#the last one came a bit ugly Im not good at erasing

[sillyfriendssharingablog]

Azedi and her misunderstandings of the english leanguage

[percyscourt]

soulmate au - percy jackson

in this au, the world is gray until you see your soulmate, then color starts gradually becoming visible. as soon as your soulmate dies or you fall out of love, the world goes black and white again. most of these are a mix of platonic and romantic soulmates, rather than just one. sometimes, it's one sided though- one person can see the other in color, while the latter is still seeing white and black. (ib @theolympusfiles ) okay, it's not very good, and im so so sorry but i kinda? like it

PERCY:

the first time he sees a little color is when his mother tells him what she did for him, staying with gabe all those years. he just noticed her blue eyes, and the way they turned to green in the light. "mom, I.." "I know, sweetie. I saw them the day you were born- your eyes are a gorgeous color."

the second time is when he first meets annabeth. it wasn't much- he just noticed the different colored beads of her necklace. he assumed it was a trick of the light, and besides- he just met this girl. they couldn't be soulmates. he didn't even like her that much as a friend.

overtime, as annabeth and him got closer, percy just kept seeing little flashes of color- here and there. some little things; the fact that annabeth's favorite book had a red? cover, her orange camp shirt, the blue shorts she always wore.

then he fell unto calypso's island- and he couldn't see what color anything was, he could barely remembered what orange looked like. until calypso brushed back her hair- he could see it was hazel-ish. when he chose to go back home he tried to not notice her hair go back to a faded gray color. it was better not to mention it- she probably didn't see any colors anyway.

when he returned to camp, and saw annabeth at his funeral- he could see her- all the colors of her. he noticed how pretty and light annabeth's hair was, how tan she was, how...what was he thinking? they were best friends. that's all.

but when they kissed underwater, percy saw the whole world in color. saw the sand's tannish yellow, the ocean's gorgeous blue, and he knew annabeth did as well because they broke away from their kiss- slowly- and just stared at each other. a minute passed. not a word spoken. percy's hope crumbled; she must not see anything. "y'know, you have the prettiest eyes, Seaweed Brain."

even when percy's memory was wiped, and all he could remember was one name, he knew why his world was in color, knew that he had met his soulmate, and that annabeth was his soulmate.

ANNABETH:

the first time was when she met luke. luke, all tall and handsome, smiling down at her, telling her she now had a home. it wasn't much- just enough that she saw that his backpack was a brownish murky color- not that romantic, but it was enough confirmation for annabeth. she had found her soulmate. she'd just wait till they were a little bit older. she wasn't stupid, of course.

the second time was when she first met percy, and saw his sneakers- bright, ugly neon sneakers, all torn up but nontheless in color. but it wasn't percy himself- no, it was because luke was nearby. yes.

before they left for the quest for the lightning bolt, annabeth noticed percy's sleek hair was a jet black color. she looked around but couldn't see luke in her line of sight. but then there he was, shoes in hand, passing them to percy. okay. that's okay.

when luke was outed as a traitor, annabeth could no longer see colors- unless they were related to percy; his shoes, his hair. annabeth knew it was because kronos was taking control of luke, that because of kronos' essence in him she couldn't see the colors. what other reason could there be?

when luke was making his sacrifice, annabeth's heart ached at how gray he was, and how she couldn't tell if he was dead or not because he looked the same dead and alive. when your soulmate died you couldn't see color- so why could she still see percy's ugly shoes? it just wasn't fair. luke was her soulmate.

the she and percy kissed, and it was like an electric wave through her whole body. for a second she was scared zeus was trying to kill percy- again- but when she opened her eyes, and he opened his, she knew why. she could see his eyes. like the color of his eyes. they were really gorgeous. and he was tan. and his hair almost shined, black as midnight but gorgeous. and she knew. knew percy was her soulmate; he'd always been her soulmate.

JASON:

the first time was when he met reyna- and she gave him his tattoo. the tattoo was so light black that he almost didn't notice the color shift at first- but, it was there. the black contrasted against the dark grey of the rest of the world around him. he liked reyna. he found himself wishing she was his soulmate.

when jason's memory was erased, his world turned gray once again. he knew he once saw a color though. he just knew.

then he saw piper. and he noticed how colorful her the feather tied into her hair was pink? at the end. "i like the feather" piper smiled. "it's just plain." "no, it's pink." piper smiled again, but a small, almost unnoticeable smile

when jason found out his memories had been stolen and that piper's and leo's had been fake he wondered if he had a soulmate before, before piper. if piper was his soulmate, which she probably wasn't. it was all fake. the color probably was too. and this reyna girl that mentioned- she seemed...important. maybe she was his soulmate?

then him and piper started dating for real- and his whole world just switched- he noticed how piper's eyes weren't one color- but multiple, everchanging. and that her half-chipped nail polish was a salmonish color, and that he clothes were mismatched but colorful, all beautiful.

when they went to camp jupiter, jason saw reyna. and- and she confessed her feelings for him- how the world was in color. for jason the world was in color, yes, but he knew it wasn't because of her. the world had been in color because of him and piper's first kiss. this reyna wasn't his soulmate- piper was. and jason felt horrible- but he couldn't do anything about it.

PIPER:

the first time she remembered seeing color, was when her and jason sat on the roof on their school. she noticed the blinding whiteish yellow of the stars shining down on them, and jason's equally bright hair.

but when she found out those memories were fake, all piper wanted was for the color to go away. and it did, some. only the stars stayed and his hair stayed. but none of that mattered because it was fake anyway. it was all fake.

then she fell for him. for real. and she felt as if he did too. she told the whole aphrodite cabin how he was hers- and suddenly she noticed how ugly those shame shoes were- and how she knew this because she could see color of them. she could see the color of the whole cabin.

when she stepped outside, though, it was gray there. only the cabin shone bright, pink and beautiful.

then jason kisses her. and it's real. and it's dark outside but she can tell- the world is in color.

and they have a relationship. a solid, good relationship. one that juno and aphrodite both describe as the perfect one. then it starts to not feel so perfect

that's when she breaks up with him. but the world's still in color. but the relationship seemed so forced by the gods, so how does she know this still isn't staged? that the colors aren't still fake?

then jason dies. and, first, piper prays that maybe, just maybe, it misses his heart. that he's still alive. then the world goes dark. not dark, like the sun. it just goes from color to not. jason was her soulmate. he always was. and now he was dead.

LEO:

the first time he saw color was when his mom got him out from the fire Tia Callida had put him in. he was too young to know what it meant- but he exclaimed the whole time- "wed! wed!" of course, esperanza knew that he was trying to say red. she had seen colors since leo was born, and before, when hephaestus and her had met.

then leo's mom died. so not only did leo feel responsible and miserable, but his world of course had to mirror that- with all the color slowly draining from the world around him.

through the years, he flirted with girls. staring hard and snapping his neck around to see them again, so as to see as if that was black, or gray. white, or yellow? man, what did yellow look like? he didn't know anymore.

then leo landed on calypso's island. and he noticed her hair was held together by gold ties. then he talked to her. she couldn't be his soulmate; she was insufferable.

then it was time for him to go- and just as he was leaving the world came into color. thrilled, leo turned around to tell her, but then realized he couldn't see ogyia anymore. but he'd see it her again. she was his soulmate, after all.

then he died. and came back. and headed straight for ogygia- where the world was still in color. he just hoped it was the same for her.

and then they started dating- and it was as if all the world's colors got 10x brighter.

HAZEL:

the first time she saw color was when sammy stood up for her at recess. she noticed the color of the jewel she gave him- a beautiful, rich purple.

the next time was her last birthday with him, when he took her horseriding and set out a picnic. she saw that the icing on the cupcake was pink. "i didn't know what your favorite color was." sammy saw it too. they were soulmates.

then hazel died. and went to the underworld. but the world was still a little colored; sammy was still her soulmate. a couple of months? years? decades? passed, then the world. just. went back before color. was sammy dead? had it truly been that long? no; she probably just had moved on. but she knew she hadn't. she knew he was dead. knew he was her soulmate. knew that her only soulmate had died.

then nico brought her back. and hazel saw the littlest dash of color, not much though, since nico was wearing all black. they were going to be friends. soulmates. they're siblings, after all.

when nico brought hazel to camp, she saw this one kid, tall, maybe asian? chinese? wearing a purple shirt. A PURPLE SHIRT, A FULL ON PURPLE SHIRT. was this her soulmate? or another friend? or just because of nico?

then frank and her went on a quest with percy, and they went in one of hazel's flashbacks together. hazel saw how frank's eyes widened with terror- and that they were brown. and that his hair was black. and- she could see colors. all colors- the whole world full of colors. and suddenly frank's eyes weren't just wide from the flashback. "your hair is gorgeous. a pretty brownish color."

then they started dating. and hazel knew all colors- not just blue, but turqoise, not just pink, but magenta, not just yellow but beige, she knew and saw all of them.

she had a soulmate. frank was her soulmate.

FRANK:

frank doesn't really remember when he first saw color; he was so young. he remembered when it went away, though. he'll always remember. his mother died, and the world went black and white. he felt miserable

then grandma zhang passed him the woodstick, and he noticed it was brown. or maybe that was his memory; he could still remember the idea of some colors. besides, his grandma sending him away shouldn't make him love her more. but then he noticed his grandma had a new ring on- and it was blue. that couldn't be a memory. "love you grandma." "oh, hush."

some colors he could see- but only things related to his grandma- like the color of teacups, of old books, of photographs of his mom. but he still couldn't see everything, his heart still hurt from having lost his best soulmate.

then hazel came to camp. and it wasn't much- but frank swore her eyes were gold. that was probably just memory. he just met her. she was sweet, though.

then she took him into her flashback, and he was amazed by how cool it was back then. how colorful it was back then. he could see colors. hazel was his soulmate. and his soulmate has the most gorgeous eyes.

"i'd say something romantic but we gotta get back."

and they did. and when they did, the colors were almost singing to frank, saying "you'vegot a soulmate" frank smiled, then laughed because he knew if he told any of his friends that they would have a field day with it. but frank didn't care; him and hazel were soulmates

REYNA:

the first time she saw color was when she and hylla were going separate ways- reyna to camp jupiter and hylla to rule the amazons. she noticed hylla's lips had red on them- blood. it wasn't the best thing to see, but it was reassuring. reassuring to know what happened with her father wouldn't happen with her and hylla

the second time she saw a hint of color was when she met jason. he had these bright, electric blue eyes. and he was eyeing her tattoo. did he see the color of it?? was he her soulmate?? was she his soulmate??

then jason left. and reyna was heartbroken. the only thing keeping her together was the color still in the world- the color letting her know jason was still alive.

and then this percy kid arrived at camp, with blue eyes like jason- almost crazier, as if that were possible. as if he held the whole sea in his eyes. reyna wanted desperately to believe that was because they were soulmates. but she knew this was a stretch. especially when his girlfriend judoflipped him. keyword: girlfriend.

then jason came back on the same boat percy's girlfriend- with another girl. but that didn't mean anything, right? reyna's world was still colorful; jason was her soulmate. but was she his? she had to find out. so she told him. told him he was her soulmate. and he rejected her, albeit very nicely, but still.

reyna wanted the color gone. she wanted it all gone. she hated color. and she hated how she didn't hate color at the same time. because at least he was alive. but it still hurt. hurt that he was with somebody else, hurt that he didn't even notice how much she was hurt.

then one day the color just. faded. at first, reyna was terrified. terrified that jason had died. that her soulmate had died. but then she talked to the seven. and jason. and he was alive. and she knew that she just fell out of love. even seeing hylla's eye color didn't help-

then she met nico, and went on a quest with him. and the world became colorful again. all was okay. reyna knew it wasn't romantic, knew he was like her brother. but it helped. to have a soulmate. for the world to be colorful again. because of him and hylla- reyna's two friend soulmates.

NICO:

the first time he saw color was when he and bianca were at the academy, when he saw her olive beanie. that made sense though; they were best friends. but still the whole world wasn't colored.

then he met percy. and he looked at this camp shirt he was wearing- an ugly orange shirt. holy hera, he could see orange. that didn't mean anything though, because bianca was there.

then bianca left. then nico made percy swore to keep her safe, nico barely able to get out the words while looking at percy's piercing blue eyes. then bianca died. but nico could still see percy's stupid shirt. his stupid eyes. his stupid-

then it was the titan war- and he saw this kid with bright yellow hair patching up percy. this kid was cute, but this kid wasn't percy. and nico knew that's why he saw the kid's hair. because of percy. he hated that, but at least he didn't have two soulmates running around. one was enough.

then he met his sister, hazel. and he noticed her eyes, bright gold irises full of hope yet lots of sadness. he knew they were soulmates. the kind of soulmates him and bianca once were.

then came the giant war and that one kid from the titan war- will. will wore really bright clothes. nico looked around. so where was percy?

then nico saw percy, and saw no color to him. then he saw will, fully colored. and he knew he had a soulmate. and it wasn't percy. "you're cute, but you're not my type."

then nico tells will he likes his hair, the color of his hair. and then will smiles, and smile that reaches his eyes. then the whole world's in color. then nico and will are dating, and they are soulmates, nico knows this.

WILL:

will didn't see color until nico. not that he could remember, anyway

after nico shadow traveled, will could see his clothes hanging off of him with sweat. he was exhausted. and why wouldn't he be? he was wearing all black in ninety degree weather. oh. black. black was a color

will turned away. "well, i need to give you a check up."

then nico tells will he has a crush on him, that he likes his yellow hair- nico can see the color too, and suddenly the colors filled up the world

then they started dating. and nico was proud of it, called will his boyfriend. and will could see the pink of nico's blush on his cheeks, burning bright. it felt like a reminder. a reminder that him and nico were soulmates. will had found his soulmate.

CALYPSO:

at this point, calypso couldn't remember the first time she saw color if she tried

but she always remembers how the color leaves, in slow motion, as of the gods want her punishment to be even worse.

it stopped for awhile, maybe for..a decade. nobody came so the grey stayed, but at least that meant nobody left.

then came percy- who lit the island up. and calypso hated it. hated him. hated how he stared at her hair. hated how she knew he was bound to leave- bound to take the color away again. so she asked him to stay. and of course he couldn't

the only comfort she got from the color staying was knowing that he didn't die. but it still hurt nontheless; she'd just have to wait a while for the color to eventually start to fade

and then she cursed annabeth. the words were like poison, slowly melting away the color from the island. yet again, she had fallen out of love. hopefully percy wasn't dead.

then leo came. with his bright, eccentric toolbelt. and his brown suspenders. ugh. she just wanted color to be gone again. this dude was annoying. and it was annoying how he wasn't annoying. how she loved him.

as he left, she gave him a quick kiss. "those blue jeans look good on you!" it was as if she shot him, he got so quiet. she knew he didn't see the colors, why should he? none of them ever had said anything about them- "I'll come back for you calypso! you and your golden hairties!"

days went by, maybe weeks. then the color left, the slowest it ever had. but she was still thinking of him. leo had died.

then he came back to oygia- before all the color had even faded. and the color bloomed back in full affect as he boosted her up on festus, as they flew away from oygia into the blue sky. calypso had found her soulmate. her and leo were soulmates

[amoristt]

Not My Boyfriend | Nathan x Reader

disclaimer: i know nathan is not a good person. i am not putting a blanket over his actions in this fic. i, the writer, understand he’s not an innocent character and has made many terrible choices. im just answering people’s requests, please dont put me under the fire for it.

thank you.

Anonymous asked:  CAN YOU DO NATHAN X READER (FLUFF 15) PLEASE! ;U; AND MAYBE A FLUFFY KISS TOO!

sure thing! this was a lot of fun to write :3 hope you guys like it! the prompt is, “He’s not my boyfriend!”

reblogs + tags and replies will make my entire day as i put a lot of effort into this :)!

story continues beneath the read more. let me know if you can’t access it!

Not My Boyfriend

A bird landing inches away from you was a softly lived moment. Fingers that were previously punching numbers into a calculator froze. You barely moved to look up from your homework, all those menacing papers sprawled haphazardly over the wooden picnic table, as to not scare it. It was small, barely larger than the palm of your hand. It’s eyes were beady and unexpecting, it’s wings tucked safely against its fat little body. It hopped from one spot to another, occasionally leaning forward to tilt it’s little head at your calculous. If not for the lack of color in it’s eyes you’d have thought it was confused by your scribbled text.

“Me too,” You breathed, and just that little sound scared it away. You watched it go all the way until it disappeared behind a hefty building, red with bricks and green with vines creeping up the edges. A disinterested sigh passed your lips, your mind bored and exhausted from grinding it’s gears all day. It was noon and you were halfway done with your work, but there was still a small pile of papers that demanded your attention. Even the sight of them made your headache worsen, the pulsing racing in between your temples.

Spring break had come to a sorrowful end. Goodbye sleeping in, goodbye staying out late, and hello school life once again. The eraser of your pencil tapped against your lips idly, fingers itching to do anything than continue writing. You missed summer vacation so much it felt like it was a dull ache in the pit of your chest.

Surviving winter was hard for a summer lover like you, and you spent most of your christmas and winter breaks holed up in your dorm once you came back from visiting family. You weren’t alone there of course, either with your few select friends or your boyfriend, but you’d rather have died than went outside in the snow and freezing cold.

You smiled at the memory, though. You hated winter but staying inside wasn’t bad. Watching movies wrapped in blankets, the taste of hot cocoa on your tongue, the feeling of an arm slung over your shoulder. Half of the time you were never even focused on the movie playing, too caught up in the lips pressed against your own, the hand tugging through your hair, the taste of him.

Nathan Prescott.

Kissing Nathan outside of a party was like spotting the wildest rose, beautiful but distant. Never outside the walls of your dorm did he trace the shape of your jaw, kiss at your collar bones, or let his palms glide down the valley of your back. With soft background noise and a blanket he let himself feel you wherever he pleased, and you welcomed it. He himself wasn’t too much of a fan of the feeling, sometimes recoiling when you touched at him, but he couldn’t get enough of the feeling of your skin. Even subconsciously his hands would drift as close at they could, briskly grazing you.

Outside, however, was another story. In solitude he was never the iron-clad, hard headed asshole his reputation so easily displayed him out to be. He was sarcastic, sharp, and he was far from sickly sweet, but he wasn’t Arcadia Bays’ infamous Nathan Prescott. He was your Nathan. He was your Nathan that kissed you on your shoulders but also laughed when you fell off the bed. He was your Nathan that took photos of you, made you look like an angel, but he also was your Nathan that would sometimes draw devil horns on them.

In the winter he was your Nathan that snuck into your room and brought you cocoa, and in the summer he would ‘accidentally’ lose the key he stole from you in order to lock you outside for the day.

He had many sides to him, sides that no one would get to know, but he wasn’t evil. Devious, almost annoyingly so at times, but never… Malicious. Of course he could be, and you knew that. He could be the most volatile person to walk the halls of Blackwell should he want to, but when it came to you he would sneak along the hallways, slip into your room quiet as a mouse uninvited just because he ‘felt like it’. Truth be told, he missed you.

In your back pocket your phone vibrated, making you realize you’d drifted deeper into thought than you had intended. Without even looking at the notification you were already smiling- you knew who it was. Sure enough when you retrieved the device his name lit up clear as day, ‘yorkie’. It was a teasing remark you’d called him once while comparing him to dogs, and you settled on yorkie because they’re small but act like demons. He wasn’t too thrilled over the choice but you thought it was funniest shit, so you ran with it. 

When you learned your relationship with Nathan would have to be hidden from the school, you chose the first nickname that came into your head for his contact.

‘where r u?’

Before typing out your reply you gave a quick look-see around, making sure it was just you at the lonesome, miniature park. When it was first built it was overflowing with kids, but soon parents learned that 2 swings, a merry go round, and a few picnic tables wouldn’t suffice for entertainment. Without the shrill cries of toddlers and kids, you’d found it made an excellent study spot.

‘park. catching up on some hw rn.’ You leaned forward, elbows resting on the scratchy wooden surface. ‘why :0? anything up?

He replied almost instantly, a simple ‘nah. dont go anywhere, im gunna b there soon.’

‘wouldnt dream of it. see u soon’

You set the phone to the side and sighed, looking down at both your finished and unfinished work. It taunted you, and you swore it sounded like they were laughing when a warm breeze sent a few pieces fluttering. Drained, you started to gather all of the worksheets up, stacking them atop each other and then scooting them down the table. It almost physically hurt when you grabbed an unfinished sheet, the words ‘chemistry’ causing you to inwardly groan in defeat. With all this work you cursed your past self for not doing it bit by bit over break in order to avoid a situation like this.

By the time Nathan arrived, hands shoved in his pockets and his head ducked down like a stalking cat, you had gone through 2 more sheets and your headache had doubled. You waved a worn-out hello when he came into your view, and he took a look at your current state of being and shook his head.

“Seriously?” He scoffed, hopping onto the seat beside you. “You’re actually doing this all?”

“Course I am,” You added one more sheet to the finished pile. “I do want to get good grades, you know.”

Nathan leaned on one arm, his angular chin propped by an even more angular hand. “Just cheat like everyone else.”

“The last time you suggest that I failed entirely.” Although you tried to sound scolding, all that came out was an airy chuckle.  He rolled his eyes and his hand fell, his other coming up to join beside it. You grinned at him. “Is this too boring for you or something?”

“Actually?” he jumped up and sat on top of the picnic table rather than on the seat. With a look of almost disgust he read over the last sheet you’d finished. “Yeah, this is boring as fuck. What’s with the stack?”

A moan of anguish found it’s way out. “I was stupid and decided to procrastinate until last minute.”

“Why ever would you do that?” Nathan hummed, not looking up from your worksheet even when a knowing, sly grin took over his lips. You fought the urge to smack his knee.

“Not funny,” your pencil drew light circles at the corner of your paper. “This is seriously stressing me out.”

“So take a break then,” Nathan hopped down beside you again, his nimble fingers snatching the pencil right from your fingers. You wanted to argue, reach out and grab it, but you lacked the energy and motivation. Bad move, you learned, because the minute he stole your pencil he started writing crude phrases on the wood.

As he wrote you laughed, clicking your tongue and shaking your head. “You know kids see this shit, right?”

“Yeah, so?” He draw two circles beside each other and you rolled your eyes before he finished the piece. “Not like they know what it means anyways.”

“Yes but the parents do.”

“Oh no,” He leaned back again to admire his ugly work. “I’m so scared of little Tommy and his deadbeat, soccer mom.”

“Give me that back.” You swiped your pencil back now that he was finished, but the thought of returning to your work was a heavy one. Once again you cursed at your past self for thinking this would somehow all work out in the end. In the corner of your eyes you saw Nathan start to fidget with something he pulled from his pocket, and at that point you were desperate for something to gain your attention. “What’s that?”

He looked up at you briefly before turning back down to his item, then he set it out in front of him. It was a small camera it seemed, and cheaper than the rest of his devices, and it looked to be an instant camera along with that.

“I thought you were more into computer developed shots?”

Nathan used his sleeve to wipe at the camera's lens, then he shrugged. “I am, and believe me I wouldn’t be using his hipster piece of shit if I didn’t have to.”

Leaning forward you watched him toy around with the buttons. “So what’s it for then?”

“Photos, duh.” You shoved playfully at his shoulder and he smirked teasingly. “It’s something about the lighting I guess. Got a tip from a friend that instant cameras take the best candid shots.”

“Better candids, huh?” Slowly you reached out and grabbed at the camera, and Nathan surprisingly let you. Probably because he had little regard for the items’ safety- he could just get a new one. “I think I’ll be the judge of that.” In an instant you’d reached the camera out, facing it towards you and Nathan, and he rolled his eyes but slung his arm around you none the less. However, unfortunately, he put up his middle finger as well.

Still, you took the shot, and for a moment a light blinded you. Then the picture developed and slid out from the bottom, your fingers reaching out to snatch the pic and then shake it quickly. It was warm like freshly printed paper, and if not for the fact that Nathan’s middle finger was up it would have been a pretty light hearted and sweet image, something you’d hang up in your room.

“Don’t show that to anyone,” Nathan said, and it was disheartening to know why. He tried to sound teasing, the words playing a jesting ‘i look bad there’, but it was deeper.

Your relationship was a secret to the outside community, a spectacle only you and him could observe. Sometimes it was okay, as it made you feel special. Only you knew the things you and him did behind closed doors, only you knew the feeling of the pads of his fingers trailing over your goosebump riddled skin. Only you knew the softness of his lips, the sharp angles of his jaw, and how dewy-eyed he got when you woke up beside each other. Other times a shallow and cold feeling tugged at your chest. Albeit never questioning why he chose to keep everyone in the dark, you knew he had his reasons and you weren’t going to pressure him on them. But… You still wondered. A million ideas would race through your head at night. Why, why why. However your qualms were quick to be distinguished when he’d show up at your dorm and find his way under your blankets, his body lean but radiating like a furnace.

The picture was still warm against your fingertips, and you smiled down at it. “Why not?” You playfully whined, both seriously and teasingly. “You look so cute here.”

Nathan rolled his eyes and tried to grab at the picture but you were too quick, leaning away from him and taking the photo of out his reach. He tried again, this time leaning over you in the process, but you got up and rose your eyebrows.

“Don’t make me chase you,” He narrowed his eyes, but they were anything but angry. He was enjoying himself. “We both know how that always ends up.” Waving the photo tauntingly in the air, he started to get up from his seat. The moment his feet touched ground you jumped, running left then right while knowing he was hot on your trail.

It was always so jarring how much faster he was than you. In seconds he was grasping at your shoulders, fingers catching the fabric, and you were turned to face him. Thanks to your speed you almost fell backwards but you caught his shoulders, managing to regain your footing. He was grabbing at the image and you kept it held close, a laugh rising at the feeling of his fingers poking at your skin. His footing faltered and you took it as a moment to make your gleeful escape, but he caught your wrist and stopped you from going too far. Although fast, he lacked endurance, and he was out of breath as he  wrapped his arms around your waist to stop you from going anywhere. You swatted at his chest and squirmed, but found yourself trapped.

“Photo, now.” He demanded with a grin in knowing he had you caught.

You opened your mouth to tell him never, but another voice halted you.

“What’s all this?”

In that moment both yours and Nathan’s blood ran cold. He was so quick to let you go, the force making you stumble before you stilled and stared at the two figures approaching with wide, fearful eyes. Nathan seemed more irritated than afraid like you, and his hands balled into fists. God damn it, his eyes said, and you felt your stomach drop at the thought of him being upset over the fact that he’d been caught messing around with you.

Two teens, Blackwell students by the looks of their jackets, were close now. Your stomach churned when you recognized the speakers short brown hair, his red jacket that mimicked Nathan’s. Logan Robertson. Beside him you recognized Zachary, a slightly nicer but still equally malicious football player.

You and Nathan traded looks in knowing full well where this was going.

“You and ___?” Logan started in a taunting tone. “Never thought you for the type to go for the underdogs.”

Zachary leaned his head back to laugh before he spoke up too. “Gotta say it’s smart, Nate. The nobodies are so easy to pick up.”

The words hurt but you didn’t dare argue back. Your relationship was a secret, and it would be the end of the world if those two morons found out about it. With sand in your throat you swallowed down your pride, remembering the fact that yours and Nathan’s relationship was at stakes. He meant too much for you to lose just because two dickheads wanted to cause drama.

“That’s not-- We aren’t-” You stumbled over your words as you frantically tried to find out a way to explain what they had seen. Carefully you hid the photo behind your back. “We were just-”

Logan snickered. “We were- We were just- we- we- we- Spit it out, sister!”

“Studying!” Your tongue felt heavy. Nathan rose a brow and you squeezed your eyes shut at the vague and thin lie.

Zachary crossed his arms, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes. “Bullshit. We all know Nathan Prescott doesn’t study.”

“Yes the fuck I do!” He chided, seeming personally offended by the jocks statement. “I study all the damn time, which is what you two lemmings should be doing too.”

“Since when do you care about class? You hardly even bother to show up half the time.” Logan said, and you swallowed thickly at the scene starting to play out in front of you. Logan’s eyes found you and he scoffed. “Don’t tell me ___’s the type of person to force her boyfriend into being good.”

Heat rose to your cheeks. They knew. They knew, they knew, they knew, and yours and Nathan’s relationship was as good as over. Your chest felt like it was concaving and you acted out as quickly as your racing brain could allow you too.

“He’s not my boyfriend!” You blurted. It was loud and forced, but it left all three of them stunned for a moment.

Among of all them, Nathan seemed the most taken aback.

You didn’t stay long enough for them to poke more at your words, pivoting off your heel and barreling straight for your papers. From the wind a few had blown from your pile and you carelessly grabbed at them, shoving and crumpling them into your bag. Nathan was saying something from where he stood but you weren't listening, already slinging your bag over your shoulder and taking your leave.

Suddenly the photo you still held in your hand felt like it weighed a ton.

It was a few hours until you managed the courage to text him again.

Though now riddled with a bad memory you were right back at the park, this time without the anchor of your school bag or the headache from equations. No, all you had with you was your phone, your wallet, and that damn photo. You’d forgotten that on the way home you shoved it into your pocket and upon returning to the park to relax, it crossed your mind again. Although planning to spend some time alone, the sight of you and him happy together made you do something you’d been thinking about for months.

Step one of your emotionally drenched plan was to invite him to the park, and it was an invite he took without argument. Something felt off in his text, it felt… careful, like he knew exactly what was coming. A storm brewed in your gut.

The wait for him to show up was a relentless one, and the whole time you considered the idea of backing out, but it seemed fate would have it otherwise because when you picked your phone up to text him ‘nevermind’ you saw the photo again. It sat on your lap like a brand, and you set your phone back down beside you and groaned. This could be the end or a very fruitful beginning.

Step two was put into motion when he arrived, spotting you on the merry go round where he took a seat beside you. He was smooth in his motions, much more thoughtful than he was earlier. The way he glanced side to side before approaching you did not go unnoticed.

With the hours that passed the sun fell, and now that it was early in the evening everything was saturated in a brilliant gold thanks to the setting sun. If not for the ton of bricks that rolled around in your stomach you would have appreciated the scenery a bit more, but the nausea welling in your throat couldn’t be overridden by pretty clouds or the golden hour.

“What’s up?” He asked, breaking the silence you formed unawarely. He was anxious with his words, like he was expecting some life changing news on your behalf.

You shrugged casually despite the raging fire in your head. The last thing you wanted to do was rile him up. “I just,” The sand formed in your throat again and you almost gagged on it. “Wanted to talk about something.”

“Earlier?”

Lips pressed into a tight line, you nodded glumly. He made a noise of distress and leaned back, his gaze unset and unfocused.

“Look, they’re assholes, but I don’t think they’re gonna go telling everyone shit about me and you.”

“That’s not it,” You shook your head and pressed your hand against your throbbing temple. “The thing is, I don’t care if people know.”

“You seem pretty fucked up about it, though.”

“That’s because I know you wanted to keep it some big secret.”

Nathan took note of your words, eyeing you with knit brows. “I don’t want us to be some ‘big secret’, that’s just kind of how it has to go.”

“Why?” Your hands fell against your lap and you frowned up at him, but he wasn’t looking. “Why do we have to keep everything to ourselves?”

“Why does it matter so much?” He finally looked down at you, his expression tight, his jaw leveled. “What we’re doing is working out just fucking fine, isn’t it?”

You sighed. “Yeah, yeah it’s working.”

“Then what's the big issue?”

“It just-” you ran a hand through your hair roughly, trying to find the right words. “I don’t see why we can’t tell anyone! I mean yeah it’s fine, we’re working, but just- tell me why it’s so important that no one knows.”

“Because you'd fucking hate it if everyone knew!” His voice held so many emotions, but the two most prominent was the obvious anger and the less obvious worry. “Believe me, ___ if people found out you were involved with me you’d run for the fucking hills.”

You blinked at him, lips parted. “Why would I leave you?”

“Are you serious?” He looked down at his lap. “God, you’d get attacked. Maybe not physically but fuck, you’d get ripped into. Do you want to end up like me?”

Your gaze lowered to your legs, the photograph on your lap. “You seem to handle it just fine.”

“If you call drinking and starting fights ‘just fine’ then hell yeah I’m doing great.” He picked at his pants absently. “Never better.”

“Nathan,” You looked up at him. “I don’t care what people say about me. The years almost over, highschool drama is highschool drama. It doesn’t matter in the real world.”

Nathan groaned, rubbing his cheeks with his hands in stress. “It goes way further than that.”

“So what then?” That heat rose to your cheeks but it wasn’t accompanied by the fluttering of your heart. No, it was anger, a sinking and hot stone that ground against your bones. “We just date in the shadows where everythings nice and fucking cozy?”

“What’s wrong with that!”

“Everything!” Now it was your turn to rub at your face, irritated and huffy. “I don’t want to have to constantly feel like I’m being watched when I’m with you! I don’t want to have to worry about seen all the time, and I sure as hell don’t want to keep feeling like you’re ashamed to be with me!” You were talking so quickly, so fervently, you forgot to think before you spoke. You blurted out a thought that had eating away at you, and he gaped at you for it.

“You think I’m ashamed of you?” He asked, voice low and hissing. “That’s what you think this is about?”

You swallowed thickly and tried to eat the lump forming in your throat. “Sometimes.”

Nathan’s features softened, and he leaned back to look up at the sky. “___, that’s not… Shit, that’s not what this is about.” He sighed. “I just don’t want you to get all hurt because some hipster bitch won’t leave you alone. The thought of you going off and leaving me because of drama sucks.”

“I wouldn’t leave you over that.” You croaked. “I wouldn’t.”

“It’s easy to say that now.” He said, mostly to himself, but you responded anyways.

“I wouldn’t leave you over pointless shit, Nathan.” Using your sleeves you wiped roughly at your eyes. “I just want to- I just wanna be able to do shit with you outside my room is all.”

“What can we do outside your room that we can’t inside?”

You shrugged. “It’s different outside.” Through the ever growing blurriness of your vision, you looked up at him.

Nathan’s eyes seemed farther away, facing into the trees that surrounded the dingy little park. His silence was deafening and fear crept under your skin, made your face heat up in anxiety. You felt like you’d screwed up pretty badly, like you’d ruined something. The lack of an answer, even if it was just an irritated sigh, made you antsy. When your lips parted to speak up he beat you to it.

“If you can handle it,” He started, closing his eyes, giving in. “Then sure, whatever.”

You blinked at him slowly, processing. The thought of being open with him made your chest feel like it was filled with cotton. “Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously. If you really don’t care then…” His eyes opened, and they were almost golden with the setting sun's reflection. “Then I don’t either.”

A smarter part of you knew that you shouldn’t be as starstruck as you were. Being with Nathan had a price, and it was a damaging one. It was easy to claim that you didn’t mind some harassment here and there since you were alone, safe with him, but what would happen when you were alone? You weren’t the strongest, you weren’t the fastest. You didn’t want to use Nathan’s name as a shield, either. If some asshole decided to make your day hell then you were stuck.

But, a dumber, romantic part of you, didn’t care. So much of you wanted to touch him, fingers longing to lock and intertwine with his own. Nathan was bony and uncomfortable yet your heart stuttered at hugging him, leaning against him, lying beside him. He was so closed off and guarded that when he finally did open up bits of himself you greedily couldn’t get enough.

“Good,” you breathed. Words tumbled against the tip of your tongue but they couldn’t take shape, your lips moving to try and force another sentence out. That same dry and full feeling returned and it was a miracle you could even speak at all when you asked, “Can I kiss you?”

Nathan was caught off guard. You could see it in his eyes, the way they zeroed in on you before shifting back to nothing in particular. Beneath you the merrygoround creaked as it barely moved. When he looked at you, uncertain, you swallowed thickly and readied yourself to apologize. However, you didn’t need to. He nodded once and ducked beneath the railing, and you met him halfway with your heart thudding in your chest.

It was a quick kiss, chaste and rather plain, but it was more than enough. He molded against you perfectly in those few seconds, his eyes closed and shoulders relaxed. Before it ended your fingers twitched to reach out and grab some part of him, hold him close, but he broke away before you managed to. Albeit having kissed before, this one felt different. You and Nathan had been lip locked for hours on end it seemed sometimes, wrapped around one another to the point where you had no idea where you started and he ended. However this wasn’t like those times. This kiss was shy and sensitive, and when you finally opened your eyes he wasn’t looking at you anymore.

“How was that?” He asked suddenly, his sentence rushed and wavery. You smiled and reached out to gently take the fabric of his jacket in your hand.

“Again.”

Once more Nathan looked down at you but his previous expression was gone, his qualms away with it. Oddly affectionate, warm even, a sight that you’d come to know but didn’t get to see quite often. He ducked under the bar again and just like before you met him halfway, your lips meeting more intense than they had before. This kiss you recognized. It was the type of kiss you felt when he was in a calmer state of mind, usually met when he’d just woken up from a long nap, or when he decided to get loving during a night in your dorm.

It was tender, and softer than anything you’d even known. He didn’t pull away moments later this time- if anything he deepened the kiss with a tilt of his head in the process. You fisted his jacket and tried to scoot closer to him, but found you were separated from the railing placed in between your bodies.

When you and him broke apart the last thing on your mind was the fact that you were still out in the open, able to be seen by whomever happened to be around. Instead you were focused on the light dusting of pink on his cheeks, and the way that his eyes darted from your own to something else in timidity. You realized that as much as this was new to you, it was even more new to him. He’d probably never had a public relationship before, not one that worked out anyways.

You grinned, a giggling laugh slipping past your lips. He scoffed at your bubbliness and rolled his eyes, shifting back onto his side of the railing and shaking his head. Still you saw beyond the action, taking mental note of the way his lips seemed to make an effort as to not curl up into a smile.  

Shards of the sun leaked through the trees, now fat with leaves as they should be, and they painted the side of his face. The merry go round creaked again as it slowly spun, your shoes lightly digging into the wood chips on the ground. Nathans hand rested close to your own, and it felt like he was wordlessly inviting you. Tentatively, as if reaching out to pet an animal, you brushed your fingers along his scarred knuckles and felt them twitch. He didn’t move his hand away like he used to when you’d accidentally brush yours against his own. Those moments stung, and now this would be the bandage.

The ride stopped drifting in circles, you watched the treelines beside Nathan, and you held his hand.