#sorry if it's messy I drew this while on a bus and it's been shaking a lot lmao

[niko-ur-local-moron]

gift for @jesse-png -- their fave Bellic boys!!

Little something I doodled out to cheer you up a bit pal :]

[fandom-strumpet]

Game Night Confession- Part 1

 Summary: It’s Game Night at the Salvatore boarding house and after a few drinks and games they start the game 7 Minutes in Heaven. It’s not what you think, the bottle lands on Elena and Y/N.

Pairing: Kai Parker x reader

Word Count: 1,769

It’s Game Night at the Salvatore boarding house, the crew is there, including Rebekah. She had been on her best behavior lately so was ‘allowed’ to come but she in reality she crashed the party and no one had the energy to make her leave. Damon went down to the cellar and brought out one of his bourbon’s and started pouring it into glasses with ice. The night started off with Twister but the more you all drank, the more difficult it became and you all agreed to move onto the next game. Caroline pulled out Cards Against Humanity and finally the game ended when Stefan won with 6 black cards.

 “I know what game to play next!” Rebekah squealed, “7 Minutes in Heaven!”

 Damon groaned and tossed his head back to take a shot but it was obvious he was interested as well. 

Elena spins first, with a hopeful look that it might land on Stefan. Unfortunately, the bottle landed on you. 

“Ooh” Rebekah squirms in excitement. 

You give a small huff. Elena shares the ‘Oh well.’ look with you as you both head to the closet. 

Hollering back you say, “Remember the rules! No vamp hearing to listen in!” 

A chorus of yes’ and agreement sound back. Shutting the heavy oak door with a thud, Elena turns and clicks the little light bulb on. You and Elena both stood awkwardly in silence for a moment. 

Whispering, you ask Elena, “How about we play a different version of the game?” 

“What would that be?” Elena tilted her head and squinted curiously.

 “We both tell each other a deep and dark secret. We’ll be sworn to secrecy-”

 “What happens in the closet, stays in the closet.” Elena finishes with a coy smile. “Alright, I’ll go first,” she takes a deep breath in, “I kissed Katherine.”

 Your jaw drops open and you fail to come up with an immediate response resulting in an awkward silence. 

Elena speaks fast and continues, “Well, I mean, actually I didn’t kiss her. She kissed me just so she could bite my lip and get some blood.” 

“Bu- whu- uh-” You stuttter out.

 “I couldn’t bring myself to tell Stefan, it would be too weird... OKAY! Your turn!” 

“Um well, okaaay.” You shake your head in disbelief of what you had just heard. Letting out a shaky breath you feel butterflies in your stomach and a warm feeling that wasn’t there a moment ago. Its time someone knows anyway. “My deepest, darkest secret is that-” you pause to bite your lip,”I am hopelessly, irrevocably in love with Malachai Parker...” Your heart froze, looking into Elena’s eyes for a response.

 “You are absolutely crazy!” 

“Elena, remember you promised not to tell anyone.” 

“Y/N, I promise I won’t tell anyone. But- really? Kai?!”

 “I know, I know. It’s eating me up inside though. I don’t know what to do.” 

“Tell him.” she stated. 

“What and let everyone know I’m in love with Senor Psychopath?!” you started to raise your voice.

 “Shhhh.” Elena hushed.

 You sighed and then felt a cold wash over you. “Besides, he would never like me back.”

 “Y/N.” Elena grabbed your shoulders and forced your eyes to meet hers. “Just tell him.” 

“ONE MINUTE LADIES!” You could hear Damon snickering. 

You shrug off Elena’s grip, “Guess we better make some noise.” You smiled half-heartedly.

 “Yep.” Elena grinned, her eyes lighting up with mischief. “Ow! My hair!” she yelled and you stifled a laugh. 

You hit your fist against the closet wall in response. “Oooooohhh.” you moan. Elena hits the wall but a little too hard and it sends the coat clothing rod falling. Laughter erupts from the both of you as you fall to the floor in a tangled mess. Stefan opens the closet door and you roll out giggling with messy hair.

“Enjoy your 7 Minutes in Heaven ladies?” Stefan cocked an eyebrow and smiled. 

In the Living Room

The great oak door shut but the girls remained quiet. Getting bored, Damon poured himself another drink. Kai strutted into the living room, shaking himself like a wet dog after walking out in the rain. 

“Really Kai? This is leather.” Caroline rolled her eyes. 

“It’s seen worse Caroline, relax.” Damon scoffed.

“Mmmmm so what do you got to eat?” Kai makes his way to the kitchen rubbing his hands together. He pulls out a bag of pork rinds from under the sink. “Hope you weren’t going to eat these or anything.”

“Nooooo. Go ahead and eat whatever Kai.” Stefan glared. 

“Alright then.” Kai plops himself down onto the couch by Rebekah. “So what game are you guys playing?” 

“7 Minutes in Heaven.” Rebekah winked. 

“Y/N and Elena are in there right now.” Bonnie stated with a chuckle.

 “Now I gotta hear this.”

 “Kai! No!” Caroline yelled. “There’s no vamp hearing in this game.”

“Well I’m not playing am I?” Kai grinned. 

Caroline glared daggers at Kai and then looked to Stefan for help. “He’s got a point Care, he’s not playing so he can technically listen in.” 

“You are unbelievable.” she rolled her eyes and fell backwards into the couch. Bonnie grinned, it was always amusing to see Caroline get worked up over the smaller things.

 “What are they doing?” Damon asked lazily, “It’s too quiet.”

 “They’re doing confessions.” Kai pursed his lips.

 “Kai, you can’t tell us what they’re saying.” 

“Bonnie is right.” Caroline nodded with raised eyebrows. 

“I for one would love to know though Kai.” Damon patted Kai on the back. Kai delivered a devilish smile.

“Elena just confessed something juicy but it isn’t a surprise to me. Now for Y/N...” Kai froze. The color drained from his face upon hearing you say, “I am hopelessly, irrevocably in love with Malachai Parker.” He stood up fast and almost bolted out of the house. The front door slammed shut at his exit. 

“Well he disappeared fast.” Rebekah raised her eyebrows and Damon shrugged, looking back down into his glass. 

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

The next day after classes, you met up with Elena at The Grill. The thud of a backpack makes you look up from your notebook. 

“Hey!” 

“Hey, how’s it going?” Elena smiled and sat down across from you. 

“Oh, you know. It’s going. I’m so glad we could meet up for food and studying though. It was a great idea, thanks Elena.” 

Elena clears her throat and sneaks a glance to the door. “No problem, Y/N. Anything to help a friend.”

“First though- *you giggled* we need to order drinks and food.” 

Elena waved down the new blonde waitress so she could take your order. It didn’t take long for the both of you to decide on what to get. The Grill had the best strawberry lemonades and mozzarella sticks. The door gave it’s usual ding, and it drew your attention out of an age old habit. It was him. Malachai Parker, the most handsome and hot being on the face of the Earth. Your heart skipped a beat involuntarily and Elena didn’t miss it. She looked down into her drink quickly to hide the smirk that appeared on her face. She whirls the straw around in her strawberry lemonade, a drink both of you always got together. It was an all time favorite and the Grill served it the best.

 “I- uh- yeah sorry. What were you saying? I lost focus for a second..” 

She leaned forward to take a sip before starting. “You know, I’ll never understand how you could love Kai. BUT I will admit that he is a better person when he’s around you. He’s not as ‘psycho Kai’.”

 “Elena,” you hissed, “You promised not to say anything to anyone.” 

“And I’m not- I’m only talking about it to you. Don’t worry, I haven’t told anyone about what happened in the closet.” 

You sit back and cross your arms in the motion of fine. You nod your head and motion for her to continue.

 “I can see it in you too, Y/N. How much you love him, how your heart races and your eyes light up. I can’t believe I didn’t see it before but- you and Kai would actually be really cute as a couple.” 

Your heart leapt into your throat when Kai turned slightly to look around and caught your eye. He gave a little smile and wave. Damon turned to see who he was waving to and winked at Elena. 

“Hey Damon! Kai! Want to join us?” Elena yelled and you groaned inwardly as the guys stood up to join you in the booth.

 “How’s it going ladies?” Damon smiled cheesily. 

“Good, me and Y/N were just talking about-”

 “Homework.” you interrupted quickly, unsure if she was going to say something to reveal your secret. Elena gave you a smirk and took another sip of her drink. You looked down to see your half-gone lemonade while they talked about something random. It was so hard to focus when the amazing man you wanted to caress and love and hold tight was sitting merely six inches from you and it felt like he was getting closer? No- that’s not possible, just your imagination. Why do I feel so hot all of a sudden? You grabbed your left wrist under the table out of habit to make yourself stop squirming and try to focus. Kai cast his eyes to you every now and then , looking for your reaction to the funny jokes. He was acting like a normal friend. You could act like a normal friend- right? 

“You know what, Damon and I actually have a thing to go do downtown-” 

“We do?” Elena nudged him hard, “We were supposed to go see some new artwork and stuff. Come on, let’s go!” 

As they slid out of the booth, Elena gave you a wink and a small wave to Kai.

“Sooooo um, hi.” 

“Hey.” His smile was so enchanting it was hard to keep yourself focused on something other than his lips. He turned away from you and started digging into the mozzarella sticks and sauce. You always thought it was so cute and weird how Kai ate. He was something else entirely. You grinned to yourself and started to join him. There was a comfortable silence as you ate, when the sticks were gone he licked his fingers with a pop and you felt your stomach tighten at the sight. Looking down at his drink he muttered, “Irrevocably. That’s a big word.” Then continued to seduce the straw with his tongue until it entered his mouth. @1-800-khaleesii @rome5683 @tawaii

[theimprobabledreamersworld]

40. “Have I ever lied to you?” With Janus and Patton?

I've finally written it! 😄 This one is slightly longer than planned, but I had fun finishing it after a few days of writer's block! I don't know how good it is, but I hope you like it! 💚🖤

General writing taglist: @psychedelicships @jwillowwolf @red-imeanblue @lost-in-thought-20 (If anyone would like to be added to the general taglist, let me know!)

Read it on Ao3!

Have I Ever Lied To You?

Pre-romantic Patton/Janus

Janus stared out of the window, watching the rain hit the glass drop by drop before streaming down and pooling onto the balcony of his apartment. He sighed as he held the hot coffee cup in his hands looking at the steam as it fogged up the glass, he drew a smiley face in the condensation, but it didn’t improve his mood. He hated the rain, primarily because it made his hair all messy. It was also what the weather was like when his best friend Patton left five years ago, and he never heard from him again. It didn’t help that he started developing a crush on him not long before he had to leave. Janus tried to shake that thought out of his mind, he never stopped feeling guilty for not being there for Patton… but there was a good reason. He always clung onto the hope that they would be reunited again, but as every year passed, that hope began to flicker and burn out.

He grimaced as he took a sip of his now cold coffee and walked into the kitchen to pour it into the sink. He boiled the kettle to make a fresh cup; but opened the cupboard and sighed once more as he realised he was now out of coffee. He slumped down in defeat wondering if this day could possibly get any worse. Janus dragged his feet as he slowly grabbed his coat ready to head out. His mind was too full of memories of the past and regrets, needing to go out was the last thing he needed, especially when he wanted to just wallow in his emotions. He took a deep breath and opened the front door with the minimal amount of enthusiasm possible.

As he locked the front door and turned around, he heard a crash, and it took him a few seconds to realise that he was on the floor. Not only that, but he was pinned down under a guy who was roughly his age, to say he was baffled was quite an understatement. Janus had to admit, this guy was pretty cute. His auburn hair sat on top of thick rimmed glasses, he couldn’t help but notice the light covering of freckles on his cheeks and the bright blue polo shirt. He was too busy staring to notice that the guy was frantically trying to talk to him.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going! Are you okay? Are you hurt? I didn’t mean to hurt you; I was too busy watching the rainbow made by the rain!” It took Janus a few seconds to figure out where he had seen this person before, the puzzle pieces slowly came together and when the last one slotted into place, his eyes widened in shock. He knew that he had just ignored everything that he had been asked, but he needed to check before he made a fool out of himself.

“… Patton? Is that you?” He had to hide the smile from his face just in case it wasn’t him. The shock on the other guys face was enough to confirm his suspicions as he smiled with such vigor back at him.

“… Janus?! Wow, what are the odds huh?” He got off of Janus and held out a hand to pull him up. He gratefully took the opportunity and lingered holding his hand for as long as possible. He smiled at Patton before he was nearly knocked back onto the ground again with a forceful but endearing hug, something he’s been longing to experience for so many years now. He sank into the hug and clung onto Patton like he was some kind of cruel apparition taunting him. Patton broke the hug first but kept his hands on Janus’ shoulders and at this point, he honestly didn’t care that he was getting drenched from head to toe. He was right where he wanted to be.

“So, how have you been? It’s been a while, huh?” Janus couldn’t help but notice that Patton was kicking a small stone, refusing to look up at him. He must still remember what happened the day that he left, and he felt his heart crack just a little bit. The only consolation was that he could explain his actions from that day.

“Ehh, yeah. I’m doing good. Pretty busy which isn’t unusual for me. Believe me, I’ve been thinking about seeing you again for the longest time. How are you doing?” He saw that Patton was slowly looking up at him, almost in relief that he hadn’t forgotten about him.

“Yeah… I’m good… Do you really mean that? You’ve been thinking about me?” There was an uncharacteristic glint in Patton’s eye, like he was fighting the urge to either laugh or cry, trying to find a lie in Janus’ genuine truth. He used to lie a lot and hide truths behind sarcasm, but he grew out of that over time.

“I meant every word, Patton. You have no idea how much I’ve missed you… Have I ever lied to you?” He stepped closer to Patton, he knew that question would lead to the thing he both wanted to confront but wanted to run and hide from at the same time. The fact that Patton’s eyes were tearing up and glimmered in the rain showed that he was thinking the exact same thing.

“Only once… The day I had to go, move away with my parents… Where were you? You were the only person I wanted to see before I left, but you were the only person who wasn’t there… I’m sorry. That’s not fair, but you meant so much to me. You still do, and you always will.” That small crack in Janus’ heart was breaking more and more with every word, with every shake in Patton’s voice as the hurt he must have been harboring just poured out into the street and merged with the falling rain. He wrapped Patton up in a hug, and he felt the desperate clasping on Patton’s hands around him. He whispered to him how it was okay, that he was sorry, that he wasn’t going anywhere again. It didn’t take long for the sobs to turn into quiet sniffles and Patton pulled himself out of the warm embrace with a grateful smile on his face.

“I can assure you, Patton. There’s no one that feels worse for what happened that day. I have beaten myself up every single time it rains, the guilt and sadness has consumed me constantly. The thought of never seeing you again made me want to scream and search the world to find you.” He had to bite his lip to stop himself from crying, there were too many tears for what should be a happy reunion.

“Look, I can explain what happened… I had ordered a gift for you, but I had to go into town to get it because it was custom made. Then the bus didn’t turn up and traffic was a nightmare since the rain caused the road flooded. By the time I finally got back to your house… you were long gone.” He could help but think how cute Patton looked again as he started to get excited and bounced on his feet slightly while covering his mouth with his hands.

“You… You were getting me a GIFT?! Oh my goodness, I love that!!” Janus took a deep breath in, he had kept it all of this time, just in case this miracle ever happened. He clasped the small square box before slowly removing it from his bag. He took Patton’s hand gently and then placed the box on his palm delicately.

Patton looked over with a look of surprise on his face. Janus nodded, urging him to open the box. He lifted the lid off as carefully as he could. Patton gasped and Janus had to admit, he forgot what it looked like after all of these years. It was a bracelet combining their two favourite colours. The body of the bracelet was a mix of blues, some light, some dark like the night. Then threads of gold were wrapped around, creating a beautiful combination of the two colours which symbolised their bond. There were three charms that summed them up too. A paw print for Patton, a small snake for Janus, and a heart in between them. He couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his face as he saw how stunned Patton was.

“I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my life… This is gorgeous Janus. I love you! Can you put it on for me?” Janus’ brain was buffering for a second… Patton just said what? Did this mean that he had feelings for him too? He could think about that later, he needed to hide the blush spreading across his face and he delicately took the bracelet and tried to open the clasp. His hands were too wet from the rain, and it kept slipping from his grip. He laughed and smiled when Patton giggled too.

“It’s way too wet out here, how about you come into my place? We can dry off, get some take out, watch some Disney movies, and catch up on everything? I think we have a lot to talk about.” He held his hand out and Patton nodded before taking it. Hopefully, this would be the beginning of a happy ending for both of them. He looked behind him briefly, Patton was stood perfectly in the middle of a fully formed rainbow as the sun broke through the clouds. He took out his phone with lightning speed and snapped a photo while Patton wasn't looking. Maybe rain wasn’t so bad anymore. Janus turned back, and as he unlocked the front door, he couldn’t help himself from whispering under his breath.

“I love you too, Patton.”

[atlas-of-a-human-soul]

Always made to break (S.M.)

Summary: Shawn meets someone who reawakens his soul and makes him question his choices in love. 

Warnings: swearing, slight angst, fluff

Word count: 4k

A/N - I’ve had this in my drafts for a while, so I decided to post it and see how you guys like it, so let me know if you want more.

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''Were you ever going to tell me?“ She practically growled at Shawn as she threw a magazine in his lap, the tone she used scaring him enough to look up at her face, the beautiful features now twisted with rage and disappointment, something he never wanted to see her direct at him.

''I don't unders-'', but then he saw just what she meant, seeing his face attached to Camilla's on the front page of a random gossip magazine. He knew why she was looking at him with such fire in her eyes, and not the kind he expected to see in the bedroom, but the purest form of hatred mixed with pain.

''Not only did you poise as some poor photography student, but you also claimed you're single?! How stupid can I be, right?“ She put her right hand on her hip, using the back of her left one to wipe under her nose although nothing was there but a fathom sensation of coldness he had caused her insides now manifesting on the outside as well. She didn't shed a single tear yet, her anger not allowing her heartbreak to show.

It is better to hate him for his lies than to feel sorry for herself, she decided.

''I didn't want to...“ Shawn trailed off, unable to find the words. He, a man of many words, a person who had always managed to put his emotions in the most eloquent of ways had found himself speechless at a time he needed his words the most.

''Didn't want what? To tell me you're rich and famous? That you're dating a star? Huh?!“ She huffed, her eyes burning him with the intensity of the unrestrained pit of bursting flames within.

''What was this to you? Huh? A joke? Did it make you feel good to make me the fool?!“ She shouted, the raw emotion ripping her throat like a thousand razorblades.

Bowing his head down, Shawn swallows thickly, his eyes filling with tears he knew would only anger her more in this moment. He doesn't get to cry over breaking her heart, he just doesn't.

At the beginning

It was supposed to be a calm, ordinary Monday morning for Shawn. After months on the road, it was nice to be back home for a short break from the stage and screaming fans, just him and his earplugs and a good cup of coffee. It was supposed to be a regular, lonesome morning to start the day off right, but things never really work out the way we want them to.

Whether he meant to sit in that particular café, in that particular chair, with that particular song playing as he lazily glanced around before taking the first sip of his coffee, Shawn had started a chain of events that would lead him into a world of trouble, yet unimaginable love and heartache.

In that lazy glance, Shawn had managed to catch a young girl's eye, his curls falling over his eyes obscuring his vision. She had merely smiled at him, so sweetly, so shyly, enough for Shawn to return the gesture. Her eyes fell back on her phone and he assumed she was likely sending a message to all her friends about seeing THE Shawn Mendes, probably posting a sneakily taken photo of him in his moment of supposed tranquility as well.

It's not as if he's not used to it, but Shawn really hoped he'd have this morning to himself, a moment to put his thoughts in proper order and a second to breathe. He's been having his picture taken every day, multiple times by fans and paparazzi, especially since he started the whole agreement with Camila and her team.

Shawn was tired of it, drained, so when he hoped for a moment of his own and lost it? He truly didn't feel at ease anymore.

He looked back at the girl once more, angrily with eyes narrowed. She seemed oblivious to his newfound outlet as she kept scrolling on her phone. She was beautiful, Shawn couldn't deny that. In fact, it's why he looked her way in the first place – it's why he sat in this particular café, outside on such a cold morning to have his coffee, all because she caught his eye as he was passing the street. However, whatever drew him in had now pushed him away as he scoffed under his breath, shaking his head.

That's when she looked up from her phone and trained her eyes on him again, a confused look passing her features as she stood slowly, setting herself on a path toward him.

Rolling his eyes, Shawn reminded himself to be nice for his image is kindness and never random rage outbursts on young girls who want a photo with him. He drew in a short, quick breath of fresh air before he looked up at her when she stopped a few feet away from him, prepared to fake it if need be.

"I’m really not in the mood.” Shawn says before he can stop himself, mentally face palming when he sees the girl’s eyebrows furrow, her bottom lip sinking between her teeth as she cleared her throat.

“I wanted to ask if you needed something aside from the coffee considering you’ve been looking at me this whole time. I just assumed you were annoyed because my colleague hasn’t been out in a while. I’m sorry for making the wrong assumption and bothering you.” She wasn’t harsh or rude, making Shawn feel even guiltier as he paled. Finally realizing she’s the waitress, Shawn’s paleness is quickly replaced with a crimson shade that he could never truly hide.

The girl didn’t get a chance to walk away as he stood up abruptly, knocking the table up in the process with his thighs, some of his coffee spilling over.

“No, no, no. I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to be so rude, I just…I do want something.” Shawn exclaimed, hoping he can dig himself out of this deep hole he managed to dig for himself in a matter of seconds. “A bagel! And a brownie, please?” Shawn gave her an awkward smile, running his hand through his messy curls as she studies him with care, unsure if she should say something about his odd behavior or just take it like she usually does.

There are worse customers than him, she thinks.

“Sure.” She sighs, placing her phone on his table before whipping out a small notepad to write his order down, walking away right after.

Sitting down, Shawn sighed heavily at his stupidity, chuckling at himself. Rubbing his forehead to soothe an oncoming headache, he opens his eyes only to find her phone is still on the table, unlocked at that!

He stared at the gadget with great interest, wondering if he had assumed more than one thing wrong and if he had to change his opinion of this girl entirely. He didn’t want to take the phone and search it, but what’s the harm in peering over his cup to see what app she’s got open, right?

“Most common complications of a bowl resection?” Shawn reads under his breath, his eyebrows knitted together as he stares at the words that quite frankly sound like they came from a Grey’s anatomy episode.

“What are you doing?” A sweet voice startles him into a small yelp, the girl chuckling at this tall hunk who seems to be so clumsy and presumptuous that she can’t quite figure him out yet.

“Oh, I…Uh…I’m a simple guy, really. I see a phone screen and I have to sneak a peek, except I can’t understand a damn thing written on there.” Shawn rubbed the back of his neck nervously, sure as hell that his face is tomato red by now. He hates tomatoes just as much as he hates his treacherous cheeks for betraying every emotion he’s ever had.

Giggling, she places his order on the table, pushing back a strand of hair behind her right ear. She takes her phone swiftly, pocketing it in a single move.

“Yeah, I’ve got an exam to prepare for. Been working the night shift! Lucky me!” She exclaims sarcastically, her lips pressed together before she places the bill on his table too, turning around to go.

She isn’t even wearing a uniform, Shawn realizes, watching her as she takes her bag and begins to pack her things from the table she was sat at before. She took his order even after her shift ended. Biting down on his bottom lip, Shawn could sense a war is brewing between his head and heart, each arguing why he should or should not go after her.

Shawn’s always been a heart guy, deciding to go ahead and listen to it once again.

Jumping to his feet, Shawn moves toward her on instinct, not quite ready for her to go. He’s got too much accumulated guilt over judging her and assuming things about her that he was clearly wrong about and while she didn’t know it, he still wanted to make amends. Shawn needed to do something nice for the girl who had been kind enough not to cuss him out for being inexcusably rude to her.

“Where are you going?" He asks before he could stop himself. His head cocked to the side, his eyes shifting from the ground to the unknown girl. He barely knew her, hell, Shawn didn’t even know her name, but his heart stopped and he could barely breathe when she decided to leave.

She looked up in wonder, observing him with slight worry in her eyes, another thing he found endearing.

“I have that exam in an hour. Gotta get to my bus on time.” She shrugged, giving him a tiny wave as a means to say goodbye.

Shawn needed more time with her. He needed to talk to her, to get to know her, to at least find out her name. For some reason he couldn’t even fathom, Shawn felt drawn to this stranger, this girl who didn’t seem to know or give a damn about who he is. She is the type of people he surrounds himself with – people who are grounded and will keep him human. He wouldn’t admit to it, but she was also a beauty he couldn’t part with for reasons not of the mind, but of the heart. He knew it wouldn’t be a smart idea to get involved with someone now, not when he was under contract to be with someone else and so publicly.

However, when she made a move to leave, Shawn had to react before his heart completely stopped.

"I'm guessing you need a ride?" His voice was soft-spoken and mellow, sending a warm glow throughout Y/N’s body.

"Taking the bus won’t kill me, but thanks for the offer." Y/N smiled, waving at the café’ window. Shawn grabbed a twenty and left it on his table quickly, pointing at it in hopes of someone coming out to take the money for he had no time to pay for it right now. Shawn had decided to get in his car and chase after the girl who had started her walk to the nearest bus station, her determined walk noticeable and distinctive.

“You said you’ve been working all night, right?” He talked loudly, needing her to hear him, as if she could miss a car like his slowing down beside her or the doe-eyed guy nearly shouting at her through his open window.

“Yeah. So?” She stops, crossing her arms over her chest, uncertainty in her eyes. She looked at Shawn with such confusing emotion that he could hardly breathe when he allowed himself the luxury of staring into her eyes. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think she knew him for years, that they have history, that they’ve met in a previous life. The look in her eyes and the feeling he’d get in his heart when he’d meet her gaze? It felt like more than two strangers talking.

“Don’t want to fall asleep on the bus and miss your stop, now do ya?” Shawn tried, unsure how to convince her to let him drive her.

“I’d also prefer not to be killed by the seemingly kind stranger who offered me a ride.” She cocked an eyebrow, starting to walk again which forced Shawn to press down on the gas pedal lightly.

“My name’s Shawn and I promise I’m not a killer, just a big supporter of education who has nothing better to do than help a girl who looks like she could use a kind gesture after a hard night.”

Y/N stops again, rolling her eyes at the sky before letting out a deep breath she didn’t know she was holding. Was it wise to get into a car of a man she knew for less than an hour? A handsome stranger that could easily turn out to be a Ted Bundy she found herself attracted to?

Definitely not wise, she thought as she opened the passenger door and sat inside.

"Cute name." she smiled shyly.

“I’m Y/N.” She tells him, putting on the seatbelt before looking into his whiskey brown eyes.

“Your name is cuter.” Shawn’s crooked smile made her heart flip. The wind gently brushed his curls as he kept his window open, the breeze grazing his face, almost soothingly.

This is what he needed though, some adventure. Some risk. Some danger. Giving a ride to a girl he met didn’t constitute as adventure, risk or danger, but being seen doing so? Definitely.

She types in the location in his GPS, leaning back in her seat as the radio fills the silence. Nearly choking on his own saliva, Shawn changed the song he had recognized just by the first few beats, before Senorita could blast through the speakers.

“So, uh…what kind of music do you like?” Shawn asked awkwardly, feeling her gaze upon him not a second later. It’s as if being set on fire, but not in the way it hurts the skin, rather puts the soul on a path worth taking.

“Classical mostly. Old rock music too.” She responds, receiving a hum from Shawn in response. He relaxed visibly, knowing there’s a much lesser chance that she’d know he’s Shawn Mendes if he’s not what she usually listens to.

“You seem like a pop-rock kind of a guy.” She assumed, lifting her left eyebrow quizzically, waiting for him to agree or deny.

Shawn couldn’t hold himself back from smiling widely, nodding before sparing her a quick glance. “Nice guess.” He adds, noticing her cheeks redden, not nearly as bad as his, but enough to know she’s not indifferent.

“So, you’re a med student or a method actor?” Shawn chuckled, catching her playfully rolling her eyes at him and his stomach flipped at the gesture. She looked cute even annoyed with him and he knew he’d love to annoy her for a really long time if she’d let him.

“First one would be right!” She exclaimed, pressing her lips together as she turned to the side, looking out the window instead of him.

“That’s pretty impressive! Beauty and brains? It’s every man’s dream.” Shawn told her honestly, at least from his perspective. He had already found himself on her hook, wanting more and more all the while knowing he’ll soon have to leave her at the university and in less than a month, he’d leave the continent as well.

“You might be the only guy thinking that. It feels the day I started med school, I signed some invisible contract where I was doomed to be lonely and friendless. I never have time for friends or relationships. When I’m not in class, I’m working or studying. If I do have free time, I’m usually exhausted to the point of just curling up and watching Netflix. Sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it.” She bit her lip, eyes everywhere but on Shawn.

She didn’t know why she told him this, something she’d been carrying around on her shoulders for so long. She barely knows him, yet Shawn just oozes good vibes and trustworthiness that she couldn’t help herself. It’s been a while since she had someone to be genuine with, so what’s the harm in oversharing with a stranger she’ll likely never see again?

“If you’re passionate about something, it will often demand you abandon all else. There will be times where you’ll wonder why you ever did it, why you’ve made such a decision as if you didn’t know it would be like this…you did, I know you were aware it would be hard and let me tell you, all the good things in life are hard and demand sacrifice and once you’ve got it, you’ll be reminded just why you chose it. Something happens and you’re reminded and you’ll be back in the right mindset.” Shawn tightens his hold on the steering wheel, aware he’s telling himself the same.

He’s lost the passion he used to have for music in the circus his team imposed on him and now he’s here, in the car with a girl he just met yet felt so incredibly connected to in comparison to the girl he’s supposedly dating that it was hard not to feel like life turned on him.

When he started writing music and playing it live, Shawn never realized how fake the public persona he’d have to create would be. He always thought musicians had free reign to be who they are, to enjoy life, but he’s received a cold shower of pure facts in the past year and he’s still struggling to come to terms with it.

“I really hope so.” She smiled, reaching out for his hand. She laid her palm gently on the back of Shawn’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze before removing it quickly.

“I’m not gonna lie, I’m kind of bummed we’re already here.” Shawn sighed as he parked, looking over at the girl he wanted to stay more than ever. She wasn’t a stranger anymore, not even close. In his world, the rule states you’re no longer strangers if you’ve:

A) gotten drunk together

or

B) had a heart to heart.

“Bet you say that to all the strangers you give a lift to.” Her lips pulled to the left into a crooked smile, one Shawn wanted to make wider, brighter.

“Just ones I really like.” Shawn countered, smiling as well. It’s hard to resist a smile when she’s got her angelic lips spreading into the smile he wanted to see.

“You like me, eh?” She teased, coyly lifting an eyebrow as she lets her lips pucker.

“Never denied it.” Shawn raised his hands in a mock surrender, chuckling.

Then he moves closer with those eyes that look so deeply into her own, as if he could see who she is underneath all the layers she’s created to protect herself from the hurt. It’s like he sees her soul, the real Y/N and never in her life had she felt seen like she did with Shawn. He made her feel like she’s the only girl in the world and she knew then she’d never find that gaze in any other man’s eyes, never such intensity, raw emotion and understanding.

“As long as we’re clear on that.” She smirked, moving away slightly, not ready for what his eyes were telling her.

“Are you feeling better about the exam now? About everything? Because I meant what I said. You’ll be okay, even if it feels otherwise.” Shawn decided to diffuse the situation, the tension growing too fast for her to be comfortable with it, he could tell.

“About the fact that I’m not sure if I’ll ever find love or be the girl a guy would go to the ends of the world for?” She shrugged, chuckling dryly.

It’s much easier to make fun of what bothers her than face it head on. She’s been feeling so lost for such a long time that her coping mechanisms weren’t quite something most people are used to. But Shawn? He doesn’t even blink at her darkness. He doesn’t look away or shows he’s tired of her already. He doesn’t push her away for being so gloomy, he’s doing the opposite. He listens as if her words are golden, some elixir he's been waiting all his days to hear.

From what he says next she can tell he is thinking so deeply, already with a strategy that's several moves ahead of her. And in his words is a kindness, a concern that is so quick that, for him, it is natural. This attentiveness is a part of who he is and that is the most attractive feature Y/N’s ever seen in a man.

“You are though. I’ve known you for an hour and I’m already thinking just how badly I want to take you out and shower you with affection. You’re so beautiful, so raw, so fucking oblivious to your qualities that it makes me both angry and stubbornly certain that I want to change your view of yourself.” Shawn takes her hand in his, clasping it between his palms as his left hand, the one with a swallow tattoo, closes over hers. A tattoo like that would be hard to forget.

“I’ve found out that you’re intelligent, hardworking, ambitious, funny in a nonconventional way, incredibly brave for setting out on this journey, extremely good and devoted to helping humanity one person at a time, caring and you think of others even when you don’t have to. You were kind to me when I wasn’t to you, honest and open with your heart and mind…And that’s all within an hour of knowing you. And I desperately want more as creepy as it may sound.” Shawn’s words have made her eyes gloss over and she couldn’t stop herself from chuckling too.

When a woman’s sure she’s destined to be alone and that her perfect man isn’t real and then finds him when she’s given up on the notion – it’s a shock to the body. His smile alone burnishes her soul into a beauty it could never have achieved on its own. Before they met, both Shawn and Y/N were one, now they’re each a half, yet somehow so much more than they ever were before.

“I’m really glad I met you, Shawn. It’s truly an honor.” She managed to say before she leaned in so swiftly he had no chance to even move. Her lips brushed his for no longer than a moment, a single breath yet long enough to make him crave more, so much more. Just as quickly as they warmed his heart, her lips were gone and so was she.

He watched her walk away, her head bent as she stared at her shoes in thought, his heart slamming against his ribcage helplessly. He’d have ran after her, but he couldn’t afford some of the students recognizing him and snapping a photo. He couldn’t risk the world knowing he was living a lie, dating Camila on paper but already in love with a woman he was destined to fail in the long run.

Shawn should have let Y/N become a sweet memory he’d return to when the nights became too cold, too lonely to brave on his own. He should have let it be a fantasy, but he couldn’t. Whether he wanted it or not, Shawn was drawn to the same café the very next morning, hoping to run into the medical student who had captivated him.

[oh-for-fic-sake]

If They Get Married I'd Be Your Uncle

Masterlist

Warnings: swearing, mentions of sex, flirting, Bruce is frustrated

A/n:So been in a dc mood today and couldn’t get this out of my head i really hope you enjoy it xx

Bruce meets you when you both get called into the school and instantly wants you to himself.

If They Get Married I'd Be Your Uncle.

You grumbled as you walked up to the pretentious school pissed that it wasn't near any bus routes, cos these type of people don't use that sort of thing. The walk was long and arduous especially after the 10 hour shift you just finished cos some stupid little twat decided he didn't feel like coming in today and called in 'sick' at the last minute even tho you heard his giggling girlfriend in the back ground. Sighing you pulled out your hair tie slapping it up into a neater messy bun as you made your way into the school reception stopping ,you raised an eyebrow at the receptionist as she gave you a side glance pretending not to notice you. You looked up to the ceiling praying for some restraint because you'd had just about as much as you could take today and didn't need the snobby attitude of these people. After a few moments you looked at her.

"Excuse me I'm here to see Mr Koleman I'm running a bit late so could you sign me in?" you said as calm as possible she rolled her eyes.

"Mr Kolman doesnt take personal meetings on the school grounds" she said snidely dismissing you , you growled at the implication.

"I'm Jack Cookes sister you phoned me earlier?"

"oh? you have an appointment?" she said. you grit your teeth.

"Trust me if I didnt I wouldnt be here" she gave you the once over then reached a perfectly manicured hand beside her screen lifiting a clip board

" and your Mrs?" you shook your head

"Miss Cooke with an e" a chuckle and whispers rippled through the office as she checked you in and handing you a visitors pass. You snatched it and made your way down to the hall to a mini reception outside the principles office. As you opened the door you spotted your little brother supporting a bloody nose ,cut cheek and eyebrow. Ignoring everyone you ran across the room stopping before him and his best friend.

"Oh for fuck sake Jack, here let me look" you said tilting his face this way and that you looked beside him swivling on your feet pulling the boys face up.

"Damien are you ok- seriously you to?" you cut yourself off seeing a dark bruise on the boys jaw you tutted rummaging through your bag pulling out a pack of ibuprofen and small bottle of water passing it to them both.

"here take these" stopping as the principles secretary snapped at you.

"Miss! you cannot give medication to other student's god knows what they are!!" you rolled your eyes giving the sleeve of tablets to Jack who then popped out two and gave them to Damien before taking his own.

"Happy?" you quipped at her with an innocent smile then turned to Jack

"Jack please please tell me you still have all your teeth" he smiled showing a full set then looked at Damien who copied. You sighed in relief smoothing both boys hairs then placed a kiss on each of their heads. You continued coddling them unaware of the man behind you watching shocked as damien sat still letting you fuss over him. Bruce didnt know you from adam but damien apparently did

"Was it them again? I told you if your gonna retaliate keep it off campus!" you said kneeling in front of them hand on either boys knee.

"We didn't start it." your brother stated and you believed him , he and Damien get themselves into trouble I mean there a couple of teenage boys there bound to act up but he doesn't just 'verbally disrespect people and attack other students' as the teacher on the phone had put it.

"Ok what happened?" you asked they both looked down Damien spoke up first

"They started calling us names again, kyle tripped and blamed Jack for it getting him told off so i called Kyle out on it then they started calling us names again we told Mrs Hatt and she laughed saying sticks and stones" . Jack continued

"So I called her a drunk fat bitch who was at best a fucking baby sitter, kyle slammed my head into the desk for it cos he's a little ass lick." you sighed as Damien took over

"SoIi punched kyle in the face knocking him on his ass and Clarence hit me and Jack headbutted him then we were pulled apart"

"yeah were did you learn to punch like that? he went down like a sack of shit" Jack asked laughing damien joined him laughing you deadpanned as they high five'd one another.

"Ok guys thats neither here nor there the point is your teacher sat back and watched?" they nodded there teacher seemed to have a problem with your brother due to your social class, he'd been accepted as part of a new law that all private schools must accept a certain number of full scholarship students to give everyone 'an equal opportunity' you'd been complaining to the school about the bullying and the teachers attitude but nothing has been one it seems.

"So you didn't hit them first?" you asked Damien shook his head at you. you believed them they were good kids.

"Good but you know fighting isn't the answer right?" they shook their heads you stood up fully taking a seat beside them.

"Damien thank you for helping him and Jack fuck sake don't you know headbutting hurts you more than the other guy. I'm sorry this is still happening guys but I'm gonna take care of it ok? trust me?" they both nodded at you still looking a little sorry for themselves you swung around in your seat only now seeing Bruce sitting opposite you.

"Bruce Wayne, you must be Jacks sister Y/n was it?" you nodded as his hand devoured your in a hand shake.

"Yep that's me. sorry your boy got dragged into this" he chuckled waving it off

"He will always find trouble at least this time its for sticking up for his friend, im glad to finally have a face to put to the name they talk about you alot" you nodded at that couldn't help your breathing hitch slightly at his smile his eyes seemed to burn into you analyzing you. You flushed slightly under his gaze

"Good things i hope" he nodded at you licking his bottom lip damien sighed you loked away before smirking at Jack.

"You really called her a drunk fat bitch?" he laughed proud of himself

"Yeah, sticks and stone and all that thought id test it" you laughed out loud

"To quick for them huh? I see where your going with it tho smart ass" he smiled sheepishly

"Well it worked for you, had to give you a leg to stand on" you laughed high fiving him . Bruce flinched as the display made you look your age. your relationship with your brother was a strange one. One moment you had to be the 'politically correct parent' the next you could return to being his 'cool older sister', there was 12 years between you but it didn't bother either of you , it wasn't that long ago that you were in school so you understood him. You struck up a conversation with the two boys, Damien had been the only one in the school to get along with Jack and you were thankful that they found each other two peas in a pod and he seemed to be coming round constantly it hadn't taken long before you started mothering him to. They were always together at your house or the manor but youd never met bruce jntill today sure damien had spoke about him, convinced that the two of you would hit it off, you just laughed him off saying it was wishfull thinking, but you couldnt help but wonder as you sat across from the handsom man well aware of his eyes watching your every move. Bruce watched fascinated as you seemed to be on the same level as the boys , if he was honest he was happy to see Damien relaxed around someone. Damien constaly gushed about you to him and he could see why as his eye scanned you up and down taking everything in , you was certainly beautiful petite and slightly heavy set you had a young carefree air about you that still held a nurturing aspect , probably what drew damien to you the boy had never had a motherly type of women around him, hell even he felt drawn to you in more ways then one, he noted as he felt,his blood rush south. It had been a while since any woman had coaxed such a strong reaction from him. He'd never been one for the young domestic type but there was something in him that wanted you. He tried reasoning that it was because of the way you had coddled his son, or maybe it was that he missed that motherly affection himself, but no there was something more then that a deep atraction pulling at him.He could see why Damien had taken a shine to you he'd be lying if he said he hasn't already been thinking of a reason to meet up with you outside of school. It was rare that someone caught him by surprise and you had defiantly caught him by surprise. Clearing his throat he re-position himself on his seat as his boxers became tighter embarrassed and admittedly a bit confused as watching you mother the two teens had begun to arouse him. You looked over to him with concern.

"Are you ok Mr Wayne?" he inwardly groaned at the name and way you looked at him so innocently ,no idea what you were doing .fuck. He forced a charming smile

"Yes just wish they'd hurry up." you sighed pouting slightly

"It seems a bit stupid calling this an emergency then making us wait this long. twats." you snipped crossing your arms across your chest huffing he chuckled hearing the barely held back irritation, imagining just how bratty you could be, and exactly how he could deal with said bratty behaviour a shiver ran down his spine, he sucked through his teeth as his cock twitched at the thought his mind racing to other tempting scenarios of you and him, shaking his head he had to snap himself out of it. The door opened and you were both called in. He watched wide eyed as you rose your demeanor changed completely, gone was a fun loving motherly young woman and there stood a less than impressed mama bear under 5ft tall but walked like a giant. He blinked and staggered in behind you thankful that he opted for a longer blazer that helped cover his 'situation' once in the office you set down in front of Mr Koleman the principle a stout balding man that was king of his own little castle and like to let everyone know it.

Mr Koleman looked at you with distaste then smiled shaking hands with Bruce.

"Ah Mr Wayne good to see you again tho I hoped it was on better terms. Miss Cooke I'm glad you could come down today I wasn't sure you'd make it this time." he said condescendingly you smirked putting on your polite 'adult' voice.

"well I've been trying to get an appointment with you about these issues that I'm sure your fully aware of, however you seem fully booked so I'm glad I finally have the opportunity to straighten a few thing out" he grimaced as he took a seat behind the desk.

" Yes well I am a very busy man." he said

"Yes I noticed that when the receptionist mistook me for a personal visitor." you hear Bruce cough covering a laugh as the principle opened and closed his mouth speechless.

"Any way what was it you wanted to discuss Mr Koleman?" he scowled not used to being shut down by a young women. He leaned forward shuffling papers

"yes well we've been having problems with Jack for a few months as your aware-"

"Yes I'm aware that he is being targeted by his teacher and bullied by other students in the class which is being over looked and in some instances encouraged by the staff at this school. but go on." you interupted him staring at him unblinkingly Bruce gapped before collecting himself sitting back to watch the show the distinct feeling that you were going to rip this man a new arsehole.

"Uh-oh i was not aware of that"

"do not lie to me" you growled 'and here we go' Bruce thought he'd been with enough women to know that all hell was going to break loose as the quiet sweetheart form out side became a little spitfire in the office and couldn't help the a quick fantasy of you being this fiesty for him in his office. You pulled out a small red diary from your bag turning to dates in it.

"On the 4th of March I phoned the school and spoke to a Mrs Hatt to discuss cases of bullying she said that it was being taken care of and that I had no reason to worry. March the 12th Jack came home with bruises on his back caused by the same students they had tied knots in there ties and whiped him with them while getting changed for p.e, I had raised concerns about it nothing was done. I phoned again and once again was fobbed off by Mrs Hatt that there was nothing happening, then Jack comemhome with a sprained wrist, then it was bruised stomach, then a cut forhead and a brokennfinger from them smashing it in a door etcetera these incidents continued and I continued to report them and it was always the same names that popped up, the same three boys. I'd had enough on May 21st I phoned and asked to speak to you instead I got through to a Mrs Hamsten? the vice principle?" you watched as his face became paler and paler as you spoke he nodded. Bruced leant back eyes blown finding himself getting hotter as he watched you tear down the man infront of you.

"Yes and she said that the boys had been put into detention for it which turned out to be a lie another student confirmed that nothing had been done. I then put my issue in writing, I wrote a letter sent by recorded post to you about the issue and received a reply, sighed by you, that you have a no tolorence policy and would look into it, nothing has been done and now you have the audacity to call me up and have me come in here because he finally had enough and stuck up for himself because this little shit split his face open on a desk whilst the teacher watched? tell me Mr Koleman do you still want to pretend you dont know what I'm talking about because I've recored all the calls I've made about this." you tore into him as he shrunk further and further into his seat not prepared for you to come at him so direct. Bruce didnt know what the fuck happened to the sweet little thing he saw outside but what he did know was that was one of the sexist things he'd seen as you asserted yourself beautifully not giving the man time to respond. If it wasn't for Mr Koleman sitting behind the desk he'd already have you spread out on it underneath him. 'Another time'he thought to himself he licked his lips tugging at his trousers again trying to ease the ache in his cock as it strained against its confines.

"Ah yes well, now that I think about it I do remeber a letter" he stumbled over his words you nodded your head

"Yes I'm sure you do. Today was the inevitale blow up." He collected himself looking at Bruce for some sort of back up instead the billionaire scowled at him.

"Be that as it may there is no excuse for calling a teacher a drunk fat bitch." you nodded

"I agree how ever it was for science. Your member of staff who has neglected her duty to keeping my brother safe on school grounds ,has brushed off his bullying useing 'stick and stones' so he decied to test that theory by calling her a drunk fat bitch, turns out names do hurt and caused her to become agitated that she allowed him to have his face smashed into a desk by another student cutting open his eyebrow, cheek and bloody his nose. I dont think she should be able to teach if she cant practice what she preaches and certainly shouldnt be left incharge of children if she is that unstable that she would allow an attack to happen because her feeling were hurt."

"yes well he dragged Mr Waynes son into this-"

"Damien and Jack are friends Damien saw Kyle attack Jack and defended him which is more I can say for the staff at this school. I'm warning you Mr Koleman sort it out before I go to the press. How do you think that would look? when your school board find out that Mr Wanyes son was injured defending his friend when the teacher didn't lift a fucking finger. You wanna go there? cos I fucking will I've had enough." he sat up straighter alarmed, Bruce moaned deep in his chest but watching you was really doing it for him he didnt know why or care in all honesty he just wanted more of you.

"No, no theres no need for that. We can sort this out between us no need for the governors or press. Mr Wayne is there anything you'd like to add." he said trying hard to wrap up this meeting. You looked at Bruce who frankly you forgot was even there he shook his head looking strange, shifting in his chair uncomfortably.

"I think Miss Cooke summed everything up wounderfully, and she has my full support sort out these kids, I know that they have been causing Damien problems name calling getting him in trouble such and he has said the teacher dosn't do anything about it. I wont stand for it any more , if its not sorted out by the end of the week I will bring Miss Cooke with me and we will speak to the school bored in person." You let out a breath you didnt know you was holding relief flooded you as he said this slightly worried that he'd throw you under the bus. He locked eyes with you his pupils were blown wide and he was breathing heavy he winked subtly, you flushed looking back to the man behind the desk as he cleared his throat.

"Right well I will see to it personally and it will be sorted by the end of the week, you both seem to have concerns with Jack and Damien's teacher so as of tomorrow I will have them moved into another class whilst I investigate. I will phone you both up to check in with the boys I'm terribly sorry that it has been left this long." he stood motioning for you both to do the same ending with.

"The boys can leave early today while I deal with this." Bruce opened the door letting you through growling as the principle made a point to oogle your ass as you left, quickly standing between you blocking his veiw of you he glared at the fat prick his message was clear. That hot little spitfire is mine so back off. He stared down at him chest puffed out standing taller and broarder intimidating the little weasel until he looked away. Bruce smirked then left the office slamming the door behind him finding you explaining to the boys what was happening, joining you as they stood up getting there bags .

"you boys go out and wait by the car while we sign out at the front." Bruce instructed they nodded running ahead to the school enterance.

"The car?" you asked looked up at him shyly

"Yes i will give you both a lift" he said leaving no room for argument. You thanked him then spoke quietly looking down trying not to freak out as he stood closer then you thought was neccasary.

"Thank you for sticking up for me in there, I dont usually get like that but you know I get a bit protective." he chuckled at you showing off a brilliant smile

"Its no problem, to be honest I found the whole mama bear thing very sexy your lucky we we'rnt alone" he said winking you blushed

"Wh-what? sh-shut up" you squeeked out he shook his head at you as he put an arm out over you holding the doors to main reception you thanked him queitly skipping through feeling small catching yourself breathing deeper to smell more of his fresh scented cologne.

"No I'm serious any where else and well" he wiggled his brows at you making you giggle

"and the way you are with damien?ive never seen him like that" he asked trailing off

"Yes well he is a sweet kid, he comes over quiet a bit as you know Alfred drops him off and the boys go off doing their thing, just sort of started to mother him a bit sorry" he smirked at you

"Well if I'd known how stunning you were it'd be me dropping him off. And dont apologize I'm not mad just a bit jealous. Tho not for long" he said handing his pass to the snooty receptionist who gave him bedroom eyes before glaring at you for keeping his attention.

"J-jealous? of Damien why?" you stuttered then bit your lip blushing. He groaned the site of it as he throbbed agin nearly cumming as his cock rubbed harshly agains the soft cotton of his boxers, he just couldnt control it. oh he was definatly gonna have you for himself, somehow you turned him into a horny teenager all over again.

"Well he got to have all your attention earlier, hurts a mans pride when his son can capture a beautiful woman's attention and he cant." you looked away from him giving your pass to the secatary who snatched it with a snarl.

"Im hoping you'd show some mercy and come out for lunch with me?" you gasped snapping your gaze at him.

"Wh-what you mean to talk about the school?"

"No as in a date" he explained you froze feeling butterflies in your tummy looking at the gorgeous man.

"Date? now? like right now?" he nodded smirking thoroughly enjoying you being so flustered.

"yes now I dont have anything else planned for today." you gulped when he gave you a heated look you felt like a meal taking a step back

" I'd love to but I have to clean up Jack and-." you began your excuse only for him to cut you short.

"Nonsense he can come to the manor and spend the day with Damien, Alfred is a good nurse he will patch them up." you blinked trying to think of another reason as he stood staring you down at you waiting to for to decide feeling like a deer in the head lights you realized this alpha of a man wasn't going to give you much of a choice.

"O-ok if your sure alfred wouldn't mind watching him." you nodded shyly Bruce gave a triumphant smirk and threw an arm across your shoulders tucking you against him walking to the main doors.

"Alfred wont mind watching the boys." you both walked outside to the boys Damien sighed at his dad before Jack spoke up.

"Told you he was looking at her ass"

"JACK! He was not!" you screeched at him damien laughed and bruce unlocked the range rover

"I thought I was being subtle about it" you gaped at him speechless as he opened the passenger door the boys gagged getting in the back. You got in the car pouting to yourselfand Bruce climbed in.

"Fucking hell I've never seen her speechless, how'd you do that?" Jack said Damien scoffed

"Dad just keep your boner in your pants until were out of the way."

"Yer shes my sister dont need to see her sucking face." You blushed trying to shush the boys

"DAMIEN! He does not have a boner!"

"Uh yer he does look."You tired not to look you really did but it just sort of happend you squeeked covering your mouth faceing forward and jumped as bruce leant over buckling your seat belt whispering in your ear.

"I did tell you the mama bear was sexy" puljng away he spoke to the boys

"Dont worry boys, we will behave until your out of ear shot" You gapped as they cringed with cries of 'ew dad no' and 'come on thats my sister' he laughed at them patting your thigh before pulling out of the school

"So you asked her on a date yet Dad?" Bruce raised and eye brom looking at him in the rear view mirror pulling out onto the main road.

"Well we are dropping you both off at the manor does that answer your question?"

Jack groaned not sure if he likes the idea of his sister dating his best friends dad.

"dont you hurt her Mr Wayne I know where you live" you smiled at that finding it cute him trying to be the protective little man. The drive was quiet for a while before jack piped up.

"Holy shit if they get married I'd be your uncle" you groaned holding you face in your hands bruce only laughed

"Jack its one lunch date jesus"

".....Can I walk you down the isle?"

"JACK?!"

"What she means is well cross that bridge when we come to it" you stared at Bruce as he smirked enjoying teasing you the boys snickered in the back. You sat back wondering just what you'd gotten youself into.

[waitimcomingtoo]

Smile For Me

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Synopsis: "Kiss me if I'm wrong, but I can make you smile 10 times during the school day tomorrow." Peter bet.

MASTERLIST

Requests are CLOSED 

You and Peter sat across from each other in the library. A study date between the two of you wasn’t uncommon. Peter being unable to focus because of how close you were also wasn’t uncommon. After all the hectic things going on lately -Spider-Man patrolling, physics tests, fighting bad guys, trying not to die, the usual- you just wanted some time to yourselves to relax and study. Don’t be mistaken, Peter was very interested in physics and speed and force and all that good stuff. But right now, he was a little more interested in finding out the name of the perfume you were wearing that made you smell so damn heavenly. 

After an hour of quiet studying and the occasional game of tic tac toe, Peter closed his book. If he looked at another momentum equation, his eyes were going to bleed.

“I can’t do it anymore.” Peter whined, shoving his books towards you. “I can’t do another equation.”

“Yes you can.” You didn’t even look up at him as you continued your work. “Stop being dramatic.” Peter let out a loud, over dramatic groan and pulled your pencil out of your hand.

"Let's play a game." He said playfully. You shut your book, knowing when your best friend was at his wits end,  and looked up at him. He had a deviant look in his eyes that compelled you to shut your book as well. 

"What kind of game?" You asked cautiously. You knew you had to keep studying, but you were bored too so you entertained his idea of a game.

"I bet I can make you smile, just by looking at you." Peter declared with a cocky smirk. You scoffed at his smugness. You were never one to back away from a challenge, and Peter knew this. 

"You're on.” You challenged, rescuing your pencil from his grasp. “Stare me down."

You moved your books aside and leaned forward, resting your head in your hands. Peter did the same, just a few inches from your face. All Peter did was stare into your eyes, but you were already starting to crack. You fought the urge to smile. But when staring at a face like that, it's hard not to. Between his stupid brown eyes, his stupid crooked nose with his stupid freckles, and you wouldn’t even get started on his stupid messy eyebrow, Peter Parker was a sight for sore eyes. Not that you’d ever admit that to him. He was your best friend after all. Nothing more. But damn, if he wasn’t cute.

Peter intensified his stare, leaning even closer to you to the point you could smell his excessive body spray.  You could already feel yourself burning up, and you didn't know why. All he was doing was looking at you. Why did you want to smile so bad?

Peter grinned at your fidgeting. You did everything you could to keep from smiling. You bit your lips, held your breath, looked away, thought of sad things, but nothing helped. Finally, you cracked. A bashful smile lit up your face and you looked down in defeat.

"Damn it.” You muttered into the table. “You got me."

Peter laughed in triumph.

"I knew I could do it.” Peter said smugly, basking in his win. “Now let's make a little deal."

You picked up your head and smirked, ready for a rematch.

"Alright, I'm listening." You said casually. Peter returned the smirk. He had a devilish gleam behind his eyes, one he only got when he knew he was about to push his luck. You briefly wondered what you were getting yourself into. Something wicked brewed in his brown eyes. He was up to something. 

"Kiss me if I'm wrong, but I can make you smile 10 times during the school day tomorrow." Peter bet. It was a bold move and he knew it, but he’d been crushing on you long enough. His subtle hints were constantly going over your head and Peter had just about had enough. Even if you didn’t reciprocate his feelings, at least he’d get a few of your million dollar smiles out of it.

You, on the other hand, didn't pay attention to the first part. You only cared about the challenge. Specifically, you cared about winning.

"We have ourselves a deal.” You held our your hand for Peter to shake. He shook it, surprised you actually were going along. “But prepare to lose." You stated as you got up to leave.

Peter was still swimming with confidence after winning your game. He snapped back to reality as you collected your books.

"Wait, don't you want to see if you can make me smile?" Peter asked, not wanting you to go just yet. You stopped putting your books away and smiled.

"I already know that I can make you smile anytime I want." You said matter of factly.

Peter furrowed his brows.

"Really?” He asked. “How?"

"Remember when I kissed you in fourth grade because those boys were teasing you on the bus?” You smiled at the sweet memory. A couple boys started picking on Peter, saying he was a loser who couldn’t get a girlfriend. You shut them up instantly by planting your lips on Peters without a second thought. It was both of your first kisses, and also the last kiss Peter ever had. He wasn’t too interested in girls that weren’t you.

With that, a huge grin spread across Peters boyish face. All it took was that one memory to light up his features with a dopey smile. You grinned at the sight of your blushing best friend.

"That's how.” You said suavely. “See you tomorrow Parker." You called as you left the library. Peter watched you leave.

“Hate to see you go, love you watch you walk away.” Peter sarcastically muttered to himself. A wicked smile suddenly dawned on his lips. He had a plan.

The next day, the challenge was on.

Ten smiles in one day.

By first period, you were losing already. Peter made you smile by surprising you by your locker with a rose, the first smile of the day. 

"Okay, okay.” You rolled your eyes as you accepted the flower and gave it a discrete sniff. “But don't expect to get any more out of me."

But he did.

He got you leaving study hall by slipping you a note asking for your phone number, something he obviously had.

“Dear Y/n, I lost my number. Can I have yours? Check yes or no.”

He drew two lopsided boxes at the bottom of the note. You couldn’t stop the smile that came, breaking across your face like the first signs of dawn. You scribbled a check in the “no” box and shot Peter and angry look. He was looking quite proud of himself and held up two fingers, indicating that was the second time he’d gotten you to smile. You threw the note at the back of his head and went to your next class.

Peter got you going to and from lunch by slinging his arm around your shoulders and wishing you a good day.

“I hope your day isn’t anything like you in math. Because then it’d suck!” Peter said in his phoniest sweet voice. He booped your nose while he was at it and you quickly swatted it away.

“And I hope you choke and die.” You said in an even sweeter tone.

He got you twice during math by shooting you a wink and blowing you a kiss. You turned around in your seat, as red as your math textbook, and heard him laughing behind you as you tried to focus on the lesson once again.

He got you once during gym by purposefully falling off the rope you had to climb.

“Parker, you climbed it perfectly last week. What happened?” Coach Finstock asked as he scribbled something down on his notepad.

“Sorry.” Peter apologized with fake sincerity. “It’s just that I saw Y/n and got distracted.” He pointed at you and made a heart with his hands. You tensed up as kids around you laughed and made comments. Coach Finstock looked like he accepted Peters excuse and wrote something else down in his notes.

And he got you two times during your presentation in history by making funny faces. When you were finished, Peter started clapping as loud as he could and stood up in his seat. He got other kids to stand up for you as well, going on about how well you did and how researched your presentation was. Soon, the whole class was giving you a standing ovation. You smiled again at his idiotic but sweet action, making that three times in one period.

You were losing this bet fast.

Finally, the day ended. You’d managed to avoid Peter for the rest of the school day. Peter met you by your locker after the last bell with his face dressed in a cocky grin.

"Well Parker, guess you lose. The goal was 10 and you only made me smile 9 times. Looks like you don't get that kiss after all.” You shrugged dramatically and let out a sarcastic sigh. Peter shrugged as well and bit his lip, nearly bursting with excitement.

"Actually, I do." He said with a knowing smile. You immediately frowned.

"What do you mean?" You asked.

"The challenge was that I could make you smile 10 times and you had to kiss me if I was wrong. I only made you smile 9 times so..." Peter clicked his tongue. You opened your mouth in shock.

"So you were wrong." You finished. You couldn't believe it. You had been outsmarted by a guy in a Star Wars T-shirt. Peter stood there gloating while applying a copious amount of chapstick.

"I'd like to collect my prize, Y/n. I won fair and square." Peter pretended to stretch and yawn. You licked your teeth and bit back a smile. You had to admit, Peter got you good. He’d won the bet fair and square.

“You’re an idiot, do you know that?” You asked Peter. Peter stepped closer and shot you a cheeky grin.

"An idiot whom you have to kiss. Peter poked your chest. Curse his proper use of grammar. “That's the price you have to pay. Now pay up." Peter grabbed a random bottle in your locker and sprayed it in his mouth. He immediately tried to hide his disgust.

“So.’’ Peter said between gags. “That’s perfume.”  You nodded as you watched him grimace. 

“You thought it was breath spray?” You asked for confirmation. Peter nodded while he wiped his mouth in the back of his hand.

“Doesn’t matter. I still won. ” Peter laughed meanly, stepping closer to you. “In your face.”

“In my face?” You pointed to yourself. Peter nodded.

“How so?” You took your own step closer and folded your arms.

“Because I just sprayed perfume in my mouth and now you have to kiss me.” Peter puckered his lips dramatically and made loud kissing sound, making your entire face go red as it caught the attention of people around you. There were enough rumors flying around about the two of you after the stunt he pulled in gym.

“Let me get this straight.” You clasped your hands together.” You just sprayed perfume in your mouth?”

“Yes.” Peter confirmed.

“But that’s in my face?”

“Yes.” Peter said again.

“This very much seems like it’s in your face.” You told Peter, who still didn't get it. 

“Nope. Yours.” Peter wasn’t one to admit failure. “Come on, Y/n. Do it while my mouth still tastes like,” Peter read the bottle on your perfume, “an Endless Weekend.” At least he finally found out the name of your perfume. 

His shit eating grin returned to his face. You sighed and looked around for who might be watching. When you didn’t see anyone of significance, you turned back to Peter. You hesitated for a second more, then grabbed his shirt, pulled him close, and kissed him. Just like the first time way back in fourth grade, his eyes flew open, then fluttered shut. His eyelashes tickled your cheek as they went down. You found it funny how history repeated itself. You got to live that memory twice.

 Luckily for Peter, this was his favorite memory. It always put a smile on his face, just like you did.

You pulled away when the kiss lasted long enough and wiped you hand on the back of your mouth.

“You taste like chemicals.” You grimaced. Peter was still in a foggy, post kiss haze. He hadn’t fully recovered just yet.

“Hm huh hm what?” Peter stuttered out. His head was still spinning. You laughed at him. He looked ridiculous.

Hair messy.

Shirt wrinkled.

Your lipstick on his face.

Completely ridiculous.

And completely because of you.

You did some nice work. You couldn’t help taking out your phone and snapping a picture.

“Hey Peter.” You said from behind your phone with a toothy grin. “Smile for me.”

Peter gave you a lopsided grin before putting his hand in front of the camera.

“No fair.” Peter pouted. “You caught me off guard.”

“Whatever you say, Parker.” You shrugged casually. “But for the record. I totally won.”

“I can promise you, I’m the one who won.” Peter mumbled sheepishly under his breath. He looked at the floor to hide the enormous blush on his cheeks. He never thought it a million years you’d actually kiss him. He was only joking (and hoping) you would. You’d once again managed to leave Peter speechless.

“Well, it was a pleasure doing business with you.” You stuck your hand out for Peter to shake, suddenly feeling awkward and shy around your own best friend.

“Y-You too.” Peter stuttered. He shook your warm hand with his clammy one before scuttling away. He felt like he floated home. He waltzed into his apartment with a dreamy smile on his face. May was quick to notice Peters trance.

“Peter?” May asked. She wondered what the cause of her nephews moonstruck expression was.

“Hm?” Peter barely replied as he started humming the melody to your favorite song. May cocked her hip and laughed at her nephew.

“What’s got you so happy?” May inquired.

“What’s that?” Peter was in such a dream state he could barely hear her.

“I said,” May tried again. “What’s got you so happy?”

Peter let out a happy sigh and spun around in his kitchen.

“Y/n.” He replied. Your name like a prayer on is lips. He didn’t even feel worthy to say it. May chuckled. She should’ve known.

“So you have a thing for Y/n, huh?” May asked. She already knew the answer. Peter just shrugged as he continued to twirl around the kitchen. 

“Maybe.” He said. “I don’t know. She just…” Peter couldn’t think of the right words to describe you.

“She just what?” May pressed. Peter smiled at the memory of that afternoon.

“She just makes me smile.”

Tag List 🏷

@maybemona @sunrise-shawn

[ladyreapermc]

Fic: Treat me like your boyfriend (Matt x fem!Reader)

Summary: when Matt asked you to tutor him, you weren’t aware of the mess you were about to step in.

Author’s notes: Dear anon, I’m sorry it took me so long, but your request is finally here and I hope you enjoy it. I was very rusty on writing teenagers and I definitely struggled with the love triangle aspect. 

Wordcount: 6430 (yeah, it took a life of its own)

Warnings: a bit of teenage angst, mentions of drugs, bad language, but that’s it

The last thing you were expecting to see when you got out of cheerleading practice was Matt leaning on the hood of your car like he belonged there, arms crossed behind his head, face tilted up, almost as if to soak up the last warm sun rays of that October morning.

You didn’t even remember the last time you actually saw Matt, let along talked to him. Yes, you went to the same school but traveled in completely different circles and he wasn’t all the good with attendance, especially not after what happened last year with Samson and Jamie.

Once upon a time however, the two of you had been great friends. All through elementary school and a considerable part of middle school, the two of you had been inseparable, but then his father left and his family life deteriorated and he became angry and closed off and the two of you drifted apart. Now here he was, and you had no idea why.

“That’s my car,” you said, making him crack one eye open to look at you.

“I’m aware,” he replied but didn’t move an inch and you sighed.

“What do you want, Matt?”

“Oh, so you actually remember who I am. That’s nice.” This time at least he sat up on the hood, looking you up and down with a smirk tucked on his lips.

“What. Do. You. Want?” you repeated with a glare, crossing your arms over your chest and you noticed Matt’s gaze shift, the tough guy mask slipping a bit and you could almost see the boy you used to know.

“I’m failing history,” Matt admitted in a low voice, eyes downcast. “I’m on probation. I can’t fail. I need you to tutor me.”

“No,” you said, pulling the passenger door of your car open so you could put your backpack away. “I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?” he asked, giving you a look. “Afraid of what your popular friends will think if they see you hanging out with someone like me?”

There was a barely disguised disdain in his tone and it made you feel guilty. Even if you didn’t like to admit it, it was one of the reasons but there was also the fact that between school, practice and your part-time job, free time was almost inexistent for you. Even your boyfriend Derek had been complaining about not seeing you enough.

“I really can’t. I’m sorry,” you sighed.

“Please, Skittles,” he said, and you snorted at the old and ridiculous nickname after your favorite candy. “You’re my only hope.”

“Fine!” You huffed, taking a second to think through your schedule. “Tomorrow at 4. Joe’s diner. Do you know?”

“Yeah.” Matt flashed you a gorgeous smile as he jumped off the hood of your car and your lips twitched up too. “Thank you! You’re really saving my life here.”

“I know. So, don’t be late or I won’t do it.”

---

As you cleared the tables at the restaurant, you couldn’t help but glance at the clock on the wall and heave a sigh. It was fifteen past four and Matt had yet to show up for his lesson. You should’ve known he would flake out. He barely showed up to school as it was, why would he bother to come for a tutoring lesson?

You rolled your eyes at your own stupidity. You had to rearrange your whole work schedule, changing shifts with one of your coworkers so you could tutor Matt here while Derek was at football practice.

It wasn’t as if you thought you were doing something wrong by seeing Matt or anything stupid like that, but you knew Derek would freak if he found out you were hanging out with the other boy. Your boyfriend was a little overprotective sometimes and he always thought Matt and his entire clique were delinquents. You just wanted to avoid the hassle, so you kept the entire thing from him. Not that there would be anything to tell since Matt stood you up.

The small bell above the entry door of the diner rang and you looked up to see Matt stepping inside, sweaty and out of breath as he looked around. His expression drew into that gorgeous smile when his gaze landed on you.

He had changed quite a lot from the lanky boy you had known back in middle school. For one, he had gotten considerably taller and muscles had filled him out quite nicely. He had grown out his hair and it framed his face in messy waves, but it really suited him.

“Hey! Sorry, I’m late. Bus took forever,” he explained and you couldn’t bring yourself to tell him to turn around and leave.

“That’s ok. Just grab a booth and I’ll be right with you,” you said, hands busy with a tray of steaming plates.

He grinned and obeyed, ignoring the stink eye he was getting from some of the customers. His outfit screamed outcast and he stuck out like a sore thumb in the traditional diner.

You moved to the table to deliver the orders, sending a silent prayer that there wasn’t anyone you knew in the diner before calling out that you’d be taking your break and sliding on the seat across from Matt.

“So where are you having trouble? Classic? Medieval? Modern?”

“Everything.” Matt took out a crumpled paper from his backpack, handing it to you. It was one of his tests and the bright red F made you wince.

“Ok,” you sighed, returning the paper to him. “Then I guess we start at the beginning,” you took hold of his textbook and opened in the first chapter. “Take notes. I’m not gonna repeat myself and there will be pop quizzes.”

“Alright,” he said combing his hair away from his eyes. He pulled out a notebook that was falling apart and a pen that seemed to be completed chewed out. “Oh! I almost forgot…” he dug through his backpack until he came out with a package of skittles, pushing towards you with a smile. “As a thank you for helping me.”

You smiled too as you ripped the package open popping a couple of candies on your mouth before shaking a few on his waiting hand.

“Let’s begin.”

----

“I can’t believe you’re skipping Shelley’s party! It’s like the event of the year!” Dana exclaimed, pulling a face at you and you rolled her eyes. To your friend and head of the cheerleader squad, every party was the event of the year.

“It’s not like I’m skipping on purpose,” you replied, trying to find a better position against Derek, who had his arm around your shoulders. You usually loved to be cuddled up like this. But when you were in the middle of the cafeteria trying to have lunch using only one hand it was kind of hindrance. “I have to work.”

Unlike Dana and Derek who’s parents paid for everything they could possibly want, your father was a police officer that worked his ass off to keep your house functioning so you had to work to buy the things that you needed that weren’t his priorities. Your car needed repairs and you had your eye on a dress for homecoming dance that would cost you almost a month’s salary.

“Can’t you change shifts or something?” Derek asked with a pout and you had to fight a grimace. The only reason you had to work at the time of Shelley’s party was that you had changed your hours so you could tutor Matt.

“I’ll just go to the next one,” you replied with a small, apologetic smile, but it wasn’t enough to soothe Derek if his sour expression was anything to go by.

“Fine!” Dana huffed, throwing her long hair over her shoulder, her eyes shifting to a point beyond your shoulder, her expression shifting into one of distaste. “The creeper is staring at you again.”  

You glanced back to see Matt sitting alone a couple of tables over. As soon as he noticed you looking, he quickly lowered his gaze back to the book in front of him his hair falling over his eyes, so he had to comb it back with his fingers.

“Someone’s got an admirer,” Dana teased with an evil smirk. “A killer admirer.”

“He didn’t kill anyone, Dana,” you replied in autopilot.

You had been spending at least three afternoons a week with Matt for the past month and the two of you had grown closer again. It was almost as if the time you two hadn’t spoken for didn’t even exist.

Matt was still an angry guy. You could see in the bursts of irritation he sometimes would get when he messed up an answer or when people were being deliberately judgy of him at the diner or when talking about the crappy deal he got in life and with his family. Other than that, he was as sweet as you remembered. Also funny and kind and you loved spending time with him. Around him, you could be as nerdy and weird as you wanted because he never judged you. It was liberating really.

“And how would you know?” Derek asked with a frown of confusion.

You knew because your dad had been one of the officers involved in the case, but also because Matt told you how the entire thing had gone down.

“My dad worked the case,” you said with a shrug. “And besides, I don’t think they would let him be here if he had actually killed anyone.”

“Still, I don’t like the idea of him watching you,” he said, glaring over his shoulder. “If he comes anywhere near you…”

“He won’t, Der. Don’t worry,” you assured, distracting him with a kiss, before getting up. “I gotta go. I have to deliver an essay to Mr. Sheppard for extra credit.”

You managed to get to the hallway outside the cafeteria before Derek caught up, pulling you back into his arms.

“Baby, you have enough extra credit to buy an entire university at this point,” Derek said with a pout and you chuckled. “I barely get to see you anymore.”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry,” you said, pecking him on the lips. “Tonight. After my shift. Swing by? My dad won’t be home until later.”

“Ok.” he smiled happily and just as you were about to step away he pulled you back once more, catching you into a longer, deeper kiss that had your knees weak and you grinning against his lips. “I see you tonight.”

You were still smiling as you headed off, not towards Mr. Sheppard’s office, but to the football field, where you met Matt by the bleachers. He has a forlorn look on his face and that was enough to make your good mood flight right out of you.

“How was it?” you asked, and he sighed, digging through his backpack.

It was his first test since you two started the tutoring lessons. You hoped they had been enough to make him improve because you could tell Matt was getting frustrated with everyone pounding on him about his grades and probation.

He handed you the folded paper and it made your heart thunder in your heart just as much as getting the results of your own tests did.

“Look, Matt, it is just the first test,” you started before even looking at the grade. “It’s ok if it isn’t a good one just yet. We’ll keep working on it and you’ll see…” you trailed off as you finally looked at the test, the C+ staring back at you and when you looked up at him, Matt had a cheeky little grin in his face.

“You jerk!” You exclaimed punching him on the shoulder as he laughed. “You really made me think…”

“I’m sorry!” he said between giggles, trying to dodge your hands. “You’re just so damn easy, Skittles!” Matt looked so good like this. Bright and happy and playful. It made your heart jump.

“I’m really proud of you,” you said pulling him for a hug, your face coming to the crook of his neck due to the height difference and you breathed deep into his scent without meaning to.

“Thanks,” he replied with a soft smile when you pulled back. “Can you help me with Math too?”

“Absolutely!”

---

Even though it was your day off, here you were at Joe’s diner, in the booth it was quickly becoming yours and Matt’s regular seats. Instead of sitting across from him, you were at his side, studying his profile as he frowned over the math problem you had presented him.

You watched as his untamable hair fell over his face and you resisted the urge to push back so you could better look at him, watch the way his brows knitted together in concentration and how he squinted his soft brown eyes at the page, nose crinkling slightly in displeasure as he tapped the pen against his lips, which were framed by a shadow of stubble, just like his sharp jawline… Shifting in your seat, you forced your gaze away, taking a drink of water.

After two months all employees and regular clients at the diner got used to Matt’s presence and no one even gave the two of you a second glance anymore, which was a small blessing. You finally managed to relax around him when Matt came around, which meant you caught yourself staring at him way too often while he worked, your mind wondering dangerous things, like if his hair was as soft as it looked or how Matt’s lips would feel against yours.

Those thoughts always filled you with guilt because you had a boyfriend. A nice, kind and sweet boyfriend that you loved, and you shouldn’t be thinking such things about Matt when he was your friend and you were in a relationship and…

“Got it!”

His excited tone startled you back to the present and you watched as he scribbled down on the page before he turned it to you with a bright, hopeful smile and your heart leaped in your chest as you got caught in those brown eyes for a second too long.

Clearing your throat and feeling your cheeks warm, you looked down at the notebook to check his answer, your lips twitching into a proud smile.

“That’s exactly it,” you declared, looking up at Matt again and his lips now showed a wide grin as he cheered and threw an arm around your shoulders, pulling you into a sideways hug.

“You owe me fries and a milkshake,” Matt said, still grinning and you snorted.

“If I’d known that was all it took for you to learn math, I’d have done it weeks ago,” you joked waving at one of the waitresses to place your order, trying to pretend you weren’t acutely aware of the fact the Matt hadn’t taken his arm away from your shoulders and you really didn’t want him too.

“So, there’s a movie with that guy from that sci-fi movie you like in the theaters,” Matt said, his tone a little hesitant as the two of you sipped milkshakes and shared fries.

“That’s specific,” you chuckled, noticing how he seemed to blush a little. “Fortunately, I do know which one you’re talking about. I’m dying to see it.”

“Yeah?” Matt looked up; eyes bright with excitement. “Maybe we could go? Together, I mean.”

For a moment, all you could do was stare at Matt in stunned silence. Was he asking you out on a date? And why on Earth did you want to say yes so bad?

“As friends, of course,” he quickly added, and you could barely hide your disappointment. His own words and the way he avoided your eyes showed his chagrin.

“Maybe, but…” you sighed, looking away, the words stuck to your throat.

“I get it, Skittles,” Matt said, at last, gathering his things, head ducked as he stood up. “Thanks for the lesson.”

He was off and away from the diner before you even process what happened. Your eyes burned and you could taste bile and guilt on the back of your throat as you swallowed around the painful lump, before picking up your bag and standing up.

Suddenly being in the diner without Matt felt unbearable.  

----

Derek’s lips traveled down your neck, his weight pressing you down on the bed as his hand squeezed your thigh, inching dangerously close to the hem of your skirt. This was hardly the first time you’ve done this, touch each other like this and he was doing everything you loved but it just felt awkward and uncomfortable.

You couldn’t bring yourself to relax and your mind kept wandering to all the wrong places. You couldn’t help but picture a slender frame on top of you, instead of broad chest chiseled by years of football practice. Dark brown hair instead of light, almost blonde hair. Scratchy stubble instead of a smooth cheek. Deep chocolate eyes, instead of hazel…

“Wait, wait,” you asked, pushing at Derek's chest and he sighed, lifting his head to look at you.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know.” You looked away, afraid of giving yourself away. “I just… I don’t feel like it tonight.”

“Ok.”

Derek sat up on the bed, running his hand through his hair, another heavy sigh escaping his lips and you could see frustration shining in his eyes. Not because you said no, but because he had been picking up the change in your mood for days now and he could figure out what was wrong and you couldn’t exactly come forward and explain it either.

“Do you wanna go downstairs and watch a movie or something?”

 You shrugged and your gaze darted around your room because you couldn’t bear to look at Derek. It landed on an unopen bag of skittles.

Matt always brought you some whenever you were tutoring him so there was always one around and you felt like the most horrible person in the world. Here you were with such a sweetheart for a boyfriend, but your mind kept shifting over for the last person you should get involved with.

“I have homework to finish,” you said instead, guilt gnawing your gut.

You knew Derek knew you were lying, but he still got up, picking up his leatherman jacket as he headed out of your room without another word. No goodbye, no kiss or hug. Just silence that felt heavy and awful and made you flop on your bed, tears welling in your eyes.

What was wrong with you? Why were you ruining life that you had spent most of your high school years building because of a guy? Who you didn’t even know liked you back?

----

You were fresh from your shower after cheerleader practice, hair still wet and hanging loose over your shoulders when you walked up to your locker to grab your chemistry book and found the note.

With a smile, you didn’t even bother to look it over, knowing what it said. Instead, you just shoved inside your pocket, while you pushed your book into your backpack, before rushing off. You had only fifteen minutes before class and the bleachers were on the other side of the school.

As expected, Matt was waiting in the familiar hiding spot, puffing on a cigarette that he put out as soon as he saw you, since he knew you hated the smoke. His smile was wide and bright and enough to make you grin because he was holding a sheet of paper and you knew exactly what that was.

“An A!” he announced, showing you his latest history test. “I got a fucking A!”

“That’s amazing, Matt! Congratulations!” you cheered all but jumping in his arms for a hug and he caught you easily. Tucking you closer to his chest.

“I haven’t gotten an A since middle school,” he commented with a grin, looking down at you. “Thank you so much, Skittles.”

“Don’t thank me. It was all you,” you said, meeting his eyes.

You were still wrapped in his arms, your gaze locked with his and there was something there that made your breath catch in your throat and your heart speed in your chest. You saw the way Matt’s gaze felt to your lips, before coming up to your eyes again and all you wanted was for him to close the distance, press his lips against yours. You actually thought he was going to do it until you hear someone clearing their throat behind you and jumped back and away from Matt.

When you turned around to look, Dana stood there, hands on her hips, green eyes narrowed as she glared at you, lips pressed in a tight, displeased line. Panic flooded your chest because there was no way to explain what was happening except with the truth and you knew how Dana felt about cheating.

There was no other way to spin it, was there? You were cheating on Derek. Or at least you were about to if Dana hadn’t walked in when she did.

You looked back at Matt and he looked pale and worried as his gaze darted from you to your best friend. Lying a gentle hand on his shoulder, his eyes meet yours. When did the two of you become so good at communicating with just one look, you didn’t know, but Matt just nodded, grabbed his things and walked away.

“Of all the guys in this school, you’re doing this with psycho stoner Matt?” Dana exclaimed and you winced, not sure what was worse: the shrill tone of her voice or her words.

“He’s not a psycho!” you defended almost on autopilot. If anyone was being the asshole in this whole situation, it was you and Matt didn’t deserve to be treated that way. “It’s just happened. I never meant…”

You rubbed your eyes, fighting against the wave of tears. All the confusion and doubt and guilt bubbling to the forefront and words poured out of you as you told Dana everything, how it started, how your feelings began to change, until the scene she witnessed today.

“Do you love Derek?” she asked, her expression softening, becoming understanding. This was why Dana was your best friend. No matter her shortcomings, she was a good person.

“I, uh, yeah?” you replied with hesitation, tone uncertain. You did love Derek right? You’ve been together since freshman year and he was such a great guy.

“It’s fine if you don’t,” Dana said, but her expression was a little sad. Derek was her brother after all. “People fall out of love. And I will never understand what you see in Matt of all people, but you can’t lead them on. Either cut Matt lose or break up with Derek.”

“I know,” you sighed, drying your cheeks because you did know and that’s why this was so hard for you. “I just need time to think. Make a decision.”

“One week,” Dana said, crossing her arms over her chest, her expression turning stormy. “After that, I’m telling Derek.”

All you managed was a nod.

----

Sitting on your usual booth at Joe’s diner, you drummed your fingers on the wooden table, your knee bouncing trying to work out some of the restless nervous energy thrumming through you as you waited for him.

A week had passed since your conversation with Dana and you finally made your decision. Surprisingly it took a conversation with your father to clear the air for you. It had been just the two of you since your mom died and even if he didn’t exactly know how to talk to you since you entered adolescence, he always tried.

So when he came back from his shift one night and found you bawling your eyes out, he sat you down on the couch and made you tell him everything that was going on. He had noticed you hadn’t been quite yourself lately and that night was the moment he figured he had given you enough space and it was time to be there.

You told him everything, just like you had done with Dana. Your dad was less than thrilled to know that you had been spending so much time with Matt without him knowing, but at the same time, he had worked the case, he knew Matt had been the only one in that group with a tiny shred of decency. He was, after all, the one who called the cops once he learned about Jamie.

“Sweetheart,” your father started, brushing away the tears from your face. “I won’t tell you what to do, but…”

“But what?” you sniffled, looking at him, vision blurry.

“The fact that you even fell in love with Matt while dating Derek says a lot, don’t you think?” he said in a low tone, his words making your heart ache.

“You’re right,” you whispered, letting out a shaky breath. “Thanks, dad.”

“I’m always here for you, sweetie,” he replied, kissing you on the forehead before letting you go.

That had been last night. After you washed your face and recomposed yourself more or less, you went to Derek’s. It was an awful conversation to have and you felt horrible for breaking his heart like that, but it wasn’t fair to him or you continue the way you were.

You barely slept and the first thing you did when you got to school was put a note on Matt’s locker, asking him to meet you at the diner after school. You had no idea if he was going to come. You had avoided him for an entire week, ignoring his notes and worried looked he threw your way in the halls and the cafeteria. He had all the right to ignore your request, but you prayed he wouldn’t.

The bell about the front door jiggled and your head snapped up, heart leaping to your throat when you saw Matt walking in, hand on his pockets, expression closed off. He made a beeline to your booth and you tried a smile which he didn’t return.

“So, you’re talking to me again?” his tone acid and cold and you flinched, forcing yourself not to look away.

“Look, after everything, I know I don’t deserve even a second of your time, but can we talk, please?”

With a sigh, Matt begrudgingly took a seat in front of you, his expression never wavering, his brown eyes staring you down, making you shift uncomfortably on your seat. Movies always made this seem so easy, but you were terrified.

“I broke up with Derek,” you said at last, once the silence between you two stretched to the point of painful. Matt’s eyes widened slightly at your words.

“Why?” he asked and once again the words seemed stuck in your throat.

“You know why,” you croaked, looking away.

“Do I? you’ve spent months treating me like a dirty little secret.” Matt all but spat, his eyes shining with hurt and your heart ached. “And then when the secret was out, you just ignored me like I was nothing!”

“You’re right and I was awful in this whole thing. To Derek and you,” you said with a sigh. “And I understand if you never want to see me again, but I like you, Matt. A lot. I love the way you frown when you’re thinking hard about something or how you smile when you’re right. I love how you look all tough and mean, but you’re actually really sweet when you let people in. I love how you let me in and I know I don’t deserve a second chance, but if you would let me try, I promise I will do my best to never hurt you like that again.”

“What about your reputation?” Matt asked, there was still hesitation in his tone, but mostly hope or so you thought. “Everyone thinks I’m a murderer.”

“I know the truth so fuck what everyone else thinks,” you declared, reaching for his hand, relieved that he didn’t pull it away. “Can we give it a try, Matt?”

“No,” he shook his head, taking his hand from under yours and standing up and you felt tears welling up in your eyes again as you watched him walking away.

---

When you walked into school the next Monday you could practically feel all eyes on you. It wasn’t such a big place so word about your breakup with Derek had spread like a wildfire exactly like you expected it would, making you wonder how much they knew.

You knew more than a few girls would be extremely happy about it. Derek was the quarterback of the football team, one of the most popular guys in the school they would most likely be lining up to replace you in his affections, especially with homecoming dance right around the corner.

Moving to your locker you let out a heavy sigh, trying to ignore all the stares, but at the same time, avoid thinking about the dress you bought for the dance that nearly cost you a month’s salary and apparently would go to waste because you had no one to go to the dance with.

Maybe it was a silly thing to worry about, but you did love school dances and all the silly rituals of passages they involved. You always felt like high school experience wouldn’t be complete unless you had a chance to go through these kinds of things.

With your biology book in hand, you close your locker door, turning around and running smack on Matt’s chest with enough force that you stumbled and he has to steady you with a hand on your elbow, his palm feeling large and warm against you skin.

“Hi!” you greeted, eyes wide in surprise. You didn’t expect him to ever talk to you again after yesterday and hope busted in your chest.

“You have my math notebook,” he said instead of a greeting, voice detached and hollow, successfully smothering the feeling.

“Right,” you nodded, trying to balance the book and dig through your backpack at the same time. It took a while, but you finally pulled out the notebook. “Listen, I still up for tutoring if you want. I know a lot has happened…”

“I got it,” Matt declared, cutting you off as he took the notebook from your hand. “Thanks.”

The last word was said in a dry tone as he walked away from you without a second look and you felt once again tears rising, your lungs constricting, but you forced yourself to take a deep breath. You’ve cried enough for boys in the last couple of weeks. You refused to cry even more. Once you felt you were in control again, you headed to class pretending not to notice the whispers.

If people didn’t know the reason why you and Derek broke up when the day started, they definitely guessed after this entire exchange. And by the time lunch rolled around, you already heard ten different and outrageous versions of the entire thing. It was getting hard and harder to ignore the whispers, but you were determinate to keep your head high because it wasn’t anyone’s business who you dated or not or why.

You got your tray and turned to your usual table where you could see the rest of the cheerleader team gathered, but before you could take a step towards it, Dana moved in your way, face drawn into a grimace and you knew exactly where this was going.

“So much for being my friend, huh?” You said with a snort and a head shake.

“He’s my brother. What you expected me to do?” Dana said with a shrug and you could see she was apologetic, but anger bubbled in your chest. “Just hand over your uniform at the end of the day.”

“Why wait?” you spat, dropping your tray with a little more force than necessary on a nearby table before you dug out the cheerleader uniform from your backpack and shoved in Dana’s chest. “There! Good luck making regionals without me.”

Suddenly without appetite, you turned on your heels and walked out of the cafeteria.

---

Two weeks later, you were hanging out at the bleachers, catching on your reading while you sat through the cheerleader team practice, taking great pleasure in seeing Bianca, your substitute messing up all the movements that came like breathing to you. Was it petty? Yes. But after everything you’ve been through these last feel days, you didn’t feel bad for your pettiness.

You snorted when she once against moved the wrong direction, making Dana stop the entire routine to chide her, but not before sending a glare your way like she knew you were mocking, which you definitely were. You only looked away from the scene unfolding in front of you at the sound of your name being called. Tilting your head up and shielding your eyes against the pale winter sun, you turned your attention to the sniggering football player hovering over you.

“I heard you like tutoring guys…” he started with a suggestive smirk and you rolled your eyes.

“50 bucks an hour,” you declared, gaze shifting back to your book.

“Is that what you charged psycho Matt?” the player asked, his voice dripping innuendo.

“No, I’m giving you the moron discount,” you replied with a little sarcastic grin and his expression shifted to anger as he took a step towards you.

“Hank!” Derek’s voice all but boomed and the guy stood to attention, looking a little guilty at the other boy. “Coach wants to see you.”

Tension made you sat straighter, fingers tightening over your book as you hurried to put your things away. You hadn’t seen or talked to Derek since the day you broke up and you preferred to keep that way for as long as possible. Apparently, Derek wasn’t having it because he followed you like a shadow.

“Can we talk?” he asked, voice so small you couldn’t bring yourself to say no. You’ve slowed your steps but couldn’t really bring yourself to look at him. “How have you been?”

“All of my friends refuse to talk to me; people keep whispering behind my back or calling me names to my face; guys keep propositioning because they think if I fucked Matt, will fuck anyone…” your tone is bitter, but after everything, how else could you deal with this? “I didn’t by the way. Sleep with Matt. We didn’t even kiss.”

“I know,” Derek sighed, coming to stand before you. “I believe you and I’m sorry this is happening.”

“It’s not your fault, Derek,” you sighed too, hands in your pockets. “Of everyone, you’re the only one completely blame-free in this entire mess and I hope one day we can be friends again.”

You pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, before you made your way back inside the school, completely unaware of the pair of brown eyes watching the entire exchange. Not until the end of the day when you made your way to your car and found Matt there, much like when this whole thing began a few months ago.

You had tried to talk to him more than once during the last couple of weeks, but he either ignored you completely. He was once again hanging out with the worst people in school, jeopardizing his probation and you wished you could just walk up to Matt and talk some sense into him, but you knew you couldn’t. So, finding him here seemingly waiting for you, smoking a joint surprised and annoyed you to no end.

“What you are doing here, Matt?” you asked, putting your stuff onto the passenger seat before you glanced back at him.

“I’m here to congratulate you,” he said, jumping off the hood of your car. “You almost had me going with that bullshit speech at the diner, but here you are, two weeks later already all chummy with Derek again.”

It took you a second to realize what he meant and all you managed was to shake your head and snort.

“I don’t know what you think you saw, but I don’t own you an explanation,” you said, sidestepping him so you could reach the car door, but as soon as you pulled open, Matt pushed it close again. “What the hell you want from me, Matt!? You won’t forgive me, you treat me like shit and now you want me to explain myself for talking to the only person in this school who isn’t treating me badly? Fuck you!”

You shoved at his chest, all the words stuck in your chest for the past month suddenly finding its way out, spilling from your mouth.

“My life was perfectly fine before you waltzed back in! I had friends, I had a loving boyfriend who I loved or at least I thought I did.” You could feel the tears welling up in your eyes as your tone lost its anger, leaving only sadness. “But then you came along all brooding and rebellious, but so sweet and gentle and I remembered what was like to really be in love with someone…”

Your words were cut off when Matt brought you closer, his lips finding yours in an urgent kiss that had you too stunned to move; your hands caught against his chest; your eyes wide open. Matt was kissing you. You could feel his stubble scraping your jaw and the taste of pot in his lips.

It took a moment for the shock to wear off. For you to start kissing him back because it was the only thing you’ve been wishing for this last month.

“Why?” you gasped once he let your lips go and rested his forehead against yours, breathing hard, his hands rubbing gentle circles on your back.

“Because I couldn’t get you off my head? Everywhere I went, everything I did, reminded of you and how much I missed you and I didn’t know what else to do. I’m not good at this.”

You knew what he meant. You were learning you weren’t all that good with this, with feelings, either.

“Maybe we can work it out together?” you asked, brushing some hair away from his face, watching as his expression opened in a small, hesitant smile, that was still so bright and one of the best things you’ve ever seen.

“Yeah,” Matt nodded and this time, the kiss didn’t take you by surprise. “I’d like that.”

xxx

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[beyondconfessor]

The Infernal Contract [5/16]

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Lilith/Zelda Spellman

Summary: Lilith sat behind the Principle's desk and slowly looked up from her paperwork with an arched eyebrow, a bright smile pulling on her lips as she realised who had entered. "Ms Spellman. What a delightful surprise."

N.B.: Also posted on AO3

Zelda set the newspaper down, realising that she'd been reading the same article for over ten minutes and couldn't remember a single word of the story.

"Something wrong, Aunt Zee?" Sabrina asked, looking over her cereal at her.

Zelda felt a pang of guilt in her chest as she looked into her niece's eyes. She wanted to answer that yes, her guilt was bothering her and explain what she'd discovered last night after she'd confronted the so-called Mary Wardwell, but the words didn't come out. Instead, she gave a dispassionate wave of her hand and offered a weak excuse about Ambrose.

The truth was, she'd stayed up half the night thinking about Lilith's words and what they meant. Eventually, she had begun going over the woman's actions, which lead to her thinking about the woman's lips grazing over her own.

She'd traced her lips twice this morning as if it might make the ghost of her touch disappear. It hadn't, and it had only awoken a more primal urge to see her, which only caused further guilt because she should have been thinking about how to get answers, not satisfy salacious desires (no matter how plagued her dreams had  been by them).

"Aunt Zee?"

"Hmm?" she asked, drawing her eyes away from the tabletop. "Sorry, I admit I didn't sleep well."

"So you said," Sabrina replied, her brow furrowing. "Are you okay? Did Father Blackwood do something?"

"His Unholiness," she reminded Sabrina. "If you're to speak to the Council, the proper titles are required for all members, even if some are only interim members."

Sabrina frowned but didn't disagree. "You seem different since your honeymoon."

"Yes, well, it's been an adventurous few weeks. I'll be glad for things to return to normal once Ambrose is home safe." If he comes home safe, she thought. There was no telling what would happen. They could very well take Leviathan's verdict and view it as inconsequential, throwing Ambrose to the chopping block to avoid an otherwise messy situation.

She lifted her cup of coffee to her lips and felt her stomach twist. She didn't know what she would do in that situation, but there was no way she was letting the guillotine drop on her nephew's neck.

"Okay, well anyway, I was saying that yesterday I cured Roz's blindness with Ms Wardwell. I undid whatever curse the witches placed on her family."

Zelda placed her cup down on its saucer hard enough that the bone china rattled. "You undid another witch's curse?"

"It was pretty easy. I just had Roz wash her eyes out with running water. The instructions were pretty simple in the book."

Zelda blinked. The cure for blindness could be that simple, but another witch's curse was not. To undo a curse took weeks of work and powerful magic. For something as old as blood curse that attached to the genes of a mortal, it could be a painful, dangerous process involving the destruction of the blood curse and then the mending of the eyes.

"Ms Wardwell gave you the spell?" she inquired.

Sabrina nodded.

"Did you have the book?"

"Oh, no. I returned it to her."

Zelda grew tall in her seat, thinking over the possibilities. "Perhaps it's time I came to learn of the witch's abilities. She seems to be more a mentor to you then the Academy or I."

Sabrina smiled, almost teasing as she asked, "You're not jealous, are you? You, Aunt Hilda and Ambrose, will always be the foundations of my magic. It's just that Ms Wardwell seems to know more of the new ways, I guess. Where yours is more traditional. Still important, but just different, I guess."

I bet. But Zelda held her tongue, keeping the words to herself. "Perhaps I should pick up Leviathan. After all, I'm sure you would prefer to spend time with Mr Scratch before we're all called before the Council."

"Oh, no, that's fine. Baxter High isn't far."

"And how do you expect to get there? Catch the bus?"

Sabrina frowned. "I was going to teleport nearby. There's a-"

"Nonsense. Go to the Academy. I'll procure Leviathan and bring him to the Academy."

Sabrina eyed her warily. No doubt concerned that she would willingly step foot in the mortal school. "Did something happen between you and Ms Wardwell last night? When you came inside, you were acting pretty strange."

"Nothing out of the usual," she lied. "It's just that if this woman insists on pushing into our lives and acting as a mentor to my niece, I would like to know her better. Is that so wrong, Sabrina?"

Sabrina shrugged, shaking her head. "I guess not. Just try not to scare her away, you can be a bit intimidating to others. Even witches."

While that was undoubtedly true, and Zelda prided herself in it, it was rather amusing to imagine that she could intimidate the great concubine of Satan. "I will do my best to remain agreeable."

"That's all I can ask for," Sabrina said.

As it was, Zelda waited until Sabrina had left for the Academy before she climbed into the car and made her way to the school. In the rearview mirror, at a set of red lights, she checked how she looked in the mirror (after all, she had to show her best face to the woman).

It would have been better had she stopped at the Academy to change into the clothes she left there, but the ones she kept at the Mortuary would do.

She parked the car across two spaces and made her way through the school. Most of the students were out of the halls (Praise Satan), and it only took one mortal she presumed to be a teacher to direct her to where the Principle's office was.

She entered the office, pushing the door open and came face-to-face with a petite woman with her hair severely pulled back and overtly bright can-do smile. "How can I help you?"

Zelda pulled her sunglasses down to look over them at the woman. "Is Wardwell in her office?"

"Oh! Ah, do you have an appointment with Principle Wardwell?"

Zelda drew in a deep breath and looked at the woman, waiting for her to respond correctly. The woman's smile turned brittle as she awkwardly looked to the door. "Um, she is, but you- hey, you'll need an appoint- excuse me, you'll need an appointment!" the woman said, trying to stop her as Zelda pushed the office door open, removing her sunglasses as she entered.

Lilith sat behind the Principle's desk and slowly looked up from her paperwork with an arched eyebrow, a bright smile pulling on her lips as she realised who had entered. "Ms Spellman. What a delightful surprise."

Zelda tilted her head, narrowing her eyes.

"Thank you, Mrs Meeks, I'll take it from here," Lilith said, setting her pen down.

Zelda stepped into the room and stood before the desk. Behind her, the blonde woman pulled the office door shut with a soft click. Once it had, Zelda folded her arms and cast a look over the room. "Where's Leviathan?"

"Safe, if that's what you're concerned about. But I do believe you're here for another reason."

Zelda took a moment to study the woman. She was reclining forward in her chair, her hands clasped before her, resting on the desk. What annoyed Zelda was the sincere expression tilting up at her as if Lilith was absolutely fascinated with what she might say.

"What does the Dark Lord want with Sabrina?"

Lilith smiled before offering a shrug as she leaned back in the chair. "Your guess is as good as mine," she admitted. "He tends to keep his cards close, but I can imagine he wants her for something important."

"You don't even know what you've been sent here to do?"

Displeasure briefly crossed her face, but it disappeared quickly behind a mask, "I don't presume to know the Dark Lord's will. I only enact it at his request. So far, his current request is for me to remain here and overlook our darling, Sabrina."

"And where do I come into this?"

"You don't. That was purely for my indulgence. I believe we had this conversation last night if I'm not mistaken?"

"I'd hardly call last night a conversation."

"No? What would you refer to it as, then?"

Zelda's jaw clenched. She ran her eyes over the room, looking over the different books that littered the shelves in the office. There were a few Zelda recognised, some that were meant to distract the casual viewer, but a few she didn't recognise at all –– most likely from Lilith's private collection. "Sabrina advised me this morning that you had helped her to cure one of the mortal's predicaments."

"Yes, well. Hardly difficult work."

"Just as the exorcism was hardly difficult?" she asked, turning to look at the woman.

"Quite," Lilith said. "She did rather beautifully upon your arrival, don't you think?"

"And yet, I'm certain she could have done it with just your hand in that blasphemy should the need have arisen."

Lilith shrugged. "Is it truly a blasphemy, just because your husband dictates it?"

At the mention of Faustus, Zelda drew backwards, looking away from the woman to eye over the Book of the Dead she had present on her shelves. As she reached out to touch it, a magnetism pulled at her fingers, telling her of the ancient powers that were in the pages.

This was no meagre Book of the Dead you'd find in the Academy's library. "The Council dictates it, not him." Though Zelda understood her point nonetheless, it raised an important question, "Why did you choose the mortal school and not the Academy?"

"We already had someone at the Academy," Lilith said from directly behind her. Zelda whipped around to face the woman, having not heard her rise and move around her desk. "Though he's no longer interested in the Dark Lord's will. Rather jealous of our Sabrina, wouldn't you say?"

"She's not yours," Zelda spat.

"No, I suppose not. She belongs to the Dark Lord," Lilith said, placing her hands on the bookshelf behind Zelda, effectively pinning her in place. "But you're mine, aren't you, dear?"

"I don't belong to anyone," Zelda said. Her heart began to race as she stepped back against the bookshelf and felt the spines of the book press through the material of her dress. How she kept ending up in this spot, she didn't know. But it would be preferable if it stopped happening. "And it definitely wasn't stipulated in the contract before you attempt to suggest that."

Lilith hummed, "No, it was not, but to sign the contract, you would be agreeing to it."

"Please, that's not how it works. And if you think I'm going to continue with this after knowing you're manipulation of Sabrina, you're more thoughtless than I could have predicted."

Lilith tsked. "Manipulating, guiding, are we not all serving the Dark Lord's will in our own ways?" She pushed closer, so they were only a breath away as she wound her fingers through Zelda's hair, tugging just enough to set the nerve-endings alight. "Tell me that you don't want this. Say the words out loud and mean them and you'll be free to walk out of here, unravished."

Zelda drew in a breath, and a part of her wanted to say the words. Wanted to tell Lilith that she could go to Heaven for all she cared. But the woman's eyes were so very blue, and her lips were so very close, and the hand in her hair was tugging in such a way that Zelda could feel a reaction pooling beginning between her thighs. "I..." she tried to say, but her mouth dried up and a sudden longing to feel the woman's mouth on hers filled her.

Lilith smirked at her. "You what? Speak up."

Zelda closed her eyes, trying to pull back, but there was nowhere to go, and the woman's body was so close to hers.

"Tell me what you want, and I'll provide it to you," Lilith whisper, her lips grazing over her own before they brushed over her cheek, down her throat. Zelda stretched her neck, wanting to feel the mouth press harder, to feel teeth sink against her flesh and hands grab hard enough to bruise, but Lilith pulled away.

As Zelda opened her eyes, she found herself staring into the blue irises once again, patiently awaiting her response (already knowing).

The knowledged settled like a weight inside of her.

"I want this," Zelda admitted, feeling the guilt flood over as she said the words. And yet, it felt like such a relief to own them as the truth. She wanted Lilith, wanted her touch, her kiss, wanted to breathe in her perfume and be marked by her teeth. She wanted her inside of her, fucking her until she couldn't remember how many times she came around her fingers. "I want you."

"Good girl," Lilith said, and then her lips were on hers. Zelda felt her stomach flip as she pressed closer, feeling the woman's hand curl tighter in her hair as she was pushed back into the bookshelf hard enough that the shelves rocked against their brackets.

Lilith didn't play with her this time. She rolled up Zelda's skirt and shoved the underwear aside, slipping two fingers inside of her.

Zelda gasped, feeling the fingers curling the wall of her vagina, hitting a spot that had her pushing up on her toes.

Everything melted away as the woman's fingers thrust inside of her. All of her fears and concerns disappearing from her mind as the only thing she wanted was for this moment to continue endlessly.

Zelda clutched at the woman, feeling her back slam against the shelves again. She heard books tumble to the ground, likely alerting the shared wall's occupant that something was occurring.

A part of Zelda knew she shouldn't make too much noise. The last thing she needed was that mortal woman with the big smile flinging the door open and seeing them in the middle of this. But Zelda didn't stop or quieten or move away from the rocking bookcase. Her worldview had shrunk until only Lilith contained it, and all she wanted, was for the woman to keep doing whatever it was with those fingers against that spot as she clung to her for stability.

"Look at you, already dripping," Lilith said to her.  

Another finger had slid inside of her, rubbing against a spot inside of her, causing a fast build of stars to form behind her eyes. It was all she could do to move her hips in time, gasping against the woman's mouth and hissing out a soft moan whenever she felt she might slip over the precipice (but didn't, because Lilith was teasing her and by Satan, she was doing it well).

Zelda bit her lip and bowed her head against the woman's shoulder. Her fingers scrunched, her body squeezing, but the relief didn't come. "Lilith," she moaned.

"Yes?"

"I swear ––" her throat closed as she rose and fell again, "oh for pity's sake - Please," she hissed as she pushed onto her toes and almost - almost, but didn't.

"Please what?"

"Please... Can you let me finish?" Zelda asked, opening her eyes to look at the woman. "Are you happy?"

Lilith grinned. "Immensely."

It was quick and messy. Zelda came fast, her moan stifled by Lilith's mouth pressed against her own. Her nails digging into Lilith's arms as she nearly sobbed at the intensity of the climax.  

When the shuddering eased, Lilith mouth moved to kiss down her jawline, over her neck and slowly withdrew, intentionally sliding over her clit as she flicked the underwear back in place.

It was enough for Zelda to crave a second round until she heard the sound of distant chatting outside of the door.

Tugging her skirt down, she watched as Lilith walked over to her desk and pulled out a tissue from a tissue box and wiped her fingers clean. Going behind the table, she picked up the mouse cage hidden from underneath and set it on top of the desk, gesturing to Zelda. "I believe this is what you were after?" she said with a knowing smirk.

Walking over Zelda snatched the cage, looking over it briefly to ensure it was Leviathan that rested inside, moving amongst the water and food that had been set inside the container. "Thank you," she said tightly.

She realised too late she should have clarified the object of her appreciation. Lilith grinned at, intentionally misinterpreting her. "My pleasure," she responded, her voice almost purring.

It didn't help the situation, and made Zelda all the more hungry to take Lilith on top of the desk.

Before Zelda could do anything, a knock sounded at the door.

Lilith looked from the door to Zelda and then passed Zelda a fresh tissue, gesturing to the woman's neck.

Taking the tissue, she rubbed the lipstick marks away, quickly fixing her mouth before Lilith nodded. "Come in, Mrs Meeks."

Mrs Meeks opened the door with two men standing behind her. She looked between Zelda and Lilith before noticing the mouse cage. Her inquisitive face eased as if the mouse cage answered some new question. "You're nine-thirty is here," she said, directing her statement towards Lilith, while also politely advising Zelda that she would need to leave.

Well, Zelda didn't need to be told twice, certainly not by some mortal.

With the cage in hand, she exited out of the office and made sure not to look back. Though she was confident that she could feel the woman's eyes watching her leave.

Once she'd exited into the hall, Zelda felt as if she was almost running out of the school. Not that she did run, instead she merely strode towards her car, knowing she needed to return to the Academy with the familiar before noon. And given that it was half-past nine, there was no need for her to walk this fast.  

And yet, it felt as if she should. Because if she was honest with herself, Zelda had intended to walk into that office and undo the very same contract that had only been set up a day prior. But she hadn't. Instead, she had ended up getting fucked by her.

Zelda set the cage in the passenger side, buckling the seatbelt over it to keep it steady before climbing into the driver's seat. Once the door had shut, and the motor had purred on, a wave of guilt rolled through her. It twisted at her stomach and gripped her lungs.

Zelda knew it was wrong, and yet she wanted her again. Worse, she knew when Lilith beckoned for her, she would heed the request and obey.

Looking to the rearview mirror, she wiped at the smudged lipstick, fixing around the edges before putting the car into reverse and pulling out of the parking lot.

The vehicle hummed, a ticking noise in the change of gears that she would need to have looked over soon. The radio buzzed some horrible mortal music, and Zelda tried very hard not to focus on the residue feeling of Lilith's fingers inside of her.

"Satan save me," she whispered and looked to Leviathan. "You should ensure that keep your mouth shut about this unless you want to lose your tail."

Leviathan gave a soft squeak before backing into the corner of the cage. At least someone respected her authority.

The drive seemed short as her thoughts circled over the tryst. Despite her intentions, she could feel Lilith's touch over hers again and again, as she contemplated what the right thing to do was (usually Zelda didn't care about what was right, but this effected more than her own life, and the repercussion it could have on her family were too disastrous for her to dismiss).

On the one hand, she felt as though Sabrina deserved the truth about Ms Wardwell and the Dark Lord's intentions, and yet on the other, she knew if she informed her niece, the girl was likely to rebel for the sake of rebelling against the Dark Lord, which would have its own repercussions.

And yet if she didn't tell her, and Sabrina found out she knew all along, she would never trust her again.

Over and over, she considered the different circumstances, of what they might mean for Sabrina, for her family, for her coven –– and still she couldn't decide. The Dark Lord had not directly advised her to keep it hidden, so she swore no oath to do so.

Even Lilith hadn't sworn her to secrecy. Instead, she annoyingly proclaimed that Zelda wouldn't speak the truth (which ironically made Zelda want to tell for that reason alone).

Still, it wasn't a good enough reason.

Even as she arrived at the Academy, unbuckling the seatbelt that held Leviathan's cage in place, her thoughts circled over and over. She wanted to tell Sabrina, she wanted Lilith, and the two situations could not mutually exist.

"Sister Blackwood," Prudence said as she stepped out of the car. "His Unholiness has requested to see you."

Zelda pulled the cage out, feeling her shoulders deflate. Of course, he did. Likely, he was ready to make a plea bargain with her. Well, there was very little that could change her mind.

"Did he say what he has to offer?"

Prudence shrugged, but the smirk she had on her face caused Zelda to narrow her eyes. There was something smug about the girl. Something that made Zelda caused anxiety to snake through her nerves, and yet she knew that Prudence would side-step her every question if she pushed.

"Lead the way," she said, taking the cage in hand.

Prudence led her through the halls of the Academy, taking her to Faustus' chambers where she opened the door and gestured Zelda to enter.

Zelda overlooked the area, taking a deep breath to see if she could feel any hexes or curses that laid in the area. There was nothing outside of the usual protection charms.

Stepping into the foyer, she looked over the dim lighting. Faustus sat before the furnace, next to a cradle which he rocked with the toe of his shoe.

Zelda held the cage tighter and stepped towards him, feeling the warmth flicker over her skin as she came into light and Faustus eyes moved to her. He reclined in his armchair, gripping a glass of scotch with one hand as he continued to nudge the cradle, rocking the sleeping Judas.

"Zelda," he greeted.

"Faustus," she said in turn. "We have Leviathan."

"So I've been advised." He turned and looked at the creature, casting it a sharp glare. "And I suspect you'll turn it over the council?"

Zelda stared at him. He was at ease, unconcerned towards the threat she held. Instinctively, she brought the cage closer to herself. "That depends," she admitted. "Was there any last words you had to offer that may dissuade me?"

Faustus smirked as he looked over to her as he continued to rock the babe. "Prudence came to me last night. We spoke briefly about Ambrose and the...unfortunate situation he was in."

Zelda waited, but she could feel the anxiety growing in her chest as if it would soon push and crack her ribs.

"And informed me of the most interesting thing, Zelda. You see, Prudence advised that she was not my only daughter." Zelda felt as if the room had grown colder as she looked to the crib and realised it was not baby Judas inside, but baby Leticia, their noses were different, as were the curve of their chins. "It would be a shame if any harm were to come to such a darling girl. But I hear that some witches are prone to early, childhood illness and often don't make it to their first birthday."

Zelda felt the words choke her. There was the baby girl she had tried so hard to smuggle and save from Faustus. Leticia laid in the crib, her sock falling off her left foot, suckling on a bone rattle likely gifted from Desmelda. Zelda wanted to step closer to fix the socks and swaddle her in a blanket, but she didn't allow herself to move.

She had to be careful.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"I already have a daughter," Faustus advised. "If this babe were to be returned discreetly to Dezmelda, it may suit her. However, I would request a sudden blood price."

Zelda looked to the familiar in her hand, turning to look over at Prudence who continued to smile smugly by the door. Every part of Zelda wanted to slap the girl, ask why, why would Prudence offer up her own sister as a tool for blackmail. But it didn't matter. Leticia was here, and if Zelda played her cards wrong, both of them would be slaughtered before she could do anything about it.

"How would I know that she would remain safe?" Zelda asked.

"You have my oath."

She glowered, stepping closer, "You'll have to do better than that."

"Hand over the familiar, Zelda, and you can take the babe with you to where ever you wish."

Zelda paused, looking to baby Leticia. "And Ambrose?"

"Collateral damage, he never should have lived I'm afraid."

No, of course not. Zelda felt her heart sink. Her choice was simple, a witch's life for a warlock's. How could she choose? She looked to Leticia, suckling on the rattle, and then to Prudence, her pride fracturing across her face, uncertain of what Zelda would choose. Unsure of what she wanted in the choice. And then she looked back to Faustus.

His face was calm, unwavering. Convinced that he had her in the crosshairs.

"No," Zelda said, holding the familiar close. "For your life, you'll allow both Leticia and Ambrose to live."

"I'll kill the baby now if that's what you'll have."

"You won't," Zelda said. "Because if you do, you know that I'll take Leviathan to the Council and you lose all bargaining with me. The offer is there. Ambrose, Leticia, Judas and Prudence are to be safe against your hand and will. They will live the rest of their lives out, and you will not harm a single hair on their head. Only then will the Leviathan disappear. Should anything change, then I suppose an interesting conversation will be held with the Council."

"Ridiculous."

"Is it?" she asked. Placing the familiar down on the ground, she banished it from the room, taking it out of the play so that Faustus couldn't attempt anything senseless. "There, now it's out of sight."

Faustus rose, anger fuelling his face as he tried to summon the cage back, and then failing because he had no idea where she'd banished it.

"Tell me Faustus, what do you think the Council will do when they find out that not only was it you who was behind the assassination but that you're the cause of the needless slaughtering of warlock members when we're in such short supply of them?"

Faustus growled at her, low and deep in his throat. And for a moment she was sure he'd try something. Then his hand lowered, and a sad, resigned look took over his face. "And how do I know I can trust you?" he asked.

There, Zelda knew she had him. "You'll have my oath. A witch's oat," she said. "No less or more than that."

Faustus glared at her, his lips drawing over his teeth, baring them like some animal. Zelda stood tall, glaring across at him. His options were limited, and his attempt at blackmail pitiful. She knew him well enough to know that his sense of self-preservation was too strong to let him ruin this chance.

"Leticia and Judas," he offered instead.

"Father-!" Prudence snapped.

"Ambrose, Prudence, Leticia and Judas," she repeated. "No less or more. I'm sure even you could manage that."

"Done," he agreed tightly, sitting back in the armchair.

Zelda smiled, walking over to him, she held out at her hand to seal the oath. Faustus glared at it, obviously looking for a loophole in the words before he raised his hand and shook hers, clutching tight enough in an attempt to fracture her fingers.

She smiled through it.

"By these words, bind us in an oath. For the lives of Ambrose, Prudence, Leticia and Judas, the familiar with not be bestowed to the Council," she said, invoking the witch's oath. "So let it be."

"By these words, bind us in an oath. For the familiar to not be bestowed to the Council, I will not harm the lives of Ambrose, Prudence, Leticia and Judas. So let it be."

The magic zapped between their hands, seeming to buzz through their palms and up their forearms. Zelda dropped her away first, watching the anger fester in Faustus' eyes. She knew he loathed her now, having humiliated him in front of a witness would serve to stoke that fury for some time.

"Prudence," Zelda called. "Why don't you take Leticia back to Dezmelda? I'm sure she's quite worried about her."

"Of course," Prudence said. She walked over to the crib and picked the baby up carefully, ensuring she supported the head as she cradled her. "I'll return soon," she said to her father, but Zelda could hear a hollowness in her voice.

Zelda turned looked Faustus over, noticing his cravat wasn't sitting right (likely showing his anxiety this morning when he dressed). "I take it classes remain suspended for the day?"

"They are," he agreed. "You know, Sabrina will be pleased with this. She will likely try to produce the familiar, and then you'll be in violation of your oath."

"Let me worry about Sabrina. You should be concerned about how you're going to save Ambrose."

Faustus scowled at the tone she took, but Zelda didn't care. She stepped forward towards him, fixing his cravat so it sat flush against the collar, watching as a conflicted look overcame Faustus' face as if he couldn't stand her hands touching him, and didn't want her to stop. "Time's ticking, Faustus. I would come up with a plan soon." She smoothed the lapels of his jacket before stepping away and exiting out of his chambers.

Faustus was right, however. She would need to find Sabrina and advise her towards the situation as soon as possible.

[sadienita]

Opposites Attract - Part 2

Wonwoo x Reader

Word Count: 1.7k

Note: involves partying, and drinking

You were excited to finally properly visit Wonwoo’s house and actually meet some of his friends. Parties were one of your favourite things and even though Wonwoo didn’t love them you hoped he’d come and spend a little time with you.

You might have scared Wonwoo with how loudly you had screamed when he told you about the party. Apparently two of the other’s in the frat, Jeonghan and Soonyoung, basically had to beg the head of the house to accept. Wonwoo said that Seungcheol was making them clean the house for a month but he did agree to the house party. 

You, for one, loved parties. Wonwoo said house being full of strangers wasn’t his favourite thing but since you were so excited he would at least hang out for a little while. But parties were your thing. You had no qualms about having a few drinks, especially for a party, and you loved meeting people. You and Wonwoo had been on three dates and had spent plenty of time texting but you had yet to properly meet any of his housemates. You’d seen some of them before, at trivia and once when you stopped by his house before a date. But you always went out and did something so you were excited to finally meet some of his friends.

You also just loved getting to know new people. Parties were fun. You were naturally a loud person. It’s not like you were screaming during lectures or while walking down the street but your voice was loud, your laugh was loud. You had no problem being dramatic and excitable and the center of attention. You could be as loud as you wanted when music was blaring and people were talking. It didn’t feel out of place and as comfortable as you tried to be with who you were, some days it was nice to be in an environment where you just fit in easily.

You weren’t sure if Wonwoo would be up to the whole party. He was quiet and he already told you that normally he would hide out in his room but he would stay up for some of it if you wanted to be there. None of your dates had been too crazy. You were already starting to see that he was shy. When you were at a cafe he was all quiet, witty, comments and sly smiles while sipping on coffee. Looks that made your knees weak and made you lose your train of thought. But when it was just the two of you in a room at a karaoke bar he let loose a little more. He made jokes and laughed a little louder and let himself be a little more silly.

You had noticed other things too. You noticed that he had a competitive streak and so did you. Your arcade date had been too much fun that ended in you buying lunch because you lost one too many games. You were already planning a Mario Kart showdown with each other, you just needed a prize to compete for.

You had also learned that he was wildly intelligent. He was studying history but he seemed to know so much about everything. So far almost any question you asked him, he had an answer for. You were proud that you were able to answer a communications related question that he couldn’t. It made you feel good to teach him something.

He was thoughtful and had a good memory. He picked up on little details so easily. He brought you your favourite drink every time you got together. He had learned your favourite candies and snacks already and took care to bring them or suggest them when you wanted something. You had a sneaking suspicion he would also make sure they had some at the party too.

You hadn’t been able to convince Dal or Seunghan to come to the party but Noeul, ever your right hand woman, had helped you figure out what to wear and was now on the bus with you on the way to the party. It should have started 10 minutes ago so you were hoping that by the time you got there the party would be in full swing. You never wanted to show up early for a house party unless you were helping the hosts. You had also debated on pre-drinking, but decided against it. You could start when you got there.

You and Noeul jumped off the bus and practically raced down the sidewalk to the house. The music was already blaring and you grinned as you made your way up the laneway and through the door. You and Noeul cracked open your drinks as soon as you got your coats off. She twisted off the top of her cooler and you your wine that tasted more like juice than alcohol. You wandered into the living room where a rousing game of beer pong was already in action.

“Welcome.”

You and Noeul turned to see a tall, good looking man leaning against the wall. Another guy stood next to him, eyes glued to his phone. The first guy bumped him and he looked up for a second before returning his attention to his screen.

“Are you ever going to talk to people?”

He grunted in response.

“I’m sorry about Jun, ladies.” he sighed. “His soulmate, Tiyanna, lives halfway around the world and he misses her.”

“That must be hard,” pouted Noeul.

“I’m sure he’ll survive, I’m Jeonghan, by the way.”

“Ah,” you said, a grin spreading across your lips. “So you’re the one who’s in charge of the party.”

“One of two,” he smirked, gesturing to the beer pong game. “Soonyoung is over there with Seungkwan, getting his ass beat at beer pong by Mochou and Chan. Wouldn’t have guessed the youngest in the house would be so good at this.” You took in the excited beer pong game that was happening in front of you. Soonyoung seemed very drunk already, but he was smiling and having a good time regardless of their imminent loss. A girl was hanging off of Seungkwan that you assumed was his soulmate, or at the very least his girlfriend. At the other end of the table Chan and Mochou worked so well together they had to be soulmates, though anytime they did well a small girl cheered excitedly for them and kissed Chan on the cheek.

“How did you hear about the party?”

You brought your attention back to Jeonghan as he took a sip of his beer. “Oh, my boyfriend told me about it. Speaking of which, have you seen Wonwoo around yet?”

He gave you a curious look before shaking his head. “I’d imagine he hasn’t come down from his room yet. But if he knows you’re coming I’m sure he’ll pop down sooner or later.” Jeonghan turned his attention to Noeul. “Did you come with anyone?”

“Oh I’m completely unattached,” she grinned before taking his hand and leading him out of the room.

You wandered towards the beer pong table as the game drew to a close while Mochou, Chan, and the other girl celebrated their win. You didn’t quite understand what was happening with them but you shrugged it off, they seemed happy and it wasn’t your place to judge.

You gave a very pouty looking Soonyoung a smile as he slumped into a chair. “You played valientley.” 

“And we still lost! Mochou and Chan are a dream team.” he grumbled into his drink.

“Are you still up to play?” you asked.

He grinned and got out of his chair. “Yeah of course! You’ll need a partner, though.”

“I would get Wonwoo to play, but I haven’t seen him yet. And the friend I came with already disappeared with Jeonghan. But it kinda looks like you need a partner too.”

Soonyoung spun around and groaned when his eyes fell on Seungkwan who was very much preoccupied with his girlfriend on his lap and her tongue down his throat.

“Some partner he is,” Soonyoung grumbled. “Why Wonwoo, anyway?”

“Oh, he’s my soulmate,” you said brightly. Soonyoung gave you a weird look before sipping his beer and searching the room.

“Well anyway, well still need two more.” Soonyoung narrowed his eyes before grinning. “Seokminnie~” he sang.

A tall, handsome guy turned towards the two of you and smiled, a little wary.

“What do you want, Soonyoung?”

“Join us for a game of beer bong? This is Wonwoo’s soulmate by the way.”

He sighed but nodded. “Fine, who else is playing?”

“Would you go ask Mingyu?” Soonyoung asked, batting his eyelashes.

“I knew you wanted something from me,” he grumbled. “I’ll go get him.”

Soonyoung and you cheered as he disappeared around the corner and came back a few moments later with an even taller boy you assumed was Mingyu.

“Great! Okay you two against us!” Soonyoung and you raced to your end of the table. Mingyu threw Seokmin a look but took up the opposing side.

You and Soonyoung were very loud throughout the whole game. You cheered and high fived for every win and whined and booed for every loss. You started to lose track of the game after a while but Mingyu kept up with it and eventually announced that you and Soonyoung had won. You screeched as you wrapped him up in a hug before feeling a warmth in your chest. You flipped around and smiled at Wonwoo who had finally made it down from his room. You raced over to him and hugged him, feeling him tense in your arms.

“What’s wrong?” you pouted, pulling back.

He shook his head. “It’s nothing. I just… parties aren’t my thing. That’s all.”

You nodded and processed his words before you heard Soonyoung call your name. You looked back to see him, Seokmin, and Mingyu hanging out in the corner with a large bag of cheetos.

“Oh! Okay! I’ll go get us drinks and then I’m gonna go sit over there, okay?”

Wonwoo chuckled and let you go. You made your way to the kitchen to find drinks, briefly catching sight of Noeul and Jeonghan, both with very messy hair, Jeonghan’s arm around her waist. Noeul was giggling and tracing a fresh hickie on his neck. 

You grabbed the drinks and started to make your way back. The main entrance to the living room was full of people so you made your way down the hall and around to the other entrance. You knew the guys were sitting closer to that anyway. You listened and slowed down as you approached the room.

“… like Soonyoung.”

“I know its-”

“Surprising?”

“Shocking.”

You backed against the wall and listened, trying to figure out who was speaking when, your boozy haze not helping in the slightest.

“She’s… not what I expected…”

“She’s the exact opposite of you!”

“Well I mean-”

“Is she really your type?”

They were all quiet for a moment.

“… she’s my soulmate… so she has to be.”

[sunsetscurving]

CHASING STARS

Ch. 12

ao3 link

In a world where reincarnation is common and expected, people stopped to care for a reason or how many times they already lived – they have no memory of their past life anymore.

But Lucas Lallemant can feel that this isn’t his first life, some shreds of his former life still present in his new one. He has this feeling that something from his past life tied him so much to it that he has to find it again in his new life.

Something. Or someone.

TW: mental illness/mental health

The sun was slowly setting over their beautiful city and Lucas was truly and utterly happy. His arms were wrapped around his legs which he drew to his chest, his chin resting on his knees and a small smile danced around on his lips.

This was a perfect date.

With a perfect boy.

Lucas slowly turned his head to the left side, watching the last sunlight of the day shining into the other boy’s face, illuminating his eyes so that they seemed like a dark blue. He seemed to realize Lucas staring and usually, Lucas would turn away his head by now, his cheeks blushing.

But not this time.

This time, Lucas held his gaze and they slowly moved towards each other as if their bodies were magically drawn to each other. Lucas’ hand wandered into the messy hair of the other boy, making his opposite sigh with a smile on his face while closing his eyes.

And this was the second he did it.

Lucas leaned in, slowly covering the other boy’s lips with his own. Lucas shivered, the other one slightly gasping on Lucas’ lips, being surprised that Lucas took this important and long overdue step.

But this was the right thing to do.

And Eliott Demaury was the right boy for him.

.

Lucas gasped, pulling away from Eliott. He suddenly felt so dizzy, everything, his whole world, seemed to shift out of his place into a totally different direction.

Which actually was the case.

Him.

“Lucas?”

Lucas couldn’t focus on Eliott who caught him before he fell down, his legs giving up on their own. So many pictures flooded his mind, playing in front of his eyes like a movie in the cinema. Only that this was not a movie. These were memories. Memories from another time.

Memories from another life.

Lucas knew it. He knew it all along. The vivid dreams and the flashbacks… they all made sense now and he was kind of glad that he wasn’t going mad, that all these strange events had a reason.

This was not his first life and now he was hundred percent sure of it.

Moment after moment, different parts of his past life came back in a flood, nearly drowning Lucas who hadn’t seen this coming at all.

And it all came back because of this kiss.

“Lucas? What is it?”

Eliott’s concerned voice pulled him out of his trance for a second, the pictures stopping for a second so Lucas could focus on Eliott, breathing heavily. He looked worried. He surely thought that he did something wrong, that Lucas did something wrong in kissing him, that it was a mistake.

But Lucas didn’t regret a single second.

It was just that all the pictures, all the moments in his mind where connected to Eliott.

“You”, whispered Lucas simply.

And he remembered it all.

Their dates, their time together.

Eliott drawing Lucas, Eliott taking Lucas out, Eliott cuddling with Lucas, Eliott holding Lucas, Eliott walking hand in hand with Lucas, Eliott kissing Lucas, Eliott making Lucas laugh, Eliott drying his tears whenever he broke down. Eliott always being there whenever Lucas needed him.

Eliott, Eliott, Eliott, Eli—

“What? I’m—have you hurt yourself on the track? Do you need anything? I—”

And suddenly, Eliott stopped while speaking, realization dawning on his face. His eyes slowly widened, the raindrops dripping from the hair in his face which brought another moment to the surface of Lucas’ mind, both of them running through the rain, hand in hand, trying to catch the bus while laughing and…

This never happened.

But it did happen.

Just not in this life.

Eliott was still staring at Lucas, his lips slightly parted, breathing faster as if he was afraid by Lucas’ reaction. And Lucas was actually afraid too. Eliott, in contrast to Lucas knew everything about his past life, he knew how he died and he found him again despite all the years that have passed and…

Suddenly, a frown was fighting its way on Lucas’ still shocked face.

If Eliott had been with Lucas twenty fucking years ago, he would be an adult now, not recognizable for Lucas.

And yet…

“You remember, right?”

Eliott’s voice was shaking slightly, his eyes slowly filling with water. Lucas couldn’t tell if it were tears of joy or sadness or sorrow or… The rain was still pouring down from the sky, their clothes already sticking to their skin. And Lucas could do nothing else than staring at the boy in front of him who was even more a mystery to him now after some higher force decided it would be good for Lucas to know about his former life. He didn’t know how to react around Eliott now. He didn’t know what to think or what to do or…

Slowly but surely, the stream of pictures were shifting into the background and the thousand questions Lucas had were literally screaming inside of his head now, occupying Lucas’ whole being, his whole consciousness.

Why did I found Eliott again? Can love beat even death? Was our love that strong? Why am I back? Is Eliott the reason why I’m reincarnated, the reason I so long searched for? Is Eliott also reincarnated? Is this some sick game fate decided to play?

And one question seemed to be louder than anything else.

How and why did I die?

“Lucas, say something”, said Eliott quietly after Lucas had been silent for a long time after his question. But Lucas couldn’t. He didn’t trust his voice anymore, he didn’t even trust his body anymore. He was not sure who he was and what he was and why of millions of people he was reincarnated, finding the love of his former life again.

“I—”

Eliott was just about to grab Lucas’ hands but he couldn’t. He pulled his hands away, surely regretting this movement after some of his first confusion faded away, but Lucas needed space right now. It was nothing directed against Eliott personally but he was the one who triggered everything of this. Although Lucas always knew that he was special, that a reincarnation was quiet possible in his case, the naked truth, the confirmation was something different. Lucas couldn’t properly breath and he was sure that he would break in thousand pieces with someone touching him right now. Also if this someone was Eliott Demaury, the man who could maybe help him solve all of this. The man he had feelings for, strong feelings and who looked at him with so much worry in his eyes, probably afraid that Lucas would reject him anytime soon. The man Lucas would, in fact, probably reject now without even wanting to.

The man who maybe was even the reason why he was here on this planet again.

Maybe he was the one who killed me and now I’m back so he can do it again.

This thought sent shivers down his spine, Lucas getting sick of his own thoughts right now. How could his fucking stupid head even think of anything like this? And could the pictures and moments and memories please stop running through his head like a fucking picture show? Lucas was laying his hands on the side of his head now, pressing his hands over his ears like he always did when his phonophobia kicked in. And to be honest, this was also a kind of phonophobia for Lucas right now: The voices in his head wouldn’t shut up for one fucking second and he was already so tired and overwhelmed with everything that he just wanted to lay down, fall asleep and never wake up again.

Eliott was moving his lips, still looking unbelievable worried while the rain slowly stopped. Which Lucas didn’t even realize.

“Please, Lucas. Talk with me. I’m afraid.”

Not only you.

“I can’t”, whispered Lucas now, his eyes darting around, never really fixing on a point, “I’m sorry.”

And with that, he stumbled into the night, his feet running faster and faster and faster till the night passed by him in a blur, his sight blurry too from the tears of exhaustion which were now running down his face.

“Lucas!”

He needed space.

“Lucas, please come back!”

He needed a quiet place.

“It’s too dangerous to be alone right now!”

He needed rest.

He was hurting Eliott.

I’m gonna be okay, I’m gonna be okay.

But would he really be?

.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

Eliott stared at the place where Lucas just disappeared, fear being one of so many emotions which had been dancing on his face.

He remembered.

He remembered his past life and he remembered Eliott and everything that happened.

Does he also remember how he died…?

Eliott felt panic rising in his throat. He never thought that Lucas would be able to remember his past life, he never thought that their first kiss in Lucas’ second lifetime would trigger every memory of his past. Eliott had been so happy some minutes ago when he finally felt Lucas’ lips on his own, something inside him loosening what has been tense for so long. Eliott thought that he finally had his boy back, that everything would be better after all of the shit which happened.

And now…

Now he lost him.

Again.

And Eliott felt like dying.

After Lucas parted from him, staring at Eliott with his big, blue eyes, Eliott knew that something was wrong. And when he realized that the memories from his past life came back, he regretted everything he did or said in the past days. He shouldn’t have played with fate this much. Eliott was some supernatural being and wrong and unknown things shouldn’t even be alive in a world like this, beings like him shouldn’t intervene in the course of life.

And yet he did.

Because he loved Lucas too much.

Maybe Lucas hated him now. Maybe Lucas thought that Eliott played some sick game with him, finding him again and again in every lifetime of Lucas’. Maybe Lucas’ mind had twisted memories of his past life, every positive moment turned into a negative one by some cruel higher force.

Eliott didn’t know.

All he did know was that Lucas was gone, without any explanation.

He couldn’t breathe properly and started to shake, everything around him slowly blurring together till he couldn’t focus on anything anymore. His legs started to shake and he had the feeling to hyperventilate any second from now on.

An episode was starting.

All of that triggered his mental health.

I lost him.

Eliott tried to fish out his phone with shake fingers, tears slowly streaming down his face.

I should have never approached him.

Eliott unlocked his phone, dialing a phone number as familiar as his own heartbeat.

This was all a big mistake.

“Hello?”

“Idriss?”

“Fuck, Eliott. It’s in the middle of the night. Where are you even?”

Eliott felt like throwing up. He sank down to his knees, still wet and shaking uncontrollable. The whole twenty years, he waited for this moment to happen. He waited for Lucas, swearing to himself that he would get things right, that he would find his hedgehog again.

And now, after his dream finally came true, the one thing he still lived for, was being ripped away from him.

“I— He remembers, Idriss.”

There was some silence on the other end of the line.

“Everything?”, asked Idriss silently, his voice suddenly hoarse.

“I— I don’t fucking know. But he went away and I—”

Eliott took a shaky breath, a sob escaping his mouth without him wanting to.

“He’s gone. He’s gone, Idriss. And he’ll never be back.”

“Okay, where are you, Eli? I’ll pick you up.”

Eliott started to look around, the tears in his eyes making it difficult for him to see. The night was pitch black, only the light from the street lantern illuminated the otherwise dark street. Eliott was kneeling on the ground, the gravel from the street burying itself in his skin where his jeans was ripped. He actually didn’t know where he was. He was somewhere and nowhere to the same time.

“Okay, I got your location. Wait there for me, I’ll be there in some minutes.”

“Idriss, don’t hang—”

But the sound of the ended call ringed in Eliott’s ears, the silence slowly folding around Eliott again. He was laid his head on his knees now, arms wrapped around his legs. He didn’t tried to stop the tears from escaping his eyes.

All his waiting had been worthless.

All his praying had been useless.

All his dreams had been crushed within a second.

Happiness and absolutely sadness lay so close to each other.

“I fucked up”, whispered Eliott to himself, his voice broken and hoarse and quiet in his own ears.

Eliott felt like destroying himself. He felt like screaming so loud that his world would eventually combust from all the pain laying in his scream. He felt like ripping apart everything which came to his hands, he felt like blaming everything and no one at once for playing foul games with his heart and his being.

He felt like his world shattered around him.

A world without Lucas in it.

Eliott didn’t hear the car, he just felt some kind of light on him. And he wasn’t even strong enough to lift his head to see where this light came from. And he couldn’t give a fuck, to be honest.

“Eliott!”

As someone suddenly screamed his name, Eliott lifted his head slowly nevertheless. He saw  a shadow running towards him, squinting against the bright light which was blinding him.

“Fuck, Eliott. Get off of the ground. You’re getting sick.”

He finally recognized the voice.

Idriss came.

How much time did pass till I phoned him?

Idriss was now next to him, kneeling down and taking his arms, wanting to pull him up. But Eliott didn’t feel like getting up. He didn’t feel like doing anything at all.

“I don’t fucking care”, mumbled Eliott quietly to himself

“Oh, but I do fucking care. And Lucas does too.”

“Lucas doesn’t give a fuck about me.”

“Lucas just found out that he was being reincarnated. How would you have reacted?”

Eliott stayed silent.

“Exactly”, said Idriss with a strong voice and pulled Eliott now up, regardless of his light protests, “And I won’t accept you pitying yourself now. You fought for Lucas all these years and now you will just give up?”

“Idriss”, said Eliott now, focusing on his best friend who still had his hands on his arms, “Lucas seems to hate me. You should’ve seen him. How he looked at me. He fucking loathes me. It’s over, Idriss.”

“Fuck it, Eliott. As if something like this had stopped you before.”

Eliott stared at Lucas and was still shaking.

“We’re going home now and Lucas loves you. He will come back eventually, I promise.”

“How can you promise anything like this?”, asked Eliott quietly, his voice weak now and hoarse from all the quiet crying.

“Because I have been living for some years now. I have some experience.”

And Eliott couldn’t even argue against that argument.

[daemongal]

The greatest gift

V x reader, angst, SFW.

T.W. mention of thoughts of suicide.

For some reason I have decided to celebrate V's special day with this. Hope you enjoy my first attempt at writing angst :)

___________

Today was V's birthday, and the anniversary of the day you met the tattooed man, a day you would never forget.

You had found him shambling around looking lost and disjointed, completely stark naked. You can’t really remember what went through your mind at that moment. Normally you’d stay as far away as possible from weird men, especially those who were happy enough to put themselves on display, but you remember feeling an intense desire to protect him, the moment you laid eyes on him; a feeling skin to how a mother feels the first time they hold their child in their arms.

You gave him your coat to cover his modesty and established that his name was V. You remember how taken aback he was at your generosity when you welcomed him into your home and how confused he was at your concern for his wellbeing. You fed him, worried that he hadn’t eaten in days considering how frail his body looked. He would always tell you that he was fine, and that his body was just weak.

When everything started going to hell, he was there at your side, protecting you with every ounce of his being. You would tell him repeatedly how strong he was, how brave he was but a look of guilt seemed to forever linger in his eyes. You took refuge with him at the Devil May Cry which remained vacant in a somewhat safer part of town, after its proprietor had fallen at the hands of the Demon King. V told you to leave, to evacuate from the town and stay away, but you couldn’t leave him. You knew you couldn’t protect him, but you still wanted to be there for him. He said you gave him strength, the strength to keep fighting.

He would leave in the mornings, scouting for any survivors, returning just after sunset each day with supplies and stories of his exploits. You would listen to him talk for hours, savouring every note of his voice. Each night you would retreat to bed and hold each other so tight that not even the splitting of the earth could separate you.

It was love, of that much you were sure. You still remember the look of pure disbelief on his face when you told him the first time. He told you he was undeserving, that your love was too good for him, that he was a weak and futile being that could never give you the happiness you truly deserved.

“If only he knew how wrong he was” you thought. You smiled to yourself, pulling yourself out of your daydream as you pressed the buzzer on the bus, signalling it to stop. You stepped down the ramp that had been lowered for you, flashing a smile at the bus driver as you left. You knew you had a bit of a walk to your destination, buses tended to just stick to the main roads these days, but you didn’t mind. You enjoyed the memories attached to these tracks.

You knew back then he had secrets, but you told him time and time again that his secrets were his and his alone and that you knew him well enough that anything he kept from you would be for your protection.

You sighed as you walked further up the track. You knew nothing would have changed if you had known, if he had told you the truth. His determination and drive were the features that drew you to him, and you knew nothing would have changed his goal or the outcome. Redgrave was slowly recovering from its loss, and you had a family now. It was chaotic and messy, but Kyrie’s cooking was second to none and Nero was like the brother you never had.

You hadn’t been to visit V in a while, a guilty pang hit your chest at the thought, but your life had become busy as of late and you knew he would understand. You smiled as you were nearing the house on the hill; his family home.

You knew there was something wrong that morning. He had woken you up earlier than usual, a darkness and passion in his eyes deeper than you had ever seen before. You had made love with unrivalled intensity as he whispered sweet nothings into your ear, and etched his very presence onto your soul. He told you he would be back by nightfall, as he always was. You didn’t believe him, yet there you stood, at the door giving him his kiss goodbye, waving him off as you always did. The tears began to fall soon after. You remember the door opening that night and the elation you felt. When Nero stepped through the door, bloodied and bruised avoiding any and all eye contact, you dropped to the floor, legs no longer able to bear the despair you felt.

You took a deep breath as you stood at your destination. You put the breaks on the stroller and reached for the flowers resting against the hood. You had decided on white lilies, soft and gentle much like his heart. You placed them on the memorial as you dusted the headstone with your hand, removing any debris. You gently lifted your daughter out of their seat and held her.

“Hey V.” You started, taking a deep breath to still your words. “Sorry it’s been a while, I’ve been pretty preoccupied.” You gazed lovingly towards your daughter. “Isn’t she incredible darling. Born of our love. Your legacy.” You pressed a kiss to her soft head to calm your shaking breath. You promised that you would always be strong for him, and that wasn’t going to change.

“She has your eyes. The nurses said they’d never seen a new born like her; lily white hair and eyes that looked like they’d seen the world five times over. Nero's enamoured with her. Calls himself Uncle Nero, he’s even stopped swearing, said he doesn’t want to be a bad influence, I know, you’d have to see it to believe it. Nico's determined that her first words are going to be dead weight.” You laughed quietly to yourself, fighting back the heat rising in your face and the stinging in the corners of your eyes.

“Still no sign of Dante returning, or Nero's old man. I hope they’re both ok. I’d like to meet him sometime, Virgil that is. Tell him how lucky he is to have such a great son. I don’t think it’ll be long before little Eva has herself a cousin. I’ve seen the way Kyrie looks at him when he holds her.” She held your index finger tightly in her hand as you spoke.

“Oh yeah, I hope you don’t mind, I named her after your mother. You were always at your happiest when you spoke about your childhood and I wanted to picture that smile whenever I looked at her.” You paused for a moment to gather your thoughts .

“I’m so sorry that you weren’t here to... to hold her with... me...” your vision blurred as you felt a familiar warmth on your cheeks, as the tears began to pour from your eyes against your control. Your arms shook as you placed Eva back in her seat and collapsed to your knees, hands against your face, throat burning from fighting back the tears and chest heaving with every intake of breath.

“I promised myself I wouldn’t do this! I never wanted you to see me like this. I needed to be strong for you V, I was your strength, I was your reason to keep fighting. I’ve needed you so much these past few months, I’ve fought so hard. I’ve struggled so much. Every time I look at her, I see you. If it wasn’t for her I... I... probably wouldn’t even be here.” You were sobbing uncontrollably, spilling your heart out, everything you wanted to hide and conceal behind a facade. But you were breaking, you couldn’t keep it up any more.

“I was ready to join you V, oh so ready. And then I found out, I had a life inside of me; a life that we created together. Even though you’re not here, every part of you that has been left behind is keeping me going, keeping me alive, protecting me. Someone weak couldn’t do that, someone weak couldn’t create such beauty.” The tears eased as you glanced towards your daughters peaceful face. You wiped your eyes, the tears stilling for long enough for you to regain some of your composure.

“Love seeketh not itself to please, nor for itself hath any care, but for another gives its ease, and builds a heaven in hells despair.” You read the words engraved into the headstone in front of you, tracing them with your fingers as you did. “I spent many a long night reading your book. The only peace I could find was in its pages. I read this one from the hospital bed the night I found out about our treasure and nothing has ever resonated with me more.”

You shared a few moments of silence, before a familiar gurgling began from behind you. You chuckled as you stood up. “For someone who used to struggle to clear a plate of food, you sure made one hungry baby.” You lifted her and cradled her against your breast. “Thank you , V. You’ve given me the greatest gift I could have imagined. How something so pure could have been born from a hell so grim, only you could have done this.” You looked down the hill to see the familiar van waiting. Nico knew you were coming today and offered to pick you up on her way back home, knowing you’d probably not want to face public transport.

“Looks like my ride is here. Nico's always on time now, and her driving has never been better. She realised her driving was not child safe in the slightest. How I made it to the hospital in one piece when I went into labour I'll never know. I don’t know who was freaking out more, her or Nero!” You smiled at the happy memories. You had so many of them now, and it was all possible because of him.

“Happy birthday, V. I’ll make sure she knows who her father was and how incredible he was.” You placed Eva back in the stroller as she gives you a content gargle.

“I’ll make you proud V. I’ll do it for the both of us... I love you.”

___________

A/N: I decided to go with a scenario where you were never told about what really happened in the Qliphoth. As far as you were aware, he died at the hands of Urizen (just in case anyone cared enough to wonder haha). Also, for the purpose of this fic, Devil May Cry is located in Redgrave, just seemed like a good place to stow away in my mind.

I'm sorry ;_;

[cleverbroadwayurl]

Some AUs that I Love

Okay so I made a giant list of AUs, prompts, and other things that I love so that you guys could reblog/request/get inspiration from them! I know some are really similar, but honestly that just means I really love that trope! Please feel free to reblog these and use them for your own purposes! I’ll update this list as time goes on, I’m sure, as I’ve had a running list for a long time that was just on my phone. I also don’t own any of these (besides 152 and 196). 

it’s 3 am and I’m still in the library studying for finals and I’m losing my grip on reality and I think I just saw a ghost

I thought I was the only one who liked the waffle station in the cafeteria

it’s 3am, in the dead of winter, some motherfucker pulled/set off the fire alarm and I am being very vocal about how I’m gonna make that fucker pay

The guy with the bibles on the quad has cornered me and is screaming about hell, please rescue me

You’re the only one who actually responded to the desperate message I sent to the whole class about needing the notes

'i ordered a pumpkin spice latte at starbucks and you made a heart with the foam and i decided to drink it here so i can smile at you some more’ au

you walked here in a blizzard to get your hot chocolate but you forgot your wallet at home, here, let me buy your drink for you

we’re at the mall when there’s a severe weather warning over the loudspeakers, guess we’re spending the night here

“I work at a department store and if you take out and unfold a shirt and then leave it one more time I’m going to stuff it down your throat” AU

“You saw me reading the same book you did and we got into a heated discussion on how much it sucks” AU

“You have just witnessed me cry over the ending to my favorite game before class began please don’t ever tell anyone about this.”

“I’ve never talked to you before but the teacher just used us as an example for a scenario where we are married.”

“I’m exhausted, feverish, and hacking up a lung, and the student health center’s first suggestion was pregnancy, can you help me get to the ER in town” AU

“I know that this probably isn’t a good idea but it’s included in the meal plan and I’m stressed out, so I keep hitting the ice cream sundae bar in the buffet style dining hall at least a couple times a week” AU

bonding solely via eye contact over that annoying person on our plane that we’re both slowly becoming more and more exasperated about au

you fell asleep and i started making funny faces at your kid to keep them amused and the steward mistook us for a couple au

actually, any mistaken for a couple au

having to SHARE A LIVING SPACE FOR ARBITRARY FIC REASONS. having to see each other in their pajamas first thing in the morning, messy haired, drowsy eyed and soft faced. going from “you can have the bathroom first” to brushing their teeth beside each other and feeling like this closeness has always existed (at the same time, painfully aware that it won’t always).

bed sharing. :^) we all pretend we’re bigger than this but we are not. 

'room mate has a nightmare and doesn’t want to sit alone at night’ au 

'room mate gets sick and needs tissues and cough sweets and soup’ au

ok but a ‘your apartment is next to/above mine and i can hear you and your partner dancing and singing and the bed moving and you two laughing and talking in hussed tones and it won’t let me sleep so i bitch about it to you 24/7 and one day it stops and one day turns to one week and then months and i haven’t seen you smile in forever please let me     in, i’ve been knocking for ten minutes’ au.

Don’t tell anyone you saw me crying AU

did you actually just blue shell me on our date you fucker

I’m calling to cancel our date because I’m actually in the ER right now, sorry. …I mean, sure, I guess you can come down here, but… okay…

You’re my waiter and I’m on a really crappy date with an asshole

'i’m having a minor breakdown in the middle of bed bath and beyond and you’re a bewildered shopper who wants to buy plates but also to make sure i’m okay bc im wailing a little bit in the kitchenware section’ au

“I’m in a bookshop and I really need that book can you get it for me??? Wait you’ve read that book? let’s have an in depth conversation about it.”

“You were trying to reach for a box of cereal and a whole shelf’s-worth of cereal boxes fell on you here let me help”

“We’re on the bus and I’m really not trying to take up your space I’m sorry I just have rlly rlly long legs” 

“You’re afraid that you’ll lose me in big crowds so you always hold my hand but now you just hold my hand when there’s only, like, five people around and I’m getting vry suspicious” 

It’s like 3AM and my roommate locked me out of the house and I forgot my keys and I’m really drunk pls take pity on me and let me crash at your place for the night o’ neighbor of mine AU

The walls in this apartment building are really thin and I can hear you having mental breakdowns all the time are you okay? AU

“I barely know you but my boyfriend just broke up with me and you heard me crying so you brought over ice cream and movies” AU

I was in a hurry and I ran into you outside the coffee shop while you were carrying two lattes and it turns out they were both for you except that now you’re wearing them I’m so sorry

‘i offer you my bed to sleep in bc our respective roommates are getting it on in your room and take the sofa to sleep on only i wake up back in my bed with your tiny body wrapped around me and damn me if it isn’t the cutest thing i’ve ever seen’ au

You passed out in my car because of strong medication and now I have to figure out how to get you home and avoid taking a picture of your cute sleeping face.” 

 “Hi so i know we haven’t talked before but we have French Literature together and i noticed you’ve been gone and since we’re on the same dormitory floor i thought i’d stop by and give you my really thorough notes and oh wow you’re rEALLY sick are you ok?” 

you look so good and so many people are trying to pick you up and I can only sit in the corner and seethe, and now people are giving me concerned looks

“I’m going to take care of you, okay?”

“Stay the night. Please.”

“I just did some calculations, and I’ve been able to determine that you’re full of shit.”

“You’re so cute when you’re half asleep like this…”

[text]: So I might be in a hospital right now…

 I’m worried about your coffee dependency

  “My shower’s broken but I’ve got a date tonight could I possibly use your shower please?” “Oh sure (neighbour that I’ve been crushing on for the past six months) of course you can use my shower to get ready for your date (fuck fuck fuck)”

There’s a person who won’t stop bugging me will you pretend to be my partner so that they’ll fuck off?

meeting while waiting for hours on end in the emergency room au

‘i’m pretending to be ur bff bc u looked VERY uncomfortable with that person at the bar hitting on u’ AU

“We live in adjacent apartments and our bedrooms are on opposite sides of a very thin wall and one night I heard you crying and talked to you through the wall” AU

“we work at the same office and never really interacted but suddenly we’ve been taken hostage” AU

“at a concert and you kinda saved me from being trampled” AU

“can i borrow your blanket? i need to cry.” AU

‘im really sorry i keep staring but i dreamed about you horribly dying last night and i just wanted to make sure you dont spontaneously combust’

‘i drew you a mathematical heart curve for valentine’s day u nerd’

“I’m a waiter/waitress and you always sit in my section. I really like you and i thought you liked me back until you walked in here with a date, w h o o p s would you look at that I keep spilling stuff on them” au

Another waiter/waitress one: “You always come to this place and never talk much, but now these two assholes are harassing me and you step in and defend me” au

“My friends dared me to go on this rollercoaster but now that we’re at the top it looks way too scary and hellO hot person sitting next to me (careful i might puke)” au

“My significant other just broke up with me and I impulse bought like 5 pizzas. Can you help me eat them and make me feel less like shit?” AU

“You’re a store clerk and oh shit I just spotted my ex please let me hide behind your desk-thing” AU

"This has been a very bad week and you just grabbed the last box of my favorite comfort food at the supermarket” AU

“You crashed into me on your bicycle but I’m actually okay, you on the other hand look like you need some first aid” au

“this is totally awkward considering before this the only interactions we’ve ever had have been casual nods to each other in the hallway but there’s a huge fucking spider in my bath tub and you seem like the friendly neighbor type please help me” au

“it’s the middle of the night and i’m walking home alone in the dark and there’s this guy following me and he’s starting to gain on me and i found this phone booth with a lock on the door and i tried to call my best friend but my hands were shaking so badly i accidentally dialed the wrong number and i don’t even know you but help me” au

“we’ve been pen pals for like hella months and we finally decided to meet up and damn your cute, also did you break up with your jerk bf/gf yet?” au

“i was out in public and had an anxiety attack and you left your friends to give me some chocolate and talk me through it, so tysm” au

“idk you but you were getting hit on in public and you look super uncomfortable so i walked over and pretended to be your bf/gf, but hey while we’re at it, do you wanna go get some food?” au

You and I ride the same bus home every day but never talk but then you fell asleep and sorry to wake you up (you look really cute in your sleep) but it’s your stop next

it’s exam week and i run a coffee shop near the campus and you walked right into my glass door i’m laughing so hard oh my god

you started screaming bloody murder and i could hear you from my apartment and i thought something was horribly wrong but it turned out to be just a spider. and after i squashed it with a slipper you coerced me into being your spider-savior

“you’re super short and i’m sorry but it’s really really cute whenever you try to reach that book on the top shelf here lemme help you- oh no don’t be embarrassed, your face is all red and you’re even more adorable now i am going to die” au

“you fell asleep on my shoulder on the plane ride and i  would ask you to move but you look so comfy and adorable when you sleep. also you smell really good and the feeling of your breath on my skin is somewhat relaxing, maybe we can go out to lunch in this shitty airport when you wake up?” au

“i’m a quiktrip worker and whenever I work a night shift, you always arrive and buy like 3 cans of redbull and you look exhausted, do you need some help? are you okay?” au

“i catch you at the bus terminal shivering your ass off because it’s 30 degrees and for some godforsaken reason you’re wearing a short sleeve t shirt, so out of pity i lend you my hoodie and you look so surprised it’s the cutest thing i’ve ever seen, setting aside the fact that you’re a goddamn idiot, do you want to get sick?” au

(cont.) “you look so sad and cold that i just tell you to keep my hoodie b/c you obviously need it more than i do. a week later i see you at a coffee shop/book store/etc. and you’re wearing my hoodie which you look so fucking tiny and cute in, and you just saw me and you look super embarrassed; you offer me it back but i tell you it suits you more and we end up talking and i buy you a drink” au

i tried to call a crisis hotline but got one number off and started ranting for 10 minutes before you got to speak and tell me i got the wrong number but now you’re worried about me and telling me not to hang up

Character A has been working at a retail store during the night/early morning of Black Friday and is so tired, but they need to stay awake so that they can drive home. Character A stops at Character B’s small coffee shop—which opened early in case people came in at 4am—and Character A accidentally falls asleep in a very comfortable chair while waiting on their coffee. Character B lets them sleep and even gets a blanket out of the back room to cover Character A

You’ve been missing for 5 months and suddenly you turn up at my doorstep with a huge scar across your face, looking more grim than when you left and won’t talk about what happened.

You usually only order hot chocolate and yet today you’re ordering something with six shots of espresso, are you okay??? Are you gonna die???

I just took a super dangerous job and you’re trying to talk me out of it, but we really need the money

You always bring your dates here to the restaurant I wait at and now you’re here alone…you okay mate?

We are trapped in a bank during a robbery

I saw you sleeping on the couch in the lounge in the morning, but now it’s like 5 pm and you’re still here. Are you okay?

I don’t know how we ended up having to sit next to each other on a roller coaster ride—sorry I fell against you  and grabbed your hand a couple times

“You’re so small”

“I can’t breathe”

“Fight me”

“Whose head do I have to rip off?”

“Don’t you ever fucking touch them again”

Found the other in an alleyway under the influence of drugs/alcohol and brought them home

“Why am I your emergency contact?”

“Wait, you actually stayed the night?”

“If he’s going to treat you like shit, I’m gong to kick his ass.”

“I just want to cuddle and watch friends.

“I want my best friend back”

“If I ever see you anywhere near her, you’ll have to deal with me!”

“Fuck…I feel like I’ve been hit by a car”

“Who gave you that black eye?!”

“Are you drunk?”

“You got her pregnant?! What were you thinking?”

“It’s a hobby of mine to prove you wrong.”

“We should get you to a hospital.”

I’m on a terrible date and you’re my waiter please help me

just a game? jUST A GAME????? FUCK YOU I WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO WIN

“Please don’t touch me”

“Does he know about the baby?”

“Don’t fucking touch me!”

“Game’s over son of a bitch! Tell me where she is!”

“Look at me—just breathe, okay?”

“Shit, are you bleeding?”

“You haven’t touched your food. What’s going on?”

“You can’t die. Please don’t die.”

“That guy at the bar keeps staring at you.”

“You’re safe now. I’ve got you.”

“Do you want to stay over tonight?”

“Every guy you date is a total jerk and I have to watch you get heartbroken over and over again because you can’t see that I love you!”   

We were snuggling in our underwear when my roommate came home early from vacation now you have to try and sneak down the fire     escape while I distract them with really terrible small talk

I don’t really know you but I noticed that this creep has been trying to chat you up even though you’ve already turned him down, so I’ll pretend to be your boyfriend/girlfriend until they leave you alone

It’s 2 am, we’re standing outside of our apartment building because someone pulled the fire alarm, and you look cold and unprepared, do you want to share my blanket?

We share a class at university and you forgot your notebook under your desk but luckily your phone number’s written inside PS: your doodles are pretty cool

I got stood up on a date and you were just grabbing dinner—shit my ex is here, sit down and pretend to laugh at something I said attractive stranger

Our flats are opposite each other and your kitchen window faces my kitchen so we always see each other making coffee at 3am.

Imagine you’ve been stood up by your douche of a boyfriend on date night and the waitress keeps asking if you’re ready to order but you keep asking for more time hoping that he’s just late. People are starting to look at you with those apologetic looks like they now and you start to feel worse and worse about the whole situation but as you decide to just get up and leave, this boy you’ve never seen sits down explaining loudly “Sorry, I’m so late, traffic is crazy right now.” He quietly adds “I’m [name]. Just go with it, yeah? Whoever didn’t bother to show up is a dick.” And so you go with it because he’s sweet and trying to save you (and plus he’s the cutest thing you’ve ever seen) and as you’re leaving the restaurant after the best non-planned date ever, he asks you out for real this time.

I’ve been texting my friend for about a week now and they don’t reply but turns out I was texting a random person and there was some deep personal stuff I sent oh my god why are they calling me now (+bonus if the person calls at 2am)

“Look I don’t mean to pry but you’ve been wearing the same outfit for three days and I just want to check that you’ve slept?” “Okay obviously not because you just passed out in the hallway holy shit what do I do?”

You’re the bartender and you catch someone slipping something into my drink

You’re the perpetual frowner in class and one day as I’m answering the teacher I intentionally make a very cheesy pun and I can hear crickets but you’re laughing out loud and that makes me feel very much accomplished

I come to this café pretty much every day after work and by now you know my order by heart and even wave at me when I come in

I brought you to my friend’s wedding as my plus one and it was really fun and all but now it’s the end of the night and we’re sitting alone together at the reception and all these twinkle lights and flowers everywhere are causing a hell of a lot of romantic tension between us and ohhhhhhhhh

We were the only two to show up to class because it was cancelled but stay inside to finish work and ‘Hey, are you good at math?’

You’re my neighbor who got drunk and thought this was your apartment but I can’t just send you back home when you keep crying and venting about all of these awful things happening to you

I’m always terrified no matter how many times someone draws my blood. And even though you don’t need to be there when the guy comes     in to take it you always stay with me and talk to me to calm me down and     hold my hand

There’s this creepy person asking me out over text and could you pretend to be my significant other?

“How much did you drink?”

I’m a little drunk and I tried to call my ex back and I typed in your number and you had to hear a long emotional rant ohmygod I’m mortified but you left me a really sweet voicemail aw

The coffee machine stopped working and you’re cramming for finals please don’t cry

I accidentally gave you the wrong dosage of your medication and now we’d better get to the hospital before you pass out and possibly die

Lady and the Tramp AU

“The manager says the only reason the restaurant where we work at is popular is because people enjoy eating while watching our relentless flirting with each other but I swear to God we’re not flirting???”

“It’s Valentine’s Day and I’m single and you want to cheer me up but you can’t cook nor bake to save your life so you make me hot chocolate instead and it is delicious and I think I love you???” AU.

We bump into each other every Friday at the supermarket to buy the same ice cream and maybe we should eat it together?

“You’re the jerk-face customer that keeps on thumbing through their phone while ordering their drink so I exact revenge by spelling your name wrong on your cup and drawing phallic pictures on your coffee”

You’re my roommate who’s super cute and you’re cramming for your exams in your flannel pajamas and disheveled hair and it’s becoming     increasingly hard for me not to kiss you.

"We work together and I stayed after a couple minutes and I saw you on the intercom pretending you were at the Hollywood Bowl with Beyoncé and not to be weird but you're adorable ??"

“It’s our mutual friend’s wedding and they keep shoving us into each other because we’re the only ones at the ceremony who are single”

“I’m sick so you make me chicken soup and I’m really grateful but I’ve also seen you read books on magical spells and potion-making so I’m not sure if I should drink your soup in case it turns me into a toad”

“I’m a perpetual frowner and most certainly not a morning person and I work part-time at a breakfast bar and your disheveled hair and content smile as you eat my waffles and scrambled eggs is the only thing that can get me to smile”

“You’re the health-conscious med student and I’m the chain-smoking art student who’s also your barista and you leave me notes on smoking and lung health on your napkins and also a 20-page essay on lung cancer tucked under your saucer” AU.

“I’m egging a random person’s house to relieve stress and you join me and as it turns out the house belongs to your ex and now they are chasing us as well as the police and now we’re both in jail waiting to be bailed so um you wanna talk about it?”

“I’m a fashion major and I’m working on my illustrations and maybe I’ve had too much coffee but I swear I just saw one of the mannequins move so here I am calling you in the middle of the night please help I’m scared” AU.

“I lied and said I could speak a different language to impress my crush but now he wants me to tutor him so I need to become fluent in Mandarin in 3 days HELP”

“I’m taking this Literature class to fill a Gen Ed, and for the love of God I can’t figure out this dumb poem. Here, you’re an English Major, please help me write this stupid paper” au

“I hope one day you’re as happy as you’re pretending to be”

“I think I picked up your coffee by mistake”

“I want my best friend back”

“I’ll be right over”

“I’m so stupid to make the mistake of falling in love with my best friend.”

“Is there a special reason why you’re wearing my shirt?”

“It’s okay to cry”

“Look at me--just breathe okay?”

“She’s been missing since Friday and you’re not worried?” 

“We have to pretend that we’re married.”

“Why can’t they see that they’re meant for each other?” 

“You did all this for me?”

“You’re safe now. I’ve got you.” 

“You’ve only heard his side of the story. You never asked mine.”

While closing up Character A finds that they’re completely snowed in and the roads are blocked. Character B--another employee/a regular that stayed late--gets out two mugs and offers to make Character A a cup of hot cocoa while they wait for the snow to clear.

“how much did you drink?”

“You deserve better. It doesn’t have to be me, but you deserve better.”

“Please just hold my hand, that person’s basically undressing me with their eyes.”

Teacher from one department falls in love with teacher from another department AU

You found me singing a sad song on the fire escape a floor below you and you came down to ask me if something was wrong and I broke down and told you everything while you awkwardly sat there patting my head while I wept into your shoulder.

We sit across from each other on the train/tube everyday and I’m not sure how but we’ve ended up with this weird, silent, almost-friendship where we share “wtf” looks when we see another passenger doing something weird or telling a bizarre story and a few times I’ve almost gotten you to break and laugh out loud, but today you’re sitting with someone and I think they must be your partner because they are really in your space, but you shoot me a silent look that clearly screams ‘get this creep away from me’ and I’m all for that. AU

It’s the middle of winter and my heater went out and you let me stay at your place so I don’t freeze to death. God bless you.

Why are you crying in the hallway?? Are you okay?? Let’s go to my place, I have ice cream and Netflix.

I work in the library and I’m a little concerned for your health bc you never stop studying. 

I’ve been standing in line at the coffee shop for hours and you casually cut through for your drink but also buy me my favorite blend and now I’m not so sure what to make of you AU

“I don’t get sick”

“It’s not fun anymore, I’m dizzy...”

“We need to get this fever down”

“If you don’t stop soon, we’re going to the ER.”

You didn’t get a blanket on this flight so I figured we could share mine. You look cold okay? NO I AM NOT BLUSHING

You walked into the student lounge on our dorm floor and saw me cry-studying and walked out and now you’re back with coffee and a bag of chips and I’m seriously debating proposing to you with my ring pop

I kept getting harassed by some creepy person as I was trying to study and they’re not picking up on my ‘fuck off’ vibes and I started to actually get scared and then you put a coffee in front of my face and called me babe and scared them away thank you please let me buy you a new one on me oh you have a really cute smile when you’re shy

So I heard you get into this huge fight with someone and I know we’ve only exchanged genial smiles but I just wanted to check that you’re okay AU

You’re my adorably shy and awkward assistant who cares way too much about my love life and at a dance party you tell me to dance with the most attractive person in the room last so you can set up a date with them for me and when everyone’s gone I ask you to dance with me because you’re the prettiest person here to me duh AU

Your girlfriend decided to kick you out at 3 AM and I tripped over your boxes of shit in the hallways in my drunken trip to my apartment now I’m half passed out in a pile of your clothes AU

You asked who I had a crush on and so I described you to a tee but apparently you’re the most oblivious person in the world because you got kinda sad and nodded and HOW DO YOU NOT GET THIS AU

So your TV is facing the window and you’ve been watching Say Yes to the Dress for three days straight I just want to make sure you’re okay AU

You don’t eat nearly enough food and so I’ve gotten in the habit of making you lunches and bringing you deserts to make sure you don’t starve

My cereal is always on the bottom shelf but today they changed the layout so it’s on the top and I can’t reach it AND I WILL NOT ACCEPT YOUR HELP YOU GIANT AU

You are stupidly tall and you sit in front of me in class and I can’t see anything so I despise you with all of my soul AU

You are fiery and outspoken but you are so short that nobody pays any mind and I am so tall and have a huge crush on you so I just sort of follow you around making people listen to you AU

Person A getting startled by the New Years fireworks--not being fond of loud noises. Person B pulls them in for a deep kiss, completely distracting them from the exploding lights filling up the night sky

I was really drunk and you walked me safely back to my dorm room

My roommate brought you back to our apartment because apparently you got really drunk last night and needed someone to keep you safe and now you’re hungover and making pancakes and wow you’re cuTE

My ex runs one of the rides and I want to RUB IT IN THEIR FACE hold my hand and by the way when the camera takes a pic imma lean over and kiss you okay AU

[neycrisbale]

Forgive & Get Dick *Marcos Rojo imagine* 

——————————————————————————————————– 

~Prior to Nigeria Game

“Boy bye, just make sure to close the door on your way out” I said as I flicked though the channels 

I could hear Marcos sigh heavily as he opened the door, “You’re just…..Ugh” 

I gave him the side eye, before he eventually closed the door and walked out of the house. 

~Game Day vs. Nigeria

I sighed going through the suitcase to find something to wear, even though I was mad at Marcos, and I should’ve been petty and stayed home. But I decided to be nice,  as well as if I missed these games I’d regret it low-key. 

After finding his jersey I held it up as I looked in the mirror. I smiled once I’d collected the outfit and made my way into the bathroom so I could shower.

After I finished in the shower, I got dressed and did my hair in makeup. When I finished getting ready, I made it downstairs and got into the car that had been waiting to take me to the stadium.

“Good Mornig Mrs. Rojo” The driver said his Russian accent coming out thick

I smiled, “Morning Sunny”

Following our greetings to each other we talked a little bit about the games, and before we knew it we’d talked all the way to the stadium.

”Well Mrs.Rojo, we’re here I hope you enjoy the game and the spirit of the games as well. “He said smiling

I smiled back, waving before exiting the car. I’d made it to the section where all of the Argentinian fans, and families were sitting and sat next to Antonella. We talked for a good while before the game started, and even though Marcos and I were kind of at each others throats I still wanted him and the boys to do well they deserved it. 

The nerves and the emotions within the stadium were high as the guys played with their intensity and Nigeria played with the exact same one. “Marcos needs to be careful with Alex, he’s going to get called” I mumbled  as I watched Marcos’ every move. 

Marcos was able to get past Alex and the central defenders, he’d had the better run in comparison to the other two Nigerian defenders. As he went to shoot the ball, Marcos’s ball hit the crossbar and then entire stadium went up in disarray. 

While the game continued the guys, also continued to get more chances at scoring but the Nigerian defense was tight-locked. During the second-half of the game is where the goals appeared from Messi and Sergio. However they still needed one more goal to beat Nigeria.

All of a sudden Marcos, who was all the way in defense from the previous play, called for the ball as he began running back to his position. Sergio looked up and just as Marcos was able to slip in through the back of defense he crossed the ball into the box. 

Even though the ball had missed everyone in the box, it made it directly to Marcos who headed the ball into the blindspot of the keeper. Everyone began cheering and shouting in joy at the goal. 

When I looked at Marcos he was pointing right at me, and drew a heart. “Awe!” 

~~

“Good game guys!”

“On to the next team!”

“Woohooo!”

I chuckled shaking my head at the comments that the boys were receiving, as they unloaded themselves off of the bus. I had gotten to the hotel a head of the bus and enjoyed some alone time in the lobby just watching the television that they had. 

Once  they had all gotten off, Marcos jogged over to me giving me a small smile. “Hey”He said 

I looked up at him, “Good game” 

Marcos looked behind him and shook his head, “Let’s go up to the room and talk, we’re just going to get looked out down here “ He said motioning to the guys behind him

I chuckled, and we made our way upstairs to his room. When I walked through the door, he closed it after me and we went over to the bedroom and sat on the bed in somewhat of an awkward silence. 

“ You know-” We both said

I let out a breathy chuckle, “You go on” I said 

He shook his head, “You go”

Staring at each other I sighed before shaking my head, “No, I want to hear what you have to say” I told him firmly

Marcos laughed slightly before nodding his head, “Alright what I was going to say was I’m sorry. I hate yelling at you and making you upset, I was just letting the nerves and the worries get to my head.” He started, “The way that we ended things before I got on the flight to Russia was really bad” Marcos said taking my hand in his

“And I know that if something were to happen to you or to me I would’ve regretted the last thing we said to each other were a  couple of curse words”  He said making me laugh a little, “I’m sorry Y/N for acting the way I did and for walking out like I did” He said 

The two of us continued to talk about the way we left things before the tournament started which led to the both of us crying, well more like me sobbing and Marcos letting a couple silent tears fall. 

After a while of crying I sniffled and Marcos chuckled wiping the last of my tears off of my face, “Alright no more crying princess, we’re Rojos we don't cry” He said jokingly as he placed a kiss on my forehead, and trailed it down to my lips. “No more crying unless we win that trophy”He said 

I nodded, “Agreed”

~~

“Oh my god Marcos! Enough with this and just fuck me already” I said in frustration

Marcos chuckled, “Don’t tell Daddy what to do Princess” 

My hands gripped the edge of the bed, as Marcos continued to take his pretty little time with this stupid foreplay why was this shit ever invented. Marcos knew he was pissing me off, and went slower to continue to pissing me off. “Marcos I swear to-” I was cut off by Marco, literally pushing his dick inside of me.

“I’ll do everything on my own timing Princess” He said as he began to thrust himself faster and faster. With the increasing of his pace, Marcos’s began to flex and overall he just looked really hot. 

“Oh Yes, Marcos!” 

He placed his hands on my legs which were in the air, and spread them making the pleasure that his dick was causing 10x more. All of a sudden he pulled his dick out and I looked at him as if he’d just lost his damn mind, “What are you doing?” I asked

A smirk formed on Marcos’s face, and 30 seconds later I knew what that smirk was for. “You’re seriously aiming to get me pregnant” I moaned as he gripped my ass

Marcos chuckled, not saying anything before thrusting once again.

~9 Months Later~

“Congratulations on your healthy baby boy”

[charlielabouff]

two can keep a secret → darlie

WHO: Dallas Dwarf ( @dallasdwarf ) & Charlie La Bouff

WHEN: Saturday, October 11th 

WHERE: 4533 Spindle Street

WHAT: After hearing about her “broken roommate”, Charlie decides to have a little chat with her.

Charlie had heard that there was some drama with the lower class, and she had been trying to stay out of everyone else’s drama and attempted to stay out of it. She promised that she would focus on herself and not everyone else. Put herself first. But she couldn’t help but feel her heart ache when Darcy — Darcy out of ALL people — told her that her roommate was broken. Part of her wanted to say that it wasn’t her business and she needed to just stay out of it, but the other part of her knew that she didn’t wanna see anyone miserable. Or broken. The blonde let out a soft breath of air, Stanley the cat in her arms as she moved toward the brunette’s door. She knocked on it, before peering her head inside. “Someone wants to see you,” she offered, giving her a slight smile and dropping the black cat and watching as he immediately began to move toward the brunette.

Dallas had kept to herself since Halloween. She'd taken a step back from interviewing people. She hadn't felt like it, she hadn't felt like a lot of things, and it confused her. She was supposed to be good at finding answers and right now she wasn't even sure what questions she should be asking. She went straight from school to her room nowadays, and as a result her room was a little messier than it'd been, a slow steady pile of dishes building on her side table as she watched hour upon hour of useless television, hoping maybe if it rotted her brain enough she wouldn't feel this random confusion. She slid off her headphones when she heard a knock on the door, pausing The Voice and watching curiously as her roommate and her cat entered. Dallas couldn't help letting out a small smile at the sight, and she shrugged the blanket off her shoulders to seem a little more presentable and not like some miserable sack of a person. "Hi, Stanley," she cooed under her breath, letting the animal approach before looking up at Charlie and giving her an appreciative smile. She felt a need to apologize for her room and before she could help herself, she blurted "I promise I'll wash my dishes soon", looking nervously back at her roommate. "But um, thank you very much. I'll try not to keep him from you too long."

Charlie smiled slightly when she saw the girl smile, clearing her throat and pushing her blonde locks behind her ear. She couldn’t help but glance around the slightly messy room. All creative brains worked better in a mess, right? That’s what she was told. She folded her arms across her chest, her eyes flicking back over to her cat when he meowed and hopped onto the bed. She tried not to get jealous. She tried really hard. It was obvious that there was something wrong with the girl. She hadn’t been — well, poking and prodding like she normally had. She looked back Dallas, shaking her head and waving her hand in front of her face. “Clean ‘me when you want, just don’t let ‘em sit there for too long otherwise they might get mold.” She cleared her throat, nodding at her words before shifting awkwardly between her feet before shoving her hands into her back jean pockets. “It’s no problem. I figured you could use the company,” she offered a smile. There was a pregnant pause as she tried to figure out what to do, wondering if she should just go and let her take comfort in her cat or if she should sit down and talk to her. She’d experienced first hand what it was like keeping things to herself — not talking about it and bruising her big toe because of all the pent up emotions she’d felt. She slowly moved toward her, sitting on the edge of her bed and she wiped her hands on her jeans. “Y’know, hiding in your room and not talking to someone about whatever’s going on — won’t fix it.” Wow. She really did have a mom voice.

Dallas scratched Stanley behind his ears, absent-mindedly. She hadn't really sought out the cat much lately either. That was something she should do more often, especially if she apparently had Charlie's blessing now. She nodded at the dishes talk, too lazy to take a mental note to wash dishes later but sure she wouldn't forget. There was a moment, a silence, where Dallas wasn't sure if Charlie was going to leave or if she was going to say something. Even though she saw the older girl sit down, she was still surprised by what came out of her mouth next. It made Dallas blink quickly. Charlie was right, but her usual go-to to talk to about things felt wrong for some reason. She shifted uncomfortably, wondering if this was how she made other people feel when she asked them invasive questions. "I'm not sure what can fix it, because I'm not...I'm not totally sure what's wrong," Dallas admitted. Her throat felt weirdly itchy like she was going to start crying, which didn't make any sense. She wasn't that upset, right? "I don't know how to talk through something that I'm not sure what's wrong in the first place, or, I mean, I have thoughts as to what could be wrong, but those thoughts don't make any sense and I don't know where to go from there and it's a lot." She laughed sadly, then cleared her throat. "I have theories but those theories scare me and, um..." she trailed off, feeling like she was talking too much and shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I'm sure I sound ridiculous right now."

Charlie listened to the younger girl, folding her legs under her and fiddling with the sleeve of her hoodie. Her eyes never left her face, to show her that she was all ears — that she was listening to her despite not really knowing her that well. There had been signs that the girl wasn’t doing well, and she almost wanted to kick herself for not realizing it sooner. Charlie pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, reaching over and scratching the cat under his chin — just so she had something to do with her hands. Because she wasn’t sure if the girl felt comfortable enough with being hugged or with a comforting pat on the shoulder, or if that was something she would’ve wanted in the first place. “Okay,” she drew out the word, nodding before her eyes flicked up to her face, letting out a soft laugh, “No, you don’t sound ridiculous.” She shifted, turning so she was facing the girl and hesitantly resting her hand on her arm. “If you tell me what’s going on with you, I’ll tell you something that’s been going on with me,” she offered a slight smile, “I know I haven’t been the — ideal cottagemate but I’m all ears. Figuratively.”

Dallas could feel Charlie's eyes on her, and she met them once in a while as she was speaking, but it was still nerve-wracking. Asking people questions was one thing, but talking about yourself to someone was difficult; she realized she still wasn't versed or good at that when it was anyone but Tristan, but the idea of talking to Tristan right now about her feelings felt like fireworks erupting in her stomach. She held her breath waiting for Charlie to tell her that she was crazy or that she was right, to validate or to calm her, for something, and honestly, she said the best possible thing she could've said. Dallas let out a breath at the physical contact, grateful for it, but even more grateful for an information exchange. No matter how badly she was feeling, the option to learn something new always made her feel a little more alive. "Really?" she asked hopefully, then nodded. "Thank you, yes, I think I would like that very much, actually. Um, should I go first then?" She giggled a little, feeling nervous but ready to share.

Charlie honestly hadn’t thought that she’d agree to such a thing — because there hadn’t been anything that was bugging her. She and Wes were stronger than ever, she was — kinda doing an okay job as captain of the soccer team. They weren’t losing, and that was all that mattered. Though, she knew the one thing that would always bother her would be her father. Finding out who he was. Knowing that she’d told one of her — other siblings about it and knowing that he knew. But she wasn’t sure that telling Dallas, who was close to Tristan, was a good idea. She nodded, her eyebrows raising at the giggle that fell from her lips and she nodded. “Definitely. Since I asked you first,” she stated with a nod, giving her arm another gentle squeeze, “And I won’t judge, I promise.”

Dallas felt her resolve strengthen at the arm squeeze - it felt almost like Tristan's hand-squeezes that made her feel ready for anything, and just thinking about those squeezes made her feel nervous all over again! What was this madness? "Okay. I apologize in advance for how convoluted this may come out, because honestly, the thoughts in my head aren't straight so I doubt it'll translate to words well, but I'll try my best." She took a breath and considered that there was really only one place to start. "So Tristan got his first kiss on Halloween. And I didn't." She swallowed and put her hand atop of Charlie's. "And I know he didn't ask for it and I know Baby's said it didn't mean anything and Tristan is acting completely normally but I'm not. And I don't know why. At first I thought I was scared that he was growing up without me and leaving me behind, but a little introspection has told me that's not the case. He's not going to leave me behind, not ever, no matter what happens in our lives. We've been a force ever since we met at his dad's pub and he saved me from being lifted on those barge-sized shoulders," she chuckled, smiling at the memory before furrowing her brows again in the frustration of completely not understanding her own emotions. "But if I'm not scared he's leaving me behind, what am I scared of? Am I scared at all? Why is it such a big deal to me? Because honestly it doesn't even have anything to do with me, but I can't stop thinking about him!" Her voice raised a bit by the end and she cleared her throat, lowering her head. "Sorry. But that, I suppose, is what's getting me down. And there's nothing to fix and nothing to do about it but wonder why my brain is just stuck there like some useless broken machine." She let out a deep breath, wondering if she felt better or not saying it outloud. It certainly made her feel more irrational. "So that's my thing."

Charlie listened, her eyebrows raising slightly when her hand rested on top of her own before she smiled at the brunette — making sure she nodded every once in a while as she continued talking. She even took her hand in her own, setting their conjoined hands in her lap. The more the girl spoke, she couldn’t help but smile even more. This must’ve been how everyone felt when she’s talk about her confusion with how she felt about Wes. That there was something so obviously in front of her, but she just couldn’t see it until she figured it out herself. Out of habit, her thumb brushed along the side of her hand, comforting her because she knew how confusing things could be. She hummed, nodding as she finished and biting on the inside of her cheek before she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose again. “You’re — an incredibly intelligent girl, Dallas. That’s a fact. But you’re thinking with your head,” she tapped her own temple before she gave her a gentle smile, “You’re not listening to everything else that your body is telling you. Trust me, I’ve been in a — kinda similar situation to yours. You’ve gotta stop thinking logically and just — feel.” It sounded so much cheesier than she ever expected it to. She reached over, curling one of her fingers under her chin and tipping her head back so she could lock eyes with the brunette. “Question for you, how do you think you’d feel if — hypothetically, you were Tristan’s first kiss? Do you think you’d still feel weird about him having his first kiss? And did you have that same reaction when you found out your friends had a grand ‘ol kissfest at Waltfest?”

Dallas smiled humbly at the compliment, but was promptly confused by what Charlie said afterwards. She wasn't dumb, she connected that Charlie was likely referring to her situation with Wes, best-friends-turned-lovers, but thinking with her head made suggestions like 'stop thinking logically and just feel' sound downright impossible. She didn't even know what to say to that, now that not one but two people had suggested that her feelings in this scenario were linked to a possibility of herself kissing Tristan. She was grateful for the eye contact, or else Dallas might have gotten too lost in her own head about how likely versus unlikely these scenarios were. Her stomach flipped again at the mention of kissing Tristan and she wasn't sure what her face was doing, and her feelings were like the inside of her necklace drawer, all tangled in a giant mass beyond the point of being useful. "Darcy said that too," she blurted. "That I should just kiss him. But I don't think that would have fixed anything. Just because seeing someone else kiss him made me want to kick a hole through a wall and just because I was the most relieved that he hadn't kissed someone during Waltfest without telling me doesn't mean that I want to kiss him. Because if I wanted to, that would mean.... I don't even know what that would mean! I don't know what it would mean to me, what it would mean to him - he was able to get over Baby kissing him so fast, and people like Darcy and Victory can kiss and not talk about it, but I don't think it'd be so easy for me to just shake it off and what if I forced him to talk about it and he didn't like it? I can't lose him, Charlie, I really can't, I feel and think and just am better when he's around, he's the best person I know." Her eyes had gotten somewhat teary the more panicky her voice got and it was surprising - Dallas was far too calculated to break down like this, talking about her feelings, and she took in several deep breaths before putting on some more composure. "Sorry," she apologized, letting out a sigh and calming down a little. "Was that a satisfactory answer?"

Charlie eyebrows rose when the girl began to ramble, her eyes stabbing her face and feeling her heart just ache when she saw the tears beginning to pool in her eyes. Ignoring her instinct to wrinkle her nose at the mention of Victory and Darcy, the blonde shifted toward her and she wrapped her arms around her — pulling the brunette into an embrace and beginning to shush her — her fingers smoothing down her dark locks. She rested her cheek on the top of her head, knocking the glasses on her face crooked but at that point it didn’t matter. She let out a soft breath of air, shrugging and resting her chin on the top of her head. “Hey, If you two are as close as you say you are, nothing is gonna come between the two of you. ‘Specially not some silly ‘ol kiss,” she drawled, her fingers brushing against her arm in a hopefully comforting manner, “I’m not sayin’ that you should go and plant one on him, but maybe take some time and figure out just how you’re feelin’ . And if you need someone to talk to, I literally sleep in the room next to yours.” She gave her a gentle squeeze and she lifted her head to look down at the small brunette, giving her a soft smile. “You’re young. You’ve got plenty of time to figure out all of the mumbo-jumbo type of stuff you’re feelin’ right now. It took me a whole month to figure out how I felt about Wes, at least you’re not dating someone else.” It was a joke, and she even let out a soft laugh. “Feelings are terrifying, especially if it involves someone you’re close to. But it could lead you to the most amazing experience of your life.” She offered her another smile. Charlie didn’t know if it was helping or if it was just making things worse. She by far wasn’t the love expert, but she hoped that it was kind of helping.

Dallas felt her eyes get even more watery at being hugged, but she appreciated it so much. Dallas had never had a mom, but when she was little and cried over people not liking her, sometimes her dad had held her just like this. She hadn't had to be held in a long time and she didn't completely understand why it was needed now, but it was absolutely necessary. "Thank you," she breathed quietly, squeezing her eyes shut to will away the last of the water. "Thank you, I'm so sorry, I don't know why I'm...like this. Figuring out how I'm feeling sounds impossible," she admitted with a little laugh, a little miffed at herself for contradicting what was probably really good advice. Her pulse quickened at the phrase 'most amazing experience of your life' - she'd known she wanted Tristan around for her entire life, but this new degree to that was overwhelming. "How did you know?" she asked quietly. "I mean, how did you know you didn't just loveWes, but that you were in love with him? How did you know that everything you were feeling wasn't just because everyone says friends are supposed to get together and that if you did it wrong you risked losing him and losing your best friend and - just, how did you know?" she finished lamely and curiously. "That it was worth it?"

Charlie‘s arms tightened around her, shaking her head and giving her a smile. “Hey! You’re talking to the biggest cryer here at Walt. You don’t gotta apologize,” she stated with a wide smile, shaking her head, “It’s better to let it out then to keep it all bottled in.” Something she so desperately needed to learn. “Don’t apolgize about being upset or feeling anything. It’s okay to feel stuff. You don’t have to be sorry. It’s okay.” She nodded, pushing her own glasses up the bridge of her nose once more. “You don’t have to figure it out now. You have time. Just don’t let how you’re feeling get in the way of spending time with your friend.” She paused at her question, her eyebrows pressing together as she thought about it because she never really thought about it. Hell, she wasn’t even the first one to say I love you, he was. She puffed out her cheeks and as she really thought about it, shifting slightly. “I’m not gonna lie — the way we got together wasn’t very,” she cleared her throat and felt her face heat up just slightly, “ wholesome, but the next morning when he left — I wanted him to still be around. And I want him to always be around. And I guess — part of me always kinda just knew. It just took the rest of my parts to catch up.” She looked at her and gave her a smile. “It’s scary. It’s absolutely terrifying, and I’m not gonna say that it’s easy, because it’s not. But taking that leap, risking our friendship, it’s completely worth it. I’m happier than I ever have been.” She gave her a gentle nudge, pushing her glasses up her nose once more. “You deserve to be happy, too. And not cooped up in your room watching television. So, how about you get dressed and I’ll take you out for some hot cocoa. Or if you wanna stay in, I’ll order us a pizza and we can hang out.”

Dallas had to smile at Charlie calling herself the biggest cryer in Walt. She resisted the urge to suggest that they'd probably have to run a few polls to find out if that was officially her position, choosing instead to try to listen to what she was saying. She felt almost embarrassed about apologizing for her feelings, but it was so instinctive and so normal to do so. Dallas wasn't big on feeling. She was a thinker, first and foremost - feelings were a wholly other beast. She nodded at the idea of not letting it keep her from Tristan, though; she'd already put him on the backburner too much, she needed to see him again. And maybe seeing him would help some feelings make sense, who knew? "I have so many questions about which part of you knew first," Dallas half-joked with a smile, "but that makes sense, almost. Sort of." She felt validated in the statement that this really wasn't that easy - people made her feel sometimes like she should just be better at knowing, but there was so much noise in her head and all throughout her body that figuring out what to listen to was a challenge sometime. She reached out and hugged Charlie hard at the suggestion for going out for cocoa. "That sounds so nice, thank you," she sighed before pulling back and looking at the blonde. "But do you want to tell me your thing before we go?" she asked, recalling a certain deal that had been made earlier.

Charlie couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh, shaking her head and wrinkling her nose. “That’s definitely something I’m not willing to discuss,” she muttered, wrinkling her nose slightly before she nodded, “As long as it kinda makes sense, that’s all that matters. And you know where I sleep, so if you need anything — just knock. Don’t just barge in like my sister likes to do.” Her eyebrows shot up when she was pulled in for another hug, smiling and hugging the other girl back. “Cocoa is the best remedy for anything,” she stated with a nod, before she puffed out her cheeks. She had hoped that she’d forgotten. That she wouldn’t have to confess anything to the other girl, and that they could’ve just gotten their cocoa and forgot about their little deal. She let out a soft breath of air, pushing her hair behind her ear and she leaned back against the wall, trying to figure out any way to weasel her way out of it. Finally, the blonde let out a sigh. “Only two people know about it, so feel lucky,” she shifted and she stared up at the ceiling, not believing she was actually going to say this, “I found out who my father is when Grease happened — eight or nine months ago.”

Dallas nodded, taking a mental note of the boundary. She didn't want to push past anything and ruin this rapport that actually did make her feel supported. "I would never," Dallas promised, having never been a barger; she wondered vaguely how Tia and Charlie were so different, and decided that her brain questioning random things for no reason was a good sign. Dallas bit her lip, fighting the urge to say that Charlie didn't have to tell her anything if she didn't want to. Her help had been more than enough for now, but the curiosity was too strong, especially when Charlie said that only two people knew. She found herself leaning in a little bit, waiting for Charlie to speak - and she never could've guessed what she'd say. "Your father? That's big news!" she congratulated, having the best relationship with her own father. But the way Charlie wasn't eager to share the news and the fact that it'd been almost nine months ago and only two people knew didn't add up. "Are you glad to know? Or...what happened?" she asked, sensing there was more to the story.

Charlie smiled and she nodded. “Thanks, that’s all I ask.” There had been too many close calls with Tia barging into her room. While she was changing, while she was with Wes. With her sister it was one thing, she’d made it her goal to disgust her at some point and it was her fault if she saw stuff she didn’t want to. But she hadn’t wanted to scar Dallas. Or anyone else for that matter. She puffed out her cheeks and she nodded, feeling her chest tighten and watching as he cat slowly moved so he was on her lap. She slowly shook her head, pushing some of her hair behind her ear. “My whole life — I’ve wanted to know who my dad was. My mom talked him up, big time. Maybe so I wouldn’t be disappointed or maybe because she seems to see the good in everyone. But I found out he’s — he’s a terrible man and everything I’d thought about him is completely gone,” she stated, scratching Stanley under his chin and feeling her own tears beginning to pool in her eyes. She inhaled sharply, reaching up at wiping at her eyes. “And now I’ve got four other siblings that — well, three of them don’t know. And I don’t know if I should tell them or just let it be.” Maybe being vague wouldn’t tell her who she was talking about.

Dallas watched Charlie closely, feeling like an inattentive roommate and observer for not having noticed Charlie was carrying this weight. Sure, they kept mainly to themselves and the other girl had seemed tense but Dallas assumed it was because she was shy or stressed or both. Not because she was sad. She reached out a free hand to take Charlie's hand as she spoke, knowing there was some real pain behind her words. "I'm sorry. I know that when things aren't the way you expected to be, or hoped that they'd be, its the worst. Especially something you've believed so long and that's so personal. Have you talked to him, maybe? Maybe talking would help, either with acceptance or closure or a change of heart or... I don't know, I'm sorry, I know it's a lot. And as for the sibling thing, I think you should tell them. You said one already knows? Its only a matter of time before the others find out too and I bet they'd rather hear it from you. And maybe meeting them and talking to them will make you feel better too. I'm sure you'll have stuff in common, for starters the fact that just because you have an apparently terrible father doesn't mean that any of you are terrible people. You'll find the good in each other, and in yourselves. Growing up with a ton of cousins was the best thing that ever happened to me. There's something special about family, Charlie. And maybe you'll find more people to put your hopes into, people that won't let you down."

Charlie sighed, looking over at the girl when she took her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. She listened to her, before she snorted immediately at her suggestion. “Talk to my sperm doner? That’d be the worst idea, because I’m sure I’d end up punching him in the face at some point. Everything I’ve heard about him is awful, and he deserves any ounce of pain he gets.” Charlie had never been the kind of person to talk things out ��� especially when it came to someone as shitty as Gaston was. He’d wanted nothing to do with her, and the kids he did have he treated like shit. If she tried to talk to him, she’d probably do things that she’d never had to do to someone — but sometimes really wanted to. She hadn’t realized how tight her grip on her hand had gotten, and she swallowed slightly, pushing her hair behind her ear and releasing her grip on the other girl’s hand. “How am I supposed to bring it up to them?” She asked, shaking her head before she pulled her fingers through her golden locks, letting out a soft breath of air. It had just kinda come out to Gus — because she’d been dealing with her boy drama and everything else that everything just came out as word vomit. She looked at her once more, letting her eyes skim along her face before she gave her a smile. “Okay, so, how about we make another deal?” she held out her pinky and gave her a smile, “If you talk to Tristan about how you’re feeling, then I’ll go tell my other siblings that they get to add another blonde to the pack?”

Dallas raised her brows at the hostility in Charlie's voice when it came to her biological father, but she supposed she shouldn't have been surprised. Some people weren't lucky enough to have a good father - her own best friend had a horrible one, after all, it wasn't a foreign concept. And judging by Charlie's tenseness in her hand and face, her dad must have been comparable. "I don't know. I've never had to tell someone I was their sibling before," Dallas smiled sadly. "But I think they deserve to know and that you deserve to have them. Maybe just....I don't know. I'd probably do research on the person, find out what they liked, and use that knowledge to plan time around them," she confessed, "but there has to be something more organic than that." She perked up at the mention of another deal, but her blood ran cold at the prospect of telling Tristan anything she'd just told Charlie. What if she weirded him out to the point where being around her was hard? Or what if - her brain started racing, but she swallowed and nodded, holding out her own pinky as a promise. "Okay. I'm in," she breathed, knowing that Charlie's conversation was more important than hers to be had but that neither would be easy. It was kind of nice, doing it as a tit for tat situation. "Now, hot cocoa?" she asked with a laugh, shaking pinkies and sealing the deal.

Charlie let out a soft laugh when the brunette answered her rhetorical question, nodding before she pushed her hair behind her ear. “It’s not easy.” She looked over at her and she chewed on the inside of her cheek, listening before another sigh fell past her lips. Research. Tristan would’ve been easy. She could just ask Dallas, but she’d been dealing with her own drama. She just happened to know a lot of juniors. Maybe it was good if she asked someone else. “Got it, thanks. That’s — actually a really good idea.” She was honestly surprised that the brunette had agreed to it, which meant that she couldn’t back out of it, or pretend that she’d done it. Telling everyone else about her father was nerve wracking — and god she didn’t know why she’s even agree to it. She didn’t know how Tia would react to the news — not pleasant, maybe. She smiled and she nodded, pushing herself up and tugging on her sweater before she held her hand out for her. “Yep, definitely. Make sure you bundle up, it’s gonna be cold.”

Dallas nodded, agreeing with that. It definitely wouldn't be easy but life was about not-easy situations sometimes. And it was maybe a teensy bit easier knowing other people were going through hard situations too. Now that she'd gone through talking about everything, Dallas felt a little silly, like she was blowing a funny situation out of proportion, but it had hit her harder for a reason and she'd figure it out, just like Charlie would figure out her thing. Taking the hand, Dallas got herself off the bed and nodded. "Thank you again," she said, smiling faintly at Charlie's mom mode while grabbing a sweater and a breath.

[charaie]

because love takes time (pt. 2)

Since so many of y’all requested a part two, here it is. 

Part 1

You can send me sanvers prompts here and you can find my other fics here.

Angst warning (I think?). Enjoy!

When Alex woke the next morning, the first thing she realized, without even opening her eyes, was that it was already light out. The second thing she realized was that the side of her face was stuffed into a pillow and that she was having trouble breathing. The third thing she realized was a throbbing, pounding headache.

“Good morning, sunshine.” A voice said and Alex’s body stiffened.

It took quite a few moments for her groggy brain to register who that voice belonged to, but when it did, her eyes flew open, only for her to shut them again when she was met with a bright, blinding light.

She groaned into the pillow as a flash of pain shot through her head. She tried her best to remember why she was feeling like this, why her limbs ached and her head pounded, and why Maggie of all people was there, but she came back completely blank.

“Why do I feel like I’ve just been hit by a bus?” She asked. Her voice was hoarse, the last few words coming out in a whisper, and she wondered if Maggie had even heard her.

“It’s called a hangover, Danvers.” Maggie stated and even though Alex couldn’t see her face, she knew she was wearing an amused grin.

Alex groaned into the pillow again. “How drunk was I?”

“Shitfaced.”

Another groan.

She could her Maggie chuckle. “Come on, I made you breakfast.”

Alex opened her eyes again, this time carefully, to look up at Maggie standing in her room, wearing a messy bun and sweatpants, her sweatpants, arms crossed, and surely that amused grin on her face.

Alex didn’t want to stare, something she was basically already doing because my god did Maggie look gorgeous, so she shut her eyes again and simply grunted as a response. She didn’t want to get up, especially if that meant facing Maggie wearing her clothes, but she knew she would have to eventually so after a few moments she sighed in defeat.

“Fine.” She mumbled as she opened her eyes again and Maggie nodded with a content smile before heading out of the room.

It took a few minutes for Alex to actually get herself out of bed. Everything felt heavy, her head, her limbs, and she momentarily considered just getting back under the covers and pretend Maggie wasn’t there and that she wasn’t an adult with responsibilities, but then she noticed the smell of food, of breakfast, and changed her mind.

“Is that bacon?” Alex asked as she dragged herself out of her bedroom and into the kitchen. Maggie looked up from the stove, locked eyes with her and immediately smiled.

“Sure is.” She said. “It’ll help you hangover.”

Alex’s stomach both twisted and growled at the intense and almost overwhelming smell of it, but she ignored her rising nausea and sat down on one of the barstools.

They ate in silence. It wasn’t an awkward silence, but it wasn’t really a comfortable one either. Alex occasionally not-so-smoothly stole a glance at Maggie and Maggie occupied herself with what seemed like police reports while she played around with the food on her plate, occasionally taking a bite.

By now it had dawned on Alex that the last time she’d seen Maggie – or at least the last time she remembered – had been that night at the alien bar, when she’d kissed Maggie, and when Maggie had turned her down, when Maggie had broken her heart. Since then she’d ignored her, basically shut her out of her life, and she was sure Maggie would at least have something to say about that, and maybe even be somewhat mad at her for it. And so she wondered what had happened the night before that made Maggie seem so friendly and calm, and that had caused her to be here, eating breakfast with her, wearing her clothes. She wondered how drunk she’d really been and what she’d done while drunk. Oh god, what had she done?

“What’s on your mind, Danvers?” Alex was pulled out of her thoughts and she looked up to see Maggie looking at her, eyebrow raised, that amused grin on her face.

For a few moments Alex wasn’t able to form actual words, all she could do was stare back. She blamed it on her headache, on the hangover, and not on the intensity of Maggie’s gaze or on the deep color of her eyes, because that definitely didn’t have anything to do with it.

“I- uh, I didn’t do anything stupid, did I?” She managed to get out and Maggie shook her head.

“No, don’t worry.” She said.

Alex nodded and turned her attention back to her plate. That only answered one question. She still didn’t know what Maggie was doing here and although she really didn’t want to ask, she really did want to know.

“But how come you’re here?” The question seemed to come as a surprise and Maggie looked at her for a brief moment, considering her, before putting away her papers and telling Alex all about the night before, how she’d gotten a call from M’gann about her, picked her up and taken her home, how Alex been all cocky and whiny and how Maggie had managed to get her “drunk ass” to her apartment and into bed.

And all Alex could do was shake her head and bury her face in her hands in embarrassment.

“God, I’m so sorry.” Alex mumbled, her cheeks glowing red behind her hands and Maggie laughed.

“It’s fine, I’ve dealt with worse.” She said, but it changed nothing for Alex, she knew how she could be when she was drunk.

Maggie eventually collected the dishes and placed a glass of water along with two aspirins in front of Alex and ordered for her to take them, before disappearing into the bathroom.

And Alex looked at her as she walked away, smiling to herself, thinking of how domestic-y all of this is and immediately cursing at herself for having such thoughts.

She really needed to get her shit together.

Twenty minutes later they left for work, which Alex was two hours late to.

Luckily J’onn wasn’t too mad, only a little worried since she was almost never late, and he simply told her to get to work. She was put on lab duty for the day, which, considering her hangover, she didn’t mind.

It was a relatively peaceful day in national city, no aliens causing trouble or trying to murder anyone, which had left Supergirl relatively bored. And so she had joined Alex in the lab, because she too wanted to do “science-y stuff for once”.

But since there was no way Alex was going to let her lasers-shooting-from-her-eyes-superhero-and-yet-ironically-clumsy-sister come close to any of the highly flammable contents, she told her to simply clean the beakers and petri dishes. Kara wasn’t very pleased with that.

“Can I look through the thingy now?” Kara asked from where she was washing the cups, hands (and face) covered in soapy bubbles.

Alex looked up at her. “You mean the microscope?” She deadpanned.

“Yes.” Kara said. “Please.”

Alex sighed to herself, not able to resist Kara’s stupid pout. “Fine.” She said.

Kara almost squealed in excitement and pulled her hands out of the tub, drying them on a towel.

She walked over to Alex, who motioned for her to be careful, before looking through the lens.

“Oooh.” She drew, amazed. Alex grinned to herself. The girl was from freaking space, yet she was amazed by a couple of blood cells. “What am I seeing exactly?”

“Blood cells from that hellgrammite you caught last week. We’re analyzing it to see if it could do any damage if another organism were to come in contact with it.”

“Cool.” Was all Kara said as she continued to look through the microscope, seemingly utterly fascinated, still.

Alex heard her phone buzz. It was next to her on the table and it showed a text message from Maggie asking her how she was doing. It was the third one she’d gotten so far. Also the third one she’d ignored.

Frankly, she didn’t really feel like replying. Maggie had saved her from some possibly embarrassing situations the night before, yes, but Alex sure wasn’t sure what to think of her, of their… situation.

Everything that had happened at the alien bar that night had messed Alex up quite a lot and the fact that Maggie didn’t seem to want to talk about it, the fact that Maggie seemed to be pretending that it had never even happened, frustrated Alex. She didn’t want to lose Maggie, and it looked as though Maggie didn’t want that either, but if she was going to pretend everything was okay when it simply wasn’t, Alex didn’t know if she wanted to pursue this friendship? any further.

However much it stung.

And so Alex unlocked her phone, only to immediately lock it again so it would stop notifying her.

“Who was that from?” Kara asked as she briefly looked up.

Alex swallowed.

“Oh, just Maggie asking about something.” She said. “Wanna see more blood cells?”

Alex went to replace the petri dish with a different one but halted when Kara spoke.

“Alex.” She simply said, nothing else. She was giving her a pointed look, one that said don’t try to change the subject and Alex looked back at her for a bit, before looking down at her hands. “Have you guys talked about it yet?” Kara asked.

Alex just shook her head, unable to look at her sister.

“Then talk.” Kara said. It was almost a plead. “I see how much this is killing you, Alex.”

Alex finally did look up at her, and her eyes were sad, yet kind and full of sympathy.

“I’m not sure if she wants to talk about it.” She said truthfully.

“She hurt you, Alex.” Kara said, her voice stern. “I was there, remember? I know how heartbroken you were, how heartbroken you are.”

Alex let out a shaky breath.

“I- I don’t-”

“Tell her how you feel, how much she hurt you. Force her to talk about it. She owes you that much.”  

Kara was right. Alex knew she was right. Even though Maggie had had every right to turn her down, she had hurt her, and denying that, or rather simply ignoring that, really wasn’t right on Maggie’s part.

Especially considering the situation. Maggie wasn’t just some woman Alex had poured her heart out to, she was the first woman she’d ever poured her heart out to. She was the reason Alex had been so confused, so upset, the reason she’d spent nights awake thinking and thinking, the reason she’d come to terms with her sexuality, the reason she’d actually come out. The fact that Maggie was ignoring all of that made her angry. Or maybe frustrated was a better way to describe it.

Alex knew she couldn’t change the fact that Maggie didn’t want her, but perhaps talking about it would help her heal, and maybe relieve some of the tension between them. Though, it could also easily ruin the thing that they still had together. Going along with what Maggie was doing, simply ignoring it and pretending it never happened, seemed like the easier and safer choice.

Though, Alex knew communication was important in any relationship, whether platonic or romantic.

“I don’t know.” Alex said. “I’ll think about it.”

And she did. For a long time. So long in fact, that a full week went by without either of them talking to each other. The only time they’d actually seen each other was at a crime scene downtown, which had been quite awkward.

Maggie had tried to make eye contact with Alex, she’d tried to start a conversation but Alex hadn’t complied, had simply focused on the case, only addressing Maggie when she had to and only in a strictly professional way.

It wasn’t that Alex didn’t want to talk. She did. She simply didn’t know how, she wasn’t very good with words. So every time she planned on doing so or was given the chance to, she chickened out last minute.

And so seven days went by without really hearing from Maggie, or even hearing her name for that matter. That was, until one game night at Kara’s place, Kara so occasionally dropped it.

Alex was stirring the batter for the cupcakes while Kara took the first batch out of the oven, the sound of Winn and James arguing over what game they were gonna play first in the background.

“-and until Maggie gets here to-”

“I’m sorry.” Alex interrupted her, pausing the stirring, “until who now gets here?”

Kara looked up at her from the counter where she was displaying the freshly baked cupcakes, eyes all innocent.

“Until Maggie gets here.” She said as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

Alex looked at her sister for a moment, wide-eyed.

“You invited Maggie?” She hissed. Kara didn’t even flinch.

“Yeah.” She stated.

“Uhm, why?”

“Because she’s a friend.” Kara argued.

Alex just stared at her, look of disbelief plastered onto her face. She couldn’t believe this. Why on earth would Kara think it was okay to invite Maggie to game night?

“I don’t know if you’ve paid attention the past couple of weeks, but she’s not exactly my friend.”

Before Kara could say anything in return, she was interrupted by James walking into the kitchen.

“She is kind of my friend.” He said, seeming a bit hesitant to interrupt. “Well, the guardian’s.”

And now Alex was staring at the both of them.

“Since when?!”

James opened his mouth a couple of times to speak, but nothing came out. Alex knew he was intimidated by her, basically everyone was when she was angry, really angry, so after a few moments of him just fumbling and stumbling over his words, he simply retreated back to the living room, back to discussing board games with Winn.

Alex pinched the bridge of her nose as she tried to get her breathing under control. This fun night was about to turn into a nightmare and she wasn’t sure if she could deal with that at the moment.

She glanced back up at Kara, who was still looking at her all innocent as she was eating one of the cupcakes and Alex sighed, deeply. She could see, under those oblivious and cute puppy eyes of hers, that Kara was grinning, laughing maybe even, because she damn well knew what she’d done.

“You did this on purpose.” Alex muttered and she could see a flash of amusement pass across Kara’s face.

“You have no proof of that.” She simply said before taking another bite of the cupcake and flashing a fake, sweet smile at her.

“I hate you.”

“You love me.”

Alex grunted at her, muttering swear words under her breath, before simply continuing to help her with the cupcakes. She knew Kara was just looking out for her, that she was trying to find a way to force her and Maggie to talk things out, but right now Alex really wanted to punch her. Kara was lucky she was Kryptonian.

Alex considered leaving, to flee the apartment before Maggie got there, but she didn’t really get a chance to, because only a few minutes later there was a knock at the door.

Shit.

Kara went to pull it open and was greeted by a smiling Maggie, dimples and all, followed by J’onn, and Alex wondered if suddenly everyone had befriended her without her knowing about it.

She leaned back against the kitchen counter, arms crossed, face stern, trying her best to focus on anything other than Maggie. She failed though, and the second she accidentally glanced up at her, they immediately locked eyes.

Maggie gave her a bit of a hesitant smile, one Alex barely returned, before heading over to the living room to greet the others.

And even though Alex hadn’t looked at her for very long, she’d noticed the exhaustion in her features and the bags under her eyes. She wondered if those were her doing, if this was getting to Maggie as much as it was getting to her.

Maggie settled in the living room, joining the board game discussion, and Alex remained in the kitchen, not even daring to even so much as look at them. Kara eventually returned to her, to help her with the last batch of cupcakes.

Once the last of the baked goods were out of the oven, Alex was inevitably forced to join the group around the coffee table for a round of Monopoly.

To say it was awkward was definitely an understatement.

Alex was quiet, and despite Maggie’s attempts to get her to at least look at her, to try to get her involved in the game, Alex remained quiet, distant.

And the tension to build by the second.

The others seemed to catch up on it as well, because even though they were laughing and whining like tiny children every time they had to pay, they’d occasionally exchange confused glances.

But Alex simply sipped her wine, only speaking or moving when she had to and she ignored the pointed looks Kara was giving her. She wasn’t in the mood for this.

After Winn lost another two hundred bucks to J’onn, much to his displeasure since he’d picked the game, it was Alex’s turn again.

She rolled the dice and ended up on Tennessee Avenue. “Ha! That’s me.” Maggie laughed. “Pay time, Danvers.”

Everyone seemed to be holding their breaths as Alex handed over the money, and Alex suppressed the urge to roll their eyes at them.

“I’m just gonna buy myself a nice little hotel and continue beating the crap out of all of you.” Maggie snickered and everyone simply grunted as a response.

“I’m pretty sure you’ve already done enough damage.”

The words were out before Alex could stop herself and the room went quiet.

She hadn’t been talking about the game, and Alex was pretty sure they all knew that. Everyone, including Maggie, who was looking at her with the saddest, most hurt eyes Alex had ever seen and she wanted to take it back, god, how she wanted to take it back but before she could even open her mouth, Kara snapped.

“Okay, that’s it.” She jumped up and grabbed Alex by the arm, hoisting her up and in turn grabbing Maggie by the arm and dragging them both down the hall.

“Kara!” Alex protested. “What the hell!”

But Kara ignored her and damnit it were times like these when Alex wished her sister wasn’t so goddamn strong.

Kara shoved both of them into her bedroom, flicked on the lights and gave them a pointed look.

“Talk.” She said.

And then she was gone.

Alex stared at the closed door for what felt like eternity, processing what had just happened, what was about to happen, before taking a deep breath and crossing her arms.

Minutes and minutes passed, before she dared to even look at Maggie.

She was standing there, head duck and arms crossed tightly around her chest, and she looked so small, so fragile, something Alex wasn’t used to seeing, and the longer she looked, the more her anger faded.

Maggie seemed hurt. She was hurt.

Alex had been so caught up in her own pain, her own thoughts, in what all of this was doing to her, that she hadn’t even stopped to think about what this was doing to Maggie, how everything that had happened was affecting her. Because of course this was hurting her, too. They hadn’t known each other that long, but they’d build something together, something that was now basically gone, and that ought to cause pain, to both of them.

And she didn’t want Maggie to hurt. God, that was the last thing she wanted.

“I’m sorry.” She said. It seemed like the best way to start this.

Maggie snapped her head up, confused.

“For what?” She asked. Her voice was unsteady, small, and it made something inside Alex’s chest ache.

“For what I said earlier. And for ignoring you.”

Maggie’s eyes were searching her intensely, searching for something, though Alex wasn’t quite sure what it was.

Eventually she seemed to accept it, nodding, releasing some of the tension in her shoulders. It went quiet for a while, neither of them sure what to say, before both of them spoke.

“Alex-”

“You hurt me.”

Maggie tightly shut her mouth, her eyes darting between Alex’s, and she visibly swallowed.

“I know.” She said.

“And then you played it off like it never happened.”

She swallowed again.

“I know.” She said. She sighed. “Alex, I-”

“I can’t keep pretending everything is okay when it isn’t, Maggie. It might work for you but it doesn’t for me. I just can’t-”

“Alex-”

“After everything, after all of it, I thought that- that you-” She couldn’t find the words, a lump forming in her throat, and this time Maggie didn’t try to interrupt her. She seemed to know what Alex was referring to. “I kissed you, Maggie. I kissed you, and you weren’t even that fazed by it, it’s like you don’t even ever think about it-”

“It’s all I think about.”

The words caught Alex off guard. She wasn’t sure what to say to that, so she just stared, processing and processing, while Maggie avoided her gaze, and Alex could feel her entire body go into to turmoil.

“Then what the hell, Maggie?!” She finally snapped.

Maggie took a few deep breaths while she seemingly tried to collect her thoughts, wringing her hands together, eyes darting all over the room.

And Alex simply continued to look at her, waiting for an explanation.

Maggie opened her mouth a few times to speak, only to close it again when nothing came out. Eventually she sighed, running a hand through her hair, and spoke.

“I like you, Alex.” She said, followed by a small, nervous smile. “I like you so much it scares the crap out of me. But you have got to understand that now simply isn’t the right time. I mean, I just got dumped.” She tried to play it off with a light chuckle as if it were somehow funny, but Alex saw how heavy the meaning of those words really was, how much it stung.

“Maggie-”

“And I meant it when I said that things are too new for you, that you should experience things for yourself first. I’ve tried those relationships, they never end well.”

She took another deep breath. Alex could see how her thoughts were roaming her brain, how she was trying her best to put them together.

“And I- I can’t have that happen with us, Alex, I can’t have you leaving. I- I don’t think I’d be able to handle that.”

It sounded like a plead, and perhaps it was. She was asking for her to stay, to please give it time and to please not go. Alex thought about it and she could feel her heart pounding. She looked at the woman in front of her, the woman she knew she was practically already falling in love with and she sighed. She knew she could never say no, that she could never leave, even if she wanted to.

And so she nodded, slowly but surely, agreeing that she would stay, that she would give it time, however hard that may be.

Maggie seemed to relax, only just slightly, and she nodded as well.

“So, now what?” Alex asked.

Maggie looked at her, offering a smile.

“I want to be your friend.” She said. “And I’m sorry for everything, I really am.”

Alex looked back, letting her eyes dart between Maggie’s. She really was sorry, Alex knew that. The glint of worry, of hope she saw only confirmed that.

And so Alex nodded once again, accepting the apology, along with the request to be friends, and silence settled around the room for a bit. It was a strangely comfortable silence.

“We should- uhm,” Alex started, “we should probably get back to the game.” She motioned towards the door.

“Right.”

“You know, the game I was kicking your ass at.”

Maggie grinned, gaping at her.

“You were not.”

“We’ll see about that, Sawyer.”

They exchanged smiles for a moment, smiles that said so much, smiles that said they’d be okay, before they headed out the room.

When they got back, everyone’s heads turned, all concerned, worried faces that quickly faded when they realized that things were good, that things were alright again.

Kara was smiling at Alex from the kitchen, hopeful glint in her eyes, and Alex walked over to her.

She smacked her on the arm, as hard as she could because the girl was made of steel and Alex wanted her to know how pissed she was at her.

“Ow!” Kara whined.

“That was for being a shithead and doing that to me.”

Kara pouted up at her as she rubbed her arm but before she could say anything about it, Alex went in for a tight, warm hug.

“And that’s for being an awesome sister.”

[westywrites]

Strokes of Life

So here’s a story I originally wrote in 2014, I submitted it to this young teens writing contest and was actually runner-up. Which surprises me to this day. It’s been heavily edited several times since (including literally today), so hopefully, it’s decent.

Word count: approx. 5500

She laid her pencil on the paper, her fingers gripping the painted yellow wood. She trembled as her strokes lined the paper, slowly forming the picture in her head.

"Please don't make me do this." She said in a hushed voice to the man holding a knife to her throat, the cold metal a gentle sting.

"You will draw and you will live, do not draw, do not live. Simple." The man's thick accent pulsed through her head as the room fell silent again but for the sound of her pencil on the paper.

"Scarlet." A girl with a short brown bob and seemingly translucent blue eyes sat in the back of a small classroom shaking her sleeping friend. "Scarlet please wake up you're gonna get in trouble again."

The old teacher with her white hair piled high gave this girl a stern look.

"You've already had 4 detentions with Mrs.Proutly this month, you can't afford another."

The sleeping girl moaned and shifted her head away from the other girl, her honey hair a horrible mess.

"I'm sorry." The girl raised her half-full water bottle slightly above Scarlet’s head, twisting off the cap and tilting. Scarlet awoke with a gasp her hands flying to her throat before she opened her meadow green eyes and realized where she was.

"Oh my god," her voice was a whisper, "I fell asleep again." She ran a hand through her now wet hair a with a sigh of relief.

"Did you have the dream again?" the other girl asked. "Oh and you're welcome for saving your ass once again."

"Yea. Yea, I had the dream." That dream had been plaguing Scarlet since her 15th birthday a few months before and her dishevelled appearance showed she wasn’t getting very much sleep. "Thanks, Avery, but my ass didn't need saving."

"Pff as if," Avery rolled her eyes, "we're on page 141, hurry up."

The rest of the day went as any Monday would, boring and tiring. The only light at the end of the tunnel for Scarlet was her Monday night art lessons. The only nice thing her drunken father had ever done for her was sign her up for these once a week private lessons when she was 13 and it had been Scarlet's favourite thing ever since. You see, she has always loved to draw, loved the feeling of her pencil gliding over the paper, but she had never been very good until, that is, the lessons. Her art teacher was her best friend, even though Avery would murder her for saying that, he really was. He wasn't an old man but he was by no means young and his hair was going gray at the temples. He had soft brown eyes and was of Italian descent, his accent sometimes dripping through his regular speech in moments of passion. He was everything to her, her mentor, her inspiration, her role model, her best friend, often times he was more a father to her than her father had ever been. He had shown her that her art could blossom and grow if she didn't give up. That night they were going to try something new.

He wouldn't explain to her just what they were going to try, all he said was “you will see” and his usual mantra of "art can do things you wouldn't believe." Scarlet shook with anticipation. She hopped off the crowded bus muttering about how she hated public transportation and walked up to the door of his studio and home. Nearly skipping as she could hardly contain the happiness bubbling inside her. She flung open the lemon yellow door that was in stark contrast to the peeling brown of the outer walls of the studio.

"Honey, I'm home!" she called out as she always did when she arrived.

"I'm in the art room, ready and waiting," came the caramel voice of her instructor from the end of the short hall with walls like a graffitied street corner. Scarlet ran down and into the room, hopping into her instructor’s arms and hugging him as he twirled her around and plopped her down into a comfy chair in front of the special slanted desk. The art room had been cleaned for the first time Scarlet had ever seen and the only thing in the room that day was a large white paper, a pencil, and an eraser on the desk in front of her.

"Draw," he said. And she did, her strokes flowing smoothly onto the paper, the sound of the lead gently scraping along filled the room and they fell into the usual trance as she drew. It was not long before she had a small completed work, a simple flower in a pot drawn in near perfect detail, so life-like you'd think it was a photo. This was the way he had taught her to draw and she did it well.

"Now breathe life into your drawing, my dear." The instructor nodded at her.

"What do you mean?" Scarlet raised an eyebrow at him.

"Like this." He took her drawing and breathed on it gently, then harder as it blew right off the page. It peeled slowly at first, just the lead coming up from the page before it suddenly flipped and twisted. Before them sat the flower pot, the exact one she had drawn, as if it had appeared out of thin air. The feeling of magic lingered as she turned to her instructor, awe marking a smile on her face.

"Can I really do that?" Her voice barely rose above a timid whisper.

"Do you think I would have shown you if you couldn't?" Her instructor smiled, there was a spark in his eyes that she had never seen before. "Just draw."

She put her pencil to the paper once again, the paper that had once contained the flower pot now blank. Her pencil flew, filled with a new passion, a stronger passion, and she drew. A lovely tree took form on her page, a small tree and a tiny bird. Once finished, she turned to her instructor, doubt flooding her mind.

"Wonderful, that's one of those Japanese trees isn't it?" He seemed to be inspecting her drawing.

"They're called bonsai trees." Her voice shook nervously. If she couldn't do this would she let him down? Letting him down was the last thing she wanted to do.

"Look." Her attention was called to the desk in front of him, while she had drawn her tree, he had drawn a beautiful butterfly. He picked the paper up from the desk, bringing it in front of his face. "You need to imagine the life in your art. Imagine your breath bringing it off the paper and into the world." He blew onto the drawing and again excess lead flew off first leaving a trail in the sky, then the edges of the butterfly peeled up. Its wings curled up into the air, its body glowing with life as it flew. It fluttered up and around the room before finding the open window and flying away.

"I just have to imagine?" Anyone listening would've heard the disbelief in her voice.

"Just believe and breathe it onto the paper." He tapped the paper lightly with the tip of his finger and she nodded. She picked the paper off the desk, brought it in front of her face just as he had, and she blew. Gently at first, the lead flying off as it had for him, then slightly harder. The edges of her little tree started to lift, life going into its small leaves as they left the page. A leaf blew off the page and fluttered away, followed by a trail of lead dust. Even though she continued to blow, that is all that happened. A faint tweeting from the bird, a few leaves and a wonderful smell like freshly mowed grass.

"It's not working." She was getting frustrated now.

"Give it time." His smile had fallen. "I'm sure it will work eventually."

"Right, it almost worked just now so there is hope." She repeated this in her head; there is hope, there is hope. She tried until the end of the lesson but to no avail. She just couldn't get it to work.

"Keep trying, ok?" Her instructor patted her on the head as she left. "You can probably get it by next week." She hugged him and left, walking slowly to the edge of the road, the drawing of the bonsai tree rolled tightly in her hand. It was 5 minutes until the next bus and she was holding back tears she couldn't let her instructor see. The minutes seemed to stretch on, the bus nowhere to be seen and tears welling in her eyes. A loud crash sounded from the house. She whipped around to look at its big bay window. There was shouting. She ran to the door and threw it open, shouting for her instructor.

"CAMRON!" She screamed as she sprinted through the house. A crash from the basement. She stumbled down the stairs, shouting for him again and again. Her shouts dwindled to whispers as she saw shadows around the corner in the exercise room that was never used. Glass shattered. Her breaths grew shattered and short just like the glass of the small window she could see when she entered the exercise room.

"Oh, Camron." Her voice shook and she fell to her knees. Sobs wracked her body as she stared at the trail of blood leading out the window.

She sat like this for a long time, trying to make sense of what had happened. Who took her beloved instructor? Why? Would he ever come back?

A steely determination rose over her. He would never come back if she didn't do anything about it. She would save him, she could save him. She stood, took a deep breath and ran up to the art room. Arming herself with a pack of pencils and a pad of paper, she started to draw. She filled the first paper with things like a backpack full of survival supplies, a small food kit and the other necessary items. She lifted the page to her face, blowing gently. Then harder. And with a clank, everything on the page lay before her in a messy pile. After it all was gathered, she ran out the back door and followed the trail of blood into the forest. She ran after the trail until she was sure she could run no longer. She stopped for a moment to get her bearings. Trees surrounded her, looming and impending, they towered over her head and gave the air an ominous chill. There was no path, whoever had Camron had just dragged him straight into the woods, leaving behind a track of blood. Scarlet started walking, examining the blood left behind. Though she had never seen large amounts of blood, or ever really seen blood at all, she knew there was something off with this blood. The blood on the leaf she examined was red, but not the right red. Not a bright red, but not the dark browny red she knew dried blood turns into. It looked like it had been turned gray or mixed with something to give it a shiny, almost metallic, stone-like look. Almost as though it had been mixed with pencil lead. She followed the drips, they were all this strange colour. Trying not to let it bother her, she sped up and tried to distract herself with the plants and animals. A butterfly that looked strangely like the one her instructor had drawn earlier fluttered by. She followed it with her head, spinning a little to watch it fly away. Then she noticed that the trail of blood had ended. Disappeared entirely.

She cursed and screamed in her mind, on the verge of tears. The butterfly fluttered by again.

"Screw you for being so happy. You know he's gone, right? The guy who created you has been taken," she yelled at the butterfly, falling to the ground and punching the tree behind her. The butterfly fluttered in front of her face.

"Go away," she said between sobs. It landed on her knee, flapping its colourful wings wildly. "What do you even want?" It fluttered about some more flying off to the side and back again. Scarlet's sobs subsided, "Do you want me to follow you?" It fluttered as if in agreement. Scarlet stood and started walking, letting the butterfly lead the way. They moved through the forest at a steady pace and it was not much longer before the trees started to thin. They entered a beautiful meadow, the flowers bright and the sun hot on that beautiful day at the time of year when no one is sure if it’s spring or summer. At the far end of the meadow was the stony face of the small mountain on the west side of town. The butterfly crossed the meadow and was moving around in front of a cliff face that was no taller than a door and not much wider.

"Is there something here?" Scarlet asked the butterfly as if it would answer, but it did as butterflies do and landed on the cliff face, wiggling its wings. Scarlet pressed her hands on the cliff, examining its surface for anything that could be a clue. Nothing. She decided to climb to the top see if there was anything up there. The cliff was rough and full of places to use as footholds. Finding an indent just higher than her head, Scarlet reached up and her hand in the small hole and her foot into one similar near the bottom of the cliff. As she lifted her body the cliff itself made a strange noise. The butterfly flew off and all the other animals in the area ran. Scarlet paused, hoping that the cliff wasn't going to fall to pieces. After a few moments had passed she started to climb again, putting her other hand into a hole slightly higher. Suddenly, the cliff face fell inwards and sent Scarlet flying into the darkness, down some slide-like tunnel. Her screams echoed around her as she landed abruptly on a hard stone floor. She grunted and stood. Her eyes were still adjusting to the dark, but she could tell she was in some sort of cave. Voices approached from somewhere to the side of her and she dove behind a large rock.

"I heard scream, I know it." That accent. That voice. Scarlet almost gasped aloud at hearing the voice from her dream but she caught herself and slammed a hand over her mouth.

"Did you hear? It sound like breath." The man started towards the rock where Scarlet hid.

"Don't be a fool." A different man, this one sounded sophisticated, his voice was tinged with a delicate Italian accent which sounded overly formal compared to the first man's strong Russian accent. "If any human had found a way into here the dogs would be driven insane, same for if it was an animal."

"But I heard..." the Russian man started.

"You hear imaginary things. If something was to be heard I would hear it long before you," the Italian interrupted. The Russian made a discontent sound along the lines of "hmph" but didn't argue further.

"Well, hurry up. Boss won't wait for the Lead Blood much longer." The men came into Scarlet's view. The Russian had his back to Scarlet but she could see how huge he was and the Italian man, well she could see how disgusting he was. He had slicked back black hair with sideburns and a moustache that looked like it could cut somebody, she saw his flint eyes glint in the dark. It appeared that both men were wearing suits and were armed, the Russian had a knife and gun, and the Italian had a sword holstered to his hip. They left the room quickly but Scarlet lay in wait until their voices had long faded and a bit longer to try and make sense of their conversation.

The Lead Blood. The blood she had seen looked like it had been mixed with lead. Maybe they were talking about Camron! The only way to find out would be to explore this cave and she couldn't do that if she could be seen. She needed to basically turn invisible. An idea came and she whipped out the pad of paper and a pencil, quickly drawing a cloak with a simple background that could be seen through it. A cloak of invisibility. Scarlet would've never thought that her obsession with fictional stories would help her in a situation like this, but she also would've never thought she'd be in a situation like this. The cloak fell in front of her and she threw it on over her legs. It worked! She draped it over her head, standing slowly. It was a little too long and she was going to have to pay attention so she wouldn’t trip. She crept through the cave down long and twisting tunnels, she came across some men with guns every once in awhile but, of course, they didn't see her. Eventually, she came across a room more guarded than the others. The only one with a real door, a real door made of wood that was much larger than necessary and ornately decorated. Someone peaked into the room with perfect timing for Scarlet to slip through. The inside of the cave had been transformed into a beautiful room one would expect to see in a castle, not an underground cave system. It had a high roof and looked like a throne room. In the throne sat a man. A huge, fat, mean-looking Italian man. He wore a suit like all the other men and sat with an air of importance. Scarlet crept around the crowd of suit-wearing men that filled the room to get a look at what they were watching.

Her instructor was on the ground, his always messy hair an even bigger mess and the strange blood was dripping down his face. The Russian man stood over him.

"Speak," the Russian demanded. Camron’s face was filled with agony punctuated by determination and he said nothing.

"Speak," again the Russian demanded, this time kicking Camron hard in the face.

"Pig," Camron said, his pained face twisted into a smile. Scarlet held herself against the wall fighting every urge to run in and start fighting.                                                                                                        

"Lead Blood," the man on the throne addressed Camron, "you know why I have you here, right?" His heavily accented voice was dripping with mock kindness. Camron made a face at the man.        

"We have you to draw, yes," the Russian said in his choppy English.                                    

"What on earth would a simple drawing get you?" Camron was playing dumb. "My drawings aren't worth anything, the only one I've sold I sold for 5 dollars."                                                                        

"You know what I mean, Lead Blood." The man hissed as Camron sat up a little and tilted his head.    

"I'm afraid I don't, Boss." Camron had a strong sarcastic tone.                                                                

"He talks about your 'Strokes of Life'," the Russian said stepping on Camron’s hand. "You not stupid, act not stupid."

Camron looked pointedly at Scarlet. "Go on tell me more about this 'Strokes of Life', I've never heard of it before." He looked back at them. "It sounds like a load of spiders to me." He looked around the room, pausing again pointedly at Scarlet. "Load of spiders." It took Scarlet a second to realize what he was asking her for, but once she did she started drawing furiously. Spiders had always been one of her favourite things to draw, they were simple yet complex and she thought it was fun to scare people with them. She filled her page with spiders, large and small, poisonous and harmless. As she blew onto the page a scuttling noise could be heard and all the men in the room turned towards her, though to them it looked like they were turning towards the closet door. The door suddenly shook, as though full of something trying to get out. The nearest men fell back, keeping their distance from whatever lay behind that door. First, they came from under the door, one, two, then more and more. The door cracked. It burst open and the spiders came flying in. So many spiders. The men ran squealing like children and Camron and Scarlet laughed. They laughed at the men who had thrown their guns to the ground and ran wildly about. They laughed at the men who tried to shoot at the spiders and instead shot each other. They laughed at the Boss standing on his throne crying. And they both laughed of relief. However, it was not long felt.

In all the commotion the cloak had been pulled away from Scarlet and she did not realize until it was too late.

"THE GIRL! GET THE GIRL, YOU FOOLS!" Standing on his chair, the boss had his hand outstretched his finger pointing right at Scarlet.

Scarlet pulled the cloak back over her, scrambling quickly to the side as the men came rushing at her. Narrowly escaping, she darted over to the other side of the room, pausing for a moment to draw. However, she realized quickly that she had dropped her paper where the men were now standing, searching for her frantically. In a panic, she turned to where Camron had been laying. Her cloak fell to the side just enough for her hand to show. A scream escaped her throat as large hands shut over her face from behind.

"You not fight and I will not hurt," the Russian whispered in her ear, sliding off her cloak and dropping it to the ground.

"Excellent job, Brute." The Italian had a nasty edge to his voice. "This little girl will be precious to us." He ran a finger down her face.

"My name not Brute," the Russian grunted.

"Brutus, brute, same difference." The Italian rolled his eyes. Still with a finger on Scarlet's face. He turned and flicked it off her chin. "Let's go tell the boss." His eyes met hers as he looked over his right shoulder. "Oh and make sure she can't pull anything funny."

Brutus grunted. "Yes, Cecilia."

"What did you just call me?" The Italian whipped around to face them again.

"Your name, Cecilia," Brutus grunted again. Cecilia started on a long rant of how he told Brutus not to call him that as Brutus laughed and a sharp pain spread across the side of Scarlet’s face. Everything went black.

She woke to darkness and silence. A rope of sorts wrapped her wrists and held her to a wooden chair. She twisted in a desperate attempt to get free, letting out a small scream when something sharp and cold met her throat.

"Do not struggle." It was Brutus again. "We free your hands now. No hitting or," he pulled what could only be a knife tighter to her neck, it stung as the blade broke her skin slightly. "Understand?" Scarlet nodded solemnly. She had a nagging thought in the back of her mind, a suspicion she tried desperately to ignore, a truth she wished with her life not to be true. She shook her hands once they were free, bringing her fingers together and cracking them all at once. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, Scarlet could see a paper laid out on a table in front of her.

"You're going to be drawing us a little something nice here today." Cecilia walked into her field of vision. He flipped on a lantern in his hand, momentarily blinding Scarlet. "I assume you will probably argue against this, but if you do you will die." He looked at Scarlet, noticing the steely look in her eyes. "If you don't care about dying, well," he turned, stepping out of the way. On the wall opposite Scarlet chains led down to hands. Hands she recognized very well and memories flashed through her head. She fought back tears and looked into his eyes.

"Camron." Her voice came out as a croak. He was beaten and bruised, a horrible mess and he looked extremely pained. Their eyes met and he just shook his head, tears leaving paths down his blood and dirt stained face. Cecilia approached Camron and ran his fingers down Camron’s obviously broken arm, drawing Scarlet’s attention to the condition of his hand. His drawing hand. It struck Scarlet like a wave of torturous fury as she realized that with that much damage there was no way Camron would ever draw or paint or make any kind of art ever again. She took in a shaking breath, glaring at Cecilia.

"I see we have an agreement." He brought his knee up into Camron’s stomach, Brutus brought the knife tighter to Scarlet’s throat as she reached forward towards Camron when he doubled over from the impact. She huffed and sat back in her seat trying not to break down. The tears stung the back of her eyelids as Cecilia explained to her what she would be drawing.

"A beast so horrible and strong, he listens only to the Boss. You see, Boss used to have one but, well, the Lead Bloods killed the thing in a war a while back and rebuilt humanity, blah, blah, blah. Basically, give us it back." Cecilia seemed as though he had explained this a number of times and was getting tired of it. "Here you go." He plopped down a pad of papers explaining in detail the creature and on the last page was a drawing of the beast. She had seen it before. Not the same drawing, no. But the same beast. A drawing of it hung on Camron’s wall and when she had asked what it was he said that it was a reminder of horrible things in our world, but also that those horrible things can be overcome. His only further explanation was that his grandmother had drawn it shortly after his grandfather disappeared. A product of her dementia that soon led to her death. Scarlet looked up at him again and his mouth formed the words “don't do it”. Over and over. Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it. Cecilia hit him hard and his head fell.

"Resistance is futile darling." Cecilia laughed as Brutus forced a pencil into her hand. She was shaking uncontrollably, a tear staining the paper.

She laid her pencil on the paper, her fingers gripping the painted yellow wood. She trembled as her strokes lined the paper slowly forming the picture in her head. The picture on the paper beside her.

"Please don't make me do this,” she said in a hushed voice. She knew his next words off by heart.

"You will draw and you will live, do not draw, do not live. Simple." Brutus had such a cruel edge to his voice so unlike when he talked to Cecilia and his voice now pulsed through her head as the room fell silent again but for the sound of her pencil on the paper. She prayed that she would hear Avery's voice once again calling her awake in the back of math class, that this was a dream. But it wasn't. It was scary, it was painful and it was very, very real. Scarlet drew slowly, trying to come up with a way to survive, with a way to escape and just when she had come up with a plan, she heard it. Distant at first but drawing nearer.

"SCARLET." The voice echoed through the cave system. A calm shout, loud and clear. Different from how Scarlet had ever heard it before.

"Avery!" Scarlet’s voice was quiet and full of hope, confusion but hope all the same. "AVERY! I'm-I'm in here." Scarlet shouted. Pain flashed through her. She coughed and sputtered. How could she have forgotten the knife held to her throat? Her blood dripped down and a smell like lead filled the air. She slumped backwards in her seat and black framed her vision. What happened next passed Scarlet by in an emotionless flurry. Brutus ran to the door as Avery appeared. Avery was tiny next to Brutus's bulk, he towered over her with the knife in his hand. But she took him down easily and it was only moments before Avery stood in front of the confused Cecilia. When he saw her face he screamed, he cried, he begged for mercy. She lifted the knife she must have taken from Brutus and Scarlet swears she saw her smiling. She tossed it at Cecilia, it spun once and planted itself into his chest. He looked at her with terror and something like awe before he fell to his knees and out of Scarlet's vision. Avery turned to Camron, speaking softly as she undid his chains. Scarlet heard none of it. The black had spread, filling her entirely, heavy and suffocating.

"Scarlet. Hey, hey Scarlet." Scarlet opened her eyes slowly to see Avery and Camron leaning over her. "Don't move." Avery held her hands on Scarlet’s chest.

"Wh-where are we?" Scarlet shoved Avery's hands off of her and sat up slowly. They were in a large room and Scarlet had been laid out on a table in the middle of it. It looked sort of like a conference room one might see in a place of business, but longer and grander. The high ceiling, dark purple walls and gold adornments suggested somewhere that royalty would dwell.

"We are in the council room," Camron spoke softly, placing a hand on Scarlet’s shoulder, "Somewhere safe." Scarlet nodded staring at Avery with wide eyes as she recalled what she had seen.

Avery laughed gently. "You're probably scared of me now, aren't you?" She pulled out one of the chairs that surrounded the long table, there were probably about 50 chairs or maybe more. Scarlet got down from the table, unable to stifle a groan. Nothing hurt as much as she thought it would, but everything was stiff and sore like after a long car ride. She walked over to the huge window with a spectacular view of a village, unlike anything she had ever seen before. The village was full of people, strange people. Scarlet was more interested, however, in the fact that over the hills past the town she could see the sea glistening in the setting sun.

"What is this place?" she asked, she had never seen an ocean like this before. Or a town so happy, every person she could see from this third story building was smiling and seemed kind, talking to those they passed, holding doors, helping each other.

"Come sit dear." Camron patted the chair across from Avery. "This will take a long explanation." Scarlet sat in the chair, looking from Avery to Camron and out the window again.

"This is our kingdom." Camron smiled, looking too out the window. "It's where people like us, people who aren't quite human and as such are ostracized and generally have really bad lives when trying to live with the humans, it's where we can live in peace." Seeing Scarlet’s still confused face he tried to explain again. "Sorry for that run on sentence. Basically, it's a sanctuary. Without it, we would be dead, either from people who can't accept our differences or, well, people like the ones who just had us." Scarlet nodded.

"We want you to live with us here." Avery smiled. "Well maybe first I should say that I live with Camron here, he took me in when I was little." She smiled at him. "We go on regular retrieval missions to bring in people who need our help like you did. Most of the time we don't ask them to live with us, but you're different I guess. We got more attached to you." She laughed a little but her then her face fell serious. "Seriously, Scarlet, bad things and bad people will always come for you out there, you really should stay here, even if you don't live with us." Scarlet was frozen on the spot staring at Avery as she tried to process it all.

"You want me, to live with you?" No one had ever told Scarlet that they wanted her before, her entire life and been a series of shouts as doors slammed in her face.

"Yes, of course we do." Camron’s accent was showing through, a sign of his disbelief that she didn't quite believe them. "You belong here, you belong with us." A warm feeling spread through Scarlet, a feeling she had never felt before. The feeling of belonging somewhere, the feeling of having people who cared about and wanted her.

"Yes." With that word a new life started for Scarlet, a new world opened its doors. She lived, she was loved and she was happy. Truly, completely happy. For a while at least.