed. 

Y/n walked over to her closet, it felt so weird to choose something to wear, Tom had warned her to be casual, something her style, something very her. 

“We use the script so we can… I guess we’re projecting it all, and well, I think he’s been understanding about it, and I think I’m starting to understand his point of view, about Tim at least.” 

“Please, I don’t need to listen to him to know why he feels that way,” Emma pointed out. 

“Really?” Y/n turned back to Emma as she was choosing between them. 

“I like the red one,” Emma suggested. “But please, y/n,” Emma scoffed. “Timmy was the one who stole his chance, Timmy was the one who got the girl when he had fucked up and everyone around Tom said it, we’ve all said it at some point, Tim is perfect for you.” 

“But—“

“and besides, Timmy was the one-” 

“The one who opened the door when Tom came to apologize,” y/n finished Emma’s sentence as she sat down hugging the red dress Emma had suggested. 

Emma frowned. “What?” 

“Guess Timmy had secrets, too,” y/n said.

Emma seemed confused. 

“He never told me about it, how Tom had come a second time, and…” She sighed. “I mean I guess I’m thankful he didn’t but I’m… I’m only wondering—“

“Oh, back when you first started dating,” Emma recalled. “He did tell me about it, and I.. was the one to advise him not to  tell you.” 

Y/N gulped. 

“Would you have run back to Tom?” Emma wondered, embarrassed. “Honestly I told him not to because—Well, I had asked Harry about it, you know? Harry had said you hated each other and that you had been avoiding Tom for a while now. That you were enemies.” 

“We were.” 

“And I mean—Back then, you really hated him.”

Y/n nodded. “Yeah, I did.” 

“So I told Tim not to tell you about it, because I thought—I didn’t know the background but I thought Tom was going to—hurt you, you know? And I guess, we all did, and we all kept that mentality even when he wasn’t trying to.”

“Yeah.” 

“Wow, I’ve never thought about that,” Emma nodded. “Even when I knew you were dating back in New York, we were just waiting for it, for Tom to—“

“Yeah, for Tom to pull a Tom,” y/n ended the sentence. “And I mean—He kind of did, but it was my fault.” 

“Tom really sabotages himself, it seems.” 

Y/N reached out to hug her frog, she was thankful James had brought it, “he does, but because he’s expected to, you know? Maybe that’s why— I haven’t brought it up because I’m not—I’m not expecting the heartbreak this time, and I know bringing up the whole Cherry thing is looking for it,” y/n explained. “I trust him this time, and he really wants to make it work out.” 

“Would you have gone back to him? Had Tim told you he had showed up?” Emma questioned. 

Y/N breathed in heavily. “Dunno,” she said. “I was so heartbroken back then, I thought— and I had promised myself back then I would never fall back for him, and… I mean, I had even thought I would never love again because that’s how dramatic it was, I really didn’t want to see him, that heartbreak is what led to all this mess, you know?” She explained. “Now Tom knows that, I think he really understands it, and he feels guilty and I mean, I was angry when Tom told me about it, because… Tim, well he didn’t know back then, he just was too sure that Tom loved me but—After learning all of this? Tim should’ve told me, because just now, learning it, I guess it changed a lot of things, not that it erased anything, but I lived all this time thinking he hadn’t… He really hadn’t cared, and it took him a lot of time, still, but he had tried to apologize again, and Tim keeping it to himself knowing that what broke me the most was that Tom had never shown up? Tim keeping it to himself is just—so selfish.” 

Emma bit her lip. “He’s still in love with you.” 

Y/N remained quiet. 

“I mean, you can’t blame him,” Emma said. “You guys were… I mean before Tom, you really seemed to be hitting it off, I thought you’d end up dating again.” 

“I did, too, at some point,” y/n admitted. “But-” 

“But you love Tom, I know,” Emma shrugged. “No but… Y/N you also, have to acknowledge it, you can’t keep playing with Tim which-before you say anything, I mean it’s also on him, he knew it, but then again, I… I believed it at some point y/n, that you were going to get back together with him because… The way you looked at him just… and it was just—” 

“I know, I know and I thought… I don’t know, okay?” y/n admitted as she sat up. “I… It’s cause I never… I had closure with Tim, alright? I gave him the ring back because I thought, I know it, I want Tom, okay? It’s Tom, yes, it’s Tom.”

“But?” 

Y/n sighed, “Timmy—alright as I said before, I had said I would never love again after the whole Rome thing,” she cleared up. “And then Tim came along and just showed me this beautiful life and taught me how to love again, and I—He became a very special part of me.” 

“Yeah, and? That doesn’t explain your flirting.” 

“I didn’t—flirt.” 

“Well you answered to his flirting,” Emma pointed out. 

“We were—“

“You guys were flirting y/n!” Emma replied quickly, slightly stressed. “You guys don’t flirt like everyone else! Your flirting style with each other was by showing each other songs and him watering your plants, y/n! You were basically having sex with each other,” Emma rolled her eyes. 

Y/N stayed quiet. 

“But I know, Tom, Tom—“

Y/n gulped. “Yeah, Tom.” 

Emma watched y/n, confused. “Why are you acting like it’s the last time?” 

“What?” 

“Like it’s your last chance with Tom.” 

“I...don’t know, because what if it is, you know? It’s… stupid, we’ve had plenty of chances and… Last time, I just… Had I known it would lead to that. I know it’s my fault, and like we’ve both blown it up so it’s—“

“Neither one of you will fuck up.” 

“I know—But Tom… We are trying and I’m happy but I feel-” 

“Y/N you are pretending, I know, you won’t be happy until you talk about it with him.” 

She sighed. “I know, and we’ve been talking and I…” She coughed. “I really want to try it out.” 

“But…?”

“Am I allowed to forgive something like that? Am I even allowed to get angry about Cherry?”

Emma sat up as well. “Y/N, had he slept with anyone else I wouldn’t be so sure but that’s your cousin, that’s fucked up and-” 

“What if he finds out about Tim?” 

Y/N grabbed the pillow that had once been under her head and proceeded to get it in her face and scream into it. 

“Wait, I’m… I’m gonna try that,” Emma laughed, doing the same. 

Both of them were screaming into the pillows, pitying their sorrows and problems. 

Timmy had walked in. 

“What the hell?” He asked. 

Emma was the only one to peak her head out of it. “It’s therapeutic.” 

Timothee had only chuckled. “I bet.” 

Y/N had stopped screaming but kept the pillow over her face. She didn’t know how she felt about Tim, there was no point in being angry at something from the past, but it did change a lot of the way she saw him, maybe he had forgotten. But Tim was never one to forget, he was observant and he was quiet, and he was all about the stories. 

“Um, y/n?” Tim said. 

Emma watched Tim, and the small object he had in his hand. She shot him a warning glare, scared of the inside. 

“Yeah?” y/n answered from her pillow which now had a nice stain of makeup on it. 

“Can I talk to you?” He asked. 

Another person wanting to talk, what was it with everybody wanting to say words and listening and whatever? Y/N thought to herself. 

Though Timmy hadn’t asked for it yet, she knew it, but he hadn’t really said it, not the whole y/n we should talk. 

She wanted to say no, but she knew that she couldn’t keep doing that. Counting the days until it finally had to blow up, and then end up with bruises, no, she didn’t have to do that. 

She finally let the pillow down, “Yeah, sure,” she said before walking out of her room. 

“Sure, leave Emma behind,” Emma pointed out. 

“I… well,” Y/N looked at Tim. 

“It’ll be quick, darling, Emma dear,” Tim assured her. 

Emma rolled her eyes. “It never is with you both.” 

Tim rolled his eyes before leading the way outside of the apartment, y/n frowned, asking him to wait up so she could put on her sneakers, still wearing her pj’s. 

“So your birthday is tomorrow,” Tim had said as they had walked out, he had sat on the stairs. 

She chuckled as she sat beside him. “Yeah.” 

“You look really pretty,” Tim had said. 

“These pj’s really accentuate my features huh,” y/n joked. 

“Your makeup looks pretty and hair, idiot,” Tim chuckled. 

She only gave him a sad smile. 

“So, what are your plans?” He asked. 

“For… tonight? I’ve got a date,” she explained.

“No, tomorrow.” 

She shrugged. “Tom’s got some plans, apparently, he hasn’t told me anything about it, honestly I don’t… I don’t want to…” 

“What?” 

“Do anything you know? I will be too tired after filming, and I… I just feel like… Dunno, James and Clark will be there and I don’t want to talk to James still, and apparently Cherry invited herself, too so… And you’ll be there, and Harry and Emma… and Josh, and I just... ” She chuckled. “I’ve got a bad feeling.” 

“Why?” 

“Dunno, seems like a perfect combination for disaster.” 

“I met Cherry today,” he admitted. “Well, we’d met before but-Yeah, I thought you’d be at the flower shop. “And she was there, instead.” 

Y/N scrunched her nose. “Yeah I know she’s there, that’s why I haven’t gone there,” she explained chuckling shyly. 

“Why?” 

“Because then I’ll start feeling insignificant, because let’s face it and don’t you dare say no, but she’s really… Pretty, like she’s everything a girl would want to be and I’m jealous of her,” she admitted, truthfully. “I’ve never been the jealous kind but with her, I feel like—Of course anyone would choose her over me, and don’t—Say anything okay? I just feel that way. And if I see her I’ll be reminded of the elephant in the room waiting to be addressed, and I… If the conversation about you went wrong I don’t want to know how that-” 

“About me?” 

“Yeah,” she looked down. “Dunno.” 

Tim bit his lip. 

“How did he-?” 

“I don’t want to talk about that, Tim,” she quickly answered. “I can’t blame him for feeling the way he feels and that’s on me, too, I mean… I… really.” 

“What?” 

She looked down. “I— well, I don’t…know alright? If I feel anxious about Cherry I can only imagine how he feels about you, no, I can’t even imagine it, and look Tim, I—you know you’re very important to me but I’m… I’m dating… Or whatever is going on now, but It’s Tom right now, alright? And I know it’ll be for a long time.” 

“I know.” 

She looked at him, confused by his statement because it really didn’t feel like he knew it.. “And I don’t… want you to think there is an open door or-” 

“Y/N, I know,” he said. “Yeah, I know it’s Tom, now.” 

“But it’s not just—“

“I know,” Tim looked away. “I know.” 

She looked down. “I’m sorry.” 

“Just….” He took a deep breath. “I know it’s him, but that doesn’t… I mean, we’ve been friends, and I—I just ask you not to push me away, alright? I don’t know how I’d live without y/n in my world, and if having you around means having you with him, then I just have to deal with it, move on you know? And I know we are friends, so this is… This comes from your friend, Timmy.” 

She smiled, just slightly, very timidly. It hurt, hurting him but of course, keeping him around meant jeopardizing her relationship with Tom, and she really didn’t want to give it more excuses. 

“Timmy,” she sighed. 

He smiled. “I’m serious, it’s alright, no… no resentment, alright? We both know we… I don’t…you know it, I’ll always love you, but we—I mean you—you love someone else and it’s be stupid of me not letting you love him, that is just pathetically selfish. And don’t get me wrong, it hurts like a bitch…. Yeah, I know it, but… I don’t want to lose you, I am not stupid… but I also… I know that if I give this to you tomorrow, Tom will lose it and I… don’t want that, so I’m giving you this, today.” 

He pulled out a film canister. And it felt like one of those times when life likes to punch you with reality. She felt a fear deep inside her stomach. Last time he’d given her one of those an engagement ring was hidden in it. 

“It’s… It’s not what you think,” Tim rolled his eyes. “Oh, you really thought I’d propose again?” 

She let out a soft chuckle. “No--I… I mean,” I’m-I didn’t think you would-” 

“Your face,” He chuckled softly. “Yeah, no, I… I’m…” 

“Yeah, just last time you gave me one of those-” 

“Yeah, and look where it led us, I’m not… I wouldn’t… No,” Timmy laughed. “No, it’s not… and—do you really think I’m the type of guy to propose on a bad time—-Actually don’t answer that,” he chuckled. “Okay, open it.” 

She grinned, and took the film canister from him. “Man I hope it’s an iPad,” she joked, warning a laugh from Tim. “No, you—you shouldn’t have.” 

She shook it just slightly, listening to no sound coming out from it, before finally opening, carefully. “A…there’s nothing?” She asked. 

“Yeah,” Tim laughed. “I know.” 

She frowned, confused but then chuckled. “I love it… I hope I… can get to wear it soon,” she joked. 

“It couldn’t fit there, but I—Well, you know, we had that tradition, ,” he said before finally giving her the box that sat beside him. 

She took the box and smiled, opening it, an old vintage Polaroid camera stood there. 

“I know you’ve—I think it works, it’s—It’s an original, I've noticed you haven't really taken any Polaroids, and I know you love them,” he coughed. “So, yeah, happy birthday.” 

Y/N had only looked up, giving him a true smile. 

“Thank you, I love it!” 

But of course, the timing could not have gone any worse. Tom had arrived. Y/N had momentarily  forgotten she had agreed to spend the night with him, nothing too serious but Tom had insisted because he had a surprise for early in the morning and he’d come pick her up for dinner and then she’d stay with him. 

Maybe she should’ve seen the trouble coming. 

Tom cleared his throat loudly, “hello,” he said, standing with sunflowers. Yellow flowers with pretty meaning, y/n thought. 

Y/n looked up, calmly, knowing that if he saw any hint of her freaking out it would blow it up because his mind would go places.

“Oh hi!” She grinned. “sorry—I’m not—“

Tom clenched his jaw at Tim, but then turned to y/n and chuckled, “Darling,  when I said casual—I didn’t—“

She chuckled nervously standing up. “Sorry, I—“she squeezed her eyes shut. “I was discussing with Tim something about some pictures he’s planning on—yeah,” she lied, as she hid the film canister and box behind her back. 

“Yeah,” Tim said, clearing his throat, standing up as well. “Hello, Thomas.” 

“Tim.” Tom was nervous already, y/n could tell. 

“Are those for me?” Y/n questioned staring at the flowers  before they could say another word to each other. 

Tom chuckled between his teeth, “yeah, they’re most certainly not for Tim.” 

“Oh,” Tim said, “and here I was getting excited about them.” 

Tom faked a very quiet laugh and then turned to y/n. “So? Don’t get me wrong, you literally look so beautiful—but—“ He smiled looking down at her clothing. 

“Yeah—right!” She excused herself, not forgetting to kiss his cheek, before running back to her room, where Emma was waiting with the red dress and had pulled out some heels for her. 

Emma  walked out of the room, “hello, Tom, long time no see,” she said with sarcasm. 

“I know, these couple hours have been long,” Tom joked back, as he had walked in. 

Tim had followed after. It felt so tense, Emma could swear she could cut the tension with a knife. 

Emma hummed a fake laugh. “There are flower vases over there, you can guess which ones are y/n’s now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna steal Tim from you just a bit, I hope you don’t miss him as much.”

Emma had dragged Tim to her own room. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Emma snapped. 

“A lot of things,” Tim answered. “But let’s not go there, please.” 

“Oh don’t play that with me, I know exactly what you’re doing, and Tim—“

“I’m not—“

“Don’t fucking pull the whole I’m not doing anything bullshit with me,” she rolled her eyes. “I know exactly what you’re doing, and I’m sure you gave her the Polaroid today, really? Exactly when you know she’ll go on a date with Tom? And you take her to the stairs? So he can see it right?

Tim clenched his jaw. “I—Well.” 

“Sabotaging her relationship is not the way to go, Tim,” Emma warned him. “And I—I just told you—Best thing you could try is...move on, alright? I know you love her and that she was—She seemed perfect for you, and I still think you guys worked so well together but… She is so in love with him, and by doing this you’re only hurting her more—Besides, really Tim, you know her better than this,” she pushed. “I—“ Emma sighed. “I'm telling you this because I love you, I don’t want to sound harsh but—“She closed her eyes. “I know she is confused, and making her even more confused won’t help you, let her settle it, let her have it right now.” 

Tim didn’t say anything and just walked out of the room. He had gone to his room and unfortunately had left his door open to see y/n walking out on a red dress to run over excitedly to Tom, who had pulled her close to him to kiss her cheek and smell her perfume. 

Timmy knew Emma was right, y/n was in love with him. So, very deeply in love. And it hurt, seeing her. And Timmy asked for more patience, or for more time, or strength to move on. 

It felt weird, Tim felt lonely and broken hearted, and he just missed her, and it was stupidly incredible that she lived right there in the same apartment. He knew she loved Tom, that was it but it…. It still didn’t make any sense. Honestly, it felt like they were completely strangers. 

Especially y/n, she really felt like a stranger, even to Tom it seemed. She seemed too… distant to everyone.

Tom felt it, too. He felt that y/n was just off, even if she was happy or tried to be and even if she was kissing his cheek, she was being… different. And Tom only wanted to get over with it, the awkwardness. 

And he wondered if she wanted to get over with it, too. 

They went out for dinner, not in the place where she’d imagine Tom would take her, it was a nice dinner place with lightbulbs hanging around, a flower in a glass bottle, candles around, very… cozy, and romantic, and they were talking about barely anything, and maybe for a bit it felt like they were each other again. 

Y/N knew this, she felt weird with herself, as if even when she seemed to be saying what she wanted to say, she really wasn’t saying what her heart wanted, but as if her own heart was keeping secrets. It felt like Tom didn’t know her, though. And it had never felt that way before, but it felt like they were both trying to get to know each other again. Because neither of them were being themselves, not entirely. 

“So, you were clearly not talking about pictures with Tim,” Tom had mentioned. 

y/n looked at him and nodded. “Yeah, I wasn’t….”

“So?” Tom seemed anxious about it. 

“He gave me a birthday present, a…he gave me a polaroid,” she cleared up. “A vintage, original one.” 

“Oh, that’s cool,” Tom nodded, and gulped. “As long as he doesn’t give you a ring.” 

She rolled her eyes. “Tom.” 

Tom shrugged. 

“I… told him,” she cleared her throat. “That well… it’s you.” 

“It’s me?” Tom wondered, and a smile came to his face. “What am I?” 

She rolled her eyes, chuckling softly. “An idiot, that’s what you are.” 

Tom chuckled. “Uh-huh, I am, and what else?” 

She blushed. “Nothing.” 

Tom hadn’t pushed it any further. Their conversation kept flowing. Talking about them. What made them so… them. 

“I remember that everyone was in love with this one guy, ugh, what’s his name? The one that bullied you,” Y/N tried to recall. 

“Edward,” Tom remembered. “He was so big.” 

“Well, everyone had a crush except me, because well, I was the idiot, you know?” 

“You loved that scrawny guy who-” 

“Adorable guy,” she added. 

“Scrawny guy,” he continued. “Who did ballet and everyone crushed on Edward, who-” 

“I actually was… dating Louis back then,” she recalled. “But…” She chuckled. “But my point is… I was the one who… hid a rat in his car.” 

“No way!” Tom’s eyes popped as he leaned over. “You’re kidding.” 

“I… Look, nobody could be an asshole to you unless it was me, that was-” She was nervous. “I was so angry at everything he said at you, I…” She rolled her eyes. “And I… genuinely don’t know.” 

“Where in this bloody world did you get a rat from?” He wondered. “I mean thank you but I didn’t think you’d-” 

“Please I had experience from pranks for you so of course…” She gulped, hiding a laugh. “I...Well, there was a rat in Louis' house, and well they trapped it and instead of… you know killing it I… well told Louis to break into Ed’s car and I hid the rat there.” 

Tom was shocked. “And that was because of me?” 

“No, I hated Ed,” she looked away. “He was the biggest asshole.” 

Tom grinned. “Are you sure? Because I remember that rat incident being right after he had hit me in the hall.” 

“Really?” y/n coughed. “I wouldn’t remember,” she blushed looking away. 

“Which actually brought attention to me, they said it had been me!” He recalled. “I got into detention.”

Y/N grinned. “Yeah, killed two birds in one shot,” she smirked. 

“I’m serious did you-?” 

“Yeah, maybe I did it for you, okay? Whatever, yes, I had feelings for you and I was angry someone else was taking away my job, let’s remember we were enemies back then, alright?” She was nervous. 

Tom smirked. “You had a crush on me.” 

“Shut up,” she chuckled. “You had a crush on me, too.” 

Tom shrugged, smiling. “Yeah, I did. I’m not trying to hide it.

Y/N avoided his gaze, not believing he was actually making her feel butterflies, even after all this time, she was still nervous. In a good way. She wasn’t always nervous, most of the time, she didn’t, she felt so calm around him, but on the edge, as if she didn’t need to worry about being herself but expectant of each other’s attitude. 

Tom watched her, “Why do I always feel like there’s always something on your mind?” 

“Because there is,” she laughed. “Don’t you?” 

“No, I’m dumb, remember? I can actually blank up my mind,” he smirked. “Or well, not at all. There is a constant on my mind,” he had reached for her hand. 

“Oh?” her eyes had brightened up, a timid smile on her face. 

“Yeah, Spiderman,” he joked, earning a glare from y/n. 

It was so stupid. But they were… back being them. Probably because they were alone. As if someone was brushing y/n’s dream, and she couldn’t get enough of him, his laugh was her everything. She couldn’t help but sigh and run out of breath, and never stop blushing, there was no doubt about it. And she had once thought about it, ‘the day that Tom loves me, the world will party’. She had been wrong, the world wasn’t partying, and there were no flowers blooming and no fireworks. The world instead, stopped, as if it was them and only them. The stars were probably jealous of them seeing them shining even more brightly than them. 

“You know, from the moment we met,” he had said. 

“When we were kids, you mean?” She chuckled . 

“Truly met,” Tom gulped. “Rome, I mean.” 

She blinked. “Yeah.” 

“I… Why didn’t you kiss me?” He asked. 

“Hm? When?” 

“That one night, you know the one, lovely evening, I remember I asked for a kiss,” he recalled. “And… you said and I quote: ‘No, Thomas, don’t ask for a kiss’.” 

She looked away, remembering. “Because I didn’t want you to ask for it.” 

He frowned. 

“It’s silly but that’s the way I am, I didn’t want you to ask for it, I was clearly begging for one,” she explained. “I wanted you to… do it. One should never ask for a kiss, or not… verbally.” 

“How so?”

“I mean certain contexts,” y/n said. “But that night? I thought I had hinted it enough 

“So you did want me to kiss you,” He grinned. 

“Of course!” She beamed. “I—it’s not secret by now that I—“she cleared her throat. “Well, enjoy when our lips come together.” 

“Oh, so you enjoy that?” He mocked. 

“Very much so,” she answered shyly. “And—it had been the perfect evening! It would’ve cost you nothing,” she smiled. 

“Cost me nothing,” he laughed. 

“I think you’ll find that kissing me is quite cheap,” she pointed out.

He scrunched his nose. “That’s a lie.” 

“No, no, I was the one who could lose there,” she sighed.

 “No, y/n. Because kissing you costs a lifetime.” 

She scoffed. “How so?” 

“I kissed you once when I was 13 and never stopped thinking about it,” he said. “And after that evening.” 

“Would I have been so bad?” She questioned, “if we had realized it back then.”

“Think we did,” he said, “but you didn’t kiss me either.” 

“No, but—because you had asked for it.” 

“You’re right… I should’ve, but there’s a lot of things I should’ve done...still can’t believe it, how stupid I was,” he said. 

“It didn’t click you know,” she nodded. “When you broke my heart,” she continued. “I mean, the excuses you gave me… They didn’t make any sense.” 

Tom looked down. 

“And…” She sighed. 

“Would you’ve forgiven me? If I had come earlier?” He asked. 

She stared at him. “Maybe,” she admitted. “Probably, if I’m honest… I did wait for you to come again with yellow flowers, and I’d have my hand right in my heart, and I would wait for you to come and apologize and I would see it, you know, wait for you to stand up in the rain and said you didn’t mean it, and I… I was angry, alright? It was stupid letting my life pass by waiting for it besides the whole scenario...but then again, it wa shot and it’s still you and I’m—it’s silly.” 

“It’s not silly,” Tom said. “It’s you,” he took a deep breath, “and I knew you’d like that… kind of stuff, but when I finally realized it, it was too late.” 

“But it’s not late now,” she admitted. “We’re finally on time. And I’m glad I’ve always been so stubborn when it comes to you because otherwise we wouldn’t be here.” 

The evening had continued to flow, as both of them had become quieter, in a way that they didn’t need to talk to communicate, between whispers and giggles and hand brushing, it was all they needed. 

The ticking had stopped, y/n had noticed. It’d come, she knew but… God, when she was with him, she didn’t have to worry about anything. Because it seemed that it was made for them, all her doubts disappeared because he was the answer she needed. It was them against the world. 

They hadn’t talked about Valerie and William, not that night. It was Tom and y/n,.

They hadn’t kissed. Tom had ceased the kissing when James had arrived, which y/n hated, she missed his lips so much her own were begging for them. She wouldn’t ask for it. Never ask for a kiss, not out loud. 

She was wearing his jacket back on their way, he had said: ‘I wasn’t cold but I knew you’d be so that’s why I brought it’. Her hand was on his hair as he drove, listening to music, windows down as they hummed the lyrics, and as y/n stared down at the lights the city was giving her, her hair flying. 

She was sad, though, Tom hadn’t even tried to lean over and kiss her, not even seeing a hint of him trying to do so. 

They had walked in, the guys seemed to be all too invested in a video game, all except for Clark who was rather interested in playing with James’ hair as y/n’s brother yelled at the screen. He looked up when seeing them walk in, he smiled at the sight of y/n’s shoulders being covered by Tom’s jacket. 

“Hello, you two,” Clark had greeted them. 

Tom peeked to see the screen, not letting go of y/n’s hand. 

“Hi,” y/n said, knowing she’d most likely lose Tom’s attention to the screen. 

“How did it go?” Clark asked.

“Bloody hell, Samuel!” James yelled. 

“Piss off,” Harry yelled, too. 

y/n chuckled. “It went well,” she said. 

“Well?” Tom lost focus of the screen, as he turned to her. “Well?” 

She ignored him and kept staring at Clark. “Can you believe the evening has gone by so splendidly but he still hasn’t kissed me?” 

Tom immediately blushed. 

“Good,” said James. “Kissing is gross.” 

“Is it?” Clark asked before kissing his cheek. 

James coughed. “Straight kissing is gross,” he corrected himself. 

Harry laughed. 

Sam scrunched his nose. “Why haven’t you kissed her? you usually bloody eat each other’s faces.” 

Harry scoffed. 

“Don’t you dare eat my sister’s face,” James warned. “Or anything for that matter.” 

“James,” y/n closed her eyes. 

Tom laughed. “We’re gonna…” 

“No, why don’t you guys stay? We were about to play Mario Kart” Offered James. “So why don’t you both play with all of us, you know you can sit over there with your brother and y/n can sit over here, everyone’s happy.” 

“Jamey, love, don’t be a dick,” warned Clark. 

Y/N chuckled. “Fine, I want to play,” she admitted. 

“Great, mario kart is the real deal breaker between couples.” 

Of course, they hadn’t followed James’ instruction for their sitting arrangement, y/n had sat on the couch, and Tom had sat on the floor, resting his back against her. Y/N was still bothered by the fact she hadn’t yet been kissed that night, but she soon forgot it as it felt like one of those nights when they were younger, all of them playing and yelling at each other. 

Tom had left the room without any explanation at some point, but she was too busy trying to beat her brother at rainbow road to even notice. 

Time went by, and before she knew it, the lights had gone off, and they all had turned with a smirk as Tom had walked in with a cake with candles. 

‘Happy Birthday’ they all sang as she stared at the cake, pretty cake, sunflowers again. Tom kissing her cheek. 

It felt… like years ago, the Holland’s, James, and now Clark, too, of course it was Tom holding the cake now, not Harry, and now she didn’t have a wish, usually she’d plan ahead her birthday wishes, because that’s something James had taught her to. Instead, she wished for everything to keep flowing as easy as it could with Tom. Funny, how many birthday wishes had not involved him already. 

They had sat and ate cake like old times, y/n smearing some frosting to Tom’s cheek and then kissing it off, making the boy blush and getting James to glare at her. Laughing at each other, telling old jokes as y/n was laying against Tom, his arms around her and his lips brushing against her head. 

How many years had they not wasted by being enemies. 

Eventually, they had all gone to bed knowing the next day would expect them, except for Clark and James who had stayed in the kitchen. 

Tom and y/n had stayed on the couch. 

“So, I’m gonna be honest,” Tom had said as he had sat with her, he had left yet again to get something 

She only stared into his eyes, begging her with her sight to kiss her already. She should’ve probably wished for that, instead. 

“I—this wasn’t going to be your birthday present.” 

“You didn’t need to get me anything,” she said. 

He had sat up and pulled out a small box, he seemed nervous, but excited. The box… gave her shivers. But it couldn’t be. 

Y/n only smiled watching him, resenting her head against her palm. 

“I—back when,” he gulped, “back when I was still in London debating whether or not to direct dos-a-dos,” he continued. “I—well.” 

“Yeah?” 

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you because—Well,” he grinned. “I am so stupidly in love with you.” 

She only blushed. 

“So—one day,” he gulped. “I went—Well, you know, to the mall and whatsoever, and—I saw this shop.” 

“Right.” 

“And so I bought a pair of boots for me,” he said, leaning against the couch, trying to recall. “They were very—nice, you know?” 

“Uh—huh,” she rolled her eyes. “And did you bring those boots to LA?”

“No, I didn’t,” he side eyed her, “should’ve, you would have loved them.” 

Y/n rolled her eyes giggling. “I bet.” 

“But anyway, after I bought the boots—I passed by that shop you like.” 

Y/n blinked. “Care to be more specific?” 

“The one with the vinyls, and vintage stuff,” he reminded her, but she looked down at the tiny box he was holding, it definitely wasn’t anything from that shop. 

“Oh, yeah, love that place,” she smiled. 

“Yeah, and I—went in,” he admitted. “And I couldn’t stop thinking about you, everything they had… so I—“

She just waited for him to continue. 

“I bought a fee vinyls for me, too,” he nodded seriously.

 Y/n bit her lip, holding back a laugh, “amazing, which ones did you buy?” 

“I bought a Beatles one… uh, Queen.” 

“Great choices,” she grinned. “I’m proud.” 

“And of course Rolling Stones, because I thought of you,” he said. 

Y/n scooted closer to him to gently run her hands through his hair, he couldn’t hide his smile. 

“And then—One day, I went out again,” he grinned. 

“Hm-hm?” 

He coughed, “yeah, and I walked again to that one other shop you like, the one with the clothes.” 

“With the clothes,” she laughed. 

“Yeah, you know the one,” he chuckled, avoiding her gaze. 

“And did you get in?” She asked. 

“No,” he grinned. “I went for an ice cream, you know, I was really craving one.” 

She stared at him, so mesmerized by him, even when he was being the silliest. “God, I love you,” she blurted out, without really thinking of it. That’s how it should be, realy. Nothing wrong with that. 

He finally locked his eyes with her and smiled, he took her hand in his and kissed it. “Yeah, so—“he grinned, “none of that has to do with your birthday present.” 

Y/n chuckled. “Really? I thought the birthday present would be seeing you with those boots and dancing with you to the music on those vinyls and eating ice cream.” 

“Ah, that would’ve been great huh,” he grinned staring into her eyes. 

“Would’ve loved that.”

“I actually did bring the vinyls,” he admitted. 

She kissed his temple. “Great, let’s play them—“

“Yeah, but—I haven’t finished,” he admitted. “I… Well, I've had a lot of time, you know? To reflect on—on the script, on us. But especially the script.” 

Y/n stared at the features on his face, fixating on the freckles on his nose as he kept talking. 

“So, I kept avoiding the script, even if I wanted to direct it because—Well, it was your dream, I remember and I think I’ll never forget how in Rome you told me your biggest dream was making a film of a ballerina,” he said. “I—well, and I wanted to read it, but I couldn’t because I thought—well, dunno, having something yet to read was something I still had to look forward to, you know? And so I kept listening to the vinyls because they reminded me of you, and I kept—trying to find you everywhere, alright?” He confessed. “On every single face and—The days just went by and I—eventually read it.” 

Y/n silently watched him. 

“And I fell in love with it, because—it’s you. The script is so—you, it was like reading an open book about you, and I don’t mean it in the way that it’s our story, like I genuinely—you really poured heart and soul in it, the songs you put in, the setting—and, well, it was really you, you know? I know you’ve always loved 80’s movies because they seem so ridiculous but so magical.“

Y/n chuckled nervously. “Where are you going with this?”

“I know it’s your biggest dream,” he sentenced. “And well—I’m sorry I didn’t get you a pair of boots like mine.” 

She laughed rolling her eyes. 

“And I didn’t get a vinyl.” 

“Tommy,” she nudged him. 

He only handed it to her, the small box. A very stupid and scary suspicion in her head had completely been erased as she picked the small box.

As she opened it, it revealed a necklace with a small pendant of a ballerina hanging from it. The brightest beam had appeared on y/n’s face. 

“I know you’ve—never liked the idea of someone giving you jewelry, especially bracelets or necklace because they don’t hold any meaning, but—I think—I know you’re not a dancer but, I think Valerie is your own special project, and—“Tom grinned. “I was saving it to give it to you on the premier but—“

“I love it, I...No, really this… This is perfect,” she whispered looking at it. Tom had once taught her that roses weren’t always basic. And Tom had now proven to her that this didn’t have to be either, because it was them, and it held such a special meaning to her. 

She leaned over to kiss his cheek, and he only smiled. 

“I was gonna give you a T—“

“As in Troy?” She mocked. 

“That’s exactly why I didn’t.”

She laughed. “I love it.” 

He looked deep into her eyes and she just waited for it… But he didn’t kiss her. 

“Yeah, so, let’s go to sleep,” he quickly stood up, letting her fall flat on the couch. 

“Thomas,” she hissed playfully. He had already left, and she could feel his smirk from afar, so she followed after him. 

“So, you can have my bed, I’m gonna leave to sleep on the couch because that was my agreement with James,” he explained, picking up his stuff as soon as she got to the room. 

She frowned. “No?” 

“Yes,” he replied cockily. 

“I’m not letting you leave until you bloody kiss me,” she replied. 

He paused and then turned with a proud smug smirk, “Then that gives me even more reasons not to kiss you.” 

She opened her mouth to complain, but really she was in such a state of shock that not a single word came out. 

“Goodnight love,” he grinned as he headed to the door. 

“Why are you like this?” She rolled her eyes, giggling. 

Tom took a deep breath before staring her down. 

“For the love of god, kiss me.” 

“No.” 

“Why not?” 

“One shall never ask for a kiss,” he replied smugly. 

“Are you kidding me?” She closed her eyes, not believing it. 

“No, you said it yourself,” he grinned. “Not verbally.” 

“Just shut up and come here, idiot,” she laughed before pulling him close to her, finally placing her lips on him. It felt like just the very first time, Tom and her had that magic, of making each and every kiss feel like they’ve never kissed before, so unique and so perfectly synchronized with each other. 

“Don’t you guys fucking dare to do anything,” James was just walking by with a glass of water. “People need to sleep.” 

Clark had mouthed an apology before following after. 

Y/n had pulled away and then smirked. “Want to prank him?” 

Tom had only given her a weird face. 

Y/N knew James was staying right on the next room, and that she definitely was not going to be able to do anything without him hearing, that of course, meant she could piss him off, to get back at him for being a dick. 

Y/N explained her idea to Tom, and he immediately accepted, with the sole condition to leave the door open so his life could actually be spared. 

Both Tom and y/n had settled in their places, sitting right on top of the bed, right against the headboard which was conveniently against James’ wall. 

And so they started.

Both of them repeatedly, and in perfect sync started, Tom hitting his elbows against the headboard, making sure the noise it made was perfectly identifiable as something else as y/n was jumping on the bed. 

A faint “no, no, no, no, fucking hell, no,”  had been yelled from the other room. 

Tom and y/n tried to hide in their laughter, but proceeded to make it even worse, adding dramatic moans and “oh yes!” “Y/n!” “Right there!” “Tommy!” In between. 

“NO FUCKING WAY!” Now it had been louder. 

“Jamey, love—“ 

Tom and y/n smirked and went in even louder, “yes!” “So tight!” “Harder!” “Yes, yes, yes, yes!” 

“No! No! No! No! Bloody hell y/n I’m in the bloody next room!” James yelled. “I’m gonna kill you, Thomas!” 

And then they heard the loud and quick stumping as James’ door was open as he ran to knock on y/n’s and Tom’s door, but instead, the door was wide open and he could see what actually was happening, Tom and y/n, fully clothed and not even an inch close. 

That’s when both y/n and Tom lost it, bursting into laughter. 

“YOU GUYS FUCKING SUCK!” James yelled at them before joining in their laughter, red from embarrassment. 

Clark had followed right after, laughing with them. “So that—“

Y/n couldn’t stop her laughter, even tears had come down her cheek as she stared at her brother so embarrassed, watching them. 

“I can’t believe you fell for that!” Y/N had laughed. 

Clark couldn’t stop giggling either. 

“And by the way, thanks Clark,” Tom laughed, “you’re a real one.” 

“I fucking hate you all,” James rolled his eyes. 

“Now let’s go for the real one,” Tom had joked, probably with a death wish, but he quickly regretted it, “no, no, no, I’m joking! I’m joking!” 

“You bet your ass you’re joking,” James warned before laughing again, defeated, “I hate you both.” 

He had left with Clark laughing behind him, leaving y/n and Tom still laughing at their prank. 

Laughing and laughing until they ran out of breath and laughed again. 

“Shit, I love you so much,” Tom had said with one last breath after laughing. 

“I love you, too,” she had said, “that was the best fake sex I’ve had in my life.” 

“Hm, I’m pretty sure I’ve given you the best non fake one, too,” he had said cockily. 

“Non fake,” she scoffed. 

But then they’ve gone back to laughing, eventually somehow it transformed into kissing, and they had spent the night kissing, and giggling and nothing more, probably because they were aware that it was a very risky situation having James right beside and honestly, they were decent but mostly because they didn’t need more. Just the two of them laying down, and merging their lips together, becoming one with the other, was all they needed. 

The next day was rather perfect, filming had gone as smoothly as it could go, and though they kept their distance because they were professionals, y/n could tell there was something different about her and Tom. Not sure what but it felt like things could work out. A ray of hope, if one must say. 

There had been more cake, more people congratulating her for her birthday and just—Flowers. Sunflowers here and there, Along with blue hydrangeas. Pretty combination. Tom had made sure to fill up the place. She did love the sunflowers. Her mother calling her, auntie Eliza sending her pink carnations, it was—good. Especially after they told everyone about their prank, that made it even better. 

“You do have that fake sex aftermath glow,” Emma had joked. 

Perfect day, a perfect day until the sun was yawning down, she had put on her best clothes, and she was nervous. Not sure why though.

Tom had invited the cast as well. Nothing could go wrong, and it definitely wasn’t going to, right? Y/N had thought maybe it was a good day after all. 

The place had been packed and the first song playing had been Ironic by Alanis Morissette, James had been the first one to point it out, he really liked that song. And though the combination of friends seemed like the perfect recipe for disaster, y/n thought it had gone calmly. At least at the beginning. 

The club seemed to be picked out of y/n’s dreams, an 80’s and 70’s paradise playing the songs she loved to sing along to. There was a karaoke, too, in the background, separate from the dance floor. Honestly, the place was perfect. Fun. 

And y/n had ignored Cherry’s presence as long as she could, she hadn’t been rude, but of course she’d been avoiding her, because the moment she saw her, y/n did feel insecure. She had shown up with a tight dress that gave nothing to the imagination, and her hair perfectly falling down her shoulders, her whole body shimmered. She was beautiful, beyond compare, perfect. 

“Y/N!” She had greeted her. “I’m so glad I see you, I love your dress, hun, happy birthday!” 

Her high pitched tone had only made y/n even more insecure. And y/n had seen her dancing, she’d caught Josh’s attention, it had seemed. Even Asa’s and Gregg’s attention. Because of course she would, the girl was perfect. 

“Is Tim your boyfriend?” Cherry had asked y/n. 

“What?” Y/N didn’t know if she’d heard right. “No… No, he’s not.” 

“Oh, I thought he was!” 

“Happy birthday!” Someone had yelled as they popped off a bottle. 

Y/N could take care of Cherry later, who was actually picking out mostly everyone’s attention. 

“Who is she?” Josh had asked her. “If it weren’t for Emma, I’d say she’s the prettiest girl in the world.” 

There was a lot to unpack from Josh’ statement. 

“That’s my cousin,” she explained. “She’s single, so why don’t you give it a go?” Y/N had suggested, knowing perfectly that if he did, she’d take away another problem. Because she’d seen Harry anxious the moment Josh had showed up.  

Y/N didn’t know why she felt like Harry did know about Josh, she wasn’t sure but the same face Harry was giving Josh was the face Y/N gave to Cherry. 

Initially, she had seen Cherry approach Tom, she had whispered  something in his ear, and he had only gulped before walking off to one of his brothers. It made y/n anxious. 

“You know what? You should go and sing Jolene,” Emma suggested, y/n could tell that Emma probably was slightly dizzy, as she had dragged her, Clark and Auli’i to the dance floor, a...very strange combination. Y/N was just a bit bothered by this, since she wanted to be with Tom, or rather, she wanted to pull him away from where Cherry was. 

“Jolene?” Auli’i laughed. Felt rather weird for y/n hanging out with celebrities. Tom didn’t count… Not in that way, at least. 

“Yes, Jolene,” Emma said. “I’m begging you please don’t take my man!” 

“Your man?” Auli’i had asked. “As in Tom?” 

Y/N chuckled. “Uh...Well….er.” 

“Please, you’re dating, right?” She laughed. 

Y/N didn’t answer. 

“Please, it’s kind of obvious,” Auli’i explained. “You guys have tried to be subtle but we all know it.” 

Well, there goes their attempt at trying to be professional. It didn’t matter, honestly. But it did bother her knowing that Cherry was the only girl in there, but thankfully, her own brother had kept Cherry occupied, thank god.  

Y/N was also bothered by the fact Tom wasn’t by her side,  just slightly bothered. She guessed, however, that he was having fun with his brothers. She wondered where Timmy was, because all she could see was the guys, and Cherry, at the table getting their asses drunk. 

Especially Timmy. 

Emma had dragged them back to the place, y/n had  tried to get close to Tom, who had also tried to pull her close to him, but somehow she had been dragged away again. It was annoying, and the night kept going like that. She hadn’t had one single minute with Tom, and it was bothering her. Tom, too, it seemed. 

Tom was very bothered by the fact that y/n kept being pulled by her friends, not that they were doing it to specifically bother him, but it was… annoying. Also, having Cherry around, was not a perfect situation, especially because she was insisting on talking to him. What in this world was she trying to do? 

He didn’t want to deal with that, he only wanted to have fun. Besides, a club with loud music was definitely not the place to talk. Not on his… girlfriend’s? Birthday celebration. 

The night was getting blurry, to him, to everyone. Half past twelve, it was getting darker, and the drinks had come and gone, drink after drink.  Everyone seemed to be having a very good time, and he wasn’t sure but the lights on the club had probably lowered, flashes green and yellow were blinding him. The group was constantly divided, and he had had only a small chance to dance with y/n. The music was buzzing too loud, as he escaped through the crowds, trying to find y/n, and he saw her, dancing with everyone and then, Timmy had dragged her close to him, she didn’t even notice as she danced and sang along to the… 70’s, yeah 70’s song playing. Tom feared it, because it’s not difficult to know when someone wants to kiss the person you’re in love with. Tim was drunk, Tom knew this, and the look in his eyes was saying everything. And though he didn’t see that look on y/n, he feared it. 

Tom quickly had pulled her by the hand and finally wrapped his arms around her so they could dance. 

Tim had only rolled his eyes but kept dancing with Emma. 

“Hi!” y/n had cheered as soon as she saw Tom. 

“Hey!” 

“Where have you been?” She asked, leaning to his ear.  

“Here and there,” he admitted, she only giggled to lean over to kiss him. 

Everything was going too quickly, the lights and music were not helping. They had barely danced before Emma had dragged y/n. 

“I’m sorry, Tom, but it’s y/n’s and I turn to go to the karaoke!” Emma had said before getting her away. 

“You were getting too comfortable,” Tom had barked at Tim. 

“Pff,” Tim had scoffed. “You’re scared it’ll happen again?” 

“What?” Tom frowned. “I’m-- she’s with me.” 

“Yet she slept with me just before you arrived,” Tim had blurted. 

Tom had felt the music getting louder, and louder, just as Tim had left and Tom was sunk into the dancing crowd. 

He didn’t have to believe him… right? 

In the state of shock, he only tried to follow after where Emma and y/n were heading.The karaoke music was playing, Emma had chosen ‘Gimme, Gimme, Gimme (A Man after midnight!)’ for her and y/n to sing, and they had started, happily singing as she was so unaware of what Tom was feeling right now. Not sure if it was anger, disappointment, jealousy, or all at once. 

The group had followed after them, too, as they were expectant to see the birthday girl, first receiving a very flattering shot of… Tom thought it was probably vodka as soon as she got to the stage. Emma and her sang and yelled, and the group danced and danced. Emma being such a crowd pleaser, yelling and making them cheer. 

Tom couldn't. 

Is there a man out there? Someone to hear my prayers…

There was no sight of Tim, that was alright, he guessed. But then it… Tom’s mind went to every single time he’d seen her around Tim. It was so fucking obvious, of course they had slept together, and y/n probably still had feelings for him. 

Tom was the only one who wasn’t dancing. 

Emma had jumped off the stage to land on Josh, and then without even thinking about it, she had kissed him, right in front of Harry. 

Sam and Clark had joined y/n on the stage, everyone was just too bloody drunk, and the song seemed to be never ending. Or maybe Tom hadn’t noticed when it had changed, it sounded like another ABBA song. And it was… ‘Voulez-Vous’. Now it was Y/N, Sam and Clark. 

Tom didn’t even realize when Cherry was around him, and it probably was the alcohol working out but he danced with her. Not sure why. 

Y/N saw it, right from the stage, but luckily Clark had been kind enough to dance with her as someone else had hopped to the stage to sing with them, now that y/n was definitely not able to sing. 

And just as the song was ending, and as the next group of girls had popped on the stage,  she saw it, perfectly happening, Cherry’s lips were on Tom’s. 

previous chapter next chapter   perennial masterlist.

perfidy  ( series masterlist)

wanna be tagged?

tag list  @spidxrparkxr​​ @mukesnugget​ @anxiousdesignerdancerbandlover​ @happywolves81​   @happywolves81​ @applenter​ @silver-winter-wolf    @applenter​ @claredolphinbear24​ @bookgirlunicorn​   @tomshufflepuff​ @avengersgirllorianna​ @nevertoofarfromivar​ @saintlavrents​ @herofiennestiffinashardinscott.  @tomzfrog​ @dark-infernal-instruments​ @awkwardfangirl2014​ @spideysimpossiblegirl​  @tomzfrog​  @xapham​ @xapham​ @xapham​ @tomhollandisagod​ @danicarosaline​ @laurfangirl424​ @vintageroses1014516 @cinnamon-roll-peter​   @the-lost-fairy-tale​ @the-lost-fairy-tale​ @lala-florez​ @lala-florez​    @ilcveyou3000 @xxtomxo​ @socorroann​ @muffinmari25   @cassindeansass  @rogers-obsessed-barnes-curious​ @southsidespideyy​ @nathaliabakes​ @nathaliabakes​ @nathaliabakes​ @embrace-themagic​ @bradfordbantams​ @sanniegirl1214​ @softholand​  @softholand​ @fairytaleparker​ @underooling​ @griff1ndor​ @griff1ndor​ @thatweirdomimic​ @avengersgirllorianna​ @reginalaufeyson-holmes @better-daisy​ @yeahimcrying @allmonstersxarehuman​ @spider-manholland​ @itstaskeen​ @itstaskeen​ @georiaang @sebxstianbarnes​ @kissingtrutharchives​  @snoopy3000​ @prettymessygurl @spideyparkerstark @fanfic-4-you @lexshead​ @officiallyunofficialperson​ @mannien @whitewolfandthefox​ @melodiclovesong​ @bizzlepotter​ @bizzlepotter​  @localfangirlx​ @acceptance07​ @witchythingscore​ @witchythingscore​ @swaggyspiderman​ @localfangirlx​  @queengemsworld @liberty0123 @stiles-banshees​ @itsjusttor​ @stretchkingblog97 @annathesillyfriend​ @dangerousluv1 @tomshufflepuff​ @thewayilookatbacon​ @petersdiaries @emjaywrites​ @emjaywrites​ @infamousmany @jungeunave @forevermore-euphoria @ispiderdudei @ispiderdudei @literalfsngirltrash​ @quacksonhq​ @it-is-rebel-owl-ma-dudes​ @desir-ae @desir-ae @desir-ae @peterporkpie @peterporkpie @smolpeachees @thenoddingbunny-blog @quackeroos @spideyyeet @spideyyeet @astoldbydanid @astoldbydanid @hollandcreep @milly7110 @milly7110 @hollandcreep @rebekkah4766 @farfromtommy  @rubberducky-jrr @oh-whatabeautiful-parker @coveredinthemessimade  @shameless-self-promo-of-a-shrub @sweetiesangster @thatdamjoke @annathesillyfriend​ @l0ove-sick-blues @witchythingscore​ @witchythingscore​ @bookworm06  @bookworm06  @lala-florez @lala-florez @chaoticpete @shezzalocked @ @chaoticpete @lowkey-love-loki @cosmicholland @frenchfrostpudding @badbitchydecisions @w4ybefor3nir4na @americaswritings @ilovepeterparker13 @lukesbabylon @iamaunicorn4704 @iamaunicorn4704 @simple-things @simple-things @sip-portteam  @herondale-snow-carstairs @t-holland2080​ @tony-starks-ego​ @quaksonhehe0 @stargazerholland​ @marvelslut-musicalnerd @hotrubycrab @sovereignparker​ @peter-parker-tony-stank-trash​ @belleknows @mysticalinsomniac​ @nycparkers @nycparkers @anythingthaticareabout​ @spn-assemble-seven @tanyalooovesyou​ @somethingchaotic​  @heartofholland​ @peachybloomss​ @youcompletemesk​ @emyla3305 @emyla3305​–butt  @hollandstanevans​ @farfromtommy​ @farfromtommy​ @southbeachfeeling​ @eridanuswave​ @tonguetiedholland​ @wolvesofthewinter​ @quacksonobrien @dcnerd98​ @ifntelyinspirit​ @electraheart-3174​ @julialucena5 @itsmilamawson @harryssuckz​ @harryssuckz​ @xstarbae @xstarbae​ @xstarbae​ @peterbparkerrwrites​   @averyfosterthoughts​ @darethedragonknights​  @hannahholland1811​ @justanamesstuff​ @emyla3305​ @abbiefangirls247​ @onewithnomightypowers​ @itscaminow​ @youllbemineandillbeyoursbabelove @hotrubycrab  @spidey-holland-96​ @awkwardnesshabitat​ @geminiparkers​@primadonnasdream @slytherinambitious​ @maybecharming​ @where-art-thau-romeo​ @viagracex @viagracex​ @sspidermanss​ @pcterparxer @whatevshollandarchive​ @aleyabee​ @aleyabee​ @lovewolfspirit​ @viagracex​  @xallyouneedislovexx @panicattheeverywherekid​  @pcterparxer @thehauntingofmymind​ @redhoodparker @redhoodparker​ @cakepopcriss @allthisfortommy​ @aleyabee​ @perspectiveparker​ @let-me-luve-you​ @xxpeachyxo​ @m-a-r-i-n-t-p​ @superstarchick​ @notjustpenandpaper​ @morbiddanvers​ @runaway3​ @runaway3​ @runaway3​  @lu-morningstar​ @th0ttie4tommy​ @riasaurusrex @riasaurusrex @frustratingpaperclip​ @readheadwriter​ @geesquariid​ @noxceleste​ @noxceleste​   @peterparker-rickybowen-mybabies @witchything @peterporkpie​ @bookworm06​ @panicattheeverywherekid​ @imthefloor @ohmyquackson​ @seaveyheartful​ @wangtan-boys​ @obiwanownsmyass​ @sadisticfries​ @not-some-docile-teenager​ @galaxystern08​ @lovemarvelousfics​ @tomzfrog​ @calsthomas​ @thearchersupremacy​ @nikitajackson @dayazenn​ @the-fandom-life-forever​ @just-kickin-ass​ @quaksonhehe @dummiesshort​ @samaratheweirdo​ @fr3akingphantrash​

[scarletwinterxx]

First and Last pt. 1

Welcome to my new series! I’m so excited to write this one, I hope you guys like it.

For my other works you can check them out here, and for my other story series’ you can check them out here.

All works are copyrighted ©scarletwinterxx 2020 . Do not repost, re-write without the permission of author.

PART ONE || PART TWO || PART THREE || PART FOUR ||  FINALE ||  BONUS

“I do have a girlfriend”

The moment those words left Donghyuck’s mouth, he knew he was in trouble.

There’s room for mistakes with the statement he just made, like for one he doesn’t have a girlfriend, two he wouldn’t know where he could find a girlfriend and number three he knows atleast one of his friends knew he was lying.

“Finally moved on from Lia?” Jaemin asked, making the rest of the boys turn to him and for Donghyuck to make a face

“I thought I made it clear we don’t say that name out loud” Renjun not so subtly said

“You know I can hear you right?” Donghyuck asked his three bestfriends

“Just pretend that you didn’t” Renjun told him. The rest of their lunch period was spent on talking about random stuff and what to eat for dinner tonight but Donghyuck was still thinking of a way to get himself out of the little white lie he just said.

“Yuta hyung texted, he said they’re throwing a party this Friday. You should take your girlfriend” Jaemin just when Donghyuck thought they let go of that topic

“I’ll ask her” He mumbled, Renjun eyed him before asking the ultimate question

“Do we know her? What’s her name?”

That made Jeno and Jaemin look at Donghyuck too, waiting for his answer.

At that exact moment, Y/N was in his line of sight. She was just walking past behind the three boys, her earphones on and a book clutched in her hand

“Y/L/N Y/N”

“Y/N? Like the same Y/N in our Chemistry class?” Jeno asked, he was trying to recall if he ever saw the two talk or have any kind of interaction but he came up empty

“Yea, but please don’t corner her. We’re trying to keep it on the down low” Donghyuck quickly added, a loophole he was lucky enough to thought of

“No promises, we need to go now or else we’ll be late again” Renjun said then pulled on Donghyuck’s arm, going the opposite direction his supposed girlfriend went.

What has he gotten himself into.

For the entirety of this semester, Y/N is probably the only student in this campus that hasn’t gone out to party atleast once. It’s never been her thing and she honestly doesn’t see it being her thing now.

“Why don’t you come with us this Friday? There’s a party we’re going to” one of her classmates said earlier, she was already thinking of an excuse to say as to why she can’t come.

Y/N thinks they’re used it by now. She does feel guilty saying no all the time. It does feel like she’s being a bad friend but the mere thought of being in a house with a bunch of people she doesn’t know is already making her feel very anxious.

“Call us if you change your mind” her classmate said with a smile before exiting the room

Y/N was just about to exit the room too when she heard someone call for me. Turning around to see who it was, it was a bit surprising.

Lee Donghyuck or Haechan as his friends and most people call him, was now walking towards her. Y/N knows him because they did an assignment together back in freshmen orientation week .

He was the kind of guy who is her total opposite, unlike her who cowers away from parties he was the life of it. He was always surrounded with his friends and everyone liked him. He has this aura about him that just makes you feel comfortable, she can’t quite pinpoint it.

Y/N looked behind her to see if it was really her he was calling out to, which was kind of dumb since he was calling her name.

“Me?” Y/N said pointing to myself, now he was standing infront of her.

“Hi, I’m-”

“Donghyuck, right?” she asked, cutting off his introduction

“I was going to say Haechan but yes I’m Donghyuck” He said, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand and pulling on the strap of his bag with the other

“Can I help you with anything?” Y/N asked him, it’s not like she felt uncomfortable talking to him. She did think it was weird that even people like her, someone who is very anti-social, feels comfortable around him.

“Yes, uhm this might sound a bit weird but I need to ask you a favor”

“What?”

“A favor”

“Yes, but why would it be weird?” Y/N asked, shooting him a confused look

He looked around the room, which was now empty before his eyes landed back on me

“I kind of told my friends you’re my girlfriend”

There’s so many things Y/N should be asking about, but of course the first one she thought of is,

“Why me?”

“You were walking past us when my friends were interrogating me, and we worked together before right? So I just thought why not, I kind of know you already” he answered. Y/N has never seen him nervous before but she guess this is how he looks like when he is.

“You’re friends with other girls though” Y/N mumbled, emotion flashed across his face. Was it rejection or hurt? She wasn’t sure but she’s already feeling guilty and anxious.

“I know, but my bestfriends know them too. You’re kind the only one who they don’t know yet. If you’re up for it, I totally understand”

It shouldn’t be her problem really. Why should she care? He doesn’t know her, why would he pick her to be his fake girlfriend?

A thousand things were already running through Y/N’s mind

“I’m not sure- I”

“Hey, it’s okay. If you don’t feel comfortable that’s totally fine with me” he showed her a small smile, before looking around the room again

“I’ll think about it”

Even Y/N was surprised with what she just said.

“What? You will? I mean that’s cool but like I said if you’re not up for it, it’s fine. I absolutely understand”

“Okay” she shot him a smile

“Okay, we can talk more about it later? At the cafe near town square?” he asked me. Y/N thought about it for a second, she really didn’t have anywhere to go.

“Sure” she agreed, he shot me a big smile before saying a quick thank you and then walked out of the room.

What did she get herself into?

Y/N’s last class for the day was done, Donghyuck texted her earlier to confirm our meet-up time.

He probably still had Y/N number from the last time they met, so she shot him a quick text that she was on her way.

Y/N’s not going to lie she did consider not showing up and making up an excuse like she didn’t feel good or she had a paper due tonight but for once she mustered up the courage to go out.

This being the only out-of-the-box thing she’s done her whole life seems a bit sad and disappointing, she kept thinking how other people her age would have double the amount of stories to tell.

As she walks to the cafe, she was already thinking of questions to ask him. But Y/N also thought what if she sound too pushy or something.

Y/N was a bundle of anxious nerves when she got there, she searched around the room to see him sitting alone in a booth.

Donghyuck was on his phone so he didn’t see Y/N come in, she made her way to where he was before clearing her throat which made him look up

“Hey, you made it”

she almost didn’t

“Hi, sorry I’m late” Y/N mumbled then took the seat across from

“It’s fine I wasn’t waiting that long, should we order something?” he asked her, they both stood up again to see the menu. Y/N was just looking around while he was beside her reading the menu,

“Do you want coffee or tea?” Donghyuck offered

“Uh, no thank you” she answered with a polite smile.

“You sure?”

“It’s like 5pm, I won’t be able to go to sleep if I drink coffee now” she told him

“Okay, how about those cookies?” He saw how she was looking at the cookies on display

“It’s fine really-” “My treat, I owe you anyways”

Y/N thinks she knows why she feels comfortable around him. There’s something about his eyes or just him in general that makes him look so innocent in certain moments. It’s not there often but you can see it if you pay attention

“Okay, thank you”

“Think of this as our first date”

That made Y/N turn to look at him so fast she thinks she gave herself a whiplash, he just chuckled at the girl’s expression

“What? Okay I’ll take you out somewhere better if this doesn’t cut it for a good first date”

“This is a date?” Y/N asked, again the boy just chuckled at her

“We can pretend it is, I did tell my friends that you’re my girlfriend”

Every time he says those words, Y/N get this feeling she don’t quite understand. Was it panic, anxiety, or excitement she wasn’t sure.

After getting drinks and snacks they went back to the table they were previously occupying,

“So I was thinking-”

“Actually I came to tell you I can’t do it” Y/N cut Donghyuck off

He looked straight at Y/N, after a few seconds she looked away. Feeling a little conscious under his gaze

“You can’t do it?”

“Yeah, uhm. I’m sorry but I’m not the girl for you, Donghyuck. Even if we can make up a pretty convincing story, I don’t see how you would like a girl like me”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he looked genuinely confused.

Y/N took a deep breath before starting the explanation she has thought over and over during the whole day

“You’ve said it yourself, you only picked me because I was passing by. You wouldn’t have even thought of me if I didn’t. We’ve never hung out during or after school, the last time we talked was last semester, you’re clearly the life of the party while I avoid them like a plague”

“So you’re saying we’re too opposite for me to like you?” he asked,

“You don’t like me, we’re just pretending. What I’m saying is no one’s gonna believe it. I’m not anything like Lia” Y/N said, referring to his ex-girlfriend. She wasn’t the one for campus gossip and all that but it was hard not to know when literally everyone in every class she was in was talking about them.

At the mention of her name, Donghyuck looked away. Another emotion flashing across his face but went as soon as it came. Y/N thought maybe she shouldn’t have brought her up.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring her up” she mumbled, already feeling the guilt set in

“Don’t worry about it, I’m used to it”

“Doesn’t make me any less sorry” her reply made him chuckle, taking a quick sip of his iced coffee before looking at the girl sitting across from him

“It was messed up, what happened between her and I. I’m also sick of people looking at me with the pity eyes” he told Y/N, “That’s why I said I had a girlfriend. To get my friends off my back.”

“I’m sorry about that”

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault, I’m the one who pulled you into this mess” he shot her a tight lipped smile.

Y/N did give his proposition a lot of thought. It will be so unlike of her to go with his plan but also she doesn’t have anything to lose. After hearing why he did it, he sounded like he did need her help but Y/N’s doubts about herself were already eating her away.

She was thinking about him and Lia, how similar they were. How pretty she is, how popular and kind and talented she is. She was nothing like any of those things. How can someone ever believe Donghyuck is dating her? Her of all people.

“I should be get going, I have some work to do” Y/N said, an excuse that she just made up. It was overused, even she was tired of hearing herself say it but she was so used to cowering back to her shell all the time.

“Okay, thanks by the way. For hearing me out atleast”

“Sorry I couldn’t help you” Y/N told him, he shot Y/N a small smile while shaking his head at her “Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you around”

They bid goodbye to each other and went their separate ways for the night.

If Y/N only knew this wasn’t the last time Lee Donghyuck would be invading her mind.

A few days passed since their meeting at the café, Donghyuck was still thinking of an excuse to say when he arrive at the party alone. Which was happening hours away from now.

He thought about not going but that seemed like he was avoiding something, so that option was out of the window.

He didn’t want to push Y/N, she seemed like a great girl. Too great for him if he’s being honest. But she looked really unsettled with his plan so he decided not to insist.

Donghyuck would just have to live with his friends pestering him about his lovelife.

When Donghyuck arrived at the party, he quickly searched the crowd for his friends. They texted him saying they were already here, already asking Hyuck where he was and if he was taking his girlfriend with him.

He made a beeline for the kitchen to grab a drink, not in the mood to get drunk or anything so he took a can of cola from the fridge before leaning on the counter.

“Haechan, is that you?” at the sound of the voice calling out to him, Hyuck’s body felt frozen.

Why was she here? Why did no one told him she was coming and why was she talking to him

“Hi” he awkwardly said, mentally slapping himself for sounding too awkward

“Haven’t talked to you in a while” Lia said with a smile on, as if she didn’t just break his heart less than a year ago

“That’s because you broke up with me” He told her, his face stoic. Lia looked at him, she was still sporting an innocent smile on. Once upon a time that would have made Hyuck’s heart beat faster but now he just wanted to get out of this kitchen and find his friends.

“We should talk, Haechan-“

“I have nothing left to say to you. You’re the one who broke up with me remember?” he told the girl, this time the smile disappeared from her face. “I just wanted to say I miss you”

It was a lie. He knew that.

He would be the biggest fool if he believed that but Lia can be persistent if she wants to be

“Well I didn’t” Hyuck mumbled, he walked around her trying to get out of the kitchen and away from her but Lia’s hand caught Hyuck’s arm making him halt his steps.

“That’s a lie, we both know that’s a lie”

“Don’t put words into my mouth, Lia. I don’t miss you, not anymore”

“The last time I checked you’re the one who hasn’t moved on” she told him, in that statement he knew what she was trying to do. Lia knew she had Hyuck on the palm of her hands, but he didn’t want to be anymore.

As if the heavens heard him, someone pulled his arm away from Lia’s grasp and stood in between them

“And who told you that?” Y/N asked the girl, this was a surprise to everyone in the room. Donghyuck haven’t talked to Y/N since that day on the café, where if he remembers correctly he was turned down.

“Who are you?” Lia asked back, not in a bitchy way but in a confused way

“Donghyuck’s girlfriend” Y/N answered without missing a beat, Hyuck wasn’t going to lie he wanted to cheer her on out loud but he kept his mouth shut. Y/N’s hand was still around his arm, holding on to it tightly as she stood in front of him about to put his ex-girlfriend in her place.

“Donghyuck? Girlfriend?” Lia asked, looking behind Y/N to see Hyuck looking at his ‘girlfriend’ with a proud smile on.

“Yes and yes, I’m not the one to be territorial or be one of those girls who stop their boyfriends from being friends with other girls but I think you got the wrong idea here. Lia right?”

Hyuck wanted to laugh out loud. This was a side of you he didn’t know and he liked it.

“Well, Lia. I would like to say I heard so much about you but I honestly haven’t. But I would greatly appreciate it if you don’t ask my boyfriend if he misses you because clearly he doesn’t” Y/N said then sent Lia a smile.

Hyuck let out a little chuckle, this made Y/N loosen her grasp on his arm so Donghyuck took this chance to snake his arm around her waist and pull Y/N closer to him.

“This is Y/N by the way, my girlfriend” He said to the other girl, the gloomy night doing a full 180.

Lia looked between the two, a sour look evading her face before she quickly replaces it with a smile. A fake one. After that she walked away without a single word.

“Holy shit, I just that” he heard Y/N mutter to herself, “You’re here” he mumbled back making her turn to look at him

“Yea, Hi” she awkwardly said making Hyuck let out a laugh, “I thought you didn’t want to.. you know”

“I took some time to think about it, I don’t really have anything to lose here. And with just happened I think your friends are the least of your worries” Y/N said, referring to the scene earlier

“Yeah that was unexpected”

“You looked like you needed the save” she told him, her statement made Donghyuck smile.

He doesn’t know why but he was glad Y/N changed her mind and she was here. And she was right, he did need the saving. He just wasn’t aware that he did.

“Thanks”

“So boyfriend, are you ready to go out or was that enough show for the night?” she asked her with a smile

He held his hand out to her to which she just looked at, “You okay with this?” Hyuck asked, his voice quiet. Y/N shot him a smile before intertwining their fingers

“Don’t let me go or I might get lost” she mumbled, making Donghyuck laugh

“I won’t”

[chiaki-translation]

SSR Hisoka [Goodnight To You]: Backstage Translation

People have been requesting me to do this since it’s incomplete in yaycupcake for a long while, I’m actually not sure whether someone else translated it but here it is~ Also also, I’m finally more or less back~

Well, I might be going for End of Year holiday, but that’s for later, I’m going to do as much as I can before I finally start working. As for the giveaway update, I have finally finished arranging it, and I’ll post the result and contact the winners in a few hours~

Summary: Hisoka is doing a part time work at a penny candy shop.

Disclaimer:

A3! is owned by Liber’s Entertainment

Translator’s Note: Some people might not be very familiar with it, but penny candy is referring to candy that you can buy with a penny. It’s an older generation things I believe since you can’t really buy a candy with a penny anymore nowadays.

Be connected

Narration:

August’s shop was surprisingly busy.

It’s not only the children, men and women of all ages came to visit all the time.

Every time after the shop opened, the first thing I heard was always, “Where’s Misha.”

A lot of times, I have to say that he was out on a business trip, and it became a routine to explain why I was there in his stead.

It felt so troublesome that I felt like dying.

I wish I hadn’t accepted this.

Just when I started to get fed up, I remember something August said to me before.

“Why do you run a candy shop in this kind of place?”

“It blends pretty well within the city, I don’t think anyone will be wary of sweets too. You can get a lot of information from the locals as well.”

At that time, I was impressed by his answer, but when it’s my turn to actually mend the store, I figured it must have been a lie.

Old men talked about their declining health, housewives complained about their husband, and children chattered with no meaning. There wasn’t even one useful information here.

I listened to all of them while being half asleep, and when the crowds finally dispersed, I fell into a genuine sleep.

When August came back, I’m going to complain a lot to him.

Hisoka:

…Yawn.

Cat:

…

Hisoka:

…Who?

Cat:

Meow.

Hisoka:

…Are you a stray? Which house are you from?

Cat:

Meow.

Hisokak:

… Well, it’s fine.

See you.

Cat:

…

Hisoka:

… Why are you following me?

Cat:

Meow.

Director:

Eh, Hisoka-san? What are you doing here?

Cat:

Meow.

Director:

What a cute cat.

Hisoka:

… I think I got lost while looking for a place to sleep.

Director:

Ahaha, it sounds like Hisoka-san alright.

Cat:

Meow.

Hisoka:

It can’t be helped, I’ll help you look for your house.

<Shifts to Road>

Director:

I wonder where he came from.

Hisoka:

… I was sleeping, I don’t really know cause he was just there by the time I woke up.

Director:

Hmm… Then, let’s just walk around here.

Eventually we might pass through familiar place.

Old Lady:

Mike?

Director:

?

Old Lady:

Why are you walking at this kind of place.

Hisoka:

… Are you the owner?

Director:

(This old lady, I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before…)

Old Lady:

Yeah.

Perhaps, you’re the one who brought him here?

Hisoka:

… Yeah. It seemed that he was lost.

Old Lady:

Thank you. That was a great help.

Oh, I know. If you have time, you can stop by my place, let me pay you back for your kindness.

<Shifts to Shop>

Director:

Ah! This shop, it’s the one near Tsumugi-san’s house--

Hisoka:

You’re right.

Director:

We came here before right.

Old Lady:

Oh, I think so…

Director:

I have a feeling that I recognized your face, and I finally remember when I saw this shop.

Old Lady:

Fufu, I won’t realize if you never say anything.

Please wait a minute, let me serve you some tea.

Director:

Thank you.

Hisoka:

… Part-time recruitment?

Director:

Ah, it’s in the poster.

Old Lady:

Right.

Actually, the doctor recommended me to undergo a surgery.

I want to keep opening the shop as much as possible, I still need to take care of the cat as well, so I’m trying to find someone to help out inside while I’m in the hospital.

But, it’s a very short duration, about one week, so I haven’t been able to find anyone.

Well, there aren’t many people coming, so I guess no one’s going to be troubled if I closed it for a while…

Hisoka:

… Even so, you still want to continue opening the shop.

Old Lady:

You’re right… I don’t know why.

Hisoka:

… I’ll work part time here.

Old Lady:

Eh?

Director:

Hisoka-san will?

Hisoka:

I have experience mending a sweet store, I’m also good at taking care of cats.

Director:

That’s true, you’re always on good terms with cats.

Old Lady:

Really? That will really help.

Then, thank you for your assistance.

<End of Part 1>

Tasuku:

Hmm, a part time job huh.

Guy:

It fits perfectly with Mikage.

Tsumugi:

When I was small, everyone liked to gather at that sweets shop, but recently, people don’t really go there anymore.

Director:

It’s actually kinda sad.

Azuma:

Since we have the chance, I feel like trying to liven up the shop.

Homare:

How about we hold a reading session of my poems.

The sweet contribution of a collaboration between sweets and poem~

Guy:

I can’t see any customer base for that.

Director:

You’re right…

Tasuku:

If you want to attract customer, I think a play would be more appropriate.

Tsumugi:

But, there’s no meaning if we can’t do it in the long run.

Azuma:

Right.

It must be something that the old lady can continue with even after she’s being discharged from the hospital.

Director:

Hmm…

Hisoka:

… I’ll try to think about it when I’m mending the shop.

<Shifts to Shop>

Cat:

Meow.

Meow meow.

Hisoka:

… Only cats come here.

Cat:

Meow.

Hisoka:

… What did August do.

<Flashback>

August:

It’s imported cookies that grant your wish if you write your wish on the wrapping paper.

Recently, I started handling imported sweets too.

December:

… Grant your wish?

August:

Well, writing your wish on the wrapping paper was just something that I added myself though.

<Back to Present>

Hisoka:

… No, I can’t cheat people.

Cat:

Meow~.

Banri:

It’s really empty.

Kazunari:

Otsu otsu~

Banri:

There’s no one here at all isn’t it.

Kazunari:

I heard that Hisohiso’s starting a part time job, so we came here to see.

Ah, that’s so nostalgic~ This sweet!

So retro, it’s great!

Banri:

I’ve never entered this kind of penny candy shop before.

Kazunari:

Eh!? You never visited even in your childhood?

Banri:

They sold sweets at the basement of a department store right.

Kazunari:

That’s like high class sweets!

Banri:

What’s this? A toy?

Kazunari:

This one, if you cut here and squeeze it, you can eat it.

Banri:

Hoo, this one’s a toy right?

Kazunari:

That jewel part there is a candy.

Banri:

This is hard.

How am I supposed to know what’s food and what’s toy.

Kazunari:

That’s why they’re great!

Hisoka:

… Everything’s 130 yen.

Banri:

Since when we become your customer!

Kazunari:

It’s fine isn’t it, since we’re here, let’s go buy different stuffs~

Banri:

Geez.

Kazunari:

Let’s tell everyone else too.

I’m sure they miss these as well.

Banri:

Well, there are a lot of interesting things here.

<Short Time Skip: Afternoon>

Sakyo:

Sorry to disturb.

Hisoka:

… Welcome.

Azami:

Anyway, why is damn Sakyo here too.

Sakyo:

It’s up to me where I want to go.

Azami:

It feels too strange isn’t it.

What’s a Yakuza doing in a penny candy shop like this.

Sakyo:

This kind of place is the same as it used to be.

A lot of adults come here for the nostalgia.

The location is not bad either. Depending on how you manage it, it’s still possible to improve the performance of the business.

First of all, we can create a site and start advertising on social media, bla bla bla…

Azami:

It’s starting again.

… Ah, I used to like this.

Sakyo:

Your snack allowance is only 300 yen.

Azami:

Hah!? Don’t kid with me!

<Short Time Skip: Evening>

Itaru:

Otsu otsu.

Chikage:

You said there’s a place you wanted to stop by at after work, I didn’t think that it would be here…

Hisoka:

… The spicy snacks are this one and this one.

Chikage:

I don’t need it.

Itaru:

This is so nostalgic.

I used to buy this yogurt and chocolate a lot.

Hisoka:

200 yen.

Itaru:

Chikage-san, here.

Chikage:

I really don’t need it.

<Time Skip: Day>

Director:

Hisoka-san, good work today.

Muku:

Sorry to disturb you.

Hisoka:

… Welcome.

Yuki:

Do you make any profit?

Hisoka:

… Thanks to everyone from the troupe that comes over, more or less.

Yuki:

But it’s not going to be a long-term solution.

Director:

You’re right… We can’t continue with only the troupe members as the customers.

Muku:

Ah, speaking of which, there’s a cat here right.

Hisoka:

Yeah. Over there…

Huh?

Director:

He’s gone?

<End of Part 2>

Hisoka:

Where did he go…

Muku:

I’m going to look over there.

Yuki:

It should be fine if we just bait him with food isn’t it.

Primary School Kid A:

So cute~!

Primary School Kid B:

Let me stroke you~

Hisoka:

?

Cat:

Meow.

Yuki:

Is it that cat?

Hisoka:

Yeah.

Yuki:

He went to play with the primary school kids.

Geez, don’t make people worry like that.

Primary School Kid A:

The cat is so cute~

Cat:

Meow~

Hisoka:

--Right.

Yuki, make an apron.

Yuki:

Eh? An apron, for you?

Hisoka:

Yeah. For the cat.

Yuki:

Huh?

<Shifts to Shop>

Old Lady:

Alright, hmm…

Director:

Are you tired?

Old Lady:

I’m fine.

I’m sorry to ask you to accompany me during my discharge.

You really help me took care of everything.

Director:

Don’t mind it.

I’m glad that everything went well too.

Primary School Kid A:

I want this one.

Primary School Kid B:

Let’s exchange!

Old Lady:

Oh, there are a lot of customers.

That’s rare…

Cat:

Meow.

High School Girl A:

The cat’s so cute~

High School Girl B:

Let’s take some picture for Inste!

Old Lady:

Well…

Director:

We got your cat to become the mascot of this shop and spread the word on the social media, with this, the number of customers should increase slightly…

Old Lady:

You’re right.

Azuma:

There are a lot of different type of sweets here.

Primary School Kid A:

This one’s yummy.

Azuma:

Really. Let me try it then.

Tasuku:

This one has been around for a very long time.

Tsumugi:

Tasuku, there was a time where you only brought that snack over during excursion right.

Tasuku:

… I don’t remember.

Guy:

It’s full of snacks that I’m unfamiliar with.

Homare:

It’s really interesting.

This area, they seem to be snacks that go along with alcohol.

Guy:

Let’s buy some of them for reference.

Old Lady:

It’s been a while since this shop’s this lively.

Hisoka:

… Welcome back.

Old Lady:

I’m home.

I didn’t think that you’ll make it so prosperous.

Good work for the past week.

Also, thank you so much.

Hisoka:

This flower… For me?

Old Lady:

Yes. I saw a flower shop on my way back and it bloomed so beautifully.

When you express your gratitude to someone, whether it’s a welcome or goodbye, you give them flowers right.

Hisoka:

… Yeah. Thank you.

Old Lady:

Anyway, I thought about it when I was in the hospital.

The reason I don’t want to close the shop.

… I think, it’s because I want to keep connected to someone.

Hisoka:

You want to keep connected…

Then, August too…

Old Lady:

Hmm?

Hisoka:

… Nevermind, it’s nothing.

Old Lady:

Do come over once in a while.

I’ll be waiting here with this child.

Cat:

Meow.

Hisoka:

… I’ll definitely come again.

<End of Part 3>

[hopelessromanticspoonie]

A New Year’s Truth

Characters: Loki x Empath Avenger Reader

Summary: Reader is stuck at Stark Tower with Loki after the December holidays are finished. But each glancing touch with Loki speaks a truth that he doesn’t seem willing to face. Will the New Year change that?

Warnings: None

Word Count: 2.3k

A/N: This is only loosely edited, as I’m still very very ill. I will go back and further edit it once I’m better, but I wanted to get this out to y’all before the New Year. I hope you enjoy!

The time between the various winter holidays and the New Year was always a weird one.

It was as if the world was stuck in a holding pattern, waiting with bated breath for a new year with new expectations to begin. When was the right time to take down all the festive decorations? How long was socially acceptable to do absolutely nothing on the couch but watch cheesy movies from your childhood and pig out on chocolate-covered treats? All the stress and excitement died down to leave everyone in a trance-like state, shuffling in pajamas from the couch to the kitchen to bed and back again. For some it was a relief, to finally have the stress and familial obligations lifted from their weary shoulders. For others, that had never been a concern, and one day just melted into the next.

It was the fourth day that you’d worked on permanently etching a likeness of your backside into the couch while you binged Bake Off and ate your weight in the last of the cookies you had made for Christmas. They were left behind, as were you, after your teammates had all split off to spend the last of the year with their respective families - even Steve and Bucky had gone with Nat and Sam to relax with Clint’s family.

You wiped a stray crumb from your shirt when Loki strolled in from the direction of the kitchen. He was the only other inhabitant in the tower, choosing to stay rather than to go to New Asgard with Thor and play diplomat for a people lukewarm to him at the best of times. You didn’t blame him. He cast a critical eye at your disheveled appearance before folding himself gracefully into the comfortable leather chair he preferred, pulling a book from his pocket dimension to read while he sipped at the steaming mug in his hand.

You could practically feel the judgment pouring off of him in waves without looking at him. Groaning at your ruined relaxation, you rolled your head around to stare at him, quirking a brow. “Out with it.”

He mirrored your expression, although with much more disdain and arrogance than you could ever muster. “I beg your pardon.”

“I don’t need to go over there and touch you to know that you’re judging me. Spill it,” you muttered, sitting up and stretching, arching your back into it with a sigh you felt all the way down to your toes. You tugged your hoodie back down from where it had exposed just a sliver of the skin of your stomach, and Loki’s eyes quickly flitted from it back up to your face. Interesting.

“If you must know,” he closed his book, leaving it to rest on his lap, “I am honestly astonished that one could descend so far into a vegetative state without going comatose. I do not believe you have moved from that spot but to sleep or gather food in days.”

You stood, brushing cookie crumbs from your sweatpants absentmindedly. “And?”

“It is almost impressive, were it not such a waste. There is much to be done, and yet you are perfectly content to waste away watching others live their lives.”

As if he was one to talk, sitting there drinking his tea without a care in the world. “And what is there to be done exactly?”

“To begin, the decorations from Christmas and Hanukkah remain on display, and the kitchen is almost out of provisions,” he rattled off with a shrug.

Well, that second one certainly would need tending to. Normally the groceries were delivered twice a week from a food order that everyone contributed to, but you had forgotten about it when it hadn’t been brought to your attention. Perhaps a bit of fresh air would do you some good. You left the room without another word, quickly dressing and making yourself presentable to the public before coming back out into the living room with Loki’s wool pea coat draped over your arms.

“C’mon, Muscles. You can help me carry the groceries.” You held up his coat for him in invitation, shaking it lightly.

He rose, smoothing his hands down his white button-up shirt to come to a stop on his hips. There weren’t any wrinkles to be found on his outfit, but you would touch that body at any opportunity if given the chance, so who could blame him? “You expect me to accompany you to the market?”

You popped up a hip and mocked his rich, velvet accent that admittedly sent shivers of pleasure down your spine. “You expect to eat, don’t you?”

~

The once pristine glittering snow had morphed into a grey sludge that sucked at your feet with each step back from the store. Your hands were thrust out from your sides to maintain your tenuous balance as you trudged along behind Loki, who had taken the reusable bags full of food from you without protest excluding a well-executed roll of his dark eyes. His towering figure cut a path through the crowded New York City pedestrians who watched him with unabashed curiosity and trepidation as he passed. You were afforded mostly confusion as you inelegantly followed in his footsteps.

Until your foot slipped on a hidden patch of ice beneath the slurry, and a squeak of shock came from your throat as your hands flailed out wildly for something to grab onto. Concern rushed through you, strong and overwhelming, as Loki’s hands grasped yours to keep you from falling. When you looked up to him in grateful shock, and your eyes locked, tendrils of desire snaked out from his heart to wrap around yours and squeeze with the barest of heat. There wasn’t any mistaking the feelings he had at that moment, no matter how fleeting, and you both knew it.

“Thanks,” you murmured, awestruck in the face of such intense emotions that Loki worked to keep hidden.

He jerked back from you as if you had burned him, picking up the bags he had forgotten in his haste to help you. “Do not mention it. Come. I’m famished and you obviously are not suited for this weather.”

~

“Is this absolutely necessary?”

You looked up from where you kneaded the flour-covered dough against the countertop, jaw set in determination as you leaned into your work. “It tastes better when you make it from scratch. I figured someone with your impressive knife skills wouldn’t find it challenging to chop a bit of garlic and tomatoes for a simple pasta sauce. If I’m mistaken…”

Loki bristled, his eyes tightening as he made quick work of unbuttoning his sleeves before rolling them up the pale expanse of his arms. “I am quite capable of performing such a menial task.”

You dropped your gaze to the exposed skin, delighting silently in the flex of his forearms as he set to work doing as you had asked. It was quiet, calming, to work together in the kitchen. The rhythmic sound of his knife hitting the wooden cutting board timed with your rolling and kneading the pasta dough was almost musical, working with the pulse pounding in your ears at such a domestic scene to keep you very alert.

Not too alert, apparently, as when you began to cut the long floured noodles from your rolled sheet of dough, you managed to slice the pad of your index finger.

“Shit!” you cursed, dropping the knife and pulling the bleeding digit into your mouth. You quickly checked to make sure you hadn’t ruined the dough, eyes darting around the room for something to staunch the bleeding.

“Let me see,” Loki commanded quietly from behind you.

You turned to him to see his hands held out for yours, exasperation written into the firm set of his mouth. “You don’t have to touch me. It’s okay.”

“Let me see,” he repeated, gently encircling your wrist with his long, elegant fingers, pulling your finger from in between your lips.

There was that concern again, warm and soft as it wrapped around you like a blanket from where his hands deftly worked at cleaning and wrapping your hand in a band-aid. You weren’t used to people touching you, not of their own accord, not once they knew that you could feel their every emotion through the connection. It was an invasion of privacy, and more than that, it was opening them up to the possibility of you pushing certain feelings onto them - an aspect of your powers that you never used unless in dire situations on missions.

You would never do that to Loki, even with the desire that unfurled deep within your belly as you watched his calculated emerald eyes admire his handiwork. Anything that he felt, you wanted it to be authentic and coming only from him. Which was why the affection that teased just at the edges of your awareness made your breath catch in your throat, and your gaze drop to his lips as he wetted them with a flick of his tongue.

“Loki, I-”

“Perhaps I should finish the rest of the meal, so you do not risk ruining the pasta with your blood,” he commented dryly, leaving you empty as he released you from his hold.

You cradled your hand to your chest as if you could still feel the affection he had unwittingly shared on the stinging skin. “Of course. Just do what I was doing, without the stabbing part.”

~

You should’ve worn gloves for the party. Or perhaps a dress with sleeves.

The combination of so many bodies jostling around you, leaving you with just flashes of humor, lust, frustration, anger, sadness, and so many more emotions that you couldn’t name but could taste on your tongue, was too much. Tony had gone all out with the guest list for the New Year’s Eve party, and you felt positively ill at so many sensations washing over you in time with the pounding music and conflicting colognes and perfumes invading your nose.

The frigid wind on the balcony was a welcome breather, whipping around you and electrifying your senses to remove the lasting negative effects of the others from your person. Until you were just you again, as conflicted and frustrated as ever as you thought about Loki and Thor chatting amiably with amiably inside. The countdown was due to begin soon, and you didn’t want to see who the dark god paired off with to welcome in the new year with a kiss. That was one mental image you were perfectly content not to have engraved in your brain for the foreseeable future.

“The party not to your liking?”

Your chin lifted from where it had settled on your chest to watch the crowds below, all packed together and shouting their revelry into the abyss that climbed up the tower windows to reach your cold-reddened ears. “I didn’t realize it would be that crowded, and I’m not wearing sleeves.”

A coat, woolen and heavy and scented with cedarwood and spice settled over your shoulders to block the worst of the cutting wind. Your arms unraveled from around your waist to grip onto the lapels, holding Loki’s coat tighter to you. Loki stepped into your line of sight, regarding you with an unreadable expression as he leaned against the safety rail as if he wasn’t several hundred feet in the air. “That was poor planning on your part.”

“Yeah, but I look good in this dress,” you replied with a humorless laugh, swinging your hips back and forth as it to prove the point.

“You do,” was his warm reply, matching the slight upturn of the corner of his mouth as his eyes trailed down the length of your body slowly.

What you wouldn’t give to know the feelings behind that look, but you wouldn’t ever invade his privacy in that way. Not without permission. Thankfully, the cold air already turned the tip of your nose red and flushed your cheeks, otherwise the effect his searching gaze and thoughtful gesture would be much more clear. “Thanks for the coat. You always seem to be stepping up to help me, lately.”

“It’s my pleasure,” he replied in that crushed velvet voice that had just a hint of roughness to it as he took one step closer to you.

The crowd down below began counting down. You could barely hear the numbers over the roar of the wind in your ears and the pounding of your heart as Loki shielded your body from the cold with his own. His hands came up to settle over your upper arms, rubbing the soft satin lining of his coat into your skin.

And your eyes fluttered closed just before his lips brushed against yours at the last second. Love unlike anything you’d ever felt before matched the caress of his smooth lips over yours, catching in your heart and coaxing out a warm glow of happiness that you weren’t sure began or ended with the man cradling you in his arms. It was untainted by darkness, driven from the purest sense of adoration and affection that you had experienced from another soul.

His forehead rested against yours once he allowed you a moment to breathe, quite kind of him after having stolen the very breath from your lungs. Hope, sharp and bright, teased out from him and into you to make your fingers curl into his black suit jacket. “I am not one to easily speak my emotions freely with others. But you must know…”

You nudged your nose along his, your heart soaring at the physical contact and the shared joy that danced between you to the tune of your drumming heartbeats. “I do. You can’t exactly hide that from me.”

He gathered you into the warmth of his embrace, tucking your forehead beneath his chin with a relieved sigh. It was safety and contentment and promise and a love so new and bright that you hoped to never find its shadow. “No more hiding. Not in this new year.”

~~~

Little Bit o’ Loki taglist: @myownviperroom @grahoundart @darealbellabelleoftheball @boubouinscarlet @iamverity @rt8815 @lots-of-loki @otakumultimuseoc @ms-cellanies @rosierossette

Whole Shebang taglist: @yespolkadotkitty @nonsensicalobsessions @just-the-hiddles @vodka-and-some-sass @he-is-chaotic-she-is-psychotic @myoxisbroken @blah666 @brokenthelovely @myworddump @polireader @wiczer @littleredstarfish @the-broken-angel-13 @arch-venus25 @xxloki81xx @jessiejunebug @tinchentitri @sllooney @devilbat @vikkleinpaul @bouquet-o-undercaffeinated-roses @angelus80 @wolfsmom1 @kthemarsian @toozmanykids @claritastantrum @princerowanwhitethorngalathynius @sabine-leo @lovesmesomehiddles​ @peterman-spideyparker​ @wegingerangelica​ @bluefrenchfries604​ @catsladen @silverswordthekilljoy​

[lilypixels]

All of them 😄

ok wow you really went for it huh? ahdjkhsd I’ll answer all of them minus the three I just did I’ll put them under the read more thingy since this will be long :’D

zinc white; how are you really feeling today? no one-word answers please!

I woke up two hours ago and only took a shower thus far so I’m feeling good lol

cadmium yellow; when you think of the word “happy” what’s the first thing that comes to mind?

...idolish7 ajhjkfh i’m too obsessed with it h e l p

yellow ochre; name an artist/band whom you just discovered & can’t get enough of!

would it be bad if I said Idolish7/all the related groups (Trigger, Mezzo, Zool)?? cause technically a recentish discovery and I defiantly can’t get enough :’D my real answer is Reol

naples yellow; where do you feel most at home?

my room lol

raw sienna; with whom do you feel most at home?

my mom i guess??

golden ochre; describe the relationship you have with your closest friend.

one that some might not deem normal but works well for us lol (I mean, we’ve been friends for about 10 years now) we have a good understanding of each other and know we don’t have to talk/hang out all the time in order to know we still matter to each other, we both have our own lives and just knowing the other is there no matter what is enough. we’re the type to not talk for weeks and then send random memes and act like we’d been talking the whole time😂 it works really well for me too cause i’m not good at “socializing” on a constant basis and tend to just...not text people for ages on end, but I’ll still care for them and think about them just many see it as me cutting them out rip

golden deep; what’s your favorite season?

tbh the time between spring and summer but fall has been earning some points recently

cadmium orange; what do you like to do on your days off?

I often bake and game

orange lake; do you have anyone you can turn to when you’re sad?

I guess?? but i don’t like bothering people with my emotions often times so I just cuddle my cat haha

titans; do you prefer slow mornings or relaxing evenings?

hmm...the second i think

shakhnazaryan red; are you currently binge-watching anything?

i was binge-watching Tsukiuta but I’ve slowed down with s2 cause now I’m distracted with other things like genshin impact

red ochre; are you more right-brained (creative) or left-brained (analytical)?

i don’t even know/remember anymore, maybe left now???

burnt sienna; is there a painting that brings you peace when you look at it?

Van Gogh’s Starry Night cause I like stars and nightviews 

vermilion; what’s your favorite accent?

oooo interesting one, but I like all accents, I find them cute :3

cadmium red; do you have a “type” when it comes to a significant other?

I have a type with fictional characters and idol biases does that count? no?

scarlet; describe your current crush/es.

i have none 😗✌

ruby; what does your ideal first date look like?

bold of you to assume i would go on a date idk a movie so i don’t have to talk lol

carmine; what does your ideal second date look like?

bold of you to assume I would- ahfkj i really don’t know, go to the library and have tea???

madder lake red; would you ever kiss someone (or accept a kiss) on a first date?

that’s a big NO from me, someone be catching hands if they tried

rose; what’s something really positive going on in your life right now?

is it bad i thought of work? i have a fun time watching baby 😊

quinacridone rose; what’s something you’re really looking forward to?

baking/decorating Christmas cookies that I’m gonna share with family and friends!

violet rose; what does your dream house look like?

like a victorian house, gothic victorian is better, probably haunted, with an attic room hehe

violet; is there any place in particular you’d like to settle down?

anywhere but here lol

blue lake; what would you like to do/accomplish before you settle down?

finish schooling and get job :b

cobalt blue spectral; what is the most beautiful place you have ever been to?

uhhhhhh Clearwater Beach?

ultramarine; when was the last time you were in a good mood? do you know/remember what sparked it?

yesterday I guess cause i had good time shopping with my dad :3

blue; what’s the most recent dream you remember?

my dream last night rip part of it was genshin related cause I played like 3 hours before sleeping and the rest was my mind trying to figure out where the story of an otome I’m playing is gonna go i’m at end of this dudes route and he just erased mc’s memories of him so like enggg

bright blue; what does your dream family look like? any kids or pets? how many of each?

i wanna foster, adopt at least one kid and have one of my own, all the pets, maybe there’s some dude there idk kids and animals all i need aha

blue cobalt; do you like your name? would you give yourself a different name if you could?

i don’t like my name but at same time it’s kinda who i am and idk what else i would name myself i do have a Chinese name though (we picked them in class and what we went by) which is MingYi 明怡!

prussian azure; what’s your favorite scent?

coconut, vanilla, MINT

azure blue; what’s your favorite type of tea, if any?

peppermint tea, green tea, I did like Earl Grey but I can’t have black tea anymore :(

turquoise blue; if you could start a garden, what would you plant?

all the herbs and vegetables! also some of my favorite flowers like foxglove that hopefully don’t make my allergies worse

cerulean blue; if you were guaranteed to have a viewership, would you start a youtube vlog?

probably not

glauconite; describe your body without using any negative adjectives.

5′ 5″, tiny, long legs that hold all the muscles and weight in my body lol my torso is like a rectangle, i am very flat chested and do not mind that 

yellow green; picture yourself walking in a field. what do you see & hear in this scenario?

i can not picture cause i just imagine itchy grass and lots of sneezing😔

green light; are you in a comfortable place in life? if not, what do you think might make it better?

comfortable enough i guess, i try not to nitpick too much on what’s “lacking”

green; name three countries you want to visit; do you have any actual plans in place to visit any of them?

all the countries! I almost went to China for study abroad but then stuff happened TT

emerald green; do you speak any languages besides english? are there any additional languages you want to learn?

I can technically speak basic Chinese and French, but I’ve also already forgotten too much rip I really like learning languages and hope to get back into it soon!

oxide of chromium; what’s your favorite book?

legit any Rick Riordan book, my fav author

olive green; are you currently reading anything? how do you like it so far?

I’m in like the middle of Trials of Apollo book 2 and it is great

mars brown; what’s a movie that always puts a smile on your face/makes you laugh?

idk Megamind??

burnt umber; what’s something you plan to do before the day is over to take care of yourself?

technically already did it, was shower

umber; have you drank enough water today?

no

voronezhskaya black; what or who is your go-to outlet for when you need to vent?

rpg/fighting games where I can smash monsters to pieces

sepia; name five things that always make you happy.

music, babies, Alice, baking, others being happy~

indigo; what’s the best/sweetest compliment you have ever received?

idk i shy away from compliments most of time :’)

payne’s gray; describe your aesthetic?

“welcome to your doom uwu” ajshdjk idk it’s always changing

black; post a selfie because you are so beautiful!

no thanks💖 maybe later but its gonna be gone fast

[diamond-punk0963]

RWBY/Alice In Wonderland Crossover: Mad Hatter! Ironwood AU

~Aesthetic~

"Trust can be a crazy thing to hold. Sharing it with someone can be event crazier. The craziest thing with trust is when it’s broken. That’s what ignites the path into madness."

~Outfit~

(Not Pictured: A silver pocket watch necklace that has the atlas logo on the cover. Either worn around his neck or wrapped around his hand)

~Playlist~

(Note: I’m open to suggestions if anyone finds a song that fits him!)

~Headcanons~

(Special thanks for @anirondaddystan for helping me with these headcanons. It wouldn’t be the same without you!)

The BIGGEST Tea/Coffee addict you’ll ever meet!

He’s very elegant, cunning, and eccentric.

His favorite tea is earl grey. However, he does like to spice it up when he feels like it.

As for what he uses is for him to know and you to find out. ;)

Looks like he could kill you but is actually a cinnamon roll.

But at the same time, he can and will kill you if you get on his bad side.

He’s also very skilled with combat due to . . . . reasons.

He does have a popular rhyme about himself that leaves people confused about him.

However, if you listen closely and know a bit more about him, you may uncover a secret or two. ;)

When you first meet him, expect him to be cold and lifeless around you.

Due to his past, he has a hard time trusting people and letting them in.

However, there are two ways he can earn your trust.

Either A) you preform a task that convinces him that you are worthy of his trust or B) he invites you to a small tea party that ends up with you waking up, tied up on a chair and asks a couple of questions that determines wether or not, he can trust you. There’s no inbetween.

He does have a rare/uncommon gene with his eyes that it changes shades based on his emotions.

Light shade when he’s sad, a darker shade or black when he’s angry, and a bright shade when he’s happy (or when he trusts you.)

He doesn’t admit it but he does have a sweet tooth.

His favorite type of candy is basically anything with chocolate.

Don’t be surprised if any chocolate that is left around the area 'disappears'.

“I see chocolate. I eat it. End of story."

His usual routine in his day to day life consists of five things.

Wake up, Eat, Survive, Sleep, Repeat.

He would often hang around the village for more supplies for the week or possibly spy on you.

If not, he would be at his home that’s deep within the woods.

The only way you would find his home is either a) you wandered far enough into the forest that you just so happen to find a house in the middle of nowhere or b) he gives you directions to his place because of the level of trust he has in you.

Low key, James can sing and dance. He keeps the fact unknown because he doesn’t want to draw attention towards himself. That and he hates it when people bug him about it.

He doesn’t do it often anyways. It’s due to . . . . reasons he doesn’t want to talk about. It’s rare to find him doing either one. More so if it’s both!

If you find him doing either or both (and he trusts you), he’ll pretend that he doesn’t see you and keeps on at it. If he doesn’t, I highly reccomend you make a run for it.

The only time he ever sings is when he’s alone or just bored. As for dance, that would be at the rarest moment you find for him. (Once in a blue moon kind of rare.)

If I had to describe him in musical lyrics, "Sorry, not sorry about what I said. I’m just having some fun. Don’t worry, Don’t worry. Don’t lose your head! I didn’t mean to hurt anyone." That or, "Don’t be bitter. Cuz I’m fitter.”

(Kudos if anyone gets the reference)

Back into the whole 'Trust' scenario with James; The more he trusts you, the more crazier he becomes around you. It’s his way of being more comfortable.

Along with that, he gets attached to people that are deep within his trust and protective as well.

Like if he sees you hurt, you can bet anything that he would be there for you.

And if he finds out that someone hurt you (and you allow him), he’ll make sure that it will never happen again.

After that, cuddles and sweets for the day/night!

Aside from that, James is really into astronomy.

Every night that he’s alone and can’t sleep, he would go to the roof and look up at the stars.

He would count every star that he sees and comet that comes across the sky.

He also has a stargazing journal to keep track of his sightings.

He swears that he saw a shooting star, one night and will not forget it.

Onto the next headcanon (and probably the most obvious one), he does throw some tea parties. However, he doesn’t have anyone to spend tea time with due to his trust issues and him being anti social.

So most of the time, it’s just him. Alone at a table, outside of his home. He doesn’t mind the silence but it can get boring sometimes.

If he does have the urge to find someone to spend some time and tea with (or he’s just bored out of his mind), he would invite someone he could trust. The last time he invited someone he knew and didn’t trust . . . . He rather not talk about it. >_<

He may not look like but he takes tea time very seriously. Like he’s either starting tea time early or right on time, EXACTLY!

The same goes for his guest(s) If he ever invites any. He expects them to either come on time or early. Otherwise, he’ll just get annoyed and that’ll put him off his tea.

And trust me, he doesn’t like being off his tea and annoyed. However if you want to cure that, give him a riddle. He’ll be interested and occupied, if it’s good enough for his interest to be peeked.

Speaking of riddles, he does love to confuse people with his words. Their reactions brings amusement for him and he loves it when people can’t find sense in his words.

If someone were to figure out his words of nonsense, he’ll reward them with a little secret. ;)

Speaking of secrets, James knows a lot of the secrets and half-truths of his world. He knows who’s hiding what and why. How does he know? Why, the cards told him so.

He’s into tarot cards, playing deck, and zodiac signs. The reason why he does is because he likes to discover things that people would say behind closed doors. It gives him a sense of power, just by knowing alone.

Not only that, his cards can even give a glimpse of what has been and what’s to come for the people around him. It gives him a better description of who the people around him REALLY ARE than what they let on to be. Not only that, he knows bits and pieces of what will happen to them. Wether that is good or bad, he’ll let you know if he wants to.

Creating a mysterious side, he has secrets of his own. No one knows who james once was or how he came to be. He just came into town as the man he is now, one day. But if you listen closely and follow the right path, you may find a hint or two of him. Just don’t let him catch you. If he does, it was nice knowing you.

He is as mysterious as he is a trickster. He loves to trick people as much as he can confuse him. It’s one of his favorite past times besides reading and just wandering around in the forest alone.

There was this one time that he put a little something extra into a villager’s drink and since then, he’s been avoiding the village so that way he wouldn’t get attacked.

Adding more into it, he does have a set of potions that he uses for a number of reasons. One of them is pranking people.

As for what those potions can do, they make you act like stuff and basically make you go crazy for a little bit.

He uses the potions for three reasons. The first being for pranks. The second is to cheer up/confort the people that he trusts, and the third reason is a bit angsty.

There are times that he gets stressed out to a point where he just can’t take it. He takes one of the potions so that way he doesn’t deal the stress that badly. So if you find James crying like a baby with frosting all over his face, don’t be too surprised. Also, help the poor guy out.

If/when you do find him in that state (and he trusts you), give him some comfort with a hug and give him a cookie. He’ll be fine from there. Or start to be, at least.

The guy does have a hard time dealing with stress due to personal reasons. Not only that, he’s an anti-social because of personal reasons he doesn’t want to talk about. He doesn’t like to be around big crowds as well due to personal reasons.

Along with that, that’s why he lives in the forest alone. He doesn’t like to be around people due to . . . . . reasons.

The only time he ever talks to people is when he’s interested in them, seeing that they could be trusted, or he’s off to buy some things for the week.

Speaking of people that interest him, he does have a secret interest/fondness in the outsiders that drop from the world above him. More than what he lets on, tbh.

He can also tell whether or not you’re an outsider or an 'Alice' if you want to speak it in better terms. It’s all on the body movement, eye movement, and the clothing that they wear. He has a sharp eye for details.

It’s rare for an Alice to drop in but when one does fall from above, expect James to have an interest in you.

The reasoning behind his interest in alices or outsiders is because they’re not from his world. They’re different. Just like him.

When he finds an 'Alice', he usually invites them for tea and asks all sorts of questions about them. Like, who they are, where they live, what their life is like, likes, dislikes, hopes, fears, and anything else that’s an interesting fact about them.

Aside from that, James does have a liking for scented candles. He usually lights a couple at night for two reasons. One, it helps sets the mood for nighttime tea. And two, he uses the scent as a way to calm him down.

In case anyone was wondering, his favorite scented candle is blueberry. Also, if you come into his place and smell blueberries, that is why.

His perfect night-time event is having tea, outside in the stars. Especially if it’s on a summer’s night.

He would light up the table with scented candles and have some tea close to him. That plus a couple slices of cake or possibly some cupcakes nearby. He would also decorate the table with some blue and black rose petals for the aesthetic.

From there, he would just drink tea and gaze into the stars at night. That would be the best time for him to truly relax and finally feel free.

After some time, he falls asleep at the table and if he moves unconsciously, he might get some sweets on him. Like seriously, he woke up, using cake as a pillow and has no idea how he fell asleep in the first place.

Ironwood’s favorite season in wonderland is winter. He has a varity of reasons why but the two main reasons why is because the atomsphere and aesthetic of the enviroment.

Taking walks during the winter season are also a favorite thing he loves to do during the winter season. That also connects with his fondness of the winter atomsphere.

Along with that, he can not confirm or deny the fact that he may or may not like to play in the snow. He will not say anything on that matter or at the least, not publically.

That’s also the reason why he doesn’t have many tea parties during the winter season. He would rather spend the time during the winter season with his casual walks which helps him calm down in certain scenairos.

With that, he also likes the cold and crisp air that the winter weather has. Not only that, he likes it when the hot tea that he makes warms him up from the cold weather.

Back to the fact that he has a fondness for ‘outsiders’, James can tell wether a that person came into wonderland from a dream state or not. If they’re troubled from a nightmare or not, he would take them under his wing with a cup of tea for a bit.

James would give them an item that they would find when they wake up as a sign to say like, “Hey, that wasn’t a dream. Don’t worry about the problems of the past. Just know that you’re not alone. In the realm of dreams, I’ll be here for you.”

Secretly, he does take care of people in the dark. He has a huge sense of sympathy to the people that have been ‘abused by the world’.

He does this as small things such as leaving coins, food, clothing, and important items for them to use. He knows the world is a messed up and broken place. He’ll do what he can to help the lost people in the world.

This also applies for any outsiders that he finds in wonderland as well. This is mainly due to his past experiences that he doesn’t talk about. As for why, he won’t say.

He has seen the harshness in his world and from that, he would make sure that no one has to suffer anymore than what he went through.

If he were to find out that one’s suffering came from a person, he would have a ‘talk’ to that person and after that, comfort the people that were hurt by them.

He knows the light and dark of the world and he would do anything to make sure that the light will never get hurt and fall into the dark.

He may be crazy but hurt the people he trusts and you’ll regret it. He doesn’t take dark and evil people, lightly.

He does have a secret hero side to himself that only few see. When they do, it’s really a sight to behold. His weapon is two pistol guns; blue that’s laced with silver.

He always has them hidden under his jacket in case he needs then, which is pretty rare. That’s also why he doesn’t let anyone touch him. Doesn’t want to accidently shoot his foot. He had that almost happen once. He doesn’t want that to happen again.

Lastly, he’s also skilled in hand to hand combat. To the few that have seen James fight, they wonder how he became so skilled. He usually responds by saying something about the past that leaves people curious about him.

~Things James Said At Some Point~

"Why am I surrounded by idiots?”

"What day is it again?"

"Believe me when I say, you don’t want to know what goes on in my mind."

"Sh*t! It’s going to be tea time."

"Yes, I care about tea time. What’s your concern?"

"Why is my life like this?"

" . . . Do trees have emotions?"

"You must take a seat. Having tea alone can be quite a bore, sometimes.”

"The pain and misery of betrayal can leave more scars on you than you believe it can leave."

"Don’t flatter yourself, child. You’re not impressing anyone."

"Sometimes, giving trust to someone can be the bravest task anyone can do."

"I wonder if I could reach out to the stars. It would make a very good night light."

"What you see before you is just fantasy. Reality can be . . Harsher to survive and far more brutal to grow up in."

"Craziness is only bad if you think of it to be."

"As you can tell, I’m not exactly . . . . Normal, so to speak."

"Look. I know you must be scared at the moment but I can assure you, it’s for the best if you listen to me."

"What if I told you that I could tell you what happens next?"

"Do you want to hear a secret?"

"I’ll share a secret with you if you have the right price."

"If you’re looking for people that are normal, I’m afraid that you won’t find much around here."

"Everyone is crazy. Some are just better at hiding it while it becomes apart of others, one way or another."

"In a world filled with nonsense, why would you want make sense of who you are?"

"I don’t know who or what you are but you do interest me. Care for a cup of tea?"

"Child, don’t be afraid. I’ll be your light in the darkness of my world."

"Now, why would you want that?"

"The world can be a brutal place. The people that live here? They can be worse.”

“It’s your luck that my licence to cause havoc just expired.”

“Then again, when did I ever let anything stop me from stopping the filthy people like you from hurting the innocents and purity of this world?”

“The past can teach you as much it can leave scars. It all depends on how you move on from it.”

“There’s many ways to say that you’re different. People just tend to say it negatively.”

“There’s nothing wrong with you. There is nothing wrong with not being like everyone else.”

“My lady, can’t you see that you’re perfect? Just the way that you are. People just don’t see prefection when they see it, sometimes.”

“You have a spark that can ignite change in this world. Don’t let anyone blow it out.”

[wintersongstress]

10 Questions Tag

I was tagged by two people to do this tag, and I will happily oblige them 😊 The rules are to answer ten questions, and then come up with ten new ones for the people you tag to answer. 

My questions for ya'll:

What was the worst book you had to read for school?

What is something on your bucket list?

What is one of your most embarrassing moments? 

Do you like wearing makeup? If so, what’s one of your favorite products?

Recommend a game :)<>

What do you keep on your bedside table?

What’s your feel-good movie?

What’s the last place you traveled to? 

Have you ever broken a bone?

Are you related to anyone famous?

tagging (only if you’re interested!): @shallow-gravy​ // @mechecolomar​​ // @hindarsfjall​ // @little-box-of-flower-pots // @cclkestis​​ // @the-bluest-hour​​ // @arasaka-s​​ // @a-shakespearean-in-paris // @ghostlybai​ // @anyone who wants to!  

@porkchop-ao3​‘s questions:

What’s your favorite game of all time?

That is such a loaded question! I don’t think I can answer this definitively because there are so many different factors and aspects to consider, but the game that probably left the biggest impression on my life was The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. It made me fall in love with open worlds and the story-telling potential of the medium.

      2. How would you describe your fashion style?

Lately its just been sweatpants 😂. But I don’t know how to accurately describe it. A lot of high-waisted jeans and I wear Blundstones all of the time. I mostly shop on asos so my closet is a mix of romantic, vintage, and uk streetwear. 

      3. Favorite kind of candy?

I don’t really eat candy, but I am a slut for chocolate and caramel. Twix bars, Kit Kats, Ghirardhelli squares, I’m not picky!

      4. What’s something that always cheers you up?

If I’m in a bad mental place, I often reach out to my friends. Otherwise, my cat 🥺 Sokolov is so sweet and very perceptive to my moods. He knows when I’m sad and will give me a nudge when I need it. 

      5. What was/is your favorite subject at school?

Computer Science and English. The creative side of me is naturally good at English, but I can’t deny that my brain likes the challenges and problem solving computer science provides. 

      6. Name a place you’d love to visit one day.

Hawaii 😭 it’s so expensive, but I’d love to do a cruise. 

      7. If you could live in any fictional world, what would it be and why?

Not to be a nerd, but... I think the star wars universe would be pretty awesome. There’s so many different worlds with colorful cultures and characters.

      8. If you could make any fictional character real and have them be your friend, who’d it be and why?

Paravati Holcomb from The Outer Worlds because she’s precious. 

      9. What’s your favorite song?

It changes daily, but I can say that Lana Del Rey is one of my favorite artists and one of my favorite songs by her is Off to the Races👀

    10. Do you collect anything?

Movie ticket stubs, postcards, fortunes from fortune cookies, sand from different beaches, pretty feathers. 

@oblwans​‘s questions: 

Do you have a favorite song at the moment? What is it?

your teeth in my neck — kali uchis

      2. What was your favorite food growing up? What is it now?

I used to eat so baddd when I was a kid. Cosmic brownies, those soft frosted sugar cookies, I loved sweet shit and my teeth paid the consequences 😂. I’ve calmed down since then, but ice cream will always be my favorite🥰

      3. What’s your favorite board game?

That is a good question. Masterpiece is a really fun game where you buy and sell paintings that only you know the value of. Codenames is a great party game too. 

      4. Are you a coffee person or a tea person?

Definitely tea. It’s my coping mechanism to relieve anxiety and stress; it always calms me. 

      5. Are you an introvert, extrovert, or ambivert?

I’m pretty introverted. I don’t mind being social, but I look forward to my alone time. 

      6. What was/is your favorite subject in school?

Answered this in #5 above 😁

      7. Where would your dream vacation be?

Roadtrip to Utah 🤠, that state is so beautiful and there’s so many national parks out there that look absolutely breathtaking. Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Arches, Goblin Valley, Dead Horse Point, I could go on. And there’s even more to see in Arizona and Southern California. I just love the desert 🧡

      8. What’s the most complicated thing you’ve ever tried to cook? How’d it go?

I made this coconut chick pea curry with black rice and toasted coconut flakes and it actually turned out pretty good!

      9. If you could wear one color for the rest of your life, what would it be? 

Veridian is a lovely color that has a very rich jewel tone. I’d love to wear more of it. 

      10. If you were to open your own store, what would you sell?

Oh, to be a humble whittler and carve birds and woodburnings, selling them in a rustic cabin of a store. That would be a peaceful life indeed. 

Thank you both so much for tagging me ♥ Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy out there🤗

[pocket-luv101]

Summary: Mahiru is a matchmaker. Hyde takes Kuro to meet Mahiru with the hope that he could help him find love. (KuroMahi, Historical Romance AU)

“Thinking simply, the answer is love. That’s a cheesy slogan.” Kuro read the flyer again before he looked up at the building. His brother had insisted that he visit the matchmaker. He told him several times that he didn’t want a relationship arranged for him. He eventually agreed with the hope that Hyde would stop bothering him about finding a match.

The rustic townhouse before him was small and simple. He heard about the matchmaker and how he was able to find successful relationships for nobles. The matchmaker had introduced his brother to his fiancé but Kuro never met Mahiru before. Since he helped him, Hyde insisted that he could do the same for Kuro. Kuro was doubtful though.

He was a viscount and owned a large estate so many people would pursue him for marriage. Kuro wanted to find an honest person who loved him more than his money. He didn’t believe the matchmaker could help him but he climbed the short steps to the door. He was met by a note on the door that told him that told him the matchmaker was out.

As he checked his pocket watch, he mumbled: “Hyde said the appointment is at three. I can’t believe I took the carriage into town and the matchmaker isn’t here. Can’t deal.”

He glanced into the window with the hope that someone was inside. Kuro would rather wait in the office than walk through the busy town. In the reflection of the glass, he noticed a man who was struggling with a tree branch. He watched the man try to free a kite from the branches without breaking the fragile toy.

Since Kuro had seven younger siblings, he would often find himself in similar situations. He decided to help them and crossed the street. Once he was closer, he could hear the man speak to the child next to him. “I almost got it, Takuto. How many times have I told you not to fly your kite in the middle of the street? Thinking simply, the best place to play is the park. I’ll take you there after my last appointment.”

The man didn’t notice Kuro approach them and he stood on his toes to grab the kite. His fingers brushed against the kite’s tail and his brows furrowed in frustration. The tree branches were too thin for him to climb safely. Mahiru let out a small cheer when he managed to catch the kite’s string. He gently tugged it down and the kite came loose easier than he thought it would.

Mahiru stumbled backwards until someone caught him. The kite circled them and they became tangled in the string. He looked over his shoulder to the man who stopped him from falling. The man was handsome with shimmering, red eyes. As Mahiru turned to face him, the string tightened around them and he tripped. Since they were tied together by the kite, Kuro fell with him.

He placed his hand on the tree so his wouldn’t hurt the man by falling on him. Kuro looked down at him and he realized how close they were. He could see how his cheeks became pink and Kuro stepped back. Mahiru did the same and untangled the kite string around them. “Here’s your kite, Takuto.”

After he handed the toy to him, he returned to his home. Mahiru faced Kuro and smiled up at him: “Thank you, Sir. I would’ve fallen into the street if it wasn’t for you.”

“It’s okay,” Kuro answered with a shrug. “I was just passing by and I saw you across the street. I had an appointment to with the matchmaker but he’s out.”

“Is your name Kuro Sleepy Ash, the Viscount of Servamp?” He was surprised that the man knew his name and title. He rarely went to parties or social events so people didn’t recognized him often. Kuro nodded hesitantly and Mahiru’s face brightened into a smile. “My name is Mahiru Shirota and I’m going to be the man who finds you love.”

Mahiru could see that Kuro was still confused and chuckled. He pointed to the building across the street and explained, “I’m your matchmaker. I’m sorry that I made you wait. Takuto’s kite got stuck in a tree and he asked me to help get it down. Let’s go inside and talk, Kuro.”

“You don’t need to apologize. I just arrived so I didn’t wait long.” He assured him and walked across the street to his office. Mahiru unlocked the door and they entered the building. They stepped inside and he gestured for Kuro to sit on the couch. He placed a tin of cookies on the table in front of him.

“Feel free to have a few while I make us a pot of tea. I baked these cookies this morning so they’re fresh. I hope you like them.” Mahiru said before he stepped into another room. While he waited, Kuro ate a cookie and glanced around the room. The office was warm and reflected Mahiru’s personality.

He returned to the room with a tray balanced on his hand and a folder in his other arm. Kuro didn’t know how he managed to carry so many things without dropping something. As Mahiru carefully placed the folder on the table, he felt the tray lift out of his hand. Kuro set the tea set down and poured a cup for both of them. “You could’ve taken two trips.”

“I didn’t want to make you wait more than I already have. It’s unprofessional. Let’s get started,” Mahiru said and sat down. He glanced at the cookie tin and he was pleasantly surprised to see that it was half empty. He enjoyed baking and it was happy that someone enjoyed his hand work. “I have a few questions for you and please be honest when answering. It’ll help me find a match for you.”

“Honestly, I’m not looking for a relationship. My brother has been adamant that I should find a partner. Hyde referred me to you since you were able to help him. He agreed to stop bothering me if you fail to find me a match.” Kuro didn’t want to waste Mahiru’s time so he added, “I’ll pay a consulting fee for today or bribe you to not find me a match.”

“It’s okay, Kuro. I often have clients with pushy relatives who come to me for help. I usually turn them away since it would be unfair to my other clients to add them to my program. When one is half hearted in the relationship, the other will be the one with the broken heart.” Sadness crossed Mahiru’s eyes. He opened the folder and took out a form. “I’ll help you trick your brother though.”

“Thank you for understanding.” Kuro was relieved that Mahiru was kind and reasonable. “Hyde got engaged and he said you were the reason he found his angel. I know he wants me to be as happy as he is but I don’t want something arranged for me.”

“But Hyde and Licht found each other on their own.” Mahiru didn’t know why Hyde would lie to his brother but he explained: “Licht is my best friend and I work at Hyde’s theater. They met when Licht helped me carry costumes to the theater. They’re a cute couple and I’m happy they found each other. I introduced them but I wouldn’t call myself their matchmaker.”

“My brother tends to exaggerate but you did help them meet— even if it was unintentional. I’ve never seen Hyde so happy. Thank you. Then again, you’re the reason he started to insist I should get married too.” His dry joke made Mahiru chuckle. Kuro found his soft smile infection and he relaxed. Most people were overly formal with Kuro due to his station. Yet, Mahiru didn’t seem to focus on the title.

“Thinking simply, I should help you since it was my matchmaking skills that lead to this. It’s a shame that you’re not searching for a partner. I imagine many lords and ladies would love to be matched with you.” Mahiru met many people through his work but he thought Kuro was the most handsome. He knew better than to become close with a client so he pulled his gaze away and focused on his job.

He opened a folder and said, “We should fill out this questionnaire and give it to Hyde so he’ll think that we’re taking this seriously. Hyde told me about you already and I have a profile for you. I do have a few questions though. What kind of partner are you looking for? Is there something specific that makes you fall in love with someone?”

“I’ve never fallen in love before and I didn't search for it. I just thought it would happen when I meet the right person.” He admitted. “There are some things that I would like to have in a partner. Maybe someone who’s openminded and will get along with my family. Someone I could talk with all night or not at all and still feel comfortable. I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Someone who feels like home?” Mahiru suggested and Kuro nodded. He wrote a few notes on the form but he would glance to him. Kuro was different from the man he pictured when Hyde asked him for help. Kuro was better than the other lords he knew. He didn’t say he wanted his partner to have a specific appearance or wealth. He placed more importance on the person than what they had.

“You must hear cheesy stuff like that all the time.” Kuro ate another cookie from the tin and said, “It would also be nice to have someone who can bake and cook as well as you. These cookies are delicious.”

Mahiru blushed at his words. He didn’t know if Kuro was flirting with him or simply answering the questionnaire. “Eat as many as you want, Kuro. I can always make more later. I love baking. If I couldn’t start my matchmaking service, I would’ve opened a bakery.”

“My siblings would love your deserts and keep your bakery open for years. World End would bankrupt our estate buying baked good so often though. Can I bring some back for my siblings?” Mahiru nodded and set aside a few in a napkin. They both laughed and joked about his imaginary bakery. “Can I ask you why you became a matchmaker? Most matchmakers are grandmothers.”

His hand paused over the paper for a moment. Mahiru’s eyes fell to his lap but Kuro was able to see a trace of sadness in them. Silence stretched between them and Kuro worried that he hurt his feelings. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you or your profession. From everything I hear, you’re able to find good matches for a lot of people.”

“You didn’t offend me, Kuro.” He smiled to reassure him. Mahiru let out a small sigh and leaned back against his chair. “During my first social season, I was courted by a man who broke my heart. I thought I knew him but everything he told me was a lie. I don’t want anyone to be hurt like I was so I started my matchmaking service. It’s ironic, isn’t it? I’m a matchmaker who can’t find love for himself.”

Mahiru forced himself to smile. He didn’t want Kuro to pity him and said: “I’m happy as a matchmaker. I’ve also been able to meet so many friends through this job. In a way, I owe this to him.”

“From what I see, you built this all on your own. You’re strong and you deserve someone better than him.” Kuro reached across the table and squeezed Mahiru’s hand.

“So, do you see anyone you can match me with?” Kuro asked Mahiru who giggled in response. It was a private joke between them. Since they met, they had become close friends. They stood against the wall and watched the dancers spin around the ballroom. Hyde would insist they attend parties together so Kuro could find a match. The reason Kuro agreed to go was because he enjoyed spending time with Mahiru.

“I do but this dance isn’t the best place to introduce you to her. You’re a terrible dancer and that might scare her off before she gets to know you. This is Hyde and Licht’s wedding reception too so let’s focus on their love rather than finding you a wife.” Mahiru took two wine glasses from a waiter and handed one to Kuro. He raised his glass and said: “To love.”

“Thinking simply, the answer is love.” He repeated the slogan of his matchmaking service and tapped their glasses together. When Kuro first read the flyer, he thought it sounded cheesy. Now, looking into his brown eyes, he thought it was true. He fell in love with him. He took a sip and said, “You never seen me danced before so you can’t call me a bad dancer.”

“That’s the reason I think you can’t dance. You haven’t danced in so long that you’re out of practise.” Mahiru finished his glass and set the cup aside. He held out his hand to Kuro and asked, “Will you give me your next dance?”

“Only if you promise you won’t get angry when I step on your toes.” Mahiru nodded with a large grin. His smile entranced Kuro and compelled him to place his hand in his. He placed his hand on his arm and led him to the center of the ballroom.

They faced each other and Kuro wrapped his arm around his waist loosely. Mahiru asked him to dance but Kuro didn’t know if he should hold him close. He thought he only considered him a friend. Mahiru didn’t seem to mind his touch and stepped closer to Kuro. He placed his hand on his broad shoulders and smiled up at him. “I knew you were out of practise. Your hand should be on my hip for a waltz.”

Kuro adjusted his stance and laid his hand on his hip. While they both had nervous butterflies, they felt giddy. He hadn’t danced since he was a teenager but he was certain it never felt so comfortable with his previous partners. Mahiru fitted perfectly in his arms. He wanted to hold him close and have his head rest on his shoulder. They were in public so it wasn’t proper to be so familiar with each other.

The song began and Kuro swept him into the music. His steps were hesitant since he was worried that he would accidentally step on his feet. He seemed to be able to read Kuro’s thoughts and Mahiru adjusted his pace to his. With each step, he became more comfortable and he found himself enjoying the dance. Kuro was certain that Mahiru was the only person who could make dancing and crowded parties enjoyable.

“You’re a better at dancing than I thought. I have to update your matchmaking portfolio.” Mahiru said as a joke but he felt a slight pain in his heart. He broke the most important rule for a matchmaker: ‘never fall in love with your client’. Each time he looked into his red eyes, his forgot how to breathe. The thought of Kuro with someone else filled him with jealousy.

Mahiru believed that he would never fall in love again after his heart was broken. Yet, Kuro slowly became an important part of his life until he filled his heart. He kept his feelings to himself because Mahiru thought Kuro didn’t want a relationship. At times, it was painful holding back his feelings but the moments he made him laugh outshined them.

The dancers and party around them faded away until the only sound between them was the song and their heartbeats. Kuro reached up and gently brushed his bangs away from his brown eyes. Holding Mahiru close felt right and he wanted to keep him in his arms. He spoke his thoughts out loud: “This is nice and we should do this more often.”

His words caused Mahiru’s heart to flutter. “I would like that too. We have all night to dance more.”

“I don’t know if it’s the wine or the dancing but it’s a little hot in the ballroom. Do you want to step onto the balcony to dance?” Kuro suggested and he nodded. Mahiru placed his hand on Kuro’s arm and they left the ballroom.

They stepped onto the balcony and Mahiru breathed in the cool air. He leaned against the rail and looked up at the moon. Kuro stood next to him and Mahiru thought he was handsome in the moonlight. He knew he should stare so he tried to pull his gaze away. His eyes fell onto Kuro’s hand on the rail and he remembered how warm and strong it felt while they danced.

Mahiru placed his hand next to Kuro’s and lightly brushed their fingertips together. He didn’t pull away and his heart started to race with anticipation. He laced their fingers together. “Can I ask you a question, Kuro?”

“Anything.” He nodded but he could see that Mahiru was still hesitant. Kuro tenderly ran his thumb over his palm. He relaxed beneath his fingers and looked up at him.

“When we first met, you couldn’t describe the kind of person you would want by your side. Has that changed? We’ve been to a lot of parties and you met more people. Is there someone you like?” Mahiru held his breath as he waited for his reply. He was almost afraid to hear his answer because he didn’t want to be indirectly rejected by Kuro.

“I said I wanted someone who feels like home and that part hasn’t changed. I do have a better picture of the person though.” Kuro placed his hand on Mahiru’s cheek and tilted his gaze up to him until their eyes met. “He has a warm laugh that could melt away my worries. He’s kind and gentle and too generous for his own good. Whenever he holds me, it feels like home.”

“Do I know this man?” He asked as he unconsciously rose onto his toes.

Mahiru’s eyes fluttered close as their lips brushed together lightly. Kuro whispered: “Thinking simply, the answer is you, Mahiru Shirota.”

“You’re the only man I know who would sneak out of his own wedding reception.” Hyde grinned down at Licht and pulled him behind the curtains. He intended to take him onto the balcony where they could be alone. He paused when he glanced out the window. “It looks like we have to find another place for our clandestine escape. Another couple took our secret spot.”

Licht stood on his toes to look over his shoulder to see Kuro and Mahiru on the balcony. “It looks like our little matchmaking scheme worked. I can’t believe it took them this long to confess to each other. I’m happy for them but I want you to focus on our romance now, Demon. Take me to our honeymoon.”

[angryteapot]

Murphy’s Law v. Bruce Banner

Characters: Reader, Natasha Romanoff, Bucky Barnes, Vision, Helen Cho (mentioned), Bruce Banner

Word Count: 1740

Warnings: None, I think? Let me know if I need to add anything. 

Summary: Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong; but can Bruce Banner reverse that law and make you happy? 

A/N: Anon requested “Bruce Banner where he sees her cry for the first time and he’s like ‘no no no please don’t cry’ cause he thinks he did something wrong but it’s really because he makes her so happy? maybe involving a first kiss?” 

Prompt bolded in text, hope you like this, sweet anon! <3

You know that whole ‘whatever can go wrong, will go wrong’ thing? Yep, Murphy’s law was in full effect for you today. You woke up agitated and in pain from sleeping wrong, stubbed your toe on the leg of the bed, and very nearly fell in the shower but twinged your ankle in the process of trying not to fall.

While most of your clothes were in need of a wash, at least your favorite shirt and legging were clean. Well, they might have been clean, but you soon discovered that there were a few holes that needed mending. Wonderful.

Walking down the silent hallways to the main kitchen, you were hopeful that some coffee and perhaps a muffin would put your day back on track. You arrived to find Nat slumped over the counter with her eyes closed, Bucky cooking eggs and bacon, and Vision making a fresh pot of coffee.

Rubbing your tired eyes you greeted, “Morning guys. Where’s the rest of the team?”

Nat didn’t even bother opening her eyes before grumbling out, “Short notice PR event. We weren’t invited.”

“Good. Ain’t in a mood to deal with squabbling idiots anyways,” Bucky spoke what you were thinking, harshly flipping the sizzling bacon as he grouched.

You slumped down next to Nat at the bar counter, using her arm as a pillow. She pat your head limply as Vision set down a steaming cup of coffee in front of you.

“Mmm, thanks Vis, just what I needed.” You hummed your appreciation at him as you took your first sip. Blegh. You nearly spit out the ‘coffee’ as you choked down the sip. It was incredibly watered down, yet still managed to taste like tar. You sighed and discreetly pushed the mug a ways away from you. So much for your hopes of coffee uplifting your mood.

Nat gave you a sympathetic smile while Bucky just silently laughed from his place at the stove.

“How’s the breakfast comin’, Barnes?” You lay your cheek on the cooled countertop, wishing for a delicious breakfast for your grumbling stomach.

Bucky winced, looking slightly put out. “I dunno doll, it’s not lookin’ so great. Eggs look rubbery and bacon is mostly fat. Sorry sweetheart.”

You slid off the stool, ruffled Nat’s hair and walked around the counter to grab a muffin. “‘S okay Buck, it’s the thought that counts. Thanks for the coffee, Vis.” You side-hugged a pouting Bucky and oblivious Vision before shuffling your way back to your room, a mystery muffin in hand.

You took a bite of the muffin, gagging in angry disappointment - it was a bran muffin. You were going to punch Tony when he came back for even thinking of buying those bland monstrosities.

Tossing the muffin in the trash can as you walked into your room, you flopped on the bed, playing a few games and reading, until your alarm went off, signaling that it was time to spar with Nat. You sighed wearily and changed into your gear.

* * *

Well then… today was definitely not your day. The ankle you twinged in the shower? Yeah it was definitely bruised and swollen now. Your shoulder was slightly out of place, and you probably had a bruised rib or two.

Sparring hadn’t been any more brutal than usual, but your hadn’t been focused, and you got sloppy and made mistakes that led to injuries. Trying to look on the bright side of things, you told yourself that at least you would get to see Bruce in the med bay.

* * *

You were pouting. You knew it wasn’t dignified, but you were frustrated. Bruce hadn’t been in the med bay, and it was Dr. Cho that had scolded you for being so careless. You liked Helen, but Bruce held a special place in your heart and always made you smile.

All in all, it was just an awful day and you were in no mood to socialize. The others had come back from the PR event and declared a movie night, but you didn’t feel like joining them, instead opting to sulk in your bed for the rest of the night.

You were barely getting settled in when you heard a soft knock on your door. Close to tears of frustration, you groaned and shuffled over to answer it, opening the door to reveal… Bruce.

Bruce - with a sweet smile, holding a tray with two mugs of hot tea and a plate of, what looked like, his rarely-made scratch cookies. Bruce’s gentle, hesitant voice was like a soothing balm to your ears, “I hope I’m not bothering, I just heard you were having a bad day, and I wanted to cheer you up. Is that okay?”

Now let’s get one thing straight - you never cried. You hated crying. You tell everyone that you were dead inside that you ‘lost your tear ducts in the war.’ But with all the frustration of the day, and this sweet gesture from your favorite person? Yep - waterfalls here we come.

Bruce looked shocked, and rightfully so, because he had never seen you cry before. Not once, not even when you had fractured nearly every bone in your body, on that one mission everyone refused to talk about.

“Oh, no no no, please don’t cry sweetheart, I can’t stand to see you cry.” Bruce quickly put the tray on your desk and wrapped you in the warmest, tightest hug you’d ever received.

He said it so tenderly, so sincerely, words fierce with affection and worry. His warm hug and puppy dog eyes, paired with the sweet nickname, had you clinging to him and crying harder. He picked you up effortlessly and laid you on the bed, still in his embrace, swaddling the both of you in your softest blanket. You tried, and failed, to not focus on how strong and sweet he was.

Bruce held you tightly, and you cried into his shoulder until the tea went cold and your tears finally abated. He looked down at you with a sad smile, and you nearly cried again at how tender and worried his gaze was, and god, you were so hopelessly in love with him.

He saw the tears well up in your eyes again, pain gripping at his heart as he stroked the tears away with his thumb. He felt so helpless, seeing you hurting, and there was nothing he wanted more than to kiss your pain and frustration away.

Bruce’s mind was racing a mile a minute, weighing to pros and cons of his next decision. It would change everything. You were his best friend, one of the few who saw Hulk as part of him, not as a separate monster that needed curing. When Bruce was feeling frustrated and overworked, you were the one who breezed into his lab with a joke and a sandwich for him, looking over his notes.

You were to the one that casually pointed out his mistakes and fixed equations, the one that stayed up with him after Hulked-out missions and brought him down from his nauseous, nightmare-filled mindset in the aftermath. You never saw him as a monster, or as someone replaceable. You didn’t see the scientist with seven PHDs, you didn’t see a giant green rage monster, you saw him. Bruce steeled his nerves and decided to take the plunge, hoping he wouldn’t ruin everything.

Hugging you tighter, his hands soothingly stroking your back, his gentle voice broke the silence. “I know you’ve been having a rough day, and I don’t want to add on to it, but I can’t hold back anymore. Not with those pretty eyes staring up at me while you’re finally in my arms.”

Your breath caught in your throat, heart pounding at the implication of his words, but you kept your hope carefully caged.

Bruce took a shaky breath, steeling himself for his next words, the ones that would change everything. “I - I love you. So much more than I could ever put into words, and it hurts me to see you sad. I want to kiss all the pain away from the sad pout.”

He ran a trembling finger over your bottom lip with such reverence. “I understand if you don’t feel the same, I really do, but I just couldn’t hold it in anymore. I know it doesn’t make much sense - you and I - but I promise that I’ll never stop trying to make you happy. But if you want to forget this ever happened, we can do that too, go back to being best friends and nothing more.”

He warily looked at you, internally facepalming himself at his rambling, afraid that he just ruined his friendship with you.

Your heart was about to beat out of your chest, sadness long forgotten, joy filling you with the knowledge that he loved you too. You smiled up at him through glassy eyes and whispered, “Y’know, for being a genius, you can be pretty oblivious sometimes.”

His affronted look was soon transformed into shock as you tightened your arms around him and softly met his lips with your own.

Bruce froze for a few seconds before his brain came back online, deceptively strong arms tightening around you as he kissed back, pouring all his long-held emotions into the passionate kiss.

Was saying ‘I love you’ bold and too soon, seeing as how he’d never really been in a serious relationship? Probably. Was bruce acting wildly out of character, declaring his love and being affectionate? Most definitely, but being so close to you was making him loopy, and he couldn’t find it in himself to care. Were you both going to panic about the new change in your relationship later? Probably. But for now, you continued to sweetly kiss until you were both smiling too much to continue.

After stealing another quick kiss, because he could do that now, Bruce went to reheat the tea and cookies he had brought. While he was gone doing that, you took the moment to do an excited wiggle, laughing to yourself that you finally landed the stupidly sweet scientist you had been pining after for years.

A little while later, with full bellies and content smiles, you both lay swaddled in blankets and each other’s arms, slowly drifting off into a peaceful sleep.

Your day may have started off badly, but it had ended in the greatest joy you’ve experienced - being loved by Bruce Banner.

[ilovemygaydad]

serpent’s silk

part of the punk!verse, which you can find here

summary: dc has never really been great at handling stressful situations, and that fact really shines when his boyfriend calls him out on a simple bluff

warnings: lots of swearing, kind of a break up, mentions of cheating, lying, deceit (as DC), food mentions, embarrassment, brief mention of broken ceramic, anxiety, worry, an innuendo at the end, maybe something else

pairings: remceit, blink and you’ll miss it moxiety

read on ao3

a/n: so... i know that remy and deceit aren’t together in the main fic yet, but... i don’t give a shit. i wanted to write this because I can’t draw. fuck it, right?

tag list for the punk!verse: @residentanchor @eeveeawesome​ @xionical​ @absolutesandersidestrash @stormcrawler75 @musikasworld @ironwoman359 @a-weirdo-with-a-computer​ @thegaypotatoroyalty707 @darkrainbow333​ @ravenclawunicorn1​ @noahlovescoffee​ @whymustibedraggedintofandomhell @romansleftshoulderpad​ @still-waiting-for-cookies​ @emounicorn2006​ @lana–22 @angels-ofthe-sea​ @demonickittykat​ @lonelysoul43​ @the-virgil-mary​ @five-second-cookies​ @noisywolfbatbakery​ @band-be-boss-blog​ @heck-im-lost​ @lamp-calm-sanders​ @patton-e​ @knightofbloodcancer​ @cloudchaser7​ @really-sleep-deprived-nerd​ @era-eclipsed​ @khadij-al-kubra​ @anxiousmorality​ @are-you-really-sure-about-that​ @today-only-happens-once​ @notalwaysthevillian​ @backatthebein​ @sunshineandteddybears​ @ultimate-queen-of-fandoms2​ @emo-sanders-sides-loving-unicorn​ @dodos-in-damnation​ @some-lost-meme-boi​ @dead4sevenyears​ @spookyingarbageisland​ @the-poison-apple-of-art​ @radioactivehelena​ @the-melody-of-eliza​ @im-a-mess-aaaaaa @whycantihavemorethan32characters @broadwaytheanimatedseries​ @veryvirginvirgil​ @llamaavocado​ @unisaurioamorfo​ @caterpiller-tea​ @cornycornfriendo​ @simon-at-3am​ @calico-kiri​

“Shit,” DC muttered, shoving the last of his sandwich into his mouth. He had been trying to find his rash guard so that he could go to his silks class, but it hadn’t been put back with the rest of his gear, and then the doorbell started to ring. Throwing his duffel onto his shoulder and cutting his losses, DC swung the door open, only to find Remy staring back at him. “Shit.”

Remy scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Hello to you, too.”

If this were any other day, DC would have been fine to have a surprise visit from his boyfriend; however, there was a bit of a problem about Remy showing up right before he had to go to aerial silks. DC hadn’t actually told anyone about taking silks because he was embarrassed by it. So, really, the one person whose opinion he actually cared about had showed up just before he was supposed to leave to do a thing that could ruin his social career. That made it no longer fine.

“Earth to DC? I asked if you wanted to go out to lunch.”

“Sorry, sorry!” DC rushed, trying to get his thoughts together enough to think of a convincing lie. “I actually can’t, babe. I have gymnastics on Sunday afternoons. Didn’t I tell you that?”

“You had practice this morning, though. I saw it on Kyle’s snapchat story.” Remy cocked his head, frowning.

Shitshitshitshitshitshit—

“I’m cheating on you!” The words burst out of DC’s mouth before he could think, and both boys recoiled as though they’d been shocked.

“...What?”

Fix it, you dumbass!

“There’s a boy—” NOT LIKE THAT— “I tutor him. Alex. He kissed me, and I just… I don’t know, Rem, but we’ve been seeing each other in secret for a few weeks.”

In the few seconds of silence, it almost felt like the earth had come to a complete halt. Then, one by one, Remy’s next words tore their way into DC’s heart, and he was completely useless to stop them.

“I’m not going to waste my breath on a dick—”

Just fucking explain yourself!

“Like—”

You’re an idiot!

“You.”

Remy punctuated his sentence by turning on his heel and walking back to his car.

DC stared as the black SUV drove away and idly mumbled, “Shit.”

“Hello?”

“Virgil, I fucked up.”

A sweet laugh rang through the phone. “You’re gonna need to be a bit more specific.”

“I told Remy that I was cheating on him.”

“WHAT—” There was a loud crash, and two voices spouting swears. DC winced.

A muffled voice on Virgil’s side said, “I swear to fucking god, DC owes me twenty dollars for that mug. You used it half of a time! I’ll grab the broom.”

“Okay, love,” Virgil said to the person with him before addressing DC again. “You cheated on my cousin?! What the fu—”

“No! Virgil, no. I would never cheat on him.”

“Then why—”

“I panicked. I… I do aerial silks on Sunday afternoons, but I didn’t tell anyone because it’s embarrassing. And then Remy came over just as I was about to leave for class, and I tried to tell him that I have gymnastics on Sunday afternoons, but he saw that we’d already had practice that morning from one of my teammates, and I panicked and told him that I was cheating on him.” DC took a deep breath in a shitty attempt to calm himself down. “What am I supposed to do?”

Virgil was silent for a few seconds. “Well, Dee… You’ve gotta tell him the truth. I know that you don’t want to, and I get that you’re scared, but you know that he isn’t going to judge you for doing something that you love.”

“I know, but what if…”

“What if what?”

DC’s voice was barely a whisper. “What if he doesn’t forgive me for lying to him? What if I ruined us for good?”

“Then I can’t help you any more. Look, go apologize, okay? Call me when you’re done.”

“Okay. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Remy groaned as he put the lid back on his container of ice cream. He’d already put his pajamas on, and he was watching sad movies to really soak in the horrible things that he was feeling. But the door rang, and he had to get it.

On the opposite side of the threshold stood DC, who was fidgeting with his hands.

“Hell no,” Remy said. He swung the door shut, but it was stopped just before closing with a hollow thunk and a few choice words from DC, whose hand had been caught while he tried to catch the door.

“Rem, please. You have to listen to me—”

“I don’t have to listen to anyone,” he snarled, stepping out onto the porch and pressuring DC to take a step back. “Especially not selfish assholes who use me for two months, only to turn around and stab me. Get off of my porch, or I have a hockey stick just inside that has your name written all over it.”

DC squeaked—a noise that wasn’t very common from him. “I’m not cheating on you; I swear! Look, this is where I was going when you stopped by!” He held his phone out and played a short clip of himself doing aerial silk tricks. “I didn’t want you to find out because it’s embarrassing. Gymnastics can be written off as socially acceptable, but guys doing aerial silks… I didn’t want you to think poorly of me.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Remy said plainly. “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”

“I swear that I’m not.”

“Okay, so you’re telling me that you panicked and made up that you were cheating on me because you didn’t want me to find out you did aerial silks? You decided that fake-cheating on me was better than that?”

���Look, it was a spur of the moment decision, and it was a bad one. I’m not going to pretend that what I did was the right thing, but I needed to apologize to you.” It was silent for a few seconds, and DC’s face fell. “Cool. Yep. I’m going to go home. Bye.”

Before DC could turn and walk away, Remy pulled him in for a crushing hug. “You’re so stupid!” Remy sniffled, not caring that he was going to start crying. “Don’t fucking do that again, you dumb bitch. I’m never going to think less of you because you want to do something traditionally ‘feminine.’ God, you’re so dumb.”

“I—What is happening?”

“I’m loving you, asshole. I’m never going to let you go.”

“That’s cool, but I need to breathe.”

Remy laughed, loosening his grip on his smaller boyfriend a little bit. “I don’t think you’re in any place to be judging situations, hon.”

“Fuck you.”

“Oh, gladly.”

[bipolarwitchcraft]

Awnser all the questions of the post you recently reblogged.

Yeet 1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans?-water bottles. I like metal ones. 2. chocolate bars or lollipops?-lollipops3. bubblegum or cotton candy?-cotton candy4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you?-a pleasure to have in class and a creative writer. I wrote a lot of stories and was told by a few teachers I could be a published author when I got older. I hope they’re right. 5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?-cans the easiest 6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear?-boho goth county would accurately describe me7. earbuds or headphones?-earbuds but not apple earbuds Bc they hurt8. movies or tv shows?-tv shows under 30 mins bc my attention span is 2 seconds (excluding the Orville and 911 bc those are amazing shows)9. favorite smell in the summer?-well water and main and tail shampoo10. game you were best at in p.e.?-volleyball. If I didn’t have to play 2 sports to be in athletics I would have played it in high school. 11. what you have for breakfast on an average day?-I don’t eat breakfast usually at school but when I work at camp I’ll usually have 2 eggo waffles and peanut butter maybe with a plum or something 12. name of your favorite playlist?-drive songs 13. lanyard or key ring?-key ring. I can’t stand having my keys on a lanyard 14. favorite non-chocolate candy?-Swedish fish 15. favorite book you read as a school assignment?-the secret life of bees and of mice and men. They are the only two I actually read all the way through and didn’t sparknotes lmaoo16. most comfortable position to sit in?-completely slouched in a chair with on leg crossed 17. most frequently worn pair of shoes?-my serape ariat cruisers or my berks 18. ideal weather?-70s to mid 80s with a nice breeze 19. sleeping position?-I’m a stomach sleeper lol but I usually try to fall asleep on my left side 20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)?-note book. My favorite are the 5-star note books. College rule. One subject. 21. obsession from childhood?-dinosaurs and rocks. Still relevant today as a geology major22. role model?-don’t have role models. They always disappoint. Just be a decent person and do what you enjoy. 23. strange habits?-I rub the corners of blankets and pillows and such on and under my thumb nail. But only my right. I also poke my tongue out of my mouth a little when I’m riding. 24. favorite crystal?-I’m a sucker for amethyst. But quartz is also a favorite. I have natural quartz clusters all over my backyard at home. 25. first song you remember hearing?-besides like baby songs it was probably something my dad was listening to so I’m going to say Loser by Beck or Sweet Home Alabama bc those have been staples of my life. 26. favorite activity to do in warm weather?-ride and then immediately jump in the lake 27. favorite activity to do in cold weather?-read 28. five songs to describe you?-I don’t know enough about myself to know what describes me but my favorite songs rn are ‘99’ by Barnes Courtney, Colours by Grouplove, Pumped Up Kicks by foster the people, Talk Too Much by Coin, and Broken by lovelytheband 29. best way to bond with you?-talk to me 30. places that you find sacred?-nature, whataburger at 3am, and my room 31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names?-I always feel badass when I wear my show chaps 32. top five favorite vines?-omg so many. Road work ahead, Adam, any from that kid that wear his hoodie and has his ears sticking out (snoooooooooop), well when life gives you lemons, you either kill your self or get killed what you gonna do 33. most used phrase in your phone?-lmaooo34. advertisements you have stuck in your head?-tide pods with gronk 35. average time you fall asleep?-midnight ish 36. what is the first meme you remember ever seeing?-ummmm it was probably some iFunny shit 37. suitcase or duffel bag?-duffle 38. lemonade or tea?-sweet tea 39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie?-lemon meringue pie from Bluebonnet Cafe 40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school?-some much. Some let a rooster loose in the main hall and no one could catch it, some left stink bait in the locker and the whole school smelled, some just showed up and gave my ag teacher a calf, we had a interim principal who we called Bernie Sanders which he hated and sent out a announcement video telling us to stop and we only got worse 41. last person you texted?-my mom42. jacket pockets or pants pockets?-jacket pockets 43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket?-oof I’m a sucker for a cardigan 44. favorite scent for soap?-lavender 45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero?-fantasy 46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in?-over sized t shirt47. favorite type of cheese?-mozzarella 48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be?-I feel like I would be a strawberry bc im a strawberry blond/a redhead 49. what saying or quote do you live by?-sometime it just be like that 50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have?-this video has my gasping every. Single. Time. If you’re sad PLS WATCH: https://youtu.be/23B017ZVIx451. current stresses?-finals and getting my wisdom teeth removed 52. favorite font?-I only use times new roman lol I don’t type a lot 53. what is the current state of your hands?-dry but my nails are getting long which I’m glad about54. what did you learn from your first job?-I worked retail so I learned how to handle people at their worst lol 55. favorite fairy tale?-I like the Disney Rapunzel, but I also like the original telling if the little mermaid 56. favorite tradition?-watching the 24hours of a Christmas Story during Christmas 57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome?-self harm -body image -fighting 58. four talents you’re proud of having?-creativity through writing, riding, baking, common sense59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be?-bro60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be?-yoooo61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.?-I’ve read too many books to have a favorite line from just one lol, but I heard “I’m a grown up ass man I can do what I want” on AP bio which was pretty funny 62. seven characters you relate to?-Nina Zenik from Six of Crows. That’s it. She’s the only one. 63. five songs that would play in your club?-I cannot stand clubs or bars so none lol64. favorite website from your childhood?-fucking moshimonster.com and girlsgogames.com 65. any permanent scars?-yep. I got burned as a baby and still have the scars on my fingers 19 years later. I have a lot more as well. 66. favorite flower(s)?-I’m more of a succulent person so cactus flowers 67. good luck charms?-I don’t really have any 68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried?-I had ranch flavored soda once so that takes it. But I don’t like cheap beer either. 69. a fun fact that you don’t know how you learned? -a daddy long leg spider is the most poisonous spider but their fangs are too weak to pierce human skin 70. left or right handed?-right 71. least favorite pattern?-houndstooth 72. worst subject?-calculus 73. favorite weird flavor combo?-hot Cheetos and sour cream74. at what pain level out of ten (1 through 10) do you have to be at before you take an advil or ibuprofen?-575. when did you lose your first tooth?- 5 y/o76. what’s your favorite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)?-mashed 100%77. best plant to grow on a windowsill?-jade succulents 78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store?-I like sushi from HEB 79. which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo?-school id80. earth tones or jewel tones?-earth times 81. fireflies or lightning bugs?-firefly 82. pc or console?-Uhhh idk??? 83. writing or drawing?-writing 84. podcasts or talk radio?-talk radio 84. barbie or polly pocket?-Polly pocket. Forbidden gummy 85. fairy tales or mythology?-mythology 86. cookies or cupcakes?-cupcakes with no icing 87. your greatest fear?-bugs crawling in my ear 88. your greatest wish?-to be successful and happy with a S/O and a daughter on lots of land89. who would you put before everyone else?-my parents 90. luckiest mistake?-There are no mistakes. Everything happens for a reason. 91. boxes or bags?-depends 92. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights?-sunlight93. nicknames?-my dad calls me sissy bug and my mom calls me bamber and my friends call my dumb bitch lol so 94. favorite season?Spring or fall. They’re basically the same in Texas. 95. favorite app on your phone?-social media apps96. desktop background?-I don’t have a desktop but my laptop is just a pre downloaded galaxy ones. 97. how many phone numbers do you have memorized?-mine, my moms, my dads, and my dads business 98. favorite historical era?-ancient Egypt and the 60s

[simcatcher]

57 Things About Me - Tag

I was tagged ageeeees ago by @purplepxls​ thank you honey <3

57 sounds like alot. Also why 57 ? 

1. I am a very tall girl with curls. I don’t make up unless I’m going out, but my job requires me to ! That’s one of the things I like about that job, it makes me feel pretty :)

2. I can spend days in my room as long as I can see the sun... Just to write. Or get inspiration. I’ll just take tea breaks and nourish myself from time to time lol.

3. I’ve been in love once or twice or more, but I’ve never really loved anyone. I never let them too close, and I get bored too easily... When the feelings are reciprocated, I mean. I long after the ones I couldn’t have more than after my actual exes, lol !

4. Loneliness never bothered me too much. I am a loner, I need my time alone to breathe. Now my friends start families and marriage and such and I’m just like wut ? nop, not at all. 

5. I used to party a lot, alot alot alot but now I’m less wild. I don’t drink much anumore except for a glass of red wine from time to time. The only leftovers of my uni years are my damn cigarettes lol. They’re sticky.

6. I have mood swings. One minute cheerful and loud, the next sad and quiet. I think all the time about plenty of things and this is a real mood trigger.

7. I’m not very trustable when it comes to dates, things you said, ‘let me know”. I don’t remember your secrets, I forget about the dates, I never ring back. I hate commitment and pressure and go for my own freedom. I do basically what I want.

8. This is starting to be long.

9. I think love hurts and this is the only battle I’ve never engaged because I don’t want to end up broken. I don’t see the point. And I hate romance lolol. Cheesy romance that is, impossible loves are my shit. 

10. I’m a sucker for horror movies. I love them. The creepier the better ! I’m not going for butchery though, I like when the story is mindwrecking. I like it even more actually. Should I have said thriller ? Ahah, Annabelle ain’t no thriller :D

11. I have my own car now ! Along with my own place, my own roomies, my job, I’ve never been this content before and when I look back at all the times I was about to give up, all the times I’ve kept on keeping on when I felt like it was useless, now I see it was all worth it, so so much worth it.

12. I don’t want to be a mom. I don’t want that responsibility, that life changing kind of committment. I want a cat. But even a cat seems hard to handle for me. I’ve had a kitty home (for a friend) for a while, and it’s... life changing. Not sure I mean it in a good way though. I really loved the part when the little baby woke me up with her meows or when she curled up against me at night or when she gave those very special head-bumps kind of hugs. God I miss her...

13. I think some events are meant to happen. Some other are meant to not happen. Sometimes when it’s not your fate it’s no use pushing and pushing again cause it only drains all your energy and you’re left flat and without substance. I’ve learnt that the hard way cause I’m kind of stubborn, I give myself 200% or I don’t. Sometimes if it’s meant to be it just happens, you DON’T have to push or rush, cause it comes to you naturally. And when it’s not for you it’s not, and the only thing to do is let go. That’s the hardest part.

14. I believe in miracles sometimes, or a little hand of Fate who knows. 

15. Looking at the night sky when there’s no one and nothing around but the wild animals outside is one of my favorite thing to do. Empty your head, breathe fresh air (well erm smoke a cig) and look up. I make up stories and find my own constellations. The last one I’ve found out is shaped like a wink / smile, and now that I got that job I dreamt to get, I can’t see it anymore in the sky. It’s still there though.

16. I don’t have a style, but if you ask my roomies they’d say ‘bohème’, which is fine by me. 

17. I like open spaces with little people. I like mountains, lakes, beaches and islands, I like big fields and feeling so small. I would love to be able to fly, but I’m afraid of heights. Since I’m afraid of heights, you can be sure I’m climbing on rooftops and trekking whenever I can (with friends. With friends, eh.) I mean, I try to fight against the fear, or no, it’s more like I want to understand it the best I can so I can know it by heart and never let it diminish me. Still a WIP lol

18. I don’t know continuity. I speak as I think, and it’s messy. Changing subjects is my specialty. Some think I don’t listen. Maybe I don’t, but I think I do, and I try !

19. I used to take anything. The anger, the sadness, anything to the point I couldn’t feel at all. Now it’s the opposite, if I’m angry I can’t (and won’t) contain myself, if I’m sad I’ll let myself cry. I’m done wearing a mask.

20. I don’t put labels on people. I don’t judge or, when I do I always try to get the other view. When ppl tell me someone has done this or that, I never take for granted that the person is a jerk. Ppl have reasons you never know about, and most of the times the issue is a communication issue. You don’t get what I mean, you twist it to fit your idea of it... anyway.

21. I love pizza and chocolate, but pizza more. Summer of 2015 was the sweetest summer of all for me. It was bright and warm. I was 21.

22. I feel so much. So, so so much some days it’s hard to keep up with the world. I feel so much and yet it’s like I’m the greatest self-absorbed person you’ll know. It’s always about me, about me, about me, and I guess that’s why I can’t be in a relationship and don’t really want to.

23. I read books in english and in french. Depends. Also I never read a book. I read plentuy, all in the same time, I start them in the middle, I go past and forward, there’s no written law about how to read a book but my roomate still thinks I’m weird.

24. I’m still 24 for a bit

25. But I’m turning 25 soon

26. Do you want to know when ?

27. No ?

28. Yes ? Well, that’s the 28th. Funny joke ain’t it ! the 28th of November, therefore a Sag lady here.

29. I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m going.

30. I feel empty and depressed if I don’t have something to fight for. Something I love to fight for I mean. When it’s something I don’t love, I still fight but it takes loads more of energy and I don’t know if I could do it again. 

31. Sometimes I feel like an old lady, sometimes like a little girl, but best is when I feel like a woman. A pretty red-lips/dark har young lady. It’s a nice feeling.

32. Where will I be when I’m 32 ?

33. I would really want to smoke a cigarette right now but I have to control myself cause I only have 4 left and I don’t have a car for now and where my parents live you need a car if you want to purchase cigarettes cause countryside means countryside we only have a hairdresser and a bakery around here

34. Mu little brother must be the person I love most in the whole damn universe, and though he drives me crazy like no one else I would go to the moon and back for him, he means the world to me

35. I have the best parents in the whole world

36. I wouldn’t trade my childhood memories for all the gold in the world

37. I’m quiet when you don’t know me, a little (hem, little) less when you do. 

38. I consider myself a fighter, cause though I try not to fall, I get up when I do and I don’t complain much.

39. I think I’ll stop at 41

40. I hate social media so much, I hate how they control our lives, I hate how the kids got smartphones and such and I wish they would still go out and play in the dirt like I used to cause those are the best memories I have and sometimes good memories are a good fuel to keep on

41. There we go

42. I love thunderstorms. They fascinate me. They make me happy for some reason. I love it.

Thank you, have a nice night, a nice day, a nice nap, a nice cookie and a nice life. Cheers <3

(I tag the ones who haven’t done it and would want to cause I’ve seen it on many blogs already ?)

[bolbianddolanhouse]

BNHA AU [self insert]

Nani the heck is this? read here!

Chapter 1: *plays Joji’s Yeah Right*

“...and heres your living quarters, fully furnished and with groceries that’ll last a while” said my case worker as I meekly followed next to them.

“thank you! its really nice.” I said, trying to not sound sad.

“I know its tough being young and by yourself, but I believe in you Miss Palma! Don’t hesitate to give us a call if you have questions or need other arrangments.”

“thank you for your kind words, I’ll keep that in mind” I said as politely as I could because I knew I wasn’t going to call them for shit. “Ill get my luggage out of my car, its not much so I’ll be fine if you need to leave”

“oh alright, Ill leave you to settling in and remember that a UA staff will be coming by with your uniforms tomorrow in the afternoon.”

oh jeez I forgot about that, not looking forward to get fat shamed in this country, let alone by a school staff. “oh right! it almost slipped my mind that here you wear uniforms in high school! hehe thank you for the reminder!”

“no problem! Bye bye”

oof! I was getting tired of pretending to be polite to that case worker. The past 3 months has been tough with the whole being sent away from my family and finding a school with nearby housing. At least I can sleep well without thinking where I’ll end up next. I unpack my 3 suitcases of clothes, personal belongings, cosmetics and other nessities. I take out my framed photo of my family and place it on my bed stand, I miss them and the doggos. I try not to cry and continue to put my things away. I made myself dinner, took a bath and laid in bed; and I’m thinking if I should call my parents to tell them I got settled. I checked the time, it was 4am their time, I sent a text instead. 

[Hola mama y papa! ya estoy en mi apartamento, es muy lindo. Llama me cuando puedas, te extrano mucho y tambien a los doggos!]

I haven’t talked to my parents in a week because of the whole phone arrangement and being too busy with the entrance exam. Now I guess I’ll sleep and do some school supply shopping after meeting with the staff member.

-the next day-

Its saturday and its gloomy out and I wake up thinking, great! even the sky knows its going to be a rough day today! I get dressed, eat and gluzzle down my daily 2 cups of coffee. I scroll through my private social media handles to check on my friends, looks like they’re having fun, without me. I suck in the tears because I know DAMN well they’re sad I’m gone too. I distract myself with memes and I think maybe I should make some tea? and some cookies too? do i even have tea? I go through the cupboads and pantry, the case worker wasn’t kidding when they said that I had groceries that’ll last a while! I had 2 different types of tea, dry pastas, canned goods, snacks and some traditional ingredients for japanese and mexican cusine. I go searching for a kettle or teapot and I find a juicer in the way back of the top cupboard. There was a note on the juicer that said ‘to the next tenant, my wife didn’t want to take this big, messy thing to our next place, hope you find use out of this!’ I laugh at the idea that there was probably a lovers quarral over the juicer. I make tea and some green juice, just so I can get rid of the bundle of kale in the fridge, I hate kale. I make some cookies too but its just so I can get my mind off things since I was so nervous on meeting this staff member. Right on the dot, at 3pm, theres a knock at my door. I look through the peep hole and I see this woman with blue eyes and dark purple-ish, black hair in busniess causal attire. I open the door and put on my best ‘everything is ok’ face.

“hello! are you Miss Palma?”

“yes I am! are you the UA staff member with the uniforms?”

“I am! its so nice to meet you, I am Kayama sensei or better know as Midnight”

“Midnight? Ok um, would you like to come inside?”

“oh yes, thank you! Now I understand that you live alone?” she said as she walked in to the apartment.

“yes thats correct, I got here yesterday and settled in”

“oh wow, and at such a young age! Well If you need anything or need to talk about anything thats bothering you, please let me know! This whole you being separated from family and home worries me” She said in the most sincer tone that I almost started crying. I haven’t heard single person talk to me so genuinely since I left America and I need a trusted adult to help me, I heavily considered her offer.

“oh thank you for your offer, I might need some help in a few weeks BUT for now, may I offer you some tea? coffee? green juice? maybe some cookies?”

“green? juice? whats in it? I’ve never heard of green juice before”

“oh right! its a California health culture thing. Its the juice of pinapple, apple, kale, lemon and cucumber. The combination of the fruits and vegetables is for a healthy disgestive system and energy for before or after exersize”

“that sounds tasty! Ill have green juice please”

I serve her the juice and sit across from her in the living room. I see the clothing bags and think that thats alot of clothing bags just to give me 3 sets of uniforms. She drinks the juice and wanted to say something about my expression when I saw the bags but her eyes widened and she looked at the cup of juice.

“OH MY GOODNESS! this is the best and freshest juice I’ve ever had NO JOKE! You said this is a thing where you’re from? I need to invest in a juicer to make this at home!” she said so shocked and I was surprised to recieve the praise like I invented the juice.

“I’m glad you like it! Its like a little slice of my hometown to me to you” 

“oh? ok back to business! I see you eyeing the uniforms, you want to try them on? I brought some sizes up and down from the given mesurements.”

“um ok sure! Let me take these to try on in my room, ill be right out”

I take the bags to my room and I zip them open and I see the white collared shirts, gray blazer looking thing and skirts. I think oh jeez my ass is definately not gonna fit in these bitches. I put on the shirt and blazer that best fit and lastly the skirt, SUPRIZE! you can see my ass cheeks hanging out from the bottom. I walk out of the room to Midnight.

“ok so I found a shirt and top that fits well on me BUT the skirt...” and I turn around and show her my exposed ass cheeks peeking underneath.

“oh dear, thats definately not in regulation! Ok so you need a longer skirt? like... another 6 inches?” she said as she takes out a measuring tape from her purse.

“um yea, if thats doable”

“it is but we won’t have that ready until the 1st day of classes, so I guess for now, try on the pants and see if any of those fit”

Great. I’m going into a new school, misgendered and foreign passing. 2 of the pants in the clothes bag fit well....too well. We said our good byes and I had at least 2 sets of uniforms ready until I get a proper pair. No matter, at least my ass won’t be hanging out at school. I go school supply shopping and came upon the holy grail of stationary, SCENTED PAPER AND GLITTER PENS. Of course in the pastel rainbow colors and matching lead pencils. I get a whole matching set along with a backpack, water bottle and coffee tumbler. I was going to soon regret that matching set (more on that later) but I was just SO happy that I was pink, pretty and sparkly. 

-Fast forward to the 1st day-

I was in a much better mood because the sun was out, the coffee smelled particularly good, I made myself look cute but toned down for a good 1st day impression. I grab my keys and think I think I’m forgeting one detail? What could it be? and I thought Oh! I need to text my parents that I’m happy and I’m going to school now! I am noticably happy that the nice front desk lady of my housing noticed and wished me luck on my 1st day. I get in my car and I have 1 hour to get to school but its only a 8 minute drive and I wanted to circle to find parking and see where the entrance is so I can teleport from wherever I parked. I pass the gates before seeing the parking and I think oh cool its just right there! but Ill still teleport in the front. I park and I don’t even get out of my car, I just hug my backpack and teleport in front of the gates. I start walking toward the gates and try to not smile like an idiot but I start to notice all the looks and stares. And I think oh they just don’t recongize me because I look foreign or didn’t see me at the entrance exams. As a enter the 1st year doors I hear 

‘yo you see that guy? he looks as pretty as a girl! Guess his favorite color is baby pink? Are they wearing eyeliner? I wonder how long is his hair? That bun is tastful, no homo tho!’

I FORGOT THAT PANTS ARE THE BOY’S UNIFORM AND MY SKIRTS ARE STILL BEING TAILORED! I socially already fucked up, guess I won’t be making friends anytime soon. But I guess I’m glad they think I’m a pretty girl in the boy’s uniform? I walk up to the table at the furthest hall on the right that says International Student Check In thats me. I get greeted by a man with a boombox looking thing on their neck, black pants and jacket, small triangle sunnies and yellow hair. 

“HEEYYY welcome to UA!”

“oh thank you! I am Itati Palma, American student”

“okay lets see, palma palma paruma AH found you! OH YOURE THAT JAZZY SAX GIRL THAT TURNED HERO!”

oh jeez who put that on my record?! “hehehe yea thats me”

“coolio jazzy girl! Heres your schedule, pins and a note from Midnight”

“pins?”

“yeeeaahh! pins to put on your uniform to let other students and staff where youre from and get to know you better!”

I open the small manila pouch into my hand and two pins fall into my palm, the American and Mexican flag. I look at them and tried not to cry, I missed my home and chill life in Cali.

“hey hey! your classes are on the 3 hall on the right, door all the way down.”

“oh right!” that snapped me out of my sentiment, “thank you again! Mr?”

“they call me Mic sensei”

“Mic? ok thanks!”

I walk quickly to my classroom, I get to the outside of the door and think welp, heres to 3 years of being called pretty boy and other dumb shit. I open the door and I see 9 desks and 5 people already there. Oh jeez, what a small class size but at least nobody is staring at me. I sit in the middle seat, though I prefer the front desk but they were already claimed! Guess classroom culture is different here too. In front of me was a boy to what I thought was a Japanese native until they turned and I caught a glimpse of their pin, they’re Korean! They noticed my pins too and had a confused look as they gave me a once over.

“You’re an...american? and mexican? You traveled quite a ways”

“um yeah hehe, I am Itati Palma by the way!”

“hmm, nice to meet you Palma-san, I’m Jin Matsui”

“nice to meet you too!”

Before I could ask them where in Korea are they from, the door slammed open. A tall and muscular white-blonde girl walked in, I tried so hard not to stare at them but they looked so tough and wondered if that’s part of their quirk. She sat behind me and Jin and I turned around to get a better look at them. I saw their pins, the Russian and Japanese flag, shes also a foreign student. She looked up with a death stare at me and Jin but then her eyes widened and she smiled. 

“ah! fellow foreigners! Hello!” she spoke in a predominate Russian accent that matches so well with her image.

“um yeah! Hello, I’m Itati Palma”

“Hi, and I’m Jin Matsui”

“Palma-san and Matsui-san?Milana Mikhalia Oleshin, very nice to meet you!”

Oh my! A long and hard to pronounce name, I guess we aren’t at nickname or first name basis yet for everything to go smoother. I turn to my bag because I got a text, its my parents!

[Hola mija! Que bien que estas feliz hoy! Te amo y ponde bien en tus studias, dios te bendiga.]

Oh mom, you have no idea how bad I had it earlier. I look around and see everyone has nice, canvas school bags and I have my baby pink one with a puppy on it. And everyone had normal stationary and you can smell and see mine from across the hall. Oof, what I’d give to redo today. I look at my schedule and see that I have a short school day this semester.

Palma, Itati (F) (International)                             Intelligence Core Program [1-A]

Homeroom......9a-10am..........................................Intelligence Wing, room 1-A

Weaponery.......10:15am-11:50am.........................................Gym

Hero Course [Ethics and Laws].....12p-1:15p...........Hero Wing, room 1-A

Free Period.........2:50p-3:30p.......................................TBA

Intelligence Course[Statistics&Strategy]3:45p-4:40p..Intelligence Wing,room 3-A

Seems like a reasonable schedule, better than America. I didn’t know that Oleshin-san was peeking over my shoulder to read my schedule.

“YOURE THE GIRL THAT TESTED OUT OF GENERAL STUDIES?!”

I jumped in my seat “um yea?”

“I heard about you! The staff and school district are boasting that they got the potentially genius level international students. They said that theres 2 of them here at UA and they are jumping straight into course work! One has placed college level English and 3rd year Level Strategtic Thinking! And thats you!”

Jin turns around, looking bootytickled “erm, what? Let me see your schedule.”

He scans and compares it to his “well theres proof that you are one of those students, but then again, so am I”

I take a look at his, almost identical except they’re not taking the hero course, but second year english. What a weird turn of events that I’d be in the same class as other international students in the same school arrangments? I guess they’re my friends now.

A clean cut man in a blue jumpsuit with multiple patches on the arms opens the door. I just knew they were our teacher, it shows that he’s been through it all and has wisdom to bestow upon us. 

“Hello, good morning students, if you could all take your seats so I can get things started”

Everyone fell into place and was attentive.

“Welcome to the Intelligence Program, You can call me Diya sensei, I’m a retired secret service of Japan better known as Agent 99 code name ‘Space Cowboy’”

I tried so hard not to laugh at that code name, I wondered why he was called that. Maybe his quirk?

“Now to take roll, say present when I say your name”

He finished roll and said “huh, 3 international students? I expect impeccable work from you three. I won’t slow down for you”

I somehow wasn’t scared of that statement. Before moving on to explaining the coursework and lessons, a lizard bolted from the window and to Diya sensei. He let out one of the most high pitched yelps and retreated to the corner. How can a man so sharp and decorated, be reduced to a crying mess over a lizard? Matsui-san captures the fast lizard and wraps it in his gym towel to take outside after homeroom. Sensei regains his composure and continues class like nothing happened. After homeroom, we all had weaponery but we didn’t get to use any gear or weapons yet. Instead we got measured for our jumpsuits and PE clothes plus got settled in the locker rooms. To my surprise it was co-ed locker rooms since it was a small class size and only 3 girls. Everyone was respectful of eachother’s bodies and privacy. Next I was supposed to go to the ethics class but in Midnight’s note, she said that I start that class on Wednesday so for the time being, I have to report to the staff room to meet with them. I go to the staff room and on the way I see a class doing drills with quirks outside, it looked fun and everyone looked so focused. I get to the staff room and Midnight hands me my tailored skirts and 3rd set of uniform. I also got to know the other teachers and staff including the principal, a big ass fuckin rat. I was about to punt that bitch when they opened the door if they didn’t start talking. Other than that, it was a nice time and then there was lunch. I walked in the cafeteria and saw the long ass lines and said ‘fuck that’, so I teleported to my car and ate my packed food in there. Next was my free period, Midnight said that it was alright for me to wander around campus so I can get to know the place better so I can teleport from class to class. I wander around without my bag, just my phone and schedule with school map folded in my pocket. I go to the hero wing to find the 1-A room, nobody was in there, maybe its gym time for them? I pass by a group of 3 upper classmen, A boy with black hair and pointy ears, a taller boy with lemon colored hair and a girl with long sky blue hair. They all looked at me as I passed by and I felt intimidated because they have a strong presence to them but I didn’t know why or how. I hid behind the corner and heard them talking about me,

“did you see that? I made accidental eye contact and I think I’m going to be sick”

“hmm, do you think thats the international student Mirio? They had an american flag pin”

“Maybe? Theres no description of them other than they’re American and a 1st year in the Intelligence program”

“wait, sceret service? I thought they saved their school from a gang by disabling the leader? Why are we interested in her again Mirio?”

“She’s a true hero Amajiki! We could learn alot from her and maybe change their mind to be a hero, like they were meant to be”

What the heck was that Lemon boy going off about? A hero? Change my mind? Learn from me? I turned the corner to tell them off but they were gone and I wasn’t about to go looking for them. I wander some more and the bell rings and a swarm of students come out of their classrooms, I couldn’t naviagate around and I think, guess Ill teleport, BUT THEN I COULDN’T! Like when I was acting up back home and my mom would use her erasure quirk on me to prevent me from escaping. But my mom couldn’t be here!? Then what the fuck is going on? Then a man’s voice from behind me spoke,

“are you lost young lady?”

I turn around and I’m shaking in fear before I even see this mystery man. I see him and he’s a tall, dark long haired with eye bags. I knew right away he was the one who erased my quirk, his eyes glowed the same way my mom did when she activated her quirk. Mom i thought and how much I missed her and I couldn’t hold back my tears this time. I cried in front of this man I just met. He arched his brow then gazed his eyes on my flag pins. He gasped and deactivated his quirk.

“oh no I’m sorry Miss! I didn’t mean to scare you to tears, are you alright?”

I stammered “um uhhhh -sniff- I’m, I’m ok! um I’ll just leave” 

“no please, let me escort you to your next class, I feel terrible for making you cry. Especially on the 1st day”

I felt sort of better when he offered, I let him walk with me.

“you didn’t scare me, I cried because you and my mother have the same quirk and looking at your glowing eyes reminded me of her and how much I miss her”

“oh! same quirk you say? Were you a trouble maker?”

“nah, I would try to teleport away when it was time to do housework when I was younger and she’d disable my quirks so I couldn’t escape and HAD to do chores”

He laughed “what a woman! Say, your not from around here huh?”

“nope, I’m from America with hispanic roots”

“OH! you’re an ethnic American! That’s why you have two flags.”

“yup, I got here about a week ago and settled about 3 days ago”

“yeah, Midnight told me about you. You’re a very unique indivdual, how are your classes so far?”

“nothing interesting yet”

“well hopefully things pickup soon, oh i think this is your wing”

“um oh yea it is, thank you for walking me over, Mr?”

“Mr Aizawa, or better known as Eraserhead”

“Eraserhead? um ok thanks again!”

“no problem, see you wednesday”

“wednesday?”

“yea, I’m the Hero Course ethics teacher. See you then!”

Then this man deadass walks away after dropping that bomb on me? What a legend, can’t wait to sit in his class. My last class was more up my alley and the upperclassmen were so nice that I didn’t feel any different from them. I walked to my car to reflect on all the shit that happened today and what I am going to do to make school bearable. The drive to my place was pleasant but I saw a bunch of students walking together like they just became friends and wanted to spend more time together. I felt a little lonely when I got home, I remembered when I was in america and I would talk to my friends after school and how they’d wait for me after band practice to hang out. I took off my uniform and hanged up my new ones and had one really good cry. I haven’t cried that hard in months and it was much needed for my mental health. I washed up and ate and tried to just forget all the dumb shit of the day when I laid down to sleep.

-fast foward to Wednesday-

“hey Palma-san! did you do the online homework for stats and strats?”

“yee, did you?” I said knowing damn well what Matsui-san was going to say.

“psh! course I did, I was just making sure you did it so you might have something to do during free period”

“HEY! T-posing through the halls IS a viable thing to do! I was studying where everthing is on campus for future use”

“IS NOT WHEN YOU LEVITATE AND SCREECH IN THE BOYS BATHROOM WHILE I’M IN THERE!”

Before I could retort back, Oleshin-san butted in,

“aye Palma-san, you excited for your hero course class?”

“oof yee, the teacher is kinda hot”

“I SAW and I’m jealous! You have to tell me if the boys in that class are hot too!”

“ugh, don’t you two have better things to talk about than butts and boys?”

“I’m so excited tho! To meet anybody thats outside our program and learning new things?! I just hope they like me, I even made them cookies”

“Palma-san nani the heck!? I want a cookie”

“You guys can get a cookie during lunch if theres any leftovers”

I quickly change after weapons class and bolt to the hero wing. I walk down the hall and I’m really feeling nervous! I look at my coffee tumbler and felt calmer as I took a sip. Ok Ita, you can do this, no chickening out now I psych myself up as I stand in front of the door. I open the door, expecting everyone to be strewn about and talking...nope. I walk in and everyone is in their seats and sensei was standing up in the front and I disrupted them. Everyone was staring and I instantly get flushed and I check to make sure I was in the right classroom and said,

“did I fuck up?”

“no actually I was just talking about you, perfect timing!” said Aizawa with a smile. “why don’t you come up and introduce yourself?”

“um ok” I said as I scanned the room. I got up to the front, chugged down my coffee for dominance, did a quick spin for drama and put on my ‘I swear I slept a normal amount of sleep last night’ face. 

“Hi hello~ My name is Itati Palma and I’m from America! The reason I don’t look like one is because my ethnic background is hispanic, or in other words, both of my parents are from Mexico but I was born in America. My quirk isn’t the strongest or the most useful BUT I can be of better help in other parts of combat, so please, we don’t have to be friends but lets all work hard together” I bow respectfully and turn to sensei.

“nice speech kid, you can take the seat on the third row”

“um ok thanks”

As I’m walking toward my seat, sensei walks out saying he’ll be right back with more handouts. I sit and I feel all eyes on me, giving me the once over. The person in front of me has a bird head but normal human body from the neck down, the person behind me has half their face covered with multiple limbs and the person on my left has red spiky hair and was staring REALLY hard at me. I almost didn’t want to look at them until sensei came back, I just sat there blushing really hard.

“Kirishima! stop staring at her! Can’t you see you’re making her uncomfortable?!” said the boy with glasses making chopping motions.

“Oh sorry! Its just that I’ve never seen curly hair of that type in person, you have really nice hair and your backpack is cute”

“um thank you, I feel sorta out of place with it tho, everyone else has normal bags”

“tch, makes you look like a little girl” muttered the boy with the blonde hair.

“Kacchan thats so rude! I think their choice of bag is cute and different in a good way” said some broccoil looking ass.

“well um, not to change the subject, but I made you guys cookies! I got up extra early to bake them”

“Cookies?! oh how sweet of you!” joked the pink girl.

“Oh here, let me help you with that” said the boy with glasses as he stood up.

“oh no I got this” I take out a package of colorful napkins and the box of cookies and I toss the napkins up and activate my quirk to pass out the napkins. Then I opened the box and gave everyone a cookie and gave sensei 3.

“so cool! you passed out the treat without getting up!” squealed what I assume to be the invisible girl.

“THESE COOKIES ARE SOOO YUMMY TOO!” proclaimed the boy with a black streak in their yellow hair.

Everyone was in a better mood and I got compliments for my cookies, I was in my happy place. After class, as I was packing my bag, the boy with the glasses came up to my desk

“thank you for the cookie, Palma-san, you really know how to bring a crowd together”

“oh thank you, uhhhhh”

“hm? OH my name is Tenya Iida, sorry I forgot to introduce myself earlier”

“Iida-san? oh its alright, its nice to meet you” 

“I haven’t seen you around halls, sensei tells us your in a different program? Is it true?”

“Yes its true, also the school is kinda big and I can be easy to miss in a crowd because I’m so short”

“I see, well its lunch time! May I walk you to the lunch room?”

“oh thank you but I usually eat in the parking lot” I soon regreted my words because this square faced, glasses wearing ass gasped and grabbed me by the wrist followed by dragging me down the hall.

“You’ve been by yourself during such social time?! Now I have a better reason to bring you to the lunch group!”

“eating by yourself isn’t a huge deal” I say but looking back, thats all I’ve been doing.

“A true hero never lets a fellow classmate eat alone!”

I get aggitated and retort “well what if they want to be alone!” as I teleport out of his grip and 3 feet behind him. He sees the whole thing and stopped on the dime, he was shocked.

“you, you used your quirk to escape my grip? What is your quirk exactly?”

“Heck, um its Mid-range Telekinesis, I can levitate, levitate others and objects and teleport about 2 miles at a time.”

“thats incredible power! what do you mean your quirk isn’t strong or useful?! You’re gifted in so many ways!”

I wasn’t having fun anymore, he wasn’t letting me talk or left me alone when I said I wanted to. 

“please stop”

“hmm? stop what”

“stop, talking about my quirk like I’m some sort of show horse” 

“Show horse? no no no! I didn’t mean to-”

“STOP!” I didn’t want to hear it, I just wanted to hide. Tears were welling up in my eyes.

“what is going on here? Tenya, what are doing to that poor girl?” it was Midnight. “oh no, are you ok Itati?” and I start to cry when she made eye contact with me. 

“its ok, you’re ok! please don’t feel sad” she comforted me as she held me, “why don’t you go to lunch Tenya, I’ll take care of things here”

“but I- I mean-”

“please, she’s been through too much already”

He walked away, looking back every few steps. Midnight escorted me to the staff room so I can calm down a bit and talk about what happened.

“You want to talk about it?” she asked me softly.

“yea, the school culture is too much for me”

“how so? Are you not making friends? Are the classes too hard?”

“its mostly the students outside of my program, they’re too into their hero agenda to be the best that they aren’t considering other’s personal feelings or perfernces”

I then tell her about the 3 upper classmen that talked about me and what Iida told me as they dragged me down the hall.

“oh I see now, it almost feels like you’re being targeted and pressured.”

“yeah, I want to learn about this hero culture more but this is too much at once. It’s strange because back home, I was so used to be part of the crowd and stand out when I wanted to. And here it feels like I breathe a little too loud and I’m suddenly getting looks”

“ok, I’m glad you aren’t giving up. But if they start getting physical and racist, please let any of the staff know.”

“alright, Thank you Midnight! I don’t know what I’d do without you”

I go about my day and tell Matsui and Oleshin what happened after school. They weren’t too keen about it,

“That glasses wearing asshole!”

“yea not good on a future hero if you tell me”

“We got your back Palma-san”

“YEAH! we international students have to stick together, its scary being alone”

“yea Matusi-san is right. If any of those hero asses try any of us, I’ll flex on them and toss them in the trash!” Oleshin-san said as she flexed her strong arms.

“And I can portal us to safety or anywhere really” Matsui-san said as he jumped.

“oh guys! I’m gonna cry again!” I said because I was so touched by their words.

“and I’ll T-pose, screech and rise on them. Maybe levitate them in the trash too”

We all laugh as we flex and T-pose together in the school parking lot. They walked me to my car. We were about to part ways to head home when I said

“hey, um you guys can call me Ita, if you want”

“Ita? then you can call me Jin”

“oh we doing short hand! then you can call me Mimi”

“Jin and Mimi huh? ok! see you guys tomorrow”

“bye!”

“until tomorrow”

As I drove home, I thought Holy shit I just made friends.

-End Chapter 1-

<Previous - Next>