#they tolerated me. i used to sit at the edge of the nerd friend group and pretend i was one of them

[hylianengineer]

When I was a teenager I felt like an outsider, isolated even surrounded by people. My chemistry teacher once described it as "being on the other side of a fishbowl" and I have never felt so seen and called out at the same time.

[acupoftea1418]

Hogwarts Express

Pick up line series // Jung Yunho

Hey guys, here’s a Yunho one shot. Tbh, I don’t know much about Harry Potter but I really do hope my facts are right. 

Anyways, enjoy! 

‘’Is this the Hogwarts Express? Because it feels like you and I are headed somewhere magical.’’

‘’They say Disneyland is the happiest place on earth. Well apparently, no one has ever been standing next to you.’’

Word count: 2.3K 

‘Rise and shine sleepyhead!’ The loud voice who belonged to Yunho woke you up from your dreams.

Groaning in disappointment, you pulled the edge of the duvet closer to your head and cuddled into the duvet. The scent of Yunho on the duvet was really what makes you sleep at night.

You didn’t know you craved so much for his scent.

When you weren’t with him in the dorms, you’d usually steal a hoodie or two of his to be worn as pajamas during the night.

‘5 minutes.’ You mumbled, falling into deep slumber again. Yunho kept you up all night last night, educating you about Harry Potter. He was such a nerd, but you loved it. It was what makes him special. You had almost little to no knowledge on Harry Potter (A/N; I really do not so bear with me on this.)

‘No!’ Yunho cried out. He jumped onto the bed and pulled you by your arms. His strong arms engulfing you in a hug as he caressed your body on his.

‘It’s like 5 in the morning, Yunnie.’ You mumbled. You were sure you had a max of 2 hours sleep, keeping the baby (your boyfriend, Yunho) entertained as he talked about Harry Potter with so much passion.

You loved it when he story tells and talks on and on about the things he likes. It’s absolutely adorable and you know it makes him really happy.

He pulled you to the edge of the bed before carrying you bridal style out of the room.

When the both of you entered the living room (with you in his arms), you could see everyone was awake and had the most tired faces.

It was Yunho’s birthday and the boys and you planned to bring him to Universal Studios, knowing his absolutely love for Harry Potter. The other boys loved Harry Potter too but at this point everyone was just really tired.

It was set that everyone to leave at 7 in the morning. It was 5 am. Why the hell did Yunho wake you up when it takes almost an hour more for everyone take turns in using the bathroom.

You’ve always wondered how the sequence in using the bathroom was in their dorm since they only had 2 bathrooms. You didn’t really mind as you can just hop in the shower when it’s Yunho’s turn.

Wooyoung and San were dozing off.

Mingi looked like he was about to punch someone, as if something small could just set him off.

Hongjoong was fast asleep (again) with his head leaning on Seonghwa’s shoulders and Seonghwa rested his head on Yeosang’s shoulders. Meanwhile, Jongho was sprawled across the living room floor with soft snores coming from him.

The car ride to Universal Studios was intensely quiet. The younger boys were snoring slightly. Their manager was driving. You had your head rested on Yunho’ shoulder. You could tell he was trying really hard not to doze off.

‘We’re here.’ The manager announced and you swear you were almost shoved to the side because of how fast Yunho got up.

‘Remember, we meet here by 11 pm okay?’ The manager said. The boys nodded before running towards the entrance. Yunho pulling you as you tried to keep up with his pace. Damn bloody long legs!

For the boys that dozed off in the car, they sure were energetic as heck.

The line wasn’t that long, and the group had express access to the park the tickets were bought beforehand.

You were excited to see how Yunho would react to the party later. The boys and you planned for almost months. You really hoped he liked it.  

The group didn’t split up and it really didn’t feel like you were on a date. It was more of like a field trip with your best buds. They were, after all your closest friends. You knew Mingi when you were in high school and when he left suddenly, you still kept in touch with him. You were there since they debuted and somehow you ended up falling for Yunho.

The events of how you and Yunho became boyfriend and girlfriend were still a blur to you. The signs at first were super subtle and you were so confused. The both of you shed a lot of tears to be together, it’s hilarious when you think of it now.

Occasionally when the boys went out for trips, they always included you. They knew when to give you and Yunho time alone and they know when to be around.

You never felt awkward at all with them.

The 9 of you got on many rides, even getting drenched in a few rides. You were grateful when Yunho covered his entire body (which engulfed you) and prevented you from getting more drenched.

Lunch time came around but the group did not want to stop getting on the attractions, so lunch went by with occasionally a shared bucket of popcorn for each person.

Jongho even managed to sneak in a small tiny chocolate bar which the 9 of you pathetically divided into smaller pieces.

Night came not long after. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was left as the last as it was where the surprise will be held.

You enjoyed your time with Yunho, especially when the group entered The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Yunho was so happy, your heart almost exploded. He even said the cheesiest pick up line.

‘Baby!’ He called out.

‘Why?’ You asked. It was so random, like he was suddenly struck with an idea.

‘I’ve got a pick up line for you!’ He beamed. He knew pick up lines make you cringe but he ain’t losing this chance to tell it to you, especially when the pick up line was Harry Potter related, perfect for the occasion.

‘Alright, hit me with it.’ You chuckled.

’Is this the Hogwarts Express? Because it feels like you and I are headed somewhere magical.’ He said, giving a loud chuckle after that which you followed along.

‘That was so cheesy!’ you mentioned.

It was then, you knew, you loved him, and you would do anything just to see him smile.

He has a Gryffindor scarf wrapped around his neck and he wore the robe, holding onto his own wand (which he managed to bring). He mentioned that you looked like someone that would come from Hufflepuff, so he had wrapped the Hufflepuff scarf around you.

He was so precious. The way his eyes lit up when you walked through the entrance.

Often people were intimidated by the strength he has but never shows and his height.

He knew you weren’t comfortable with dark places and occasionally he would squeeze your hand in his to assure you that he was here, and you were safe.

The boys decided to leave the both of you, to prepare for the surprise as you were going to distract Yunho as the boys set up the venue.

It was going to be a small celebration with a cake with some balloons to surprise him in front of Alnwick Castle. The company has chipped in some money together with the 8 of you, aside from Yunho in renting the place after opening hours. You knew it was hard to throw a party when they were idols, as it will only attract more attention than it normally would.

Yunho and you walked around for a bit, trying on cute costumes from the souvenir shop.

You even told him you wanted to try a butterbeer which his eyes lit up. He didn’t know you knew all these, and it literally showed him that you do care and you do listen,

And of course, you would.

You loved Yunho.

You would want to know and indulge into things he likes too.

He loves Harry Potter, even if sometimes he talks a little too much about it, you still respected him. Just like how he respects you when you went on about the things you like.

The both of you were two different people, with two different personalities and liking different things.

The key core to a relationship, isn’t about love. It’s about tolerating, caring and give and take.

Yunho was the best thing that has ever happened to you, even though there were many sleepless nights from you worrying about him and his health when he tries and pushes himself too hard before concerts.

When he calls you at night, he looked tired and despite being worn out he made time for you.

Often as he is pale, it was always noticeable when he looked tired and constantly, you’re worried for him.

Of course, in a relationship there will be fights as well but he never raises his voice and he always try to reach out after the feud. That was what you loved about him.

‘Are you okay?’ Yunho asked. You didn’t know you zoned out thinking about him.

‘Yeah, I am.’ You answered, giving him a soft smile.

‘Are you sure? You looked like you’re about to cry.’ He laughed, sipping onto his butterbeer. You’ve decided to share as you didn’t know if you’ll like it. He mentioned that you could get one for yourself if you do like it.

‘I was just thinking,’ You trailed off, looking at him as your gaze poured into his eyes.

You always loved his eyes. They were always so sparkly and bright.

‘Oh no! When you think, we always end up investing on something!’ He joked, remembering the time where you convinced him that buying a vacuum cleaner for his room would be essential, not it sits in dust and Seonghwa constantly pesters the both of you if he can use it.

‘Hahahaha, no baby, I was thinking about how much I love you.’ You said. He froze and his eyes widened.

‘Why? What’s wrong?’ You panicked.

‘No, it’s just that you never said I love you before.’ He said.

It was true. You always knew you liked him but you weren’t sure if you really did love him yet. But today, you confirmed it.

‘Oh..’ You trailed off, not knowing what to say or do.

‘I love you too.’ He smiled.

‘I love you so much.’ He said again, leaning in for a kiss. He kissed you on the lips and on the forehead. He knew you love forehead kisses. It was romantic as he was so much taller than you.

The both of you sat together, hands intertwined with the view of Alnwick Castle. It was romantic, even if it was just silence. This thumb caressing and soothing over your hand. He loved playing with your fingers.

You’ve always felt safe when you were with Yunho.

You knew,

He was your protector.

He was your happiness.

He was your everything.

He was your forever.

You had your head rested on his shoulders.

People started to leave. It was almost empty. You knew it was about time before the others will appear. Your phone vibrated, signaling that they were ready.

‘Babe, I’m going to head to the toilet for a second.’ You said, standing up. Usually Yunho would wait outside the toilet for you but you told him you’ll be alright.

You exited the restaurant and immediately saw the familiar faces. Seonghwa was holding onto the cake. The candles arranged prettily. The other boys had on party hats and Wooyoung somehow got himself tangled up with the balloons.

San had the lighter but you weren’t sure if you really trust him with it.

Seonghwa took careful steps as they approached Yunho. Yunho had no idea as his back the 8 of you.

You skipped silently towards him, leaning your head and resting it on his shoulder before planting a soft kiss on his cheek.

‘Happy birthday baby.’ You whispered before the loud booming voice of the one and only Jung Woo Young echoed through the area.

Yunho was so surprised, he almost cried. The entire time, he had his hand grasped tightly onto yours.

The boys sang the birthday song and Yunho blew out the candles.

Just as soon as he blew the candles, fireworks lit up in the sky from the castle. It was so pretty. Yunho was in awe.

And somehow, he managed to get the boys to capture a really cringey photo of the both of you kissing with the fireworks going on in the background. (It’s his new wallpaper now)

He really had no idea that this would happen.

Still starstruck, you fed a piece of cake to Yunho that Seonghwa had took the role in cutting.

He hummed in satisfaction.

‘It’s so good!’ He claimed.

‘It tastes just like how you always bake my favourite!’ He said again, making eye contact with you. Little did he know that you really made the cake. Why else were you so tired? You stayed up making him the cake the day before and had it kept in the office. Yunho didn’t know why you came over the day before the trip, he simply thought you missed him (which he, of course, missed you too).

The boys sat around, talking, laughing and eating cake.

The car ride home to their dorm was a quiet one. The boys, falling asleep as usual. Only Seonghwa and Mingi were wide awake, but both were playing on their phones.

‘Did you enjoy today?’ You asked, hands intertwined with Yunho’s.

‘I did, and you know what baby?’ He asked.

‘Yeah?’

‘They say Disneyland is the happiest place on earth. Well apparently, no one has ever been next to you.’ He said, before crashing his lips onto yours.

[strangerthingsharrington]

Can’t Fight This Feeling

-6-

My head was pounding. I thought it was literally going to explode.

I hadn't slept well that night. I woke up almost every hour because of these dreams about Russians kidnapping Dustin and threatening to kill him because we were trying to crack their code.

At six thirty in the morning I gave up and decided to just stay awake. I washed and brushed my teeth to try and get me a bit more motivated.

I went to the kitchen in my pyjamas and a worn copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. I brought my foot onto the chair and leaned my head against my bent knee. I wasn't paying attention to the book, I think I reread the same sentence spoken by Scout about fifteen times before I really realized I wasnt absorbing any of the context. My mind was so spaced out.

Mom eventually came into the kitchen and went right to coffee maker where she got a new pot ready.

She turned to face me and raised a brow, "Isn't it summer break, honey? You should be sleeping."

I put my foot back on the ground and rested my arms on the table over my book, "Rough sleep," I mumbled.

She frowned at me, "You feeling okay?"

Yeah just the pure anxiety and fear about Russian spies being in Hawkins and I cant exactly tell anyone.

"Yeah...might have been too warm in the room last night or something," I lied and looked away from her, over to our sliding doors where the sun was already beating down.

I heard the chair across from mine move, I looked over just as she sat down with a small smile, "Was that Steve that dropped the two of you off last night?"

I rolled my eyes slightly, "It was."

She smiled, "See, he's not as bad now is he?"

I bit my lip, "Not as bad as high school but that doesn't mean he's been like...redeemed or something. Just means that Dustin looks up to him and I don't really have any other choice."

"Dustin is smart," she said easily, "he wouldn't get led astray by someone he didn't trust."

"Just because Dustin trusts him doesn't mean I have to, mom," I retorted, "I'm not going to ignore all the bad things I can associate to Steve Harrington just because of Dustin. I'll tolerate him and be nice, but you guys can't ask me to overlook everything."

She looked at me sadly, "LuLu...no one is saying that. Especially me. I remeber the day you came home school after that Tommy kid said Steve liked you...I remeber how upset you were. And those feeling were and still are extremely valid. You had every right to be upset.

"But sometimes, people do change. And people mature and grow up, and you should consider acknowledging that Steve might be doing just that, too," she told me gently, reaching across the table to touch my hand.

I sighed deeply, "I know, mom...I get that. I dunno...I think maybe I just want some sort of acknowledgement from him that he knows he made some of high school rough for me...I don't know if he even realizes it, and it's not something I would just randomly bring up to him, because that's weird," I said with a small smile.

"Well," she said heavily, "maybe that's something that you two can talk about at some point. But I just want you and Dusty to be happy, that's all that matters to me," she smiled.

I grinned, "I know."

"Whoa, Lou knows something? Alert the president," Dustin said from behind me.

I turned and looked behind me, "Yup, I know that I will always be taller than you."

He stared, unamused, "I'm sorry that you're literally the size of a toddler, but when I do get taller then you I'll make sure to carry you in my pocket," he said, walking over to me and patting my head.

I swatted his hand away but he switched hands and continued to pat my head. A second later it turned into us just swatting at each other's hands and calling each other names. It continued to escalate because no way in hell was my little brother going to get the upper hand.

"Don't touch me, you goof."

"Be quiet you jerk."

"You little shit head."

"No you're a shit head!"

"Kids!" mom exclaimed.

By this point I was standing, and had pinned Dustin's arms behind him and he had his leg wrapped around my leg trying to trip me. We looked up to the kitchen entryway and saw mom standing with the man himself, Steve.

Dustin and I relased each other, "When did you get here?" Dustin asked breathlessly.

I was breathing heavily after our little friendly tussle, "I knocked on the door and your mom let me in?" he said, holding a tray with three coffee cups.

Steve and I made eye contact and his eyes shifted down to my legs before immediately looking away from me. I looked down and remembered that my pjs consisted of black short shorts and a Bowie shirt.

I was instantly mortified.

"I'll be right back," I said with a blazing hot face.

I sped walked past Dustin, mom, and lastly Steve who's face might have rivalled mine in redness. 

I ran to my bedroom and closed the door behind me.

I ran both my hands down my face. This was all I needed in my life. For my former crush/high school mean guy to see me in shorts that were too short for him to being seeing and an old worn out David Bowie shirt.

I pushed off my door and went to my dresser, pulling out a pair or jeans shorts and off the shoulder sweatshirt with my worn out converse shoes.

I composed myself and took a deep breath before heading out of my room and back to the kitchen, where Steve was sitting at the table with my mom and Dustin.

"LuLu!" mom happily said, "Steve said he was driving you and Dustin to the mall?"

I looked at the table set up and the only empty chair was next to Steve, I looked to Dustin and saw him grinning at me. Shithead.

I walked over and sat down quickly, "Yeah um, I wanted to see Robin. Don't really have the chance to see her now that she's working so, yeah."

Mom continued to smile at me and nodded, "Maybe she'll want to come over for dinner next week?"

"Maybe," I nodded.

Steve cleared his throat from next me, "I huh, got you a coffee. I wasnt sure what you took in it but your mom fixed it up," he said, sliding the white cup over to me.

"Oh! Okay, thank-you," I brought the cup up and took a sip.

"Well," my mom started, putting her hands on the table and pushing away, "I've got to head to work. Let me know if you two need a drive back from the mall on my way home."

Steve raised his hand, "I can drive them home, Mrs. Henderson," he told him, lowering his hand awkwardly.

She smiled sweetly at him, "Well isn't that nice, thank you, Steve. You two make sure you thank him for driving your butts around."

She pushed her chair back in and left the kitchen.

"Wait till you see the stuff I'm bringing-"

"Shh!" Steve and I both raised a hand to cut off Dustin's sentence. We heard the front door close and we both let our hands down.

"You trying to let mom hear about your spy gear that you're bringing to the mall or something, Dust?" I hissed.

"Seriously, we can't let your mom find out, man, keep it to just me, Louise and Robin," Steve agreed.

Dustin's mouth was still open, "Okay, well, I don't appreciate the sass from either one of you, if I'm being honest.

"Anyways," he dramatically stated adding an eye roll, "I brought binoculars so Steve and I can do some spying of our own."

I grinned and took a sip of my coffee, "Who's going to work on the message then?" Steve questioned.

I looked at him out of the corner of my eye, "Robin," Dustin and I stared at the same time.

Steve rolled his eyes but nodded in understanding, "Sure, where is Lou gonna be? With us?"

I looked over at him, "I'm gonna stay with Robin," I stated simply.

"Yeah, we can't exactly have three people running the mall looking for Russian spies, two is way more than enough," Dustin said sternly.

I nodded, "Exactly."

Again, Steve shrugged, "Okay, yeah, sure."

I pushed my chair away from the table, "Okay, well let's get this started then."

——

Dustin had taken Steve out of Scoops Ahoy the moment Robin stepped foot in the store. Dustin was absolutely adamant that they would be able to spot a spy amongst the throngs of people that were already congregated inside.

I was stationed in the back room and Robin was sitting on the back counter in the front of the store next to the open partition so we could play the recording and both be able to hear it.

Robin was twirling the pencil around her fingers when the shrill chime of the bell rang out. Robin closed her eyes and took a deep breath, I looked around her and saw Erica Sinclair, Lucas' little sister with a group of her friends. I babysat Erica on occasion and she called me, and everyone, a nerd.

She caught my eye and scrunched her face up at me before ringing the bell again, "Ahoy!" she yelled.

I moved my head only to see Robin staring blankly.

"Do you think she'll just go away?" she asked as the bell continued to be hit.

"Nope," I said with a pop.

Robin sighed and spun away from me, sliding easily off the counter.

"Yes?"

"I would like to try the peanut butter swirl, please," Erika told her with a phoney pleasantry to her voice. 

"No, no more samples today," Robin replied with a entertained edge to her voice.

I looked around Robin and saw Erica's face drop, "Why not?"

"Because you're abusing our company policy."

Erica scoffed looking around the counter, "Where the sailor man?"

Robin started turning toward me with a small smile, "Sorry he can't help you, he's busy."

"Busy with what?" Erica asked confused.

Robin smiled at me before turning to face her and her friends once again, "Spy craft," she said simply.

"Then I'll come back when sailor man is back," Erica scoffed before turning and walking away with her friends.

Robin laughed as she faced me, "She will honestly make me stand here forever to serve her little tiny spoonfuls of ice cream."

I giggled and shrugged, "She's always been a bit sassy."

"Anyways," she sighed, "a trip to China sounds nice...what could this mean?"

"I'm not sure," I mused, "I get that it's a code you're not supposed to easily crack...but shit, this is insane."

She closed up the Russian to English dictionary and groaned, "I need a two minute rest because my brain is going to explode."

I nodded and hit pause on the recording, "Do you think Dustin and Steve have found anything yet?"

Robin hummed, "I honestly don't know. I mean, do you think Russian spies would just be hanging out in the mall where they're making secret codes?"

"No," I shook my head, "they would have somewhere secret to go...it wouldn't be in the open. They would have a secret entrance too, probably."

"Well if Steve on the case, he's probably trying to find the next girl to try his 'Ahoy ladies! Sail with me on this ocean of flavour,' opening line on," Robin said off handed.

I smirked, "Is that the line he's going with?"

"Yup. And he's struck out every single time," she said with a small chuckle, "so how has it been hanging around with him?"

"Conflicting," I admitted with a small smile.

"Why?"

I let our a deep breath, "Because I just...I still put Steve with Steve Harrington from high school. Jerk extraordinaire," I said with a small laugh, "but he hasn't been really coming across that way the past couple of days and it's messing with my brain a bit. He brought me a coffee this morning for Gods sake."

"He's dopey but he's not...as much of an asshole. Granted, I think everyone is a bit of an asshole..." she drifted off but it made me laugh and nod.

"I don't know," I whined, "it's like, I know in the past he's made me feel bad and embarrassed. But yesterday he made me laugh and he's been nice to me. But I'm constantly reminding myself of how shitty he made me feel to try and cancel out the okay feeling I've had."

Robin smiled sadly at me, "Trust me. It was hard for me to feel anything other than irritation for him when we started working together. But I've tried to separate high school Steve from this Steve and that's how I've been able to keep a level-ish head around him," she explained before rolling her eyes, "granted, like I've said, he can still be a giant moron and I'm a bit of an joking asshole to him...but he's not, you know...mean mean in return."

I leaned my head through the partition and rested my forehead on her shoulder with a huff, "We're bonded through this spy nonsense now, gonna have to get used to him a bit."

"Speaking of spy nonsense," Robin sighed before reaching out and hitting 'Play' on the recorder, "let's try and wrap this message decoding up."

—

Title credit to REO Speedwagon and gif credit to owner

[cloudphillips]

Two

"Excuse me!"

  A First year Ravenclaw taking a casual stroll along the halls of the Lower West Wing suddenly shrieked in surprise when she heard thunderous footsteps and felt the blast of the raging wind that knocked her off her feet. The books she'd been holding fell scattered on the floor and she was left dazed at the sight of gold and scarlet hurricane leaving destruction in its wake.

  "Coming through!"

The male Hufflepuff student dropped the pot of Mimbulus Mimbletonia from his grasp when he accidentally collided against a rampaging brick wall in the form of a Gryffindor student. He got sprayed by the plant's stinksap and was covered head to toe with its filth. It didn't take another second for him to fall unconscious because of the foul smell. "Run for your lives!" A Slytherin girl screamed at the top of her lungs, promptly alerting the students within the vicinity to scamper away and avoid the area like the plague if they didn't want to smell like dung for a month.

  Everything was in chaos ever since that hurricane of a Gryffindor came.

  "Bitch move!"

  Said hurricane took the form of Kim Yerim and she stopped her rampage along the corridors of Hogwarts when she stumbled upon a couple, a male Gryffindor snogging his girlfriend Ravenclaw, who completely blocked the entrance to the Great Hall. The audacity!

  Yerim didn't have time to tolerate this public display of affection and sheer disrespect, so she unceremoniously shoved them out of the way then barged into the Great Hall without caring if she would bump into someone or not. Judging by the shocked expressions she was getting from the rest of the student body, Yerim guessed that she must've looked like a possessed woman but her appearance was the least of her concerns as of the moment.

  For now, she needed to share the news to her friends. The news that currently circulated in Hogwarts rumor mill. The news that pulled her knickers in a twist and left her at her wits' end.

  The young Gryffindor scanned the hall in search of her friends and it didn't take her quite long to spot them huddled together at the far end of the table. Sooyoung looked positively bored as she mindlessly played with her food and gazed at the distance, Seulgi was gobbling down some chicken and mashed potatoes like a starved Threstral and Joohyun was absorbed reading the Daily Prophet.

  A frown slowly settled on her face when she noticed that their social circle was more subdued than usual. Maybe because there was the lack of mindless chatter. Seungwan, the one who usually initiates the conversation, was noticeably absent but Yerim shrugged off her concerns. That blonde nerd was probably out there doing dumb shit like trying to get initiated into a Centaur clan or reading fairytale stories to lonely ghosts.

  Either way, she wasn't worried that her Ravenclaw friend was in danger because if she was, Joohyun would be raving like a lunatic and she'd literally burn the wizarding world to the ground in order to find the culprit that hurt Seungwan. She'd even stare Death right in the face when the situation calls for it.

  Yerim crossed the hall with a few quick strides and upon reaching their group, slammed her hands against the table. "Did you hear the news?!" The Gryffindor could barely manage to control her laughter when she successfully startled both her Slytherin friends. Joohyun, in particular, shrieked like a dying whale and it gave Yerim such satisfaction to elicit distress from the older girl. The intense glare she received from the Prefect was totally worth it.

  You see, Kim Yerim was born into this godforsaken world for one purpose and purpose only.

  That was to annoy the hell out of Bae Joohyun.

  And maybe wreck some havoc while she was at it.

  "Kim Yerim." The Prefect's features contorted into a scowl and her voice dripped with venom as she regarded the young Gryffindor with malice. Any normal person would've been scared shitless after witnessing this murderous side of Joohyun but after long years of constantly being reprimanded due to her troublemaking tendencies, the Gryffindor had somehow developed an immunity to the Slytherin's method of intimidation. Trust Yerim to disregard authoritarian figures like their existence didn't matter.

  Despite her irritation at the younger girl, the Slytherin Prefect still scooted over and allowed Yerim to sit beside her. Whatever disagreement they had before was now forgotten as they ate their lunch in peace and chatted harmoniously with each other.

  "Which one?" Seulgi muttered inbetween mouthfuls of chicken and mashed potatoes. "Hogwarts has hundreds of rumors circulating every day. It's hard to keep track." The Hufflepuff turned to Sooyoung and asked for a portion of her red velvet cake which the taller girl begrudgingly gave her.

  "If this is about that Bulbadox powder that Filch drank in his tea, I swear I had nothing to do with it." Sooyoung pointedly munched on her cake and expertly maintained a neutral expression when she regarded her friends with a level gaze. She shrugged off their suspicions and acted all innocent.

  However, Joohyun wasn't one to be easily tricked. "You pranked the Caretaker?" She transformed into her Prefect mode and narrowed her eyes at her fellow housemate.

  Okay. They were getting off topic here.

  "No. I only smuggled Devil's Snare into his office and kept him locked in there while I transfigured Mrs. Norris into a cauldron but other than that, I did nothing else." Sooyoung casually admitted to her crimes as if they were just talking about the weather. Like smuggling a dangerous plant inside the school and literally endangering everyone was just another regular day in her life.

  Yerim couldn't help but be impressed. Never once had she thought of using Devil's Snare to terrorize the Caretaker. It was brilliant and certainly life-threatening. A prank of this magnitude was a ground for expulsion but Sooyoung managed to pull it off effortlessly. The Gryffindor suddenly developed a newfound respect for the Slytherin. Leave it to Sooyoung to take things to the extreme. She was amazing! Just bravo!

  "You did what?!" The raven-haired girl screeched in frustration as her sanity slowly dwindled away. Other students shifted their attention towards their table after that sudden noise but one glare from Joohyun was enough for them to turn away and mind their own business. The Prefect was mad. In fact, she was livid. The growing urge to strangle a certain tall Slytherin was difficult to ignore. "That's dangerous! You could've cost us our House points!"

  "Could you, like, chill for just a second? That was just only a few hours ago. He'd have escaped by now--" The tall girl stared into the distance and tapped her chin thoughtfully. "--or not." Her features contorted into a grimace as she internally debated on whether or not she should check on Filch. In the end, her conscience won. "Okay fine. I'll check on him later after I finish eating."

  "You better." Joohyun grumbled before settling back to her seat, still unappeased by Sooyoung's placations, and found a new habit of frowning at her food. She already lost her appetite. If only someone would comfort her and allay her worries but alas, that someone was busy out there training her flying skills.

  "By the way, where's Seungwan? I haven't seen her today." Seulgi momentarily stopped eating to glance at Joohyun. There was a topic in Astronomy that she had difficulty understanding and the Ravenclaw seemed like the best person to ask for help.

  "Quidditch practice." Came the Slytherin's response as she tucked away the newspaper she was reading in favor of her notes. Care of Magical Creatures would be her next class and it didn't hurt to familiarize herself with the new topic they're going to discuss today.

  "Seriously. They're already training at this time?" Yerim was incredulous. The next Quidditch match wouldn't be held until like two months from now. It seemed like the Ravenclaw team was preparing in advance, which was completely unnecessary since they're already a formidable force to be reckoned with.

  Ahem! No offense Gryffindor team. Yerim felt conflicted. Her mind was telling her to support their Quidditch squad yet her heart was telling her to root for Ravenclaw. Why? Because the Gryffindor team sucked and the players would rather showboat instead putting up a good game. It's no wonder they lost every match.

  Looks like we have a traitor here officer!

  "Their team are trying to get a head start for their next match against Slytherin since they are tied for the cup." Joohyun shrugged casually and her statement elicited some unexpected reactions from her friends. They all looked at her as if she had grown a second head.

  "Really? An uptight Prefect like you was keeping tabs on the Quidditch match?" Yerim exclaimed. Her mind couldn't quite comprehend the words she just heard. She shook her head in disbelief. "The world must be ending."

  "I thought you didn't care for trivial things like Quidditch." Seulgi was appalled. In her long years of friendship with the said girl, she had never displayed any interest in the sport, which was surprising since Joohyun came from a Pureblood family and Quidditch was like, the obsession of the wizarding world. Seulgi was curious as to why her friend suddenly became involved with the sport.

  "Oh, I still don't but Seungwan is so into it and you know how intense she gets. If she had her way, she might as well marry the sport." That thought alone caused Joohyun to frown and she accidentally ripped the edges of a page from the book she was reading.

  After that display of a rather passive-aggressive act, Sooyoung glanced at Yerim and they exchanged knowing smirks. Guess who slept on the wrong side of the bed today?

  The young Gryffindor decided to add fuel to the fire and teased the irate Prefect. "That's understandable since you can't deny that Seungwan is the best Seeker Ravenclaw has ever seen in centuries. She could be playing for the Big Leagues if she weren't such a nerd." She stabbed a piece of chicken meat and munched on it loudly.

  "That doesn't mean she should just spend all her time flying that stupid broom and catching that golden bastard. She has better things to do." Joohyun crossed her arms then sulked like a baby. Loneliness has made a home inside her heart and the Slytherin Prefect wondered if she could ever recover from this emptiness she was feeling.

  Okay. She was being dramatic now.

  Sooyoung rolled her eyes and gave Joohyun a goblet filled with clear liquid. The Prefect seemed confused at the sudden offer. "What's this?"

  "Water."

  "What for?"

  "To quench your thirst."

  Suddenly, the doors burst open. The topic of their conversation and the very cause of Joohyun's thirst entered the Great Hall. Seungwan scanned the surroundings in search of her friends and automatically locked gazes with Joohyun. It's as if their eyes were drawn to each other and the Slytherin Prefect was unable to look away. She still kept staring when Seungwan made her way towards them and Yerim took it upon herself to bring her friend back to reality. "You're drooling."

  Joohyun immediately clammed her mouth shut and half-heartedly glared at Yerim, which was pretty much useless since it had no effect on the Gryffindor. She clenched her teeth and remained stiff in her seat, not daring to move a single muscle, as Seungwan settled beside her. The raven-haired girl caught a whiff of her intoxicating earthy scent and needless to say, she was addicted.

  "Hey." Seungwan was a little breathless but she still flashed Joohyun that same brilliant smile that put the sun to shame. Her silky blonde locks clung to her porcelain skin in sticky waves and she was positively disheveled. The blue and gray robes she was wearing were all creased. She looked like she just ran a marathon around the castle grounds but despite this, she still took Joohyun's breath away.

  "Hey." The Slytherin Prefect swallowed the lump in her throat and fidgeted with the hem of her clothes. Oh look! There's a ketchup stain on her robes. Maybe she'll wash her garments later and sprinkle it with some fabric softener for it to smell divine once it dries.

  It took her a while to gather the courage she needed to fix the blonde's necktie. She bit her lip when her fingers accidentally brushed against the smooth satin skin and fought hard to keep her hands from trembling. She heard Sooyoung mutter the word whipped but she ignored it in favor of tucking away the stray locks that partially obscured Seungwan's face. "Done with practice?" Joohyun's voice came out so soft and gentle. It sounded foreign to her ears.

  "Yes. I'm quite famished." Seungwan pouted adorably. Her cheeks looking all tender and squishy and Joohyun was positively sure her heart had stopped beating.

  That was it.

  Joohyun had become undone.

  Yerim coughed then pointedly nudged her arm and that broke Joohyun out of whatever trance she was trapped in. The Slytherin blinked once, twice, before shaking off her stray thoughts and grounding herself back to reality. She grabbed a plate, cut the food into smaller portions then offered them to the starving Ravenclaw. "Eat some Seungwan-ah." Joohyun was too busy fussing over Seungwan that she didn't notice the disgusted expressions the devil duo were making after witnessing that cheesy display of affection. "Do you want some seaweed soup? I could make one if you like."

  "No it's okay." The blonde shook her head and proceeded to dig in. She wolfed down the food like a ravenous beast. Joohyun thought that she must be really hungry. Meanwhile, Sooyoung wondered where the food that Seungwan ate went. All the nutrients she'd been consuming did no wonders to her height.

  "So how was practice?" Seulgi felt confused at the sudden change of the Slytherin Prefect's demeanor upon the blonde's arrival but just chalked it up to one of her friend's tendency to be a mother hen. It was no secret to their group that Joohyun was quite affectionate with Seungwan. The Hufflepuff was about to mind her own business and resume eating when she witnessed Joohyun casually wipe away the bead of sweat that cascaded down Seungwan's forehead.

  WITH. HER. BARE. HANDS.

  That disgusting shit. Who in their right minds would do that?

  The Hufflepuff was scandalized as she glanced at Sooyoung and Yerim and telepathically asked them, through her shocked stare, if they saw that cheesy moment too. Judging from their grim features, they did and they looked like they were seconds away from hanging themselves.

  The disrespect.

  "I think our captain is trying to kill me." Seungwan shuddered at the memory of her captain's rigorous training regimen specially designed for Seekers like her. "She had the team gang up on me and had them throw Bludgers my way." The Ravenclaw shrugged it off casually like being chased to death by enchanted bloodthirsty balls was a normal everyday occurrence for her. A cheeky smile graced her lips when she turned to Joohyun and wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her closer. "How's my favorite Prefect doing? I haven't seen you all day."

  The Slytherin Prefect squeaked in alarm and got flustered at their close proximity. She felt the warmth Seungwan radiated against her body and if this keeps up, Joohyun would be a few seconds away from fainting.

  "Oh that's good to know..." Seulgi trailed off when she realized that Seungwan was no longer talking to her. Still distracted away from her food, she observed why her two friends were suddenly acting all chummy towards each other.

  "I'm fine thanks." In an effort to remain calm and not get carried away by Seungwan's touch, Joohyun shifted all her attention to Yerim. Her last bit of hope to keep her anchored to reality. "Sorry. What was it that you wanted to share?"

  "Right..." The Gryffindor tried not to laugh at how her friend looked like a deer caught in the headlights. She thought that whatever news she was about to share now seemed a little irrelevant after witnessing the lovefest that was still occuring at their table. Seriously. Why did they have to do that right in front of her salad? Do they have no decency?

  "Hogwarts will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament this year."

  This important piece of information garnered quite the reactions that were far from what she was expecting. Seungwan dropped her fork. Seulgi choked on her food and some of the particles flew to the air, much to everyone's disgust. Sooyoung rubbed the Hufflepuff's back in an effort to alleviate her choking ass. Meanwhile, Joohyun remained impassive as usual. "Students from Beaubatons and Durmstrang will be arriving tomorrow."

  "No way!" Sooyoung exclaimed in disbelief.

  "Why so sudden?" Seungwan wondered why she only heard about this now. News this big would usually spread like wildfire around Hogwarts.

  "Maybe Professor Dumbledore will explain everything." Joohyun handed some water to Seulgi, who was still choking, and worriedly gazed at her.

  The Hufflepuff thankfully recovered from her coughing fit and profusely apologized to everyone for causing such inconvenience. The girls waved off her apology and Sooyoung handed her a napkin to wipe the stain on her face.

  "Isn't this exciting? We could make friends from other schools and maybe get the chance to meet the famous Quidditch Chaser Park Bogum!" Yeri could barely contain her happiness and made no attempts to do so. She was literally vibrating with excitement. "I heard he's currently studying at Durmstrang."

  "Of course you'd only care about boys." Sooyoung sighed airily and shook her head in disapproval. She cared about boys too but she was being low-key about it. "Talk about thirsty."

  "I am not thirsty!" The Gryffindor fired back at her friend's blatant jab. She couldn't let Sooyoung diss her without throwing her own comeback. "Just dehydrated."

  Yerim smirked and Sooyoung grinned mischievously in return as they gave each other a high-five. Seulgi merely frowned. "Gross."

  "Shut it Pooh bear!" The Gryffindor threw some shade at her.

  "I literally have no idea who that is." The Hufflepuff was confused as usual.

  "Oh it's this Muggle cartoon that children watch." Seungwan took the liberty to enlighten her clueless friend. She took a sip from the goblet of water Joohyun handed to her before resuming her explanation. "It's about a bear who has an obsession with honey."

  "Don't tell her anything." Yerim sneered at the blonde. Her eyes blazed with fire that threatened to burn Seungwan if she so much as continue talking. "These Purebloods don't need to know what we do in our world."

  "You speak as if being associated with us is shameful." Joohyun was amused at the Gryffindor's antics. She couldn't find it in herself to become offended since it was Yerim. That girl throws insults and sarcasm like she does it for a living.

  "Of course." The Gryffindor casually stabbed her salad with a fork and loudly chewed on it. "You guys are so fixated on this Pureblood Supremacy shit. It's time we fight back and start our own cult of Muggle World Domination."

  "What about me?" Sooyoung piped up. Being the only half-blood in the group, she was feeling kinda left out. "Which side am I on?"

  Yerim looked at her dead in the eye and stated in a deadpan tone. "None. You're the factory reject."

  "Yah!" The Slytherin objected and that ignited an all-out insult war with the two youngest throwing shade at each other. Amidst their argument, Seulgi figured that it was the appropriate time to voice out. "I still don't know what a cartoon is." But her query was only ignored. She sulked like a baby and ate her lunch half-heartedly.

  Joohyun glanced at her wristwatch and frowned upon realizing that she was running late for the Prefect's meeting. "Seul hurry up or we'll miss the gathering!"

  "Aww you're already leaving? But I just got here." In her desperate act of begging for her friends to stay, Seungwan unintentionally displayed a rare moment of cuteness. Her brown eyes turned all soft like a puppy and her lips jutted out to form a pout. She clearly had no idea of the effect she had on Joohyun because she successfully rendered the girl useless with no effort at all.

  Thankfully, Yerim swooped in to save the Prefect from further distress since it seemed like she has short-circuited. "Brilliant! I'm heading to my next class anyway so I might as well come with you." She bid them farewell and grabbed a really flustered Joohyun then a sulking Seulgi before unceremoniously hauling them out of the Great Hall.

  The students from other houses stared dumbfounded at the spectacle the three friends made but shrugged it off and continued minding their own business. Apparently, this was a normal occurrence in Hogwarts. The sight of two respectable Prefects getting dragged around like puppets by a Gryffindor troublemaker was something they were used to seeing.

  Now all that's left were Seungwan and Sooyoung.

  "Shouldn't you be in Divination right now?" The Ravenclaw furrowed her brows when she noticed that some students were already leaving the Great Hall to attend their classes. Meanwhile, the Slytherin was just sitting there and eating her lunch. She made no move of getting to her class.

  "I'm not going." Sooyoung waved off her query and nonchalantly took a sip from her pumpkin juice, acting like skipping classes wouldn't be detrimental to her future.

  "What? But that's against school rules!" Seungwan was scandalized. She was horrified at the thought of missing lessons. Learning magic was amazing! How could anyone just disregard their education like it was nothing? Her inner Ravenclaw was having a hysterical fit.

  "Oh, you don't get to pull that on me when you literally snuck out after curfew just a few nights ago." The Slytherin rolled her eyes at her friend's pathetic behavior. It's as if she was acting all blasphemous and Seungwan itched to burn her heretic ass to the ground. She paused for a moment to contemplate about something before leaning close and narrowing her eyes to observe the Ravenclaw. "You're lucky Joohyun didn't report you."

  "I didn't mean for her to find me." Seungwan bit her lip and scratched the nonexistent itch at the back of her neck. She at least had the decency to look sheepish. Sooyoung did have a point and her claims were true. After that one fateful night were she was caught roaming around the halls by the said girl, Joohyun didn't even reprimand her nor take away house points from Ravenclaw. She just gave the blonde a stern warning never to repeat it again then let her off the hook and pretended like the whole thing never happened.

  "But she did anyway and told no one about it. Joohyun can be lenient when it comes to you." Sooyoung stared at her pointedly, as if there was a secret message she was trying to convey with her eyes, and Seungwan, for the love of God, had difficulty getting the memo.

  Upon noticing her friend's confusion, the Slytherin sighed in exhaustion as she massaged her temples to alleviate the growing headache. "Merlin's beard, you're so hopeless." She was tired, so very tired, of putting up with the blonde's cluelessness. Joohyun was out there giving out obvious signs but Seungwan and her blind ass just wouldn't take the hint.

  How could someone be so smart yet so stupid at the same time?

  "Anyway--" Sooyoung decided to change the topic since it would take her friend centuries to finally catch up with her subtle implications. "--I'm not completely disregarding my studies. I just have other priorities as of the moment."

  "Like what?"

  "Learning a new spell."

  "Which is?"

  The Slytherin stared at her for a complete minute and conducted an ocular inspection to see if Seungwan was worthy of knowing the vital information that she kept secret. Leaning closer on the table and wringing her fingers in a tight knot, the tall Slytherin adopted a serious expression that was rather uncharacteristic for her personality. The Ravenclaw couldn't help but follow suit. "The Patronus Charm."

  "You want to conjure a Patronus?" Seungwan clarified for one more time to check if she was hearing things correctly and to ensure that she was not being tricked. "Why?"

  "Well, aside from wanting to know the corporeal form of my Patronus, learning a complex spell like this would certainly help me in the future." The Slytherin shrugged and took a bite from her cake. "Give me an edge in Auror training and all that jazz."

  Oh. Now that was an actually valid excuse to skip classes.

  "Look Sooyoung. I'm glad you have the motivation to further your education but trust me when I say that the Patronus charm is really difficult to cast." Seungwan recalled all those sleepless nights and failed attempts she had to undergo before she could perfect the spell. "I tried doing it since second year and it was seriously daunting--" Her ramblings were suddenly interrupted by Sooyoung.

  "Wait. Hold up." The Slytherin held up her hand. A gesture to stop the Ravenclaw from talking. "You started practicing the charm since we were second years?"

  "Yes and I have learned to perfect my technique over the years." The blonde stared at the distance. A small wistful smile had settled on her lips. "It's a shame I can't use it on a real Dementor though." Seungwan returned back to reality only to witness Sooyoung's features morph into a scowl.

  The Slytherin lunged to grab the Ravenclaw by the collar in an attempt to strangle her and unleashed all the profanities she'd been holding. "Why didn't you tell me?! You could've spared me the effort of desperately begging Professor Flitwick to teach me. My pride and honor has been tainted!"

  Seungwan tried to escape but it was futile since Sooyoung held on firmly like a Boa constrictor. Thankfully both of them were the only ones left in the Great Hall or else other students would witness the commotion they were making and prevent rumors from flying around Hogwarts about Seungwan being a wimp.

  "I'm sorry!" The Ravenclaw wailed pathetically as she struggled to breathe and gather air into her lungs. "I just accidentally stumbled upon it while reading a book in the library and figured that it would be fun to try!" She wheezed and started seeing white halos in her vision.

  This was it. This was the moment she was gonna die. Her death would be brought not by the claws of a cat, but by the constricting arms of Sooyoung.

  The Slytherin growled and smacked her on the head. "While we were learning to levitate a fucking feather and doing dumb shit like unlocking doors, you were out there practicing a supremely advanced spell just because it was fun to try!" Sooyoung grabbed the breathless girl by the shoulders and shook her relentlessly.

  "Teach me!"

  "Okay okay! I'll do it!" Seungwan could feel her neck crack from the continuous motion. Her vision blurred and she was getting dazed. Thankfully, Sooyoung stopped her assault just in time. She smoothed out the wrinkles in Seungwan's collar, tucked away stray strands of blonde hair and patted her cheek affectionately before smiling menacingly.

  "Good. Meet me in the Courtyard tomorrow." Her gaze was dark and her voice dripped with poison. The glint in her eyes seemed almost threatening and Seungwan couldn't suppress the shiver of fear that ran down her spine. The Slytherin glanced at her watch and sighed dramatically. "Oh great. Now, I have to check on Filch to make sure he wasn't eaten by that blasted plant." She talked as if this greatly inconvenienced her and Seungwan thought. Who's fault was that?

  With that, Sooyoung left the Ravenclaw and set off to save the Caretaker. Seungwan could only stare at her retreating form as she wondered.

  Just what has she gotten herself into?

  ***

  A ship emerged from the waters of the Black Lake.

  It exuded a skeletal aura with dim, misty lights shimmering through its portholes and making it seem like a ghostly wreak. The enchanted ship glided across the docks and created turbulent waves along the shores.

  Meanwhile, a gigantic, powder blue, horse-drawn carriage, the size of a mansion, soared through the air. It was pulled by winged horses, all white and each the size of an elephant, over the grounds at Hogwarts.

  When Seungwan saw all of this, she was rendered speechless. She never thought she'd get the chance to witness something so magnificent, having only read about ghostly ships and flying carriages on the Muggle books she kept back home. She only relied on her wild imagination before but now she actually witnessed for herself how her dreams became reality.

  "Stop gawking and let's continue."

  Her blissful moment was rudely interrupted by the tall Slytherin who threatened her into sharing her techniques in conjuring the Patronus charm. They've been up since early morning, only stopping their sessions to attend classes and Quidditch practices, and spent most of their free time training. It was a little past two o'clock in the afternoon now and they were still making no progress.

  "Hey. It's not every day one gets to see ghostly ships and flying carriages." Seungwan crossed her arms and tried to defend her case, which was completely useless since she could never win an argument with Sooyoung.

  The tall girl merely rolled her eyes and stated in a condescending manner. "Ghost ships and magical carriages are common in the wizarding world. Everybody has seen them."

  This privileged motherfucker.

  Seungwan sighed in defeat and gestured at her friend to continue practicing. Sooyoung closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Relaxing her body and letting her mind focus on the memory receiving her Hogwarts letter for the first time. The elation she felt was undescribable and she allowed this positive energy to envelope her. "Expecto Patronum."

  A silvery whisp erupted from the tip of her wand and formed a white spectral shield. Sooyoung was ecstatic at the sight her progress but she lost focus and got distracted. The magic lasted for a few seconds before it fizzled out into nothing.

  "Are you sure that you're thinking of a happy memory? The spell won't work unless your memory is a powerful one." Seungwan frowned after witnessing another one of her friend's failed attempt. She crossed her arms and tilted her head in contemplation. Their methods weren't working. Maybe they were missing something? She'd better go and check her book just in case.

  "Say that again one more time and I'll slip some Draught of Living Death into your morning tea." Sooyoung growled in annoyance because she was already exhausted from her countless failures. The tall Slytherin clenched her teeth and tightened the grip on her wand before trying to cast the spell once again. This time she injected more force into her incantation. "Expecto Patronum!"

  The same silvery wisp emerged for a few minutes before it completely disappeared.

  "Honestly!" Sooyoung groaned in exasperation and threw her hands up to the air in defiance. "Why does this have to be so difficult?!" She glared at the heavens for causing her such distress. It's like the universe was conspiring against her when all she just wanted to conjure her Patronus. Was that too much to ask?

  "Don't be too hard on yourself. I had a hard time learning this spell too." Seungwan approached her friend and laid a comforting arm on her shoulder. Fatigue has been wearing them down and affecting their spellcasting abilities. She tried to reassure the Slytherin as best she can. "Most witches and wizards don't even have Patronuses and that's okay. It's not the end of the world if you're unable to cast the charm."

  "I know that." Sooyoung's eyes prickled with tears as feelings of inadequacy started to strain her and thoughts of doubt clouded her mind. "But how can I become an effective Auror if I can't even conjure my Patronus?"

  The sight of her friend's anguish tugged at Seungwan's heartstrings and she pulled the younger girl into the comforts of her embrace. She hummed a simple lullaby and rubbed the tall girl's back in an effort to relieve her misery. The Slytherin choked back a sob and buried her face into the blonde's neck.

  "You can do this." She cooed in Sooyoung's ear and traced random patterns on her skin. "I know you can."

  Then a brilliant thought flashed into her mind and the Ravenclaw brought it upon herself to cheer Sooyoung up. She pulled away from their embrace and grinned brightly. "Wanna see something cool?" When the Slytherin nodded in affirmation, Seungwan closed her eyes and recalled the happiest memory she had.

  Five girls

  Brilliant smiles

  One from Gryffindor

  Sunny skies

  Another from Hufflepuff

  Warm hugs

  Two from Slytherin

  Innocent laughter

  And one from Ravenclaw

  Souls connected with each other for the first time

  She held out her wand and voiced out the incantation she had grown familiar with. "Expecto Patronum."

  Sooyoung gasped in awe when, out the end of Seungwan's wand, burst not a shapeless cloud of mist, but a blinding, dazzling silver animal. She screwed up her eyes, trying to see what it was, and realized that it looked like a bird. A small, beautiful and elegant bird. It silently flew around them in circles, lightly nudging its head on Sooyoung's cheek before landing gracefully on the shoulders of its owner.

  The Slytherin was greatly impressed and she forgot about the negativity she felt earlier. "So your Patronus is a bird?" She asked after a minute of admiring the spirit guardian.

  "Not a bird!" Seungwan was offended. She didn't spend all those years of suffering from sleepless nights and learning a ridiculously advanced spell just for her Patronus to be called a bird.

  "A Nightingale!"

  Sooyoung narrowed her eyes and inspected the said animal for one last time before directing her skeptical gaze on Seungwan. "Doesn't look like a Nightingale to me." Her tone dripped with mockery and her eyes brightened with mischief. She wrapped an arm around the blonde and seemed to be having a great time teasing her friend.

  The Ravenclaw was about to retaliate by stating a rather scathing remark when she heard someone call out their names.

  "Seungwan! Sooyoung!"

  Joohyun approached them with a metaphorical cloud of darkness following her wake. Her features were grim and her gaze burned intensely. She looked like someone broke her wand and was on a rampage to wreck havoc on Earth, bringing upon destruction and chaos to all those who oppose her.

  Once she reached them, her gaze travelled along the length of Sooyoung’s arm that was wrapped around Seungwan’s waist. It lingered for a few minutes before she schooled her features into an unreadable expression. All her thoughts concealed under a mask of indifference and her eyes devoid of any emotions.

  That was the moment Sooyoung knew.

  She fucked up.

  The tall Slytherin quickly realized her error and jumped meters away from Seungwan then put some good distance between them. After ensuring that she was avoiding the Ravenclaw like the plague, she turned to Joohyun and tried not to wilt under her scrutiny. "It's not what it looks like, I swear! She was just teaching me the Patronus Charm!" Sooyoung was never really the type to keep a level-head during times of crisis and right now, under the pressure of Joohyun's gaze, she finally cracked and was in a state of panic.

  "You don't have to explain." Joohyun sounded calm and composed but her eyes told a different story. It raged like a storm and burned with the fires of hell. Sooyoung was never really a believer but now she prayed to every deity in the heavens to have her life spared just this once.

  Seungwan didn't understand why her friend was suddenly acting all nervous, as if Sooyoung was caught red-handed for a crime she didn't commit, and decided to clear up any misunderstandings. "It's true Hyun. I'm helping her cast the spell." She held up her hands in a placating gesture as if she was trying to tame a wild animal. Here she was, defending herself even though she didn't do anything wrong. She honestly felt like she was being reprimanded.

  "I can see that." Joohyun glanced at the silver spirit guardian still perched on blonde's shoulder. Her face still impassive. "Nice bird."

  Seungwan groaned and shook her head in disbelief. "Merlin's beard! It's a Nightingale for crying out loud!" Sooyoung faked a cough to hide her laughter. Her eyes glinting in amusement. It's nice to know that she found delight in Seungwan's despair.

  Joohyun remained indifferent when she addressed the both of them. "We're late for Potions class." She took off without further ado and left her friends in the dust, never even turning back to wait for them.

  Sooyoung and Seungwan briefly stared at each other, silently agreeing to continue their training session later, before running off to follow their friend.

  The trip to Potions class was relatively quiet. Joohyun kept to herself the whole time and Seungwan and Sooyoung didn't dare spark a conversation with her. The Ravenclaw knew that something caused the Prefect to become irate but she had no idea what it was. It felt like she was walking on eggshells around her friend and she was honestly getting tired. Hopefully, their lesson for today wouldn't require too much thinking on her part so she could have the time to relax and take it easy.

  Seungwan should've known better than to expect things to go her way. The universe had a vendetta against her. Surely, she'd have learned her lesson by now.

  Wrong.

  Fate just loves to make a fool out of her.

  She should've known that things were going south when they were greeted by excited chatters and furious gossips from the students as they arrived at the Potions classroom.

  She should've known when she observed how Professor Slughorn was acting more chipper than the usual. The smile never left his lips when he flitted around the room to gather the materials that will be used in the class.

  She really should've known when Sooyoung voiced out. "This is going to be fun." As the tall girl noticed Joohyun stiffening like a rock and successfully imitating a statue by the time the professor announced.

  "Today, I'll be discussing Amortentia. The most powerful love potion in the world."

  Well shit.

  "Finally!" A boy from Gryffindor pumped his fist to the air in excitement and the rest of the class burst out in laughter. He glanced at Joohyun and smoothly winked in her direction but the Slytherin acted like it never happened. That blatant display of flirting caused Seungwan to worry for her friend. She knew that Joohyun despised unwanted attention, especially ones from arrogant boys who think they have a shot with her.

  "Hey you okay?" Seungwan moved to stand beside Joohyun and angled her body to shield her friend from the Gryffindor boy's line of sight. She gently grabbed Joohyun's arm and to her great surprise, the Prefect flinched as if she was spooked. The blonde was confused. Joohyun never shied away from her touches before.

  "Yeah I'm fine." The Slytherin faked a cough and distanced herself away from Seungwan. She focused all her attention on their professor and didn't even bother looking at the Ravenclaw.

  "I appreciate your enthusiasm for today's lesson Suho. The topic of love really never gets old." A small indulgent smile graced Professor Slughorn's features when he complimented the Gryffindor student. Suho looked quite smug with the praise he received. It was no secret to everyone that Slughorn took quite a liking to the young boy. Suho was a promising Quidditch captain and a popular dueller. Rumor has it that he was scouted to play as a Beater in a professional Quidditch team.

  Professor Slughorn's eyes twinkled when he continued with the lecture. "As I was saying, Amortentia is a rather potent concoction. Rather than create true love, this potion induces in its drinker an unhealthy obsession with its provider. Those conceived under the influence of this are doomed incapable of love. It is extremely powerful, dangerous, and must be continuously administered to maintain its effect." The smile on his face disappeared and his gaze turned stern. His voice dropping into a serious tone to emphasize his point. "Thus, we must exercise extreme caution when handling this potion."

  "This potion sounds dreadful Professor. Why is it even here?" Sooyoung raised her hand in question and Seungwan nodded in agreement. Why would they study this concoction if it was dangerous in the first place?

  Most importantly, why would Slughorn teach a bunch of hormonal teenagers, who all had the tendency to make brash decisions, to brew a complicated love potion that may or may not be used for illegal purposes?

  "So that you can study its appearance and commit it to memory. That way you can recognize and avoid Amortentia if you happen to encounter it." Standing close to a bubbling cauldron, Professor Slughorn turned down the fire until it was completely extinguished and removed the lid that sealed the brew.

  The love potion emitted a pink-colored steam that wafted into the air and envelopes the entire room. Everyone caught a whiff of its potent fragrance and Seungwan couldn't help but wonder why the scent seemed awfully familiar.

  Freshly-laundered clothes sprinkled with fabric softener

  Blooming flowers under clear sunny skies

  Deliciously cooked seaweed soup

  "The scent of Amortentia is unique because it differs for everyone. Its fragrance caters to which a person finds most attractive." Professor Slughorn scanned the room to search for volunteers and smiled in delight when his eyes landed on Joohyun. "Ah Ms. Bae, would you please come in front and share to the class what you smell from this brew."

  For a moment, Joohyun seemed like she was hesitating and Seungwan thought her friend was going to decline. To her surprise, the Prefect nodded in agreement and simply walked towards Professor Slughorn. Her movements were stiff, almost robotic, as she made her way towards the front.

  Once she was close enough to the cauldron, she swallowed the lump in her throat and studied the bubbling liquid for a while, brows furrowed as if she was debating on whether she should smell the potion or just run the fuck away from here. Fear was evident in her eyes but it was carefully concealed under a mask of calmness.

  Everyone waited with bated breath as they watched the Slytherin lean closer and closer her eyes to inhale the scent. Several seconds passed and Joohyun jolted awake looking quite disoriented. She blinked rapidly to gather her thoughts and clenched her hands into fists to keep anchoring her into reality. A brilliant shade of red dusted her cheeks and she looked visibly shaken. Their gazes accidentally met and it took all of Joohyun's self-control to look away. It's almost as if she was burned when Seungwan's gaze left tendrils of fire on her skin.

  "So Ms. Bae, what do you smell?" Professor Slughorn sealed the cauldron and stared expectantly at the Slytherin.

  Joohyun nervously bit her lip and muttered something under her breath that no one caught. Her hands wouldn't stop trembling. Seungwan had never seen her look so anxious before. The love potion must've really affected her. "I smell the pages of an old book, the musky scent of wood burning in a fireplace, the sour tang of blue oranges and--" She  straightened her posture and clenched her jaw like she was about to reveal something that could make or break the world.

  "Freshly baked pastries."

  There was something in the way Joohyun uttered the last line. She wasn't angry nor sad... just resigned. It's like she was finally accepting the fate she had long denied. The fight seeped out of her bones and now all that's left was surrender.

  Sooyoung sidled up next to the Ravenclaw and muttered under her breath. "Oh crickets! I wonder just who could she possibly be smelling." Her tone was sarcastic, almost mocking, and her eyes held judgement for Seungwan as if accusing her for a crime she didn't commit. It left the blonde very confused.

  "Thank you, Ms. Bae. Fifty points to Slytherin" Professor Slughorn applauded to show appreciation for his student and resumed in discussing the subject more extensively.

  The Prefect returned to the empty space beside the blonde and mostly kept to herself throughout the whole duration of the class, never sparking conversation with anyone, not even Seungwan. Something was clearly bothering Joohyun since she mostly spent her time deep in thought. "Penny for your thoughts?" The blonde tried to broach the topic and internally hoped that her Slytherin friend wouldn't find her meddlesome.

  Joohyun gazed at her pointedly, eyes shimmering with something Seungwan couldn't quite understand, and it lingered for a few moments before she dejectedly shook her head and smiled bitterly. "You won’t understand." Her response was short and brief, almost too formal, and the Ravenclaw was caught off-guard at this cold treatment.

  She was seeing another side of her friend for the first time. The curt, proper and unbelievably prideful side. The one ingrained since birth only if you grew in a powerful Pureblood household. The blonde wouldn’t deny it. This side of Joohyun made her feel insignificant. Like the Slytherin was in another plane of existence, too high up in the heavens, unreachable and definitely out of Seungwan’s league.

  The Prefect focused all her attention to the ongoing discussion while jotting down notes seriously and completely ignoring Seungwan as if her life depended on it. The blonde turned to ask Sooyoung. "Did I do something wrong?" She thought of all possible ways she could’ve offended Joohyun but she came up with none.

  The tall Slytherin glanced at her with pity evident in her eyes. "What do you think?" Her statement caused the Ravenclaw to frown.

  Where did she go wrong?

  ***

  "Tonight, I'm pleased to announce that Hogwarts will be hosting a legendary event. An event that fosters camaraderie, friendship and inter-school magical cooperation."

  It was Dumbledore's first greeting once the sorting ceremony was finished. The rest of the students in the Great Hall buzzed with excitement because this could possibly be the moment the Headmaster might finally shed light about the sudden appearance of ghost ships and flying carriages within Hogwarts grounds.

  Seungwan tried to pay attention, she really did, but after that incident in Potion's class and Joohyun's change in attitude, she couldn't even be bothered to care. The Slytherin started acting all proper and formal around her and she didn't know the reason why. It’s like they were back to the time where they were still acquaintances.

  She sighed helplessly before shifting her attention towards the Slytherin table where Joohyun sat and casually ate her food. She was engaged in a conversation with Sooyoung. The Prefect seemed fine. Gone were the traces of the formality she displayed earlier and even allowed herself to smile. Their gazes accidentally met and Seungwan held her breath when Joohyun simply acknowledged her existence with a curt nod.

  Okay. Maybe Seungwan was reading too much into this. She should just relax and try not to overthink.

  "The Triwizard Tournament!"

  Dumbledore announced proudly and seemed totally pleased with himself for maintaining an aura of absolute mystery and for keeping this information under the wraps. Little did he know that the whole student body practically knew of his secret due to the circulating rumors around the school. He paused for a moment to build-up suspense and basked in the excitement that enveloped the entire crowd. "Now please help me welcome, the lovely ladies from the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic with their headmistress Madame Maxime!"

  The doors of the Great Hall opened to reveal sophisticated-looking women. All wearing pale blue robes made of fine silk and exuding an aura of grace. Pink little butterflies flew when they passed and the scent of expensive perfume lingered in the air. They all looked unbelievably stunning. A girl in particular, one who had strawberry-blonde hair and enchanting brown eyes, stopped before the Ravenclaw table together with her lovely friends, blew Seungwan a sweet kiss then headed to the Hufflepuff table where the Beauxbatons students gathered.

  Good Lord. Seungwan sat reeling and dazed after that unexpected interaction. Her presence has been acknowledged by one of the most beautiful people she had ever seen and her brain was still in a state of shock. A small, almost dreamy, smile settled on her lips. She must've done something good in her past life for her to be graced with this blessing.

  Suddenly, she felt this uncomfortable sensation of being watched. Like someone was drilling holes into her head and stabbing her back. A quick scan around the hall confirmed her suspicions when she noticed Joohyun shooting daggers at her from the Slytherin table. Her features morphed into a scowl and she gripped her fork so hard that her knuckles turned white. Apparently, she witnessed that little interaction between Seungwan and the Beauxbatons girl and she didn't look quite happy about it.

  "Next, let us greet the proud sons of Durmstrang and their high master, Igor Karkaroff."

  All the buzzing hushed down as everyone turned to look at the doors of the Great Hall in anticipation. The lights dimmed and floors vibrated. A loud booming roar was heard before an entourage of all-male students, wearing fur cloaks and blood red robes, made their entrance. They started twirling, tumbling, and doing other forms of acrobatic shit. A person conjured flames from the tip of his wand and it morphed into a ginormous dragon. The Hogwarts students gaped in awe and clapped in delight at the magnificent display of advance magic.

  "Holy shit that's him!" One of Seungwan's housemates gushed like a maniac. "That's Park Bogum!"

  He pointed at one student in particular. The one that stood out from the others. He was quite tall, sported dark raven hair, eyes intensely narrowed and wore a grim expression. His overall serious look greatly contrasted with his innocent features. He took long confident strides and his presence demanded attention. With chin held high, he joined his Durmstrang brothers in the Slytherin table.

  So that's him. Seungwan thought to herself. The Greatest Chaser in the world had come to grace Hogwarts with his presence.

  Dumbledore stood patiently in the podium and waited for the excitement to die down. When the chattering finally stopped, he started his speech. "Eternal glory!"

  He paused for a dramatic effect and Seungwan smirked in amusement because of course the Headmaster had a flair for theatrics. "That's what awaits the champion of the Triwizard tournament but let me remind you that this is not for the faint of heart for each competitor must face three tasks." Dumbledore glanced at everyone in the hall. His voice turned dark and foreboding. "Three extremely dangerous tasks. For that, only one is crowned as champion. To prevent premature deaths and ensure that no life is wasted, no student below the age of 17 is allowed to enter the tournament."

  The hall broke into chaos as most of the students, especially those who failed to meet the age requirement, voiced out their complaints. The people from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were shocked at the ruckus the scholars from Hogwarts were making and Seungwan could only shake her head in disappointment. The students were certainly doing wonders in upholding the school's reputation. Dumbledore cast a Sonorous spell and yelled "Silence!" which did its desired effect because it rendered the Great Hall to become completely quiet.

  He stepped off the podium and with a flourish of his wand, transfigured said podium into a golden tower adorned with shimmering jewels. The other students gasped in awe. Dumbledore doing magic was such a rare sight and it still rendered everyone speechless.

  A silent incantation passed his lips and the golden tower melted until it revealed a rather rusty-looking bronze goblet. Blue fire burned at the tip of its rim and a cloud of silvery mist circled around it.

  "The Goblet of Fire."

  The Headmaster turned serious again and everyone was enraptured with his commanding presence. "Anyone who wishes to enter must only write their name on a piece of parchment and drop it to the cup before Friday midnight."

  Seungwan swallowed the lump in her throat when Dumbledore finished his announcement.

  Well, that was an interesting dinner.

[beantown-boy]

Punch Bowl ||An Andi Mack Fic|| (CW Homophobia)

Quick Shoutout to @abg-blah​ and @luzawithoutu​ for providing me with motivation, and to @dumb-binch-juice​ for providing me with inspiration

"Cyrus, please DON'T wear a tux to homecoming."

“Please, wear a tux,” TJ countered, giving Buffy a pointed look before turning to his boyfriend with a smile. Cyrus looked amazing. It was like the universe had decided that Cyrus should be able to look both handsome and comfortable in formalwear. He wasn’t so lucky. The shoulders of his suit jacket were awkwardly tight, and he was pretty sure that his socks hadn’t shown this much when he wore this last Homecoming.

“It’s too formal,” Buffy pleaded. “I’d go with the blue suit. Why stray from a classic? Plus, you just had it tailored. It would be a shame for that to go to waste.”

“But the tux makes a statement.”

“Yeah it does. ‘I’m too good for normal dress clothes’”

“Which you are. Don't let her undermine your confidence.”

Cyrus drew his hands up dramatically, cutting them off mid-argument.

“Dearest and most beloved advisors, I have come to my conclusion. Before I state it, I must say, I love you both in equal, though different measures. That being said, Buffy is right. It’s just a little too much. Don’t worry, Teej, I’ll rock the tux for next year’s prom.”

He jumped onto the bed, and quickly kissed TJ on the cheek before walking back into his closet.

“Gross,” Buffy teased.

As the closet door clicked shut, a series of sharp knocks came from the door to Cyrus’ room, followed by Marty’s muffled voice. “Hey, guys? Are you done in there? Jonah and Lenni are here, and they’re starting to think that Buffy killed TJ. Which you didn’t, right?”

Buffy smirked and gave TJ a playful shove before going to open the door.

“Not yet. I could never do that to Cyrus.”

“More like you couldn’t do it, period, Driscoll.” TJ shot back.

“Can you guys please make it through one night without bickering?”

“No.” They replied in unison before bursting into laughter.

Being friends with Buffy was great, but ever since she and Marty had started the whole 'being straightforward' thing she'd needed someone else for verbal sparring. And joking with her kept TJ on his toes. It was nice to know that he still had his sharp tongue, even if he rarely used it. Marty and Jonah were fun, but sometimes a bit witless. Buffy was anything but.

The pre-Homecoming dinner at the Goodmans' was just as good as the year before, if not better. Cyrus' dad always went all out when his son had friends over. And even if the meal still devolved into Jonah and Lenni heating up hot pockets and seeing who could eat the most of them without burning themselves, TJ was happy to spend the time surrounded by his friends and his boyfriend.

By the time the group split up between TJ and Buffy's cars, TJ was already getting snaps of the dance from Chet and William. He put his phone down as Cyrus and Jonah climbed into the backseat, leaving him alone up front. He stared at the two of them, as the awkwardness seeped in.

"So no one wants shotgun, huh?" TJ deadpanned.

"I mean, I was going to," Jonah explained, "but then I thought Cyrus might want to, and then-"

"I just know that the passenger seat is the least safe one in the car." Cyrus stated. "And I do trust your driving skills, but I don't necessarily trust everyone else on the road."

"Oh, so if I die, I'm dying alone, gotcha. Since that's cleared up, Jonah, do you wanna ride shotgun."

"Risk of death, let's goooo!" Jonah shouted, climbing over the passenger seat.

"See," TJ said as he pulled into the Grant High parking lot, "no fatal accidents."

“Told you I trusted you.” Cyrus

The dance was already in full swing as they entered the overcrowded gymnasium. A swarm of students surrounded the DJ booth, while others milled about between the snacks and the neatly decorated tables.

“Isn’t this amazing?”

Cyrus sighed as he took it all in. He and the other class reps had worked really hard to make sure that the dance went flawlessly, and judging by the look on his boyfriend’s face, TJ believed they’d succeeded. The junior class rep, Avery, TJ thought, waved Cyrus over towards the punch bowl. Cyrus looked cautiously between her and his friends.

“Can I just -”

“It’s fine.” Buffy interrupted. “Go talk to her, grab some punch and then meet us on the dancefloor.”

Buffy, as it turned out was a very good dancer. TJ didn't think he was abysmal himself, but he certainly wouldn't have managed half as well if she hadn't been by his side. They slid this way to that beat, as they ran into Jonah again. They made a turn at that moment because it seemed to fit just right, and Buffy broke off from him to join Marty. TJ spun into the guys from the team before Lenni pulled him back towards the others. The energy between the five of them was electrifying. TJ wasn’t sure how much time had passed before they settled with just bouncing in the crowd of Grant High students.

“Okay, Buffy,” Lenni huffed, “we get it. You’re tireless. But some of us would rather just watch someone else dance for a change. In your car you were talking about the Cyrus Shuffle. What even is that?”

Buffy’s laugh was almost drowned out by the sound of the crowd.

“It’s whatever dance moves Cyrus throws together whenever he says he’s gonna do the Cyrus Shuffle.”

TJ picked up after her.

“Each one is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. You have to see it. He should be back any second now, unless-” He turned back to Buffy, who was already giving him her ‘I know exactly what’s happening’ smile. They had left Cyrus with Avery, another huge nerd. They’d almost definitely started seventeen different tangent conversations, and if no one interrupted them the class reps would probably spend the whole dance talking about chemistry or exam prep. One of them would have to get Cyrus.

“You’re his boyfriend,” Buffy said quickly. “You go get him.”

“You just want to kiss Marty while I’m not around to make fun of you.”

TJ didn’t catch her reply as he turned and tried to make his way through the crowd. Now that he was trying to get out, he realized that making people move was so much harder than he remembered it being. Even last year, people still had given him a bit of precautionary space, and sure, it had stung, but it had also been useful. He pushed the thought out of his mind as he slid between flying elbows. He was nice now. He had been for two years. It made sense that people would feel at least comfortable around him. And if that feeling came with feeling small and cramped sometimes, so be it.

Finally, he made it out of the crush of bodies. Relief crashed over him with a wave of cooler air, but the jostling of the crowd still left him a bit on edge. TJ took a moment to get his bearings before heading towards the punch bowl. He spotted Cyrus’ familiar blue suit from across the room, and immediately he felt more relaxed. It took him another moment to realize that something was wrong.

Avery was nowhere in sight, and Cyrus was shifting from foot to foot like he was ready to bolt at a moment’s notice. He was talking to someone who TJ couldn’t quite make out in the dim gymnasium light. TJ nearly sprinted past the tables to get to Cyrus. And as he got close, he recognized Ethan practically towering over his boyfriend. He felt himself go cold, hot, then cold again as he stalked toward the senior.

TJ was sick of him. Ethan had been a jerk to Cyrus before. He’d done horrible things to Chet’s sister Charlotte. Cyrus had tried reporting the guy last year, but despite the school’s zero tolerance policy for bullying, Ethan was still around. And now he was screwing with Cyrus again. TJ interrupted whatever insulting comment Ethan was making as he made it to the punch bowl.

“Don’t you have anywhere else to be? Or did your soccer buddies’ house party get busted?”

That was nice enough. He hadn’t outright insulted Ethan, which was good. Civility wasn’t his strong suit.

“I was just swinging by to my last ever HoCo,” Ethan replied. He flashed a toothy sneer that made TJ’s skin crawl. “And then I saw your little boyfriend here, and I couldn’t help but share a little senior wisdom.”

“Can we just go?” Cyrus suggested before freezing again when Ethan turned his attention back to him.

“No.” The way Ethan spoke made it seem more like a fact than anything else. Cyrus shrank back even further, and TJ tasted metal in his mouth.

“Ethan’s right,” TJ said. He felt like he wasn’t the one speaking. His voice was surprisingly level, even as his nails began to dig into his palms and a painful heat began to spread from the pit of his stomach. Whatever force was carrying him continued. “I’d personally love to hear what an idiot calls wisdom.”

“It’s easy, kids. Homecoming is for normal people. And that’s not you guys. I don’t care if you do the whole gay thing. But not at my homecoming. So get lost,” He shoved Cyrus towards the door, and muttered something under his breath that made Cyrus wince. Adrenaline and panic spiked in a moment of white-hot fury and-

“TJ, are you okay!”

Cyrus’ voice connected through the haze, and TJ felt himself slowly becoming a person again. He tasted blood in his mouth, and his face was still burning with wildfire. He realized he was on his back. His head hurt. His chest hurt. His hands hurt worst of all. He looked to find blood on his knuckles and under his fingernails. Then, he saw Cyrus standing worriedly above him, right next to Principal Donaghue, whose face was set in an unforgiving line.

“Mr. Kippen, I must ask you to leave the premises immediately. We will be discussing disciplinary actions Monday.”

The next few moments still felt like a dream. Cyrus was still looking at him with that concern, or maybe it was fear, as Buffy seemed to materialize to help him to his feet. The next thing he knew he was lying on his back, on the football field, in the chilly October night. Buffy was resting on his left, either unaware or uncaring of the grass stains on her dress. Cyrus was sitting on his right, more contemplative than concerned.

“I’m sorry.” TJ offered, eyes fixed on the night sky.

“Well,” Cyrus supplied tentatively, “This isn’t my first run in with school administration. I just haven’t been kicked out of a dance before.”

“I’m so sorry,” TJ repeated, thinking back to the look of shock on Ethan’s face when he leapt forward to punch the senior.

“I never meant to actually-- It was just so-- And he was-- I’m sorry. For ruining our night.”

Buffy laughed, and a plume of fog erupted with it.

"Congratulations, Blood-Nose, you are officially the loose cannon of Grant High's sophomore class, again." She paused, weighing her words, before continuing. “Besides, that Ethan guy had it coming. I’m actually a little bit jealous I missed the action. He’s one of those very punchable people. Right, Cyrus?”

Cyrus’s breath steamed in the silence. A moment passed, then another, and TJ’s heart clenched as Cyrus finally spoke.

"You are a great guy, TJ, and I know that. And I should’ve spoken up more to stop that from happening. But you’re still you. You’re headstrong and brave, and remarkably kind. But, sometimes, you remind people why they used to fear you. And that’s not a bad thing, as long as they know they don’t have to anymore. I know I don’t. I just love you. So, I will see you either after detention, or at your house if you get suspended. But tonight-"

Cyrus kissed him, and TJ was still scared. He was scared about what repercussions would come on Monday. He was scared about telling his parents what had happened that night. He was scared about all the rumors that were probably already spreading through the sophomore class. But for once, he wasn’t scared of himself. And for ten seconds he let himself enjoy that. Until Buffy said, “Gross,” and the three of them collapsed in crazy stressed laughter.

[avengers-nextgen]

High School

School was always a tricky topic for the kids. They wanted the experience of it, the education was valued, and they wanted the experience of making other friends. Yet, there was always the ever prominent issue of who they really were. They were not average no matter how hard they liked to hope.

Through much convincing and a lot of talk with the school principal the kids were given a choice. If they so wanted, they could go to school.

The school was on the higher end, where funding allowed a more enriched experience than other local schools, making interests more accessible. Piper was able to take advanced lab sciences to her heart’s content while Scout dove whole heartedly into literature.

What none of them expected were the uniforms.

“Do I have to wear this?” James frowned as his father straightened the tie that fit snuggly around his neck.

“That’s what the school policy is.” James visibly sulked at the response but he had no choice other than to accept it.

“Skirts.” Alex hissed standing with Piper and Thalia in the bathroom. Each girl was examining their uniform with different expressions of confusion or disappointment. “How does anyone work on anything in a skirt?”

“It’s not too bad.” Piper shrugged. “But I am not digging the long sleeves.”

“It is...restricting,” Thalia frowned trying to move around in the clothes.

“You ladies doing alright?” Pepper knocked on the door.

“Sadly, yes.” Alex mumbled opening it and inviting her in. “How do we look?”

“Adorable. Here,” Pepper noticed the way each girl looked uncomfortable and made an attempt to fix their outfits to better suit them.

She rolled Piper’s sleeves up to the elbow, provided Alex with a pair of shorts to wear beneath the skirt, and helped loosen the collar of Thalia’s shirt.

“Slightly better.” Alex mused.

“Definitely tolerable.” Thalia agreed.

— — —

“Scout you have to do something with your hair.” Wanda sighed.

“I don’t want to look like a pompous old gentleman from the early nineteenth century.” Scout protested, crossing his arms.

“Don’t worry, I had to clean up too.” James said, poking his head into Scout’s room. His red hair was neatly combed unlike usual. Scout sighed and allowed his mother to make his appearance look better than that of a boy who’d just rolled out of bed.

“Man I am glad I got High School out of the way!” Nathaniel gloated. “No school for me.”

“Didn’t anyone tell you that you’re the one driving us?” James arched a brow.

“Ah shit.” Nathaniel frowned dressed only in his boxers. “Well, guess I’ll throw some pants on or something.”

“I hope he can drive.” Scout muttered.

— — —

“Alright, you guys have everything?” Nathaniel glanced over his shoulder into the back of the car. He felt like a parent and boy was it scary.

“My pride? No.” Alex frowned.

“Cheer up.” Piper smiled. “This could be fun.”

“Or horrible.” Scout countered.

The young heroes all piled out of the vehicle slinging bags over their shoulders. They stood clustered on the sidewalk for a moment, each one observing the large school where other uniformed children were already heading inside.

“Shall we?” Thalia questioned.

The halls were busier than they expected and simply getting schedules from the office was a nightmare but they each survived respectively. Still, the group was aware of the stares they earned. Everyone seemed to know they were the new kids on the block.

“I feel like I’m in an aquarium for everyone to look at.” James whispered, keeping pace with his sister.

“Yeah, I know.” She sighed.

Unfortunately they were forced to part ways and each teenager seemed very unamused by that idea. Thalia was on her way to a sophmore history class down one hall and Piper was heading to advanced engineering in the opposite direction.

Scout scampered off to math class with a begrudging sigh while James made his way to chemistry and Alex ventured to PE.

— — —

Each of them waited painfully for lunch. They had been blessed to have the same lunch hour and each was eager to see how well the others were doing.

Piper had been discovered as Tony Stark’s brilliant daughter right away and immediately devouring eyes scanned her. Both attractive and nerdy brainiacs flattered by the idea that they not only had someone brilliant in their class but also someone very attractive. Piper hated it.

“You can be my engineering partner.” A chipper voice called out, and Piper located the waving hand that matched the voice. The girl had a very enthusiastic aura about her but she seemed to be the hard working type. Piper didn’t hesitate to sit down.

“Do they stare at every girl that walks in?” She asked.

“Yeah. Few of the girls around here make it to the advanced classes.” Her new partner explained. “They’re really just horny teenagers. Any way I’m Gen, nice to meet you.”

“Uh, Piper. You probably knew that though.” Piper took the other girls hand in a firm shake and started feeling a bit more at ease. She was thankful Gen didn’t seem to care much about her name. In fact, she didn’t seem too surprised or concerned.

— — —

“Ah, our new student.” Scout stood awkwardly at the back of the class as the English teacher beckoned him to make his way to the front. “Don’t be shy.”

Scout kept quiet and joined the young man in front of dozens of other students. “Uh, I’m Scout. Nice to meet you all.”

“Your seat is right over there. Take your seat and we will get started.” Scout did as he was told and took the last open desk. It was at the back of the room in the corner.

“Didn’t think there’d be another language nerd here.” The boy in front of Scout leaned back in his seat. “Mostly girls in here. What’s your favorite piece?”

“Piece of what?”

“Literature.” The other kid chuckled.

“Well I find that to be quiet a subjective question.” Scout frowned studying the other boy. “It’s all about an opinion.”

“You’re interesting. I like you.” With that the other boy turned and remained quiet the rest of the period leaving Scout confused as to what had just transpired.

— — —

Thalia had taken a liking to the teacher instantly. He was strict but light hearted and seemed to be a true historian. He wasn’t dry when he spoke and bored to the bones with his job. He was invested.

“Can anyone tell me what transpired between the Spanish colonies and the native institutions already developed in America?” The professor looked eagerly about the class to find Thalia’s hand in the air. “Miss Odin.”

“The Spanish colonists were invested in a catholic belief system that thrives off of conversion. Conversion was attempted through missionaries but often times it was a forced process. The encomienda labor system developed out of the catholic conversion attempted which ultimately lead to inter marriage. However the missions caused conflict with native populations.” The class fell silent as other students stared at the new comer.

“Very well done! I am quiet impressed.” The professor beamed. “Someone has been reading their stuff.”

— — —

James itched at the edges of the safety goggles where the rubbery plastic dug into his skin. He was unamused by the petty beginners lab they were doing. It was nothing more than to buy time while other supplies were shipped to the teacher.

“Surface tension. Honestly, dripping water onto a quarter is not even remotely challenging.” James snorted watching his lab partner invest their full attention into the task at hand.

“Perhaps you would like to share some of your knowledge then Mr. Rogers.” James sighed, he should have known the teacher would be standing behind him.

“What would you like to know?” James questioned arching a brow. The other students lost interest in their labs. No one ever talked back to the Mr. Stein.

“What is the chemical composition of gunpowder?”

“Gun powder, also known as black powder?” James questioned simply to screw with the teacher.

“Yes.” Mr. Stein’s face became twisted with a smirk.

“Gun powder is composed of three parts. Charcoal, sulfur, and potassium nitrate which is also known as saltpeter.” It was James’ turn to smirk. “While the sulfur and charcoal act as fuels, the potassium nitrate participates in the composition by functioning as an oxidizer.”

“Well...” Mr. Stein straightened his tie. Unable to say much else he gave James a curt nod and left the lab station behind.

— — —

Alex was having the time of her life. Dodgeball, a classic, and better yet: something she killed at. Not a single person on the other team stood a chance against her, except for one. It was another girl who didn’t appear to be much of the athletic type.

She was pale and spindly but incredibly lithe and acrobatic. What confused Alex the most was the girl’s punk appearance. She seemed so genuinely disinterested in everything Alex had been surprised to see her the last one standing on the other court.

What was more, the girl seemed to have a negative connotation about her. The other students didn’t go near her let alone talk to her.

“Alright you two, I’m calling it a draw. We can’t wait all day for someone to get hit.” The instructor, a woman named Ms. Lacy, blew her whistle.

Alex paused holding the ball in hand to look at the teacher when something slammed into her gut. Someone else might have been knocked flat but Alex was only winded. Her eyes smarted with irritation as she looked across the court to see the other girl with an amused expression.

“I said stop. That means you hold the ball Miss Fox. No cheap shots.” Alex wanted to laugh. The name was all too fitting for who it was applied to.

“My hand slipped,” Came the dry smile and laugh.

“You’re lucky I’m tolerant.” Alex sighed.

“Spare me the speech.” Fox waved her hand flippantly.

Alex blinked glancing about, but it seemed everyone was used to the other girl’s abrasive personality.

— — —

“History is fun.” Thalia smiled taking the last seat at the kids’ table.

“Lucky for you, everyone flipped their shit when they realized who I was.” Piper grumbled picking at the school lunch with a look of distaste.

“I completely embarrassed my chemistry teacher.” James beamed.

“Good for you. Apparently I’m ‘interesting’ according to the kid in front of me.” Scout looked utterly confused.

“I nailed dodge ball but there’s this weird girl.” Alex shook her head. “I tried being nice but...”

“Not everyone is going to like you.” Piper noted.

“Wow, thanks. I feel better.” Alex mused earning a laugh from the group.

Though the first school day was rough, neither of them were too upset to not go back. If anything it was interesting and a nice change of pace. None of them guessed that they might actually enjoy high school.

[juniperhillpatient]

Summary: Stanlon with a side of Bichie.

Plot? Sorry, I don't know her. This is just fluff. Everyone is happy college AU. Rated PG for language, making out and alcohol

******

"I never thought I'd say this but I missed Derry."

"You never thought you'd say that?" Mike Hanlon's mother put her hands on her hips, shaking her head before giving her son a hug.

A swirl of autumn leaves tumbled past the Greyhound bus stop in a gust of wind, chilling the air. Mike zipped his jacket, stuffing his hands deep in his pockets. It was a cold, gray afternoon in Derry. Mike had come home for the weekend to help his parents set up their annual haunted trail, which took place in the woods behind the Hanlon farm, but it was time to leave, time to say goodbye to his parents and Derry. Mike felt both a sense of sadness and relief at this. For some reason, he couldn't quite place his finger on, he always felt like there was something sinister about Derry, especially in autumn. It was like the rotting autumn leaves smelled a little more of decay in Derry than anywhere else.

Will Hanlon was smiling in his knowing way. It was a smile that always seemed to imply there was something only he and Mike understood. "But you're enjoying college, son?"

Mike grinned. "I really am."

This was very true. Mike had enjoyed learning in high school, as much as any high school student does, but college was different. He was learning not because some teacher forced him to, not because the state mandated it, but because he wanted to. He loved reading and discussing literature and history with others who truly wanted to be there.

More than anything, he loved his friends. He had met Bill and Richie and moved in with them during the second semester of his freshman year. By the summer, they realized they really needed a fourth roommate if they wanted to keep the already cramped apartment which had a mold problem and usually smelled like weed, which was mostly Richie's fault though Bill and Mike were not blameless. The place was everything a group of college guys could ever dream of, and, well, it had become home. So, they had put an ad on Craigslist.

That was when Stan moved in.

Now a month into Junior year, Mike was realizing more and more every day that he was head over heels for the socially awkward, neat and tidy, straight edge nerd that was Stan Uris and he had no idea how to deal with it.

The Greyhound pulled up bringing with it the smell of fumes and the promise of warmth and a comfy seat. Mike hugged his parents and, pretending not to see the tears in their eyes, grabbed his bag, and climbed aboard.

Back to school, back to his friends...back to a certain curly haired blue eyed roommate.

***

"I miss Mike."

"Stan, my buddy, my guy, Mike has been gone for a total of two days. He's literally going to be back this afternoon. You need to take it down a notch. Take it down ten notches. You're at a one hundred, I'm going to need you to take it down to a fifty. You-"

"Beep beep Richie," Stan interrupted, moving across the kitchen to grab a fifth cup of coffee. He stared at the textbook open in front of him on the table for a few seconds before sighing and sitting down. Stan had never gotten below an A in his life and he wasn't about to start now, even if he had no idea how to write a dialogue between two European colonizers living in America in the fifteenth century. He could tell you everything about the colonization of America, but how the hell was he supposed to know what these people would say? How was he supposed to know what they would think?

Stan glanced at Richie who was playing with a fidget spinner and staring into space. He decided to rib him a little, more to procrastinate the assignment than anything else. "Sometimes it's just nice to have someone else here to shut out the sound of," now it was Stan's turn to do a voice impression, which was usually Richie's job "oh god Bill! Oh god!"

"S-someone say my n-name?" Bill asked, entering the room.

Richie fell off the counter in a heap of laughter, knocking over several empty beer cans and bumping his head on the corner of the table.

"You okay?" Bill asked, concerned. Richie, who was still wheezing with laughter, nodded.

"That was a surprisingly good impression Stan the man," Richie sputtered. "What do you do, listen?"

Stan grabbed the fidget spinner from Richie. "It's a small apartment dipshit," he said. "Have you two never had roommates?" he began playing with the fidget spinner, thinking that if he took one of these to class the way Richie did, he'd be distracted the whole time. Richie managed to get amazing grades though, somehow.

"Of course w-we have," Bill said, sitting down at the table and laying out his own textbooks before grabbing the fidget spinner from Stan and beginning to fiddle with it. "M-mike was here before you, remember?"

"Mike is more tolerant than me."  

"I agree already but why's that?" Mike asked, entering the room. He glanced down. "Why are you on the floor?" he asked Richie.

***

It was well past midnight and Stan still hadn't gone to bed. Not that Mike was keeping track. The hallway leading to Stan's room led directly past Mike's, and he had left his door open just a fragment.

Mike decided to enter the kitchen under the guise of getting a glass of water. That was innocent enough...right?

He headed down the hallway on soft feet, past Bill and Richie's room. Their door was open and they were laying in bed watching a movie on a laptop, sharing headphones. Bill looked nervous and a little disturbed but totally engrossed and Richie had a huge grin which meant they were doing another of their October horror marathons. Mike sometimes joined the horror marathons, but tonight he had ended up spending the evening getting caught up on schoolwork after missing a day of classes.

He entered the kitchen and headed to the cupboard, grabbing a cup and filling it at the sink. He turned around and saw that Stan's eyes were closing. He was hunched over his textbook, and the page it was open to was covered in notes and almost every line was high lighted.

"What are you working on?" he asked.

"A history report," Stan muttered. "I have to write from the perspective of early European colonizers in America."

Mike frowned, sitting down. "That doesn't sound so bad," he said.

"Think you could help me out?" Stan asked. Mike felt his heart flutter. Stan got better grades than he did. Hell, Stan got better grades than almost anyone he knew.

"I don't know that I could do this any better than you," he said.

"Come on," Stan said. "You're creative - I know you are. You always understand what the teacher wants us to say in those book discussions. Your points are so well thought out, and," he seemed to struggle to think of a word. "Intricate," he said.

"I just like studying characters," Mike shrugged.d "I'm no writer like Bill, but I love reading and thinking about what motivates every character, what makes them tick."

"Great," Stan said. "What made early European settlers in America tick?"

"Racism and greed?" Mike suggested, straight-faced. After a beat, they both burst into laughter at that.

"Fair enough," Stan agreed.

Mike reached over to pull the textbook closer to him and as he did, he felt his hand brush Stan's and his heart about fell out of his chest. "Look, I think you could totally do this on your own," he said. "But I'm happy to help if you want."

***

"It's Halloween," Richie said. "We're doing something."

"What do you wanna do?" Bill asked. Richie was sitting on the sofa and Bill was resting his head on Richie's lap. Mike sat in the chair across from them, his feet up. Stan was sitting on the other chair, scrolling through his phone. Mike could see over Stan's shoulder that he was looking on Instagram, mostly pictures of nature and wildlife, especially birds were showing up.

Mike liked Halloween, but he didn't really care what they did. He'd just as soon sit on their couch drinking beer and watching horror movies as go out and party, but knowing Richie, they were going to end up either at a party or a bar.

Sure enough, an hour later they were in a crowded bar listening to terrible rap music which Richie was trying to dab to with the encouragements of Bill from the sidelines.

Mike smiled and sat down on a bar stool off to the side, sipping a beer.

"Hey," Stan said, sitting beside him.

"Hey," Mike said. There was a pause between songs and Mike felt a sense of nervousness. He wished a new song would come on.

"I never got a chance to thank you, by the way," Stan said. "I got a perfect score on that history assignment you helped me with."

Mike decided against pointing out that they did live together so there had been plenty of chances. He got it. Sometimes it's not a matter of having a chance but a matter of finding the perfect time to say something.

A new song started to play and Mike spilled his beer all over the counter. A waiter hurried to clean it up and Mike and Stan both grabbed napkins and began helping as well.

You should take it as a compliment that I got drunk and made fun of the way you talk, you should think about the consequence of your magnetic field being a little too strong

“Thanks," Mike said, throwing away a beer covered handful of paper towels.

"No problem," Stan replied. Was he blushing? He looked away too fast for Mike to be sure if he had imagined the flush of pink across Stan's cheeks.

Whiskey on ice, sunset, and vine, you've ruined my life,  by not being mine

They returned to their seats at the bar and Mike ordered two more beers on his tab.

"You didn't have to do that," Stan said.

"We're friends," Mike said. "It's not a problem." Was his head spinning a little?

"It seems like lately, you're doing all the favors in this friendship," Stan said.

"I wouldn't say so."

"Why's that?"

"Spending time with you is a pretty nice payback," Mike replied and felt all of the blood running to his face.

Mike found that their faces were very close. It was a crowded bar, but wasn't there something special about the electricity buzzing between them? Wasn't there something intense about the way Stan was staring at him? Like he was the only other person there?

Ocean blue eyes, looking in mine, I feel like I might, sink and drown and die

Mike wasn't sure what made him do what he did next, but it was either a moment of total insanity or total clarity.

He leaned across the bar and kissed Stan. When Stan kissed him back, he felt his soul descend into another dimension and his heart fall out of his body.

The kiss might have lasted moments, or hours, or perhaps several days. Time seemed to cease to exist until they heard Richie and Bill whooping from behind them and looked up.

"Knew it," Bill said. "T-told you it was only a matter of t-time T-Tozier."

"No way," Richie said. "I told you Denbrough, and you know it. Don't play me."

While the two of them argued over who had called it, Mike and Stan turned back towards one another and leaned in for another kiss.

***

A kid screamed from somewhere in the dark forest. Mike shuddered. Stan squeezed his hand, and any moment of unsettlement Mike had felt disappeared.

It had been one year since their first kiss, in a crowded bar on October 31st.

"Here," Mike's mother came hurrying through the yard, holding two steaming cups of cider and handing them to Mike and Stan. "You boys stay warm," she said. "I really appreciate all your help setting up for this year's haunted trail."

"No problem Mrs. Hanlon," Stan said. "It was a lot of fun."

After she walked away, Mike turned to Stan. "A lot of fun?" he scoffed. "You hate this kind of thing."

"I don't hate anything that's important to you or your parents," Stan said.

Suddenly Mike felt as if he'd never be cold again. The dark sky, the smell of rotting leaves, the dread he always felt at summer ending, none of it was real. Those feelings were far away and distant. Stan's hand around his and the hot cider on his throat, those things were real.

"I love you," he said. It was the first time he had ever said the words, but he didn't feel afraid or worried to say them.

He felt right - maybe because had had already said I love you and felt the sentiment returned a hundred times or more without ever really saying it. The words I love you existed in the way he watched Stan write down the names of birds he saw over the summer. The words I love you existed in the way Stan listened to him talk about the history of Maine with a passion most college boys reserved for football and sorority girls. And, the words I love you existed in the way they took care of each other, even when the world seemed big and sinister.

"I love you too," Stan said and kissed Mike's cheek.

******

A/N: Thank you so much to anyone who reads this story (is it a story if there’s really no plot? shhh) If you enjoy it, feedback is appreciated!

I'm going to tag a few people - don't feel any pressure to read I'm just tagging people I feel may be interested!

@skeletontozier @prettybatgirl @0firebrand0 @punkpisces00 @hair-fiber @sweet-but-mostly-sour @evalocity @antonioisbi

Again, no pressure to read! I just tag people I think might like stuff

But if you do read, love you :) <3

[gilbertina971bloog-blog]

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