#that skateboard ramp bit made me want to try skateboarding as a kid

[doom-ocean]

The RADDEST of hangout spots, and then Sam Rockwell asks if you want regular or menthol cigarettes as you watch a dude with a mohawk shredding some bass lines beside 9 year olds playing poker and chuffing on stogies

[hughjidiot]

Total Drama Level Up Chapter Five Behind-The-Scenes

With only one chapter to go in TDLU, I'll be doing these posts more frequently in the coming days. Or try to at least, I kind of have a lot going on IRL right now. Anyways, here's chapter five.

Everything Chef said in this chapter about how it was hard for "the show" to come up with a sports-based challenge that wasn't just a sport of some kind was exactly my issue when planning this challenge. Actually didn't fully flesh out this idea until quite a ways into the writing process.

Originally the challenge was going to be a race, with the objective being to trick off specific objects on the course before anyone else could. But I scrapped that idea because I felt a race would be too similar to chapter one.

As I stated in the author's notes, a big inspiration was the Tony Hawk series that I loved playing as a kid. In fact I'd originally planned to describe the skatepark in the warehouse as exactly like the Warehouse level from Pro Skater 1, but that didn't give me enough to work with. I did still use some elements of it in my story: the kicker gap, the car surrounded by ramps, and the large central half pipe.

Once I'd settled on the basic gist of the challenge, the bit with Lauren almost bailing and Zee saving her was one of the first things I came up with. In fact, that was the moment I decided down the path of not just writing them as friends, but as potential love interests, which I'd expand upon in chapter six.

I made Zee a skateboarder because I wanted to give him some interests outside of loving soda. That's the beauty of fanfiction, baby.

Fun fact: the moment after Zee saves Lauren and he says "his foot's broken," only to reveal he was talking about his prosthetic was one of the first jokes I came up with for the fic, and was actually gonna be used all the way back in chapter one. In an early draft I had Zee and Chase on the same team and they would've been the ones to crash rather than Chase and Ripper, leading to the broken foot joke. At the time I was sorry to see it go, and was very happy when I realized I had the perfect moment to use it after all.

[cyndalyssa]

Welp, looks like Phil Collins won! I really shouldn't be surprised. XD

Anyway, to give you a bit more info about that dream, contrary to what you all were likely thinking, the song was not "In the Air Tonight."

It was actually this song from Brother Bear:

Anyway, the event the dream was parade like those costume parades kids do through the school on Halloween. One classroom was inexplicably underwater, and while we were swimming, the song was playing, and somehow we were all singing along.

Anyway, here's more context for the other dreams if you're curious (from most to least voted):

"Your sister has... Eye of the Tiger!"

In this dream, I found myself driving in the middle of the desert when happen upon a hospital. I go in for whatever reason, and wander until I find my sister @knighta3 laying on one of the beds. In a panic, I ask a doctor what's wrong, and then he replies with the quote above.

It's a minor in-joke in our family, and I can't listen to 'Eye of the Tiger' without thinking about it.

Breaking an old lady out of jail and pretending she's my friend's grandma

That's exactly what happened, there's nothing more to it. Not sure why we were breaking a random old lady out of jail.

Tickling aliens while bouncing with a foldable chair

In this dream, we were attending some sort of outdoor party or festival in a large field when suddenly aliens appeared. They started to abduct the men and boys (except my dad who managed to hide and my brother because they didn't want him), and Dad told me how to defeat them. Cue me hopping in on a foldable chair like a pogo stick, and tickling those aliens to save the day.

It's my go-to for mentioning any crazy dreams I had because... well, it's pretty darn crazy. I was tween when I had it and I still remember it very well.

Watching my dad do a skateboard trick with his truck

It's actually not as impressive as I made it sound, as it was only an exaggerated spine transfer from one of the Tony Hawk video games (I'm not sure if it's a real trick for irl skateboarding).

In any case, I remember in the dream I (as well as a sister and cousin) was at the mall waiting to be picked up when I saw dad's truck on the nearby freeway launch straight up, then go straight back down on a ramp and land perfectly. I thought that was really cool, so when dad arrived, we asked if he'd do it again. He did it again with us as passengers, but it didn't land sadly.

Tapping the 'not paying' option at a soda machine and alarms start blaring

So, in this dream I was hanging out with @taichikitty and her husband, and we decided to stop at McDonald's for a shake or drink. I was looking at the touch screen soda machine, tapping random options to figure out what I wanted, but then in the corner where you'd expect a 'water' option to be, I ended up tapping an option of 'I'm not paying for this.'

Then alarms started to blare and the restaurant started to go into lockdown. Scared out of my wits, I grabbed cousin and her hubby and bolted out of there just before the restaurant was completely locked down.

My mom thinks this dream is hilarious.

The T-Rex wants my lollipops

I was sitting in this Roman Colloseum-esque stadium watching a dinosaur show, enjoying a bunch of lollipops I had for some reason. Unfortunately, the T-Rex could smell the lollipops, and next thing I know, I'm hiding under my seat because the huge dino was trying to steal them from me.

Mom comes home with a box of fifty guinea pigs

Had this dream back in 2020 before I got my piggies.

In the dream, Mom comes home carrying a box, which we assume is toilet paper. And then she opens it and guinea pigs come spilling out of it. As we scramble around trying to herd the piggies and to find them a proper corner for them to live in, we scold our mom with, "You don't just impulse buy fifty guinea pigs!"

Shooting a machine paintball gun at a very annoyed gorilla

It's exactly what it says. Said machine paintball gun was mounted on a jeep, so I was safe from the gorilla as I painted it green and blue with the gun. And then I stepped out of the jeep and the gorilla chased me.

Forced to watch Winnie-the-Pooh as punishment for truancy

The dream started with me chasing off this weirdo off the grounds of my Junior High. I walked back proud of what I did, but I still got in trouble for going off school grounds.

So, they sat me down in a dark room, and started playing an episode of Winnie-the-Pooh (which as a teenager at the time, I was not interested in watching--I'd be fine with it these days).

When it was over, I thought we were done, but this, these little doors on the television opened up like a cuckoo clock, and a Pooh head came out, opened its eyes and said "More Pooh", and then went back in. As I was processing what I just saw, the teacher says, "That creeps my daughter out too."

When I told my brother about this dream, he was amused enough to quip, "No running in the halls, you're watching Winnie-the-Pooh!" Never mind that he got my infraction wrong, it was still funny.

A train gets stuck between some dude's legs and lets out a distressed whistle

In this dream, I was on a river rafting trip with several other people (for some reason I remember my aunt being there). We made a stop for lunch, not to far from a railroad, and we watch as this guy was running straight for a train coming from the opposite direction.

Instead of the guy getting run over, the train somehow ends up between the guy's legs, and it suddenly became sentient, struggling and whistling in distress.

Bus crashes into a mailbox and explodes

In this dream, my sister and I were walking home from a church activity, and there was this out-of-control bus swerving all over the place. It swerved just before it hit us, and I remember two guys (one of whom was dressed as Abraham Lincoln) jumping out of the bus right before it crashed into a mailbox. It exploded.

After another mailbox exploded, sis and I booked it.

It was a nightmare when I had it, but now I look back on it and find it funny.

Anyway, this was fun. Maybe sometime I should do it again with some different dreams. There's a couple that I did remember after I posted this and thought, "Oh, man, that would've been a fun option!"

Still, this was a fun way to share dreams.

[bearpillowmonster]

Wall-E (PC Game Review)

(Ok, that scene isn't really in the game, it's concept art that you can unlock but it got your attention, didn't it?) I've always heard good things about this game, even seeing playthroughs of it made it intriguing because it looks like a quality platformer. Strange for a licensed game but then I saw the opening logos and realized. This is Deep Iron Studios, I knew I heard that name before and yeah they made Battle for Bikini Bottom, The Spongebob Movie game, Night of 100 Frights, The Incredibles games! So you know these people actually care what they're putting out and even if they lose a deadline, they're going to at least try.

So that's what they did, the opening segment (aka tutorial) gives you pretty much everything from momentum based speed and jumping to going into "box mode" which you can "box dash" with to destroy crates. This isn't a game where you fight enemies mind you (at least for most of it) but one where you explore the area, collect and solve little puzzles both environmental and mini-game like. It's also brimming with personality giving me some reasonable cutscenes before the events of the movie before converging. Not only that but I mentioned collectibles, there are the boxes which contain various power sources to open doors and laser capsules, that's right, you can shoot a laser. But there are also artifacts which glimmer in the sunlight and when inspected, a little cutscene will play out where Wall-E digs up an item like say an umbrella and then proceed to play with said umbrella. It'd be cool if these optional rewards were usable but hey, they're still fun to watch the animations, they fit right in.

Think of playing as a skateboard for most of the game. That's how this is. There are ramps (not really moves you can perform) but it comes up with some pretty cool traversal methods. Now all these things are great but I might complain just a little bit. Some things can be finicky or precise like sometimes you're not as fast as you should be going down a hill and when certain jumps can or cannot be jumped off of or landed on. Your jump isn't very high to start out with and you can't change direction in the air, once you're up, you're locked.

I think one way to solve this might be to just throw out the jump button for certain sections because there will be a stretch of obstacles and jumps that you need to make but if you don't have enough speed or momentum then you won't make them, I'd rather just have him smooth glide off the ramp so I know when and where to jump but that's me being picky. I'm sure lots of these things were known and they just didn't have enough time to iron them out but it's a solid game.

What you wanted more? Ok, well you can also play as Eve so there are 'racing' where you can fly around like an on rails shooter. I 100% this game guys and I never do that, sure it wasn't hard but I went the extra mile because I enjoyed it and was having fun. I haven't had this much fun playing a Disney game since probably Toy Story 3 for the DS and if you've seen my review of the Wii version, you'll know that I was a sucker for that game, playing it over and over again. This game is better than the Wii version of TS3 but still debatable on TS3DS so that means that I probably would've liked it as a kid.

From what I can tell, there are a few different versions of this game though. The DS version which is basically a chibi top down thing, kinda cute. The Wii, PS2, PSP and PC versions are the same, basically being what I played. The PS3 and Xbox ones differ from those, having some abilities like being able to flip around in box mode making for some interesting levels and interactivity puzzles that almost looked like motion controls to me, making this surprising that the Wii version wasn't included. You don't collect boxes or artifacts, you collect "Wallops" which are just the logo, unlocking a few more things that apparently you can only use during minigames? But don't quote me on that.

One thing that I was actually interested in were the Eve levels. In the PC game, they're the on rails shooter type and while this has something similar, it also has missions where you scan around for the plant but that's in turn for Wall-E's laser because whatever you need to destroy can be done with Eve or a cube which you can apparently stack…huh. It also has some bigger worlds that you can even bump the people off their chairs (man I wish I had that mechanic) but the game ends up being shorter in the long run.

Anyway 4/5. Yeah, I'm going that far.

[soobasaur]

「 jisung as your skater boyfriend 」

i used to see you on the sidewalk, standing in your high tops

han!jisung x gender!neutral reader

a/n: i saw this photoshoot of jisung with a skateboard and my mind just shortcircuited and now i have a pinterest board full of skater boy jisung so here we are,,,if u see any skater fics tAG ME

« masterlist similar work »

you didn’t think you’d ever take up skating, after falling the moment you put on roller skates when you were younger you thought it was hopeless to even try

but that was before you saw him.

it all started when your friend jeongin took on a new obsession with skateboarding and you took on a new obsession with the boy at the skate park

you only tagged along to hang out with jeongin and for the ice cream stand that was right next to the skate park

and jeongin always offered to buy you some so why would you say no to that (n˘v˘•)¬

but your obsession started when you watched jeongin start talking to some boys you didn’t recognize, when you later asked he said he met them from the park

one of them in particular caught your eye

he almost always had on a some sort of hat and band tee on, his hat usually falling off when he was halfway through with his tricks

you had been trying to build up some courage to talk to him but didn’t know what to say since you didn’t skate yourself :((

cute boys made you nervous !!!

especially ones who could do cool tricks on their boards !!!

jeongin picked up on your little crush since whenever he asked you to watch him do a new trick your eyes always wandered off to him

he teased you about it but ended up telling you his name and a bit about him

han jisung, he was around your age and went to a campus not far from you, which is why you had never seen him around

one day, when you were actually paying attention to jeongin for once, you saw a hat lying forgotten in the middle of the park and immediately recognized it as jisungs

you were to the point where you could recognize what brands he wore shjdjf

you rushed over to pick it up, dodging jeongin’s board as you did so, and made your way back to your table, clutching it protecting in your fists

after scouring the park for a tuft of his brownish hair you came up empty, deciding to pocket the hat until the next time you visited

when you offered to come to the park the next day without jeongin begging you to do so, your best friend knew something was up

he pestered you until you finally surrendered and showed him the hat, your ticket to starting a conversation with jisung

“i could just introduce you two,” jeongin chastised, rolling his eyes playfully

“that wouldn’t be memorable though! i want him to remember me as the person who saved his hat!”

“....imma just pretend i don’t know you.”

〴⋋_⋌〵 “jeongin !!”

you eventually spotted him waiting in the shade for his friends to skate and mustered up enough courage to walk up to him

“...hey?”

why did that come out like a question (;´༎ຶٹ༎ຶ`)

he turned to you after realizing you were talking to him, “hi?” he sounded startled, but you didn’t miss the way he quietly checked you out

“uhm so i’m y/n and you dropped your hat the other day? this is yours right? i notice you wear this brand a lot and uh, anyways! i just wanted to return it to you—,” you held out the hat and shut up before you started rambling and embarrassing yourself even more

you say his eyes flash in recognition as he reached out to grab the hat, then took his hand back just as quick

“actually...you can have it. keep it as a gift! i’d rather you give me your number instead,” he winked, before taking out his phone to hand to you

( ･_･) snkdkfkfkgovkovijskd wHAT

you somehow managed to grab the phone with shaky hands as you typed in your number, saving yourself as “y/n ❤️” and handing it back before you could stop yourself

you saw him smile at the contact name, pocketing it before looking back at you

“i’m jisung by the way...do you wanna get some ice cream?”

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) was this perhaps...a date?

“sure...oh! what about your friend?” you asked, gesturing to the boy he seemed to be waiting for

he waved them off, “we can join them later, come on, my treat...i’ll race you there.” and he threw his board down and skated off towards the nearby ice cream stand as you ran off after him, yelling at how that was unfair

true to his words, jisung bought you ice cream and you guys sat down at a worn down bench

unfortunately, it was right out in the sunlight so you kept squinting to lick your ice cream

after seeing your suffering he took the hat he gave you from where you placed it on the table and plopped it on your head, adjusting the straps to fit you

“there, now the sun won’t bother you and we can twin!” jisung smiled, pointing to his current hat which was the one you were wearing in a different color

your little date was soon interrupted with his friend running over along with jeongin, who kept giving you suggestive faces as he stood behind jisung

“cant belive you buy your new partner ice cream and not your friends!! removing you from your best friend position!” his friend whined, he had long blond hair and you didn’t miss how jeongin eyed him discreetly

“shut up hyunjin,” jisung glared, a fond smile on his face as he handed over his friend some bills from his wallet and ruffled jeongin’s hair, “i might as well be your guy’s sugar daddy.”

you couldn’t help but notice how he didn’t deny the part where hyunjin called you jisung’s new partner (ᗒ//ᗕ)

hyunjin and jeongin took the table behind you guys as you continued to talk to jisung

you found out where he went to college and his current major (music production ?/$:&:&) and how he minored in dance so he could have a class with hyunjin, who begged him to join

that made him ten times more attractive and you felt a little shy telling him you were an art major, and the only instrument you could play was the piano due to lessons as a kid

but he thought it was cool and let you rant about your annoying professors and dumb projects you had to complete

in return, he showed you some of his songs and let you watch a couple of his performances before getting bashful and hiding his phone away

jisung rapping made you feel butterflies shkddndj

you two hit it off and bounced off of each other as the conversation went on

after a while jeongin pestered you to go home with him to help him on the project he procrastinated on

it was getting late though so you agreed

jisung asked where you guys were heading and offered to walk you both, since hyunjin didn’t seem keen on leaving jeongin either

hyunjin and jisung instantly put down their boards to start skating to you guys’ dorms before you admitted you didn’t skate

jisung looked pretty shocked at the revelation before kicking his board back up

“hmm, why do you come to the park then?” he asked as you guys ended up walking back, hyunjin and jeongin ahead of you as they decided to skate back

“jeongin bothered me to come with him before he met you guys, then i just started tagging along to see you—, to just hang out.”

he waggled his eyebrows at you as you jogged ahead of him, “to come see me?- hey get back here!”

the four of you finally ended up home, hyunjin walking jeongin to his place a little further from yours as jisung took you to your dorm building to send you in

“oh, before you go, take this.” he mumbled, handing you his board

?????????

why was he handing you his board ಠ_ಠ

“isn’t this yours? why are you giving it to me?” you asked all confused

“i have a ton at my apartment, and this one has a cute design on the back,” he turned the board around and pointed at the art, “you said you like this style of art so i thought you’d enjoy it, and next time you come to the park bring it with you so i can teach you how to ride it”

he shyly scratched the back of his neck as he handed it to you, “take care of it, yeah? i’ll call you later y/n, bye~,” he shot you some finger guns before lamely moonwalking off your porch and running off towards where hyunjin was waiting for him

you carefully clutched the board and made your way inside, your heart beating at the thought of jisung remembering something so minuscule like your favorite art style

you and jeongin didn’t end up finishing his project that night and ending up screaming about your new crushes

true to his word, the next time you went to the park you brought the board with you and he taught you how to ride it

he took you to some smaller ramps in the back and placed the board down, holding out his hands for you to step onto it after noticing your hesitancy

you grabbed ahold of his palm and stepped onto the board, the wheel skidding as you felt like you were gonna tumble off

jisung kept you steady though by placing his free hand on your lower back as he let you find your balance

“make sure to angle your feet a little more that way—yeah like that! keep the board near you at all times.”

he watched as you pulled the board towards you and adjusted your stance a little, looking towards him for guidance

he gave you a big smile in return

“okay now imma pull you around a bit so you get comfortable,” he removed his hand from your lower back, (which you were a little sad about) and started to slowly pull you around

you started to death grip on jisungs hand and screamed how you were gonna die when jisung started pulling a little faster

“i got you,” jisung said fondly, as he pulled you in a little circle

“great, now imma let go for a second,” he let go of your palm before grabbing his other board and stepping his right foot on it

“now your gonna put your dominant foot on the board and push off, like this, and just let it take you to the end of the park.”

he pushed his board away before gesturing for you to push

you gulped before letting loose and pushing your foot off, you stumbled a bit before you felt jisung straighten you up, and then you were off

jisung started to jog beside you as you skated towards the other end of the park >///<

he stayed alongside you until you slowed to a stop and you jumped off, a little shaken from the experience

“you did so well!” jisung cheered, hopping over to give you a short hug, before pulling away with flushed cheeks

“thank you,” you mumbled, your own cheeks dusted pink

you guys walked over to where jisung dropped his bag and he tossed you a water bottle, before plopping onto the curb

“you did so much better then me when i first started, i fell off and twisted my ankle, i’m surprised i decided to get back on the board after that...”

“if you never went back to skateboarding, we never would’ve met.” you joked, downing half of the bottle before handing it back to jisung “and i’m only doing good cus i have a great teacher,” you winked as you adjusted your hat

“us never meeting is a sad thought,” jisung mused before drinking from the same bottle, “hey we just indirectly kissed.” he laughed, before looking down sheepishly

why was he so confident and shy at the same time shdjkkffk

“what if we directly kissed?” you asked before you lost all confidence, which you didn’t have much to start with anyways

you saw jisung shortcircuit before turning back towards you, and after getting a nod from you he leaned forward and captured your lips with his own

he tasted like chocolate ice cream and it made your heart go beserk

when you pulled back to breathe he chased after your lips and brought you back in again

your brain rn: sbjdkfklck

after a little make out session he took you back out until you were able to skate a little by yourself and even do some turns with jisung’s help

and if he gave you little kisses for every time you didn’t fall off that was for the two of you to know

bonus headcanons:

it didn’t take long for jeongin and hyunjin to get together after the both of you set them up

which meant double dates at the skate park!!

jisung made it his new life goal to teach you how to skate enough to go a long time without his assistance

:(( he wanted to go on skate dates with you in the nearby city

your favorite thing was to watch jisung do cool tricks you didn’t know the name of on his board, you were scared he was gonna crack his skull open with the stungs he was pulling (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞

jisung mentioned in passing how he wanted a board with this specific design but he couldn’t find one anywhere and gave up

so for his birthday you painted a custom design for him and got it printed onto a skateboard

to say he cried was an understatement he started bawling when he unwrapped it

he almost didn’t wanna use it cus he was scared of scratching it, but you assured him it could be repaired and he took it out for a spin

you eventually got the hang of skating, (you couldn’t do any tricks and had a trouble coming to a stop but hey it was progress)

which meant skating through the city dates !!!!

jisung would give you his other airpod and you guys would skate around the city at night listening to your shared playlist

you loved it when he gave you an enamoured look whenever a girl group somg came on and you started belting out to a loona song

jisung could play almost any instrument and he often sang to you whenever you came over

you could just be lying in bed half asleep and he’d sing to you

you even started to pretend to fall asleep just to hear him softly sing to you and play with your hair

you ended up just using his old skateboard for the time being until jisung bought you a new one

he said he wanted to paint you one but wasn’t sure of his abilities so he got one that matched the design with your old one but was brand new

you also cried <//3

he couldn’t paint, but he could write songs!

he would write songs after you all the time and sing you cheesy love songs to embarass you

you would even draw him if he stood still long enough, and seeing the happy expression on his face whenever he took a look at your sketches was worth it

he gave you a lot of his hats so you guys could match together

he liked being the cliche matching couple !! so sue him !!

it was just the cutest relationship and jisung took good care of you and vice versa <33

jisung best boyfriend !!

thanks for reading ⁂

(gif by user hyunjins)

[phantom-curve]

Second birthday is such a cool thing to call that! 8 or 35 if you are feeling so inclined.

Thank you! When I was a kid my mom always tried to call it my rebirth-day and I was like no❤️ I went with some Willex whump (with a fluffy end) for this one! Set in the gimme a chance AU, featuring pro-skateboarder Willie and anxious Alex. This is also a bit of a companion piece to the #8 prompt I wrote earlier!

#35: kissing their bruises and scars (Trigger Warning: mentions of injury, mild description of panic attack, and mentions of a car accident. Rated T for language) 

Alex generally tried not to think about worst case scenarios when Willie was competing. If he let himself, it was way too easy to imagine all types of situations that ended with Willie broken and bleeding at the base of a halfpipe while Alex stood helplessly on the sidelines. It didn’t help anything for him to obsess over what could happen, especially because at this point, Alex knew skateboarding was as much a part of Willie as drumming was a part of him.

It was just that ever since Willie had gotten his first sponsorship and moved to the pro circuit six months ago, he had started taking bigger risks. More complex tricks and a lot less hesitation to go big when he was representing the brands that were paying his bills. And that meant longer hours practicing and a higher chance of injury on a daily basis. Alex wanted to be a supportive boyfriend, the kind that would show up at the skate park to cheer and not have a panic attack every time that Willie wiped out, but he wasn’t. He was just an anxious guy in love with a dude who seemed determined to break every single bone in his body.

Things only got worse when Willie started traveling for competitions. He was gone almost every weekend, and Luke had finally convinced the manager at the bar he worked at to let Sunset Curve preform regular Saturday shows, and so, more often than not, Willie would be somewhere else in California flinging his body down an insanely tall ramp with nothing but a helmet and some pads to protect him while Alex was trapped in LA losing himself in the familiar pattern of sticks against drums in an attempt to control his raging anxiety. It had about a 68% success rate. That success rate increased dramatically when Willie called Alex the second he knew his set was ending. It plummeted on the nights Alex didn’t hear from him until much later, or worse, heard from a different skater entirely.

Tonight was unfortunately one of those nights.

When their set ended, Reggie called out the same line he had coined after their first performance, a couple audience members chiming in with him because they actually had a bit of a fan following now, and Alex wasted no time in grabbing his phone from the fanny pack he kept behind his kit during shows. Instead of it lighting up with a picture of his boyfriend’s face, he was met with a series of missed calls and text messages from the guys Willie was rooming with for the weekend. He tried not to panic, tried to breathe in deeply to a count of five, holding it for just as long before exhaling again. It kept the anxiety at bay for as long as it took for him to unlock the phone and read the last missed message.

Don’t worry, bro. They’re gonna airlift him back to LA so you can just meet him at the hospital whenever.

Panic hit full force. What the actual fuck had happened to his boyfriend?! Alex’s fingers were shaking too much for him to open the other messages, his vision going blurry and a distant ringing sounding out in his ears. It took him longer than it should to realize Luke was crouched down in front of him, Reggie hovering just beyond the drum kit.

“You have to breathe, Lex. C’mon, follow me.”

Luke inhaled deeply before letting his breath out in a loud woosh. Alex tried to copy him, but his chest felt too tight, his throat closing in the more he tried to open it. Luke kept talking, his voice low and calm.

“Try again, we can do it together. We just have to breathe, nothing else.”

Alex inhaled with Luke that time, not quite as deeply and not quite as steady, but more air than he had managed to get before. It took several long moments before he was able to match Luke completely, the fog starting to clear from his brain, surroundings snapping back into focus.

“Great, good, just keep breathing, okay? I’m gonna go grab the office keys and we’ll take a minute in there to talk, okay?”

Alex nodded, not exactly wanting Luke to leave but knowing whatever his best friend was saying logically made sense. Reggie slipped into the space Luke had been occupying, breathing in the exact same pattern, and Alex refocused on him. When Reggie stood, Alex copied him, reaching out to grip the back of Reggie’s red flannel as he led them both off of the stage and down the hallway to the office in the back of the bar. Alex dropped onto the couch, burying his face in his hands.

“Lex? Can you tell us what’s going on?”

Reggie’s voice was soft and quiet, like a gentle melody. Alex let it wash over him, knew his boys would be able to help if he could just figure out how to get his mouth to form the words it desperately didn’t want to say out loud. He fought to speak for a few moments before finally just thrusting his phone forward. A hush fell over the room as Luke and Reggie scrolled through the texts and Alex was suddenly grateful that he wouldn’t have to read through them himself. After what felt like an eternity but was probably only a few minutes, Luke cleared his throat and spoke.

“Okay, so good news or bad news first?”

“How can there possibly be good news?”

Alex’s throat felt raw and scratchy, the words coming out broken and strangled. Luke and Reggie exchanged a quick glance before Reggie sat next to Alex on the couch. Not touching, but close enough for Alex to feel comforted all the same.

“Willie isn’t dead or dying, so yes, there is good news. Which one do you want first?”

A significant amount of the panic left Alex’s system at the reassurance that his boyfriend was alive and going to stay that way for the time being. It hit him all at once, sending him into Reggie’s side as he let out a cry of relief. Reggie’s hand stroked up and down Alex’s arm, a low hum sounding in the back of his throat. Luke spoke again.

“Okay, so good news is that Willie is probably already back in LA, he’s at the best hospital he can be at, and he’s going to be fine.”

Alex clung to the words like a life raft. Willie was going to be fine. He turned it into a mantra, repeating it over and over again until he felt like he was back in control, no longer on the precipice of drowning. He disentangled himself from Reggie’s arms, took a deep breath, and met Luke’s gaze.

“I’m ready. Gimme the bad news.”

Luke let out a long breath before sitting down on Alex’s other side.

“The guys were in a car accident. They didn’t even make it to the competition. Willie was in the passenger seat and he took the worst hit in the collision. The other guys got taken to a local hospital, but they had to send Willie to Cedars-Sinai because of some special orthopedic department there. Max said they mentioned he would be admitted to the post-trauma floor.”

A car accident. He didn’t even make it to the competition. Alex had considered himself prepared for the worst when it came to Willie and his chosen profession. He had told himself that loving Willie meant accepting the risk that came with skateboarding, especially at the level that Willie did it. He had not once considered the fact that Willie could be hurt in some type of freak accident that had nothing to do with skating. The life raft slipped from his mental fingers, hurtling him back into the sea of despair once again.

“We got this, okay?” Luke was still speaking. “Reg is gonna call an Uber and take you to the hospital, and I’m gonna get Dante and Felix to help pack up stuff here and then come meet you. It’s gonna be okay.”

Luke’s words painted a path for Alex to follow, a way to move forward without having to fight so hard to do so. He nodded, allowed himself to be bundled out of the employee entrance and into the car Reggie had called. Clung to Reggie’s flannel again as they traversed the white hallways of the hospital, eventually making their way to a nurse’s station situated on the post-trauma surgical floor. Alex didn’t even let himself think about what that string of words implied. Not until Reggie nudged him forward to speak with the blonde-haired woman with kind brown eyes sitting behind the welcome desk. He forced himself to clear the lump in his throat and scrape some words together.

“Hi, I’m uh, my name is Alex. Alex Mercer? I’m looking for my boyfriend Willie? William, actually, his name is William Stewart. He was...he was in a car crash.”

The words came out in starts and stops, cracking at the edges as Alex forced them through numb lips. The nurse nodded, her fingers tapping across the keyboard in a sharp staccato.

“He’s out of surgery, but might still be a bit groggy. The limit is one visitor at a time, so your friend will have to wait out here.”

Alex turned to Reggie with a blank stare.

“You got this, Lex. Remember, he’s gonna be fine. I’ll be right here, and Luke is on his way too. Whatever you need, okay? We got you.”

Alex nodded even though the movement itself felt like a lie. The nurse smiled softly at him and for one split moment Alex wished he could call his mom, hear her comforting voice the way he used to when he was a scared little kid. But he had Luke and Reggie now. And Willie, who was alive somewhere in this hospital.

“He’s in room 604, just down the hall.”

Alex forced his feet to move. Forced himself to count the numbers on the wall until he found 604. Forced himself to open the door and enter the room.

Willie looked so small on the bed, his dark hair a mess across the stark white pillowcase, his leg encased in plaster and suspended from some contraption that hung down from the ceiling. He turned his head at the noise of the door opening, eyes half open and soft with sleep or maybe painkillers. The smile on his face was a mere shadow of its normal sunshine.

“Hey, Hotdog.”

Alex wanted to cry. He wanted to scream and curl into a ball and absolutely lose it. But instead, he walked to the side of Willie’s bed and sat down in the chair next to it that seemed to have been waiting just for him.

“Have you been crying? Please tell me you weren’t crying.”

Okay, Willie was definitely on drugs. Because of course, Alex had been crying.

“Yes, I’ve been crying! Are you kidding me?”

Willie winced slightly and Alex was instantly swamped with guilt.

“No, okay, let me try that again.”

He took a deep breath and reached up to brush a few stray hairs away from Willie’s face. There were a number of cuts and bruises marring his skin, a few of them hidden under bandages.

“Hey pretty boy, I’m so glad you’re not dead. I’ve never been more scared than when I saw that text from Max. I thought you cracked your head open on a halfpipe or something, what the hell happened?”

Willie tried to shrug and grimaced, like it hurt. Alex’s hands fluttered uselessly above his boyfriend’s body, unsure where would be safe to touch. He settled for grabbing the hand that Willie offered which was thankfully unmarked, nothing but some leftover scars from catching himself at the skatepark.

“I think our car flipped? There was a lot of crashing and my leg really fuckin hurt. It’s still hurts.”

Willie frowned, clearly addled from the leftover anesthesia and whatever they were giving him for the pain. Alex pulled his hand up to press a series of kisses across Willie’s knuckles, making sure to cover each scar at least once.

“You can’t die on me, Wills. I fucking love you, okay? I know you do insane stunts and regularly let yourself get beat to crap at the skate park, but you can’t fucking die on me in some stupid car accident. I’d lose my goddamn mind without you.”

“You love me?”

Willie’s voice was soft and awed and Alex suddenly realized he hadn’t ever actually said those words out loud before even though they’d been living in his brain for months now. When he looked into Willie’s eyes he saw a hint of wetness there, and his heart melted.

“Yes, I love you, you fucking dork. I’ve been in love with you for months.”

Willie grinned, dopey eyed and pink cheeked.

“Well, I’ve been in love with you for like, ever. So, I win. Gimme a kiss for my prize.”

Alex laughed and rolled his eyes, but obliged, nonetheless. Willie might not remember this interaction, but Alex would never forget it. A look of absolute peace settled onto his boyfriend’s face.

“I knew you’d come. I knew as soon as that car hit us that when I woke up, you’d be here. You’re the best boyfriend ever, that’s why I love you. And you’re so hot. Like, really hot.”

Alex’s cheeks burned, his heart kicking into overdrive.

“C’mere,” Willie nodded his head to the side and tried to shuffle over, like he was inviting Alex to climb in next to him. He made a disgruntled sound when the contraption his leg was in refused to budge, frowning up at the suspension system.

“That’s so lame, what the fuck? I wanna cuddle.”

And Alex, unable to resist even when he knew it would probably be better for Willie if he did, climbed up to wedge his body into the small space between Willie and the guardrails on his bed. He tucked one arm behind Willie’s head, pulling his face into the space between his neck and shoulder. Willie let out a contented sigh, his breath sending shivers down Alex’s spine.

“You smell like you,” Willie whispered, the sound happy and relaxed. “I love you, Lex.”

“I love you, too.” Alex sighed, kissing his way across every single cut and bruise he could reach without moving.

Willie settled into place, his body going lax and soft snores sounding out against Alex’s chest within moments. Alex let his own head fall to rest against the top of Willie’s, finally allowing himself to believe everything would be okay. When the same nurse came to tell him that his other friend had arrived and maybe it would be best to come back in the morning, he accepted it without complaint. She gave him a final moment to say goodnight, Alex taking the time to make sure Willie was tucked in tight before kissing his temple softly.

Willie was going to be okay, and Alex was going to spend the rest of his life making sure he was always the one there to kiss his scrapes and bruises.

Send me prompts for my second birthday!

[treasure-hwa]

skate park

pairing: yeosang x neutral reader

genre: fluff, angst if you squint

synopsis: while trying to remember you are worthy good things, you meet a boy who will make everything feels better.

word count: 1.220

author's note: in general, Yeosang skater boy, because everybody deserves it. To the lovely @ateezstanlove, who said she was going away while I was in the middle of this imagine, then, came back few weeks later. Girl, don't do that to me again, thanks. Anyway, hope you all like this.

Another stressful day of dealing with fake friends, mean people and bad thoughts. Your energy was low, not the lowest, because you definitely had worse days, but low enough to make you stompe out of school and go straight to the skate park a few blocks away. Did you skate? No, you never even tried, but the skate park was a place that helped you relax, the sunset and breeze at the end of the day were irresistible and seemed to wash your worries and anger away.

Most of the times you went there, it was empty, only the sounds of kids playing on the playground beside it could be heard and they did not annoy you. This time, though, a boy was there. The boy carried a red backpack on his back and was agile on top of his skateboard, not vacillating once. You sat on one of the ramp curves and tried to ignore him, focusing on you, but the sounds of the skate wheels were quite comforting actually.

The sun, that was slowly beginning to set, sun hit your face, warming it, and the breeze made your clothes shuffle while you swung your feet. You started thinking about your day, going back to the mean things you heard and trying to reassure yourself about each of them. “Your problems are nothing like mine”, they are not similar, but both are valid; “Stop being an attention seeker”, you are not, you just wanted a simple “hello, how are you?”, to be included; “You can’t even do this right, how...”, it is okay if you are not good at something, that does not mean you are a failure; “Don’t you think you bothered them enough?”, if you bother those people, you are not meant to be together. Your mind was slowly healing, your soul going back to normal and...

— Hi.

A deep voice broke your moment of peace, scaring you, who would have fallen off the ramp if it was not for the boy’s arm in front of you, preventing your pathetic fall.

— I'm sorry, I didn't want to scare you like that.

Turning to him, you took in his appearance. A light pink beanie hiding most of his brown hair, a small black earring on his ear, black sweater, earphones hanging on his neck and black jeans that hugged his thighs perfectly. The boy looked like a total skater one and was incredibly good looking, you went far thinking that he could probably be the most handsome boy you have ever met.

— It's okay. — You coughed, pretending you were not checking him out. — I'm easily scared. But hi.

The boy rubbed his nape with his free hand, giggling and thinking of a way to keep talking to you. He did not know why he walked up to your sitting place, but you looked cute enjoying your surroundings and swinging your legs like a little kid, you were not even paying attention to him, so he could not help himself, he needed to stop his skating and talk to you.

— I'm Yeosang. You? — When you told him your name, he repeated it quietly, as if making sure he would remember.

— You skate well — you complimented.

— Oh? Did you see that? Thank you.

You nodded a bit awkwardly. Understand, you were never the type to talk to pretty boys, let alone a strange one, so Yeosang coming to your side and starting conversation made you flustered.

— Do you skate? — He picked up his skateboard full of drawings.

— No, never tried. By the way, your skateboard is so colorful, it's cool.

— Yeah, I agree. My friend likes to decorate things and said once my plain white skateboard was boring, so he asked me if he could draw on it. I let him and the result was pretty amazing.

The object was black, but had all the important Adventure Time characters drawn on it.

— Is it your favorite cartoon?

— Yeah, I only asked him to draw something that matched me, so he did this. I really liked the result.

— Ahh, got it. It's beautiful. A friend of mine likes to decorate things too, so she did this on my backpack. — You showed him the straps of your backpack decorated with positive words, flowers and doodles of your favorite activities.

He gasped seeing them, then suggested introducing your friends, because they would for sure get along so well. You agreed on that, even if you both barely knew each other to be introducing friends and probably would not do that.

Yeosang was about to speak again, but a stronger breeze hit you both before he could, so you stood there, appreciating nature all around you. When it was possible to talk again, you both spoke at the same time:

— Do you wanna try skating?

— What were you listening to?

He giggled along you, heads turned to the side and a slight blush coming up to both faces. The boy told you to answer first.

— Maybe not today, okay? I really don’t want to fall.

Yeosang said there was no problem, already anxious to see you again, but masking it by talking about the songs he was previously listening to. That way, you spent several minutes talking as if you knew each other for months, not merely for an hour. The boy was quite pleasant to have around, his smile was cute and a bit contained, as was his laugh, but you felt so close and good with him already. You felt so secure that you decided to confide in him the reason you were there when he asked what you were doing on a skate ramp if you did not like to skate.

— This is… my safe place.

— Safe from what? If you don’t mind me asking, obviously.

— No, it’s okay. Here is safe from cruel people trying to bring me down, safe from thoughts that drive me insane; the nature around here calms me, it seems to understand my worries and heal my heart.

— That’s quite beautiful, you know? — You chuckled, shaking your head. — I’m being honest. I think it’s cool you come here and enjoy your surroundings while remembering yourself you’re worthy tranquility and peace. I barely know you, but I think you are worthy.

— How do you know that? I could be the meanest person in the world trying to gain your attention by creating another personality to myself.

— Are you?

— Well, no, but…

— Then that’s it. I trust you.

Chuckling again and looking down, you glanced at your watch, noticing it was too late, time to be home. The sun had set and the lamp posts around were on, however neither of you paid attention to it earlier.

— Yeosang, it was great to meet you, but I need to go now.

— Ah. Okay, no problem, but, maybe, we could… you know. — The boy scratched his nape, embarrassed to ask for your number out loud, so he stretched his phone for you and looked away. Fortunately for him, you giggled and took the phone from his hands, adding your contact and saying “send me a hi later, skater boy” before leaving him with a teeny weeny piece of your heart behind.

[skieswords]

Pull Through Part 2

Please read part 1 first to make sure you read all of the trigger warnings❤️

The next morning, Becca woke up late, and groaned as she stretched, realising she was still wearing yesterday's jeans. Stripping her hoodie and top off, and dropping her jeans on her bedroom floor, she stepped into the shower, sighing in relief as the hot water ran down her back. Saturdays were always quiet for Becca. With her parents working and Alex with the boys, she normally took time to muck around with her skateboard, forbidden by her parents after a broken wrist that stopped her from writing properly for 6 weeks. But this Saturday was apparently going to be different. Becca came jumping down the stairs around 12, wet hair dripping down her back, and glasses resting comfortably on her nose. The house was quiet, so she wandered through the house in sweats and a sports bra, humming quietly as she made her way around the kitchen, climbing on the counter to grab the cereal from the cupboard. She was in her own little world, dancing a little as she opened the fridge to get the milk, swinging the door shut and turning round. The milk fell to the floor as she noticed Luke, sitting on the counter swinging his legs. "Luke! What are you doing here?" Luke smirked and jumped down, walking over to her and picking up the milk. He handed it to her, eyes widening as he took in her clothes, or lack thereof. Becca noticed at the same time and crossed her arms across her chest, squeaking quietly. "I didn't think there was anyone home, I'll go change, sorry, I uh-" She was cut off by the sudden appearance of Bobby and Reggie, closely followed by Alex. They were laughing at some unknown joke, but silence fell over them as they realised how close Luke and Becca were standing. Becca jumped back, swallowing and closing her eyes in embarrassment. Bobby was almost drooling, his eyes raking up and down her body less-than-innocently. Luke took a step in front of Becca, shielding her from Bobby's gaze with a protective hand on her arm. "Dude, stop. I've already told you, she's off limits." Alex came towards them, pushing Bobby away, and grabbing Becca by the wrist. "Go get changed." Becca rolled her eyes and shook him off, heading towards the stairs. Luke watched her go, feeling a blush creep up his neck. Knowing Alex might kill him if he saw, he pulled his hoodie up, and headed for the fridge, trying to cool off. He felt bad, she was very much off-limits, and he knew that, but he was a 17 year old guy- what else could he do when he saw his childhood crush basically topless?

Becca came sauntering down the stairs 20 minutes later, hoodie pulled over her head, and avoided the kitchen, where she could hear the boys talking. Her arm was still tingling from where Luke had touched her, she thought, as she rubbed it absentmindedly. It was a nice day, the sun shining through the blinds in the living room. Having perfectionist parents sucked, she remembered, looking into their backyard, at the neatly cut grass, and perfectly pruned flowerbeds. It didn't look too cold, which meant she might be able to skate. It took her all of 5 minutes to work out what she was doing, and ran through to the kitchen. The boys all turned to look at her, Bobby rolling his eyes slightly when Alex shot him a warning glance. Luke was leaned up against the counter, hands in pockets and ankles crossed. "How much do you love me?" Alex looked down at her in disbelief, while Luke and Reggie smirked, knowing where this was going. Bobby continued to eat his toast, totally oblivious. "They'll kill you, and me for good measure." Becca stuck out her lower lip and turned on the puppy dog eyes, pleading with him silently. He groaned and nodded, checking the time. "We'll leave in 10." Becca squealed and jumped up to hug him, before doing a little happy dance. "Where are we going?" Bobby frowned and looked to Alex expectantly. "I'm gonna drop her at the skatepark on our way to Reg's, can you guys grab your stuff?" Bobby scrunched up his nose, and ran his fingers through his hair. "You skate? That's not very ladylike." Becca stopped dancing, and put her hands on her hips, cocking her head to one side. "And how would you know what a lady likes?" Bobby raised his eyebrows at her, and took a step towards her. "Wouldn't you like to find out?" Alex stepped forward, looking furious, and Luke's expression was thunderous. Even Reggie looked pissed. But before they could interject, Becca replied. "Oh please, you couldn't find it if you tried." Luke's jaw dropped, a blush spreading across his cheeks. Reggie looked slightly confused, but impressed, and Alex was horrified, his hands covering his face. Becca flipped Bobby off and left, not missing the impressed look Luke sent her way, or the way his eyes trailed up and down her quickly. It was probably a coincidence- there was no way he thought about her like that. As she reached the stairs, she overheard Reggie. "How does she even know what it is?" A deep, throaty laugh filled the kitchen. "Dude, girls get horny too." Luke's retort made her laugh quietly, and she tucked her hair behind her ears, warmth spreading across her face. Gagging noises, presumably from Alex, proceeded to echo into the hall, and Becca sprinted up the stairs, so they wouldn't hear her laughing.

The skate park was teeming with kids, Saturday afternoons being one of the most popular times. Becca was sticking to the smaller ramps, her nerves still a bit on edge after her accident. "Hey Mercer, haven't seen you around here in time!" Ray, one of her closest friends, appeared beside her, patting her on the back and holding his arm out. She fist-bumped him and grinned, pulling him into a hug. Her board was covered in the remainder of Luke's stickers, with a couple of homemade Sunset Curve ones thrown in for good measure. She'd been messing around with some band designs a few months ago, and decided stickers would be a good idea. They were actually pretty popular, and she'd ended up handing them around a couple of kids at school. Sunset Curve weren't huge yet, but they'd played a handful of gigs, and they were some of the most popular Seniors at Los Feliz High. "So, where've you been?" Becca shrugged and smiled, flipping her board into her hand. "Around." Ray nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets. His helmet was undone, the straps dangling around his chin. Becca wasn't one for small talk, so she set her board down, and gave James a challenging stare. "Race you." He scoffed and clipped his helmet, before following her down the ramp, chasing her to the end of the park. She kept a decent lead, laughing when he reached her at the otherside, tossing her hair behind her shoulder. "How do you do that? You haven't been here in months, and you're still 10x better than me." Becca shrugged and shook her head, tossing her hair over her shoulder. She looked up at the sky, and closed her eyes in despair. "Fuck, what time is it?" Ray frowned and checked his watch, showing it to her. It was after 7, and she'd missed dinner. "I gotta go. Catch you next weekend?" Ray nodded and watched as she skated away, helmet in hand and curls waving wildly around her head. He smirked and rubbed his own hair, before turning away to meet his friends.

Becca ran through the front door, and legged it up the stairs, tossing her skateboard into her closet. Her dad came thundering through her bedroom door, eyes rimmed red and clothes dishevelled. "And where exactly have you been?" Becca bit her lip, trying to keep control of her emotions, but she could feel her hands shaking. "I was just out with some friends." She could smell the beer from her bed, and she tried to swallow, her throat bone dry. "You were skating, weren't you? You were with that boy!" Becca shook her head desperately, tears threatening to spill over. Graham inched closer, finger pointed accusingly in her face. As he reached her bedside, his face softened, and his shaking finger stroked her cheek gently. "I just want you to succeed. I can't have you getting hurt. You're my only hope." Becca tried her hardest to smile, but her heart was racing in her chest. "I just want what's best for you Rebecca." She nodded at him, wincing at the taste of blood in her mouth. She'd chewed through her lip. Graham looked around her room, before stumbling out, mumbling incoherently to himself. Becca pulled her knees up to her chest and let herself go, sobs racking through her body. She didn't hear the front door slam, or Alex and the boys coming up the stairs a few minutes later, but they heard her. Alex's face fell, and he shook his head. "Give me a minute?" Luke watched through the gap in Becca's door, as Alex ran in, pulled her shaking form into his chest, and winced as her sobs got louder, sounding more and more broken by the second. Reggie pulled him away from the top of the stairs, and shut Alex's door. "What do you think happened?" Luke continued to stare at the door, ignoring Reggie. "She's crying." Reggie waved a hand in front of Luke's face, and pushed him onto Alex's bed. "Uh, yeah." Luke blinked, and looked up at Reggie. "Becca's crying. That doesn't happen. What's going on?" Reggie sighed and started walking around Alex's room, fiddling with the neatly lined up drumsticks on the wall. "No idea. He'll tell us later." Luke lay back on Alex's bed and stared at the ceiling, fingers playing with the chain around his neck. What felt like an hour later, Alex came through the door, rubbing his forehead. He collapsed into the chair in the corner of his room, and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "You alright man?" Alex sighed and sat up. "Yeah, great. You guys want to order pizza?" Luke glanced at the door and gulped. "Is Bex okay?" Alex looked at his feet, before standing up and pulling his shirt off. Luke frowned at the wet stain on the front, black smudges presumably from Becca's makeup. Alex pulled a hoodie over his head and fiddled with his hair in the mirror, trying to work out a response that didn't totally betray Bex. "She's asleep now. She'll be fine." Luke pushed for more information, despite Reggie's not-so-subtle faces. "What happened?" Alex groaned and leaned his forehead against the mirror, grateful for the coolness on his face, which was burning with suppressed anger. "Our dad's pretty hard on her. And when he's drinking, he's worse." Luke's mouth dropped slightly, and he tugged on his necklace. "Oh. Shit, I'm sorry man." Reggie stepped forward and squeezed Alex's arm gently. "She's got some stuff going on with her head. She has meds and stuff but she doesn't always take them. They make her tired." His voice fell quiet at this, and Luke looked back to the door. Something in him desperately wanted to go and hug her, but he knew it was a bad idea. "I had no clue." Alex shrugged and played with the tiers of his hoodie. "Anyway, pizza?" The boys shared a look and nodded, but as they walked past Becca's door, Luke paused. Inside was silent, so he presumed she was asleep. He rested his hand on the door, tempted to go inside and check she was alright, but Alex looked back at him, and tilted his head in the direction of the kitchen. Luke bit his lip for a moment, before shaking his head and following his best friends down the stairs.

Eyes puffy and swollen, Becca climbed out of bed the next morning feeling utterly empty, and as she stared in the mirror, she hardly recognized the burnt out shell looking back at her. She sniffed and reached behind her to tie her hair back, letting her arms fall a moment later. It was another one of those days. But she knew what she had to do, so she pulled her curtains open, blinking in the sunlight. An exhausting shower and outfit change later, Becca sighed and tugged at her clothes, resisting the urge to cry again. She failed and collapsed to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest while hot tears dripped down her cheeks. A soft knock on the door paired with Alex's entrance made her look up, and he sighed, before crouching down beside her and reaching out, pulling her up. "Cmon. What you wanna do?" Becca shrugged and leaned against her brother, breathing in the comforting scent of lemon from his bodywash. "I dunno. Where are the boys?" Alex shook his head and started pulling up her bed, organising the cushions and playing with the sequins on one of them. "I sent them over to Reggie's without me. It's just you and me today." Becca smiled gratefully and rubbed a hand over her arm. "I don't mind. I'm happy to chill here if you want to go practice with the guys?" Alex's face fell a little and he stepped towards her. "Hey. You know I can't do that." Becca rolled her eyes slightly, but nodded. "Okay. Can I come down to the garage and watch you practice?" Alex narrowed his eyes but nodded. "Yeah, and then we'll do your maths homework." She groaned, but grabbed her school bag and a blanket, and followed him downstairs. Alex had started playing drums when he was 11, after his anxiety got so bad he had to come out of school for a while. Their parents weren't very understanding, but after multiple run-ins with the police when he went missing from school, they realised they had to fix something. And then 3 years later, when Becca was 13, they found her in her room at 3am, blade against her wrist. It was the 90s, and mental health wasn't really a thing, but after 18 months of weekly therapy, Becca had finally been in a slightly better place- until Alex had come out as gay, and their dad had come home kicking and screaming about it. She'd stood up for her brother, and hadn't backed down until her dad pushed her down the stairs in a drunken rage. Since then, the bumpy scar above her right eyebrow, accompanied by many that marked her past dips, had plagued her existence daily. More recently, her bad days had been less frequent, much to Alex's relief. His little sister was everything to him, and he would do anything to protect her. It killed him inside that he couldn't fight the demons in her mind for her.

Monday morning saw Becca sitting in the front seat of Alex's mustang, the boys crammed in the back. They were strangely quiet, besides Bobby, who was leaning on her chair, trying desperately to make small talk. "So what kinda skateboarding do you do?" Becca stared at Alex out the corner of her eye, silently begging for him to make it stop. "The kind where you use a board dipshit. Shut up." There was a thump as Bobby's back hit the seat, and Luke's face appeared in it's place. "Alex, do you mind stepping on it? We got places to be man." Becca snorted and turned to look at him. He had his chin resting in his hands, leaning on the centre console. He looked up at her, pouting, and she couldn't help but smile. "And what important places do you have to be other than school?" Luke shrugged and disappeared into the backseat, his feet replacing his face on the console. "Alex?" Alex shot a death glare at Luke and glanced at Becca out the corner of his eye. "Uh, we might have a gig tonight. Ish. So we're gonna rehearse all day. We're just dropping you at school first." Becca frowned and turned in her seat to look at the boys in the back. Luke was pulling a face, looking anywhere but her, and Reggie was suddenly very interested in an empty juice can left in the back pocket of Alex's seat by Becca. "You could've just told me. Now you've got to drive all the way back to Reggie's." Alex grimaced and glared at the boys in the rearview. "Yeah, that's what I said. No-one ever listens to me though." Once more the boys all turned away, whistling and occupying themselves with anything else they could. "Woah, you guys don't trust me? I'm hurt." She clutched her chest in mock agony, but frowned a little when she got hardly any reaction, turning to face the front again. "Can't I come watch? It can be my birthday present?" Alex looked at her out the corner of his eye. "You know I can't do that." Becca looked down and nodded, biting her lip. "Yeh. Sorry. Can you get me after school though?" Alex nodded, and pulled up to the front of school. Becca clambered out, tapping the window on Reggie's side. He waved up at her, and kept waving as they drove away. Luke crawled out of the car, and watched as Becca hugged a light-haired boy at the top of the steps. He frowned a little, and got into the front seat. "Hey Alex, does Bex have a boyfriend?" Alex looked at him suspiciously, and started to drive away, while Luke watched Becca walk into the school side by side with the boy. At least they weren't holding hands? Not that he cared. "She doesn't as far as I'm aware, and she shouldn't. I haven't met him anyway, and she hasn't mentioned anyone. Why?" Luke laughed at Alex's defensive tone, and shrugged. "Nah, just wondering. Saw her with a guy back there." The car swerved to the left as Alex tried to look behind him, and Luke grabbed the wheel. "Dude! You're driving." Alex shook his head and got the car back under control. "Right, driving." Turning the volume up on the radio, Luke scrunched up his nose, propped his feet up on the dash, and stared out of the window, drumming his fingers on the door frame.

[ateezmakemeweep]

sk8erboi!yeosang x ballerina!reader 

word count: 10k

angst, fluff, smut (tw: implications of an eating disorder)

whoever made the executive decision to put a skatepark directly across the street from a dance studio really should've put more thought into just how poorly that would've gone. 

because ever since its grand opening four months ago, you've been losing your mind. you remember when the only sound coming through the large studio window was birds chirping or the faint sound of an ice cream truck or the occasional barks of dogs greeting each other.

but now. now it's the constant racket of wheels rolling on concrete, boards flipping and clattering off the large, graffitied ramps and, of course, the obnoxious quarrels and curses coming from the group of punks you always have the displeasure of seeing (and more so hearing) every monday, wednesday and friday.

"i'm gonna kill them, i swear i'm gonna kill them one day," you complain to your friend as you untie the ribbons of your ballet shoes, "i've had enough of them!"

the sound of her snort has you whipping your head to the side, eyes squinted and eyebrow raised. "what was that laugh for?"

"oh, c'mon, you've been saying this shit for months, y/n," she says while rubbing her bruised, battered feet, "have you even spoken to them?"

"god no," you say, the disgust so evident in your voice, it's like she asked if you'd make out with them.

"well, maybe you should!" she chirps, jumping up and walking over to the windowsill. "they're really ho...nice, really nice."

"oh jesus christ," you grumble, sneering at the girl whose chin is perched on her hand like she's admiring works of art outside the window. "have you talked to them?"

"a few times," she says and you roll your eyes at the breathy, dreamy tone in her voice.

"don't tell me you like one of them."

"of course not," she says, neck craning back to shoot you a wink, "maybe just like three of them."

"oh my, god! i'm leaving." and leave you do, with her laugh echoing through the studio as she shouts that she'll see you at the next practice.

once you're outside, you peer up to see her head is still outside the second-story window staring dreamily across the street and you can't help but shout up at her. a smirk makes its way on your face when she at least has the decency to jump away and hide in embarrassment before seeing it was you.

"not nice, y/n!"

you shake your head as you make your way across the street, popping in your headphones so you can go over the routine in your head over and over and over again until your ears start bleeding and brain turns to mush.

it had been your mom's idea to stick you in dance the second you learned how to walk, wanting to see her daughter follow in her footsteps in the form of pink tutus and glittery makeup and first place trophies from competitions.

but you quickly realized dance was more than that. that it brought sense of stability and purpose you so desperately craved, a work ethic that made you want to master the art of ballet. 

because even though it makes your feet ache and bleed and you'll spend the rest of the night screaming into an ice bucket, you really have come to love it. it serves as a stress reliever for when schoolwork or your mom's nagging becomes too much.

you're only a minute and 20 seconds into the song, the pirouette techniques you've rehearsed for hours beginning to plague your mind, when a skateboard flying through the air misses your face by just a few inches.

you rip out your earbuds, classical music blaring out of them as you snap your head to the board that nearly knocked you out. a figure running past you snatches it up, about to turn and run passed you again with the quietest of hums; rage fills through you because not even an apology?

"yeah, i'm fine, thanks," and you're even a little thrown off by how how biting and sarcastic your voice sounds. 

the figure turns to look at you, a smirk threatening to cover his face as he looks you up and down in your pink leotard under white shorts and sneakers.

"my bad."

"yeah, no kidding. you could've knocked me out."

he rolls his eyes, tucking the skateboard under his arm and advancing toward you a bit more. a black hat is placed backwards on his head, your eyes narrowing at the holes in his baggy long-sleeved shirt and scuffed up vans.

"it was an accident," he says, tone calm and relaxed, "and maybe if your mozart wasn't so damn loud, you would've heard me shout."

a scoff leaves your mouth, leaning on one foot as your arms cross over your chest.

"it isn't mozart," you snap, annoyed by how calm and teasingly he's looking at you. "and you'd think you'd be a little bit better since you're here all the time. isn't the board supposed to stay under your feet?"

a laugh bubbles out of his mouth and you're gonna pretend it's the ugliest thing you've ever heard, not a nice deep boy chuckle that would normally make your heart flutter.

"you a stalker or something?"

a annoyed sigh leaves your mouth as you roll your eyes because this guy is unbelievable.

"as if. you and your annoying little posse make it really hard to concentrate during practice with those stupid deathtrap boards."

his neck cranes around you ever so slightly to survey the studio, the brick building with a large white window overlooking the picturesque town. he had figured it was a dance studio, after seeing girls walk in and out with buns and leotards and bags detailed with ballet shoes.

"ah, so you're one of those prissy dancers i take?" his head nodding across the street.

your mouth drops open at his statement only causing the smirk on his face to widen; you have half the mind to smack him with your bag.

"we're not prissy! i bet it takes a lot more skill and pain tolerance than balancing on that-"

"stupid deathtrap board? yeah, you're probably right," he says before turning his head and taking another step closer to you. "but you have to admit we look a lot cooler. where's your little tutu, constanze?"

your eyebrows pinch in confusion, giving him a strange look because who the hell is constanze?

"what are you even talking- you know what, who cares," you huff, irritation flooding through you the more you humor him with a conversation. you pop your headphones back in to start over your song, throwing him one last sneer with squinted eyes. "try to keep the board on the floor next time."

"wear a tutu next time!"

but he knows you definitely don't hear him because you just continue to walk straight, your head moving in circles and arms making subtle movements side to side. he smiles to himself watching you ‘dance’ until you turn the corner before hopping on his board and skating back into the park.

and it's the same way he skates up to you two days later as you wait to cross the street, your pink bag thrown over your shoulder as hear the familiar sound of wheels on concrete that causes your blood to boil.

"constanze, where is your tutu?" his voice whines and you look to the side to see the obnoxious boy from a few days ago now wearing a beanie.

"why are you calling me that?" you ask with an annoyed tone.

"you mean to tell me a priss like yourself doesn't know who constanze is?"

"stop calling me that! you don't see me calling you a punk."

again, that deep chuckle leaves his mouth and you wish it didn't sound so nice. wish he wasn't so carefree and calm when you can't help but feel so incredibly irritated by him.

"a punk? really?"

"yeah, really."

"what makes me a punk? the fact that i skateboard?"

your foot bounces impatiently on the concrete waiting for the walking man to appear on screen, eager to get far far away from this headache of a boy.

"amongst other....attributes."

"oh?" he hums, leaning his head against the dirty metal pole and you wanna cringe thinking about how many germs are on it. "you don't even know me, though.”

"but i know your type," you spit, now turning your body to look at him, "i know i've heard your obnoxious cursing and screaming for the past four months. and i know you call me names when you don't even know me."

"oh, but i know your type as well constanze. so stiff and rigid and orderly, i bet it's killing you that i'm on this germ infested pole right now."

your eyes widen for a split second because can he hear my thoughts? before you shake them out and squint your eyes at him.

"what's wrong with liking routine? sorry we all can't just skate off into the sunset and do ollies all day."

"oh, ollies?" he says, voice teasing and eyebrows raised like you've genuinely impressed him. "now how do you know about those?"

your cheeks warm at his tone and you praise the gods above when you see the white man signal to cross the street. you quickly turn, hitting his stomach with your bag and rushing across the street.

"come by when you’re done if you wanna learn how to do an ollie, constanze!"

you resist the urge to throw your middle finger up when he calls after you, pulling open the door and stomping up the stairs muttering under your breath.

"why the hell does he keep calling me constanze," you grumble, "and who does he think he is assuming he can just-"

"oh my gosh!" your friend squeals as she runs up to you, "what were you doing talking to yeosang!"

your body stiffens at the name, yeosang, and despite never meeting anyone else with it, you're convinced it's only reserved for annoying punks.

"how do you know his name?" you ask, walking over to plop down and take off your shoes, "he nearly knocked me unconscious with his stupid skateboard the other day!"

"oh?" she squeaks, "and you talked again today?!"

her excitement causes you to sneer at her, shaking your head because "you sound way too happy about this."

as you put on your toe cap and spacer, you listen to her mule on and on about how cool the boys look flying through the air and how hot their scars probably are and you could seriously throw up when she starts to talk about one of the boys and his skilled technique.

"what do you even know about skateboarding techniques?" you chirp; she had never seemed interested in it before.

"i don't know, there's like ollies or something, right? that's basic stuff. i'll go over and be like oooh your ollies are just so impressive-"

"i am so embarrassed, please stop talking."

she throws her head back with a giggle, plopping down in front of you to tie up your ribbons and begins to, thankfully, talk about one of the parts of the dance she's been struggling with.

but after the next two and a half hours of practice, feet bleeding and throbbing in pain, it's safe to say not a single one of you are having any more issues.

"they hurt so bad," you whine the second your shoe is off, squeezing and rubbing at your abused toes.

"that extra time was rough," your friend says, laid out flat on her back with her eyes closed.

you both just sit there for a few minutes, hoping that the throbbing in your feet will simmer so your trip home won't be spent limping and suppressing groans. but no such luck because the second you say goodbye and walk down the stairs, you wanna die.

you make your way across the street, headphones in but no music blaring because you can't even think about dancing right now. but you can absolutely think about murdering who you now know as yeosang when a very familiar looking skateboard rolls out the park gate and runs into your ankle.

"you're kidding," you snap, kicking the board roughly so it falls on it's side, "you did that on purpose!"

"i didn't, i promise," he says, "but since i caught you...can i teach you an ollie now? i've been waiting for you."

"well you waited for nothing, i'm not interested."

"c'mon, a skillful ballerina like yourself will pick it up in no time."

you roll your eyes at the sarcasm in his tone and you'd step on his skateboard if your feet weren't aching.

"i don't think i wanna learn from someone who can't seem to keep his feet on the board."

"well, then you'll just have to see how good i am," he hums lowly, flipping his skateboard over with his foot and kicking it up so he grabs it with his hand.

"wow, you can catch it," you say dryly and a smile covers his face as lets out a scoff.

"not that, wiseass, there's a competition on friday. come."

you feel your eyebrows shoot up in surprise before you squint at him suspiciously. why on earth would he be inviting you?

"and why would on earth would i do that?" you echo.

"to see me, silly constanze. and let me prove that i can teach you."

you ignore his use of the mysterious name despite the irritation flooding through you, simply rolling your eyes as you shake your head.

"not a chance, i don't feel like getting rendered unconscious. and i don't even wanna learn."

"but your friend's are coming too," he says and your eyebrow raises again because that's news to you; but then you think he may be using that as bate for your interest.

"they would never," you spit, as if they don't fawn over them constantly before and after practice. and the smirk on his face is like he knows it, too, all smug and teasing and you think it's about time to get the hell away from him.

"i'm leaving," you bluntly state, "good luck on friday. you'll need it." you hear him laugh as you turn around coldly, taking three steps before you hear

"i won't, i'll have you there."

"no you won't!" you shout before starting your music and trying not to focus on your aching feet.

"because you wouldn't!" your friend whines to you after your friday practice, "that's why i had to spring it on you, like, right now, in this very moment."

and damn yeosang who was very much correct when he said your friends were going to the competition because the second your teacher left, she ran up to you with puppy eyes and a small smile begging you to join her.

"everyone else is going, you don't need me!"

"but you're my best friend, y/n, i want you there," she whines before looking side to side and whispering, "i want you to meet wooyoung."

"who the hell is-"

her hand covers your mouth before you can get the name out, her eyes bulging and you feel your eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"don't talk so loud," she whispers, "i don't want everyone knowing i like him."

"something tells me you make it very obvious," you say the second she removes her hand from your mouth.

"ugh, see, that's why i need you there!" she says while perking up, "so you can stop me from becoming an obvious, flustered mess. what if i blurt out about ollies to him."

your cheeks heat at the memory of yeosang's teasing and you let out an annoyed huff. because you know she won't stop until you say yes and she is one of your best friends and you truthfully just want her to stop looking at you with her borderline creepy puppy eyes.

"fine," you huff out, "but you're buying us food after."

"yay, yay, yay, yay! okay, deal, perfect, let's change!"

and with that, she runs off into the hallway to change and you know with absolute certainty it probably took her an hour to pick it out. like how nearly an hour later, you're sitting on the uncomfortably hard bench with far too many people shouting and whooping like this is the damn super bowl.

you look at your friend in annoyance who's just bouncing in her seat excitedly, her eyes roaming the boys lined up near the ramps until you see them light up.

"there he is!" she whisper-yells to you and you crane your neck to look at the group.

"which one?"

"the hot one! with the dark hair, in the red plaid. next to- omg, he's next to your man."

"shut your mouth," you mumble but you can't even lie that he's looking extra good today, sporting a burgundy beanie with black jeans and matching converse. he really looks like the embodiment of a skater boy, the most unfortunate tragedy being how annoying he is the second he opens his mouth.

his eyes graze the onlookers and you watch him do a double take when he sees you not only in the crowd but looking his way, a wide smirk covering his face as he waves at you. you shake your head, pointing to the girl next to you and squinting your eyes.

he squints his own back at you, nodding his head sarcastically before throwing you a wink and walking off with wooyoung to the top of the ramp.

an annoyed huff leaves your mouth, turning your head to see the dreamy look in your friend's eye. "okay mrs. obvious, calm it down," you hiss lowly, suppressing a laugh when she shakes out of your lust-induced gaze.

"who's obvious? obvious about what? their love and affection for wooyoung? nope, not me."

you can't help the laugh that rings out of your mouth now, pushing her lightly before someone welcoming guests and announcing the events into a loudspeaker cause to smirk at your friend.

"they're kidding with this loudspeaker, right?"

"sh! it's a sporting event."

and like a sporting event it was, the crowd cheering during their favorite skaters or "oohing" at the rare occasion when one would wipe out. and even you have to admit this was exciting to watch. how freely they throw themselves into the air, how smoothly they'll land on the moving boards and flip their bodies in ways that truly look like it should end in disaster.

when the voice on the speaker booms "kang yeosang" the cheers pierce your ears and you look around in surprise at the clapping and wooing crowd. they get considerably louder when he appears at the top of the ramp and you snap your head back around to see him craning his neck side to side before plopping his board down and adjusting his two feet.

you watch his fluid movements the second he starts, balanced and sharp as he dips down and then flings himself all different ways and soars into the air.

you find yourself flinching when he takes a particularly steep turn or deep dive, feeling shocked and impressed when he lands it each and every time. you don't even realize how much time has passed until he's done, standing back on the ledge holding his board up and shaking it side to side as his chest heaves in and out.

the audience is clapping, yourself included and you see him point out into the crowd before stepping off just as the name "jung wooyoung" is called out. the figure next to you jumps up, her squeals piercing your ear and successfully doing the job of snapping you back to reality. 

you halt your clapping hands, tugging her down by the arm with a chastising tone.

"you're so embarrassing, stop it," you say through gritted teeth but she only shrugs you off, wiggling in her seat happily as her eyes zone in on the boy. you watch too and if you realize you're not quite as interested in watching him, you'll never admit it.

"congratulations, wooyoung!" you friend squeals when you find him and a group of boys towards the front entrance of the park afterward, "you were amazing!"

a big smile covers his face upon seeing her and you'd be lying if you said it didn't make your heart soar; perhaps he likes her as much as he likes him...

"thank you babe," he says and you try not to scrunch your nose at the term of endearment.

"i was so scared when you-"

"and look who decided to show up, after all," you hear a teasing voice say from behind you. you spin around and roll your eyes at the boy skating up to you holding a first place trophy.

"by force and harassment, don't flatter yourself," you say, eyes roaming the metal in his hand and he smirks.

"told you i was good."

you purse your lips to the side because you can't deny it now, after watching him and genuinely being impressed.

"well pardon me for my hesitance after you flung that deathtrap at me not once but twice."

"only a deathtrap if you don't know what you're doing," he say, rolling the board under his feet, "which is why we gotta schedule your lesson now."

a shocked look crosses your face, eyebrow raised skeptically. "oh, i didn't realize you were so booked and busy."

a cocky smile crosses his face as he cooly responds, "well didn't you hear all those cheers for me? i have a lot of fans."

your face pinches into one of disgust because you had realized majority of the yells were those of females.

"well, then let's not waste a highly anticipated lesson on someone who doesn't want one in the first place."

he hops off the board, sauntering towards you and turning his head to you.

"but i insist," he says, that signature smirk crossing his face, "it's the least i can do for my good luck cha-"

"ay, yeosang! let's go!" wooyoung yelps before eyeing you and a smile covers his face.

"you must be y/n! are you coming with us? i'm wooyoung, if you didn't know." 

you turn your neck to the side to see your friend with a big smile on her face and you don't think her body's stopped wiggling since you guys got here. she nods her head frantically, failing her hands in a 'come on!' motion and you plaster on the fakest smile you can muster.

"sure, thank you for inviting me," you say through gritted teeth, meeting the boy’s gaze before snapping back to your friend mouthing the words 'you owe me.' you watch the two take off, his arm thrown happily around her shoulder as she observes his second place trophy in fascination.

"you wanna see mine?" yeosang quips, holding his out in excitement but you can only roll your eyes. you side-eye a group of girls lingering next to you, pretending to plan for their next event or look at their phones when you know damn well they're trying to sneak a peak at the kang yeosang.

"i think there's others far more interested," you quip before turning around to catch up with your friend; you hear the familiar sound of a board clattering against the ground and rolling after you seconds later.

the four of you end up walking to a nearby diner, 50s inspired with red leather booths, a black and white checkered floor and elvis presley currently singing through the speakers about a devil in disguise. you were given the spot next to yeosang, listening to him and wooyoung banter back and forth about their performance.

"maybe if you didn't almost eat shit, you'd have this!" yeosang teases, patting the trophy next to him while taking a sip from his chocolate shake. 

smug and cocky from his win, it felt really good to see wooyoung put the end of his paper wrapper in his straw and blow it towards yeosang; but it felt even better when some excess of his vanilla shake went with it, promptly splattering all over the boy's face.

and yeosang really wishes he could've gotten mad but your soft giggle of a laugh just left him cursing playfully at wooyoung, wiping his face with a napkin before the waitress places your food down.

he wishes he heard you laugh more often.

you pick at your salad with your fork, letting out a quiet sigh as you smell the salty fries and burgers wafting around you. but you know the wrath of your dance instructor and most importantly, your mother, would not be worth the taste of any food.

yeosang watches you from the side of his eye pick at your meal, finishing just his burger before promptly shoving his plate next to you.

"eat."

you turn your head to look at him with hard eyes and furrowed eyebrows.

"what?"

"eat," he says, pushing his own plate until it hits your arm. but you only shove it away with your elbow, sticking your fork through a piece of lettuce and popping it in your mouth.

"i have my own food, but thanks."

an annoyed huff leaves his mouth, eyeing you seriously and you turn away from his gaze so the unfamiliar feeling of nervousness doesn't creep up on you. and then, as you open your mouth to eat another piece of lettuce, you feel the saltiness of a french fry graze your lip.

you knock your head to the side but he only follows, placing it further into your mouth. you chew the food and resist the urge to groan out in pleasure because it's been so long since you ate food like this.

but you're taught to use food as fuel, the fuel being in protein and greens and fruit and healthy fats; you know for a fact the amount of salt on this potato would not be mom approved.

"yeosang," you growl and he raises an eyebrow at you.

"constanze."

you hear the faint confused voice of your friend sitting across from you, "did you tell him that was your name, y/n?"

"no," you growl, side eyeing the boy who's holding out another french fry with a stern look, "he insists on calling me that and i don't know why."

"what an odd name for him to- wait, mozart! his wife's name was constanze!"

you fully turn to stare at the boy whose mouth is now quirked up into the biggest smirk on his face.

"it appears you're not the real priss of your group, y/n. now that is shocking."

"you are so dumb, why do you even know that," you hiss at him, smacking his arm lightly and ignoring how nice his voice sounds saying your real name, "and i wasn't even listening to mozart!"

his laugh rings through the air and you huff before attempting to turn back to your food. but his pushy, annoying, obnoxious self shoves his plate to you again and you'd scream at him if you weren't in a public setting.

"you really are such a-"

"i can't sit here and watch you pick at your food any longer," he tells you and you're surprised to hear his voice laced with the smallest hint of concern, "just eat some fries."

you meet his gaze and see they’re surprisingly soft, no hint of his usual teasing or judgment, and you sigh before snatching one up and putting it in your mouth.

"happy?"

"very," he says, smiling down at you and you ignore the way it makes your heart feel light and fluttery when your eyes occasionally meet.

but that light and fluttery feeling quickly fades away by monday. because when your mom said she’d pick you up from practice for once, you knew she had to have ulterior motives.

"hi, mom," you chirp the second you get in the car and she smiles softy at you. but there's a forced, stiffness about it.

"i checked your log before," she says before even a greeting and your face immediately drops; she makes you keep a log of your weight and hours put into practice every week.

"two pounds, y/n?" she asks and you just knew you shouldn't have put that in there. "what's that about?"

your swallow nervously, shame running through you as you tuck your head into your chin; perhaps you had ended up finishing all of yeosang's fries.

"i'm not yelling at you, dear, i just...what is that about? you know gaining weight isn't good for-"

"i know, mom," you snap, irritation running through you at the fact she thinks dear is gonna lessen the blow, "but it's only two pounds. i probably just burned it off at this practice."

"i hope so," she hums, staring up at the building and smiling softly in remoteness. "you have to work hard, every second, mind and body. you remember that, right? but especially what you put in your body and what you put-"

"on the floor mom, yeah, i know."

she lets you sit in silence for a few moments, making no attempt to put the car into drive and you look up at her curiously. 

and then there's something in her gaze, in the way she didn't tell you to put your seatbelt on or make any moves to put back on the sunglasses perched on her head that you just know what she's about to suggest. 

so before she can, before she can hurt your feelings and spirit anymore, you say the words she's thinking.

"i'll walk home," you say shortly, open the door and slamming it after you jump out, “work off some calories.”

"that's a good idea, y/n," she says before trying to soften her own guilt and be a good mother, "but are you sure? your feet must be in pai-"

"i'm sure, see you at home," you say, tears pricking behind your eyes and you quickly walk to the crosswalk so if they do happen to fall, she doesn't see. you wait for the walking man, hearing the sound of your car driving off and it's like you don't have any strength in your body.

in an effort to not completely break down in public, you walk around to the side of the building where you sometimes have outdoor practices when it's especially nice out in the spring. you open the squeaky gate and plop down against the wall, bringing your knees up and burying your head in your arms to cry just for a second.

cry because your feet and body are always in pain, cry because you're deprived of flavorful food and have forced yourself to pretend it's because you like it, cry because your mom, the person you do all of this shit for, just called you out and made you feel so incredibly shitty for gaining two pounds on your already slightly underweight body.

"y/n?" you hear and your head snaps up, hand moving to wipe your wet face quickly; but you know he already saw what was happening.

"please not now, yeosang," you beg, voice wobbly and wet and you close your eyes when you hear the squeaky gate open.

"what's wrong?" he asks, kneeling down in front of you and turning his head to the side questioningly. 

you hesitantly meet his gaze and a frown immediately covers your face when you see his eyes roaming over you with true, real concern. and you don't know if it’s that or the dozens of other factors but it causes the tears to leak from your eyes again, face crumbling before you quickly bury them back in your legs.

"please leave me alone," you cry out quietly.

"i can't do that, y/n," he says and you feel his warm hand graze your bare leg after a few moments, his thumb gently rubbing over your skin and you don't even try to fight it. 

because you think you need the slightest bit of comfort and affection right now, even if it’s him. and he does just that the whole time without uttering a word, plopping down on his butt after the squatting position burns his legs.

you look up after you feel like you've drained all your sad and frustrated and pain-ridden sobs out and he pouts after seeing your red, tear-stained eyes and puffy cheeks.

"will you tell me what's wrong if i ask again?" he asks softly, bringing his hand from your knee to your face to wipe at the excess tears under your eyes.

"no," you squeak and he swallows the lump in his throat but nods his head regardless.

"okay."

you bite your lip when you feel it start to tremble again, maybe at his understanding, and his eyes immediately move down to your lip, swallowing again when he notices the tremor.

"was that...can you at least tell me...was that your mom?" he asks, moving to wipe the tears off the other side before retracting his hand.

you sniffle, leaning your head back against the brick and nodded your head silently.

"yes, that was my...lovely mother," you say and you can't help the bitterness in your tone.

he nods his head understandingly, still roaming your puffy eyes and sad face as he finds himself saying, "parents suck."

a small humorless chuckle leaves your mouth as you nod your head against the wall, lips pursed to the side as you bite the inside of your cheek.

you two sit there silently for who knows how long, long enough for the ice cream truck to make its rounds around the park three times and then for most of the chatter coming from it to simmer. your eyes had been grazing each other ever so often, but most of the time missing each other.

because when you would look at him, you saw him staring off outside the gate absentmindley, like he was reliving some kind of memories.

and when he would look at you, you were watching your finger trace the concrete underneath you and his stomach sank at the thought that you were practicing parts of your routine.

so that's what urges him to get up abruptly, causing you to look up to see him holding his hand out to you.

"come with me?" he asks and you look at it warily before meeting his gaze.

"where?"

"just come," he says pleadingly and you find yourself sighing before taking his hand. he pulls you up gently, interlocking your fingers and you supposed you shouldn't have been surprised when he starts dragging you across the street into the park.

"are you kidding, yeosang," you say but the usual snark in your voice is empty; you just don't have the energy.

he walks you over to his board laying on it's side, kicking it up with his foot and moving so you're standing right in the middle of it.

"get on."

"i don't wanna," you whine, "what makes you think i wanna do this after having an emotional breakdown?”

"just try," he says, "and if you hate it, you can smack me over the head with the deathtrap. payback, right?"

a smile tugs at your lips so you drop your head, looking over the scuffed up board and taking a breath before looking up at him again.

"i'm holding you to that."

and with that, you step onto it hesitantly. one foot, then the other. you shudder slightly, a squeal leaving your mouth as your hands shoot out to grab onto him. a chuckle leaves his mouth at your tight grip and hesitant face.

"that was good," he says and you squint your eyes at him challengingly.

"i can't wait to knock you out."

he attempts to cover his laugh with one of his hands but you quickly reach out and grab it, an appalled look on your face.

"well, don't let me fall!"

"i won't," he says, "let's go slowly."

"i don't think that's a-" a little yelp echoes through the park when he slowly starts walking.

"you're fine, you drama queen," he mutters and a scoff leaves your mouth, "just get used to the board under your feet."

and you do as he says, grounding yourself on the board and familiarizing yourself with the slightly wobbly feeling under your feet. you loop around the park once, your screeches and his laughs echoing during the few instances he let go of your hands.

"alright, get off," he says, both hands still in yours when you get down slowly.

"that was a great lesson, glad we did it," you say sarcastically but he only rolls his eyes, moving his hands down to your hips and turning you to face the front of the board.

"not quite done yet," he says and the way his breath fans against your ear has you biting your lip because whoa, has his voice always been so deep and nice? "put one foot on the board, leave the other one on the ground and just travel slowly."

you huff as you put your feet in the positions, his hands on either side of you but not touching you. you begin to slowly move, your foot on the ground slowly stepping forward; it's slow and basic but you're doing it.

"this really is skateboarding for dummies," you say and he lets out a chuckle.

"alright then mrs ollie, let's see you put your traveling foot on the board."

you roll your eyes at him before stepping three times and then bringing both feet up onto the board. but you quickly wobble, his arm wrapping around your waist before you have the chance to fall off.

"see what happens when you get cocky," he mumbles and you elbow his stomach lightly.

"shut up, i should make you do a grande jeté."

"okay but we're skateboarding right now, not learning french."

you nearly fall off the board again from the sheer power of your laugh, your head leaning to side as it lands on his shoulder.

"oh my, gosh, it's a ballet jump!" you squeal and you only realize how close you are to him when you hear his chuckle right by your ear. you pick yourself up and stay on the board, flustered by your closeness but before you can even dwell on it, his hands are off of you.

"let's try again."

you practice and practice and practice until you're able to fully push off and stay steady on the board.

"yeosang! look! i'm doing it!" you squeal happily and he smiles, humoring you by clapping his hands together for the 8th time.

"you'll be doing an ollie in no time," he teases and you squint at him before getting off the board, turning it around, and charging towards him.

he chuckles seeing you flying toward him, moving to the side and grabbing you by the waist when you pass him on the board.

"ah, stop it!" you screech but your giggling ringing through the air says otherwise. he plops you down in front of him, the sun about to set as the town around you turns quiet. it's like you two are the only ones out right now, with squeals and smiles and laughs filling the park.

"so, am i a good teacher or what?" he asks, eyes teasing as they look at you.

"you're okay," you drag out, smiling softly when he squints his eyes at you. "i mean, good for a first place winner i guess."

his eyes move to your lips for a second, his heart warming at the smile broad on your face and small giggles leaving it.

"you should laugh more," he says and your smile dims ever so slightly as you stare at him blankly. "it's really... it's nice."

his voice is so quiet and soft, it's reminding you of how he comforted you just a few hours ago. you bite your lip ever so slightly, shy eyes meeting his before you advert them down to your sneakers.

"i guess i have only yelled at you..." you say quietly but the guilty amusement in your tone causes him to chuckle lightly. he lifts your face with his pointer finger, his soft smile making your heart warm and constrict like it did at the diner.

"the yelling is fine too," he says, "but i definitely prefer your laugh." you scrunch your nose up at him when his finger bops it softly, turning your head to the side as you roll your eyes playfully.

the quietness between you two is back, not an awkward or tense silence. just a calm, peaceful silence thats making something in you feel so... settled and content. like the last few hours were able to wipe all of your negative feelings from after practice away.

"thank you," you find yourself saying quietly, "i...i was so upset before but you really..you really helped me then and even with this, so..." you fumble over your words, your eyes switching from his to the park behind him back to him as you say, "thank you, yeosang."

he's never heard your voice so quiet and unsure and he thinks he might be crazy for feeling the urge to kiss you right now. the air feels thick and charged and buzzing between you both, all lingering gazes and soft smiles. but he still doesn't. doesn't think it's the right time or place and can't properly gauge if that's something you'd even want right now.

but he does lift his hand to your hair, tucking the slightly sweaty strand behind your ear as he smiles down at you softly. "you're welcome, y/n."

and without much protest, you're back in the park friday after practice watching wooyoung help your friend on the skateboard like yeosang did with you just a few nights ago. your heart warms at the memory, his gazes and soft, warm touches and the way you see how he's nothing like the obnoxious punk you first accused him of being.

you sit on the bench with your legs crossed, watching him show a group of young boys (and to your pleasant surprise, three girls) the safest way to attempt to ride down the railing of the three-stair drop in the park. 

you watch as the kids look at him in amazement, clapping their hands and whooping every time he lands it. he watches them attempt it with a guarded gaze, his eyes flicking to you every so often and you either nod your head at him or wave at him with your fingers and a small smile on your face.

your smile drops a few moments later, however, when you watch his skateboard wobble on the rail, promptly sending him flying off as he lands right on his shoulder. you shout his name in surprise, making your way into the circle of kids surrounding him and bending down to look at him.

luckily, he was wearing a helmet for once and there's only the slightest presence of a pained sneer on his face.

"jesus! are you okay?" you ask and soon enough, you see the huge gash start to ooze blood.

"i'm fine," he grunts out, "see what i did there kids? definitely don't do that!"

"does anyone have a tissue or napkin?" you ask and a little girl with long hair tied in a ponytail fishes one out of her pocket. "thank you."

you hold the tissue to his shoulder, cringing when you see how deep it is as you help him to his feet. he snaps off his helmet, twisting his neck to the side and you hear a crack.

"oh my, god please tell me your neck is okay," you breathe out in a panic, "neck injures can be potentially-"

"i'm fine, y/n," he says and you could smack him if he wasn't already bleeding at the amusement in his tone.

"you're bleeding through this pretty damn quickly for someone who's fine," you snap, holding the red tissue, "come with me."

you drag him across the street and up into the dance studio, plopping him down on one of the folding chairs before hurrying into the back office where your instructor keeps the first-aid kit. you quickly get to work, apologizing softly when you dab at his wounds with alcohol before smoothing over an antiseptic cream and large band-aid.

"are you hurt anywhere else?" you ask and he shakes his head, leaning back on the chair and tapping his arm lightly.

"all good now, thanks to nurse y/n."

you roll your eyes at him, throwing the wrapper of the band-aid at him before sauntering back into the office. you come out a few moments later to see him in front of the mirror, his hand running over the bar before he stands in front of the window. he can hear the bustling of the boards and wheels on concrete, smiling when the kids land a trick and cheer in unison.

"see, we hear all your punk nonsense," you say teasingly and he turns around with a smirk on his face.

"punk nonsense that you're a part of now."

"oh please, i can barely turn around on the deathtrap," you say as you walk up to him, catching both of your appearances in the mirror and it's a little surreal that he's here with you right now.

you had convinced yourself you hated him the second you saw him, heard him, not even knowing him but having an irrational dislike flood through you just at the sound of his wheels on the sidewalk. and now you can't tear your gaze away, swallowing nervously because you think you might like him a little bit and you have to get out of here.

he turns and his eyes meet yours through the mirror, smiling when he notices the pink blush covering your cheeks.

"we should go ba-"

"now wait a minute," he interrupts, grabbing your hand the second you try to walk off, "aren't you gonna teach me how to dance."

he pulls you further into him and you swallow the nervous lump in your throat. why are you all the sudden so nervous and warm?

"you can't when you're injured," you say, rubbing over his band-aid and inhaling sharply at his warm, exposed skin.

"i am not injured, y/n," he says teasingly, "come on. show me a little something."

you squint your eyes at him, cursing your heart that's starting to pick up and you let out a huff.

"do that french shit."

and because you're completely under his spell, you shake your head to lessen the laugh rumbling through your chest and proceed to walk over to the other side of the room.

"move back, i don't wanna hit you."

you take a deep breath and position your feet on the ground, extending your arms into fourth position before raising your leg and taking a deep breath. then, like you're basically permanently ingrained to do, you leap into the air. your other leg quickly follows, both of them now in a full, airborne split before landing securely on your feet and into the finishing position.

you take a breath before turning to yeosang who's looking at you with his mouth in a small o, surprise and admiration in his eyes.

"that was...i was...you're amazing."

a humorless laugh leaves your mouth, rolling your eyes at him as you shake your head.

"that's a simple ballet jump," you tell him and he looks at you with a hint of disbelief.

"nothing about that looked simple."

"that's because you're a measly skater boy," you tease, walking up to him and poking his chest lightly.

a small chuckle leaves his mouth, grabbing your hand before you can take it back and intertwining your fingers. "you did tell me early on that ballet takes a lot more skill."

a guilty smile makes its way on your face and he smirks upon seeing it. "it's okay, perhaps you were right."

"no," you say softly as you shake your head, "watching you fling yourself into the air made me nervous and impressed even when i hated you."

his eyebrow raises ever so slightly, his hand tightening in yours as the other one makes its way to your face. "yeah?" he muses, moving over your cheek gently, "and now you what? like me?"

your mouth snaps shut and you feel your cheeks grow red. you hadn't even meant to...confess like that but you're just feeling so...overwhelmed and warm and surrounded by him for some reason.

maybe because he's in your space, where your mind was secretly already plagued by him. 

or maybe because there's something about seeing both of your reflections in the mirror, seeing how his eyes rake over your face and body and how you look standing pressed up to him, how you now look with him bending down and bringing his face closer to yours.

"i...i didn't...i-"

"i hope so," he mumbles lowly, his hand moving to tuck your hair behind your ear so he can whisper, "because i think i like you."

you let out a breathy exhale, the feel of his body pressed up against yours and his hot breath in your ear causing you to shudder against him. he takes your strangled breaths as confirmation back, his chest warming and a smile on his face; but he wants the words from you.

he hums lowly in your ear and it causes you to press yourself just a little bit more into him as you mumble, "i like you too."

he pulls back to see your flushed face and roaming eyes, adams apple bobbing as he tries his best to control his fast approaching arousal. but when your gaze meets his lips, it all goes out the window. the hand grasping yours moves to your face, both now cupping your cheeks softly and as his brings his lips down.

but before they graze over your mouth, he mumbles a deep "can i kiss you?" and it's all the motivation you need to pull him into you.

your lips collide and part on one another, your hand reaching to brush through the back of his hair as he slips his tongue in your mouth. you stumble around the floor for no other reason than your need to kiss and tongue ever part of each other's mouth is overwhelming the both of you, teenage hormones and pent up frustrations and emotions being poured into one another.

you feel yeosang move you until your back hits the bar, his hands running down your body until his hands land on your hips. he squeezes them softly, breaking the kiss to get air before his wet lips meet your neck.

"i wanted to kiss you when i first met you," he mumbles against your skin, "but only because you were such a brat. had so much shit pent up, didn't you?"

you bite your lip to hold back a moan, his voice and words quickly sending sparks through your body. you hadn't expected him to be like this during....

"but i have you quiet now, it seems," he says and you feel his smile against your skin. "i saw you watching us in the mirror."

your eyes widen and cheeks flame even more; you were hoping he wouldn't notice but you were kind of openly gawking.

"i-i'm sorry," you say and you're not exactly sure why you're even apologizing, "i don't know, i just....like seeing you. us."

he presses his hips further into you, finally letting a moan escape you at the feel of his bulge against you. you grind yourself further into him and he hisses, gripping your hips roughly before dragging you back towards the middle on the furthest side of the mirror, strategically away from the window.

"can i try something," he mumbles as he moves to stand behind you, "i want you to watch."

"i..o-okay."

"if you want me to stop, say the word."

and with that, your eyes bulge and wetness pools as you watch him run his hand along the side of your body. his hand grazes over the side of your boob, moving to palm you until your nipple hardens under his touch and he slips into your shirt. he groans quietly in your ear when he feels your skin against his hand and you throw your head back onto his shoulder.

"yeosang," you mumble but then he quickly removes it and you let out a tiny groan.

"eyes in the mirror or i'm not doing anything."

he wishes he could kiss the pout off your face when you look back up, glossy eyes meeting his in the mirror as you cock your head to the side. "more, please."

and more he does, his hand back in your shirt tweaking at your nipple before he quickly starts work on the other one. he continues to hum in your ear, praising you when your moans echo throughout the studio and you push back onto his growing bulge.

but it's when his hand snakes between your thighs and you have to watch as he rubs over you that you really start to lose it, cry out his name and feel your legs start to wobble as you see the way his hand strokes you over and over and over again.

"yeosang, please," you whine and his smile at you through the mirror is nearly sadistic, so far off from the fun, teasing, cool-tempered boy you've come to know.

"please what, baby?" and your stomach swoops because that's the first time you've heard those words leave his deep voice.

"i...i don't know, just..." your eyes roll back and the second he sees they’re not focused on the mirror, he pulls his hand away.

"yeosang!" you whine, your eyes popping open immediately and craning your neck to look back at him. but he bumps his hips into the back of yours, holding you against his body so you don't fall forward as he grabs the waistband of your shorts.

"you know the rules, you priss," he bites and you can't believe how quickly that name changed from irritation in your veins to wet arousal pooling in your underwear.

"i'm sorry," you whine and it's all he needs to dip his hand into your shorts, sinking his hand down to rub the wet patch on your underwear and you moan out at the feeling.

"you're so wet, baby," he muses in your ear, "this is all for me, yeah?"

"yes," you moan out and you're so tempted to close your eyes at how good it feels.

"you've been so good for me lately," he hums, slipping passed your thong and hissing himself when he feels your wet arousal on his fingers, "but i have to make sure you keep being good."

"yes," you moan out again and your knees nearly buckle when you feel him brush his finger across your clit. "oh my, god." your breathy whines fill the room and it's enough for him to quicken his pace, flicking and toying at your clit while one hand holds your waist because he feels your legs shaking in front of him.

"yeosang, oh..oh, my-" a loud moan leaves your mouth and your head dips back for a second before you quickly fling it forward, eyes half open as you watch him his hand move in your shorts and his mouth by your ear.

"you feel good, baby? like seeing me with my hand in this pretty pussy?"

"yes," you moan out, "yes, yes, yes." and you moan it like a mantra. a mantra that only gets louder when he pushes his finger into your tight hole, moving in and out and making you feel full as he rubs over your clit until a tightening in your lower half has your legs vigorously shaking under you.

"yeosang! fuck fuck, fuck! i think i'm gonna-"

and before you can get it out, your eyes shut and moans leave your mouth as you come apart from his fingers, your eyes desperately trying to stay open just in case his rules still apply and he takes away the best, most intense orgasm you've ever felt in your life. 

your legs are shaking and you would've collapsed right on your knees if yeosang hadn't tightened the arm around your waist, holding you flush against him and even in the middle of an orgasm, the feeling of his hard cock against you has you wanting to do more.

only the sound of your harsh breathing can be heard in the room after a few moments so he pulls his hand out and guides you around to plop you down in the chair a few feet away. you stretch your legs out, leaning your head back and holding your hair away from your sweaty neck. 

he smiles at the sight of seeing you fucked out from just his fingers, resisting the urge to make you watch him taste your arousal; but he thinks that may be a little too much for you right now; he also needs to calm down the raging boner in his pants.

your head flings back up a few moments later, vision a bit hazy and your legs tingling but the smile on your face almost immediate.

"hey there, baby," he says and your smile widens because you hope that name is here to stay. "so the ballerina has a mirror kink, after all."

a choked laugh leaves your mouth, embarrassment flooding through you as you cover your hands over your red face.

"stop," you whine, "i....i guess we just confirmed that one," you mumble and you hear his chuckle fill the room as he bends down. he places his hand on your exposed knees, kissing both of them before squeezing softly.

"you good?"

"i'm great," you assure before looking at his face, "but wait...don't you need to...?"

"i'm good," he tells you, his soft smile an indication he's telling the absolute truth, "i think i wanna take you on a date before we do that again."

warmth and excited butterflies run through your stomach and chest, a small, sweet smile covering your face.

"really?" and he can't help but laugh at the sweet, almost disbelief in your voice.

"what the hell, did you miss the part where i said i liked you?"

you purse your lips to the side, shrugging your shoulders teasingly.

"i don't know...a lot did just happen," you say, "like i found out about my mirror kink."

a snort leaves his mouth, looking back and waving at you through the glass with a wink.

"we got tons of time to find out more of your kinks," he promises, "but for now. a date. how's tomorrow?"

"tomorrow's great," you say and he stretches up to place a chaste kiss on your lips before pulling away and admiring your smiley, pink-tinted face. he watches as you look back at the mirror, your eyes lowering until another embarrassed laugh bubbles out of your mouth.

"what?" he asks, humor in his tone.

"i just...i don't know how i'm ever gonna look at this mirror the same."

[lady-maria-the-wolf225]

Mikey x Fem! reader ch: 2 & 3 (combined)

(Y/N) had no idea who that stranger was. Despite the dangers ahead, she doesn't care much about that. She couldn't stop thinking about those hands however. She has never seen anyone with three fingers in her whole life. Other than that, she wants answers. With a boost of confidence, instead of going home, staying out late should be a breeze. In her opinion to be exact. It was the next morning, and she grabbed some extra food and soda to help her stay up all night as much as possible. School is the same as yesterday. Thankfully she wasn't given any homework today either. She met up with her friends at an after school club and hopes she doesn't forget what she has to do afterwards. After the club has ended, it's time for her to find the mystery stranger.

(Y/N)'s P.O.V

I was walking around trying to find the figure. It was very quiet as usual. There was no sign of anything....nothing. Just myself. I sighed thinking to myself if I would just give up, but I chose not to. I kept on walking far and wide into the streets. That is until I found it. The figure.....it was standing before me. But why? Whatever it may be, I do feel a bit uneasy. Without saying a word, the figure runs off quickly. I decided to follow it. I ran to its direction as fast as I could. When It got to a corner of a random street, it stopped. I hid in a corner of a wall that way it won't see me. I waited for the figure to make its move. That's when it jumped into a sewer. "A sewer? B-but why would- *sigh*. Who am I kidding?" I walked towards the sewer area. I know I couldn't get in that way because the lid itself is too heavy to lift. I looked around to see if there may be a second entrance to it. And I did. There was a rectangular hole that seemed big enough for me to squeeze in. I took off my backpack, and managed to enter. I grabbed my bag, and started to walk into the sewer line. It was really dark so I had to take out my phone to turn on the flashlight. I kept on walking until I fell into a slide like area. I was sliding downward screaming but laughing at the same time. It was kinda fun, it almost felt like one of those water slides you go on in a local water park. I landed on my ass which kinda hurt. "Ouch!" I rubbed it, and got up immediately. There are so many sewer pipes, I couldn't figure out where the figure may be, so I decided to go straight. It was a long path to get through. Just as I felt like I may be close, I heard footsteps. No. more than just footsteps. A skateboard too? I started to panic a bit but managed to find a sewer pipe large enough for my tiny body to fit. I hid in there, and waited for whoever was coming straight ahead. What I saw, made me wonder. There was.....four creatures running passed me. "Hey guys! Wait up!" said the fourth mysterious figure trying to get its skateboard running. What's weird, is that it has rockets on it. Plus, I can't even see the person at all. Just a silhouette. "Come on Mikey! We got some foot clan butt to kick!" another one said in the distance "okay okay! Calm down Raph! It's not the end of the world you know!" it rode away with the others and the sound soon went to silence. I slowly got out, and decided to keep walking "that was.....Fucking weird." I said to myself trying to figure out who those people were. I walked a couple more steps until I found this strange looking door. Well technically it's not a door per say. I noticed it was slightly opened. I looked back for a quick moment to see if no one else was around. The coast is clear thank god. I slowly opened the strange yet mysterious entrance, and revealed some kind of lair. It's weird that a lair is located in a sewer. I also noticed The height of the entrance from here all the way to the ground does seem a little high. So basically I had to jump down like as if i'm in an action movie. I took a deep breath and counted to three. "one.....two.....Three!" I jumped and managed to land on my backpack since it's on my back obviously. I got up and stared at the place. "Woah!...." I walked around, and it had crazy technology, bedrooms, exercise weights, and a ramp for I'm guessing skateboard tricks like the ones you see at a local park. I looked around and noticed there was a sleeping rat in one of the rooms. A huge rat to be exact. I almost made a single sound after it scared me. But thankfully my words were stuck down to my throat. I sighed in relief that it didn't wake up at all. Guess it's a heavy sleeper. I walked around some more, and the bedrooms have doors. The same exact shape as the one where I entered the place. I entered one of them and noticed a small TV with a PS2 and DVD player sitting there. The room was kind of a mess too. It was littered with pizza boxes and candy wrappers. Gross. In the corner of the room, there was a mini fridge with a pack of Orange Crush Soda hidden in the back of it. After taking a look at that, I checked at the condition of the TV and PS2. surprisingly, they were in good shape. Even the DVD player is too. The TV is an early 2000s model. Old, but still good. I turned both of them on, and they work. "Oh. neat" I smiled a bit and I made the decision to play with it. I slowly and quietly closed the strange door, and took out one of my old games I always played in my childhood. "I haven't played Sonic Unleashed in a while. Might as well go ahead and play for a bit." I turned down the volume as low as possible so I didn't wake up the strange rat, and started playing. An hour in a half passed, and I started to get tired. Although I did eat a few of my snacks and since I ran out of drinks I ended up drinking some of the orange crush soda from the back of the mini fridge, I kept on yawning. Since I'm too lazy to head home, I might as well just spend the night here. I paused the game, and ended up falling asleep on the nice bed. It's kinda nice here. Quiet, no interruptions, a nice spot to play some games and have some time for myself. I just hope nothing goes wrong at all.

end of P.O.V The Mysterious heroes who are actually turtles have returned home to the sewers and one of them spoke. "Sensei! We're back!" the rat was meditating and no longer sleeping. "Where have you four been?" The turtle with the blue bandana named Leonardo spoke "we had another foot clan attack. We managed to stop them on time." The rat sighed. "Did anyone see you? Anyone at all?" they all shook their heads. "No Sensei. We got away as quickly as we could." The rat nodded and responded. "Good. you may all rest now my sons. We have a big day tomorrow." they all looked at each other. "What day is it?" Leonardo asked. "Training day." they all groaned and the rat chuckles. "Now go. I must concentrate." they all went to their rightful rooms and the youngest of the four named Michelangelo stretched his arms and fiddled with his orange bandana. "I'm gonna go on ahead and play me some video games!" as he got to his room, he noticed the TV was on along with the game system. "Huh? Hey wait a second! I don't remember playing this game at all!" He removes the game disc from the system, and yells out to one of his brothers. "Raph! Were you messing with my game system again!? And where did you get this game!? Did you rent it or something!?" The red bandana turtle named Raphael comes into the room. "What? No! What are you talking about? Lemme see that!" he takes the game disc from him and takes a look at it. "You serious? Do I look like the kind of guy who likes playing as a blue furry that runs like the flash?" Mikey stares at him in an irritating way as his own brother tosses the game disc across the room. He looks down and notices the empty cans of soda on the floor and looks back up at Raph. Raph himself was now getting angry. "You hid a stack of orange crush soda from me without even telling me!?" Mikey starts to get angry too. "Yes I did! And don't lie to me! I know YOU found them, and did this for a good laugh!" Mikey and Raph argue back and forth until they stopped when they notice movement in Mikey's bed. "What was that?...." Raph pushes him out of the way, and takes out one of his weapons. "Stand back." He grabs the sheets, and snatches them out of the way and sees (Y/N) sleeping. They both stood back as Raph dropped his weapon in complete shock. "How- what-.....where-?....oh god there's a g- a gi-..." he couldn't speak and they both looked at each other and ran out of the room in a panic. "Donnie! Leo!" they both yelled as the other two were busy doing their thing. "What? What happened?" Donatello said as he adjusted his glasses and purple bandana. "There's a g-girl in my room! And a- and uh R-Raph almost killed her on my own bed! And-" Donnie stopped Mikey. "woah woah woah! Slow down! You're saying there's a girl in your room?" Mikey nodded frantically. Leo shows up eventually and spoke to them. "what are they talking about?" Donnie responds to him with a sigh. "it appears they saw a human girl in Mikey's bed." Leo looks at them and takes a deep breathe "show me. Now!" they take them to the bed, and see (Y/N) still asleep. They all looked at her and Donnie started analyzing her. "Okay. according to my analysis, she is 18 years of age, 5'0 feet tall, 125 pounds, (H/C), (E/C), and somehow it shows me her uhh.....cup size. They're quite an impressive size for a young adult if you ask me. Wish it didn't scan them though." the other three's eyes lit up when they heard that word "cup size huh? What is that?" Mikey asked. Donnie whispers to them what cup sizes are, and they widened their eyes in surprise. Mikey blushes bright red. "Aaaaand I am now questioning my own innocence, thank you very much." Raph smirks giving his younger brother a noogie "all right Mikey! Our own little bro's first lesson in becoming a man! Woo!" Mikey playfully pushes him off shaking his head smiling. "tch. whatever bruh." Donnie finishes analyzing, and looks at Leo. "what shall we do?" Leo looks at the girl and sighs "well uhhh-" Mikey interrupts him jumping up and down excitedly "Can we keep her? I promise to take good care of her! please?" Raph and Donnie facepalms, and Leo looks at Mikey with a long pause, then proceeds to speak. "We'll might as well let her stay for the night. But we're taking her back home tomorrow!" Mikey squeals excitedly "Yes!" Leo then talks again "and one more thing! If Master Splinter finds out, we gotta tell the truth. But first when she wakes up, we gotta know how she got here. First thing in the morning before our training day starts. Got it?" Mikey nods. "Oh yeah! Totally. Yeah...." Leo nods. "Good. come on guys. We gotta go to bed. Sensei wants tomorrow to be on point. That goes for you too Mikey!" Mikey nods with a smile on his face "aye aye captain boss bro!" Raph looks at Mikey who is staring at (Y/N) "she's really pretty man." Raph nods "yeah. Never seen a girl like her before. Hopefully when she wakes up, we can have a nice chat with her." Mikey nods. "What about April? She's pretty too." Raph chuckles shaking his head "nah. She's too bland. Maybe this one may be a keeper." he winks with a daring smile. Mikey chuckles and Raph pats him on the back. "Well it's getting late. Night Mikey. See ya in the morning." Mikey looks at his brother as Raph leaves the room. "Night bro." Mikey decides to sleep on the floor and hopes this girl may be the one for him. Despite that, in his heart, he can feel it beating like a steady drum right now which means it's love at first sight for him. TO BE CONTINUED!....chapter 4 and 5 are next soon! :)

[flowerslut]

DAY SIX: REINCARNATION Rating: T for language. Words: 2,436

The semi-supernatural meet-cute.

TO BE ALIVE

The noise of the blaring car horn was easily ignored as he crossed the street, not even acknowledging the car trying to make a right hand turn, letting them stew in their irritation at his refusal to wait for the crosswalk signal.

Once he was fully out of it’s way, the car pulled around the corner, and it wasn’t until someone rolled down the window and yelled “watch out, asshole” that he turned and watched the white Tesla speed away. He rolled his eyes before making his way across the street. The sound of hysterical laughter greeted him from a little further down on the sidewalk.

He never bothered to learn the guy’s name—a bum that frequented the neighborhood who was loud but harmless—but Jasper shook his head toward the guy and kept moving. He didn’t have any change or cigarettes to spare for the crazy old man that day, and it was too hot to make small talk. He lifted a hand in a half-wave and continued onward towards home.

It wasn’t until he was four entire blocks from the bus stop when he stopped and swore loudly. 

He couldn’t believe he’d left his skateboard on the fucking bus.

He paused for a moment, lifting his head up toward the sky and closing his eyes, concentrating on calming down before his temper got the better of him. After several long seconds he opened his eyes and sighed, knowing a lost cause when he saw one. Someone probably picked it up by now. It wasn’t like the MTA had a lost and found.

He swore again as he resumed his walk. Losing his board meant plenty of things. It would take him longer to get to work, it would take him longer to get home from work, and now he had to walk down the entirety of Spring street in the blistering summer heat.

Shaking out his blond hair he realized that if this was the case, a shorter hairstyle might be necessary. Or, he mused as he began the trek down the street that led to his home, he could grow it out a little more, and just tie it up in the back.

The walk would be almost enjoyable if it wasn’t so damn hot. Of course, the neighborhood had been better when Jasper was a kid. People were nicer. There was more of a sense of community when you walked down the streets. But with the gentrification of the area well underway it had lost a good amount of it’s charm.

Blinking ahead of him, he squinted his eyes into the setting sun. He knew he had a pair of sunglasses somewhere in his backpack, but he’d rather get home quicker than spend a good three minutes digging around in the cluttered bag for a pair of cheap shades.

As he approached a long stretch of road, he focused on someone standing on the sidewalk ahead of him. Directly to his left was a giant wall, separating the street from a highway exit ramp. It was a long, tall thing, stretching most of the street. It used to be prime real estate for graffiti artists, but in the past ten years the city had cracked down. Something about the wall being a part of some long-forgotten war memorial.

It was dumb as hell. The art along this walk used to look sick.

His mood—which was solidly bad but bordering on hopeless—suddenly lifted as he made his way further toward his house. Just ahead, a brand-new, giant mural had been painted on the wall.

He couldn’t hold back his grin as he slowly approached. After he got home and relieved the babysitter he’d probably take Kelsey and Austin back to look at it and take some pictures. Surely, the city had been alerted and it would be gone as soon as the weekend hit. He’d send a picture to Dad, too. Jasper was sure the guy needed something to smile about on his sixth twelve hour shift this week.

The closer he got, he realized that’s what the person on the sidewalk must have been doing; they hadn’t moved in a while. Probably one of the new residents of the newest luxury apartments across the street by the looks of it. She was wearing a white sundress and a yellow bucket hat, and her sneakers looked expensive.

He was barely twenty feet away when her canvas bag fell from her shoulder to the ground, sending all her belongings sprawling across the sidewalk. But as he made his way forward, cautiously now, the girl made no move to collect her items. She didn’t even acknowledge that they’d fallen.

A tiny alarm started to ring in his head, worry blooming abruptly in his stomach. As long as this girl didn’t hit the pavement, it would be okay.

“Um,” he spoke up as he approached, bending down to pick up an aluminum water bottle that had rolled it’s way toward him, “hello? You dropped your stuff.”

The girl didn’t react. At first, Jasper didn’t think she heard him. But then, he heard her.

Sniffling, that was. And when Jasper realized this random stranger was crying the discomfort struck him like a physical thing. “Miss?”

And when she turned toward him, she jumped as if she’d been snuck up on. Big blue eyes bloodshot red and full of tears. She blinked a few times, her mouth falling wide open as she studied his face, not once averting her eyes. Jasper didn’t know if it was rude or just bizarre, but it wasn’t until he found himself staring back when he realized something felt strange.

Familiar, almost. But the feeling passed quickly. Jasper was certain he didn’t know this girl.

But she kept staring at him, her eyes wide and stunned, her tears still falling.

He shifted her fallen water bottle from one hand to the next before his eyes began looking elsewhere. What he was looking for, he didn’t know. An escape route, maybe? A solution to this weird problem he suddenly found himself faced with? Instead his eye fell upon the giant mural, it’s colors blossoming across the wall in huge, arching floral patterns.

In the center, a line of elaborate text: “It’s a beautiful thing to be alive.”

The words were familiar to him in a way he couldn’t quite place. And suddenly a strange feeling of dejavu fell upon him as he stared at the art. He didn’t recognize the style, and there were no tags so he had no idea who the artist was. But, staring at this art, he felt something warm within him.

When he looked back to the girl, she jumped again, finally averting her gaze as she lifted a quick hand to wipe at her tear-stained face.

“Jeez, I’m so sorry,” she sniffled before laughing awkwardly. “That was weird. I don’t know what came over me.”

“You dropped some things,” Jasper spoke, still apprehensive as the girl wiped at her face and shook her head. He gestured to the ground with the water bottle he was still holding.

“Oh, goodness,” she was on the ground then, grabbing the bag and quickly shoving items back inside. Naturally, Jasper leaned forward to help, handing her a tangled pair of headphones, a few pens, and even her wallet. “Thank you so much, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he assured, feeling genuinely bad for the girl now. “It’s a little dented up,” he grimaced as she finally accepted the water bottle from him.

“It’s been like that,” she waved a dismissive hand and with the other reached out for the bottle, their fingertips brushing ever-so-lightly. Her eyes met his again, and she quickly looked away once more.

“It’s a very beautiful mural,” she spoke, the words coming out quickly as she found herself staring back toward the vibrant colors. “I just moved here and wanted to take a walk but then I got lost and then suddenly I saw this thing and I guess I was just overwhelmed and—god, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, really.” He shifted slightly on his feet. “You said you were lost?”

She frowned, nodding. “I have a vague idea where I am…”

“Where are you trying to go?”

“Spring and Alpine.”

Jasper looked at her strangely then. “Well, you’re on Spring. Alpine is just a few blocks that way,” he threw his thumb over his shoulder, pointing back the way he’d just come. “Right by the bus stop?”

“Yeah, by the blue building?” Jasper nodded. “Just moved into that.”

Jasper made a face as he thought to himself. As far as he knew that wasn’t a residential building, but he kept his comment to himself. “It’s not far up that way. I wouldn’t worry about finding your way home. I’d do it soon though,” he turned, surveying the nearly-empty street that gave off a misleading, quiet vibe. “The neighborhood isn’t very safe at night.”

The girl nodded, “Thanks for the heads up,” then, she sniffled again. “God, I don’t know why I’m such a wreck.”

“Are you okay?” He didn’t want to think about how weird it was, so he forced the offer out before he could truly let the impact of his idea settle. “Do you want me to walk you home, or?” Then the implication struck him, “Or I could just get you to Alpine—I don’t want to freak you out or anything. Just trying to help.”

“Um, if you could just point me in the direction, I think I’ll be able to figure it out.” She smiled up at him then, and Jasper felt suddenly like a creep for even offering. “Thank you though,” she stepped toward him, her smile softening, “I really appreciate it, really.”

Jasper cleared his throat, shifting awkwardly on his feet as he turned. “Well once you make it to the end of the block you’ll see the entrance to the highway. Then just turn left and Alpine will be up ahead. If you get to the CVS you’ve gone too far.”

“Thank you so much,” she sighed as she rearranged her bag onto her other shoulder, before peeking inside and double-checking the ground around her. Her eyes widened as she shuffled toward the curb and reached into the street, picking up a couple of discarded markers. “Whoops.”

“You got everything?” He asked, forcing himself to keep his feet planted as she wandered around, checking the ground for more of her items. He didn’t want to come off as menacing or scary to any degree, reminding himself that he was just some weird punk that had run into this normal-looking girl on the street. Anything to give off as much of a non-threatening vibe as possible. He even stepped back when she approached him again.

“This might be a bit forward, but can I see your hand?”

It was a strange request but Jasper didn’t even hesitate when he held his hand out toward her. At first, he thought she was going for a handshake—which was awkward enough—but when she grabbed his hand in her own small one, turning it palm-up, he froze when he realized she was writing something with one of her Sharpies.

“I know we don’t know the first thing about one another, but if you’re ever bored and feel like showing me the cool spots around here, that would be nice.” As she spoke she recapped her pen and tossed it into her bag, smiling brightly up at him. Then, she adjusted her bucket hat and began to walk down the street, waving happily toward him.

For several seconds Jasper stared down at his palm, the phone number (with a little fucking heart scrawled beside it) staring back at him, the ink feathering across the creases in his hand. Then, he spun toward where she was leaving. “Wait!” He called out, feeling silly. “I don’t even know your name.”

She turned as she walked, smiling back at him as she moved backwards. “I don’t know yours either!” She laughed, and when a breeze blew her dress around her slightly, the sun shining it’s golden beams to illuminate her face for him, Jasper felt his chest constrict slightly. 

“It’s Jasper,” he called toward her as she moved further up the street.

“Hi Jasper,” she paused long enough to curtsy, before turning back toward her destination. “I’m Alice!” And with a lifted arm she waved toward him, her introduction apparently serving as a farewell to their encounter.

Jasper took a few moments to himself, his eyes torn between three things: Alice’s departing form, the phone number he was quickly committing to memory, and the mural that had stood watch over the entire encounter.

Turning toward it, he whispered the words out loud, “It’s a beautiful thing to be alive.” And the words, no matter how cliche and how much Jasper would’ve typically mocked such a statement, somehow resonated with him. He turned again, watching as Alice’s form disappeared as she reached the end of the street and turned, following his directions, and felt a strange sensation within his chest.

Later, after he’d sent the babysitter home but before he cooked dinner, he grabbed his siblings by the hands and escorted the two nine-year olds back the way he’d come. But the wall on spring street was mysteriously and impossibly blank. His brother and sister stomped their feet, demanding to know what the deal was, but Jasper had simply stared, confused and shocked, assuring the twins that no, he wasn’t messing with them and yes, there really had been a giant piece of art there, hardly a half hour ago.

It wasn’t until that night when the twins were in bed and he was finishing the dishes in the sink that he paused, staring down at the number that was slowly fading on his palm. He made quick word of the cleaning before sitting himself firmly in a chair, opening his phone to type a quick message.

Alice? He sent the text, feeling solidly crazy ever since the disappearance of the art. It’s Jasper.

Her reply was almost immediate and brought him a level of relief and comfort that he didn’t know was possible—he hadn’t dreamed the encounter up, she was a real person. And if that was the case, then that meant that maybe he wasn’t insane. Maybe the mural had been there. Either way, he somehow knew that it didn’t even matter. He’d met this girl, and he had a strangely good feeling about her.

You’ve kept me waiting long enough.

[ofhoneyandrosepetals]

Summer Roads - Chapter 4

Pairing: Sean x Fem! reader

Description: You’ve always been Lyla’s best friend, but since Sean moved you became an inseparable trio. But who could say that, after all these years together, you would start growing feelings for Sean?

Warning: swearings only.

Word count: 1.741

A/N: I really wanted a gif of Sean smiling and that’s the one I could find. Plus, the subtle kinda holds the vibe from the end of the chapter :)

“Ugh, finally, I was starting to think you guys decided to bail on me,” that’s how Lyla received you and Sean.

“Not today, no,” Sean said. You giggled.

“Good to know you’re up to something. I’ll keep tabs on you two.”

“Me too?” You pointed to yourself. “But I didn’t said anything.”

“I’ll. Keep. Tabs.” You hoped this wasn’t true, because you thought if Lyla suspected anything, you would be dead.

“Uh, backyard?” You raised your bag, indicating if you should leave the things there. Lyla nodded.

“I can see you brought some food, too.”

“Not food exactly, it’s more like… things we chew.”

“You want to say chips, don’t you?” Lyla said deadpan.

“But they are…”

“Girls, I really don’t wanna pull that thread,” Sean passed his arms around yours and Lyla’s shoulders. 

“I thought knowledge was always welcomed,” Lyla said.

“Only during school. It’s summer, Ly,” you gave a kiss on her cheek and went outside. 

Starting to place your sleeping bag, Lyla lied on the grass, arms behind her head. Sean sat on the bench, elbows on knees. 

“I have the feeling that this summer is going to be a special one,” Lyla started.

“Why’s that? Sometimes I think that too, it’s my last summer before becoming a freshman. But you’re going to be a sophomore,” you said.

“Hey, I’m going to be a freshman too,” Sean says.

“You guys are so cute. Don’t worry, we’ll always be together there.”

“You putting it like that makes us feel like kids, as if you were some big grown up,” you were too wrapped up on your own thoughts to pay attention to Sean or Lyla. You guessed she was right, but not because of the changes high school would bring. Maybe it was because how the sun rose on the first day of summer vacations, how the morning was cool but as time kept going it got a little warmer. The sun was this shining guiding light hanging on a blue, clear sky, that if you glared too much at you would start feeling lost.

It was easy to get lost when the sky had no clouds.

“Earth calling Y/N?” You hear someone calling you.

“Yes?” You answer both ways, Sean and Lyla.

“I was thinking that, since Lyla can’t stop saying how this summer is special and whatever shit…”

“Hey!” She protests.

“It made me remember she promised me long ago I could tag her wall.”

“My mom is gonna freak,” Lyla said.

“I think it’s a good idea. Maybe Sean could put our three ideas into one.”

“I’m not that much of a pro,” Sean said humble.

“C’mon Seanie, have some faith,” you say. “You’re great.”

“I think I have a board we could tag and just hang in the wall, it’s better this way. I’ll keep my promise and my mom won’t kill me.”

“You’ll keep an edited promise, but that works,” you nod in concordance. 

“Okay, lemme find it.”

“What you have on your mind?” Sean asks you.

“What?” You got caught off guard.

“For the mural. What you have in mind?” He asked with a smile, one you couldn’t take your eyes off from.

“The beach,” you said without thinking first. “I always wanted to visit California, all that coast surf. My brother lives there with my father.”

“Yeah, I remember. It seems like a nice place.”

“Maybe you’re watching too many TV?” Lyla said, a big board covering her. You could only see her hands and feet.

“I don’t think it’s too much different from what they show. At least not from what my brother tells me.”

“Oh, right, he lives there, doesn’t he? I forgot. Well, my idea for this summer is a lot of skating. Sean?” Lyla places the board on the fence, where the paint wouldn’t reach the wall.

“I guess I know what I’ll do. Let the pro work now.”

“I thought you said you were no pro,” Lyla teases.

“Shoosh.”

Sean grabbed some spray can from his backpack while Lyla dragged your ass all the way across the backyard. She started chattering about the summer, the parties and the new year in high school, having ideas of what you three could do and go. She was so excited that she didn’t even noticed you kept your eyes on Sean working, or at least you thought so. You noticed how his hair was starting to grow and wondered if this time he would let it grow through summer.

You followed every movement of his, how his hand held the spray can and how his arm moved around to tag, how sometimes he would get down or be on tiptoe. Eventually you remembered yourself to look at Lyla and nod your head, trying to keep it casual. You didn’t want your crush to be so obvious, or obvious at all.

Watching Sean working made you realize how you liked every part of him, because every part of him made sense. It was… what he was made of.

“Are you guys peaking? I really prefer you to not,” he said loud enough so he didn’t need to turn his head.

“No!” Lyla answers and turns your head to her, grabbing your chin. “You never could not peak on his art, right? You were always so curious,” breathing nervously, hoping like hell Lyla didn’t suspected anything, you shrug.

“Nothing I can do. I like it.”

“I know,” and Lyla started from where she stopped. Maybe this was a good sign, she didn’t paused her plans to try a talk with you on the matter. “Do you think you need anything new for you roller skates?”

“Uhn… no? I guess.”

“You’ve been using them for a while, isn’t time for an upgrade?”

“I take good care of it,” besides, Sean gave me them, you added in thoughts. You had no plans on changing anything about those roller skates. 

“I was thinking that maybe I could work on them.”

“Whoa whoa whoa, hold up,” you rose your hands. “Forbidden territory. No touch.”

“No fair, you let Sean sketch on them!”

“That’s because he was the one who gave me them,” you said without much confidence.

“I see that favoritism there. It’s unfair, I’ve known you longer.”

“I’m hearing that discussion and I don’t like it, I’m feeling pushed aside!” Sean said out loud.

“You know I love you, Seanie, but it’s not me, it’s Y/N.”

“I’m just protecting my roller skates,” you defend yourself.

“Now I’m offended,” Lyla said, a finger up.

“We all know your skateboard is a deadly machine,” Sean said.

“Artists are not supposed to give their opinion,” you heard Sean laughing. “Seriously, Y/N.”

“Seriously, Lyla. My roller skates are perfect, I take care of them. I keep maintenance,” she puffed. “But I know you always wanted to give my backpack a treat. To compensate you, I’ll let you do it tonight.”

“FINALLY!” Lyla shouts. “Gimme the thing.”

“It’s called a backpack.”

“Gimme,” smiling, you handed her your backpack. Lyla went inside the house for a couple of minutes and got back with a little box. “You’re not allowed to choose the patches.”

“Your responsibility,” you said raising your hands. You watched Lyla work on your backpack, but here and there you would glare at Sean for a few seconds. 

“You’re quieter than usual,” Lyla pointed.

“I guess this afternoon got me tired.”

“Maybe. You do seem a bit off today. Do you miss your brother? I know he visits every summer.”

“I haven’t thought about it, really. Maybe it’s this whole summer idea, it got me dazed,” you throw your head back, hitting the fence behind you. “I do feel kinda off,” without noticing, your look froze on Sean, but you didn’t notice him. Lyla rose an eyebrow. “I just want to have the best time before school starts again.”

“Oh… I know what this is about. Your first high school year. You’re scared.”

“I’m not scared,” you said defensively. 

“You just don’t know it, hun. I felt like that too. But now we’re gonna be together, all three of us. Besides, you’ll always have Sean by your side.”

“That’s true!” He shouted from the distance.

“My guess is that you feel like you’re leaving something behind,” Lyla said and this time you looked at Sean. You were leaving something behind, you felt like it, but you weren’t sure what it was and what it meant to start growing feelings for Sean, your childhood friend, almost like a brother. You smiled.

“I guess so. Thanks, Ly.”

“But I haven’t said anything.”

“You said enough.”

“Well, I do acknowledge I’m a terrific friend.”

“Ladies, I’m done!” Sean announced and Lyla pushed you to the ground.

“I tag your ass!” She ran to see Sean’s work. You got up laughing and when you got to her side you pushed her. “Wow,” you heard her saying before you could take a look.

It was a beach, leading you to assume Sean wanted to represent California. At the beach, in the middle of the sand, was a huge skate ramp, and you could see skaters all around. And, attacking them, coming out of the water, was an enormous squid, its tentacles grabbing the skaters and crushing the ramp. 

“Dude, that’s rad,” Lyla said. “I loved it.”

“Yeah, me too,” you tapped his shoulder. “But maybe you should let us add something? So it could be our mural?” Sean gave you what you judged to be his biggest smile ever.

“How couldn’t I think about it? Yeah, sure.”

You and Lyla grabbed each a spray can and exchanged looks.

“Is this what I think it is?”

“If you’re thinking about the same thing I’m thinking.”

“Why do girls do it?” Sean mumbled.

“I get tops,” you say. Lyla nodded.

You could see Lyla making little roller skates on some of the squid’s tentacles while you made a giant bow on its head.

“Oh my fucking god,” you heard Sean laughing. “You are creative, aren’t you?”

“We are,” Lyla said proudly and wrote her initials at the corner of the board. You did the same and, after you, Sean.

You noticed your pointer finger was pink and you held it up for your friends to see. Lyla’s was blue and Sean’s had a little rainbow on his.

“To the best summer ever,” Lyla said and you three touched your pointer fingers, as some kind of toast. 

[make-them-laugh]

Coming together

Secret Santa for septicabzies for @codesecretsanta !!!! I saw you had ocs and I love writing ocs! I hope I did them justice! I wanted to get a few slice of life vignettes to get a few different interactions out! I hope you like it!

-----

“Why did I room those two together?” The headmistress whispered under her breath as two boys were led into the office. She smiled tersely and sighed. “Rafael, Antonio. What brings you in today?”

Antonio’s lips quirked up in a smile, despite his trying to avoid it. “Absolutely nothing, Miss Delmas. We were just minding our own business!”

“With backpacks full of homemade stink bombs,” Elisabeth Delmas raised an eyebrow and both boys hung their heads as she sighed. “Where were you planning on putting them?”

Both were silent for a long minute, and Sissi crossed her arms. “I’m waiting. You’re not leaving this office until you tell me where you were going to let off these stink bombs.”

Raphael sighed and lifted his head. “The second-floor boys’ bathroom. We were going to set them off above the ceiling at different times so no one could figure out where they were coming from or when they’d go off…”

“Thank you for being honest, Raphael,” Sissi smiled softly and nodded. “But your behavior still needs to be addressed. Both your parents will be receiving a call, and you have detention for three days. You’re dismissed.”

Antonio and Raphael quickly stood and took their now empty backpacks from the teacher that had brought them down. They headed for the dorms, and before Antonio could ask, Raphael slipped one singular stink bomb out of the pocket of his cargo pants and handed it to Antonio.

“Don’t ask questions, now we can get back at Geoff and Hanson for pouring spoiled milk on our carpet.”

Antonio cradled the last stink bomb and laughed. “You didn’t tell her that was the plan?”

Raphael made a face. “Of course not, didn’t you know? Their dads were like her best friends when our parents were in school. She wouldn’t take their side, but she’d have come down harder on us for not coming to her first.”

-----

“Carry the one, move that there, move that to the other side, simplify, and I should have… Tristan, can you look at this problem? I think I did it right, but I want someone smarter than me to double check before I commit to the answer.” Daniel looked up from his homework and slid the paper towards his roommate, who took it quickly.

Tristan’s eyes scanned the page quickly, and he smiled as he handed it back. “Looks perfect, Daniel. You’re really coming along with this, and soon you won’t even need me to look over your homework.”

“You really think so?” Daniel took the paper back with a smile.

“Yeah,” Tristan turned back to his laptop and let his fingers fly over the keys. “You’re smarter than you give yourself credit for.”

Daniel beamed and turned back to his homework with a hum. “I think that’s one of the nicest things anyone’s said to me in a while.”

“Well, you deserve it, and don’t let anyone or any subject make you think otherwise,” Tristan leaned into his computer. “A little work, and you could probably test into honors math for next year.”

Daniel smiled wider as he wrote out the next equation to solve. “Hey, do you mind if I put on some music to study to? It always helps me think.”

“Sure thing, I’ll probably tune it out, but that’s fine.”

-----

“Where did you manage to find scented nail polish? I thought no one sold it anymore,” Kimiko chuckled as she dipped the brush back into the literally bubblegum pink liquid. She pulled it back out, let the excess drip back into the bottle and gently brushed it onto Maya’s finger.

“The corner store had a few bottles of a few different scents! They had a black grape that I picked up for you if you want me to do yours next!” Maya grinned widely and watched as the pink spread and shimmered in the fluorescent lighting. “I love the shade! It’s so pretty!”

“It is really nice, and it’ll look better after a second coat,” Kimiko agreed before leaning in with a conspiratorial grin. “I’m sure Antonio will love it.”

Maya flushed and looked away with a yelp as Kimiko laughed.

“I’m sorry, I’m just teasing you,” Kimiko smiled. “Just a little joking between roommates, you know?”

“Yeah,” Maya sighed. “I guess I’m just not used to feeling so… silly when a boy walks by. Have you ever gotten that feeling?”

Kimiko shrugged. “A couple times, but I never let it bother me too much. Crushes come and go, but it’s not like my brother lets them anywhere near me anyway.”

“A tad overprotective?” Maya laughed

“That’s an understatement if I’ve ever heard one.” Kimiko laughed as well.

Maya looked at her finished hand as Kimiko started on her other hand. “Thank you for helping me with my nails. It’s something my mom and I always do together, and it never looks right when I do it by myself.”

“No problem, Maya,” Kimiko smiled. “You said you want to do mine when yours are dry?”

Maya grinned and nodded eagerly. “I would love to.”

-----

“Are you reading the Crimson Runes series?!” Daniel’s eyes lit up when he saw the book in Raphael’s hands. “I love the Crimson Runes!”

“Oh my god, don’t get him started, he won’t shut up about it,” Kimiko groaned. “It’s the only book he likes, but he’s obsessed.”

“I’m rereading it for an essay on a work of fiction that means a lot to me in English class,” Raphael slid into the empty seat across from Daniel. “I got the first book a few years ago with a gift card for my birthday and I couldn’t put it down! Read it in two days!”

“I have a signed copy of the first book,” Daniel smirked. “My dad took me to a comic con a few years ago because I saw he was on the guest list and I begged him to go to get my copy signed.”

“That is so cool!” Raphael put a napkin in his book to hold his place as he set his notebook aside, marked with pages and quotations. “I tried to go to that con, but we had a family thing we had to go to.”

“Bummer,” Daniel shook his head. “Maybe if he ever does a con again, you and I can go together and get your copy signed!”

Raphael smiled and nodded. “That’d be cool.”

-----

“Skateboards aren’t so hard once you get used to them, Maya,” Antonio smiled as he held the board out to his classmate. She looked warily at the plank of wood and took it hesitantly.

“Do I have to do this?”

“Of course not! Only if you want to!” Antonio held his hand back out to take the board back, but Maya held it to her chest.

“No, I want to try! But…I don’t have to try any ramps today, do I?”

“Nope! We can do all flat concrete today if you want,” Antonio smiled and reached to check her helmet, making sure it was on securely. “Ready, Miss Belpois?”

“No, but I want to be,” Maya set the board on the ground, and carefully went to stand on it. Antonio let her balance herself on his arms, and held her steady as she got her bearings.

“You’re doing great, Maya!” Antonio smiled and bit the inside of his lip. “Tell you what. You stay on the board, I’ll walk you forward a little, you focus on balancing while it’s moving, okay?”

Maya nodded, and Antonio started to walk, holding Maya’s arms carefully so she didn’t fall. As she found her center, she giggled and stood a little taller, making ANtonio grin.

“That a girl! You’ll be riding like a pro in no time!”

-----

Jeremie smiled at the letter from his daughter.

“Aelita! Maya sent a picture she took with the camera we got her for Christmas last year!”

Aelita came up behind Jeremie and kissed the side of his head as she looked at the picture. She saw the kids gathered around their two, and her eyes softened when she saw all the familiar features in the other children.

“They look…alive. Happy.”

“I think sending them to Kadic was the best decision we could have made,” Jeremie put his hands on hers and kissed her cheek softly. “Should we tell them they can invite their friends over sometime soon? I want to meet the kids they’re spending all their time with.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Aelita kissed his nose and sighed. “I miss them.”

“Me too.”

[liaincursives]

These feelings I got/ Lucas’ season

previous part

Here we go. I know all of you have been waiting for this ( @dreamy-slytherin  and @peaceoutofthepieces, I am looking at you) and I believe that it turned out way better than I was expecting it too, so enjoy it. <3

Sunday 14:51

Jens text left Lucas nerves tight, curious and anxious about what was going to happen. 

I just left, I’ll text you when I am in your street.

He was almost here.  

In probably 5 minutes, he would be standing face-to-face with the boy that he had been staring at since he had seen him on Robbes instagram. Lucas threw a look in the slim mirror next the door, trying to organise the curls that were constantly falling into his eyes. He looked out of the window and saw the sun shining, so he left his beloved jeans-jacket on the hook. He would be fine in his t-shirt. 

Lucas grabbed his phone and headphones from the kitchen counter and on the way out of the flat, he took the skateboard that was leaning on the doorframe. His heart was pounding up his chest and his hands were a bit shaky as he tried to lock the door and it took him two or three tries until the lock had finally turned and Lucas was jogging down the lit up staircase. 

In the second he stepped out of the door, he instantly regretted not taking his jacket with him. The air was still cold, even if Lucas saw a few girls in shorts and tops, it was extremely freezing. Should he run back upstairs again and get his jacket?

His phone vibrated and Lucas realised that he missed the chance.

I can see you :)

Lucas stared on his phone, then he looked top and he could see him only three houses away. 

He was skating with a lot of pace, the wind blowing his brown hair out of his face, his eyes slightly closed and he made an extremely relaxed impression, with a pink hoodie laying over his left underarm and one earphone hanging down in front of him. He was silently singing along the song he was listening to and for a few breaths, Lucas felt like time just stopped. 

Jens stopped his board and started smiling. “Hey new kid,” he said, smiling and Lucas could hear Jens voice shaking a tiny bit. Was he as nervous as he was? The Belgian boy’s eyes were looking at Lucas skateboard. “Did you paint that yourself?”, Jens asked Lucas and pointed at the back of the skateboard. “What? Oh, yes I did. We had a project in art class where we had to paint something meaningful, so I did that back of my board,” he said while he was looking at the scenery he had painted more than two years ago. It was basically a dune with some sea buckthorn and green dune weed, waving in the wind and on the horizon in the back, Lucas had painted a rising sun over the ocean. On the dune, Lucas had painted a boy and a girl, sitting next to each other.  He loved this picture, it kept so many memories of his friends. 

“That’s impressive. I bet you will be good friends with Robbes boyfriend soon. He  is also an art boy.”  “Last time we met, he almost ran over me with Robbes skateboard, so I guess that is the perfect base for building up a friendship,” Lucas smiled. “Robbe told me that story. But honestly, I love the painting, it fits the aesthetic of your instagram,” Blood was rushing into Lucas’ cheeks. Jens had looked at his instagram. Why would he do that? Was Jens nervous about all of this too? He didn’t give the impact of a person that was nervous, no, he was calm and calculated, like he knew exactly what to say. 

“Let’s go!  The skatepark is like 10 minutes away from here, at least if you skate fast and not pay enough attention to other people on the sidewalk,” Jens took his earphones and rolled them up, putting the cable into his pockets and Lucas saw a good opportunity to start a conversation. “What music were you listening to?” He said, looking exactly into Jens’ eyes. He hadn’t noticed it before, but now that they were skating down the without even the lcengst on an arm of space between them, Lucas could see how clear and deep the brown eyes of the slightly taller boy were. “No wait, let me guess. You are the rap kind of boy, aren’t you?” Lucas said, knowing that he would be right. 

“Well yes, usually I listen to rap, but I didn’t feel like it. I was listening to Troye Sivan, his songs are like my guilty pleasure. Do you know him?”  “No I don’t.” “Oh you should. I will send you one of his songs when I am home. I think it’s music that you will like,” Jens said and Lucas could feel how his eyes were looking at every nuance of Lucas’ face. How could Jens be so cool, he thought, while he started regretting his choice of leaving the jacket at home even more. Goosebumps were running up his back. “  I promise, I will listen to it,” he said and he couldn’t think of something else than Jens eyes on him and the warm feeling that took over his body, even if he was freezing. Jens pulled up an eyebrow, then, with a bit less confidence than before, he said: “Lucas, you look like you are freezing.” “ Oh do I? I forgot to take my jacket but it’s okay,” he said, but the fact that his hands were shaking betrayed him. 

Jens surprisingly stopped his board and threw the pink hoodie he had in his hands over to Lucas. “Take that, I can’t see you freezing.” “But then you are cold. And wouldn’t it be weird, me in your hoodie? I mean, we barely even know each other and I normally wouldn’t share clothes with friends,” Lucas said, but inside of him, everything screamed to take the light pink hoodie. “Believe me,  I don’t get cold that fast, I just took the hoodie with me to calm down my mom, she never lets me leave without a ton of clothes with me. I barely. Wear that hoodie, no-one will notice it, okay? Now take it, it’s horrible seeing you freezing,” Jens gave Lucas the hoodie and their fingers touched for a second. Lucas heart skipped a beat. Jens skin was warm and the hoodie was laying soft between his hands.

He needed to smile,  but he hid his happiness from Jens while he was putting on the hoodie. It smelled good. Like freshly baked bread and shampoo and Lucas closed his eyes, trying to. Drake everything out of this moment.  “See, it looks way better on you than it does on me anyways,”  Jens  said and he came closer too Lucas, taking his hand up to Lucas’ hair and running through it. Lucas heart went crazy. What was this guy doing to him? “Your hair was messy, now you look more than perfect”, Jens said, then he jumped back on his skateboard and went on. 

Lucas shook his head. What did just happen? Then, he started following Jens. “Don’t leave me.  I thought you were supposed to take care of me so I don’t get lost,” Lucas shouted and within a few seconds, he had arrived next Jens. Jens increased his pace and they started racing down the sidewalks of Antwerp, reaching the skatepark. 

Lucas could see Robbe and two other boys sitting on top of the ramps, talking. In the second Robbe saw  the two them, he started smiling. “There you are. I. Don’t have that much time today. I told you guys that this day is reserved for Sander; Boys, that’s Lucas” “Don’t even try bragging around with your sappy relationship with Sander. We all love him and we officially accept the fact that you can’t even be apart from each other for more than two hours. Hi, I’m Moyo. You are the boy that’s hanging out with Britt and Noor, aren’t you?” A boy with short  hair said. “Please Moyo, don’t even try hitting on my Ex, she deserves way better than you” Robbe said and the boys laughed. 

The last boy introduced himself as Aaron and they soon started skating. Lucas heard tons of stories about Moyo failing to hit on girls, about Aaron and his girlfriend and about things that the Boysquad had experienced. He felt welcome between those four guys, but every time Jens looked at him and they exchanged short gazes, his heart went crazy. Could this be his life? With the boy making him feel crazy and a group of friends that was welcoming him extremely warm and made him happy? 

Jens was looking at Lucas and something in Lucas told him that this was right, feeling the tall boy looking at him and wanting to let himself fall into all the happiness that surrounded him right now. 

Next part

[prorevenge]

Evil Stepfather gets what he deserves.

TLDR at the bottom.

When I was 15, my mom started dating a man she met on a dating website. I didn't like him the first time I met him and two months later he moved into the house.

About three weeks after he moved in, he took my skateboards, self-built halfpipe, ramps, BMX bike, ice hockey gear, and many other things to the dump one day while I was at school. He said he did this because he didn't want all of my crap cluttering up "his" garage.

Maybe two months later he punched me in the stomach for the first time because I got up from the dinner table without asking to be excused. From there it escalated into full-fledged beatdowns for the smallest perceived slight to his authority.

One day he decided to take my extensive Pokemon card collection, even more extensive comic book collection, My Game Boy and PS2 with all the assorted games, and my fantasy and sci-fi book collection and got rid of it all because "15 boys should be playing football and baseball, not being a fa**ot nerd playing with Polemon cards and reading comics and books"

I would like to add that he was a middle school teacher, and then his off time refereed and umpired local middle and high school sports games.

My mom never intervened, and in fact acquiesced when he demanded that she stop giving me lunch money, because "the little shit will just spend it on comics and other gay shit"

One day, I took maybe $3 and change out of his change jar so that I can buy a slice of pizza and some fruit punch during lunch at school, because I was tired of being hungry. My twin sister was always a bit of an asshole, and frequently blackmailed me into doing her chores from a young age. I was fed up and refused to do something, so she told him what I had done. This man actually called the police and pressed a larceny charge against me, and once the police had left beat me senseless.

At that point I ran away. When the cops found me and returned me to my home, I found out that he I've been trying to talk my mom into sending me away to military school or something of that nature. I ran away again, and between having run away several times and the larceny charge ended up turning 16 in juvenile detention.

I spent the next couple years miserable and afraid, frequently contemplating suicide. Once I left home, I didn't speak to my mom for several years. We eventually reconciled, and by that point they had married. I was a lot bigger then I had been as a young teenager, and had gotten into weightlifting so he no longer acted like he was going to punch me to make me flinch, much less actually hit me nd we basically avoided each other for the most part.

My mother found out that she had stage 4 cancer, and no longer wanted to waste any of the time she had left with him, so she had a lawyer draft up a separation agreement whereby he would receive a set amount of money upon separation, and would have 45 days to retrieve his belongings from the house. He had spent his entire inheritance in six months and then had to sell his mother's house that he grew up in in order to settle his debts shortly before they started dating oh, and my mother bought the house back from the bank before they married. She allowed him to keep the house and he moved back into his mother's house.

My mother passed away about nine months after their separation and despite the agreement have been allowing him to come and get his stuff piecemeal. I put an immediate end to that.

I sold his baseball card collection (around $14k) and his autographed sports memorabilia (roughly $11k) and also sold all of his woodworking equipment, along with several finished pieces of furniture that he had made ($6,500 I think).

I kept his mother's engagement ring (platinum band 3 diamonds roughly 2 Carats), wedding band, his coin collection (I also collect coins) and some tools and other odds and ends.

Around a month ago I ran into him at the grocery store. I told him what I had done as he was pushing his cart out towards his car and he took a swing at me multiple times. Several of these punches missed in the ones that they connect didn't have much effect because he's nowhere near as strong as he was 20 years ago in his forties, and I no longer a skinny little 15 year old. He continue to try to punch me as I called 911, and was actively ramming his grocery cart into my new Toyota as the police officers pulled into the parking lot.

He was arrested for assault, communicating threats, and destruction of property. As a result he lost his job (and pension) at the local Middle School, and because he had never learned how to save money while married to my somewhat wealthy mother ended up having to sell his mother's house because he hired an expensive lawyer thinking he could somehow beat the charges.

My nephew, who was on the football team made it well known to his friends that he not only had just been arrested and convicted of assault as well as other charges, but that he had also beat me as a child caused several parents to call for him to resign from refereeing and umpiring for local sports games.

My niece, and my girlfriend's much younger sister are enrolled at the middle school where he worked, and say that he was not only universally disliked, but when he came up to the school to get his belongings, he made a big scene and ended up hysterically crying as he was leaving. At least that's what they've heard from the kids who were attending summer school at the time.

His son, who he was equally abusive towards as a child refuse to take him in or help him out so he ended up having to take a job as a cashier at Walmart so that he could afford the rent on his crappy little trailer in an absolutely awful neighborhood.

Even though that Walmart is not the closest Walmart to my house, that is now the only place where I go grocery shopping or to purchase anything that I need. I purposely stand in line longer than I need to just so that he can be the one who has the pleasure of ringing up my purchases. The first time I went through his line he attempted to ring up multiple items more than one time to overcharge me and when I called him on it said that I was mistaken. I asked for a manager, and the manager believed him that it was an accident but he learned that he can't get away with that. The second time, I made sure to be as nice as possible and had to ask for a manager because he was overwhelmingly rude. The people in line behind me back me up and he got in some trouble for that.

Every time I go there and step into line, I see him die a little bit inside, and it may be Petty but it gives me such satisfaction. Sometimes I'll say that I'm paying with exact change and as I'm about to hand him the money I'll say "Oh! I didn't realize I had (rare coin from his collection) in my pocket! I guess I'll use my credit card"

I just sold his expensive ratcheting wrench set, and so on Monday when he works again I'm going to go buy my daughter one of their better above ground pools, and as he's ringing it out tell him "I know that (daughter) is just going to love this pool. It's not like I would have ever used those expensive ratcheting wrenches anyway"

TLDR; Asshole stepfather got rid of all of my prized possessions as a child and beat the crap out of me regularly. I ended up getting all of his prized possessions and selling most of them, and when I told him he tried to assault me in public, which resulted in criminal charges, losing his job, and his house. Now I get to see him all the time and rub his nose in it.

(source) story by (/u/Kveldson)

[lavenderek]

sometimes when i play an old game from my childhood, like donkey kong (1994), im like, wow this is a fun game! some of the levels were too hard for me because i was a child, but the gameplay is really engaging and easy to understand!

lego island (1997) was a different experience entirely. this is my review of the first eleven minutes of game time, because i turned it off after that. 

first of all, i think it was banking on the customizable nature of lego sets making for inherently humorous situations? like, all the animation showcases the lego people and structures coming apart and coming back together, pieces being replaced with other pieces, things changing colors, that kind of thing. it’s kind of cute, like, if you visit the brickster - the bad guy in the game - in jail, he’ll insult you, and then he’ll just stand there unresponsive while you click his hat and turn it into random different objects and hairstyles. turns into a different hat, and then a flower, and then a sleek bob, and then a cat. it’s pretty cute. 

only, the animation and graphics are so primitive and jerky that sometimes it’s not clear what’s happening? and also, they put cartoon sound effects every single time this happens. and it happens with every object in the game. 

for example, at some point you’re walking down the road and you see a woman walking toward you. as you approach her, she disappears and reappears on the other side of the road, this time with three other people all in a row. they are walking in sync like a really peppy chain gang, and leaning back really far, while goofy music and a rubber stretching sound effect play. 

why is this happening? did i cause it to happen? does it mean something? is it a reference to something? what do i do when this happens? this is never made clear, so i just kept walking. 

i think it was supposed to be funny, and that’s pretty emblematic of the entire game - it’s full of these like, standup comedy bits that A. aren’t funny, and B. last for seven years each. 

like, i walk up to the police station, and a cop runs at me, yelling at me.

“HEY! YOU’RE UNDER ARREST! oh wait, it’s just you! you’re not under arrest. you’re in jail! no, you’re not! you must be here to build the helicopter. it’s about time! we’ve been waiting! i object! i mean, you’re in contempt! i mean, you’re under arrest! oh wait no, it’s still you. just go inside and speak to the deputy! i could really go for some pizza right now! i mean, what? cake! oh, i’ll just go over here!”

he walks back over to the police station, and i stand there like 👁️👄👁️

i try clicking around for a bit, but this mostly just makes people’s heads spin around and stuff, so i eventually just like, walk away lmao. never did find out what he was referring to with the helicopter thing

that’s the other problem, is the gameplay. the gameplay is so unintuitive that whenever i enter a building, an NPC has to give me very detailed instructions to figure out what to do next. there is no exploratory clicking around to be had, because even if they didn’t have their two minute standup to do for me, i wouldn’t be able to figure it out, i guess. that’s what i assume, because all their instructions go right over my head. i have no idea what they’re talking about. 

i’ll explain. you begin the game in an information building, where a lego man gives a speech about how you are on lego island, and in order to play on lego island, you must become a lego person. in order to become a lego person, you must select their portrait on the wall, and drag it to the location on the map where you want to go. 

but before you can do that, you have to click on a book and sign in. i click on the book, and there’s a bunch of letters, presumably so that you can enter your name if you’re a little kid in 1997 and don’t know how to use the keyboard. before i can enter my name, the man interrupts me and explains that i must enter my name, and then click the checkmark, and then i can begin my wonderful adventure on the glorious lego island, or whatever he says, he talks for way too long. 

i enter my name, i exit the book, and now i can choose a character to play. i select Pepper, who is a child who delivers pizza riding on a skateboard. instead of allowing me to drag the portrait, clicking on him triggers an introductory animation of pepper skateboarding around with a pizza. 

“i’m pepper, the pizza delivery kid! watch me go! whoa!” he hits a ramp. “45 degrees! up in the air! ollie!” he hits an identical ramp. “90 degrees! i’ve got all the degrees! more degrees than a thermometer! i’ve got more degrees than a professor! i’ve got more degrees than i know what to do with! ten degrees! two degrees! and i land it! i’ve got the pizza, here we go!” 

as he skateboards away, unboxed pizza in his little lego hand, an unidentified voice comments, “Pepper: he’s hot.” 

the animation ends. i’m like, “isn’t he like, a child?”

“great job, now you’re Pepper!!” yells the man. now i can play the game. i guess i don’t drag the portrait after all? 

i click an arrow on the side of the screen, trying to leave, but it just takes me to a big cube, and the man gives a TED talk about the cube. it’s just like, a score card, and whenever you do a mini game, your score shows up next to whatever character you were playing. he could have explained that in one sentence. or, better yet, i could have figured that out from context when i started playing mini games. but this requires another standup routine. 

i click another arrow, and finally i guess i have turned around, because i’m looking at the door to the lobby of the info building i’m in. there are some flowers in here too. i click on the flowers. with a bunch of metal clanging noises, the flower turns into a huge yellow tree. when it finishes, i am suddenly outside. 

i remember when i was a kid that i would struggle to play this game for a little while and then give up. i did this a lot. i remember i was able to paint a car. i couldn’t get the car to move the way i wanted it to, so i would never be able to finish a race. i’d just paint it red, and lose the race. i also have a vivid memory of some kind of thing where the brickster escapes from jail, and you have to find him before he steals... something. 

so i’m running around this unnavigable island, but sometimes trees and birds lean over and block the road and harass you, so you can’t go that way for some reason (which - relatable, that happens to me irl when i’m driving to walgreens to pick up my cymbalta). and all the while you hear the brickster’s disembodied voice being like, “you’re never gonna catch me!” and a different voice being like, “you’re going the wrong way! the brickster’s gonna get away!” and i would eventually fail this objective, and then give up and play the magic schoolbus instead lmfao. i remember this happening more than once as a kid. 

so like, at first i was like, this is a lot, but it’s not for me, you know? i wasn’t trying to engage with this game as an adult, because this was a game for children. but i was clicking around and i remembered being bored and annoyed as a child, too. so like, lmao. 

but the main reason i stopped playing is that the 3D pov animation as you move around the game was making me motion sick. i seriously thought i was gonna vom. so that’s why i stopped playing.