#that tub of gel..... z is an addict addict hmm

[prxttylittle]

“  do you wanna get out of here?  ”, “  i just want/wanted to help.  ”, “  stay with me tonight.  ” :))))

“Do you wanna get out of here?” 

{ v ;; the princess and the moon.

    Prince was surprised when Luna appeared suddenly by his side, asking if he wanted to sneak off with her. A smirk formed on his lips. He appreciated that they were at a point in their relationship where they didn’t insist ‘this is the last time’ every time they sleep together. After ten times of swearing it wouldn’t happen again, at some point they realised that maybe it would. “I don’t know.” Prince shrugged despite having his mind fully made up that he did want to get out of here with her. He wasn’t sure he ever wanted anything more. He looked at his watch. “I’ve got English next class and I don’t know if I can miss it.” He bit down on his smirk when her hand grasped onto his to pull him through the school halls, leading him away despite his pretence of not being sure he wanted to leave with her. “Y’know, Shakespeare and that. Very gripping stuff.” More important than no longer being in denial about their relationship, Prince was actually fairly comfortable to be around her now without barking and snapping every two minutes. He was open with her, even let her see him joke around and be honest when he felt like it. A privilege not many were fortunate enough to participate in. Just as they turned a corner, Prince’s vision landed on Matt and Nick at the end of the hallway, messing around. Prince’s joking died down and he cursed, dragging Luna back. “I’ve got a better idea.” He mumbled, kissing her if anything just to stop her from talking and drawing attention to herself and them. He pushed open the door to the supply closet a few inches away from them, pulling her inside. It wasn’t spacious and the smell of cleaning supplies wasn’t exactly the most romantic but Prince figured it was better than getting caught gliding hand-in-hand around the school corridors together. He pressed her against the wall, one hand on her waist and the other just under her jaw, wrapped around to the back of her neck. When Luna questioned why he thought bringing her in here was better, he realised she hadn’t seen the pair moments ago. He shrugged, kissing her quiet. “Dunno” he mumbled his lie out, his lips going to her neck now, not leaving any marks but being sure to just about waver over crossing the line, loving the feeling of her keening into his touch. “Maybe the smell of window-cleaner turns me on.” He pulled away to gaze at her for a moment. A smile overtook his lips when she rolled her eyes at his joke. Even in the dim lighting of the small room she managed to look so good, he couldn’t believe it. “Maybe its nearer than getting in my car and driving all the way home and I want to be with you right now.” He added, going back in to kiss her so he could avoid eye contact, his hands going to the buttons of her shirt now. “Mostly the window-cleaner thing though.” 

{ v ;; no reason. 

      Jason chuckled lightly when he felt two hands coming around his body from behind. He wrapped his hands around hers and leaned back into her touch. “Hey sweetheart.” He mumbled before finally turning around to face her. He kissed her to say hello, after not having seen her for a bit as he socialised and she probably hid away from everyone here. He chuckled again when all she did was greet him with a pout. “You bored already?” He teased but they’d been here for hours at this point and even he was beginning to grow tired of listening to the people he worked with talk about nothing of significance and he could only comment on the colouring of the paintings in the lobby so many times before it became monotonous. He was grateful she’d even come with him let alone stay this long without complaining about it once. He watched her expression, knowing she probably wouldn’t want to tell him she was bored but definitely eager to leave. It also probably didn’t help that she couldn’t even have a drink to drown out the people around them, like he’d been doing. “Wanna get out of here?” She offered and the way her lip slid between her teeth, he couldn’t even remember the word no. Jason grinned and kissed her again after nodding that he was completely up for leaving. He grabbed their jackets and bid farewell to the people he knew and the new people he’d been introduced to during the evening before guiding his girlfriend out of the venue. “Imagine what it’s going to be like when he comes out, what a great excuse he’ll be– like sorry I can’t come out tonight I’ve got a kid.” Jason chuckled, hand brushing over Iola’s minuscule bump. He paused when he realised that he had said he despite not knowing the gender of the baby. “Or she.” He added as if that was going to make any difference. Jason didn’t want to make it seem that he was hoping for a boy out of fear it came out a girl and he felt guilty for saying ‘he’ every time he talked about the baby. Though, randomly choosing a gender was better than saying ‘it’ he figured. He returned to the topic of conversation. “That’s like--- eighteen years worth of excuses to get out of hanging out with people.” Jason truly was a big kid so it was a wonder how he was going to suddenly turn into a grown up when Iola’s due date rolled around. “Isn't that awesome?” He beamed at her as they shuffled into her car. 

{ v ;; july 17th. 

     When Zayn felt a pair of hands brush over his shoulders, he had no doubts about who it could be. He turned around, his gaze falling on his wife and a smile brushing his lips. He kissed her lightly and chuckled at her offer. “Get out of here? Our kids first parent-teacher meeting and you’re already eager to leave?” Though of course, he wasn’t guilt tripping her. Zayn was teasing. If there was anyone that wanted to leave more than Ari, it was him. These other parents were annoying and Zayn could tell they had some kind of pre-conceived notion due to how well-known he and Ari were. It was to be expected but part of him had hoped they could just be parents here and not the dramatic-fuelled couple from the TV show that aired ten years ago. He was suspicious of that particular group of women in the corner of the room who seemed to watch every single one of he and Ari’s move. Additionally, Zayn didn’t even like the teachers. Leilani was smart, he and Ari both knew it, so it wasn’t as if they needed any advice from the teachers. He nodded. “Yeah babe, yeah I absolutely want to get out of here, we’ve met all the teachers haven’t we?” He looked around. There were a few teachers he didn’t recall speaking to but they’d already made their minds up so he brought his jacket over his shoulder, wrapping an arm around Ari to lead her out, ignoring the stares from other parents as they marched out. Chuckling, the pair braced the cold, winter air. “Maybe you should home-school Leilani. If these people’s kids are half as annoying as they are, maybe having friends isn’t worth normal school.” He joked as they walked hand-in-hand to their car. Even now, years later, each others company was the best either could find. When they were young and living in the GYHAB house, it was almost painful to have to hang out with the randoms that came into the house when they could just hide away in their rooms together. Zayn didn’t want to have an attitude about his kids school but he wished he could do that. When they finally shut the car doors behind them, Zayn let out a groan before he let a smirk appear on his face. He leaned across the gear-shift and kissed Ari, preventing her from starting the car. “Have you ever had sex in the back of a car in the carpark of the school your kid goes to?” He challenged sarcastically. 

{ v ;; katie and leo. 

      Katie crossed her legs, uncrossed them and recrossed them until she felt a hand on her thigh. She looked to Ava, who was demanding she stop fidgeting so much. Katie sighed and tried to relax but she couldn’t tear her gaze away from Leo who was across the room, absolutely flirting with that girl. Couldn’t he at least try to be discreet? She glared at Eli who commented on how indiscreet she was being by staring over at Leo. She scoffed. “I don’t care what he does, alright? He can shag her for all I care.” She finally turned back to the group, forcing all her attention on the drink in her hand, bringing it to her lips and sipping. However, she could only sip for so long, staring into the bottom of the red cup before the drink finally drained and she had nothing to distract her any longer. There was an expectant silence between the group, everyone probably waiting for Katie to do as they all were waiting for and return her gaze to Leo and that girl. She rolled her eyes. She’d do them one better. She slammed her cup down, glaring again at Eli who looked ready to tease her for whatever she was going to do next. “Okay, fine I care. Whatever, fuck you guys.” She grabbed her handbag and marched away from the Kings, ignoring the sound of their laughter. Why did everyone around her have to be related? When did that become her reality? Though, if she wasn’t so jealous she’d have totally indulged them in their mocking. She wasn’t going to admit that now, though. Katie decided not to barge between the blonde girl and Leo, not wanting to make a show. She made her way into the kitchen, filled with guys and girls she recognised from school and of course, booze. Exactly what she’d been looking for. She hopped up on the kitchen counter right next to the glass bottles. With a perfectly-manicured hand, she picked up a bottle through random selection. Her eyes read the label and she smirked. Tequila, her favourite. Some time later, a random guy, addressing her by the pet-name ‘beautiful’, offered to refill her drink while she took singles of tequila. She shrugged, despite how she hated the nickname given to her, and accepted his offer. At least she wouldn’t have to get down. Though, she was feeling quite queasy. Maybe that sixth shot wasn’t the best idea. He soon returned with a rum and coke but just as he handed it to her, a hand took it and pushed him away. Her glossed lips pouted as her eyes landed on Leo. “Oh, so now you want to pay attention to me?” She challenged though it was difficult to be bitchy when all her words strung together. She hiccuped, realising that maybe she was drunk. Leo leaned in close and for a moment she thought he was going to kiss her, her eyes almost flickering shut. “You wanna get out of here?” She realised he was just getting close so she could hear him. Feeling somewhat dizzy, and very much exhausted, she nodded. She wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling his hands on her waist as he lifted her down from sitting on the counter top. She didn’t even notice but tomorrow she would be grateful that Leo grabbed her bag from the counter. Out in the fresh air, Katie was feeling much better. Still plastered, but less sick. Walking through the estates, she started singing and attempted to show Leo her dance moves. A laugh, too loud to be anything but a result of her intoxication, fell from her lips when Leo mentioned that her dad was going to kill him for bringing Katie home in such a state. “I wish,” she slurred as Leo’s arm snaked around her waist to hold her up. “That you had offered to leave with me before my second shot of tequila.” She giggled, her face close to his. She wanted to kiss him, wanted to ravish him even, but she was too far gone and even she knew it. She would just have to accept being taken home to bed and apologising for her behaviour in the morning.

“I just want/wanted to help.” 

{ v ;; the princess and the moon.

    Before Prince had even joined the group he could tell from across the room that Matt had been flirting with Luna. It was something he was starting to pick up on happened a lot and he wasn’t sure if it was something that Matt always did and he never noticed or if the universe was just trying to fuck with his head. He didn’t understand why it made him so mad whenever it did happen, she wasn’t his girlfriend or anything. When he joined the group his suspicions were confirmed but this time he was privy to being in earshot of everything Matt said. It drove him absolutely crazy but he knew he couldn’t say anything. His eyes met Lunas and he noticed her lean in further to hear what Matt was saying to her, a bit unnecessary Prince thought. If he could hear Matt she definitely could, so what was she doing? Letting all control of himself go, Prince snapped, tugging at Matts arm. “Are you looking for a black eye?” He snapped, glaring at his friend who now looked utterly lost. It was a better expression than the suggestive grin he’d had plastered on his lips moments ago. It wasn’t until Matt questioned what he did that Prince remembered that Matt really didn’t know what he was doing wrong. “Nothing.” Prince sighed and let go of him. “You’re just irritating me. D’you not ever know when to just shut up? Give everyone some fucking peace.” He could tell Matt wasn’t even getting an inkling of what was going on which Prince was both glad and still annoyed about. Prince stormed away but as he turned back to glance to see if Luna was going to carry on talking to Matt, some guy bumped into him on the other side when he wasn’t looking, knocking a drink all down the front of him. If Prince was a cartoon there’d be steam coming from his ears and his face would be red, which it probably nearly was anyway. He shoved the guy, unknown to Prince, before punching him in the face, telling him to watch where he was going. The guy, obviously not knowing who Prince was either, retaliated and Nick had to step in eventually, tearing the two males apart after a few digs thrown. Prince didn’t look at anybody as he marched out of the house, wringing his alcohol-soaked shirt with his now blood-covered, bruising hands. He just reached his own flat down the street when he heard his name. He knew the voice. He ignored the voice. Prince went inside and didn’t get to shut the door as Lunas body barricaded it. “Fuck off.” He grumbled. Prince wasn’t even a little bit annoyed by the fight he’d gotten into on the way out, it had actually helped him get some of his rage out. No, the only thing vexing Prince was how much Luna encouraged Matt’s flirting. He went into the kitchen and pulled out a first aid box to tend to his hand. His irritation grew when Luna didn’t fuck off, as instructed, but instead joined him and, at that, started taking charge of mending his hand. He glared at her, arguing that he could do it himself. “I just want to help.” She insisted and he scoffed, ripping the antiseptic cloth from her hand. “What would help is for you not to let my best friend fucking flirt with you like that in front of me all the time.” He snapped before realising himself. His own words threw him but he refused to focus on what they meant, for him and for them. He paused for a moment and, struggling with holding onto the roll of bandage while also loosening it, handed the materials over to Luna to let her help as she wanted, allowing the silence to fall between them as he hopped up onto the counter. If there was any reason in the world to tell their friends about their relationship it would be to stop Matt from flirting with Luna, as playful or as serious as his intentions may be. Though, it wasn’t the first time Prince was storming off when Matt flirted with Luna, so maybe his friends not noticing that and her following him most of the time meant they were too stupid to deserve to know. It didn’t seem like Luna focused on his confession too much, despite how Prince was sure she wanted to, carrying on taking care of him as she started talking about how she used to have to patch up her brother after he got involved in gang stuff. He noticed her go quiet again, not carrying on talking about her brother. Prince sighed and as she finished cleaning up his face, he wrapped his legs around her waist and pulled her in close to him. He didn’t say thanks but he smirked and kissed her. Prince didn’t speak at all, for fear of Luna asking why it bothered him so much when somebody else flirted with her, not that he really understood it all that much either. “If you really want to help” Prince murmured, sliding down from his taken seat on the kitchen counter. “I have a few ideas.” And he nodded towards his bedroom door, smirking playfully. 

{ v ;; no reason. 

     Jason woke with a start, confused as to how or when he’d gotten into the bed. He sat up, rubbing at his eyes with the palms of his hands, groaning tiredly. Jason cursed when he checked the clock on his phone to see what time it was. He rushed out of the bed and over to his desk, cursing when he saw the smudge of the pencil mark and the dampness of the page. He must have fallen asleep on top of the drawing. He cursed again and this time it gained the attention of Iola, who he hadn’t even noticed had been in the bed beside him. He jumped slightly when she said his name, telling her she’d quite literally only dragged him to bed an hour ago after he fell asleep face-down on a drawing. He ignored her to sit back down at the desk, crumpling up the page he had destroyed by sleeping on it. He didn’t remember falling asleep nor did he know how long he’d been out for but he didn’t exactly have the spare time to just lounge around, not this week anyway. He continued to ignore Iola when she insisted Jason get back into bed. She argued that he needed to sleep when he retaliated that he was fine after the third time she tried to talk him out of continuing with his work. He rolled his eyes. “You should have just woken me up instead of putting me to bed like a kid. I’d have probably woke up earlier if I wasn’t wrapped up in bed anyway.” He didn’t mean to snap at her and it wasn’t as if she did anything harmful. She had literally just tried to be nice by putting him to bed. Jason had been in-over-his-head exhausted the previous evening and as behind in his work as he felt, it was kind of surprising he had done anything without passing out the second he’d got home from work. Jason half-expected Iola to get irritated with him and either go back to sleep or leave his apartment. Instead, he felt her hands slide down his arms. It was intended to calm him down, he knew, but it just irritated him even more. If he was thinking, he’d know it was just the sleep depravity causing his annoyance but Jason wasn’t thinking. He was trying to focus. He sighed, trying to be kinder as he kissed one of her hands. “Iola, baby, I love you but I just need to finish this. The studio said if I can bring in a new portfolio before my next shift they would look at it. I have work tomorrow morning so can you just–” He felt her hands fall loose over his shoulders before the touch was gone completely. He thought she was finally leaving him alone until she mentioned he had loads of time to finish it and if he got a few more hours sleep in maybe he could focus better. She’d obviously picked up that the exhaustion was affecting his tone toward her but her kindness didn’t help. He cursed and turned to face her. “What is your obsession with me being tired? Yeah, I am but I need to do this. It’s not as if my dad can buy me these opportunities, I’ve got to work for it. And you don’t seem to care about how fucking over-exhausted I am when you try to get me to sleep with you every five fucking minutes knowing that I don’t want to!” Jason sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He wasn’t sure where his outburst came from and he regretted his words no sooner than they were out of his mouth but he wasn’t in the mood to apologise for it now, nor did he have the time. “Can you just focus on someone other than yourself for once?” After pouring the final salt in the wound, he went back to ignoring her, re-focusing on the art on the table in front of him, partly grateful he had no paint out that she could splash over his half-attempted drawings as she stormed out of the apartment. “I just wanted to help.” She snapped before slamming the door behind her. He sighed and dropped his head on the table. He’d fucked up and the worst part was it was all for nothing because the second the door slammed shut behind her, his muse washed away completely. Now, he probably wouldn’t get his portfolio done on top of the fact that he would have to spend the next three weeks apologising to Iola for his unwarranted outburst. 

{ v ;; july 17th. 

       It was unusual for Zayn to behave the way that he was. Maybe a few years ago, in their early twenties or late teens it wouldn't have been but it was strange now. Zayn had been clean for so long that he hadn’t even remembered how good it felt to get high. Even the slight poisonous-taste at the back of his throat when the line went up his nostril, burning slightly, was something he missed. A part of him had seen this coming, from the way he'd been acting the last few days before he relapsed a few weeks prior to this. Something in him just wasn’t right. He’d not been able to put his finger on it but when he could feel the shakiness, and the scratching feeling leaving his body, he knew. It had been a craving, a lust for drugs seeping into his blood. Now he had broken the seal and his sobriety, and it felt better than ever. He folded up the rest of the baggie and put it into the inside of a hair-gel tub, on top of the peel of paper that separated the lid and gel so the bag wouldn’t get sticky. He returned the tub to his shelf on his side of the sink and exited the bathroom. He frowned when he heard the music playing from downstairs. Was that-- He walked down the stairs, his eyes landing on his wife in the kitchen. “Are you listening to my album?” Though as Imprint played around them, it was kind of a stupid question. He laughed when she told him how much she loved the new album, and he shrugged. He crossed the room to wrap his arms around her, bringing her body close to his. His hands rested on her waist, fingertips tapping against her hips somewhat quickly. Unable to stand still he started singing along to his own music and dancing around, twirling her around just to pull her back to him, chuckling the whole time. In the days before he returned to his old habit he had been quite snappy toward her, and cold. But now, he just adored being around her. He liked this, having her close and dancing around with her. He didn’t even mind that her music of choice to flood the home was his own, which would probably make him feel self-conscious if he didn’t have confidence in the form of white powder flowing burning through him. When she questioned what had gotten into him, he shrugged, a wide smile exposing his teeth, his tongue pushing out. “I’m just happy, I guess. That a crime?” A new song came on the shuffle and Zayn dragged her in while no lyrics played, immediately pressing his lips to hers. “C’mon.” He mumbled, nodding his head upwards to gesture they go upstairs. The lyrics fucked and I want you really felt like they were applying to him right now but he wasn’t going to share that with her as he led her upstairs to their shared bedroom. Zayn rolled out of the bed, feeling slightly anxious. About an hour had passed since he'd done a key. He looked to Ari, his smile matching hers as she beamed at him. “Toilet.” He excused, somewhat rushing into the bathroom. He reached up to his shelf, pulling the hair gel down. He jumped when the door pushed open just as he unscrewed the lid. Should have locked it. His eyes widened but she didn’t seem to pick up on what he was doing, asking if he really needed to do his hair right now. He laughed, nervously, and made some weak joke about keeping up appearances. He went to re-screw the lid and put the tub back but his nerves turned to jelly when Ari took the gel, offering to do it for him. She was teasing him but it was just playful, it wasn't as if she could know what she was doing by taking the tub from him. He couldn’t help his aggression to follow. “No.” He snapped, attempting to pull the tub away, unaware of just how loose the lid was which was all he managed to yank from her. The gel and the little baggie filled with pure white powder both fell to the floor. He tried to distract her by pushing her out of the bathroom but her gaze dropped to the floor and the jig was up, she finally knew why he had been in such a good mood recently. Zayn feared her confiscating the drugs so he rushed to pick them up before she could. “Zayn..” “---What, Arianna? What do you want to say to me? Tell me you’re disappointed? Give out, yell about it?” His hands were beginning to shake and he couldn't stop himself from snapping when she hadn’t even said anything yet, even if he wanted to stop himself, he couldn’t. “It’s just a bit of coke it’s not as if I’m injecting heroine or some fucked up shit, okay, I can stop whenever I want.” He went to march past her, mostly to avoid that look on her face. He shook her off when her hand took his, when she tried to stop him from leaving. “I just want to help.” He paused, feeling the anger of her words seep into his chest. He needed another line, well two, and he needed it now. He shook her off. “I don’t need your help.” He uttered coldly before finally storming away.

{ b ;; aesthetic queens. 

       The grimace on Cassie’s face was difficult to remove as she was kept up by the sound of shouting and banging in the room down the hall. She missed not knowing who Luna was sleeping with. She now knew she took for granted when the ‘mystery man’ used to whisper and tip-toe around the apartment to avoid being caught. Now, Prince didn’t seem to care if Cass heard every word out of the couple’s mouths. And hear everything, she did. She could hear how cruel they were to each other, could hear the raised voices, and was that– was that a fist into the door? She sighed and reached over to pick up her phone, seeing a message from Nick asking if the noise had gotten any better. She considered climbing out of bed and just going to spend the night at his, despite it being 3am, but her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Luna screaming at Prince and the sound of footsteps stomping down the stairs. Prince slammed the front door shut behind him and Cassie decided it wouldn’t be the best decision to leave Luna here alone. She went to her bedroom door, slowly opening it to reveal her very upset-looking best friend in the doorway of her own room. “Luna…” Cassie wanted to make her feel better but when Luna just slammed the door in her face, they both knew it was to avoid Cassie just talking shit about Prince. Which is exactly what she would have done. She let out a breath and returned to bed. At least the noise had died down, even if it meant she knew her best friend was hurting in the room over. A part of Cassie hoped this meant Luna would finally see Prince Jameson for the asshole Cass believed him to be and would finish things but she hoped that so often it just became futile after a while. 

When Cassie rolled out of bed a few hours later to go on her morning run with Nick, she was exhausted, but she wasn’t going to skip out on her jog just because she’d only slept for three hours. “I just don’t understand what she likes about him. He’s fit, whatever, but he has no redeemable qualities.” She panted out her words as Nick pulled her to a stop. When Nick tried to defend Prince by saying he really wasn’t that bad, she rolled her eyes. “He broke your arm because you called him Princess and he’s done a bunch of other stuff I’m sure and you want to call him nice?” She scoffed. How had she managed to surround herself only with people that seemed to see the good in Prince Jameson? Nick tried to go on and say Prince didn’t have it easy but that was an excuse she refused to take seriously. She shook her head and bid her farewell to Nick, carrying on with her run alone. He was supposed to make her feel less like a crap best friend for not supporting her friend’s relationship but he just seemed to make her feel worse, though she knew it wasn’t his intention. When she returned home, Luna was still asleep. Lucky her. Cass shut herself into her bedroom, deciding she deserved a nap. When she woke up a few hours later, the smell of food wafted from downstairs. She wasn’t hungry but she wanted to make sure Luna was okay, also knowing she was probably trying to make up for keeping Cass up half the night with their shouting match. Keeping an open mind, she went downstairs to greet her friend but she was unable to bite down on her opinions at the sight of Luna. She was covered in– were they bruises or hickeys? Her eyes widened when she noticed the purple mark around her wrist, grabbing onto it harsher than she intended. Luna’s attitude in response to Cassie’s concern was staggering. “Are you serious, Luna? He’s no good for you.” She remembered Nick’s defence of him earlier that day. “You know, just because he had a weird childhood, or whatever is wrong with him, doesn’t mean that he can walk around treating everyone like they owe him something for that. It’s not your job to fix him and he shouldn’t treat you like that, it’s not your fault he’s broken but you let him act like it is. I just—” Luna cut her off and she was taken aback by how harsh she was being. They had never really disagreed on anything until this relationship with Prince became knowledge to Cass, so they never knew what it was like to really fight until now. Cass remained silent, turning sheepish as Luna snapped at her. “God Cass, just shut the fuck up and mind your business. I don’t need you telling me who I should and shouldn’t be with. The last time I checked, my mom was dead.” Cassie was surprised, but also hurt by Luna’s words. All she was doing was trying to defend Luna. She certainly didn’t feel like she deserved to be spoken to in the way she was. Out of her control, her eyes watered up but thankfully Luna stormed off before she could see. The fact that he was the reason for the strain on their friendship did no favours for Prince in Cassie’s books. She just hated him more, wishing he didn’t have such a hold over her best friend. “Luna, I just want to help!” She called out but, just like the night before, had the door slammed in her face. Probably going to Prince’s, despite the awful things he’d said to her the night before. 

“Stay with me tonight.” 

{ v ;; the princess and the moon. 

     Prince quietened his chuckle by kissing Luna. It was bold, the two of them in acting like a couple when anyone could walk by and discover them at any moment in this public place. Prince couldn’t bring himself to care though, as he pushed her back against the shelf behind her. When they shifted, she knocked several tins of whatever processed foods aisle they were in, causing them both to laugh quietly, lips still pressed together muffling the sound. He pulled away, smirking. It was kind of embarrassing how brightly he was smiling with her, his nose crinkling as he rested his forehead against hers, but he couldn’t really force himself to hide it. No one was around but her so he figured it was fine. He wrapped his arm over her shoulders to guide her away. They were so distracted by each other, laughing and kissing, that they didn’t notice anyone as they turned the corner, not expecting it when they bumped into someone quite suddenly. His eyes went from Luna to the stranger and just as she apologised for getting in the way, he realised it was no stranger. It was practically like looking into a mirror if he had more wrinkles and was somewhat heavier. The man stood in front of them possessed all of Prince’s features, down to the stubble. Even his basket was filled with the exact same beer Prince carried in the one in his hands. His smile completely faded and the look on his face transitioned into a glare. Kadin had a smirk on his face that made Prince fill with unspeakable anger. He went to speak but Prince ignored him and just pulled Luna away in the opposite direction. “We’re leaving, now.” It wasn’t unusual for Prince to see his dad considering they lived in the same city but he didn’t want to drag Luna into all of that.

    When they got back to her place, he immediately insisted he needed a shower, if anything just to get a few moments alone. He emerged only five minutes later with a towel wrapped around his waist and his hair letting droplets of water fall to the floor. The way Luna was looking at him as he re-entered the bedroom was kind of intimidating. It was as though she was admiring him and despite how they’d literally just been rolling around naked together a few hours ago, he felt somewhat over-exposed. He pulled his sweatpants up to his hips, despite not having fully dried himself and the cotton rolled uncomfortably against his legs. He was about to pull his t-shirt over his head when Luna was at his side, taking it from him. He smirked when her hands ran up his chest. He turned to face her. “Hi,” He whispered, his lips pressing against hers. He felt her hand on the scar on his torso. He frowned but instead of pushing her away, placed his hand over hers. He kissed her more fervently as her fingers traced the slightly pink skin there. He knew she’d seen his scars before, of course she had. She had the common sense not to ask about them. He pulled back when she asked what had happened earlier. A part of him didn’t want to talk about it, didn’t want to dwell, but the other piece of him wanted her to know about him. He was falling for her and he wanted to let her in, not that he’d say that part of it all. He pushed against her shoulders lightly until they fell onto the bed together. “That was my dad.” He admitted quietly, though it was fairly obvious. He brought her hand that had fallen away back to the scar on his front, wrapping his fingers around her index to trace it. “He’s the one that did this to me. And” he pulled her hand to his arm where a smaller, more flat scar was. “This.” A lump formed in his throat. Quietly, he spoke again as he dragged her hand up past the scars on his chest to rest her palm on his neck. “He did all of this.” He was no longer just talking about his physical scars now. His voice was almost inaudible because of the giant lump in his throat, threatening to break Prince at any given moment. “My mum left when Pandora was just a baby, as in just a few months old. She never, y’know, never said goodbye or left a note or anything. I came home from school one day and she was just gone. My dad hit me before then of course but he used to just smack me around a little and it wasn’t really that bad until she left.” He paused as he remembered his childhood. He would come home from school in the afternoon and his dad was usually still asleep but his peace only lasted so long until he could hear the footsteps outside his bedroom door, always knowing something bad was going to happen. He let out a heavy breath, looking down at Luna. “It got pretty, uh, bad when she went away. It started with just him maybe slapping me or shoving me into a wall. Then, he got real mean. Cigarette burns and, uh—” He paused yet again. It was difficult to talk about and he was realising he had never actually talked about it like this. He kept it hidden from Pandora and Matt already knew everything. “He started using stuff to hit me with.” He grimaced, not using the word weapons because that felt too dramatic. “That shit used to hurt so fucking bad, like a bat or his belt or whatever he’d use. Sometimes he even knocked me out, if I didn’t protect my head on time.” Another pause as he reflected. He never really thought about it but as he spoke about it now he was beginning to realise just how unfair it was that he was put through it all. What had he done that was so bad as a child to deserve it? He didn’t know. He looked to Luna and frowned at the expression on her face. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m fine.” His tone didn’t match his words in anyway but still, she kissed him and he was glad she chose that instead of speaking with pity toward him. He sighed into the kiss, cupping under her jaw lightly. He pulled away and a sudden overwhelming sadness that he never let himself feel washed over him. “I think I should—” But before he could insist on leaving she kissed him again. “Stay with me tonight.” The tone of her voice was soothing, her hands on his body was soothing, the touch of her lips was soothing. Prince needed Luna, Prince loved Luna and looking at her now, after sharing with her, he knew it. He nodded. “Yeah, I’ll stay.” His lips reconnecting with hers. He actually felt something of a weight lifted from him that he’d shared his past with hers.

{ v ;; no reason. 

      Jason groaned at her offer. She knew what she was doing to him, and at this point he was sure that nothing she was doing was a mistake. The first few times Iola said something suggestive or got too-close with him, he’d thought he was making it up in his own mind that she was trying to get him to break his ‘not-until-18’ pact, driving himself crazy. Part of him thought he was being too cocky to think she cared that much about him wanting or not wanting to sleep with her to try and force him to change his mind just because she insisted she didn’t care about the age thing. Now, he was sure she was doing it all on purpose. His hands rested on her waist and he smirked up at her as she straddled him. “Iola, babe, are you trying to seduce me?” He teased, allowing their lips to meet. When she repeated her offer, telling him to stay with her for the night, he sighed and shook his head. “You know I can’t do that, and you also know why.” His words fell short when he felt her lips attach to his neck, his breathing catching in his throat. This girl was honestly trying to kill him, well and truly. God was finally striking him down for all his sins– He never thought penance could feel this good. A laugh fell from his lips and he gently pushed her aside so she was no longer straddling him, partly so she couldn’t see (or feel) what her touch was doing to him, the heat from her breath on his neck. She was driving him absolutely wild. “I want to spend the night with you, I do, but I’m afraid I might lose control of myself.” He looked at her and couldn’t help himself as he leaned in to kiss her. That was exactly why he couldn’t sleep with her, because he knew he wouldn’t be able to help himself later when they were alone in the dark. He bit down on his lip, one hand cupping her jaw and the other propping him up on the bed. His eyes searched hers. “I do want you, just so you know. It’s not about that. Saying no to you is so fucking difficult but I just don’t want you to regret anything, even if you call me crazy for thinking that.” His forehead fell against hers as his thumb softly traced circles under her jaw. He sighed. “You’ll be eighteen in a few months and I can promise you, it will--” He paused and let a smile take over his lips. “It will not be worth the wait, I’ll be really bad and you’ll hate me for making you wait for something so crap.” He laughed, alleviating the tension in the air with his attempt to change the pact to a joke rather than focusing on what he was turning down by not staying over with her tonight.  

{ v ;; July 17th.

Zayn knocked on the door, despite knowing that Ari had it unlocked. A grin plastered his lips when she pulled the door open, clearly irritated someone had forced her to get up from the bed to answer. “Hey.” He looked her up and down and his smile widened. “Is that– is that my shirt?” His suspicions were confirmed when he saw the expression on her face, not having expected him surely. “It suits you, now come on.” He motioned for her to follow him, ignoring her when she questioned him on where she wanted them to go. He knew she would follow him, if anything out of curiosity. And follow him, she did. When she asked again what they were doing, he looked over to her. It was dark in the house, most people fast asleep by now. Far be it for Zayn and Ari to sleep at the same time as the other normal folk of the house. “I want to show you something.” He finally answered. Zayn led Ari out to the garden. Zayn knew Ari liked to read and she’d recently told him about a book that she’d been that invested in that he’d read it just to understand. “So, look.” He pointed up at the stars. “Am I making this up or are those stars aligned exactly like it says in that part of the book you lent me?” He watched as her eyes followed the stars, seeing her thinking of the scene he was referring to. He beamed when she agreed with him. “I just thought you’d like it.” He shrugged, his gaze following hers to go back to watch the stars, too. Part of him just wanted an excuse to hang out with her, another wanted her to know he’d taken her book suggestion. Zayn looked to Ari when he heard her teeth clattering, raising an eyebrow at her. “Cold?” And he didn’t wait for her to answer, pulling his sweater over his head and giving it to her. He smiled, he liked seeing her swallowed up in his clothes like that. “My t-shirt and my jumper? I’ll just hand over my trousers and shoes now too, shall I?” He teased but his arm snaked over her shoulder, pulling her into him, and he leaned in close to her. “If I stand real close, we might preserve body heat.” His words ended with a chuckle when she took him up on his words, the pair shuffling together. They stood like that close together for a while long together before Zayn insisted they go back inside before Ari froze half to death. The walk back to her room was typical Zayn and Ari, laughing and joking. As they walked side by side Zayn stuck out his foot in an attempt to trip Ari but when she picked up on what he was doing she ran off from him, causing him to chase her. He caught up with her, both giggling too loud for anyone to appreciate the noise at this hour. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her up to stop her from running. He started tickling her and when she doubled over he was laughing too much to keep his hold on her. He noticed they were almost at her door and let his laughter fall short, a content smile taking control of his lips. “Goodnight.” He murmured, not really making any moves at first. When he finally did go to keep on walking to his own room, he felt her hand on his arm, turning him with no hesitation. He held back a smirk, eyes meeting hers. “Stay with me tonight.” She spoke and the mood from moments ago of them laughing like kids had completely subsided and a tension hovered between them now. He shuffled closer to her, his hands on her waist now. “I’d like that.” He whispered before connecting their lips. 

{ v ;; what if. 

     Ashton smiled sheepishly, hands tucked in his pockets as he cowered at Ari’s front door. She was either going to invite him in or tell him she needed to be alone but thankfully for him, she pulled the door open further and nodded for him to come in. Ashton knew better than to listen to rumours from tabloids and Twitter trends before hearing it from the horse’s mouth but the second his eyes landed on Ari, he knew word of the split was true. It was a kind of heartbreak that not even he was familiar with sprawled across her face that gave her away. He sighed when she guided him into the living room, his eyebrows shooting up at the crowd of pillows sunken in the middle of the couch, making him wonder how long she’d been laying there to make that kind of an imprint. He sat beside her and, unsure of how to behave, took her hand in his. After hearing about the loss of her child, he had tried to both be there for her while also giving her her distance to grieve without putting pressure on her and respecting her relationship. Though he couldn’t stand the way Zayn acted through it all, a part of Ashton always thought he would eventually see the error in his ways, stop clubbing so publicly and finally return to the arms of his fiancée. Ashton couldn’t even imagine having Ari the way Zayn did and abandoning her every night. It just didn’t make sense to him, but he had kept that opinion to himself over the last year. “Ari, I’m sorry. I really thought you two would work things out.” Even if neither of them believed those words, it was what he had to say and he knew it. When she shifted in a way that her head was leaning on his shoulder, he wrapped his arms around her and gently grazed her forehead with his lips, one hand brushing through her hair soothingly. He was here as her friend and that was it. Ashton didn’t think of their split as his opportunity to jump in and he hoped she wouldn’t think that too but he figured she wouldn’t fall into his embrace so easily if she did. When Ari changed the subject by asking him about anything that was as opposite to the topic of Zayn as possible, Ashton indulged her. If anything, to take her mind off of things. After a few hours, he noticed Ari becoming more tired, eyes fluttering shut and more than one yawn slipping from her lips. He shifted to alert her. “Let’s get you to bed, yeah?” He whispered. She was compliant, allowing him to practically carry her up the stairs. He lay her down in the bed and just as he pulled the covers over her, felt her hand wrap around his wrist. He frowned. “Stay with me tonight.” Her words were only half-surprising to him. He shook his head. He wanted to. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, right now.” He tried to keep his features expression-less but as his eyes met hers, he couldn’t hide just how much he wanted to take her up on her offer. He let out a breath and kicked off his shoes, clambering under the covers with her. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back to him. His lips brushed against her hair and he sighed, whispering for her to relax and go to sleep. 

{ b ;; partners in crime. 

    Prince paused just as he was about to enter the room when he heard Matt speaking, telling someone to stay the night with him. He wasn’t eavesdropping, he just didn’t know that Matt wasn’t alone in the house. A frown formed on Prince’s face when he heard the other person agree to stay the night. Was that–  “Pandora?” Prince quizzed as he barged into the room. The sight that greeted him was the last thing Prince had ever expected to see; his best friend and his sister lip-locked, hands all over each other. Prince was taken aback as the pair pulled away from each other. “What the fuck?” He raised his voice but made no movements, despite how his hands had already curled into fists. He wanted to lunge across the room and knock Matt’s lights out, tell him to stay away from his little sister. He’d never gotten violent in front of Panda, and he wasn’t going to start now. “One of you better explain what the fuck is going on, right now.” He glared at Matt. What the fuck was he doing kissing his sister and asking her to spend the night? Prince had always thought of Matt as a brother, he was family to Prince. He thought Pandora felt the same so the idea of them getting together was almost somewhat disgusting to Prince. There was also the added fact of both the age difference and the fact that one was his best friend and the other his sister. It just felt wrong to Prince. His shock only grew further when Panda took hold of Matt’s hand and explained to Prince that they were together and had been for a few months. “And you can’t tell me who I can or can’t date either.” She snapped with an abrasive tone and honestly Prince understood why she was acting like that. The reaction he wanted to give was probably the one they were expecting. He could tell by Matt that he was expecting a fist to the face. Prince opened his mouth to speak but shut it again, unsure of what to say. He sighed. “I know I can’t, Panda, and I’m not going to. Are you–” He frowned looking between them. “Are you serious about this? Him?” He gave Matt a glance before focusing on Panda again. Prince felt uncomfortable when she put a hand on Matt’s shoulder before she went on to say that she loved him, at which point Matt chimed in, agreeing. “Love?” Prince chuckled but they seemed serious, taking him away from his laughter. A frown formed on his face as he realised exactly what was happening; his best friend and his little sister were dating. It horrified him. He let out a breath. “Fine. I’m not your fucking dad, I can’t tell you what to do. If you want to be together, that’s up to you guys. I guess if you say you’re in love, I can’t say anything.” He shrugged and then his glance flickered to Matt. “But if you hurt her I will fucking kill you, that’s a promise mate.” With that, Prince marched off. He wasn’t about to argue with them if they insisted they were serious about each other but he also wasn’t ready to sit around and celebrate them as a couple. As he made his way out of Matt’s home, he still couldn’t wrap his brain around the idea.