#that smirk still makes me laugh like bro shut up LMAO hes about to beat my ass and im gonna be mad about it

[todayisafridaynight]

if theres one thing that differentiates mine and sawashiro its that sawashiro is JUST a LITTLE silly. on a microscopic level he is SUPER MINUTELY goofy

[drabbles-mc]

Exhaustion

Kozik x F!Reader

Request by Anon: Can I get a Kozik x female reader, where she comes home one day from a busy work day - and she sits down next to Kozik. Some time passes, then the sons realise that she has fallen asleep on him - and maybe just some light teasing for Kozik ensues, as he carefully shifts to carry her to a quieter room. Then, she wakes at a later point, still half asleep, mutters some almost incoherent confession to Kozik, and falls asleep again. Then, he addresses the situation the next day and fluff!!!

Warnings: language, alcohol

Word Count: 1.9k

A/N: We love some soft, sleepy confessions in this house! I switched up the location a little bit and also this totally tweaks the canon timeline but it’s fine we’re just here to have a good time lol. Did I write this on a Sunday night knowing I was taking Monday off because the previous week drained me so much I needed an extra day?? Maybe. Did I indulge in the softness of this to cope with that?? Definitely lmao. Also, if this trope is something that you’re interested in, I have a Juice Fic that runs along the same lines.

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It'd been a rough day, and overall an exhausting week at work. Everything in you was telling you to just go home and go to sleep because your entire body was screaming for rest. But as you were walking out to your car, you’d gotten a message from Kozik inviting you over to his place. He had a few of the guys over to drink beer and watch the fights that were on that night. It wasn’t going to be anything crazy, and it wouldn’t be as big of a crowd as it usually was. Not having a clubhouse for the time being meant that the get-togethers were a bit smaller, which suited you just fine, especially on days like the one you were having. You figured that maybe a good time and a distraction might be a nice way to end a bad week.

You had become an expert at changing in your car over the years. You hated going placed still in your work clothes, so you always kept a spare set of comfortable, casual clothes in your back seat just in case last-minute plans popped up, like they just had. The hoodie and leggings that you had swapped into were much better suited for hanging out with the guys than what you wore to work.

Pulling into Kozik’s driveway, you saw a few of the bikes parked out front. You smiled, instantly recognizing which bike belonged to each biker. Taking a deep breath to prepare yourself, you grabbed your purse off the passenger seat and hopped out of the car, locking the vehicle behind you as you made your way up to his front steps. You knocked as you let yourself in, which you supposed defeated the purpose of the knock.

Kozik materialized in front of you, having heard you knocking over the sound of the television. A smile spread across his face as he watched you take your shoes off and toss your purse off the to the side.

“You made it,” he laughed as he wrapped you in a hug, “Didn’t know if you were actually going to show. I know it’s been a rough week.”

You let yourself lean into him for a few moments before responding, “It was a close one, I won’t lie to you.”

He chuckled, “Well, if you wanna bail you know you can. I won’t take it personally.”

“Rest of us might, though!” Jax piped up from the living room with a smirk.

“And maybe some of you should,” you shot back with a smile, causing both of you to laugh.

“Go, sit,” Kozik nudged you towards the living room, “I’ll grab you a beer.”

He didn’t have to tell you twice. You immediately made your way over to the couch and sat down, gently bumping your knee against Juice’s in a silent greeting. He flashed you a warm smile before returning his attention to the television. Hardly a minute later, Kozik was sitting down on the other side of you and placing a nice cold beer in your hand. You smiled and nodded to him in thanks before taking a long drink from it.

“Day was that good, huh?” he asked somewhat quietly.

You chuckled and leaned against his side, “Whole fucking week has been that good. Just one fucking issue after another.”

“I’m sorry,” there was genuine concern in his eyes, “If you wanna go home you c—”

You shook your head, “No, no I’m good. Honestly, I think what I need is probably to just watch these dudes beat the shit out of each other,” you laughed quietly.

“Always makes me feel better,” he laughed as he casually draped his arm around your shoulders.

You didn’t comment on the closeness the two of you were sharing, on the warmth you felt radiating from his body and flowing over into yours. It was comforting, the kind of safety and reassurance you needed after a week from hell. You could feel Juice’s eyes on the two of you from the other end of the couch as he smirked at you, and you gave him a gentle kick in the shin, causing him to laugh and divert his attention to more important things. Kozik gave your shoulder a light squeeze and you let out a sigh of relief as you melted against him.

At some point, despite the cheering and joking that was happening around you, you fell asleep against Kozik’s side. Kozik hadn’t noticed, too busy being wrapped up in the fights and trying to figure out if he was going to win the bets he’d waged with the guys for the winners of the night. It wasn’t until he heard the soft thud of your empty beer bottle slipping from your fingers and onto the floor that he figured it out. He glanced down at you, halfway through a sentence asking if you were okay, when he saw you fast asleep against his side.

He was gazing down at you, trying to figure out what to do with you, when he heard Jax’s laughter. “She is knocked out, bro,” he chuckled.

“Yea, she is,” Kozik shook his head, “I can’t just wake her up…right?”

“No, don’t be an asshole,” Opie chimed in, shaking his head with a knowing smile, “Just let her sleep.”

“And, honestly,” Juice chuckled as he looked at you passed out against Kozik, “something tells me you couldn’t wake her up right now even if you tried.”

“Probably not,” Kozik laughed as he mulled that observation over in his mind for a few seconds. With a light sigh he stood up and carefully lifted you off the couch, draping you over his arms, “I’ll be back,” he said to the guys with a laugh as he carried you out of the fray of his living room, even though it clearly hadn’t bothered you enough to stop you from falling asleep in the first place.

“Yea, there you go, Prince Charming,” Jax called after him with a laugh, “Whisk her away.”

He carried you to his room and gently deposited you onto the bed. He was pulling the blanket up over you when you sleepily reached out and tugged at his arm. For a moment he was startled, but when he saw the exhausted look in your hooded eyes, he had to smile.

“Go back to sleep,” his voice was soft, “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Where you going?” you mumbled, fingers wrapping gently around his forearm.

He smiled as he placed his free hand over yours, “Just back to the living room—fights are still on.”

“Kozik?” your eyes were already shut again as you laid against the pillow on his bed.

“Yea?” he couldn’t hide his amusement at how you were when you were sleepy.

“I think I’m a little,” you yawned as your hand loosened and fell from his arm onto the bed beside you, “a little in love with you.”

Your words caught him off-guard, but before he could even try to respond to them, you were passed out again, sprawled out over his bed. He stood there for a few moments, just looking at you and hearing your sleepy voice ringing in his head over and over. He raked his fingers back through his hair and took a deep breath before forcing himself to return to the rest of the people who were still at his house.

“All good, brother?” Opie saw the slightly dazed look on Kozik’s face and couldn’t help but to ask.

It snapped him out of it, and he smiled as he sat back down on the sofa, “Yea, all good.”

Kozik had opted to sleep on the couch for the night after everyone else had left. He woke up to the smell of coffee and the sound of you trying to quietly get things out of the kitchen cupboards and failing. He slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. When it was finally able to focus his vision, he felt his entire body get warm at the sight of you sleepily snooping around his kitchen trying to make your coffee.

“Good morning,” he said as he swung his legs, feet landing softly on the floor.

“Oh,” you spun around, coffee mug cupped tightly in your hands, not realizing that he was awake, “Morning,” you paused, “Coffee?”

He nodded, “Yea, sure.”

You made two cups and brought them over, handing one over to him as you sat down on the couch next to him. The outside of your leg rested against his as you each sipped on your coffee, letting a comfortable silence fill the room.

After a couple minutes you looked over at him with a smile, “Sorry for passing out here last night—guess I can’t hang like I used to.”

He chuckled and shook his head, “Don’t apologize. I’m surprised you even came over. I know your week was…shitty.”

You laughed nodding, “It was. But I dunno, I like hanging out here, with you.”

He figured that there wasn’t going to be a better time to bring up what you had said the night before, so he did, “Hey, um, can I…can I talk to you about something?”

You turned your head to face him, nodding, “Of course.”

“Last night, when I brought you to bed. You, um, you mentioned something that I just feel like I should probably ask you about?”

You groaned, “Fuck. What’d I say? I swear, Kozik, I’m never trying to make you uncomfortable or—”

“You didn’t,” he didn’t want to allow you to continue going with that train of thought, “You didn’t make me uncomfortable at all. You just…you said that you’re in love with me.”

Nerves shot throughout your entire body. You couldn’t even blame the confession on the booze, only having had one drink. It was just exhaustion and lowered inhibitions that got you to spill your feelings. It was hard to gauge from the look on his face where exactly he landed with it.

“You don’t have to try and save my feelings if you don’t feel the same way,” you told him with a shake of your head, “I’m sorry I even put you in this position at all.”

“Do you?”

“What?”

“Do you love me?” his eyes desperately searched yours.

You nodded, not able to say anything else for a moment. When you finally got your words in order, you said, “I do. I have for a while. I’m sorry if—”

You didn’t get to finish your sentence as he closed the distance between the two of you and pressed his lips to yours. It caught you by surprise, and it took you a second to truly realize what was going on, but once you did you leaned into him, reveling in the way his hand felt as he came to cup the side of your face.

“I love you too,” he said, a little breathless as he took his lips off of yours.

You felt yourself smiling uncontrollably as you looked at him, “Sorry I just dropped that on you as I was passing out last night. Little bit of a dick move.”

“Wanna know what else was a dick move?” he asked with a cheeky smile.

“What’s that?”

“You said that you’re only a little in love with me,” he laughed at the way you shrank back out of embarrassment. He set his coffee mug down so he could pull you back closer to him, “C’mon, you know I’m kidding. It was cute.”

“Yea?” your eyes searched his face.

He nodded, “Yea,” he kissed you softly on the lips, “But you do love me more than just a little, right?”

You laughed, nodding as you cupped his face in your hands, “Of course.”

[quinntheebrain]

Hi there! I was wondering if you could do a jealous bokuto x f!reader (preferably if not then gn! is fine). Like he gets jealous of his bby and kuroo getting along really well... a little too well lmao. Anyways, I hope your day/night is going great ya wonderful person <3

Pairing: Jealous!Bokuto Kōtarō x fem!reader

Warnings: implied alcohol use, a temporarily sad Bokuto, Ummm I curse????

A/N: *deep heavy sigh* I looked over this 1000x lmfao. I’m used to writing fics and not hcs, so they’re probably not the best (I gotta stop doubting myself). I’m always so nervous to share my writings, but this a learning process! Thanks for being my first request. It’s been a while since I wrote anything seriously and shared it. I really hope you enjoy it :) Also, somebody else (who I can’t think of rn) hc that Bokuto doesn’t drink, I just agree wholeheartedly. 

Oh, my precious baby Bokuto. He’s so cute it hurts🥺. 

He gets jealous easily. 

He’s so lively that people naturally gravitate toward him. So, he’s used to being the center of attention. 

Even though the only person’s attention he really cares about is yours.

Bokuto loves the way you look at him when he makes you smile. He loves the feeling of just being in your presence.

So, when he sees you and Kuroo smiling and laughing from across the bar he’s irritated. 

And when the two of you get a little too close for comfort, he’s fuming

...but for some reason, I feel like he wouldn’t say anything

Now, Bokuto would normally shut that shit down instantly.

But it’s Kuroo, his closest friend. He doesn’t want any kind of confrontation. He doesn’t want to cause a scene (I believe Bokuto could beat Kuroo’s ass)

So, he says nothing and instead spends the night alternating between super soft/affectionate and super distant. 

He’ll bring it up in private though. Half-jokingly asking if you’d prefer Kuroo to him. 

And when the conversation turns serious 

Don’t invalidate his feelings, don’t make him feel crazy. (he’ll curl up in a ball and it will be a long time before he opens up to you again)

RE-AS-SUR-ANCE!!!!!!!! He needs it; he will die without it. Please just tell this boy how much you love him. 

And please believe he doesn’t blame you alone. He talks to Kuroo after he talks to you.

Because next time, Bokuto won’t be so nice :)

This is the third time Kuroo has put his arm around you; Bokuto is counting. He watches you from across the room as he holds a conversation with Akaashi; though, at this point, his friend’s words are nothing more than background noise. 

You are supposed to be with them, but once Kuroo challenges you to a drinking contest, Bokuto knows it’s a lost cause. You promise to join him shortly and though he doesn’t believe you, he nods as if he does. Unlike you, and most of his friends, Bokuto doesn’t drink; he just doesn’t like the taste, but he wants you to have a good time. So, he goes to sit with Akaashi by himself but not before leaning down and pulling you into a soft kiss. Bokuto’s large palm caresses your cheek as his mouth moves delicately against your own; It’s quick and gentle, but it’s effective. His lips linger on yours just long enough to leave you wanting more; it’s a reminder that he’ll be waiting for you. 

But, 15 minutes have passed and you’re still glued to Kuroo’s side. 

Now, you’re a giggling mess, teasing one of your boyfriend’s closest friends, who seems to be enjoying the attention a little too much. The rest of their volleyball buddies watch and laugh, most of them far too inebriated to find anything wrong with the way the two of you are interacting. Bokuto, on the other hand, finds everything wrong with it. He watches you with narrow eyes and tightly clenched fists, trying his hardest to keep his composure.

“Your jealousy is showing,” Akaashi smirks at his best friend; Bokuto hasn’t been listening to a word he says. He wants to tease him about it but now doesn’t seem like the time. “Why don’t you just tell them it’s bothering you?�� 

“They’re not doing it on purpose,” Bokuto sighs as he unclenches his fists, wiggling his fingers to crack his knuckles. “Besides, there was a time she couldn’t even be in the same room as Kuroo. I’m glad they’re friends now and if I say something I might ruin it.” he looks away from you and instead focuses on the ground. 

“Forget about Kuroo,” Akaashi says, slightly irritated. “What about you? If you don’t talk to her, you might ruin your relationship. You don’t want to harbor resentment toward the one you love,” Akaashi glances at Bokuto, who is unable to reply. They stand in silence for a short time. Akaashi doesn’t want to bombard Bokuto with advice; he knows that sometimes, a few thoughtful words are enough. “Look, it’ll be okay. I have to go.” Akaashi pats Bokuto’s shoulder, leaving him alone to think about the situation. 

Bokuto is truly happy that you and Kuroo have finally learned to get along but deep down, a part of him wishes the two of you never stopped the incessant bickering; part of him wishes that you still disliked Kuroo and he disliked you. Maybe, the petty arguments were nothing but an attempt to mask the attraction you felt toward each other but honestly, that’s what Bokuto would prefer. Because what’s happening now — you and Kuroo openly fawning over each other — is driving him crazy. 

I’m just imagining things, he thinks to himself. Maybe, there is no real meaning to the way the two of you are carrying on; but, watching as Kuroo embraces you in a hug that lingers a little longer than it should doesn’t ease his mind. Your face buried into Kuroo’s chest, his hands pressed firmly against your lower back as he rocks you side to side, it’s a bit more than Bokuto can handle. The thought of you in someone else’s arms so intimately bothers him, and pulling out your phone to take Kuroo’s contact info is the icing on the cake. 

Still, you’d never know how much it affects Bokuto because he approaches you like there’s nothing wrong, and though he tugs you away from Kuroo rather possessively, he does it with the brightest smile. “Alright, ready babe?” He looks down to you with those golden eyes, glimmering with adoration as he places a kiss on your forehead. You nod ‘yes’ quickly. “See you later, bro.” you both wave at his friends once more before the two of you exit the bar. 

A weight lifts from Bokuto’s shoulders as the door shuts behind him; the absence of his best friend shouldn’t put him at ease, but it does. Still, Bokuto has another problem. 

You don’t want to harbor resentment toward the one you love. Akaashi’s words play in his head like a broken record. If he doesn’t settle this now, he never will. His insecurities will continue to fester until he can no longer look at you the same.

“You and Kuroo were pretty cozy tonight,” he fakes a chuckle as he peers at you from the corner of his eye. “I’m glad you two are so close now.”

“Cozy?” you scrunch up your face. You could count the number of times Kuroo touched you on one hand (which was still too many for Bokuto).  You will admit that you spent an unusual amount of time with Kuroo, but he’s more entertaining when he’s drunk; it’s actually your favorite time to be around him. “Hardly. If anything,” you pause, “Wait a minute. Ko, are you jealous?” you manage to suppress your smile, but there's a hint of amusement in your tone. 

He doesn’t answer your question; it’s embarrassing enough to even be feeling this way and for you to call him out so quickly only makes it worse. He takes a deep breath, “Y/N,” Bokuto’s voice is barely above a whisper. “Do you ever think you’d be better off with Kuroo? I mean the two of you actually have a lot in common, and I just think-” the words sound crazy now that he’s finally saying them out loud. 

“No,” you say sternly and confidently, cutting off your boyfriend before he has the chance to ramble on. It’s reassuring how quick you are to shut the notion down. “Besides, we really only have one thing in common,” you pause in your tracks, forcing Bokuto to stop and look at you. 

“What’s that?”

“We both love you so much,” you can’t help but smile as you speak. Bokuto has such amazing people in his life and that warms your heart. “We would never try to hurt you; I would never try to hurt you. I’m so sorry for even making you feel like that.” the apology is sincere. Your glossy eyes are a giveaway. “If I haven’t made this clear, you are the only one for me. It’s you and me, together forever,” he wipes away a single tear; you hadn’t even realized you were crying. You never wanted to make him feel this way; he’s never sounded so defeated. Was he going to just hand you over to his best friend? Did he think you would accept that? “But really, Kuroo?” you pretend to vomit to lighten the mood. It makes you both laugh, something you desperately needed. 

“I love you,” Bokuto sighs in relief.  

“I love you too.” flinging your arms around his neck, you kiss him. 

There’s something almost enchanting about the way he immediately takes the lead. He doesn’t care about the taste of liquor that lingers in your mouth or the fact that you still smell like Kuroo’s cologne; at this moment, Bokuto only cares about you. His lips glide over yours passionately, yet ever so gently; your tongue sporadically teases his bottom lip, his teeth occasionally nibble on yours. It’s a steady rhythm that makes you weak in the knees. His hands find their way to your waist, then to your back, sliding down until they’re secure in your back pockets. 

Bokuto pulls away, pressing his forehead against yours. “Let’s get home, yeah?” he squeezes your ass before he removes his hands from your pocket; intertwining his fingers with yours, Bokuto starts to walk again. 

“Yeah,” you repeat with a smile on your face, nodding eagerly as he pulls you down the sidewalk. 

[jrueships]

I’m aware that this was not the point of the kawhi and pg retiring together post but pg calling kawhi honey!!!!! Omg!!! I’m in love with nicknames so this was so cute 😭. And Luka having them for Dennis in the redacted post !! CUTE “honey” 🥲 “kitten” 😳 “SWEETHEART”!!!! Ahsjsksj- *explodes* anyway do any of your other ships have nicknames for each other 🤔

GOOOOD bruh this is SUCH a good ask literally like. im SO sorry it took me so long to finally answer it but I've been looking at this and trying to figure out how to do it justice FOREEEVER it was just That good 2 me. IM SO GLAD U THOUGHT THAT WAS CUTE!!! I LOVE ships where the couples give each other nicknames I DUNNO they hit DIFFERENT!! The way yall be reading my tags 😭 !! IS NICE 🤩🤩‼‼ BUT YEA!!!! LETS GET RIGHT 2 IT!!!

Marcus Smart+Giannis: OKAY so I think that they BOTH kinda like??? Secretly Pride themselves on being GREAT at nicknames lol. Giannis's "khash money and big money" (Khris STILL calls jrue big money its so funny. The bucks love giannis so much and honestly?? Who doesnt??? ((Harden))) I think giannis uses nicknames more tho?? Because marcus wants to be cool and not look so sappy for giannis but sometimes it slips 🥰 ANYWAYS THOOO i think giannis calls marcus like "SMARTIES!!!!" or "MY SWEET!!!" or something endearing old grandparents call each other And like. They run to each other and giannis sweeps him up in his long arms and they spin around laughing all cheesy like that!!! Or sometimes giannis will call him, the very loving, "mahkus shart" or "fart" and then try excusing it on having a relapse on the English language even tho they both know Damn well he's just being a little shit. But when giannis and Markus are cuddling in bed together during the sleepy hours of trying to drift into dreamland, giannis probably calls marcus like.. "stars", or somethin. Kisses his freckles and his acne scars. Marcus probably calls Giannis "gianny!!" On the downlow or "hey, deer" or "beanpole" LMAO. Sometimes "prancer" or "big man" But for the public he does his 'GRANT.' tone but with "GIANNIS." instead to get his attention

Trae + John collins: I think they stick to their usual stupid nicknames like. Trae is IceTrae and john is The Baptist. Trae probably makes jokes about wanting John to wash his feet when they're high together. Trae calls John his "girlfriend" his "wifey" his "bae" you know whatever typical fuckboys use to make their tiktok gfs feel special! John is probably like "dude, im a guy." but can't help but feel his heart beating at the nicknames anyways because he is WEEK and STOOPID!!!! BUT OF COURSE they use the typical bros and dudes and mans!! John probably has to call trae "big man" or "chief" LMFAO. Trae literally does Not have this kinda energy but despite that... he probably really Really wants to be called d*ddy IM SORRY IM JUST TELLIN THE FACTS OKAY. ANYWAYS

Draymond+Swaggy P: swaggy p will sometimes not acknowledge dray if he does not call him swaggy p*nis at least Once a month. Nick could be hanging off a cliff on the verge of falling and Draymond would extend his hand out saying "NICK!! GRAB MY HAND!!!" And nick would just cross his arms and be like "refer to me with my Full Name, Draymond." and then plummet to the void. Draymond does Not call swaggy p swaggy p*nis tho, and will be actually really glad that he gets a moment of silence from Nick's deranged fuckboyness. Nick never wins the silent games with dray. He probably ends up trying to tug on his hoodie or vandalize dray's things to try and get his attention again. ANYWAYS nick tries to get away with calling dray anything really cheesy that he THINKS is hot. Like "hello my gorgeous hobgoblin" or "hey butterfly bae 🥰🥰" and dray tells him to shut up but he secretly enjoys them LMAO. Dray probably just calls nick "swaggy" or "nick". Bitch in the bedroomlolANYWAYS

Pat bev+Lou will: yes, I snuck them in here SHUDDUP my game MY rules!!! I think pat would be like... committing a crime .. kicking a fire hydrant and turning over cars or whatever, but then he'll hear lou call him "Patti !" and he'll suddenly stop and snuggle into his lap or somethin LMAO. Idk... I love.. the grandpas 🥰🥰 crazy man who has soft spot for destruction, crime, and lou will

Jeff teague+LeBron: LISTENLISTENLUS- OKAY. LISTEN. I love their relationship in like a FUNNY sense like.... bron really sweeped teague SO many times it's FUNNY. I like to think about them as the like... D-classed villain, who can only rob small children, declaring the strongest hero Ever as his arch nemesis... and the superhero not seeing them as a threat at ALL. LIKE WHEN TEAGUE SHOVED BRON ONCE and bron just got back up without a care LMAO. I think Teague stays up all night dreaming about one day finally like BEATING beating LeBron.. and when they meet on court he's like "your castle will be MINE as will be your CROWN and your CAVS, 'kiNg bRoN' " and LeBron just laughs, pats him on the back, and says, "okay Jeff lol" and then blows his team out by 50 points . AnNYWAYS yea i think teague comes up with a Lot of not pg13 nicknames for bron and bron just calls him Jeff

Robin +Kris Dunn: kris probably calls Robin "old man" and "twiggy" and "birdnest brain" and a thousand other teasing words, and he smirks up at him expecting a reaction, but Robin just laughs and calls him "peanut" and kris goes home and claws off the wallpaper to his bathroom walls

Myles+ Victor oladipo: myles is a nerd so he loves when vic calls him "myles Morales" because IT'S CLEVER. and hes a geek. Victor gets called Viccy or just Oladipo ! Sometimes thingamajig !!!

Keldon+Anthony Edwards: I JUST THINK THEIR PERSONALITIES WOULD BE GOOD TOGETJER anyways I think keldon would call him "eddy!!!" While Ant prefers to call keldon like "my shawty boo Thang 🥰🥰" LMAO

Russ and kd are the classic "only call each other by the last names until something serious comes up". like maybe they pass each other in the hall. Russ with his classic head down and beady eyes to the floor stance. They don't look at each other as they exchange a cold "Westbrook." "DURANT . " but then when conversations get heated or they start talking things over... Durant finally calls Russell "Russ.." and westbrook calls him "kd." Again .....

Fultz/Fox: they go by fultz and fox!!! Sometimes "Feds" and "Fox"!! I think because Fox is a weeb he calls Markelle the "vegeta" to his goku. The sasuke to his naruto etcetc!! While fultz smiles and thinks about gay astrology/ poetic analogies like " de'aaron.. the sun to my moon. The flame to my hearth. The key to my heart". and feigns petting Fox's past goku hair LMAO

demar/kyle: deebo calls Kyle Fat Ass. it's very romantic

[offtopicoverload]

Get Lucky

so i totally forgot about this request from @renluthor for like. two months, terribly sorry, but i finally finished it lmao. bit different than what we had discussed, but i had a lot of fun with it and think it turned out decent enough, hope you enjoy it also idk how to tag on ao3, i hope this works fine

M Rating (still suck at rating, there's drinking and kissing so)

Zoey x MC (Bea)

~1700 words (still pretty short since i cant seem to get my word count up rn but im also not that fussed)

Read on Ao3

-

Bea Hughes stands in the middle of Belvoire’s quad on her first day at the school, staring down a snarling beast, some bitch named Poppy that’s really starting to get on her nerves. “You know what, Poppy?” she snarks, “I’m really going to enjoy tearing you down. Something tells me nobody likes you half as much as you like yourself.” She pauses, glancing around before her gaze lands on some frat bro, “Michael, how often does Poppy call you an idiot?”

He frowns, face downcast, “Every day. My therapist says it isn’t good to surround myself with people who bring me down, but my parents are friends with Poppy’s and -”

“Oh my god, nobody asked to be invited to your pity party, Michael!” Poppy shouts, effectively cutting him off with a stamp of her foot.

Bea’s scowl grows, “You know what nobody asked to be invited to? Poppy’s Daily Bitch-Fest. Death by migraine would be more pleasant.”

“Oh, you haven’t even seen Poppy’s Daily Bitch-Fest,” her eyes narrow at Bea dangerously, “But if you’d like a demonstration, by all means, be my guest of -”

“Hey Bea! Look at the time, we gotta go!” Someone takes hold of Bea’s wrist, tugging her along and away from the crowd, from Michael, and from Poppy and her glare. She’s pulled into a sprint across the lawn, running wildly until they’re inside a dorm and standing before some door.

“Wish the circumstances were different, but welcome to the Winfrey dorm complex, aka your new home!” The girl lets Bea’s wrist drop back to her side, gesturing widely with one hand as she fumbles to unlock the door with the other.

She finally succeeds, throwing the door open and ushering Bea inside, the door slamming shut behind them. Bea’s eyes immediately rove over the expensive decor and nice furniture of the huge dorm she’s somehow stumbled upon.

The girl collapses on a couch, kicking her feet up as she looks over to Bea, “So, you got out of that one alive. Barely,” she adds under her breath. “How are you feeling?”

Bea follows suit, slumping down on the opposite side, toying with the hem of her shirt distractedly. “Honestly, you’re gorgeous,” she shrugs, watching the fabric slide between her fingertips. She freezes, slowly glancing to Zoey, “...is what I was thinking, but did I just say it out loud?”

A laugh bursts from Zoey, her head falling back, “You did, and you’re absolutely, positively right. Not to mention easy on the eyes yourself,” she grins, winking at Bea, before sticking her hand out. “I’m Zoey Wade, your roomie,” she shakes Bea’s hand when their palms meet, “This right here is our dorm. Your room’s on the left, mine’s on the right.”

“Okay,” Bea responds abruptly, sinking into the cushions and crossing her arms beneath her chest. “Okay,” she repeats.

Zoey glances over to her, “Are you okay?”

Bea’s eyes flicker to her dark ones, “Yes. Yes, because I got lucky on the roommate front,” she smiles, albeit somewhat forced.

“That you did,” Zoey smiles right back. “In fact, I know the perfect place to get you off campus until the hype dies down.” she jumps to her feet, crossing to the front door before Bea can even react.

She scrambles to her feet, nearly tripping on the corner of the coffee table, “Wait!” Zoey spins as she swings the door open, winking before disappearing down the corner, Bea nearly sprinting to catch up.

---

An hour later, Bea and Zoey are sitting in a dim corner of a Soho speakeasy, soft music and conversation buzzing in the background. Half-drunk Manhattans sit before them, their own voices adding to the soft din of chatter flowing in the space.

“How’d you find this place?” Bea inquires curiously, her eyes scanning the building and its patrons. It’s cozy and warm, the inviting atmosphere a sharp contrast to Belvoire’s intimidating one.

“Connections,” Zoey’s shoulders rise in a nonchalant shrug, unbothered as she scrolls her phone.

“Whose?”

Zoey looks up from her phone, gaze meeting Bea’s as she smirks, “Can’t spill all my secrets on the first day, babe.”

“Why not?” Bea challenges, one eyebrow quirked.

Zoey’s phone is set face down on the table as she looks at Bea mysteriously, smiling secretively, “As sweet as you are, I always need a few cards up my sleeve.”

“How many you got?”

“I’ll never tell,” she winks, in what Bea is quickly learning to be her default.

“I thought the whole point of coming here was to learn more about each other, roomie,” Bea counters pointedly.

Zoey shakes her head, leaning back against the booth, “The point of coming here is avoiding the campus harpy that goes by the name of Poppy.”

“So you don’t want to get to know me? Or let me get to know you?”

“Maybe if you’re lucky I’ll tell you something.”

Bea just her bottom lip out in a pout, her eyes wide and innocent as she blinks up at Zoey. She only smiles coyly in return, drinking her cocktail as Bea deflates, sighing and slumping backwards.

“You are so lucky you’re cute,” Zoey hums from the back of her throat.

Bea grins before schooling her expression into something flirtatious, “I’m hoping I’ll get luckier.”

Zoey laughs at that, just as loud and unrestrained as back in their dorm, “Nice try. At least buy me a drink first.”

“I’ll buy you the whole bar, how about that?”

“I’ll take another Manhattan for now,” Zoey laughs, sinking back into the booth as Bea jumps up, weaving through the speakeasy’s crowd to get back to the bar.

She returns a few minutes later, wiggling the drinks in her hands enticingly with a wide grin on her lips. She slides back into her seat, sipping her own bright coloured cocktail as she looks to Zoey.

“So what made you want to come to Belvoire? Long way from home, right?” Zoey plays with her drink, scraping a cherry off a toothpick with her front teeth.

Bea shrugs, “It’s a good school, and I thought it’d be fun to try something new… But now I’m mixed up in petty drama,” a sigh shifts her shoulders, Zoey stilling her absentminded fidgeting.

“Petty drama, maybe, but you’re making a name for yourself,” she nudges Bea with her elbow. “That’s more than a lot of people can say.”

“So you don’t think I’m totally screwed?”

“Hmm,” one carefully manicured nail taps Zoey’s chin. “I give it ten to one odds,” she finally decides, smiling sweetly across the table.

Bea frowns, a dent forming between her brows as the girl across from her’s smile grows in amusement, “Those aren’t good odds.”

“But there’s still a chance. Look, I know I don’t know you very well, but you seem like the type to pull it off.”

“Seems like you’re just trying to flatter me.”

“And what if I was?”

“I guess I’d wonder if there was a reason for it.”

“Can’t a cute girl be reason enough?”

Bea lets her gaze rake over Zoey suggestively, “I suppose so.”

“See? You’re smart, you’ll be fine,” she encourages. “Probably.”

“Ugh,” with a groan, Bea’s head falls forward, forehead crashing against the table.

“Nope, nope, nope,” Zoey chastises above her, “No moping.”

Bea turns, her cheek pressing into the wood, “What else am I supposed to do?”

“You’re going to dance,” Zoey announces, standing with her palms flat on the tabletop. She cocks her head at Bea expectantly, sauntering out to the dancefloor when Bea takes the hint, popping up and chasing behind her.

The dance floor's more crowded than anywhere else, couples and friend groups moving in unison to the beat thundering through the air. Zoey whirls around, dancing to the peppy song currently playing until Bea’s joined her, swinging her hips and throwing her arms about carelessly.

The song’s change, the crowd moves as one, and the pair spin and jump and whirl, Zoey taking Bea’s hands and twirling her until she’s laughing and dizzy. Time ticks past until they’re both breathless and sweaty, leaning against one another for support.

“You’re a pretty good dancer,” Zoey chuckles, her breath brushing Bea’s cheek, goosebumps breaking across her skin.

A grin breaks Bea’s lips too, relaxed and somewhat tired, “Right back atcha.”

Zoey throws her arm over Bea’s shoulders, fingers knitting behind her neck as she looks down at the shorter girl, her messy hair and gleaming eyes, her smudged lipstick and shining teeth. One hand retracts, the pad of her thumb swiping lightly beneath Bea’s lips, cleaning up the mess on her skin.

Bea’s breath hitches, her eyes widening in the dim lighting of the speakeasy, glued to Zoey’s dark ones as they shift over parted lips. “Hey, Bea?” she whispers, thumb still ghosting over Bea’s skin.

“Yeah?” she whispers back, the exhale skimming Zoey’s skin now.

“Are you still trying to get lucky?”

“God yes,” she groans.

Zoey bends down, letting her lips softly graze Bea’s, just barely making contact. Smudged lips chase hers, Zoey smiling before Bea’s palms are on her cheeks, tugging her downwards, her own thumbs brushing along high cheekbones.

Zoey’s hands find her hips, pulling her closer until they’re bodies fit together, only heat between them under the lights. Zoey nips at Bea’s bottom lip, the shorter girl gasping against her lips, Zoey’s tongue slipping past them.

Time ticks past, the mass of people surrounding them lost in a haze, heat the only thing discernible. The break apart after a short moment, unconsciously swaying to the music together, getting caught up in the rhythm, sucked into the thudding bass.

“We should probably head back to campus,” Zoey murmurs after another song fades out.

Bea’s head lolls to the taller girl’s shoulder, a groan spilling from her throat, “Mm, do we have to?”

A familiar chuckle explodes from Zoey’s chest, “Yeah, maybe you’ll find a four-leaf clover along the way. Get even luckier.”

Bea pulls back, her eyes eager as they meet Zoey’s and the remaining laughter in them. “Okay, let’s go!” she grabs Zoey’s hand on her hip, tugging her through the crowd and out the door, pulling her along this time. Her laughter rings behind Bea as she barrels down the street, New York’s lights illuminating her way.

[mizunetzu]

hulloo〜 can I request an Akaashi x Reader of Akaashi secretly slipping in and out of club time to meet with their crush/girlfriend who happens to be on the cheer team or the girl's vb team. Then one day one of the members like Konoha pointed it out so they all kinda stalked Akaashi to see what he's been up to huehuehuehue thankchu sorry if my request was kinda weird 🥺🥺 -Ally

Aaaahh sorry this took so long!! While I was writing I got another request, so I started writing this one and the other one at the same time ripppp. Anyways LMAO enjoy I love you 🥺

————

Akaashi x reader - where are you going?

⚠️ warnings - female reader? None

Pronouns - female, she/her

——————

“Hey hey hey-Where you going akaagjnshi?”

The black haired boy froze in his tracks. Bokuto tipped his head slightly to the side, holding a volleyball he was about to spike. Akaashi gripped his sports bag tighter.

“...I’m going home. My mom needs me to help with dinner.”

It was such a weak, foolish excuse, Akaashi told himself. But knowing Bokuto, it would suffice.

Bokutos smile quickly returned to his face. “Ah! You should’ve just said so! Tell your mom I said hi!”

“I will,” Akaashi said, dipping out of the gym quietly. Bokuto paid no attention to the small blush Akaashi was harboring, along with the few beads of sweat running down his temple.

————

“You’re gonna be late, aakkaggshi?”

“Yes, I...my teacher wanted to review a lesson I didn’t really understand. I can come to practice a bit late though.”

Another dumb excuse. But bokutos stupidly wide grin assured him it worked everytime. Some part of Akaashi felt bad for lying to Bokuto, but the guilt eventually got buried and lost in all of the “I’m helping my mother with dinner”s and “I have to leave early to study”s.

“All right! Yknow-i can come with you if you wa-“

“NO! I-I mean, you’ll probably just get bored and it’s gonna be quick, no need.” Bokuto blinked. Akaashi almost never got flustered or embarrassed. Was he hiding something?

Eh, probably not.

“O...kay, I’ll see you later dude...?” Bokuto punched Akaashi lightly on the shoulder before leaving. Akaashi sighed heavily, before walking in the opposite direction of the classrooms, into the second gym.

Weird, Bokuto thought. That’s the girls volleyball gym.

I wonder why his teacher wants to meet him there?

—————

“I’m leaving early, Bokuto-San.”

“Ah-is it you’re mom again?? You must be a really good cook or something, if she always wants you to make dinner.”

“Yeah. I’m going now, goodbye.”

“Bye, ajdjsfjdksjfdjkahshi!”

Bokuto waved absentmindedly at the retreating boy. It’s been happening every other day, so he kind of got used to him leaving early or showing up a few minutes late.

“Oi captain-don’t you think it’s weird that Akaashis always leaving practice early?” Sarukui but in, watching Akaashi as he hunched over, practically tip toeing out the door.

“Yeah-why does he get to cut practice but we have to stay the whole time?” Kohona joined in, resting a hand on Bokutos shoulder. Bokuto brought a finger to his chin.

“Well-“ Bokuto gestured towards the door. “His mom is always telling him to come home.”

“Why?”

“To...make dinner?” Bokuto said, matter-of-factly.

Sarukui and Kohona stared at their captain like he’d cut off his own hand. “You can’t be serious Bokuto,”

“I am!”

“Wha-What about the times he shows up to practice late??”

“That’s easy,” Bokuto clasped his hands together. “He says his teacher wants him to stay behind to teach him stuff.”

“...”

“Bokuto...” Kohona deadpanned. “Akaashis in class six-he’s a straight A student.”

Bokuto furrowed his eyebrows. “Well, I-I haven’t thought about tha-“

“And Akaashis mom loves to cook-why would she make him do it?”

“Well...” Bokuto choked out, voice cracking a bit. “I did find it strange that he took his extra classes in the 2nd gym...”

Kohona and Sarukui looked at eachother. “....Isn’t that where the girls volleyball practice goes on?”

They all stood in silence for a few beats. Bokuto squinted his eyes and knitted his brows together. He still didn’t know what was going on.

A light went off in Kohona and Sarukui heads, gasping lightly with a faint blush spread across their faces. Bokuto tilted his head, confused.

“You don’t think he...” Kohona mused, unable to suppress the mischievous smirk growing on his face.

“Akaashi you sly dog.” Sarukui and Kohona shared a knowing smirk between eachother, while Bokuto scratches his neck awkwardly.

“Uh-“

“Bokuto-captain-buddyyyyy....” Sarukui sung. “Can me and Kohona leave practice early tomorrow? Around when akaashi does? We’ll let you come toooooo~”

Ah yes, the power of friendship. How could Bokuto refuse.

——————

“I’m heading home, Bokuto-San.”

“Dinner again?”

“...yes.”

“Oh! Can me, Sarukui and Kohona come t-“

A foot was firmly jabbed into Bokutos, earning a yelp from the grey haired boy. Akaashi looked at Kohona strangely as Sarukui put a hand around Bokutos shoulders.

“Don’t mind Bokuto, dude. Tell your mom we said hi~”

Akaashi blinked, suspicious. “Al....right..” he waved it off as them probably going to do something perverted or stupid while he was gone and slung his volleyball bag on his shoulders. “Goodbye then.”

The two chorused out a farewell as Bokuto whimpered in pain and betrayal.

“Tail him.”

“I know I know-let’s go Bokuto,” Sarukui grabbed Bokuto by the sleeve of his shirt, dragging him out while they kept a safe distance from Akaashi.

“So he WAS going to the girls gym!” Kohona smirked. Akaashi briskly speedwalked to the entrance of the second gym, dusting off any dirt on his volleyball shirt and fixing his already pretty short hair.

The three ducked behind the wall of the gym, dashing towards it when Akaashi turned his back. “What’s he doing! He’s just standing there!”

Sure enough, Akaashi was standing idly a few feet from the door of the gym, seemingly waiting for something or someone. He messed with his fingers and tapped his foot anxiously, even though his face was completely calm and relaxed.

After what seemed like forever, the door of the gym opened ever so slightly, wide enough only for someone to slip though. Akaashis face lit up (even though he still held his neutral gaze) and he quickly let go of his own hands, letting them drop to his side. Bokuto and Kohona gasped, while Sarukuis face held a knowing, shit eating grin.

Standing in front of Akaashi was a girl wearing the girls fukurodani volleyball jacket, holding a volleyball in her hands. She hazily tossed the ball back into the gym, before enveloping Akaashi into a hug.

Akaashi tentatively wrapped his arms around her waist. It looked like they were saying something to eachother, but Sarukui and Kohona couldn’t make out the words from their distance.

“Who would’ve thought Akaashi had a girlfriend...” Sarukui mumbled, eyes glued to the scene infront of them.

“Well-i thought Bokuto would’ve known-Bokuto?” Kohona turned to where Bokuto was standing, to see that he had disappeared. The two boys went pale.

“Oh no...” Sarukui broke into a cold sweat as he saw their loud was captian strutting towards them.

“Bokuto! You dumbass! Get back here!” Kohona whisper yelled, flailing his arms to try and grab Bokutos attention. It was too late. Akaashi and the girl took sight of him. Akaashi looked like a deer in headlights, while the girl looked at Bokuto with a nervous smile.

“Hey hey hey! Why didn’t you tell me you had a girlfriend Akkaggshi!” Akaashi said nothing, instead tightening his hold on his (h/c)-haired girlfriend.

Kohona and Sarukui sighed and stepped out from their hiding spot. Well-it’s not really a hiding spot if you aren’t hiding from something anymore.

“Who’s the girl Akaashi?” Kohona said, smirking at the (h/c) haired person next to Akaashi. She stepped forward.

“I’m (L/n) (y/n), nice to meet you.” (Y/n) said. Akaashi deflated, embarrassed.

“(Y/n) please-“

“AWWW-you guys are on a first name basis?! How CUTE~!!” Kohona made goo-goo eyes at Akaashi, while Sarukui held up a heart with his fingers. Bokuto whipped his arm around Akaashi, making him stumble back slightly while he yelled things like “hey hey hey!” Or “my man bro alasshshshi!”

Akaashi looked eyes with (y/n), practically pleading for help with his eyes while containing the last embers of his neutral collected gaze. (Y/n) just laughed and booped him on the nose.

“They seem like nice people-why didn’t you introduce me to your team before?” Akaashi freed himself from Bokutos grip.

“We’re gonna be late-let’s go-“ Akaashi linked arms with (y/n) and tried to speed walk away. (Y/n) planted her feet firm and smirked.

“Noo I wanna meet your friends Keiji-Chan~”

“OOHHH SHE CALLED HIM KEIJI-CHAN KOHONA THEIR PRACTICALLY MARRIED NOW-“

“Shut up, please” Akaashi begged, then sighed. “Okay, (Y/n), that’s Sarukui, that’s Kohona, and that’s Bokuto-San.” Akaashi gestured to each of the boys standing around them.

“Now that your well acquainted, can we please get goin-“

Akaashis pleads were lost in the sound of questions and conversations being flung at them. (Well-mostly (y/n) )

goddamnit.

After what seemed like forever, (y/n) pried herself from the volleyball players and interlocked her fingers with akaashis. “Okaaaay, lets go” she said with a chuckle.

“Finally...” thank the heavens.

“Where you guys going?” Bokuto asked. (Y/n) glanced to Akaashi for approval. Akaashi nodded.

“We’re going to grab some dinner at this one place, we do it every Thursdays.”

“Oh! Oh! Can we come??” Bokuto cheered. He looked like a puppy clinging to akaashis side. The boy deadpanned while (y/n) laughed internally.

“But-we-“

“Sure! Let’s go!” (Y/n) said, looking straight into Akaashis wilting eyes. The boys clamored past him, heading out of the school to wherever they were going. Akaashi just wanted some alone time after practice with his girlfriend, but now he has to take care of the people he was trying to get away from. Fuck.

“Oh! And, Akaashi?” Kohona said, stopping in his tracks and looking back at Akaashi. He had his feet planted into the ground with a devastated look on his face.

“That’s what you get for skipping practice so much.”

——————

Tag list...? @kenmas-consoles

[sweets-r-cool]

Sleepless pt. 2 (Bakugo x reader)

So- it seemed like everyone rlly liked part one- so thank you for that... anyways- I hope this lives up to your expectations but idk just

Part one

One week. One whole ass week of (7) full days.

That was the amount of time you spent ignoring- completely avoiding- Bakugo Katsuki. 

According to him, you were a dumbass. However, you weren’t so stupid as to the fact the last comment he made before he left the gym that night (morning?) was basically a weird, sort of twisted not really but also really a confession. 

The girl he was talking about was apparently a dumbass, you were his dumbass. Your face flushed at the thought.

You kind of hated that it did though. Considering, believing you were the girl he liked also meant admitting you were a dumbass. You kind of were- but that didn’t mean you were willing to acknowledge it.

That was irrelevant. 

Bakugo Katsuki liked you. The angry hedgehog of Class 1-A, who called anyone he didn’t call an insulting nickname an extra, had feelings for you. It was kind of weird. Such an angry existence feeling more than the willingness to deal with you. It made you nauseous, but in the excited sort of way. As well as the super embarrassed sort of way.

Hence why you literally ran an extra lap in training when you noticed the ash blond boy walking over to you. You literally ran away from him. You didn’t even like running.

It was also why you were currently in the same gym room the whole situation rooted from. Pounding your fists against the very same punching bag Bakugo had been that night.

At this rate, it would be like a reverse deja vu situation. It was currently 3:18 AM. Also, you were already in the gym; however, you really hoped it wouldn’t actually be reverse deja vu, because that would mean Bakugo would come to you, and as mentioned before, you were avoiding him.

You didn’t really have a good reason for avoiding him. It was just sort one of those situations you didn’t want to be awkward, but the problem is you knew you’d make it awkward somehow. You and your high on sleep deprivation mind. 

You were still unable to sleep,and it was still because of Bakugo. 

Only now, it was because you couldn’t help the giddy feeling in your heart, stomach, cheeks, and overall existence. It made you roll around in bed smiling and kicking your legs until the adrenaline wore off or until you simply fell off your bed with a squawk from your mouth and a thud from your body, earning an “Are u okay?” text from whoever heard your antics.

You eventually took a small break from punching your feelings away to drink some water. When you did, your phone buzzed with a notification from Instagram.

That was odd. Kirishima wasn’t usually awake at this time. 

You gulped, praying to whatever deity up there that Bakugo wouldn’t be able to guess your whereabouts.

You were glad Kirishima had your back. Even if it did sort of intervene in his role as wing man, you didn’t feel like talking to Bakugo yet. Kirishima was a real one. You’d probably just find a way to yeet yourself into oblivion before that. Even if that wasn’t a very realistic choice.

You stretched your back and yawned. You should be asleep by now, but whatever. Bakugo and Kirishima were awake for what ever reason, though Kirishima seemed like he was woken up by Bakugo. In his words, most likely a ‘so not manly’ move on Bakugo’s part. If a bro is able to enjoy sleep, you should let them. Then again, suffering with sleep deprivation together was always fun. 

You picked up your stuff, deciding that should be it for tonight. You were kind of sore already from earlier today’s training and so adding anymore than this would only make you more sore, which wasn’t ideal.

You walked to the door, casually swinging it open. 

You nearly ran into someone’s chest due to the fact it was clad in a black tanktop which almost blended in with the darkness of the hallway. Luckily, you caught sight of the fair skin attached to the ash blond locks...

What-

Suddenly you felt the color leave your face as your eyes met with deep crimson ones, piercing in the best way possible as always.

Within what felt like the millisecond, your hand reached for the door knob, pulling it towards you with the purpose of slamming it. Only when Bakugo caught hold of it, successfully stopping you, did you decide this was the end. 

You turned around, maybe you could get in a few more good punches to that poor punching bag before you died of embarrassment. You felt a cold sweat replace the natural one, caused by working out and not your emotional state.

How could Kirishima betray you?!

You pulled out your phone.

 Maybe you should tattoo ‘Lysol’ on his forehead instead of Kaminari’s, because that was what he deserved like the bacteria he was. Friendship was fragile as glass, there was no coming back from this for him. He probably just told Bakugo so he could go back to sleep without having to deal with your bullshit. Kirishima was fake. So fake.

That sucked for Kirishima, because now you were going to make sure he felt your pain. 

You meant it. You were coming for his kneecaps- 

“Hey, Dumbass,” Bakugo’s raspy voice stopped you in your tracks as he walked through the doorway. You turned around with a sheepish frown, “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”

You breathed out harshly, “Narnia?” That worked. In your brain, of course. You were gonna die. Good going, you. 

Bakugo deadpanned at your idiotic answer. His look read, “What the fuck?”

You really couldn’t blame him.

Where was the portal to the void when you needed it?

You straightened, opting to find a way out of this. “Ya’ know what, Bakugo? I just realized, Narnia is that way, since- ya’know, there aren’t any closets here for me to hide in. I mean,” you cleared you throat, “use as a portal.” 

You began to swiftly walk with purpose. Purpose to escape and avoid this awkward interaction. You barely made passed him, the door was so close when he grabbed your wrist, not intending to let go.

You head snapped to his gaze, then down to your wrist and his hand. You laughed, the panic underlying in it clear. “Hey, Bakugo. Just thought I’d let you know, I spilled dumb bitch juice all over me, so you might wanna let go before it spreads-” 

“Shut the fuck up and talk to me,” Bakugo asserted. 

You sighed, standing up normally instead of the previous ready-to-run pose you were in just the second before. “T-talk about what,” you asked coyly.

You could practically see the angry tics for on Bakugo’s temple as his eyebrow twitched. At the same time, his face was dusted with a light blush, which only got your face to turn a deeper, much darker red. Bakugo cupped your cheeks, you flinched and your heart started beating faster.

However, you felt slightly relaxed and also disappointed when all he did was squeeze your cheeks together. Though it hurt a little, it was something your poor heart could take at the moment.

“You fucking- You fucking know what I’m saying, Dumbass,” he said as you managed to pry his hands off your cheeks. 

You sighed, turning away, embarrassed still. “Yeah,” you began to pout, “but what kind of sort-of but not really confession was that, you asshole?!” 

Now wasn’t the time for you to get mad, but you couldn’t tell if it was because of how late (early?) it was or if it was because you weren’t used to talking about love or things like that. It was probably the latter, considering the only other person aside from you who knew about your crush on Bakugo was Kirishima and Kirishima alone. 

It was whatever, you already got mad, there was no going back. 

Bakugo looked confused for once as you turned back around with an expression on your face he’d never seen before. Were you... flustered?

“Don’t look at me like that! I like you, Mr.I’m-good-at-everything-but-confessions! I like you, you asshole, and if your gonna confess do it better,” you crossed your arms, fuming in a more joking way, but your face really was red and no amount of pretending it wasn’t would change that. “So yeah, I like you... now what?”

You couldn’t keep your lips in a frown for much longer as you found your lips curling upwards instead. Bakugo took a few steps towards you, his chest only inches from your own. 

You had to look up at him, due to your height difference, but that wasn’t what you cared about.

Bakugo scoffed, his eyes not leaving yours. Bakugo wasn’t even sure it was possible to pry his eyes from your captivating e/c, not right now at least. “I like you,” he smirked, watching your face deteriorate back into it’s flustered expression, “is that better?”

You huffed, “Much-” you were cut off when Bakugo pushed his lips against yours. Your eyes widened before fluttering closed as you melted into the kiss. 

It was fiery, just like Bakugo himself. It was hard not to smile. The kiss was also sort of needy, maybe it was because you ignored the explosive blond for a whole week, or maybe it was because of how long you liked each other without acting on it. 

It wasn’t something you cared to know the answer of.

There was also one more thing.

You couldn’t tell if you cared or not anymore, but the back of your mind screamed you would still not be able to sleep, too happy to. All because of this dumb hoe, Bakugo Katsuki. It was fine, because now he was your dumb hoe.

~ extra ~

“Sleep deprived as always, eh, Y/n?” Kirishima nudged your elbow, both in a friendly way and to keep you awake.

“Watch your back, Kiri, if you want to keep your knee caps...” you trailed off, glaring daggers into him.

“What?! Didn’t things go well?!” the redhead exclaimed, panicked.

“Yes. They did, but still. >:(”

~~~~

it’s currently 2:21 am for me rn lmao

[maria-scribbles]

glitter + crimson (let’s start a riot)//part five

summary: in the aftermath of hurricane agatha, the pogues are thrown into a mess none of them are ready to deal with. things that don’t exactly top sailor’s ‘fun things to do this summer’ list: surfing in the middle of a hurricane, getting punched in the face by a stupid kook, and stumbling upon a mystery that turns her and her friends into the damn scooby gang. when she said she wanted an exciting summer, she should’ve been more specific. 🙃

word count: 8.1k+ (it just keeps getting longer and longer 😅)

ship: jj maybank x oc (sailor flynn)

warnings n stuff: mentions of abuse/neglect/gambling addiction, child abandonment, anxiety, self-worth issues, jj being both soft af and hot for his best friend, weed usage, underage drinking, unresolved sexual tension, sailor being thirsty, swearing, guns, fighting, blood, that one trope where two characters only call each other by their nicknames/last names until they don’t because of ~reasons~ that makes me lose my shit every time (like a lot of the obx fandom, i also headcanon that jj stands for jesse james), references to the three stooges (jj=moe, pope=larry, and john b=curly and that’s a fact lmao), to all the boys i've loved before, avengers infinity war, and david attenborough, and a line heavily inspired/influenced by taylor swift's "dress" (a song that happens to be on the playlist for this series)

a/n: we’re finally entering canon territory, y’all (with a few tweaks, of course!) but i’m determined not to make this a rehash/retelling word for word of the show ‘cause that’s just no fun, so expect smaller pieces (vignettes, i guess?) of storytelling as i expand on canon with sailor and the rest of the pogues. think of it like a mixtape of sorts, but with words instead of music if that makes sense lol. this part originally covered episodes one and two but i wrote so much that i had to split it, so we're just covering most of episode one for now (i still can't even believe how much shit actually goes down in the pilot lol). i was veryyyy excited to write the kegger at the boneyard 'cause some ~juicy~ stuff happens there lol. fun fact: the title of this part is a term used by surfers to refer to getting up at the ass crack of dawn to hit the waves. as always, this is unbetaed so any mistakes are mine. enjoy! 

gif credit to @jj-maybnks​ 

~Masterlist~

part five: dawn patrol 

The next morning, Hurricane Agatha hits the island with all the force of a knockout punch; the sound of rain pounding against the roof echoes impossibly loud throughout the Chateau but Sailor’s bewildered shriek is even louder.

“You’re gonna what the what?!”

John B shrugs as the stunned redhead, lounging on the couch, looks away from watching the storm and fixes him with a wide-eyed stare.

“I’m gonna surf the surge.”

“Hell yeah, bro!” JJ yells from his spot as her footrest, punching his fist in the air and she sends him an exasperated look, both at his enthusiastic encouragement of John B’s downright moronic idea and the fact that she already misses the feeling of his thumb drawing circles on her bare ankle.

“Are you two insane?”

“Possibly.” John B states, grinning when JJ follows that up with, “Absolutely.” The blond boy pushes Sailor’s legs off his lap as he stands which earns him another displeased scowl from the redhead. “Come on, Sail. Live a little.”

“Oh, I’ll live alright, but you idiots won’t,” She takes his offered hand, letting him pull her to her feet and then down the hall after John B as she continues, “because this is the dumbest idea you’ve ever had.”

“See, this is why we keep you around,” He replies, laughing when she dodges his attempt to ruffle her hair and dashes forward to beat him to the spare room. “We do something stupid, you and Kie read us the riot act. It’s tradition.”

Sailor grabs her long-sleeved rash vest -if she’s going to sit on the beach to keep an eye on these fools in the middle of a damn hurricane, at least she’ll wear something that offers a little bit of warmth- and heads to the bathroom to change. “Yeah, and then I’m there to patch you up when you inevitably hurt yourselves.”

“Can’t help that you have that healing touch.” His cheeky response floats through the closed door and she catches herself smiling -wide and just a little bit sappy- in the mirror.

After a quick detour to pick up Pope, who’s already drenched from sneaking out his window, the pogues (sans Kiara who never answered John B’s text in the group chat and, knowing her parents, was probably on hurricane lockdown) head to the beach, where the rugged gray surf hammers against the shore with unrelenting brutality. Sailor trails behind the others as they grab their boards and make a break for the water, blatantly ignoring the barriers that read ‘beach closed’ in large, impossible to miss letters. A few hundred feet down the coast, she can barely make out The Sandbar all boarded up for the storm and she thinks of her mother, wondering if she's riding it out inside or at home; either way Carmen's all alone and Sailor's stomach twists with guilt, both for letting her phone battery die so she didn't have to answer her calls and for leaving in the first place, even though it was the right thing to do for her damn sanity.

“These signs are here for a reason, guys!” She calls over the howling wind, squinting through the rain at the rough waves with her hands tapping uneasily against her thighs. Watching John B run into the ocean with reckless abandon (Pope following with a little more caution, thankfully) immediately puts her anxiety on edge so she sits down heavily on the wet sand, wrapping her arms around the knees pulled to her chest and looks up at the blond boy who stayed behind. “Aren’t you gonna join the other stooges?”

JJ shrugs at her question, glancing out toward their friends before dropping his board to the ground and taking a seat behind the trembling girl, his chest to her back. “This one can’t just leave you hanging out here all alone, lookin’ all sad and shit. It’s kind of pathetic.”

“Wow, you really know how to make a girl feel special, J.” She smirks and scoots back in the sand, lips curling into a full-fledged smile when he lifts his arms to drape them over her shoulders. As he tucks her securely against his front, the warmth of his body helps ward off the biting chill of the rain, and so does the fact that he knows her so well, that he knows this is exactly what she needs to help calm the panicking butterflies in her stomach.

He leans close, lips brushing against the shell of her ear when he whispers his next words like a secret, low and just for her even when there’s no one around to hear them. “Trust me, Sail, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

She suddenly finds those butterflies in her stomach fluttering for a whole different reason.

-

The Chateau sits in complete darkness, the power having been knocked out since they returned from dropping Pope off at his house that afternoon. Sailor thinks it’s about ten at night as she lies on her back on the mattress of the sleeper sofa, listening to the wind rip through the trees outside with Binx curled up at her feet. The spare room was way too hot without a working fan, even after she braided her hair off to the side and changed into a crop top and shorts, so she and JJ had returned to the living room where it was cooler, if only by a little bit.

John B has already retreated to his room for the night; he’d been acting quieter than usual since their little adventure at the beach but between a lantern-lit dinner of semi-stale cereal and passing a joint around, she never got the chance to ask if he was okay before he made his escape. JJ lies beside her with his limbs all askew and from the slow rise and fall of his bare chest she’s 99% sure he’s out like a light until, out of the blue, he mutters into the stagnant air, “Can’t keep your eyes off me, huh?”

She blinks heavily -that weed must’ve hit her harder than she thought because she hadn’t even realized she’d been staring- when he lazily turns his head to stare back, a halcyon grin on his face and in the dark, his pupils are blown so wide she can barely see the blue of his irises. Her hand itches with a longing to sweep that one stubborn strand of hair away from his forehead but instead she blindly slides it to the left until she finds his and holds on tight; his fingers automatically lace with hers even as the space between his eyebrows furrows and the smile falls from his lips.

“Sail?”

“I don’t think my dad’s ever coming back.” The redhead’s mouth blurts before her brain can catch up, heavy words lingering like a storm cloud ready to downpour. The thought had been weighing on her heart for a while now, from when she’d first suspected it two months ago, and it feels bittersweet to finally admit it out loud, even when she hadn’t planned doing it.

Her bedmate is silent for a long time as he looks at her through the shadows and she focuses on the touch of his palm against hers instead of the awful mounting pressure behind her eyes -hadn’t she promised herself she was done crying over her dad?- until he asks quietly, “Why? I mean, good riddance 'cause he's kind of the worst, but why?"

“A feeling,” She murmurs around the sudden lump in her throat, biting the inside of her lip hard enough that she tastes the metallic tang of blood on her tongue. “He...he usually comes back after a month or two but this time it’s been almost five.” A bitter laugh escapes from her chest and she shakes her head. “I guess he finally decided he’s done dealing with my worthless ass.”

JJ’s eyes flash like lightning as he rolls over to face her, the hand not entwined with hers reaching up to cup her cheek. “Sail, shut up. Don’t you dare say that.”

“Why shouldn’t I? It’s true,” She says sharply, words acerbic and biting and full of a self-hatred that’s been poisoning her heart ever since she was old enough -eight and far, far too young- to discern the way her dad’s love for her was fickle at best, non-existent at worst. “I could’ve been a better daughter- a perfect daughter- and he might still be here and my mom wouldn't hate me. I should’ve tried harder-”

“Jesus Christ, Sailor!” He interrupts, calloused yet gentle thumb wiping away the tears she just now registers sliding down her cheeks and the shock of hearing her full name come from his mouth makes the rest of her vitriolic thoughts fly out the window. “Do you even hear yourself right now?”

The image of him blurs through the darkness in shades of black and she closes her eyes, jaw clenched in an attempt to quell the tremble of her lip as he goes on in his low, soft voice, “You should’ve tried harder to do what, huh? What could you have possibly done better?”

She’s quiet for a long time, so long that her tears run dry and all that remains is smeared salt on her skin because she doesn’t have an answer. What could she have done? That terrible thought in her mind rears it’s ugly head again, the one that tells her she’s not good enough, that everything’s her fault because she doesn’t do enough, but when she asks it what more she can do, there’s no reply. There never is.

“Hey, look at me.” She hears the rustling of sheets and feels his fingers slip from hers before they come to rest on her cheek, both hands now cradling her face; she opens her eyes to find him hovering over her and the sheer lack of distance between them makes her heart skip a beat. “You...”

“What about me?” Her voice cracks as she speaks and in a mirror of her from earlier, JJ shakes his head, causing that stubborn strand of hair to once again fall into his eyes.

“I wish you’d see yourself the way I do.”

Her breath catches in her throat. “And how do you see me?”

“Fucking amazing.” He says simply and in the dark, she can barely see the flush slowly starting to creep up his neck. “Smart, brave, and loyal as hell. A beautiful badass who doesn’t take shit from anybody. A girl who listens when someone needs to be heard.”

The redhead stares up at him with wide green eyes as he goes on and on, listing all these wonderful little things that her traitorous mind has a hard time processing, let alone believing; he really thinks about her like this? “You care so damn much,” “You’re kind but not afraid speak out,” “You’re the one I trust the most.”

Her hand slowly releases its tight grip on the sheets and slides up his bare arm, feeling the heat of his skin under her palm as she touches his face, not trusting herself to speak because she’s so afraid of saying something dumb or stupid and ruining everything ('like I always do,' her mind echoes).

“You’re my best friend, Sailor, and yeah, you’re not perfect. You drink and you smoke weed and you don’t get straight As in school but fuck, you’re real and so not worthless.” He says each word with such conviction that its impossible not to believe him, as much as her brain screams at her not to. “And I want you to know that what your parents think of you doesn't matter at all, got it?"

Without warning, she flings her arms around his neck and JJ loses his balance, falling onto her with a soft oof of surprise but Sailor doesn’t even feel the extra weight as she rests her face against his shoulder and finally finds her voice. “Thank you.”

He takes her with him when he rolls onto his side, arms wrapped tight around her waist and nose buried in her messy braid. “Just...trying to do the right thing, I guess. For once.”

She pulls back at his words, then leans forward and slowly presses her lips to his flushed cheek, just missing the corner of his mouth. She lets them linger for a beat longer than necessary before leaning back -not too far, just enough- and looking him in the eye. “Thank you, Jesse.”

He usually hates being called by his first name (she found that out pretty quickly into their friendship, “never call me Jesse” being one of the first things he ever said to her) but he just looks at her with a soft, endearing smile on his face as he leans back onto the bed, once again bringing her with him. “Promise me something, Sail?”

She glances up at him from his shoulder and meets his eyes. “Yeah?”

His fingers tuck an escaped red curl behind her ear. “Just...be you. Don’t worry about what anyone else thinks.”

She wishes it were that easy, that she could just step inside her mind and flip a switch and she could stop all those thoughts that’ve plagued her for years but it’s not. It’s gonna take time -time and a lot of patience and maybe even a miracle- but damn it, she’s gonna give it her all, not just for herself but for him and the rest of the pogues, too, the best friends she's ever had, so she nods and settles back down at his side. “I’ll try my best, J.”

“I know you will.”

-

"Sail, you're the best swimmer out of all of us. Think you can dive down there and check it out?"

The redhead peers over the edge of the HMS Pogue and into the water, where the murky shape of the sunken Grady-White sits thirty feet down on the bottom of the marsh, then nods at the rest of the pogues, an excited grin on her face.

"No problem," She answers John B, hopping up onto the very tip of the boat's bow with practiced ease before diving headfirst into the water to JJ's yell of "diver down!" It's dirtier than usual because of the hurricane but she doesn't let that stop her as she swims down and down until she reaches the top of the boat and pulls herself the rest of the way onto the deck, carefully scanning the area for...fuck. Honestly, she's got absolutely no clue what she's looking for but she assumes she'll know when she sees it.

'It' turns out to be a motel key, resting all alone on the floor by the steering wheel and she quickly reaches out to snatch it, sliding the silver key ring around her finger securely. When she pushes off toward the surface, she leaves the ghostly Grady-White behind with more questions than answers. 

The rest of her friends are lined up in a row along the boat's railing, all staring at her with near identical expressions of anticipation as she breaks through the water and holds the key aloft with a triumphant smile.

"The Summer Winds Motel called, they want their key back!"

-

A little later that evening, Sailor would really regret finding that damn key but right now, she's having a great time dancing at the Boneyard with Kiara at the traditional post-hurricane kegger, second refill of beer in hand, spiked with Fireball from the flask tucked in her back pocket. To her, dancing's a lot like surfing -steady feet, swiveling hips, snapping shoulders- and she thinks that might be the reason she's so bad at it, anticipating the fluidity of water instead of the solidness of dry land. Or it could be that she just doesn't have rhythm when she's a little buzzed. That works, too.

"Ow, Sail!" Kiara winces as the redhead steps on her foot again, rolling her eyes fondly when she throws her head back with a loud, tipsy giggle.

"My bad, Kie!" She twirls in the sand, hair dancing around her shoulders like fire, and finds herself spinning right into a herd of dancing tourons, all too drunk to care that she's spilling her beer all over their feet. Large, olive-skinned hands grab her waist to spin her again and she laughs, smiling over her shoulder at a cute dark-haired touron as he slides one palm over to settle against the bare skin of her lower back. She pushes one hand on his shoulder with just enough resistance that he doesn't get too close into her personal space as he leans in to speak in a low Southern drawl, brown eyes turned a pretty bronze in the glow of the nearby bonfire.

"This probably isn't the best thing to say to a beautiful girl but you kind of dance like a giraffe."

Sailor bursts out laughing at that. "Hey, I think giraffes are very elegant creatures so I'll take that as a compliment!" 

The boy grins and she smiles, too, letting him take her free hand and pull her into the throng of dancing bodies. He's almost as bad a dancer as she is but he's fun to talk to and together they gleefully show off their worst moves until their feet hurt -she's lost count of how many times she stepped on his toes- and her solo cup is empty. "Come on," She says and this time, she's the one to grab his hand and lead him over to the closest keg, where John B's dishing out beer with an expert flourish.

"'Sup, Sail," He lifts his chin in greeting as he fills her cup, smirking when she immediately pulls out her flask and adds a long pour of Fireball on top. "Who's your friend?"

"JB, this is Adam, he's visiting from Tennessee. Adam, meet John B, one of my best friends and a total moron," She makes quick introductions, smiling into her drink as he scowls and playfully sprays some beer at her feet before filling another cup and holding it out to the other boy with a jab at her expense.

"Be careful around her, man. She's a handful." 

The touron accepts the drink with a shrug and a quick wink in her direction. "Good thing I happen to like 'em a little crazy."

Ugh. More than a little miffed at that, she rolls her eyes and takes a long sip of beer to hide her annoyance when Adam laughs and slings his arm around her shoulders. Calling her a giraffe was actually kind of cute in a very weird, endearing way but he instantly lost whatever points he had with her the second that 'c' word came out of his pretty mouth. She glances around the Boneyard while the boys start talking about surfing (she scoffs to herself, what does a farm kid from Tennessee know about that?), scanning the crowd for the rest of her friends and a chance to ditch him. Kiara's sitting on a big piece of driftwood, chatting up a stunning, deeply tan girl with glossy black hair -she waves when their eyes meet and shoots Sailor a cheeky grin before returning to her conversation- while the ever awkward Pope seems to be stuck in the middle of one of his rambles about autopsies as he stands around the fire, the willowy blonde beside him looking more and more uncomfortable by the second. She'd deliberately lost track of JJ a while ago, after she watched him getting a little too close to a tiny brunette, his hand low on her back as she passed him a drink and ran her fingers up his bare arm, coaxing that killer smile of his onto his face (that girl may have gotten his smile but Sailor got his eyes and they watched her until she pointedly turned away).

Honestly, she's a bit -okay, a lot- peeved. Here she is, thinking that they're the closest they've ever been before (they've always been close, ever since that day in sixth grade, but this is a whole different kind of close), and just when she feels like she may finally be ready to admit some things, some feelings, he's off doing who knows what with another girl; to be fair, she's off with another guy that she'd, until a minute ago, fully planned on kissing, but that's only because of him! Him and some weird need she has to keep him looking at her, to make him jealous -she shakes her head and takes another swig of her whiskey-spiked beer. Nope, nope, not gonna think about that. 

Poor Pope looks like he's really struggling so Sailor pushes all thoughts of her blond best friend from her mind and goes to rescue him, ducking out from under Adam's sweaty arm and walking away without a backwards glance, ignoring the confusion in his voice as he calls her name. She pushes through the crowd to her friend and steps right in front of the girl he's trying to talk to, grabbing his hand with her free one.

"Come dance with me?"

The smile of pure relief that breaks out over his face makes her own widen as he lets her pull him back through the mass of bodies to a less-crowded part of the make-shift dance floor, the tension bleeding out of his hunched shoulders with every step.

"You're an angel, Sailor." 

She laughs and wraps her arm around his shoulders, leading him in a carefree twirl across the cool sand. "Tell me something I don't know."

Like a leaf caught up in a whirlwind, he's helpless to resist her infectious joy as they dance, grinning like fools and poking fun at each other; for a while, the redhead tries to forget about stupid, clueless boys and focuses on Pope who, while still a clueless boy, doesn't expect anything from her but pure, unconditional friendship that she's all too willing to give (although she did have a teensy little crush on him when they first became friends, she got over it pretty fast the second he started talking about the bodily functions of dead bodies in explicit detail). She shares her drink with him, giggling at the way his face morphs from curiosity to disgust to delight at the taste of her cinnamon beer concoction and lets him down the rest while she drinks straight from the flask that she pulls from her back pocket. 

"You've got a shadow." Pope says, slightly nodding his chin over her shoulder and she takes his hand again, slowly spinning herself under his arm to take a quick glance, rolling her eyes when she spots Adam staring at her from the edge of the crowd. "You know him?"

"Unfortunately. Thought he was cute, then he called me crazy." She tucks the whiskey away with a shrug at her friend's sympathetic wince, then steps closer to him and raises a conspiratorial eyebrow. "Wanna help me tell him to take a long walk off a short cliff?"

"Uh-"

"I think I can help with that," A familiar voice cuts off Pope's reply as JJ suddenly appears at her side, slipping his hand into her back pocket to spin her right into the circle of his arms before he plucks the flask from the other and takes a big sip in one smooth kinda sexy move. "Straight Fireball? Damn, Sail."

The redhead carefully schools her features into a blank mask but her body has other ideas, one hand instantly settling on his chest like it's second nature and her face flushing from more than just the alcohol as she casually replies, "You know I like things a little spicy." Completely aware of the way he's watching her every move, she snatches the whiskey back and downs the little bit that's left, trying and failing to ignore the thrill that shoots through her at those bright blue eyes of his darkening when her tongue darts out to lick her lips. Pope rolls his eyes at them both before muttering a quick 'see ya' and hastily melting back into the crowd. 

"So, who're we telling to fuck off?" His voice is just a little strained and she feels her cool facade start to crack as she scowls, subtly tilts her head toward where Adam's still staring at her with an expression that looks like he ate a sour lemon. JJ spins her around to take a very conspicuous peek and her mouth curls into a grin, mask breaking completely when he shoots the touron a glare that screams 'try me, I dare you'; the heat from his hand still in her pocket burns as he leans in until his forehead rests on hers. "Let's give him a show."

Sailor hums and pretends to mull it over even as she coyly snakes her arms around his neck and pulls him closer, the harder panes of his body sliding almost sinfully against her softer curves as they sway together, "I don't know, you looked pretty cozy with that other girl earlier..." Is it kind of petty to bring it up? Yes, yes it is, but she can't resist toying with him like he did to her, just as she can't help the breathless gasp that escapes her lips when his fingers press hard into the toned flesh of her ass through her shorts.

"Why, Flynn, are you jealous?"

"Please, I saw that glare you gave him. If anyone's jealous, it's you, Maybank." She fires back while carding both hands through his hair and the pure gratification she feels at his slight shiver is nothing short of euphoric. Out of the corner of her eye, she barely takes notice of the frown Adam sends their way before he turns and stalks off toward the other side of the beach; honestly, she's so caught up in JJ and everything about him -the slow swing of his hips, the hands burning hot against the strip of her back exposed by her crop top, the darkened look in those ocean eyes- that she'd completely forgotten about the touron she danced with earlier in an effort to forget the boy she's dancing with now. She should've known it wouldn't have worked: Sailor could never forget JJ, no matter how hard she tries. He's like a permanent mark on her, a tattoo inked in gold, a beautiful, wonderous scar that she never wants to fade away.  

"Seems like we scared him off so I don't have to worry about that anymore." His flushed face is so close she can feel his breath on her lips as he speaks and her eyes quickly flick down to his mouth on their own accord.

"And what about me?" She asks, twirling her fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck, heart beating fast in anticipation as he smirks wickedly at the way her own face turns cherry red.

"Sail, babe, you don't have to worry about a damn thing."

All one of them has to do is tilt their head and everything will fall into place and she can once again know what it's like to kiss him-

"Let it go, Topper!" A sudden, annoyed shout breaks the two apart before they can close that final distance (Sailor's not sure who would've made the first move and she's both relieved and disappointed they won't get to find out), turning away from each other in tandem toward the gathering mass of bodies chanting 'fight, fight!' at the shoreline. 

"JB, he's not worth it!" At the sound of Kiara's voice, they take off running across the sand and shove their way to the front of the crowd just in time to see Topper Thornton in all his frat boy glory get absolutely slammed with a hard punch to the jaw, courtesy of John B. The kook barely hits the ground before he's back on his feet and lunging forward to tackle him into the water, landing a hit of his own square in the eye.

"What the hell happened?" Sailor grabs Kiara's elbow and the dark haired girl looks at her with wide eyes as the boys continue to roll around, exchanging brutal blows while a stunned Pope watches from her other side.

"I don't even know, they just started wailing on each other!"

JJ stands silent to Sailor's right, jaw clenched and hands curled into fists as he stares at the brawl and she reaches over to wrap her fingers around his wrist, thumb calmly running circles on his skin.

"Top, seriously! Stop it!" Sarah Cameron stands in the sand just before the crashing waves, yelling furiously at her boyfriend and throwing her arms in the air when he ignores her. "What is wrong with you?"

The moment Topper lands three punches in a row on John B's battered face, Sailor decides she's seen enough. She rushes forward without thinking to grab the blond boy's arm, pulling as hard as she can in an attempt to get him off her friend and barely has time to register what's happening when the fist he was aiming at John B suddenly swings at her. It connects solidly with her left cheek and makes her stumble back, her hand flying to her throbbing face before she goes down hard onto her butt in the surf. 

"What the fuck, Thornton?"

"Did you just punch a girl?"

"Ohhhh shit!"

A cacophony of voices yells from the shore as the kook boy stares down at her, momentarily stunned when he realizes who exactly he hit, and it gives John B an opening to wrestle him back into the water and land a solid punch right to his nose. Everything happens so fast after that that the redhead, still reeling in a wide-eyed daze, has a little trouble keeping up. First, Kiara and Pope splash through the waves to her side, kneeling down to help her to her feet with their arms around her waist. Second, Topper gains the upper hand and straight up tries to drown John B, holding his head under the water while Sarah screams at him to stop. And third, JJ -reckless, bold, protective JJ- pulls out that damn stolen gun, effectively bringing the whole mess to a grinding halt when he stalks forward and presses the barrel to the side of Topper's head.

"Your move, broski." He threatens and the beach is so quiet everyone can hear the click of the safety being switched off. The kook slowly raises his hands in the air and John B emerges from the water, stumbling forward onto his hands and knees with a horrible wet cough.

It's all too much for Sailor's poor tipsy self to take. The world spins beneath her feet as her head starts to pound and her shaking fingers fail to find purchase on Kiara's and Pope's shoulders.

"Guys, I don't feel so good," She manages to whisper and their looks of concern (the former) and panic (the latter) are the last thing she sees before her legs give out and everything goes black.

-

The first thing she registers is the pain that radiates from the left side of her face, her whole head throbbing with every beat of her heart and the sound of loud whispering right by her ear isn't helping at all. 

"That's the best you can do, J? Seriously?"

"The power's out! I can't exactly pull ice out of my ass, Kie."

Something semi-cold gently rests against her cheek and she audibly sighs at the little bit of relief she feels, her hand sluggishly rising to hold it a little closer as she mumbles, "I wouldn't want your ass ice anyway." At least she tries to: her mouth feels like it's full of cotton and she's pretty sure the only thing that comes out is unintelligible gibberish.

Sailor opens her eyes and finds herself lying on her back on the sleeper sofa at the Chateau, a passed out John B to her right. Pope sits on the edge of the mattress by his side, holding a beer bottle to his friend's black eye and he sends her a relieved smile when he notices she's awake.

"There she is," JJ says from her other side and she turns to face him, not at all surprised to find him already looking at her, and the unabashed concern in his eyes sends a golden warmth through her whole body. Her fingers slip down the hand that's still holding the bottle to her cheek so she can run her thumb over the delicate bones in his wrist in a silent thank you.

A different, softer hand rests on her knee and she tears her gaze away from his face to smile at Kiara as she says, "Good to see you're okay, Sail."

The redhead sinks back into the pillow in embarrassment and covers her eyes with her free hand. God, she really passed out, didn't she? She passed out after taking one lousy punch to the face by a fucking kook, no less. How completely mortifying. She swallows thickly and sounds like a chain smoker when she says, "I'm so sorry, guys. I'm a total idiot."

The other three conscious pogues start protesting all at once -apparently there's many, many, different ways to say she's not an idiot- and the resulting volume of their combined voices is enough to make her headache even worse. She sits up and scoots back until she's propped against the couch and sets the now warm beer on the side table before massaging both of her temples.

"Will you please shut up, I can feel my brain beating in my skull."

For a second, there's wonderful, blissful silence and then:

"Holy shit, thank you," A groggy voice says to her right and she turns to watch a bleary-eyed John B claw his way back to consciousness. "You guys are fucking loud."

"He lives!" JJ shouts, ignoring the four glares sent his way and reaching over to clap his hand against the brunet boy's shoulder. "Welcome back, dude."

"Ugh," He suddenly rolls onto his stomach -Pope deftly catching the bottle when it nearly falls from the bed- and his muffled voice floats out from the pillow he shoves his head under like an ostrich in the sand. "Knock me back out."

"Aww, poor baby." Sailor gives his back a sympathetic pat and chuckles softly when he blindly feels around for her arm, pushing it away with another deep groan and a 'fuck off, Sail' that lacks any type of venom.

"Okay, now that you're both kind of conscious, let's agree that neither of you will ever fucking do that again. Got it?" Kiara addresses John B and Sailor as she stands from the bed and crosses her arms, fixing the latter with a piercing look that makes her feel like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar; she opens her mouth to defend herself but before she can say anything, Kiara turns her furious gaze to JJ and points an accusing finger at his face. "And you! What the hell were you thinking pulling that damn gun out, huh?"

"Jesus Christ, Kie!" He suddenly rockets to his feet and throws his hands in the air. "Sail got socked in the face and JB was getting fucking drowned, I wasn't really thinking much at all!”

The dark haired girl can't seemed to think of a response to that and looks away, staring at the floor with her jaw clenched as Pope, ever the mediator, rises to his feet, too, and rounds the bed to step between them placatingly.

"Let's just drop it for tonight, okay? They need to rest." He says, nodding toward the two still on the bed before wrapping his hand around Kiara's elbow and turning her toward the front door. She immediately pulls her arm from his grasp but still nods in agreement, the hard look in her eyes softening when she glances at her injured friends.

"Yeah, okay." She says and glances down at her watch, wincing when she catches sight of the time. "My parents'll kill me if I'm not home soon, anyway."

"Come on, I'll take you guys home." JJ says with a conciliatory look in her direction as Pope tosses him the Volkswagen's keys from his pocket and when she nods back, a small smile pulling at the corner of her mouth, Sailor knows that all is forgiven, at least for now. 

"Are you sure you're good to drive?" She asks and immediately rolls her eyes at his sarcastic reply of "Yes, Mom," and the obnoxious wink he shoots her.

The trio leaves after a quick round of goodbyes and John B waits until he hears the sound of his van driving away before finally emerging from under the pillow and rolling onto his back.

"Sensing the immediate danger has passed, the ostrich cautiously pulls its head out from the sand..." She says in her best David Attenborough impression, laughing when he tosses the pillow at her head with an amused grin.

"Ha ha. I was trying to avoid getting a Kie lecture," He explains, running both hands down his face with a heavy sigh. "It feels like my head's gonna explode."

"You and me both, dude." She carefully probes at her swollen cheek and is more than a little surprised to feel the beginnings of a scab forming near her eye. She knew Topper landed a solid punch but she didn't realize how solid that hit was until now as she catches sight of the tiny bit of drying blood left behind on her fingertips. 

"That looks like it hurts. You okay?" John B asks and she looks up from wiping her hand clean on her shorts, stiff from dried saltwater, with a wrinkle of her freckled nose.

"I'm alright. How about you? No offense but your eye looks like shit."

"I'll live." He answers with a shrug as he pulls himself upright on the mattress and leans his head against the back of the couch. "Thanks, by the way."

"For what?" 

He sluggishly turns his head to look Sailor in the eye and shrugs again. "For trying to help me out. Sorry I got you punched."

She smirks and reaches over to give his hand a brief, friendly squeeze as she replies, "It's not your fault I got myself punched. I'm sorry your ass almost drowned."

He snorts at that and she's relieved to hear it, knowing that he can still joke around and he's not, like, completely traumatized or something. Poor guy's already got enough to deal with without adding a mental breakdown to the list. She swings her legs over the edge of the mattress and slowly stands before taking a tentative step forward; when her knees hold and she doesn't fall flat on her face, she makes her way to his side and holds both hands out to him with a small, lighthearted smile.

"Yeah, you're delirious. Near death experiences do that to you." She says, helping him to his feet and, after looping his arm over her shoulders and sliding hers around his waist, the two teenagers carefully shuffle down the hall in the dim light of the emergency lantern on the kitchen table to his room, where she unceremoniously dumps him onto his bed. "Sleep it off. And for the love of God, please change. You smell terrible."

She goes to leave as he laughs again, tugging his shirt off and tossing it into the growing pile of clothes near the closet before saying, "Hey, Sailor?"

The redhead pauses with one foot in the hall and leans against the doorframe. "Yeah?"

"You know you're a badass, right?"

She laughs and sends him a wink but her heart is oh so light as she turns and heads to the spare room, calling back over her shoulder, "Nice to see someone acknowledge it. Now go to bed!"

-

The sound of the Chateau's front door opening and closing startles Sailor awake and she blinks heavily, wondering when exactly she'd fallen asleep. Last thing she remembers she was staring out at the fireflies through the open window as she steadily ran her hand down the length of Binx's back and their ethereal glow, combined with the breeze dancing around her shoulders, must've pulled her right under. Down the hall, she hears a loud thump, followed by JJ cursing as he runs into something and she giggles to herself, rolling onto her side to face the hall. He appears in the darkened doorway a minute later, rubbing his knee with a scowl on his face and she laughs louder at his quiet, venomous hiss of "fuck that fucking chair."

"Rude. It's not the chair's fault you always run into it." She teases and he shoots her a flat, unamused look before turning to glance down the hall toward John B's room, his fingers holding tight to the door frame.

"He's okay, you know. Told him to get some sleep." His head swings to face her when she speaks with soft words and even in the dark, she can see the way his tense shoulders slowly relax and his hand loosens, falling back to his side as he nods, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him.

"And you?" He asks, his eyes never wavering from hers as he kicks his boots off and pulls his shirt over his head; the sight of his messy hair and the muscles in his arms make it a little hard for Sailor to breathe, the gentle wind she once thought of as cool now doing nothing to help calm her flushed skin when she scoots over in bed to give him room to lie down next to her. Binx looks as disgruntled as a cat can look as he loses his comfy spot and jumps down from the bed, only to immediately leap onto the windowsill and stretch out.

"What about me?"

JJ rolls over to face her, reaching one hand up to cup her injured face and runs his calloused thumb under the cut on her cheekbone. "Are you okay?"

Nodding, she shifts closer and lays her head on his outstretched arm, covering his hand with her own and effortlessly fitting her fingers into the spaces between his. "I'm fine. Even better, now."

He leans forward to rest his forehead against hers. "Good, 'cause I don't know what I'd do if you weren't."

When those pesky butterflies come raging back with a vengeance, she realizes she's fighting a battle she hopes to lose.

-

The sound of a conversation in the kitchen, low voices drifting through the closed door of the guest room wakes Sailor early the next morning. Sunlight filters in through the windows and she squeezes one eye shut against the painful brightness, the other still squished into JJ's shoulder. His arm is a welcome weight slung over her hip and his deep, even breaths are soft against her forehead as he sleeps on, dead to the voices down the hall. With the corner of her mouth turned up in a small smile, she smooths his fine blond hair away from his face and runs her fingers along his jawline before carefully sliding out from under his arm and quietly heading toward the kitchen.

Pulling her hair into a messy ponytail, she rounds the corner and stops short when she catches sight of the person standing by the table, her cheerful 'good morning' getting stuck on her tongue; she was expecting Pope and Kiara, not the goddamn sheriff! Shooting John B a wide-eyed look that makes him shake his head (what the fuck did that even mean?!), the redhead forces a smile and hastily offers her a wave.

"Uh, good morning, Sheriff. Sorry to interrupt, just, uh, grabbing some water."

She just nods in acknowledgement before turning her attention back to the brunet boy and Sailor breathes an inaudible sigh of relief. Holy shit, is that woman scary. She heads to the sink and keeps one ear on the conversation as she quickly fills a glass with water and pops two aspirin, the headache from last night made even worse by the addition of a whiskey hangover. 

"I didn't realize you had company, John B. Wild night?" The sheriff asks and Sailor meets her friend's eyes again, her anxiety rising when she sees his thinly veiled panic. Her back to Peterkin, she silently implores him to say something, anything -hell, she even tries to subtly mime surfing with her hands to help him out- but he stays silent, so she gathers her courage, plasters a smile on her face, and twirls to face her.

"Busy day, actually. We went surfing all day after cleaning up the yard." She says, jerking her thumb toward the heap of broken branches piled by the fire pit visible through the living room window; when the sheriff turns to look, she quickly elbows John B in the side, ignoring his huff of surprise as she nods her head in her direction.

"Yeah, surfing! All day." He blurts out, sending Sailor a lukewarm glare when she quickly mouths 'what the fuck was that?' before they both straighten up and spin back to the older woman just as she turns to face them again.

"Right." Peterkin hums and arches one eyebrow as she glances back and forth between the two teenagers. "Now tell me, how'd you both get those bruises? They look pretty painful."

"Oh, this?" Sailor asks, pointing at her cheek with a casual shrug, "I tried to hang ten and bit it pretty hard. My board caught me right in the face."

Peterkin looks at her for a beat longer than normal and the redhead does her best to keep her expression neutral as her palms start to sweat. "Surfing, really? Thought you were pretty experienced in that department."

John B adds, offering some much needed back up, "Even the pros wipe out every once in awhile, you know?" He crosses his arms and leans back against the counter. "My board got me good, too."

"Yeah, it just was not our day," She says with a nervous chuckle, refilling her water and slowly starting to back out of the kitchen, pretending she doesn't see the dismayed look her friend sends her way; her anxiety can't take another second of the sheriff's piercing gaze and she needs to get away fast, lest she start recounting every single second of their activities both legal and not so legal- from yesterday in explicit detail. "And I'm still pretty tired so I'm just gonna go back to bed for a bit. Nice talking to you, Sheriff."

After disappearing around the corner before either of them can reply, she creeps down the hallway, keeping her footfalls as light as she can, and she's so focused on trying to listen in on what Peterkin's saying that she runs smack into JJ, standing in the doorway of the spare room. His arm instantly darts out to wrap around her waist and pull her close, keeping her from falling right on her butt as he says, "There you are-"

"Shhh!" Sailor hisses quietly, covering his mouth with her hand, "The damn sheriff is here!"

He mumbles something into her palm but she she holds a finger to her lips, pushing him back into the room and softly closing the door behind them before pressing her ear against it and dropping her hand from his face. He mirrors her position with a question clear as day in his wide eyes, 'what the fuck?', arm still looped around her lower back.

"She's grilling him about yesterday," She says simply, then turns her attention back to the faint voices floating through the door. The duo listens in silence, trying and failing to discern what's being said until they hear the sound of the sheriff's boots on the front porch and her squad car tires crunching through the gravel as she drives away and they exchange a worried look. JJ had it right: what the fuck, indeed. 

"Holy shit, guys," John B's voice suddenly says from the hallway. The door opens before they have time to back away and it sends them sprawling to the floor in a twisted pile of limbs; the brunet boy -who'd usually find something like that hilarious- barely reacts to their position and sends them both a tense frown, his next words dropping like a damn anchor in the marsh.

"We need to go check out that Grady-White again, and fast."

Sailor groans and lets her head fall back onto the floor with a thunk. "Here we go."

-

let me know what you think! fun fact: ostriches actually do put their heads in the sand, but it's not because they sense danger. female ostriches bury their eggs to keep them safe from predators and they'll occasionally stick their head into the sand to check on them and give 'em a lil turn 😊

taglist ❤: @sinkbeneathwaves​ @jiaraendgame​ @hmsjiara​ @maysbanks​ @alexa-playafricabytoto​ @sunflowerbecca​ @obxlife​ @obx-adventures​ @sexualparkour​ @coltonparayyko​ @miawantsapuppy​

[bucky-at-bedtime]

Right Under My Nose | 7

A Long-Awaited Love

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader (Background Steve Rogers x Natasha Romanoff)

Summary: When you lie to your mum about having a date to your brother’s wedding, things spiral swiftly and ridiculously. Suddenly, your thrust into fake-dating your best friend, and everything begins to change.

Warnings: fluff, cliches, dumb sweethearts

A/n: Alright, welcome to the last chapter! I really really hope this is a satisfying ending or you guys! I tried my best lmao. Please, please let me know what you think of this chapter, or what you thought of this whole series – it’s the last one I’ll be writing for a while. 

A big thank you to everyone who stuck with this story despite the constant month-long breaks, you’re all the real mvp’s of my life.

Chapter 6| Series Masterlist | Full Masterlist

It wasn’t long before you heard more applause from inside and the music starts up again.

You let out a slow breath of air. The events of this week replay in your head. You try to analyze it, to figure where it all changed, where your friendship escalated into whatever these feelings were swirling around in your chest, but you couldn’t. One day Bucky was your friend, your best friend, and the next it felt like you had been in love with him your whole life and your brain just couldn’t make sense of it. You felt another tear roll down your cheek and cursed yourself for ruining your makeup.

“Jesus Christ, get it together,” you whisper into the darkness, tapping away the wetness under your eyes carefully.

It took a few more silent moments of reflection for you to realise that nothing had ever really changed. This week was just a light switching on inside you, showing you how it had been all along.

You loved Bucky. You had loved him for a while, and you hoped that speech meant he felt the same. As much as it terrified you, you knew you had to talk to him.

You startled slightly when the door rattled open behind you, glancing over your shoulder. Speak of the devil.

Bucky poked his head out, breathing shakily as he stepped out into the cold night air. If he noticed your wet eyes or mussed makeup, he didn’t mention it.

For a moment it’s silent – he clasps his hands awkwardly behind him and rocks slightly on his heels. You try to calm your speeding heart and blink away the moisture in your eyes.

“That wasn’t the whole toast.” His voice was quiet, almost lost in the night air, still nervous as he pushes the door shut behind him and wrings his hands together.

Your brows pulled together in confusion. “What?”

“I didn’t finish the toast.”

“What do you mean?”

The words hang in the air for a moment as Bucky tried to collect his thoughts. He stepped out onto the balcony beside you, and you both turned to face the railing.

“There was another piece of advice – a piece of advice that Steve told me, that I didn’t listen to. That I should’ve listened to.” The words were desperate, regretful. Bucky watches your profile, your brows still furrowed and he wishes you would just look at him like you used to.

“What, when we were in college or something?” You weren’t sure why you were whispering, you weren’t sure you could talk.

“No,” he insisted, “no, at the start of this week. Monday – before everything went crazy. I- Steve, he told me not to hurt you.”

His voice softened as the last sentence left his lips. His fingers were soft around your bicep, pulling you to face him. You let him.

It’s as if when you finally are face-to-face, Bucky can’t handle it. He glances down at his shoes, wets his lips and takes another breath, hoping to inhale some courage.

“He- he told to just admit it to myself.”

The brush of his warm fingertips across your wrist. Goosebumps shoot up your spine. Your words escape amidst a breath. “Admit what?”

Bucky’s eyes close and he wishes silently, the same thing he’d been wishing for days, the same thing he’s been subconsciously begging for, for years. His eyes lift, blue as ever and full of hope as they find yours.

You feel like you’re buzzing.

“Admit that I’m in love with you.”

The balcony falls silent, par the low bass from the music inside. It seems as though all the air has escaped your lungs, like he’d thrown a punch and winded you. Your mind stutters over the words, stumbles through your memories of the last few days and your left breathless and wordless as he waits for a response.

He thinks he’s too late – he thinks he missed his chance.

His fingers drop from your skin, and you find yourself cold without his touch.

He takes a step back, mouth open with the word he can’t find but your arm shoots out and you tangle your fingers between his, keeping him close as you gather your thoughts.

“I – I thought…” you’re shaking your head, attempting to stutter out some sort of response, “I didn’t think you…”

“I do,” he interrupts, voice dripping with heartache, with hope as he steps back in front of you, “I love you, I swear to god I–“

“I love you too.” Your hands shake, fumble from his hands to his chest, slide up his shoulders until you’re cupping his face. All your breath comes back in a rush, filling your lungs shakily as more tears well in your eyes. “I really- god, I really love you, Buck.”

“Well that’s a relief,” he laughs, hands wrapping around your wrists as his head tilts forwards to rest against your own.

His breath mingles with yours, his thumbs run gently along the insides of your wrists and you let out a relieved chuckle.

“you’re amazing, you– Christ, you look gorgeous tonight,” he murmurs, relief lacing the words, “I’ve barely been able to keep my hands off you all day, all week, Jesus.”

Your buzzing from your fingertips to your toes when the tip of his nose nudges against yours, his lips so close you can practically taste him. You know you’ve kissed before, but the memory of his lips on yours had faded, and you were desperate to feel it again, for real this time.

His lips touch yours, just barely, and–

It’s at that exact moment that a drunk Sam Wilson bursts through the balcony doors, shouting something about how people are asking where you are. A curse slips from Bucky’s lips in a whisper, and he looks at Sam like he could kill him.

He doesn’t have to though, as a very angry red-head is right behind Sam – “I swear to god Wilson,” fast fingers pinch the intoxicated man’s ear as he stumbles over the skirt of her white dress,  “I told you to give them one minute – one more goddamn minute, you dumbass-“

“It’s okay Nat,” you laugh, pulling away from Bucky, “it’s okay, we-“ you glance over at Bucky, ending him a gentle nod and a smile, “we should come inside. We’ll have all the time in the world, later.” It pains you to say, having been so close, but you were the best man and the maid-of-honor, and you had responsibilities.

With a quick look back at Bucky, you promise to pick up where you left off. He sends you bashful smile, waiting until he thinks you’re out of view before pulling Sam into a headlock.

“They’ll be fine – tell me everything.” Nat latches onto your arm, pulling you out onto the dance floor.

So, for a while you dance with the bride, filling her in on your conversation with Bucky. She almost stalks off the dance floor to find Sam when you tell her what was happening before he interrupted, but you manage to hold her back, and eventually, your dad asks her to dance.

You’re just about to turn around and go find Bucky when a hand pulls you back, and you spin to find Steve.

“Well, hey there Mr. Romanoff,” you drawl, smiling as he rolls his eyes.

“Did Nat tell you to say that?”

“Of course, she did,” you laugh, fingers squeezing his shoulder gently. His subdued smile breaks into a full grin, unable to hold it back.

A beat passes, his hand finds your waist and you place yours on his shoulder, swaying gently, before you ask, “Did you have a good day, Stevie?”

“‘Course I did,” he’s still grinning, his cheeks red with elation and adoration, “married the love of my life.”

It’s your turn to grin now and pride rushes through your veins like a drug, unequivocally happy for two of your favourite people in the world.

“Pretty good best man speech if I say so myself,” he says, eyebrows raising, smile turning cheeky as he spins you under his arm, always keeping in time with the music.

A laugh leaves your lips in a breath, and you shake your head a little, eyes falling to your feet, “You should’ve heard the rest of it.”

“Oh I did – about 50 times in my hotel room before the wedding.”

“Sorry we’re both such idiots Stevie.”

He just smiled, a smile that said ‘I’m used to it,’ and shook his head.

“So I gather you two kissed and made-up?”

“Yeah,” you laughed, “something like that.”

It’s quiet for a second, Steve pulls you a little closer and continues to sway.

“Y’know I’ll kill him if he hurts you,” he mumbles.

You chuckle in response, look up at your brother’s face to find a smirk, “He’s your best friend”

Steve shrugs simply, “All the more reason to beat some sense into him.”

“Nat’s the luckiest girl I know, big bro,”

“I don’t know – I’d say you’re pretty lucky judging by the guy waiting to cut in.” His chin tilts up to gesture behind you and you glance over your shoulder to find Bucky standing at the edge of the dance floor, a smile on his lips that could only be described as content.

“Well, you better save your bride from the dad jokes,” you mumble, patting Steve on the shoulder. “Go have fun, Stevie.”

He shoots you a grin and steps back, leaving to find his wife, whilst you turn to look at Bucky. He’s already weaving through the other guests, making a beeline straight to you.

“Didn’t think I’d ever get a chance to cut in,”

“What can I say? People love me,” you joke. Your hands reach forward and entangle your fingers in his, standing chest to chest.

“Y’know Nat dragged me out of bed this morning an almost threw me off a balcony for being such an idiot.” He lifted one hand to your waist, and you instinctively placed yours on his shoulder, beginning to sway to the music.

“No, she didn’t,” you laughed, shaking your head.

“You’re right. I almost threw myself off the balcony when I heard you might be leaving. When I heard it was my fault.” His eyes find yours, earnest and pained.

“Buck...” you sigh, and your eyes drop to his chest, “I didn’t know–“

“I was in love with you?” His fingers found your chin, lifting your face so his eyes could find yours. “I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he whispered.

“It takes two to tango, baby,” both of your arms moved to wrap around his neck and a regretful smile finds its way to your lips. “we’re both just as oblivious as each other.”

This feels right. His hands are firm on your waist, your fingers move absently, scratching gently at the base of his scalp and his eyes are on you. You can feel the heat in the air, the tension in the miniscule space between the two of you – things unsaid and pushed down for so long. It feels like the room is vibrating with it, and it all feels right. “But we figured it out – well, Steve and Nat helped a bit.”

“Just a little,” he chuckled, and his forehead fell against yours because you’re wrapped around each other, but he still feels the need to be closer.

“Now,” you whispered, a smile tugging at your lips, “where were we?”

The only warning his gets is the gentle pull of your arms on his shoulders before your lips are on his in a searing, passionate, long-awaited kiss.

Bucky’s chest does something hot and cold all at once, a lurching, speeding, flipping sensation and he almost loses his balance, almost falls right on his ass in the middle of the dance floor. He holds tighter, fingers grip at your waist, pull you closer and he isn’t against the idea of never letting go.

His tongue brushes at the seam of your lips and the kiss becomes something else, something filled with desire and force and you can’t help but arch into him. Something of a constant shiver runs down your spine, across your arms. You tangle your fingers in his hair, grounding yourself as it feels like you might just float away.

The two of you get lost in the kiss, right there in the middle of the dance floor, you feel unstoppable, weightless and all you can think is finally, finally, finally.

He manages to pull away despite himself, but doesn’t protest when you press another chaste kiss to his lips.

“Christ,” he breathes, a grin splitting across his face, “how were we not doing this sooner?”

You can’t seem to find the words to form a response, so you laugh instead. Your arms slide around his waist and you let your head fall against his chest, and the two of you begin swaying to the music, neither one of you planning to separate any time soon.

You have a lot of time to make up for.

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

Okay, I really really really hope you loved it (I’m open to doing an epilogue but only if someone gives me a good idea for what could be in that lmao I’m not good at epilogues).

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[jikook-love]

tricks and treats

a sequel to this prompt given to me two years ago(?) by @softnspicytofu​

“PLEASE DON’T KILL ME!” 

The blonde boy screamed in a terrified yet somehow beautifully melodic cry as he curled up against the wall, cowering in defense from the tall, grosteque-looking man brandishing a bloody chainsaw.

Jungkook gulped, as he saw those defenseless curled up limbs, those quivering plump and pink lips, and especially those desperate, pretty, half-lidded and teary eyes, he felt his heart do a twisted lurch as something strange was awoken inside of himself.

In a burst of spontaneity, Jungkook ripped off his mask and tossed his chainsaw aside as he scooped the boy into arms:

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you,” Jungkook’s voice was soft, charming and convincing. “We’ll get through this together. I promise.”

🎃🎃🎃

The seemingly tormented memories ran through the mind of Jeon Jungkook. 

“I still remember it so clearly,” Jungkook’s voice was barely more than a whisper, as it echoed throughout the room. “The beautiful golden of his hair even though he was traumatized. The relieved glow in his beautiful eyes when I revealed my true identity to him. The way he clung to me even though we were forbidden to touch. The feeling still lingers, the soft pads of his fingers through the thick cloth on my arm. How I wish I could just see him one more time and tell I l--”

“Oh my god, Jungkook, shut the fuck up.”

Jeon Jungkook promptly received a clown mask in the face, courtesy of Kim Taehyung who was still decked out in his horrendous gargoyle costume. 

“Dude, what the hell?” Jungkook scowled, promptly chucking back the clown mask at full speed, which Taehyung somehow managed to dodge with a yelp.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, no fighting now,” Kim Namjoon warned as he walked in, wiping off his bloody makeup at the same time. “What were you even thinking Jungkook? Dragging a crying visitor all the way through and beating up everything in sight to ‘protect’ him. You’re lucky you’re not fired anymore thanks to my persuasion.”

“Wait, I was fired?” Jungkook asked in disbelief. 

“Oh yeah, they’re totally gonna let you get away with destroying half the maze. And their most handsome worker,” Taehyung grumbled nonchalantly as he rubbed his sore legs in the corner.

“Yeah that’s what I thought!” 

“It’s called sarcasm, dumbass. Not only did you break character--you broke everything else in the freaking maze. Including me.”

“But how am I gonna see him again?” Jungkook moped to himself.

“That’s what you’re most worried about?” Namjoon asked incredulously. 

Jungkook stood up and walked over to Namjoon with misguided purpose in his steps. 

“Kim Namjoon-ah,” Jungkook sighed heavily, his tone and face belonging to that of a man in his middle life crisis. He placed his hand on Namjoon’s shoulder, eyebrows scrunching up even more. “What does money matter anymore when you’ve just met the love of his life?”

Namjoon’s mouth fell open. “Met him?” he asked. “You scared the shit out of him and made him cry and beg for his life.”

“After which I became his hero though,” Jungkook grinned pridefully. “You should have seen the tearful look in his eyes when he thanked me before disappearing into the crowd.”

“Pretty sure there were tears in his eyes because he was still half-scared of you,” Taehyung said pointedly, rubbing the sore spot on his leg where Jungkook had mercilessly kicked him earlier.

Jungkook shot a glare at him before turning back to Namjoon. 

“Hyung, you have to help me!” Jungkook cried.

“Help you do what?” Namjoon retorted.

“Help me find him again!” Jungkook spurted as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“How the hell am I supposed to do that?” Namjoon sighed apathetically. “You think this is some sort of Cinderella story? Plus, how do you know he’ll even like you back?”

Jungkook paused for a moment. “I know. He has to.”

Both Namjoon and Taehyung face-palmed at once.

“You know what listen, why don’t you just wait for Hallowe’en again next year?” Namjoon suggested. “On the basis that you’re rehired and it’s really fate and everything, he might come back and you might see him again.”

“You want me to wait a whole year to make sweet tender love to the most beautiful person I’ve seen in my life,” Jungkook said flatly with the most sarcastic expression yet. 

Namjoon threw up his hands in defeat. “What do you want me to do? He’s one in like hundreds of customers we get per year. You didn’t even get his name! Even if I got into the customer database we can’t track down anything because we don’t know anything about him!”

“False. I know he’s an angel.”

“What is wrong with you?”

“Dude chill,” Taehyung spoke up suddenly, patting Namjoon on his arm to calm him down. “The boy’s got a little crush. Cut him some slack.”

“Fine, whatever,” Namjoon said. “But I can’t help you. Now get your shit together. Hallowe’en’s tomorrow so it’s our last day. You better be extra scary for the mess you caused. Half our electric monsters are out.”

Taehyung patted Jungkook several times on the back. “Stop sulking buddy, things will work themselves out.”

🎃🎃🎃

Though he promised nothing, Jeon Jungkook was especially vengeful on his last day of work for reasons only he and his pals knew. Every time anyone came in, he cranked his chainsaw up to max and ran at them with full speed, sometimes chasing them all the way to the end of the maze without letting them catch a breath. Indeed, he was salty, and somehow he was also immature enough to take it all out on the poor visitors. 

“Is anyone gonna stop him?” Taehyung sighed about halfway through the day.

“Don’t look at me,” Hoseok replied, still in his bloody doctor outfit from yesterday. “I can barely even stand to be in the place I just need the money.”

“Boo.”

“You stop that.”

At long last, the night was finished, and the Haunted House closed down for the season. Finally finished, an exhausted Jungkook left his post and exited alone out the back, pulling off his mask for a breath of air. He didn’t even fully understand why he felt so down. He didn’t even know what he was expecting. 

It’s really quiet out here. For the first time, Jungkook breathed in the crisp Hallowe’en air. Certainly, it was very cold. Very eerie. 

Suddenly, he felt a pair of hands creep up around his waist. 

“AHHHH!”

In retaliation, Jungkook whirled around and tripped over his own feet, falling flat on his ass. In a blur, all he saw was white in front from him.

Oh shit. It’s a ghost.

Desperately, he tried to crawl away, but the ghost was quick to get on top of him, holding him down.

I’m dead. I’m so very dead.

He thrashed around for a bit longer, much to no avail. 

Suddenly, his eyes widened as he saw who it was in front of him.

“A-angel?”

The boy, still as blonde and beautiful as yesterday, laughed softly. Today, he was dressed in all white, which made it easier to misinterpret...on both instances.

“My name is Jimin,” he said gently, carefully. Jungkook didn’t want to move, almost as if Jimin would fade away like a dream if he did. “I just wanted thank you for trying to help me yesterday.”

Jungkook’s mind was a mess, not sure whether to be mad for getting the living lights scared out of him or grateful that his literal angel had literally returned. 

“Did you have to scare me like that?” Jungkook opted for. 

Jimin pouted (and it was one of the cutest things Jungkook had ever seen in his life). “You’re one to talk. You literally had me on the floor yesterday. You still haven’t told me your name by the way.”

“It’s Jungkook. Jeon Jungkook.” Jungkook gulped. He didn’t know why he was so nervous all of a sudden. He had been so confident on making sure Jimin would fall for him as well but now his mind was a complete and utter mess. 

Slowly, Jimin crawled off of him, as Jungkook got to his feet on his own.

“Don’t you have something to ask me, Mr. Jeon Jungkook?” Jimin said suddenly, shuffling closer to Jungkook in the most endearing way. 

“Um...well...I’m not sure...I...” Jungkook started, but was cut off by Jimin.

“It’s Hallowe’en after all,” Jimin said. “I think there’s only one proper thing to say.”

Jungkook’s mind was cloudy enough as it was, so he wasn’t exactly sure what Jimin was trying to get at. It was only at that moment that he noticed Jimin unwrapping a sucking candy in his hand. He watched as Jimin popped the candy into his own mouth with a smile.

“Trick or treat?” Jungkook said spontaneously.

It all happened in a blur.

As Jungkook’s mind was still in a daze, Jimin was gone. His entire body had gone stiff from the sensation. Without even realizing, Jungkook was sucking on the candy that had ended up in his mouth, as he glanced down to the wrapper that Jimin managed to shove into his hand before he left. Squinting, he saw a bright red phone number scrawled on it.

Still sucking on his candy, his eyes still half lidded, Jungkook uttered the only thing he could manage:

“Goddamn...best Hallowe’en ever.”

🎃🎃🎃

“By the way,” Hoseok said to Taehyung as they walked home together. “When are you gonna tell Jungkook that Jimin is literally your friend from childhood? And that you were the one who invited him in the first place?”

Taehyung shrugged, as he pulled the lollipop out of his mouth. “Probably never. He kicked me way too many times when he was trying to ‘protect’ Jimin. I did enough for that boy. They’ll probably find out eventually anyway.”

Hoseok smirked. “Fair enough. Happy Hallowe’en bro.”

“Happy Hallowe’en to you too.”

-

THE END. 

just a quick little Hallowe’en story because I really liked that prompt and wanted to do something for it....now’s the time XD that’s the only thing i ever use the hallowe’en aesthetic for--fic writing LMAO. i get scared too easily so everything else is a no no lol. i’ll take suggestions for the future, maybe involving some costumes ;)

tbh, I was gunna put a warning for overdramatic jungkook but realized it’s not even far from the truth anymore so I was like whatever. also, with the way jeon is nowadays, i’m sure even if they never crossed paths and jungkook happened to see jimin someone, he would probably be /this/ extra. 

happy hallow’s eves friends~ 

and go rewatch that run bts ep

[joyxsoul]

han jisung as ur boyfriend

-lmao there’s so many of these, but here’s another !! (highschool au rlly lol)

-okay, so u two met at school in ur senior year. he was a class clown type, always making jokes, being loud with his friends annoying every one of his teachers along the way.

-bUt, you made him soft !! like the instant he saw you, a little smile was on his face, making his friends (especially his best friend Felix) tease lil jisung, wondering who, or what could have made him this flustered

-i mean, he stopped talking for a full two hours after he saw you, your power

-anyways !!

-you had a couple of classes together, being history and english, and jisung just loved to watch you whenever there was free time between lectures

-it sounds hella creepy (it kinda was), but the way you scrunched your nose when you were concentrated, or your smirk when you finally figured something out or finished a project made his heart jump in his chest

-you were making THE han jisung shut up

-(like i said, your power :3)

-eventually, he grew the courage to talk to you (which included a pep talk from all of his closest friends, making him stand in front of the mirror and scream, “YOU ARE THE SHIT !!”)

-his tactic was to start with a pick-up line, a very classy, “on a scale of one to america, how free are you tonight ?” 

-hyunjin cringed listening to that one, seungmin was sure jisung had blew it and was gonna beat his ass after

-you were a bit surprised; you two weren’t in the same friend group and you hadn’t been seated together at any point

-but you DEFINITELY knew who he was bc who in this school didn’t know his group (a weird combination of crackheads, intellects, and stoners)

-i’ll let you decide who the stoners are in skz ;)

-being as easygoing as you were, you just laughed, responding with “are you from tennessee ? because you’re the only ten i see”

-jisung thought he was going to piss his pants he was so nervous 

-glad that he hadn’t completely ruined his image in front of you, he pulled out the empty chair beside you and struck up a conversation, most likely something related to the substitute asleep at the teacher’s desk

- you guys began to talk more often, working together on various projects, “studying” in the library (all it was was him pointing out random people in a textbook and saying, ‘that’s you’), and sitting together at lunch

-one night, he was facetiming you about homework for your history class. it was probably around 10 pm, and he spent most of the call complaining about how the pizza place messed up his order and gave him pepperoni instead of cheese 

-he had this gray hoodie on; he looked so tired and you constantly fussed over how he should get some more sleep, but he looked so cute in-

-wait did you just call him cute

-you couldn’t lie, jisung was attractive; his almond shaped eyes, his heart shaped mouth, his fluffy long hair, how his nickname was ‘quokka’ due to his face and his personality, how he texted you every morning and night, the way he said your name-

- “y/n ? is something wrong ? stop staring at my face.”

-oh shit you have a crush on han jisung

- “i told you to stop staring !! what, you have a crush on me or something ?” you shook yourself out of it, staring at him through the screen with wide eyes

-he was playing with the strings of his hoodie, his hair being messy with all the times he ran his hand through it. it was a habit you always rolled your eyes at; he’d obviously spend time in the mornings to make it look nice, only for him to ruin in ten minutes into talking about the cold war

-your other friends (wendy and lucas in particular) always teased you about your relationship with jisung

-”DO YOU SEE THOSE PUPPY EYES ?? LOOK AT HIM STARING AT YOU! !”

-”lucas please shut up.”

-but when you did look, jisung was staring at you, his smoothie straw hanging out of his mouth

-you couldn’t help but laugh at how dumb he looked

-and wow, you almost thought you saw his cheeks turn pink when you giggled 

“i know i wasn’t the only one who saw that.” lucas was looking like he was going to cry, wendy just looked fed up

-you didn’t know when your crush on him started. in those seconds of silence where you and jisung were just ogling at each other through the phone camera, you reflected on where it could’ve all gone wrong

-was it the time he held your hand when he was walking you home when an older man got too close for your liking ? or was it the time you were hanging out at his house and he fell asleep on your lap, only to smile in his sleep when you began running your fingers through his hair ? or was it the time when you two went out for boba tea when the waitress said you were a cute couple, only for him to smile and say, “thank you.”

“..y/n ?”

-”jisung, i have a crush on you.”

-silence

-pure silence

-oh my god, you messed everything up. the screen had gone black, you didn’t hear anything. building up your courage, you actually saw that he had hung up the phone, the numbers taunting you. 

-call ended  2:29

-you didn’t know what to do. your body felt numb, all sounds muted. you could only focus on a car passing by, a bird flying against the wind, the soft raindrops against the window.

-what are you supposed to do ? you had just lost the one person who you cared about the most. you two had known each other for a little over two months, but you'd already grown extremely close. you told him everything, he trusted you.

-and you fucked up a perfect, amazing friendship.

-the rain was getting heavier now, but you didn’t mind. it was always comforting to listen to, especially when you felt upset. your parents weren’t home until sunday, and as it was a saturday night, you had plenty of time to cry it out.

-”Y/N !!”

-god, you were going crazy, you swore you just heard jisung’s voice

-”Y/N !! PLEASE LET ME IN ITS RAINING AND I’M TIRED”

-dumbfounded, you looked out your bedroom window to find jisung, still wearing his gray hoodie, a little drenched, with pebbles in his hand

-oh wow he rlly went full rom com with this one

-rushing downstairs, you pulled open the front door, only to be attacked by a hug from jisung, giggling to himself in glee

- “i got here as fast as i could, i need you.” with that, he pressed his lips against yours, still wet from the rain. he smiled into it, letting out a chuckle when you kissed him back. you pulled away quickly though, the blush on your cheeks turning into a full on tomato. jisung pouted, you poking his face as he flushed pink

- “in case you couldn't tell, i like you too. thought it was obvious.” he elbowed you, leading you up to your room while muttering “this isn’t real, this isn’t real”

-”you sleepy ?” you asked, making room for him on the bed. he just nodded, saying the homework could wait

-it was a little past midnight, and all you wanted to do was sleep. you climbed in, turning off all the lights, feeling jisung’s arms snake around your waist. he put his head into your neck, humming a song that wasn't familiar. just feeling his breath on your neck was making you drift off

- “goodnight sunshine, i’ll see you in the morning.” he placed a lazy kiss on your cheek, and drifted off.

-when it came to you two actually dating, no one was surprised (except mark, but he was oblivious at the best of times). the rest of skz couldn’t care less about what you looked like; they all knew how happy you made jisung and really, that’s all that matters

-jisung was always clingy, but dating him made it worse. he was always nearby, wanting to hold your hand, wanting to play with your fingers; basically any excuse to touch you. if you don’t like pda, he would definitely respect that, it made all those moments you shared with him that much more special

-he always had a nickname for you, but ever since you had first met, ‘sunshine’ had stuck. you never knew why, but jisung just thought you glowed, even at 3 pm on a school day or 7 am on a weekend because wow he loves you

-more than anything, he loved when you played with his hair, whether you were just touching it, or running your hands through it

-he might have liked it a bit too much, but uh you were not ready to venture down that path

-jisung would also spray his cologne on all of the hoodies he gave you because he knows how much you love it

-you have SO MANY OF HIS HOODIES IN YOUR HOME

-it’s not funny

-you keep telling him to take them back, but he doesn’t want them ?? “cooties bro. can’t.”

-you aren’t complaining, they’re comfy >:((

-jisung teases the ShiT oUt OF yOU

-like one day you came into class with your friend acting cute in an attempt to steal some of her hot cheetos

-only to have HEADASS just stare at you blankly, exclaiming “you look mentally unstable” while he laughed at you

-this along with doing middle school boy shit

-i’m talking taking your notebook and hiding it in another spot of the classroom, scaring you in the hallway, making you pull worksheets out of his hands while he passed them out

-think of ANYTHING that gives off middle school boy energy, he’s done it

-as annoying as he is

-he loves you. a lot. like, his main goal in your relationship is to make sure you’re happy with him, that you aren’t going to leave him because he isn’t putting the effort in

-you keep assuring him you love him, that you’d never do that to him. but no matter how many times he nods, or smiles

-there’s uncertainty in his eyes. because of that, he always assures you how beautiful you are, stays up all night if he has to when you pull an all nighter to study, gives you all the hoodies he can provide

-not only because he feels like he has to, but he’d do anything to see you happy; no matter how tired he feels 

-it breaks his heart to see you upset

-one day, you had gotten a test back while hanging out at jisung’s house, trying to help him study. you opened your score and your heart dropped. a 59%. that’s the worst you’d ever done. you had stayed up multiple nights to study, putting off your own personal needs in order to success

-it wasn’t enough. and that hurt

-jisung saw you start to cry and he  f r e a k e d

-oh god, his precious sunshine was crying and he didn’t know what to do

-he fumbled for a bit, saying, “it’s going to be okay !! it’s just one grade !!” only for you to cry harder and him to freak out even more

-eventually, he just hugged you from behind, laying you down on the couch. you were shaking so bad and it was making jisung tear up; he really hated seeing you like this 

-he knew talking wouldn't help, so he let you cry, wiping away your tears and rubbing small circles into your back. 

-”you’re okay sunshine, just hold onto me.” you always thought you didn’t deserve someone like him. someone so loving, so supportive. 

-but you love him. you’ve never loved someone like him; how dumb he sounded but always gave the best advice, always teasing you at any time during the day but shows up in front of your door with flowers just because

-and so when he sings “i smile” while caressing your cheek, you know there’s no place you’d rather be. in his arms, the vibration of his voice lulling you to sleep and just how warm he was

-and when you got to see him perform with the rest of his rapping group, your eyes just couldn’t leave him. his charisma, his confidence, how he’d always wink at you when he spotted you in the crowd. he was truly ethereal there, almost angelic in whatever he wore, because look at him

-almost nothing was better than seeing him backstage after a show to see him; him smirking when he’d pull you into his arms still sweaty when he’d whisper “missed you babydoll”

-no matter how much he’d nag you for staying up too late and not putting enough time into yourself, and no matter how much you’d nag him for not eating enough, you wouldn’t trade each other for the moon and all of her stars

-if soulmates existed, you were lucky enough to find yours in a shitty high school at 9:40 a.m. with a cheesy pick-up line

-but you wouldn’t have it any other way

AGHHHHH i really hope everyone liked this ?? ugh, it feels so rushed, but it’s really late here, so i hope i did sungie justice :((

[grantszn]

wet dreams ethan dolan (part one)

i was listening to wet dreamz by j cole so like recommend listening to that🥴 also idk how i long i wanna make this so we’ll see might be more than one smut scene, aLso it’s my first time doing it from the twin’s pov so bear with me lmao, tELL ME IF YOU WANT A PART TWO!

(lil dt to my mother @lilac-dolans since she’s in ethan’s lane🥵 and a dt to my actual daddy @grungegrant)

summary: ethan is incredibly attracted to the new girl in his math class and what started out as innocent flirting soon progressed in something much more

warnings: cursing, suggestive language, mentions of smut, and yeah

ethan-

i was currently in the hall talking with my friends talking about random shit like we usually did. the school bell rang signaling it was time for class so we quickly finished up,

"alright," i walked backwards and pointed at them, "I'll see you guys after class"

With a chuckle i turned back around smoothly draping my bookbag over my shoulder and chewing the gum in my mouth. Walking into my first class of the day, mathematics, i went to the very back to my main seat hanging my bookbag on the back of the chair. Not caring to pay attention to my surroundings as nothing ever changed. i reached into the side of my bookbag, grabbing a pencil and faced the front of the class still obnoxiously chewing my gum whilst tapping my foot.

"Can you please stop chewing so loud" i heard a voice speak beside me,

I quickly turned my head furrowing my eyebrows at the person my mouth gently falling open and the gum nearly falling out from the sight in front of me. she was gorgeous, long hair, beautiful soft caramel skin and the prettiest doe eyes i've ever seen. i just stared at her for a few minutes before i realized how weird i probably looked,

"Oh yeah my bad" i smirked beginning to chew my gum once again, this time quieter not daring to break eye contact

She sent me a quick nod and looked back to the front of the classroom where the teacher was sorting through papers. I carefully ran my eyes over her body licking my lips in the process before i snapped back into reality,

“Hey you gotta pencil i could borrow, forgot mine” i whispered with a slight grin

I tucked my own pencil into the sleeve of my sweater my eyes locking on her as she nodded. She gave me a look before she bent down to reach into her bag. My eyes quickly ran down her body once more, instantly landing on her ass, her perky fat ass. i bite my lower lip those leggings of hers giving little to no imagination. I cleared my throat as she leaned back up and turned to me, a soft smile placed on her lips,

“Here you go” Her angelic voice spoke

As she outstretched her arm i took the pencil from her my fingers grazing upon her skin as i did so, soft.

“Thanks. i’m Ethan by the way” i slowly licked my lips

“y/n” She smiled before turning back to the front of the class as the teacher began speaking

Math class just for a whole lot more fun.

* * * *

Math class ended and I closed my notebook and stuffed it into my bag along with my pencil. Quickly I stood up going to exit wanting to catch up with the girl to try and catch her number. I left the room and glanced around at all the kids and groaned as she was no where to be seen. I rolled my eyes and turned on my heels heading to my next class of the day, bummed out.

Still chewing that gum obnoxiously in my mouth as i pushed the door open to my next class. Walking in i plopped down in the front sitting next to my brother, Grayson. I kept my eyes locked on the board in front of me the only thing in my mind being her. More importantly the things i could do to he-

“Yo E”

My head snapped over to the voice knowing it belonged to my brother, obviously. Clearing my throat, i shifted a bit in my seat and sat up straighter my attention diverting to him,

“What’s up man?” i whispered with a raised eyebrow

Grayson leaned over but not before glancing around making sure no eyes were on us. A cocky smirk grew on his lips as patted my shoulder,

“I don’t know,” he glanced down, “You tell me bro”

My eyes quickly widened as i shot him a glare, my hand reaching down to pull my sweater down as best as i could. Using my other hand i shoved him away from me as a scoff fell from my lips as he laughed as quietly as possible,

“Shut up you fucking idiot” clenching my jaw i divert my attention back to the front of the class

I glance down at the notebook in front of me that currently has nothing written down, fuck. Licking my lips i sat up a bit straighter and began copying everything off the board word for word, trying my best to catch up before the bell rang.

* * * a week later * * *

I was currently on my way to school, my brother driving cause my mind was far too distracted. y/n and i had gotten a lot closer recently. Well we haven’t talked much out of class but during we can barely shut up to the point where we’ve started passing notes. There’s also been a lot of flirting going on. Quickly i got knocked out of my trance as my brother shut the car off and hopped on out. Licking my lips i stuffed my phone into the pocket of my hoodie i quickly got out as well. I was incredibly anxious to see her again even though it was only a day. I entered the school building giving my brother a quick nod before i quickly made way for math class. As i made it to the door i walked in and to my seat, she wasnt here yet. With a soft sigh i dropped my bag down and sat down with my pencil in hand tapping it along the desk.

My eyes quickly looked up as i heard that beautiful laugh that i’ve luckily been able to grow used to. Sitting up i bit my lip as i took in her appearance. She was talking to a student leaning against the door and i just watched the way her incredibly plump lips glided against one another, the lip gloss spread across them highlighting them ever more. Biting my lip a bit harder as she started walking to her seat, my eyes scanned down her body more she was wearing skinny jeans that perfectly sculpted her ass and them thighs, god them thick ass thighs that i wish could just be wrapped around my hea-

“Hey Ethan” she smiled at me

Quickly i locked eyes with her my lip popping out from between my teeth as i flashed her the most innocent smile i could manage. Completely trying to hide the fact that i was just having those thoughts.

“Hey y/n, looking beautiful today as always” i shot her a playful wink as she sat down

She giggled softly causing my heart to flutter in the slightest before she looked away but not before i caught onto the slight blush that had rose to her cheeks.

“Oh shut up” she looked back over to me tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear

Her hair was currently in its natural curly straight and it suited her so beautifully, she was beautiful. Leaning my elbows on the desk a bit i proceeded to ask her how her morning was. Which quickly led to some small talk before we rudely got interrupted by the teacher shushing is. Rolling my eyes at them i shot her another smile before we both diverted our attention back to the teacher and their pointless words. About halfway through the lesson i had grown bored and glanced over at y/n, only to catch her writing down on a small piece of paper. My eyes glanced to her face seeing her shoot me a playful look as she crumbled up the piece of paper and casually dropped it on the floor with a soft smirk. Glancing back up at the teacher i stretched my arms casually and shifted to lean down and ‘tie my shoe’ grabbing the paper. I sat back leaning back a bit and carefully began to open it, not wanting to rip the thin paper. Once i successfully opened it, my eyes widened at the words written upon it,

“you over have sex before?”

Clearing my throat slyly i felt my palms start to get sweaty. Where did this come from so suddenly? I bit my lower lip deciding to play it cool, looking over at her i shot her smirk and licked my lips, ripping off a piece of paper from my notebook myself. Quickly i picked my pencil back up, i began writing,

“Of course i had sex before”

knowing i was fronting..

“i’m like pro baby”

knowing i was stunting..

Quickly folding the piece of paper, i stretched my arms out once more casually dropping the paper successfully into her lap. Feeling my heartbeat continue to pick up pace. But i couldn’t tell her the truth, i haven’t been in pussy since the day i came out one, but she didn’t need to know that. Biting my lip i watched her closely as she read the note, picking up on the noticeable blush that arose onto her cheeks. The anticipation killing me as she began writing on the back of the same piece of paper, slyly handing it over to me this time, hoping she didn’t notice how clammy my hands were. I anxiously opened the piece of paper feeling myself more alert then i have ever been before,

“Oh you a pro baby? well i want you to show me, my mom’s gone for the weekend.”

Feeling my heart rate pick up even more as i clenched my jaw slightly. I bit my lip for the hundredth time today as i got another small piece of paper and began writing my response. My mind wandering all over the place as i did so just beginning to imagine everything. I began thinking about how her body looked naked while she laid on the bed. I mentally groaned as i shifted a bit in my seat, fixing my shirt over my bulge that became more prominent as my thoughts progressed. I glanced up at the teacher seeing he was calling on students now to come to the board, oh god please don’t make me stand up. I gripped my pencil in my hand and quickly wrote my response,

“yeah baby sounds like a plan”

Tried to play it cool, sound like the man. I slyly gave the note back to her watching closely once again as she read it. she went to respond i saw but the bell ringing beat us to it. I shot her a quick wink as i stood up and grabbed my bookbag walking out as calmly as i could. As I made it to my locker i calmed down a bit and slouched against it, wondering how this was going to work.

Knowing damn well i was a virgin..

[kimbapwrites]

Ong Seongwoo; brother’s best friend

Member: Seongwoo // Wanna One

Genre: Fluff

Request: Can I request scenario with Seongwoo where he's your older brother's best friend? Like he's known you since you were in middle school so he's like a second brother but now you're going to start university and he starts to notice you're not the same little girl anymore

A/N: tHANK YOU FOR REQUESTING THIS BC DAMN I'M SO HYPE TO WRECK LEAH'S WHOLE LIFE

damn that gif has my booty poppin

alright let's do this shit

seongwoo is your older brother's handsome af best friend

so two have known each other since your cringy middle school years

yeah he even caught you dying your bangs with kool-aid one time

your life almost ended right then and there

it didn't really matter though tbh because he just saw you as his best friend's dorky kid sister

but you'd always had a giant crush on him

I mean look at him??? who wouldn't

you turned down all your countless not really suitors because you KnEw deep down that oNe DaY seongwoo would fall madly in love with you

spoiler alert: it never happened

as you grew older, you matured and your crush subsided

not completely though

your heartbeat would still speed up every time he got a little too close, or playfully teased you

eventually you reach your second year of high school

seongwoo and your brother, daniel though you call him euigeon to piss him off, are long off to college

seongwoo still visits the house frequently, as daniel hasn’t moved out yet

you and seongwoo have gotten a little closer to the point where you consider him like family 

family that you have a huge crush on

but by now you know he doesn’t see you the way you see him

you get asked out by the cute guy in your chemistry class, bae jinyoung, and for the first time, you accept

he’s definitely handsome - he was voted most handsome for freshman superlatives until park jihoon transferred 

he’s also pretty popular with the girls

seongwoo finds out from your brother and teases you endlessly about your first boyfriend

but one time your friend describes how they feel about their boyfriend, and you realize something is wrong because

you don’t feel that way about jinyoung

you test it out, but he doesn’t give you the feeling he should

he doesn’t give you the feeling seongwoo did

when you break up with jinyoung, he’s surprisingly okay with it

you found out later this is because he had developed a crush on an older transfer student from china

fast forward two years later, and you haven’t seen seongwoo in at least a year, ever since daniel finally moved out

for your high school graduation, daniel, of course, comes to support his lil sis

and can you guess who he brings with him

that’s right

the pope

wait what,,, I mean seongwoo

and he’s definitely gotten more mature and handsome

what what you don’t realize is

so have you

when seongwoo spots you in your cap, gown, heels, and makeup, he does a double take

you look completely different from when he last saw you

and suddenly he realizes this little girl he’s always known??

she isn’t a little girl anymore

well he’s shook

and he’s wondering like,, why is he getting flustered over his best friend’s little sister??

the one who wore only boy’s clothes until 8th grade and dyed her hair with kool-aid in middle school???

no of course he couldn’t be attracted to you

but then he catches you laughing at something daniel says and his heart is all like “!!!”

and he’s like ‘maybe I'm sick??? yes!! that’s totally it I probably have a cold there is no other explanation’

after the summer, you end up going to the same college as the two of them

and you meet up with them on a regular basis

sometimes daniel can’t make it, so it’s just you and seongwoo

and you two get mistaken for a couple way too often

you’re always the one to deny it first, thinking it makes him uncomfortable when that happens

he doesn’t really know why, but he wishes you wouldn’t be so adamant about it

daniel starts disappearing more and more often with shady excuses, so you and seongwoo hang out alone more often than you do with daniel

one day, daniel slips away again and you’re getting really suspicious now because:

“did he just say,,, he had to wash his cats?”

“yeah,,,”

“didn’t he say he had to wash them last week??”

“he could be very conscious of his cats’ hygiene needs,”

“seongwoo,,, he washes his cats like every two months,,,”

“,,,that is suspicious indeed”

and so next time he flakes on meeting up, you two decide to secretly follow him

he’s pretty clueless, so he leads you right to where his destination is

and boy oh boy

your big brother seems to have a little crush

or a big crush

that happens to be mutual

basically, you catch him making out with one of your close friends on the campus lawn

both of their faces turn bright red when you step out from behind a tree and confront them

“so... secretly dating one of my friends huh?”

“y-y/n~ please don’t be mad~” 

“well, tbh,,, I don’t really have the right to be mad”

and they’re all like “??? what”

“actually,,, I'm dating jaehwan,”

daniel is shook

“jaehwan? kim jaehwan? from the soccer team?”

seongwoo is like 99.98% sure he’s sick again because like,,, his chest is tight all of a sudden??? and his throat feels like it’s closing

he’s like ‘why am I feeling sick so much recently I was always fine before’

later, back at their apartment, when daniel mentions jaehwan and you, seongwoo rolls his eyes like a 12 y/o boy

“they can date or whatever, I don’t care what she does or who she dates”

well that sounds an awful lot like he does care, daniel notices

and he smirks

“bro you jealous”

“whaT??? jealous?? of who??”

what, ong seoNGWOO?? jeaLOUS?? ofc not never

“of jaehwan, dumbass”

“why would I be jealous of jaehwan lmao”

“maybe because you like my sister”

“uM NO SHE DOESN’T MAKE ME BLUSH I’M JUST SICK”

“,,,, i never said she did”

#seongwoo #exposed

“so she makes you blush then huh”

“sHUt tHe F--”

surprisingly, daniel is actually hella chill about it

or maybe not surprisingly

daniel’s pretty chill tbh

so basically he becomes you and seongwoo’s biggest shipper and secret matchmaker

for instance seongwoo conveniently becomes your assigned tutor when you’re failing your math class

and wOW when you need a ride, daniel convEniENTLY can’t make it, but sEoNgwoO certainly can :))))

and cOnVEniENTLY you and seongwoo find yourself locked in a classroom one night, after you had to retrieve your misplaced textbook

certainly not the work of someone whose name starts with d and ends with aniel

you’re like “but the janitor knew we were gonna be in here??? how did we get locked in??”

and he’s like “,,,, dunno" 

cue awkward avoidance of eye contact

after many unanswered calls to daniel, seongwoo suggests you let it be

after all, it’s not like daniel will pick up

“,, what does that mean?”

“whAT I JUST MEANT HE’S PROBABLY WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND”

and after about ten minutes of occasional small talk (but mostly awkward silence), seongwoo decides to ask a question he really doesn’t want to know the answer to 

“so,,, how are you and ,,, jaehwan?”

“what about him??”

“isn’t he your boyfriend?

"oh hahaha,, I just said that to get back at daniel for lying to me”

“wait so,,, you guys aren’t actually together?”

you’re like: “nope”

and he’s like ‘this is my chance!!’

“y/n?”

“hm?”

he waits until you look up from your phone

and then bOOM, he plants one right on your mouth

you almost die right then and there because !! ong seongwoo is kissing you !!

and you can feel the smile on his lips when you recover from the shock and start kissing him back

 and wow this is better than any kiss you’ve ever had before

seongwoo moves his hand to behind your neck, pulling you closer

when you finally break apart bc you need to breathe

though sacrificing air for kissing seongwoo is something you wouldn’t be against

seongwoo swallows and finally says: “I like you”

and you’re trying not to scREAM bc like

“I've waited way too long to hear that,”

like the dumbass seongwoo is i say, as I sigh over how dreamy he is, he’s clueless

“wait what??”

“I've had a crush on you since middle school, seongwoo”

and daniel chooses this moment to violently swing the door open and shout “i kNEW IT”

yeah he gets his ass beat

#worthit

[lordzuuko]

For your voltron family au, was there a time where Shiro grew out his hair? lol, I'm currently in medschool and sometimes my hair ends up growing really long coz I never have the time to go have it cut, or I just don't notice its long until someone points it out coz all I think about are my exams which are super stressful coz we have one like everyday haha. I can imagine Keith braiding some strands of hair late at night to relax while Shiro's nose is buried in like a hundred medical books lmao

[The Voltron Pre-Family AU] Shiro was currently in med school while Keith was doing internship in Hyperion Books. They would usually hang out during the weekends because they were too damn busy on weekdays. Shiro had finals the following week so when Saturday came, that meant it was Keith’s time to visit his apartment. 

“The king has arrived!” Keith announced as he entered the apartment carrying a plastic bag. “I brought ice cream, sunshine!” he smiled as he noticed Shiro looking up from his books, sitting on the living room floor as he made his way to the kitchen to unpack. “I got you some persimmons because you’re like a pregnant woman during finals week.” 

Shiro chuckled softly. “Awww, that’s so sweet of you, red bean. Thank you.”

“Dude, you’re out of milk!” Keith shouted from the kitchen. “When was the last time you went out to do groceries?” he peeked out to the living room.

Shiro brought his hands to rub his face in exhaustion. “Ugh. I think last week or something. I don’t know.”

“I got you covered, bro,” Keith winked. “I bought milk, cookies, fruits and vegetables and other healthy stuff I usually see in your fridge. Oh, and eggs!”

“Keith, you’re the reason I believe in God,” Shiro said dramatically. “What have I done to deserve such an angel like you breathing in my space?”

“It’s never too late to ditch med school for theatre, y’know?” Keith joked. 

—-

Shiro continued studying while Keith sat on the floor in front of him on their shared coffee table. His boyfriend was reading a book while eating a banana, scrunching up his nose from time to time silently judging whatever he was reading. Shiro liked their quiet times, just sharing the same space and not disturbing the other.

After an hour or so, Keith stood up to sit on the sofa behind Shiro and suddenly, he felt hands gathering his hair gently.

“Your hair’s pretty long now, babe,” Keith observed. “You trying to copy me?”

“Maybe?” Shiro smiled, loving the feeling of Keith’s hands playing with his hair. “I mean, you look good and I was wondering if it would look good on me, too.”

“You could go bald and I’d still love you to the moon and back,” Keith declared without missing a beat, caressing Shiro’s exposed nape. 

“Geez, Keith. Why are you so obsessed with me?” Shiro placed a hand on his chest, looking back at Keith with a huge smile. 

“Shut up and go back to studying.”

He went back to studying and Keith went back to playing with his hair. Shiro got so caught up with his books that he failed to notice Keith began braiding his hair. The younger one hummed softly as his hands gently moved and Shiro smiled to himself because he could feel how careful Keith was in making sure it didn’t hurt him even just a little bit. 

A few braids and pages of diseases later, Shiro heard a click and he turned around to see Keith smiling at his camera. Their eyes met and Keith’s smile grew wider and showed Shiro his phone. 

“Look,” Keith said, bending down to wrap his arms around Shiro while showing a photo of his braided head. “I think I have a future in hair styling.” 

The photo was amazing. There were five braids all in all and Shiro was speechless. “Dude, that’s beautiful. I better cancel my salon appointment after finals then.”

“No!” Keith cried out, taking back his phone. “I love your undercut so much! There can only be one long-haired guy in this relationship and that’s me. You have to go, Shirogane.” 

“Unless we switch.” Shiro grinned. “Have you ever thought of having an undercut? I think you’d look really great and I will 10000% cry.”

“And what?” Keith smirked. “Have you fail med school?”

Shiro clicked his tongue. He was going to be so distracted if Keith got an undercut. He was distracted enough with his long hair and he was barely making it. “Dammit.”

Keith laughed even harder as he hugged Shiro once again from the back, kissing him on the cheek. “Finish up so we can finally eat ice cream while I question you stuff as you cry after every wrong answer.”

“An angel. You’re such an angel, Kogane,” Shiro said sarcastically. 

[aresaphrodites]

Roll The Dice

Summary: 

“So what’s your plan?” Veronica asks, raising an eyebrow. “Fake date someone so you can learn how to be a good girlfriend for him?”

Betty looks at her in wonder. “Actually… actually that’s a great idea, V.”

or Betty is oblivious, Jughead pines, Veronica spills the tea, and Reggie finds his One True Bro™.

This is from a prompt I saw a looooong time ago on Tumblr. I even have a Malec fic based on it, but I decided to give it a go with Bughead. :)

As always, thanks to the bae @itstenafterfour for being the best beta and friend ever. Love you!

PS. One Tree Hill is my favorite show so Juggie/Reggie roasting it is just a joke, don't hate me lmao. 

Also this is freaking 13,005 words so it might crash on you. In case of that, here’s the link to it over on AO3.      

Four months. It’s only four months. Betty Cooper reminds herself of this whenever she thinks about how Archie is leaving her to study abroad in Europe. When he had first told her the news, she had been devastated. Her and Archie had never spent more than a few days apart from each other since they had first met and now they had to go a whole four months. He had promised her that they would Skype as much as possible and that he’d call her every night, but it just wasn’t the same. She wanted him there in person with her.

“This would be the perfect time to tell him,” Veronica Lodge tells her as they drive up to Archie’s house. They’re supposed to be taking him to the airport. Betty wonders if maybe she can crash the car that way she can stall time and he doesn’t have to leave. “You can totally have one of those movie moments where you confess your love to him at the airport and then you guys kiss and fall in love and he doesn’t leave you. Oh, it’ll be so beautiful.”

Betty glares at her best friend. It’s no secret that she’s been in love with Archie since they were kids. Apparently everyone in Riverdale is aware of this except for Archie himself. Betty felt like she had made it very clear throughout the years, but he never seemed to get the hint and she was way too scared to tell him outright. Archie was nothing if not completely oblivious.

“I can’t just tell him before he leaves for six months,” she grumbles. “I should tell him when he comes back.”

Veronica glares at her. Betty already knows what she’s thinking but before the brunette can say anything, Archie knocks on the passenger's window as he smiles and waves at the two girls. Betty rolls down her window.

“Hey, Arch!”

“Hey, Betty! Ronnie.” Veronica nods at him. “Pop the trunk for me?” Veronica does as he asks and he puts his luggage in the trunk of her BMW before climbing into the backseat.

“Thanks for driving me again,” he tells her as he puts on his seatbelt. “It means a lot.”

“Of course. Betty wanted to be able to say goodbye before you leave us.” Veronica gives Betty a smirk and the blonde glares at her. She loves Veronica, but she’s always trying to meddle into her plans.

“Aw, Betty,” he places a hand on her shoulder and Betty can feel her cheeks redden at the touch. “I’ll be back before you know it!”

“I know, Arch.” She puts her hand over his and gives it a gentle pat before pulling away.

They spend the car ride in comfortable conversation. Archie tells them about his schedule for Europe and how excited he is. The entire thing has Betty feeling both happy and sad. She’s glad that Archie’s going to be able to get out of the country and discover new and exciting things, she really is, but she feels like her heart is actually breaking at the thought of being without him. She doesn’t know how she’s supposed to get through any of this. It’s the summer before their final year of college and they were supposed to spend it together, but now that’s changing and she’s a bit devastated by it all.

Veronica stays in the car while Betty gets out to help Archie with his bags. Veronica isn’t stressed out at all over Archie leaving and she’s fine with a simple wave goodbye and a ‘text me when you land’. Betty wonders what that’s like.

“I’m going to miss you,” she says as she looks at the ground once they’ve gotten his bags down. “Riverdale’s going to suck without you.”

“Riverdale sucks in general,” he laughs. “But I’ll miss you too. What am I going to do without my best girl?” He pulls Betty in for a hug and she has to refrain from crying. She’s always been a little too sentimental when it came to Archie. “I’ll Skype you every night, I promise. Nothing’s going to change between us.”

“Be safe,” she sniffs out. “And have fun. Bring me something back?”  

“You know I will. I love you, Betty.”

“I love you too.”

She wishes she could tell him just how much she loves him, but she doesn’t. Instead she just waves goodbye to him and wishes him a safe flight. She hates herself for being so weak. She doesn’t understand why she can’t just tell him the truth about how she feels about him. According to everyone, they’re “endgame” so she doesn’t understand what she’s so afraid of; losing him probably, although she can’t really see that happening.

She gets back in Veronica’s car and gives her a look before she can even open her mouth.

“Don’t say anything.”

“I wasn’t going to,” Veronica says gently while starting the car. The ride back home is quiet and miserable and Betty spends it wishing she was a little bit braver.

She sips on a milkshake at Pop’s while glaring daggers at Veronica and Reggie sitting across from her.

Veronica and Reggie are that couple that have been dating since high school that you just know are going to be together forever. They were a true power couple and while Betty adored them, she was kind of sick of them always acting so in love around her. Being around them just managed to make her remember that she still hadn’t told Archie her real feelings and therefore she couldn’t share the kind of happiness they had with someone of her own.

“Why are you so down, little Coop?”

“I told you to stop calling me that,” she says with an eyeroll.

“Don’t mind her,” Veronica tells her boyfriend. “She’s just sad because Archie left for Europe yesterday.”

“Did you tell him how you feel yet?”

She wonders how pathetic she must be if even Reggie Mantle is worried about her love life.

“No,” she answers, “I can’t tell him yet.”

“And why not?”

“Well for one, ‘cause I don’t know the first thing about being somebody’s girlfriend,” she tells him. “I’ve never even held hands with a guy who wasn’t Archie. How am I supposed to be his girlfriend?”

“I think it just kind of comes naturally.”

“No. I can’t confess my love for him and then make a fool of myself by being a terrible girlfriend.”

“So what’s your plan?” Veronica asks, raising an eyebrow. “Fake date someone so you can learn how to be a good girlfriend for him?”

Betty looks at her in wonder. “Actually… actually that’s a great idea, V.”

“Wait!” Veronica says, eyes wide. “Are you actually serious right now? Betty, that was a joke. Obviously that was a joke!”

“No, it’s a good idea. Think about it! I have four months to learn how to be a good girlfriend that way whenever Archie comes back, I’ll know what to do and I won’t have to worry about embarrassing myself in front of him.”

“I think embarrassing yourself is a key part of a relationship,” Reggie says uneasily. “You can’t just go around being perfect all the time.”

“For Archie, yes I can.”

“And who do you plan on using in this experiment?” Veronica all but screeches. “You can’t just use someone like that!”

“I won’t be using them. I’ll let them know up front what the plan is. I’m not trying to toy with someone’s feelings.”

“Betty, this isn’t going to work. No one in their right mind would agree to fake date someone for four months and not get anything out of it.”

“I would.”

Betty jumps in surprise. All three of them turn around and see Jughead Jones sitting behind them in a booth of his own with a smirk on his face.

“And why would you do that?” Betty asks, confused. She doesn’t really know Jughead at all. They’ve gone to the same schools since they were kids, but he kind of stuck to himself and never tried to befriend anyone. He was occasionally around their group because Archie and him were sort of friends, but Betty had never really connected with him at all. Not like they got the chance though, with Betty all up caught up in Archie and Jughead’s self-isolating personality.

“Sounds like you need help,” he says with a shrug. “And I have time.”

“You’d help me?”

“Sure. Never let it be said that I don’t help out those in need.”

“Betty,” Veronica hisses, even kicking her under the table to get her attention. “This isn’t a good idea.”

Betty ignores her as she studies Jughead. He looks sincere enough, albeit minus the cocky smirk on his face.

“What’s in it for you?” Betty asks, not sure if she can trust him.

“Nothing. I get to spend time with a pretty girl. I think it’ll give me some cred, don’t you?”

“You are aware I’m doing this to get Archie, right?” The last thing she needs is some random guy falling in love with her while she’s already in love with someone else.

“I know.”

She looks at him for a beat longer before finally nodding.

“Okay,” she agrees. She pulls a pen from her purse and writes her number on a napkin, handing it over to Jughead when she’s done. “Text me sometime this week and we can talk things over.”

Jughead salutes her before walking out of Pop’s, a takeout bag in his hand. She watches him go, watches him get on a sleek black motorcycle and drive off before she finally looks back towards her friends.

Veronica has a glare on her face and Reggie looks both confused and entertained.

“What?” She asks them, a little accusatory.

“You’re playing with fire,” Veronica answers her, voice stern. “This isn’t going to end well.”

“Shut up, Ronnie.” That should have sounded playful but it came out more annoyed and defensive. “I know what I’m doing.”

“I don’t think you do, but for your sake, I hope you’re right.”

Betty just looks back down at her milkshake. She totally has this under control. It’s all for Archie and it’ll be worth it in the end.

“Which color do you think looks better on me?”

Betty watches as Veronica holds up two dresses against her body, a red one and a purple one. She’s having this huge birthday party at her parent’s mansion while they’re away and she’s insisted that both she and Betty need new dresses for it. Veronica doesn’t do anything half assed and she’s already stated that the party has to have a strict dress code, which is why they’re shopping for dresses that Betty would never buy for herself willingly. Thank God for Veronica’s trust fund and black card.

“That one,” Betty says as she points to the black Valentino studded scallop dress.

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Veronica says as she tosses the red and purple Dolce & Gabbana dresses to the side as if they were worth nothing. Betty walks over to them and picks them up, placing them back on the rack in the dressing room.

“I was thinking about this one for you,” Veronica says as she picks up a white dress from the rack. She hands it to her and Betty reads the tag, ignoring Veronica in the background. “It would go so good with your skin tone and if you wore those nude heels daddy bought me from Stuart Weitzman? You’d look killer!”

“Brandon Maxwell belted mini dress in Ivory, wait,” Betty flips over the tag to check the price. “Veronica, this dress is really expensive.” Veronica just looks at Betty with a bored look. “You can’t buy me this.”

“I’m not. Daddy is. Daddy loves you! And it’s a birthday gift. As you know, my birthday is your birthday. I can’t have my girl looking less than perfect at my party.”

Betty just rolls her eyes as she snorts in laughter. Before she can answer Veronica, her phone beeps from her purse. She pulls it out and sees that it’s a number she doesn’t know.

It’s Jughead. Want to talk about that date now?

Betty must have a sour look on her face because Veronica asks who’s texted her.

“It’s Jughead.”

“That was rather fast,” Veronica noted. “What did he say?”

“Just asking about a date. I never mentioned anything about a date.”

“What do you think fake dating is, Betty? Invite him to my party if you want. Parties are a great place to talk and get to know someone.” Veronica grabs her bag from where it had been hanging as she walks out of the dressing room to go and pay for the dresses.

Betty just stares at the message, not knowing what to say back to him.

“I still think this is a bad idea,” her best friend reminds her again once they leave the store. “You don’t even really know Jughead. What if he’s some crazy stalker or serial killer?”

“I doubt it,” she says with an eyeroll. “Archie and him are friends so he can’t be that bad.”

“Yes, because Archie has impeccable taste. Only a guy with impeccable taste could ignore your very obvious hints for years.”

Betty ignores Veronica’s sarcastic tone. “I think I am going to invite Jughead,” she tells her. “It’ll be fun.”

“That’s not exactly the word I would use,” Veronica sighs. “But it’ll definitely be something.”

Veronica’s party is in full swing Saturday night. Betty recognizes a few familiar faces from school, but majority of the people here she’s never seen before in her entire life. Veronica’s too busy entertaining guests to stay and hold her hand so she sticks by the food table set up in the back of what Veronica calls the parlor.

Jughead had told her that he’d come by, but she hasn’t gotten a text from him all night so she’s starting to think that maybe he bailed. She doesn’t know what the protocol for one’s fake boyfriend standing them up is so she decides she’ll just let it slide. Jughead doesn’t seem like one for big, fancy parties anyway.

She spends a fair amount of the party talking to Kevin Keller and his boyfriend Joaquin. They’re actually really funny and she finds herself having a good time with them. At least until Kevin overdid it and got a little too drunk and Joaquin had to take him home before he ended up passing out on the ground.

So now she was alone, surrounded by a bunch of strangers and finger food that looked way too fancy to even touch.

“I feel like I’ve just stepped into a party for the rich and famous.”

She turns around and sees Jughead standing in front of her, hands in his pockets as he looks around uneasily. He’s not too dressed up, but he isn’t wearing his usual comfort clothing. He’s in dark jeans and a black button up, but he has his signature beanie on. Even if you don’t know Jughead Jones, chances were you knew of his crowned beanie. He’d had the thing since they were kids and he never took it off. Betty wasn’t sure she’d ever seen him without it on.

“You came,” she states the obvious. “I didn’t think you would.”

“I had some stuff I had to take care of.”

Betty just nods, not really knowing what to say. Veronica was right, she doesn’t know Jughead at all. She has no idea how to act around him or what to talk to him about.

“I’m hungry, but I’m scared to touch that food.”

“Why?” She asks in confusion.

“It looks like it costs more than everything in my closet. Does it taste as good as it looks?”

“I guess. I haven’t really eaten anything.”

She watches as Jughead picks up some kind of weird looking sandwich.

“So do you guys usually throw parties like this?” He asks as he takes a bite. “This sandwich is really fucking good by the way.”

Betty grimaces as he talks with his mouth full. “No,” she answers his question. “It’s Veronica’s birthday on Monday so she’s throwing her party tonight.”

“So where is the hostess?”

“Probably off entertaining guests, I guess. Why?”

“I should wish her a happy birthday, shouldn’t I?” He seems confused at Betty’s own confusion. She hadn’t been expecting him to actually care about her friends.

“We can find her later.”

Jughead just nods as he wipes his hands on his jeans.

“You look really nice,” he says with pink cheeks. “I like your dress.”

She’s taken off guard at the compliment before she remembers what is it they’re doing here. Jughead’s going to be her pretend boyfriend so of course he’s going to feed her compliments from time to time. She knows he’s only saying it because he kinda has to, but she still smiles at his words.

“Thank you. It’s new.”

“You buy new outfits for every party you go to?” He doesn’t sound judgemental, he sounds genuinely curious.

“No. Veronica likes to buy people things and she insisted that I needed a new dress.”

“Sounds like a good friend.”

“She is.”

Jughead nods and once again they find themselves in a bit of an awkward silence.

“Do you want to see if we can find her?” Betty asks, desperate to fill in the quietness growing between them. “She can’t have gone too far.”

“Of course not, in a house like this I imagine it’s a bit hard to get lost.” Betty snorts and leads Jughead out of the parlor.

It takes a while, but she finally finds Veronica in the game room watching Reggie play pool against some guy Betty’s never seen before in her entire life.

“Hey, V!” She greets as she walks over to the brunette. Veronica looks up and once she sees who's called her, she grins widely.

“B!” She runs over to her and engulfs her in a hug as if they haven’t seen each other in years. “Where’d you go? I’ve been so bored.”

“I doubt that,” Betty laughs. Veronica seems a little tipsy right now so she decides she’ll stick by her. Veronica tended to get a little wild when she drank.

“Hi, Jughead,” Veronica greets. “Glad you could make it.” Jughead seems a little surprised by Veronica’s warm greeting, but he soon gathers himself up as he smiles back at her.

“Hi. Happy birthday. Betty told me you’re celebrating.”

“Thank you!” Veronica gasps, eyes watering a little bit. “You’re the first person to tell me that all night.”

“Oh,” he says, not knowing what to do.

Betty just rolls her eyes as she places her hand around Veronica’s waist, noticing the way the other girl is swaying. She might be a little more than tipsy right now.

“Hey, babe!” Reggie shouts, coming up the group. “Did you see me beat that guy’s ass? I just made $500 from that game.”

“I think she needs to lay down,” Betty says, ignoring his boasting. Reggie takes in his girlfriend’s current state and nods, taking her from Betty’s hands and leading her away from the crowded room.

“She’s going to be embarrassed about that tomorrow,” she tells Jughead. “She hates when she drinks so much that she passes out.”

“She didn’t seem that bad.”

“Trust me, one more drink and she would have been on her ass. Veronica’s a lightweight.” Jughead laughs and Betty smiles. “Do you want something to drink? I can make something for you. I work at a bar so I’m kind of badass at making drinks.”

“No,” he says a little quickly. “I don’t drink.”

“That’s cool.” Betty’s never been a big drinker either. She usually has to watch over Archie or Veronica when they decide to drink too much. She’s not complaining, but sometimes it sucks being the sober friend. “Do you want to go outside or something? It’s really loud in here and we can talk better out there.”

“Sure.”

She wants to be able to get to know Jughead better. If they’re going to do this, then she needs to know as much as she can about him. This isn’t going to work with a stranger, so she’d like to try to be friends with him first.  

There are a few people outside, but it seems like this is where the sober people are hanging out so Betty decides it’s safe for them to stay out here. She walks over to the white gazebo in the back of the yard that Veronica’s dad had built for her whenever she went through her painting phase that had only lasted a month. Veronica had insisted she needed somewhere she could truly capture nature and her father was nothing if not a pushover when it came to her.

“This is nice,” Jughead says as he runs his hand over the railing. “Whoever built it did a beautiful job.”

“Have you ever built anything?”

He shrugs. “I worked with Archie’s dad on construction for a couple of summers and I took woodshop in high school. I’ve built a few things. Nothing as beautiful as this though.” Betty just nods, a bit fascinated. She had never known this about him. How could she have not known that he had worked with Archie’s dad? Had she really been that consumed over the redheaded boy?

“Did you enjoy it?”

“I really did,” he smiles gently as if remembering something. “It’s hard work, but it’s fun. The feeling you get when you finally finish a project, there’s nothing like it.” His voice takes a nostalgic tone and Betty finds herself smiling with him. She’s never really had a passion like that before and it’s nice to see someone who does.

“I carved a soap box once,” she finds herself saying.

“Like they do in boy scouts?”

“Yeah,” she snorts. “Archie was in boy scouts and I was in girl scouts and I was so jealous that he got to do cool things like soap box derbies while I had to sell cookies.” She smiles as she recalls the memory. “I was so upset over it that Archie told me he’d have a race with me and that he’d help me carve my own soap box. I still have it.”

“Did you win?”

“I did.” She gets lost in the memory as she stares up at the sky. Archie’s always been the biggest part of her life, the most important part of it; she doesn’t know a memory that doesn’t include him in it.

“So this fake dating thing… you’re serious about it?”

“I know it sounds crazy.” She really does. She can only imagine what Jughead thought of her. Hell, even Reggie had told her it was a bad idea and he was the poster boy for making big mistakes. “But I need to do this. Archie’s everything to me and I just- I need things to be perfect for him.”

She’s always hated that word, “perfect”. Her whole life all she’s ever been told is how perfect she is, the golden girl, the all star, the straight A-student. She resented the name and everything it meant. She hated feeling like she had to live up to some imaginary standard, yet all she wanted to do was be perfect for Archie. She was so scared that if she was anything less than perfect that he’d realize he could do better than her.

“I’m not judging you. I wouldn’t do that.” Jughead offers her a kind smile. “I understand liking someone so much you’d do anything for them.”

“Yeah? You got a secret crush on someone out there?” She asks, jokingly.

“No one I’m ever going to tell. I’m better off watching from a distance.”

Betty nods in understanding. She had been the exact same way before. She gets it.

“I don’t know the first thing about being someone’s girlfriend,” she admits to him. “How embarrassing is that?” She’s twenty years old and she’s never even had her first kiss, all because it’s something she’s always wanted to save for Archie.

“Well, I guess we’re both embarrassments then because I’ve never had a girlfriend before.”

“Really?” It’s not that hard to believe, Jughead’s a freaking recluse but he’s also kinda cute in a broody, rebellious-teen-movie-star sort of way.

“There was this girl, Sabrina, she would come down during the summers and we sort of had something, but not anything serious enough to classify as dating. It was more like two teenagers experimenting and learning things.” He says it almost wistfully and Betty wonders if maybe the girl he’d been talking about earlier is Sabrina, the one who he’ll admire from far away.

“So you have experience?”

“I guess you could say that.”

Betty nods, a bit shyly.

“You don’t?” He asks, shocked. “At all?”

“I told you I’ve never dated anyone before.”

“Neither have I,” he reminds her. “You don’t need to date someone to have experience in things.”

The idea sounds insane to her. She’d been brought up with the notion that you could only ever be intimate with the man you would marry. Obviously she didn’t really believe that anymore, but the overall concept still stayed with her. She had only ever wanted to be intimate with Archie and she knew that they’d be together forever so it was kind of the same thing.

“So what are you trying to get out of this?” He asks her once she doesn’t respond back to him. “You want to learn how to hold hands or something?”

She glares at his teasing tone. “No, yes. Maybe. I don’t know. I want to learn how to act, what I’m supposed to do to make him happy. I want to learn how to plan dates and just how to be a good girlfriend in general. You don’t have to really teach me anything. I just need you to let me practice on you.”

Jughead makes a face, but before she can even attempt to read into it, he relaxes and smiles at her.

“Well, Betty Cooper, I’m your man.” He reaches out and places his arm around her shoulders, bringing her in closer to him. She freaks out a little bit, going stiff before looking at him in confusion. “Okay, I’m pretty sure that dating someone means you don’t freak out whenever they put their arm around you.”

Right, she thinks to herself. Of course. She needs to loosen up. She leans into Jughead’s embrace. He’s warm and his chest isn’t as strong or muscular as Archie’s is, but somehow it feels a lot more comfortable. She soon finds herself laying completely against him, not even worrying about her weight crushing him like she usually does with Archie.

They spend their night people watching, coming up with stories about everyone at the party.

That girl is totally trying to hide from some creep who won’t leave her alone.

That’s the third girl that guy has tried to hit on and it looks like he’s about to strike out again.

They’re definitely looking for a threesome.

It’s fun, it’s more fun than Betty’s had in awhile. She wonders if this is all there is to dating? Just sitting around with your boyfriend, laughing and talking while he has his arm around you.

When it’s time for them to finally leave, Betty pulls out her phone to call an Uber.

“What are you doing?” Jughead asks her. “I’ll give you a ride home.”

She glances over at his motorcycle and gives him a wary look.

“Oh, come on,” he says with an eye roll. “It’s not that scary. In fact I think you’ll find that you like it.” He swings a leg over the bike and hands a helmet towards her, eyes inviting and daring.

“I don’t think this dress was made for a motorcycle if we’re being honest.”

Jughead looks down at her legs before biting his lip in thought. He doesn’t say anything as he unbuttons his button up and hands it over to her. He’s wearing a tight, black t shirt under it and he shivers as the cold air hits his bare arms.

“Wrap it around your front,” he instructs her.

“You can’t give me your flannel and your helmet,” she protests. “What about you?”

“I’ll be fine. I’m a bit more worried about you.” He looks at her curiously, almost as if he’s studying her. Before she realizes what he’s doing, he pulls a leather jacket off of the seat behind him that she hadn’t even noticed before.

“Don’t judge me,” he tells her. She just looks at him in confusion as he hands her over the jacket. She doesn’t know why’d she judge him for having a leather jacket until she unfolds it and sees the serpent staring back at her. She holds the jacket in her hands, looking down at the symbol staring back at her in wonder and a bit in fear.

“You’re a--?”

“Yes,” Jughead answers before she can even say anything. “I understand if that changes things.” He looks down in shame and she wonders how many people have turned him away because of this. She wonders if she’s going to be one of those people.

As soon as the thought comes into her mind, it leaves. Jughead has been nothing but kind to her and she has no reason to believe he’s anything but. She doesn’t say anything, she just puts the jacket and helmet on and wraps his flannel around her waist to cover her legs. She ignores his look of surprise as she climbs onto the back of his motorcycle.

“Show me how fast this thing can go.” It’s a daring thing to say, one she probably wouldn’t ever actually say but she feels this need to prove to Jughead that she isn’t going to run away from him like others obviously have. She wonders just how long he’s been alone for.

He just laughs before he starts up the bike and then they’re off.

They’re off and he’s speeding through the streets. Betty has a tight hold on him as she looks at the scenery flashing by them. She can’t help the large grin that covers her face. The speed and the cool wind she feels against her body send a rush of adrenaline through her. She’s never felt this kind of rush before and a part of her almost wants to yell out at the excitement she feels racing through her blood.

All too soon they’re parked in front of her house and she feels a sense of loss at the fact that she’ll have to get off the bike.

“It’s always fun the first time.”

“Does it wear off?” She asks, sadden by the idea that it might.

“Never.” He grins at her as he takes back his jacket, flannel, and helmet. “Do you want to do something next week?”

She hadn’t been expecting him to ask so soon, but she assumes that he’s taking the whole “fake dating” thing pretty serious.

“Sure. We can go down to Sweetwater? It’s nice this time of year.”

“I’ll call you,” he says with a smile.

She waves him off before making her way inside of her house. Her parents are both asleep when she enters and she thanks God for little miracles.

She’s asleep in her bed as soon as her head touches it, shoes still on and all.

She doesn’t have anything planned for her and Jughead really. When she goes down to Sweetwater with Archie, they’re usually walking Vegas. They don’t go down there just for the hell of it and she isn’t sure why she offered the idea to Jughead.

On a last minute plan, she packs them both a lunch in an old basket her mother had hidden away in the kitchen. It’s something straight out of a romantic comedy and she would laugh at the entire situation, if it weren’t so unbelievably cliche. She almost decides to put the sandwiches into a plastic store bag.

A text from Jughead lets her know that he’s already at the river and so she just leaves the food in the basket, grabbing a couple of waters and throwing them in as well before she makes her way out of her house. Sweetwater isn’t too far from her house, most things in Riverdale are pretty close together since it’s such a small town so she decides to walk.

It’s a nice day outside and she’s enjoying the walk, thinking about her morning. Archie had Skyped her earlier in the day and he’d told her about how he was settling in. He was rooming with some guy named Jason Blossom and he mentioned that he was pretty cool and that they were going to go out for drinks that night since they were both legal in the U.K. Betty was happy for him. Sure, she was still sad that he was so far away but she was glad that he was having a good time and making friends.

Their time difference wasn’t too bad and he told her that he’d call her before he went to bed. She’d still be up at the time, so she was excited to hear from him. The conversation had left her with a bit of a skip in her step and it isn’t much longer before she’s at Sweetwater, seeing Jughead’s silhouette in the distance.

She hears a tiny yapping and looks around, trying to see where it’s coming from.

“Hot Dog!” She hears Jughead call out. “Get away from there!” As she gets closer to them she sees that Jughead is watching a fluffy white dog run around and explore.

“You have a dog?” She coos as she finally reaches him. He jumps up, obviously not expecting her to get there so soon, before giving her a smile in greeting.

“Yeah, this little pest over here is Hot Dog, come here boy!” The dog runs over to them, nearly pushing Betty down as he jumps up on her. She laughs as she settles the basket she’d brought onto the ground, allowing the dog to jump all over her. He’s a heavy thing and she has to work to hold them both up, but she’s smiling and laughing the whole time. She’s always adored dogs even though she’s never had one of her own.

“Sorry about him,” Jughead says with a smile, “he gets excited around new people.” He pulls a tennis ball from his jacket pocket, a regular blue jean jacket, and throws it into the distance. Hot Dog’s attention is taken by it and they both watch as the furry dog runs after it.

“Don’t worry about it, he was cute.” Jughead sits down by her and she places the basket in front of them. “So this is going to sound supper cheesy, but I kind of made us sandwiches and stuff? I only ever really come down here with Archie when we’re walking his dog so I wasn’t sure what to bring and I didn’t know if maybe you’d be hungry.”

“Starving actually,” he says a bit sheepishly. “I haven’t eaten all day.”

Betty doesn’t mention that it’s four in the afternoon, so the fact that he hasn’t eaten is kind of really alarming. Instead she just opens the basket and pulls out one of the sandwiches she’d made for him.

“I actually made us four because I’m kind of extra like that, and I brought a pack of Walker’s shortbread rounds in case maybe Hot Dog wants some? I would have gotten him some snacks if I knew he was coming.”

“Betty, this is perfect,” he tells her as he stops her troubled mind with a smile. “Definitely something a good girlfriend would do.”

“Really? I’ve never cooked for Archie, although I don’t know if you can classify this as cooking.”

Jughead laughs loudly. “I don’t think you can, but this is good just the way it is. I can cook actually. If you ever want to have dinner or something.”

“Will you teach me?” She asks him. “That way I can learn, you know, for--.”

“Yeah,” he cuts her off quickly, voice a bit rough. “I can teach you. We can have dinner at my place sometime.”

She smiles, liking the idea.

They start eating after that, occasionally Jughead will throw the ball for Hot Dog and they engage in a bit of smalltalk. Betty’s having a good time despite the circumstances. She can’t believe that she never talked to Jughead before or that she’s only talking to him now because of Archie. He’s a funny guy with a kind heart and she wonders why he hides it from everyone.

“The water looks nice,” Jughead tells her randomly. “Do you ever swim in it?”

“In Sweetwater?” She yelps. “No. I don’t think that’s safe.” The water does look inviting though as she stares out at it. Today’s one of those days where it’s calm and steady instead of thrashing around with its rapids.

“I haven’t gone swimming in so long. I used to go to the pool with my family when I was younger but we haven’t done that in years.”

“Veronica has a pool. She hardly uses it these days. Maybe a pool party is in the future.”

Jughead laughs. “How was she after the party? She okay?”

“Yeah. She’s one of those people who doesn’t really know their limits, but Reggie’s always there to take care of her when she needs him.”

Jughead just nods.

“I think you’d like her,” Betty tells him. He sends her a doubtful look. “I do! Maybe even Reggie too. He’s a bit much, but once you get to know him you’ll realize what a good friend he is.”

“You want me to meet your friends?” He asks, unsure.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?”

“I’m not your actual boyfriend,” he shrugs but he looks down while he says it, picking at the grass beneath him.

“Well, of course you aren’t, but you’re still my friend. If we’re going to be doing this for a few months then you should meet my friends.” She doesn’t bring up the fact that she’ll meet his friends as well if he wants. She doubts he really has any. She assumes he must have some, though. She thinks back to the leather jacket she’d held in her hands last night. His friends are probably Serpents and she doesn’t know how she’d feel about meeting them. She wonders if they’re nice like Jughead or if he’s one of a kind.

“Alright,” he agrees but he doesn’t sound like he means it. He’s hung around them before with Archie so she doesn’t see why it’s such a big deal, but she decides not to push him.

They spend the rest of the evening just playing with Hot Dog and talking. Night falls soon and they say goodbye, Betty promising to text him later on in the week with another “date” planned. Hopefully the next date she can actually learn something. Today was more of a day for testing the waters, seeing if they had anything in common at all and they did, so she assumed things would be okay between them for the next couple of months.

Her phone vibrates in her hand on the way home and she sees that it’s a snapchat message from Archie.

Hey, Betty! It’s super late over here, but we just got back to the room. Raincheck on our Skype date? I’m going to head to bed already. Love you!!!!

She feels her heart drop at the fact that she won’t get to really talk to Archie tonight, but she lets him know that it’s okay. She’s glad he’s out having fun and she won’t make him feel bad for it. She has no reason to. A small part of her wants to tell her best friend about her new friendship with Jughead, but she isn’t sure how to explain it to him without informing him of the whole plan. There’s no way Archie would believe that she just became friends with Jughead out of nowhere. A part of her briefly wonders if Jughead will even stick around once this whole thing is finished. He’s really cool and they get along well, but she just couldn’t see him sticking around. The thought saddens her, but she doesn’t let it get to her.

“That was the worst movie I have ever seen in my entire life.”

“It wasn’t that bad.”

“You’re right. It was worse. Seriously, Betty. What were you thinking?”

Jughead and her had decided to go to the movies. It was the perfect first “real” date idea, he had told her. He had even let her pick the movie, some cheesy action film that turned out to be more of a romance movie. She had thought it was cute, cheesy and cliche but cute. Jughead had hated it. He’d actually even fallen asleep for about ten minutes of it.

“You’re being too harsh,” she tells him, but she’s smiling at how upset he really seems over the movie. It’s kind of endearing to see him get so worked up over something like this. “I give it three stars.”

“Out of ten?”

“Out of five!”

“That’s pushing it,” he mumbles. Betty just laughs and shakes her head at him.

Jughead carelessly throws an arm over Betty’s shoulder, it’s the arm that’s still holding a bag of Twizzlers in it and he shoves them in her face.

“Want one?”

She takes it and bites at it. She hadn’t realized just how hungry she was. Her box of M&M’s hadn’t done anything to fill her up. At the thought, her stomach growls loudly and her face turns red in embarrassment.

Jughead looks down at her and laughs. “Hungry?”

“I haven’t eaten anything all day,” she admits to him with a frown.

“You want to go get something to eat? I would take you to a nice restaurant, but I don’t actually have that much on me right now…” He trails off and Betty can see the way his face reddens at his own words.

“We can go to Pop’s?” She offers. Pop has the best burgers in town and they’re actually really cheap too. “Archie’s always taking me out to expensive restaurants after we see a movie and it’s kind of old. I think a burger sounds perfect right about now.”

Jughead doesn’t stop frowning, but he just nods without looking at her. Betty hopes that he doesn’t feel bad about not being able to take her somewhere fancy. She’s never cared about all of that. An ideal date to her is this; a movie and a burger at Pop’s. That’s all she really needs. She wishes Jughead knew that, but then she wonders why Jughead would even have to know that. If anything it’s Archie that she needs to make sure knows that. He’s the one who’s going to be taking her on dates for the rest of her life if everything goes according to plan.

Pop’s is fairly crowded when they arrive. It’s a Saturday night so it’s expected, but it still annoys her to find that there aren’t very many sitting options. They’re about to make their way to the counter to sit, when a voice calls out her name. She turns around and sees Veronica waving her over to the booth she’s currently sitting at in the back of the diner. Reggie’s with her and Betty sees it as the perfect opportunity to finally properly introduce Jughead to her friends.

She turns to him and sees how he stiffens up a little bit.

“Are you okay with sitting with them?” She asks. She doesn’t want to make him do anything he isn’t comfortable with. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to. It’s okay.”

Jughead just shakes his head before giving her a smile that looks a little forced. “No. No, it’s fine. I want to meet them.”

She can tell that he’s lying but she nods anyway as she leads them over to the booth. She can understand why he’s a bit hesitant. She’s never really liked meeting new people either. That’s why she’s had the same group of friends her entire life. It’s probably why she never attempted to try to be friends with Jughead before, although she really regrets that one.

“Hey, guys,” she says as she slides on the side opposite of Reggie and Ronnie. Jughead slides in next to her and nods at them in greeting.

“Sup, Elle Woods,” Reggie jokes with a smile. “Donnie Darko, how’s it going?” He turns to Jughead. Veronica must have hit him under the table because he lets out a little ‘oof’ before turning and giving her a glare. “I’m just joking, woman. Jeez. It’s good to see you, Jughead.”

Jughead just nods and Betty wishes he’d try to make an attempt to start a conversation with them, but she won’t push him.

“What are you guys up to?” She asks them instead.

“We went shopping earlier. I tried to get Reggie to take me to go see that new movie but he wasn’t having it.” Veronica turns and glares at her boyfriend who just pops a french fry into his mouth.

“Sorry, babe, but I told you, I don’t do chick flicks and I definitely don’t do chick flicks that decide to mesh with action films. It’s just wrong and no one should have to sit through that.”

“Far From Home? We just saw that movie!” Betty exclaims, still excited over it. “Oh, it was so good.”

“It was shit,” Jughead snorts and everyone looks at him, a little bit shocked that he’s actually said something. It makes Betty smile.

“I told you,” Reggie says smugly to Veronica, “Jughead used to work at the drive-in, so he has good taste in movies. I think we should listen to him before we listen to Betty. She claims that One Tree Hill is the best series to ever come out on television.”

“It is!” Betty and Veronica claim at the same time.

Reggie just laughs. “She’s made me watch that shit like twenty times,” he says to Jughead. “Don’t let Betty suck you into that hole. You will never get out of it.”

“My little sister watches that,” Jughead says with a scowl. “If I have to hear Gavin DeGraw sing that song one more time, I think I’m going to go insane.”

Betty looks at him in surprise. She hadn’t been aware that Jughead had a little sister. Granted, she had never really paid attention to him before, but she doesn’t even remember Archie ever mentioning a sister. It’s news to her but she tries to picture Jughead with a younger sister and the image brings a smile to her face. Even when he had been trying to act annoyed just right now, the mere mention of his sister had brought a smile to his face. He seems like he’d be an amazing older brother and it’s a quality she could admire.

“I tried to get her to watch Iron Fist with me, but she wasn’t having it,” Reggie says with a shake of his head.

“I’ve been meaning to watch that,” Jughead tells him. Betty notices that he isn’t hunched over anymore and leaning more towards her. He sits up straight, one arm thrown over the back of the seat as the other is perched up on the table. “I just caught up with all of Daredevil.”

“Dude, badass! You should totally hit me up whenever you’re free and we can watch Iron Fist together, grab a few beers and make a guy’s night out of it. It beats listening to Veronica whine as she tries to change the show every five minutes.” Veronica elbows him and he laughs before turning his attention back to Jughead. “But for real, man. Hit me up sometime. It’s dull as fuck around here.”

Betty gives Veronica a smile and the brunette winks back at her. She has a feeling that her friend has something to do with how open and cool Reggie’s being right now, but she doesn’t care. The way that Jughead looks, calm and happy, is exactly what she had wanted.

Jughead and Reggie start up their own little conversation with each other about TV shows and movies they’re into and Betty turns her attention towards Veronica.

“Having fun?” Her best friend asks with a knowing smile on her face. Betty doesn’t know why she’s looking at her like that, but she doesn’t ask. That’s something she’ll ask in private.

“Yeah,” Betty admits. “More than I thought I would.”

“Just be careful, B.” She says quietly, so the guys don’t hear. “Don’t get hurt.”

Betty doesn’t know what she means by that. How would she get hurt? How would either of them get hurt? They both knew what was happening here. They understood the terms. Veronica just liked to be dramatic though, so Betty just nodded.

“That was fun,” Betty tells Jughead as he walks her to her front door. “Thank you for tonight.”

“Don’t thank me, I had a good time. Your friends weren’t so bad.”

“You and Reggie were having a total bromance right in front of us,” she teases him. “Do I need to be worried?”

“Nah,” he says with a smirk. “I’m more into blondes.”

She laughs. She knows he’s just joking, that he doesn’t like her that way, but it’s still sweet to hear. The past few weeks she’s been spending with Jughead have been amazing. She’s having more fun than she can ever remember having before and it makes her feel both incredibly happy and sad. She’s having more fun with Jughead, someone she’s only really known for about a month, than she’s had with Archie lately.

Archie was a great guy, but his idea of a good time was bringing Betty to his garage so she could listen to his new songs he’d been writing. They went out occasionally, sure, but Archie didn’t have the same kind of vivacious attitude that Jughead did. It was incredible, the way Jughead was completely different from how she’d originally thought him to be. He wasn’t so dark and brooding when you got to know him. He just had a lot of layers to himself. He reminded Betty of herself and it was a comforting thought, that they could be so alike and yet so different.

“I’ve always liked a boy with dark hair,” she says lightly as she pulls on one of his curls. He’s wearing his signature beanie and it looks cute on him. She wonders what his hair looks like without it.

“Not redheads?” He asks her, tilting his head to the side. She realizes he’s asking because of Archie and she just shakes her head.

“No. I’ve never really had a thing for the whole red hair. I guess it’s just him.”

Jughead nods, but doesn’t say anything back.

“So what usually happens at the end of date night?” She asks him as she looks at the ground, toeing her shoes into the gravel. “Do we just hug and say goodnight?”

“Sure,” he shrugs. “We could do that. If the date was really good, sometimes it even leads to a goodnight kiss.”

Betty’s head snaps up at his words. A goodnight kiss? She can’t help the blush that erupts on her cheeks. She’s never actually kissed anyone before. Archie had kissed her on the cheek once when they were much younger, but that was it. Her lips had never touched anyone elses and she wasn’t sure if she was embarrassed by that fact or not. It had been something she’d always thought she’d save for Archie, but now as she stood in front of Jughead and his warm eyes and gentle smile, she thought that maybe it’d be okay if she gave it to someone else.

“I’ve never kissed anyone before,” she admits to him a bit shyly, “I think I would like to kiss you.”

His eyes widen at her words and she wonders what he’s thinking right now. Is he judging her? Does he think that she’s immature now? Is he not going to want to kiss her anymore?

“You’ve never kissed anyone before?” He asks, bewildered. She just shakes her head. “How is that possible?” He doesn’t sound like he’s judging her. He just sounds genuinely confused.

“I guess I was saving it for the right time, for someone special,” she tells him fully aware that that’s usually what people say when they’re defending their virginity, not their first kiss.

“We don’t have to. I didn’t know.” He backs away from her, but she reaches out and grabs his hand.

“I want to,” she tells him, just now realizing how much she means it. She’d pictured her first kiss a thousand times before. She had pictured how it would happen with Archie. She had a million different scenarios and yet, for some reason, none of them came close to this one. “Teach me how.”

Jughead studies her for a minute before nodding. “I’m not sure about anyone else, but I’ll show you how I like to kiss; how I’d kiss you if you were mine.” He says it a bit roughly, almost possessively, and Betty bites her lip.

She stays completely still as he walks closer to her until his chest is finally almost right against hers. He brushes her hair away from her face and rubs her cheek with his thumb. It’s so sweet and gentle just like he is and she holds her breath as he leans down and connects their lips slowly.

It’s nothing like she’d ever pictured her first kiss. Jughead’s lips are a little chapped and hers are a little too sticky from her lip gloss. She’s a bit unsure what to do with her hands, so she places one of them around his bicep as she squeezes it softly. There’s no tongue, they don’t open their mouths at all. It isn’t messy and passionate like it usually is in the movies.

Jughead pulls away slightly before leaning in again and kissing her once more. This time his lips aren’t so chapped and they even feel a little bit softer. It’s a simple thing. There aren’t any fireworks exploding around her and her knees don’t go weak, her heart isn’t racing, but yet it still feels as though something life changing has just happened to her.

He presses his lips to hers a little rougher this time and opens his mouth slightly. She does the same and chases his lips with her own. She’s copying his movements, but he seems to like it by the way his grip on her waist tightens. One of his hands snakes it’s way up to her hair and tangles itself in it. He pulls at her hair, gently to where it doesn’t actually hurt, and she gasps at the sensation.

She doesn’t know how long they stand there kissing, she’s completely lost in his lips, but she knows that she never wants to stop.

When Jughead finally pulls away for good, he rests his forehead against hers for a few second before pulling away and kissing it as well.

Betty just stares at him in awe, feeling completely blissful. Jughead smiles down at her.

“Good first kiss?” He says it almost teasingly, but Betty can tell that he’s really nervous. She sees it in the way he adjusts his beanie twice even though it’s sitting perfectly on top of his head.

“It was fantastic,” she says with a smile.

“Good. That’s how you end a date,” he says before waving and turning around to walk away.

In a way, tonight is the first time she’s ever actually been on a date with anyone before. It was so simple, but yet she wondered if there was a way that any other date would be able to ever live up to it, to the feeling of complete serenity she was feeling right now. She wonders if this is what all first dates are like.

Once Jughead’s gone, she goes inside. Just as she gets to her room, her laptop alerts her that she’s getting a Skype call from Archie. For some reason that she can’t explain, she doesn’t feel excited to talk to him. She had just wanted to go to sleep with the feeling of Jughead lips still fresh in her mind.

She looks in the mirror before answering the call, wondering if Archie will be able to tell if she’s just been kissed. She wonders if she even wants him to know or if this is something she wants to keep to herself. She might have mentioned something like this to him before, to get a rise out of him and see if he’d be jealous but now she doesn’t even entertain that idea. Her kiss with Jughead wasn’t for Archie, it was for her. She doesn’t know what to do with that realization.

She doesn’t let herself stay focused on it for too long. This entire thing is for Archie. Jughead doesn’t like her and she can’t like him either, not like that at least. She needs to remember why she’s doing all of this.

She answers the Skype call with Archie and pushes all thoughts of Jughead out of her mind. It’s a little hard though, when she can still feel his lips on hers.

As the weeks grow so does Betty and Jughead’s relationship.

They spend their days down at Sweetwater with Hot Dog or in a booth at Pop’s, laughing and talking over milkshakes. Sometimes they “double date” with Veronica and Reggie. They deem Friday their movie night and use it to try to show each other the worst movies ever made. Sometimes they just hang out in Betty’s room, doing absolutely nothing. Reggie and Jughead eventually do end up binging Iron Fist together and sometimes when Betty will text him to hang out, Jughead says ‘sorry, with reggie for the day! Tomorrow?’ It puts a smile on her face like nothing else ever has. Veronica’s told her that Reggie’s really taken with Jughead and Betty feels a sense of pride over the whole thing.

In fact, today Jughead and Reggie are out fishing. Betty’s pretty sure that Jughead’s never gone fishing before, but Reggie had talked him into it by saying he’d buy them burgers to go. So Betty and Veronica were having a simple girl’s day, hanging out in Betty’s room as they talked.

“How are things with Jughead?” Veronica asks while painting Betty’s nails. “You guys seemed really close the other day at mini golf.”

Betty smiles at the memory. She had never gone mini golfing before and Jughead had offered to teach her. The way his body lined up with her as he wrapped his arms around her was something that she couldn’t forget. It was silly to get flustered over such a cliche move, but she couldn’t help the way she had pushed back into his body, wanting to feel as much of him as she could. Veronica had definitely noticed it, but she hadn’t said anything until now.

“They’re good,” Betty admits. “I really like him. He’s a great friend.”

Veronica snorts. “Friend? You sure about that?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” she says as she puts the nail polish away, “you guys kissed, doesn’t that change things? He was your first kiss and I doubt you’d let just anyone kiss you so he has to mean something to you. You may not notice it, but you’re different around him. You seem happier and more aware. When he moves, you move and vice versa. You guys are so in sync. It’s actually kind of creepy.”

Betty blushes at the words but shakes her head. “It’s not like that. I’m only doing this because of Archie. I was talking to him yesterday,” she says as she tries to change the subject, “he’s excited to be coming home next month.”

It was crazy, that four months had flown by so quickly. She’d been having so much fun with Jughead that time seemed to be flying by them. It made her unbelievably sad to think that this would all be done in a few weeks.

“I wasn’t talking about Archie,” Veronica sighs. “I think Jughead’s a little more of a friend and you know it.”

“He’s not.” He can’t be. For one, he doesn’t like her like that and she doesn’t like him that way either. This is all for Archie.

She hates how she has to remind herself of that so often.

“I just don’t want to see either of you get hurt,” Veronica says. “I like Jughead. I don’t know how this is supposed to end well for either of you.”

Betty doesn’t tell her that she’s been thinking the exact same thing lately.

“I could never be with him,” Betty says with a shake of her head. “He’s a Serpent, Ronnie. Did you know that?” Veronica’s eyes widen at the words and she visibly flinches. Betty knows that her friend hadn’t been aware of that news. Jughead hardly ever wore his Serpent jacket around them and well, they just hadn’t paid enough attention to him before to notice.

“And?” Veronica finally asks when the initial shock has worn off. “The Serpent’s aren’t evil incarnate. They’re not good, sure, but petty theft and the occasional drug dealing isn’t anything to be worked up over.”

“He could be considered a criminal,” Betty tries to reason with her. She’s not sure why she wants Veronica to think less of Jughead. Why is she even telling Veronica any of this? She’s never cared about Jughead being a Serpent before.

Apparently Ronnie thinks the same thing, because she just gives Betty a knowing look.

“Hardly,” she scoffs. “Are you trying to convince yourself here or me?” Betty stays quiet. “All I’m saying is, you know that what you’re feeling isn’t truly platonic and Archie’s coming home soon so you need to decide what it is that you’re doing.”

She wishes she had even the slightest clue.

Jughead invites her over to his apartment the week before Archie is supposed to come home. It takes Betty by surprise because they’ve never actually been over to his place before. They usually just go to Betty’s house, so she’s excited to say the least. She knows that Jughead lives in his own apartment and she’s eager to see it.

When she gets to his place, it’s a little past seven in the evening. Jughead was finally cooking her dinner and from where she stood outside of his door, she could smell it and it smelled amazing.

She knocks on the door and is shocked when a girl who looks to be about eight answers it. The girl is the spitting image of Jughead right down to his dark curls and Betty can’t help but be in awe of the similarities.

“Hi,” the girl says with a shy voice, “you must be Betty.”

“That’s me,” Betty smiles. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Jellybean.” Betty doesn’t even bat an eyelash at the name. “You’re really pretty. Jug said you were very pretty.” Betty blushes at the words, but before she can say anything else, Jughead comes up from behind Jellybean and opens the door wider for Betty.

“Hey, you,” he says with a smile, kissing her on top of her head as she walks inside of the apartment. “Dinner just finished! I was setting the table right now. I hope steak is okay.”

“Are you kidding? Steak is great.” Veronica’s always trying to get her to go vegan and Betty is finally glad to have someone around who enjoys meat and can even cook it. It’s a small blessing.

“You can sit down. I’m just cutting up Jellybean’s steak for her,” he bites at his lip as he turns to Betty. “I’m sorry I didn’t mention she’d be here. I thought she would be going to a friend’s house, but they cancelled last minute and I know you didn’t sign up for--.”

“Hey, no,” Betty stops him. “Don’t ever apologize for something like this. It doesn’t bother me at all, but you should never have to apologize to someone for watching your sister.”

“I don’t watch her,” he says offhandedly as he picks up a knife and begins cutting at the steak. “She lives with me.”

“Oh,” Betty says. Jughead doesn’t elaborate or anything and she decides not to push him on the matter. It’s not any of her business and if he wants to tell her the story then that’s fine, but if not well, that’s fine too.

Jughead calls Jellybean over to the kitchen once the table is fully set and the three of them sit down to eat. Jellybean launches into conversation about how she’s excited for school and if Jughead can please get her the black boots from the mall. It’s nice to see Jughead interact with his sister. Betty can tell that he’s a complete pushover with her and it’s so cute and sweet.

She tells Betty all about her school and her friends and asks if Betty would like to see her music collection someday. Talking to Jellybean reminds her of being a kid herself and she’s soon living off of the energy that the young girl is putting out. It’s the best dinner she’s had in a while and afterwards they play a game in the living room. She’s sad when Jughead finally tells Jellybean it’s time for bed.

“Bye, Betty,” Jellybean tells her as she gives her a hug. “I hope you come over again!”

Betty doesn’t tell her that of course, she’ll come back because she doesn’t know if she really will. Archie’s coming back soon and she doesn’t know what’s supposed to happen. Veronica had told her to make a choice, but Betty didn’t even know where to start.

“I hope you had a good time,” Jughead says once he comes back to the living room.

“I did,” Betty says honestly. “Jellybean is a sweetheart. I didn’t know you had a sister.”

Jughead pauses before he sits down next to Betty on the couch. “Our parents are kind of shit. My mom took off with some random guy when Jellybean was three years old and my dad was always a drunk. It just got worse when my mom left.” He sighs and Betty watches as he clenches and unclenches his fist. “My dad is a good man, I’ll defend him until the day I die but… he had a temper. When he got drunk, he yelled. He never hurt us, but I knew that I didn’t want Jellybean to grow up with that. Sometimes....” he pauses and shuts his eyes tightly. “Sometimes if someone around me yells too loud, I freak out. I know that’s probably embarrassing to admit, but…”

“It’s not,” Betty tells him softly, reaching out to place her hand over his in comfort. “That doesn’t make you weak at all and you shouldn’t be embarrassed. You’re doing a good thing here, Jughead. It’s admirable that you took Jellybean in like this. Not many people would. You’re a good brother.”

“She’s the reason I became a Serpent. My dad’s kind of the leader but he’s so out of it these days that…” he trails off and shakes his head. “Anyway, a lot of the guys owe him so they took me in and let me become one of them. They’re the only real family I have now. They’re all I’ve ever needed. They offer me protection and now I can offer the same thing to Jellybean. It’s not the best way to make money, but she wants badass boots and cool clothes for school so I do it for her. I’ll do anything for her.”

“And that, Jughead Jones, is why you’re the most selfless guy I know.” And it’s true. She’s never met anyone like him before and she doesn’t think she ever will. Jughead is so self-sacrificing and good, she wonders if he even knows how amazing he truly is. Archie was never like that. Anything they had was always about his endeavors and pursuits, what was going on in his life, and her playing the cheerleader. She could never see Archie doing what Jughead did and does for Jellybean, he’s too used to everything being handed to him on a silver plate. A burst of affection, and even love, goes through her as she looks at him. He looks torn and a bit ashamed, but Betty’s never seen someone so wholesome. She realizes now that she can’t lose him. Even when Archie comes back, she needs Jughead in her life. It’s selfish and it’s wrong, but she doesn’t want to lose him.

“When I was younger I used to want so much,” he says softly, almost like a whisper. “I used to want cool toys or games and then I wanted to be friends with the popular kids. I wanted a family, a girlfriend, I wanted happiness or money. I wanted everything and more.” He lets out a laugh. “Then I stopped wanting. I stopped wanting any of it. I can’t remember the last time I truly wanted something.”

“Do you want something right now?” Betty asks curiously.

Jughead looks at her, their eyes boring into one another’s.

“You.”

It’s one word, one simple word, and it hits her full force. She doesn’t know what to say. A part of her is yelling at herself to tell him just how bad she wants him too, because she does. Despite everything, despite her plan, in this moment he is the one thing she wants. She’s not thinking of anyone else except for Jughead. He’s all she can see.

“You have me,” she tells him.

“Do I?” He gives her a sad smile. “I don’t think I do.”

“Jug--.”

“Archie will be back in a few days and what will happen then, Betty? This whole plan was for him. These four months were for him. Are you telling me you’re just going to throw that all away for some boy from the wrong side of the tracks?”

Her head is spinning. Words fail her as she stares at Jughead, conflicted.

“You deserve to be with Archie,” he tells her as he intertwines their hands. “You deserve someone who can give you everything I can’t. I can’t give you the things you want, the things you deserve. All I can offer you is a crappy one bedroom apartment.” He gestures to the couch they’re sitting on. “This is my bedroom, Betty. You don’t deserve this. You deserve the entire world. I’ll never be able to give that to you.”

This feels like a breakup. It feels like someone is ripping her heart out of her chest. She doesn’t want it to be. She wants to tell Jughead that he’s wrong, that she can be okay with all of this, but she doesn’t say anything.

“You deserve fancy dinners and dates that cost more than forty dollars. You deserve more than crappy movies and a guy who can take you on shopping sprees with Veronica and Reggie. You deserve someone who can promise you stability in a few years. I wish I could be that guy for you, but--.”

“What if that’s not what I want anymore?” She finally says, cutting him off.

“You do. You’re just saying this because you’ve gotten so used to me since Archie’s gone.” He pulls his hand away from hers and stands up, leaving her speechless on the couch. “You know, I used to think you were untouchable.” Betty stares at him, confused. “When Archie and I first started hanging out in high school, I would see you in your River Vixen outfit and think that you were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I would go to all those stupid games just to see you cheer. You never noticed me though, you only noticed Archie and that was okay. I was fine with that. I knew that I would just hurt myself by agreeing to do this, but I just wanted to be your friend. That was at least something. That’s why I tried to be so arrogant and cocky in the beginning. I didn’t want to get too attached,” he snorts. “Guess that didn’t really work out.”

Betty doesn’t even know she’s crying until she opens her mouth and a salty tear slides onto her lip.

“I knew you’d never look at a guy like me the same way that you looked at Archie. I told myself long ago that I never had a shot, but I just want you to know, you might have just been the girl next door to Archie but you were always so much more to me.”

Betty stands up and reaches for him, but he steps back.

“Juggie,” she whispers, broken.

“I hope you’re happy,” he tells her and he means it. She knows that he isn’t being malicious. He truly hopes that she’s happy in life and that hurts more than anything.

She wants to tell him that she isn’t happy, that she doesn’t know how she’s supposed to ever be happy again after all of this.

She doesn’t say anything though. She just leaves.

When she shows up to Veronica’s thirty minutes later, the brunette just takes one look at her before pulling her into her arms. Betty cries as Veronica runs her fingers through her hair and not once does she tell Betty ‘I told you so’. Betty almost wishes she would.

On Saturday afternoon, Betty and Veronica go to the airport to pick up Archie.

Betty hasn’t spoken to Jughead since the night at his apartment. She had tried calling and texting him, but everything went unanswered. It was radio silence but his message was coming along clear. Veronica had warned her that someone would get hurt, but she didn’t know it would be both of them in the end.

“You’ll see Archie and everything will be okay,” Veronica tells her as she squeezes her hand. “Archie will make things better.”

She doesn’t believe her. She had dreamed of this moment for so long and even now, even as she sees the familiar red hair in the crowd walking towards them, she doesn’t feel anything. There’s no sense of happiness or love, there’s no feeling of relief at seeing his face. There’s nothing. She’s glad to see he’s alive and unhurt and he’s smiling so that’s good, but she isn’t jumping into his arms and proclaiming her love like she thought she would be. It’s confusing and yet it makes all the sense in the world.

She doesn’t feel anything, and she definitely doesn’t feel anything close to love. This is when everything truly clicks into place in her mind. She doesn’t love Archie. She’s not sure if she ever loved him at all.

“Hey, guys!” He greets, pulling them both in for a hug at the same time. “I’ve missed you two so much!”

“Archiekins!” Ronnie giggles. “It’s so good to see you!”

“Hey, Arch,” Betty says lightly. Hugging him feels like hugging her brother and she wonders how she could have been so blind.

“I want you guys to meet someone,” he says once he pulls away. Veronica and Betty look at each other before turning back to him in wonder. He turns around and pulls someone forward. “This is Cheryl! We’re kind of dating now. She’s from New York and her brother is the one I was rooming with.”

A beautiful redheaded girl stands in front of them. Cheryl waves and Veronica’s eyes widen before she looks over at Betty, trying to take in her reaction.

Betty just smiles though. She’s flooded with heartbreak, not because Archie’s with someone new, not at all. Instead because everything that transpired with Jughead was tainted with the This is all for Archie mindset, and now she learns it didn’t have to be.

“Hi, Cheryl,” she says. “It’s nice to meet you.” And it is. It really is.

It’s not hard to find him. He’s sitting alone at a booth in Pop’s. His leather jacket is on and he stares out of the window next to him.

“So here’s the thing,” Betty says as she slides in the seat across from him. Jughead jumps as he stares at her in astonishment. “I don’t want fancy dinners or dates that cost more than forty dollars. I don’t want shopping sprees. I like crappy movies and mini golf. I like your couch. I’d rather be with someone who would give up his bed for his little sister than someone who could buy me a mansion. I don’t want stability in a couple of years, I want excitement. I want passion and adventure and laughter and happiness. I want all of that and I want it with you.”

Jughead just stares at her like he doesn’t quite believe what he’s hearing.

“I don’t want the entire world or the boy next door,” she says finally. “I just want you.”

“I’m a mess,” Jughead tells her, but he’s smiling now. “I won’t be able to put you first sometimes. Jellybean is my main priority above all else.”

She has a feeling this has been a something that drove off past love interests in his life, but that won’t be the case for her.

“I would never ask you to do that,” she says truthfully.

“I have bad days. Sometimes work is… bad. Not everything is going to be sunshine and rainbows all the time, Cooper.” He smirks at her, almost like he’s teasing her.

“I wouldn’t want it if it was.”

Jughead grins and Betty knows that she’s right where she belongs.

[keyofshadows]

So I was looking for something specific and I'm half-asleep and can't find it, but this is funny anyway. Poor Eli. Poor Kai. 

Poor Ray having to put up with Eli's inability to keep a secret. ...Okay, he can keep some secrets.

keyofshadows Oh, I was gushing at Sabi about Zen (I'm officially hopeless damn it) and somehow or other it wound around to discussing Snapshots canon and the kids with their phones (oh right Zen's selfies triggered that) and this happened - Oh, and Kai thinks selfies are the devil and he's never sending anyone any ever. Though when Amaya visits in canon Eli will probably show her pics of Kai that he took without telling him. And there'd be group pics with Kai rolling his eyes or purposely looking away from the camera.

sstingray kai, you are an old man

keyofshadows Because seriously Eli do you need to be like your mother and document EVERYTHING LMAO he's getting better! Kinda.

sstingray also yes, yes he does, and ray supports it

keyofshadows Watch Eli have more pics of Kai's children than Kai does. Though now Kai's protesting he can take plenty of pictures of his kids on his own, it's just weird when it's him. Also Ray please stop supporting Eli's bad behavior, the towel incident was Not Funny and he's pretty sure while he deleted it off the Epic Dork's phone he sent a copy to 'Jem and ugh.

sstingray it's not weird cause kai is family so w/e bro w/e

sstingray and no, i will not, fight me

keyofshadows He's wondering how that happened, you know. Does he blame Eli for dragging him into things or Ray for accepting him, or his brother for adopting everyone as his own and trying to get Kai to let his guard down, or what. Though he was tired of being lonely, but good luck getting him to admit it. He refuses to fight her if there's another Twilight Thorn involved. CHEAP SHOT

sstingray when in doubt, blame all of them also, that was an illusion kai, aren't you over that already :P

keyofshadows HE NEVER HAD TO FIGHT A NOBODY IN HIS LIFE AND NEVER SOMETHING THAT HUGE SO NO GIVE HIM A MONTH OR THREE OR MAYBE A YEAR and also I imagine Eli just staring at it initially while Ray smirks and Kai's just "....There's something behind me, isn't there."   Eli: /slow nod "You're gonna get stepped on, better move."

sstingray haha eli just Knows he has seen too much with aunt ray

keyofshadows And some of those things would get aunt Ray in trouble with his mom, Eli points out. Like Tortuga. That was an awesome summer and can they do that again sometime, never mind he wasn't supposed to be there and didn't even get to do anything, and Kai needs to go on a pirate ship too! Not poor Ronan though, he gets seasick. And sometimes space sick.

sstingray well you see amy... worldly... experience... helps a kid mature sometimes... it was... for training...

keyofshadows Jalen just snickering in the corner then coughing and trying to look disapproving when his wife shoots him a Look because This is Serious, she was still iffy about the pirate thing (thank you SO much Calum) but Eli wanted to go and she trusts her and Ari but wasn't that island Off Limits Under All Circumstances and Eli's gonna quietly fade into the wall now ahahahaha

sstingray puffs out cheeks we didn't go to the island though the island is a little too much for kids u know

keyofshadows Eli bursting out before he thinks about it "Well not willingly, some pirates really do suck" and Jalen's GONE, he's laughing and excuse him he's going to go carve memorial plaques out of wood for the two of you.

sstingray WHIPS AROUND E L I FOR FUCK'S SAKE ELI

keyofshadows HE'S SORRY IT JUST SLIPPED OUT DON'T KILL HIM

sstingray YOU THOUGHT THE DARKSIDE WAS BAD? YOU AREN'T READY FOR THE NEXT ONE, SON. JUST YOU WAIT. she'll wait until he's (mostly) forgotten about this incident and then spring it on him oh so you thought i foRGOT???

keyofshadows He was hoping and is there any way ever in any reality that he can bribe her with something OH MY GOD WHAT IS THAT GO THROW THAT AT KAI HE HAS A KEYBLADE AND MAGIC THAT DOESN'T FIZZLE AT THE WORST TIMES

sstingray kai u better stay back unless you want your own problem to deal with this one's all eli

sstingray consider this a lesson in DISCRETION. when you are not discrete, THINGS LIKE THIS MAY HAPPEN ELI LOOK HOW NOT DISCRETE THIS IS

keyofshadows Kai's hands are up and he's noping right out of this. Nice going Epic Mage, he'll just move all his spell books into your room after you're gone...Ronan'll treasure your memory, 'Jem'll make a memorial blanket and give it to Specter, nice knowing you Eli agrees this is not discrete and he apologizes profusely DON'T KILL HIM

sstingray is that it eli?? are you not even going to try??

keyofshadows And THAT gets him because whose kid do you think he is? Of course he's gonna try! He's just not fond of dying young (while Kai snarks that he should be trying harder not to do stupid shit in that case), what're the rules for this fight?

sstingray all in grasshopper, but since this is a lesson in discretion, you better make sure you beat it down before anyone in town notices

keyofshadows So much "ARE YOU SERIOUS" going on there while Kai just laughs at him and asks Ray if she wants him to go for popcorn

sstingray no thanks, but treat yoself kai she has to make sure this doesn't get out of hand anyways

keyofshadows Eli looking absolutely betrayed that his best friend is gonna get something to eat while he's dealing with this...whatever this is KAI HOW COULD YOU Kai's just shrugging and who said anything about leaving, what do you think portals are for hey look, poptarts!

sstingray fooooocus grasshopper or you're gonna fail

keyofshadows HE HAS FOCUS. HE JUST HAS NO CHILL

sstingray if u were focused u wouldn't be distracted by friends now would u

keyofshadows THEN TELL KAI TO STOP SMIRKING LIKE THAT whoa okay why is this thing throwing Thunder at him YES FOCUS OKAY

sstingray thank you now have at

keyofshadows He's gonna be a very tired, remorseful boy when he's done, yes. And drape on Kai because standing what is that Also I hope next time a dragon steals your poptarts, Kai

sstingray don't be petty eli

keyofshadows He's too dead to not be petty, can he apologize tomorrow and he'll keep his mouth shut next time just please never do this to him again

sstingray apology accepted.

keyofshadows Good, thank you, he's sorry and he's gonna go faceplant into a bed now.