#the Sharon one in volume 1 was already a bit weird. but TWO???

[grassbreads]

For the love of god someone explain to me why there are not one but TWO whole Caucus Race stories whose plot is "Alice unintentionally freaks out one of her friends because she doesn't know what sex is and makes them think she's coming onto them."

[ikroah]

The strangest gal I ever had never happy ‘less she’s mad. Oh, I got a woman mean as she can be, sometimes I think she’s almost mean as me. —“Mean Woman Blues,” Elvis Presley (1957)

It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin’ #16 - Crimson Caravan

Collaborative Issue! Guest Artist: Esseress

Archive Links

«« First | « Previous || Next » | Last »»

Read IKROAH on Archive of Our Own

Notes / Original Pencils / Transcript:

Notes:

Girls’ night! Girls’ night!

I want this issue to speak for itself so I’m going to cut right to gratuitously thanking our latest guest artist, Esseress, who did a completely phenomenal on these five pages. We’ve been working on it for a long time and I’m over the moon to finally bring it to you now on this blog. I love writing this comic, and I loved doing the lettering and composition for it, but my goodness do I love Esse’s art. It was a real privilege to have that art as part of It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin’, especially since the artist was such an immaculately pleasant collaborator. If you’re reading this, thank you again for such a fun project (and talking about Naruto with me lol).

Original Pencils (click for full size):

This issue was one of my most fun composition challenges yet because something that you want to avoid in comics as much as possible, I think, is talking heads. You want to avoid shots that are static, overly repetitive, and uninteresting. Now the challenge is, how do you do that when your whole comic takes place in a small storeroom and is nothing but a conversation between two characters?

Playing with angles and expressions, and using repetition intentionally with the percussive referent of Agnes cutting into the floorboards, made for some really suspenseful page layouts that complemented the script in a major way. I’m especially proud of the third page, with its quick cutaway to the exterior of the office and the cutting continuing beneath Agnes’ dialogue. Also, did you notice that you only ever see Agnes’ left side this issue? You never get to look her in the eye this issue, and given how cagey she’s acting, that evasiveness was an intentional compositional choice. It was satisfying to pull off, but hear me, it took a lot of planning in the thumbnail stage to pull off well.

The other fun challenge of this issue was lighting. When you’re in a closet a night and don’t want to be seen, how do you see? The delightful answer was to have Agnes actually use that damn flashlight she wears on her shoulder; attentive readers will notice that this is the second time she’s used it in the comic, with the first time being back in Boulder City at the end of Volume 1. Hmm…guys, I wonder if it’s a bad omen that she only seems to turn it on when she’s about to commit or assist in a murder…

Speaking of lighting! One last fun hiccup about this issue was the final page. The script I wrote called for it to transition from night to morning between the first and second panels, but in a case of unforeseen and magnitudinous pedanticism, it was while coordinating the lighting on that page with Esse that I looked up the actual time of sunrise in the Mojave Desert for the time of year this issue takes place, which is November 5th if you’re curious. Turns out the sun shouldn’t be rising until after 7:00 AM, which hardly makes McLafferty the exceptionally early riser her planner says she is. That’s not to say it’s actually 7:00 AM in the comic…go ahead and play the CinemaSins ding for the wrong sunrise time, or whatever. And it’s not like any of you would have known or cared if I didn’t say anything! It was just too weird of a writing quirk to not bring up. The lesson, folks, is to always remember your temporality when writing. It’ll help you sleep a lot easier.

Transcript:

EXT. CRIMSON CARAVAN, night. The lights are out and everyone in the caravan compound have retired to their barracks for the night. From inside one of the compound buildings comes a soft sound.

SFX: SKRITCH SKRITCH…

INT. CRIMSON CARAVAN OFFICE. AGNES SANDS is bent over on the floor of a storeroom, carving into the wooden floor with her bootknife. ROSE OF SHARON CASSIDY leans against the door behind her.

SFX: SKRITCH SKRITCH…

AGNES: So…have you ever killed anyone before?

AGNES continues cutting into the floor without looking at CASS as she speaks.

SFX: SKRITCH SKRITCH, SKRITCH SKRITCH, SKRITCH SKRITCH…

AGNES: And I don’t mean a raider or fiend or something, nothing in self-defense. I mean in cold blood.

CASS: You mean like you killed those Khans?

(NOTE: *IKROAH #14—Lou.)

CASS: Hmmm…no, I guess I haven’t. When it comes to bloody vengeance just for myself…

CASS: …be gentle, it’s my first time.

AGNES doesn’t react to CASS’ joke. CASS becomes equally serious.

CASS: …I’d imagine this ain’t your first rodeo, the way you asked.

SFX: SKRITCH SKRITCH, SKRITCH SKRITCH, SKRITCH SKRITCH, SKRITCH SKRITCH…

CASS: I mean…this Benny guy, in Vegas. When we catch him, which notch on your blood-spattered bedpost is he?

AGNES stops cutting into the floor, raising her knife. CASS’s expression tightens with concern. The silence is uncomfortable.

AGNES: Second.

CASS: Oh, thank God.

AGNES: What?

CASS: No offense, but the way you got all serious, I worried for a second you might be some kind of serial killer nutjob.

AGNES: No, no, I’m sorry. I was just…thinking. I really know how to meet the wrong men, apparently.

CASS (smiling): Dead men, right?

AGNES frowns. Her knife plunges back into the wooden floor.

SFX: SKRITCH, SKRITCH, SKRITCH SKRITCH…

CASS: Wanna talk about it?

SFX: SKRITCH SKRITCH…

CASS: Not like we have anything else to do.

SFX: SKRITCH SKRITCH… 

AGNES: I really don’t.

CASS: Fine. That said, though, I did imagine this whole revenge thing being a bit more…exciting. Can’t say I like being stuck in a closet.

AGNES (smirking): You get used to it.

CASS: Why, though? You picked the lock to her fucking office like a cheap office toy. Why not break into her barracks and we shoot the bitch now?

AGNES: First, because that’s a great way to get us both killed.

AGNES keeps cutting as she speaks, deeper and deeper into the floor.

AGNES: Second, you want her to know it was you, so we have to get her awake and alone.

SFX: SKRITCH SKRITCH, SKRITCH SKRITCH, SKRITCH SKRITCH…

AGNES: Third, her planner on her desk confirmed what I already suspected—that she’s an early riser—so we’ll see her sooner rather than later, while the rest of the company is still asleep.

SFX: SKRITCH SKRITCH, SKRITCH SKRITCH…

AGNES: Fourth, we want to send a message to everyone else. So it has to be at least a little spectacular.

SFX: SKRITCH SKRITCH, SKRITCH SKRITCH...

CASS: Oh…you’ve really thought this through.

SFX: SKRIT-

AGNES stops cutting. She slowly lifts her knife out of the floor.

AGNES: Yeah.

CASS: Where’d a medic get so good at murder?

AGNES rises from bending over the floor to a kneeling position, turning back towards CASS and frowning.

CASS: Sorry. You probably don’t want to talk about that, either.

AGNES: Maybe another time. For now…

AGNES leans back, kneeling over an intricate cross-hatch, about three feet in radius, of deep cuts and gouges into the floorboards in front of her.

AGNES: …just trust me.

EXT. CRIMSON CARAVAN. Night turns to early morning, and ALICE McLAFFERTY, the boss of the caravan, walks up the steps of her office and enters.

AGNES (from inside, whispering): Alright. Now. Quickly.

From inside her office, a door is kicked open.

SFX: DTHUMP

ALICE: What the hell, who are you—!?

CASS: Rose of Sharon goddamn Cassidy, of Cassidy fucking Caravans, you bitch!

ALICE: No, you’re—

SFX: KABLAM

The sound of a shotgun going off in the middle of the compound wakes up the whole caravan. Crows scatter from the courtyard while guards start rushing towards the office door.

AGNES: Alright, now let’s go! Shoot the floor here where I—

SFX: KABLAM

The guards close in on the office while wooden shrapnel falls from a new hole in the floorboards of the office, and AGNES and CASS drop through to the ground outside, and crawl away from the caravan guards under the hut just as they reach the McLAFFERTY’s front door.

[makbarnes]

Number 1

Bucky groaned as he climbed out of the warm bed you two shared and headed into the bathroom to get ready for his busy day. He hated days like this because he never got to see you as much as he wanted. Meetings after meetings with Steve and Tony, arguing back and forth. Sharon coming into the room to diffuse the situation. It was endless. He sighed as he pinned back his hair and chewed his lip thinking of the coupons from yesterday. You were so sore he had to be gentle even with the cuddling last night.

“Okay Doll, easy day.” Bucky laid down the coupon on the nightstand before leaning over to kiss you goodbye. He tapped your chin and ushered your sleepy lips to his. His body wanted to lay back down in the warm bed you occupied as your sleepy movements took up the whole bed. “I love you.” Bucky threw on a shirt and quietly exited the room.

You rubbed the sleep away from your eyes and found an empty bed. Your legs ached from yesterday and you had no intention of moving soon. You noticed a glass of water and one of the coupons sitting on the nightstand. Reaching over to carefully grab the corner ot the paper you rolled your eyes at Bucky’s next request.

“Barnes you sly bastard.” You reached above you and grabbed your phone to already see three messages from Bucky himself.

Can’t wait to see you, Doll.

This meeting is already getting so tiring. Are you awake?

Do I need to come switch out a coupon? XD

You rolled your eyes and quickly texted him back letting him know you were awake. Ripping the coupon in half you laid it against your bare chest and covered your breasts just enough with the blanket. Holding up your phone you bit down onto your lip and snapped a picture. Sending it off you waited for a response.

Starting off nicely I see...show me more

I have to make this last all day. More will come later. ;)

You smiled as you slowly peeled yourself from the warm bed and winced at the soreness you felt with each movement. Carefully making your way to the shower you grabbed your phone and snapped another quick picture with it highlighting the trail of marks left by Bucky yesterday. You sent it off as you climbed into the shower. You let out a sigh of relief as the hot water soothed your aches. Washing your hair with your honey scented wash you took your time meticulous washing every inch of your body to make sure the hot water relaxed you. Your phone let off several alert sounds and you turned off the water. Wrapping the towel around your body you stepped out and dried your hair with a separate towel.

I love how anyone can see you are mine.

Bucky quipped as he traced over his screen down the line of hickeys. You smiled as you went through your closet and picked out a tight red crop top with your peach lift leggings you had only worn once. The first time Bucky spotted you in them he had thrown you against the bed and ate you until you were dry. Your center ached for his tongue just thinking about it. Slipping the grey legging on followed by lacing up your black puma sneakers you plugged in your headphones and placed your phone into the thigh holder and started around the track outside. Your heart rate climbed as you neared the window that looked over the area from the conference room. You ripped your hair down from the tie and fluffed it as you slowed down to an easy jog. You saw Bucky and Steve looking out from the window talking with each other and you threw a hand up. Bucky rested his fist on the glass and you could see him holding back everything. Steve hit Bucky’s shoulder and appeared to start laughing as he walked away. You continued around the track until you hit a shady area and held your phone up to Bucky in the distance. Snapping a picture of him watching you through the window you sent it off with the words. Like my leggings?

You just had to wear those today. God I’m growing hard just thinking about the last time you wore those.

You sent a salute up to him in the window before continuing to run. Circling the building you saw Tony yelling at someone in the room. You chewed your lip and thought before taking your phone and texting Bucky.

Make sure you have your volume down.

You waited for an okay before video calling him and trailing a finger down your lips to your chest. You could tell he adjusted in his chair and flicked his eyes around to give the impression he was listening. You concentrated and felt your body floating into the air and smiled as you were looking into the conference room window. Steve and Tony were arguing in a corner while Bucky was sitting tense at his phone on the other side of the table. You winked at him through the video call before ending it quickly and laughed as he slammed his fist on the table which earned the attention of Steve. You ducked over to hide behind the far wall as everything returned to normal. Your phone buzzed and you laughed as you sent a picture of Bucky being tense in the chair. His eyes directly pointed at the window and noticed your hair blowing in the wind.

I see you, Doll.

Really? That’s weird cause I’m with the birdie…

You snickered as you lowered yourself down and quickly snapped a selfie with Sam. You angle the camera perfectly to accent your chest.

“What’s up, Cupcake? Get it? Cause clearly Barnes had a few bites.”

“Out for a run.” You tucked away your phone after plugging your headphones back in.

“Looked more like a fly to me. Wanna race?”

He better know that’s mine.

Calm down. I only want you and maybe your best friend ;)

Shh, don’t tempt me already, trying to save that one…

You finished off your run with a race on foot with Sam before heading upstairs to grab a bottle of water. You walked off to your room, and changed into a light blue bralette with a matching lace thong. You slipped your black jogging pants over your hips letting them fall to have the top strap peeking out. You squatted down in your full body mirror and snapped another picture. With a quick tap you sent it off to Bucky’s phone and quickly threw on your matching jacket. You quickly grabbed a small black case and tucked an earpiece in your side pocket to sneek to Bucky. You had a dangerous Idea. Leaving it barely zipped you grabbed four bottles of vitamin water and headed upstairs. Knocking quietly, You grabbed your phone out to see Bucky had not opened it yet. You knocked again with some force and smiled brightly as Bucky opened the door for you.

“Hey, Doll.” You made your way past Bucky and set down the waters for everyone before taking your own.

“You all know everyone can hear you squawking at each other like a married couple right?” You laughed at Steve and Tony while Bucky pulled you onto his lap. You grabbed his phone and held it in front of his face while you leaned over the table slightly and listened to Tony’s rant about Peter’s latest mission. He always had a soft spot for the kid and it always ended with Tony thinking he needed to go on easier missions. To be honest Peter was the next beat to send other than Wanda. You felt Bucky’s cool fingers against your hip as he traced over the small line that was sitting on your skin. As you took another sip of your drink Bucky pulled your back to lean against him as he tucked his mouth next to your ear.

“You don’t tease very well, Princess.” His voice was low and sent a shiver down your spine. You winked over at Steve’s prying eye and leaned back to let Bucky notice Steve watching the two of you. Bucky bit your earlobe and slowly wrapped his arms around your waist. You back was arched up slightly and Steve let his eyes fall over the curve of your exposed breasts and how the fluorescent light highlighted the hickey that was popping out of the opening in your jacket. He bit his lip and imagined what it would be like to suck on your soft skin. He felt himself growing hard just thinking about it and quickly broke his stare and focused back on the screen. You laughed before turning in Bucky’s lap to kiss him roughly, You felt his teeth tease at your lip but you moved off instead of letting him play. Leaning over you tucked a small earpiece into Bucky’s ear but played it off as tucking his hair away. Earning a tug on your arm you blew him a kiss before leaving. “I can do much worse.” You smirked on your way down to your room and undressed from your jogging suit and laid yourself down on the bed in your light blue outfit. Snapping a full body picture you sent it off before flipping on the earpiece you had slipped into Bucky’s ear earlier.

“Hope you can hear me, Sergeant.” You spoke this as you sent it off after your picture.

Bucky blushed as he could hear your sexy voice in his ear. He adjusted himself in his chair and checked his phone to see the full body image of you. Chewing on his bottom lip and he coughed a bit before glancing off in the distance.

“Hmm, I sure wish someone was here to satisfy me...I guess I can do it myself.” You tried to hold back your flirty giggles because you thought you sounded ridiculous. You turned yourself onto your knees and angled the camera against the pillows. Arching down you had your ass perfectly displayed in the back with your breasts hiding in the top corner. You untucked a black vibrating dildo and snapped a picture of it leaning against your lips. You adjusted the mic around your ear before laying down and waiting for Bucky’s reply. You snapped another picture of yourself with the tip of the toy tucked into your mouth.

Do I hear my sweet girl thinking about me?

Maybe…

You turned the toy onto the lowest setting and ran it over your clothed nipples. Stifling a moan you felt your phone vibrating against your side and smiled as Bucky’s face filled your screen. A small bubble appeared at the top of your screen.

If I get to hear. I get to see right?

You laughed before hanging up and tucking your phone away.

"Nope." You angled your mouth up to the mic and continued down your body with the toy. Feeling the light vibrations nearing your clit you moaned out for Bucky. You spread your legs wide and circled around your already dripping area. Carefully taking off your underwear you ran the tip through your folds and kneading your breast with your free hand. Twisting your nipple in between your fingers you whined for more as your phone went off again.

You better not cum until I get there…

"No promises." You spoke out as you turned the dial to increase the vibrations. Gasping at the new level your legs instinctively opened more and your finger trailed down to play with your clit. You slipped the full length of the vibrator inside of you and moaned out incoherently. Working the toy at a steady pace you called out for Bucky again.

"Fuck Daddy, I'm so wet…"

Careful Princess. I'm about to leave this meeting.

"Then leave. I miss you Daddy. I need your cock to satisfy me." Moaning out you clicked the toy up to the highest setting and quickly snapped a picture of your spread open for Bucky. "Maybe the Captain can help me?" Your eyes rolled back at the thought of Bucky and Steve ravishing your body. You kept pressure against your clit as your legs wanted to tighten. Holding back your urge you heard a loud slam in the distance and quickly snapped up out of fright. You tucked the toy under your side and covered yourself up with the blanket. Hearing loud footstep you soon recognized them as your husband's and quickly slipped your thong back on with your sweats. Tucking the toy away just before Bucky slammed open the door you let out a small sigh of relief before he was forcing you against the wall. His lips collided with your own as he pushed himself tightly against you. His aching bulge hot your core and you moaned within the kiss.

"On the bed." Bucky let you down from his hold and found the toy you were just using. "I wanna see you cum on this toy baby." Bucky’s eyes were blown wide with a controlling stare added to them. You felt like disobeying but sensed it could get you a serious punishment you moved with Bucky’s hands and quickly undressed. Bucky forced your legs open and licked your slit clean. His tongue worked in tiny circles on your clit in his mouth while his hand guided the toy slowly through your folds. Your back arched urging him to guide it back down against the mattress holding you in place. He pushed the toy deeper before turning the dial up to high. Your hand grabbed the back of his head holding him in place while the other tangled in the sheets. Incoherent moans of pleasure filled the room and you tightened around the toy over and over again until you were practically sobbing for Bucky’s dick to fill you. Bucky growled into your neck as he ran his hard tip over your entrance. You moved closer to him making his tip go a bit deeper once it reached its home. Bucky’s lips were resting against your hair as he pushed his entire self into you. You gripped his shoulders as his tight muscles worked to move him in and out of you. His metal hand held the side of your neck to keep you still while he used you as a toy himself. Unprocessed obscenities grazed your ear drum as his pace quickened. A small stifled moan escaped your mouth and he pushed deeper.

"Shit, Princess is so tight for Daddy. God, feels so good." Bucky clenched his hand as he chased his oncoming climax.

"Yes Daddy! Oh my god, right there! RIGHT THERE!" Your voice echoed in the room with Bucky's last pushes into you. Feeling your walls tighten around him his cum covered your walls with his finish and he kissed you lovingly. Your breath was a permanent pant for a while as Bucky climbed in behind you and chewed a new mark in between two old ones. His arm pulled your flush against him as you faded into a sleep. Bucky kissed your head before getting up and heading back to the meeting after getting a text from Steve. Be turned his camera on to take a picture of you sleeping under the blanket that clung to your sultry shape. He bit his lip as he saved it to a separate file in his photos.

SERIES MASTERLIST

[friendlyfaceseverywhere-sp-blog]

Chapter 1: Party At Cartman’s

          The last week of August and the end of summer had finally came to South Park. Stan’s Marsh phone alarm played a nice, peaceful and relaxing tune, which was the opposite of what his mornings looked like, but the volume was high enough to wake him up. Stan opened his eyes and was about to press the snooze button, thinking five more minutes of sleep wouldnt disturb his routine, but stopped when He saw there was a message from his best friend Kyle Broflovski. He opened the chat and read “Ready for another year of torture?”

           Stan laugh. “And do we have a choice?” was his reply, knowing Kyle would probably chuckle like He did on the other side. He gave up sleeping five more minutes longer and stood up, walking towards the bathroom to wash his face, but was abruptly pushed before He could enter by the stupid She-Ogre He knew as his older sister. Shelly would just return to the college campus for classes in september and Stan couldnt avoid thinking if it was about time for her to go away. Have her home some weekends was bad... But everyday was almost too much to bear.

- God dammit Shelly! Do you have to do this everyday? – Stan shouted from outside the bathroom, knocking on the locked door. His sister had grew a lot. She didnt used braces anymore and had gave a update to her looks, at least the possible, but her bad attitude had stayed the same. Shelly opened the door, almost hitting Stan’s face with it, to respond.

- Shut up Turd! I’m going out! – and she closed it again almost breaking it. The noise made Stan’s mom, Sharon, soon appear to ask what was going on, but the boy Just sighed and went back to his room. He packed his school stuff and changed his clothes while waited for Shelly to come out of the bathroom.

           He placed his jacket, a The Who shirt, clean jeans and his red converse Chuckies above his bed. He opened the drawer e there it was, carefully stored, his trade Mark: The red poof Ball hat. He throw the little thing with the others at the same moment He saw Shelly passing irritated through the hallway while his mother followed her screaming. Finally He could use the bathroom.

             About twenty minutes later, Stan got to the bus stop, not the same one He and his friends used to hang when they were kids, despite being practically the same thing. All sights in South Park looked alike. When He got there, Kenny and Cartman were laughing, while Kyle had his arms crossed glaring at the other two. – Hey guys. – Stan Said smiling to Kyle, who Just sigh and got closer to his Best friend.

- Hey dude... – Kyle seemed frustrated and Stan knew the reason. He knew why his other two friends were laughing their guts out and it was the same reson that placed that expression on Kyle’s face.

           A week ago, to celebrate summer’s ending, Cartman threw a huge party for everyone in class on his basement. Eric Cartman’s basement had always been the Best place for such stuff... It was big, had an extra bathroom and Liane, his mom, never seemed bothered with all the shit they’ve done down there. The whole sophomore class appeared, Kenny had got the booze and the pot with his contacts and everything was going as planned.

           Stan and Kyle were sitting in the staircase that lead to the basement waiting for Wendy Testaburguer, Stan’s girlfriend, arrive. The Black-haired boy was anxious, since she had spent most of her Summer travelling with her parents. Kenny, Cartman and the others that had arrived already, were downstairs having fun. Watching this, Kyle seemed nervous about something.

- Youre gonna try tonight Kyle? – Stanley asked with a smirk on his face as Kyle turned to him widening his eyes for a second.

- Uh? I dont know what youre talking about...

- The pot dude... I’m asking if youre gonna try it. You Said your parents would be out tonight. – Stan gave a brief look towards Ike, playing with his phone in a couch. Since the Broflovskis were out, Kyle had to bring him to the party.

- I dont know dude... My mom would kill me if she discovered i’ve smoked. – He took a deep breath before continuing. – I know Ike wont say a Word, but i dont know... You know how she gets when she’s angry.

           Stan opened his mouth to say something to his Best friend, but they both turn their heads at the same time hearing the door above the stairs opening. Wendy and Bebe passed through it and the Black-haired girl froze as soon as she saw her boyfriend waiting. Stan smiled and patted Kyle’s shoulder friendly. – You know i support whatever your decision is, right? – and before the red-haired could reply, Stan stood up and went up to where Wendy was.

- Hey babe! How was your trip? – He asked already pulling her into a hug. Wendy seemed nervous about something, and her fake smile showed that.

           Kyle, who could see Wendy’s expression, watched the scene confused, standing up as well. Bebe passed through him shooking her head. – This ain’t gonna be cool... – she sighed already knowing the kinda talk her bestie would have with her boyfriend next. Kyle turned to her listening this, getting even more perplexed now since according to Stan, the two of them seemed to be ok until the previous Day, at least He Said Wendy seemed to miss him in their messages.

- Bebe... What...

- Have you seen Clyde, Ky? – Bebe asked and the jewboy only pointed to where the football team captain and the blonde’s boyfriend was. Soon He also went down there leaving Stan and Wendy alone.

 - Everything was fine Stan... I had lots of fun. – Wendy replied stepping away from his hug. She was acting weird.

- Is everything ok? Something happened? – Stan asked noticing this. He hoped his girl would be anxious to see him again, just like He was. He hoped that she would be happy and willing to tell him the news about her trip and that they would spend na amazing night together at the party. But the words that came out from Wendy’s mouth next made Stan’s heart stop beating for a second.

- Can we... Talk? – she said in a uncertain and not a bit thrilling tone. – I mean... Alone?

 - Whats wrong with your face Kyle? – Kenny asked when He saw the jew coming downstairs with some worry on his eyes. He looked up towards Stan and Wendy while going down, and bit his lip nervously when He saw Stan’s smile vanishing, before He agreed with his head and followed Wendy out of the basement.

- It’s just... I think Wendy is going to break up with Stan. – He said grabbing a pop for himself while Kenny raised na eyebrown. He understood why Kyle seemed worried about this since Stan always ended up devastated everytime He had a fight with his girlfriend and them splitted apart for a while. None of them could forget the goth kids episode. Kenny got a bottle of vodka and added some to Kyle’s cup.

- Guess we’re gonna need more of this to comfort him later then, huh? – He said with a little sigh. Kyle looked at his cup and scratched his neck.

- I dont know if i should Kenny... Ike’s here and... – He thought for an instant. Why not? He wanted to be able to help his Best friend upstairs, but theres nothing He could do at the moment. Maybe when He came back, if what He was thiking truly happened, Kyle could cheer him up a little bit. – Alright... But let’s get slow... You know Stan has a problem with alcoohol.

- I have some weed here too... – Kenny said patting his parka’s pocket where probably the joints were. The smirk on his face showed the other the exact words that were about to come out of his mouth. – You said you were gonna try tonight, Kyle.

             Wendy guided Stan to Cartman’s backyward. Usually, there was the parties Make out spot. Of course, couples used to kiss and fool around down the basement as well, but true action happened there, under the stars. Stan and Wendy had kissed in Cartman’s backyward before but they never reached the ultimate goal, He respected her too much to try doing anything without her giving a sign first. In reality, He didnt fell secure enough to go more ahead than what they had done by that point.

           A girl placed her hands in her coat’s pockets. Despite still being Summer, South Park managed to be to coldest town in all Colorado. She sighed without facing him, just looking at the starry sky, nervous with something Stan couldnt identify. – Wendy... What do you wanna talk about? – she suddenly firm her feet and turn her head to him.

- Stan... We need to take a break.

           Complete silence. Stan tilted his head to the side confused for a few seconds staring at his girlfriend not knowing how to react. E then He chuckled. It was a quick one tho, since Wendy’s expression didnt change. – Wait... You’re being serious? B-But why?!

- I’ve been thinking during this trip... You know? I need a break to think, thats all. – she replied shyly looking to the ground. She hated having to do that. But at the same time, it was needed, doubts came on her head during vacation and she needed to find a solution to it without Stan interfering, even without meaning it. – Please... You need to understand.

- You’ve met someone on the trip, don’t you? Thats what happened? Thats why you’re acting weird? – He asked leaning onto her and gently taking her hands, which made him stare at his eyes one more time. – Wendy... Please don’t do this to me again... I... I love you...

           She stopped and her eyebrows curved in a sad way. She slightly and carefully touched his face. – And i love you too. Thats why i have to do this, because i don’t wanna hurt you more than necessary. I need a break Stanley... – her voice was firm and decisive. – And no... I didnt met anyone on the trip. I just... Need you to respect what i’m asking you.

           She took a deep sigh gazing deeply inside his eyes, before releasing his hands and pass through him, returning back into the house. Stan’s shoulders dropped while he stared at nothing ahead of him with wide eyes, shocked, without understanding how in a matter of minutes he went from “Cute messages of missing you” to “We need to take a break”. He had no Idea how longer he stayed there staring at nothing in particular, but he discovered later that it was for awhile, cause Kenny opened the glass door that gave access to the backyard, holding himself to not have a laughter attack.

- HAHA! STAN! – he couldnt stop laughing. – You have to come see the shit Kyle’s doing! S-Stan... – Kenny stopped in front of his friend, finally seeing his desolate expression. – Uh... Stan? What happened?

- Wendy... She... She... – Stan tried to speak, but the words simply didnt came out. He felt his body being pulled into a hug all of sudden. Kenny sighed releasing him a few seconds later.

- I’m so sorry dude...

           Stan felt terrible. If at least he knew why Wendy did this to him, maybe he could stand the fact better. Kenny was a good friend and for sure, at least as far as possible, his hug had helped. Perhaps if he went to hang with his friends... Wait a minute. Stan’s sad face changed to confused in just one second. – What did you said about Kyle?

 - ALRIGHT, MOTHERFUCKERS! WHEN I SAY CARTMAN, YOU SAY FATASS! – Kyle was standing above the junk food table, wearing only his underwear and hat. His voice sounded drunk and a little bit higher than usual. Kyle already had the most high pitched voice among all his male friends, but that was too much.

           Kenny returned with Stan to the basement and just when he saw Kyle, he couldnt contain his laugh. Stan’s eyes got wide seeing his Best friend completely high and screaming almost naked in front of everybody. That wasnt Kyle, or at least, it wasnt how Kyle acted. All the others had similiar reactions to what was going on: Or they were laughing or they were shocked. Cartman didnt seemed to care that mosto of the shit coming out of the jew’s mouth were poorly directed to him. At the moment, the fat kid hold onto Heidi, his girlfriend, while filming Kyle making a fool of himself with his Iphone. – That’s totally going to my Twitter. – Eric laugh evil.

- My god Kenny... What the fuck did you gave him? – Stan asked, a mix of worry and giggle on his voice. Kenny laughed out loud in return, showing the other joint he had.

- Looks like our friend Kyle kept his promise, huh Stan?

           Wendy was one of the people looking at Kyle without knowing how to react. For a second, she glanced at Stan, but quickly the boy looked away and went to the table where Kyle danced ridiculously. – Kyle, you have to get down from there dude. – Stan said reaching his arms towards his Best friend so he could come down without falling or getting hurt.

- Hey Stan! Hey everybody! This is my Best friend Stan! – Kyle said almost tripping and falling from the table, but Stan managed to hold him and put him down safely before that could happen. – Ah... Dude... Your eyes are puffy... – Kyle stopped smiling and touched Stan’s face dizzily. – She broke up with you, didnt she? I’m so sorry Stan! – and then he hugged him.

Stanley wanted to talk with Kyle about it. During his whole life, that boy was always there to help him, but he knew the red haired didnt had conditions at the moment. He sighed and asked someone next to the scene to pass him Kyle’s clothes that were on the floor. – C’mon man... Lets get you home. Lets go Ike!

Stan went away without saying bye to most people. In the end, Kyle’s little show had gave him an excuse to leave... After what happened, the last thing he wanted was partying. When they got to Kyle’s house, on the other side of the street, Stan carefully placed him on his bed with Ike’s help. He thanked Jesus for their parents being out.

- God dammit... Hey Ike, i think i’m spending the night. Just in case Kyle doesnt feel good... And he has no conditions of... – Stan stopped talking when he heard voices that sounded much alike the ones he heard at the party coming from Ike’s phone. – Ike?

- Uh? Oh, sure, no problem. – Ike replied laughing and showing his phone screen. It was a vídeo of Kyle’s show at the party, posted three minutes ago on Eric Cartman’s Twitter Page. – Its online already.

           Stan took a deep breath, rolling his eyes thinking how Cartman could be such an asshole. He looked at Kyle knowing how ashamed he would be in the morning, despite him looking so peaceful sleeping now. – Alright Ike... You should go rest. We’ll figure this out tomorrow ok? The sleeping bag is still in the closet?

           Stan layed on the floor next to Kyle’s bed, curling himself at the thick Terrance & Phillip sleeping bag. He smiled a bit remembering how happy they both were when got that gift. Soon he frowned tho, thinking about Wendy and what happened at the party. Why did she had to do that with him? Why didnt she gave him a reason? He heard Kyle moving on his bed and then released a groan.

- You better be ok in the morning to hear me mourn Kyle...

- Stan? Are you listening to me? – Kyle asked waving his hand in front of his Best friend’s face, that looked completely lost in thoughts.

- Uh? What? – he asked snapping out of it. He was inside the bus already heading to school with Kyle sitting by his side.

- You didnt heard a single Word i said, right? – the red haired kid asked with a bored look. Stan stuttered to reply, which made Kyle sit straight in his seat with his arms crossed. – Nevermind...

           Stan felt bad for a second. He’d been thinking about Wendy and what happened for the last minutes, not realizing his surroundings. In fact, he and the girl havent spoken to each other in a week, ever since the talk in Cartman’s yard. The boy relaxed in his seat sighing sadly gazing at the view from his window. – I know you were problably cursing Cartman for being an ass and posting that vídeo. He’s really a jerk... I’m sorry about it and i’ll help you solve this shit. Is just...

- The thing with Wendy, right? – Kyle said suddenly. The two boys knew each other time enough to know exactly what the other was thinking without much effort. Stan looked back to his friend. – I know dude... It sucks. But you told me she just wanted a time. Didnt she said she loved you?

- Well... Yeah, she said. But i dont know... She seemed so... – the bus stopped in front of South Park High and the doors opened so the students could come out. But Stan couldnt stand. He saw something outside the bus the simply freeze his movements. Wendy was sitting at the stairs in front of the building with a big book in one of her hands... Because the other side of the book was being held by a blonde kid around their age that was extremely familiar. -...Distant...

           Kyle looked from the window seeing the same scene. The boy was close to Wendy. Too close. The two of them seemed to be talking about the book and she seemed happy with this kid’s company. Kyle lifted an eyebrown, having the same sensation of familiarity. The blonde curly hair thrown back, fancy outfits and that smart air he exibited over Wendy... It reminded them a lot about this kid they’ve met years ago, when they were just eight, and that had went study with them. Kyle’s eyes widen when his mind reproducted the words “La Resistance” and he could, finally, identify who this guy was.

- Gregory... – he said making Stan turn to him abruptly.

- Hey, you two have to come down! – the bus driver yelled making them realize they were the only ones left inside. The boys quickly took their stuff and did as the man said. Kyle tried to pull Stan as far as possible from where Wendy was with Gregory, maybe head to their lockers and get over with that, but Stan couldnt avoid giving his girlfriend, or ex, a look with all the sadness from his body.

           For a moment, Wendy faced him back, and the joy vanished from her face. She looked embarassed to the ground while Kyle kept trying to pull him away. But he knew there was no sense in spare him since his heart was probably already broken.

             Eric Cartman was walking towards his locker with his usual egocentric air. He wasnt among the youngest in school anymore, actually, he was practically a veteran if you think well. It was like he owned this territory by now. He spotted Heidi Turner, his longdate gilfriend, searching for something inside her locker, and, even tho he wasnt seeing her face, he knew she was excited to see him. They were more attached than ever, since a week ago, after the incredible party in his house that he liked to call “High Kyle’s show” they went it on inside his room. Probably the best day of his whole life, not only for seeing Kyle humiliating himself, but because he lost his virginity, all in one night. It was too good to be true.

           When he reached her, Cartman hugged her from behind, gripping her waist and lifting her up softly. Heidi gasped startled, tooking a fright when he lifted her, but when she looked back and saw her boyfriend, her face turned angry. She shook her legs and kicked him lightly to be released. – Let me go Eric!

           Cartman released her, getting confused. He chuckled sarcastically. – Wow... Looks like someone is on a bad mood today. Are you on your period or something?

           Heidi shut her locker madly, which made Cartman shut his mouth. He had seem her pissed before, despite being rare, and he didnt liked at all. He kept perplexed while she faced him almost like she was about to attack him. – I dont wanna talk to you! – she yelled suddenly and started to walk away. Cartman ran and grip on her arm.

- Hey! Wait a second, what have i done? – he asked not understanding. Heidi’s face got even angrier, burning bright red. After a few seconds she opened up.

- You want to explain to me why everybody knows what we’ve done last week? – she screamed pulling her arm away from his touch. Cartman’s eyes widen, as he placed his hands on his pockets.

- I... I dont know what youre talking about, Heidi...

- Dammit Eric! I asked you to not tell anyone! – she stamp her feet on the floor with tears on her eyes.  

- And i didnt! – he screamed back, some people were staring at them both, before turning their faces and leave. Heidi crossed her arms, not buying not even a bit of that. – Well... Maybe i’ve told the guys... And Butters... And Clyde. I mean, i had to tell Clyde, right? Oh yeah... I told Jimmy too...

           He stopped when she suddenly pushed him and his fat body hit the floor. – Youre an idiot! Now everybody looks at me knowing what happened! Dont you ever speak to me! Its over Eric! – and then she returned to march nervously away from him.

- Fuck you Heidi! Thats right, go away and leave me here, laying on the floor! – Cartman yelled seeing her move away. Noticing she didnt hesitate a single step and just disappeared by the end of the hallway, ignoring him completely, he sighed heavily, still with an irritated expression, laying the rest of his body on the floor too. – Crap...

OH MY GOD I’M SOOO HAPPY HAHA! So yeah, this was the first chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed. Feel free to comment, share and talk to me or Mary about it cause it really makes us want post more and more about this!!  

*THIS AU BELONGS ENTIRELY TO ME (@maryramos) AND MY FRIEND (@m-tonks). If repost, please give credit to us and make sure to follow our page for more content of it!*

[a-walk-in-silence]

We Can Be Beautiful (Pt. 5)

Pairing: Peter Parker x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 6.3k

Summary: Heathers AU. You were used to the quiet life in Sherwood, Ohio. Albeit, you were bullied, but it was nothing compared to the shit storm that was about to happen when one boy showed up with an air of mystery around him.

Warnings: Cursing, mentions of date rape (n o t h i n g happens, I promise), underage drinking, implications of sexual activities (again, n o t h i n g happened), name calling, bullying, homophobia, manipulation, character death, gun-related violence, self flagellation

Prompt: “You’re the one I choose”

A/N: And here is Part 5 of WCBB! Woohoo! Halfway point! Yes! This is for @gab-spidey‘s 2k writing challenge! Honestly, I just wanna thank everyone for coming along for this ride and, again, thank you all so much! Here’s to the next few parts getting finished eventually! Once again, I’m reblogging suicide hotlines after this goes up. If you guys ever need to talk about something, my inbox and messages are open to the public and I will gladly talk to anyone who needs a shoulder to lean on. Thanks for reading! Also, just as a PS, the warnings are getting longer and longer and, hopefully, they’ll chill out for a bit in the next part (one can hope).

Masterlist | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9

Key:

Y/N - Your Name

L/N - Last Name

Y/N/N - Your Nickname

Italics - Writing in Your Diary

Bold Italics - Speech of Deceased

Song Inspiration(s):

Blue - Heathers Cast Recording

Blue (Reprise) - Heathers Cast Show Clip (turn up the volume on this one, it’s a clip recording and not the best audio wise but the song is important)

Our Love Is God - Heathers Cast Recording

You fingers silently drummed across your knee as you sat between people sobbing uncontrollably into their handkerchiefs. Try as you might, you couldn’t bring yourself to look up at the open casket sitting at the front of the room, which, inside, contained the dead body of Natasha Romanoff. You couldn’t quite kick away the nagging voice in the back of your head, telling you that this was all your fault. And yeah, okay, it was.

You did kill her, after all.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the service came to an end. You quickly jumped to your feet and left the building, being one of the first to leave. However, unbeknownst to you, Peter had followed right behind you and grabbed your arm before you could get far.

“Hey, Y/N,” he said, pulling your body towards him. You glanced up at him, trying to not lose your shit while standing in the middle of the small grass area in front of the church. “Where have you been? I haven’t seen in since school let out on Friday.” He brushed a piece of your hair that had fallen out of place behind your ear. “Everything good?”

“Yeah, of course,” you replied, offering him the best smile you could muster at the moment. “It’s just been weird, ya know? My parents have been hovering over me for the past week over the whole suicide thing.” You got onto your tiptoes and pressed a firm kiss into his lips. “I promise I haven’t been avoiding you. Just dealing with issues with Nat’s death, ya know?”

He opened his mouth to talk when a voice interrupted you. “Y/N!” your mother called, coming to your side. “Darling, how are you doing?”

“Hey, ‘Mora, come on. The girl just lost her best friend. I’m sure she’s doing great,” said your father, a sarcastic tone taking over, before smiling. “Say, who’s the fella?”

You shifted awkwardly on your feet before offering them a smile. “Mom, Dad, this is Peter Parker. He’s-”

“We’re kind of dating at the moment,” Peter said over you, quickly cutting you off before you could register what he even said. “It’s a little early on but it’s nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. L/N.” He held out a hand to the two of them, maintaining the worlds most purest smile.

Your mother raised an eyebrow at the both of you before cautiously taking his hand in a handshake. “Well, I’m Y/N’s mother.”

Your dad, meanwhile, gave the worlds most toothiest grin before grabbing Peter’s hand. “You’re a Peter? I’m a Peter! That’s really interesting that my daughter would go after a Peter, don’t ya think so, ‘Mora?”

“Peter Jason,” your mother said, clearly exasperated. “We’ll just head out, leave you two to... talk. I hope you can join us for dinner one night, Mr. Parker.”

With that, your parents left, allowing you a moment to catch your breath. With that, Peter turned towards you and offered his arm. “Come on, let’s ditch this place and go to my house. We can watch some TV, maybe unwind a little. Afterwards, I can take you home. I’m sure you need a moment to think.”

You gave him a thoughtful smile before grabbing his arm, wrapping it around your shoulders firmly. “Sounds good to me, anything to get me away from my parents for a little while.”

He chuckled softly. “Ya, they sound a little overbearing. And you dad is... very eccentric.”

“Mmm... That’s Peter Jason L/N for you,” you replied. “He’s always been a big joker and doing things just to confuse everyone around him. Recently, he picked up reading spy novels even though he hates him. He finds it funny. As for my mom, she had a rough childhood, so I suppose it’s understandable why she’s overbearing. Terrible stepdad and all that.”

Peter gave you a confused look, his eyebrow raised in question. “What happened with your mom’s side of the family?”

You sighed, leaning into his side as the two of you walked over to where Peter’s motorcycle was parked. “Her dad passed away while she was really young. Murder, never solved. Then her stepdad showed up, married her mom. And then she died a month later. My mom was left in his care with a crap ton of step-siblings, like my Aunt Neb. They all fought for his attention. She never really explained much outside of the sibling rivalry.” You shrugged nonchalantly. “Nobody’s life is ever perfect, and my mom’s is definitely not an exception.”

Peter plopped down onto his couch and you joined him, curled up into his side. He smiled down at you sweetly, wrapping an arm around you securely. “What should we do, darling?”

“Mmmm.... There’s always television. Maybe we can count how many news channels Sharon Carter went to, crying about Nat.” The two of you laughed for a moment, peaceful in your domesticated bliss.

Finally, Peter grabbed the TV remote and turned on the small box that sat in front of the couch. The two of you flipped idly through several channels, tallying how many were talking about Nat compared to how many had a sobbing Sharon.

Apparently, Sharon Carter had made it to no less than 10 news stations, one of which was a Spanish broadcasting station, where the only discernible words being Nat’s name and Corn Nuts.

“Alright, alright. Turn it off,” you laughed, pulling the remote from his hands. He pouted at you, acting wounded that you would ruin his fun, but didn’t fight you when you turned off the TV. “God, she has no shame,” you said, shaking your head in utter disbelief. 

“Hey dad, just got back from Nat’s funeral and I brought home my girl,” said the voice of Tony Stark, walking over to the two of you as you lounged on the couch. You quickly sat up, trying to hide the fact that you were clearly flustered to see him once again.

“Didn’t hear you come in, son,” Peter stated, wrapping an arm around your waist and pulling you back into his side despite your obvious discomfort.

His dad only chuckled to himself. “Yeah, sorry about that, pa. How was work today?” He took only a beat of pause before going into a rant about his work. “I was working on a new invention today when some of those damn protesters showed up, complaining about how my weapons and such are not ‘environmentally friendly’. Those damn hippies act so damn entitled sometimes, it’s infuriating. This isn’t the damn 60′s anymore!”

“You mean those old broads that camped outside of the house last week?” Peter questioned, clearly not happy with the “old broads”.

“The same.” Tony snorted before sitting down on the arm of the couch, throwing a look in your direction. “Say dad, can my girl stay over for dinner tonight? I’m sure she’d have fun.” Both of them turned their attention towards you, waiting for your answer.

“O-Oh,” you said, trying to fill the silence. “My mom’s already got dinner plans. She’s, uh... making my favorite meal. Ya know, spaghetti. Lots of oregano. Tastes great.”

You wanted to slap yourself. Why did you make up such a stupid lie? Sure, okay, Peter and his dad had a weird bond with one another. And boy would it make life awkward. But you definitely didn’t have to lie like this.

Peter gave you a semi-forced smile, pulling you into his arms. “Really? That’s your favorite dinner? Remind me to make it for you one night. Sounds like something mom would have enjoyed, but last time I saw her, she was waving out a window in the lab from Texas. Isn’t that right, Dad?”

Tony gave Peter the worst look possible, mixed between a glare and a smile, and the look nearly made your heart stop. Several seconds of tense silence passed before Tony responded. “Right.”

“I-I should go.” Your interruption turned both of their gazes towards you. “My parents are probably worried sick and all so... ya know. I should head home.”

“No, of course. I’ll drive you home.” Peter hopped up off the couch and held a hand out to you. “I’ll be home whenever, dad.”

Tony only grunted in response. As Peter dragged you away, you couldn’t help the thought from creeping into your head. If you ever married this boy, you would most certainly not let his father talk at your wedding.

“Y/N! Phone for you!” your mother called from downstairs. You groaned, sitting up, not realizing that you had passed out shortly after Peter brought you home. You grumbled incoherently as you made your way downstairs to answer the phone.

“Hello?” you asked, rubbing sleep out of your eyes.

“Y/N? Is that you?” Jane asked, clearly upset.

Hearing how upset your friend, well, ex-friend, was, caused you to wake up. “Jane? What’s wrong? What happened?” You didn’t even realize you were rambling until she started talking again.

“Y/N, please shut up and just come down to the cemetery, please. It’s an emergency, and you’re the only one who can help us. Please...”

You pursed your lips together, throwing a glance at the clock that sat on the wall. 9:45 pm. Surely your parents would understand since it was an emergency. “Yeah, okay. I’ll be there soon, just sit tight, alright?”

A reassured sigh came from Jane’s side of the phone. “Thank you, Y/N. You’re a lifesaver. We’re by Heathers grave and we’re in Thor’s car. Please hurry.” With that, her end of the line went dead.

You placed the phone back on the receiver before turning to your mother, who was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest, a displeased look settled on her face. “You’re heading out? Again?”

“Mom, it’s an emergency. Something might have happened. I’ll be back before you know I’m gone, I promise.” Her lips pursed, clearly not impressed with your attempts to reassure her. “Mom, she could be in trouble. I swear, I wouldn’t go if it wasn’t an emergency.”

Finally, she sighed, motioning for you to wake past her. “Fine, go.” You gave her a smile and started to leave, but she stopped you with a hand on your shoulder. “Hey, Y/N/N,” she said, her voice softening. “You know I worry about you, right?”

“I know, mom, and I’m grateful. Truly, I am.” You pecked her on the cheek to prove it. “I’ll be back home before you and dad even know I’m gone. I promise.”

She smiled, a soft, barely noticeable smile, but it was still there nonetheless. “You’re a great kid. Go on, hurry back home, do I make myself clear?”

You nodded and gave her a final kiss on the cheek before leaving the house, running towards the cemetery that was, thankful, just two blocks down the street.

“Y/N!” Jane said, waving to you, her hand sticking out of the driver-side window of Thor’s cherry red sports car sitting in the grass of the cemetery. You approached the scene in front of you, slowly drinking it all in.

On the ground was Thor, face-down in the ground, looking as dead as a rock. There were a few rustles in a bush just about 30 yards away, but you quickly blocked it out, choosing to ask the obvious question. “Is... is Thor-”

“Yeah! He’s fine!” Jane quickly said, rolling down the window a bit so that she could look at you. “He’s passed out. So like, I came here with Thor and Bruce and Shar to pour a bottle of Thunderbird over Nat’s grave, kinda like a goodbye from her friends, ya know?” Her eyes glanced to Thor, passed out just a few feet in front of the bumper of the car. “Well, Thor and Bruce drank it all and... they’ve been really grabby. Shar went to try and get Bruce to calm down but-”

“Wait, wait, wait. Why did you call me then? After everything that happened at Bruce’s party, I figured-”

Awkwardly, Jane leaned back from the window, her fingers fiddling together. “W-Well... Thor promised to leave me alone if, ya know... I called you here. So I panicked and I called! I’m sorry!”

Your mouth dropped open in pure shock from her answer. “Wha- Jane! You... avoided date rape... by offering me up for date rape?”

She grimaced to herself, her fingers still fiddling together. “Well, when you put it that way it just sounds ugly,” she mumbled, clearly trying to make it to where she didn’t feel guilty about the situation.

“I’m leaving,” you muttered to yourself, turning to leave. However, Thor, who had previously been on the ground, was now on the hood of the car, smiling sweetly at you. “Heyyyyyyy Y/N,” he said, his words slurring together. “I waited for youuu cutie. 10 whole beers.” To further his point, he held up both of his hands, wiggling all 10 of his fingers towards you.

“Enough! I said I was fucking done, Bruce!” came a shout from the same bushes that you had heard rustling from earlier. Turning, you watched as Sharon emerged, brushing off her skirt as she stormed away, followed by a stumbling Bruce.

“But baby-” Bruce whined before spotting you. Quickly, a huge smile spread over his features. “Hey, lookie, it’s Y/N! Maybe she can help me find release.”

You physically grimaced, taking a step away from the two drunk jocks. “You both have left hands, can’t you use those instead?” you said, trying to bargain with the two of them.

“But I want youuuu,” Bruce slurred, leaning heavily on the hood of the car while Thor, meanwhile, gathered his wits and started to swagger over to you. “Come on, don’t hurt their feelings.”

“Their?” you questioned, taking another step away from the two as they tried to close in again.

“My balls!” Thor piped up, motioning to his pants where, unfortunately, a small tent was starting to appear. “They need relief from a pretty girl! Even a nerdy girl like you!”

“Yeah!” Bruce added, coming to stand a few feet from Thor, trying to corner you between the two of them. “They’re so blue for you, Y/N. My hands are rubbing like a cheese grater, it’s sooo uncomfortable. Please?”

Once again, you found a sour look sprawled over your face. “Shar, Jane, please let me into the car,” you shouted, even if you were being cornered in the opposite direction of the car. Maybe you could make a run for it. They were pretty drunk...

“Sorry!” Sharon shouted from the car. “The car’s staying locked while they can still get in!”

You looked around desperately for an escape before your eyes caught onto a glass bottle, half full of liquid and sitting haphazardly in the dirt, but the contents were very clearly booze. You managed to get past the two of them and retrieve the bottle, holding it up like an offering. “Look here, Thor and Bruce! Booze!”

The two of their faces broke out into huge, sloppy, shit-eating grins as they eyed up the bottle. “Thank you so much, Y/N!” Bruce shouted, practically running you over to grab the bottle.

“You’re so welcome!” you shouted, stepping away from the two as they fought over the liquid remaining in the amber bottle. Finding the situation perfect, you finally slipped away, up the hill that lead back to the main road.

As if a saving grace, a familiar figure was leaning against a black motorcycle. You sighed happily before letting his arms envelope you. “You look like hell,” Peter murmured, brushing a hand through your hair.

“How’d you know I was here?” you asked, snuggling your head into his black-clad chest. “I didn’t tell you-”

“Your mom told me. I called, asking for you, and she told me you went to the cemetery to save Jane from an emergency,” Peter replied, twirling a piece of his hair around his finger. “Figured it sounded fishy so I came to investigate to see you escaping from the cemetery.”

You shake your head, leaning into him. “I just want to go home, Pete. Can you drive me?”

His lips pressed against the top of your head. “Of course, beautiful. Just make sure you tell me what happened tomorrow at school, got it?”

A laugh escaped your throat as you looked up at him. “Yeah, okay. I promise.”

Dear Diary,

You could call last night a close call. Yeah, close call. Definitely would have ended differently if my mom hadn’t told Peter where I was or if I hadn’t of found that bottle just sitting there. I can’t help but think that Nat was the only person keeping Thor and Bruce in check, and now she’s dead. So now the school is defenseless to their libido.

“Having second thoughts, bitch?” asked a voice that caused you to tense. Following the voice was a fit of coughing. “You know, I blame you and your beau for the fact that I’ll be coughing up Drano for all of eternity. Do you feel guilty yet, Y/N/N?”

You grimaced to yourself before finally allowing yourself to look up from your journal. You could practically see Nat standing there, wearing her silk red robe that she died in. Her body was littered with cuts from the glass that she landed in, and her eyes were completely white.

Choosing to ignore the phantom now standing over you, watching you, you turned your attention back towards you diary.

I know I didn’t technically kill her, but I can’t help but feel like I did. I feel bad for it... but not as bad as I should. And that’s what scares me. Maybe that’s why I feel like she’s standing over me, dictating everything I do.

You glanced up from your journal again to find Sharon and Jane digging through Nat’s locker, clearing everything out into a box. Your hands balled up into fists as you slammed your diary shut and stalked over to them. “Hey, I hope you guys are planning on apologizing for acting like Grade A Bitches last night.”

“Hey,” Sharon said, turning around to point a finger into your chest. “We’re cleaning out Nat’s shit right now. Show a little respect, why don’t you?”

“Y/N, tell her to get her little slutty hands off of my crap,” said dead Nat, now standing right behind Sharon as she dug through her locker. “Y/N? Y/N/N, make her stop it now!”

“Shut up!” you shouted, clearly distressed from the voices filling your head.

A pair of hands shoved you roughly, dragging you back to Earth. You glared at Sharon who was practically seething in your direction. “No! I won’t shut up! Never again!” Her hands fumbled in her blonde hair, dragging out her bow and replacing it with Nat’s red scrunchie.

Jane grabbed Sharon’s arm, trying to stop her. “Shar, that’s Nat’s-”

An animal-like snarl came from Sharon, causing Jane to flinch away. “Shut up, Jane! Nat’s gone, and someone needs to replace her! And it’s going to be me so shut the fuck up!”

Your mouth dropped open in shock, staring at Sharon like she was crazy. Replace Nat? How could anyone want to ever replace her? “Shar, please don’t do this,” you mumbled.

A scoff came from the blonde as she turned her back towards you and pulled more crap from Nat’s locker. “Whatever. You should worry less about me and more about your reputation, bitch. Didn’t you hear? Thor and Bruce were talking about your little three-way last night.”

“Three-way?” asked the voice of Peter from right behind you, causing you to jump. You turned to look at him, and you couldn’t help but nearly cry from the look of pure pain that had etched it’s way across his face.

“No, Peter, please... There was no three-way! Nothing happened last night, I promise!”

“Really?” Sharon asked, slamming Nat’s locker shut, causing you to flinch once more. “I remember it differently.”

As if on cue, Thor and Bruce came walking down the hall with a boy, who you could briefly remember being named Clint, following them. “A sword fight? In her mouth?” Clint asked, his jaw completely slack at the idea.

“Oh yeah,” Thor said, smiling. “A big sword fight in her mouth! It was crazy crowded!”

“Yeah, but then, after the sword fight, we bent her over backwards like origami!” Bruce added.

Peter’s hands clutched into fists as he grabbed onto the back of Bruce’s jacket at his comment. You reached out to grab him, despite the tears threatening to spill over, but he was well out of your grasp. “Don’t talk about Y/N like that!”

Thor pushed Peter’s hands away, standing next to Bruce in a protective way. “Don’t complain when you’re girls a fucking slut-”

Peter’s fist connected with Thor’s face, causing him to fall back to the ground. However, before he could react, Clint was suddenly holding Peter’s arms behind his back, which left him open to be attacked by both Bruce and Thor.

“No! Stop!” you shouted, trying to push through the crowd that was starting to gather, but Sharon grabbed you forcefully, throwing a wicked smile towards you. You fought against her, but she had a death grip on both of your shoulders now.

“Stop this nonsense right now!” shouted the voice of Principal Fury as he pushed through the crowd. “Odinson, Banner, Barton, my office, now!”

The crowd dispersed just as quickly as it had formed. Meanwhile, Fury had to fight to remove Bruce from Peter while two other male teachers had to help in hauling off both Clint and Thor.

You went to walk over to Peter who laid prone on the ground, tears burning your eyes, when a hand suddenly grabbed you. You turned quickly to see Bruce smiling, a horrible glint in his eyes. “Whore,” he whispered before being dragged away.

Being called a whore was the final blow, and it made you finally break down in tears as you dropped to your knees in front of Peter, helping him sit up. “P-Pete?” you mumbled, brushing his brown curls from his face to take it all in. His lip was split in more than one place, and a bruise was already starting to form on his cheekbone. You were sure there were more bruises if one looked at his arms and chest, but you weren’t about to look right now. “A-Are you okay?”

His arms wrapped around you tightly, and you could feel him shaking. “Y/N...” he mumbled, breathing into your hair. “How are you?” he asked, clearly ignoring your question.

“I-I’m okay,” you mumbled. “I... I’ve been called worse a-and... y-ya know, everything’s awesome.” You broke down in full sobs in the middle of the deserted hallway. For some reason, all of the teachers were long gone, and you and Peter were long forgotten. “I-I’m sorry for crying...” you mumbled, trying to bring yourself back together and failing miserably.

His hands brushed through your now messy hair, trying to soothe you. “You don’t deserve to cry,” he muttered, holding you tightly. “I swear, I will end this all. All of it, tonight. You...” He pushed you away until you were at arms length, looking into his brown eyes as he gave you the best smile he could muster. “You’re the only thing that’s right about this broken world.” His hand brushed a piece of hair behind your ear before cupping you face. “So cry, it’s okay. But come tomorrow morning... all of this will be long behind us, okay? Do you wanna know why?”

You slowly nodded, rubbing away the tears that were making trails down your face. “Y-Yes,” you mumbled, giving him a verbal confirmation to continue on.

“Because, Y/N, love like we have doesn’t come around often. Our love is special. Our love is God, and our love will fix all of this, okay?”

A small smile tugged at the corners of your lips. “O-Okay,” you mumbled, allowing yourself to revel in the thought. Maybe he was right. Maybe your love was strong enough to stop it all, make all of the pain and misery just... go away.

Suddenly, a thought dawned on you. He never answered your question earlier. “P-Pete?” you asked, crawling back over to him and curling up in his arms. “You never answered me... are... are you okay?”

You glanced up to see him smiling down at you. “I always thought I would be alone, like... Like I was a frozen lake. No one would ever be dumb enough to try and go crack the ice, but... now I’m realizing that I’m not. I can feel myself getting better, and it’s because of you. Now... now I know that I’m not alone, never again. I won’t be alone because I’ll have you.”

“Yeah... we’ll never be alone,” you smiled softly, running your hands through his hair.

“Y/N...” he mumbled sweetly before pressing a kiss into your forehead. “I want to see you tonight. I’ll sneak over to your place, okay? Say around 8-ish?” A nod was all you could do to answer him, and he continued on. “Until then, we should probably get to class, yeah?”

And so, that’s what the two of you did after a quick stop by the nurse so that way you two had a valid reason for showing up late to class.

“So what’s the plan to get back at Bruce and Thor?” you asked, leaning closer to Peter as he sat on your bed.

He smiled before pulling out several items from a brown paper bag. “We’re going to fake their suicides,” he replied simply. “I’ve got our Stud Puppie magazine, a Joan Crawford postcard, mascara... Ah, and the piece de resistance, mineral water.”

You giggled, staring at him as he put the items back in the bag. “Yeah, so, what? Do you need a forged suicide note then?”

“And for you to make a call to the boys to go behind the school so that we can set up the joke,” he responded, grabbing your bedside phone and setting on your bed.

“But why are we going to such great lengths? I mean, how are we going to make it look like they’re dead?” You grabbed the receiver, ready to make the call once he explained it all to you.

He watched you for a moment before grabbing two guns from... somewhere. You physically flinched at the sight of the weapons. “Peter, I thought our Bonnie and Clyde adventures were done. I don’t-”

He placed a finger to your lips to silence you. “Relax, we’ll fill them with Ich Luge bullets.” At your confused look, he smiled. “They’re tranquilizer bullets. My granddad scored a shit ton back in World War II. The Nazis used them to fake their own suicides when the Russians invaded Berlin. The darts should knock Thor and Bruce out long enough to make it look like a suicide. Once they come to, they’ll be the laughing stock of the whole school.”

Still confused by the whole concept of Ich Luge bullets, you forced yourself to nod along with what he was saying. “Yeah, okay, makes sense,” you said, more to assure yourself than anyone else. “So, we need a suicide note.”

Peter nodded, grabbing your notepad so that you could write. “Just make it sound really sappy. Remember, it needs to sound believable. And you can pick whichever of the two you want to write for.”

Nodding, you turned your focus on your diary as you scribbled out a suicide note in Thor’s handwriting.

Bruce and I realized the moment that we could not share our forbidden love that we would have to die instead. Though we will miss the joy of being in each others arms, we cannot continue to live in a world where we have to act like beer-guzzling jackasses. Thus, we have chosen to die rather than live in a disapproving world.

“Look good?” You asked, showing the note to Peter.

He instantly broke out into a huge smile, carefully tearing the paper out of your journal. “Perfect,” he replied, folding it in half and adding it to the bag of goodies that sat on the edge of your bed. “Now we just need you to call Thor. Tell him to meet behind the school at dawn.”

Nodding, you quickly dialed the number to Thor’s house, crossing your fingers that he would be the one to pick up.

After a few rings, there was finally an answer. “Yeah-lo?” came the voice of Thor, and you had to fight the urge to sigh in relief at the fact that he was the one to answer.

“Hey, Thor?” you asked, twirling a piece of your hair around your index finger. “It’s Y/N. So... I was wondering... How did you and Bruce know it was always a fantasy of mine to take two guys at once?”

“Dude, dude!” said the muffled voice of Thor, clearly trying to get Bruce’s attention. “It’s Y/N!” You tapped your fingers against your knee, waiting for them to decide to talk. “So, uhhh, I guess it was a lucky guess?” Thor said, finally sounding clearer.

“Well...” you drawled out, throwing a look at Peter to see him laughing. You threw a pillow at him before continuing the conversation. “If you want it to come true... Meet me behind the school with Bruce. At dawn.”

There was a choking sound from the other end of the line before Thor started talking. “Yeah, uh-huh, sounds good.” Before you could hang up, you heard him practically shouting to Bruce. “Bro! Free pussy! And we don’t even have to buy it a pizza! Punch it in!”

You cringed to yourself before hanging up the phone. “They’ll be there,” you said, placing your phone back on your nightstand. “That was hell.”

Peter laughed, drawing you into him as he pressed a firm kiss to your lips before pulling away to smile down at you. “Y/N... our love is a powerful thing. We can start and finish wars.”

Resting your head on his shoulder, you couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, our love is what killed the dinosaurs. The world needed room for us.”

“You bet your ass it did,” he mumbled, pressing a kiss into the top of your head. “Hey, gorgeous.” You glanced up at him to see him staring at you seriously, yet his eyes were also filled with so much adoration. “I worship you, and everything that you are. I’d trade my life for yours if it was necessary to see you alive and happy...”

You pulled him into a kiss, silencing his words. He hummed in response, which was one of the few sounds made between the two of you for the rest of the night as you both eagerly awaited morning to put your plan into motion.

“So why did we steal your dad’s car again?” you asked as you both pulled into the school parking lot, just before dawn broke.

“The motorcycle’s great and all, but the car’s better for if we need to hide after our plan has been enacted.” You raised an eyebrow at him, not necessarily aware of why you’d need to hide if the bullets were just going to knock them out. Still, you didn’t question him and, instead, followed him out of the car and to the meeting spot.

You handed the bag of goodies off to Peter before grabbing the gun from him. “Just remember,” he said softly, brushing a piece of hair behind your ear, “I’m just behind that tree right there. When we shoot, you try and shoot Thor and I’ll get Bruce, got it?” Accepting your tiny nod as an answer, he kissed the top of your head. “Alright, they should be here any minute now so I’m going to go hide.”

With that, you were left alone in the small little clearing just a few feet from the main road. You decided to make a circle that surrounded you in the dirt, pretending it was your safe zone that Bruce and Thor couldn’t cross if they wanted to.

The sound of approaching footsteps made you lift your head up from your feet to see the two jocks coming down the small slope, practically tripping over one another to make it to where you were.

“Hey, Y/N,” Bruce said, a bright smile filling his features. “How’re you doin’?”

“Bro, cut the small talk,” Thor said, slapping Bruce with the back of his hand. “Do we just whip out our dicks or what?”

You fought every impulse to shudder or cringe at Thor’s blunt words. You forced a playful smile onto your features, meeting his muddy brown eyes. “Take it slow, Thor. I want the two of you to strip for me.”

They both laughed, clearly excited by the prospect of stripping for you. Thor started to tear of his own clothes before remembering that you said to take it slowly. He looked physically pained by the notion of strip-teasing for you, but he still slowed his movements down.

Bruce, however, looked a little more confused. “What ‘bout you, Y/N?” he asked, slowly removing his jacket.

“Well...” you said, voice barely audible to the two of them, “I was hoping you could rip my clothes off me... sport.”

Sport? Sport? Was that really the best word you could come up with in the moment?

Despite the fact that you felt like a complete idiot by calling them sport, they still nodded along and stripped faster until they both stood in front of you in their underwear.

“On the count of three, you both can come at me and take off my clothes. Ready?” They nodded eagerly and you forced a smile. “One... Two...”

“Three,” said the voice of Peter, coming from behind the tree, gun raised. You grabbed your own gun and aimed at Thor, firing one of the Ich Luge bullets into his shoulder. Meanwhile, Peter hit Bruce right in between the eyes.

Thor screamed at being shot and tried to run away, but Peter fired another shot into his back, causing him to fall face-first into the ground.

You found yourself staring at Bruce, as blood pooled around him in the forest ground and you suddenly felt sick. You fell to your knees, cupping Bruce’s face. “Bruce? Bruce? Oh my god. Peter-”

Hands hauled you off the ground, pulling you away from the scene. “We have to go, come on,” he muttered in your eye, practically dragging you all the way back to the school. Practically frozen, you let him do so.

You just killed two more of your classmates. 

Once back in the car, you finally released all of your feelings all at once. “God! I’m so stupid!” you shouted as Peter started the car so that music was playing in the background. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw him grab a cigarette from his dads glove compartment.

Absentmindedly, you grabbed the lighter from the car, staring at the orange metal. Before you were even aware of what you were doing, the lighter was pressed into the palm of your hand, and you were screaming from the pain.

Peter quickly yanked the lighter away from your burning flesh before placing the end of his cigarette against your palm. You whimpered as he leaned back, his cigarette burning through the car.

“Fucking Ich Luge bullets? Why am I so stupid? Why would I ever believe such a stupid lie?” you mumbled, more to yourself than anybody else. You held your hand close to your body, trying to ignore the mind numbing pain that originated from your burnt hand.

“Maybe because you wanted them dead,” Peter said, earning him a glare from you. “Oh come on! Ich Luge bulelts? If something sounds too good to be true, usually it is! Don’t play so naive, Y/N! Your mind wanted to believe the bullets were tranquilizer bullets because your thoughts are too icky and impure. You wanted them dead just as much as I did.” With the end of his statement, he tossed his half-gone cigarette out the car window before turning his attention back to you.

“No I didn’t!” you shouted, clearly exasperated by his remarks. “No one deserves to die, Peter!”

“Yes you did! Don’t lie to me! They made you cry! Besides, they’re just a bunch of-”

You covered your ears with your hands, despite the pain it caused you, and started making random noises to block out his talking. He groaned in response and tried to talk louder, but you only matched him in volume until you both were practically screaming at one another.

“Enough!” Peter shouted, removing your hands from your ears and silencing you with a kiss. You pushed against him slightly, trying to fight the kiss before finally relenting to his lips and the sweet feeling of being enveloped in his strong arms. In fact, you even found yourself kissing him back despite the anger you felt boiling beneath the surface.

Once deeming you calm enough, his lips left yours, brushing the hair out of your face. “Come on,” he mumbled, lips a few inches from your own. “It’s already done, okay? So let’s just go somewhere. I’m sure they’re going to cancel class today anyway.”

You nodded slowly before you relaxed into the passenger seat of his dad’s car. Your mind whirled with thoughts, primarily ones centered around Bruce and Thor. Once again, someone was dead, and you helped cause it. You killed two people today, and now you had to pay the price.

“Peter?” you asked quietly as the two of you drove through the practically empty roads of the town. “Can we go and grab ice for my hand?”

“Of course,” he responded, looking visibly more relaxed and less on edge. “I’m sorry about your hand, by the way.”

Tags:

@gab-spidey @daringbanshee @genzbitch @youreafangirl-harry @thedaydreamingwriter @starksparker

[artificialqueens]

Cupid’s Blind Arrow (Group fic) Chapter 1 - Ginger Nut

AN: I hope yous enjoy first official chapter, and I’d like to welcome Mistress as the beta for this fic. Already she’s helped so much to improve the writing, thank you!

As the class started to file in for English they noticed all of their chairs were assembled differently. On either side of the room the chairs were set up facing each other. “Are we in a fucking courtroom or something?” asked Adore. “That’s not what a courtroom looks like dumbass, I’m surprised you haven’t seen one before,” Bianca came up behind the girl and settled a hand on her shoulder. “This looks more like…” she searched for the name. “The house of commons in London, where they debate about laws and stuff.” “Party” signed off Adore Bianca watched her eyes; she was sure they had a twinkle she’d never ever seen before. Bianca shook her head. What the hell am I thinking? Since when do I care about a twinkle in some slacker’s eye? “B, you ok?” Adore noticed Bianca almost having a conversation with herself. She worried for a minute that Bianca had actually been talking to her, and that Adore had been ignoring her. Bianca blinked a couple times and forced a half smile to her face, nodding.

“Take your seats, quit acting like you’ve never seen a debate room before. Actually, no don’t take your seats I need to tell you what seat to take” Miss Raja appeared from the corridor, shooing all remaining students into the classroom. “Ok uh, actually just take any seat right now I can’t think with you all standing there.” The students obeyed and slumped in the closest empty seat. “So today we are going to be doing something a little different. Everyone who has read Romeo and Juliet believe that the plot was one of the two following-” A knock on the door came, interrupting Miss Raja, who stomped to the locked door to let in an almost lifeless Pearl.She had a bag slumped over one shoulder and their eyes were more closed than open, so nothing was new. “Sorry I’m late” came out of her with minimal effort and volume. Raja sighed as she went to change the register to inform the office of Pearl’s now late attendance. “It’s fine just take any seat Pearl.” Pearl scanned the room for a second, surveying her options. There was a spare seat next to Laganja, yeah no. Nothing against the girl but Pearl had no energy to keep up with her; there was also one next to Max, could she really be bothered being told to sit with her legs crossed so she doesn’t “sit like a man”? fuck that. Ultimately, she left one option and took a spare seat between Violet and Vivienne. Vivienne hardly ever spoke, and Pearl had never really spoken to Violet, whatever she thought. “Stoner pit stop before class?” mumbled Violet, loud enough for only Pearl to hear. Pearl scoffed and looked up to find Violets eyes on her. The girl’s gaze had a weird effect on Pearl; It was like she could see into her soul. “No” Pearl replied, dragging out the syllable longer than she probably should have been. “I missed the bus and had to get my mom to drive me.” Violet returned a smirk, accepting Pearl’s answer, then refocused her attention to Miss Raja, about to start over. “Back to the play; people either think it is about the stupidity of youth and their lust, or they think it’s a beautiful tragedy about how love can conquer hate. One of the requirements for the honours course is that students must participate in a discussion, ensuring that they become informed of both opinions and can make their own decision. So, without any talking, if you believe that Romeo and Juliet is a play that demonstrates how children can be naïve and mistake love for obsession, sit on the left side and if you think it’s a tragic tale of two star crossed lovers sit on the right.” A second passed before Raja had to exclaim “Move!” accompanied by a hand gesture to get the teenagers to reluctantly get up. “Where are you going then?” Pearl asked Violet, who was still a bit offended by the previous stoner nickname she’d been given. Violet remained silent but stood up to cross over sides. “Love is love, you don’t have to be thirty to realise that.” With that she flipped her jet-black hair to one side and took the seat directly across from Pearl.

Katya moved up from her seat, shimmying past Ivy and Jinkx, and made her way over to the left side of the room. she liked Romeo and Juliet but she couldn’t get past the time span of the play – seriously you don’t marry a guy you met less than 4 days ago. She sat in an empty seat next to Pearl. Katya never had the chance to get to know Pearl, but she felt bad for her. The poor girl had moved from New York, and that’s like forever away, as far as Katya was concerned. Katya had known everyone else in the class since at least middle school. Pearl was cute though - not Katya’s type - but cute. She spied the others that had come to the dark side. Del Rio; that was no surprise, Phi Phi; Katya was starting to think Phi Phi had maybe given up on love considering she caught her ex cheating on her a couple of weeks back. There was also Gia, Max, Alyssa and- what? Alaska? Alaska Thunderfuck? The girl was all cheerleader and sing-songy, why was she on this side, did she get confused? She sure as hell didn’t look confused; she sat with her arms crossed, bottom eyeliner smudged and an emotionless bitch face as Alyssa talked nonsense to her. Wow. Shocker of the week. On the other side sat Alaska’s friend Trixie, a blonde bombshell by Katya’s standards. This was Katya’s first class with the girl but the minute she’d walked in on the first day, Katya hadn’t been able to tear her eyes away. She’d seen Trixie before in the corridors and at football games, but for some reason when Trixie stood in the doorway Katya’s whole world stopped, my god she’s beautiful. Suddenly her attention was averted to the girl behind Trixie; Sharon Needles. “Well I never” breathed Katya without thinking. “Hm?” Pearl looked up. Katya mouthed Sharon and motioned over to the other side. Pearl made a face giving herself an extra two chins, “Sharon? Young Love? Nah I don’t see it.” Katya narrowed her eyes to focus, her mind drew a blank. “Looks like she might not just be Sharon Needles but Sharon the love” Katya toppled over in wheezing laughter at the mediocre pun she’d just made. Pearl face palmed and settled back into her seat.

“Okay class- wait Willam you need to choose a side.” Willam folded her arms across her chest. “What if I think the play is both?” Miss Raja put a hand to her head. “Willam I don’t have time-“ Willam spread her hands and shrugged. “Listen, the play is stupid. No one would ever marry someone they just met, but teenagers also aren’t as dumb as you baby boomers think.” Raja was offended at the age comment but didn’t hold Willam to it. Instead she ushered a challenge. “Willam, you’ve just proven your strength in ability for discussions. How about you choose one side right now, but you can change your mind later. This is something you can really excel in, do lots of research …” Willam rolled her eyes and strolled over to the side with the rest of the anti-love crowd, tuning the teacher out as soon as she’d said the word ‘research’. “Willam?” prodded Miss Raja. Willam raised her head, realizing she’d been asked a question. “What? I stopped listening.” Raja sighed. “I said when was the last time you found something you could really sink your teeth into?” “Courtney Act” Willam responded. Adore sniggered from her seat – she was the only other person who really knew about Willam and Courtney. Beyond the rumor mill, Adore had caught them together on a break day last term. After promising not to tell, Adore had given Willam a high five and picked another place to smoke. around ten minutes later Willam came over and sat down next to Adore at one of the back walls of the school. Adore could only remember Willam gushing over the blonde, how she made Willam look forward to learning just to see Courtney. Willam’s lovesick smile was so infectious it could’ve made the blind man smile thought Adore. When the Aussie returned home, Adore had offered her company to Willam. Willam had tried to blow it off, “not like it was a break up or anything, a fling. That’s all it was.” The bohemian rocker saw straight through her, Willam missed her. Hearing Willam talk about Courtney – even in a comedic way – sparked a warmth in Adore, knowing Willam still thought about her. Miss Raja clapped her hands, a sound so loud the class fell immediately silent. “Okay, we’re gonna start. The way we’re going to do this is I’ll pull someone’s name from this jar and they’re gonna share their views on the play, why they think that and anyone from the opposing side can challenge that view, OK?” everyone nodded in agreement and raja went to pull out the first name. “Phi Phi” The whole class sighed in anticipation as Phi Phi prepared herself, now that Alaska looked at her, she didn’t feel that bad. Not compared to Phi Phi’s stained races of mascara, raccoon nest hair and glassy eyes. The girl used to be so sharp, everyone thought she was perfect. Alaska actually felt bad for Phi Phi, that’s saying something. Anything to distract attention from Alaska right now. “Well… I don’t really believe in love. Like it’s silly.” The teacher nodded for her to go on, “People can’t fully love someone, like that’s just not how life happens. I feel like the play represented an infatuation, which is completely different from love. When you love someone, it’s what’s on the inside. Infatuation is mainly on the outside. But like I said, love is silly. It just… never works out” The last part subsided to a mumble as Phi Phi hung her head. Everyone had heard about her breakup and she hadn’t come to school for 4 days after it happened. It didn’t matter how annoying Phi Phi was, no one wanted to catch their partner cheating. Discussions started to break out to fill the awkward silence Phi Phi had left. No one really listened to each other until Needles broke out: “Love is real.” At that everyone turned their head and found an emotional Sharon, not crying but emotional. Sharon was being stared at like a statue. What the fuck is she doing? Alaska screamed in her mind. Sharon went on, “The first time you look at someone you can tell if there’s something there, I don’t believe in love at first sight, but I believe in that connection. I can’t explain it, but I can feel it. You look at someone and you mind starts to run laps of a track but you don’t get tired, you feel… rejuvenated.” “Wow Sharon,” commented Willam. “Rejuvenated. That’s a big word for you.” Max gave Willam a discreet but firm kick in the shin to get her to shut up. Willam let out a screech “Get your sasquatch feet away from my Loub’s.” “Love is a precious feeling, anyone who’s lucky enough to feel it knows that, and they can clearly see that Romeo and Juliet loved each other. So much so that they went to extremes for one another.” The class was silent, no one could really comprehend what just happened. Sharon Needles, a person who never showed any emotion, a person who never talked about emotion, for the first time opened up her heart to reveal a warm affectionate soul. Who knew? Silence filled the room for a minute, each person taking in Sharon’s heart-felt speech. Until Alaska, who had been sitting quietly spoke up through a groggy voice and a guarded façade. “Love? You really believe that Romeo loved Juliet? He didn’t care enough to wait with her! She wasn’t dead, she was asleep, but he didn’t wait around long enough to realise that, did he?” The girls on her side of the class all tried not to notice Alaska’s hands balled into fists. “Romeo was stupid, Juliet was left with no choice, she loved him so much, I’ll say that. She was willing to leave everything for Romeo, her name, her family, but the minute Romeo saw that Juliet wasn’t awake he went down to the Apothecary to get drugs. Those drugs didn’t help with anything and Romeo died, their love along with it.” Sharon and Alaska’s eyes were locked on each other. It was like no one else was in the room. Sharon took a shallow breath through her teeth, her eyes squeezing shut. “Did you ever consider that Romeo didn’t get the drugs because of Juliet? God, not everything is about effin Juliet, Juliet likes to play the victim. Like none of this is her fault and she’s some precious gift to the world. Fuck Juliet- sorry miss- fuck her. Romeo had a life, y’know, at the start of the play he was very obviously depressed, Juliet wasn’t there for him, was she?” Violet and Pearl caught each other’s eye and Violet mouthed burn to Pearl mimicking dubbing a fire on her finger. Pearl gave a shy laugh, she kinda liked Violet. Sharon was panting. “Maybe, just maybe Alaska, Romeo wanted to die. And Juliet set him over the edge. Juliet doesn’t rule his life, and she shouldn’t dictate what he can do and when. Romeo did love Juliet but he really shouldn’t’ve. It messed up his life more than you can imagine.” Everyone flipped their eyes back to a boiling Alaska from Sharon who was sitting on the edge of her seat, face red with passion. “What the literal fuck is going on?” muttered Violet, Adore met her comment with a wide-eyed glance implying she was just as lost as Violet. “Their relationship was toxic and you know it,” Alaska stumbled, not losing eye contact with Sharon as tears began to clog her vision. Alaska don’t break she told herself, not here not now. “It was destined for failure the minute Romeo snuck into the ball. He still wasn’t over Rosaline and he threw himself at the first girl he saw. That, to me. Is. Not. Love.” “I agree with Alaska.”. Sharon rolled her eyes. “Oh, you would Phi Phi” Suddenly, the ball was back in Sharon’s court and she was frozen for a second, her usual laid-back slouch in a chair had been replaced by a vulnerable huddle at the edge. Her lip quivered for a millisecond, something no one but Alaska would be able to notice. “Did Juliet even want a relationship?” asked Sharon, a hint of hurt in her voice. “Seriously what the fuck is this? Jerry Springer?” Trixie elbowed the girl. “Violet shut up. I want all the details,” Sharon swallowed before continuing. “Like, her mother had even asked her about marrying Paris, and she told her she hadn’t thought of being in a relationship. Was her plan to just lead Romeo on, drive him crazy?!” the word “crazy” had been delivered through gritted teeth. Throughout all of this Miss Raja had bought a ticket to attend the tennis match and she let out the occasional gasp and she was given disapproving glare by Willam. “Face it Sharon, Romeo was stupid. If he really loved Juliet he wouldn’t have ran away. Who really was the one afraid of commitment.” “Bull- “ At that the bell rang for the next class but no one moved. Even Raja stood still for a moment, before realising the situation and opening the door to allow students out. Sharon darted out of the door. “Go ahead, run away from the problem like you always do!” Alaska yelled out after her. The blonde composed herself, attempting to fix the smudged eyeliner and hair that had been messed with for the whole period. Willam came up behind her and showed what little compassion Courtney had taught her “Hey, let’s not break down at school and be known as the girl who cried and had to be taken out of class - stop, let me do it, we can make it smoked instead of smudged.” Pearl sensed someone standing in front of her as she packed up her things, God I wish Miss Raja would’ve told us we didn’t need our folders and- “Hey Pearl” It was Violet, closer than she probably should’ve been. “You busy on Friday night?” Pearl, somewhat perplexed, managed to give a shake of her head. “Uh, no.” “Why don’t you come to my party? Everyone’s gonna be there, it’ll give you a chance to get to know people better.” Just when pearl didn’t think she could get any more confused, did Violet Chachki just wink at me? “uh yeah, sure sounds great?” “Cool, just ask Adore for the details and stuff but there’s one rule.” Violet paused for dramatic effect. “It’s a costume party, be creative like I know you are.” an awkward silence filled the gap between them as Violet realized what she just said. “Sorry that sounded weird I know. Uh, I meant that you’re like artsy, y’know with your sketch pad and hipster clothes.” Pearl quirked an eyebrow. “Hipster?! Seriously?” Both girls broke out into laughter at Violet’s word choice. “See ya, pearl” Pearl watched Violet go, she glided in her heel, her hair not moving an inch. Pearl smiled to herself, feeling happy for once.