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dracox-serdriel · 1 year ago

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There have been several attempts to decriminalize many crimes, nearly all of which have been painted as ridiculous ("omg when the headline seems like it's an Onion headline but it's actually not you've clearly lost it!" kind of stuff).

Want to know the kind of theft that causes the greatest economic loss? It's not bank robberies, burglary, or auto theft (all three of which are crimes) -- no, it's wage theft. In fact, wage theft cause three times as much loss as other forms of theft combined. [source] [another souce] [yet another source][yep another source][and another one]

Wage theft is not a crime. But it is a violaton of contract/technically illegal. The various systems put into place to manage wage theft don't include the cops -- essentially, these companies are given the benefit of the doubt if their employee's aren't being paid what is due to them. The assumption is that there was an accounting error or calculation mistake or a bad input. There are systems in place to correct these kinds of failures, and there are supposed to be safeguards in place to identify bad actors (that is... to identify companies that are engaging in criminal-like behavior, rather than a company that had a few accounting errors).

In recent years, the extent of wage theft has made it apparent that companies do NOT deserve the benefit of the doubt in most cases - in fact, there are some companies that rely on wage theft to pad their profits. Yet, wage theft is still not a crime, despite its rampant damage.

When someone argues that we need to decriminalize certain crimes, what they're really saying is that human beings by and large really do deserve the benefit of the doubt that we're already extending to corporations. We would also need to adapt the system to identify bad actors (that is, to identify people who are actually engaging in criminal-like behavior), but the kid who forgot to put their seatbelt on that one time because the were distracted - or the kid who rode the subway without a ticket - or the kid who was "loitering" (but seriously no they weren't) - or hell, that kid who got a call for help while shopping and then accidentally walked out with something in their pouch/pocket and then is caught for "shop lifting" which they honestly weren't doing - don't wind up with criminal records for an actual mistake that was made by an actual human being. They deserve the benefit of the doubt way more than any greedy corporation!

"But what if that kid is just saying they got an emergency call so they can get away after they've been caught?"

That's why there needs to be a system to catch bad actors, because, yeah, there are people out there who shoplift for profit. You get caught with something you didn't buy once? Possibly an accident - give them the benefit of the doubt. Happens a few times? Maybe this person needs to see a doctor for brain fog or needs financial assistance... Happens repeatedly? Hmm, suspicious. Let's flag that person as a bad actor.

Indvidual people deserve the benefit of the doubt a lot more than corporations, so why are we giving so much benefit of the doubt to corporations than we are to people?

Maybe "Decriminalize crime!" sounds like an Onion headline, but the truth is, for a lot of crimes, it's actually a very reasonable course of action. It's too bad so much of news media is bought off and pushed to make good ideas that hurt the bottom line of greedy corporations that they write the "Onion headline" version to make it sound like it's chaos or ridiculous.

Mathematically and economically speaking, wage theft is the most costly theft in the USA. Yet it's not a crime. Nobody goes to jail for wage theft. But a person shoplifting (yes, actually stealing things) can get locked up for stealing baby formula or OTC meds out of desperation.

*EDIT* Wage theft has a patchwork system that varies by local government and by state. [source] Florida doesn't have a system, despite having the third largest labor force in the country. It's a serious problem that doesn't get enough ink. Here's another article about it.

Pretend, for a moment, that you’re an 18-year-old teenager from a family living below the poverty line. One day, you make a silly mistake and get a ticket for it. Nothing major - maybe you rode the subway without a ticket or smoked too close to the entrance of a building. Maybe you were loitering. Either way, one thing is for sure: you definitely don’t have the money to pay the ticket. So you don’t. Eventually, you miss the deadline to pay your ticket, and you get a letter in the mail that says you have to go to court. But your life is chaotic, and a court date for a missed ticket is the least of your concerns. Your family moves constantly, which disrupts your life and puts you behind in school. You have one disabled parent and one parent who is always working, leaving you to raise your younger siblings by yourself. You have no means of transportation. There is rarely any food in the cupboards. The utilities are constantly getting shut off. The week that you were supposed to go to court, your family gets another eviction notice, your cousin ends up in the hospital, and your parent finds out that their disability payments are being reduced. So you miss your court date. Since you missed the court date, you automatically lose your case - now you have no hope of arguing your way out of the ticket, which you still can’t afford to pay. You can do community service hours instead of paying, but you don’t have time to do that, now that you have to work part-time and odd jobs on top of everything else to keep your parents off the streets and your siblings out of foster care. You know that you probably won’t finish high school on time, let alone fulfill your hours. You might be able to explain your circumstances to the judge, but you have no idea how to go about doing that now that you’ve missed your court date, your literacy skills are years behind thanks to your constant game of school roulette, and even though legal help is available to you, you don’t know how to access it or if you can afford to do so. But that’s still the least of your concerns - since you missed your court date, the judge has also charged you with failure to appear.

Which means you now have an active warrant out for your arrest. And just like that, you’re now a part of the criminal justice system. A silly mistake that a middle-class teenager could have solved with Mommy and Daddy’s chequebook in a single afternoon has caused you weeks or months of stress and headaches over a process you don’t fully understand, and has ended in criminal charges. Instead of having a funny story to tell over dinner when you come home from college next Thanksgiving, you are now facing additional fines (that you still can’t pay), the possibility of a couple of nights in jail, the possible suspension of your driver’s license, and the possibility of being taken into custody any time you interact with the police. The next time your parent comes home drunk and violent, or someone breaks into the house, you think twice about calling the cops - you now have to decide if every emergency is “worth” the possibility of being hauled off to jail. And in the meantime, the circumstances that caused that first mistake haven’t gone away - you still don’t have the money to pay for the subway, you are still more likely to live in a house filled with smokers, you still can’t afford quit-smoking aids, you still live in a chaotic household that deeply affects your mental health, and you still don’t understand the legal system or who you’re supposed to talk to for information and resources. So while those other teenagers get to go through life believing that they were “good kids who sometimes made silly mistakes”, you now get to go through life thinking of yourself as a criminal. And that might be the most damaging thing of all.

When I worked with homeless teenagers and young adults, I saw this process play out again and again and again and again. The kids often considered themselves “criminals” or “bad kids” because they had arrest warrants and criminal records, but few of them had ever actually committed a serious or violent crime - the vast majority were simply unlucky kids who did something stupid and didn’t have the skills or resources (or wealthy parents) required to get them off the hook. I had classmates in my upper-middle-class high school who did far worse things with far fewer consequences, because Mommy was a lawyer or Daddy was an RCMP officer, and some of those kids grew up to be lawyers or police officers themselves. The kids I worked with never got that opportunity. Second chances cost money, and the difference between a “crime” and a “mistake” has less to do with the offense, and more to do with the circumstances you were born into.

So when we’re talking about crime, punishment and who is “worthy” of being helped, maybe keep that in mind.

#politics #law #the dystopia i live in is the one where the things that sound like onion headlines are actually smart and right #how is the usa considered a place of freedom anyway #we lock up so many of our citizens it's ridiculous #and so many people are locked up for basically nothing while corporations steal billions and get away withit #and this wage theft is happening for ALREADY SUPPRESSED WAGES

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intoanothermind · 4 years ago

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Starbucks - Dylan O’Brien

Word Count: 1.491

- Dylan O’Brien x reader

Synopsis: It’s your birthday and your best friend surprises you with a meeting with your favourite cast.

Masterlist

---

I opened the door of my favourite Starbucks and sighed at the warmth of the heater welcoming me. Los Angeles was not as cold as the northern cities, but for a Brazilian, 60° F was basically enough for me to almost freeze to death. I went straight to the counter and, like every day, mentally thanked it for being too small to be known to many people.

“Same as usual, shorty?” Asked Kenny, the clerk and the first person I met when I arrived. I didn't like the nickname very much, but he never pronounced my name correctly.

“The usual.” I answered, smiling.

It didn’t take much time, Kenny soon handed me the frappuccino and three chocolate muffins that I liked so much. I walked to one of the last tables, preparing for the two hours I'd be waiting there until Kenny's shift was over so we could go to college together. Today, for some reason, I sat facing the other tables, not with my back to them as was the usual. I automatically took my laptop out of my backpack and turned it on. I liked to spend that time eating muffins while watching some episodes of some TV shows. My addiction has always been Teen Wolf since an old friend showed it to me. Of course I was already fan of some of the actors, but seeing that Dylan O'Brien played my favourite character only made me complain about not having met the TV show before.

I spent my time there watching the last episode released when I heard the door open and the sound of laughter caught my attention. I already knew the faces of most of the people passing by at that time, but those laughs were unfamiliar to me. I paused the episode and took off the earphones. When I lift my face, I freeze. Tyler Posey, Holland Roden, Shelley Henning, Cody Christian and, the reason my heart skipped some beats, Dylan O 'Brien. They all talked to Kenny while they waited for his requests, looking like his friends.

“God damn it.” swore in Portuguese, as my first reaction.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, I don’t know, I was still confused), it ended up drawing the Dylan’s attention, who nudged Cody, whispered something to him and pointed discreetly to me.

“Shit, shit, shit!” was all I could think of. Living in Los Angeles, I knew there was a possibility of meeting someone famous, but seeing the actor I was always in love with just a few feet from me made me a little desperate. I could only think of how I could run away so as not to embarrass myself in front of them and that's what I did.

I hated to stop an episode in half, but I didn't think twice before turning off my laptop and putting it back in my bag with my notebooks and worksheets. I took advantage that I had already paid Kenny the frappuccino and muffins I had eaten and tried to go as discreetly as possible. When I heard, however, my name being called, I realized that my whole plan went downhill. I turned, mentally cursing my luck, and I saw them all staring at me while Kenny was going around the counter and approaching me.

“Where are you going?” He asked, frowning.

I blushed to feel the gaze of those actors on me, especially Dylan.

“I... Uh...” I thought quickly of an excuse to get out of there. “I remembered that I had to... talk to my photography teacher!” I practically threw up the words out of my mouth, but the lie in my tone was clear.

“Let me introduce you to my friends first, you'll still have time to talk to Mr. Fitzpatrick.” He said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders so he could drag me back.

I just wondered how much Kenny was the son of a bitch. He knew I was a fan of them.

“So, guys, this one is the Brazilian friend I talked about.” I blushed instantly under their gazes, and all I wanted was to be able to kill Kenny slowly and painfully.

“Hi.” I stammered as I waved, still stuck to the ground, frozen.

I saw a giant smile spread on Holland's lips and she came to me.

“My God, you are cutest fan I've ever seen!”

Holland hugged me and I relaxed almost immediately. Her hug was more comforting than I thought it would be. They all hugged me, and when I reached Dylan, I froze. I didn't want to look rude, but I felt like all my body was shaking. I spent so many years imagining that scene and now it seemed so unreal! Dylan seemed to notice my nervousness, for he smiled at me as if trying to get comfort. I stepped forward and hugged him as tightly as I could, and I knew I could barely breathe because of my nervousness. He squeezed me back in his arms and I felt like I might faint right there. I didn't want to let go of him, but when I did, I had a huge smile on my lips.

“Happy?” Asked Kenny, smiling when he saw me with my shoulders still wrapped around Dylan's arm. They all laughed at the sight of my flushed cheeks. “They always come here in the morning before they go to the studio, but I asked them to come here tonight. Happy birthday, shorty!”

I knew he would remember, but I didn't expect such a surprise. I hugged my friend, thrilled.

“Thank you, Kenny!” I murmured, still hugging him.

“You deserve it.” He said releasing me.

“Time to get the cake, what do you think, Kenny?!” Cody suggested, and I widened my eyes.

“Didn’t you have to talk with the teacher?” He turned to me with a sarcastic look.

I smiled tidily. “Mr. Fitzpatrick can wait.”

He chuckled and went to the kitchen. Tyler went to Starbucks entrance, closing it shortly after. Holland held my hand will and Shelley, leading us towards a table.

“Kenny talked so much about you! I feel like we were already friends!”

She spoke in a way so similar to Lydia that I couldn't help but laugh with Shelley. Tyler, Cody and Dylan sat around me. Kenny arrived shortly after, with a chocolate cake and singing of “happy birthday”. I just could smile.

And I couldn't remember the last time I'd been so happy.

~ * ~

One year later

I opened the door of my favourite Starbucks and went to Kenny with a big smile on my lips. He finished getting a old lady’s order and laughed when he saw me.

“What are you doing here, girl?!” He asked, laughing.

I rolled my eyes and pulled our research out of my bag.

“Stop being ungrateful!” I laugh too. “I'm not going to college today, but I needed to give you our work.”

Kenny took the job from my hand and practically kicked me out.

“Bye, shorty, I know you want to go there with your sweetheart.” He scoffed, and I couldn't help but laughing at the way he said it. “By the way, happy birthday.” He kissed my cheek.

I thanked him and quickly left, heading straight for the passenger seat of the car parked in front of Starbucks.

“And you, ready for the date?” Dylan asked from the driver's seat.

I looked at him, smiling. It was amazing how my whole life changed after my last birthday. I never imagined that I would become friends with the cast of my favourite TV show - much less than a few months later, Dylan would ask me out and today we would be dating.

“I'm excited to know what surprise you have prepared for today.” I answered him, smiling.

Dylan flashed that smile that I once admired only from pictures. I could stay there a whole day, admiring his hazel eyes and his beauty marks. He, however, didn’t seem to agree, for he soon pulled me in for a kiss. When we broke apart, I was breathless.

“Happy birthday, love.” He murmured hoarsely against my lips.

“Thanks, babe.” I said, depositing a long peck on his lips before pulling away.

Dylan put the car to work while I buckled up the seatbelt. He held my hand on my thigh and I intertwined our fingers. Usually I was very nervous when it involved surprises for me. At that moment, however, I was relaxed.

Being with Dylan was the most important.

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onewfantaesy · 3 years ago

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Orphan AU

Sometimes Taemin forgets that even though he’s lost his family, he does still have people who love him and who care about him. And it can be really hard at times, because he forgets and it puts him in a really low spot. But then when he’s reminded, it makes him feel so much more loved that it can be a little overwhelming, but in a good way.

One of the times he’s reminded is at something silly. A school play of all things, because it was a requirement he couldn’t weasel his way out of even though Jongin somehow got to do something else for the same requirement. He’s sixteen and it’s nearing the end of the school year, and it’s opening night. He knows Minho is there, because Minho promised to come to all four shows (one on Friday night after school, two on Saturday, and one on Sunday, it was ridiculous and Taemin thought it was stupid, but it was either participate or fail the class). And Taemin had a starring role even though he hated acting.

And when he finally gets to leave after the show is over, Minho comes over and hugs him and gives him flowers and tells him how wonderful he was. And his grandparents are there. And his uncle. And his biological aunt and uncle and cousins.

But it’s not just them who showed up. Jinki is there too. And Jongin’s parents even though their own son wasn’t in the play or part of it. And all his other groupmate’s parents. And they all are excited to tell him how wonderful he was, look genuinely excited for him, are quick to give him hugs and little gifts and flowers.

Uncle Kibum shows up of course, showers Taemin in praise, insists on taking a couple photos together to post on social media so he can let everyone know how fabulous he thinks his favorite nephew is.

But what boggles Taemin’s mind is that this is all just for a school play. It wasn’t anything on TV, wasn’t a movie, wasn’t a big production that Taemin beat out countless other idols or actors or celebrities to get. It’s the second year drama class Spring play in the auditorium. It’s just a generic high school production of Shakespeare. Someone even accidentally said their drama teacher’s name instead of a character’s name during the first part, it made everyone on stage giggle and break character, they were all pretty much a hot mess and they had to do the makeup and costumes themselves. But still everyone showed up and they all paid the $25 ticket price to help fund the drama department and they all brought him something to congratulate him.

It was just overwhelming. And after thanking everyone for coming and giving countless hugs and practically collapsing from all the flowers and flower-necklaces he was given, he just slumps against Minho. He doesn’t want to get upset in front of so many people and especially not in front of teachers and classmates, and Minho seems to just know how he feels. So Minho wraps an arm around and him and laughs and talks with a few of the other parents, thanks them for coming as well, does everything a parent is supposed to do. And it makes Taemin feel better in a way he can’t even explain.

“Grandma and Grandpa want to take you out to dinner to celebrate,” Minho tells him once everyone starts trickling out of the auditorium. “Do you think you’re up for that?”

It’s something so incredibly normal that it just puts Taemin at ease immediately. So he and Minho go out to dinner with his grandparents and his uncle, they all tell Taemin how amazing they thought he was during the play. It makes him shy and he keeps hiding his face behind his hands and laughing and his cheeks turn bright pink.

Then the next day, Minho shows up again of course. But Jinki comes again as well, and all his groupmates come.

Various people come to see his silly high school play. Even a couple other label mates. A few stylists. One his makeup artists giggles when she sees him after the show she goes to, and tells him how he did such a good job of doing his own makeup for the play. Taemin just pouts and whines at her and tells her he’s never doing his own makeup again.

“A lot of people came to see me,” Taemin says in the car after the last show. Minho is taking him out to dinner, just the two of them. It’s been a very long and exhausting weekend, and Taemin just wants to eat dinner and go straight to bed.

“That’s because you have a lot of people who care about you,” Minho tells him.

Taemin turns to look at him, then looks back out the window. He slumps in the seat, fiddling with the strap of the seatbelt to keep his hands busy.

“Sometimes I forget,” he mumbles.

“I know you do,” Minho says gently, and he moves one hand to squeeze Taemin’s shoulder. “Sometimes you just need a little reminding.”

“This weekend was a lot of reminding,” Taemin huffs. “What am I supposed to do with ten million flowers?”

It makes Minho laugh loudly, and Taemin turns to look at him. And seeing how much he makes him laugh makes Taemin smile, and he starts laughing too.

He does need some reminding sometimes. But Minho always reminds him that that isn’t a bad thing.

#taemin #shinee #minho #onew #key #orphan au

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emmy-writes-sometimes · 5 years ago

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Found Family

When your real family seems to ignore you, Chris becomes a father figure.

“Oh, and did you hear?” Your sister said over the phone. You gritted your teeth, sighing as you handed your ID to security to let you onto the stage.

“What?” You asked dryly, looking around to see if anyone was already there. Luckily, you were one of the first people ready for the scene. You walked over to your chair and sat down, watching a camera guy start to get ready.

“I got into Harvard. And Yale! And I think NYU is sending acceptances out next week, so I expect that too. Dad’s so proud of me, he’s taking me this weekend to see…” You rolled your eyes at your sister. She was such a goody two-shoes. It was always about her. Her academic achievements, her cheerleading achievements, her debate team, her everything. Ever since your mom who had been your best friend, died a few years ago, your father just… ignored you. He only paid attention to your sister. He took you to auditions, sure, but there was no guarantee you would ever have a ride home. Home, even. The man barely came to visit you when you were shooting, ever, unless he happened to be near the studio. Your solution was simple. Your dad hated you and blamed you for everything.

“That’s great,” you said as you watched the director and one of the producers start walking onto the stage, along with the lead prop head.

“Dad said he’s never been prouder of anybody in his life.” You could tell she was excited, but that was the wrong thing to say. “How’s that acting thing going?”

“Well, I actually have a scene with Chris coming up, so…”

“Oh, he’s hot.”

“Yeah. I guess.”

“You are such a loser, you can’t even agree with me on that. I have to go start pyramid, so…”

“Fine by me.” You hung up the phone and put it under your thigh. If you weren’t wearing makeup, you probably would’ve started crying. It wasn’t a particularly harsh exchange like some of them were. It wasn’t even really harsh at all. But it meant she had more bragging rights. Dad had one more excuse not to call you and tell you all about what she was doing. It was starting to get to you that maybe your sister was right. Maybe you should be doing something other than what you’d wanted to do since you were a kid. Acting was the only thing you knew you could do well. Your sister, though? She could do anything. And you were starting to think that maybe Dad liked her more because she was better at everything.

“Hey!” Chris said as he walked over to where you were sitting. His chair was right next to yours. “You wanna get lunch after this scene? Next scene’s going to take them a couple hours so we don’t have to rush. We can go to that ramen place you like.” You nodded.

“Yeah, sure.” Chris cocked his head like his dog would. He could tell something was wrong, but he couldn’t tell what. You two were close. Very close. But he was more like a father or a brother than anything else. He was like the father you dearly wished you had. He was the one who would drop you back by the apartment at the end of the day. He was the one who took you to get your tonsils out when you had tonsillitis three months in a row at the beginning of shooting.

“Something wrong?” He asked curiously. “You’re quieter than usual. We can have a few extra minutes if you wanna talk.” He sipped at his coffee. He was in a good mood. The last thing you wanted to do was bring him down. And he was right. Usually you were talking all the time, too much, even. But you were stunned into silence. You were thinking.

“I’m fine,” you just responded.

“For someone who’s such a great actor, you’re a terrible liar.” You sighed, getting ready to tell him that you talked to your sister again, but the red light came over the stage and it was time to work the scene. It was the scene in the movie where Chris’s character finally recognized your character as his daughter, because of course it was.

You got it done in five takes. A record, because usually you and Chris would laugh too much or someone would break and send the other into a giggling fit. Chris knew something was wrong, though, bless him, and he did the scene. And as soon as the director called cut on the final shot they needed, you were done for the next couple of hours. You set your phone for your call time, and forgetting all about lunch, you started walking back to your trailer.

“Hey! Kid!” Chris called halfway across the trailer-filled parking lot. You had your hand on the handle of your trailer, but you didn’t take it. You turned back to look at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” you lied.

“Again. Terrible liar. Go get changed and meet back here in ten minutes.” You nodded, and after texting your assigned costume assistant that your things would be in your trailer, you changed into real-person clothes and stripped off the fake dirt on your face.

Chris already had his car parked outside of your trailer when you emerged, and he was listening to some bad 80’s music. You couldn’t help but smile a little bit. He was such an idiot. But he understood how much you loved bad 80’s music.

“Why are you so quiet today?” He asked as you sat down in his car and buckled your seatbelt, because God help you if you got in an accident and your dad had to come. “Come on. Tell Dr. Evans and he’ll buy you ice cream. And beat up the boy making you sad.”

“It’s not Ashton,” you said. Ashton was a guy you’d been talking to who was shooting another movie across the lot.

“If you say so.” Chris just drove to your favorite restaurant in the area, thankful that he had enough time to break you down. You didn’t even look at your phone, which was even weirder to him. It kept lighting up with texts from your family group chat where your dad and sister were talking about another acceptance she’d got. How many schools did this girl apply to, you thought? And why did that seem to reflect on you so badly?

Come to think of it, why did it say anything about you in the first place? It shouldn’t. She was your sister, she was a polar opposite of you. Her college acceptances didn’t have anything to do with the lack of yours. It was you, you decided. Just you. Something was wrong with you, to the core. Why else would your father act the way he was acting? Why would he act like you were making the worst decisions of your life every time you spoke to him? Why was he so angry that he didn’t even want any of the money you offered to send to him even though he and your sister were very comfortable. Why didn’t he care one single bit when you texted him the other day that you’d gotten into a summer acting program?

“Hey. Kid,” Chris elbowed you as you sat on the bench outside the restaurant, where he’d put your names in five minutes ago. You hadn’t said a word since you got in the car, and that was what worried him. Sometimes you were just quiet, yeah, but this was a different kind of quiet. Your eyes were blank. It was like you were in another world that he’d never seen you go into before. It occurred to you that he’d never even seen you cry before unless it was for a scene.

“What?” You asked. He had stood up in the few seconds it took you to answer.

“Are you high?” You shook your head. “Then what is going on with you? You’re being super quiet. You’re never quiet. You didn’t even yell at me for my bad parking job. Don’t just tell me nothing’s wrong because something’s wrong.” You followed the waiter to the table and took a seat, watching Chris as he ordered water for the both of you. He was always saying you looked dehydrated.

“I talked to my sister earlier,” you finally said. “She keeps getting into all of these schools and doing all of these things and bragging about them.”

“That’s what siblings do,” Chris responded. “I’m sure she’s not trying to.” You wanted to tell him that no, she was for sure trying to, but maybe you were just being paranoid. Maybe he was right and it was just a sibling rivalry thing.

“Yeah,” you muttered. You took a sip of water and gave him a weak smile.

“And that’s her problem if she doesn’t see how talented you are. You don’t need to go to college or be on debate teams or any of that bullshit.” The waiter came back and took your orders, but you were still thinking.

“It’s not just her.” Chris looked up at you, blinking a few times.

“What?”

“It’s my dad, too,” you sighed, putting your head on your elbows. You were trying to hide the cloud of tears that was trying to fall, but you knew you weren’t doing well. “What’s wrong with me, Chris? Why am I not good enough for either of them?”

“Honey,” Chris responded. You hated that you were crying in public about something so trivial, but you were. Chris, without hesitation, called the waiter over. “I’m sorry, can we possibly get those to go?”

“No problem, just a minute,” the waiter said. He obviously saw you crying. Chris stood up from where he was sitting and slid into the booth beside you, gripping onto your shoulders.

“There’s nothing wrong with you,” he assured you. “Why would you even think, for a second, that something is?” His hand started rubbing up and down your back before you could start truly blubbering. You did your best to breathe deeply. It felt good to let everything out, but you hated that it was a public place and that you were unloading everything on Chris. He didn’t deserve that.

“It feels like there is. Neither of them care, at all. My dad doesn’t even call me anymore. All he cares about is my sister. I told him I landed that role for the movie in the fall and all he told me was that I was making a bad decision. I told him I got into that program over summer and he just said I should be going to fucking cheerleading camp like my sister. He doesn’t care, neither of them do.”

“Yeah?” Chris started. You looked up at him. His eyes were red-rimmed like he was doing his best not to cry, too. “I had no idea, kid. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, I just… I feel like something’s wrong with me. Because ever since my mom died, it’s like my sister is the only thing that matters.” The food was set in front of you in to-go boxes, but Chris wasn’t leaving just yet. He slapped his phone on the table, open to Apple Pay, and watched the waiter take it away.

“Nothing is wrong with you,” he repeated softly, pulling your hair into a ponytail at the back of your head. “You are gorgeous. And talented. And smart. And funny. And anyone that can’t see that, even if they’re family, is blind and stupid and they’re not worth your time.”

“It’s not like I can just cut them off,” you said.

“No. But you can distance yourself.” He hesitated before saying something else. “Why don’t you stay with me for awhile, okay? When shooting finishes up, you can stay with me until you can find your own place back home.”

“I can’t just de-rail your life because you feel bad for me.”

“I don’t feel bad for you. I care about you. A lot. And if I can help you with this, I want to. Because clearly your family isn’t.” You took in a deep breath and sniffled, nodding as he rubbed your shoulders.

“Thank you.” He smiled at your teary eyes and ruffled your hair in his hands.

“Alright. Let’s go back to the trailer and we can start apartment hunting. I have some very specific requirements.” You rolled your eyes and sniffled again, standing up to help him carry the food back to the car.

“Whatever you say, Dad.”

“That’s my name, don’t wear it out,” he quipped as he took his phone from the waiter and fished his car keys out of his pocket.

A/N: I hope the person who requested this enjoys ❤️

#chris evans x reader #chris evans fluff #chris evans imagine

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somethinginthewayiam · 4 years ago

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The universe can be a bitch (Part 1/2)

(this is a continuation of Nightcap)

Pairing: Sebastian Stan x OFC (Anna)

Warnings: slight smut (leading up to part 2)

Words: 6583

Summary: Anna was back on her way to Philadelphia to replace a sick colleague at the Wizard World after her one-night-stand with Sebastian, not knowing what she got herself into and who she would be meeting again at the Wizard World, and most of all, being responsible for there. The three actors from Civil War. Anna sure wasn't ready to face her one-night-stand from the night before, especially when he was now a client and strictly taboo...

a/n: I wrote this after the Wizzard World Convention 2016 and as a follow-up to Nightcap. Hope you like it and let me know if you want to be tagged for Part 2!

a/n: IMPORTANT! I've never been to a Comic Con or an event like it so I don't really know how it actually works and what's going on there, so please don't judge me and my story on my lack of knowledge. I built up the convention how I needed it for my story and I hope you still like it. Everything I know is from some pictures and videos from people that went there...

tag list:

@himynamebel00 @melaninromantic @obliviatevamps

A hammering noise ripped Anna out of her sleep and for a second she didn’t know where she was. She reached over to the nightstand and her hand searched for her phone but it wasn’t there. Somewhere in this room it played her typical wake-up music which clearly didn’t wake her up this time.

The hammering noise resounded again and she finally noticed that someone was at her door. With wobbly feet she got up and wrapped the sheet around her naked body. The next second she remembered why she was sleeping naked, something she normally never did. Sebastian.

His face appeared in her head and a smile came across her face. Someone knocked at her door again. “Oh yeah”, she said to herself and stumbled over to the door. For a second she thought it could be Sebastian and her heart started racing. With a smile she slightly opened the door to get a peek at who was in front of her hotel room.

The corners of her mouth dropped immediately as she saw the receptionist at her door. “I’m sorry to disturb you Miss, but you asked for a wake-up call and didn’t answer the phone, so I wanted to make sure you were alright”, he said and politely looked at the doorframe instead of her body wrapped in sheets. “Oh, yes, thank you”, she said rattled and brushed her messy hair out of her face.

“What time is it now?”, she asked. “It’s 20 minutes past 6, Miss”, he said and her eyes widened. “What?! Shit!”, she blurted out. “Can you call me a cab, please? I’ll be down in 5 minutes, 10 tops”, she hastily said and ran back into her room to get dressed and pack her suitcase.

“Shit, shit, shit”, she repeatedly said while she collected her clothes off the floor while her phone still played the music somewhere in the room. She finally found it in her purse next to her suitcase. Anna quickly put on her jeans and the shirt from the day before. She collected her things from the bathroom and threw everything into her suitcase.

Anna rushed down to the reception to ask if her cab was already here. “Yes, it is waiting outside for you, Miss”, the man from before said. “Thank you very much”, she said and turned around to leave. “Excuse me, Miss? You still have to pay your bill”, he said. “But the airline is paying for the room”, Anna replied with a bad feeling in her stomach. “The hotel room, yes, but not the drinks from the mini-bar”, he explained.

“How do you even know that? I just left the room”, she asked. “I saw the glasses on the table”, he simply said. “Can I please have your credit card number so we can charge your card when our staff has checked your room?”, he asked. With a frustrated grunt she looked for her wallet in her purse and handed him her credit card. The receptionist gathered all the needed information and then gave back the card.

She quickly ran out to the waiting cab and prayed for low traffic. Anna arrived at the airport just in time to make it to the check-in counter to get an angry look by the airline employee as she checked her in. As soon as Anna had made it through the security check, she went to get a cup of coffee. Now that she had time to sit down for a moment, she realized how tired she was. 4 hours of sleep definitely were not enough but the reason why she had so little sleep was a very good excuse. She stared into the distance and smiled while she stirred in her coffee. Since she had some time left, she decided to go buy a book for the almost 90 minutes of flying she had left until she finally arrived in Philadelphia.

The whole reason she went to Philadelphia was for work. Normally she worked at an event management agency in New York as a hostess for VIP guests. A colleague of her got sick at the first day of the Wizard World Con and Anna had to replace her. She was on her way home from L.A. where her agency had held an event and Philadelphia was a last minute call. Anna had never been to such an event before but her friend Susan from the same agency worked there too this weekend and would help her out if she needed anything.

She didn’t even know which guests she would have to accompany there but Susan would give her all the information as soon as she got there. Anna arrived at her gate a few minutes into boarding and a long line had already formed. With a frustrated huff she took her place at the end of the line. She looked around to see if she could find Sebastian anywhere but since he was in business class, he probably had the early boarding privileges.

When the sign for the seat belt went off, Anna was finally able to go to the toilet. She had to wait in line behind 3 people. For a second she thought about pulling the same trick as on her first flight but the stewardess on this plane seemed to feel very strongly about separating the business class from coach after Anna overheard her talking to another passenger who had asked to go up front for some reason, she wasn’t able to hear why. But that’s when she knew she didn’t even need to ask to go through that velvet curtain.

What would she talk to him about anyways? She couldn’t remember that there was much talking between them last night other than sexual related stuff. Also it kind of seemed pathetic to her to go up to him because it felt like, “Hi, do you remember me? I’m the girl from last night you’ve fucked for two hours straight and then left without even paying for the drinks as you promised.”

Anna shook her head at herself and felt so stupid even considering it. She would probably never see him again and why ruin a perfect night? After she paid a well needed visit to the toilet, she took out the book she bought and started reading it. It took her a few tries to stop thinking about Sebastian and to concentrate on the words she read but after a while she got into the story. Although the book wasn’t that bad, she fell asleep after a few pages and the time flew by in no time.

Anna got ripped out of her sleep as the wheels touched ground and the whole plane shook for a second. As soon as they were allowed to loosen their seatbelts and get up, she grabbed her bag from the compartment box above her head and collected her stuff before she joined the long line of waiting passengers to leave the plane. In order to find the right baggage conveyor belt for her flight, she just followed a few familiar faces from the plane. She walked up to the already moving belt and put down her purse. The few minutes of sleep she had gotten on the plane had wracked her up more than they had helped.

“Hello, beautiful”, she suddenly heard behind her and quickly turned around. It was a bit hard to recognize him with his baseball cap and the ray bans he had put on but it definitely was Sebastian. “Hello”, she replied a bit startled because she thought her chances to meet him again were long gone. “I wanted to come find you on the plane but I fell asleep”, he spoke with a low voice so no one around would hear him. “Don’t worry about it, I fell asleep too”, she said and held an eye out for her suitcase as the first ones started to make their way along the conveyor belt.

They both watched the moving suitcases pass by. “How are your legs?”, he asked and she could hear his smile in his voice even without looking at him. “I’ll get around, thank you”, she replied, still not looking at him. Her crotch was well aware of her activities from last night, but she would not rub it into his face…she did that last night.

“I’d love to stay around a bit longer but I’m already late for work”, he said and shouldered his bag. “Do you only have this one bag?”, she asked, now facing him. “Yes, I’m here just for the weekend”, he said. “Yes, me too…work”, Anna told him and shrugged her shoulders. She felt the need to appear extra casual since she was feeling the complete opposite having him that close to her again.

“Since we’re both here for just the weekend, maybe we could meet up for a drink tonight when you get off work”, he suggested. “I don’t know when that will be, I’m just covering for someone…and I don’t think this would be a good idea anyways”, she said and looked down at her feet. “Maybe you’re right”, he said and although she felt the same, she was a bit sad that it seemed that he felt like that too. “But maybe you’re wrong”, he said and shot her a devilish grin.

She couldn’t help but smile to herself. “How about this? Since we’re both here just for the weekend…if we meet again then we’ll take it a sign that the universe wants us to have that drink”, she suggested. “The universe?”, he chuckled. “You still owe me a drink anyways. So much for ‘my treat’”, Anna said and put the last words in quotation marks with her fingers.

“Oh shit, I forgot to pay for the drinks”, he said, honestly sorry. “Yeah, well, I found out too this morning when they wanted my credit card number”, she said and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I’m so sorry. Now you have to let me make it up to you”, he said. “I thought you’re late for work?”, she asked with a smirk at how he probably wanted to make it up to her.

“Shit, you’re right, I really need to go now”, he sighed after a quick look at the clock on the monitor. “But I’m taking you up on that universe thing. If we meet again, we’ll have that drink”, he said and brushed his shoulder against hers as he leaned over.

Anna watched him walk away towards the exit. She actually was late for work too and she couldn’t see her suitcase anywhere. Just when she thought she had to go to the lost and found counter, she finally saw her luggage come out of the hole in the wall. With fast steps she walked towards her suitcase, took it off the belt and rushed to the exit. She immediately found a cab which seemed like a miracle and traffic wasn’t too bad either.

Anna had no time to go to her hotel first. The cab drove her straight to the Pennsylvania Convention Center where the event would be held. She texted Susan from the cab to come and pick her up at the employee’s entrance since she didn’t have any passes yet to get in.

“I thought you’d never make it”, were the words Susan greeted her with as she waved her past the security guards. “I’m so sorry, it’s a long story but I promise it’s not my fault”, Anna apologized and gave her a quick hug. “I know, I know. Thank you so much for filling in”, Susan said. She knew Anna for a few years now and she had always been the professional, punctual type, so that’s why she believed her.

Susan showed Anna where the rooms and offices for the employees were and handed her the pass with which she could walk around freely at the venue. Anna quickly changed in the toilet from her jeans and shirt to a taupe colored knee-long dress and heels in the same color, something she would normally wear to events she worked at. She brushed her long brown hair and put them up in a light, neat bun. There was just enough time left to refresh her make-up and then she walked out to meet with Susan again.

“So, this weekend you’re in charge of three of our biggest VIPs. Since Christine is sick, you’re the only one experienced enough to handle them”, Susan talked while she walked down a hall. Anna was barely able to keep up. “You’ve got the Civil War fraction, names and info are here”, she said and handed Anna a clipboard with the schedules for panels, photo-ops and signings. “Your guests arrived just a minute ago. I had Amber greet them and bring them to you”, Susan kept on talking. Anna just nodded. “I’m in charge of the other guests from Marvel, so we’ll meet up eventually at some point, but please don’t ask me when”, she said and stopped in front of a big door.

“I know this is your first comic themed convention. It can be a bit much but I’m sure you’ll handle it just fine. Just be your professional self and the weekend will be over in no time…and thank you so much again for filling in”, Susan said, gave her a quick hug and pushed the door open.

It was very loud and a lot of people in amazingly detailed costumes walked around. Anna was immediately fascinated and blown away by it, but sadly had no time to look around any further. Susan directed her to the backstage area for the guests and walked into a room. “This is the room for your guests. You will be coming back here every now and then, when they have a break or waiting for their next session. I’ll be on the other end of the center, so if you need anything, just call me”, she said and was about to walk out again. “And good luck”, she said while closing the door behind her and the next moment Anna was alone.

She took a water bottle from the table full of food and drinks in the corner and took a big sip. It was time to look at the clip board since her guests could arrive any minute. Anna walked over to the couch and sat down. Her shoes hurt her already and she thought they might have been a bad choice in this big center. Maybe she had time in-between her guests’ appointments to go change to more comfortable lower heels.

Anna looked at the printouts of her guests. “Oh Chris Evans”, she said out loud when she looked at the first page. There was a page with a picture and a short bio of everyone. Normally she would have studied them to know about her guests beforehand but today she didn’t have the time to go into detail.

She turned the page to find Anthony Mackie next. She didn’t recognize him, but his face looked oddly familiar, she probably had seen him in a movie before or something. “And my third protégée is…”, she said, but before she could turn the page, she heard voices and steps coming towards the door. Just as she looked up, the door opened and a red-haired girl came in. “This is your dressing room for the next two days. And I would like to introduce you to your hostess for the weekend. She will take care of anything you’ll need and will guide you to your appointments”, the girl said as she stepped in and right behind her, three tall men walked in.

Anna stood up, straightened out her dress and when she looked up again, froze in her movements. “Gentlemen, this is…”, the red-haired girl said but got interrupted. “Anna”, Sebastian said and seemed just as surprised as she was. “Sebastian”, Anna said with big eyes. “You two know each other?”, Chris Evans asked surprised and his eyes wandered between the two of them. “Ehm…yes, we…ran into each other on the plane”, she said, internally panicking.

She made a step towards Chris to greet him, just concentrating on the person in front of her. “Hello, I’m Anna, nice to meet you”, she said and shook his hand, then Anthony Mackie’s and then stood in front of Sebastian. “Hi”, he said, shook her hand and held it a bit longer than necessary.

When Anna took a step back again, she took a deep breath then reached for her clipboard. This was a job, she had to be professional. And a big rule of being professional meant to have no personal relations with your guests, which she had broken already.

“From what I can see, we have a busy day ahead of us”, she said, scraping together all the professional hostess-experience she had. She just had to act like she had not seen Sebastian naked or going down on her between her thighs. Easy…not.

“The first thing today is…”, Anna said and looked at the event schedule. Of course. “A photo-op with Sebastian”, she said and shot a quick look at him before she looked down on the board in her hand again. “We will have to leave for that in about 10 minutes, but before, please help yourselves to some refreshments and settle in. I will be right back”, Anna said with a professional smile and with that the guys spread out across the room.

Before Sebastian could say anything to her, she turned to the girl still standing at the door. “Amber, right?”, she asked and the girl nodded. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”, she asked more out of politeness because she already dragged her out by the arm and closed the door behind her.

“Thank you for bringing them here. I just need to ask you where the hell I have to go for those photo-ops. I didn’t have time to study the maps and I don’t want to embarrass myself”, she said to Amber. Even more than I already did, she added in her head and listened carefully to what Amber told her and wrote everything down on her clipboard.

She actually just needed a good reason not to be in the same room as Sebastian for a moment to understand what just had happened.

When Amber left, Anna flicked through the pages and stopped at the printout of Sebastian. How could she not have known who she had slept with? The posters for the movie were everywhere and it was THE movie everyone was talking about. She felt so stupid. She could really only hope that Sebastian would behave and not make inappropriate comments or something stupid to throw her off. But from what she had experienced so far with him, her hopes weren’t high up.

She walked up and down in front of the door, taking deep breaths and tried to calm herself down. “Everything will be alright. I’m a professional, I am good at my job, I know what I’m doing”, she mumbled to herself, her fingers tightly gripping the clipboard in her hands. “He is just a client, a normal client…”, she tried to convince herself.

Anna looked at her phone and decided that it was time for the first photo-op of the day. She took a deep breath again and opened the door. “Sebastian, they’re ready for you. Please follow me”, she said with a bright, professional smile and held the door open for him. “I will see you gentlemen in about 30 minutes. If you need anything, someone is always around”, she said and waited for Sebastian to walk out and closed the door behind the two of them.

She started walking as quickly as her heels allowed her and from a quick look over her shoulder she saw that Sebastian had no trouble keeping up. “So you’re not gonna talk to me?”, he asked after a few moments of walking in silence. “Only work related”, she replied to him without turning around. “What about the universe and the sign? You’re words, not mine”, he said, his hands held up in a defensive motion and with a smug grin.

He caught up to her and was now walking very closely behind Anna. “That was before I knew you were a client”, she said with a hint of bitterness in her voice. “The universe can be a bitch, huh?”, he asked with a chuckle but before Anna could say anything in return, they walked out to the general area and it was just too loud to talk.

A lot of fans recognized him but he didn’t have time to stop for autographs. Later at his booth he would have enough time to sign their pictures. Anna had to concentrate on the directions Amber had given her but luckily the way was well-signposted and they arrived there just a few minutes later.

A makeup-artist was already waiting for him to make him picture-ready. “Could you take special care of my eyes, I had a long night”, he asked the make-up lady. Although Anna was studying the schedule, she knew he was looking at her when he said it. She just rolled her eyes and concentrated on her work.

Anna saw that dozens of people were already lined-up in front of the booth as she peaked through the black curtain. It amazed her again how much work a lot of them had put into their costumes. Some of them were probably working months in preparation for this weekend and their opportunity to show it to their hero.

She felt a hand on her back and shot back up. “Excuse me, Miss, I have to get to my photo-op or my boss will be mad at me”, he said with an innocent voice and pushed past her way closer than he had to in this wide space. “I’m not your boss, I’m your hostess”, she snapped at him. “Who said I was talking about you?”, he whispered as he stood in front of her. She didn’t know what to say in return and the inhaled air got stock in her throat in lack of a witty answer. “But I was”, he mouthed with a wink as he took a step backwards and turned around just in time to go through the curtain. The crowd immediately started cheering and Sebastian greeted his fans.

The photo session started and Anna was surprised and impressed at how easy-going and relaxed he was with his fans. There was no pose or idea he didn’t do and he made everyone feel like they just had the best idea for a photo. She had to admit that it was very charming and immediately hated him for how adorable he was.

“Sorry for being late”, a big, black man appeared next to her. “I’m the security guard for the Civil War cast this weekend”, he added as he saw her questioning look. “Oh, sure. Hi, I’m Anna, I’m taking care of the Civil War cast for the weekend”, she introduced herself and stuck her hand out. “I’m Melvin, but you can call me Mel”, he shook her hand.

“Is this your first Wizard World or any kind of Con?”, he asked. “What gave me away?”, she asked with a shy smile. “Your shoes. You’re not gonna make it in them for long”, he explained and nodded at her shoes. “I already regret them”, she said and shifted her weight over to her other leg. “Where are you normally working at?”, he kept asking her.

“I’m a hostess for high profile guests in New York, mostly at club openings and vernissages…why?”, she added after she saw his look on her. “Oh nothing, I’m just making conversation”, he said with a shrug. “No, you’re not”, she said suspiciously. Melvin shrugged his shoulders again. “Mel, if we want us to get along on this weekend, you have to be honest with me”, she said with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

“You’re a bit overdressed”, he said, looking up and down her dress. She looked down herself. “What’s wrong with my dress?”, she asked insecurely. “It’s way too much. All staff around here is dressed in jeans and a black shirt”, he explained to her. Anna remembered Susans clothes when she’d picked her up just an hour ago. Jeans and black shirt.

She looked around her. The make-up lady, Melvin, the photographer, the woman who controlled the amount of people for every photo. All of them were wearing pants and a black shirt. Shit!

“Great, now I feel weird”, she said with a huff and pouted. “Maybe you’ll find time to change later”, he suggested, also watching Sebastian at his photo session, probably ready to jump in when needed, but everyone behaved perfectly. “I should, shouldn’t I?”, she asked. “Yeah”, Melvin nodded and then they both watch the action in front of them in silence.

A few minutes before Sebastians time was over, she walked back to her assigned dressing room, leaving Sebastian in Melvins care to collect Chris Evans and Anthony Mackie for their photo-ops, which would be held at almost the same time in two separate booths next to each other.

After that they had other photo-ops with all kinds of combinations of the three of them. Then they were waiting for the other Marvel stars that were invited to the convention for group shots

As the four of them stood around behind the photo booth, Anna showed Chris his scheduled appointments on her printouts. “Since those two overlap, I will ask Amber to take Anthony and Sebastian and I will go with you”, she told him. She tried to make it sound casual and perfectly normal to put someone else in charge of Sebastian, and Anthony for that matter.

“Look at that poor woman, you’re boring her”, Anthony said to Chris as Anna unsuccessfully tried to hide her yawn. “Oh no, I’m sorry. I didn’t get much sleep last night”, she apologized and avoided to look at Sebastian as she talked. “Oh no, what happened?”, Sebastian asked with an innocent voice. “I had a problem with a little creature keeping me up all night”, Anna said. She as well could play this game.

“Was it a spider? I hate spiders”, Chris said and pulled a face. “Well, I don’t think it was that little if it kept you up all night”, Sebastian countered, looking at her with a cheeky grin and a smug look on his face. “I don’t think they’re talking about spiders, Chris”, Anthony said and started to follow the verbal exchange with growing interest.

“Small enough to be annoying”, she replied and leaned her head to her side, narrowing her eyes that said bring-it-on. “It looks like it still wrecked you up pretty hard”, Sebastian shot back with his arms crossed in front of his chest, still grinning like he was sure that he would win this.

Sebastian and Anna didn’t even realize that Chris and Anthony had stopped talking and were listening closely to their back-and-forth. “It sounds like the two have history…more than just a flight. So wherever they’re going, I’m going”, Anthony said with his hands resting on his hips and a big smile spread across his face.

“We don’t have history”, Anna said determined as she got ripped out of Sebatians stare by Anthonys words. “Well…kinda”, Sebastian said with a devilish grin, his head leaned to the right. “No”, Anna denied it again and shot him an angry look. She looked back down at her clipboard to distract herself. “Oh, I’m definitely going with them”, Anthony said and was grinning like a child on Christmas.

“We’re here, we’re here”, Susan arrived behind the curtain. Behind her Hayley Atwell, Dominic Cooper and Stanley Tucci. “Thank god”, came out louder than Anna had intended. “Okay, we’re not that late”, Susan said with furrowed brows and playfully put her hands up in defense. “No, no…forget it”, Anna said and walked up to her. “I’m…just happy to see you again”, she quickly said.

“How’s it going so far?”, Susan asked her with a lower tone while their guests started to greet each other and get into conversation. “It’s good, we seem to be on time so far, but you know…”, Anna shrugged her shoulders. “Oh, it’ll be just fine. I really gotta say, you got a fine group of men to look after”, Susan said and wiggled her eyebrows. “Really? I didn’t notice”, Anna said and looked down to hide her blushing face. “Are you blind?”, Susan asked with a big laugh which caused a few people around them to look at the two women, including Sebastian. He shot her a questioning look but she ignored it.

“That brown-haired one is really cute”, Susan said and nodded towards Sebastian. “Who? Sebastian?”, Anna asked and blushed again. “Sebastian…a cute name. I like saying his name…Sebastian”, Susan said in a saucy tone. It’s even better when you scream it, shot through Annas mind and she quickly shook her head to get rid of that inappropriate and certainly not helpful comment by her subconscious.

“Does the word ‘professional’ mean anything to you?”, Anna asked her with a pulled up eyebrow. “Oh, I’m just joking, Anna. You know I’m married”, she said laughing and held her left hand up. “Happily?”, Anna asked, also starting to giggle. “I wouldn’t go that far”, Susan said and the next second both of them had to laugh out loud.

“Hey, hey, ladies having fun and I’m not even close by, how is that possible?”, Anthony Mackie came over to the two. “Aren’t you cute”, Susan said. “Well, I try. You’re not too bad yourself”, Anthony winked at her and gave her his best flirting look. “Ooh, I like that one”, Susan said to Anna. “I like you too, darling”, he said and playfully hugged her. The scene was so weird and funny at the same time that Anna didn’t know what to do expect to laugh.

The photographer interrupted the scene when he called for Anthony and the others for the big group pictures.

All in all, the photo-ops of Annas clients took over 3 hours and she was exhausted just from watching them smile and pose all the time. She released everyone for a late and quick lunch break and told them they would meet back at their dressing room in about 30 minutes.

Anna would use this break to change her clothes. She had to admit she felt uncomfortable being so overdressed, she felt like an outsider since this was already her first comic-themed convention. But first she would need another cup of coffee. The lack of sleep was more and more undeniable but she had to have a clear head to keep control of herself around Sebastian. Seeing him with his fans and his friends and how lovely he was with all of them definitely didn’t make him more appalling.

Anna went over to the catering area that was for the guests and employees only, right next to the employees’ area with all the offices. She just wanted to quickly grab a cup of coffee and head back to Susans office, where her suitcase was, to change her outfit.

In the catering area, they had built a little coffee lounge with a bar and places to sit. She had to wait in line a few minutes before she could place her order. While she waited, out of the corner of her eye, she saw that someone was leaning against the bar. Close enough to make her suspicious but leaving enough space to not draw attention to them. This could only mean one thing.

“What do you want?”, she asked with an annoyed voice, still looking for the barista and mentally begging her to hurry up. She just wanted a few minutes alone, time away from him to gather her thoughts and get back into her normal professional work-self, but it seemed that that would be too much to ask. “Hey beautiful”, Sebastian said with a smirk. “I just wanted to say that I’m really happy to have you as my hostess”, he said and he sounded so sincere that she couldn’t help but look at him, just to check if his facial expression would match his tone. “Oh, thank you, that’s very kind of you”, she said and for a second felt like she was doing him wrong all along.

“If you’ve never been to an event like this, there’s so much we could do…or I could do to you”, he said and during the last part, he spoke with a lower and lusty tone, one eye brow raised. There it was again. Just when she thought they could have a normal, work-related conversation, he pulled out his sex voice. And if someone knew what that sounded like then it was Anna.

“I don’t think there’s much left you didn’t do to me”, she said with a low voice, just so no one would hear them. He looked at her with a playful grin before he leaned over to her ear and whispered, “I didn’t do you from behind…yet”. He then pushed himself off the bar and just walked away. Anna was left with a surprised face. “Your coffee, Miss”, the barista said and ripped Anna out of her shocked state.

“Thank you”, she mumbled, grabbed the cup and with quick steps, walked towards the office area. She shook her head in disbelief of what she had just heard and didn’t watch where she was going. The next moment, a young, short woman with short black hair ran into her and pushed the arm Anna was holding her cup of coffee with towards Annas body. The lit of the cup sprung open and the coffee went all over her dress and shoes. “JESUS CHRIST!”, slipped out of Annas mouth as she felt the liquid drain her dress. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry”, the woman said with big eyes and a shocked expression on her face. Anna shook her arms to get some coffee off her.

“It’s…alright, I was about to go change anyways”, she said looking down on the mess this woman had made. “I’m so sorry, I will pay for dry cleaning”, she said and looked like she was about to cry. “Really, it’s okay, don’t worry about it”, Anna reassured her with her arms stretched out to keep her from coming closer and to calm her down. “It’s alright”, she said and patted her shoulder as she walked away with quick steps and threw the now half empty cup into the next trash can.

“Jesus Christ”, she mumbled with an annoyed huff as she felt the wet dress sticking to her body as she walked. She was glad she was alone in that corridor so she wouldn’t get anymore weird looks than she already did out in the catering area.

Anna reached Susans office and stepped in. Her suitcase was in the back corner and she should have a black blouse somewhere in there she could wear and not look so pretentious with her dress and heels like Melvin pointed out. Just as she wanted to bend down to open her suitcase, she heard the door open and close again. Susan must have seen what had happened out there and wanted to check if she needed anything.

“Hey, I’m alright, I’ll be ready in just a…”, Annas words got stuck in her throat when she saw who was standing in front of the closed door. “Thought you might needed some help unzipping that dress”, Sebastian said with a devilish grin and crossed arms in front of his chest.

“What the hell are you doing here?”, she asked surprised and angry at the same time. “I wanted to see if you’re okay”, he said in a normal voice. “It’s coffee, not the end of the world”, she bluffed at him. “I wanted to change my clothes anyway”, she added in a calmer voice, realizing how paranoid and crazy she sounded. Maybe he really just wanted to check on her.

“Then let me help you with that zipper”, he said with a low voice, licking his lips. Or not, she thought to herself.

“You need to leave, this is the staff area, you’re not supposed to be back here”, she told him. Anna walked up to him to guide him out of the door, but with a quick movement he spun her around and pinned her against the door, her facing towards it. He quickly locked it and put his hand up on either side of her head, caging her in her position.

Anna didn’t dare to say something; the sexual tension in the room could be cut with a knife. She felt how Sebastian slightly pressed himself against her, which caused her to close her eyes for a second to calm her breathing, but it didn’t work. Having him that close again triggered something in her that made her want him more than ever. Thoughts about last night spun around in her head, almost making her moan out lout.

She supported herself with her hands pressed onto the door in front of her. For some reason she didn’t dare to turn around.

Sebastian started to slowly unzip her dress in the back all the way down and peeled if off her shoulders. Anna automatically slipped her arms out of the sleeves, so he pulled it down to her waist.

“Did I tell you that I like your hair better when it’s open…more to hold on to”, he whispered behind her and pulled her hair out of the bun and the hair-tie down. Her long brown hair fell down over her bare back and Anna inhaled loudly. “It came up”, she said with a shaky voice and swallowed hard, remembering how he had let down her hair last night in her hotel room. She hated herself that he made her feel that way…again.

“Do you want me to kiss you?”, he whispered next to her ear, pressing himself against her back. She swallowed hard. “Yes”, she breathed out. “Tell me where you want it?”, he asked. She took a deep breath. “Everywhere”, she whispered and moaned out loud as he pulled her head back at her hair with a tight grip until it dropped onto his shoulder. He then started kissing her shoulder up her neck, licking and biting her skin. She sucked her lower lip into her mouth not to make any sound.

His 3 day scruff scratched her skin lightly and gave her goose-bumps all over her body. She intuitively stuck her ass out and met with Sebastians pelvis. Through the fabric of her dress she could feel that this situation also left some marks on him and that mark was poking her right butt cheek.

“I want you”, she moaned out, not able to control what came out of her mouth. Instead of a witty response, he let his right hand slide from her side over to her stomach and down to where the dress was resting on her hips. He stopped only for a second before he let his hand slide under the fabric of her dress down to the waistband of her panties.

Anna pressed herself further against Sebastian to give him easier access. His fingers slid into her panties and he sighed at her neck as he felt how wet she was. “I can feel how much you want me”, he moaned against her skin. Anna instinctively started to grind against his fingers in her pants.

“Sadly, we have to postpone this. We’re still at work, honey”, he whispered at her shoulder and with a sudden movement, pulled his fingers all the way back. Just as Anna wanted to protest, he bit down on her shoulder and left a bright red mark.

“Now we both have a bite-mark on our shoulders”, he said to her with a wink and the next second was out of the office. Anna was standing there, panting heavily and rubbed over the bitten flesh on her shoulder. She thought back to last night when she had bitten his shoulder when she was coming for the third time that night. She hadn’t even noticed that she had left a mark on him but somehow it made her smile. It was kind of arousing to know that he had something that reminded him of their night together.

After a quick look at the clock on the wall, Anna realized that the lunch break was almost over. This little intermezzo had lasted longer that she had thought. She had no time to think any further about it and quickly changed her coffee drained dress and shoes to her pair of jeans and a black blouse that was maybe showing a bit too much cleavage, but she didn’t have anything else. She also changed to her pair of sneakers because she couldn’t walk another feet on heels.

#sebastian stan #the universe can be a bitch #part 1 #sebastian stan smut #sebastian stan imagine #sebastian stan fanfiction #smut #imagine #fanficiton #sebastian stan x ofc

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ukulelecal · 5 years ago

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anonymous: Fwb luke being a sweetheart on valentines day (because hes in love with you lol) like he takes you out to get pretzels or some dumb shit, claiming he just hates that hes single on valentines. Then he cuddles you after you’ve had sex and dosnt want u to leave and then oh no, he accidentally reveals that maybe he likes you more than he should

a/n: this fic somehow got like,,,,,deleted,,,,,sort of. like the post didn’t get deleted but everything except for the title and the tags did lmao. so this is me fixing it lmao

warnings: smut references

“Do you have plans today?”

Luke fiddled with the drawstrings of his joggers, unjustifiably nervous. You and him weren’t together. He wasn’t asking you on a date. He just wanted to hang out. As friends with benefits. On Valentine’s Day.

He had never admitted it, but he had feelings for you. He had felt that way for a while but kept his mouth shut, terrified of rejection. There was nothing wrong with what you had, but he couldn’t deny that he wanted to take it further than just casual sex with no strings attached.

“You know I’m single as hell, Luke,” you chuckled. “No, I don’t have plans. Why, what’s up?”

“Well, I’m single as hell, too, and I hate being single on Valentine’s Day. Want to hang out? We can go to that diner with the good Bavarian pretzels and share one. Neither of us have to be alone today.”

The truth was, he hated being single every day, especially when you were there. But he didn’t say it.

“Yeah, that sounds great!” Your feelings for Luke had been budding as well, but he was a good actor, and you would never suspect that he liked you too. You never said anything for the same reason as him. “My car is still in the shop, can you drive?”

“Of course. I’ll pick you up in an hour, sound good?”

“See you then.”

With that, you hung up, and got up to make yourself look presentable. You couldn’t help but slip on a lacy bra and panties set, knowing that hanging out with Luke would inevitably end with you in his bed. He always said that he loved this set on you, even though it always ended up on the floor.

You jogged out of your apartment when you got a text from Luke announcing that he was outside, and hopped in the passenger seat of his car.

“Hey,” he mumbled with a dimpled grin.

“Hi,” you returned as you clicked the seatbelt into place. “This was a good idea, Luke, I’ve been thinking about those pretzels nonstop lately.”

He laughed, and a smile tugged at the corners of your lips.

“I can read your mind,” he teased, and you playfully stuck your tongue out at him as he began the short drive to the diner.

It was unsurprisingly empty, considering not many people would be going to a cheap diner on the evening of Valentine’s Day. You and Luke took seats across from each other at a booth, and a waitress was quick to come take your orders.

You each ordered a milkshake and got a pretzel to share, and the waitress walked away, leaving you two alone again.

“So, how’s the new album going?” You asked, leaning back in your seat.

You chatted as you sat there, taking turns tearing pieces from the pretzel and dipping them in the mustard when it came. It was nice that you could have a normal conversation with him despite what went down behind closed doors. You were still good friends.

“Ready to get out of here?” He suggested lowly after you polished off your milkshake. The pretzel was long gone, and the diner staff was sending you subtle looks that begged you to leave, but that wasn’t the reason Luke wanted to leave. You nodded slowly, and he sent you a sly smirk as he pulled out his wallet.

Once the check was paid and you were back at his place, you greeted Petunia before he gently pushed her out of the bedroom and shut the door. It wasn’t long before your back was pressed against the wooden door, Luke’s hands on your hips and his lips on yours. He began to kiss down your neck, and you could feel him smirk against your neck when you whimpered.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, baby,” he hummed as his hands tugged at the bottom of your shirt.

A while later, you were laying in his bed with your head on his bare chest. His fingertips trailed up and down your spine gently as you both calmed down, a comforting silence hanging in the room.

You broke it after a bit.

“I should get going,” you announced, starting to push yourself up. You never stayed after sex. Unless you were both drunk, which was known to happen, but it was like an unspoken rule to not stay too long afterwards. There were times that you wished you could stay in his arms all night long, but your relationship wasn’t exactly at that point.

A whine escaped Luke’s lips and his grip on you tightened, pulling you back down.

“No, don’t go,” he grumbled, flipping the position so his head was on your chest, making it pretty much impossible for you to get up. “Wanna cuddle.”

“Luke, come on,” you sighed, unable to resist the urge to run your fingers through his curls though it definitely wouldn’t help the situation. “I have work in the morning.”

“It’s not like you have a car to get there, and I know you hate taking the bus. Just stay here and I’ll drive you there tomorrow,” he bargained, not moving an inch. You sighed again. You wanted to stay, you really did, but there was a voice in the back of your mind telling you that you shouldn’t. You weren’t sure if Luke really wanted you to stay or if he was just feeling lonely on Valentine’s Day, and you didn’t want to get your own hopes up.

“I really should go home, I left a candle burning,” you lied quickly, but he saw right through you. He knew you too well.

“No, you didn’t, you don’t light candles, ever,” he retaliated. He picked his head up from your chest to look at you. “Please, Y/N. Just stay with me. I hate seeing you leave, every time.”

His eyes widened slightly when he realized what he said. He didn’t mean to admit it. It just slipped out, but there was no turning back at that point. He said it. His heart and mind were racing, and he was sure you were about to book it out of there.

“What?” You whispered, unsure what else to say. Was it possible that he liked you too? The glint of hope that you always tried so hard to push down started to surface. Luke sighed, glancing down for a moment to collect his thoughts before bringing his gaze back to meet yours.

“I hate when you leave. I hate that we just have casual sex and then leave. I...I want more. I like you a lot, Y/N. I just haven’t said anything because I know you don’t feel the same.”

You stared at him. You were in shock. After all this time of convincing yourself that nothing more was ever going to happen between you, it was possible now. Your mind was screaming at you to speak, to tell him you felt the same. Luke took your silence negatively, thinking you didn’t feel that way about him, a defeated sigh escaping his lips.

“I’m sorry. I'll drive you home.”

He started to get up, but you were quick to grab the back of his head and tug his lips to yours. Since words escaped you, you hoped this would get the message across. He looked at you with wide eyes when you pulled away, confused.

“I like you too,” you mumbled, a small smile forming on your lips. “I didn’t say anything because I didn’t think you liked me either.”

Luke began to smile too, feelings of relief and happiness flooding between you. He bent down to kiss you again before laying back down with you.

“So you’ll stay?” He asked softly.

“Of course, Lu.”

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noroi1000 · 1 year ago

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Nyan XIV - What the hell?!

Nyan Chapters List

Summary:You've been put in a strange situation... Why are they so close to some woman when they were about to explain something to you...

"Good morning, I was sent by Gojo-san and Geto-san. It's my pleasure to meet with Miss (y/n) (l/n)?" The dark haired man with glasses asked as you opened the door after hearing the doorbell.

As you might have guessed, they weren't home yet... You felt sad about that, but there was nothing you could do. You had a bit of a fight with them, didn't you?

It was your first serious argument in your relationship... You felt bad.

But what the eyes see for a second doesn't mean it's real.

Maybe the argument wasn't what you thought it was because you didn't see it long enough?

At first glance, everything is much worse than it really can be.

"Yes. It's me," you said.

"Miss, please come downstairs. We have to hurry." He said with a small smile.

You went for your phone and took what you needed.

You walked up the stairs and wondered who he was. A driver in a suit?

So compared to who your boys hang out with, maybe this apartment is too poor?

Who the hell are they?

The door to a shiny black car has been opened for you, and you know it's not a taxi...

It's a very clean, shiny black car that a driver in a suit invited you to sit in...

You hesitantly got into the backseat and fastened your seatbelt, looking around shyly.

How should you behave?

Why is it all like this?

What can you expect?

Who are they really?

Maybe they are serious businessmen who earn a fortune?

Maybe they are models or actors?

They told you not to worry after finding out. And that they will protect you.

Oh my God...

Are they from the mafia?

Is that why this car is like this? Own driver? A lot of money?

In books, a mafioso is always handsome and young... Maybe this also applies to your situation?!

What if you get out of the car and immediately see a large villa in the suburbs and gorillas with guns to protect the boss?

Oh god, what have you gotten yourself into...

Or maybe they are murderers too?

They can fight and track!

What if you see drugs and weapons? Or maybe dead bodies?!

What the hell is wrong with your cats?! With your boys?!

Cat mafioso??

Two cats with signet rings behind a desk and guns?!

Two cats that rule the entire mafia?!

Your imagination is running too wild now!

You looked at your phone when you saw the message you had received.

Suguru: "When will you be there?" "Where are you already?"

You: "I don't know" "We entered some forest and we're going up" “I won't be taken to the forest and murdered, right?"

Suguru: "Of course not!" "Silly, we would never let anything happen to you." "Ijichi is a trusted assistant" "We have to do something with Satoru. We'll be alone when you arrive."

You: "What should I do?" "What's more important than finally telling me the truth?"

Suguru: "We have one person to deal with" "Believe me, you don't want to understand this woman."

Women?

They are there with a woman...?

Who they are?

Who is this woman to them...?

If they...

"If I had to choose between you, I would choose the one who earns more." said the white-haired woman with a glass of dry red wine that was prepared for your dinner later.. "So who has more money?"

"Mei-san, we are busy. In a moment -" Geto started but she interrupted him.

"I'll ask her which one of you has more. Every woman should look at the thickness of wallet and the number on a man's credit card before dating.

"(y/n) is not you." Satoru laughed.

"If she doesn't care about the money, she must have won the Jackpot by getting the two highest paid men in our profession."

The woman stood up and walked towards them in her dress, running her purple fingernail along Gojo's arm.

"She is the happiest woman possible. And we are the lucky ones who got it. And you, Mei-san, you drank all the wine and you're drunk." he laughed, looking at her from under the blindfold.

"Small glasses aren't enough to get me drunk. Unless you pay me more." She grabbed their shoulders. "It doesn't matter which one, what matters is that he has money. And there's no shame in showing up at a bar like that."

Geto moved away.

"Mei-san... Please go now... We want to be alone with (y/n)." Geto muttered.

Suddenly she placed her hands on both of their cheeks and looked at them with a smile.

"You earn much more than you did at school 11 years ago. And you look much better. If every millionaire looked like you, my life would be more beautiful. But anyone with a lot of money for me will do."

She only sees money in them...

Suguru's eyes moved towards the open door and he saw you there.

You saw all this Woman fawning over them.

When you found out it was a school, you were a little calmer.

But what you saw now was beyond the limit.

You had doubts before. And now it all became clear.

They wanted to get rid of this woman? It looked like they were having a great time.

A beautiful woman with white hair, lusciously painted lips and nails, dressed nicely, ingratiates herself with them.

You saw that glass of wine on the table.

And then there's the woman who touches your boyfriends like that. Rubbing their arms, touching their chests and backs. Speaking with a smile. Satoru was smiling too.

Besides, her smile clearly showed her intentions.

She likes them.

And they didn't seem to object...

You felt your heart hurt.

How could you think that you could have boyfriends like that??

They are out of your league. This woman is way out of your league. She fits them better.

You are an ordinary woman who lives in a block of flats that is neither the cheapest nor the most expensive. You work in an office. You're ordinary.

How could you ever think you could have a happy life with someone as special as them?

Your Life couldn't be a book in which a handsome rich man meets a normal girl and honestly falls in love with her at first sight.

It wasn't a fairy tale.

Once upon a time, when you were feeling down, you wondered if you even deserved them.

Now you see the answer.

They are out of your league. With beautiful women who surround them with smiles.

Fingers gripping the fabric of your pants, you watched with tears wanting to come out as they both looked at you and whispered your name.

But without looking at it any longer, you just started walking towards the exit. Ignoring how they were calling your name and running after you.

You didn't want to disturb them in their real life where they belonged.

#jjk x you #jjk #gojo satoru #gojo x y/n #gojo x reader #jujutsu kaisen #jjk x reader #gojo #geto suguru #suguru geto x reader #geto x you #geto x y/n #geto x reader #nyan

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whothehellisyn · 3 years ago

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Cat and Mouse | Ch. 4

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Dark!Mysterio x F!Reader

Rating: 18+ (full fic)

Chapter Warnings: none

AN: oh my god I can’t believe I haven’t uploaded in so long. I’m still writing this but more for my own personal consumption. Tenses get mixed a lot in my brain and this is definitely not beta read. I have no clue where I’m going with the story but I’m about four chapters past this one with stuff!

The rest of dinner passes in quick silence. Louis, paid not nearly enough to deal with the two of you, looks slightly relieved when he delivered the bill to you. When you hand him back the booklet you slip in a £100 note. He seems confused, and you urge him to take it with an insistence that it’s an American custom. Quentin is watching you with an unreadable expression the entire time. You pretend not to notice.

A black SUV is waiting outside for you and Quentin. He motions for you to enter first, and you seat yourself as close to the opposite window as you could to avoid being near him. He sits in a relaxed position, making small talk with his driver. As you watch the buildings blur by in the window you tune out the rest of the world, nestling into your thoughts about everything happening to you. Everything happening because of Quentin Beck.

You love him, though that’s not quite true, is it? You love Mysterio, the widower from another Earth. Who fiddles unconsciously with his wedding band when he’s reminded of his late wife, who has a deep and thoughtful stare when he recounts his grief. Who met your eyes when you recounted your own and said I understand your pain. This, is not that man. This is an actor, a stranger with his face. Is it possible to have loved an illusion worn by a villain yet loathe their very existence?

His laugh breaks your contemplation. It’s boisterous and genuine.

It pains you to hear it.

“Wendell, this is (Y/N).” He says, introducing you to the driver. Wendell is a man in his late fifties with greying hair. You can see the crown of his head where his hair is wearing thin.

“Ah, so this is the SHIELD agent you snagged, hm?” Wendell muses. He meets your eyes through the rearview mirror. “It’s very nice to meet you, despite your circumstances.”

So he’s aware you’re trapped, you think, and doesn’t seem to care. Or maybe he can’t. You’d like to think Wendell is a nice man who is just afraid of Quentin. That seems like a good optimistic line of thinking.

Wendell pulls to a stop some time later in front of a warehouse on the harbor. It’s an unassuming place a ways away from town, the exterior is a bland mix of brown bricks and mortar. Nothing about it screams ‘villain dwelling’ to you, but you don’t discount the fact that Quentin is a master of illusions and probably gets off on boring real estate hiding his tech.

Wendell gets out of the driver’s seat to open your door and let you out. You don’t move, not wanting to go anywhere else with Quentin. Maybe if you’re still enough, you hope, you’ll cease to exist entirely.

Wendell leans into the car to keep Quentin from hearing him, “My heart breaks knowing you don’t belong here, Miss.” You look away to keep from crying, but he knows you’ve heard him. “I wish I could take you far away from here and still be safe from him but...” He’s trapped too.

Wendell swallows nervously and looks over the roof of the car for Quentin. “Mr. Beck is waiting for us. If you don’t go now, he’ll come and get you himself.”

Reluctantly, you take off your seatbelt and slide out of the vehicle. Wendell gets the door behind you and hangs back as you approach Quentin. You can’t blame him, really.

Once you get to the door, Quentin places his hand at the small of your back and pushes you closer to him. You feel hyperaware of his touch as he “guides” you into the building and down a corridor. You imagine his hand burning through your shirt and leaving a pink handprint on your skin, or maybe his finger tips being barbed with poisoning spines. It’s just a hand. But it’s his hand.

You pass by a large room, filled with people you don’t know. Many sit at computers, and you can see a dismantled drone on a table. A few people meet your eyes and then quickly avert them, almost like they know who you are despite them being strangers. You wonder if Quentin has talked about you to them.

After walking through two more corridors, Quentin stops at a room with a heavy looking metal door. He places his hand on an interface next to the threshold and the heavy metal door swings open into the room.

“Look familiar?” Quentin asks, pushing you inside. As the door slams shut behind you, you realize what he means. You’ve been here before. All this time, that “hotel suite” he took you to was right here all along. Another illusion.

He take his hand off your back and leaves you in the middle of the room to pull clothes out of a large duffle bag on the bed. They’re your clothes, at least mostly. A lot of it are your comfort clothes, sweats and tank tops and t-shirts. He also starts pulling out your underwear and bras, casually laying them out in organized stacks. He looks back at you and, noticing your expression, gives you an incredulous stare.

“What, did you think I was going to make you wear the same dirty clothes every day?” You don’t respond and just stare back. Quentin looks annoyed but continues, “I do have some sense of decency, believe it or not. And regardless of that, I would prefer to fuck you without being reminded of the last time I did.”

You grimace at the remark. You think about how you have little tender spots along your thighs from the clones gripping your legs so hard, and the soreness in your shoulder from Quentin twisting your arm behind your back. The sheer stupidity of his statement when you’re the one who bears the reminders makes you snort, and he picks up on it immediately. He abandons the clothes on the bed to walk over to you, only a few centimeters from touching with his body.

“Was something funny?” He asks, voice vaguely threatening. You instinctively avert your eyes to the floor as he waits for your response. “I’ll ask you again,” He grabs your chin and forces you to look at him, his grip firm. “What’s so funny about what I said?”

Your eyes are wide with fear as you struggle to muster the courage to speak. “Come on, sweetheart,” He says, tilting your face up further with his hand, “I know that pretty little mouth of yours works just fine.”

You blink rapidly, tears welling up as he continues to stare into your eyes. He really is nothing like the man you love. When you try to form an answer your voice stutters and all that comes out is a sharp little whimper, which makes you want to cry even more out of shame. Quentin smiles wickedly at you, enjoying your difficulty to speak.

“It’s not so funny now is it?” He asks. You shake your head no and a tear falls onto your cheek from the movement. Quentin swipes it away with his thumb on his free hand and leans in close to your face. “That’s what I thought.” He releases your chin and goes back to taking your clothes out of the bag. You still don’t move, but you do wipe your eyes once his back is to you.

After he empties the bag, he checks his wrist display and points towards the metal door.

“That door is reinforced steel. It weighs over three hundred pounds and is powered by hydraulics. If you try to mess with the interface, I’ll know. If you try to damage the door, or break the door, I’ll know. And not only will I know when you’ve tried to escape, I’ll be forced to punish you for it.”

You know that his use of the word “forced” is bullshit, and anything he inflicts on you is completely chosen for his own pleasure. You watch as he presses his hand to the interface on this side of the wall, and the door groans open yet again.

“I have to go work now, honey.” Quentin says, almost like he doesn’t want to leave. “Behave yourself like a good girl while I’m gone.” With that, he exits and the heavy door slams shut behind him. For this first time in over 28 hours, you are alone. After you’re sure he’s gone, and not listening on the other end, you let yourself cry for the first time since everything has started.

Tears begin to stream from your eyes as you walk past the bed and into the bathroom. The large mirror behind the sinks reveals your disheveled appearance, and the shock finally wears off as you realize just how awful everything is. You look pathetic. Your clothes are filthy and torn in various places, and your hair is a rat’s nest. You begin to sob, just a little, and as you cry you go over to the glass-door shower and start the faucets. The water is just a little too hot but you don’t care, and you begin to strip with your back to the mirror. You don’t want to see yourself anymore right now.

The dirty clothes go directly into the trash can in the corner, and you step into the shower and huddle under the too-hot water. It hurts, but it feels cleansing to hurt this way. There’s soaps in there but they smell like Quentin, and so you just let the water rinse you off. When you get as much of the grime off you as you can, you sink to the floor and hug your knees tightly. If you close your eyes, you can pretend this is your shower back in your apartment. You can pretend that you just had a bad day at work and you’re showering to forget about it. You rest your head against your knees, close your eyes, and you pretend. You’ve always been good at that.

An hour later the hot water runs out and you’re forced to get up and turn off the faucet. You’re not clean but you’re definitely not dirty anymore. After a search through the cabinets, you find the towels and grab one to dry off your body with, using a second one on your head. Once you’re dry enough you grab some of your clothes off the bed and get dressed in the toilet area that’s walled off from the rest of the bathroom.

Dressed and somewhat clean, you’re exhausted. You can’t bring yourself to sleep in the bed, or even touch the blankets. Quentin sleeps there, you know that much already. You used to sleep there too, before. There’s no way in hell you’re sleeping in that thing now when it’s the only place Quentin could sleep as well. There’s a large tub in the bathroom, and you decide that’s as good a place as any. Armed with a pillow you took from a sofa in the common area of the suite and a blanket from the linen closet in the bathroom, you climb into the bathtub and create a makeshift bed. It’s not very comfortable, but it feels safe. You remember hearing from a classmate years ago that people hide in bathtubs during tornadoes and earthquakes, and wether that’s true or not you find that to be good enough for you.

Sleep comes quickly despite your sleeping arrangement. You have an incredibly vivid dream, about walking through a meadow. You can almost feel the wind on your skin, and your eyes squint in the sunlight. Bees drone sweetly as they fly by you as if in greeting. There’s a little boy a few hundred meters in front of you, toting a bundle of flowers in his arms. You feel yourself call out to him, as if you know him well, but you can’t place him in your memories.

A soft touch stirs you, and you can feel your body being carried and then settled again. You’re warm and comfortable, a weight being pulled over you.

“It’s alright, sweetheart.” A voice says. “Go back to sleep for me.” Okay, you think.

You return to the meadow, the little boy close but far, and the softness of the long grass tickling your fingers.

#cat and mouse

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doing-all-write · 5 years ago

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flustered

Pairing: Joe Mazzello x Fem!Reader

Summary: You and Joe are getting ready to go to the store when he decides now is a good time to re-enact his casting video for BoRhap.

Word Count: 1K (she’s bby)

Warnings: This thing may be the most fluffy, self-indulgent piece of romance I’ve ever written. So, be prepared for lots of fluff, soft Joe and saying I love you for the first time

A/N: Hello! I’m working on part 3 of don’t be a baby (i haven’t forgotten, don’t worry!) BUT that video of Joe’s audition tape was too soft and adorable for me NOT to write this little blurb with the help of @mrhoemazzello who is the greatest muse known to human kind 💖💖💖

💖💖As always likes, comments and reblogs are always appreciated 💖💖

"BABE"

"You don't need to yell, I'm literally right next to you." she turned with a squeak as the tips of her braids hit Joe, causing him to clutch his face in faux agony.

"SHE'S BLINDED ME!" He screamed at the same time that she cried, "I'm sorry!"

"(Y/N)? Is that you?" She scrunched her nose as Joe smashed his palms against her face, "I can only tell who's who anymore by touch alone." She giggled as she gently pushed her palms against his chest, feeling the softness of his well-worn sweatshirt pushing back.

"Wow, you feel like the most beautiful girl in the world, are we really dating?"

"Yes," she laughed, "Much to my dismay."

"The woman WOUNDS me with her hair then with her words?" Joe flung his hand against his forehead, slumping against the wall as (Y/N) rolled her eyes.

"This is what I get for dating an actor."

Peeking at her through his eye, Joe grinned, "And you wouldn't change it for anything, would you?"

"Not for anything in the world." She smiled as she got on tip-toe to plant a kiss on his lips. Pulling away, Joe placed a hand on her hip, bringing her closer so he could kiss her again. Feeling her smile against his lips was his favorite thing in the world.

"You know, we said we were going to the store twenty minutes ago..."

"You're really ruining a romantic moment here." Joe sighed against her lips.

"Will you ever forgive me?" She mumbled as she gave Joe a long, lingering kiss.

Pulling away, she giggled at the stunned look on Joe's face. "If you keep kissing me like that, I'll forgive you for everything forever."

Laughing she grabbed his keys from the side table, "Are we going our what? We have exactly zero food in the house."

Shaking himself from his stupor Joe snatched the keys from her hands, brushing past her to the front door where he stepped into his shoes, "And who's fault is that?"

"It was a stressful week! You know I bake a lot when I'm stressed!"

"Don't forget the eating aspect."

"That's the most important part!" She flung her arms out wide to illustrate her point.

Laughing, he tugged on the end of her braid, "You ready to go, darling?"

"Yeah," her eyes widened, "SHOT GUN!" she screamed as she bolted for the car.

Caaaaaan?

"ANYYYBODYYY! FIND ME! SOMEBODY TOOOOO!" She shoved a fake microphone into Joe's face, "Looooooove." Joe sang passionately into the mic in his best baritone voice. Flinging her head back, she let loose a loud laugh.

Glancing over at her, Joe's heart expanded. The sun was streaming through the windows, bits of hair falling out of her braids, blowing all over. Her smile was wide and he was sure he had never seen someone so beautiful in his entire life.

Reaching forward, he turned down the song, "Did I ever show you my audition tape I sent in for Bohemian Rhapsody?" She quirked an eyebrow at him, he had shown it to her on one of their first dates and she had watched it every day since.

Joe knew that and (Y/N) knew that, but quirking an eyebrow, she decided to play dumb, "You know, I don't think you ever have Mazzello."

Nodding sagely, Joe gripped the wheel, "Well, luckily, we're in the same car that I happened to film it in and I think I can remember the accent.."

"Babe, you literally did the accent last night when we were making out."

"Yeah and it turned you on." Smacking his arm, Joe laughed, "Alright, alright. You ready?"

Straightening up in her seat, she smacked her hands on her thighs, "Okay, Mazzello. Annnnnd...ACTION."

Launching into his monologue he gave during his audition tape she felt her heart straining in her chest. The love she felt for Joe in this moment stole her breath away. Turning her head, she let her gaze drink in Joe, at the sun streaming in, highlighting his profile. Being with him felt like holding a birthday candle close to her chest, it was a fire but it was full of promises, of wishes, of good things to come and years and years to look forward to together.

Taking his eyes off the road to meet her (Y/E/C) ones, he smiled. "Are you even listening to me?"

Nodding, she laughed as Joe's hand came to rest on her thigh, "Because it seems like you're not even paying attention to anything I'm saying to." He continued in John's accent.

"I am! I am, I swear." She patted his hand as Joe nodded, mollified, "Okay, because it would be a shame if you weren't listening as I told you about the time that I went to set super hungover and Ben and Gwil tricked me into eating mayonnaise..." hearing her laugh fill the car was better than any song that could be play over the stereo.

"Babe! That's not true! I was there on set that day with you just as hungover, I was the one who MADE you take that fourth shot!"

"Yes, and we both paid for it dearly." He said with a straight face as she fell into giggles again. Glancing over at her, another smile lit up his face. "Babe, oh my god, stop, my sides hurt." She whined as she swept a finger at the moisture that had collected in her eyes.

"Would you like to hear me rate my favorite kind of cheeses in this accent as well?" He bit back his own smile as her laughter shook her frame. Leaning over the console she buried her face into Joe's shoulder, breathing in the scent of his cologne, the laundry detergent they used and sunshine.

Feeling her shake against him, Joe leaned over to plant a kiss on her head. Lifting his head up, he continued his monologue on cheeses, completely oblivious to her pleas, begging him to stop.

"So that's why Gouda is probably my favorite cheese but Pepperjack is a close second." He shrugged as (Y/N) collapsed back into her own seat, clutching her stomach.

"Oh my god, Joey, I'm dying, please. Holy shit..." she trailed off as she caught her breath. Joe laughed, keeping one hand firmly planted on her thigh, the other one deftly steering the car into the parking lot of the grocery store.

As her laughter died down, Joe parked the car and twisted in his seat to face her fully. Wearing one of his sweatshirts, no makeup, eyes crinkly as she recovered from her laughing fit. Her smile, wide and unguarded. The Queen playlist she had made him playing softly in the background. The sun lighting her form up, making her look angelic. All of a sudden he couldn't fight the words that were leaping from his throat.

"I love you."

Her laughter died as she stared back at Joe, eyes wide.

"Wh-what did you just say?"

Taking a deep breath in, Joe figured it wouldn't make much sense to deny what he'd just confessed.

"I said, I love you, (Y/N)." He lifted his eyes from his hands to meet hers and her breath hitched. She wanted to spend forever drowning in them. The next words left her body in a sigh.

"I love you too, Joey."

Realizing what they had just admitted to each other, the smiles they were beaming at each other were huge.

"We probably look like idiots. Just sitting here. Staring at each other." (Y/N) mumbled.

"Smiling like two fucking weirdos." Joe added as she nodded then lunged across the car's console, planting a kiss on Joe like she had right before they'd left for the store.

Pulling back, they each had equally dazed looks on their faces.

"Should we, um, even try to go grocery shopping? Or-"

"Can we please go home and have sex?" she asked as she kissed Joe's bicep, buckling her seatbelt back into place.

It took Joe three tries to get the car started. When he finally did, (Y/N) was laughing just as hard, if not harder than she had before.

"I'm sorry but the woman who I love just said she would have sex with me! Excuse me for getting a little flustered." Joe huffed.

"It's adorable, how do you think I feel knowing the man I'm in love with is that excited to have sex with me?" she mumbled as she scrolled through Joe's phone, trying to find the next song.

Joe glanced over at her, "What are you so focused on over there, (Y/L/N)? You've got your tongue sticking out when you're concentrating super hard."

Quickly pulling the tip of her tongue back in to her mouth, she chuckled as she hit play on the next song. "I was trying to find our new 'I love you' song."

Joe's eyes grew soft as he reached over to take her hand in his own, "Yeah? And what song would that be?"

The machine of a dream!

The look on Joe's face was better than she thought it would be.

As the song's final notes played, Joe parked the car next to their building and reached over to take both of her hands in his, "(Y/N), I need to tell you something important."

"Yes, Joey?" She said as she batted her eyelashes at him.

"I'm in love with my car...and also you." She gasped as she swooned into her seat.

"Babe, you know just want to say to make a girl weak in the knees."

"I also know what to do to make her weak in the knees." he whispered in her ear as he nipped at her earlobe. Squeaking, she frantically pulled at the handle of the car door, "Well then what are we doing just sitting here? We gotta get inside!"

Chuckling Joe unfolded himself from the car, "Who's the flustered one now?"

#joe mazzello #joe mazzelo x reader #joe mazello fic #joe mazzello one shot #joe mazzello fluff #joe mazzello fanfic #bohrap cast #bohemian rhapsody #john deacon

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hottestthingalive · 5 years ago

Text

Bluebells (2)

Chapter 2: Bulbs

Ao3 Link here.

Chapter 1 here.

Notes: Yay, second chapter is here! Expect the next one... any time between next week and a year.

Plot: Virgil isn’t okay (I promise), life sucks, and things get gayer.

Tw: Cursing, disappearances, mental and physical abuse

Morning came in the beeping of a shrill alarm.

Scratch that, Virgil decided as he sat up blearily, shutting off the alarm immediately. Doesn’t count as morning if it’s still dark out.

He grabbed his phone, wincing as the bright light shone into his retinas. 2:31 A.M, the screen said. He was doing pretty well, then -- as long as he got to the coffee place by three, he’d be able to complete a four-hour shift in time to get to school at seven thirty.

Ugh. He hated the night shift, but his boss liked having the cafe open 24/7, and he ought to be grateful; it was the only time (other than the weekends) that Virgil was able to actually work at, and due to the shitty time the pay was pretty good. It even made up for the lack of tips.

He got dressed quickly, throwing on his patched sweatshirt over his ripped jeans and torn shirt. Makeup was fast, too, just some cheap foundation and dark eyeshadow under his eyes to hide how crappy he’d been looking lately. No sleep will do that to a guy, he thought, doing his best to hide the dark shadows under his eyes, or at least make them look like eyeshadow. Say what you would, being an emo these days had some perks -- people thought the exhaustion and ragged clothes were for aesthetic, or some bullshit like that.

Virgil was out the door quickly, locking it behind him and tucking his keys into his pocket. The boards on the porch creaked under his sneakers, and he grimaced at the noise. Creepy as all hell, that.

As he walked in the darkness towards the better part of town, avoiding the patches of light given by the streetlamps (What if I get mugged?), he reached into his pocket and pulled out his headphones, plugging them into his old phone. Sure, it was dangerous to listen to music while walking alone at two in the morning, but this particular street bordered the woods, and no one wanted to cause a commotion near the home of the fey. There was a reason all the rich homes were in the center of Torbrook, sheltered from their mythical neighbours by human shields.

The ironically-called Sleep was standing at the counter when he arrived, sipping from an obnoxiously large cup and wearing his sunglasses inside. Because of course he was.

“You’re early, Anxiety,” he drawled, tossing a black apron across the counter. “Go sit down. You want a coffee?”

“I’m here to work,” Virgil deadpanned, tying on the apron, “not to buy shitty coffee.”

“Listen, we get a free drink for every shift, and you look like you need it,” Sleep retorted. “Do you ever sleep at all?”

“I need the free drink for later, when I get off,” he said, avoiding the question as he set his bag down in the back room, using his extra time to check his phone.

Sunnyside had left him a voicemail.

“Hey, Anxiety,” a voice said into his headphones. “It’s Beck, from the Sunnyside Hospital for Elderly Care. You still have some unpaid bills from last month -- do you want us to email them to you, or mail them? Please get back to us as soon as possible. Thanks!”

Crap.

“Everything okay?” Sleep asked, giving him a concerned look from the doorway. “Need me to stick around for a bit?”

“I’m good,” he said, mind scrambling for an explanation. “My, uh, my grandma forgot I had a shift today. She got worried.”

“I’m surprised Robin’s even letting you work here. She was always so protective,” Sleep grinned. “I haven’t seen her around town lately. How’s she doing?

Protective? the voice in the back of Virgil’s head screamed. She's in a hospital! How is she supposed to be protective when she thinks I’m living with my aunt and that her shitty insurance is paying all these bills, while as far as anyone else knows she’s just getting a bit reclusive in her old age?

“She’s good,” he said, forcing a smile onto his face as he went to stand behind the counter. “Bossy as ever.”

“Tell her I said hi,” his coworker nodded. “Alright, if you’re good, Anx, I’d better get going. I want to get a short nap in before school starts.”

“Got it,” he agreed, standing. “See you in English.”

“Bye, girl!” Sleep trilled, waving as the door slammed shut behind him.

He dropped the smile almost instantly, glaring down at his purple nails. Four hours. He just had to get through four hours.

“Morning, Anx!” chirped Morality, coming through the doors of the cafe. Virgil sighed internally. Morality was always so cheerful. It didn’t make any sense. “Can I just get that nice caramel thing you made for me last time?” He passed his thermos over the counter, still smiling.

“Sure,” he nodded, taking Morality’s cup and grabbing his own. His coworkers, Oak and Swift, had come in half an hour ago, thankfully early, so he passed the containers to Swift as he untied his apron. “One caramel latte, and for me, as much espresso as you can get into a cup.”

“Anxiety, you’re going to give yourself a heart attack,” Oak deadpanned, but she took his place at the counter. “Have fun at school, kid.”

“When has school ever been fun?” Swift pointed out, before xe turned to face Anxiety. “I’ll give you three shots.”

“Five.”

“Three.”

“Four,” Oak said, “but no more coffee for the rest of the day.”

“Fine, parental figures,” he rolled his eyes, picking up his backpack. “Four.”

“Hey, I thought I was your parental figure friend!” Morality cried, managing to look betrayed even as he giggled.

“You’re the paternal figure, popstar,” Virgil told him, hopping over the counter to protests from both Swift and Oak. They didn’t have to wait long for their drinks, and soon the two of them were in Morality’s car, sipping on the life-giving substance.

Morality was unusually quiet, had been since they left the cafe, and finally Virgil broke the silence to ask “Hey, everything okay?”

“Oh, it’s fine, kiddo,” he grinned, but the smile quickly faded. “It… It just sounded like you made a pun with my name.”

“...Your real name?” Virgil said, blood running cold. “I’m so sorry, Mor, I didn’t -- I swear, I don’t know it--”

“No, of course you don’t,” Morality nodded, smiling again, more genuinely this time. “I’ve just been a bit jumpy lately. The forest’s been so… quiet. We’re entering spring -- shouldn’t we be seeing more faeries?”

“Only Seelie,” Virgil shrugged absentmindedly, staring out the passenger-side window at the foreboding trees in the distance. “Unseelie will mostly be returning to their realm for the winter.”

“I don’t know how you remember that stuff,” the other teenager sighed. “I can never keep track.”

He hadn’t meant to say that. Shit. “I always liked those stories,” he said, chuckling weakly. It was enough to fool Morality, or maybe that was just because he had spotted his boyfriend.

“Sweetheart!” Morality called, rolling down the window. “C’mon, you’re gonna be late for school!”

“Thank you, love,” smiled his boyfriend, sliding into the backseat and kindly ignoring Morality’s blush. “Anxiety, I see you’ve stolen the front seat again, you heathen.”

“Best friend privileges,” drawled Virgil, taking a sip of his coffee. “Morning, Princey.”

Prince rolled his eyes, before leaning forward and stealing Morality’s thermos and drinking from it. “Listen, One American Reject, I’ll have you know that while I respect and honor best friend privileges, I will still attempt to steal the seat closer to my boyfriend at any opportunity.”

“Fair enough,” Virgil nodded. “That was one of your better nicknames, too.”

“Thank you,” he grinned as Morality started the car.

“Anxiety and I were just mentioning how we haven’t seen much activity from the forest as of late,” Morality said. “Put your seatbelt on, honey! Have you noticed anything?”

“Er… I haven’t seen as many fey recently, no,” Prince answered, biting his lip as he fastened said seatbelt. “It’s dangerous to go near the forest, anyways -- they might be there, and we just haven’t spotted them.”

“But usually I see something,” Morality countered, drumming his fingers on the wheel. “It’s just… concerning.”

“Speaking of fey, did Mariposa make plans for the play again this year?” Virgil asked Prince, turning in his seat to face Morality’s boyfriend. “She always tells the actors about her weird precautions first.”

“What do you mean, plans?” Prince raised an eyebrow. “I’m new, remember?”

“Oh, Ms. Mariposa always gets worried that the fey will try to attend the school play,” Morality laughed. “Apparently they did one year? It was ages ago. But she always goes all out to try and protect the auditorium during rehearsals and performances and stuff, all salt lines and horseshoes, and she paid the school to make sure the doors and windows have iron on them. She even hangs bells everywhere! I get performances, kinda, but rehearsals? Tech’d notice if anyone snuck in, and they can’t exactly be actors!”

“They could, actually,” Virgil said, and then mentally smacked himself. Sleep deprivation was going to kill him.

“Really?” his cheerful friend asked, surprised. “I thought they couldn’t lie!”

Apparently, I’m the one who can’t lie today. “They can’t,” he agreed reluctantly, because he’d dug this grave and now he had to lay in it. “But acting is different from lying. People are aware you aren’t actually that person, that whatever you say on stage isn’t necessarily true, and they’re faeries, so they exploit that loophole.”

“How do you know that?” Prince inquired, staring at Virgil with a strange expression on his face.

“My gran. She, uh, used to tell me about meeting some Seelie once, when she was young, and was wearing an iron pendant. They… tried to tempt her by telling her about celebrations they had, and mentioned a performance,” he lied through his teeth, thinking fast. “She was confused, like you were, Mor, and they told her that.”

“I didn’t know your grandmother had almost been taken,” remarked Prince. “Could I ask her about it? That necklace sounds… fascinating.”

Virgil felt himself tense, even as Morality chirped “Oh, I love Robin! She’s so nice! Remember those cookies she used to make for us?”

“They were great,” he nodded, plastering a smile across his face. “But, uh, she’s been kind of sick lately. Not really up to visitors. Sorry.”

“Oh, alright,” Prince nodded, suddenly all bright cheer again. “What were you saying about those cookies, love?”

He tuned out, head pressed against the soothingly cool glass of the window. Those bills were going to suck to pay -- mortgage payments were due soon, too, along with the money needed for everything else. His aunt wasn’t going to be any help at all, the bitch, but his job at the cafe didn’t pay enough for all of the money he owed.

The money just didn’t add up. A sigh escaped him, quiet enough that Morality didn’t notice. He was going to have to dip into his college fund again, huh?

Virgil liked to sit near the windows in classes. Sure, it could be a bit distracting, but even with the coffee, he was too exhausted to pay attention anyways. He liked being able to sit and watch the trees in the distance, observe the squirrels in the large elm that grew beside the school.

An acorn dropped onto the open windowsill, rolling towards Virgil slightly.

And, of course, there was another reason he liked this placement.

Elm trees didn’t have acorns. He knew this, had known it when the very first of the nuts had appeared, when he had picked it up in curiosity and noticed it was a little too light. Acorns weren’t heavy, of course, but they had some weight to them. He’d popped off the acorn cap with his fingernail, noticing the smell of sap, and his suspicions had been proven correct -- the nut was hollow, with a folded, thin wedge of paper curled inside.

Peeling out the paper had been difficult, but with one hand doing as he pretended to rummage inside his desk and the other feigning note taking for the teacher’s benefit, he had managed to extract a note.

He did much the same thing with this new acorn, glad that his seat was in the back of the class and that Ms. Vlinder, his math teacher (and Ms. Mariposa’s wife) was writing out a long problem on the board. Stashing the hollow nut in his desk, he unfolded the paper on his notebook, as stealthily as possible.

Anxiety,

I should be able to meet you later today -- Advice has agreed to cover for my absence. I’ll see you then, unless plans change. The usual spot.

You’re probably reading this in math again, so stop procrastinating on your work, please. Just because you do not like the subject does not mean you should neglect it. Besides, it would probably take up less of your time (like you keep complaining it does) if you actually took the time to do it in class.

Logic

He grinned to himself. Well, that was something to look forward to, at least.

“Anxiety,” said Ms. Vlinder, raising an eyebrow at him from the front of the classroom. “What are you reading?”

His face flushed red. “Um… nothing.”

“Well, whatever it is, it doesn’t look like calculus. Save it for after class, please. Now, can you answer the question on the board?”

He’d gotten lucky, thank god -- the question was one from last night’s homework, and he’d actually done it for once. Virgil muttered his response, slouching in his seat and trying to ignore the heat on his cheeks. Morality cast him a glance, mouthing Are you okay? from his seat closer to the board.

Virgil nodded briefly at him, stuffing the note into the pocket of his sweatshirt.

“Stay for a second, Anxiety,” Ms. Vlinder told him as the bell rang for lunch. He did so, fidgeting nervously where he stood.

“Do you want me to stay?” Morality asked quietly, coming up to him as the other students left the classroom, casting a glance at their teacher.

“Nah, don’t worry about it,” he shook his head, mustering up as much false bravado as he could. “Save me a spot, though.”

“Of course, kiddo,” grinned the other teen, before also leaving the room.

“Are you doing okay, Anxiety?” Ms. Vlinder asked once the room was empty, eyes on Virgil. “I normally wouldn’t ask, but you’ve been extra distracted lately, and your grades have dropped. Even in English, and you’ve always been praised by Mx. Cee for your work in that class. Do you want me to talk to your grandmother?”

“I’m fine,” he muttered, stuffing his hands into his pockets and curling his fingers around the note in an attempt at comfort.

“My wife mentioned seeing you when she went to pick up our coffee this morning,” the teacher told him, frowning. “That would have had to be a very early shift, Anxiety. Are you sleeping alright? Do you want me to talk to the counselor-”

“I need money for university,” he interrupted, the practiced falsehood he’d told everyone about his job falling easily between his lips. “I’m fine, really. Can I please leave?”

“...Okay,” she finally nodded. “Have a good lunch.”

“Thanks,” he said quickly, grabbing his backpack and practically running out the door before she could change her mind.

His friends liked to eat lunch out in the courtyard. It was easier for all of them, the cafeteria being too loud for Sleep and too stressful for Virgil. For March it was relatively warm, and it was an unspoken tradition for every member of their small group to find themselves near the same elm tree that bordered the math classroom for lunch break now that the cold had finally broken. So that was where Virgil went, slipping out the doors with his hood up, ignoring the brief chill of the wind. Morality waved to him, patting the ground besides him, Prince arguing with Sleep about something.

“Why are you fighting again?” Virgil sighed as he sat besides Morality, setting down his backpack to lean against it. “What did Princey do now?”

“Me?” the dramatic male asked, aghast. “Why me?!”

“We were debating who your mysterious boyfriend might be,” grinned Morality, elbowing Virgil. “That’s who gave you that note, right?”

“Spill, girl,” Sleep drawled, taking a long sip from his Starbucks cup. Where did he even get that? Torbrook didn’t have a Starbucks! “Is he hot?”

“I don’t have a boyfriend!” Virgil protested, face red again. “The note -- stop rolling your eyes, Sleeping Beauty, I don’t! -- is none of your business.”

“Aw, you think I’m beautiful!” cooed Sleep, as Morality protested “It is certainly our business! We’re your friends, and as such we have a right to know about your love life! It was in the best friend contract, Anx!”

“No, it wasn’t,” Virgil rolled his eyes. The ‘best friend contract’ had been something he and Morality had made when they were nine, meant to be a joke. Morality’s mom had helped him frame it, and he’d hung it near his desk. It still was on the wall in his room. “I wrote that.”

“Well, I deedn’t expect that to work, anyways,” Morality grinned, and Sleep and Virgil groaned, Princey letting out a snort. “Still, though!”

“Yes, Anxiety, tell us about your mysterious lover’s note!” Prince exclaimed, pretending to swoon. “Every last detail of your courtship! Tell us about your Romeo; did you make the first move, or did he? Have you kissed yet? Do we know him?!”

“I’m certainly hoping I’m not Juliet, because she was thirteen and he was a grown adult, and also they died,” Virgil deadpanned, though internally his mind was racing, scrambling for an excuse. He seemed to be doing that a lot, lately. “Also, no, no, and no! I’m not dating anyone! The note was from a friend of mine who lives outside Torbrook. We, uh, met up over the weekend, he left it for me because when I got there he was out to buy groceries, and I just realized I accidentally grabbed it from his house.”

“You never leave town,” Morality shook his head. “Try again.”

“Actually,” Sleep interjected, actually looking interested now, “last Sunday he wasn’t at work for once. Asked me to cover for him. Are you telling me you actually went to visit this friend?”

“Yes,” he sighed. “Now they get it. We all know I’m doomed to be alone, anyways.”

“If you keep talking bad about yourself I will physically fight you!” Morality screeched, tackling Virgil into a hug as Sleep rolled his eyes in fond exasperation and Prince snickered at them both.

After school, he found himself walking home. He never accepted Morality’s rides on the way back from school, always coming up with some excuse or another to walk. Virgil suspected the cheerful teen believed he was sneaking off to see someone, which would explain how that idea had started, but the truth was that he simply couldn’t let his best friend figure out that his grandmother wasn’t in the house. As far as Morality or anyone else knew, he was living with his grandmother in their nice house near the edge of town. As far as his grandmother knew, he was living with his aunt in her apartment a few towns away, and their shitty insurance was being supported by said woman. Only he knew the truth: that when his aunt had come to visit his grandmother in the hospital when she’d first been admitted a few months ago, she’d sat down with him at the dining table and told him that he wouldn’t be staying with her.

“I have nowhere else to go--” he’d tried to tell her, but Caroline (she had no other title, having grown up outside Torbrook) had stood up from her seat, eyes shards of ice.

“I’m not having Lydia’s child in my home,” she’d spat, and Virgil had recoiled at the mention of his mother. “My sister poisoned everything she touched -- she was driving, that night when she died, wasn’t she? Killed your father and your sister, and finally took herself down too. I wouldn’t be surprised if she did it on purpose. She was like that.”

“She -- it was an accident!” he cried. “Don’t talk about Mom like that!”

“I will talk about her any way I damn well please, Anxiety,” his aunt snapped. “You’re just like her, you know. You even call yourself after her! You could have chosen anything, and you decided on a goddamn disorder!”

“Gram told me-”

“I don’t give a fuck what she told you. That woman’s batshit crazy. She tore apart our family to come back to this town, and when I thought the cycle would finally end with her, my idiot sister forgave her, and granted her custody of her child when she died.” Caroline had paused there, picking up her bag. “You’ve been poisoned by both of them, Virgil, and I’m not risking my own life or happiness to deal with helping you just to let you go back after the old bitch dies. The old woman will be gone within a month without money for her treatment, you know that, and I’ll take you in then, finally get around to fixing you.”

She glanced at the rainbow flag magnet sitting on the fridge, holding up a picture of Virgil and his grandmother smiling together at the camera, her expression twisting from simple hatred into something ugly. “Maybe we’ll finally be able to get that gay bullshit out of your head, then.”

“Who am I supposed to stay with?” he’d asked, quiet and resigned, because he understood what was happening, had known deep inside the moment that his grandmother had told him to call Caroline that things would go wrong.

“Just stay here,” she’d rolled her eyes. “You should be able to care for yourself, Virgil, you’re almost an adult. I’ll see you in a month, when she’s gone.”

He’d felt like laughing, even with the dark bags under his eyes and the crippling exhaustion he hadn’t yet learned how to manage, when his aunt had come back a month later, expecting to see her mother on her deathbed. The confusion and anger on her face when she’d seen Robin sitting up in her bed, hooked up to an IV but chatting merrily with a nurse, and had heard the old woman say “Oh, Carol, hon! I know we’ve had our differences, but I’m so glad you’ve been able to put them past you to care for our Anx, and help with the bills. The doctors say I should be out by August, dear, just in time to see him off to college. How will I ever thank you?”

His aunt had looked at him, standing on the other side of the bed, where his grandmother wasn’t looking, and he’d grinned, twirling his finger near his temple in gentle circles, the sign for crazy, and pointed at first his grandmother, and then himself. There had been a brief flash of fiery anger in her eyes, before Caroline had returned her gaze to her mother. “No need,” she’d smiled benevolently, and Virgil had to give it to her; she was a brilliant actress. “We’re family, after all. It’s what Lydia would want.”

(He’d regretted taunting her later, when she’d thrown his grandmother’s favorite vase against his head as he tried to leave the house, trying to escape her wrath. She’d been screaming that he was poison, as toxic as his mother and grandmother before him, when the world fuzzed to black, and had left Virgil to wake up a few hours later with his bright purple hair dark with water and blood. He’d only seen her a few times since, when they’d met outside the hospital to visit his grandmother. They’d never mentioned it, and if she noticed how he was constantly on edge around her, she didn’t tell him.)

Virgil snapped himself out of his thoughts, unconsciously rubbing the back of his head. The injury had healed, now, but sometimes he found himself touching the spot anyways, especially after certain nightmares.

He glanced around as he ducked into a gap between the trees, shifting to the right through a bush to find himself on the rough path he’d carved out over years of walking through these trees.

It had been too long since he’d visited, he saw -- the grass had begun to regrow, and he muttered silent apologies to the forest as it was crushed under his torn sneakers. A faint breeze swirled around him, lifting the branches, and he grinned to himself. Virgil wasn’t much for gods, capital G and singular or otherwise, but he’d always believed these woods held a magic all their own, even beyond the faeries that used it as a portal between his realm and theirs. The place seemed to hum with it, a quiet force all its own, and he half-believed he’d only ever survived his adventures into it because it let him, had perhaps even guided him to the field of flowers when he was young.

It was only a matter of minutes before he reached the clearing, and he shivered as the sunlight hit his skin fully, the afternoon sun’s warmth combatting the cool breeze.

“There you are,” he heard from behind him, and he whirled around at the familiar voice.

“You’re starting to look like Slenderman,” he grinned at Logic, who had grown taller again.

“Those legends were inspired by my people,” the faerie said, rolling his eyes. “And I will have you know I am of perfectly average height for an Unseelie. At least I am not the size of the average mushroom, like those flowery nitwits.”

“Don’t be rude,” Virgil scolded, but he was still smiling, and pulled Logic into a hug even as he said it. “I missed you,” he muttered into his shoulder.

“...I missed you as well,” Logic told him, warm against the crisp March breeze. “It has been a long winter.”

“You look exhausted,” he pointed out, frowning as he pulled away to examine the shadows under the faerie’s mismatched eyes. “When did you last sleep?”

“I’m not the only one,” retorted the other, taking his hand and pulling him further into the sunny space between the trees. The grass was soft as the two sat, Virgil taking off his backpack to put it besides him. “I told you you would need adequate rest to ensure your head healed properly.”

“It’s fine,” he grumbled. Logic still moved behind him to check, examining the skin on the back of his head. “It really is, L. The magic did the trick -- no pain, no dizziness, nothing.”

“It looks alright,” the faerie conceded, although he still seemed perturbed. “Be careful, though, Anxiety. It may have been a while ago, but head wounds can have lasting effects.”

“I know,” he nodded, turning to face Logic again. “Now, why do you look like you haven’t slept since August?”

“I could say the same to you.”

“Logic.”

“It has been an… eventful winter,” sighed the dark-haired faerie, lying back in the grass. “There has been strife in both courts for years, but everything has gotten worse now. The heir to the rule of the Seelie Court has gone missing.”

“What? How is that even possible?” Virgil asked, staring down at him.

“He disappeared in late summer, at the very end of August. Both courts have assumed they are being framed for what happened.” Logic closed his eyes, frustration seeping into his words. “I’m… friends with him, I suppose. I’m a bit worried about him -- Prince was never known for his intelligence.”

“Prince?” he blinked, a cold wave of suspicion washing over him. “Short, dramatic, acts like he stepped out of a Disney movie? Acts like the universe personally affronted him and will only accept an apology if it brings cookies?”

“You know him?” asked the faerie, eyes flashing open as he sat up. “When did you meet him? How? Did he hurt you?!”

“He sounds like Morality’s boyfriend,” Virgil told him, a mix of confusion and anger and fear rising in his chest. “Princey moved to town just in time for school to start -- they started dating in January. Apparently they had Christmas together, some cute fairy tale kiss under the mistletoe.” He’s vaguely aware his breath is quickening, but the blood pounding in his ears is far too loud to concentrate. “Oh god, L, what if he hurts Mor?”

“We cannot be sure your Prince is the same as mine. It could just be a coincidence,” Logic told him, moving closer to hold Virgil’s shoulders. “Breathe, Anxiety. It is alright. Do you remember the pattern you taught me?”

They did a breathing exercise, a four-seven-eight method Virgil had once led Logic through when they were fourteen and the faerie had been having a panic attack. He’d had no idea Logic remembered.

“We’re going to have to figure out a way to definitively identify whether they are the same person,” he heard a while later, once he had calmed. His head was on Logic’s lap. He didn’t remember lying down, but long fingers were running through his hair and Virgil was far calmer than before, so he shrugged it off. “There’s no way he’d be willing to accompany you near the forest, right?”

“I doubt it,” he shook his head. “Everyone’s scared about this place. How’ve you been getting the messages to me? Could we use that?”

The faerie sighed. “Unfortunately, no. I’ve been making use of the birds in the area to do that -- a little magic, a promise of food, and they do whatever I wish.”

They sat in silence for a time, each with thoughts running rampant through their minds. Something tugged at Virgil’s attention, and he focused, trying to remember what he’d forgotten…

“His eyes!” he exclaimed, startling them both.

“What?” Logic asked, a trace of amusement in his voice. “What about them?”

“Shouldn’t they be like yours, if he’s a Seelie?” said Virgil, sitting up. “All… fey-ish?”

“That isn’t a word.”

“Shush, you. Point is, shouldn’t I have been able to tell he was a faerie because of that? Or because of his ears? Do Seelie also have the pointed ears, or is that just your lot?”

His eyes widened. “An illusion, of course! Anxiety, you absolute genius!”

“I try,” he grinned.

“The solution would be to pose as a human, accompany you to your place of schooling, and speak to him myself!” Logic exclaimed. “Do you have any human clothing I can borrow?” He hesitated. “Only if it is alright with you, that is. We can come up with another solution.”

“Actually, that works out,” Virgil told him. “I lied to my friends about visiting someone out of town over the weekend -- they’re going to ask for photos or something for proof, knowing them, so you can stand in as my imaginary friend.”

“What were you actually doing?” Logic asked, frowning, and Virgil mentally cursed. Why was he so goddamn perceptive? “We haven’t seen each other in a few months, so it was not on my behalf, and I have never known you to lie without reason.”

“...I was visiting my gran,” he confessed, staring at the blades of grass under his hands. “She hasn’t been doing too well lately, and my aunt still isn’t helping with money. I’m probably going to have to take more shifts at my job, and I wanted to see her without my aunt there for once before I started having no time to.”

“You told me once that it was strange that my people made me work even as a child,” Logic said, voice quiet. “You are clearly not doing well, Anxiety, and your health is precarious enough as it is. You should have gone to human doctors for that head wound, and you appear exhausted.”

“I’m fine, L,” he snapped.

“No, you aren’t!”

They both were startled by his shout, and Logic pinched his nose in faint exasperation. “I apologize. That was unnecessary. But I think you really should inform your grandmother of the situation. At this rate, even if you save her, you may kill yourself in the process.”

“She’ll make Caroline take me in, or ask a friend of hers from out of town. I can’t leave Torbrook now,” he shook his head. “I can’t. I’d be leaving you, and Mor, and… and God, L, there’s some sort of curse on this place, and I want to go to college, I want to see the world before I’m dragged back here!”

Everyone, even the fey, knew of the strange power of the town, and its effect on its residents. Virgil had watched people try to leave for years, to go to college or to just finally escape, and yet somehow, every single person, even the ones who hated the place most bitterly, were dragged back, unable to stay away permanently. It had happened to his gran, he knew -- she’d left, married a man she’d met in college, had his mom and Caroline, and then when both of the girls were ten, had found herself divorcing her husband and returning to Torbrook. Robin had hated herself for it, said so to Virgil after she’d had a bit too much wine, but she hadn’t seen another way -- the place had seemed to pull on her soul, and she couldn’t drag her new, innocent family along with her.

The only people who had ever seemed to permanently escape were the ones who had accidentally revealed their names, and Virgil suspected that was only out of pure necessity. They could only survive on the outside -- returning to Torbrook was a death sentence, or worse, with any faerie or opportunistic human ready to use their true names against them. It was what had happened to Taylor, formerly called Yellow. They had accidentally told their true name at a party, gotten a bit too vulnerable, and one of their friends had told the whole school. They’d left town the next day, and hadn’t been back since. Their parents had occasionally visited them, but never seemed able to permanently stay with their child, much as they wanted to. Eventually, the visits stopped, and then so did all communication.

Taylor could have been dead, for all anyone knew, the pull of Torbrook doing to them what it had done to all the others who had resisted -- first sickness, like the flu, a shivering weakness, and eventually…

Well, after a girl called Fortune had died in the hospital near her college, the doctors unable to help her, no one had wanted to risk it.

So Virgil couldn’t leave Torbrook, even if he wanted to. He was saving every second for college, and maybe for a trip after that if he got lucky.

He wouldn’t.

Abruptly, he stood.

“Anxiety, I-” Logic began, and Virgil knew him well enough to know the other was about to apologize, and he couldn’t take that, not then.

“Meet me here again in a few days, okay? I’ll bring clothes and stuff, and I’ll let the school know you’re a visiting student. They let that kind of thing happen, usually assume it’s a cousin who was born here who got the sickness. Super lax about it, weirdly.” He was aware he was babbling now, as he grabbed his bag, but he couldn’t stop himself from speaking. “Sunday should work, yeah? You can come with me on Monday, I can say we drove down from your home together.”

“Anxiety, what if it is him?” Logic asked, interrupting him mid-tangent. “Not only will we face the wrath of the next ruler of the Seelie Court, but will also expose the fact that we have been… consorting.”

“I’m not letting Mor get hurt,” said Virgil shortly, stepping back to leave. “I don’t need my best friend getting kidnapped by a faerie on my plate, too. I’ll see you Thursday.” He turned, and, without giving Logic a chance to respond, left the clearing.

It was Sunday before he knew it, and Virgil was exhausted. All of his friends had noticed that he was more tense, more tired, more snappish -- he remembered muttering something about college admissions, which made sense since the letters were supposed to be coming in the next couple weeks, and they passed the mood change off as heightened anxiety. If Sleep noticed him picking up more shifts than ever, mowing lawns and doing whatever he could for money around town, he didn't say anything, and Virgil was grateful. Besides, Sleep himself was an insomniac -- he would just be a hypocrite.

Not to say Virgil had insomnia. More than anything, he wanted to fall onto his bed and sleep for a week. But he couldn’t, not yet.

He asked for the day off for both Sunday and Monday. His boss didn’t protest, telling him to go get some rest in a quiet tone. Sleep didn't make fun of him like usual, either, and there was no teasing him about going to see a boyfriend, only a quiet thumbs up.

The forest was quiet when he entered, a bag over his shoulder, and he shivered. It was disconcerting. Virgil had gotten used to noise, blasting music over his headphones as he worked, and then in lectures or with his loud friends every other moment. Faint birdsong, wind in the trees, dirt under the combat boots his gran had bought him two Christmases ago -- he wasn’t accustomed to them anymore.

Perhaps that’s why Logic could sneak up on him so easily.

“You look awful,” the faerie said bluntly from beside him, startling him enough that he almost tripped. He got lucky -- Logic reached out to steady him, concern shining in his strange, mismatched eyes. “Anxiety, you… you look worse than when I last saw you. Are you doing alright?”

“I’m fine,” he said, trying for a smile. Judging from the look on Logic’s face, it wasn’t convincing. He patted the bag. “Look, I brought you clothes. Got a couple of outfits. And, bonus-” he reached into his coat, pulling out a hairbrush and the scissors his grandmother had used to use to cut Virgil’s own hair when he was young. “We’re finally going to make you presentable, Tarzan.”

“How dare you?” Logic exclaimed, but there was no heat behind his words, just a quiet underlying concern that Virgil almost hated more. “My hair is perfectly fine!”

“Listen, you look like a member of Aerosmith,” Virgil rolled his eyes. “I’m thinking we can put it in a bun. Or maybe cut it even shorter! I’m just saying, you’re cosplaying a rocker from the 80s.”

“My hair isn’t that messy, or that long!” the faerie protested, but he let Virgil lead him to an old tree stump and sat down, albeit reluctantly. “Not too drastic of a change, Anx, or I swear, I’ll turn yours pink.”

“Eh, I needed a new dye job, anyways,” Virgil shrugged, and narrowly dodged Logic’s attempt to swat at him.

Half an hour and much swearing later, the disheveled hair was brushed through and tied into a bun. Logic looked unbelievably cute. It was not fair in the slightest -- Virgil’s dark gay heart wasn’t built for this kind of shit!

Alright Virge, stop checking out your friend. he snapped at himself mentally, handing Logic his phone to see his new look as he reached into the bag. He’s a faerie, firstly, and also, you’re doing this to save Mor. Haven’t got time for this, you disaster gay.

“I will confess, this does suit me,” the faerie smiled, looking up at him. “You’re quite good at this.”

“My gran taught me,” he shrugged, before dumping the bag of clothes onto Logic’s lap. “Pick an outfit.”

“This is not the same kind of clothing you wear,” blinked the faerie, looking through it.

“You’d hate wearing my clothes, and they wouldn’t even fit you,” he pointed out. “I brought you… I dunno, nerd stuff. Should make you look respectable and smart, or whatever -- we’re going to play into all the stereotypes, today. Besides, people ought to think of you like you are, not like some emo.”

“You think I’m smart?” Logic asked, staring up at him.

“You’re the smartest person I know, dumbass,” Virgil told him. “If you don’t want to wear any of that, it’s fine, I packed a T-shirt and jeans, and you could borrow my hoodie, I just thought it was kind of more your style-”

“No,” the other smiled, and wow, Virgil was really gay. “You… yes. I would prefer to be thought of as smart or respectable, I just didn’t realize that was something that could be done.”

“Anything’s possible when you harness preconceived prejudices,” he grinned in response.

Virgil couldn’t mask his amazement when Logic whispered to the forest, convincing the plants to grow together to make him a screen to change behind (he’d always been fascinated by magic, even when they were kids), but forced himself to stare at his phone when the faerie went behind it. He’d read through the same Tumblr post four times without understanding a word of it when Logic said “Anxiety?”

He’d chosen a black polo and a dark indigo tie, a shade that perfectly offset both colors of his eyes, paired with dark pants and his rabbit-fur boots. He looked hot.

“You… you’re going to need different shoes,” Virgil choked out.

“Oh, yes, I suppose I will,” Logic nodded. “Here, I am going to attempt an illusion.” He ran his fingers over his ears, and the points vanished, rounding. The rest of his features softened, less harshly fey and more human. He paused at his eyes, frowning.

“What’s wrong?” the human asked, as they had yet to change.

“Eyes are… harder to hide,” the faerie confessed. “For fey they are quite literally the windows to the soul. I believe I will require an external object near my face to mask my eyes to cast the spell on.” He bit his lip. “If we restyled my hair to have bangs a bit like yours, I could use that, but I do not wish to ruin your hard work.”

Virgil frowned, thinking back, before snapping his fingers. “Princey carries around contact solution in his bag! I bet that’s how he’s doing it -- casts the illusions on the contacts, pops them into his eyes, good to go.” He grinned. “You, Logic, are lucky I am so blind.”

“Excuse me?” he frowned. “I think your vision is alright. I wouldn’t have let those scissors near me, otherwise.”

“I wear contacts too, most of the time; good excuse for my weird eyes, people who don’t know me assume they’re colored. Plus, glasses don’t match my aesthetic.”

“What aesthetic?” Virgil glared at him, and Logic snorted in laughter.

“Don’t be rude, nerd. Anyways, I carry around my spare pair of glasses just in case, because if I lose a contact I can’t see without them. I was going to have to switch over to them soon -- don’t have enough money to buy another box -- but I can lend them to you for now, and we can cast the spell on them. Will the prescription affect you?”

“Let me see them,” Logic frowned, and Virgil pulled his glasses case out of his coat, handing the frames over.

The faerie tried them on, frowning briefly before running his hand over them. The glass shimmered for a moment, and suddenly his eyes only had color in the iris, one a paler green than Virgil’s own, the other a dark blue. “There. And I can see through them fine -- just have to change my own ability to see to do so. Easy shapeshifting spell.”

Virgil smiled despite himself, looking at the different colors. “We’re still eye buddies, huh?”

“I wasn’t about to give that up,” Logic grinned as he rolled his new eyes. It was so much more obvious when he did that, now that he actually had evident whites and pupils. “How do I look?”

Virgil stepped back, passing an appraising glance over his friend. “Very human,” he decided. “Also, very nerdy, so welcome to the weird kid club, L.”

“Excellent,” he said, voice dripping with sarcasm, before his features adjusted into something more serious. “Are you sure you want to do this, Anxiety? For all we know, your Prince isn’t mine at all. I can think of no reason for him to disappear for so long into human society.”

“I can’t risk Morality getting hurt,” Virgil shook his head. “We’re doing this.”

“Alright,” Logic nodded, before his face split into a sly smile. “Now that I look human, though… There are some things you’ve mentioned in Torbrook I’ve always wanted to see.”

Virgil laughed despite himself. “Well, you should probably stay with me tonight, for appearances’ sake anyways… Okay, sure. Let’s go see the library, and then we can stop by my house.”

“How did you know?” the faerie asked, startled, as they started collecting the supplies Virgil had brought.

“Magic,” he grinned, and Logic punched him in the arm without any real force.

“Ass.”

“Dork.”

Even as they laughed, fear’s cold claws sunk into Virgil’s heart. He swallowed. What if Prince was who they thought he was?

What would one of the most powerful fey in the Seelie Court do to the human and the Unseelie that exposed him?

He glanced over at Logic. The faerie was beautiful when he smiled, even with his teeth disguised to look duller and more human. The sun streamed through the trees, lighting up his dark hair and contrasting the shadows painting fragile pictures across his skin.

What if Prince hurts him? the little voice in the back of his mind whispered.

No. He wouldn’t let that happen, Virgil decided, pushing the fear deep, deep down. Not to Logic, or Morality, or Sleep, or anyone he cared about.

The world was so shitty, as it was. He wasn’t about to let the few people that made living in it bearable suffer.

“Anxiety?”

Logic’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he turned to see the faerie looking at him. “Yeah, L?”

“It’s going to be alright,” he promised, reaching out to hold Virgil’s hand. “Everything’s going to be alright.”

“Okay,” he nodded. And it helped, really, because he knew faeries could only tell the truth, or at least what they believed was the truth. Logic was the smartest person he’d ever met, and if he really believed that…

Everything would be alright.

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afictionaladventure16 · 6 years ago

Text

Anything Could Happen (Chris Evans x Latina!reader)

Description: You were on your way home, from Boston after visiting your brother and his family, deciding on getting a coffee before your flight. Fortunate enough for you, you bump into a special someone that might just change your life for the better.

Song: Anything Could Happen by Ellie Goulding

Warnings: None?

Word Count: 2,362

You were sad to leave your nieces and nephew but as they walked further away you resisted everything to run over to them and give them and give them one last hug. They were your world, so you enjoyed this past week with them and your brother and sister in law. You made your way through TSA in the airport, once you had placed your shoes back on you decided on grabbing a coffee before heading over to your gate.

You took a glance at your watch, you had about an hour before your take off time. Noticing a Starbucks on your way over to your gate, you smiled to yourself. Usually, when it came to airports you always tried to find your gate first before even deciding on going to the small stores to look around, so you thought this was your lucky day.

“Hi, what can I get for you!” the Barista behind the counter asked with a smile.

You smiled back and asked for your usual drink, you paid for the coffee and then went over to the pick-up area. You looked around and noticed it wasn’t quite packed, you had expected more people scrambling around. After a couple of minutes you heard your name being called, you walked over to the small counter and picked up your drink, “Grande Iced Coffee for Chris!” the barista called out as you grabbed a straw.

You quickly turned around, accidentally bumping into someone, “oh gosh, I am so sorry!” You exclaimed as you put your drink back on the counter, you grabbed a napkin and began wiping the man's coat. He chuckled as he brushed off the small drops of liquid. You didn’t take in the man's facial features as you were busy attempting to clean his jacket. So much for having a lucky day.

“It’s alright,” he said as he gave you a gentle smile, “water resistant,” he said with a wink as he gestured to his coat. He grabbed a drink from the counter, you grabbed yours, “again I’m sorry,” you said as you began walked away. All you wanted to do was to forget what had just happened.

“Um, Y/n?” you turned around, how did this man know your name? “I think you have my drink.”

You looked down at the drink in your hands, facepalming you walked back over to the man, “I am so sorry! I’d lose my head if it wasn’t screwed on.” You guys switched drinks. You were so embarrassed, your cheeks began to turn red, what was going on with you?

He couldn’t help but chuckle at your comment, you both made eye contact for a few seconds before he cleared his throat, “it’s a beautiful name, by the way, Y/N.” The man, you assumed who was Chris, was quite handsome. You took in his sharp blue eyes, as you looked over his features, his beard suited him, you thought.

You blushed at his comment, “thanks.” You noticed the clock behind the counter for the Barista’s, you had about forty minutes and you still hadn’t found your gate, “I- uh, have to go.” Chris sighed to himself as he watched you walk away. He debated on going after you, but you seemed to be in such a hurry, he didn’t want to make you late for anything. Yet he couldn’t help but feel this sort of connection towards you, the way you guys made eye contact you didn’t even recognize him. It was rare when someone didn’t recognize him.

“Blueberry scone for Chris!” the Barista called out, Chris grabbed the small bag and thanked the Barista. He glanced at his watch, cursing silently to himself, “I’m gonna be late,” he muttered as he grabbed a straw for his drank and ran out towards the crowd of people.

Once you arrived at your gate you noticed that they had already begun boarding, you quickly walked over to the line, once it was your turn you showed your ticket along with some I.D. and then walked along to the plane. After about ten minutes, you finally found your seat in the back of the plane. Once everyone had gotten on the plane, you noticed that no one was sitting next to you. You smiled to yourself as you grabbed a book from your carry on.

After a small wait, the plane began to ascend. Fifteen minutes later the notification came on the plane, alerting everyone that it was okay to take off their seatbelts. You left yours on, you always did, just in case. You heard someone clear their throat, you looked up to see Chris, the guy from Starbucks, smiling at you. “Seat taken?” You were caught off guard, you stared at him for a few seconds before shaking your head, “I was up at first class but it’s so loud,” He placed his carry on on the overhead bin before sitting down on the seat next to you, “so as soon as the seatbelt light turned off, I knew I had to find another seat, and that’s when I saw you.”

You smiled, “well, you can’t get rid of me that easy.”

He smiled at you, “Chris,” he said as he held his hand out for you to shake, “Chris Evans.”

“Kind of figured your name was Chris after accidentally stealing your drink,” you still shook your hand. “I don’t know why but your name sounds awfully familiar.”

He let out a dry chuckle, “Yeah, I’m an actor, you probably recognize me as Captain America.”

You shook your head, “I’ve never watched any of the Marvel movies, actually. I’ve always wanted to, especially since I love Disney so much.” You stared at Chris as you pondered about where you have seen him before. “Gifted!” You exclaimed, “that movie made me cry! As do all the movies I watch, but still, it was such a heartwarming movie!”

Chris was surprised that you hadn’t recognized him as Captain America, it was quite different but he liked it. “It is a pretty good movie,” Chris stated. “So, what’s waiting for you in LA?”

You raised your eyebrows, “What or who?”

“How about both,” Chris smirked.

“My job and my dog,” you said with a small smile.

“Oh, you have a dog?” First, she loves Disney, second, she’s an emotional person, third, she has a dog! This girl is like the male version of me! Chris thought.

You gave him a small nod as you pulled out your phone to reveal your lock screen, a picture of Y/D/B and you cuddling, “She’s my baby,” you cooed, “honest to God, she’s like my daughter.”

Chris chuckled as he took his phone out to reveal his lock screen which was a picture of his dog Dodger, “this is my son, Dodger,” he said with a small laugh.

“Aw, he’s adorable!” You said as you looked at the photo closer.

“So, you live in LA, I assume?” You gave Chris a small nod, “then why were you in Boston?”

You smiled at the thought of your little niece and nephew, “my brother lives there with his family, it was my niece’s fifth birthday and I just couldn’t miss it, so I flew out for the week.”

“That’s sweet,” Chris said.

“Yeah,” you said softly, “it’s hard sometimes, I love my niece and nephew but they live so far away, I feel like I miss out on things.”

“I understand that,” He whispered, almost like he was whispering it to himself. “My family lives in a small town near Boston but I live in LA, mostly because of work, but still, I try to come to Boston whenever I can visit.”

You nod understandingly, “exactly!” you exclaimed, “it doesn’t help when my niece or nephew send me videos expressing how much they miss me, through my sister in laws phone.”

Chris chuckled, “they must love you a lot.”

“Well, I am the cool tia,” you said with a smirk.

“Oh yeah?” you nod, “you might have to convince me.”

“Oh, I can!”

Chris chuckled, he looked down at his hands nervously, “I have to be honest with you, y/n,” Chris said as he looked at you, looking into your Y/E/C. You gave him a concerned look, “I lied about my reason for coming over here,” he sighed, “I noticed you in line at the gate, and once the plane took off I grabbed my carry on without even thinking and just hoped the seat next to you was empty.”

You raised your eyebrows at Chris, “Oh?” He gave you a small nod as his cheeks turned slightly red from embarrassment, “what would you have done if this seat was taken?”

Chris couldn’t help but chuckle at the scenario that he was making up in his head, “I would have somewhat kindly as the gentlemen or women, to give up their seat for a first class seat.”

“Wow, you would have given up your first class seat just to sit next to me?”

“I actually did give up my first class seat,” He stated, “there is an empty first class seat up there,” he pointed to the front of the plane, “and I decided to give it up to sit next to the women who almost ran off with my coffee.”

You scoffed, “okay, First of all, I didn’t run off with it! And B, when are you going to let that go!? Take some lessons from Elsa and just let it go!”

Chris laughed so hard, “take some lessons from Elsa,” he repeated.

“I watched that movie too many times.”

“With your niece and nephew?” he asked.

“… Sure, you can say that.”

He raised his eyebrows, “alone?”

“All the time.” You both laughed, “Tell me, what makes me so special, that you had to sit next to me?”

He smiled, “you didn’t recognize me right away.” You gave him a confused look, “it’s rare when someone doesn’t recognize me, and the fact that we just had a conversation that didn’t involve me being Captain America…” he sighed, “we also have common interests.”

You gave him a nod, “this is true.” You smiled, “alright, then, Chris, what’s your favorite Disney movie?”

“Agh! You’re killing me smalls!” He said as he looked up, pondering for a moment, “it’s so hard to just choose one!” you smiled to yourself as you stared at the man in front of you. You couldn’t help but feel this connection with him.

“apurate!” you said in Spanish, catching him off guard.

“What?”

“I meant hurry up.”

“Are you rushing me in Spanish, woman?” you laughed at his comment, giving him a nod, “So you speak Spanish?”

“Yes, sir, I am pretty fluent. It was actually my first language.”

“Oh?” He pondered for a second, “so, how do you say, how dare you make me choose my favorite Disney movie, in Spanish.”

You grinned, “¿Cómo te atreves a hacerme elegir mi película favorita de Disney?”

Chris stared at you for a few seconds, he loved the way your r’s just rolled out of your tongue, how your accent suddenly changed when you spoke Spanish, “I will butcher that if I attempt to repeat it.”

You gave him an encouraging smile, “with practice, you’ll be a pro.”

Throughout the flight, you both shared stories about your family, or asked questions about certain subjects, forgetting about everything that was wrong with the world.

The seatbelt notification came on, the Pilot announced that the plane would be landing shortly, Chris sighed as he buckled the seatbelt. You both didn’t want the flight to end, mostly because you both were having such a great time. You both chatted until the plane landed, Chris grabbed your bag from the overhead bin, insisting he’d carry it for you.

“Do you have any luggage to claim?” He asked, hoping you’d say yes so he can walk with you a little further.

“I actually do.”

“Great,” he said with a smile. You playfully rolled your eyes as you walked beside him as you both got off the plane. You knew the way you both walked, the way you guys spoke to each other, it made it look as if you guys were actually a couple.

Chris walked you to the luggage claim.

“I never asked, where do you work?” Chris asked as he turned to look at you.

You smiled, “I’m actually a photographer.”

“Oh?” you gave him a nod, “I’d like to see some of your work.”

“Well, I don’t have any of my edited photos on me,” you stated.

Chris smirks, “I guess that means we’ll have to meet again sometime.” He hoped you were getting the hint, “maybe somewhere that isn’t an airport,” he looked around, “somewhere nice where we can eat, catch up on life.”

“Are you trying to ask me out, Evans?”

“Yes, yes, I am. Unless you’re gonna reject me then… no” You rolled your eyes, you then spotted your luggage making its way over in the conveyer belt, “So, is that a yes or a no?”

You grabbed your suitcase, you let out a small chuckle as Chris just stood there awkwardly, “it’s a yes, Chris.”

He fist pumped the air, as you got out a piece of paper from your bag along with a pen, “why don’t I just hand you my phone so you can type in your number?”

You playfully rolled your eyes once more, “now that’s no fun,” you said as you scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to Chris, “I have to go, but it was nice meeting you, Chris.”

Chris smiled, “likewise.” You gave Chris one last smile before walking away, luggage in hand. Chris couldn’t contain his excitement, he looked down at the paper in his hand.

xxx-xxx-xxxx

Y/N L/N

I promise I’ll try not to steal your coffee this time ; )

Chris laughed at the little comment you had put on the piece of paper; he quickly took his phone out and placed you into his contacts. “Anything could happen,” he whispered to himself as he reminisced at what had just happened during and before his flight.

Requests for imagines and one-shots are open!

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