#their friend group ended up cramming into the back of our jeep and we drove them down the mountain lmao

[pnwgothic]

northern lights in the cascade mountains

[whereisten]

I Think We’re Alone Now

A Jaemin fic that’s part of our Halloween Series! 

Summary: Your Spring Break plans change at the last minute when the campus heartthrob asks you to join him and the popular kids to your nemesis’ cabin. 

Pairing: college student! Jaemin x female reader 

Genre: romance, angst, mystery, suspense, horror, crime

Word Count: 7.4k 

Warnings: Bullying, body image mention, gore, violence, death

(A/N): SHOUTOUT TO MY GIRL KRYS FOR THIS DELICIOUS MOODBOARD. SHE IS AN AMAZING ARTISTE. I AM IN AWE. I hope my story does this moodboard justice and I hope you guys enjoy! Thank you for the support! 

___

Spring Break was imminent for the kids of Guang University. It was your freshman year and your friends all had different plans. You planned to stay home and get a head start on your homework and catch up on all of your favorite Korean dramas.

You headed out of the school with Haechan, your best friend. He had plans to go visit his family in South Korea for a couple of days. You were bummed that your closest friend wouldn’t be in town for the break.

“You sure you don’t want to come to Seoul with me? We might bump into Ji Chang Wook. You never know.” Ji Chang Wook was your celebrity crush.

You balanced your giant biology textbook while you tried to find your phone. “That’s tempting but I have a big exam right after break and I’ve been behind for weeks...So now I have to cram.”

Haechan sighed. “Y/n, you need to give yourself some down time.”

You frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Haechan sighed. “You haven’t come out to any parties in the past two months.”

You sighed. “Well...”

Haechan whined. “You’re supposed to be my party buddy...”

“Well, party buddy, then explain Daniela, Hazel, and Ally,” you said, calling out your best friend for not being so lonely at these parties after all.

“I-“ Haechan started.

Before Haechan could explain, a group of girls you’d tried so hard to avoid walked by and “accidentally” bumped into you, making you drop your book to the ground.

The girl who bumped into you turned and laughed. “I’m SO sorry. Maybe if you didn’t take up so much space, it wouldn’t have happened.”

The other girls laughed as they began to saunter off.

You groaned. You thought bullies retired once they graduated from high school when reality finally gave them a slap to the face.

Well, unfortunately for you, the mean girls from your old high school were smart enough to get into your dream school so you now occasionally saw them. And worse, shared a biology lab with them. The head of the pack, Heather, always had it out for you for always beating her for the best grade in class. You’d get a 94 and she’d get a 93. You were just happy to get an A and she was furious she wasn’t number 1. You guessed it had to do with her superiority complex and how she had to please her wealthy parents.

Haechan yelled, “Heather, what the hell-“

Heather started, “What? It’s a simple observation.”

Well, not everyone could be a size 0 like Heather. You knew that you had a healthy body shape. Sure, you know you could use improvements but you were human. No one was perfect. Nothing Heather could say could make you think she was right. She was just a hater.

“Have a nice break, Heather. Maybe your dad will finally come home,” you said as you grabbed Haechan’s hand and walked off.

“Hey! y/n, get back here!” Heather demanded. Her dad and her mom were separated for a while now and he was never home to spend time with his precious daughter.

Heather’s bark had always been bigger than her bite. So you didn’t let her words get to you. Not anymore.

___

Haechan went home while you waited to call an Uber to take you to the record store across town.  You may as well go out and do one fun thing before you hunkered down at home for the break.

That was when you heard someone sobbing hard. And you couldn’t help but find the source.

The boy sat down on a bench by the bus stop. It was the campus heartthrob, Na Jaemin. You’d shared a couple of lectures with him this year. He was very sweet, always had something to compliment you on. Your hair, your lipstick, your outfit.

Well, then he would proceed to ask for help with assignments but you appreciated getting paid with flattery.

You frowned. “A-are you okay?” You started. “Do you need help?”

Jaemin looked up as tears ran down his beautifully sculpted face. His eyes widened at the sight of you. He wiped his tears away with his jacket sleeve. He shook his head. “Y/n! Hey, I’m…okay…I just-“

You sat down beside him and pulled an unopened bottle of water out of your backpack. You handed it to him. “Here.”

He looked down at it and asked, “Are you sure?”

You nodded. “Go ahead.”

“Thank you,” he said, managing a half-smile.

He drank from it as you waited.

He exhaled in satisfaction. “Thank you, y/n. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you like this. School and work have been so stressful…I just needed to let it all out.”

You hesitated before you put a hand on his back. You moved it gently against his muscular upper back. “I’m sorry…Do you…wanna talk about it?”

Jaemin froze and debated telling you. “I got fired from my job…” He admitted.

You removed your hand from his back. “Jaemin, that’s terrible…I’m so sorry…What happened?”

He shook his head. “The boss was kinda harsh. I couldn’t take it. I slipped up once and I got the ax.”

You tried to meet his eyes. “I’m so sorry, Jaemin.”

Jaemin managed a smile for you. “Thank you, y/n. You’re always sweet. Always good. I’m glad you’re here with me.” He placed a hand over yours.

This may or may not have made you want to scream with excitement. But your better judgment told you to contain yourself because Jaemin was upset.

Your little moment was interrupted by Heather and her cohorts.

Heather stood in front of Jaemin, noticing his red eyes “Oh, Nana, what’s wrong?”

Jaemin didn’t look all that thrilled to see Heather either. “It’s nothing…Don’t worry about it.”

“Because if y/n is bothering you, she should leave. Isn’t that right, y/n?” Heather turned to you with her hands on her hips.

You were about to snap when Jaemin beat you to it. “Actually, Heather, she’s not. So what can I do for you so you can leave faster?”

Heather looked at her group in shock. Her minions all let out audible gasps and whispers. “Jaemin...”

“I’m waiting,” Jaemin said, a new commanding tone overtaking him.

“We wanted to know if you’re coming to my cabin this weekend.” She tried to come off flirtatious but after his rebuff, she was confused.

“Maybe,” Jaemin replied, “If y/n comes.”

“What?” You and Heather exclaimed.

“I’ll go if y/n goes,” Jaemin said resolutely.

You started, “Jaemin, I-”

Jaemin interrupted. “I need this, y/n. A time to get away. And if you come, I would love it…” He said softly, almost intimately…Like no one else was around.

You’d had a crush on Jaemin since the first day of Intro to Theater. Jaemin was a tremendous actor. He was an excellent Demetrius to your Helena in your act for A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Jaemin was always so nice. You thought the most he would do for you is give you a dollar for the vending machine. And that would’ve made your heart soar to the moon.

It was odd that you were considering going somewhere to hang out with Heather and her friends...But you did want to get to know Jaemin more.

What about your homework?

Well, it could wait.

And what about Heather?

Well, pissing off Heather was a hobby of yours.

One of Heather’s friends coughed. And Heather rolled her eyes. “Fine. Meet at my house at 7 AM tomorrow.”

___

Your older sister Sophie drove you to Heather’s. “Why are you going to Lucifer's spawn’s cabin?”

You sighed. “Because a cute boy asked me to.”

Sophie put the car in park right in front of Heather’s mansion. She looked at you in disbelief and fascination. “A boy?”

You said, “He wanted me to come.”

Sophie laughed. “Well, y/n, he must be very cute if you’re willing to hang out with Her Royal Darkness.”

“Like her ego, I’m sure the cabin is big enough so I don’t have to see her.”

You were both so distracted that you didn’t notice Jaemin knock on your passenger side window. He smiled brightly. Wow, he looked incredible for someone who woke up and texted you good morning at 5:30 AM.

“Wow,” your sister said, in shock from Jaemin’s beauty. She rolled down your window.

“Ready to go, y/n?” Jaemin asked. You saw the expectant look in his eyes. He was radiant and much more relaxed. You were so happy to see him. He seemed to feel a lot better.

“Jaemin, this is my older sister, Sophie,” you said, “Sophie, this is my friend Jaemin.”

They shook hands and Sophie muttered, “You better tell me everything when you get back. And that I am the maid of honor at your wedding.”

“Bye, Sophie! We’ll go on our run together when I come back on Sunday, okay?” You said louder to deflect from what Jaemin could’ve overheard. You and Sophie ran together every weekend for stress relief and bonding time. You got out of the car and hoped Jaemin hadn’t heard anything.

Jaemin offered to give you a ride on his Jeep Explorer to Heather’s cabin, much to Heather’s disappointment. Heather’s friends were riding with her.

You and Jaemin had fun on the road for two hours, just the two of you. You enjoyed some old school Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and Britney Spears. You snagged the CDs from your sister’s collection.

“Every little thing I do never seems enough for you!” You and Jaemin sang.

You too had gotten off the route to get snacks at a convenience store and because Jaemin needed to fill up his tank. He insisted you put your wallet away. He bought all of your favorite junk food essentials: M&Ms, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, Coke, Orange Fanta. This boy knew his way into your heart.

“So, y/n, what’s your end goal in life?” He asked as he continued the route to Heather’s cabin. “You strike me as an aspiring pediatrician...Saving the children!”

You laughed at his enthusiasm. “I’d like to be a physical therapist. My parents got into a car accident when I was nine...My mom was fine but my dad broke his right leg and right arm. He needed to get physical therapy in order to walk properly again...I went with him to almost all of his appointments. I have a lot of respect for physical therapists after how much they helped him…”

“I’m glad your dad recovered,” Jaemin said as he gave you a quick smile before gluing his eyes back onto the road.

“Me, too...But...my end goal in life? Honestly, I just want my own space to dance around in...With no shame.”

Jaemin chuckled. “No shame, huh? Does that mean you’re a terrible dancer?”

You smacked him. “No. Well, I’m sure there are worse dancers.”

He laughed harder. “Okay...I believe you.”

You laughed. “What about you, Jaemin? What’s your end goal?”

He sighed. “Start up my own content-creating company...I’m into traveling and uncovering hidden gems. Be the next big thing after Buzzfeed Unsolved.”

“Those are some pretty big shoes to fill…” You started.

Jaemin sounded unsure. “Yeah…”

You smiled, “I know you can do it. You’ve got a subscriber in me.”

Jaemin faked a tear. “You have no idea how much that means to me.”

You both laughed again as you reached for the M&Ms and your hands touched. You quickly pulled away, embarrassed. But Jaemin smiled to himself.

Jaemin said, “But as cheesy as it sounds...I want to get married, get a big house, and fill it with twelve children.”

You coughed. “Twelve? Are you and your future wife thinking of splitting the pregnancies up?”

Jaemin laughed. “Okay, maybe not twelve...But a family of my own is my dream. My parents split up when I was five so...I’ve split my time between two homes and it was an awkward feeling, especially after both of my parents remarried.”

“Oh…” You said. You couldn’t exactly sympathize with him because your parents were happily married so you didn’t want to say anything that could rub him the wrong way. That was the last thing you wanted.

“I want to be with that one person...For the rest of my life...When I meet her, I’ll know.” He said, giving you a meaningful look.

You had no idea how to process that so you took a sip of your blue raspberry ICEE and held it in the air, awkwardly. “Here’s to you finding your soulmate someday.”

He chuckled. “Thank you.”

___

You arrived at Heather’s summer home...Well, she called it a cabin. But it was actually a mansion by the beach. It was gorgeous. Something straight out of a movie. It looked like it could be its own hotel resort. You realized that there was a good chance you’d have your own room.

“This house is huge!” You exclaimed.

Jaemin looked along with you as he handed you your bag. “What a shame. I was hoping we would room together.” He said softly into your ear.

You turned to him in shock and he shot you his infamous flirty grin. This boy had you thinking he liked you and he’d better stop before you tried to kiss him.

Heather handed everyone keys to their bedrooms. “If any of you lose this copy, I can’t help you.” She made sure to say that as she handed you your keys.

You went up the stairs of the beach house and chose the last room on the left. You were unlocking the door to your room when someone from behind you tapped you on the shoulder.

“Hey, you’re y/n, right?” You recognized Yangyang from your mandatory PE class. You both took Intermediate Swimming, a class where as long as you flailed in the water and passed the easy quizzes, you’d be guaranteed an A.

You nodded. “And you’re…”

He said, “I’m Yangyang. It’s so nice to see you here!”

“You, too,” you said, averting your eyes once again. Yangyang was pretty attractive and you hoped he didn’t remember you and your Sailor Moon one piece. You always tried to be one of the first in the water and the last to leave when it came to your swimming class.

Even though Heather’s comments were nothing to you, it didn’t mean you were completely immune to the hurt it caused.

“You were in Coach Emerson’s swim class, right? You had the iconic Sailor Moon swimsuit.”

And there went the rest of your hopes and dreams. “Y-yeah…”

He laughed. “Don’t be embarrassed. I had Dragon Ball Z swim trunks.”

“Really?” You said.

Yangyang pretended to be hurt and winced. “I thought you’d be the one to notice.”

“Well...I’m not exactly looking at anyone’s...body…” You said, cringing at your words.

He laughed. “Fair point. I just liked the pattern. Your favorite character is Sailor Mars, right?”

You nodded, “Hell yeah. She’s the best.”

“I’m more of a Sailor Venus guy, myself,” he replied.

“Good taste. But all of the Sailor Scouts are queens,” you started.

“No question,” Yangyang said. “Hey, do you-” His phone started to ring. “Sorry, y/n...I gotta take this.”

You waved goodbye to him and entered your spacious bedroom. As much as Heather despised you and you despised her, her family had excellent taste in real estate. The queen-sized bed was plush like a cloud straight from heaven. You pulled the window up to feel the ocean breeze. It was paradise.

You heard a knock at your door an hour later. It was Jaemin.

“Wanna go for a walk?” He asked.

“Sure!” You said, having already changed into a sundress.

Jaemin thought you looked stunning. Well, you always did. He was so happy to be here with you. Otherwise, he may not have gone on this trip.

Jaemin led you to the beach where you let your toes touch the water. He teased you by splashing you. And you splashed him back until you both were soaked.

You both laughed so hard that you toppled over each other, you on top of Jaemin. You both stared at each other for a long time. Jaemin closed his eyes, his long eyelashes caressing his cheeks. He waited for you to kiss him.

You moved closer and your lips met his. His lips tasted salty thanks to you and your merciless splashing. But the kiss was everything. It was fireworks at the end of a perfect night. It was hot chocolate on a warm winter night. It was like an angel held you and you snuggled against his wings. The kiss was perfect.

You two let go and Jaemin bit his lip. “So.”

You stood there, frozen. “So…”

“So...we did that.”

You nodded. “Indeed we did.”

“Thoughts?” He looked at you with his big brown eyes.

You cleared your throat. “Well...I certainly wouldn’t mind doing that again.”

Jaemin’s big gorgeous goofy smile came back full force at hearing you. He cupped your face in his hands and was about to kiss you again.

“Guys!” Naeun called out to you. “Have you seen Yangyang?”

You and Jaemin pulled yourselves apart. You answered, “Last time I saw him was when he went to his room. Is everything okay?”

“He wasn’t answering his phone...And I found it in his room.” She held up his phone that had a Dragon Ball Z pop socket on the back of it.

You frowned. “That’s weird.”

Jaemin offered. “Maybe he went for a walk. Got some fresh air?”

“Maybe…” Naeun thought and you nodded. “If you see him, tell him I’m looking for him and that I’m pissed.”

“Okay,” you said.

Naeun stomped away, frustrated.

“Now where were-” you started.

Jaemin already pulled you in for another kiss. He pinned you down against the shoreline and trailed your neck with his kisses.

You breathed heavily as you held him tightly.

He looked at you, as if asking you something.

You gave him a look. “What’s up?”

“Do you want to…” His eyes moved down to his pelvic region where his member was protruding through the fabric of his trunks.

Your eyes widened at how big he was. And your eyes nearly popped out of your head when you realized what he was asking. “Oh…”

Jaemin waited for you patiently.

Things were moving too fast. You were more than happy to kiss Jaemin all night but you really weren’t ready to have sex. Not tonight, anyway.

You already knew the answer. “I’m sorry Jaemin. I do like you but...I’m...not ready. I should go…” You got up but Jaemin stopped you. It was like a romantic Korean drama scene, except instead of your wrist ...He grabbed your ankle.

“It’s okay...You don’t have to go. Please don’t go…” He begged as he made a puppy dog pout.

You laughed, relieved. “Okay okay...You can stop making that face.”

Jaemin pouted his lips even more. “What face?”

You rolled your eyes and splashed him. You and Jaemin spent a couple of hours on the beach, kissing and talking. You wrapped up and he walked you to your bedroom.

___

You woke up early the next morning to hear screaming and crying. You got out of bed and ran out the door.

“What’s wrong?” You asked, finding Naeun devastated on the floor. Heather sat down with her on the ground and consoled her.

“Yangyang…” She said between sobs. “He’s gone!”

Renjun looked grave as he handed you his phone. “We all got these messages. Did you, y/n?”

You looked at what was on Renjun’s phone screen and there was a video of Yangyang, bound up and gagged. Tears streamed down his eyes. He mumbled loudly for help.

Tears fell out of your eyes. “What the hell is this?”

You couldn’t believe it. You’d just had a whole conversation with him yesterday. He was friendly and funny…

And now he was like this.

Jaemin replied, “Someone’s idea of a sick joke...I don’t recommend looking at the rest of the story, y/n…”

You ignored him and kept watching. The next video pointed to a wall and you could hear Yangyang clearly now...He was yelling. “No! Who are you? Why are you doing this? Stop! Nooooooo!” The video cut off after that. The last picture was of Yangyang with his throat slit with text that read: “Wonder who will be next...It’s anyone’s guess, really. 🧐 #springbreak2020”

You ran into the bathroom and threw up. The rest of the group followed you into the bathroom. “Well, y/n?” Tzuyu started.

“Well, what?” You asked.

“Show us your phone,” Tzuyu demanded.

“Why?” You asked.

Jaemin intervened, “Why are you guys ganging up on her?”

“We’ve checked everyone’s phones...Now we want to see y/n’s,” Tzuyu said, a vindictive look in her eyes.

“Fine,” you said. You pulled it out of your pocket and you were shocked to find the messages on your phone.

“Someone sent them to her, too. She’s as innocent as the rest of us,” Renjun said.

Tzuyu frowned. “Okay…”

She seemed disappointed that you weren’t the culprit. You wondered why Tzuyu hated you. She was merely one of Heather’s followers so you guessed she would hate anyone Heather hated no matter what.

Still, this didn’t alleviate any of your worries. Someone kidnapped and murdered Yangyang overnight. And whoever that was remained close by.

And they weren’t finished.

Unfortunately for all of you, your cell reception was weak so you couldn’t contact the police. You were on the verge of a panic attack.

Renjun decided, “We should try going to the next town to get reception.”

Tzuyu started, “You are not leaving me here.”

“Fine, we’ll go together.” He said as they both walked off and borrowed Heather’s car.

___

You sat in the living room, scared to be in your room all alone. Hell, you didn’t mind being with Heather and Naeun. Jaemin was making lunch in the kitchen for you guys.

It had been a few hours since Renjun and Tzuyu left. Now you were all getting worried. The next town wasn’t that far off, according to Heather. So something was up.

And you wondered if it had been a good idea for them to leave. Maybe they had been just as much in danger as the rest of you. Whoever the killer was...He had resources to be anywhere at any time. It gave you shivers.

“Y/n, can you get Naeun a glass of water?” Heather asked you.

You nodded and met Jaemin in the kitchen. You asked him once again, “Are you sure I can’t help with anything?”

Jaemin shook his head. “I’ve got this.” He said as he finished making lasagna.

You got a glass of water for Naeun. “Jaemin, I’m scared,” you said.

Jaemin looked rattled up, too, but he seemed to be holding it together for the rest of you. And it meant a lot to you.

The four of you sat down to eat quietly. Naeun barely took a bite of her lasagna.

Not too long after, she started wheezing. Hives broke out onto her skin. “Epi...Pen...Heather.”

Heather jumped out of her seat. “I’ll go get it!”

“Oh God,” you panicked. “You need air! Let’s go outside, Naeun.”

You and Jaemin helped her out to the front door so she can breathe better. You were praying Heather found her EpiPen soon.

Heather returned, upset, “Are you sure it’s in your purse? I couldn’t find it.”

Naeun nodded. “Yes…”

When you realized Naeun’s EpiPen was missing, you ran up to your room and grabbed yours. “I brought mine!”

“Hurry up!” Heather said.

You ran back down and Naeun was able to get the injection she needed to recover from her reaction.

Heather took Naeun up to her room to recover.

“I wonder what Naeun was allergic to…” You said to Jaemin.

Jaemin frowned. “I don’t know...I had no idea she had severe allergies. Maybe it was in one of the ingredients but I’m not sure which one…God, I feel terrible.” He put his face in his hands.

“Hey, it’s okay...It was an accident...She’ll be okay,” you said as you hugged him.

“It was a good thing you had your EpiPen, y/n...You’re amazing…”

“Or I just have severe allergies, too,” you said.

He laughed awkwardly. “Right…”

Even more hours passed. Renjun and Tzuyu haven’t returned. Everyone was antsy.

You and Jaemin were going to go out and look for them but you were shocked to find his tires had been slit recently.

This wasn’t a coincidence. The killer was watching your every move. You wondered if he had gotten to Renjun and Tzuyu. Your throat dried up at just thinking that.

You and Heather grabbed weapons from her father’s shed, which included gardening shears and hunting rifles.

Heather taught you how to handle the rifle. You both went back into the house with your weapons in tow. You all made sure to shut all of the windows and close all of the doors. You scoured the entire property. No one can come in. And no could come out. You hoped there wasn’t some random secret entrance to this house that rich people always seemed to have in the movies. You all reluctantly headed to bed.

You sat up on the edge of your bed. You were comfortable in a concert tee and some shorts. You wanted to wear something that would be easy to run in. Just in case the killer would come for you next.

Jaemin was at your door. “Hey…Heather and Naeun both fell asleep.”

“How can they be asleep...I can’t sleep knowing that that bastard is out there…” You said.

Jaemin walked into the room. “Can I sit with you?”

You nodded. “Jaemin, what are we going to do...We can’t just stay here. We're sitting ducks. Renjun and Tzuyu are just gone...And we don’t know when or even if they're coming back…”

Jaemin rubbed your back in small circles. His touch was distracting. Kissing Jaemin would be a great distraction.

Making love to him would be even better.

That would be ridiculous. The last thing you wanted to do was have sex when a murderer was afoot. That would be a total cliche.

Jaemin replied. “I’m sorry, y/n...I think our best bet is to wait it out until morning and go to the next town on foot.”

You nodded. “Yeah...Maybe daytime will be safer.”

Jaemin nodded. “Why don’t you go to sleep and I’ll take the first shift?”

“Really?” You asked.

“Yeah, I’m wired. I had three cups of coffee in the past hour. You need to rest, y/n.” Jaemin said as he pulled the covers over you. “I’ll come back to wake you. I’ll be on guard.” He grabbed one of the hunting rifles he left outside the door.

“Thank you,” you said as you shut your eyes. Sleep quickly took over.

___

You were quickly shaken awake. “Y/n get the fuck up!” Heather hissed.

“Heather?” You exclaimed.

She shushed you. “Shut up. You need to come with me right now.”

“What’s wrong?” You whispered.

Heather made sure your door was locked before she returned back to you. “Naeun is dead.”

You looked carefully at Heather and had seen that she’d been crying. “What?” You asked. “That’s impossible.”

“We shouldn’t have left her alone. She said she was fine. She seemed fine. I went to check on her and...she wasn’t breathing. And...I think she was smothered, y/n.”

“Wait...Are you saying…”

“The killer is Jaemin,” Heather said.

“What? Why would you say that?” You shook your head.

“Think about it, y/n. None of us has good reception here so how is that we got those texts about Yangyang? The killer had to be in close proximity to us. Tzuyu and Renjun left in my car, which he probably messed with so they got into an accident...And...I don’t even want to say what could’ve happened...Whatever Jaemin put in the lasagna almost killed Naeun. Then, her EpiPen fucking disappeared. And then, conveniently right after, his tires were slit. And now, since he couldn’t finish the job the first time, he smothered Naeun to death.”

“Heather...Jaemin wouldn’t…” You started.

“I know...I had my doubts, too, but...he gave me some calming tea before I went to sleep...When it cooled down, I tested it...It’s been drugged.”

Your heart sank. “How do you know?”

“My dad’s company is working with the nail polish that can track date rape drugs. My painted nail changed color when I tested it out. Jaemin tried to drug me, y/n…” She showed you her neon green polish and the one fingernail that turned black.

You covered your hand over your mouth.

“I had a feeling he would come check up on me so I tossed some of the tea down the drain and pretended I was asleep. He came back to check that I was asleep, y/n...That’s just creepy. Why the hell would he need to drug me?”

Not knowing how to answer, you started, “Heather...Maybe…”

Jaemin surprised you both by breaking the wood of the door down with an ax. He made a big enough hole to unlock the door from the inside.

You and Heather yelled. Jaemin heard everything. 

Jaemin started. “Heather, why are you up? I thought I was going to take care of you tomorrow in my grand finale…”

“Shit,” Heather said as she got closer to you.

“Jaemin? What grand finale?” You demanded. “What is going on?”

Jaemin smiled wide at you. “Sweetheart, I thought I told you to sleep.”

The look in Jaemin’s eyes became cold...Calculating.

“y/n...It’s no accident that I asked for you to come on this trip…” Jaemin said as he pulled a knife out of his pocket and twirled it around his hand. “I thought you’d partake in the festivities…”

“What festivities?” Heather demanded. “Why the fuck did you try to drug me? Why did you kill Naeun? What the hell did she do to you?”

Jaemin tsked as he met Heather’s eyes. “Why wouldn’t I kill Naeun? Why wouldn’t I kill them all? Think about it, you ungrateful little brat.”

You found yourself moving closer to Heather then for she was your only living ally. Albeit the biggest bitch in the land.

Jaemin killed everyone.

Jaemin was the killer.

Heather shook her head. “Jaemin, stay the fuck away from us. I swear to God. Or I’ll-”

Jaemin chuckled. “You’ll what? Call Daddy? Call Mommy? They’re both abroad, never giving a second thought about their spoiled daughter...Those two think you couldn’t be safer and more comfortable…It’s ridiculous...A girl who has everything...Takes it upon herself to put others down...You’ve put y/n down for years...You’ve never let go your childish and petty hatred for her...And for what reason?”

Heather’s resolve faded when she realized what you had.

“Jaemin…” You started.

“Y/n, did you not realize that each person on this trip has fucked with you one way or another?” He asked.

Well, the girls were bitches, yes, but…

“Naeun was the one who spread that rumor about you getting your breast implants...Tzuyu was the one who nearly ran you over in the student parking lot...Renjun body shamed you in the boys’ locker room...And Yangyang told us all that he wanted to take your virginity this weekend…”

“Jaemin!” Heather exclaimed.

“You should’ve been careful with who you added in your group chat full of morons, Heather....Ah, and Heather, dear...you’re the ringleader in all of this...You goaded Naeun and Tzuyu to do these things to y/n. You’ve set out to put y/n down for a long time now. You even went along with Renjun and Yangyang’s comments about y/n’s body...Fuck you, by the way, she’s perfect in every way...And I should’ve made them all go through slower...more painful deaths for all of the things you said about her...”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. You had no idea that even boys were targeting you...First off, you literally just breathed. The girls were childish and petty but…

“Jaemin,” you said.

“Yes, sweetheart?” Jaemin asked with a kinder smile to you.

“What they all did to me was wrong...But you didn’t have to…”

Jaemin’s eyes widened. “Kill them? Well, it wasn’t up to you...All of these people are worthless scum that won’t amount to much, honestly….So was it really a waste?”

Heather surprised you by pulling a handgun out of her pocket. She shot Jaemin in the chest. “y/n, let’s go!” She pulled you out of the bed and you both ran for your lives.

“Agh!” Jaemin groaned as he fell to the ground.

You both ran down the stairs. Heather unlocked the front door, knowing the house was no longer safe.

You both ran down the steps of the entrance. You had to pull Heather with you because she ran too slow for you. Then, you heard a gunshot.” Heather fell down. She’d been shot in the foot. “Fuck!” She yelled.

You turned to see Jaemin at the entrance with a hunting rifle. “Bulletproof vest, baby!”

You yelled as you tried to help Heather up.

Jaemin asked, genuinely confused. “Y/n, why are you running? This has nothing to do with you.”

You gaped. “Are you kidding me? Apparently, this has everything to do with me…Jaemin put the gun down! Please stop!”

Jaemin shook his head. “Out of the question, sweetheart. You’d be smart to leave Heather to me.”

Heather began to cry. “No…”

You wrapped Heather’s arm around you and both walked off. Heather winced with pain but she could manage as you kept running. Jaemin was getting closer and closer. He waited, then.

You and Heather were confused. Why did he stop running?

You and Heather both walked over a bear traps you both hadn’t seen.

You yelped in pain and Heather cried out, “Son of a bitch!”

It hurt for both of you to move an inch. You both cried.

Jaemin made his way over, using a flashlight. He sighed. “Y/n, you should’ve stopped running. Now you’ve your beautiful ankle...Well, it’s no big deal...I can disinfect it and patch it up nicely for you...After I’m done with Heather.”

“Jaemin, no, please stop. You don’t have to do this. I don’t want you to do this. That’s enough!” You pleaded.

At the sound of your last two words, Jaemin froze. The words brought him back to when he was a kid and he would pummel other children for bullying his younger siblings. His parents would beg him to stop. It was too bad that their words didn’t stick. And your words were no different.

Jaemin sighed. “I’m sorry, y/n…” He whacked the back of his gun over your head so you blacked out.

___

Heather had also been knocked out. She awoke to being tied up and sitting in the hot tub beside the Olympic sized swimming pool in the backyard. She noted that bricks were tied around her ankles. As she tried to pull herself up, it was impossible for her to get out.

Jaemin smiled wickedly as he wielded the thermostat. “You’ve always prided yourself on being the hottest girl at our college...Why don’t we put that to the test?”

“Jaemin, please stop! I am so sorry!” She cried. “Please don’t do this! I messed up! I...I’ve always been jealous of y/n! Because she was the one who had everything. The perfect family. The perfect grades. The perfect body. Everything about her is so damn effortless that I hated it.” She hoped that pouring her soul out to him might make him change his mind.

“Oh, boohoo…” Jaemin said as he increased the heat.

Heather grew uncomfortable. “Jaemin...Stop...Please...It’s too hot…”

Jaemin sighed. “Goodbye Heather…”

___

You slowly woke up seated on the passenger side of Jaemin’s Jeep. Your eyes quickly opened when you realized that. You jerked awake and found Jaemin in the driver’s seat, calm and composed. “I think we’re alone now...”

You backed up against your window. “Jaemin! Where is Heather?”

“Oh, she’s tied up at the moment...In the hot tub...She is indeed the hottest girl from our college now…” Jaemin said, a chuckle escaping his lips at his pun.

You were about to be sick. You pulled the window and vomited. You tried moving by the gash from the bear trap made you wince and groan in pain.

“Oh, y/n...I didn’t mean for you to get hurt...You couldn’t help it, though. Wanting to help that brat till the end...Because you see the good in people...You are simply too pure.”

“Jaemin...Where are we going?”

“To the next town...Where we will report a murderer that broke into Heather’s summer home…”

You looked at him in disbelief. Surely, he wouldn't turn himself in.

“The murderer is at large and we narrowly escaped, y/n...I got you out of the bear trap and we were able to get away in my car…”

You shook your head. “Jaemin, no...They’ll never believe you...”

Jaemin shocked you by breaking down the same way he had the day before you left for the trip. “Officers, please h-help us. Our friends are gone!”

You looked at him in disbelief. Did he fake crying before?

Well, you did think he was a tremendous actor. You just didn’t know how right you were.

“Jaemin, this is wrong…” You started.

He sighed. “Y/n...you worry too much...Now your life will be brighter...It’ll be perfect now. Perfect for the perfect girl…”

You contemplated how the hell you could get away from Jaemin. Your options were limited as he’d taken your phone. You couldn’t exactly run that far but you could find a way to slow him down. You noticed Heather’s car off the side of the road. It’d rammed into a tree. Jaemin must have tampered with Heather’s car, you realized. He did admit to having a hand in their disappearance, after all.

You thought fast and with all of your strength you moved over to Jaemin’s side and turned the wheel so the car collided into the trees.

The impact was intense but you’d dodged most of the impact. Jaemin laid next to you, unconscious and bleeding.

You limped out of the car and checked Heather’s car. As you feared, Renjun and Tzuyu died from the impact. It was a gruesome sight. They dealt with blunt trauma. Their heads were draining blood. You nearly puked again.

Before you broke down in tears, you thought fast and remembered Renjun and Tzuyu smoked. You rummaged through the glove compartment for a weapon or a phone...You came up short with Renjun’s lighter. Tzuyu’s phone had some battery left. The reception was low so you had to find a way to get to the next town to get reception.

So now what the hell were you going to do, you weren’t going to light a car up on fire...And burn the evidence that was once Tzuyu and Renjun.

You noticed the gas leak that came from under the car. You got under the hood of Heather’s car and found the gasoline tank leaking. You grabbed an empty Starbucks cup from the front seat and let the gasoline slip in.

___

You ran, not getting very far when Jaemin called out to you. He was able to walk normally and he was quickly catching up to you.

“Y/n! Sweetheart! Where are you going? Without me...” Jaemin called out.

You turned quickly and found he walked over to you with an ax.

“Fuck off, Jaemin!” You said, realizing he was just as capable of killing you.

“Sweetheart, let’s just talk about this...I did this all for you...Because I love you...I want to make you happy. I want to marry you. Have twelve children...Ah, yes, you said twelve may be excessive...How does eleven kids sound?”

You rolled your eyes. He was fucking insane. You decided to provoke him. “What makes you think I would marry a deranged killer?”

Jaemin’s face was unreadable then. You hid the cup of gasoline away in your sweater. Pretending you've injured your arm so Jaemin wouldn’t be the wiser.

“Y/n, please…”

You entertained him by turning around.

“What, Jaemin? How could you possibly convince me that anything you did was okay?”

“If you let me try…” Jaemin started. He got closer to you.

You waited for him to get closer and quickly doused him with the gasoline.

Jaemin coughed as some of the gasoline got in his mouth. “y/n, what are you-”

“Goodbye, Jaemin.” You ignited Renjun’s lighter and tossed it at him.

Jaemin clothes caught on fire. He yelled in agony as you watched him struggle. He threw the axe at you but he missed. You cried as you went back to Jaemin’s car and started up the ignition. Thank goodness, it still worked.

Jaemin immediately removed his clothes to remove himself from most of the flames and patted himself down. He immediately charged at you as you backed the car up from the tree.

You didn’t think twice as you ran him over. Checking the rearview mirror and seeing the job hadn’t been completed, you reversed the car and ran him over again.

You waited ten minutes to see that Jaemin was dead. You got out of the car and kicked his body to check for any movement. You got his heavy, lifeless body into the car with you. You checked his pulse again. He was dead. You checked multiple times because once again, you weren’t about to become a movie cliche.

You made it to the next town and reported Jaemin’s murders and how you killed him in self-defense. You explained your weekend of terror and you were at the station all week for questioning. Your family joined you and consoled you as you told them all you knew.

The police scoured the mansion. They found Yangyang’s body in the pool house, beaten to a bloody pulp. They found Naeun’s body in her bed, like she’d been in perpetual slumber. They found Heather’s body in the hot tub, wrinkled and burnt. They found Heather’s car where Tzuyu and Renjun’s bodies remained.

Jaemin told you the truth. He worked part-time at hardware store. He had been fired that day for snapping at one of the customer’s who was berating his wife. Before Jaemin left, he stole an ax. He really did get the ax, like he’d told you.

It turned out Jaemin tampered with the reception at Heather’s house and because her house was already remote...Jaemin was able to use that to his advantage. He used the last of the reception before he cut it off to send the texts about Yangyang from a burner phone, which was uncovered in his Jeep. Yangyang’s phone was unlocked and the police uncovered his messages that were supposedly from his dealer, who he scheduled to meet with the night he disappeared. It turned out Jaemin hacked into the dealer’s phone to get Yangyang right where he wanted him. Jaemin did indeed tamper with the wires of Heather’s car so Tzuyu and Renjun’s fates were sealed. The leftover lasagna Jaemin had prepared was analyzed and there were traces of crushed peanuts in the lasagna. Naeun had a severe peanut allergy. Naeun’s EpiPen was found with Jaemin’s other belongings. When you’d saved Naeun with your EpiPen, Jaemin took it upon himself to smother Naeun with a pillow in her sleep. Jaemin had planted bear traps around the front lawn, which was how he caught you and Heather. Heather died from heat exhaustion in the hot tub as she was tied up and restrained with bricks tied around her ankles. Jaemin had done all of this with gloved hands so no trace of his DNA could be found at the crime scenes. If it hadn’t been for the evidence he’d hidden in his car, then the case would’ve been more difficult to resolve.

Jaemin’s body was recovered at the crime scene. Thankfully, he was not a movie cliche where he up and left and awaited his next victim. He was dead to the world and most importantly, dead to you.

[Fin]

[givemebtscenarios]

Our Dawn Is Hotter Than Day-DK

Words: 3,631

The back of both jeeps were jammed full of things you would need at the beach. Thirteen of your best friends finally managed to get enough time off to actually do things, so the first person they called was you. You had already been complaining that you missed them, blowing up group chats and one-on-one conversations. You had met them when you were a trainee at Pledis, joining at the same time as them. You had hit it off immediately with a couple of them, and some took longer than others. Wonwoo was especially hard to get close to considering he never talked unless it was a couple words at a time. Seokmin and Soonyoung were the two you got close to at first, along with Samuel.

You smiled at the memory of you first meeting them, the memory never going away since it brought you thirteen people you'd do anything for and would do anything for you. You were brought back to reality at Mingyu wrapping his arm around your shoulders.

"I don't want to hear that you miss us for about two weeks after this, noona. We're spending literally all day and all night together. We have a lot planned today, so if we want to do everything, we better get going." he said, pointing towards the back of one of the jeeps.

You nodded and climbed in, grinning as Seungcheol got behind the wheel.

"We'll meet in the parking lot. I don't think a lot of people will be there, so we should be okay." he called to Minghao, who was driving the other jeep.

Minghao nodded and started up the vehicle, pulling off in front of Seungcheol. Mingyu, Jihoon, Seungcheol, Vernon, and Wonwoo were in the jeep with you, you being crammed between Wonwoo and Mingyu. Minghao, Jun, Soonyoung, Seungkwan, Chan, and Joshua were in the other jeep. Seokmin and Jeonghan had went to the beach about an hour earlier to set up some of the stuff you knew you wouldn't have been able to fit in the jeeps.

"I'm sorry I've been blowing you guys up. I know you've been working, and I understand everything. I just got lonely." you explained, looking between the guys with a guilty smile on your face.

"If your drunk texts at 2 am told us anything, it was exactly what you just said." Seungcheol said, looking at you from the rear view mirror.

You grinned and flipped him off, his grin taking up the whole reflection. You sat up from your spot, sitting on the top of the seat, the wind whipping your hair around and cooling your face down. You looked in front of you and saw the other jeep, your eyes settling on Soonyoung doing the same as you. You grinned and leaned your head back, the chill welcoming against your throat and neck, a smile spread across your face as Mingyu and Wonwoo grabbed your leg in case you leaned back just a little too far. The wind died down as Seungcheol pulled into the parking lot, stopping right beside the other jeep.

You looked over and saw only two people were on the beach-Seokmin and Jeonghan. They were waving their arms, grins on their faces as everyone jumped out of the vehicles and ran onto the sand.

"Hey! We have to unpack everything!" Seungcheol yelled after them, sighing when he saw there was no way they were slowing down.

You laughed and walked up beside him.

"I'll help you. We don't need to take everything out right now. Just the basics." you said as you walked around and started taking out towels and bags of spare clothes.

Seunghcheol thanked you as he started taking things out of the other jeep, including a couple boxed floats and an air pump.

"We have a battery operated one in here, but because they wouldn't help, they have to pump it by hand." he said, mostly to himself.

You grinned and shook your head, closing the door and heading over to where the guys were. Soonyoung took the towels from you, laying them down on the sand as you sat down the bags of clothes. Seungcheol walked up beside you, throwing a box to Seungkwan and another one to Joshua. He sat the air pump down and told them to have fun before shedding his shirt and running into the water. You grinned and watched after them.

"Sunblock's in one of the bags with clothes." you said before pulling your summer dress off to expose your bikini before running towards the water.

You dived underneath, the feeling of the water traveling through your hair making you wish you could stay underwater forever. Your face broke the surface, taking in a deep breath before you were being lifted completely up. A loud shriek sounded through the air as you looked down and saw Seokmin underneath you, hoisting you up onto his shoulders.

"Come on noona, you're playing." was all he said before he was turning around to face Vernon on top of Jun's shoulders.

A blush spread across your cheeks at the feeling of Seokmin's head between your thighs. You had never told anyone about your little crush on Seokmin that you had developed about one year ago. Nobody knew that you even looked at Seokmin that way, and that's the way you wanted to keep it. You grabbed Vernon's hands, intertwining your fingers as the two of you pushed with all your might. You ended up with the upper hand as you watched Jun slowly start to topple back.

"Fuck! No!!" Vernon yelled before he went underwater.

You laughed and did a little dance before remembering you were on Seokmin's shoulders and the blush came back. Minghao decided he wanted to go up against you next, and one after one, you went through every member except for Jun and Seokmin. Vernon had you up on his shoulders as Mingyu had Jun.

"You ready to lose, Wen Junhui?" you asked, a grin plastered on your face.

"Ha! Not in the slightest." he said, before making a move towards you.

Both you and Vernon saw it happen, so Vernon just stepped aside as Jun fell forward, body hitting the water. You grinned in victory as Seokmin sauntered up and signaled Mingyu to get him up.

"You may have done a good job with the rest of 'em. But, there's no way in hell you're beating me." he said confidently.

You grinned and nodded.

"We'll see, won't we?" you asked, the two of you making a move at the exact same time.

Mingyu and Vernon shared a look and the two of you were flying through the air, you having just enough time to hold your nose before you went under. You came back up, wiping your face off before swimming over to Vernon and ducking him under the water.

"You asshole, I would have won!" you yelled playfully.

He grinned an shrugged.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I lost my footing." he said with a sly smile.

"Y/n!" you heard from a distance and turned your head to see Seungkwan patting the unicorn float that Seungcheol brought from the jeep.

You swam over, smiling as Seungkwan helped you up onto it, the sun warming the plastic up. You let the water drift you off, splashing water onto your thighs every now and then when they got too hot.

"Need a personal thigh wetter?" you heard from beside you, and you looked over to see Seokmin floating beside you.

You laughed and looked over at him, shaking your head when you saw him motion towards the other end of the float.

"Get your own, Seokmin." you hushed, stretching out until your entire body took up the length of the float. You watched as he pouted, but jumped onto the float anyways.

"Seokmin! You're going to tip us over!" you yelled, grinning and trying to regain balance of the float.

"We'll be okay, I'm not going to make you fall in."

You sat back and closed your eyes, listening to the waves crash against the plastic underneath you and the birds that flew overhead. The yells and laughs from the rest of the group sounded behind you and you smiled. You felt something nudge your leg and you opened your eyes to see Seokmin grinning at you. He shot you a wink and you grinned, closing your eyes and shaking your head.

"Do it again, and I'm pushing you over board." you warned, but the grin on your face took out all seriousness in your voice.

"Seventeen......and co!" you heard Seungcheol yell.

You and Seokmin looked over towards the beach to see him waving his arms wildly in the air. Seokmin jumped off the float, swimming behind it to push you up to the rest of the group. You laughed and sat up straight, raising your hands in the air. You arrived at the edge of the water and you climbed off the float, Seokmin helping you to your feet once you hit the sand.

"What's going on?" you asked, standing between Vernon and Chan.

"It's about time to head to the room. We got top floor and we still have stuff to do. We need to go by the store and get what we need for tonight. Let's go change. Y/n set the clothes by the towels." Seungcheol said, looking around at everyone.

Everyone walked over and grabbed their clothes before walking to the bathroom by the parking lot. You walked in, still hearing the boys' laughter, only louder because of the echo. You smiled to yourself, shedding your bikini and drying off before pulling on your shorts and tank top. You walked out, seeing all the boys waiting for you by the jeeps.

"Aahhh, nice!" Jun yelled, noticing the Seventeen logo printed on the front.

You grinned and walked with the group to the jeeps, trying to decide where Seokmin and Jeonghan should sit.

"Seokmin can sit between me and Wonwoo. Y/n, are you comfortable enough to sit on a lap?" Mingyu asked.

You nodded and walked to the jeep, climbing in after the boys, sitting in Mingyu's lap and laying your legs across the others. Seungcheol drove to the grocery store, pulling into a parking spot near the front and waiting for the others to get here. You all piled into the store, grabbing carts and heading in different directions to get what was needed.

"Anything in particular that you want?" Soonyoung asked you as you walked down the aisle.

You thought about it for a minute before grinning.

"Yeah, I want some pork dumplings. I've been craving them for weeks now."

He grinned and walked to where the dumplings were, grabbing a bag and throwing them into the cart. About an hour later, all of the shopping was done and food was bought. You managed to cram the bags into the jeeps and you were off to the building where your room was. The bags were hauled up to the room in one trip, each member taking at least one bag and taking turns in the elevator. When you all got up to the room, everyone started setting stuff onto the counters, organizing them with what they belonged with.

"Okay, everyone rinse off before we get started making the mixed noodles, Budae Jjigae, and meat. Mingyu, can you do the meat? Jihoon will do the mixed noodles, and Seokmin will do the Budae Jjigae." Wonwoo said before heading out to help Soonyoung and Joshua set up tables and chairs.

Everyone took turns in the shower, not taking the time to take a full one, just enough to rinse the salt water out of their hair and off their bodies. You slid your clothes back on, knowing they weren't dirty. You walked in to see the guys already getting stuff ready to start cooking.

"I'll do the Budae Jjigae first, then Jihoon can do the mixed noodles." Seokmin said, grabbing a pot and the ingredients from the pile.

"Need help?" you asked Seokmin, walking over to stand beside him.

"Yeah, can you get the spam and ramen? I'm going to add it in at the end." he said, looking over at you from underneath his still wet hair.

You nodded and walked over to the bags of food you had gotten, throwing your dumplings in the freezer before getting the spam and ramen out. You sat them on the counter and watched as he worked, acting as his taste tester and telling him what he needed more of. As you sat there, you thought about how you hadn't spent as much time with the rest of the members as you had with Seokmin today. You looked outside to see them running around setting up plates and bowls. You grinned when you saw Chan at the grill.

"Chan's grilling the meat?" you asked, looking over at Seokmin.

He looked outside and chuckled.

"Nine times out of ten, Seungcheol will start instructing him and then Mingyu will just take over." he said with a grin.

You jumped up onto the counter and swung your legs, humming the melody to 'Thanks'.

"You really live for Seventeen, huh?" Seokmin teased, stepping closer to you so he was in front of you.

"I do. I love you guys." you said, staring into his eyes.

He took a step closer, standing slightly between your legs as he placed his hands on the counter on either side of you. He took the next couple of steps carefully, and soon he was standing right against the counter and his face was in front of yours. His eyes trailed from your eyes to your lips and it took everything in you to not lean forward and let them meet his.

"Time to start the meat?" Chan asked, peeking his head into the room.

Seokmin jumped from you like he had been electrocuted and looked towards Chan.

"Yeah, I'm about to add the ramen and start the spam now." he said, grabbing a container of spam.

Chan nodded, looking between the two of you and smiled slightly before walking out. You looked over at Seokmin to see him opening the can and cutting it into slices before adding them to skillet to brown. A blush was spread across his face and his eyebrows were furrowed. Neither of you said anything, and the tension was thick in the air. You cleared your throat and looked over at him.

"I'm gonna go see if they need any help outside." you said, hopping down from the counter.

"Yeah, yeah, sounds good." he said, looking up at you momentarily before going back to flipping the spam over and adding the ramen into the boiling soup.

You walked out and looked over at Chan, who was looking at you with his eyebrows raised. You quickly looked away and asked Vernon if he needed help setting up.

"We've got it pretty much done. We just have to set out something for Seokmin to put the pot on." he said, looking around for a towel to place on the table.

You nodded when everyone told you they were done with what they had to do and they took their seats at the table. You looked back inside and saw Seokmin adding the ramen into the pot and a feeling of wanting to just walk in there and kiss him came to the front of your mind. You shook your head, along with that feeling, away and watched as Jeonghan scrolled through his phone which was hooked up to the speakers.

Music blared out from around you and you saw Seokmin's head pop up to look outside. Your eyes met his and he smiled slightly before continuing what he was doing.

"Just go in there and do it." you heard someone whisper from behind you and you jumped around to see Chan standing there.

"What are you talking about?"

"Noona, everyone's noticed how you and him have been acting today. Seokmin couldn't stay away from you, and even if he was, his eyes stayed glued to you." he said, looking into the building.

You blushed and looked down at your feet, playing with your hands as the wind blew your hair across your face. Chan patted your back before he walked away, leaving you alone with your thoughts. A few minutes later, Seokmin was walking outside with a big, steaming pot of soup and sat it down on the towel Vernon had laid out. Seokmin filled his bowl with ramen, spam, and veggies before sitting down in his seat.

"Y/n, get you a bowl before they eat it all." Seungkwan said with a grin.

You smiled and helped yourself to a bowl before taking the only seat open-next to Seokmin. You had always known he was a good cook, but you didn't know he could be that good.

"This is great." you told him, making your eyes meet his.

"Thanks, noona." he said, his eyes crinkling at the corners with the grin he gave you.

Seokmin was one of the few who never used formal names for you after you had told them they didn't have to. The fact he was using them now confused you. Had what happened in the kitchen affected your friendship already? The smile faded from your face and you ate the rest of your food quietly, deciding to stay in the background and let the guys have their fun. Jihoon started the mixed noodles while the first round of meat was pulled from the grill. Just as Seokmin predicted, Mingyu had taken over the grill.

You watched as member after member took pieces of meat and popped one into their mouth. You pulled your legs into your chair, wrapping your arms around them and laying your head down. The next couple of minutes passed by with the laughs of the guys and chewing of meat until Jihoon came out with the mixed noodles. More bowls were filled and mixed with meat, mouthfuls of food being swallowed down. You stood up and walked into the kitchen now that it was empty and leaned against the counter.

"Why aren't you eating? And why aren't you outside with us?" you heard a voice ask you, and you knew it was Seokmin.

You shrugged and brought your head back up to look at him.

"Guess I got full off your food." you said with a small smile.

He walked over to you so he was standing in front of you.

"Noona, you know I know better." he said, his face serious.

You searched his eyes, not knowing how to tell him that you liked him and wanted him to kiss you like he was going to before Chan walked in earlier. You stood up straighter, your eyes moving down to his lips.

"What is going on between us?" he asked, looking down at you.

You sighed and looked down at your feet again, knowing what you wanted it to be, but not knowing how to tell him. You felt his finger underneath your chin and he made you look at him. He slowly started to lean down, looking between your eyes and your lips, giving you every opportunity to stop him. You closed your eyes as he got closer, his breath hitting your face.

"Oh! Turn on Our Dawn Is Hotter Than Day!" Seungcheol yelled out and the two of you looked outside to see fireworks going off in the distance.

You ran outside, walking over to the edge of the balcony, feeling Seokmin stand behind you and place his hand on the rail over yours. You smiled as you watched the colors explode in the sky, loud pops and bangs echoing through the air along with ooh's and aah's from the boys. Seokmin grabbed your hand and walked you back from the boys, walking until you stood in the middle of the balcony. He placed his hands on each side of your face before lowering his head down to yours.

Your lips finally met and just like the fireworks in the sky, you saw them behind your eyes. His lips were soft against yours, moving expertly. Your hands went to his hair, fingers running between the strands as the boys kept yelling from behind you. You smiled, breaking the kiss and moving back to look at him. He picked you up and spun you around, placing you back down on your feet so you could go finish watching the fireworks. When you turned around to walk back, you saw twelve sets of eyes on you, grins spread across their faces. You blushed as they yelled and raised their fists in the air.

"It's about damn time!" Vernon yelled, eating one last bite of meat and noodles.

You grinned and Seokmin leaned down to kiss you once more, his lips parting from yours, but keeping your foreheads pressed together.

"I say it's a good night to sleep outside. What do you guys think?" Seungcheol asked.

Everyone took all the mattresses, blankets, and pillows outside, setting them in random spots and laying down on them, covering up and getting comfortable enough to fall asleep. You laid next to Seokmin and the two of you stared at the stars together. Words needed to be said, but both of you too shy to say them around the boys right now. Holding hands and quick kisses were enough at the time to let each other know how you felt, and that's all you needed. One last kiss before you were laying your head on his chest and falling asleep to the sound of his heartbeat and the feeling of his arms wrapped around you.

[negans-network]

Belts Part 1

Summary: For @flames-bring-a-ton-of-ash and her 2nd Negan Writing Challenge, this is for a Negan x OC x Simon prompt. OC Maria is Latina and plus-sized.  

Word Count:  6888

Warnings: Foul Language, Sexual Imagery and Language, Drinking, Daddy Kink, Negan and Simon.

Author: @genevievedarcygranger

Author’s Note: I hurt my wrist so it took me foreverrrr to grind this out. I’m super late, but here you goooo. Sorry!

Maria was driving an old but reliable blue pick-up truck covered in pollen. Her boss Negan was in the passenger seat next to her, the barbed-wire baseball bat Lucille across his lap. In the backseat, Laura and Dwight were crammed with their knees pressed into both Maria’s and Negan’s backs. Dwight was navigating, the map crinkling in his hand, held up so high that when Maria glanced in the overhanging rearview mirror at him his scarred face was hidden. Laura was napping next to him, her neck awkwardly propped on the window. In the truck bed was Skinny Joey on a mounted machine gun that was mainly for show as they only had one sleeve of bullets left for it.

Behind their truck was Simon’s jeep where he drove with Arat, David, and Gary as his passengers. They were searching for a lost community. The community had been one of the one’s under Negan’s and the Savior’s protection until they had rebelled against them. Needless to say, they lost, and to make an example of them Negan had ever man – boys over the age of 12 included – killed for their stupidity and insubordination.

The only reason the women weren’t killed was because none of the fighters had been women. That community had distinctly followed gender roles to the point that Maria thought it was idiotic. Few of the women knew how to defend themselves from the Dead-Alives or other people. They could barely handle guns, and they weren’t even allowed guns by the men. Negan recognized that the women were seemingly innocent and still useful – after all, it was only the women who did the actually farming, which is what Negan wanted from the community anyway.

Well, now they weren’t going to get their fresh produce from them anymore because the women had packed up overnight and left. Negan took this small group looking for them, scouting. These women were good at covering their tracks. Negan himself was on this voyage because he was angry that an entire community could just disappear out from under his nose. Part of him suspected that a few of his Saviors let the women go out of pity, which is why he brought along those he trusted the most – namely the loyal Arat, Simon his right-hand man, and steadfast Maria. Negan also brought along only three of his best fighters: Laura, Skinny Joey, David, and Gary. Mostly, they were there because Negan believed that they could handle the inexperienced women. Besides, Negan wanted his three top Savior women to prove a point that they were not monsters and that if these women were good enough, they could become Saviors, too, one day. Dwight, one of the newest Saviors, was brought mainly because he was familiar with the area as he lived here before the Dead became Alive again.

Maria was considered one of Negan’s most loyal Saviors because if Negan said jump, she was would do it with a backflip (if she could a backflip). As for the others, she was friends with them all – except Skinny Joey, David and Gary, who she was a little unfamiliar with. David was the only one to give her the creeps, so she avoided him when she could. He always kept some extra rope around, and Maria really didn’t like that. Maria didn’t mind Dwight, she admired his tenacity, and the way he was so eager to prove himself was almost cute.

Still, he wasn’t exactly her type as she preferred older men – much older, like Negan and Simon. She hadn’t done anything about it, though, considering herself not attractive enough and too young. It was surprising to most people that she even was a Savior considering she was one of the youngest at 23 (to her estimation) and she was not exactly the fittest. Most of the other Saviors had the same muscled physique or mean look or covered in tattoos. Meanwhile, Maria was average height, nondescript brown eyes and black hair and dark olive skin, and overweight with glasses to boot. There were no noticeable scars, and her youthfulness spoke of naivety – and she did smile at strangers. That didn’t mean Maria was weak or susceptible to manipulation.

Early on, Maria had learned how to handle herself in any situation; she kept herself alive so far, but that didn’t mean she became a dick in the process. Though she was compassionate, Maria was still a Savior because she recognized difficult situations when she saw it and knew that this mafia-style of ruling was the best way to rebuild society. Having witnessed Negan’s unusual styles of executions and punishments consisting of bashing brains and burning faces, she was still here, unshakeable like a rock.

It impressed Simon enough that he offered her Savior status and she took it without ever looking back. She didn’t let the power go to her head, and that meant she moved up the ranks quickly until she was one of the top. Negan could trust her not to usurp or disobey him, and she was competent in any task assigned. In turn, Maria lived comfortably, and didn’t once have trouble sleeping from her choices. She quite easily lied in the bed she made.

Trusted so much that Negan allowed her to drive, Maria kept an eye out for anything as she drove at a reasonable speed, slow enough to look for signs of the women but fast enough to not let anything catch up and surprise them. Despite the four-wheel drive of the truck and Maria’s carefulness, the going was a little bumpy considering how misshapen the dirt road was without proper care and management. Laura was startled awake when her forehead slammed a little too hard on the window. “Shit! What the hell, Maria? Didn’t you get your license before the world ended?”

Used to the cracks about her age by now, Maria glanced back at Laura and deliberate jerked the wheel, causing Laura to hit her head again. “Whoops. Sorry, Laura,” Maria half-heartedly apologized, and beside her Negan threw his head back and laughed, pausing in polishing Lucille.

“Stop, stop, stop,” Negan suddenly commanded Maria when he had stopped laughing. He pointed his ungloved hand at an abandoned and dilapidated house a little further off the main road. “That’s where we’ll hole up tonight. Seems like a good enough shit hole.”

Obediently, Maria tapped the break and turned the truck towards the shit hole. Even though it was the apocalypse, she used her turn signal so that Simon driving his jeep behind her would follow. Of course, he dutifully did without even radioing up with a question. Good, ol’ Simon.

Rolling up quietly to the house, Maria parked and so did Simon, cutting off their engines and lights. They all hopped out of their vehicles, weapons in hand. Gary and David took point to clear the house while the others waited outside. Skinny Joseph did a perimeter check, and told Negan the place was normal. When both Gary and David came back out they were both leading three Dead-Alives to be killed outside, that way the mess could be minimized in where they were going to stay the night. Maria stepped up with her machete and dispatched them quickly, dragging them around the house in a semicircle to act as a deterrent to both people who wanted to avoid Dead-Alives and then other Dead-Alives to mask the human scent. Gary and David went back inside with Laura and Arat, searching for any supplies. This was all routine procedure that took less than fifteen minutes.

With that finished, Negan propped his trusty Lucille up on his shoulder. “Anything good shit eating in there or are we shit outta luck?”

“There were canned vegetables,” Arat spoke up, “Corn, green beans, baked beans, kidney beans, basically any kind of beans you want.” Nodded her head in the direction of the now firmly deceased, she explained, “They were hiding there with a bite in all of them before they turned. We found 12 cans in their bags. The bags are inside.”

“One can apiece,” Negan told them all, sweeping his gaze over everyone there. “The extra three we take with us. One more day of looking and if we don’t find the fuckers, then fuck them. I wanna go home and fuck my wives.” Looking particularly at Dwight, Negan tilted his head and added with a smirk, “One new wife in particular.” Cowed, Dwight bowed his head, hiding his anger, and Maria admired his control.

Licking his lips, pleased with Dwight’s reaction, Negan continued, “Laura, since you slept in the truck like a lazy-ass instead of keeping a look out for the shitheads, I’m guessing you won’t mind staying awake tonight on guard duty in the truck.” Like Dwight, Laura ducked her head, mostly out of shame then anger. “If you need a break, wake up Skinny Joey to take a shift.”

Sweeping his eyes over them once more, Maria burned under his lingering gaze before Negan seemingly nodded to himself, satisfied. “Alright, let’s go stuff our fucking faces.”

“Wait,” Gary said, holding up a backpack that he had clutched to his chest, “we also found this.” Instead of tossing the backpack at Negan like Maria expected him to, Gary walked over to Negan showed him the backpack, holding it open for inspection.

Taking a peek, Negan smiled widely before he clapped Gary on the shoulder. “Well, shit, it’s gonna be a fucking party with all that booze in there.” Reaching in his gloved hand, Negan pulled out a bottle of tequila, the worm still clearly visible inside. “I’m not waiting to open this shit up when we’re back at the Sanctuary. We’ll have it all tonight.” He shot Laura a pointed look, “You take it easy on this shit, though.”

At the sight of the tequila bottle, there were small cheers that went up before the Saviors clambered inside. Laura remained outside on guard duty, and as Maria passed her on her way inside, Laura asked, “Hey, can you bring me a can?”

Even though earlier they had been sniping at each other, Maria shrugged, not one to hold a grudge. “Sure.” Inside, the others were crowded in the living room, both Negan and Simon on an armchair each in front of the fireplace, which lacked a fire. Pushed against a wall, Dwight and Arat shared a loveseat. Opposite of them, the couch was taken up by the other three men, so Maria was left with the floor. Unbothered, she grabbed a can of kidney beans for Laura and a can of French-cut green beans for herself, standing and waiting for the can opener to make its way around. Also, making its way around was one of the bottles of tequila, but Maria wasn’t quite as eager for that having never drank before anyway.

Awkwardly waiting for the can opener, Maria was startled when Negan suddenly told her, “I limited everyone to one can a-fucking-piece, Maria.” At Negan’s words, Simon turned to look at her, too, quirking an eyebrow, his face clearly communicating to Maria his concern. With the way the furniture was positioned, the armchairs had their backs to the rest of the room while the loveseat and couch were angled toward an TV with what used to a state of the art entertainment system. Because of this, the others were too distracted to notice, concentrating more on passing the bottle back and forth than actually eating their beans.  

“One can is for Laura, sir,” Maria explained quietly, “She’s outside keeping watch, and I thought I’d bring her dinner to her.”

Nodding in understanding, Negan sat back in his chair again, gingerly eating his black beans. “Well, fucking thanks for that Maria. You always think of everything.”

Fighting back a blush at his praise, Maria looked over at Simon who gave her a look of approval when she caught his eye. After that, Simon passed her the can opener and she opened Laura’s can first and headed back outside to her. When Maria came back, her can was already open, but her green beans seemingly untouched. Glancing up at Simon, Maria saw him packing away the can opener. “That’s nice of you Simon,” she thanked him as she lowered herself to sit on the rug in front of the fireplace.

Picking up her can, she crawled over and gently dumped the excess water out in the fireplace, kneeling before it. “It’s so warm at night this time of year, we won’t need a fire,” Maria explained herself again, looking back over her shoulder and catching Simon’s and then Negan’s eye. Both of the men nodded at her before going back to their cans, trying to pick out their food using their fingers without cutting themselves on the edges.

Shaking her head, Maria picked up the can’s lid and started bending it in half like a taco shell. “You’re gonna cut your hand doing that,” Simon told her with a warning tone.

“No, I’m not,” Maria sing-songed back, and she didn’t. Once she bent the lid to her liking, she used it as a small scoop for her green beans, avoiding her fingers from getting wet. She was still careful to use the lid as a spoon considering it was sharp, so she would tilt her head back and dump the green beans in her mouth. Starving, Maria couldn’t help the small moan of appreciation from eating. Looking up from her first bite, she caught both Simon and Negan staring at her again, weird looks over both of their facing. Quickly chewing and swallowing, she asked them, “What? I can’t fit my fingers in the can.”

Clearing his throat, Simon looked away, fingers patting down his mustache. Negan, never one to hold his tongue, guffawed, “That’s pretty damn clever.” Leaning forward, Negan snatched up his own discarded lid and started bending it, too, like Maria did.

 Following suit, Simon did the same. “How’d you think of this, Maria?”

Watching them both copy her, Maria smiled and then carefully took another bite of green beans. “I dunno, I just did.”

“Negan’s right, this was pretty damn – ouch! Damn it,” Simon cursed as he was the one that ended up cutting his hand on the lid. Negan dissolved into giggles at the irony, and Simon shot him a dirty look before he looked more closely at his injured hand. “Knowing my luck, I’m gonna need a tetanus shot for this.”

Setting down her can on the coffee table where Negan had his feet propped up, Maria leaned over his legs and expectantly held out her hand to Simon. “The metal wasn’t rusted, so you’ll be fine.” Gently grabbing, Simon’s injured hand by the wrist, she held it close to her face for inspection. “Just a superficial cut, you’ll be fine.”

Without withdrawing his hand, Simon teased her, “What are you gonna do, Doc? Kiss it better?”

 Barely managing to hid her blush, Maria lectured him, “You’re more likely to get tetanus from digging in the dirt than cutting your hand on rusted metal. Besides soil, tetanus can also be found in spit, so no, you don’t want me to kiss it, Simon.” Without letting go of his hand, Maria dragged her bag over, pulling out one of her Band-Aids and gently placing it over the cut before she released it and went back to her food.

Gratefully, Simon thanked her and then looked at his Band-Aid. “Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles?”

Negan, who had been watching the two’s exchange with growing interest, suddenly burst into fresh giggles anew and again, Simon shot him another look. Not embarrassed in the slightest, Maria defended herself, “Hey, a Band-Aid is a Band-Aid.”

“Still, why’d you have to give me one with Donatello? I always thought the blue one – Leonardo – was the best.”

“Donatello was the nerdy one,” Maria shrugged, and between bites of her green beans finished her thought, “I can relate to him.”

Still giggling, Negan joined in the conversation, “Shit, I liked the red one.”

“Yeah, you would,” Maria mumbled under her breath, earning a laugh from Simon this time.

Sitting up and planting his feet back on the floor, Negan just started to defend himself when he coughed, choking on a kidney bean. Without skipping a beat, Simon smacked his hand down on Negan’s back hard, and Negan swallowed with difficulty. “That’s what you get when you talk with your mouth full,” Simon told him smugly.

Once he recovered his breath, Negan frowned. “Between the two of you coddling like fucking mother hen’s in front of me, it’s a wonder neither of you are fucking spoon feeding my ass.”

“What, you have a daddy kink, too?” Maria flippantly asked.

Freezing in place, Simon stared at her hard before Negan broke out into another large smile. “Well, fucking hell, that to me seems to imply that you have a daddy kink, huh, Maria?”

Pausing mid-chew, Maria avoided both of the men’s eyes as she finished off the last of her green beans, clearing her throat. “I can’t believe this can wasn’t outta date.”

Knowing it to be best to let the subject drop, Negan hummed, “Yeah, these beans still tasted like shit. Where’s the fucking tequila? I need something to wash that shit down. My ass is thirsty.” Twisting around in his arm chair, he craned his neck to look behind him at the rest of the Saviors. Passed out on the couch were Skinny Joey, Gary, and David, snoring and drooling on each other in one big pile. Skinny Joey clutched the empty tequila bottle to his chest and another bottle of tequila – also empty – was at their feet. Finished with their cans of food, both Dwight and Arat quietly moved away from the men who snored louder with every drawn breath.

“Damn, fucking lightweights,” Negan sneered, more than a little pissed. He was looking forward to that tequila.

  As Arat approached, she withdrew a bottle from her bag, still half-full. “I managed to save you a bit, boss.” She swayed slightly on her feet as she passed it to him.

Tentatively wrapping a supporting arm around her, Dwight carried on the rest of the conversation. “She drank them under the table, but didn’t go nuts.”

 “What about you, Dwighty-boy? You get lit the fuck up, too?”

Shaking his head, Dwight continued, “No, I just took a few sips. I’ll just go outside and keep Laura company. We can watch over Arat.”

  “Throw her in the backseat of the truck and have Laura open the little window,” Simon ordered, “She’s slept back there before and it’s safe. Laura needs to be on the machine gun. And here,” Simon tossed the keys – the Jeep was one of the few vehicles with keys – at Dwight. “You can sleep in my Jeep but don’t puke in it.” Luckily the Jeep was an enclosed one, so Dwight would be safe, too.

Catching the keys, Dwight nodded appreciatively and headed out with Arat, helping her walk straight. Maria watched them go. Dwight was growing on her.

  Suddenly there came a particularly loud snore from the couch and Maria winced at the sound, wrinkling her nose with displeasure. She was annoyed with those three for their carelessness. It was dangerous to get stupidly drunk in an unfamiliar place.

Finishing up her green beans quickly, she looked up when she saw Negan take a hearty swig of the tequila. “That’s a damn good burn,” Negan gasped appreciatively. He licked his lips and Maria watched his tongue with her own kind of damn good burning desire. “You want to try some tequila, Simon?”

“Negan, you know I’m a gin man,” Simon declined, scooping more shoe peg corn into his mouth.

 “Don’t give me that horse shit,” Negan argued, “take a damn drink. Wet your whistle or whatever.”

 Stubbornly taking another bite of corn, Simon’s eyebrows lowered down, dark as thunderclouds over his eyes. His mustache bristled, but Negan only shook the bottle at him again, giving him a flat, unamused look.

  “Come on, Simon,” Negan began in what could be considered a pleading sort of tone for him, “It’s no fucking fun drinking alone.”

  With a sigh, Simon finally gave in a snatched the bottle from Negan’s hand. He took a sip, and coughed, gagging exaggeratedly as he stuck his tongue out.

   From where she sat watching interestedly, Maria giggled, but Negan’s voice smoothly cut over that. “Don’t give me any of that shit either. Compared to this, gin is turpentine.” Looking down at Maria who was still giggling as she finished off the last of her green beans, Negan took the bottle back from Simon and held it out to her. “What about you, Maria? Tequila?”

In comparison to Simon, Maria’s politely turned down the alcohol. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to drink.”

“Shit, between the three of us this isn’t enough to get us as sloppy drunk as those fucks.” Negan rolled his eyes. “I didn’t expect you and Simon to both be fucking wet blankets, but now I can see why you get along so damn well.”

 Ignoring that last comment, Maria explained, “Well, I’ve never drank before so I think it’ll hit me hard, and I don’t want to be buzzed or anything in case something happens.”

At that, Negan and Simon exchanged a look with each other. Then both men sat forward expectantly, and between the two men, Maria looked up innocently. “So, Laura was right out there, you didn’t even have your damn license before the world went to shit,” Negan teased her wryly.

“No,” Maria argued back, “I was almost 21 when the virus came. Almost. I’m probably 23 or so now, if I had to guess.”

  “Every college kid drinks before then, though,” Simon waved it off with one hand, the other hand thoughtfully stroking his mustache.

“Well, not this college kid. My parents would’ve killed me.” Mentioning her parents – people she hadn’t thought of in far too long – Maria fell silent, maudlin. She’d been at college when the dead started to come back to life, and that meant more than a five-hour distance between her and her parents. She was never able to make it back to them or figure out what had happened to them, either, but she could imagine. Sometimes imagining was worse, though.

Recognizing his mistake, Simon put a comforting hand on Maria’s shoulder, “Hey, hey, it’s okay. I get it. You follow the rules, and hell, it’s serving you well so far here in life.” It was meant to be a compliment, but Maria didn’t notice.

Negan looked at Simon, his look roughly translating as ‘Is that the best you can really do?’

 At a loss, Simon raised his eyebrows and darted a look between Negan and Maria in challenge. ‘Let’s see you do better,’ his look seemed to say. After all, he had a very expressive face.

 Mimicking Simon’s movements, Negan placed his ungloved hand on Maria’s other shoulder. “I always knew you were a wet fucking blanket.” Maria didn’t respond, but Simon sure did. He shot Negan an incredulous look, mustache twitching furiously. Negan made a face and tried again. “Come on, now, you’re more than old enough to drink so go ahead. Drink to forget or remember. Just take a fucking sip, babe. It’s good shit after all, no need to go to waste. Besides, I’d look fucking pathetic drinking alone with only this asshole for company.”

Cheering up slightly at Negan’s teasing, Maria shrugged both of their hands off and finally took the bottle from Negan. “How do you know you’re not already fucking pathetic?” She quipped, obviously kidding and both Negan and Simon knew it, too. Maria gave them a small smile before she looked down the neck of the bottle, perplexed. Hesitantly, she took a sniff and honestly, it reeked. Having smelled and eaten worse, though, it didn’t bother her that much. Lifting the bottle to her lips, Maria thought about how Negan and Simon had had their own lips wrapped around it. That was the final push that encouraged her, and with that she licked the lip of the bottle before she took a small sip.

Of course, Negan was right when he said it burned going down, but what Maria hadn’t been expecting was for it to be so flavorful. She thought it was going to be like drinking fire, but it was surprisingly more pleasant than that. The heat sunk to her belly and warmed her from within, and Maria appreciated it. Passing the bottle back to Negan, she smacked her lips. “It’s nice.” Thinking about how to describe the taste, she managed, “Just, a world of taste.”

With glee, Negan accepted the bottle back and took a victory sip, proud of himself for getting Maria to try it. Simon, on the other hand, wasn’t necessarily proud so much as he was aroused by Maria. When he looked over at Negan and saw that dark look that passed over his eyes, he knew Negan felt much of the same, but Maria seemed to not notice a thing. Looking back at Maria, Simon purred, “Un mundo de sabor.”

 Startled by the words, Maria quickly glanced up at him. “Um, what? I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that.”

“Un mundo de sabor,” Simon repeated the phrase to her earnestly. “Do you really not know Spanish, Maria?” He stressed her name.

A little embarrassed, Maria flushed and took another sip before she answered Simon. “Uh, no, I don’t. I was adopted.” She shrugged once more and found herself reaching for the tequila bottle again underneath both of the men’s curious looks. Thinking about her parents for the second time that night, Maria took a noticeably bigger sip than normal, wondering if she would be a happy drunk so she could forget about her parents.

Unsure if they should linger on this conversation topic just judging by the slightly morose look on Maria’s face alone, Negan pushed his kidney beans around awkwardly. “What does ‘un mundo day sabor’ even mean?” Negan attempted to pronounced, but the pronunciation was butchered around the scoop of kidney beans he shoveled in his mouth. The faster he ate them, the less of them he could taste.

Nose wrinkling at Negan’s lack of manners, Simon translated, “A world of flavor.” Unbidden, his eyes slid over to Maria who, unaware of Simon’s implied compliment, daintily took another sip of the tequila, mulling it around in her mouth around a small noise of enjoyment. Simon’s nose unwrinkled, eyes softening. Then he cleared his throat, looking away from her, and went back to eating his can of corn nonchalantly.

Though Simon’s look may have gone unnoticed by Maria herself, Negan saw it all and knew exactly what Simon was thinking because Negan himself was thinking the very same thing. Eyes darting back and forth between the two, Negan began to form a plan in his mind. Looking back down at his mushy kidney beans, Negan said in a low sort of voice, “Well, shit, Simon. For a guy who claims to be a gin man through and fucking through, I wouldn’t expect you to say tequila is so damn flavorful when you drink that turpentine shit.”

Snorting, Simon didn’t even bother to look up at Negan’s deliberate goading. “You’re running out of insults, Negan.”

Petulant, Negan kicked his legs, crossing them and sliding them out, leaning back even further in his arm chair. Maria narrowly avoided a boot to the face, scooting closer to Simon for protection. Simon had his legs spread out wide, nearly to the point that he could hook a knee over either arm of the chair. Watching the men bicker like an old married couple, Maria continued drinking and staring at them.

 It was undeniable that both men were handsome in their own way. Whereas Negan was impossibly slim, his black jacket and slick back hair making him look smaller, Simon was burly in comparison with broad shoulders. Every bit of Simon was wide down to his very mustache – or pornstache, because that was the black caterpillar’s style. For Negan, Maria doubted that he was slim where it counted going off of his large boots and large hands, too. Negan had such pretty hands, and the way he confidently handled Lucille made Maria reminiscent of other things he could also handle. Of course, Simon’s hands were just as large and strong, leading up to thick forearms. He had thick thighs, too, and Maria snuck many glances at his crotch, guess confidently that Simon was packing something huge in his cargo pants.

That was just the superficial attraction, though. Maria would be lying if she didn’t admit to herself that both men had beguiling eyes and even more charming smiles. Also, part of her couldn’t help but wonder what their facial hair would be like if they were to kiss her anywhere. Both of them had just the perfectly strong jaws to sit on, Negan’s face especially good for that considering his adorable and large nose. She herself wanted to taste both of their mouths and other parts of them as well, but Maria also couldn’t deny that the attraction ran deeper than just good bodies and handsome faces.  

For one, they both made her laugh all the time, Negan through crude humor and Simon through being a dork. For another, she admired their loyalty, perseverance, intelligence, and most of all their decency. In their own unique way, Negan and Simon maintained their humanity despite the world going to hell in a handbasket. They were kind when it counted, but that shouldn’t be mistaken for weakness. Both men were incredibly tenacious when they set their minds to any one goal, and they didn’t allow anyone to walk all over them. Even with his wives, Negan still maintained a firm hand, and Simon walked a careful line balancing out Negan’s power as the man second in command.

 The wife thing, the head-bashing, the scare tactics, the age-difference – none of it really bothered Maria. She recognized that a lot of this was necessary in this new world in order to survive, and Maria was no little innocent herself. She had killed people before – not exactly gutted or bashed brains, but shot dead nonetheless. Regardless, she liked them anyway, but she was never going to do anything about it. She didn’t want to form attachments because people died every day. Besides, even if she did make a move, she doubted anything would ever come for it. Negan had supermodels for wives, and Simon was just aloof. For now, she would enjoy their friendship and be satisfied looking but never touching. With a sigh, she took another sip of the tequila, her eyes coming to rest on Negan’s lap.

 Her sigh very much audible, both Negan and Simon looked down at Maria. Partially amused that despite having never drank before Maria was taking to tequila like a duck to water, Negan chuckled softly and chunked his empty can at the fireplace. “You gonna save any of that shit for us, Maria? Shit, you’re throwing sips back like their shots. You lying to us about being an alcohol virgin?” Jerking his chin at the bottle, Negan tilted his head in an attempt to catch her eye and noticed where her line of sight was. At that, Negan smiled brightly, a shark smelling blood in the water. Soon it would be time to move in for the kill.

Startled by him addressing her, Maria blushed furiously at Negan’s sexual innuendos and shoved the bottle at him. “Sorry, I was just distracted; and I wasn’t lying. Never had the stuff touch my tongue before.”

Gladly accepted the considerably lighter bottle, Negan’s head tilted over the other way, his tongue gingerly held between his pearly white teeth. “Well, I’m glad I could pop your cherry, Maria.”

  Ducking her head, Maria didn’t say anything. She was a ‘virgin’ in every sense of the world. Again, the reason being partially because her parents would kill her for even thinking about sex before marriage, but also, she was largely a virgin do to never having people interested in her in that kind of way. Maria blamed it on her bitchy attitude for not taking shit, on not dumbing herself down for the sake of any boy’s ego, but mostly on her looks. No one wants to fuck a fucking fat bitch with glasses too damn smart for her own good.

  In an effort to make her feel better, Simon punched Negan in the arm, and gave him a look that clearly said ‘Be nice and behave.’ Negan only stuck out his tongue further and took a small sip of tequila. Looking down at Maria once more, Simon asked her softly, “What had you so damn distracted? What are you thinking about?”

Seeing as lying would be better than admitting her dirty thoughts, Maria went with a half-truth. “My parents,” she lied and found herself babbling to them for some reason, the alcohol she consumed no doubt loosening her tongue. “My mom told me that every person has an it-factor, you know? Something about them that’s like the first thing you notice when you meet a person. Something that just makes you go wow. Like, an it-factor is a good thing.”

  Curious, Negan asked first, “Well, hell, what’s my it-factor, then, Maria?” He used air quotes on the word with his free hand, the other one gripping the neck of the bottle.

 “Oh, your smile, no doubt. It’s beautiful.” Maria answered honestly and easily enough. She didn’t even have to think about it.

  A little surprised, Negan doubted her, “What, not my pretty Lucille here? She makes quite an impression on some. Shit, if it isn’t Lucille, I thought it’d be my damn, handsome, good looks or just me being such a badass.”

  “Like I said, an it-factor is a good thing. It always has to be positive,” Maria further continued, pleased, the reaction Negan gave her was as good as a blush. She was surprised, too, that he was so flattered by a compliment about his smile. One would think he hears it all the time. “An it-factor is always a physical thing, too, so we can hardly count your general badassery, Negan, unless you consider that to be attributed to your greaser fashion,” she laughed.  

Unbothered by her joke, Negan just laughed along with her. With an award-winning smile – his undoubtable it-factor by all means – Negan joked back, “If I were a nudist, my fat, swinging dick would definitely be my it-factor hands down. I wouldn’t even need Lucille if I could take it off and wield it around like the deadly, fucking weapon it is.”

 While Simon only rolled his eyes at Negan’s capricious behavior, Maria giggled at his play on words. Catching Simon’s eyes at the end of his exaggerated eyeroll, Maria smiled at the man playfully. “I think yours would be your mustache, Simon. And before you ask, if you shaved it, it would probably just be your physique in general. You’re very tall and broad.” Maria couldn’t tell if she was flirting, but she hoped it didn’t come off that way.

 Suffering from lack of attention, Negan guffawed, “Are you calling my man Simon here fat, Maria? He’s anything but. Go ahead and feel up his fucking arms. The only thing harder than him is Lucille,” Negan boasted proudly, bragging about Simon and Lucille. He had seen his chance and took it, planting seeds in Maria’s and Simon’s head to get the ball in motion.

  “No, no, I wasn’t calling you that by any means,” Maria rushed to clarify herself, not wanting to hurt Simon’s feelings. She sat up on her knees and placed a placating hand on Simon’s knee. Having sat up too fast, Maria’s head swam slightly, and she wobbled, her other hand coming down on Negan’s thigh to balance herself. Seemingly unaware of the precarious placement of her hands, Maria looked pleadingly up at Simon, her eyes reflecting her genuine innocence and sincerity.

 Afraid to shift lest she move her hand away, Simon just gripped the empty can tighter in his fist. “No offense taken, I know how I look.” His eyes shot over to Negan, trying to signal for help, but when he saw the shit-eating grin on Negan’s face, he knew that he would only get trouble from his friend.

  Right on cue, Negan asked Simon, “Hey, Simon? What do you think Maria’s it-factor would be?” He was outright smirking now at Simon’s predicament, restraining himself from touching Maria’s hand and spoiling the moment too soon.

 At a loss, Simon panicked and went with the first thing he could think of. “Her sense of humor.”

 Negan balked at Simon and then threw his head back in frustration. “No, you shithead, the it-factor has to be fucking physical. Like her tits or something. Weren’t you paying attention?”

Meanwhile, Maria, who had secretly been hoping for an ego-stroking compliment, just smiled, the smile itself small in comparison to her previous ones. “No, it’s fine, Negan. I’m not bothered.”

Frustrated himself, Simon lashed out at Negan, “Well what do you think is her it-factor then?”

Both Simon and Maria were expecting something crude, but Negan actually said something uncharacteristically sweet. “She has nice hair. Even though you don’t even get to shower regularly like my wives, I can tell your hair is a lot healthier.” Glancing between both Maria’s and Simon’s identical shocked expression, Negan shrugged. “Hey, it was either me say your hair or your ass. Now that’s something I’d love to get my hands on.”

“Negan,” Simon began in a low sort of voice, warning him. An obvious and unspoken thought hung in the air between the two men, but Simon wasn’t necessarily jealous, just protective of Maria’s feelings. Unrepentant, Negan took the last sip of the tequila to fill the silence. Now he was the one shrugging at Simon. Both of the men turned to Maria again, anxiously awaiting her response.

More than a little shocked at this point, Maria just blinked, unsure of herself. Lacking a coherent thought or snappy comeback, Maria couldn’t even reach for the tequila as a distraction since it was all gone now. So, she changed the subject, “You know what’s something I’ve always noticed?” Blinking at them, she continued, “Why do both of you wear like two belts?” Honestly, this was a question she had always had, but she wanted to kick herself for her cowardice and stupidity. Inwardly, she rolled her eyes, bemoaning her missed chance.

Not one to waste an opportunity, though, Negan sat forward. “What if I counter your question with another question, Maria, and ask if you’d fuck me and Simon here? I don’t think I can wait to stick my dick in a wife.”

Before she could help it, Maria’s jaw dropped to the floor. Quickly, she shut her mouth again with an audible snick of her teeth. Looking at Simon for help, his usually expressive face was tight but otherwise emotionless. He was remaining silent, passive. Forced to handle Negan herself, Maria turned back to her boss with that ever-present smile still on his face. He could have given Jack Nicholson’s Joker a run for his money. Maria sputtered a retort, obviously nervous, “Well, I asked you first.”

“I asked you second,” Negan quipped back without hesitation. “Come on, I know you want me – who the fuck wouldn’t – and it’s so interesting that you want Simon, too. We both fucking want you, why not make the most of our night? Sleep comes easy after good fucking.”

Thinking of excuses, Maria listed them, “What if something happens? What if they wake up? We don’t have any protection.” Shaking her head, she admitted, “I’m a virgin.”

Negan took the news well, but didn’t back down from his offer. Simon was like a stone – not interfering at all. “Well, you didn’t exactly tell me that I’m wrong. We’re all attracted to each other, so who cares about the rest. There’s at least six other fuckers here to handle shit, and there’s always the upstairs. Besides, me and Simon can handle your virginity. We’ll take care of it for you.”

Simon couldn’t hold his tongue any longer after that. Rephrasing Negan’s last statement, Simon interrupted with, “We’ll take care of you, Maria.”

Nodding in agreement, Negan continued, “I meant what I said earlier. I’d be more than happy to pop your cherry for you.” His sincerity was tangible as he added, “We will be careful with you and make you feel fucking magnificent, Maria.”

Taking her hand, Simon gently inquired, “So, what do you say, Maria? Be with me and Negan?” Simon’s eyes were soft, his look so gentle and almost pleading like a puppy. Negan had much of the same look on his face, except he had a small smile gently curling the corners of his mouth. The smile was not an egotistical one, but one of encouragement.

Briefly, Maria considered if the green beans and tequila were making her hallucinate. She couldn’t believe her luck. Not wanting to give up her chance now, Maria breathed, “Yes.”

[thebirdsdisco]

Hiking the Annapurna with Sorrel and Matt, two of my favourite ever people!

Now these eighteen days of Himalayan adventuring has come to an end I can finally condense some of my trekking scribbles into whatever this is going to be. My head is still way to giddy with all our adventures so maybe getting some of it briefly on paper will help my brain focus on real life again, now I’m out of that dreamy wonderful place which is Nepal. 

It was such a natural high, leaving Kathmandu’s dusty thick air into the Himalayan foothills. The air was immediately thin and we started our journey with a precariously exciting jeep ride crammed into the back of a trailer for hours on end. It was kid like excitement watching the drops which we drove uncomfortably close too and clinging on to the trailer to avoid being thrown out. There were funky goats decorated in thick layers of plants and cows that wouldn't move out of the road. It was already so wild! We walked from T house to T house, gradually increasing in altitude and decreasing in air. The group was wonderful! A perfect combination of different personalties, but walking and talking faded as we climbed high, even drinking water took our breath away. Such a lovely group of puffed out humans. The landscape made taking photos way too easy and our water intake made peeing way too easy! Luckily squat toileting was something we mastered very early on in the trip after waving goodbye to Kathmandu. Such a hydration queen I was being, my pee had never been so clear! My eagerness to avoid altitude sickness was a great incentive to drink! Something I need to bring home with me… Very early on I’d already began sleeping in all my layers! Bloody hell it was chilly, but without a doubt the wildness, incredible landscape, personal victories and quaint villages and its people, made up for all the discomforts and difficulties that a trip of this kind had in store for us. Hygiene, warmth and comfort were inevitably not included, and perhaps secretly I enjoyed my dirty care free state! But man I craved some fire! In both senses of the word.. It’s insane the variation in landscape throughout the route! We walked through desert like scenery, white peaks, lush green rainforest, subtropical valleys, rice paddies and alpine! At times I was reminded of the barren peak district, the plants even looked similar to heather and gorse, and other times reminded of the lush mountains of the pyrenees! The peacefulness was meditative, and as well as having the chance to meditate in some temples high in the mountains I also found a very calming yet busy head space during all this walking. My head was filled with photography projects, circus ideas, Josh, and 2018! I scribbled down lots from my head and can’t wait to start doing! More than ever I was so thankful to my free, wild and exciting circus life that I’ve created for myself. And for being surrounded by so many inspiring and incredible humans, whom inevitably this lifestyle attracts. Walking with such lovely people was also a great reminder of how many wonderful people exist, and we really had some fun times! We played Ben Howard from my phones when things were getting tiring and sang along to keep us preoccupied. We played card games in the evening to distract ourselves from the cold and during walking we all encouraged each other at times of weaker mental states. The Nepalese Sherpas were such great spirits and definitely a highlight of the trip was when they sang and played music and we all danced! They always maintained such high and positive energy and despite the language barrier we all got to know them in our own way. On one of the last days we walked for over ten hours, 19km but over 2km downwards! Such a great feeling as we began to have our normal oxygen back again! It was a beautiful path through rainforest, rhododendron trees, rice paddies and bamboo forests. Its hard to pin my favourite landscape as everything had its own charm, but I actually think when we were high at altitude nearing Throng La Pass it was the most interesting. It was kind of bleak and barren but the textures in the mountains and the snow on the rich reddish ground was so dramatic. Especially interesting for my om-1. Such a great feeling to have accomplished so much from walking, and as we descended over the 5416m pass I slowly felt my body recovering from all the niggles and discomforts of high altitude. That was an intense day as we ate breakfast at 3am and set off after that! We had a lot of height to cover and then a lot to descend back to a less alien like altitude. I can’t believe people do high altitude racing! We had to run in single file across a dangerous pass of possible falling rocks, and I don’t think I’ve felt that out of breath for bloody ages, and I swear we only ran like twenty metres! It did not feel like the pinnacle of heath that moment, but gave me a whole lot of respect for those crazy people who do anything more than walking so high up. I think I’ll stick to handstand to be honest! On ground level. Matt and I did a two high on top of the pass, such a high up person I was at that moment! It felt great. Sorrel Matt and I had really been a dream team adventuring group, it couldn't have been nicer with them. I think all that height and fresh Himalayan air had made me high on life for Christmas back in England. Back to normality, if that’s even a word I can use to describe my sporadic lifestyle! Looking forward to all the adventures, love and friends in 2018! Thanks mountains for giving me time out in a place where I am so tiny. <3