#sorry I be thinking about her and playing the new Pokémon snap game again | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

krreader · 5 years ago

Text

SEVENTEEN scenario → calling you clingy.

pairing: seventeen x reader fandom: seventeen warnings: / genre: fluff ; angst word count: 2.2k+

a/n: aaaaaah, I’m so happy I finally got to work on some more seventeen stuff so I hope you like it love!

choi seungcheol

As the leader, Seungcheol obviously had a lot of responsibilities. You knew that too. You had known that ever since you first started dating him and you respected that and were okay with it.

But you missed him a lot these days. Comeback was always hard on your relationship.

You wrapped your arms around him from behind when he was in the bathroom getting ready to leave again.

“Can you stay for a little longer? Just.. twenty minutes or something?”

Seungcheol sighed, “Please don't be clingy like this.”

You immediately stopped kissing his neck, instead you took a step back and cocked your head to the side, “Clingy? This was the first night we spent together in four weeks. One. Night. I've not complained once in the past four weeks and I'm clingy?”

“You know what I meant,” he turned around, “Don't turn this into an argument.”

“Oh, this isn't an argument, sweetheart. This is me telling you to maybe appreciate me a little more, instead of insulting me when I’ve done nothing but respect you and your job..”

“(Y/N), wait..-” he wanted to pull his own hair out when you left the bathroom, mostly because he knew you were right..

He should have thought about his words more carefully.

yoon jeonghan

He never meant to snap at you, he didn't quite know what was the reason for it, maybe the stress, maybe the exhaustion, but one second everything was fine and the next Jeonghan called you clingy and wanted you to leave him alone.

Which you obviously did, you weren't in the mood to argue.

And you knew he'd come running back to you in less than thirty minutes to apologize.

You were sitting on the couch when he entered the living room of your apartment.

“What are you doing?” he asked shyly.

“I'm on my phone,” you said nonchalantly.

“Are you.. playing that game? Pokémon Go?”

“No, the Harry Potter version,” it was clear that he wanted to make conversation, but you gave him the cold shoulder.

And it worked wonders. With a heavy sigh he dropped down on the couch next to you, “(Y/N), I am so sorry about what I said before.. I don't know what happened, but I never meant to snap at you like this, you have to believe me..-”

He continued on for about five more minutes while you just continued playing your game.

And when he was finally done you smiled at him, “It's fine, I'm not angry, I just wanted to see how worked up you'd get over this.”

His mouth was slightly ajar, then he murmured, “You're mean.”

“Only when I have to be,” you winked.

joshua hong

Joshua felt bad the second the words “Why are you so clingy today?” left his mouth and saw how hurt you were from it.

You had realized he was having a bad day and wanted to cheer him up by staying a bit longer than usual, but it clearly backfired.

“I'll just.. go then..-”

“No, no, no, wait..-” he grabbed your hand before you could do so and turned you around to pull you close, cradling your head against his chest, “I'm sorry, baby, I didn't mean to say that. I should have thought before speaking, I'm sorry.”

You forced yourself not to cry, focused on his heartbeat and nodded, slowly relaxing in his arms again.

You knew he didn't mean it.. or at least you hoped he didn't.

wen junhui

This wasn't a new argument you had. It was as if he always ended up saying the “You're clingy” line whenever he felt like shit and needed to let it out on somebody. And unfortunately, it was always you.

At this point, though, you've gotten so used to it that you simply rolled your eyes, “Whatever you say,” you continued to place the food in front of him, “Eat this.”

“No, I told you, I'm not..-”

“Stop arguing with me and just eat it. Am I your mother or your girlfriend? Jeez,” you plopped down on the couch and waited for him to eat it and of course he did. He did because he hadn't eaten a single thing today and you knew he hadn't, that's why you came here so late at night.

Not because you were clingy, but because you cared.

And once he was done, he turned around to look at you like a little child and said: “I'm sorry, (Y/N).”

“Whatever,” it was sad how used you’ve gotten to this..

kwon soonyoung

You visited him in the dance studio one night after he had been ignoring your calls for hours.

You were worried about him lately, you just wanted to make sure he was okay, but the moment he saw you, his face dropped.

“There's a reason I've not been answering my phone. Stop being so clingy, (Y/N)! I'm busy!”

You stared at him for a second, then you dropped the bag of food as well as the two bottles of water, “Well then.. sorry that I care.”

And with that you angrily left.

Soonyoung was still out of breath from dancing, then he slowly walked over to the food and smiled sadly when he saw you had bought all of his favorite things.

The smile faded though when he realized what he had just called you.. the one that cared so much about him that she'd go out of her way to bring him all of this.

“You idiot,” he muttered to himself.

jeon wonwoo

Wonwoo didn't have a lot of time as an idol, but he kept trying to squeeze seeing you into his schedule. Which, in itself, was horrible, given the fact that you were his girlfriend.

You kept texting him, asking if you could stop by tonight – like you had planned for a while – and if so, at what time.

And what you got as a reply was: “Can you stop being clingy for a while? I'm trying to figure it out.”

He did not get a reply. And after re-reading what he had sent, it was no wonder.

And you weren't surprised when he was the one that showed up with a bouquet of flowers and food that night, as well as an apologetic smile on his face.

“I have food, snacks, flowers and if you want, I can stay the night?”

“You're a bit clingy right now, you know?” you mocked him.

“I know,” he kissed your cheek, whispering an, “I'm sorry,” into your ear, then went into the kitchen.

lee jihoon

Jihoon was hardworking, but it came to a point where you rarely saw him anymore because of how much he worked and naturally, when he continuously canceled your date nights, you had to come to him at some point.

And it's not like you were staying for hours, you usually just stopped by at the studio with food, wanted to eat with him and then left again – after the occasional tumble, because yes, sex was also kind of hard to have when he was rarely at home anymore.

But today seemed to be a bad day, you noticed it the moment you walked in. He looked a lot more tense than usual.. might be because of the deadline he had coming up soon.

“Here, I wasn't sure what you wanted so I just bought a bunch of stuff. The lady at the store even gave me an extra portion because she said you needed to..-”

“(Y/N), can you just leave, please? You are way too clingy these last few weeks and right now I just don't need that, okay?” and with that sentence, he turned back around to his computer and put his headphones back on like he didn't just insult you.

Yes, it hurt, but you also knew him well enough. This wasn't the real him, this was stressed him who couldn't think straight.

So you just left the food there and went home without another word.

It was only when Jihoon was finally done and saw the food on his desk that he let out a heavy sigh and brushed his hands over his face.

He instantly texted you and apologized, asked if he could come over and talk to you about it all and also, properly apologized.

You said yes.

lee seokmin

You were at their dorm for dinner, were having a great time, your boyfriend telling a story, when he suddenly said: “Ah, (Y/N) can be so clingy sometimes.”

And boy, the awkward silence that followed after was horrible.

The rest of the boys that were eating with you all suddenly looked very interested in their dinner, Seokmin looked shocked about what he just said out loud and you stared at him with an open mouth and furrowed eyebrows.

“Excuse me?”

“I.. I didn't mean to say that, I don't know why I did..-”

You didn't want to cause a massive scene, not in front of the boys, so you just placed your napkin on the table and got up, “Then you better figure it out,” and with that you wanted to walk out of the apartment.

But Seokmin sprinted after you, chased you until he caught you at the elevator where you two started arguing.

And even though you didn't want the boys to hear, all of them stood at the door like they were watching a drama.

“Can someone get some popcorn?” Seungkwan asked, getting hit on the arm by one of his hyungs.

kim mingyu

“Do you realize that we never argue?” Mingyu asked one day out of the blue.

“Is.. that a bad thing?” you laughed, looking up from your book.

“No, it's just something that I realized today.”

“Well,” you turned to him, “Do you want to try arguing?”

“To be honest, I wouldn't even know what to argue about,” he narrowed his eyes at you, “How about.. You're clingy!” he tried to sound serious, but then instantly started laughing.. as did you.

“You're so bad at this, no wonder we don't ever argue, you have no talent for it.”

Which might not be the worst trait in the world.

xu minghao

God, did he feel bad. The second the words left his mouth, he was the one who was about to cry because he could see how much he hurt you.

“No, (Y/N). No, please don't cry,” but you already did and he instantly kissed your head and pulled you closer, “I'm sorry, I'm just so stressed lately, I shouldn't have let it out on you.”

But you already felt bad..

“I'm just.. going to leave,” you said in between sobs, but Minghao wouldn't let go of you.

“No, I don't want you to go, please stay for the night. For as long as you want. I'll miss you when you leave.”

But now he had already said the 'you're clingy' line and you just couldn't forget it.

boo seungkwan

You didn't know what started this argument, but here you two were, suddenly saying what annoyed you about the other person.

“You are so.. clingy! It's driving me nuts!”

“Oh, is that so, yeah?” you crossed your arms in front of your chest, “Would you rather me not seeing you for a while then? How about we take a break, is that what you want?”

“Fine! Go then!”

“Fine, I'll go!”

Seungkwan pouted for approximately ten seconds, until he heard the front door close, then he sprinted after you, because no, he obviously didn't want you two to take a break.

And you didn't.

You never did..

hansol vernon choi

Vernon had told you about the upcoming world tour and, naturally, you expressed that you were both happy, but also sad about it. Happy, because you knew what awesome experiences these world tours were for the boys. Sad, because world tour meant not seeing him for a very long time.

“It's because you've been so clingy lately, usually you don't mind it,” he laughed. He hadn't meant it in a bad way, but that's the way you took it.

“I've been clingy because I knew you'd leave and I wanted to at least spend a little more time with my boyfriend,” your voice showed the hurt and Vernon instantly sat up straighter when you got up.

“Wait, I didn't mean it like that.”

“I know. But the fact that this all seems to be so easy for you while I'm sitting at home missing you so badly..-” your shoulders slumped, “Makes me think you don't care about this relationship as much as I do.”

Vernon stared after you, his mouth opening and closing again because he didn't know what to say.

Why?

Because.. maybe.. you were right?

lee chan

Your relationship was still new, this was the very first argument you ever had.

And in a way, you could see why he said what he said.

Because you were clingy. But only because you were in that lovey-dovey phase.

Ultimately, it was you who gave in with a sigh and nodded, “What do you want me to do then? Should I leave?”

“No.. no, don't go, just.. understand where I'm coming from,” Chan brushed a strand of hair behind your ear, “I will reply when I can, I will come over when I can.. trust me. But some days it's just hard to do anything other than work. I need you to understand that.”

You nodded with a slight pout.

But you did understand..

#seventeen reactions #seventeen imagine #seventeen scenario #seventeen x reader #seventeen #reader #requests

430 notes · View notes

oops-prow-did-it-again · 5 years ago

Text

Pokémon Black: The Novel - Chapter 5 (Misty Dreams)

Prologue and more info

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Pokémon Black: The Novel on FFN

Pokémon Black: The Novel on AO3

Pokémon Retold the series on AO3

----------------------------

Hil had paused his training in the Dreamyard momentarily to rest and relax beneath the shade of some trees. Noodle was curled about his shoulders again, but he was no longer alone. Hil now had a Patrat, Purrloin, and a Panpour as well! The Patrat and Purrloin, named Roadie and Lucky respectively, he had managed to successfully battle and catch on Route Two, and the Panpour had actually been given to him! An extremely nice lady training in the Dreamyard had asked him if he would like to have another partner on his journey and had offered the smiling blue pokémon to him without hesitation. Hil had wondered at first why someone would give away their partner so willingly, but he had decided not to look a gift Blitzle in the mouth and took the Panpour in his arms.

As he had turned his attention to the patches of tall grass within the concrete ruins, the Panpour had nosily dug into his bag that dangled from his shoulders and had taken a keen interest in Hil’s toothpaste. He clasped the tube in his teeth and gleefully dodged each of Hil’s attempts to retrieve it. Noodle had eventually lashed a vine from the leaves protruding from his shoulders and retrieved the tube of toothpaste for Hil, who secured it in a zipped portion of the bag this time. “Okay, Crest,” Hil had joked, “you need to calm down.”

And that had been how the Panpour had earned the nickname of Crest. He wasn’t entirely sure why he had chosen the name of Roadie for his Patrat. Perhaps it was the fact Patrat seemed to always swarm everywhere he wanted to walk like an avid, annoying cyclist taking up half the roadway. He had chosen his Purrloin’s name, Lucky, based on the fact he had felt incredibly lucky to have caught her. His track record for his first day as a trainer had not gone well and he had just felt extremely proud to have caught anything at that point. That wasn’t to say he didn’t feel lucky to have her, though; Lucky was a very affectionate Purrloin.

But now, it was time for relaxing. They had been training for a couple of hours on their own and Hil had yet to have to return to the Pokémon Center. He felt some pride in the amount of time he’d managed to stay here and celebrated with his pokémon by idly playing with and watching them. While Noodle scrutinized their new teammates from his shoulders, Roadie ran circles around Lucky, occasionally jumping on her tail to startle her. Crest had decided to make his own game, climbing into the trees above Hil’s head and breaking as many sticks and leaves from the branches as he could.

Their peaceful midafternoon relaxation came to an end when Hil heard shouting and plaintive, high-pitched cries coming from further within the concrete ruins of the Dreamyard, beyond the chain-link fence barring off the more dangerous areas. Crest dangled from a branch above Hil’s head by his tail and cocked his head at the source of the noise. Roadie stood tall on his hind legs (or as tall as a Patrat could, anyway) and Lucky cowered, her ears flat against her skull and hackles raised.

Noodle hissed and Hil took that as a sign at last to get up and take a closer look. He motioned for his pokémon to follow him and he darted over to the chain-link fencing, peering through its gaps and deeper into the yard. Noodle stretched his neck to get a better look while the rest of his pokémon gathered around his feet and leaned against the fence to get a closer view.

Hil gasped at what he saw. Two of those same silver-robed men from Accumula Town—or at least, they were wearing identical outfits to the guards Ghetsis had had with him—were circling a Munna like Basculin on bait. They had their hoods pulled far over their heads, obscuring their eyes in shadow, and their shoulders raised in a threatening display. The Munna trembled and rocked in midair despite its levitation. Then Hil saw why. One of the robed men brought his leg up high, nailing the Munna on the face and sending it careening through the air. It stopped itself after a few rolls, but didn’t dare move another inch after that, cowering in fear.

“C’mon, spit out some of that Dream Mist! Then we’ll be on our way!” one of the men demanded, sounding annoyed.

Hil’s blood boiled and he heard a growl rising in Noodle’s throat. Crest angrily grasped the fence and shook it. Roadie chuffed in a sound Hil could only assume was designed to alert others and Lucky, again, only hissed at the situation. Hil apologized rapidly to his pokémon as he recalled them all except for Noodle. His hands were trembling so much from the rage at what he had just seen that he actually missed Crest with the Poké Ball at first despite the Panpour not moving at all.

Earlier, he had had Roadie cut down a small, but sturdy tree blocking an entrance into the deeper recesses of the Dreamyard. He was in the process of slipping easily through the gap when he felt pressure on his shoulder, and he was abruptly yanked back by his hoodie. Noodle yelped and dove off his shoulder, landing on the grass just beside Hil. Hil scrabbled for a foothold and when he found it, he wrenched his hoodie out of the assailant’s hold and whipped around to snarl something profane, but stopped dead in his tracks when he met Cheren’s slate-gray eyes. Bianca stood only a couple of feet behind him.

“Cheren? This isn’t the time!” Hil spat. He brushed Cheren off and headed straight back for the gap into the ruins. Once again, Cheren grabbed him.

“Hil! Wait!” Cheren hissed. “Let us go in there first!”

Hil heard Bianca groan. “Cheren—”

“Why?” Hil snapped in frustration, cutting her off without realizing it. “We don’t have time for this, they’re—”

Another sickening thud and another mournful cry. Hil cringed and Noodle made a mad dash for the gap into the ruins. Hil caught him by the very tip of his tail, earning a spitting hiss from his friend as Noodle coiled back around to face him and nip at his hands. “Sorry, Noodle, I don’t want you rushing off in there alone,” Hil apologized meekly at Noodle’s seething red glare. It softened at Hil’s words and he swore he saw Noodle nod. The Snivy slithered up his arm and once again rested on his shoulders.

Cheren took the opportunity to push ahead of Hil, into the gap. Bianca shook her head in apparent disappointment and followed. Hil earnestly followed them. Whatever their deal was, he had no interest in figuring it out, all he cared about was getting those two idiot Team Plasma agents away from that Munna. Hil was hot on his friends heels as they rounded the corner around a concrete wall to find the two agents had backed the Munna up against a wall.

“Hey! Stop it!” Hil shot as he pushed ahead of Cheren and Bianca. “What is wrong with you? Aren’t you idiots for pokémon liberation or something stupid like that? Where in there does ‘beat a pokémon’ fit?”

Noodle hissed in agreement.

The grunts both turned back to face Hil at once. The Munna, struggling to remain aloft, rocked and rolled side to side slowly. It was bruised and had a few small cuts running across its right shoulder. “Who’s asking? You, little man?” one of the grunts jeered.

“Oh, look, there’s three of them!” the other giggled as he grinned in delight. “Careful, one in front’s got a Snivy.”

“Look, kid,” the first one started again, flicking some errant red hair from in front of his piercing blue eyes, “we don’t mean any trouble, but you wandered in on something you really shouldn’t have.” He winked at Hil and Hil’s lips curled hatefully at them. “Our boss isn’t a huge fan of people getting the wrong idea about us, so…”

“You shouldn’t have worn your stupid uniform, then,” Cheren interjected with a dangerous precision to his words. He crossed his arms. “Real smart.”

“Oh? Think you’re tough and got us cornered?” the second grunt beamed at Cheren wildly and then whirled around, kicking the Munna hard once again. It mewled pathetically, hit the concrete wall violently, and then abruptly fell silent as it collapsed to the ground in a heap. “Well, we’re still the ones over here next to the Munna, and we’re going to get its Dream Mist. You kids wouldn’t understand the sacrifices that have to be made to reach our Lord’s dream. And if that also means taking care of you three kids so we can continue our job…”

That was it. Hil pointed a finger at that first grunt. He was not about to sit idly by while someone was being mistreated. Not again. “Noodle, Vine Whip!”

“Hil, wait—” Cheren began, only to be cut off by Bianca. She shook her head at him in a way that told him no. Hil took no note of the exchange, however, and Noodle dove off his shoulders and grabbed the two grunts each by one of their arms with a vine, dragging them away from the Munna. They each used their spare hands to then send out their own pokémon, a Patrat and a Purrloin.

It was Cheren who sent out another pokémon to assist Hil. His Tepig’s nostrils blazed furiously and he rushed at the Purrloin. He stopped dead in his tracks only to blast a ball of flame at the Purrloin’s face. It hissed and lashed claws back at him. Noodle was forced to let go of its hold on the two Plasma agents as the Patrat lunged at him with the intention of biting through the vines.

It was a chaotic double battle, that was for sure, but Hil found his mind was clearer than it had ever felt the previous day during battles. Neither Patrat or Purrloin looked particularly sturdy from the outside, so he settled on a simple strategy of attack again and again until they went down, certain his Snivy could take the hits necessary to do so. “Noodle, Vine Whip that Patrat!”

“Tepig, Ember on the Purrloin again!” Cheren called calmly.

“Purrloin, Fury Swipes on the Tepig!”

“Patrat, Bide!”

Bide… Bide… Hil knew that move. It meant the pokémon would do its best to endure hits, and then lash out when the opponent least expected it, usually dishing back a significant amount of damage to the attacker. He inwardly groaned as Noodle’s vines lashed across Patrat’s arms that it had brought protectively over its head. He and Cheren would have to take it out quickly.

Although faster, Purrloin’s Fury Swipes barely fazed Tepig, and with another blast of flame from its nose, Purrloin went down. The Team Plasma member blinked in confusion for a moment before recalling the Purrloin to its Poké Ball. “You just got lucky!” he spat at Cheren. “Clearly that was a pokémon gifted to you by someone important. We are helping rehabilitate pokémon that have been abandoned or abused by trainers. You know, the ‘common’ ones, like Purrloin and Lillipup that everyone thinks it’s okay to treat like garbage.”

“You were just kicking around a Munna, and did so until it went unconscious,” Cheren growled. “Shut up with the high and mighty act because it’s not working. Tepig, Ember on Patrat!”

“Noodle, Vine Whip Patrat again!”

As Tepig and Noodle convened on the lone Patrat, Hil felt a bolt of exhaustion run through him. His knees wobbled and he had to actively stiffen them to keep from falling over. Noodle and Tepig squeaked and fell still as a figured took form in front of them. They then retreated to their respective trainers. Noodle coiled himself around Hil’s arm this time and hissed at the shape from the safety of Hil’s hold. Hil heard the two Team Plasma agents give something akin to a yelp. He and Cheren fell back, staggering from the shock of the apparition.

It was Ghetsis, from the speech yesterday… but how? How had he just appeared? Hil, Cheren, and Bianca all looked at each other with wide eyes, questioning one another wordlessly.

“What are you two doing goofing off?” the apparition snarled. His gravelly voice sounded so much stronger now and radiated anger.

Hil jumped, landing nearly on Cheren’s feet, and screamed as another apparition appeared just a few feet away, flanking the Team Plasma agents. It was another apparition of Ghetsis! There were now two of them! Two? Hil’s breath quickened and he looked up at the apparition in front of him. He felt very small beneath the towering height of that man, even if he did move with a limp.

“Not only have you failed your mission, but you have allowed yourselves to be seen doing this,” the second Ghetsis boomed.

Suddenly, both the apparitions vanished and reappeared behind the Team Plasma agents, causing both to hop in the air, startled. They grabbed one another’s hands and stared at the ghost of Ghetsis, shaking and trembling. Hil could have sworn their knees were literally knocking by the severity of their jitters.

“Th…this isn’t Ghetsis when he’s trying to amass followers, or trick people with speeches…” one of them mumbled. Hil wondered if they knew they were talking out loud… That didn’t exactly sound like something Team Plasma wanted to be public knowledge, after all.

“No… this is Ghetsis when a plan has failed and he’s about to issue punishment…” the second agreed hopelessly.

“Well, we know this has got to be a projection from the Triad since he’s teleporting everywhere,” the first sputtered, “so let’s just, let’s just hurry back and apologize to him, so he’ll forgive us and…”

“Hopefully, anyway…” the second mused pathetically.

With that, the two men in silver robes nearly stumbled over one another in their effort to get out of the Dreamyard. They pushed past Hil, Cheren, and Bianca without so much as a glance in their direction. Hil, Cheren, and Bianca turned their attention back to the ghost of Ghetsis once the Team Plasma agents had left, and saw as its shape began to shift and morph. Within seconds, it was clear it had not been Ghetsis at all, but a Musharna.

“Oh, that’s a relief,” Bianca gasped. “For a second there I thought we were about to face that guy… I’m not sure if he’s one you want to get on the bad side of…”

Cheren and Hil both gave her a look. “What was your first clue?” Cheren asked in faux thoughtfulness.

“Oh, save it,” Bianca chuckled. “Those guys aren’t exactly stellar models of what Team Plasma stands for; he’d have every right to be furious at them. After all, it was Musharna that was talking there, not actually Ghetsis.”

“It fooled his grunts well enough,” Cheren pointed out.

Hil waved his hands in their faces. “Who cares about that right now? Help me check on the Munna.” He couldn’t care less what Ghetsis was like or his relation to his lackeys. He was only concerned with the beaten and bruised Munna still lying unconscious at the foot of the concrete wall it had been kicked against. Musharna had made its way over to it as well, hovering above the Munna. Hil examined it, running his hand across the Munna’s body gently, and was glad to find its breathing seemed normal, and its eyes open. It wasn’t unconscious after all, but likely playing dead in a last-ditch effort to make the Team Plasma agents leave it alone.

Bianca leaned over his shoulder then and held out a spray bottle of orange fluid. “Super Potion,” she said and then began to lightly spritz the Munna. “Cheren said that should perk it right up.”

At first, the Munna jerked from the touch of the fluid, and Hil furrowed his brows sadly. He had never witnessed someone physically beat a pokémon before and watching it unfold in front of him had been awful, but seeing the aftermath of it on this Munna was far worse. It jerked and jumped at every touch and the fact it had been playing dead at all was disheartening. Once Bianca finished her ministrations, the Munna slowly returned to its levitating position just a few feet above the ground. It cast a cautious look between Hil, Bianca, and Musharna, and froze, shutting its eyes tightly, when Bianca reached a hand out to pet its head gently.

“See?” Bianca beamed. “All better! I’m sorry you had to run into those awful people,” she apologized sadly. “But we’re not all like that!”

“If I ever see them again, I’ll skin them alive,” Hil muttered under his breath. Noodle found his way to Hil’s hat and leaned down on the visor to stare at the Munna. He then nodded in agreement with Hil.

Cheren snorted as he listened in. “Where did all of that come from, Hil?” he asked, only half-joking. “Almost like someone flipped a switch. I hope you can do something like that again during your gym battle at Striaton City’s gym,” he laughed.

Hil knew Cheren was simply trying to bring some light into the situation, but Hil was feeling a little too high-strung for it. He took a deep breath in, and another out, another in, another out… He needed to calm down. He smiled as the Munna relaxed finally and even drifted a little closer to Bianca. Okay. Everything was going to be alright. Everything’s going to be alright, he repeated to himself a few times. Ugh, had he always been this panicky?

“Don’t worry, Daddy, I’ll do my best at the gym,” Hil answered Cheren finally with a cocky grin. Cheren threw his head back and his arms fell slack at his sides.

“You need new material,” was all he could respond with.

Eh, maybe he did, but man, was it funny to get under Cheren’s skin.

In all seriousness, Hil had no idea if he truly wanted to take on the gym challenge. He thought to the battle he had endured the day before against N and how violent the injuries Noodle had taken looked… and how painful… If he was entirely honest, the idea of battling for fun made his stomach churn a little. He reached a hand to pet Noodle’s head and decided he’d have to sit down with his pokémon and see if he could figure out their thoughts about battling for fun. Maybe he couldn’t talk to pokémon like N supposedly could, but there were still ways to understand them properly… right?

#pokemon #pkmn #pokemon retold #hilbert #hil #cheren #bianca #n #natural harmonia gropius #pokemon black: the novel #pokemon black and white #black and white #pokemon black #pokemon white #pokemon bw #bw #team plasma

1 note · View note

keelywolfe · 6 years ago

Text

Day 2: Rule (12 Days of Papcest)

For the @sfw12-days-of-papcest

Note: So I went with a slightly different interpretation of this one, or heck, maybe I didn’t, we’ll see! Anyway, I’ve written Coffee Shops into stories before but I’ve never actually written a Coffee Shop AU, so....let’s have an Art Student and the Barista AU.

Tags: Coffee Shop AU, First Times, Fluff, a little Angst, Puns

Read it on AO3

Keep Reading Here!

~~*~~

Rus would be the first to admit he wasn’t paying attention. That was the first broken rule; in a coffee shop, you had to be ready to get your order when it was done, especially any of the busy shops on campus. But it was before the afternoon rush and they weren’t very busy. And he was trying to catch a particularly tricky Pokémon on his phone when the barista called his name. It took him long enough to get there for his name to be called again with a little impatience.

Take it fucking easy, Rus thought to himself, not foolish enough to say it to the great distributor of caffeination. That was the second rule one shouldn’t break, never be rude to your barista.

It was only as he reached for his cup, Pokémon safely caught, that Rus looked up, absently saying, “sorry, sorry, thanks…oh.” he stopped, blinking. He all but lived part time at this coffee shop and he’d never seen this guy before.

The skeleton standing in front of him was not the person who’d taken his order. Rus liked to think no game was attention-consuming enough that he’d miss this guy. Only a little shorter than him with bright crimson eye lights, his bold gaze uncaring of the crack the marred his left socket. He stood with ruler-straight posture, a sharp contrast to Rus’s everyday slump, and there wasn’t so much as a smear or a sprinkle of powdered sugar on his apron whereas Rus had at least four shades of paint smeared from his sweatshirt down to his jeans. Guy must be a neat freak, probably an asshole. Rus liked him immediately.

He wanted to think that the fact that the new guy was smoking hot didn’t affect his assessment.

He wanted to think that.

Belatedly, Rus realized he’d been staring a little too long and he cleared his throat, trying not to give off a vibe of complete idiot. “i’d thank you, but you aren’t wearing a name tag.”

The way he elegantly raised a brow bone at Rus only enhanced that toe-curling attractiveness. “No, I’m not.”

Yep, definitely an asshole. Rus picked up his cup and took a sip, rolling the sweetness over his tongue. He set a hand on the counter and leaned in, a little, giving the new guy a little smirk. “then how can i know your name?”

Behind the new guy, the other barista, Emily, was rolling her eyes, and Rus shot her a glare. No interference from the peanut gallery, thank you.

Not that it could have done any damage. This guy didn’t even twitch from where he was wiping the counter, only said coolly, “Normally, people ask.”

“do they?” Rus took another sip then turned away before he could break another rule; don’t ask someone out when they were on the clock. “huh. well, thanks, cap’n coffee, see you around!”

The bell above the door jangled as Rus walked out, his thoughts lingering a little longer on the man of mystery. Soon enough he was jogging to get to class on time.

But he was sure as hell going to be back tomorrow.

~~*~~

Over the next couple of months, Rus got to know a few more things about his coffee captain. Not his name, nah, that would be too easy, and even though he could’ve cheated to find it out, what was the point of that? They’d get there eventually, and in the meantime, Rus was going to enjoy playing this game by the rules.

With a little teasing gossip, he’d found out that his barista was newly back in town and a veteran, and that his discharge had something to do with how he’d gotten the scar over his eye socket. It made him worry for a moment about his silly nickname, but Emily had reassured him with a roll of her eyes that the captain was amused by it. Extensive personal testing had proved that the guy had the entire menu memorized and measured ingredients with razor precision. He knew that the guy knew his name and still, the next time Rus picked up his cup after they’d met, he’d narrowed his sockets at the name written on it.

“picasso,” Rus drawled, unimpressed. “that’s original. i’m an artist so you tag me with the one everyone knows.”

The captain didn’t even look up from the pitcher he was washing and only said, calmly, “How do you know I’m not calling you that because you look like one of his paintings?”

That startled a laugh out of him and Rus shook his head. “guess i should have expected that, you don’t have much trouble expressoing yourself.”

“A pun like that is grounds for getting banned.”

Sexy-hot was one thing, but able to snap back with a good pun? It was hard for Rus to resist saying fuck the rules and give into the urge to hop the counter. “seems like a latte fuss about nothing.”

Another customer stepped up to the counter, and the barista shot back, “you’ll have to grind your axe later.”

Laughing softly, Rus picked up his cup and made his way to class.

~~*~~

Somehow the past week felt like it had been going on for a month. One of those weeks where nothing was insanely wrong, but everything was piling on top of each other, weighing him down with problems that he should be dealing with.

Sitting in the coffee shop was the exact opposite of dealing. Didn’t stop Rus from taking another sip of his cup, wishing he’d sprung for an extra shot of espresso for once.

The shop was empty, near as it was to closing time and Rus was doodled on a napkin, drawing a human who was sitting with his chin propped on hand. How it was he could find the inspiration for a little sketch but not the projects he was working on was evidence of the universe’s quirky sense of humor.

“Why is he crying?” Rus flinched a little, almost smearing his pen across the thin paper. He wasn’t expecting a voice so close to him and he looked up to see the Captain leaning in, studying his little drawing.

“he’s not crying,” Rus started indignantly, his protest fading as he looked down again.

Except he was, wasn’t he. There wasn’t a teardrop showing in his little sketch, but they were there for anyone who looked. It was in his posture, in his expression, the weight of the world on his shoulders and Rus knew how he felt, his little paper person trapped forever with his despair.

A drop of wetness fell on the paper, diluting the ink and it spread in a salty little puddle, quickly joined by another. Hands gently pulled Rus in and he found himself leaning against a solid shoulder, his tears coming faster than the shirt he was pressed against could soak them in. All the stress from the week pouring out in one heaving, weeping rush.

His only saving grace was that his outburst ended quickly. A little embarrassed, Rus drew back and wiped at his face with a spare napkin. The Captain’s always pristine uniform was stained with wetness, but he didn’t seem to care. He took away the crumpled napkin and gently wiped away the lingering damp on Rus’s cheek bones.

“Sorry about that,” Rus whispered hoarsely. How humiliating to break down not only in front of the guy he’d been not-so-secretly crushing on for months, but also someone who surely had gone through worse things than Rus could even dream about and came out okay.

The Captain only shook his head. “It’s all right, Rus.” His thumb stroked gently over Rus’s cheek bone and this time, he didn’t seem to be wiping away tears. “You’re allowed to have a bad day.”

They’d been dancing around each other for months and the only time he’d ever called Rus by his name was that coffee order, the first time Rus had ever heard him speak. Rus came here every day and most of the time the Captain was here, happy to offer his Picasso a pun or a dry remark, and today he’d called Rus by his name again, breaking the unspoken rule of their little game.

He kind of liked hearing it.

Rus swallowed hard and whispered, “what’s your name?”

“Edge.”

It worked, the name suited him, but Rus thought he was always going to secretly think of Edge as his captain.

“Edge,” he repeated, softly. There was something shining in Edge’s eye lights that made him look hurriedly away, Edge was still at work even if no one was in the shop and Rus didn’t want to get him in trouble. Some rules should never be broken and trying to steal a first kiss on duty was one of them. “um, i…can i get another coffee?”

“Of course,” Edge murmured. “Everything I brew, I brew it for you.”

It startled a laugh out of him. Edge always seemed able catch him out and as Rus watched Edge make his drink, he thought maybe it was time to ask his captain out, see him outside the coffee shop for once.

After all, if he waited until Edge was off the clock to ask, it wouldn’t be breaking the rules.

-fin

#spicyhoney #papcest #keelywolfe #underfell #underswap #underswap papyrus #underfell papyrus #12 days of papcest

56 notes · View notes

ohnominamino · 7 years ago

Text

The Pokémon Center

Well, here it is. The Kuwabara birthday Pokémon drabble no one asked for but I was inspired to write by this post over @thekazumakuwabara. SFW, ridiculous, and I’m sorry.

Have you ever had a birthday with such inconvenient timing that no one was around to celebrate it with you? That was Kuwabara on his 32nd birthday. His beloved Yukina was away in the Makai, taking care of some errand she couldn’t explain to him, his sister was on a business trip, and Yusuke and Keiko were off on a cruise-- when Kuwabara realized his party pals were dwindling, he’d half-joked, “Are you going to trick me into thinking everyone’s forgot my birthday, then throw me a big surprise party?”

To which Yusuke had responded, “No, I’m going to Bali. I’ll bring you back something though.”

Kuwabara had since resigned himself to reality and was trying not to be too bitter. He’d had tons of fun birthdays in the past, was sure many more were to follow. Not every birthday could be awesome. It was good to be getting a bad one out of the way.

Kurama was there, though. He’d had to stay behind at the office but a late dinner was better than no dinner and Kuwabara was just happy not to be home alone on his birthday.

“I wanted to get you a gift,” Kurama said over pancakes. “But I ran out of time. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kuwabara said. “This is enough.” He gestured to the mountain of whip cream and fruit on his plate, the meal Kurama had already declared his treat. “You are enough.” He pointed his fork at Kurama with a grin, then stabbed it into a giant strawberry.

The fox seemed to carry the guilt of their absent friends on his shoulders, brow pinched in unease, “Still, is there anything you need? Anything you’ve been thinking to do lately?”

Kuwabara munched on his fruit, almost shaking his head “no,” when a thought popped into his mind. “Yes.”

“Yes?”

“You can’t make fun of me though.”

Kurama nodded, “Of course. You know I won’t.”

“You know how Pokémon Go came out last summer?”

“Yes…?”

“You don’t seem like the type to play, but I got hooked, man. I started reliving all these childhood memories. I loved Pokémon. Especially Pikachu. That little mouse is the cutest.” His words spilled out faster than Kurama seemed to make sense of them. “I broke out my old gameboy and started playing all the classics and then some new releases too, and it’s stupid, I know, but I really want to go to the Pokémon Center.”

To his credit, Kurama did not laugh. He simply pulled out his phone and after a few seconds said, “They’re open for another hour. How quickly can you eat those pancakes?”

“Quicker than you, I bet.”

“I accept that challenge.”

Twenty minutes later they stood inside their local Pokémon Center. The white shelves were packed full with plush toys of various sizes and colors, themed stationary, games and apparel. The shop was empty sans two employees, one stacking blind-draw figurine pokeballs, the second already counting out her till.

Kuwabara, even during his Pokémon boom in his early teens, had never been to the Pokémon Center. He was amazed at everything, wandering the circular-shaped store and staring at the merchandise the way one might marvel at stained glass windows in a church. He left Kurama, who was inspecting the moleskine notebooks, and busied himself with plucking stuffed Pokémon from their displays, squeezing them and examining their adorable details. He was midway through the collection when he happened upon the Eevees and their evolutions. On the bottom shelf, he found something unexpected.

“Kurama, you gotta come here!” He laughed, scooping up the item.

His friend strolled over, “What is it?”

“An Eevee tail!” Kuwabara explained, showing him the large and fluffy plush of, indeed, only the Pokémon’s tail. “This is hilarious. Look, I’m Eevee!” He turned, reaching his hand behind himself to prop the tail on his lower back, “How does it look?”

“Like you’re turning into a fox demon.”

“Take a picture!”

Kurama chuckled, but did as requested, snapping a photo with his phone.

“Now your turn.”

“What?”

“You try the Eevee tail!”

Kurama gave him a long look, and Kuwabara was 100% sure, had it not been his birthday, he definitely would have said no.

“Fine, give it to me.”

As expected, Kurama looked great with an Eevee tail.

The next day, Kuwabara arrived home to find a package waiting for him on his front stoop. Inside was a card from Kurama, apologizing for the late present, and a Pikachu plush Kuwabara had spent a good 20 minutes admiring the night before.

He messaged his friend right away.

TheKazumaKuwabara: Thanks for making my birthday fun! I love the Pikachu!

Shuuichi Minamino: It was my pleasure. Let’s celebrate again once everyone’s back.

TheKazumaKuwabara: Nah, it’s cool. We’ll do a party next year!

TheKazumaKuwabara: Bring your Eevee tail.

Shuuichi Minamino: It looks like an animal is hiding among my throw pillows.

TheKazumaKuwabara: Picture!!

32 was off to a good start.

#yyh #yu yu hakusho #kazuma kuwabara #kurama #shuuichi minamino #my fics #oneshot #friendship

7 notes · View notes

disease-danger-darkness-silence · 3 years ago

Text

UPDATED TO-DO LIST:

- Get money out of pay account and put it into bank account.

- Take friend out for misery sandwich, bc he got fired.

- Pay @alyssabethancourt back.

- Pay title loan.

- Pay PayPal the $20 I owe them.

- Buy a footlocker for my tools.

- If there's money left over, go to Costco and get toilet paper, printer paper, card stock, laundry soap, and vitamins. Mostly the vitamins, we need a bunch of different types and we are OUT. PayPal is tashabot at gmail and my Cashapp is $tashabot if anyone wants to contribute to Tasha and Raven Not Dying of Malnutrition or Shitting Themselves to Death.

- Cry because that's paycheck.

- List the other books I found on paperbackswap.

- If able, do laundry.

- Pack "Keep" books up.

- List bookcase on Craigslist. What does a nice bookcase go for these days? I think $30 is a good deal.

- List glass end table on Craigslist. $30 as well?

- Find my health monitoring equipment. It got packed somewhere about two months ago.

- Fix my health recording sheets. Print and laminate.

- Make appointments for Raven and I at the doctor's, on the same day because it's in Minden.

- Call a low-income property management company and see if they have any downstairs units near me coming free. Called, left message. They replied, I need to fill out and send in the application today or tomorrow.

- Call the tire place and see how much a set of brand-new tires is going to cost because holy shit, I need them. I found the note I made when I called them a few months ago. $368 out the door. Try and figure out how to get this money together, cuz the tires are a necessity at this point.

- Call a transmission place and get a quote for a transmission tune-up. Call Alex and ask for the same. Pester Alex again.

- Check in with our case manager with Nation's Finest, give update, see if they can help with tire cost and maybe transmission tune-up. Did this, he replied, check in again with any updated information.

- Get cigarettes.

- Spark deliver a little, do at least 6 deliveries to get today's incentive.

- DoorDash up in Reno.

- Mail off paperbackswap books.

- Continue to try and find an apartment and/or house within our budget. Nation's Finest is going to pay half our rent for two years if we can get into a place, but we have to find a place where even half the rent is manageable for me. Near-impossible these days.

- Buy and install oil pan gasket. Chase said he'd help me, which is an asset.

- Get an oil change. I have to take care of this Kia because it's all we have to make money with. This is assuming I have any money left.

- If there's time, work on the, "Emergency TCG kit," for the car, for times when we are away from our regular TCG stuff but have an invite to play or were able to treat ourselves to some smash-up decks or something. I need at least one more of our life counters, to put the punch-out tokens in a lil ziploc, and to design some token cards in Photoshop to print out. I worked on this a little yesterday but I really want to make some more lil -1 and +1 tokens.

- Find the Pokémon card game board and put it in the Pokémon battle box to give to Willow.

- Go to DWSS before 3 pm and explain that hi, sorry I didn't fill out the re-application stuff for SNAP and Medicaid, I've been busy preparing to be homeless, and then re-apply for said benefits. Before that I have to pick up the Not-Spawn to come with me and apply for her own benefits. (THIS has been POSTPONED due to the Not-Spawn being busy af today.)

Things I need to do today:

- Make a list of medical things to bring up with the doctor for BOTH Raven and myself. Also update our medication list.

- Find my health monitoring equipment. It got packed somewhere about two months ago.

- Make appointments for Raven and I at the doctor's, on the same day because it's in Minden.

- Call a low-income property management company and see if they have any downstairs units near me coming free. Called, left message.

- Check in with the other low-income place and see how far along on the waitlist we are. Still 4 months out, ughhh.

- Call the tire place and see how much a set of brand-new tires is going to cost because holy shit, I need them. I found the note I made when I called them a few months ago. $368 out the door.

- Call a transmission place and get a quote for a transmission tune-up. Call Alex and ask for the same.

- Check in with our case manager with Nation's Finest, give update, see if they can help with tire cost and maybe transmission tune-up.

- Wake Raven up.

- Clean car out.

- Go to pharmacy, pick up prescriptions and find out about Raven's unfilled ones.

- Go to Dollar Store, get garment boxes for mailing paperbackswap books.

- Get gas. Thank Thoth for my Maverick card.

- Get OIL. Also thank Thoth for my Maverick card.

- Get beverages (using EBT, thank God) for Raven, myself, my not-spawn, and her kid.

- Get cigarettes.

- Take my daughter and granddaughter to the doctor in Reno. Cry inside bc I refuse to smoke around children but driving is a smoking trigger for me.

- Find someone to give these sugarfree Red Bulls to, because they have aspartame in them and I have bad reactions to it. Probably my daughter, she likes Red Bull. 🤮 My daughter really did get them and did like them.

- DoorDash up in Reno because we basically work every day now. (POSTPONED TO TOMORROW BECAUSE OF BACK ISSUES.)

- Maybe Spark deliver a little when we get back home, depending on how early it is. (POSTPONED TO TOMORROW BECAUSE OF BACK ISSUES.)

- Fix my health recording sheets. Print and laminate.

- Mail off paperbackswap books. Can print postage at home and drop off books tomorrow. (POSTPONED TO TOMORROW BECAUSE OF MONEY ISSUES.)

---------------------------

Tomorrow:

(Taking the day off from DoorDashing and Spark-ing, hopefully.)

- Pay @alyssabethancourt back.

- Buy and install oil pan gasket. Chase said he'd help me, which is an asset.

- Get an oil change. I have to take care of this Kia because it's all we have to make money with.

- Pay title loan.

- Pay PayPal the $20 I owe them.

- Buy a footlocker for my tools.

- If there's money left over, go to Costco and get toilet paper, printer paper, card stock, and vitamins. Mostly the vitamins, we need a bunch of different types and we are OUT. I'm -$20 in PayPal but uhh my PayPal is tashabot at gmail and my Cashapp is $tashabot if anyone wants to contribute to Tasha and Raven Not Dying of Malnutrition.

- Cry because that's paycheck.

- List the other books I found on paperbackswap.

- Pack "Keep" books up.

- List bookcase on Craigslist. What does a nice bookcase go for these days?

- If able, do laundry.

---------------------------

But according to a lot of people I'm a lazyass bc I don't have a full-time job. Recall that I'm doing all of this while in a lot of fucking pain (because of three different spinal issues, arthritis in most of my joints, shoulder issues, hip issues, knee issues, and an ankle that never developed adult muscles), with ADHD (which causes time blindness), autism, and God knows what else, and also a sleep disorder that makes it hard to operate on a normal schedule.

I really need to get my shit together to qualify for disability because I cannot maintain this for much longer.

Anyway. This level of busy is why I haven't made an update. Thank you so much to everyone who has helped me out - and thank you, @bemusedlybespectacled, for the lil care package. It brightened my day so much and has been incredibly useful.

I'll post a proper update maybe? Tomorrow? If I wake up early enough. I'll have more info then.

5 notes · View notes

allhallows-art · 7 years ago

Text

Lost Generation // 9

Story Summary: The Achievement Hunter boys try and survive their preteen years, trying to make friends and sort out their own problems as well as each others. When will they realise that working together, no matter their differences, would help them all?

Summary: Trevor ends up having to reveal his secret and Michael comes to the rescue

Words: 2335

Warnings: swearing and homophobia

MASTERLIST

The bus was loud, children shouting over each other as they tried to speak with friends, homework being passed around seats as people rushed to get it finished, and Jeremy just wished it would all go silent. His mother ended up working into the night and the boy stayed the night as his father’s place, not that he minded too much. It just meant that he was waking up even earlier to join Trevor on the school bus. “Anyone good at maths?” a kid asked, someone from the back of the bus calling out a reply that caused the sheets of work to be passed down the bus. Jeremy held his head in his hands, rubbing at his temples to try and rid of his headache, clueless as to whether it was caused by the racket on the bus, the dogs barking through the night, or the fall from the tree yesterday. Either way, he wanted it gone. He opened one of his eyes, looking to his side to see Trevor with some papers in his lap. His tongue stuck just out of his mouth as he concentrated, pen held tightly in his hand as his fingers moved to signal him counting. Jeremy assumed Trevor didn’t even know whose homework it was, just happy to complete the work if it meant he got payment. Trevor was a smart kid, despite his looks, and students had gotten into the habit last year of getting him to do their homework for a price. No, not money. It was usually snacks or trading cards, Trevor being a sucker for collecting things. He watched as Trevor scrawled the answer to the last question before stretching his arm into the air to signal he was done. The paper was snatched from his grasp and replaced with a chocolate bar, Trevor smiling triumphantly. “Want a piece?” he offered Jeremy as he lowered his hand to protect his treasure. Jeremy gave it a moment of thought before nodding, accepting the piece from Trevor and placing it in his mouth. The taste of toothpaste was still lingering but he chewed and swallowed without being fazed.

“Hey, Treyco,” a voice cooed from above the boys, both lifting their heads to see a sweet-looking girl leaning over the seat in front of them. “Oh, hey, Meg,” Trevor greeted with a smile, holding out the chocolate bar to offer a piece. She reached out her hand and snapped some off, popping it into her mouth before she continued speaking. “Have you met that new kid, yet? He’s so dreamy. I mean, have you heard his voice? I never knew the British were so…. amazing,” Meg seemed to be lost in her own world as she went on about Gavin, Jeremy just rolling his eyes. “He’s not dreamy. He’s stupid. And why would you assume we know him?” he eyes narrowed at the girl as she pouted, Trevor looking between the two. “As if I don’t know about the fight that happened yesterday. You and Trevor were in the midst of it. And the whole school knows. Geoff and Jack against Gavin and Ryan. Like two rival kingdoms fighting for one princess,” she cooed, fluttering her lashes, and Jeremy stuck his finger into his open mouth to gesture gagging. “Yeah, no.” the words were blunt, the short boy crossing his arms over his chest. Meg frowned, glaring at Jeremy before turning her sweetness to Trevor “C’mon, Treyco. You’ll tell me the truth, right?” she looked at him pleadingly, the scrawny boy just shrugging his shoulders. “Jeremy’s right, sorry. They were arguing over soccer and then they insulted each other and Gavin threw himself at Geoff. Nothing about girls,” he said which made the girl sigh. The sad look was only on her face for a moment before it disappeared and was replaced by a mischievous grin. “Well, if the boys aren’t talking about me then get them to. Or I’ll just have to tell the whole school about your parents.” Trevor and Jeremy both gasped, the taller one balling his hands into fists. “Meg, you wouldn’t! That’s not fair…this…this is blackmail!” he exclaimed and she just chuckled. “Just do it. Don’t make things difficult, Treyco.” And with that, she sat back down in her seat. Trevor sunk lower in his chair, a defeated look on his face, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, don’t worry. We’ll just do what she wants and then it’ll be over.” The boys smiled at each other, sparking up a conversation to distract Trevor when the bus came to a halt. Kids piled off the bus and into the playground, running to meet up with friends before class. Jeremy and Trevor leapt off the bus, looking around before Jeremy spotted a familiar looking redhead. “Michael!” he shouted, and before Trevor could process what was happening, Jeremy grabbed his hand and began running in the direction of their friend. The three began chattering and laughing, Michael explaining to his friends about the events of the previous night. “So, we got home and I thought I was in trouble because Adam called me to the kitchen but let Elyse and Lawrence go and play. I walk in all nervous and shit and Adam asks me to sit down, so I do. He starts giving me some talk about responsibility and that I’ve been really good.” Michael was breathless as he spoke, trying to get the words out quickly to see his friends’ reactions. “And then he gave me this!” out of his bag, Michael tugged a small gaming console. It was handheld and the colour of a tomato, a large smile on his face as he thrust it towards them. “That’s so cool!” Jeremy exclaimed, his eyes wide and fingers reaching out to graze the plastic. “Do you have any games?” Trevor asked as Michael retracted the Gameboy and tucked it inti his bag again. “I only have one right now, but Adam said if I keep up the good behaviour then I can get more games with my pocket money.” They kept taking, Michael explaining Pokémon to them whilst Jeremy protested that he already knew what it was. A loud bell rang from the school building and they decided to head to tutor. Michael and Jeremy walked side by side but Trevor lagged behind a little, a bad feeling settling in the depths of his stomach. The day continued as usual, Jeremy splitting from the trio to head to his class, Lindsay replacing him once Michael and Trevor arrived at Mr Risinger’s class. However, Trevor couldn’t focus on the words that spilled from Lindsay, his ears choosing to instead listen to every other conversation that was being whispered around the room. Even when they left the class, to head to the next, he felt like every pair of eyes was burning holes in his back. He hadn’t upset anyone, had he? No, he’d been quiet so far. Maybe it was his height? People would’ve made a deal out of it yesterday though as well. Theories buzzed through his head, barely able to focus until it came to break. He slipped out of science class and rushed towards the playground, glad to see friends plus another new face. Trevor sat down on the grass as he reached them, his long legs twisting together to sit comfortably. As they spoke, the new member was introduced as Gavin, Michael saying they met in gym class. “What about your friend, Ryan?” Jeremy questioned and Gavin sighed. “Geoff was an arsehole and dared him to sneak into the staffroom. Turns out Miss Dunkelman was in there and now he’s got detention with Geoff.” The group mumbled about the stupidity, their attentions suddenly changing when someone yelled. “Faggot!” the word was harsh, like a sharp dagger twisting in their guts. It was clear it made the group uncomfortable and confused, but only Jeremy noticed how Trevor had gone as white as a sheet. “Did you hear me, homo? Or do I have to shout your name again?” a pair of boys was closing in on the group, their eyes focused on Trevor. “I-I don’t know what you’re on about,” he stuttered, fingers grasping at the blades of grass under him. “Ooh, playing innocent, are we?” the taller of the two smirked, his shadow now looming over Trevor. “It’s all around the school now, freak.” The sentence was punctuated with a word that made Trevor close his eyes tight, shaking his head and wishing it was all just a nightmare. That he’d wake up at home and it’ll all be okay. “What are you talking about?” Gavin questioned, now stood to his feet and arms crossed over his chest. The defence did nothing to calm Trevor, Gavin being like half the height of the guys. “Trevor, here, is a weirdo. Simple as,” the shorter one said as if it was fact. Michael raised a brow. “I mean, he’s not the bully in the situation, at least,” Michael spoke calmly, having to pinch himself to keep his cool demeanour. “Having gay dads is way worse than being a bully!” The words were practically shouted, other students catching on to the commotion and it made Trevor breakdown. His limbs shook with fear as people stared at him with either looks of confusion or disgust. It was humiliating. “Aw, is he going to cry?” the pair laughed before one took a step towards Trevor, shocked when a figure stopped him. Michael stood his ground, fists by his sides as his cheeks flushed, glaring up at the bully. “Leave him alone!” he growled, eyes turned to flames behind his glasses. The bullies laughed again and, as one went to push Michael out of the way, the redhead’s fist connected with his stomach. It caused uproar in the playground, Michael and the bully being pushed into a circle of students chanting. Trevor held tightly to Jeremy, his eyes wide with fear for his friend. The two punched and kicked when a loud whistle seemed to stun the crowd and a bright red pair of gym shorts separated the two. “What do you think you’re doing?!” the voice bellowed out, Michael’s hands scrambling on the ground to find his glasses. When Mr Gibson received no answer, he cleared the crowd and started ushering the two boys towards the school building. “Mr Gibson, wait!” Trevor called, fighting off Jeremy’s grip and running after them. “Michael was only trying to help me,” he explained, breathlessly, the teacher noticing the tear stains on his cheeks. The doors opened to reveal Mr Risinger, a questioning look on his face. “Inside, boys. All explaining can be done in my class,” he droned. Trevor found himself sat at a desk in Mr Risinger’s classroom, a box of tissues sat on the desk whilst he waited for the teachers to return. Michael and the bully had been taken to the infirmary to lean them up and fix the fact that Michael was bleeding from his nose. How the kid didn’t notice it himself was astounding. As the door pushed open, Trevor glanced up to see Mr Risinger enter and take the seat next to him. He looked kind of funny, his adult body sat in a chair made for 12-year olds. “Care to explain what happened?” he asked and it took no pestering to get Trevor to spill. He explained about the bullying, and how Gavin and Michael both tried to defend him, but it was Michael who punched first. Mr Risinger listened, ending each sentence with an understanding nod. “Well, I’m surprised Michael isn’t in hospital. He’s real brave for taking on someone that size. And he must really like you as a friend to protect you like that.” It was now Trevor’s time to nod, sighing softly. A small silence filled the room as Trevor tried to think, wanting to put to together the right words to ask a question. “Is it….is it okay to be gay?” he asked. The question surprised Jon a little, not expecting such a thing from Trevor. “Of course, it is. Why do you ask? Do you think you are?” Trevor shook his head at Jon’s words, his fingers reaching for a tissue to fiddle with. “No, but my dads are. It what he was bullying me about,” Trevor’s words were quiet, almost a whisper as if he didn’t want Jon to hear him admit it. But the teacher just gave him a gentle smile. “Ignore him. If your dads are happy then that’s all that matters. And if you’re happy too, of course,” he spoke and Trevor sniffled. “Really? Sorry, I just…I got so nervous about telling people in case, well, in case this happened,” he said ad looked sadly at his lap. “It’s not a problem. Its normal to get nervous about things. And you didn’t have to tell anyone if you didn’t want to.” “I didn’t.” Jon became confused by those words, furrowing his brows. “Who did then?” he asked and Trevor sighed again. “Some stupid girl. She said if I I didn’t get Gavin to talk to her then she’d tell everyone. I guess she couldn’t wait to humiliate me.” The large hand on his shoulder soothed Trevor, him lifting his head to look at his tutor. “We’ll get this sorted, Trevor. Bullying or blackmail will not be tolerated.” Trevor wiped his nose with his sleeve and, without thinking for too long about it, threw his arms around Mr Risinger. “Thanks, Mr Risinger. You’re the best,” he whispered and Jon smiled, patting his back. “I try. Anyways, I think we should give Michael a visit to see how he’s doing.” Trevor agreed and the two stood, making their way out of the classroom and heading towards the infirmary. Perhaps all of Trevor’s nerves about his secret, that was no longer a secret, weren’t gone. But some were. He was just thankful to have people supporting him, no matter what.

#achievement hunter #fanfic #fan fiction #jeremy dooley #trevor collins #michael jones #lindsay jones #blaine gibson #jon risinger #gavin free

5 notes · View notes

sheeran-usa · 8 years ago

Text

Ed Sheeran: Up All Night With Pop's Hardcore Troubadour | Full Rolling Stone Interview

"Let's go to my place for the finale!" Ed Sheeran shouts as he hops into an SUV. It's just after midnight in London. Sheeran spent much of the evening in a bar, but even with his bright-red hair hidden under a ball cap, people started to recognize him. The DJ played one of his songs, and his friends had to create a wall around him so he could drink in peace. It all made him a little anxious, which is why we're speeding to his West London home to keep the party going.

Sheeran is celebrating tonight because he knows he's about to score his first Number One hit in America with "Shape of You," a sleek, funky stomper from his new album, ÷ (pronounced Divide). We're joined by his girlfriend, Cherry, and his old friends Zack, Nathan and Catherine, who have been watching him perform since he released his first album, The Spinning Man, when he was 13. "I went plywood," Sheeran, now 25, jokes about that LP. "Not gold. I sold 100 copies."

Sheeran has been going hard tonight: espresso martinis and rum-punch shots at dinner, gin and tonics at the bar. It's my birthday, and at one point he grabs my phone, takes a selfie of us and posts to my Instagram, writing "It's my birthday bitches #london #hashtag #believe #achieve #inspiration." He encourages friends to knock back pints with a drinking song that ends "Na na na na/Hey hey hey/You're a cunt!"

Soon, we arrive at his house, a five-floor, industrial-style space with brick walls, wood floors and several personal touches: a Charmander Pokémon stuffed animal in his bedroom and a bong shaped like Benny Blanco's head in the living room. There's also a recording studio, a gym and a full bar, where he recently entertained several young cast members of his favorite show, Game of Thrones. As we arrive, Sheeran offers bedrooms to anyone who wants to "get rowdy," then goes to work mixing drinks.

With the possible exception of Justin Bieber, Sheeran is the biggest male pop star alive. But pop-machine refinement is something he resists full force. His life is a chaotic blur of too much pub food, 3 a.m. pool games, shots at dinner and impulsive decisions: "If you ever need a wedding band . . ." he says shortly after we meet and he learns I have a girlfriend. "I always say, 'It's free if I'm free.' As long as you sort me out with a lot of booze and a bed, I'm there." (During our time together, I will meet at least three friends whose weddings he has played.) He is filterless. "Powerful shit upstairs, man. Who did that?" he asks after emerging from the bathroom tonight, until a friend cops to it.

As his fame increases, holding on to a semblance of normalcy is important for Sheeran. He's been hanging out with old friends a lot; he even wrote about them in his new single "Castle on the Hill," a tribute to their rebellious high school days in Suffolk, England.

Around 4 a.m., Sheeran runs upstairs to grab his guitar and then takes a seat at the kitchen table. He proceeds to play for two hours straight – a gig considerably more intimate than the stadium shows he plays all by himself, backed only with an acoustic guitar and a loop pedal. Tonight he plays songs from ÷, as well as several unreleased tunes he says are planned for future albums. He takes requests, too – including "Love Yourself," the Number One hit he wrote with Justin Bieber. "You know 'Love Yourself' is originally 'Fuck Yourself,' right?" he jokes before playing that version.

This is Sheeran's gift in a nutshell: He's a mix of old-school troubadour and Top 40 technician, a guy who could kill it at a coffeehouse open-mic night but is also one of the most pop-savvy songwriters alive. (He also raps surprisingly well.) His crowds are mostly teenage girls, but Sheeran is craftsman enough to impress someone like Elton John, who signed him to his management company in 2011. "He can write melodies so simply," says Elton, who points to "Thinking Out Loud," which won a Grammy in 2016 for Song of the Year. "Van Morrison would have been very proud to write that. He reminds me of me when I first came to America, in 1970. It was all systems go. Nothing was impossible. The unfortunate thing is, now, everyone sounds like Ed Sheeran: Shawn Mendes, Justin Bieber. . . ."

"Sorry, I'm a bit drunk," Sheeran says after flubbing a line to a new track. He stops to roll a cigarette and heat up a pizza. Then he sits down and plays "Perfect," a fingerpicked waltz from ÷. Like most of songs he writes these days, it's about Cherry, whom he's known since high school and reconnected with at an after-show party in New York. They kept their relationship secret for a full year, until Taylor Swift invited them to her Fourth of July party in Rhode Island and a friend Instagrammed a picture of a banner celebrating their one-year anniversary.

"I found a love to carry more than just my secrets," Sheeran sings. "I don't deserve this, darling, you look perfect tonight."

"My tear glands are just throbbing," says Catherine.

"Let me think of another tear-jerker," Sheeran says.

"Please don't!" she says.

He gets up and makes another gin and tonic. "Everyone cool? I am very cool."

Around six, it's time for bed.

Early last year, Sheeran and Cherry were touring a volcano in Iceland, when Sheeran ignored a guide's directions to not stray from a path. As he approached a bubbling geyser, the thin crust of earth started to collapse beneath him, sending both feet into nearly 200-degree water. It was the first time Cherry had heard him scream. She ripped one of his socks off, taking his skin with it. "I still have post-traumatic stress over it," she says. He had to be airlifted to a hospital.

The couple could have headed home – instead, they pushed on with a trip that lasted six months. Sheeran, it turned out, really needed to get away from being a pop star for a while.

Sheeran's default mood is relentlessly upbeat. But he admits that every now and then he "spirals." This happened in 2013, when he scored an opening gig for Taylor Swift and moved to Nashville, where the tour was based. "I was on the most amazing fucking tour in the world," he says. "I was just living in a country that I didn't belong in, in a town I didn't really know anyone."

He began to drink – a lot. His frequent songwriting partner Johnny McDaid was worried about Sheeran when he saw him at a show in Hollywood in 2015. "He was just go, go, go," McDaid says. "I sat him down and said, 'Look, man, please have all the fun in the world. But be careful because if that elastic snaps, it could take a long time to recover from it.' "

A single Twitter comment could ruin his day: "Everyone online was saying, 'Ed's going bald.' And I'm not. But I convinced myself that I was. Ginger hair is just very fair – my hair is completely fine. I was also quite big at the time," he adds, referring to his weight, "so I kind of got a complex about two things I would have never given a fuck about."

He also lost some friends. "The Forbes list actually fucked it up," he says, referring to a report in the magazine indicating he made $57 million in 2015. "I was getting texts from people with pictures of cars going, 'I'd like this for my birthday, please. This one's only .06 percent of your annual income.'" (He ended up ditching his phone; he uses an iPad to communicate and a flip phone for close family.)

So after attending the Grammys last year and winning Song of the Year, Sheeran skipped the afterparties and boarded a plane to Iceland. Once his foot had healed, the couple traveled around rural Japan for a month, from Hokkaido to Okinawa, where he was able to walk around in anonymity, "eat weird food, soak in the hot springs and ski."

Sheeran stopped smoking and cut way back on drinking. In June, he spent three weeks in Ghana at the invitation of Ghanaian-English singer Fuse ODG. Working in Fuse's house, he started writing African-influenced music. "Anytime we made a song, they would throw a party for the song," he says. "He would invite 200-plus people 'round, and we would just party to that song until the early hours."

Only one of those songs, "Bibia Be Ye Ye," appears on ÷, but the freedom Sheeran felt on his journey lingered. While Sheeran's last album, x, featured bitter takedowns of exes, ÷ has songs like "Happier," which he wrote after a wedding, when he ran into his ex and her boyfriend, whom Sheeran had always held a grudge against. "He was really sound," says Sheeran. "I thought, 'Of course, this is what's meant to happen.'"

Elton says Sheeran's travels "refreshed his soul." "I've noticed, in the last few months, he knows it's going to be all right," says McDaid. "He knows that he's done a pretty amazing thing again. I think he reconnected to his friends and family, and he feels anchored."

It's 11 the morning after Sheeran's impromptu living-room concert. Rain patters on the windows of his guest room, revealing a gray sky. Only five hours have passed since he called it a night, but he can be found downstairs in his gym, shirtless, in the middle of his daily 10-minute elliptical workout. "Just sweating it out!" he says.

His studio is across the hallway. Sheeran asks everyone who visits to sign its walls. Signatures include Rick Rubin, Harry Styles and Benny Blanco, and a drawing by Damien Hirst, one of his favorite artists. One wall is bare, except for a single name. "That's Clapton," says Sheeran with a grin. "Elton's coming next week and Cherry's cooking, so I'm going to do a legends wall."

Sheeran and Clapton first started talking over e-mail. Clapton invited him onstage in Japan last year and sometimes comes over for dinner. Sheeran isn't a favorite with critics, but, he says, "I could give a fuck about what people think. Anytime anyone has a problem with me, I'm just like, 'My heroes like me. The people I started music for are fans of my music. So why the fuck would I care about what anyone else thinks?' "

We head to lunch at a nearby pub, where Sheeran promptly orders a round of his hometown ale Adnams: "I love drinking really thick ale in January." He talks about growing up in Suffolk, where he was made fun of for being bad at sports, for his red hair – and, most of all, for his stutter: "You'd put your hand up and not be able to speak. And kids are cruel. So once that would happen, someone would imitate it. And then you'd be like, 'I'm not going to put my hand up next time.' " He credits rapping along with Eminem's Marshall Mathers LP for helping him lose the stammer.

His parents were curators for art galleries, putting together exhibitions and lecturing around town. His dad taught him to be tough. "He grew up with a harelip," he says. "And he said, 'Anytime anyone picks on you, hit him as hard as you can and they will never rip into you again.' " His father still doesn't take any shit: Sheeran tells a story about him lighting a cigarette at a recent Warner Bros. party. "Someone said, 'Sir, you can't smoke here.' And he said, 'I am Mr. Warner,' and they left him alone." His mom is the opposite. "She is literally an angel," says Sheeran.

Though his dad suggested fighting to deal with his problems, Sheeran preferred humor. "Most ginger-haired people I know are very outgoing and comedic," he says. "They basically say the joke before you can. Like, my first album is orange. There's a reason it's orange – I'm getting there before you can." He thinks those days have a lot to do with his career choice: "The whole musician thing kind of comes from wanting to be loved and wanting to be liked."

Sheeran dropped out of school in 2007, when he was 16, and moved to London. He started performing, striking out at guitar open mics but finding an audience at hip-hop clubs, comedy shows and jazz open mics. "Anywhere it's not the norm to have a singer-songwriter be there, I instantly stood out," he recalls.

In 2010, Ben Cook, the head of Asylum Records, saw a clip of Sheeran online. Cook went to check out several shows – including one in Southampton, England, where Sheeran stood on a chair in the middle of the audience and played unplugged. "He was rapping," Cook says, "so the guys were trying to keep up with him, and then there was the really romantic stuff the girls were responding to." Cook signed him soon after.

Sheeran's first big U.S. tour was supporting Snow Patrol in 2012, around the time his first single, "The A Team" – a ballad about a crack-addicted prostitute he met at a homeless shelter – was blowing up. "In Orlando, there were, like, 200 people in the front row to see Ed," says McDaid, Snow Patrol's guitarist. "By the middle of the tour, there were about 2,000. You could see it happening in front of you."

His next tour was considerably bigger: a 66-date run opening for Swift. "I heard his song 'Lego House' in Australia when I was on the Speak Now tour," says Swift. "It just cut through everything else." Their managers put them together, and they ended up sitting on a trampoline in Swift's backyard and writing "Everything Has Changed." Each night, Swift invited Sheeran onstage to play the ballad.

Offstage, this was his most romantically prolific period. He says he hooked up with some of Swift's famous friends. "Taylor's world is celebrity," says Sheeran. "I was this 22-year-old awkward British kid going on tour with the biggest artist in America, who has all these famous mates. It was very easy. … I would often find myself in situations just kind of waking up and looking over and being like, 'How the fuck did that happen?' " (Katy Perry recently summed up his appeal as a secret ladies' man: "Everybody loves him, no one's scared of him, they want to date him. They can have him.")

Sheeran chronicled some of these relationships on his second album, 2014's x. He wrote "Don't" about a fling with a fellow pop star that ends when he learns she's had sex with a friend who was staying on the same hotel floor. Many speculated it was Ellie Goulding, who afterward released "On My Mind," which included the burn "You wanted my heart, but I just liked your tattoos." Goulding has denied having ever been involved with Sheeran.

One person he did not date on the tour was Swift, despite TMZ headlines. "I found that aspect quite lazy journalism," he says. "There wasn't any truth to it whatsoever."

Sheeran and Swift see each other only once or twice a year, but they still feel close to each other. "We've gotten matching Scottish folds, made each other arts and crafts Christmas presents, vacationed with our families, and had each other's backs," says Swift. "He is the James Taylor to my Carole King and I can't imagine a time when he wouldn't be." He imagines them doing a stadium tour where they trade songs for an evening, much like the one Jay Z and Justin Timberlake did a few years ago. "She would be there if everything ended for me," Sheeran says. "Taylor is kind of an anomaly in that sense." He's been annoyed at the backlash against her lately: "She's omnipresent because she's the most famous woman in the world, so she can't make the decision to not be in the press. I always stick up for Taylor."

Most weekends when he's not on tour, you can find Sheeran watching field hockey. Cherry played for Duke until 2014. She moved to London last year with Sheeran, and signed a contract to play for Wimbledon Hockey Club (field hockey is a big deal in England). During the week, she works as a financial consultant. "She's the nicest girl you'll ever meet, but on the field she's a fucking animal," he says proudly.

At Oxford Hawks Hockey Club one Saturday, Sheeran takes his spot against a fence to watch the first game of the season, chatting with a few parents. ("Are you up to anything musical?" one asks.)

Cherry, number 17, rushes over to him, and they kiss, and do their sort of secret handshake. For their first date, he took her to see him accept an award at an American Institute for Stuttering gala – "It was quite an upsetting event," Sheeran says, "because there are lots of kids that just can't get their words out." The second date was a birthday party for Adele's manager. Sheeran "tested" Cherry by leaving her alone for a few hours. "One of the main points of being in a relationship with me," he says, "you have to be really fucking sociable and good at talking to people, because I will be dragged away loads at parties and events. And Cherry's perfect at it. She makes friends with everyone."

After the match, Sheeran is driven to the team clubhouse. He grabs a tray and fixes himself a potato with beans and cheese, giving a big thumbs-up as he chews. He's about halfway done when several more teams pour into the room: high school girls. Several cliques of them inch toward his table. The whole room seems to be wondering why, exactly, Ed Sheeran is here. "I'm gonna need to get out of here," he says. "I'm getting filmed a lot." He pulls his cap down and walks out, head down, and makes his way out unscathed. "I just realized that was an entire school – all the sports teams," Sheeran says back in the car. "Not ideal."

This kind of attention freaks Sheeran out a little, and lately he's been dealing with even weirder invasions of his privacy. Not long ago, a police officer pulled him over and asked for a selfie. Sheeran recently found a drone in his garden. He's "100 percent" sure that someone on his 40-person team is selling information to the press. "I just want to know who it is," he says. The worst part is getting stared at: "People film on the sly – I get really fucking anxious." And one way he deals with that anxiety is drinking.

"Do you have any white tequila?" Sheeran asks a waiter at a New York restaurant. "Not Patrón, though." Yes, they do. "Five shots of that, and one shot of passion-fruit juice, please. Put the tequila on ice, and then let it sit for a bit. And then pour it over ice into the juice, then shake it." The waiter at New York's ABC Kitchen gets on the case: They do not carry passion-fruit juice, but a store nearby does have it, and someone has been sent out.

Since I saw him in London three weeks ago, Sheeran has been on a promo tour, visiting England, Norway, Germany, France, Asia and Australia, where he stayed at Russell Crowe's house. "He has his own pub," Sheeran says. "I was so fucking off my chops, and I didn't realize he'd drank a bottle of gin and was off his chops as well." There was a minor crisis around 8 a.m., when everyone realized Sheeran had wandered off to bed and ended up in a grassy area riddled with deadly snakes. Cherry feared another Iceland-like debacle. "He was stumbling into the grass, falling into the bushes," she says.

Sheeran escaped unharmed, but there are a lot of stories like this. In Nashville, in 2013, he was pretending to play drums with two beer bottles at 4 a.m., the night before an arena gig. He struck the table and ended up with a big piece of glass inside his right hand. He missed a nerve by a millimeter.

Then there's the scar. Sheeran was recently attending a party thrown by Princess Beatrice at the Royal Lodge, near Windsor Castle, when he started messing around with ceremonial swords. The story changes often – some say it was Beatrice herself; Sheeran says it was singer James Blunt – but someone slashed Sheeran's right cheek. "He went to the hospital and came back ready to party with stitches on," says a friend. "And everyone was asleep. He was like, 'What the fuck? I bled for this party and you're all asleep?'"

"He can be extremely naughty. It's a good thing he didn't appear in the same era as I did, otherwise we'd be up for three weeks together," says Elton, who has been sober for almost 30 years. "He's not a big druggy, but he likes a drink. He's a lot of fun."

The five-shot tequila drinks arrive. Sheeran gulps one down and requests another. He talks about going to Tokyo, where he met up with Bieber. They did karaoke and shot pool in a dive bar. "He's in a very good place – very sober, very present," Sheeran says. "There's been a 180 that's happened, and there's no diva behavior whatsoever. It really suits him."

Does Sheeran think he drinks too much? "Often, I'm like, 'Is it bad that I drink almost every single day?' And then I look at my friends and most of them do the same. And they're actually worse than me. The first thing Americans say is, 'There's a problem, and you need to go to rehab.' But I don't wake up and drink. I don't depend on drink. I can go without it completely. I just enjoy going out and having fun, being 25. And I think that's a normal thing."

In his dressing room at Saturday Night Live two days later, Sheeran looks over the walls of the greenroom, which are full of pictures of past musical guests: Kanye West, Paul McCartney, Sheeran himself. "I look like a fucking gimp," he says, remarking on a press shot where he's leaning forward with a serious face. Soon, a live feed of the show's dress rehearsal comes on. He cackles at Melissa McCarthy's Sean Spicer impression – "Fucking hell!" he says – and host Alec Baldwin's monologue.

He talks about the future. He's in the process of auditioning members of a boy band he's creating. He's already written lots of songs for the group – "really, really decent. Superpop, but obviously credible. I'm gonna put three or four boys together and do all the songs, take them on the stadium tour with me."

Sheeran's ÷ tour will take him across the world – arenas this year, stadiums next year – before wrapping up by early 2019. He's edging toward his ultimate goal: "I want to do stadiums everywhere," he says. "Like George Strait's level – he tours every four years, does a couple of stadiums and then fucks off again." Sheeran also plans to star in a low-budget film, like Once, featuring his own acoustic soundtrack. "I want to have one in my career," he says.

He's showing a member of his team the "cash me outside" meme when his pal Zach Braff blasts into the greenroom, along with his date. "There's nothing more fun than being at SNL – I'm so geeked out," he tells Sheeran. "This is like you at a Star Wars convention."

Sheeran starts busting his balls, pointing at Braff's backstage pass: "Why does it have that on it, though – 'Talent'?"

"You motherfucker," Braff says. "You're supposed to be my wingman."

Sheeran heads straight from the greenroom to the stage to perform "Shape of You," not bothering to do any sort of vocal warm-ups. Later, he's on his way to do his second song, "Castle on the Hill," when he and Cherry run into Tracy Morgan. The comedian steers the conversation from The Empire Strikes Back to The Godfather to Michael Jackson. "Michael was music," Morgan says. "With every fiber of his fuckin' soul. The problem with Michael was that he peaked too soon. Listen to 'ABC.' He was eight years old when he did that! And once you peak, there's nowhere to go."

"You're scaring me!" Sheeran says with a laugh. Morgan replies that Sheeran has nothing to worry about: "He's good. He's grounded. He's got a woman right there. He's gonna have a wife and family, and he's gonna be fucking happy."

The scene becomes more surreal when Baldwin approaches them in full Trump getup. All week, Sheeran has been admiring Baldwin's two babies. "Whenever anyone brings babies around, I'm like, 'We gotta get on that,' " says Sheeran.

After the show, Sheeran has to catch a plane to make a 9 a.m. soundcheck for the Grammys. "You'll be fine," says Morgan. "Get some sleep on the jet." Baldwin asks about his tour plans: "Whatever you do, you're young, you're so talented. You guys are gonna have a baby. Just have it on your private plane."

"Tour-bus babies!" says Cherry.

What Sheeran is really looking forward to is his 26th birthday next week, which he and Cherry will spend in the Austrian Alps. "It's awesome meeting famous people," Sheeran says. "But that's not life. That's not reality. One day this will fucking end. And I know the one person that's going to remain constant is Cherry. I should just enjoy this while it's there, but not let it become my reality. Because that's not the reality I want to live in."

#ed sheeran #teddy sheeran

113 notes · View notes

moonbelt · 7 years ago

Text

»dog fever

↳ werewolf au | somewhat enemies-to-lovers au

⇢ pairing: park jinyoung | reader

⇢ genre: fluff + soft angst

⇢ word count: 9.860

author’s note: based on this prompt! hope you enjoy reading this!!

There are lots of things you don't know for sure in this world, you'd be one of the few to admit, and one of those things was whether the boy that's been your neighbor since third grade is a Werewolf. Not that you believe in werewolves — because you don't — but sometimes when you're particularly bored or disinterested in the things happening around you, your imagination tends to run wilder than you can handle.

Like now, you're supposed to be paying attention to the History professor as she goes on and on and on about wars that always happen by men with a superiority complex in countries that were not their own. Instead, you're back to thinking if maybe your neighbor is not one with the human species. Not that you have any evidence that he is, in fact, a lycanthrope. Well, there was one instance years back in fourth grade — a year after he'd first moved in, now that you think about it; that had been the beginning of your new-found curiosity in him.

It was back when Recess was the biggest form of entertainment and gossip ran rampant. And while everyone was busy screaming as they did whatever, you were on one of the few monkey bars trying to prove to your closest friend — Jaebum — that you could hang upside down for twenty minutes straight without getting dizzy. You'll admit, you didn't really pay your neighbor any attention, not like he demanded any anyways. He always sat by himself, never tried to strike a conversation and was highly unsociable.

And that day was like every other; neighbor boy sat on the curb of the designated playground and watched everyone else play their games in solitude. Occasionally, his eyes would focus on any and every nearby balls, and for a time you truly believed that maybe he wanted to join in on the soccer match taking place. But he never spoke up about it and no one ever offered. However, that day unlike every other; Jackson — the reigning king of the playground — bestowed upon this boy a game of frisbee. And unlike every other day; he agreed.

He agreed to play frisbee with the other kids and you watched him upside down from the monkey bars as he did so. Your mother had told you to look out for him since he was your new neighbor and apparently, that meant that you were destined to be the best of friends.

You knew better. And besides you didn't want to be his friend, he'd never spoken a word to you without yours and his parents present, and it grated on your nerves. Plus, it didn't help that you hated the way he ignored you the last time you'd asked him to play with his Pokémon Trading cards. He'd given you the stink eye and you'd vowed to never speak to him again. It was a bruise to your still growing ego.

The game had been going on for a while and Jaebum was still taunting you to give up already when Jackson threw the frisbee a little bit farther than anticipated and neighbor boy flung his body towards it and caught the damned thing in his mouth.

Now, you didn't know about a whole lot of things, but you definitely knew that that was not supposed to happen. Due to shock, your legs slipped from the bars and you fell head-first down and subsequently sprained your neck. Neighbor boy, however, got a new title attached to him since that day; Dog Boy.

Since that day or maybe some years later after the influx of werewolf movies, you'd become suspicious of him. The name Dog Boy stuck to your neighbor like glue. All through middle school, high school and now in college. Your entire town is small, you wonder some days how it's possible to have a university in such a restricted area, but you don't question it any longer. No one ever straight up calls him the name anymore, but your college was minuscule, and everyone thought it.

Most of the students you'd been going to school with since you could talk. It's disconcerting really, to be so close with them and yet not at the same time. The only person you managed to remain friends with since first grade was Jaebum. You guess, he is the closest thing you have to a best friend in this town. And it's not like you hate the town — because you don't — you hate how small it is. Gossip runs like wolves in this place, you can't say one word without twenty-five other people misinterpreting it to their friends.

Your thoughts have gone away from you and you don't realize you should be taking notes until Professor Min — the History Professor — decides to make it known to the whole class that you're daydreaming... again.

"[y/n]," She says, with that snide look on her face some teachers seem to always have. "If you would be so kind to come back to class, I would appreciate it."

Another con of small towns is everyone seems to know each other and consequently act like they're your parents as if your guardians are absent. You gnash your teeth together sheepishly, you hate being called out so much and yet you never stop being absent-minded.

"Sorry."

"Great..." her voice trails off as she lunches deep into another thing you don't know, but you should. Midterms are coming up soon and you can't drop this class because you need the credit hours.

Maybe not so much a need as a want. You see, Dog Boy is in this class and it's the only class you have with him this semester. Not that you're stalking him — you would never do that — but he is your neighbor and his parents talk too much with your parents and they tell them everything. Plus, it doesn't help that you needed to take this class sometime anyway, might as well take it now.

The two of you sit at the back of the class but never too close to each other. It's known that you don't particularly favor your neighbor among other things. Since that day you'd sprained your neck, he became something akin to the devil. He sits near the window, on the seat you'd been aiming for, and his attention is solely on Professor Min. You sigh to yourself, maybe you're just projecting your fantasies onto him? Maybe he's just an ordinary guy that got labeled a freak earlier than most people?

But then he turns his gaze from the front board and locks focus on you as you look directly at him. You whip your head away so fast that it threatens to snap. Shit. Several moments pass before you gain the courage to peep your head up again... and he's still watching you. This time with a look of pure disinterest colored on his face. You grunt to yourself, wanting to flip him off but not wanting to aggravate the professor any more than you already have. You turn away first, going back to ogling your notebook in solitude.

Dog Boy's real name is Jinyoung Park. And you do not like Jinyoung Park.

You weren't the most popular, in fact, you still aren't. But you'd been one of the smartest. In fact, dare you say, you had been the smartest in your entire grade. That was until the frisbee incident. And suddenly, Jinyoung was the smartest. It was like the title was snatched right under your nose. You had pitied him, never called him dog boy, offered him to join your tiny friendship circle (which he always promptly shut down) and this was how you were repaid. No one was going to remember the has-been smart kid. And that's what you were.

Jaebum says that you should be thankful to Jinyoung for knocking you off your high-horse. His reasoning is that now, you don't have some sort of superiority complex. And unlike most that he knows, when you don't understand something, you don't try to pretend you do. You told him that was a ridiculous reasoning and he said you didn't get it because you were stupid. And maybe you are stupid because here you are in your last class for the day, wondering for the millionth time if Jinyoung is a—

"For the group project, I'm going to pair you off in three's and please see to it that you meet with each other and present something worth my time."

Another problem with small towns, or maybe just a problem with Professor Min in general, is that they tend to do everything in three's. Three is a crowd they say, but three is a whole lot bigger than a crowd when you don't have that many options. The problem with three's is that it's such an odd number in a group that almost always someone gets left out. Be it in group projects, relationships or otherwise. And by gods, you do not want to spend the next few weeks being pushed and prodded by people you don't want anything to do with it.

Professor Min starts listing whoever she's connected together, and you tentatively wait for your name to be called. Your eyes scan the room and frankly, there's not one person you would like to be paired with. If only Jaebum was in this class. Then you could pray to a higher power that you'd get paired together. But no; you're stuck with a lose-lose situation.

"Park Jinyoung, [y/n], and Hui Kim."

You probably sound like a broken record at this point but there are a lot of things you don't know. You have no fucking idea how you are getting paired with Jinyoung after almost ten years and then some of knowing each other. You thought you'd missed the cliché gene when the two of you realized that you could never be friends but with this emerging situation, your safe haven might be threatening to change.

Dejectedly, you gaze at Jinyoung and sigh. Hui is known around town to not really have anything going for him, not that you want to judge him or anything but, he's not even in class right now. He hasn't been in class since Syllabus day — which was a miracle in of itself. And just like that, you know this project falls on the shoulders of you and Jinyoung. But with every fiber in your being, you don't want to talk to Jinyoung more than necessary.

Class ends soon after that and you find yourself packing your stuff faster than usual. Jinyoung is inhumanly quick with leaving the class as soon as the time is up, he never waits behind. You're determined to set the record straight with him though, even if he may not want it. You're getting a good grade in this class, even if you have to beg for it. You might be lazy as hell nowadays, but you were once an overachiever and those kinds of traits don't just fade away.

You brush past people as you tear through the door and try to locate the bed of black hair that belongs to Dog Boy. You find him, and then you're running to catch up. Christ, it's like school is burning his ass.

"Hey, wait—" you huff as you grab the corner of his shirt to get him to stop.

He halts, and you bounce into his back, the movement bristles your brain a bit and for a second, you're disoriented before you remember why you're seeking him out anyways. He shifts his positioning so he's facing you directly and you move back a few steps just because.

"Just so you know, I'm not failing this class because of you," you say when you calm your nerves from rattling.

Dog Boy always looks disinterested but now he just looks at you incredulously. "Well, you don't need my help for that, you're already failing."

You are not failing, but you might start spiraling down that path after the midterms. You roll your eyes at his statement and bite out. "Point is. I'm not allowing you slack off in this."

Jinyoung shrugs his shoulders and you curse yourself for allowing the title of Valedictorian fall into his arms. If only you'd pushed yourself a little bit harder, you wouldn't have had to forfeit it to someone that didn't even work that hard for it. Jinyoung strikes you as something akin to a genius; add that to his ever-growing array.

He doesn't say anything in response, rather he lowers his gaze to your fingers still gripping the hem of his shirt. Like it's hot, you drop it and return your hand to your side.

"Anyways," you clear your throat. "When's a good time to meet up with you?"

"I don't know, [y/n]. We're neighbors we can figure this out later."

You shake your head, adamant. "I need to know. I don't want to come over uninvited."

His eyes pop out almost comically and again with something akin to bemusement but more... condescending? You're not sure but you do know that you don't like the look in his eyes.

"You? Feeling uninvited? Is everything okay?"

You give him the finger and it pacifies your soul to the depths you can never compare. "Shut up. How does next tomorrow sound? I'll come over then."

"What's wrong with tomorrow?"

The question throws you off guard because you're not expecting it, especially not from him. It's pretty much staple news that Jinyoung Park misses the third Wednesday of every month due to issues that have never been disclosed. At first, it was the height of high-school gossip. Now, it's just something that happens.

You're surprised he sees the need to ask you. It's the second reason that fuels your suspicion that Jinyoung is of an otherworldly species. Let's not talk about the fact that you'd rather have a supernatural being be smarter than you... it makes it easier to swallow that you can't be the best at everything. You can't fight in a game where you don't even qualify to compete in.

"I mean, if you're free then let's do it," you blink a dozen times a second, trying to figure out if he's pulling your legs or not.

He must realize his mistake because he flushes red in embarrassment. "No. Your day is good. Stop by after five or something." And before you can say something in response, he's turning on his heel and bustling through the crowd.

It's not like you're going the same direction or anything, you roll your eyes as you navigate the path to your car.

If this was a perfect world, you and Jinyoung would be best friends. The stones were set. The two of you liked the same things, at least you assumed from the things you'd observed about him, your parents are ridiculously close and dare you say... are best friends. Your families have biweekly dinners that you're obligated to go to and no matter how much you whine and beg, you're never allowed to miss. But this wasn't a world that led to that, and you're grateful.

Hopefully, this project goes by in the blink of an eye and you never have to think about your stance on friendship with Jinyoung ever again. You've known him for thirteen years and you have no reason to start questioning it now. Things have always been this way and until something unordinary happens, you're going to keep your curious nature to yourself and stray away from trouble. Yes, you think, but let's hope trouble doesn't come searching for you. You don't think you're that good a person to not fall down that kind of temptation.

If there's anything you hate more than coming in second, it's studying. God, if you could sell your soul to the devil to get good grades for life without having to actually input shit into your brain, you wouldn't waste a heartbeat. There was nothing fantastic about having study sessions. But if there was anything you hated more than studying, it was not trying at all.

That's why you are studying in your bedroom and watching the time tick by oh' so slowly. The air conditioning unit stopped working in the middle of the night, a few nights ago, and your parents had yet to call someone in to fix it. So, your window is open and it's distracting you. Behind your house is a large expanse of woods and every other moment you think — you swear — you can hear something from inside it. You've always known — through your parents — that deep in the woods were home to wolves and other animals the community couldn't be bothered with.

They don't disturb your peace and so, in turn, you don't disturb theirs.

You're about to return to your notebook when you see someone stalk towards to the forest and for a second, you're tempted to scream at them to turn back. It's not ethical to go out there especially not at this time of day. The sun is rapidly going down and once it gets dark in your small town, it goes dark. But then the person whips around to look at something or maybe look for something, and you recognize that it's Jinyoung. Well, shit, he should know better.

Biting your tongue, you force yourself to go back to reviewing your notes. It doesn't matter what Jinyoung does. He hadn't been in school today, as predicted, and as always you had wondered what he was doing. You couldn't, in good conscience, ask his parents what was wrong with him because what if it was like, a medical condition that they'd told you about when you were younger and more naïve and knew absolutely nothing. But even worse, what if you had already asked them before and now you've forgotten.

You know better than to go after him in that big, big, big forest. But everything in your body is telling you that something is going to happen out there. But no! Focus on your textbook. Ingrain these words into your mind so hard that you would never forget. You will not lose to Jinyoung another year. Not another year of fighting a losing battle. You are better than the inkling of curiosity budding in the pit of your stomach. You are stronger than that.

And maybe this is a reckoning because you realize that you are as strong as you are unintelligent because before you know it, you're grabbing your jacket and flinging it across your shoulders and running out the back door. Shit. Shit. Shit. You promise yourself you'll be back before it gets too dark. Yes, you're just going to inspect what Dog Boy is doing. Nothing too serious.

The woods behind your house and you guess any kind of woods out there, is a scary place. Not only is it too vast in size, it is also a haven for your imagination to run wilder than it needs. You swear you see too many dark shadows lurking in the corners and you want to force your legs to walk back the way to your house. Screw Jinyoung. If he wants to die out here, then so be it. But the more you think about going home, the more you plod through the encroaching darkness.

"Jinyoung?" You call out gingerly, not wanting to wake up whatever is hiding out here but failing. "Jinyoung, I know you're here. C'mon, let's go back, okay?"

Once when you were eleven, you'd found a storybook about wolves. Normal wolves mind you, not wolves that could turn into men. And you remember wondering if you could ever be able to transform into a wolf at will. You thought it would be cool. And you guess, you still do. Your mother had called it a fantasy but Jinyoung's mother... she'd said something along the lines of "nothing is impossible."

That month you and the Park's didn't have a biweekly dinner. Everything went back to normal a few weeks later and you forgot about that encounter, you have no idea why you're remembering it now. But now you think the memory is somewhat important. Important for what, you don't know.

"Jinyoung!" You cup your hands around your mouth and howl, but nothing cries back. Instead, all you hear is the whistling of the wind against the trees.

Fuck. Why isn't he answering? He couldn't have got that far ahead. You stop in your tracks and take deep breaths. It's too cold to be outside for too long and the sky is already turning a deeper shade of blue, a strong chill swims down your spine. How can you be so afraid? And yet still so willing to walk through this woods as if you're not? You bite your lower lip. Ten minutes. If you don't find Dog Boy in ten minutes, you're running out of here no matter what.

And it's when you're preparing to turn around that you feel it, a deep shiver racking through your body. It's already so cold outside but now you feel something different, you've never felt it before, but you can almost taste the evil intent coating the air now.

"Well, look who we have here."

The voice drawls the words out and, in another world, you would have deemed it sexy even, but now you just want to cower and hide because this is so stupid. This whole situation is stupid. You are acting stupid. You shouldn't be out here. You shouldn't be in this confrontation... and yet here you are.

He appears in front of you and you're almost blinded by how beautiful he appears. You'd watched movies with Vampires, and you'll admit when you were thirteen had even indulged in writing horrible romance fiction about them. And this man reminds you of what you envision a Vampire to be and more. His hair is slick blonde and you can't tell if it's been dyed or not but the red in his eyes is so sharp that even in this dim lightening you can see how clear and deep it is.

You stammer, not sure if you should answer but then sure that you don't want to die. "Oh, me? I'm heading back home actually," you laugh and the both of you can tell that it's nervous as fuck.

"Really?" He is mock amused. "You wouldn't happen to know about Vampires, would you?"

In a perfect world, you would have questioned him and called him a delusional lunatic. But this isn't a perfect world and you know the bloodlust in his eyes isn't fake. Maybe it's the cat in you that's curious to its death, but you don't think he's lying. He certainly looks the part of an ethereal creature.

"Oh, I know a lot about Vampires," you lie. "My blood doesn't taste good though... I take lots of medicine and it messes up the flavor."

"Shouldn't I be the judge of that?"

"I'm saving you the time. You creatures of the night don't need more stuff to be worried about, you know," you're shaking in your sneakers and you swear he can hear the large gulp you take to steady your heartbeat.

He takes a step into the light and you notice just how tall he is and more so how pointy his ears are and how sharp his canines extend as he talks. Although he looks mind-shockingly beautiful, he also looks too grotesque. Dark rings frame his hollowed eyes, his skin is harrowingly translucent and the scare in your chest jumps to your throat.

"Would you mind if I," it's faster than the blink of your eye and he's next to you, his breath fanning your neck. "Test that out?"

Well, sure as fuck, you do. But you don't tell him that. You don't know what you're stalling for but your brain and your body work on different wavelengths.

"For a Vampire, you have pretty good manners."

He chuckles, moving his head slightly away so he can examine your face. "I was a Prince in my past life. What can I be if not polite?" He asks but leaves no room for debate.

Maybe if you run you could outpace him? No, that's not right. It's known that Vampires are more than fast. They're superhumans for God's sake. Well, more dead than human but the point still stands. You could barely keep up with him when he moved on you earlier, trying to outrun him will only lead you to—

"You smell like mutt," he finally says after several seconds of checking out your neck. "You live with any werewolves perhaps? Or maybe dogs?"

"No dogs."

"So, werewolves then. Tsk tsk, you smell awful," he remarks, and you try to feed on it.

"Exactly! So, how about you let me go? I'll take a shower and then—"

He shakes his head at you, silencing you up quick. "I said nothing about how you would tast—"

Almost as quickly as he'd come unto you, he was knocked off by something bigger, darker and more furious. It ate the ground beneath it and it swallowed the darkness like it owned it. Christ, what the ever-loving fuck? You knew they were wolves here, but this sent you farther than you imagined. It was dangerous, very much so, but unlike the Vampire, majestic. And then it snarls, a loud sound that shakes the birds out of the trees.

The Vampire smirks as he uses his thumb to prod around his jaw before he spits unto the wild grass. He grins at you and the wolf maniacally.

"See," he seems to taunt. "Werewolf friends."

Your attention returns to the wolf that's now standing in front of you, blocking the Vampire from your path and you want to thank it maybe. For protecting you but then his words reverberate in your mind. Werewolf. This, you gawk at the creature, is a werewolf? Really? You peer down at it.

The wolf snaps his head back to look at you and proceeds to give you this look. It's a look that reminds you a whole lot of looks you've received from someone else and if you're being honest it reminds you of—

The Vampire is tired of being ignored and pushes off on the heels of his feet, eager to get to you and the wolf turns away from you, growling as it throws its body into the immortal. For the first time in a long time, your body and brain work together to get you out of there. You're running so fast. Too fast that you don't feel your body slicing through the air, you don't feel the whips of the branches as they scratch your face and neck. You don't stop until you're at the clearing behind you and Jinyoung's house and even then, you don't know what to do.

For the first time in your life, you came across the wolves that roamed the woods and you came this close to being a Vampire's meal. You shudder as you lean on the back wall of your house, panting deeply with sweat dripping in streams from your face. Your self-preservation skills? Wack. Damn. Why were you trying to negotiate with a creature of the night? Something you didn't even know for sure existed until this night. You'd almost died out there. And you didn't even try to scream out in alarm.

It takes more minutes than you care about before something begins to appear out of the cloak of trees. It's a wolf, not just any wolf, it's the wolf. The wolf that came to save you from the bloodsucker. Its eyes are golden-brown and unhinged, once it gets to a certain distance, it stops moving forward.

The night is creeping on, the moon isn't fully out yet, but it's coming. Legend says that once the full moon hits, the woods start crying. Not much a legend as much as a truth for you. You've lived in this house your entire life and there hasn't been a time the trees didn't howl during full moons. It wasn't something you'd ever thought about or tried to place, to be honest, until now.

The wolf howls louder than before now and somewhere deep in your bones you understand that he's telling you to go somewhere else. You take off running through the back door and make haste with locking it tight. You realize then that you didn't see Jinyoung once through the night. No, instead you saw things you didn't know you could believe in. And then your mind recalls the former Prince's words: werewolf friends. You didn't have any friends of the lycanthrope kind. But you did know someone you speculated to be one of them.

You don't know about a lot of things this world has to offer, but you do know that one plus one equals two. And the two in this situation is Jinyoung being a werewolf. And now there's a resolve thrumming in your veins: you're going to find the truth about Dog Boy. Or rather, you want to hear the truth from his mouth.

For the time being, you blame your curiosity on the fact that you want to thank the werewolf for his help. Definitely nothing more than that.

Contrary to what you expect, Jinyoung shows up to class the next day. You'd thought that he wouldn't want to come in and put himself in your line of fire, but you guess, you and him just think differently. For the first time in weeks, you're submerged into Professor Min's lecture, not once turning your attention askew. It's a new record but you're trying to prove to Jinyoung that you're not on the highway to failing this course.

Once the class is over, you throw your backpack over your shoulder and head over to Dog Boy. Unlike every other day, Jinyoung takes his time with packing his stuff and you don't have to chase him through the halls. You stomp your palms on his desk, gaining his attention which quickly drops into a lackadaisical stare.

"You."

"Me."

"You're not going to deny it, are you?"

He rolls his eyes to the side, zipping his backpack and slinging it over his arm but not getting up from his seat. "Exactly what am I supposed to be denying?"

"You know what," you whisper-yell, earning a few looks from the remaining students leaving but ignore them, not removing your eyes from Jinyoung.

"Do you see the extreme disinterest on my face? It's all for you," his eyes flash gold for a second before it reverts to cool brown. If you didn't know any better, you would have passed it off as something in your mind.

Jinyoung rises from his seat and you take several steps back to give him the space to walk around before you continue on.

"Do you want me to spell it out? You want everyone in the community to kno—"

He interrupts you as the both of you push out of the classroom door. "Know what?"

"That you're a werewo—"

Maybe your eyes are just slow because in a shimmer of movements his palm is covering your mouth as he shoots you a look, frantically, like he can't believe you'd actually say it aloud. You shrug at him. The both of you earn snickers from neighboring students and you know by the end of the day, this predicament you've found yourself in would have reached Jaebum's ears.

When he's sure that you're not going to make a scene, which you're not sure how he knows, he drags his hand from your lips. He runs his hand hard through his hair, roughing it more than usual.

"You think people would you believe you?"

"Well, you just proved to me that you are what I think you are," you smirk smugly at him when his eyes widen at your statement. "And we both know everyone calls you Dog Boy for a reason... no one would bat an eyelash if I say you're a you know what."

Jinyoung doesn't say anything else, instead, he continues to plow the crowd until he reaches the EXIT doors, you follow closely behind. You didn't expect him to give up so easily and now you're not sure what to do. You thought you'd have to manipulate or blackmail him to admit it and it's disorienting that he's being more mature about this than you had anticipated. He leads the two of you to his car which is parked way too far to be considered normal.

You didn't drive to school today because your car, which was faulty to a fault, decided not to start up this morning. And now you're wondering if you should ask him to give you a ride home. Maybe you could promise him to keep his secret safe? It's not like he knows that you don't really plan on letting anyone else know about him. He stops by his car before he turns his attention to you.

"Are you going to keep following me?"

"I mean, I don't know. Are you going to admit that you're a werewolf?"

He licks his lip tensely and you raise one of your eyebrows, challenging him to dispute your pseudo-question. He doesn't. You've got to give him praise. For someone that clearly tried so hard to hide his nature, he didn't put up much of a fight. It's anticlimactic, to be honest.

Jinyoung must have decided to ignore you because he changes the subject as much as he can.

"You could've died yesterday," he drops his backpack on the hood of his car. "Really. Vampires aren't the most negotiable creatures."

You already know that. "But I... didn't? Shouldn't we look at the good things in times like this?"

"Good things? [y/n], do you not realize that if I had not been there, you would have been killed? You wouldn't be here right now being a pain in my ass."

You grin. "I'm a beautiful pain in your ass, be appreciative."

Dog Boy shrugs his shoulders, not fazed in the slightest. "You are beautiful. Still doesn't change my opinion of you."

"Glad to know we're on the same page." Your mind skitters a little. "Anyways, I need you to tell me about your werewolf-y things. I'm interested," you shoot him a killer smile, but his aloof expression doesn't falter, so you drop to pleasantries. "Please?"

Almost immediately, he says. "Shouldn't you be terrified of me? I'm a beast of the night."

"Pfft. O-okay, what are you going to do? Huff and puff me to the floor in the University's parking lot? Classy."

"Shut up. If you want to learn about it, use Google. It's not that hard."

You stomp your feet to the ground, annoyed that he doesn't see things from your perspective. "But those are fake. I want to hear it from you. I promise if you tell me, I'll stay clear away from you. I'm just wondering that's all."

Instead of giving you a response, he grabs his backpack by the collar and hauls it into his car, jacking his door with more force than necessary and crashing inside. He slams his door shut and for a moment the two of you stay like that. Him inside and you outside. You don't really know how much time goes by before he slides down his window and fixates his focus on you.

"Are you getting in, or do I have to leave you to walk home by yourself?"

You don't need to be told twice. You rush to his passenger side at lightning speed, happy that you don't have to bribe him to get your way. You weren't expecting him to offer the ride, but you guess he feels obligated to do so now that you know his deep, dark secret. It's more concerning that you, his neighbor for thirteen — almost fourteen — years, didn't know about any of it any earlier. You can't blame him though, you and him don't really have the friendliest of relationships. More civil than anything.

Making light work with strapping your seatbelt, Jinyoung puts the car into drive and begins the path to your side of town. As you clicked in your belt, however, your fingers brush unevenly against Jinyoung's hand. Almost immediately, the two of you shoot back from the contact like you've been electrified.

Soon after that, you wished you hadn't. You'd only brushed hands — barely even lasted a minute — and yet for reasons unexplainable, there is a tingling, vibrating sensation flowing through your fingers, numbing them. You fist your hand and will yourself to stop being so bothered by it.

You never quite realized how constricting a car silence could be until now, it's odd and frankly, it's grabbing you by the throat in awkwardness. So, when you hear the ping! tone of a new message, you practically fling your phone out of your pocket to see who it's from.

Jaebum: I saw you leave campus with dog boy. where are you going? [6:53 pm]

you: home. why?? [6:53 pm]

Jaebum: didn't you ask me to wait behind to take you home? What the fuck is up with this situation :| [6:56 pm]

you: shut up. he offered and i accepted. unlike you, I have manners [6:57 pm]

Jaebum: for someone who apparently hates dog boy, you're spending an awful lot of time getting up close and personal with him. [7:02 pm]

you: I don't hate jinyoung. i hate how many times I've lost to him. huge difference. And everyone knows closeness is used to establish physical dominance (╯°□°）╯[7:05 pm]

Jaebum: yeah okayy. guess you and Jinyoung go and have a dandy time together. just don't ever call me again begging for a ride. I'll throw your junk food stash in the trash if you do. [7:08 pm]

"No," you voice out loud, appalled by Jaebum's barbaric threat. "He can't do that," you're tempted to whine but you remember Jinyoung is in the car with you and refrain. You shoot him a look from your side and try to curb your internal fuming. You promise yourself to get back at Jaebum if he dares to follow through with his threat.

Jinyoung turns his attention away from the road for a second or two and focuses it on you. "You okay?"

You bite the inside of your cheek, attempting to come off as blasé and admittedly failing. "No, not particularly."

"Why? Are you finally realizing that you could've died last night?"

You scoff as you roll your eyes at his words. "Somehow I don't quite believe that."

"Are you genuinely okay in the head?" He clicks his tongue at your antics. "You met a vampire!"

Uncharacteristically, Dog Boy seems to be incapable of letting this one situation go. Yes, you realize that you could have become one with the dead last night, but on the brighter side, you aren't. You aren't a stickler for semantics or rather for the what if scenarios. You survived your first bout with the undead, that's all there is to that.

"What do you expect me to do? Runaway... like some coward?"

"Yes!"

"Well, what about you?!"

He drags an exasperated breath into his lungs and you can swear that he's holding back from screaming in frustration at you. "What about what about me?"

You bite your lip and tip your head to the side. "You're a werewolf. Do you want me to run away from you too?"

It takes several moments of him huffing and puffing before he finally grunts in defeat. You can't help the wide smile that blooms across your face. It's not a competition but you feel like you've won this faux argument. You squish in your seat, elated.

In fact, you've gone back to idly staring at the window, completely oblivious to the turmoil of thoughts swirling around in Jinyoung's head. You send Jaebum a ridiculous threat about trashing something he holds with importance and soon enough, your phone is blowing up with rapid-fire texts that circulate around not doing the said thing. You smirk to yourself as you put your phone on flight mode and cut off the stream of notifications.

"It's different." You almost don't hear his strained voice among the laughter thrumming in your chest. "I wouldn't hurt you. That vampire, however, was one sniff away from claiming his last meal."

You whip your head up from your lap and plaster your focus unto him. "Last?"

Dog Boy relaxes into his seat, a small scoff marring his features. "You think I would let someone kill you and walk away unscathed? Do you think I'm that terrible?"

"I don't know. We're not exactly the best of friends, Jinyoung. Honestly, I'm surprised you even saved me that night. I thought you hated me."

"Hate you? You're a huge pain in my ass, you know this, but I don't hate you. Never have."

You shake your head at him, dismissing his statement. "Yeah, you do. You didn't want to play Pokémon with me, remember? I invited you to that one movie night I and my friends were having, and you told me to never talk to you again."

He looks so mortified by your recall of the events that for the first time in your life, you entertain the idea that Dog Boy doesn't not, in fact, remember any of these happening. Does that mean you've been holding this grudge for years... for no reason? Shit. Fucking shit. What kind of messed up memory does he have?

"There's no way I did that."

"So, what, now you think I'm a liar? Wow, never knew—"

"No, no. I can't believe you even remember that. That was like, what, twelve years ago?"

"Thirteen, actually." You're still reeling from the new revelation. "And of course, I do. I know a lot about you."

You don't add that you don't particularly like to admit that you know so much about him. You don't know what to do with this conversation, it feels like its run past your control. You clear your throat, in a dire attempt to steer your mind back on track. To your relief, your houses appear in view and you almost sigh out. You and Jinyoung had decided to start this project today but suddenly, you want to procrastinate on it until the night it's due. Horrible, you know, but you can't help the feeling.

Jinyoung pulls up into the cul-de-sac of your two houses and parks his car swiftly in front of his. The two of you remain in the car and you feel this uncanny urge to break the silence and change the topic.

You clear your throat. "So..."

He doesn't turn his face from the windscreen, but he does say: "What?"

"Do you guys have like raw, ballistic sex?"

If Dog Boy could choke on a lung, he would. It's somewhat priceless the way his eyes pop severely out of his head and his face whips to the side to focus on you, more than incredulous. He sputters and sputters and you curse yourself for not having a filter. It's not like you expected yourself to really ask him the question, although you’re kind of — lowkey, curious about his answer.

"Did you seriously just ask me that?"

"Afraid I did."

"Do you have, like, no shame? At all?"

"'Fraid so."

Instead of answering you, he grabs his backpack by the arm and hurls out of the car. You struggle with keeping up with his pace. He has one of his hands in hair and you can tell that he's trying not to laugh yet embarrassed by what you inquired. You figure you'd be embarrassed too if the roles were reversed.

You scamper to his side as he runs up the steps to his front door. "Hey, are you ignoring me?"

"Gee, [y/n]. Aren't you the most observant?"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" You throw your hands up in surrender. "I was just wondering. I've read stories about werewolves and like most of it borders on animalistic sex... I just wanted to know if it was true."

Jinyoung has been doing a great job of hiding his face but when he slots his keys into the door and twists around to check if you're still there; you see the dark blush coloring his cheeks. When he realizes that you know this, the color deepens, and you grin.

"What is up with your obsession with werewolves?" He finally asks after he has fought the color away from his cheeks and you've settled on one of the arranged sofas in his living room.

You shrug your shoulders. "I'm not obsessed," you tell him. "It's more... you're a real-life supernatural being and I have questions."

He takes a seat on the sofa inches away from you, clearly keeping his distance. "If I answer them, would you let this go?"

"Of course."

Dog boy bites his lower lip for several moments, throwing around the pros and cons. You take this time to look around his living room. It's fairly familiar, you've been in here more times than you care to admit. Several photos of him and his parents litter the walls, you could probably recall the pictures in your sleep.

He clears his throat, bringing your attention back to him. "Ok. Ask what you want. Please keep the invasive questions to a minimum."

You smile inwardly to yourself. "Were you bitten or born?"

"Born."

"What about mates? Does that really exist? Have you found yours? What happens if you don't find your mate? Do you, like, howl into the moonlight and hope they howl back?"

You hear him mutter, "fuck," before he raises his head from his thighs and shoots you a ridiculous look.

"I do have a mate and what the hell do you think werewolves do exactly?"

"I don't know that's why I'm asking you," you say, exasperatedly. "Do you mind me asking who your mate is?"

He shrugs, leaning deeper into the black sofa. "Does it really matter to you?"

"Not really but does your mate necessarily have to be a werewolf?"

Why you're asking this you don't know. It's not like you could be his mate. You'd already promised yourself to not fall into some cliché with your damned neighbor but for whatever it's worth, there's a small — minuscule and irrelevant — part of you that wonders if it could be you.

Of course, you can list plenty reasons from the top of your head why you and Jinyoung could never be fated together. First, he's your enemy and rival. You've spent a better part of your life watching him from behind. You know the things that make him tick faster than others. And even though there is a high possibility that he's never considered you as competition, you don't want to think that you've spent years blindly chasing behind him for nothing.

"Not that I know of."

"So, you're, like, in a relationship? How come I didn't know this? Your mother would have gossiped about it to my mother. What, does your mate hate you?" You scoff at your own implication.

You'd never read of mates hating each other. Sure, there had been the few Alphas here and there that thought they were hot shit and that their mates weren't. But on the average, you would think anyone would be happy to find someone the skies destined them to be with. Cute, you think.

Jinyoung snickers at you. "At first, I thought my mate hated me."

"What? Really?" You can't believe there's another werewolf kid living in your small secluded town. And you don't realize you've said this thought out loud until you hear Jinyoung's response.

"My family's the only werewolf family around these parts, don't worry. You'd be mighty surprised if I tell you who my mate is though."

"Surprise me."

He laughs — no, guffaws at that. "You wouldn't want me too."

You feel heat creep up your ears. It's not like it matters who his mate is anyway. You shake your head, opening your school bag in an effort to start the godforsaken project already. You clear your throat as you pull the notebooks out and lay them on the small table but Jinyoung gets up and scoops them into his arms. "Let's go to my room."

"Why?"

He scrunches his nose a bit. "It smells better there."

"Oh, I forgot. Dog nose."

Dog boy says nothing in response but grabs your backpack and his before leading the way through the corridor to his room. You've been inside it before, years ago when your parents used to force the two of you to play together. He dumps the books on his bed and you perch on one side of the bed.

He has more focus than you and soon enough the two of you have decided on a topic and a thesis to present on. But you're barely paying attention to what he's been saying or writing down. You can't wrap your head around the fact that Jinyoung is so nonchalant about the whole ordeal. You expected him to be more... emotional about it.

You bite your tongue, debating if you should ask him what has been bothering you. You decide to just go for it and interrupt his explanation about something you weren't paying attention to but should have been.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Jinyoung furrows his eyebrows, looking up from the strewn papers. "Huh? Tell you what?"

"That you are a werewolf. I mean, you don't seem to care that I know and now it's bothering me that you tried to hide it for years."

He releases his bottom lip from his teeth and sighs out. "We're not allowed to tell people what we are. If they find out, that's cool but I can't break the rules."

Then why do you feel like Jinyoung purposely made you find out about him? You've been his neighbor for years and not once did you ever see him slip up (disregarding that day at the playground). Why... why does it feel like you walked brazenly into a trap that he set? Why does it feel like he had expected you to follow him that night?

"So, it doesn't matter that I know?"

"Not really. I mean, this isn't the most ideal situation but at least now I don't have to restrict myself anymore."

"Why do I feel like there's something you're hiding from me?"

Something flashes in his eyes and you watch, mesmerized, as the color shifts from brown to a golden hue. "What do you mean?" His voice, how ever little, shakes.

You fixate on that tremor. "Who's your mate?" You ask, this time pulling yourself closer to him and you see his throat bop as he takes an audible gulp. "Don't lie to me."

Seconds tick by and you can't tell what he's thinking. How did the two of you fall into this predicament? You and him on his bed with a huge elephant stomping around in the run. Jinyoung catches your gaze and does his best not to waver. For someone that has a brazen beast as part of him, he becomes a whole lot more demure when he's with you.

"It's you."

Before you can say anything in response, not that you can since your vocal chords are having technical problems. Jinyoung presses on, fumbling. "It doesn't matter. I know you don't like me like that. And that's okay, we can't have it all, right? Plus, it's kind of weird, isn't—"

"Shut up. Who says I don't like you like that?" A part of you hates that he came to this conclusion, even if there's some merit to it.

"Well, do you?"

You shake your head, confused. "I-I don't know."

His voice comes out barely above a whisper and for a moment you forget that he's supposed to be this big, bad, wolf. "It's a simple question."

"I like you — like how someone would like a neighbor or better yet a fleeting crush or something. I'm just not sure I like you like that."

"... Is that a polite no or are you genuinely not sure?"

"Genuinely not sure. Like, I don't know. Sometimes I have these moments when I think you act really cute, sometimes I think we're just people that have spent too much time around each other—" you cut yourself, tired of sounding like some bumbling idiot.

Dog boy mulls over what you said for a moment. "Maybe you should kiss me and find out. If there are sparks, cool. If not, no foul."

"Really?"

What if there's nothing or worse, what if there is but he discovers you're not meant for him? Where this dilemma came from, you don't know but you want it to go back where it came.

"Anything for science."

You don't know who leans in first but the two of you meet halfway. Your senses are nothing compared to his, but he intoxicates you with his woodsy smell that makes the thoughts in your head swirl around into nothing. You move closer, as close as you can, and the research books flap to the floor. He traps your hair in his hands and tilts your head, setting your lips apart and electrocuting you simultaneously.

An urgent need to feel him in his entirety washes over you. You reach your fingers around his neck, using it as leverage to push yourself closer but Jinyoung takes that moment to break away from you.

"Slow down," he chuckles. "And to think you thought I was a ballistic animal."

Jinyoung flips your body onto its back, the bed serving as the only thing that holds you up, heaven knows your self-restraint is out the window.

"I'm not usually like this... sorry?"

"It's cool with me and, trust me, I would be all over you too if I had less self-control."

You raise your eyebrow, urging him to explain.

He shrugs shifting from hovering on top of you to laying beside you on the bed. You're lucky this is a pretty big bed and not anything like the one back at your place.

"You have this smell. The first time I smelled it, I swear I thought I had died or something. Either way, my parents said it was better for me to keep my distance from you. I was young, and anything could set me off, plus we'd just moved, and I was trying to fit in, couldn't have myself following your ass everywhere."

That worked out terrible for him — if his nickname is anything to go by. But now that you know this piece of information, everything else seems to click into place. The reason he tried to never be in the same vicinity as you, why he ignored you half the time.

"Must be hard having such a nose like that."

"Not really. I can smell you for miles away. Plus, I can tell when dinner's gonna be really, really good."

You roll your eyes at him, biting out a laugh. "Amazing talent you got there."

There's another bout of silence that falls upon the both of you and you swear the only thing that can be heard is the loud thumping of your heart. It's deafening. You're not really sure what to do now. Yes, you've acknowledged the feeling in your chest and all that cliché jazz but what—

"So, how do you feel?"

You bite your lower lip, demanding yourself to stop getting lost in the re-visualization of his body pressed against yours. To think, a few days ago — heck yesterday, you never thought you'd be in this situation. You can't believe a huge section of you is willing to try this thing with Jinyoung out and that a part of you likes this.

"You're trying so hard not to react. It's cute," he says, even though he can't see your face.

"You are such a pain in my ass."

"A beautiful pain in your ass," he throws your words back at you.

You guess there's no reason to pretend that Jinyoung isn't one of the most beautiful people you've ever met. It's not like you're going to gain anything from intense denial. You pout and turn your face to the side, only to find Jinyoung staring intently back at you.

"What can I say," dog boy finally breathes out after several moments. "I live to watch how bashful you can get,” he moves a fingertip over your cheek, making an exaggerated sizzling sound. "I imagine you'd have the same reaction when you desperately try not to moan my name. You'd be so wrecked for me."

"You're the one enamored and obsessed with my smell, but I'd be wrecked? Yeah, okay."

He howls out in laughter and you make a note in your head to tease him about it, you're not used to this side of Jinyoung, but you can't say you don't like it. Moments fade into one another and before you realize it, your hand is caved in around his own. Man, this feels good and warm. Has he always been this hot? Once you're sure that you're not going to blurt out something embarrassing, you clear your throat.

"So, uh, what do we do now?"

Jinyoung heaves his shoulders, a ghost of a smile flittering unto his features. "We could continue making out?"

You sit up on the bed, throwing your arms across your chest. "Don't you have like feral werewolf-y urges to, like, do something?"

He shakes his head at you, sitting up as well but wondering where you come up with these things. "Honestly, [y,n], what the fuck have you been reading?"

Pushing forward, you shoot him a sly grin. "I don't know. How about we try testing and breaking my theories?"

"If you kiss me right now, I swear I'd do whatever," he admits.

You oblige, moving your face closer to his and resuming the path of electricity in your veins. This time the kiss is slower, softer and you feel these different things from Jinyoung. Loyalty and compassion. It's highly addictive and completely not what you were expecting from him. But you like it. You like this feeling. It something you really can't control but it's something that you want to explore.

You feel as the dragonflies carve a home in your stomach before dancing up to your neck and breaking out from your mouth. And dog boy grins into your lips. "Probably shouldn't say this right now but, I always thought you looked hella cute when you cursed me out."

Before you can say something snarky as a response, he’s kissing you again, pulling your body flush against his. You try to laugh a little but with his fingers rubbing circles against the sliver of skin exposed by your shirt, your actions turn to dust. But you swear you'll get back at him, one flush on his cheeks at a time.

A/N: woo! i really hope you liked reading this as much i liked writing it and i hope you tell me what you think about it!! thanks for reading :)

↳ masterlist

1K notes · View notes

rachel-amber400 · 8 years ago

Text

The Love For Another

3411 words Pastel dan, punk phil , cursing and no smut Dan was out on a cold winter day on his way to school in the city of London. Dan had is headphones in listening to Melanie Martinez. He was the kind of kid that had only a few friends that accepted him the way he was. Those people of course included Zoe, Louise, and Tyler. The reason for that was because he wears pastel colors all the time, so people thought he was different. As Dan was walking, Zoe came up behind him. "Boo," Zoe said and scared Dan and he dropped his phone. “Zoe, really, did you have to do that?" Dan diligently picked up his new iPhone off the concrete, and found that it now had a crack in the corner of it. “Sorry, Dan but I can't miss the opportunity to do that to you." "Great I just got this phone three days ago and now it has a crack in it. Thanks, Zoe," Dan said sadly as they continued to walk to school. Dan put his phone in his pocket and headphones in his bag. Louise and Tyler eventually joined them on their walk. "So guys I have some news about school I can't wait to tell." Tyler excitingly interjected. Dan was excited to hear this along with everyone else and was hoping it was a new student. They have not had one in a while. The last new student was not the best. His name was Chris, and he bullied Dan every day. "So are you going to tell us or not?" asked Louise in a happy tone. "So you know how we have not had a new student in a while? Well we are getting a new one sometime this week." Tyler said like he was happy about this. “That’s just great.. another person in my life to hate me," Dan said sarcastically. “Come on Dan we all know that Chis is a stupid person," Zoe said right as they walked into school past Chris's locker. Chris walked up to Dan and pushed him against a locker. Dan looked around for help but his friends could not help him this time. "Hey, Danny boy. So your friend Zoe decided to call me stupid. I wonder why? Oh, wait I know why. Maybe it's because I ‘hurt you’ the first day I came here." Chris said to Dan mockingly. Chris punched him in the face, and Dan fell to the ground and started to cry. Someone stopped Chris from making another move on Dan. Chris got what he had coming to him. He got socked in the face by the new kid. "Now run or I will do it again and I am not afraid to get expelled," The new kid said in an evil tone to scare Chris. "You win this time Dan but next time you won't," Chris said scared. The new kid put out his hand to help Dan off the floor, and Zoe came running over to see if Dan was ok. "Are you ok there ‘Danny boy’?" asked this new kid. "Yeah, I am. By the way, my name is Dan, just so you know." "Dan are you ok," Zoe asked anxiously, just to make sure he was. "Yeah, I am fine Zoe. Where are the other two?" "Oh, they went to class." "Ok I will be there soon you should get to class I will be ok," Dan said and gave her a hug and smile. Zoe left off to class and smiled back at Dan "Thanks for the help. What’s your name?" Dan turned as he asked this heroic new kid. "Oh my name is Phil, and you’re welcome for that. Do you think maybe you could show me around, so I know where to go?" Dan was looking at the person who saved him and found himself falling in love with this new Phil. Phil was the exact opposite of Dan. He has a dragon tattoo on his neck, a skull on his right shoulder, and a lip piercing. But how Could Dan not fall in love with his beautiful blue eyes? “Earth to Dan..." Phil waved his hand in front of him. "What? Sure I guess." Dan said nervously as he snapped back to reality. Dan showed Phil around the school. As they finally got to their first class, that apparently they found they shared. "Daniel Howell, why are you late again for the third time this week?" the teacher barked, until she saw Phil, the new kid, behind him and the bruises on his face. Her extreme expression softened slightly. “I am sorry Ms. Lemieux I-" but Dan was cut off from his sentence by Ms. Lemieux. "It's okay Dan just go take your seat, and since the both of you are late you will be doing the project together. What is your name?" she asked Phil as he took a seat in the front of the class. "Oh, my name is Phil Lester," he said as if he was trying not to be the way he was. "Okay, the project is a video project about falling in love." "Oh great, I have to do a project with the guy I like, and with my parents around, what am I going to do about this?” Dan thought to himself. As Dan thought about this to himself, Zoe noticed that Dan was looking at Phil differently than he would Tyler or Chris, or anyone she’d ever seen him look at. Zoe had become determined to find out why. All of the students talked about their project until class was dismissed. Dan and Phil packed up and left the now empty classroom. "So, Dan, I have nothing going on today if you would like to start on the project I could come over," Phil suggested. They walked to their lockers, and Dan sighed. "I don't know Phil... my parents are very religious and don't like it when I have people over. But if it is for school, I guess you could," Dan said. He was scared of what his parents would think of him. Later in the midst of their crazy second class, Zoe was losing her mind, pacing back and forth as she talked to Dan. Phil sat closely on Dan’s right. It occurred to Dan that they shared a lot of classes. "Dan are you insane? Your parents would kill you if Phil came over. You know how they are. Look, there is nothing wrong with Phil, but your parents don't believe that people should be like him. No offense to Phil." Zoe was clearly worried. "We have to get it done some time, and I can't go over. you all know why, but I think I could convince them it's just for the project," Dan said. "I take no offence to that. Most people don't agree with what I look like but this project is important," Phil said confidently. The day went on as normal after that till the last hour of the day when Dan had art class. When he walked in the class, something wasn’t quite right. Normally, Chris would be in here to make the whole class yell and scream awful things in Dan's direction. Today was different because Phil was in his class. The quiet class was a nice change. All the students had their sketchbooks out and drawing in them. Dan couldn’t stop thinking about what his parents would say tonight when they met Phil. Dan looked over at him, who was drawing something from the anime, Death Note. Dan was so worried about what was going to happen. Dan started to draw Phil in his sketchbook. The class ended, and Dan and Phil were the last people in class. "So Dan are you ready for tonight?" Phil asked excitedly. "I think so, but my parents may not like you at first because of your appearance," Dan mumbled. Phil put a hand on Dan's shoulder. "I am sure it will be fine. I have a car we can drive to your place." Dan smiled "Sure! I thought you walked, but taking a car to my place is better than walking." "Okay, then let's go so that we can start some of this tonight," Phil said as they walked out to his car. The car was a black Mustang. The windows had a different variety of stickers on the back; some from different amines, others that Dan did not know of. Dan put his stuff in the back of the car and took out his phone to text Zoe that he would not be walking with her today. Dan and Phil got in the car and Phil started the engine. "So, Dan, what type of music do you listen to? You can hook your phone up and play it." "Really most people don't like Melanie Martinez. Do you mind if I play her album?" Dan was so happy Phil asked him that. "Actually, I have never heard her before, so go ahead and play it." Dan put Cry Baby on, and it played as Phil pulled out of the parking lot and drove to Dan's house. Most of her songs played through the car and Dan sang to all of them. When the song Carousel ended, they arrived at Dan's place. Dan’s house was two stories and bigger than Phil’s place. But that didn’t ever matter to him. It was the last thing he bothered to notice about it. He lives where his dad beats him. The floor plan and interior design was nothing to find pleasant when no one else knew the horror he felt when he walked inside. Dan unlocked the door and they walked in. Phil placed his shoes by the door and walked behind Dan until they got stopped by his mum. "Daniel, is that you dear?" she called from the kitchen. “Yes mum it's me and a friend. We have to work on a school project." his mum saw Phil and got worried about what might happen, but did not say anything. "Who is this, Daniel?" "Mum, this is Phil, the new kid in school, and we have to do a video project for class." "Okay... no nonsense Dan," she glared at him, and Dan knew exactly what she was implying. "Of course mum." Dan walked up the stairs and to his room. Phil followed as they got to his room. Phil noticed that they had some stuff in common. Dan's room had different games like Pokémon, Mario, and many others. The bookshelf he had was filled with different animes like Death Note, Attack on Titans, Black Butler, and even more. He also had a piano in the corner of the room. It looked older than he did, and it probably was. It must have come with the house when they bought it, because it had always sat in that corner. "So what do you think of my room? It probably has more colors than yours does," Dan said jokingly. He almost never let anyone in his room. He felt very insecure and exposed. “At the moment it doesn't, but it will. Dan do you play the piano?" Phil said, gesturing to the piano in the corner. “Yeah, I do. So why don't we get started. I will go get my camera and tripod, and we can work on the script tonight and film hopefully." "Sounds good," Phil got out paper and started to write the beginning of a story. Dan came back with a camera, and sat down and watched Phil write the first part of the story. "So do you want to read this to make sure is make sense? I think that we could to where the two boys are friends and like each other, but don't know how to tell one another. They kiss at the end of the film. What do you think?" Dan was shocked. Phil was an amazing writer, and the fact he finished it in a few minutes baffled him. Although what shocked him the most was Phil’s willingness to do a film like this, with him. "That's a great idea. So where do you want to start first how about this part?" "Sure." They read over their lines, and Dan set up the camera and pressed record as they jumped into the movie. "Dan are you in here? We need to talk," Phil said on the other side of the door. "NO, I don't want you here. You hurt me Phil. I could never forgive you." Dan screamed at the door as Phil walked in. "Dan I need to tell you that I am sorry for what I did." Phil sat down next to Dan who was crying and Dan looked up at him. Dan had to admit, he was also an amazing actor. "Phil, do you really mean that?" "Of course I do, Dan." Dan pulled Phil closer to him. His heart was racing and surprised that Phil couldn’t hear it. He hesitated, and pressed his lips against his. They had forgotten they were even acting. Phil sat there, stunned, he liked it, Dan thought he could tell, but he pulled away and ran out of the room before Dan could say anything. The camera was still on,but Dan got up and turned it off. He went to go look for Phil to make sure he was okay. As Dan walked around, he heard someone crying in the bathroom, and he knew that it was Phil. "What just happened? Why did I like the kiss that I and Dan shared? I don't know who I am anymore." Phil said to himself as the door opened. Dan sat down next to Phil and hugged him. Dan can't believe what he heard Phil just say but Dan felt the same way. They sat like that for a long period of silence, that was broken when Dan spoke up. "Phil are you okay? You can go home if you want.” "Dan I don't want to leave just yet. I want to do something first." Phil’s said while he looked up at Dan. Phil kissed Dan and the feeling they shared was amazing for both of them. As this happened, Dan's mum had walked in, and she saw the kiss. She hurriedly walked away. Dan knew what was going to happen, he knew she was getting his father. Phil sensed it, too, and pulled away. "Dan I better get going." "Okay, I will see you tomorrow at school right," Dan said sadly. "Okay," Phil said as he got up off the floor. Dan and Phil walked to his room and Phil picked up his stuff, and they both walked to the door. Dan watched Phil leave, watched as Phil's car drove away and went to home. "Daniel, come here!" His father snapped. "Yes, Father, I will." His father and him had a long talk about what had happened that night with Phil. They kicked him out of the house. The only place Dan knew he could go was Zoe's house. Dan walked there in no time at all. He knocked at the door with tears in his eyes, and Zoe's mum answered the door. "Oh dear, Dan come on in. What happened?" Zoe's mum was asking so many questions, but all he could do was just cry. As Dan walked into Zoe's house, Zoe ran downstairs to see a crying Dan. Zoe has never seen him like this before. No matter what had happened,Dan has never cried like this before. Dan's face had been tear stained, and his eyes were red, like he had been murdered. Zoe went up and gave Dan a hug as he sat on their couch. "Thank Ms. Sugg for letting me in your house." "You are always welcome here, Dan. Now why’d you come here at this time of night?" "Well you see, there is a new kid at school, and his name is Phil. we are doing a project for class. We started off fine, until we decided to do a scene where the two boys kiss, and we kissed. Phil ran out crying to my bathroom down the hall. Then we kissed for real that time, and my mum saw us and told my father. After that, he kicked me out of their home that is why I am here." Dan said as tears began to form again.” "Oh, you poor thing," Zoe said as he gave him a hug. "Dan, I am so sorry that they did that to you. You can stay here if you would like to, until you to get a place on your own. I understand what you are going through." "You do?" he asked, surprised. "Yes. My friend went through the same thing as you. She had a crush on a girl, and they got together but her parents kicked her out. they are all better now and love each other." "Thank you for letting me stay here." Dan said with a smile. "Zoe, show him to the guest room please." "Sure thing, Mum will do. I am happy you are here with us Dan. So are you and Phil ever going to be a thing? And will you tell everyone at school about the both of you?" Zoe asked in excitement. "I don't know, Zoe, people think I am weird now what will they think then," Dan said exasperated. "I don't know, Dan, but think about it please." "Sure thing, Zoe." After that, they both went to bed. In the morning Dan ate his breakfast and got ready for school. The only problem was his lack of a plan about what he would say to Phil about what had happened last night. As Zoe and Dan walked out the door, Dan saw Phil’s car pull up next to their house. "Hey, you guys want a ride to school?" "Sure, Phil, nice car." She said as she got in the back of his car and Dan got in the front of his car. "So, Dan, you want to put on your music? I liked it." "You did, Phil? Really?" "Wow, I would not think that you like Melanie Martinez." "Well, I do, just play some music please," Phil said as if he was upset at something. Dan put on the music and they did not talk the rest of the way to school. As they arrived at the school, it was crowded and very loud like normal. Suddenly, Phil did not want to get out of the car. Zoe got out first and went to talk to Tyler. "Phil what's wrong," Dan asked worriedly. "Dan, I am okay, just thinking about last night that's all.” Phil said. "Well, why don't we relive that moment, then." Dan kissed Phil in the parking lot, and Phil kissed back. As they pulled apart and got out of the car to go to class, Chris was standing there. He saw what the two did in the car. "Hey, Danny, do you have a boyfriend now? I saw you kiss that new kid, Phil, I think it was." "Why do you care, Chris? it's not your life." Dan pushed Chris away and walked to class. The day went normally, except for the fact that Dan could not stop thinking of Phil. When school got out, Dan just wanted to go home, but remembered his parents wouldn’t let him after what had happened. "Dan, can I ask you something?" Phil said, scared to ask. "Yes, Phil, what is it?" Dan waited to know. "Well, I was wondering if you would like to be my boyfriend. You don't have to, I was just wondering." "Phil you are really asking me to be you boyfriend? If you are, then I would love to be." Dan kissed him. A few years later Dan and Phil were still together living on their own. They have a great job with YouTube and BBC Radio 1. As time went on, Dan and his parents got back together until Dan left for college. He and Phil lived together for 4 years and Dan decided to ask Phil to marry him. Now they have adopted two children; one girl and one boy around the same age. They are all still friends with Zoe, Tyler and Chris, who was sorry for what he did for Dan in high school. Dan and Phil will live in peaceful love forever.

0 notes