#they will make out in 3 minutes (hatefully)

[akecih]

wip!!!! im spam posting but the other drawings were made throughout this week

red guy is akira yoshizawa and hes my third detective prince in order to cope with the fact that therell probably be no other detective princes again. this is my shuake 😋😋😋😋😋

[jor-elsemissary]

So right now it's 4 in the morning. Guess what my brain came up at 3 am.

So in season 7. We...all know the episode.

My brain said "Hey what if a different Luthor died"

Me: Oh fuck this gonna get dark.

Brain: *EVIL LAUGH*

“All my life I have lived in your shadow, now you get to die in mine,” his son said with such a finality that he knew there would be no more reasoning with him. Lex had grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket and instinctively he latched onto his arms. “No one will even remember your name.” Then he pushed.

It should have ended with him falling to his death. He had been ready to accept it in order to protect Clark from his son, but something had him cling just a little harder onto life. Had him reach out and grab his son by the lapels of his own coat and hold on steadfast. Lex had not expected his father to fight back and instinctively grabbed his arm just so he wouldn’t topple over the edge with the old man.

“You really know how to ruin a dramatic moment,” his son sneered at him.

The two struggled at the edge of the window, the wind whipping at their clothing and Lionel’s hair. He dared to steal a glance over the edge and swallowed hard at how close they were. “Lex, stop this!” he tried to plead with his son, arms tangled together, hands grabbing and pushing. “Stop or we’ll both go over!”

“What do you care?!” his son shouted hatefully.

“You’re my son!”

“Like hell I am!” Lex shoved but Lionel refused to let go of his son, knowing fully well that if he did, he was good as dead. “You abandoned me long ago when you conceived Julian! You tried again with Lucas years later and I damn well know you were accepting Gabriel Grant as your son! And when that didn’t work out, you found another son in Clark Kent!”

Lionel stared at him in shock, “You…? It was you?” The shock gave way to rage and he found the strength to push back. “He was your brother!”

“He was a fucking clone!” Lex suddenly found himself struggling to fight back against his father. The old man’s rage over the loss of his second son a second time was fueling his strength.

“Clone or not, he was flesh and blood. My flesh and blood!” He thought he had lost Lex tonight, but now he realizes he had lost his son a long time ago. The young boy he had raised had Christened his descent into darkness with the blood of his brother. He realized now that Lex was going to murder every member of his family until only he remained. “You are right that empires fall from weaknesses within,” Lionel snarled at his son. “That weakness is not me. Its you.”

Lex’s eyes widened and his grip relaxed a little at the accusation. “You’re wrong,” he steely replied and he glanced over the edge of the broken window. “Your lies and deceit will lead to the ruin of everything you hold dear, Dad.”

Lionel frowned and his son let go of him suddenly, “Lex?”

“If I cannot kill you,” his son began and took a single step back, his foot crossing the edge. “Then I will make you suffer!”

“Lex no!” Lionel scrambled to get a good grip on his son as the young man stepped all the way back. “Lex! LEX!”

His son’s arm slipped from his hands as the man’s own weight pulled him over the edge. “Alexander!” he cried out, a hand extended uselessly for his falling son. Lionel fell to his knees, ignoring the painful and sharp stabbing of broken glass into him as he stared horrified at the small dot that was his son sprawled brokenly on LuthorCorp plaza below.

His son was gone.

His son was…

His son…

Lionel Luthor fell back into the office, his back hitting the desk as the emotional rollercoaster of the last few minutes finally hit him. He slid to the floor weakly, unable to find the strength or will to get back up. A wetness fell onto his cheeks and it took him a moment to realize that he was crying. He reached up to touch the grief stricken tears and stared at the wet drops smeared onto his fingertips, both horrified and baffled by them. He hadn’t cried in years.

He hadn’t cried when he lost Lillian.

He hadn’t cried when he lost Julian twice.

He cried for Lex.

“Lex…” he choked on the name as a sob forced its way to the surface. Another followed and then another and he pulled his knees up to his chest, arms wrapping around them as he allowed himself to sob uncontrollably into them.

The police would later find him like that, his sobs having quieted to the occasional hiccup as he stared almost lifelessly out the window, his eyes unfocused and red from the tears. They took his broken statement once they had managed to rouse him from his state of shock. He could tell they were going to press charges later. He didn’t care.

His sole reason for living had been his son.

Now he was gone.

He stared at the gun that lay on the ground, an evidence marker next to it.

They tried to stop him when he made a dash for it and scooped the weapon up into his hands. “What is an empire without an heir?” he declared as he pressed the weapon to his temple. “A memory best forgotten.”

[mylesimeblr]

Remember me this way (preview part 3)

The sound of robotic yelling reaches him and he doesn’t let her finish, rushing toward the source of the noise. 

It takes him to the common room shared between humans and Na’vis. Mo is in the middle of the room, furiously whipping the floor with its tiny hands, all the while muttering to itself. Around it, Aonung, Rotxo and one of the female Na’vis are watching with frowns.

Mo rolls on until it’s blocked by Aonung’s feet.

It stops and blinks, puzzled by this strange barrier it doesn’t know before looking up and up and up at Aonung’s giant frame with its small head. When it reaches Aonung’s face it screams and jumps backwards, spooked by the Na’vis stature.

Miles can’t blame him. They are intimidating - he truly hates how tall they are compared to everything else. He can’t believe he was ever confident around them one day.

Mo’s red alarm goes off immediately at the top of its head, making sounds of deep confusion as to what that giant blue thing is and begins to wave its hands, shouting hysterically at the gigantic thing that has never been recorded in its logs - and Mo hates things that are not recorded in its logs.

Miles sighs and steps toward, “Mo! Mo! It’s ok, calm down. It’s a Na’vi.”

Mo doesn’t listen and keeps jumping on itself, shouting at Miles in robot language.

“Yes, I know it’s big but you don’t have to clean it.”

Mo yells again.

“No, I told you. You don’t have to always clean everything!”

Mo screeches, absolutely shocked by such a ridiculous idea.

“Return to my room. Do not clean the Na’vis!” Miles orders, aware that no sentence has ever felt more ridiculous to his ears.

Mo squints its eyes at him, outraged, and rolls off.

They watch him for a good minute, trying to make sense of that burlesque situation.

“Is he yours?” Aonung asks in a surprisingly good English - damn, he does speak English then.

“Yes…” he mildly answers, not looking up at the Na’vi’s face.

What was that again about not wanting to see them?

Aonung is still staring right at him, “He’s a cheeky little thing,” he says.

Miles shrugs, “It has its temper… But it’s doing its best. Don’t mind it…”

“Like we must not mind you?” Aoung presses with the faint of a smirk and his stare is so insistent, Miles has to look up and meet his big yellow eyes, if only to shut him up.

“Exactly,” he says, trying to sound confident when he just wants to hide back into his room - away from them.

Aonung frowns but doesn’t say anything. He’s observant, trying to read through that man he used to make fun of as a boy. Miles holds his gaze, not wavering, studying the finer traits of his adult face, the cerulean of his skin and his thick black curly mane. They eye battle for a long time. Around them, Rotxo and the other Na’vi are silent, watching their Olokey’tan and the human.

The eye battle could have lasted more if a sudden flash of deep blue hadn’t shaken Miles’s eyes away. 

His heart almost jumps out of his chest when he sees him again. For a second, the eye battle changes angle. Lo’ak’s bright yellow eyes bear into his and they’re cold. They flicker down to his open red blouse and fall on his robotic shoulder, slightly visible from the off put sleeve and the clear scar joining pink skin and metal. The tall Na’vi suddenly twitches, seemingly taken by nausea, and looks away in haste. Miles shivers and wraps his blouse around himself, hiding his body from view. It has been years since he last felt dirty and unfit in his mutilated body. 

“Excuse me,” he mumbles distractedly before leaving abruptly, Mo rolling right beside him and glaring hatefully at the big blue things.

As he disappears around the corner, Aonung catches Lo’ak eyes and glares at him disapprovingly, shaking his head slowly.

[foxymoxynoona]

there was a married couple in front of me in line at this bakery today and the man gave her a kiss on the cheek, and then they talked some more and then a few minutes later he gave her a kiss on the forehead, his arm around her the whole time 😖 what got me even more was that the couple was middle-aged, like they weren’t young.

PDA in the form of a kiss on the cheek and or forehead always gets me more than, like, let’s say groping or full-on making out, but even more so when the couple isn’t young, like it just gives me fuzzy feelings, you know? old couples being so affectionate with each other in public always always ALWAYS squeeze my heart, in a good way. like, man, i want that. i wish for that kind of love. i wish for the kind of love where my partner doesn’t hesitate to kiss me on the cheek or forehead in public just because they can and they want to, and they’ll do it until the day i die 😖

but then i hear my coworkers hatefully speak about their spouses and joke about wanting to get divorced and i just go 😐 again. then i hear about more divorces and abuse from my own relatives and i just go 😐 again.

like it’s just a cycle at this point. like goddamn. i know marriage is not a walk in the park because i’m not stupid, and i understand that people do vent about their spouses whenever they displease them because that’s normal in any kind of relationship, but the people surrounding me just sound so miserable and their stories just make me go “maybe a divorce is in order” (internally, of course.) it’s like watching someone get mauled to death and people keep telling me that’s normal and i’m like no it’s the fuck not?? what are you talking about?? it’s normal to hate your spouse and talk shit about them 24/7?? i’m supposed to want that for myself??

now that i think about it, i remember this one tweet where it said something along the lines of “growing up i didn’t understand why in movies straight couples were depicted like they hated each other but now that i’m a fully grown adult i realize that yeah movies were never wrong after all because the number of times i see couples irl who literally hate each other is astounding like i thought that was just fiction but it’s not”

anyway i don’t know where i’m going with this rant. it started off cute because i couldn’t stop thinking about the couple but then it just spiraled so i’m so sorry for that 😔

I think you're seeing the conflation of a few different things: 1. Many people are still influenced very young to marry and follow "traditional" lifestyle paths. 2. We grow and change in life, it's very normal that someone who is a decent partner for us in our 20s isn't still the right partner in our 40s, but divorce and ending long-term relationships is still a drastic life change that it can take a lot to actually do. Furthermore, not everyone has the safety or security to end a relationship that isn't right for them anymore. 3. People sometimes use dark or critical humor as a way to vent or bond with others going through similar rough times, but it can get out of hand, make problems worse, and be really shocking to people not inside of that. 4. Some people really are just mean-spirited assholes who think they're part of a cool club if they mock their significant other. (There's literally a whole genre of this under Boomer humor that's just really sad and not funny to me.)

And probably a million more things! I think it's incredible sad! But on the bright side, there are plenty of relationships that are exactly that sweet and supportive one you saw. There is life after a young relationship too. There's no way to know whether that middle aged couple is a new romance or an old one and that's beautiful.

[lordsageme]

my secrets aren’t anymore

(2015) I knew I was pregnant. Every unique personal symptom I had come to expect had presented itself – I went from drinking like a lush to just opening a beer, I couldn’t smoke a cigarette, I only craved raw fruits and vegetables, but I had no trouble sleeping 16 hours a day.

On my way to the grocery store, I thought I would send you a text message since you had comfortably gone days without speaking to me. As I made my way to the Family Planning aisle, my phone vibrated in the oversized pocket of the oversized clothes that were the last comfortably fitting (and socially acceptable) options I had.

“I met someone,” the message read.

How convenient. Whether or not uncontrollable sobbing was normal for this particular section of the grocery store, I was not sure, but I knew for certain that I would check out and drive the half mile back to my apartment before any large display of emotion because I was still not sure of the extent of the damage.

My ex-boyfriend – the one who remained supportive while I cried about what you had done, even after falling in love with you in the outpatient program we met in and leaving him – sat on the mattress that had been on the floor of the bedroom in my apartment where we first made love. You always told me I was your phoenix then – that you loved to explore my body. He cared more about what that test would say than you ever did – I wish now that I had known what he wanted from the test result, from the pregnancy, from my plans, from me.

While I waited for the 3 minutes to pass, my phone continued to light up with your text message responses to my pitiful attempts at argument. Until you said something to imply everything that I had seemingly fabricated alone with no inspiration from you was done – you needed to go. The results had already shown up on the tiny window of the pregnancy test, so I no longer knew what I was bawling about. My cell phone hovered over the bathroom counter, focusing itself on the small viewfinder with two little blue lines, capturing this simple test, and with it the emotion in this brief, life-altering moment. With my mind spinning out of control and my life in tow, the right words had escaped me.

So I sent you the picture of the positive test and hatefully wished you good luck with your new find before setting the phone down again.

Oh, Irony – I don’t know how I felt while laughing and crying over the April Fool’s joke I had made about being pregnant a week before as I told my parents I was pregnant. Again. I guess it couldn’t have been a joke after all when, a couple weeks later in the OB/GYN office, I found out I was already six weeks and 2 days along. I didn’t deny how badly I wanted a copy of the barely comprehensible ultrasound photos offered to me even though I wasn’t sure who to show or what we would do. I have them here still. When asked what my plans were, I vaguely rambled and explained that an ultrasound so early in the pregnancy was important for me after several miscarriages. I didn’t just call the clinic to start the legally required 24 hour waiting period after receiving an ultrasound and meeting the doctor prior to receiving abortion care like you wanted. You made it crystal clear that you wanted no more children, and either would not or could not change that for me – not loving me had become routine, but not loving this part of your life or universal creation was among the largest blows ever dealt to me. The second came that morning – your child would be almost 2 and a half, and no one but me and an ex-boyfriend will ever know that.

The weeks that followed and the care that I received aren’t so much the point – the clinic doesn’t make me angry and the doctors and nurses were never people I felt like I needed to forgive. Even when I showed up for my appointment, in a clinic that was a two minute walk across the street from the job that you took breaks from all day, and found that it was being renovated and no one thought to re-schedule my appointment. I called to try to get to the temporary clinic location only to find out I would have to come in for another ultrasound, wait another 24 hours, deal with another 2 weeks of heartbreak, nausea, and exhaustion, only to go through all the “day-of” feelings again. The bag full of pre-natal vitamins, magazines, and hospital care information still sat next to my bed.

At my second appointment, I had already made it. I was 12 weeks and 1 day pregnant. The procedure would now cost almost $300 more dollars than what I had tried to set aside – you have never to this day given me a dime, or more importantly, a fucking bear hug for what I went through for you. I wanted to make a choice, but I wanted you to keep loving me the most. Did you know that after 12 weeks of pregnancy, you have to listen to the heartbeat? You never heard that heartbeat. You never held my hand, hugged me, or let me acknowledge the pain. You were not there as the IV drugs pulled me just under enough to not scream. You weren’t there when a nurse lined my underwear with a maxi-pad and dressed me. You were not there as I got comfortable in Recovery and got called back by the nurse to get undressed again – they had not taken care of everything like they needed to. You weren’t there when I got back on that table again.

I was a secret for over a year. My pregnancy was a bigger secret – only a moment to you.

When I got on Facebook this morning and saw the tiny shape in the ultrasound that was your profile picture, I realized that I needed to out you for what you are so I can forgive us both.

I know that I will always remember. I am happy that you took the chance to forget.

[invincible-selfxmade-punk]

I have two girls that can't speak English at all and a couple of them that are borderline. And I still Translate, when it is my turn to provide the slides on the lessons, as much as I can. We split the work of right now between two teachers when there should be three. The other teacher is wonderful and has the patience of a saint because she started out at a Christian Academy. But also every single one of her lessons is bought and paid for a pre-made by Teachers Pay teachers. I was trained under two principles who absolutely forbade that and I don't blame them. Now we have a principle that doesn't care one way or the other. But I still hate TPT because of it being drilled into my head that we could not use it. Plus if everything is pre-made and pre-printed trying to translate it is a bear.

What you are saying right now about not being allowed to translate for them is my biggest fear. I am waiting for the day that they come down on me and tell me I can't do it. However our area and district is 95% Hispanic and these are kids that come in straight from Mexico. So I'm hoping they will continue to be lenient with us.

And yes our non English speakers absolutely work their asses off. And generally make grades better than the kids that just sit there in our classes and stare at us.

Oh god I've got to tell you this. We are studying Native American tribes. We have been studying them for 3 weeks. The first tribe we studied was the Caddo.

We had our unit checkpoint yesterday and I had a boy asked me this question [ his child is not in special ed, and not an English language learner)

"IS IT HOTVOR COLD IN THE CADDO?"

Me: the Caddo is not a place the Caddo or a people. The Caddo is an Indian tribe.

him: I know, is it hot or cold there?

Another girl was jumping around and doing dances three or four minutes after I'd already said get in your seat and test and no one talk and you have to stay seated for the entire class. I finally got her seated then she started talking to the girls around her. Finally I yelled at her and told her to stop talking and disturbing everyone. She spent the rest of the class. Giving me dirty looks instead of doing her test and got a 20. She is going to end this 9 weeks with a 40.

And for me the worst one, the one that absolutely gets under my skin because I don't know why she acts up in my class and I'm kind of nervous to ask is a girl in my 10th period class who acts like she is 18 or 19 even though she is 9. She is a complete smart aleck, she has no respect for me. She always has to say something back to me. She is the one that I said wanted to know why I was staring at her. Her mom is a teacher at our school and in my hallway who teaches Three Doors Down for me. She is a new teacher and I have never been introduced to her. So I don't know if the teacher does not like me personally and so she tells her daughter it doesn't matter how you act in her class. Or if she just doesn't care how her daughter acts. And I am so afraid of conflict I'm not about to go and talk to the mom just because I work with her. But I have never ever seen the child of another teacher Act so hatefully and be such a smart-ass to another teacher, especially if she was failing the class. Now I have had kids be smart asses with me before and they were gifted and talented so I knew there was something behind it. This girl there is nothing behind it she is just rude..

Today was so bad I wanted to hear my hair out.

The principal told me today it's okay if he cusses because that's all he hears at home about the kid that has already hit a teacher, tried to choke another student, and told an aide he was going to kill her and her and her family.

We tried to do Kahoot and Quizlet today as a review for the test tomorrow, and it was a complete disaster. I have two classes where 3/4 of the kids cannot read. So I would put a kahoot on the big screen and I would read them the questions and the answers. And they would end up picking the answers of based on their favorite color and having no idea what the answers actually were even though we had been talking about everything there for 2 weeks.

The ones that cannot read retain nothing.

1n 8th period, I had a boy trying to put his username as I'm your daddy, only he could not spell daddy.

When I told him that was not an appropriate username, he put in the name "beer" instead

No one will show me how to teach these kids, and I am not certified in preschool!!

One girl who sits in the front row, literally right in front of me, would not stop talking to the boy who was sitting next to her. I was trying to give instructions about something and she wouldn't even look at me. So I stood there and stared at her until she finally turned around. She turned around and demanded to know "Why are you looking at me like that!?"

When I told her she was being disrespectful, she laughed and said, "My bad!"

[slowpoke-fics]

The Run | The Good Doctor pt 3

Fandom: The Walking Dead

Pairing: Negan x Reader slow burn

Summary: You had a bit more responsibility than you'd expected, not to say you didn't know what you were doing

Warnings: none really, cussing, ooc Negan, slow burn, it's cute, I miss some and am not perfect, read at your own risk

A/N: This is part three to the Good Doctor Part 3! Thank you for being patient and I hope to have part four up much quicker. I liked this even though it's just some logistical stuff and insight, here is part two!

Maybe he thinks he can fix me, sucks for him, I'm broken beyond repair.

When you woke up, Negan had his hand on your shoulder, you immediately grabbed the gun under your pillow, holding it under his chin. He immediately grabbed the gun and twisted it out of your hands, your eyes now fully open and awake. You didn't realize he was eye level with you, how hot it was for him to control your gun like that, how hot he was staring into your eyes, waiting for your next move. You were frozen, you're not sure he equated it with anything but sleep, but he was captivating.

He laughed, hands up, "Damn, doll, just trying to fuckin' wake you up without fuckin' scaring you, see that was fuckin' pointless," his eyebrows raised as he shook the gun by the barrel at you, "you want it back or not?" You shook your head in disbelief as you took your gun and put it down, shocked that you held a gun to someone for just trying to wake you up. "I-I'm sorry, I guess it was just-" Negan laughed, "No worries, doll, at least I know you can take care of yourself."

You smiled, throwing the blanket off of you and swinging your legs over the couch, “So,” you stood up and began folding the blanket, “what’s the plan?” He watched you fold the blanket, not trying to hide the fact that his eyes roamed your body. Taking in the battered bluejeans that hugged your body, the scratched and slightly torn tank top, your hair shining against the sun, really popping the color out. “We’re going to drive a little longer than I’d hoped but,” he huffed, “the towns supposed to have some more supplies left than we’d originally thought, we should be back by dark.” You shrugged, “Should be fun, are we ready to leave now?”

Negan leaned against the desk, you took all of him in. He was wearing his classic leather jacket over the tattered t-shirt and blue jeans that laid over his steel toe boots. He watched as you put your hair into a pony tail, shirt playing peekaboo with the skin on your torso, “Right after breakfast doll. You ready?” You nodded at him, heading to the door with him following close behind.

Once you had sat down for breakfast Negan started shoveling food down, a full plate compared to your half rations. You didn’t really have much of an appetite, worried about everything that could happen with Negan today. He didn’t seem to notice, and by the time you’d finished your small plate, he was already done eating too. He grabbed your plate so he could return it with his own. You picked up the bags and followed suit, following him out the door and to his truck.

The truck was huge. Had to have been able to fit half of Alexanndria's storage. You’d wondered how much he was planning to come back with. It started to make a little more sense when a small portion of his crew jumped into the back, probably for protection. You climbed into the truck after Negan opened the door for you, closing it once he’d known your feet were out of the way. Then proceeding to climb in his own side.

Negan started the truck, taking you in before he started rolling. Your legs crossed, fingers interlocked at the top of your thighs, thumbs picking at each other, ankle continuously moving. You watched the trucks behind you, following close, at least three others. Did all of them have people in the back? How big was this run?

You were clearly nervous and he hated that, he wanted to make you as comfortable as possible. He tried to ignore it, but after fifteen minutes of non stop thought through his head, he had to say something. "God damn doll," Negan bellowed, "you're gonna roll the damn truck if you don't stop shaking so much," Negan lightly rubbed your forearm, a foreign thing to you, "what're ya so fuckin' nervous about anyway princess?"

You shrugged, a look of uneasiness resting on your face at his nickname for you that didn't go unnoticed, "Just don't know how to act with your group, what're your run rules? Where do I not be in the way? Will I distract you and your men? I'm used to going solo, or with one or two people. There's so-" Negan had to stop your monologue, knowing you've asked these questions twenty times since yesterday. "Don't fuckin' worry about it," Negan smiled, "I made sure this was gonna be fun for you." Your eyebrows curled, needing him to explain.

Negan blushed? No way, you thought and left it alone. "What do you mean?" He shrugged, "You'll see, won't you doll?" You huffed, "Well that just makes me more nervous." Negan let out a hearty laugh, "Damn girl, pull at this old assholes strings huh?" He shook his head, "I'm your personal companion today," he giggled at your slap to his arm. "I don't need a baby sitter!" He raised he hands very quickly to show defense, "No! But, wherever you go, I do. Whatever you fuckin' say, that's law. Everyone else goes at your direction too," he paused, looking at you, "but you don't leave my fuckin' sight," his eyes bore into you, demanding confirmation. "Yeah, okay," you smiled lightly.

"So," Negan's fingers drilled the steering wheel as he hummed at you to continue, "what's in this place?" Negan shifted, "It's a little town, the rest is a surprise." He looked genuinely excited, and you wondered how this apocalypse had changed him as a man. He couldn't have always been this heartless. "Do I get any hints?" Negan hummed again, this time searching for something to give you, "You'll fuckin' like it." You shrugged, "Maybe." He glanced to your bag where you keep your notebook, a gentle reminder of his broken trust. "Oh," you cleared your throat, "hopefully." He beamed at you, "Come on lil' fuckin' firecracker," he pressed the gas a couple more times, gently swerving the car to play with you, "be more fuckin' excited! I'm fuckin' kidding!"

The rest of the way you could believe how different Negan was being. He was intently talking to you about the grid of the town, what his crew already know about, how his crew has already been briefed that you're running it, explained the teams to you and that you're header, leading the team leaders, and he's told you that he's confident you have this ability. You were shocked about him being completely different man that with other people. You were sure that you could be with the man sitting in the truck with you, and you were sure that you couldn't be with the man who murdered someone you considered to be your brother. You were torn between seeing his good and never forgiving him for killing Glenn, how could he do something so vile? You shook your head, drawing attention back to the road and off of your thoughts.

When you arrived, Negan placed his hand on your thigh, just barely touching you. "There is one rule," he smiled, "stay here." Negan was gone for no more than two minutes. He finally came to your door, opening it and revealing his many men standing behind him, "Make sure you're safe." He reached for your hand, dropping you down to the same man who stole from you in your clinic, you glared him hiding behind Negan.

Negan stepped out of the way, the man looking guilty, "Hello, Doctor Y/n," he cleared his throat, "I'm sorry for stealing from an honorable woman." He handed you a gum pack, missing a few pieces, and a small pack of skittles, "I couldn't find gum to replace what I'd stolen, so I hoped that the skittles would excuse my poor manners." You smiled hatefully at him, taking what was in his hand, "Apology accepted..." you waited for him to say his name, but Negan chimed in. "Brady," and he slapped the other man on the shoulder eliciting a smile, "and Simon." You smiled, reaching your hand out to shake Simon's hand, "I've heard." Negan smiled at you, "Good we're all fuckin' aquatinted," he roughly slapped Brady's shoulder, you didn't miss the wince he tried to hide, "these two travel with us period. So, Y/n," a bright smile, "what's the fucking plan?"

With that you noticed the other men had cleared a path for you, letting you view the town. At this point you took in the town, looking at the tiny shops and small streets. Negan wasn't kidding, it's a small town, surely the four trucks you bought could fit everything. You thought for a second, and it hit you, how much work he had put into this. You smiled to yourself, knowing that he wanted to make this go smoothly for you, hence the perfect amount of trucks, a grid, briefed men.

You walked a little behind you, looking at the different streets, looking at Negan, he smiled, giving you some confidence. "You said that you'd already separated these men by trucks? With their usual teams?" You whispered to Negan, "Yes ma'am, they're with their usual team leaders and already armored, just need you to tell them where to go n what to do."

"Okay, so here's my plan-" Negan put his hand up, gesturing to the men when you realized you should be talking to them. You cleared your throat, "Okay, so here's the plan," Negan's body was just barely pressing against you, standing behind you on your left side, his hands in his pockets, watching his men intently listen to you. How hard did he work on this for you?

"If you came in Negan's truck, you're with us on main," you motioned with your hand to have them move to the side, "Truck two-or rather-team two, you're going to our left, Combs Street, when you get to the library, we're looking for education books, if we have time and space after you've gotten everything else essential on the street, comb the library taking the fun books, that's a good part of life now." Negan nodded, liking your plan for education first, noting that the houses on the street might hold value, but acknowledging that we still need distractions like 'fun books' if circumstances allowed.

"Truck three, hit the residential area, on Langley Street," you continued when the men nodded their heads, "Truck four, hit the shops to our right on second street," everyone started moving and you shouted, "wait!" You cleared your throat once again, "Team leaders, I need you and your right hand man, everyone else stay put."

You pulled out the grid as the men surrounded you, "So you've got the left and right sides on your street, split in half, half on Side A, the left, half on side B, the right, this will increase the time we can spend in the houses and avoid stepping on each others feet. Every time you clear a house you call it in, for example, team four A, you would say 'Team Four, A1 clear, moving to A2,' or 'Team Four A Trapped, requesting Four B at A3.' I need you to do this so I can designate resources and men, keep up with the lives and walkers. No need for needless death, check in." Everyone nodded, you smiled, "Anybody have questions, comments or concerns?" The men shook their heads and you turned back towards the crowd, "Alright, everyone knows what you're doing, no-one goes anywhere alone or unarmed. Take everything useful. Do not let your guard down and watch your backs. Dismissed." At that the men dissipated, going on their own assignments.

"Was that okay?" You looked to Negan, the need for approval swimming through your eyes, Negan nodded, "I think it was great, Simon what about you?" Simon chirped up, "Oh yeah, couldn't have done it better myself, I don't make them check in that much but that's okay." You smiled at Simon, wondering how he could not worry about his men that much. You watched as Team One had already started moving toward the first building, them the first check-ins started.

"Team One, heading to A1," a pause, "Team One, heading to B1," another pause, "Team Two, heading to A1." You listened to the team list off their locations, smiling as everyone checked in. "Alright, doll," Negan leaned against the truck, "Where to first?"

[lissacmonster]

Wrong Place, Right Time

TMNT x (Gender Neutral) Reader (Non-romantic) Synopsis: Reader goes into an abandoned building to find their dog, and ends up finding a lot more than their dog. Rating: Teen Genre: Action/Thriller Pairings: None Content Warnings: The dog is in danger for some of it (but isn’t actually hurt) Other Tags: Funny, Combat, Short Story, Fanfiction, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Shredder

When you left your apartment that night, you had no way of knowing how unprepared you were for the events that would unfold. Armed with a flashlight and a roll of doggy bags you and your dog Cody had slipped out into the fresh, cool night air. You also brought a can of bear mace in case you ran into any creeps. Bear mace wouldn't have necessarily been your first choice, but it was leftover from the time you went camping and you wanted to put it to good use.

The dog was just happily sniffing around and relieving himself when he suddenly stiffened up. Following his gaze, your eyes landed on a cat. The cat was happily strutting across the street, unperturbed by the dog even as he began barking hatefully and straining against the leash. You held your grip and started pulling him back the way you had come. But he turned around, dug his heels in and managed to pull out of the collar.

The cat suddenly noticed it was in danger and darted around, looking for a place to hide. Cody followed the cat in circles around a parked car, then he chased it around the corner.

You ran after him, "Cody! Get back here!"

You were half angry, and half worried that he would run out into the street in front of a car. Instead, when you rounded the corner, he was wriggling his way into a boarded up building. His tail disappeared through the space in the boards just as you leapt forward to grab him.

"Cody! NO! Get back here, now!" You said, using your best angry parent voice.

But Cody was on a mission to find that cat. You knew that he would be single-minded until he found what he was looking for. It might have been admirable if you were coon hunting together out in the countryside, or something. Instead, it was annoying because you were on an evening walk in the middle of Manhattan.

You groaned in exasperation and looked up at the building. It was an old apartment building or something, a rough brick structure that was 5 stories high. The windows were mostly boarded up, and the ones that weren't were missing their glass. There were no lights on inside. It didn't look like anyone had been here for a long time. At least, nobody you wanted to run into...

And nobody you wanted your dog to run into either! Your protective instinct kicked in. You called through the hole to him for another 30 seconds. When he didn't reappear, you started looking around for a way in.

In the alley where you were standing, there were lots of bits of metal and you took a second to poke through them and find a good one. First you found a weird, 3-pronged dagger of some kind, which you tucked into your belt. Maybe you could use it for protection in case somebody dangerous was squatting in there. (Although, if you were being honest, you mostly kept it because you thought it looked cool.) Then you found a metal rod that seemed sturdy enough to work as a crowbar. In no time, you were squeezing through a gap you had made in the boards covering the doorway.

After clicking on your flashlight, you noticed that you were standing in an old lobby. There was a torn up spot on the floor where the front desk had obviously once been affixed. The wallpaper was peeling. The hardwood floors, which had probably been gorgeous when they were kept up, were covered in a thick layer of dust. Cobwebs were hanging in the corners and doorways, with their own gathering of dust.

You followed the sounds of Cody's feet skittering against the floors.

"Cody!" You whispered harshly, creeping towards him. If there were any questionable people around, you didn't want them hearing you guys. Luckily Cody wasn't raising hell yet, which told you that he must have lost track of the cat.

You spotted him at the end of a hallway.

"Cody, c'mere," You called, sweetly.

He looked you dead in the face and then turned and walked through a doorway into pitch black nothingness.

What. A. Brat.

Gazing down the stairway, you wanted to cry so bad. That damn dog had just run down into what must be the basement. You stood at the top, feeling sorry for yourself, trying to see down the steps. After a minute you realized that it wasn't actually pitch black. There was some kind of light that was dimly illuminating the bottom of the steps.

Gathering every last ounce of courage, you made your way down the steps. Every step creaked horribly, and with each one, you felt certain that your foot was about to sink through rotten wood. A dank smell invaded your nostrils more as you descended. How long did you have to breath black mold in before it would make you sick, anyway?

Once you reached the bottom of the stairs, you found that you were standing in a hallway. The floor here was even more dirty than the ground floor above. There was garbage piled all over the place. If anyone had ever squatted in this building, you were willing to bet that they'd done it here in this basement level.

A voice sounded from down the hallway. Your head snapped towards it in alarm, but after a few seconds it was clear it wasn't directed at you. It had come from a doorway at the very end of the hall which was slightly ajar, pale blue light spilling from it. You fought the urge to sprint back up the stairs and instead crept down the hall towards the voice. You tucked the metal rod into your belt and pulled out the strange dagger, ready to strike if someone suddenly rushed out at you. The voice was speaking again.

"...think you can defy me, turtles, but once again I've proven you wrong."

"You're not gonna get away with this, Shredder!" A second voice, female this time. She sounded scared. What were you walking into? You felt strangely numb as you continued to move forward, your heart pounding.

"I already have. Look at them! Once I have what I need, I'll dispose of you all," It was a deep, rich voice with a cold fury beneath.

"And then what? You took the mutagen out of our blood when we fought you years ago. So what could you possibly want with our blood this time?" Another male voice countered, sounding calm, but angry.

"Th-that's right! Our blood is free of mutagen, you can't use it to mutate anybody!" Another, nervous-sounding male voice agreed.

You reached the doorway and peered around the doorframe very slowly...

Within the room was some kind of makeshift laboratory. One bulb hung from the ceiling, casting the whole scene in harsh bright light. Several figures were visible in the large room. The first one that caught your attention was the huge figure in the center of the room. It looked like a man wearing a thick, heavy suit of strange armor. The armor had lots of sharp angles and spikes on it. You couldn't see anything else about him because he was silhouetted against the harshly-lit room. He was facing two figures who were lying on the floor.

One of the people on the floor was the woman. She had dark hair and eyes and was wearing a yellow jacket. Her hands were bound and she was glaring hatefully at the armored man. Next to her was another man. He wasn't talking, and he was lying very still... Was he ok? Or was he...?

You didn't finish that thought because you caught sight of four... somethings against the far wall.

They were... turtles, you guessed. But they weren't like any turtles you had ever seen. They were tall and buff with humanoid faces and bodies. Each was wearing a different colored mask, as well as various gear. They were strung up against the wall by lots and lots of chains. There was some kind of machinery connected to them, but it was hard to make out what it all was from this far away.

The spikey man- what had she called him? Shredder? He was speaking again, "I don't need to mutate anybody. All I need is your DNA, and I will have an unstoppable army."

"He's cracked, you guys," A new voice. It was gruff, and it came from the largest turtle, who was wearing a red mask.

"Oh no... I-I think I know what he's talking about!" The nervous voice was coming from the tallest one, in the purple mask, "He wants to clone us!"

"Is that true?!" The orange one finally spoke up, "Man, you can't make another Michelangelo! I'm the one and only!

"Stockman, how much longer before they're drained?" Shredder interrupted.

You nearly jumped out of your skin as an answer sounded out from very close to you.

"Another 2 hours, Mr. Shredder!"

"Why must it take so long?" Shredder asked, threateningly.

"W-well... We only had so much equipment..." Stockman defended, "I mean, there are ways of removing it faster, if you catch my drift. But if you want a clean, untainted sample, this is the best way to go!"

"Hmm... Very well." Shredder agreed after a moment.

You were now pressed against the wall just outside of the door, clutching your chest. That Stockman guy had been no more than 4 feet from you just inside the door! He was against the wall that you couldn't see, though, so you hadn't noticed him.

Stockman was talking again, more to himself, "Aw man... That cat got in again..."

A soft growling sounded from within the room. Oh god. Cody.

"What the..." Stockman started and then yelped, "HEY!"

His chair clattered to the ground as Cody's chorus of barks started up. You rushed back to the door and were frozen to the spot as you watched the scene unfold. It was utter chaos as Cody tore around the room after the cat, which was leaping around on the equipment and furniture. Cody managed to knock over 2 chairs, jump up on a table, and upset several important-looking instruments before he was caught around the neck by the monstrous man's hand. Cody's high-pitched cries snapped you out of it.

"STOP!" You hurled yourself forward. Everything in the room seemed to stop in time. All eyes settled on you and every face held surprise. Shredder's helmeted head turned towards you, observing as you sprinted toward him. You had the dagger drawn back with the intent to jam it into the metal of his stupid, shiney armor.

You didn't even feel it when he swatted you away like a fly. All you noticed was that suddenly you were flying backwards. You quickly sprung back to your feet. Your skin felt electric as adrenaline coursed through your body. There was a throbbing feeling in your face where he had struck you. The strange dagger had skittered out of your hands.

Cody was no longer in his grip, that was the good news. The bad news was that now you were getting an up close and personal look at this Shredder guy. You could see every facet of the armor from here. The most striking part was the helmet, which resembled a leering skull.

You wondered what his face looked like behind the helmet. Did he look as surprised as everyone else? His voice didn't betray any surprise, only amusement.

“Well, well, well, look what we have here... A new hero, come to save the world. Such a pity you’ll have to die."

You tried to keep your voice steady as you explained, “Look man, I don’t know what you’re talking about- I’m just here for my dog!”

"Really, turtles, is this weakling the only ally you have left?"

None of them answered. They were still staring at you and glancing at one another, like they were trying to figure out if they knew you from somewhere. This was getting awkward.

"No, really, I don't know them," You insisted.

"Is that so? Well, then, how do you explain that." He lifted one of his huge metallic arms. It took you a second to realize he was pointing at your shirt. You looked down and gasped.

Save The Turtles was emblazoned across your chest in bright green letters, complete with a cute little cartoon rendering of a turtle.

God damn it. Of course you had chosen to wear the shirt you got from that time you volunteered at the turtle sanctuary.

"Uh- that's-!"

Before you could explain it to him, Shredder cut you off, "ENOUGH! Stockman, restrain this fool."

"ME? I'm not here to be your muscle!" Stockman sounded indignant.

Shredder was just throwing out another line about how weak you looked, and that restraining you would hardly require "muscle," when you darted around him and over to the far corner where Cody was cowering. You had to climb around some equipment that seemed to be collecting blood from the turtles. You were uncomfortable being so close to them, as you had yet to discern whether they were friendly or not.

"Hey, that's my staff!"

You looked up at the turtle with the purple mask. He was peering down at you through glasses that made his eyes look 3 times bigger than they actually were.

You glared at him, "No, that's my dog!"

"No, I mean that thing on your belt!"

Was he talking about the metal rod?

"WHOA, WHOA, WHOA! DUCK, KID!" The one in the red mask was shouting.

You dropped instantly to the ground. A huge BANG! sounded from above and drywall rained down on you. There was a big piece of metal embedded in the wall where your head had just been. Cody scampered away, whimpering in fear.

"He's coming up behind you!"

You whirled around to find Shredder was advancing towards you. You glanced around for an escape, but you were boxed in by equipment.

Suddenly Shredder stopped dead in his tracks and whirled around. Stuck in his back was the dagger you had dropped. The girl in the yellow jacket was standing there, having plunged it into the battery pack on the back of his suit.

You stepped carefully out of the way of the equipment and cast around desperately for a way to help her.

"Quick! Use the staff!" The purple one called.

When you looked clueless, he clarified, "The thing on your belt!"

Oh, the rod! Great idea! You grabbed the rod, jumped on Shredder's back and started pummeling his helmeted head with the thing. This drew a chorus of complaints from the turtles.

"Aw MAN! C'mon, kid!"

"Duuuude, that's not funny! Kick his butt for real!"

Purple was fighting desperately to be heard over all the commotion. He sounded completely exasperated by this point, "No, I meant-! Press the button!"

What button? There were no buttons on the-! Oh, wait. There was a button on the rod. How had you missed that? You pressed your thumb down on small, red button. Instantly, both ends of the rod shot out, extending it by about 5 feet. In the process, it struck Shredder's helmet, launching it violently from the man's head. With a startled cry you toppled off of Shredder's back. The man rounded on you. You looked for the staff, but it had launched itself far out of reach.

"Now, I'm going to put an end to this little game," He said, and you could see the full extent of his fury on his face.

The four turtles were all shouting things and you couldn't make out any of it. All you could see was the hate in the man's eyes as he approached. His long black hair hung in his face untidily. He was panting and his lips were pulled back in an angry grimace. He looked like some kind of beast, like a lion, or like a...

"Bear!" You shouted suddenly. You tugged the bear mace out of the little pouch on your belt.

Shredder was towering over you now. He raised one of his bladed arms, poised to strike. Popping the top off, you raised the bear mace, pointed it at him, and pressed the switch.

Shredder was suddenly engulfed in a cloud of orange smoke. He roared and stumbled backwards. While he was distracted with that you scrambled to your feet. The woman was busy unlocking the chains that were trapping the turtles.

"Thanks, Angelcakes!" The one in orange said gratefully as he shrugged off all of the blood-collecting equipment.

He came over and stood next to you. You eyed him warily, but he was just looking at you with interest, "Hey, that was pretty rad how you stood up to Shredder like that! You pretty much ruled, even though you kinda-sorta... suck at fighting!"

Your pride had never been particularly tied to your fighting skills, so you just said, "Thanks. What's your name?"

"Michelangelo. But the ladies like to call me Mikey."

The two of you kept an eye on Shredder while the woman continued unlocking the turtles chains. You even sprayed a few more times in his direction when he got too close. Eventually he managed to rip the metal armor off of his hands so he could rub his burning eyes. Now he rounded on you again.

He looked truly out of his mind by this point, his blood red eyes were streaming and his face looked pinker than any face you had ever seen.

"Whoa... I think he's gonna-"

Before Mikey could finish, suddenly Shredder was charging at you. Mikey yanked you aside as someone barreled past you. The one with the red mask slammed into Shredder, colliding with him with the force of a refrigerator.

"Oh, shit! Is he ok??"

"You mean, Raphael? He's fine! He gets thrown into cars and stuff all the time," Mikey waved his hand dismissively.

Raphael rolled to his feet, pulling the dagger out of Shredder's back as he did so. He walked back to where you guys were standing, "Thanks for bringing one of my Sais, kid."

Things were kind of a blur from there. The turtles restrained the Shredder. The one with the blue mask was apparently the leader, and his name was Leonardo. He was on the phone with the chief of police. Wow... So your local police department was cool with these turtle ninjas? Who would have thought... Maybe your uncle's conspiracy theory about reptiles controlling the government wasn't totally crazy.

Donatello, the one with the purple mask, was attending to the man who had been lying on the ground when you came in. The man's name was Casey, and he wasn't dead as you had previously thought. He did have a pretty nasty concussion, though, and kept repeating the same phrases over and over (A common symptom with concussions, Donatello told you).

Don also took a look at your own injuries while he was at it. Your face was beginning to swell from where Shredder had struck you, and you would be sporting a nasty-looking bruise for a while. Other than that, you would be just fine.

After everything was said and done, and you had talked to the police, and Shredder had been loaded into an armored vehicle and hauled away, you and Cody were finally leaving to go home. You were back in the cool night air, walking your dog on his leash. You wondered if Cody would think twice about chasing a cat next time, or if the whole event had gone over his head? He definitely didn't look like he cared that he had just been in life-threatening danger.

Before you could ponder it much more, the brothers suddenly appeared around you.

"Heeeyyy, let us walk you home!" Leo offered aggressively.

"No, that's ok! You don't have to!" You really just wanted to be left alone now.

"We insist." The grin on Leo's face looked mostly threatening.

Leo threw his arm around your shoulder, as if to make sure you wouldn't run away, and started practically dragging you along.

They took you on the coolest shortcut you had ever been on. You scaled buildings and leapt across rooftops. It was just like in Assassin's Creed! Of course, they had to carry both you and Cody the whole way like a couple of carry-on bags.

When they set you down finally, you were in the alley next to your apartment building.

"Thanks guys," You said, "But how the hell did you find out where I lived?" You hadn't ever given them any directions.

"I have my ways..." Donatello said. He adjusted his glasses and they glinted dramatically like in an anime.

They were all kind of staring at you in a vaguely menacing way, "Uh... Are ya'll gonna... kill me because I know too much or something?"

"What the-! Of course not!" Donnie yelled.

"Hey, relax, buddy! We're not those kind of ninjas!" Mikey laughed, "That's not how we handle people who know too much!"

"Not any more, at least..." Raph said, narrowing his eyes at you, "The chief said it was too messy to keep covering it up."

You gulped nervously.

"Raph! Don't tell people things like that!" Leo shoved him and turned back to you, "Don't worry, he's joking. YOU'RE JOKING, RIGHT RAPH?"

"I'M JOKING. JESUS CHRIST!" Raph yelled back, "Just, don't go runnin' your mouth about us, aight?"

The leader in blue leaned in uncomfortably close to stare into your eyes, "If you say anything about us, we will come back to see you..."

"Aaaand PUNISH YOU," Mikey added, "In a gentle, non life-threatening way!"

You put up your arms defensively, "Trust me, I am not telling anyone that I fought some kind of terminator samurai to save my dog and some turtles."

You thought you saw a twitch at the corner of his mouth before he straightened up and lead his brothers away. They scaled the walls of the surrounding buildings with ease, and then they had vanished just like that.

============================

Will you ever see them again? Would you LIKE to see them again? I hope so because I have a lot of ideas for this series.

Thanks for reading, ya’ll. It’s the first story I have finished in ages and it feels good to be back.

[haikyuuwaifu]

Broken Promise

MASTERLIST

Genre: fluff

Warnings: none

A/N: That’s a wrap folks

Thanks for reading:)

*PART VI*

25 years old

That epiphany in the apartment was all Akaashi needed to crank out what would be considered his best work. Titled Pinky Promise, it went on to make the top seller list in Japan, Europe, and the United States. He had finally succeeded in making a name for himself under his pen name Akaji. He went on book tours and did interviews. For three years Akaashi basked in the fame and the glory he so deserved. 

Now that he was a famous author, his team decided he needed social media platforms. Akaashi had never been too interested in twt or social media platforms in general. He believed he was more old fashioned than that. If he had been a little more up to speed, maybe he would have figured everything out sooner. His team handled all his postings and interactions. They controlled who he followed and who followed him; unaware of the fact that the current MSBY Jackals Ace was a former high school friend of his; they never followed him back.

Maybe if they had he would have seen what the rest of the world was privy to. 

On a Tuesday morning Akaashi sat, doing an interview for the local radio station. His hands folded over his lap waiting for the broadcast to begin. With a wave of the producers hand the host began the show. “Good morning Tokyo, we have a very special guest in the studio today” the DJ announced. “Best selling Author of Pinky Promise Akaji, is here with us, and he will be answering a few fan questions.” Akaashi nodded to the DJ picking up his own headphones placing them on his head. The producer cued the first caller as the DJ clicked them in. 

“Alright, caller what is your question?” they asked. “Is your book based off of your own experience Akaji-san?” Akaashi contemplated for a split second before answering. “Yes, Pinky Promise is based off of what I went through and when I grew up.” he stated anticipating the next question. Forty-five minutes later the segment was coming to a close with one caller left. “Last caller, what is your question?” the DJ asked, waiting to start clearing up his work space. “ If in the book, you both went separate ways...is there any possibility you would seek her out to try again? I mean...you loved each other right...and you ended things on good terms, so...why not try again?” they ask with a hint of nervousness in the back of their throat. Akaashi smiled softly answering, “ I have been thinking of what my next move would be for a long time now. I think...now that I am where I planned to be; I’m going to find her again and make her mine.” If only. If only.

~2 weeks later~Onigiri Miya~

You opened the door to your husband's restaurant with the biggest smile on your face. You had wonderful news to share. The past three years have been nothing but marital bliss for the both of you. 3 months after he proposed you married in a small ceremony that ended up being crashed by his idiot twin, both of his loud teammates and Omi-omi who only showed up to ensure that the other three wouldn't go running amok in another country. It was the happiest day of your life until today.

Walking into the restaurant you can’t help but roll your eyes at the scene you walked in on. Atsumu is kneeling over the counter clutching his midsection. You can only assume he said something to rile up his brother and Osamu hit him again. Bokuto and Hinata are no better yelling and screeching about how good the new menu items are and discussing the upcoming match against Bakageyama. The only normal person in all this is Omi-Omi who sits at the end of the counter glaring hatefully at the rest of his obnoxious team.

You take note of the fact that no one has noticed your presence and bring your fingers to your lips letting out an ear piercing whistle. “Jesus woman, could you be any louder!” Atsumu grumbles rubbing his ear. “Be nice to me or i’ll tell Omi-Omi that you were the one who stole his body wash and put it back into his bag.” you laughed as the color proceeded to drain from his face. Your husband smiled at you softly before pulling you into his arms. “How was your appointment, princess?” he asks, placing a gentle kiss on your forehead. You snuggle into his chest with a wide grin on your face. “The appointment was fine honey, I’m perfectly healthy and the babies are healthy too.” you mumble waiting for him to catch on.”Well that’s good I know you’ve been feeling a little run down l,” he freezes his mind finally registering. “Babies...as in?” you nod vigorously. “Twins, Samu-chan...we’re having twins!” you exclaim laughing as your husband and his brother both start tearing up simultaneously. “Hey, Hey, Hey! I’m going to be the best uncle these babies have ever seen!” Bokuto screeches jumping onto the chair. “Over my dead body! I’m their favorite uncle...we are family after all” Atsumu huffs crossing his arms over his chest. With a scoff Kiyoomi makes his way over to the two of you. “I suppose congratulations are in order...just don't let that idiot watch them and i’ll consider letting them around me.” you laugh softly waving your hand at him. Bokuto and Hinata have now changed topics to babies and all the things they’re going to teach the twins. As you look at this group of men that have become your family the door jingles alerting you to a potential customer. Your husband greets them as you walk to the back and pull on your Apron.

“Welcome to Onigiri Miya” Osamu states bowing at the new face. After you wash your hands you make your way to the front when Bokuto screams, “Aggaashiii!” you freeze for a moment as your breath hitches at the name you haven’t heard or thought about since that day years ago. You walk out to see Bokuto pulling Akaashi into a hug already rambling about anything and everything. Osamu’s eyes are watching your every move, waiting for you to make the first move. You shake your head slightly and wave your hand in Bokuto’s direction. “I’m fine Samu-chan, it was a long time ago and I’m a different person now.” you hum softly, prepping ingredients to make something for you and the two little beans you're growing.

Akaashi only planned to stop in because his publicist had great things to say about the restaurant. The name itself sounded familiar but he couldn’t pinpoint where he had heard it from. Pulling the door open he walked inside only to be greeted by a familiar dual-haired face. He chuckled as he realized Bokuto-san had remained the same. “These are my teammates, Hinata, Omi-omi, and Atsumu!” Bokuto stated with a wave of his hand. Akaashi bowed respectfully, further acknowledging that he remembered Hinata from his high school volleyball days. “You don’t remember Tsumu, Akaashi?” Bokuto asks, tilting his head at you. He shook his head, “I’m sorry but I can’t put a face to the name.” Atsumu shrugged nonchalantly. Just because the pretty boy forgot who he was didn’t mean Atsumu forgot about it. Atsumu was there that day his brother found you in the park; and he remembered the way your heart shattered watching Akaashi do what he did. With a satisfying grin on his face Atsumu watched everything unfold.

“And this Osamu and his wife! He owns this place and a few chains in the prefecture!” Bokuto explained turning Akaashi around to meet the owner. Once Akaashi regained his setting his eyes widened upon seeing your familiar face. “[name]” he murmurs, hands shaking slightly. You smile tightly and bow to him. “ It’s been a long time Akaashi-san; what can the owners of Onigiri Miya get for you today?”

PART V|EXTRA

[undercoverclover]

No Matter Where

Part 3

Genre: Fluff? 

Pairing: Chan x Original Character

Warning: N/A

Part 1, 2

Summary: Liliana’s vacation with her 2 best friends ends up being a trip to remember.

We were so tired from jet lag that after dinner we went back to the hotel. "I'm ready for bed." Ria said stretching. "Same, I think we can go out tomorrow night. Let's crawl in the beds, watch a movie and go to sleep." Anya suggested.

"We could, I'm really tired now though." I say through a yawn.

"But, I'll attempt to watch a movie."

"Great! I'll make popcorn!" Ria said, smiling and getting up.

"Don't make me any, I probably won't eat any." I didn't want to think about eating right now.

After waiting for an answer and holding out long enough to watch the movie, or attempt to, I passed out right as the ending credits began to roll.

*Buzz Buzz Buzz*

I kept hearing some weird noise.

*Buzz Buzz Buzz*

I look for the phone and answer still half asleep,

1:26 a.m.

"Hello?" I mumble.

"Hello? Liliana?" Yuchan replies.

It takes a minute for my brain to realize and my eyes fly open, remembering I didn't have MY phone.

"Oh! Shi-.. Hello, hi Yuchan"

"Sorry, were you asleep?"

"I was, but that's okay."

"I'm deeply sorry, I just now got out of practice. I didn't realize what had happened. I normally shut my phone off then."

"That's okay. By chance, what's the time?" I ask not wanting to hit the bright light on the phone. Ria stirs and I try to talk quieter.

"Oh, um. It's 1:27 a.m. Sorry I guess this could have waited til morning."

My mouth dropped open for lack of something to say

"Oh.. it- that's okay." I manage to finally say. "So are you wanting to switch back phones soon?" I ask, making my heart skip.

"Yeah, I kinda need to." He mutters.

"Okay, when? In the morning?" I suggest.

"Hmm, no not in the morning. Not since it's so late already and I'm just now headed home. How about tomorrow afternoon?"

"Mmm, I think I told the girls I'd take them to lunch. It's my turn to pay." I groan realizing it is in fact my turn to pay.

He laughs at me and I smile.

I love his laugh so much.

"Hmm okay." He finally answers, still smiling, "We will figure it out."

"Sounds good." I say smiling back.

Then realization dawns on me. "What are you doing tomorrow night?" I ask.

What gave you the nerve to ask?! Shut up Liliana. Don't you dare keep it going.

"I have practice, but I'm sure since this is kind of important, I can leave early. What's up?"

"Um, well." And then I hear a click. "Hello?" I say.

Well fudge… I guess my phone died? I put his phone on charge when I was about to go to sleep. He just now turned my almost dead phone on.

"Oops."

I ended up pulling up Kakao again to message him, well me?

Me: Liliana, again. Sorry for killing my phone before this happened.

Liliana, what are you doing? I erased the message and started again.

I have to go out tomorrow night with the girls, but if you want to I can let you know where I am and we can switch phones back then. I hit send.

Short and to the point. Good enough.

I lay on my back and stare at the ceiling.

How am I supposed to sleep now? I’m wide awake.

It’s been like 2 conversations and a day. I’ll only be here a week. Quit going through the motions woman.

I drift off to sleep sometime later.

“Liliana, wake up.” Ria said as she threw a pillow at me.

“I don’t wanna,” I turn over, “It’s too early for life.”

“It’s like 10 a.m. get up!” She says as she comes over and starts bouncing on my bed.

“I got woken up at 1 okay, give me like, 10 more minutes.” I grumble and pull the blanket over my head.

“By who? What’d you do, sneak out? You gotta give me details!” She asks almost too excitedly.

“No, I did not sneak out. Yuchan called me after he got out of practice and finally turned my phone on.” I sat up and faced her. “Why are you like this?” I ask as I stare at her.

She shrugged and smiled like she had no idea what I was talking about.

“Then my phone died before we got a chance to decide on how to switch back phones today. I messaged him, but I haven’t checked it since I just woke up.”

Trying to hide anything from either of them was nearly impossible. Being best friends and roommates for close to two years does that to you.

You’d think she chose to believe me… I don’t think she wanted to though.

“What are you two doing in here? Can we please hurry up and go get some actual breakfast?” Anya said, coming out of the bathroom and seeing she had changed out of her pajamas.

“I guess we better. We have a long few days ahead.” Ria said happily.

I swear if I’d come by myself this wouldn’t have happened. But, if I had, I wouldn’t have been with the two people who’ve been by me through everything lately.

****

12:31 p.m.

*Buzz Buzz*

Yuchan: Hello Liliana, I think we could work it out so I can come and get my phone from you tonight. Is that still okay?

Me: Yes, I mean as long as I can have my phone back too… :)

Yc: Of course! Haha sorry, so we can return each other’s phones. Does that sound more appropriate? XD

Me: Sounds much better, thank you. >.<

Yc: Okay, what time should I meet you? I should get out of practice around 8 p.m.

Me: Mmm I think we are headed to the club about 10 tonight? So, if you want to meet right before then, that would be awesome.

Yc: Deal. See you tonight, Liliana.

I sent back a smile, letting him know I agreed and I'd see him tonight.

I was actually kind of nervous and I shouldn't be.

8:09 p.m.

“Are you ready Lili?” Anya asks, knocking on the bathroom door.

“Just about, I have like 4 more pieces of my hair left to straighten. I say just as I finish up my hair."

"Okay, just waiting on you." She says and walks away.

I walk out of the bathroom 5 minutes later, ready to go.

"You're going in that?" Ria asked and Anya looked back at me, half in a pose to put her shoes on.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" I ask, completely confused.

I had on skinny jeans and a cute black and red sweater. That plus my straight hair pulled halfway up, I thought I looked cute.

"There's nothing wrong with it, if you're planning on going to the coffee shop."

Oh geez. I'm about to get a makeover, aren't I?

"My twin, you know me better than that." Ria smirks and gets up to go over to my clothes I'd brought.

"Ria, we don't have time for this if we want to be there at 10." I say, hoping she won't realize I'm pushing to leave.

*BUZZ BUZZ* I go to take the phone out of my pocket.

"Put that away for a moment. It's not like you're going to give it back until one of us messages him for you." Ria says, coming to drag me over to the bed.

Little did she know, I already had…

She looks at me dumbfounded, "Where are all of your dressy clothes?"

"Do I look like I own dressy?" I state.

"You do too! I've bought you some!" She says, her voice going up an octave...or 3.

"Ria? I didn't pack them."

"Liliana May!" She puts her hands on her hips and stares at me.

"What did I do now?" I say and put my hand over my eyes.

Maybe I'll disappear and she will go away.

"Listen miss thing. It's been 3 years since you cut the dumbass loose. THREE. You need to get out there and have fun. Even if you don't find someone right now, you can enjoy yourself while he takes his slow ass time getting to you." She throws every word at me so they stick.

She doesn't say it hatefully, but she knows how to say it, so my brain will stop overthinking.

"I- '' I start to say something before she jumps back in.

"No but about it. You're having fun." She walks over to her suitcase and sets it on the bed.

I think Anya has left until I look over and her hand is over her mouth while she's watching to see who will come unglued first. I think she was more shocked that I hadn't said anything about my wardrobe.

"I will have fun, in what I'm wearing." I say and cross my arms.

"This is one time woman. I swear to God, I WILL throw soda all over that outfit so you'll have to change." She looks daggers through me.

Okay, so no need to argue today over a stupid outfit.

"One time Ria. ONE!" I say strictly. She claps and pulls out a black, short dress. The dress was gorgeous, the bottom was short, but there was a 2 inch piece of black lace that went past the hem. It wasn't spaghetti straps either, it was elegant lace straps kind of like Cinderella's but not poofy. Realization dawned on me. And it was not in Ria's size. She smiled from ear to ear and I've never seen her so happy.

"Wait a damn minute." I say grabbing the dress and looking at the size.

It wasn't hers like I'd thought. It was mine.

"So, you knew? You knew I wouldn't pack anything too dressy." I glare and I glare hard.

I hear Anya cackling over in her seat and quick glare at her too. She clamps her hands over her mouth still trying to suppress her laugh.

She smiles and tilts her head.

"Of course I knew! You are my twin!"

"UGH! Oh my G-God! Wa- why?" I say, stuttering.

*I've stuttered ever since I can remember. I have to really think about what I'm saying in order to not stutter.*

"Because you've lost so much weight and worked so hard to make yourself happy. You look great despite what you think!" Ria says.

"I second this!!" Anya yells in.

"Dammit guys!" I say defeated. I couldn't argue with them. I'd lose.

I don't feel like I'm pretty or beautiful or even remotely good looking, but they always try to tell me that I don't see the real me.

So for once. I gave up.

"I'll try. One night. But, I'm taking extra clothes and I'm taking my jacket." I say looking at them and judging.

"Yay! Yay yay yay!" Ria says jumping up and down.

I quickly went back into the bathroom and changed. Feeling so uncomfortable but decided I'd take one, just to make them happy that I'm trying.

After our back and forth, we got our shoes on and headed out to meet the taxi.

"The temperature outside is perfect spring weather! I wish it would come back to the states with us." I say as we open the door to the car waiting and pile in.

[mirkwoodshewolf]

The truth and a warning; AU Ghost! Queen x teen reader

*Author’s note*

Well this was a LONG one in the making but I finally sat down and made a sequel part to my Legend of the Band fic.  Now I’ve got ONE LAST PART and it’ll be published up in just a few minutes so I hope you all enjoy this little fic and for new readers coming in, READ PART ONE FIRST BEFORE YOU READ THIS!!!

Warnings: Parent arguments, fluff, angst, demons mentions, supernatural elements, kidnapping, paranormal stuff.

Taglist:

@geek-and-proud​

@plethora-of-things​

@waddles03​

@psychosupernatural​

@ixchel-9275​

@simonedk​

@queendeakyy​

@queensdivas​

@eileen-crys​

@platawnic​

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels​

@kairosfreddie​

_____________________________________________________________

I was running through this dark hallway.  I didn’t know why I was running, all I knew was that I had to keep going.  Soon enough I came to this fire-lit room.  It looked like something out of a cult film with candles, Satanic markings all over the wall, and a large fireplace that was just roaring with fire. At the center was a large pentagram of some kind with candles at each of the stark points.

“Don’t go to them. You’re putting yourself in danger. Your whole family will be in danger if you don’t stay away.” There he was again. I looked up and soon appearing right at the center of the pentagram was a man with shaggy blonde hair, a scruffy appearance with a five o’clock shadow, wearing a trench coat, a white button up shirt with a long red tie, and black dress pants.

“Who are you?” I asked.  He just looked at me with that same sharp expression.  He opened his mouth but another voice spoke out of his mouth.

“Wake up!”

I woke up with a gasp and glared up to see Roger hovering right in front of me.

“Roger what the fuck? You trying to give me a heart attack or something?” I hissed at him.

“Well if you had woken up the first time, I wouldn’t have needed to do that, would I? Now c’mon. I want you to see the sunrise with me.” I got off his bed and stretched myself.

It’s been almost 3 months since my friends and I came up here to Rockfield studios.  Since then I had been coming up here in secret without telling my nana or my dad. Most of the times I would come up would be when Freddie and the boys would want me to hear new songs they got (Freddie said that since I came to the farm, it’s like the creativity they once had when they were alive suddenly came back).

But throughout all the visits I have done with the guys, I—still hadn’t worked up the courage to tell John the truth about……who I really am. I mean how would you be if you were in my shoes? And how would you tell the spirit of your dead grandfather that you’re his grandchild without freaking him out.  Or causing some sort of ghostly pandemic where he’d like explode all of London or something.

Roger hovering right outside his room waiting for me, I stood up and put my hoodie and sneakers on and followed him.  My thoughts also went back to the dream I had last night. It was also been practically 3 months since I’ve had that same dream over and over again.

At first it happened the night I came back home.  But one month later it came back to me.  Then it was once a week, then once every other day, and now since a month ago, it’s been every night.  I don’t know why this guy keeps coming into my dreams or why he says the same thing over and over again.

Roger and I finally reached outside.  The snow crunching underneath my feet with each step I took.

“You know you’ve really been out of it lately. You sure you’re not sick or something?” I looked up at him and said.

“Nah. I was just dreaming.”

“Naww about me? Lovie I’m flattered.” He teased flirtatiously as he tossed his long, flowing hair aside. “Alright c’mon. Fred’s just about to wake up, we gotta get up to the top of the barn before he does.” He flew towards the inside of the barn and I ran after him.

He now floated on top of the second level of the barn where mostly some more hay and old bags of manure stood at.  It was then I finally told me.

“Eww no way Rog. Besides you’re like in your 70’s now. It’s just weird.”

“Technically I would be, but I’m still physically, in a sense, 26.” As I came up to the ladder that led up to the second level I continued while stepping up the ladder.

“Whatever. But no, my dreams are that every time I’m running through this dark corridor. Then next thing I know I’m in like—a cult room. Candles surrounding everywhere, a roaring fireplace, like even more so than when you guys make the fire roar and there’s all these pentagrams and Satanic markings. But what’s weird is that there’s always this—man standing right at the center of this large pentagram.”

I finally reached the top and Roger couldn’t help but tease at me again.

“Wow. Never knew you were into that kinda stuff (n/n).” I glared at him.

“Does your mind ever leave the gutter? Besides the guy’s like in his mid-40’s or something.” I finally got over and now stood alongside Roger.  He then raised his hand up and I soon began levitating in the air and soon the two of us phased through the ceiling until we ended up on the roof of the barn.

“Well it’s about time you slowpokes got here.” Freddie’s voice soon spoke up.

“Wha-but-you-but-you were-I thought-that-you…..” Roger began stammering. “You dirty rotter! I was supposed to finally be the first one up to see the sunrise!”

“Oh don’t get your celestial knickers in a twist Roger. Remember I once told you there was only room in the band for one hysterical Queen, well there’s only room for one hysterical ghost on this property. And that’s me.”

“God if I could wring your neck in I would.”

“Oh (Y/n) dear! So glad you could make it! How did you sleep?” he hovered over to me, circling around me before stopping right in my face.  He observed me closely before noticing the bags under my eyes at this point. “Wow, dear no offense but you look absolutely knackered.”

“Yeah I uhh—was having that dream again.”

“You mean the one about that fellow in the trench coat?” One time Freddie actually came into my dreams and I was forced to tell him just what was going on.

I nodded.

“Wait you know about these dreams Fred?” Roger asked.

“Yes. But it’s between (Y/n) and I. So unless you want to know more you won’t hear about it from—”

“I’ve told him about it.” I interrupted him.

“Wait so this chap in the trench coat. He—doesn’t hurt you does he?” Rog asked worriedly.

“No, no not at all. But he—he always gives me some kind of warning. Saying things like I’m in danger, or stay away from them. But this time he told me that my family could now be in danger if I refuse to stay away.” I sat down on the roof bringing my knees up to my chest as I exhaled outward, my breath now visible thanks to the cold. “I’m really starting to get scared about—what it all means?”

“Well it could just be a fluck or something? Sometimes dreams don’t mean anything.” Roger said as he sat to my left while Fred sat at my right.

“I’ve been having this dream since meeting you guys it—has to mean something. Doesn’t it?” There was silence between us till Fred spoke up.

“Dreams are a silly thing. They can be there one moment and gone the next. I think I once recalled about my overbite being a lot bigger. And all that meant was that I was truly what my friends once nicknamed me, Bucky.” It was then he actually made his overbite extend further out (think of a cartoon character at this point) as he then growled and grumbled as he began to chomp like a beaver.

After that, his overbite went back to normal as we all laughed softly.  I shook my head and rolled my eyes.

“Why do I keep coming to your guys?”

“It’s because you like us.” Teased Freddie as he pointed his finger at my nose.

“I don’t. I love you guys.” His smile turned soft and that’s when Roger said.

“Look, here it comes.” We both turned around and low and behold the sun was slowly starting to rise.  The first light came into the sky, and the sparrows began to stir and the stars began to fade.  Wow, theirs is nothing that beats a countryside sunrise and sunset.

“So—apart from the dreams, how have you been (Y/n)?” Freddie asked me.  I grew solemn and I said.

“Nana’s—been feeling under the weather lately. Both physically and mentally.” Right at around New Year’s, we had a scare when we got a call from the hospital saying that Nana had taken a bad fall.  

Fearing for her safety, dad had her move into the home with us and since I’m still on holiday break, I’ve been keeping an eye on her.

“My friends still won’t talk to me since that night on Halloween.” Its true.  In fact they’ve avoided me at all cost.  I’ve heard them say that I’ve been possessed by the ghosts themselves every time they see me.  So basically I’ve been kicked out of the group. “And then my dad still won’t give me the time of day anymore.” I grumbled hatefully.

“Still? But didn’t you go on that lovely little Christmas trip with him and your nana?” Freddie asked.

“Yeah for like an hour till the office called him telling him the pitch meeting couldn’t wait.”

“Typical fathers. Always thinking that work is more important than family.” Roger hmphed.  I scoffed softly. Tell me about it.

“So this is where you took her.” It was then floating right above us was grandda—I mean John.  Granddad? Can I even call him that even in my head? It’s still wild to even think about.

“Good morning Deacy darling!” Freddie praised.  John—grandad crossed his arms over his chest as he gave Freddie and Rog the stink eye that my nana always gave me when I misbehaved (now I know where she got it from).

“C’mon John it’s the mid-winter sunrise and I thought (Y/n) might like to see it.” Roger said.

“You do realize she could freeze up here. She’s not like us Rog, she’s human!”

“I’m fine De—AHH-CHOO!” I sneezed out.

“See? She’s already catching her death already. Couldn’t you two have allowed her to see the sunrise from inside the home, or at least not up on top of the barn where it’s the most coldest?” he said as he came up to me and touched my shoulders.

I’ve also noticed that it’s really only been my granddad’s touch that I can actually feel.  When it comes to the other guys, they go right through me.

“C’mon (Y/n), let’s get you back inside and I’ll fix you up a warm cuppa.” He took my hand and we both phased back through the barn. He then wrapped an arm around me and together we flew back towards the house.

Back in the living quarter’s I was sitting on the couch with two sets of blankets wrapped around me, the fireplace going off, and soon John had my cuppa float right towards me.

“Thanks John.”

“Are you sure you’re warm enough? As soon as we came in you were shivering like a leaf.” God that’s such an old saying.  But I guess that is something that only my grandfather would say.

“I’m fine, really. Thanks John.”

“You really should’ve bundled up more before you went outside with Roger. The countryside gets colder than it does in the city. Especially since this place isn’t as updated as it would be today when it comes to heating.”

“I know. I thought I’d be fine with just my jumper but I guess I misjudged it.”

“More like underestimated it.” He teased.  I took a sip of my cuppa and hummed softly. “Is it done right?”

“Just how I like it.”

“That’s good. I was thankful to actually get that old coffee machine working again. That thing hadn’t been used in decades.”

“Now was that story Brian once told me about Roger wanting to smash that thing true?”

“Oh god don’t even get me started on that. I can’t believe he actually remembers that.” He groaned which made me laugh.

“That’s only because you guys refused to think my song was good enough for the album!” Roger’s voice exclaimed.  Soon both he, Freddie and even Brian came through the walls and Brian said.

“Please tell me he’s not going off about it again. I swear Roger if I have to hear about your song one more time I’m gonna find a way to exorcise you.” Granddad and I looked at each other as he and Rog proceeded to argue and the two of us rolled our eyes.

“Be a dear for me (Y/n). If you ever find my body, please get some scissors and stab me in the ears.” Granddad whispered to me.  I reached out and gently patted his shoulder.

Man he wasn’t kidding about the fact when their fights get crazy. I could only imagine how they were when they were alive and could actually hurt each other.  But it still amazes me that even through their arguments and fights, they still come together and make such beautiful music.

I felt granddad touch my shoulder and the next thing I knew, we silently phased through the couch, down the floor until we arrived in his room.  He released my hand which made me go back to being solid again and he said as he hovered over to his bed.

“Figured you’d be safe here. I’d say in the next—ten seconds Roger’s going to go all poltergeist and start throwing things about.” And low and behold, I heard a very loud crashing and the sounds of Brian, Fred’s and Roger’s screaming at each other.  I cringed at the loudness of the banging and their yelling.  It was like hearing three banshees screaming in my ear.

Then with a snap of a finger, all went quiet.  I turned to granddad and saw that his left hand was slightly raised and his fingers were in a snap position.

“Took me over 20 years to figure it out but, now this room shall remain soundproof till they cease their petty arguments.” I smiled and said.

“God I wish I could do that.” He chuckled softly as he sat down on his bed.

“It’s definitely a gift worth having.” I then noticed how his face grew solemn. “Plus I—I need the silence.”

“Why’s that?” I asked with a tilt of my head.

“It’s nothing you need to worry yourself over (Y/n) dear. I wouldn’t want to bore you with the story.”

“No please. If you’re—willing to share with me, I’ll lend an ear. Believe me you’ve listened to plenty of my teenage drama.” His famed gapped-tooth smile came on display as he softly chuckled again.

“It’s not drama, it’s life. Everyone goes through it, even I did when I was your age. God I really do sound like an old man don’t I?”

“And yet you’re hardly pass the age of 24.” I said as I sat down beside him. “Come on tell me. Please.” I placed my hand over his and gave him my best puppy dog face.  He looked down at me before smiling softly and said.

“Alright you little puppy.” He patted my head before raising his hand and an old suitcase soon floated towards us.  It opened up and soon a photograph soon came out of it. He sent the suitcase back to the corner and held the picture in his hands.

It was a picture of my nana.  She was outside underneath a cherry blossom tree in what looked like a park.  She was beautiful with her long flowing brown hair, her belly showing signs of her pregnant with my father (probably around 3-4 months).  She wore a pretty purple dress and in her hair were 2 flowers.

“Today’s……well…..today would’ve been our 45th wedding Anniversary.” He said solemnly.  Oh shit that’s right. Nana’s been dreading this day in secret.  She hides it from my dad awfully well but I’ve heard her cry at night, crying out granddad’s name in her sleep whenever it was just the two of us at the house.  “I think that……that’s probably why I’ve still remained here on Earth, and never got the chance to move on.”

“How do you mean?” He continued to look down at the picture of nana.  His long, ghostly black fingers stroking along the picture, especially once the tips of his fingers touched her face which held a beautiful smile.

“Unlike the lads whose memories have been slowly fading away of their previous life when we were human. I—I always found myself thinking of my love, my wife, my best friend. And every now and then……memories would come back to me.”

“What kind of memories?” I asked as I held onto the sleeve of his shirt.  I looked up at him like a solemn child wanting to hear the story of their dead relative.

“Just—the small things. The sounds of her attempting to make breakfast. Poor Ronnie could never really cook well without at least trying to burn the flat down.” He chuckled the last part out which made me softly laugh. “The way she would put on her lipstick. So carefully.”

He looked up and he had this look of—wonderment. Wistfulness. His voice even whispered wistfully as he reminisced about him and nana.  A smile soon spread across his face as he continued to speak with admiration and love.

“I do remember that she always used lavender lotion. And when we’d embrace, I would pull her in. And breathe her in. So deeply. Then at night before we would go to sleep, she’d cuddle close to me and we’d whisper to one another with her first starting off, ‘I will love you forever; whatever happens. Until I die and after I die,’ then I would finish whispering in hers, ‘and when I find my way out of the land of the dead, I’ll drift about forever, all my atoms, until I find you again’. Guess that saying became our reality.”

That’s what Nana always said to me when I was a little girl during the thunderstorms to calm me down.  She would always say that very line and then she taught me the second part.  Never did I imagine that I was saying granddad’s line back to her.

He stood up from the bed, his back facing me as he stood before the wall.

“But that was a long, long time ago. She’s—probably forgotten all about me. Moved on, probably had more kids with another man. Probably for the best.” God my heart was literally breaking at hearing this.

“I don’t think she did. I believe she couldn’t forget about you. I’m…..sure she felt the same way about you. And……couldn’t find it in herself to love another man as much as she loved you.” I said to him solemnly.

“Then I’ve caused her nothing but heartbreak and pain. She deserved to move on from me after my death. If she—if she has cling to the past, then……” he trailed off and I saw ghostly tears fall down his face.

I got up from the bed and slowly approached him.  I stood at his side for a moment before reaching out and taking his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.  He turned to me, his heartbroken face made me want to cry and just hug him.

Why did this have to happen to my family? To Queen’s family? Whoever or whatever happened on that fateful day deserves to burn in Hell because they took everything from these boys, from my nana, my father and me.

I embraced him and held onto him as tight as I could.  I felt granddad crumble in my arms as he wept into my shoulder.  My sleep shirt getting drenched with his tears, but it was worth it.

After standing there holding each other for a while, I wiped away his ghostly tears which floated into the air as soon as I wiped them off his face.

“Deacy, look there’s……there’s something I gotta tell you.” he separated from me.  His eyes went from heartbroken to concern in the snap of a finger.

“What is it are you okay?” God ever concerning for his loved ones safety.  Even when he not even five seconds ago had a mental breakdown.  He was willing to put his own feelings aside to ask if I was alright.

“I’m fine. I…….” this was it. I have to tell him.  I don’t know what the repercussions would be like, hell I may cause him to bring this entire farm to the ground, but I have to get this off my chest. “Deacy I’m……”

“Oi (Y/n)! Your cellphone’s been blaring off frantically and none of us know how to answer it.” Roger’s voice spoke up.  We looked up and there he had his head peaking through the roof of granddad’s room.

“You couldn’t have learned to knock first!?” Granddad snapped.

“Please I know about your sound proof ability in this room. Even if I tried you’d still never hear me. Now please (Y/n) go see who it was. If I have to hear that bell alarm one more time I’ll bring this whole farm to the ground.”

“Okay Rog I’ll be up there in a sec.” his head soon vanished back through the roof and I looked up to granddad and he said.

“Go on.” I walked up the stairs and headed towards Roger’s room where I grabbed my phone and saw that I had 2 missed calls from Nana, 12 unread texts from dad’s cell and 13 missed calls from dad’s cell.

“Shit.” I unlocked my phone and went to dad’s cell first just to let him have it with me.  After just one ring his frantic voice exclaimed out.

‘WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!?! DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED SICK I WAS!!’

“Dad I’m sorry. I meant to tell you I was going out of town but I forgot.”

‘Out of town? Out of town!? (Y/n) (m/n) Deacon you’ve been going out of town for the past 3 months and you’ve never once told me or your nana where exactly ‘out of town’ is. This is starting to become a problem.’

“But dad��..”

‘No buts! From now on I want to know where you are at all times, and all destinations are to be approved by me!’

“What?! That’s not fair!!”

‘Unfair?! You wanna know what unfair is!? Having your nana crying all day because of…….’ He trailed off. ‘Anyways she needed you. What would’ve happened to her if you weren’t there because you were ‘out of town’. Now I’ve got to get back to work but when I get home, I expect you there and then we’ll further discuss your punishment.’ And with that he hung up.  I growled and tossed my phone onto the bed before plopping down against it.

“Was it him again?” I looked up and there was granddad right at the door.

“You heard that?”

“Darling I think everyone from Pembroke heard.” He joked. I collapsed on the bed with a heavy sigh and said.

“I don’t get why he’s so overprotective.”

“He’s your father. And he loves you.” he said as he came up to me.  I turned on my side and huffed.

“I doubt that.”

“Why would you say something like that?” he asked me.  I sighed heavily and said.

“Ever since mum left us when I was 12 for her new boy toy, dad’s thrown himself into his work. He’s never actually confronted the problem. He just buries himself into his work. There have been times where I needed him and he was never there. It was like I was invisible to him. And now all of a sudden he’s starting to care about me after practically ignoring me for most of my teen years! If I’m being honest…..I think he stopped caring about me a long time ago.” my voice cracked at the last statement.

I harshly wiped my tears away refusing to cry in front of him.  That’s when I felt his fingers gently grasp my chin and he turned my head to face him.

“Now you don’t mean that.”

“I do. I hate myself for thinking such a thing but it’s true.”

“A father never stops caring for their child. Sure he may pile on the work or can be strict but that’s because he can’t risk to lose you like he lost your mother. Being a parent—it’s the most frightening job in the world that not a lot of people can handle. But I would gladly like to have that chance of having that job. To have been there for my son if I had the chance. To love him, to care for him, to show him that dad’s aren’t just the type of walk away to the store or leave to record an album and never come back.”

He wiped my tears as he cupped underneath my jawline and we both looked into each other’s eyes.

“So never doubt your father doesn’t love you. Okay?” I nodded and said.

“I should get home then.” He smiled softly and nodded in agreement.

“Promise you’ll reach out to either Freddie or Brian when you reach home.”

“I promise. Tell the guys I said bye.”

“Will do poppet. Until next time.” He gave me a kiss to my forehead and I walked out of the house towards my car and drove all the way back to London.

On the drive back just a few miles out of Bristol, I stopped at a gas station to get me some breakfast.  When I picked me up some sweets I walked back to my car and started it up before finally pulling out of the gas station and continued down the road.

While driving on a stretch of wide open roads with fields and nothing but cattle, suddenly out of nowhere I saw a man frantically waving his arms back and forth. 

He looked like he had just came out of a pub fight, his clothes almost torn to shreds, his face all bloodied up, and he was even limping and might’ve had a broken shoulder with the way his left arm was dangling.

Something in my didn’t sit right and as much as I would’ve said I kept driving, I’d be lying.  I slowed down and rolled my window down and he came up to me and said.

“Oh bless you lass. I’ve been walking for miles with no one in sight.” American accent must be a tourist or something.

“Are you alright sir?” I asked him.

“I’ve had better days. Listen my car broke down several miles West. I’ve been traveling all night and couldn’t see a damn thing. Can you please give me a lift to the closest repair shop?”

“Uhh……”

“Please I know I’m asking a lot and this must seem like a creepy situation.” I’ve had creepier experiences, I mean I’m friends with the ghost’s of Queen. “I promise, all I need is a ride and I promise you’ll never see me again. I need to check in on my wife and daughter. They’re probably worried sick back at our cabin.”

“Alright. Get in.”

“Oh thank you so much. Thank you, thank you thank you.” he opened up my passenger door and sat down before closing it.  “I’ve tried to get a signal for hours but there’s hardly anything out here.” He joked.

“Yeah the selected country parts of the UK can have some pretty crappy service. Once we reach close to Bristol it should work. But I’m gonna have to briefly turn around just to get us there.”

“Do whatever you’ve got to do. You’re very kind to do this for a complete stranger. Your parents must be very proud of you.” my hands gripped the wheel tighter and I said.

“Yeah. Yeah they are.” I turned my car around and drove back to where I saw the Bristol exit. “So……how exactly did your car break down?”

“I don’t know it just started sputtering and the next thing I knew….” He blew out a raspberry. Suddenly my head started to pound like a drum.  I groaned as I rubbed my forehead trying to rid of the pain. “You okay?” he asked me.

“I—I don’t know I…..I need to pull over, right now.” I put my hazard lights up and pulled to the side of the dirt road.  I put my car in park and leaned forward.  God what the hell was going on? It’s like Roger was using my head as his personal drumkit. “Damnit what is wrong with me?”

“Perhaps you just need a bit of rest?” suddenly I felt something cover my mouth and nose.  Panic aroused from me as I tried to fight back but the man quickly grabbed hold of me and pressed the rag or sponge whatever it was harder against my nose.

Shit I should never have let this guy into my car! I watch crime shows for this very reason! I’m such a dumbass.  All I kept doing was trying to send a telepathic signal to Freddie hoping he would see what was happening but soon enough my fighting spirit ceased as my eyes soon closed and I was knocked out.

*John’s POV*

As the day went by finally the lads ceased their infernal argument and we were in the studio trying to see if we could finish up a new song that Freddie had written for (Y/n).  All the awhile I kept having this very bad feeling that something happened to her, something very bad.

“Deacy? Oi Deacon!” I snapped out of my daze that’s when Brian said.

“Geez you looked even more spaced out than you normally are.” I glared at him.

“I’m just—thinking about (Y/n).”

“Oooo, is our little Deacon in love with a new woman?”

“What?! Eww no you filthy mongrel. It’s…..Fred are you sure you haven’t heard anything from her?” I asked Freddie worriedly.

“Not yet my darling. But you know it’s a long drive between here and London. Maybe she’s still driving. You worry too much darling, she’ll be…..” suddenly he lurched forward almost as if in pain.

We all looked at him fearfully as his face contorted to absolute fear before he flung himself back against the chair.  His arms reaching upward like he was holding something, all the while struggling and grunting in a panic-like seizure.

We all gathered around him calling out his name before finally he lay there limp, his eyes closed and his face relaxed.  I turned towards Roger and Brian and they were just as confused and frightened as I was.

“Fred? Freddie. C’mon mate wake up.” Roger shook him. Suddenly Freddie’s eyes opened and he gasped out.

“It was horrible……the worst fear I’ve ever felt.” His breathing was shaky and his eyes frantically searched around the studio.

“What Fred? What did you see?” Brian asked.  It was then Freddie turned to me and he said regretfully.

“I’m sorry John. I’m really, really sorry. But you were right.” No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no it—it can’t be!

“What Fred don’t leave us hanging!”

“It was (Y/n) dears. She sent me a message. Someone’s kidnapping her.” At that point, had we’d been alive, our hearts would’ve sunk in fear.

“Who!? Who was it!?” Roger demanded as his drumkit got knocked over by the rage he felt.

“Calm down Rog! We’ll figure this out.” Brian assured him before turning back to Freddie. “Now Fred could you see anything? Like who it was? Or where she was at?”

“I just remember……fear. And muffled screaming.” Freddie sobbed as he gripped the side of his head.

“Okay, okay. Concentrate. The smallest detail will help us figure out who it could be.” Brian assured him.

“I couldn’t see him. But I felt her being pinned up……against someone’s chest. And…..it looked like she was in her-her car maybe? And…..” at this point his voice grew off into a haze as he tried to recall everything he saw through their telepathic message. “It smelled weird like—I don’t know I wish I could remember more!” Freddie leaned forward and wept.

Roger and Brian embraced him, rubbing his back gently shushing him.  At this point I couldn’t handle being in the studio anymore.  Somehow I ended back in my room, anger boiled inside me along with fear and heartbreak.  I then threw my head back and just let out the most agonizing scream I could.

If any mortal were to see, they would’ve seen all the windows shatter from every building Rockfield farm studios had.

*My POV*

When I came around I saw nothing but candlelight dancing through a dark room.  I groaned tiredly as my head was still slightly pounding but not as much as it was earlier.  When my vision finally started to become clear, that’s when I saw some familiar drawings surrounding me.

All the Satanic markings, ancient drawings, hell the room itself was familiar.  I was in the very room where I’ve been at in my dreams.

“I tried to warn you love. You’re meddling in things you shouldn’t be meddling in.” wait that accent.  I slowly raised myself up from the floor and soon coming into light from the fireplace was him.

The man from my dreams.

“It’s you.”

“Yes it’s me. Your personal boogieman. Look since you wouldn’t listen to reason through your dreams, you forced me to take drastic measures.” He said.  Wow this guy was really charming.

“You know an email or a threatening phone call would’ve sufficed.” I sassed at him.

“True but then you’d still probably go back to that farm. Am I right?”

“You don’t know me!”

“Oh on the contrary love, I know everything about you. (Y/n) Deacon, daughter to Robert and Sharleen Deacon who are divorced now right?” I glared at him. “Granddaughter to one Veronica Tetzlaff and John Richard Deacon. The bass player of the former band Queen. And you—little missy were just about to tell your granddad of who you really are.”

“So what if I was? You don’t know how lonely he is. If he knew that my nana still loved him and has told both my father and me about him…..”

“It could end the world.” I looked at him confused.  He sighed heavily shaking his head disapprovingly. “I hate involving normal people into my line of business, but you’ve left me no other choice.”

“Just who exactly are you?”

“The name’s John Constantine. My family’s been cursed with being the fine line between this world and the afterlife. It’s my job to ensure that no demonic or spiritual presence tries to threaten our world. And to ensure no dumb teenagers go poking their noses in forces far beyond their reach.”

“If you’re referring to the first time I went to the farm, it wasn’t my idea.”

“But it was your idea to keep going there. Meeting the ghosts of Queen. And for that, you’re causing a shift in the balance.”

“So what now? You going to kill me?” I threatened.

“No. See I can’t kill another human being without probable cause. That and since you’re a kid with a family, I’d rather not be interrogated by the police. And I wouldn’t want your dear ol granddad to haunt my arse for the rest of my days. I get enough of that already.” He walked over and grabbed something off the table and he continued, “This is your last warning love. Stay. Away. From Rockfield farm.”

“The boys will know something’s up if I suddenly stop coming around.”

“Which is why I’m going to put them out of their misery and send their souls to the great beyond. They’ll no longer be stranded here, they can freely go up to heaven, blah, blah, blah heavenly stuff you know all that.”

“You can’t do that!”

“Better me than something else. And trust me, there are far worse things than people like me that want a snag at a few stray ghosts.”

“And what if I refuse to do as you say?”

“Man you are a stubborn girl.” He muttered impatiently.

“Call it a family trait. What’s so dangerous for me to stay away from Rockfield Farm?” he groaned and said.

“I really didn’t want to admit this but I guess I’m gonna have to dumb it down for you.” God this guy was a real arsehole. “Unlike the other three members, your grandfather still holds onto the memories of his human life. And when a ghost does that, it makes them dangerous. Extremely. Dangerous.”

“You don’t know my granddad. He couldn’t hurt a fly much less hurt me.”

“Really?” he asked more skeptically than questioningly. I nodded proudly. “Then answer me this then love,” he walked up to me and leaned down close to my face. “If you do tell him who you really are to him, that makes him even more bound to you. Then say the next time someone, be it mortal or even demon even hurts you. His bound to you would become unstable. When ghosts become unstable, they lose any sense of humanity. And when they lost their humanity, they’re nothing but shells of endless wails and overpowering abilities. He could bring down an entire city if he wanted to just to get back at whoever hurt you. And that becomes messy for me to clean up.”

“Glad to know this is more about you not wanting to clean up a bit of mess.” I sneered.

“Not when the mess is millions of dead bodies who were nothing but collateral damage. Trust me love when I say that your granddad is bad news already being a ghost with memories. And here’s something else if you don’t believe me.” He pulled out his phone with a news media post that read.

EARTHQUAKE SHAKES MONMOUTH!

What felt like a 5.5 earthquake shook the entire community of Monmouth Wales. Out of nowhere the grounds began to shake and some witnesses have claimed that it was sourced at the old Rockfield farm studios where witnesses have also claimed to see windows exploding.

“I know you must’ve sent some sort of message to them when I grabbed you.”

“Wait that was you? But….the guy that grabbed me had black hair.”

“Simple transfiguration spell love. I thought kids your age watched Harry Potter?” I glared at him. “Now I want your solemn promise, you will not. Go. To Rockfield farm anymore.” I looked down and I said.

“I can’t just suddenly ghost them. No pun intended. Let me go back and say my final goodbyes to them.”

“I can’t even let you do that poppet. It’s either you stop going, or put your family in grave danger because of your selfishness.”

What do I do? What do I do? If I suddenly stop going to the farm, the guys will feel like I’ve abandoned them.  And Granddad he……he’ll be heartbroken the most.

“Well…..your answer?” he asked impatiently.

“Fine. I’ll do as you say.”

“That’s a good girl. Now then, I want you to wear this from now on until I can finish my job.” He held out a long silver chained necklace with a vile attached to it.

“Please tell me there’s no blood in that thing.”

“Don’t be stupid. It’s salt. Ghosts can’t get through a salt circle, nor can they get out of one. So long as you wear this, they can’t reach out to you telepathically.” He placed the necklace around my neck. “Oh and love, it’s best we keep this interaction a secret. Probably best to not let nana or daddy know of this.” He gave me a nod before suddenly placing the same cloth over my face and once again I was knocked out.

The last thing I heard him say was his warning.

“Now keep away for your family’s sake.”

When I awoke, I found myself in my own bedroom.  I was in my bed and pressed to my forehead was a warm rag.  I heard footsteps coming towards me and coming into my room was my nana.

“Oh (Y/n) you’re awake!” she quickly came up to me and cupped the side of my face frantically looking over me.

“Yeah uhh nana. I—I know this’ll sound strange but—how did I get here?”

“Don’t you remember? You drove all the way here but passed out as soon as you got to the door. You were freezing cold to the touch. I was so worried that you’d……” she pressed her hand over her mouth and I saw tears form in her eyes.

“Oh nana I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I worried you.” I hugged her and nuzzled her shoulder.  She wrapped her arms around me and she sniffled.

“It’s okay love. I just…..I just couldn’t bear it if I had to lose you too.” I looked down, my eyes shining with regret.

Maybe that Constantine guy was right.  Nana Ronnie loved me and dad so much, I could never live with myself if I got all of us hurt.  Maybe it is best if I just—forget about the guys.

I guess—in a way I’m glad I didn’t tell granddad the truth yet, cause if I stopped going there had I told him, he would never let me or the world forget it.

It's gonna be hard to just forget the guys but I have to. For Nana’s sake.

So as punishment from my ad, he grounded me for a month and basically put me on house arrest. I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere unless it was to school and home.  Any other places that I needed to go to like the library, had to be approved by the boss man himself.

Constantine also was a constant pop up in my life.  This time he took my advice and actually managed to figure out my phone number and has been sending me text messages every other week or so.  He’d inform me that right now the grounds were too icy to travel to the farm so he’d have to wait till spring to perform the exorcism.

Of course I couldn’t find it in myself to respond back to him telling him it was fine.  I just deleted the messages and try to live on my life.  Now I won’t deny I’ve missed the guys, especially granddad.  For the first time in my life, I got to know more about my family than I ever had in years.  Only for it to be taken away from me because some threat that Constantine won’t really tell me about.

I know there’s gotta be more than just my granddad’s potential of becoming a ‘bad ghost’.  But I don’t know what.

Another couple months passed and finally it was springtime in England.  The cherry trees were in full bloom, the weather was now more cooler, and the typical spring showers washed away any remaining snow that was left.

I was currently at school and today we were doing the mile and a half run for PE (UGGGGHHHH!!!) I don’t even know why we have to do this run? It’s just a way for people to show off on who’s got the fastest timing just so they can get up on the leader boards in the locker room.

And of course with no friends in PE, the runs get VERY boring so I was left alone to run by myself.  That’s when I noticed something odd.  A crow kept trailing beside me, cawing every now and then.  At first I paid no mind to it (after all we get crows all the time).

But when I noticed that it was starting to swoop down closer and closer to me and literally following me no matter which way I swerved or even ran back, that’s when I got scared.  Thinking I could outrun it, I ran past any remaining students that still hadn’t completed the mile and a half run.  

The crow still right on my trail as it cawed and swooped down closer and closer to me.  I turned around and that’s when I was shocked to see it’s black eyes suddenly turn pure white.  Oh shit now it all makes sense, it was—suddenly the crow landed right on top of me and it was almost like my body just shut down as I collapsed right there on the ground.

Next thing I knew, I was in this empty blackness.  There wasn’t anything in sight and it was dead silent. No birds, no chattering peers, no crow, nothing.  Until……

‘(Y/n).’ I gasped at the familiar voice.

“D-Deacy?”

‘Do you know how worried we all have been for you? You’ve stopped coming to the farm. What has happened!?’ his worried tone made my heart clench.

“I’m sorry Deacy I……dad grounded me and then school got busy and……”

‘LIES!!!!’ sudden a harsh wind blew right in my face. It was like standing right next to a tornado or a hurricane with how hard this sudden wind gust was blowing right at me.  I would’ve been knocked over if it hadn’t suddenly stopped.

When I opened my eyes and put my arms down from my face there right in front of me was granddad. His eyes full of heartbreak and betrayal.

‘The last thing you ever sent to Freddie was your kidnapping. Who was it? Are they threatening you!?’ oh god don’t let him get mad don’t let him get mad.

“No. I—Like I told you Deacy life just became busy. And the roads got too dangerous for me to travel on.”

‘That didn’t stop you before. How come none of us could reach out to you? It was like you dropped off the face of the Earth!’

“I don’t know Deacy I just…..”

‘What?! Hmm?’ I sighed heavily and turned away from him.

“I can’t tell you.”

‘Can’t tell me. Tell me what?’

“It’s too dangerous Deacy I can’t tell you.”

‘What? What is so dangerous that you can’t tell me? Unless it’s the fact that you no longer like us and think we’re nothing but a bunch of washed up has-beens. A waste of your time!’

“No John Deacon it’s not like that at all and you know it!”

‘Then what!? WHAT ARE YOU SO AFRAID OF!?’

“I’M YOUR GRANDDAUGHTER!!” I gasped and covered my mouth. His expression went from anger to shock.

‘Wha—what did you…..say?’ I sighed heavily and said.

“Your wife, Veronica Tetzlaff. Her—your son Robert is my father. Which makes me her granddaughter. Your granddaughter.” His face still held that stoic but shocked expression.  He backed away from me and looked like he was trying to form words.

‘How long have you known?’ he asked me after a long bit of silence.

“After meeting you guys.” He exhaled sharply and rubbed his hands through his hair. “I’m sorry John I—I didn’t want it to be like this. I was gonna tell you back at the farm but then Roger he……”

‘Stop. Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop.’ He turned fully away from me.  His shoulders rising and falling rapidly as his breathing got deeper.

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry granddad!” suddenly a flash of light blinded me and the next thing I knew I was hearing concerned mutters around me and my instructor Mrs. Hood say.

“(Y/n). (Y/n) Deacon can you hear me?” I let out a gasp and sobbing out.

“I’m sorry granddad. I’m so sorry.” I then just curled up and wept hysterically.

After that I was sent home early and Nana was my personal nurse. She asked me what exactly happened but I refused to answer her.  I just kept silent throughout the rest of the day.  Of course not wanting to push me, Nana left me alone for awhile and told me that dinner would soon be ready.

Right as soon as she left, my phone made it’s text tone. I reached out for it and it read out.

COME TO HYDE PARK IMMEDIATELY. NO EXCEPTIONS!

Constantine.  I looked out towards my window and saw the branch that always hung right beside it. I knew I’d never make it pass Nana by going through the front or back door, so my best bet was taking the window. I ran up to it and opened it up and looked back to make sure that she wasn’t coming back up.

Then as carefully as I could, I got onto the branch of the tree and crawled to where the branch was the sturdiest.  I looked down and it didn’t seem like that much of a high jump.  So I held onto the branch and dangled there for a brief moment before exhaling out.

“Okay. One….two…..three.” I let go and landed on the ground before quickly racing towards the shed to grab my bike.  Once I had it, I pedaled to the park.

When I got to the park, I stopped right by the lake and stood underneath the lamp post.  It was maybe a minute later when the light suddenly started to flicker before going off. Soon the rest of the lights began to flicker before they too went off.

“You didn’t listen to me at all, did you love?” I turned and there coming right up behind me was John Constantine. “One thing. I ask one thing of you and you couldn’t even do that. Why didn’t you keep that salt necklace on like I told you?”

“It’s not like I had any choice. My PE teacher saw it and she forced me to take it off while we did our mile and a half run. She even pocketed it in her own pockets and refused to give it back till I finished the run. That’s when……”

“Brian possessed that blasted crow just so your granddad could talk to you. And then you go off and tell him the truth, didn’t you?”

“Again not my choice. He forced it out of me. I didn’t want him to think I had just abandoned them. Forgotten them! You know my life was perfect till you came along and had to fuck it all up!” I snapped at him.

“Oh believe me love, if you think I’m fucked up. Then you’re really not gonna be happy about what else is coming. Because of your reckless confession, now he’ll be after you.”

“If you mean my granddad that’s fine! At least now he knows his family hasn’t abandoned him!”

“I wasn’t referring to him.” He said grimly.  Wait what? What was he meaning?

“Then what—”

“I’ll explain later. For now because of your big mouth, I’m gonna need to take you somewhere safe. Follow me.” He turned around and walked onward.  I stayed in my spot thinking what could he be talking about? “Oi love stop your gawking and let’s get a move on! You’re exposed out here so let’s go!”

I followed behind him taking my bike with me as I kept thinking just what exactly could he be mean by Him.  If it wasn’t my granddad I needed to worry about, then who?

*3rd Person POV*

Veronica was just finishing setting up the table for supper. She took her spinach casserole out of the oven and set it on the table and called up to (Y/n).

“(Y/n) dear. Dinner time!” when she didn’t get a response she looked up from the table and took off her oven mits. “(Y/n)?” she walked up the stairs.  Unaware that a hand print came visible along the kitchen window.

Veronica came to (Y/n)’s room and when she looked inside and didn’t see her granddaughter there, she began to panic.

“(Y/n)? Where are you?” she looked in her closet hoping to find her hiding in there. “Don’t play around now love nana’s getting scared!” she quickly ran towards her son’s room to see if she had gone in there.  She looked and looked but there was no sign of her granddaughter anywhere.  “I love you so much don’t do this! (Y/n)!”

She came back downstairs and suddenly noticed that the house had grown colder.  She thought maybe it had to do with the thermostat so grabbing her glasses she went over to the thing but saw that it was still at the normal temp. that her son always kept it on.

So……why was it growing colder and colder with each second?

As she could see her breath visibly come out with each exhale, a haunting, whispery like moan echoed through the house.  Then she heard her name being called out.

“Veronica.” Panicked Veronica quickly went back up the stairs towards her room and quickly shut the door and locked it.  She huddled against the corner of her room holding her Catholic cross necklace as she proceeded to plead the Lord’s prayer.  

All the while her door suddenly started to frost over and started to bang and rattle, like someone was trying to break into her room.

“Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from……” as she continued with the Lord’s prayer only to have her door suddenly come down. And floating right there, she let out a horrified scream as she saw standing right before her very eyes.

The ghost of her dead husband.  Beneath him a trail of black blood followed him as she slowly walked towards her extending his arm out to her.  Groaning and moaning her name with agony.

Terrified Veronica let out a horrified scream as she tried to pray to God for protection.

“DELIVER US!” she cried out.

“Veronica……” She continued to scream in terror as she clenched her hand over her heart. “Help…..me…..” John pleaded as his mouth dropped in a haunting manner as Veronica finished.

“FROM….EVIL!!!” As she leaned her head against the wall all she could do was gasp and cry out in fear.

Coming in from another long shift at work, Robert came into the house and felt the coldness of it.  But what frightened him was the fact he could hear his mother’s panicked screams from upstairs.  He immediately dropped his stuff and raced up the stairs exclaiming.

“MUM!! MUM I’M COMING!!! HOLD ON!!” When he finally came into her room, the only thing he saw was his mum leaning against the corner, her face contorted into fear, tear stains on her face and she was clenching her heart in fear. “Mum! Mum are you okay what happened?”

She couldn’t speak.  All that came out of her were gasps and whimpers of fear.  Fearing she was having a heart attack, Robert phoned the ambulance.  

Within minutes, they loaded her up and quickly took her to the hospital with Robert holding her hand trying to comfort his mum who was still in hysterics.  He quickly pulled out his phone and dialed his daughter’s number.

*My POV*

Constantine had taken me to a safe house (to me it looked more like a bunker).  All around there were books about spells, demons, every creature imaginable.  Dusty tables with ingredients that you would find only in a voodoo shop.

“What is this place?”

“My own personal safe house. You were here before. Just down in the basement. Here no ghosts or demons can even get a mile from this place. Now then, let’s start off with—” my phone suddenly rang and he glared at me.

“Sorry it’s not like this is a movie theater.” I took my phone out and saw that it was my dad. Oh bugger! I internally groaned as I slid the answer button and I said slowly.

“Hey dad.”

‘First I’m not even gonna ask where you are. All I want you to do right now is get to London hospital as fast as you can.’

“What? What do you mean dad is everything okay?” before he could answer, I heard Nana Ronnie’s panicked voice gasp out.

‘My John! My John was a horrifying black-eyed demon!’ my eyes grew wide.

‘Just get to the hospital and I’ll meet you in the lobby. Your……Your nana’s had an accident.’ I was frozen in my spot.

“It can’t be.” I whispered.

‘(Y/n)? Did you hear what I said?’

“Yeah. Yeah dad I’ll be there soon.” I hung up the phone and Constantine looked at me with sympathy in his eyes. “Nana saw granddad. He scared her so badly that she’s on her way to the hospital.” He rubbed his hand over his face as he sighed heavily.

“I’m sorry love. I really am.”

“This is all my fault.”

“Well…….” I glared up at him telling him to not bullshit me.

“Don’t suddenly change your statement now. You’ve told me that something like this could happen. I should never have gone up to that farm in the first place. If I hadn’t nana wouldn’t be dying.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do! You should’ve heard her Constantine. She—she sounds like she could die from shock.”

“I hate to bring this up now love but—you do know what has to be done now right?” tears slipped down my face and I asked him.

“Promise me that they won’t suffer.”

“Passing on for a ghost is like going to sleep for us. I promise they won’t feel a thing. I’ll have a cabbie take you to the hospital to see your Nan and father. And hey,” he came up to me and placed his hand on my shoulder, “You’re doing the right thing. The spirits of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon don’t belong here on Earth anymore. They’ve suffered enough being restless spirits. I’ll let you know when it’s done.”

He then left the bunker without another word.  Just like he promised within 10 minutes a cab was waiting for me outside and the cabbie drove me to the hospital.

Once I got there, I saw my dad sitting anxiously on one of the chairs in the waiting room.  When he saw me, he came up to me and I looked up at him with eyes full of tears.  We didn’t say a word till I suddenly embraced him and I wept into his chest, pleading for forgiveness.

My dad wrapped his arms around me and stroked down my hair trying to comfort me.  Together the two of us sat there and waited until a doctor would come and tell us nana’s update.

*3rd Person POV*

As the night grew darker, John Constantine arrived at Rockfield farm studios to finally put an end to the restless spirits of Queen.

“Alright, first to send these guys onward. Then focus on the real threat.” He grabbed some essence candles, a container of salt, his lighter, and an old iron candelabra shaft. He walked towards the barn with his bag of ghost equipment and he said as he stood right out the house. “Time to finally have some fun.”

He walked up the steps of the porch and opened up the wooden door of the living quarters.  As it opened, it made its famed creaking sound and Constantine slowly walked inside.

“Alright where are you yah hard rocker ghosts?” he muttered.

‘You want us John Constantine? You’ve got us!’ soon a swarm of starlings suddenly flew out from the fireplace and burst through the windows. Frantically making their chirps and calls as they swarmed practically the entire house.  Knocking over every antiques scattered throughout the house, damaging the curtains, and most of all trying to get a stir out of Constantine.

Constantine swatted the birds away with the candelabra shaft but it didn’t deter them away. Then as quick as they came, they soon vanished and the only thing standing there was him and Brian May’s ghost.

“I should’ve known you were the one behind the animal’s odd behaviors. I forget you also had an interest in animals, right?” Brian’s snide smile was cold as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Call it a side hobby. And I don’t control them. I share their vision to see beyond the reaches of the farm.” Constantine nodded snidely and sarcastically stated.

“How sweet of you.”

“Now tell us this,” Roger’s voice soon spoke up.  Roger came out from the raging fireplace and continued, “How is it that when our sweet, loving (Y/n) suddenly stops coming around, it’s your ugly mug that we have to keep seeing snooping about the farm grounds?”

“And more importantly, what did you do with our beloved darling?!” Freddie’s voice snarled as he came up behind Constantine.

“Look gents if you really think I harmed her in any way you’re poorly mistaken. I just gave her some strict warnings to stay away from here less her and her family be in danger. Now enough gab, and let’s get down to work.”

“What kind of trouble?” Deacy’s voice soon spoke up.  Coming out from the shadows was John Deacon’s spirit.

“Ahh, the grandfather. The guest of honor at last has arrived.”

“Enough talk, what did you mean trouble?!” Deacy demanded.

“Nothing you need concern yourself about. I’ll handle it from here, for now you lot can just move on after I—” suddenly Constantine was pushed up against the wall.  The iron candelabra was tossed out of his hand and soon Deacy stood face to face with Constantine.

“Tell. Me. What’s. After. My. Family?” Constantine sighed heavily.

“Not a what. A who. A demon has been eyeing your granddaughter ever since she met you lot.”

“A demon?” questioned Roger.

“Yes. Beelzebub. One of the high keepers of Hell.”

“What does he want with our (Y/n)?” demanded Freddie.

“Apparently he’s pissed at not only the fact that the living is conspiring with the dead. But that it’s family related. Having future generations meet face to face if one is dead and the other living is strictly forbidden according to Hell and Heaven’s laws. As soon as I found out that she was being targeted by Beelzebub, I’ve tried to send her warnings about it to stay away from here.”

“Those dreams she’s been having. You were behind them all along?” Freddie said.

“Yes. But apparently she still kept coming. Mostly because of you John Deacon. Then I got a message from one of Beelzebub’s lackies a week before I came in contact with (Y/n).

“More like kidnapped!” Brian hissed.  Constantine rolled his eyes and continued.

“Kidnapped, met with her, same thing. The point is, he told me that Beelzebub was not only coming for her, but for the rest of her family too. And he’s already managed to trick your living wife into seeing what you’ve become.”

“He’s hurt Veronica!?” Deacy raged out as the house began to shake.

“Deacy, Deacy dear calm down.” Freddie tried to soothe.

“Not hurt. But he sure as hell gave your wife a hell of a scare. And if I don’t stop him now, he’ll hurt (Y/n) as well as her father.”

“Robert.” Deacy whispered.  Constantine nodded.

“So because of her interacting with us, we’ve marked her for dead?” Roger asked.

“Not if we can stop Beelzebub first my darlings.” Freddie said.

“How Fred? We can’t leave the farm grounds. We tried to when we first became ghosts it’s impossible to leave!” Brian said.

“You guys won’t be going.” Deacy said.

Everyone looked at the young bass player’s spirit.  His friends and brothers looked at him like he was talking crazy.

“Deacy you’re not suggesting…..”

“I am Brian. The only one going is me.”

“Absolutely not dear I positively forbid it! I forbid you going alone!” Freddie said as he floated right in front of Deacy.

“You can’t suede me Fred. Not this time.”

“Deacy I know—”

“No Brian you don’t know what I’m going through!” Deacy snapped.

“Deaks she’s our family too. We love her just as much as you do. If she’s in danger then let us help you.” Roger said.

“No Roger. I’ve already risked my living family’s lives, I don’t want to risk you guys too.” Deacy then turned to Constantine and he said in a firm tone, “Do you know a way a ghost can leave his burial prison?”

“There might be a spell.” Constantine shrugged nonchalantly.

“Perform it then.”

“Sorry mate can’t do that. See I only came here for one purpose and one purpose only. And that was to send you and your friends to the great beyond. If you lot don’t go then you put yourselves at even greater risk of going straight to the looney bin of ghosting.” Constantine then felt Deacy’s hand at his throat, slowly squeezing it and he was slowly being raised up till he was almost at the ceiling.

“And if you don’t brew up something that’ll allow me to save my family, I’ll reach into the deepest parts of your brain and pull out each painful memory one by one forcing you to feel exactly how I’ve suffered and will suffer if anything happens to my family.”

“Alright! Alright you win!” Deacy released his grip and Constantine was dropped to the floor. He rubbed his throat and let out a few coughs. “Bloody hell now I see where your granddaughter gets her stubbornness from.”

“Enough talk. What is it you need to brew this spell up?” Deacy ordered.

“Nothing to exotic. Just the skull of an owl, feather of a crow, fur of a black cat, a few bluebells, and a dash of paprika.”

“We can manage that. Roger you know where the paprika is, Brian you can get the bird stuff, and I know where to find Midnight.” Freddie said.  The three ghosts all left the living room leaving the two Johns in the room.

“A word of warning for you John Deacon, your powers might not be as strong as they are here on the farm. Also you’ll be prone to every ghost weakness in the book. Iron especially.”

“I don’t care. All I want is for my family to be safe, and for Beelzebub to go back to hell where he belongs. He picked the wrong family to target.”

“Family man till the end. That’s either very admirable or very stupid of you.” when the guys got back with the ingredients, Constantine grabbed his bag and brought out the gauntlet he was going to use to send the guys away, and poured the ingredients in.

“Deacy are you sure you should go at this alone?” Freddie asked worriedly.

“It has to be me Fred. If Beelzebub wanted to get a message out to me, he should’ve had the balls to come here himself. Not bring (Y/n), Veronica or Robert into this mess.”

“Alright Deacon, it’s ready. Just stand right over there.” Constantine said as he pointed to the center of the room.  Deacy floated to where Constantine wanted him.  As he poured out the sand mixed with the ingredients he needed, Constantine began to chant in ancient tongues.  He circled around John pouring the sand out till it formed a circle.

He stood in front of him and held his hands downward to the ground.  The sand suddenly sparked into a ring of fire as Constantine’s chanting grew louder and faster.  Freddie, Brian and Roger stood there in shock at seeing their youngest brother and band member suddenly in a ring of fire that seem to spin faster and faster as it rose over John’s entire body.

At one final command, the fire disappeared and John’s spirit was gone.

“Where did he go?” asked Freddie.

“He’s been sent to the heart of London. But finding his family is all up to him now.” Constantine explained.

The three ghosts turned to look at each other worriedly and hoped that their friend would be okay.

[lynelovespopculture]

THE CHILLING ADVENTURES OF ZELDA CHAPTER 19-SALEM FAUSTUS MUST RESCUE HIS DAUGHTER FROM WHERE NO WITCH SHOULD GO.

Zelda didn’t believe what she just heard. She walked across the room so she could read the text herself. She read it twice and still shook her head. “No, I don’t believe it. Our Cordelia just can’t be on her way to Salem. She just can’t be!”

Jake, who wasn’t exactly in the loop, gasped. “You can’t mean that Cordelia is on her way to Salem, that Salem, THE Salem?!”

“Apparently so,” Ambrose answered him.

Faustus, meanwhile, checked his watch and walked quickly to the front hall where everyone followed him.

“Where are you going, Uncle Faustus,” Ambrose called out.

“It’s 8:30 now and I know that the bus should have left at 5:30. Despite that 3-hour head start, I going to see if I can catch it before they reach Salem.”

“I’m going with you.” Zelda reached for her coat but Faustus stopped her.

“No, dearest.” Faustus shook his head. “I understand completely why you want to come along, but if worse comes to worst and I have to go all the way to Salem, I won’t be able to explain your presence. It’s my class on that trip. The only reason I’m not with them right now is that I told them I was sick.” Zelda looked upset and Faustus sought to comfort her with his next statement. “Our girl is very clever. She might get away and come home on her own so someone needs to be here.”

Zelda was still upset but managed to put on a brave face. “Faustus, your trip will go by faster if you don’t have to stop much. I could pack you some sandwiches if you want.”

“Excellent idea, my love.”

10 minutes later, the car was packed and Faustus was ready to go. Jake and Ambrose hung back to allow Zelda and Faustus a private goodbye.

“Do you have everything?” Zelda asked.

“I think so.”

“Call me as soon as you find Cordelia. I don’t care where you are.” Faustus nodded and Zelda sighed and threw her arms around her husband. “And for Hecate’s sake, Faustus,” Zelda whispered into his neck. “Please, please be careful. I simply wouldn’t know what I would do if anything ever happened to you or Cordelia.”

“Shhh, hush my love, the only thing that going to happen is mine and Cordelia’s safe return. Any other outcome is unacceptable.” He then kissed her goodbye. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Zelda returned “Bring home our girl.”

Faustus nodded, kissed her again before he got into the car, and drove off. Even before Faustus’s car drove out of sight, Zelda could feel Ambrose’s arm around her shoulders.

“Don’t worry, Aunt Z, if anyone up to this task, it’s uncle Faustus.”

“Absolutely,” Jake agreed. “They’ll be back before you know it.”

The 7-hour bus trip flew by. From the very back, Cordelia watched the other students filed off the bus. Cordelia took a deep breath and got up and tried to get off the bus. However, Mrs. Robinson blocked her.

“Not yet, Cordelia. They’re not ready for you.”

“Ready for me?”

Nina didn’t respond but when Cordelia was allowed to leave the bus, Nina was right by her side. Cordelia noticed that the rest of the class had formed a half-circle. Then, a tall, scary man dressed in a black robe walked out of the shadows and stopped right in front of Cordelia. “Is this the child, then?”

Nina nodded. “It is, your honor.”

Your honor? Cordelia looked from 1 adult to the other.

The man in black pointed at Cordelia. “Has she been charged yet?”

“No, your honor. We thought it best to get her down here and then charge her.”

Charge me? The horror finally dawned on Cordelia. This was no field trip, this was a witch trial. HER witch trial!

Meanwhile, the man in black continued. “What is the child’s name?”

“Cordelia Spellman.” Nina answered.

The man in black arched his eyebrow. “Really? SPELLman? And the name Cordelia hasn’t been in fashion for at least an century. It’s like she’s not even trying to hide it.” For the 1st time, the man in black spoke to Cordelia directly. “So, what do you say, girl? Do you deny it? Do you deny that you’re a witch?”

Cordelia stood tall. “Of course, I deny it. Everyone knows that witches don’t really exist.”

“Is that right, girlie? Let see if you say that after you see this!” He grabbed Cordelia roughly by the arm and guided her between 2 old houses.

“Hey!”

The man in black let go of Cordelia after giving her a little shove. Cordelia looked up and was in shock. There they were; all in a row, bound and gagged, all standing on barrels with nooses around their necks. Her entire family, Faustus, Zelda, Jake, LJ, Prudence, Ambrose, Sabrina, Hilda, and even Dr. C.

Without a 2nd thought, Cordelia turned to the man in black. “Okay, you got me. I am a witch. But I’m the only 1. My family didn’t even know, they’re completely innocent. Do whatever you want to me but let them go!”

“Bull!” The man in black declared. “Everyone knows that magic goes through the bloodline so if you're a witch, so is your family.”

“But I’m adopted!” Cordelia stressed. It was the 1st thing she could think of.

“Then why do you look exactly like your mother? You’re lying!” The man in black turned to the men behind the barrels. “Hang them!” He ordered.

“NO!” Cordelia screamed but the man in black held her as the barrels were kicked and the Spellmans were hanged.

“And as for you,” The man in black stared hatefully down at Cordelia. “You’re a witch by your own admission. Your punishment will be to burn at the stake.”

Cordelia didn’t, couldn’t say anything. Her entire family was just murdered for just being born witches. She choked back tears as she was tied to the stake.

“Daughter, would you like to do the honors?” The man in black asked.

“I would love to.”

Suddenly, Cordelia was face to face with Sara, who had a torch in her hand.

“I knew you were trouble since the 1st day I saw you!”

Sara only smiled. “Goodbye, witch. Thanks for the friends.” Sara lit the pyre and Cordelia watched the orange flames crack, flickering, and then it jumped? When the fire jumped for the 2nd time, Cordelia felt her body jump with it.

The next thing Cordelia knew, her eyes opened and she realized she was still on the bus. As the other students were laughing and talking, some about the recent speedbump they just passed, Cordelia sat up. Her hand on her chest, willing her heartbeat to go back to normal. Cordelia looked up at the sound of loud laughter. She grew sad when she realized it was Sara and the triplets. Cordelia frowned; she was so happy and excited to get the text this morning. She practically ran all the way to the schoolyard. When she discovered that they were already on the bus, Cordelia thought nothing of going on the bus. Yet the more she talked, the more Cordelia saw the triplets’ faces grew blanker and blanker. They had no idea what she was talking about! Cordelia’s heart sank yet she knew she wasn’t crazy. She knew that the text came from Erin’s phone. Cordelia suspected that Sara may have stolen the phone and sent the message herself to make Cordelia look foolish. Cordelia turned to get off the bus when Mrs. Robinson stopped her. Mrs. Robinson then showed her the paper and the name on it. Cordelia knew it was faked, (it must be!) There was no one there to save her. Cordelia’s heart fell into her shoes when she realized the bus to Salem was moving and she was still on it. With no other choice, Cordelia sat in the very back, which on a deluxe bus was like a padded bench with seat belts, and tried to control her breathing, just like she was trying to do now.

“Are you okay, Cordelia?” asked a classmate who sat nearby.

“I’m fine, Anne.” Cordelia lied. She was anything but fine! It was actual life and death if someone discovered her secret. As she sat up and looked around the bus, she envied the happy carefree smiles of her peers. Half of Cordelia just wanted the earth to open up and swallow her whole. The other half of her just wanted to stand up and scream. This entire journey was billed as an educational trip but Cordelia couldn’t understand what, if anything, could be ‘educational’ about a town infamous for killing witches, her kind, her people. For Cordelia, this was just as cruel as taking a person of the Jewish faith to tour a WW II death camp. Cordelia sighed as she quickly wiped a tear away. She had already decided that the only way to survive this weekend was to stay down and keep quiet. Hoping to distract herself, Cordelia took out her phone.

“Aw, man!” Cordelia groaned as she read the new message. Cordelia decided earlier not to involve her family. After all, nothing good could come from bringing even more witches to Salem. Despite this, by around 8:30, in a fit of panic, Cordelia texted her father. The instant she hit send, she regretted it. The only thing she could do now was hoping against hope that Faustus didn’t get the message. Now she knew; not only did her father get the message, but he also sent a reply.

Dear Cody,

Stay clam. I’m coming to get you as soon as can. I love you. Dad.

With a defeated sigh, Cordelia let her phone drop into her lap and rested her forehead against the window. She was already stressed as hades and they weren’t even there yet! When Cordelia noticed the sun was beaming down on her, she reached for the golden crescent moon at her neck. “Father sun, mother moon, make time fly. Make this weekend end soon.” She whispered.

Faustus didn’t understand. It was only 2 days ago that Cordelia came home crying at the mere thought of going to Salem, convinced she would die. Now she was on a bus going there? It just didn’t make any sense. Faustus knew how important Cordelia’s friends were to her but still, he just couldn’t imagine his strong-willed daughter being so desperate to win her friends’ favor that she would be talked into taking the trip. Further proof of this was Cordelia’s own text message. The message wasn’t a confessional of a kid who got carried away. It was more like a cry for help. It actually contained the phase S.O.S, which had to be a plea for help. Even if Cordelia had gone to Salem willingly, it shouldn’t have been allowed by her teachers. Even though he had always planned to claim illness and pull out at the last second, as the 7th-grade teacher, Faustus was preparing for this trip all week. Therefore, he knew that every student needed a permission slip signed by a parent or guardian to even go on the trip. Now he knew that Zelda would never sign anything that would put their daughter anywhere near Salem and Hecate knows he didn’t sign a permission slip so Cordelia should have never been able to leave with the others. She should have been kicked off that bus the moment a teacher saw her. Every time Faustus thought of his sweet, youngest child alone in that witch-hating town make Faustus pressed his foot hard on the gas pedal. He was driving on the highway, just about to enter yet another town, when something odd happened. The bottom left side of the car bounced and then dragged. The sudden movement startled Faustus so he took his eyes off the road for just a second to see what was wrong in the back. When he turned his attention back to the road, he saw a cat lying in the middle of the laneway. On instinct, Faustus turned to miss the cat and went up onto a curb. As soon as Faustus collected himself, he got out of the car. He slammed the door, angry at what he saw. The rear left tire had a big nail in it and was still leaking air. The front tire was busted up from hitting the curb.

“Damn!” Faustus swore. So much for catching up to the bus before it got to Salem. Unless…Faustus knelt by the rear tire, raised his hand, and was about to say a spell when-

“Hi there, fellow. Do ya need some help?”

Faustus looked up and saw a kind, elderly man with a tow truck right behind him. Faustus sighed, now he felt stuck. Yes, it would undoubtedly be faster to fix the car by magic, Faustus couldn’t use magic in front of a witness nor could he deny that he was in trouble. So he greeted the man, who was named Gus and it turned out that Gus owned an auto shop in the city. So Gus hooked Faustus’s car up to his truck and they drove to the shop. When they got there, Gus left Faustus in the lobby. 10 minutes later, Gus returned, frowning.

“I’m sorry, friend, but I just found a note from my partner and he had to go tend to an emergency so I’m the only 1 to look after the shop. Plus, I was just in the back, and I swear this never happens, but we seem to out of tires. So, I’m afraid you’re stuck here for a while.”

Faustus sighed. He knew he should have used magic! “Thank you for the ride into town.” He told Gus. Faustus began to walk around the waiting room as Gus went back to work. In the seating area, among the magazines, Faustus found a town map.

“Hey, do you have a bathroom here?”

“Yeah. 1st door on the left.” Gus answered.

“Thank you.” Faustus was pleased to discover that it was a private, single-person bathroom. After locking the door, Faustus unfolded the map and studied it until he found that there was A Walmart supercenter in this town. Astral projecting to a place you never been before was always risky, but desperate times called for desperate measures. He laid the map on the floor and then he laid beside the map. Faustus closed his eyes and slowed his breathing. It worked; for when Faustus opened his eyes again, he was right in front of the store. After thanking Hecate, Faustus entered the store. It was big and crowded so Faustus knew he had to hurry. Faustus made quick work of finding the auto department and selecting the correct tires. The trouble, as Faustus soon learned, was upfront. There was only 1 check-out station open and a very long lineup. Faustus stood in line, carrying a tire in each hand when he saw the 1st of those hateful birds in the window.

Oh no! Come on, come on, come on! Faustus silently willed the line to get a move on already.

Soon after, came another bird and another. By the time there were 4, Faustus realized his nose was bleeding. When 6 birds were all in a row, Faustus’s entire body was shaking and his head felt ready to explode. He could hold on no more. Sighing, Faustus dropped the tires and closed his eyes, only to return to his body on the bathroom floor. Faustus sat up and hit the titles with his palms. “Damn it!” He had to find another way to fix his car and get to his daughter and soon!

After all the stories about how all the mortals tortured and killed them, Cordelia wondered if any of the Salem witches ever simply died from boredom. If so, Cordelia may have found their descendent. It was late afternoon and the class was listening to a lecture in an old town hall. The only thing that Cordelia found remotely interesting about this guy was he has been talking for over 2 hours and had still to get a single fact right. If this so ‘witch expect’ attended the academy, Cordelia felt certain that he would easily fail 1st-year witch history. Cordelia sighed and looked out the window, only to see a graveyard, because, of course, there was a graveyard right there! Maybe it was because she was a real witch, but ever since she had arrived in Salem, Cordelia has been experienced odd things. Like wherever she went, Cordelia heard noises, like moaning and weeping, possibly from the murdered witches. Even though the Salem roads were paved, Cordelia could swear she heard splashing, as if she was walking on blood. Cordelia shook her head and turned the other way. Cordelia managed to lock eyes with Erin, and they smiled at each other. The bus had arrived in Salem at 12:30. So the first thing the class did was have lunch at a restaurant called The Witch’s Brew. (Salem got absolutely zero points for subtly.) Cordelia had a bit of luck when she was seated next to Erin at lunch. She was finally got to explain about the text, how the girls wanted to talk to her before leaving for Salem and how it came from Erin’s phone. Erin then explained that she lost her phone 3 days ago. In fact, the last thing Erin did before she left the house this morning was to ask her mom to keep looking for it. Therefore, Erin couldn’t have written that text. Still, the 2 girls got to talking during the meal and at least, for now, there was peace between Cordelia and 1 of her friends. The lecture was finally over and the class started to file out. Cordelia sneaked away to the bathroom. She did this several times today, whenever she felt the need to regroup.

You’re doing great, girl. Cordelia thought to herself. All you have to do now is get through supper, another walking tour, and then it’s off to the motel for the night. Then just 3 more days, Cordelia sighed.

When Cordelia returned to the front, she noticed that everyone from before had gone and only 2 maids were talking to each other.

“I don’t know, Dru. We come in here every day and we listen to that blockhead, every single day, telling lie after lie. But it seems especially wrong to let him tell all this to schoolchildren. It just seems so irresponsible to me.”

Drusilla, the other maid, sighed. “Shelley, if I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times. It doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, he’s just another mortal spinning fairy tales for mortal children. It has nothing to with us.”

“Us?” Cordelia jumped into the conversation without thinking. “You’re not mortals either? Are you witches?”

The 2 maids were visually shocked. “Mortal? Who said mortal?” Drusilla asked. “I said more tell, yeah, more tell. That darn lecturer is always leaving without telling us.”

While Drusilla was trying, very unsuccessfully, to talk herself out of trouble, Shelley knocked over the bucket of water she was mopping with. “Oh, for Hades’s sake!”

Cordelia smiled. “For Hade’s sake? That sounds like a witch phase to me. Don’t worry, I’m a witch too.”

“Oh, great. Another little girl who thinks she’s a real witch.” Although Drusilla muttered this to herself, Cordelia still overheard her.

The Spellman witch raised her hand and the spilled water was back in the bucket. “Now do you believe me?” Cordelia smiled.

“You are a witch.” Shelley said with awe and then pointed to the door. “What about the class you came in with? Are they witches?”

“No.” Cordelia shook her head. “They’re all mortals, I’m the only one.”

Drusilla raised an eyebrow. “You’re here all alone? What are you? 11?”

“12, actually,” Cordelia answered. “Yes, I’m alone, but it’s a long and confusing story and I don’t know how to explain it. What about you 2? Do you live in Salem as well as working here?”

“Dru lives in town, but you wouldn’t find me here after dark.”

Drusilla rolled her eyes. “Oh, don’t be such a baby, Shelley. I figured I’m safer here than anywhere else, kind of how like a farmer will never search for a fox in a henhouse.”

Cord smiled, she wasn’t sure whether that statement was madness or brilliant.

“Don’t worry, kid.” Drusilla continued. “Your day trip must be almost over. You’ll be home before you know it.”

“Oh, it’s not a day trip. The class will be here until Monday.”

“You’re staying overnight? Here? At a motel? But what about the rebels?” Shelley seemed frightened.

“The rebels?” Cordelia asked. “Who or what are the rebels?”

“They’re a secret group of mortals who believe that witches never left Salem. It’s said that to this day, they go around at night, leaving fresh blood on the motel door of witches.”

“Don’t scare her with that old wives’ tales! I’ve lived here for almost ten years and that never happened to me.”

“That’s because you don’t use motels.”

Drusilla dismissed Shelley with a shake of her head and took something out of her pocket. “Pay no mind to Shelley, but I would feel better if you took this good luck charm.”

“I just can’t take it. What if I pay for it?” Cordelia suggested. “$5 bucks?”

They agreed and as they exchanged items, Drusilla caught sight of Cordelia’s wrist. “Oh my gosh! Have you always had that?”

“What? My birthmark? Yes, I’ve always it.”

Drusilla rubbed it a bit with her thumb. “It’s not coming off. If this is what I think it is, well, honey, you are not a witch, you are THE witch.”

“What does that mean?”

Before anyone could speak further, Mrs. Applegate, another teacher from Greendale middle school, appeared at the door. “Here you are, Cordelia. Come along, it’s time for dinner and it’s starting to rain.”

It was still raining when Faustus watched the sunset from 1 of the auto shop’s windows then he sighed and turned away. Faustus simply couldn’t believe he had wasted most of the day here. This partnership with the van had yet to show up and Gus was busy with a steady stream of customers. Despite being in the same place most of the day, Faustus tried desperately to make contact with his daughter with a series of calls, texts, and video messages, all to no avail. It wasn’t surprising. After all, the class must have arrived in Salem hours ago and the 1st rule of any field trip was to turn off any and all cell phones. As for Zelda, Faustus sighed again. Faustus was too ashamed to call Zelda. Yes, he promised to call his wife as soon as he found Cordelia, but not only had he yet to find their daughter, he had no new news of her whatsoever. Maybe because it was later, Faustus thought he should try to reach Cordelia again. He took a seat in the waiting room and once again, pulled out his phone.

“Hey, I know that girl,” said the guy next to and tapped where Cordelia was on the family picture that was Faustus’s screen.

Faustus turned to the stranger. “You do?”

“Sure. I’m a traveling salesman and today I had a business lunch in Salem. Anyway, I was just leaving the restaurant when I saw a bus with a pile of kids coming off it. I remember that girl because she was the last 1 off the bus and she didn’t seem at all happy to be there.”

Faustus nodded as he listening to the other man. Knowing that his daughter was in fact in Salem and had been since lunch lit a fire under Faustus. He stood up and walked with purpose.

“What are you doing?” asked the salesman.

“What I should have done hours ago,” Faustus murmured to himself. He borrowed a phone book from behind the front desk, looked up the listing for a local cab company, and called. He then took a taxi to Walmart and picked out the 2 correct tires in person. 20 minutes after he returned to the auto shop, a man came to see him.

“Mr. Spellman, your new tires are on and ready to go.”

“Great!”

“But I’d like to have a look at your muffler.”

“My muffler?” Aside from the tires, Faustus knew that his car was fine. This guy was just trying to play him for a sucker and Faustus simply didn’t have time for this.

Still, he just said, “Sure, do whatever you have to.”

The man went back into the garage. Faustus found a discreet place to hide, where he could see his car. He waited until someone touched his car before he whispered a spell in Latin. Then the car roared to life, seemly by itself.

Faustus then ran up to the man. “Wow, you seem to have the golden touch. My car is purring like a kitten now. I gave Gus my address so you can bill me. Thank you.” Faustus got into his car and drove off while the man was still trying to figure out what just happened.

Before long, Faustus was back on the highway. One advantage of driving at night was there was barely any traffic. However, as the hours passed and Faustus got closer to Salem, the rain came down harder and harder. So hard that the paved road, that Faustus could barely see, seemed like silver. Still, Faustus kept on driving because of heaven or high water, he was determined to find his daughter…tonight! The clock on the dash read 10:37 when he finally passed the Welcome to Salem sign. Now, all he had to do was find the motel with a bus in front of it. He found it on the 3rd block he went down. Faustus parked his car and ran out of the rain and out the roof of the motel. He ran into some of his students that were lingering outside. They seemed surprised to see him but unfortunately, none of them knew where Cordelia was. Faustus was making his way to the motel’s office. He rounded the corner and ran into Nina, who smiled at him.

“Fausty! You made it! I knew you would.”

“Mrs. Robinson, please tell me, where is my daughter?”

“Oh, she’s rooming with a couple of other girls.” Nina said casually but then she leaned in and whispered “As for me, I’m in room 13, alone and ready whenever you are.”

As Nina walked away, Faustus rolled his eyes and beyond him, he heard a door open, girlish laughter, then a firm closing of the door, and finally a splash, as if falling in a puddle. Faustus turned and indeed, it was a mud puddle. It took a second for the girl to moan and turn over.

“Cordelia?”

Her eyes widened. “Dad?” Cordelia got up and went up to her father. With a quivering lip, Cordelia let go of the tears that she had kept inside all day as she threw her arm around Faustus’s waist.

“I’m sorry, Dad” She nodded. “I really am. I got scared and panicked. I regretted that text message the moment I sent it. I never meant for you or any of the family to come here.”

Faustus gently put his hand under Cordelia’s chin and forced his daughter to look up at him. “Never mind that text.” Faustus gently said. “What are you doing here?”

Cordelia shook her head, furiously. “I don’t know, I really don’t! I meant it when I told Jake I would be back in 10 minutes. I only got on the bus because the triplets were already on it when I reached the schoolyard. It was a total bust because Erin didn’t even send me the message and they just kicked me out because, for the 1st time in my life, I lied to the triplets about believing in witches.”

“Cordy, why didn’t you get off the bus?”

“I tried, but Mrs. Robinson wouldn’t let me. I begged and begged. I even considered teleporting myself home but there were too many witnesses. Then she showed me my permission slip.”

Faustus was confused. “What do you mean? Permission slips are useless until they’re signed.”

“But it was signed, Dad,” Cordelia told him. “It had your signature.”

Mine? Faustus thought, dumbstruck. Then, Faustus thought about how everyone was rightly surprised to see him, except for Nina. Faustus took off his coat and wrapped it around Cordelia. “You’re wet, muddy and you must be cold. Go and wait for me in the office. I’ll be right there, I promise.”

As soon as Cordelia was out of sight, Faustus sighed, turned, and muttered to himself, “Nina Robinson, for your own sake, I better be wrong about this!”

Faustus walked up and knocked on the door of room 13.

“Come in.”

As soon as he opened the door, Faustus noticed that there were candles everywhere in the darkened room, even on the 2nd bed. On the 1st bed, lay Nina, on her stomach, posed as if she was in a playboy magazine. All she wore was a black leather corset, a matching thong, and heels. “I knew you would come. All I had to do is get you away from the school and your wife.”

Furious, Faustus entered the room and slammed the switch that turned on the big light.

“Where are they?” He demanded.

“Where is what?” Asked Nina.

“The permission slips. You have them with you I know it!” Faustus returned, quite fiercely.

Nina said nothing so Faustus looked around and saw a teacher’s leather briefcase leaning against the TV.

“Ah!” Faustus went to the case and searched through it. 1 brief look in the mirror told Faustus that Nina had crawled to the end of the bed and was now was dangerously close to him. “Madam, I advise you to keep your hands to yourself.”

Oh?” said Nina in a flirty manner. “And why is that?”

“Because anything of yours that touches me, you are not getting back!”

Nina frowned. “You’re in a mood.”

Faustus turned to face her. “Yes, I am. Especially since I just found these.” There was a piece of paper in each hand. “Here is a permission slip for Cordelia Spellman and it does indeed bear my signature but I don’t remember signing this but this might explain it.” Faustus raised his other hand. “This is a lined paper, with nothing but my name written on it, over and over again, front and back. Yet the strange thing is at the top of the front paper looks like your handwriting, but the bottom of the back page looks like my handwriting. You forged my name on this permission slip, didn’t you?”

Nina wore her smile proudly. “It worked, didn’t it? You’re here.”

“I came here to bring Cordelia home!” Faustus fumed. “It has nothing whatsoever to do with you! And where do you get your nerve? Kidnapping my daughter and bringing her here, of all places!”

“Kidnapping? Oh, don’t be so overdramatic. It’s only a field trip.”

“To a town infamous for its injustice and murder! It wasn’t your place. It’s up to me and Zelda to decide what our daughter is exposed to!”

“Did you really have to bring your wife up again?” Nina asked, looking bored. “If you ask me, I think that Zelda is too old for you.”

“Not that’s any of your business, but Zelda and I are the same age and you want to know what I think? I think you’re not worthy enough to speak Zelda’s name!”

“Oh, come on, next you’ll tell me that you’re not attracted to me.”

“I’m not and another thing- “Faustus’s voice was drowned out by the ringing of a phone. Faustus automatically looked to the bedside table, where Nina’s phone lay charging. However, Faustus soon realized that the ringing was closer to him. In fact, the phone was in the briefcase. Nina leaped off the bed, trying to get the phone first but because he was closer, Faustus got it.

The pink, sparkly girlish phone looked oddly familiar. “Hello?” Faustus answered. “Mrs. Warner?” Faustus listened for a moment. “Oh, I see. May I ask how long has Erin been looking for this phone? Oh, I see. Yes, I’ll bring it by soon.” He ended the call and then turned to Nina. “Oh, this is low, even for you.”

Nina gave an innocent shrug. “What?”

“You know perfectly well ‘what’” Faustus snapped. “This cell phone belongs to Erin Warner. According to her mother, Erin had been looking everywhere for this for the past 3 days. This makes it impossible for Erin to send that message to Cordelia about wanting to make up at 5 this morning. You did it, didn’t you? You knew the girls were fighting and you knew that Cordelia and I were not coming on this trip. You took advantage of my daughter’s desire to make up with her friends, and once you got her on that damn bus, you kept her there, knowing full well I would come to collect my daughter!”

“But Faustus, I did it for us.”

“There is no us, you lunatic!” Faustus spat. “And I’m getting so tired of rejecting you.”

Nina smiled. “Then don’t.” She tried to put her around Faustus’s neck but he fought her off.

“Enough!” Faustus growled. “I have had it with you! I’ve tried to reason with you, to avoid you, and to explain to you how important my family is to me. All that’s left is the ugly truth so here it is. I will NEVER sleep with you! You could be the last woman, scratch that, the last person on earth, and I would still never sleep with you. In fact, you sickened me because you remind me of who I used to be and who I swore I would never become again. The fact that you would steal a child’s phone makes you a disgrace to the entire teaching profession!” Faustus then ripped up the permission slip and let the pieces fall to the floor. “Consider this me taking back custody of my daughter.” Faustus turned and left without another word, slamming the door behind him. Faustus didn’t want Cordelia to see him angry so he took a moment on the motel’s tiny porch. That’s where he first saw the thunder and lighting in addition to the rain.

The Spellman house had been filling with family all day. As word got around about Faustus, Cordelia, and Salem, people came running. Prudence was first. She was worried when Zelda, who was never late, missed the morning assembly at the academy. Prudence was even more worried when she learned when Zelda wouldn’t be leaving the house today. Hilda learned everything when she called the mortuary. By the time late afternoon rolled around, all the family knew and Ambrose, Jake, Prudence, Hilda, Sabrina, and LJ were all at the house. After dinner, they were joined by Dr. C and the other 2 weird sisters. At first, the plan was simple, just keep Zelda busy and distracted until Faustus called then everything would calm down. But the later it got, the more worried everyone got. By 11, they had run out of topics of conversation and games to play. They all felt helpless as they just sat in the drawing-room and Zelda walked0 up and down the hallway for the million time. Zelda couldn’t sit down; the only reason she ate at all was due to Hilda’s pleading. Zelda refused to go 10 feet without a phone so she stayed on the main floor all day. Zelda had no idea what to do with her hands since her last cigarette was long gone. Zelda sighed when she checked her watch. It was getting so late. If there was still no word from either Faustus or Cordelia by dawn, Zelda had already decided to go to Salem herself but she hadn’t told the others because she didn’t want anyone to talk her out of it. Zelda’s head whipped around as the phone began to ring. She ran to the phone and picked it up.

“Hello, hello?” Zelda tensed as the family gathered around her.

“Zelda? Dearest?”

Zelda’s grip tightened on the phone and closed her eyes and cherishing her husband’s voice. “Faustus! Finally, how are you? Where are you? Have you found Cordelia yet?”

“I’m fine, my dearest,” Faustus assured Zelda. “It’s been an insanely long day but I’m finally in Salem and as for Cordelia” The line went silent for a second and then… “Hi, Mom!”

Zelda bit her lip to keep her tears of joy and relief in check. “Oh, Cordelia, my sweet, precious girl. How are you? Did anyone hurt you?”

“No. I’m fine, Mom. I’ve been with the class all day and no one suspected me at all, I promise. And I definitely feel safer now that Dad’s here with me. Mom, is LJ there?”

“Yes, she’s right here.” Zelda passed the phone to her stepdaughter.

“Hello? Cordy? What’s wrong?”

“LJ, I’m so sorry.”

LJ was confused. “Why are you apologizing to me?”

“Because tonight was the night you were supposed to bring your boyfriend to dinner to meet the family.”

LJ was touched. “The fact that you remember that after all, you had to deal with today proves that you are the sweetest little sister in the whole wide world. Peter can wait. What’s important now is to get you and Dad home safe and sound.”

The sisters chatted for a few minutes and then LJ gave the phone back to Zelda and after a few moments, Cordelia passed the phone back to Faustus.

“So, now that you’re located Cordelia, are you in your home now?” Zelda asked.

“Oh, not exactly dearest. I know that it was my idea to just grab Cordelia and then drive all through the night back to Greendale, but there’s a problem here. You see, there’s a raging storm here and it’s not safe to be on the road. I barely made it here.”

“Can’t you teleport?” Zelda suggested. “Surely you must know the way home.”

“I do, but people saw Cordy and I come in this motel room so we just can’t up and disappear.”

Zelda frowned. “I don’t like the idea of you and Cordelia spending the whole night in Salem.”

“Neither do I,” Faustus agreed, “but it could be a lot worse. You see, Mrs. Applegate was kind enough to give up her room so she will have to share with Mrs. Robinson.” Was it Zelda’s imagination or was there laughter in her husband’s voice? “Anyway,” Faustus continued, “this is a single room so Cordy and I will have to share the bed tonight. The storm is sure to be over by morning and then Cordy and I will be on our way. I can assure you, dearest, I won’t be in this town a moment more than I need to.”

Zelda sighed; she still didn’t like it, but she understood. “Please be careful, Faustus, and give Cordy a goodnight kiss for me. I love you.”

“We’ll be home before you know it. I love you too.”

Although she had taken her wet clothes off when she first got to the room, Cordelia was still cold after the phone call home, so she treated herself to a hot bath. Since she had no PJs, she put the white plush motel robe back on and double knotted it so she could wear it as a nightdress. Faustus then took a quick shower to wash off his road trip. When he stepped back into the main room, he found Cordelia standing before the window, the rain and the moon casting her face in a ghastly glow.

“You know; you were born on a night very much like this.”

Cordelia looked up at him. “Don’t you hear them, Dad?”

“Hear what?”

Cordelia frowned. “The moans pleads and cries of our people. Thousands and thousands of them, crying out in pain and for justice. I’ve been hearing them all day, ever since I got off the bus.”

Faustus heard nothing and thought it must be a divine child thing. “Come on honey, we have a long drive home tomorrow. We better get some sleep.”

As they made themselves comfortable in bed, Faustus noticed something he hadn’t before. “Cordy, why are shivering? Didn’t that bath warm you up?”

“Oh, am I shivering?” His daughter asked. “I’ve been doing it all day. I guess I don’t even notice it anymore.”

Faustus could help smiling to himself. As a 12-year-old witch who had in the company of mortals, doing a tour of Salem all day, Cordelia had every right to be afraid but she would never admit it. She was so strong, so proud, so like her mother. “You’re very brave.”

Cordelia rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. If I was so brave, I would have never caved and texted you that message.”

“Oh, will you stop! I’m glad you sent that message. I’m glad that I was able to track you down. Besides, the text doesn’t take away from the fact that you just spent an entire day learning about 1 of the darkest chapter in our people’s history.”

“Yep, that’s me. Cordelia the brave…and the friendless.” She muttered.

Faustus felt his face grow hot. This whole thing started because Cordelia wanted to make right with her friends. She must have been heartbroken to learn that her friends didn’t text her this morning. Damn you, Nina! Faustus thought and then said out loud, “Don’t worry Cordy. You’ll make up with the Warners soon, I know it.”

Faustus turned off the lamp and despite being quiet, neither Cordelia nor Faustus slept all night. Maybe they were overtired or overstressed by being 2 witches in Salem. It was dawn when exhaustion finally took Cordelia and she rolled over into her father’s arms. Faustus curled his long-limbed body around her protectively before kissing her forehead. “Don’t worry baby, Daddy’s got you.” He whispered before sleep claimed him too.

1 hour later, a scream woke them up. They jumped out of bed and open the door to see the class, teachers and all of the hotel staff were in front of them. Faustus looked at the door. “Is that paint? Or blood?”

“The rebels” Cordelia whispered, suddenly remembering what the maids told her. She looked around and froze. Her room wasn’t the only marked. There was also blood on the door of the room that the triplets shared with Sara.

[ansogs]

Warning. I’m going to go on a rant. I just realized...

Well, actually, I’ve been thinking on it for awhile.

But I’m going to stop responding to someone who has been, or what I thought has been, my friend since high school. (11 years)

I’m not one to hold grudges. I, myself, have made many mistakes.

But looking back, one, this girl slept with my ex boyfriend when I was with him back in 2010. I should have quit making eye contact with her after that. But, I had zero self esteem. And was a walking doormat. I forgot about it because the dude was trash anyway.

Two, she ONLY messages me when she wants something. Or to make plans and bail last minute. Recently, she messaged me about going to an amusement park. She said the week of June 14th. I said I’d love to go, and then I never heard back about that. She changed the subject of wanting me to make her something. (I’m somewhat crafty.) She does this often. She wants me to take pictures or make something, says she will pay me, then doesn’t.

Three, speaking of crafty. When she had her baby, I stayed up over 24 hours making her a gift basket. She had an emergency csection. I took a piece of wood and burned an image of a camera into it for her because she wanted to start a photography business. I made a self care kit for her. And I had some toys and an outfit for her son. It took over 5 hours to finish it all. I didn’t even get a thank you. And speaking of her baby, while she was pregnant, she barely said 3 words to me. I gave her a John Deere ride on toy for her son, and she tried selling it a week later.

And yes, there is more. Four. After she had her baby, she saw where my mom tagged me in an article about an art university. She KNEW how badly I wanted to be a mom and how my exhusband and I had tried for several years before and that it also didn’t seem like it was going to happen with my at the time boyfriend. She has the audacity to comment under the post “You can do anything if you put your mind to it. Just look at me. I wanted to be a mommy and now I am one.” I should have told her off then.

Oh, it gets better. Five. I get pregnant. I’m super excited. Happy tears. Emotions all over the place. I’m thinking, I can’t wait to tell her. She’s the only friend I have that still talks to me. Well, she needed a ride to the store. I put a sign in the back window that says “mom to be on board.” When I got to her house, I told her to look in the back window. She looks at it, storms up to the passenger side window, and says pretty damn hatefully “it’s not as easy as it looks.” And then proceeds to storm off into the house. She said she didn’t need a ride to the store anymore. The next day, she calls herself aunt and acts happy as if the day prior never happened. I didn’t even tell her when I had my son, because she was also still friends with my baby’s father who turned out to be a psychopath.

She’s also been jealous and never happy for anyone for the last year and a half because she lost custody of her child. But, I mean, if you neglect your child’s basic needs, and leave them with whoever to go sleep with people, give your snap benefits to a lazy dead beat father instead of nourishing your child, and talk on social media about how hungry you and your son are... I mean wtf did you expect?!

I liked someone as well, and I think she told him a lot of bs to make him not like me or make me seem like I only liked him as a friend because she didn’t want to see either of us thriving in a relationship.

Ugh. Idk what’s wrong with me to put up with her shit for so long.

Ok, rant over. 🙃

[k7l4d4]

Midnight Striga: Fairy Tail/Owl House Cross Fic Episode 3 Part 1

Hello all, here’s the first part of the third episode of Midnight Striga, a Fairy Tail/Owl House crossover fic! Everybody clap your hands!!

Luz’s head thunked against the table, heedless of King’s chuckles and Eda’s grimace.

“Aw, come on, kid.” Eda tried to console the embarrassed teen. “So some things slipped your mind after your big showdown. It’s not the end of the world!”

“I’m aware of that, Eda.” Luz’s muffled voice replied. As she lifted her head, she turned her tired gaze onto the Owl Lady. “But this is way more serious than me just spacing out.” Her serious look dropped away, replaced with a comical level of panic. “I can’t believe I dropped that Lacrima!! Who knows what kind of chaos that thing can cause!?”

“Easy, kid.” Eda raised her hands in a calming gesture, taken aback by how worried the kid was. She had never seen her get like this before. “What’s the big deal about that Lacrima thing anyway? I mean, I get that it boosts magical power and all, but aren’t you getting a little too bent out of shape over it?”

“BOOST MAGICAL-?!?” Luz started to shout, before taking a breath to calm down. “Lacrimas do WAY more than just boost magical power. Especially that one.” Her gaze turned morbid as she recalled that little chunk of crystal she had held, the power it represented.

Eda arched an eyebrow, puzzled. “Kid, I’m gonna need more than that.”

Luz sighed, but relented. “Okay, small history lesson, The Human Realm has magic, as you now know.” This got nods from Eda and King. “And with magic, comes monsters.” Another set of nods. “And among those monsters are those considered to be the pinnacle; Demons.” This brought the two up short. “I won’t get into the full story, but a while back, humanity crafted magic specifically designed to counter and battle inherently magical beings, of which Demons of our Realm very much qualify. To fight Demons in particular, Devil Slayer Magic was developed.”

Eda snorted, feeling uneasy. “Well, isn’t that a name.”

Luz cracked a grim smile. “It really is.” She grew serious. “But the magic itself is the real deal. Devil Slayer Magic, like all of the lethal arts, breaks down the inherent defenses of those it is meant to kill, and fundamentally weakens them as well. Anyone who wields the magic is essentially an Anti-Demon; the presence of a Devil Slayer actively weakens, and can even harm, Demons of all types and forms, making them easier to kill.”

Eda placed her chin in her hands, a dark light burning in her gaze, while King nervously sweated next to her. “I’m assuming the magic was made for a legitimate reason, so I’m not gonna say anything about the fact that it was created specifically to kill Demons, but what does this have to do with that Lacrima?”

Luz chuckled, an ugly sound. “I’m a little surprised you haven’t pieced it together yet. Lacrimas are crystalized magic, remember?”

Eda’s eyes widened, the implications hitting her, King openly whimpering beside her. “Now hold on kid, are you saying that that was a Devil Slayer Lacrima!?”

Luz snapped her fingers in Eda’s direction. “Bingo, right on the money.”

“So, what you’re saying is, there is a chunk of Demon Killing Magic loose in Bonesburough!?” Eda sounded a little panicked at the moment.

Luz shrugged. “Pretty much, yeah.”

“Well nothing we can do about that.” Eda said, all the urgency gone. Luz face planted the table in response.

Luz turned her head towards Eda. “How are you not worried!? I just said that an extremely dangerous form of magic was loose in the town!!”

“Yeah, but it’s been Four Days, kid.” Eda stated logically. “There is no way we’ll be able to track it after all this time.” Luz bit her lip, but didn’t argue, the Witch was right.

With a sigh, Luz sunk deeper into her chair, sullen. “Well, if we’re not gonna track down the Lacrima, what are we gonna do?”

Eda grinned. “Well, I’m gonna introduce you to one of the most intrinsic aspects of my business!” The way King went still at those words told Luz all she would need to know on the subject, as did Hooty’s surprisingly mocking laughter.

‘Still,’ Luz thought. ‘What’s the worst that Lacrima could’ve gotten up to in just four days?’

Unbeknownst to her, across Town, a young Demon crashed painfully against a wall, staring down a three-eyed Witch glaring at them hatefully. As they tried to crawl away, the Witch painfully stomped on their leg, eliciting a painful cracking sound. Seeing the Demon react, the Witch smirked, and dug her heel deeper into the limb.

“Boscha, cut it out!” The worried cry of her friend drew Boscha’s gaze from the Demon lying before her, the red fading from her eyes.

Walking over to her follower (Friend), Boscha casually asked. “Yeah Skar?”

Skara gave Boscha a reproachful look, much to the stunned disbelief of the rest of their clique. “I don’t know what’s been up with you since you lost that fight the other day,” All of the girls braced for Boscha’s retaliation to Skara’s comment, only to marvel as Boscha didn’t even blink at the reminder. Seeing as she wasn’t going to be beaten bloody, Skara continued. “But that’s no reason to start jumping every demon you meet in the streets!” Skara spread her arms wide, indicating that, yes, Boscha had indeed ruthlessly beat and left whimpering multiple demons, all lying in the street. Skara, feeling bold, got in close. “What’s up with you?”

“I need to get stronger, and they make good ways to test myself.” Boscha blandly responded, as if she was just talking about the weather. The fact that one of the demons she ‘tested herself’ against was lying on his back, struggling to breath from the damage done to his chest from her attacks didn’t even phase her. The sheer casualness of it chilled the group, unused to even this level of ruthlessness from their effective leader, at least not without some genuine spite and anger behind it. The sheer detachment from her emotions was jarring.

Skara shivered, lightly rubbing her arm. “W-well, let’s just get to class, okay? We’re gonna be late, you know?” With her piece said, Skara rapidly walked in the direction of their school, the rest of the clique following her. Boscha blinked, puzzled at their reactions. Was it something she said? Shrugging, Boscha slipped her hands in her pockets, strolling along after them, utterly oblivious to the death grip she held on the gem currently stashed in her pocket.

Kill...Demons...Kill...Every...Last...One

Back with Luz, she was currently staring at the sight of Eda, proudly standing before a massive, rotting slug corpse alongside the beach. Luz’s eye was twitching at the sight. This was… certainly something alright.

“Isn’t it glorious Luz?” Eda asked. Luz blinked, about to answer with a sarcastic quip, when it kicked in that Eda was serious. “These babies travel the Boiling Sea, growing larger, gorging on all they can, including valuable, resellable, junk from the Human Realm, before they eventually croak and wash up on these shores!!” She turned a beaming grin the Human’s way, clearly expecting her to be impressed. Luz was not impressed in the slightest.

Luz sighed, slowly dragging her hand down her face. “You dragged me out here to help you dissect and harvest this thing, didn’t you?”

“Got it in one, Kid!” Eda cheerfully admitted. “What can I say, you’re labor, you’re here, and we’ve got a lot of corpse to dismantle!”

With a groan of annoyance, Luz brought her hands together, a spell forming. “Light-Make: Workers.” she intoned. Shimmering into existence were two incredibly blank looking humanoids, who instantly set to work; the first grabbed the tools Eda had on hand and started going at the corpse of the trash slug, while the second plucked King out of the way, and started sorting the numerous goods and trash into piles. With a blank look, Luz turned to a dumbfounded Eda. “There, I officially eliminated two-thirds to three-quarters of your workload. If you need me, I’m gonna get a better look in town, maybe get a lead on the Lacrima. Peace!” With a backwards wave, Luz took off, while Eda marveled at the complexity of the spell before her.

“Dang, that kid really knows what she’s doing!” Eda mused. “These things are seriously sophisticated; I was never as in to the technical know-how for things like this as others, but even I can recognize the level of planning that went into designing these. And that kid just whips them up on the fly! HA!” Eda crowed, enjoying the pleasure of knowing she had gained access to something like this over anyone else on the Isles.

“So these things will follow any order?” King piped up, looking intrigued.

“Hmm… not ever order, but anything simple.” Eda stated after a moment of thought. “These things, from what I can tell, are meant to be simple labor; they can handle uncomplicated tasks well, but anything that needs real thinking is beyond them. They’ll keep going until they run out of magic, and any time they complete a task they’ll stand by to receive another.” Eda nodded to herself; she wasn’t kidding when she said these were good, any Abominationist worth their salt would sell their family’s entire wealth to spend even a minute studying one of these.

“So, what your saying is, we’ve got a pair of super-minions that’ll do all the boring work so we can kick back and relax!?” King demanded, ecstatic at the very thought.

As Eda opened her mouth to refute this, she paused, considering. As what had already occurred to King fully dawned on her, a wide, devious grin stretched itself across her face. The duo cheered, birds flying off in the distance at the volume.

Luz whistled along, carefully scanning her environment for anything out of the ordinary. As she wandered along, she idly noted how beautiful the place was, deadly wildlife and callous view of harm and death notwithstanding, and Luz could honestly say that, if things were different, she could easily see herself living here. Still, she had a mission, and absolutely nothing could distract-

“You can do it!”

Who the what now? Luz’s gaze turned to the source of the voice. Peering through the bushes, she witnessed the sight of a truly adorable Witchling giving herself a pep-talk. “You got this! It doesn’t matter if you do poorly in terms of grades. My parents are right, I’ll have better opportunities on this track.” As the girl kept cheering herself on, she accidentally stepped on a plant, yelping in distress as she noticed. “Oh, I’m sorry little friend!” With a hum, the girl quickly whipped up a spell that perked the damaged flower back to normal; Luz was impressed, the efficiency in that spell was something she hadn’t thought Witches on the Isles were actually capable of. As the girl celebrated, Luz spotted another girl coming along the path, the cart carrying her hauling a truly massive pot. As the new girl approached, she bumped into the first Witch’s own, much smaller cart, sending it sprawling across the ground. Luz frowned at the sight.

The new girl glanced down, slight surprise lighting behind her eyes as she tore them from her book. At first, Luz thought she would apologize; the next words out of her mouth killed any hope of that. “Oh, sorry Willow. I didn’t notice your cart. It was so small and pathetic I must have missed it, sort of like you actually.” Ordinarily, that kind of cruel callousness would’ve set Luz off to some degree, but the words lacked the genuine edge of malice that Luz often found in such statements.

“Amity.” The now-named Willow seemed to physically deflate. It was practically heartbreaking to see her look so small, so fast. “What do you want?”

“Oh my, can’t I check on a fellow classmate?” Amity said, a coy grin on her face. “I do hope you’ve got your Abomination ready for the presentation.” Abomination? Luz figured it must have been some aspect of the Isles’ magic she hadn’t seen yet. With a twirl of her finger, the kid named Amity called up a colossal humanoid composed of some purple-colored sludge and muck. With a hesitant twirl of her own finger, Willow called her own Abomination out of the much smaller pot beside her; it was pathetic, small, malformed, essentially nothing but a head. Every bit of Luz’s instincts and pride as a Construct Specialist cringed in pain at the sight of Willow’s Abomination.

Amity tisked at the sight. “Ooh, I don’t think that’s gonna cut it. Not like mine at any rate.” She gestured to her Abomination, which proceeded to march forward, stomping on Willow’s, and standing before the timid girl.

“You-Are-A-Star.” The thing gurgled out, apparently capable of VERY limited intellect. It then moved to slowly drag its finger across Willow’s forehead, leaving the image of a purple star behind.

“Oh, how sweet!” Amity cooed with faux-sincerity. “It’s just like mine.” She gestured to a gold spot on her uniform, some kind of badge, Luz guessed. “But smaller, and meaningless.” With that last bit said, she had her construct haul her onto her cart before returning it to its vessel. “See you in class, superstar.”

“‘See you in class, superstar.’” Willow spitefully mimicked. “Oh, I HATE it when Amity taunts me like that.” She growled, the ground shuddering. “I hate making Abominations.” The rumbling increased. “I hate getting bad grades!” Thorns started poking out from beneath her feet. “I CAN’T TAKE THIS ANY MORE!!!” With a scream of rage, eyes burning a vibrant green, colossal vines ripped out from the ground, lashing out in all directions. Before Luz could even blink, the vines whipped over to her hiding spot, hauling her into the air. While they were biting a bit into her skin, it was more irritating than harmful, other than the height she was being dangled from at any rate.

Deciding to cut this off before she reached a point of being in actual danger, Luz called out to the girl. “Hey, you mind letting me down!?”

As the girl’s still fiercely glowing eyes whipped over to her, Luz briefly contemplated the idea of having made a mistake, only to internally sigh in relief as the glow faded, embarrassed shock crawling across the Witchling’s face. “Oh my Titan, I am SO sorry for that!” She quickly withdrew the vines, smoothly lowering Luz to the ground, much to her admiring thanks. “I can’t believe I lost control like that. Oh! Where are my manners. My name’s-”

“Willow, I heard.” Luz chuckled. “Speaking of names, mine’s Luz.” With that said, she held out her hand, open for a shake.

[aegirward]

Quintilius Writing Thing

“I want you to remember your first real experience with failure.” The instructor paced around the circle of desks, his voice drifted down behind our shoulders, “This isn’t failure as a student or an adventurer. Or a squire or sword fighter. I want you to go far back to your childhood.” Quintilius bas Gervais moved his mouth to the side, thinking. Ink pooled into a large tear drop on the tip of his quill then fell down, staining the paper into a black blitzball sphere.  “Maybe it was the first time you rode a chocobo and it wouldn’t let you stay on the saddle. Or a time when you couldn’t tie your shoes even though your father showed you how to do it 99 times.” He stopped himself and held his hand up with a laugh. “I know some of you didn’t have fathers. Use whatever example works for you.” He continued pacing.  “How did it make you feel? What did you experience? What did you learn?” ---  Quintilius was five years old and he was only 11 months and three weeks younger than his brother Orcus, so they could take mathematics, science, and engineering lessons together with Magistar Cicero.  Cicero was an Elezen and from Dalmasca, because their father’s campaign at the moment was in Dalmasca. Squashing down resistancce cells or something. Quintilius just knew he had to stay down here in this awful desert because his mother was very fragile right now and when she was fragile, she liked to be near his father. Even if it meant living in a savage wasteland. So their instructor was Magistar Cicero and he had to teach them mathematics, science, and engineering. Apparently he was a genius. Even by Garlean standards. Which meant he was good enough to teach a pair of five year olds calculus.  Dalmascan crafters had to craft extra small desks for the two to sit in. The desks had to be inspected for incendiary devices when they were delivered. Because sometimes that happened. But otherwise they were pretty comfortable. They started their lessons every day with a stack of work sheets. And if they got an answer wrong, that was the topic of the days lecture. That and how stupid they were.  Quintilius wasn’t stupid. It was rare he got an answer on the worksheet wrong - math was just formula memorization and application. Sometimes Magistar Cicero tried to trick him. But he usually didn’t get those questions wrong either. He finished the stack of worksheets and dipped his quill deep into the ink well. He liked when all the ink sat on the tip and he could guess how many droplets it would make. Sometimes he was wrong. Usually he was right. “Nngh... damn it.” There was a cry to his left. Another quill tore against the paper. “...damn it!” A high voice burst into frustrated, snorting tears.  Orcus didn’t cry often. But when he did. It was ugly. Quintilius turned. “What’s wrong?” “It’s hard.” Large tears rolled down Orcus’ red face. “I don’t get it.”  The tear drops made three droplets on the paper. Which was one more droplet than Quintilius thought they would make.  “Damn it.” Orcus shoved the heel of his palm into his cheek then dragged it upwards to wipe away all the water.  Quintilius slid out of his desk and moved to his brothers. Right now, he was 1/4th of an ilm taller than Orcus. Three months ago, Orcus had been 1 and 3/4ths ilms taller. Their father liked to measure them and rank them. Maybe it was a sport to him? Like raising pugnax or chocobos. Sometimes you wanted the biggest ones.  And the others went to the factory. Orcus hunched over and held his hands under his desk and cried. And while he was doing that, Quintilius took his quill and began to fill in the answers. He was careful to show his work. Because you had to always show you work. Even if you knew the answer. “I’ll help.” He told Orcus. “Don’t cry.” “It’s hard.” Quintilius looked over his shoulder. Magistar Cicero was gone. He dropped the packets off and went to get coffee in the office. They were the only two people there. If Magistar Circero was six fulms and seven ilms tall and his leg length was four fulms and two ilms tall, then the stride of his step would be THIS MANY ilms. And if the coffee pot was THIS MANY fulms from the classroom door and seven minutes had already elapsed.... Quintilius filled out the packet, every page, and was back in his seat before Magistar Circero returned. Orcus had mostly calmed himself and stopped crying before Magistar Circero returned, though his shoulders were still shaking. Magistar Cicero had his coffee in one hand as he snatched up Orcus paper. Then he snatched up Quintilius paper. Magistar Cicero was on some big weapons project, because he was so smart for an Elezen. He was so smart, he didn’t even need to look at his answer key to grade their work.  Magistar Cicero looked at Quintilius paper first, because it was on top, and he sighed. He sighed and tossed it onto his desk. Then he looked at Cicero’s paper. He didn’t sigh. But he did look angry. “This isn’t your hand writing, bas Orcus.” The paper was thrown down on his brother’s desk. “Are you so stupid that you have to ask your little brother to do your warm up exercises?” “N..no...” Orcus’ eyes were so large that none of the tears under them could bubble up and fall out.  “Are you so stupid that you can’t do a five year olds work?” They were both five for another month, but that didn’t seem like the sort of thing the Magistar kept track of. “No!”  “These are hyperbolic functions! FIVE YEAR OLDS UNDERSTAND THIS!” The Magistar looked curious. He grabbed a new work sheet and slapped it on Orcus desk. “FIGURE IT OUT.”  Quintilius stared forward. He could hear his brother sniffling and he looked to see if he was crying. At that moment, Orcus was looking at him. But his eyes weren’t crying. His eyes looked hateful.  --- The next day, they were working on a new lesson. Magistar Cicero had explained the process then gave them a work sheet with twenty problems to solve using the new method.  Quintilius stared at his sheet. His eyes roamed back and forth. With this new process, he could see how this type of problem expanded and could be worked out. He figured out the answer for question one, two, and three just by glancing at them.  It was kind of fun applying the new method. But by question four (which he could also solve by looking now) and question five, six, seven, eight, nine, and ten being the same way, Quintilius just felt bored.  The only thing that kept him in a state of momentum was having to show his work. He sighed and dipped his pen into the inkwell. Twenty problems seemed gratuitous for this easy of an equation. Maybe the next method would be more interesting?  “Ngh... ngh...” Quintilius went still.  “...damn it...” Magistar Cicero already had his coffee, so he was walking in a circle around them. “You know this, bas Orcus, look at the bored.” He sighed.  “...I...ngh...” “Look at the bored. FOLLOW the formula.”  He could hear Orcus pen dig into the paper.  “What is this?” The Magistar leaned over Orcus. “You aren’t even following the order of operations. Where did you get THIS variable??” Quintilius chewed on his lip slowly. He dipped his pen back into the inkwell and began to scratch it on the paper. “...ngh...” He said. Magistar Cicero turned around and his eyebrows went up. “Are you done, bas Quintilius?” He went to grab a worksheet he prepared with some harder examples. “Then---” “No, it’s hard.” Quintilius looked up and he tried to make his expression look pleading. “...I don’t understand it, Magistar.”  The Magistar looked at the five year old, then he looked at Quintilius first set of flawless answers. Then back at the five year old. “Are you trying to play a game here, bas Quintilius?” “...n... no Magistar...” Quintilius stammered, feeling cold. The Magistar had never yelled at him before. “Are you bored? Are you trying to have fun?” The Elezen demanded. “Or did you just catch your brother’s STUPID? “Look here,” he jabbed a finger angrily between a pair of parenthesis. “when you see this which app--” (Approximation - Sopholicus’ Rule, named after Tommon cen Sopholicus in 5603,) Quintilius thought (popularized in his textbook series  Miscellaneous tracts and Garlean Palladiums though savage scholars argue the rule was established 303 years early by Sharlayan scholar ---)  “--roximation, what method should you apply?” “...um... I... I don’t remember...?” Quintilius looked over to his brother. He hoped if they made eye contact, they would feel like... Like they both were connected. Together.  “Don’t give me that! You GET it! Look at your other answers! LOOK AT ME WHEN I’M TALKING TO YOU, NOT AT THAT IDIOT!” There were tears in Orcus eyes as he stared back at Quintilius, but there was also hate.  ------ Two weeks had gone by and they were four chapters further in their text book. Quintilius had been rushing through his lessons lately. And during his free time, he had been practicing his hand writing. Magistar Cicero didn’t notice, because Quintilius said he was practicing for his music theory performance. Quintilius and Orcus also took music theory together. Which was 3 hours every forth day. Quintilius played the harp beautiful. Orcus was very good on the trumpet. And Quintilius thought Orcus really liked playing it. But brass bands weren’t very popular right now, so Orcus was studying the violin.  The day began with a stack of work sheets and Magistar Cicero went to go get his coffee. Quintilius hurried through his sheets. Then he slipped out of his little desk - the one that wasn’t rigged with a bomb - and padded over to Orcus. “Orcus, give me your paper.” He whispered. “Nngh...” Orcus was already struggling. “What? No. You’ll get me in trouble!” “No, I won’t.” Quintilius looked delighted. “I’ve been practicing your hand writing. The Magistar will never know.”  Orcus stared at him hatefully. “Let me see your quill.” Quintilius reached to take it from his hand.  Orcus pulled the quill back then he jabbed Quintilius with it.  The two fell over in a heap. Orcus desk fell with them to the side. It fell on top of them. Orcus was still angry. He was punching. “I hate you! I hate you, I wish you died! I wish you were dead and I never had to see you again!” Quintilius had never been in a fight before. He didn’t know what to do. And his eye really hurt. And for a moment, the world around him seemed to speed up. There weren’t twenty questions in front of him that he instantly knew the answer to but he had to write out his work. Or sit there and painfully wait for the other person to finish speaking.  For a moment there, the world seemed to be moving at normal speed.  Quintilius brought his hand up and tried to catch the fist going towards his face.  “I HATE YOU! I hate EVERYONE!”  Orcus fist slid from Quintilius palm and struck him in the face. They were both five and spent all day at school desks. So even if Orcus was trying his best, he was failing at that too. Quintilius would walk away with a few red marks that would fade in ten minutes.  The hatred wouldn’t.  Quintilius wondered if this is what Orcus felt like. When he was trying his best. On his work sheet. At the violin. When he was trying his best, but he failing anyway.  The hatred would never go away. ---- “Hmm....” It was twelve years later and Quintilius was back in his desk. This one was bigger. He had rolled his us sleeve and was poking at a very, very tiny tattoo he had. It was just a little black dot no bigger than a pour. It looked like a mole. Not even a mole, a very short arm hair.  He dipped his quill in ink and brought it to the paper. ‘My earliest memory of failure is getting all the answers wrong on a math test.’ He wrote. ‘Boy did I feel stupid, but it taught me hard work and I also learned not to give up. I always try my best! =)’ 

[diyunho]

The Joker x Reader - “What Death Tastes Like” Part 3

Scarecrow’s daughter might be only 22, yet the terminal lung cancer she was diagnosed with six months ago didn’t discriminate against her age; the young woman didn’t show worrisome symptoms until it was too late. Y/N always had a fascination for the much older King of Gotham and despite the consequences, maybe it’s finally time to do something about it.

Part 1      Part 2       Part 4       Part 5

You’re done sampling the food that J brought over, quite annoyed he lied about the crepes; it was probably the only reason why you opened the door for him. Or maybe it was a different motive that you don’t like to think of because… what’s the point anyway?

“Crane said he added a new ingredient to your capsules,” The Joker brings it up. “I have no idea how he was able to get Cromyxillium since it’s just in experimental phase; I suppose he has awesome connections,” your guest chews one last bite of cashew salad.

“I know, he texted me but I didn’t answer back… I’m mad at him… I’m mad at everything these days,“ you admit and The King of Gotham piles up the empty styrofoam boxes, calculating how much money Scarecrow spent on a product that might be able to improve your condition.

Y/N watches him absent minded, too preoccupied with her problems to realize The King of Gotham is attentive to her words.

“I used to help my dad develop my remedy, still nothing works and he entirely immersed himself in this ridiculous task of saving me from terminal cancer. He ignored Evelyn for weeks until she left: she understood what he was doing up to a certain level; when it became an obsession…” and you sigh, aggravated by your father’s stubbornness. “I told him he has to patch up their relationship; I don’t him to be all alone after I’m gone…” you sulk and J grabs the containers, dumping them in the trashcan near the table.

“Yeah, Crane will probably be very lonely without you…” and J stops his innuendo when he comprehends how it sounds. “On a positive note,” The Clown Prince of Crime stretches, “I’m actually here to ensure you’re ok taking the capsules containing the new ingredient. Your father asked me to and I am notorious for being this…this selfless person ready to offer my services,” J over exaggerates his ability to sympathize with your situation. “He also warned me not to try anything funny. I don’t understand why I’m not allowed to share any of my funny jokes; doesn’t make any sense,” the distorted interpretation of your parent’s threat almost prompts Y/N’s smile.

“You probably pushed for this visit, taking advantage of the fact that me and my dad had a fight, hm?” you bluntly describe the truth and J can’t defend his absurd statements because your cell phone starts ringing; you glare at the screen, debating if you should answer or not.

“Is that him?” The Joker inquires and you nod a yes while deciding to accept Scarecrow’s call.

“Hello…” you sneak out on the patio as J figures he should walk to his car in order to retrieve the duffel bag fixed in advance for his sleepover.

*****************

Your conversation lasted for about 20 minutes thus The Joker jumped in the shower lacking any type of permission from Y/N; perhaps it could be the reason for your abrupt intrusion in the cozy bathroom.

“Can I take a shower with you?” he hears your question and for once J is uncertain of his reply, yet he is not the kind of person to show reluctance no matter the context.

“It’s your place, isn’t it?” he grumbles and distinguishes your silhouette beyond the steamy glass panels quickly stripping your clothes.

The Joker continues to scrub his skin, undisturbed by your request: he simply doesn’t care if you join him or not.

“I’m using your stuff,” J announces and your arms suddenly hug him from behind.

“You can use whatever you want,” your lips kiss the dragon tattoo on his back a couple of times and he doesn’t even turn around to peek.

“I gotta wash my hair,” he mutters and you brush your lips against his shoulder, sweetly offering:

“I can wash it for you.”

“I got it!” Y/N’s demand is cut off immediately; you’re so humiliated by his lack of interest you curse the dumb choice of being so straightforward: it’s not the first time he shows zero attraction towards his daughter’s best friend.

Your arms release the embrace and The Joker reprises his important chore while hearing you fumbling with toiletry items: you are finishing off your routine at an increased speed, willing to exit out of there as soon as possible.

A few minutes of silence, then The Clown Prince of Crime finally pronounces an insolent remark:

“I hope you saw a naked man before, Y/N! I don’t wanna be accused of traumatizing you. If it really makes you feel better, you can wash my hair.”

No smarty pants attitude rendered upon him and J gazes where you stood only to notice you’re gone: after quietly tiptoeing out of the shower, Y/N took her medications and prepared for the night ahead; she plans for J to sleep in the second bedroom at the small cabin, thus she will spend the night on the couch in the living room, watching TV until she’ll doze off.

“Miss Crane,” The Joker emerges from the bathroom in a t-shirt and shorts. “Are we cuddling on that couch or do we have further arrangements?”

“Spare bedroom,” you grouchily mumble, getting comfortable under the blanket.

“I thought we’re cuddling buddies,” he pretends to be offended at your affirmation mostly since pushing the limit is encoded in his wretched DNA.

“We’re not cuddling buddies!”  

“My bad,” he grins. “I guess I was misled by your actions at the mansion.”

He has such a nerve bringing that up!

“I’m not the type of person to force myself on women,” The Joker innocently informs, “but can I watch TV with you? I’ll camp on the floor by the sofa which is my way to hint I need a bunch of soft blankets to pile up so I won’t break my back. I mean, it’s not very nice of you to deny me access on the couch; must I remind you I granted you free passage in my bed when you asked for it?”

“Are you for reals?!” an increasingly fuming Y/N shrieks slowly rolls out of her relaxing nest. “You were horrible to me and then tried to make it better just because you worried I’d tell Emma or my father! Well, rest assured: I’m not a snitch! You truly don’t have to extend your good will to such lengths on my account! It’s not necessary, ok?! You don’t have to drive here to bring my capsules, you don’t have to bring me food. You don’t have to do anything!!”

“Watch your tone!” J growls, displeased with your feisty attitude. “Do I have to remind you who barged into my privacy to take a peek at me naked?”

Your eyes are big at his derogatory insinuation: he’s playing stupid regarding the incident.

“I barged into your privacy?!” you shout, aggravated. “How can…”

“Umm…” The Joker interrupts, “…your nose is bleeding.”

You didn’t even detect the blood trickling down your skin and you touch it, confused. The King of Gotham watches you a few hesitant steps before you unexpectedly collapse to the ground. “Hey!” his voice echoes in and out. “Hey what’s wrong?... … Can you hear me?”

There’s this high pitch taking over your mind and you can barely discern bits and pieces of a conversation J is carrying with your father. You’re not even aware you’re in a moving vehicle, that’s how much you lost grip on reality.

“What’s in for me if I bring her over, huh?”

“I compensated you!!  Two Nightmare ampoules, a small fortune on the black market! Get off your fucking high horse and bring me my daughter, would you?!” an exasperated parent admonishes.

“Maybe I will stop the car and let nature follow its course,” The Joker fights back Scarecrow’s affront, yet your dad has plenty on his plate .

“If you do such a thing and she dies, I’ll hold you responsible and trust me when I say you don’t want me to hold you responsible!!!” the serious ultimatum prompts your chauffeur to take a sharp turn on Highway 68. “Am I on speaker?” Jonathan checks without given his apparent opponent a chance to rationalize his behavior.

“Yes!” J snarls, pissed at the stupid rescue mission entrusted to him.

“Y/N, hang in there! I’ll get stuff ready by the time you arrive, alright?” Scarecrow encourages his daughter, afraid of the severe consequences of the experimental drug she ingested.  

“Mmmm,” you moan in your daze, not being able to respond.

“Keep her alert; we can’t have her sink into a coma! I have to formulate an IV mixture to flush the Cromyxillium out of her system!”

“She’s completely out!” The Joker states although there’s nobody at the other end of the line anymore. “Who’s we anyway?!” he huffs and elects to give it a go regardless. “Y/N, how many kids we would have had if we were married?... … … … … I think the precise answer is at least 4, am I correct?” J blabbers on since you don’t engage in the conversation. “Great…I’ll be held liable for your demise,” he bites his lower lip, vexed things didn’t shine too bright for him; in fact, no matter how hard The Clown tries the blame it on somebody else, he dug his own hole on this one.

****************

You’re not sure how long you’ve been in the darkness, but the sharp poke in your arm makes you groan in pain.

“I’m sorry honey,” your father whispers. “We have to keep the IV for an hour, then I can take the needle out.”

“D-daddy…” you find the strength to stammer. “Am I… am I dying…?”

“No… No… I won’t let you die…” Scarecrow kisses your forehead, upset you don’t seem fine at all. “It’s my fault, I didn’t think you’ll have a reaction to Cromyxillium, not the way I bound the particles with the rest of the molecules.”

“You didn’t test it?” The Joker intervenes into a dialogue he should steer clear off.

“No, I didn’t have time to test it!” Jonathan hatefully stares at the man he wishes to strangle on the spot. “I don’t have time for anything!! Do you understand? My daughter is dying!! I’m not even that kind of doctor yet she’s breathing nevertheless due to my capability of manipulating compounds! Y/N would be 6 feet under with traditional chemotherapy, which proves I am doing a few things right!!! If Emma was sick, I’m certain you wouldn’t run your mouth like you do now!”

J wiggles in his chair, definitely about to erupt at Crane’s justified tirade.

“I’m so cold…” you utter, the ruckus adding to your general discomfort.

“That’s normal, it means the intravenous remedy is working; I’ll bring more covers,” Jonathan strolls out of the room only to gasp upon his return: J is snuggling with you, totally oblivious to your parent’s stupefied question: “What the hell are you doing??!!”

“I got off my high horse and I’m keeping her warm,” J stresses the importance of his random deed. “It’s not cheap thought! I demand…”

“You demand nothing!” Scarecrow covers you with more layers, irritated The King of Gotham has the audacity to milk out benefits in these circumstances; the latest wants to protest Jonathan’s vehement denial while not being conceded the prospect of such luxury:

“Dad…” you reach out your left hand and he sits by you, keeping the shaky fingers on his face. “Did… did you call Evelyn?” you barely blink, exhausted from the intensive treatment.

“I will…”

“You have to; I don’t want you to end up alone… She loves you… You could have more children with her… or at least one more…”

Jonathan Crane inhales, flustered his daughter is worried about him when she should worry about herself.

“I could have more kids, but don’t you know you’re irreplaceable?” he kisses your wrist and pretends to brush off the agony building up in his heart. “Don’t cry honey,” he wipes your tears, then casually shoves The Joker’s arm since is wrapped around your waist. “Your help is no longer required,” Scarecrow hints and his advice falls on deaf ears: J has important news that might switch the balance in his favor.

“I also called Emma on my way here to report about Y/N’s ordeal; she’s cutting her trip to New York short and I received strict orders to make myself useful until her arrival. Now, unless you want to deal with another pain in the ass besides your offspring, I suggest you tolerate my presence!”

Jonathan curls up in a ball on the vacant side of your bed, relieved to see you’re napping. "I didn’t feel the urge to punch someone in ages!” he sneers.

“Likewise!” The Joker barks too from behind your shoulder. “How come she passed out again?” he switches the subject and Jonathan explains without any trace of enthusiasm.

“I included a serum that promotes nice dreams in her IV bag: she’ll be in a deep sleep and envision things she likes.”

“Oh, that’s awesome. I’m sure I’ll pop up in there then,” the excited Clown Prince of Crime emphasizes to your father’s disapproval.

“I said things she likes!”

**************

10:12am

“Hello Miss Crane,” you are greeted as you narrowly open your eyes; it takes a minute to recollect from the dizziness and confusion of last night’s episode.

“Where’s my dad?” you lick your dry lips, noticing J by the windows.

“At the lab; he’s consulting with some doctors or whatnot and left me in charge,” he effortlessly forges half a truth with half a lie.

“Where’s my phone? I want to talk to him.”

“I think I left it at the cabin, I was in a hurry to get you here.”

“You drove me?...” you skeptically interrogate.

“Yeah, you don’t remember?”

“No…” you stretch while touching the band aid placed where the needle used to be. “Where’s Emma?”

“On her way back to Gotham; she called several times and tried talking to you but you were out.”

“Was I?...”

“U-hum,” J shakes his head. “I reckon she promised she’ll assist with your birthday party next week and she’s terrified you’ll kick the bucket in the meantime. She didn’t precisely articulate these sentences, but I‘m her dad: I can read in between the lines,” the proud Joker blurs out, loving the shocked look you display. “Am I invited to the celebration?”

You signal a no and he’s not discouraged by your vehement denial.

“Can I bring Mara?”

“Absolutely not!!!”

“Oh, so I’m actually invited but not her?”

He takes advantage of the speechless Y/N, setting up the stage for his own benefit:

“I can work with that,” he glares at you, gratified. “However, I can’t show at a party without a date; it’s not dignifying for a man of my social status. This leaves us with only one solution.”

“NO!” you protest because you can estimate his proposal.

“Cool, then we have a deal Miss Crane: you got yourself a date!”

“I already have a date!”

“Who?”  The Joker smirks. 

“Sam is my date for my birthday.”

“Sam as in Bane’s son?”

“Yes,” you squirm under the blankets, uneasy at the concept of having J as partner for the upcoming bash.

“Pfft,” he huffs. “That’s a huuuge load of baloney,” your own words from last night are used by the obnoxious green haired menace. “I’ll pick you up Wednesday at 3pm, ok?”

“The party is here at my house!”

“Ok, then you pick me up at 3pm.”

“I’m not picking you up!” you scoff at his nonsense.

“Damn, you’re hard to negotiate with,” The Joker scratches his chin. “Fine, I’ll bring myself here.”

You contemptuously stare at him, appalled he keeps on insisting when you declined his plan. On top of everything, the whole universe is getting the confirmation today that Jonathan Crane’s genius is frankly skipping a generation since you enunciate:

“Don’t be late!”

Also read: MASTERLIST

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