#took me 10 minutes to write and another 45 to find the right gif

[kywaslost]

Heartburn - Keigo Takami

A/N: Working on requests has been a bit draining, and I’ve been in the mood to try and write for Hawks again so here’s this. Totally not based on how sick I felt the other night because of heartburn…

Warning/s: mentions of pills, mentions of vomit, gagging, and throwing up

Tears swelled in your eyes as you hunched over, slowly lowering yourself to fully brace yourself against the counter. Your phone dropped to the cool surface, switching to speakerphone as you awaited Hawks’ voice on the other end. You were begging anything and everything for him to pick up the phone. He didn’t answer the first time, and your facetime went unnoticed. You weren’t sure how much longer you could last without his help.

The pain just below your ribs increased and you couldn’t help but gag. Just as you were about to give up on the phone call, Hawks’ voice came through.

“Hey baby bird,” he cooed softly. “Everything ok?”

“Hey,” you replied quietly. “I need help.”

“What’s going on?” you could hear the worry in the hero’s response. “Are you hurt?”

“You know those chewy things for heartburn,” you began. “Can I take them with these pills in a pink bottle that says ‘stomach relief’?”

“Oh,” there was a soft chuckle on the other side of the phone. “You shouldn’t need to, but you can. The tums should work fairly quickly.”

“They ain’t tums,” you grunted, wrapping an arm around your chest. “They’re those chewy things.”

“Yeah I know what you’re talking about. They’re just a different type of tums.” Keigo was silent for a moment. “You have heartburn?”

“Bad,” you grimace again. “Just below my ribs. It hurts like hell. If I stand up for too long, or sit up too fast I feel like I’m gonna be sick. I took one of the chewy things earlier but it hasn’t done anything.”

“How long ago?”

You hummed in thought, glancing back at the stove in the kitchen. “Maybe 20 minutes ago? I don’t know, to be honest.”

“Take another one and give it another 10 or 20 minutes. If that doesn’t work then you can take the pills.”7

You nodded, knowing Hawks couldn’t see you. “Ok. Thank you.”

“Hope you feel better, dove. If you still feel nauseous when you go to bed, take some Zofran and have a bowl on standby. Make sure you drink plenty of water. I’ll be home in a few hours, but call me if you need anything else.”

You smiled slightly despite the pain in your chest and abdomen. “Ok, Kei. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye, Y/N.” You set the bottle of pills down on the counter, digging through the shoe box of medication for the chewable tums you had just tossed into the box. Then, you grabbed a glass of water and made your way to your room. You gently laid down on the bed, shaking another chewable medication into the palm of your hand before tossing it back into your mouth. You took a sip of water and lowered yourself down to lay on your side.

Time passed and the pain didn’t ease, so you shakily took two of the pink pills you had called hawks about. They were fairly large pills, causing you to gag once again as you took them with another sip of water. 

You toss and turn for hours, hoping to find a position that could relieve your pain, even if just momentarily. The space between the base of your ribs hurt the worst and even just the slightest bit of pressure threatened to make you throw up right then and there. The pain was enough to keep you awake, but at the same time you were so exhausted you managed to doze in and out of sleep.

You awoke every 45 minutes to a new, achier type of pain just below your ribs. You tried adjusting your position but it only ever managed to make the pain worse, causing you to gag and desperately try to keep the contents of your stomach from covering your blankets. No matter what you did you couldn’t relieve the pain.

Hawks came home just past two in the morning, silently making his way through the apartment in search of you. He cracked your door open ever-so-slightly to see you asleep in bed. He took the opportunity to take a quick shower and change into his night clothes before checking in on you one last time.

Keigo gently lowered himself to sit on the edge of your bed, taking in your distraught look. Your arms were wrapped around your torso and you were curled into a ball. Your eyebrows were furrowed in what Keigo could only assume was pain. He wanted to wake you and try and help relieve the pain, but Hawks also knew that if you woke up you may not get back to sleep and that was something he didn’t want to risk. Against his better judgment, he stood slowly so as not to wake you and began walking towards your door.

He froze, however, when he heard you groan and then cough harshly, followed by what he could only assume was a gag. Whipping back around the winged hero rushed back to you. He sat beside you once again and gently rubbed your back with one hand, holding your hair with the other in case you did throw up. 

You gagged one last time before coughing, rubbing at your chest, then leaning into Keigo’s arms. Your head rests against his shoulder as his arms wrapped around you, one drawing gentle circles into your bicep. His head lowered to rest on top of yours, but not before he pressed a light kiss against your hairline. 

“Not feeling any better?” he whispered softly, holding you just the slightest bit tighter.

You could only shake your head and cry into his shirt. “Make it stop.”

Taking a look around the room, Keigo saw medicine sitting on your bedside table. He reached over, gentle not to jostle you too much, and unscrewed the lid to the pills. He returned the bottle to the stand, and in return picked up your glass of water. “Here,” he muttered, handing the pills to you. You swallowed them quickly, thankful for the water that Keigo pressed to your lips. The coolness of the liquid barely managed to soothe the everlasting ache, but it was a start.

“Let’s lay back down, yeah?” Keigo offered, guiding you to lay against his chest as he got under the covers. Once you were comfortable, he began to gently massage the areas that hurt you the most. “Do you feel like you may be sick?” he asked. When you shook your head and closed your eyes, Hawks hummed in content.

You continued to wake up every hour or so, but every time Keigo would wake with you and do anything he could to help put you at ease. He hated that you had heartburn this bad, and that it happened more often than you’d like. There had been countless times he would awaken in the morning to you asleep on the bathroom floor, where you had resided after being in so much pain it would make you sick. 

But for now, all Keigo could do was hold you and comfort you until you felt better. 

[kadeeesworld]

War of hearts

Chapter 1: MIA

I just wanna say I don’t much like this maybe it’s because it the first chapter or whatever who cares it’s proofread but not really enjoy!

Also it’s my first time writing for COD and I know some people are much better at writing their accents but I’m so American it’s painful so stick with me here!

Okay and trigger warning I suppose: mentions of drugs, and abuse, mentions of a gun and kidnapping, child abuse and rape.

the task force was in the middle of a briefing Laswell breaking down the facts for them as everyone got a vanilla envelope.

“She’s a 16 year old girl highly trained and she’s escaped”

“Escaped? Escaped from where?”

John spoke up his brows furrowing as he took in the little bit of Information they had of the girl.

“A top secret facility buried deep in Russia, they kidnap young girls and boys train them into killing machines and send them out onto battlefields with our soldiers just to have them killed.”

Gaz looked around the table.

“How’s she only 16 though—“

“She was taken at 10 actually from the states right out of her front yard.”

Ghost flips the folder closed and tossed it to the middle of the table

“Bloody fucking ‘el as if we don’t have enough going on now little brats are being snatched?”

“She’s not a brat anymore, shes dangerous and she’s trained almost as well as you guys be careful.”

“She’s just a girl how hard could it be?”

The team suits up and gets ready to get on a flight to the states it was going to be a long 8 hours.

“Remember lads this isn’t a vacation this is a mission treat it as such, we get in we get this girl and we bring er’ home.”

“What if she doesn’t wanna go?”

“She doesn’t have a choice.”

A few days pass.

“Who’d ave thought that finding one bird would be this hard we haven’t heard or seen anything.”

“Speak for yourself mate I’ve heard about this underground club where the company is exceptionally young, think our girl could be there?”

“Wouldn’t doubt it Kate did say she was only 16 and we haven’t found her yet it might be worth a shot.”

After a 45 minute drive to a part of town that seems all to sketchy they walk down into an alleyway and bang on the door the eye hole slides open and a man with a nasty scar over his face peeks through and then open the door and the file in.

Once inside it looks just like a normal club expect for the fact that only girls younger than 19 are the ones on poles and serving drinks it’s disgusting and quite frankly sad.

“This is beyond fucked up.”

“I know lad but it’s part of the job, let’s look around for our girl yeah?”

They break off and find places to sit they make conversation and eavesdrop on discussions all for it to amount to the owner has some of his specialty girls in the back they cost pretty penny though.

With a nod to the others price heads off to the shiny leather door and the back and knocks on it another eye hole opens

“The fuck do you want?”

“We’re er’ about uh your specialty girls.”

The man smiles it’s sick makes your skin crawl.

“Of course gentlemen,” he opens the door wide for them, “right this way.”

They all file in and sit down on a plush leather couch the girls scattered about the room and each of them takes them in

“Aren’t they beauties? I paid good money for them these are the youngest ones I have…”

John speaks up

“Have you got anybody new…maybe someone you’ve got recently I’d prefer…well we’d prefer someone fresh if you don’t mind.”

The man’s face lights up

“Oh of course of course only the finest! For my new guests and you can call me jimmy by the way.”

He holds out his hand to John and John shakes it with a faux smile.

“Price.”

“Right, I’ll be right back.”

Jimmy steps away and walks further into the back room coming back with a girl her hair was matted and he body covered in dark bruises some lighter and in different stages of healing and on her arms multiple needle marks her veins are definitely shot, the icing on the cake though was the way she seemed completely out of it her eyes glazed over looking off into space the looked so hollow…so empty.

“This is the latest that we have, picked her up a while ago I just saw her walking the streets it’s was late one night and I just knew I had to have her. I had to know what she smelled like, what she tasted like and let me say she didn’t disappoint.”

He pulled her down onto the couch by her arm and into his chest petting the back of her head and cooing at her.

The boys looking at her could tell this is the girl they’d been looking for but she certainly wasn’t the trained girl Laswell had spoken of…

Jimmy got up and walked around the large glass table and sat her down on prices Lap.

“She’s good right? You like her, all of you?”

Price looked into her face and a just for a moment sympathy and pain was etched into his face and his eyes told everything he couldn’t say in that moment ‘I’m sorry this is happening to you’

Price turned his head back to Jimmy

“She’s perfect…”

“Great! Now it’s 10 an hour!”

Soap looked almost surprised.

“Dollars?”

Jimmy spoke up with a joker like grin.

“No mohawk man, grand!”

John spoke up again before anybody could make a fool out of themselves.

“That’s fine we’ll take er…”

“Yes, she’s new hasn’t been with anybody but me yet she’s still fresh now if you’d like I could bring you another girl that would drop you down to about 5 grand an hour.”

Jimmy spoke as if they were conducting to most regular business transaction in the world he spoke as if he didn’t just bring out a 17 year old girl to four grown men knowing that if these weren’t good men she’d probably be getting fucked and all other manner of things.

“I don’t think so mate.”

“Mate? Well aren’t you funny sounding, where’d you say you’re from again you don’t sound American…”

“We didn’t say…”

“Right of course…”

Jimmy looked as if he’d just seen a ghost and deep down it’s almost as if he knew he was caught and it was only a matter of time—-

Jimmy hopped up flipping the table towards them and making a run for the leather door they had just come in soap being the closest hopped up after him tackling him to the ground they got what they came for na snow it was time to call it in and get authorities and ambulance here to help the girls.

While gaz and Simon did crowd control of the rest of the club ensuring nobody got away so they would be able the face what they’re down the way they deserve John sat with the girl in his lap he’d wrapped her up in a blanket and he held her.

“You know lovie we don’t even know your name…you didn’t have one on file it was almost as if you’d been completely erased from existence…even when we looked back to when you were taken and reported missing, nothing. It’s almost as if someone wanted to hide you away from the world forever.”

Simon tapped on the door

“Ey’ cap the coppers and medics are here, let’s get her situated yeah?”

Price looked back down at her and sighed

“Yeah.”

About a week passed and finally she’d woken up came out her drugged state and she was clear now the boys didn’t know what that would mean for them but for now all anyone else was worried about was the fact that she wouldn’t eat or drink anything she’s just lay there…

“I really am worried about her gentlemen, she hasn’t spoken a word or eaten a thing she’s losing what little weight she had and she keeps muttering something I can’t understand. I don’t know what’s going on or what was happening to all those girls in there but if this keeps up we’ll have to sedate her and push a tube down her throat to make sure she doesn’t die.”

Well that wasn’t fucking good.

“We’ll see about er’ ma’am thanks for the report.”

“Sure thing.”

The nurse walks back behind her station and the boys face her hospital room and walk in there’s one of the standing table trays over her legs a plate of food on top completely untouched and she eyed them when they walked In like predator does prey once they’ve decided you’re who they want for dinner.

“Hey there…heard you weren’t eating a thing lovie…why’s that?”

Silence.

John just smiled at her and tried again.

“I know it’s shit bird but you’ve got to eat somethin it’s not healthy for you to starve like this, we need you healthy so we can take you back—“

Before he could even finish she up holding her fork to his eye trying To push in further down she’s is pretty strong but without eating for days price easily overpowered her pinning her down to the bed and she lost it. Screaming. Yelling. Kicking and scratching. The nurses rushed in and sedated her and slowly she calmed down her hands gripping onto John shirt before she fell unconscious.

It was hours later when she had woken up and her room was empty she sat up and threw the covers off of her sitting for a moment to gather herself before pushing off the bed and walking over to her window there was a single nurse behind the station and the men seem to have gone.

She quickly slipped out of her room and down a hall but before she could turn a corner soap and gas were standing in front of the vending machine staring at her and she right back at them. Nothing was said she just bolted and had and soap were hot on her tail yelling after her, she cut corners and pushed people down and out of the way to put distance between them and finally she caught a break and slipped under a sheet what was on a gurney after a moment or two she heard them run past but she kept still after a moment or two the gurney started to move and when it finally stopped she was in the basement morgue the room was empty safe for a few black body bags.

She got up off the gurney and started looking around for anything she could use to help her get out of there after a bit of searching she found a clear bag with a name on it something she couldn’t quite understand and inside was a gray hoodie and back jeans and a dirty pair of sneakers a wallet, a bus card and a photo of people she didn’t know must be the family of the deceased.

The hoodie had blood splatters and the so did the sneakers but clothes were clothes and this isn’t fashion week. She found a rag and wet it scrubbing the blood off best she could as to not stand out she didn’t need anyone stopping her asking if she was okay she just needed to get away from the hospital but first she needed a weapon.

She used the stairs to get back on the patient floor looking for anything when she was passing a room she overheard a doctor talking about a patient needing sedation in a nearby room and telling a nurse to get everything ready she watched the nurse ready the tray and take it into room setting it down before she left again to go get gloves with quick precision she slipped into the room grabbing the syringe and getting out after roaming the halls for a bit longer she found exactly what she was looking for. Security and because this is America of course he had a gun.

She backed into a room finding a medical waste bin and sticking her hand in to cover it in blood making sure to not wet her sleeve before pulling it back down and walking out she started up the the harsh hospital lights until her eyes started to burn and water then she walked over to the guard.

“Sir could you help me please my friend she’s a patient here and she passed out in the bathroom I think she hit her head she’s bleeding!”

She pulled him into the nearby women’s bathroom and once he rushed down to the other end with his back turned she stabbed the syringe into his neck pushing all the milky liquid into him before snatching it back out and watching him fall helplessly to the ground once his eyes shut she reached his body grabbing his gun and slipping it into the back of her pants before grabbing his wallet and taking out over $50 bucks shoving it into her pocket before heading back down to the basement it would be the easiest way to get onto the street without walking back through the entire hospital and risk being caught.

Once she got out, an open exit though the ambulance bay she stepped onto the just New York street finally breathing some fresh air but that didn’t last long before she knew it she heard a familiar British accent her eyes snapped open and there they were running after her, she ran right through the oncoming traffic dodging cars and running the sidewalk till she came across a lone man about to get out of his car she pulled the gun from her pants and pointed it at him.

“Woah! Lady what the fuck!”

“Give me your fucking keys and your wallet right now!”

The man tossed his keys and his wallet her feet and move she picked them up she hit him with the butt of her gun and sped off. Once price and the others finally caught up all they saw was her burning rubber hitting a corner and a man with his forehead split open.

“Clever girl she is…”

“Bloody fucking fast too, I don’t even run like that in PT!”

Gas grunted before hunching over his hands on his knees trying to clam his breathing.

“I guess Laswell was tellin nae lies bout’ the bonnie lass she’s quick.”

“Lots of stamina still for someone who wasn’t eaten in days she must be starving by now.”

“She is, that’s where she’ll head next.”

After some terrible driving and almost killing two civilians she finally parks the stolen car in an alleyway two blocks away from a Waffle House and she gets out she finds another parked car by the side of the road and steals the tag off it and switching them out before heading to eat she was in fact starving so much so it hurt.

Once she got in she seated herself and a waitress brought her a menu. She smiled so sweetly down at her.

“Do you have any idea what you might want?”

“What can fifty bucks buy me?”

“Oh! Well…”

A pile of plates later, and the cook and waitress watching her eat like an animal with her hands she had finished wiping off her face with her sleeve and wiping her hands on her pants and left the bill on the table and walked out, she walked the two blocks back to her stolen car and slid into the back laying down on the seat.

The rain came down hard hitting the roof of the car like pellets it kept her up she couldn’t sleep she just looked out of the window watching the raindrops race and how the city lights shined through as of giver her, her own private show of color.

The solitude though was short lived and she was napped out of her trance by a knock at the window it’s them.

“Alright now lovie that’s enough running for now right? You come with us you won’t have to sleep in a cold car tonight.”

Soap pushed past pulling the door open.

“Ye know for someone whose name we don even know you’ve given us hell since we’ve gotten ye!”

[lollypopsx]

Flatmate!Harry: I’ll Make It Up To You - Part 3

Please like if it’s not too shabby, re-blog for anyone who you think may enjoy this and follow if you want to see more! Any suggestions are happily taken for future writing! I love you all! be safe and be kind x

Part 1 - Part 2 

Word Count: 3.9K 

Warnings: I think slight swearing, One sentence of smutty language. 

A/N-The bold bits are a flashback! 

————————— 

 You were spending your Wednesday afternoon doing housework and cleaning up your apartment. In the last two weeks, you had been helping Harry here and there with writing some songs, but you never wanted to take any credit for his work. You were just happy to help. 

You’d both let the mess pile up a little bit, mainly paper thrown everywhere, scribbled with random lyrics and instrument chords. You had vowed to yourself that you weren’t going to write anymore or get yourself lost in your musical dream world, but Harry always seemed to manage to get you sucked in to help.

You pick up your phone to dial H, letting it ring a few times.

“Y/N? Are you okay? Everything fine?” Harry answers worriedly.

You couldn’t help but chuckle “Everything is fine, I just phoned to see if you needed any of that paper on the piano or if it can be thrown?”

“Erm, maybe just stick it in a pile in my room and I’ll go through and sort it later. What are you doing?”

“I’m cleaning our pigsty of an apartment Haz!” You laugh and smile. 

“Look at you being a wife” He teases and chuckles. 

“Shut up, or you’ll be my next victim! Do you want me to wash your bedding too?”

“Ohhh yes please! You’re an angel!”

“Someone’s got to be” You smile. “And your spare sheets are in the drawer under your bed?” You hold your phone to your ear with your shoulder as you pile the thrown papers together. 

“Yeah I think I- Erm...a-actually I can put the sheets on when I’m home!” He says quickly. You were slightly taken back by the change in his tone. “Are you sure?”

“Y-yeah....yeah I...I forgot I’d bought some new ones a while ago and they’re...they’re still in my car” He fakes a chuckle, although you soon became oblivious to his cover story.

“Did you manage to get those silky black ones?!” You gasp.

“Y-yeah...yeah I did”...fuck. “I gotta go, Jeff’s pestering me to sign some stuff. I’ll see you later”

“Okie dokie, see you later. Text me when you’re leaving the studio and I’ll start dinner.” 

“Thanks babe, laters” He sighs softly and hangs up. “I need to order black silk sheets on Amazon asap...” He groans.

“You still haven’t told her?!” Jeff sighs, his head shaking. “Harry you need to do it sooner or later...”

“I know but she might freak out!” Harry’s brows furrowed as he kicks the floor softly. “Right...let’s keep going” He sighs.

You cleaned the apartment top to toe, and you couldn’t help admit that you did feel much better. It felt cosier than before, and on this particular day, the sun was glowing, warming your skin through the window.

You promised yourself you wouldn’t do this. You promised yourself two weeks ago that you wouldn’t be doing this. You promised yourself that you wouldn’t put your mind back into your past and be sitting writing songs about old feelings and passed experiences. But here you were...

Using the back of the scraps of paper from Harry’s pile, you were spilling out every word that came to mind, like every feeling in your chest was finally released. Your fingers glided across the piano keys flawlessly with the words you had pieced together, falling perfectly from your mouth. The weight being lifted made you wish you had done this months ago.

—————————

“Come on babe, everyone’s already waiting for us at the party...your birthday party which me and all your friends have thrown for you and we’re late!” Your boyfriend Adam teased as he smiled, “You look great” He chuckles as he grabs his jacket. 

“Okay, I’m ready! Let’s go. I can’t believe you guys all managed to book out Club 21 for me!” You grin as you followed him into the taxi towards the club.

“You dropped my hand while dancing, so I left you out there standing...crestfallen on the stage with...champagne problems

You had a cheap ring for it...my picture in your wallet...but my heart was glass and you dropped it...now I have champagne problems” 

The music was pounding as you danced around happily with all your friends on the dance floor. You were having the best night of your life so far. Surrounded by all of yours and Adam’s best friends. You pant as you escape the crowded dance floor and head over to the bar, joining your friend Niall, and your best friend and flat mate Harry, who were both best friends too. 

“Hello birthday girl!” Niall grins and hugs you tightly, kissing your cheek. “It’s not my birthday yet!” You laugh and hug him tightly, then hugging Harry. “Not for another...57 minutes” Harry smiles.

“Have you guys seen Adam? He said he’d get me a drink and I haven’t seen him since!” You say over the music. “I think he’s in the toilet...I’ll go find him. H can get you a drink” Niall pats your back and heads to the men’s toilets.

“Did you tell your family the real reason? Or did you keep it in?...Your mum had splashed out on the bottle...now no ones celebrating”

“Dom  Pérignon, you brought it...but our friends never applauded...your hometown skeptics say it’s...champagne problems”

As Niall strolled into the toilets, he checked his hair in the mirror, noticing a pair of white trainers and red heels in the reflection, hidden behind a cubical door. He smirked and chuckled quietly until he heard “Ohhh fuck, Adam keep going” the female moaned softly. Surely not...there must be plenty of Adam’s in the club. “Mmm I haven’t been able to resist you since I arrived...fuck you’re so tight baby” Adam moaned. It was him. Niall felt the fury cause redness to his cheeks and it took all of his will power not the break the door down and beat Adam to a pulp. He knew where he needed to be most importantly.

His fists were clenched as he left and walked over to the bar “Y/N...” Niall couldn’t help the frown on his lips. You smile as you saw him come back “There you are, was he in there?” 

“Y/N I need to tell you something...” Niall gulped. You couldn’t help but feel like his expression said every word you had been so scared to hear. And he never had to say a word, as you saw Adam stumbling out the men’s bathroom, with an unknown female following out 10 seconds later. You had no words, everything you wanted to say...to scream. You wanted to cry. You wanted to punch something.

 “I’m going to fucking kill him” You heard a mutter from Harry. But you couldn’t react.

“Was it all for the money...or all for the show...I found out that you cheated so I had to go...I always thought I’d know the answer, ‘til you were on your knee and asked me”

You went to storm up to Adam but he was long gone. You had no clue where he had gone...was this it? Was that how he leaves us? As you turn back to Harry and Niall, their eyes were no longer on you, their dark, angry  eyes watching up at the stage. Adam appeared with a wide grin on his face.

“Where’s Y/N?” He calls out. If you hadn’t of just seen him fall out the bathroom with another girl, you would never have believed he could do something so breaking. “Adam...what are you doing?” You mumble, feeling tears in your eyes. Harry and Niall stood close behind you.

“Come up here baby” Adam grins, but before you could even attempt to run away, you were being pulled up onto stage by two of your other friends, who clearly didn’t know what had just happened. 

Was this it? Was he about to break up with you 45 minutes before your birthday...in front of all your friends? You couldn’t think of anything more embarrassing. But oh no, this was much worse.

"I was going to do this in 45 minutes...but unfortunately, one of our friends has to leave the celebrations early for work tomorrow...” Adam smiles brightly at you. You felt sick to your stomach. How could he have the audacity act like he hadn’t just cheated and broken your heart.

You were still in shock. Everything was happening so fast, that you didn’t focus until you realised Adam was on his knee. “Y/N Y/L/N...will you marry me?” He pulls out a small ring, that was clearly not going to fit you. It would definitely cut off your circulation!

The lights were bright in your eyes, as they reflected the tears threatening to spill. But they weren’t the happy tears you always dreamed you’d have at this moment. He pushed the ring up into your hand, silently begging you to take it. You don’t know why...but you held the ring in your hands loosely.

“H-how could you cheat on me...” You whisper, only loud enough for him to hear. You could see the guilt in his eyes as everyone was about to cheer, assuming you’d said yes...but the crowd quickly fell silent as you shook your head, you just wanted to run.

You rushed down the steps at the side of the stage and pushed through the crowd, your legs feeling like jelly as you crashed through the doors and ran...you just ran. The tears finally freed themselves as you let out heavy sobs.

You heard people shouting your name down the street but you couldn’t stop. You were scared to face whatever happened next. You ran and ran until you felt two arms grab you from behind “Hey...shhh c’mere it’s me” As soon as you heard Harry’s hushed tones, you stopped resisiting his grip. You turned into his chest and clutched his shirt, sobbing loudly as you wanted to fall into a pile there and then. His arms protectively tightened around you, his head resting ontop of yours.

“I got you...I’ve always got you. Niall’s getting the car and we’re taking you straight home” 

“...I could of made such a lovely wife...what a shame you fucked up my head... they said “you’ll find the real thing instead...and he’ll patch up the pieces you’ve shred.... and he’ll...hold my hand while dancing...I’ll never leave him standing, crestfallen on the stage with Champagne Problems”

The journey home was painfully silent apart from your sobs. Harry held you closely as Niall drove. “I’ll pop round tomorrow ok...text me if you need anything” Niall says to Harry, pressing a kiss to your forehead before you get out the car. “Thanks Ni” You mumble. “Anytime princess” He gives you a sweet smile before driving home. 

Harry gets you inside, you wipe your soaked cheeks with the back of your hand. You headed straight to the fridge intending to get some water, but instead you found two bottles of champagne which had been sat in the fridge since Christmas.

“Better late than never...” You mutter and take them to the sofa. You popped one open and took a large mouthful from the bottle. Harry brought in a hoodie of his for you, wrapping it around your arms as you suddenly burst into heavy sobs. “Why me?!” You scream into his chest.

“No you’re perfect...he doesn’t deserve you” He whispers, holding you close to him. “You don’t need him. You have me...and Niall”

You whimpered as you took swigs from your bottle very quickly. It tasted awful. But nothing tasted worse than heartbreak.

“Hey Y/N…happy birthday m’darling” he whispers “I’ll make sure you have the best day”

“A cheap ring in your pocket...her picture in your wallet...you won't remember all my...champagne problems

Have you forgotten all my champagne problems?

Now, his mum’s ring in his pocket...my picture in his wallet...he’ll never give me any...champagne problems

He helped to cure all of my champagne problems...”

The next morning, you woke with a heavy head. You found yourself quickly remembering the night before. You sat up slowly, feeling an arm tightly wrapped around your waist. You and Harry had fallen asleep on the sofa...you must have cried yourself to sleep after demolishing one and a half bottles of champagne.

“How are you feeling?” Harry whispers, his hand brushing your hair back gently. You stare at the ring on the table. “I...I don’t know. I never thought this would happen to me...I though this was it.” You mumble sadly. “I thought I was enough” You whisper silently. His heart broke and the ide that you felt you weren’t enough. “You will always be enough...” He frowns and holds you. Kissing your head. He’d never wished more than to have the ability to take someone’s pain away. 

“Y-you...you won’t leave me too will you Harry?” You sniffle, your head resting on his chest.

“Never...I’ll never leave you” He mutters into your hair.

“What if I’m alone forever...what if I can’t heal from this?” You whimper

“You’ll find it. I know you thought you did...but you’ll find the real thing instead, and whoever it is will patch your heart up. And you won’t ever need to leave him” He whispers reassuringly.

————————— 

 You play around with the last two versions of the chorus, completely oblivious to Harry’s presence in the doorway until you heard a small shuffle from that direction

Your head snapped up “Jesus Harry! I didn’t know you would be home yet...You scared the life out of me! What’s wrong?” You frown as you run up to him, throwing your arms up around his shoulders, noticing his furrowed brow and the sad frown on his lips.

“I...that was so beautiful Y/N...and it just reminds me of how much he hurt you...a-and you...y-you’ve grown so much” He whispers softly, his arms tightly wrapping around you. “You never deserve to be treated like that...and I still hear you crying some nights, I just couldn’t face seeing you that way and...and I-I knew you’d kill me if I barged in...” He mutters, his eyes grazing the floor, as you let out a small laugh. “And you wrote a song again...I’m so fucking proud” 

“It’s okay Harry...I’m okay now!” You whisper, holding his cheeks in your hands. “I just needed to do it. One final time, and that’s it now. I’m going to get a proper job and-”

“Y/N I need to talk to you.” Harry cuts you off. “I was planning on having this conversation with you in a much nicer setting...but I don’t think I can wait.”

This was it...you didn’t realise how much you had craved to hear those three words fall from Harry’s mouth after months of trying to convince yourself that you didn’t feel that way.

“I’ve got you a recording contract with me for the new album...I want you on it. It’s been sat under my bed for weeks ready to give to you but I was worried you’d say no-” Harry says nervously.

You almost didn’t realise what he’d said until it was too late and you already started speaking.

“Harry I love you too...I-” You gasp as your hand flies in front of your mouth. No. No. No no no. This was not happening! You had single handedly embarrassed the shit out of your self and ruined the rest of your life. You wanted the ground to swallow you whole and spit you out in Australia.

“W-what?” Harry froze, taken back by the sudden confession. He didn’t know what to say, but to say he was shocked was an understatement.

“What...” You tried to act natural. Wishing to take back the last 5 seconds. “Oh...that’s erm...that would be a good read...you can just slide it under my door and I’ll read it in 3-5 working days.” You mutter quickly. You didn’t  slipping past him, to disappear into your bedroom.

“Y/N...wait!” His hand grabs your wrist “...you love me?” His gaze fell soft into yours. You thought of every excuse to get out of this situation, as scared as you was to admit it...it was out now. 

“Y-yeah...” you whisper, staring into his eyes, praying to make some sense of how he felt towards you. You so badly wanted him to speak, but the silence hanging between the two of you was deafening. You needed to know.

“D-do...do you...Do you love me Harry?” Your voice croaked. 

Of course he did...

“I-I don’t know...” You couldn’t help but feel your heart shatter some more, the sparkle in your eye slowly fading. And at that moment, you know you had ruined the best friendship of your life. You prepared yourself for Harry to leave the room, pack a bag and go to stay at Niall’s. But he just stood there, analysing your face intensely. You began to pull your hand away from his and run quickly.

“No...wait! Y/N I didn’t mean it like that I just...Well you always had Adam...and you’ve always been my best friend...and then when you guys split up, I...I was so angry because I knew I could never do that to you, and I wanted to change that so badly, but I never wanted to my feelings to get in the way of our friendship. I don’t ever want to loose you Y/N...I always thought I just wanted what I can’t have...until I knew I wanted to protect you for the rest of my life...I love you...I’ve always loved you Y/N, I just didn’t want to ruin anything...” He whispers, his bright eyes sparking as the warm sunset glow flooded your apartment.

“H-have I ruined it all....” You whimper softly, feeling your breath getting stuck in your throat.

“Never...” He whispers, one of his hands cupping your cheek, and the other locking into the side of your neck as you felt soft tears slipping down your cheeks. You had never been so terrified of losing someone. But that worry was soon washed away when you felt Harry’s soft pink lips press against yours. Sparks were flying through your blood as you wasted no time kissing him back with every ounce of passion until you couldn’t breath.

Neither of you wanted to beak the kiss...but Harry also didn’t want the pair of you to collapse. He pulled his lips away from yours, pressing his forehead against yours, the both of you panting heavily. 

“I love you so fucking much” He whispers, tears filling his eyes.

—————————

- 3 Months Later -

"Y/N we need to get you downstairs, we don’t have time to get you mic’d up up here, Graham has already started the show, so we’ll mic you up in the wings” A runner knocked on your dressing room.

“Ok I’m ready lets go...” You get up from the chair and check yourself in the mirror quickly. You had a beautiful red dress on, the sleeves hung off the shoulders and there was a slit in the leg of the floor length material. You had sparkly silver heels on, which looked like diamonds when they caught the light. Your hair was curled in a half up, half down style, with your normal glamourous makeup. 

Harry was in the wings waiting, speaking to a few other people as you were getting mic’d up. He was in a red suit, to match the colour of your dress, with a white shirt, his shoes just white this time. He glanced up with a wide grin. “There she is...mmm look at my beauty” He smirks happily and presses a kiss to your lips, holding your hips as a runner was hiding the wire in your dress.

“And you’re on in 3...2...1...” 

“Please welcome Harry Styles and Y/N Y/L/N!”

Harry took your hand as you followed him onto the set of The Graham Norton Show, the crowd cheering happily as you are greeted with a hug and kiss on the cheek from Graham, returning happily, and sitting down beside Harry after he gave the same greeting.

“Hello hello and welcome! It’s an honour to have you both here tonight on my sofa...although you have both sort of blended in” He chuckles

“Yeah...we didn’t really think about that until we got changed...” Harry chuckles, his hand holding yours tightly as you smile, taking a sip of wine from your glass.

“So we have a lot to talk about tonight...but firstly...congratulations on your new album! It sounds incredible and I know I’m not the only one wondering this, but how did you find working together while being in a relationship? Because your relationship only came into public view after the album was released...Now you two have lived together for...4 years is that right?” Graham asks.

“Yeah so...actually we have been best friends and flat mates for years, we’ve always had such a heavy impact on each others lives but we always both sort of thought it was just friendship. Around a year ago now I went through a really difficult break up and Harry was there every step of the way. Since then I always knew I loved Harry but it wasn’t until just after we had written the first version of Fine Line that I found out he felt the same” Your eyes gleam just talking about it.

“So...you two wrote Fine Line together, was that the first song you wrote for the album?” He looks over at Harry

“Actually, I’d already written Watermelon Sugar, Golden and Adore You. Fine Line was next and I was writing it at home. Naturally every song I write, Y/N is one of the first to hear, whether it’s in the living room, or when she’s in the bath and I sit outside the door to play it. It’s always been that way, even before we got together.”

Graham nods and smiles “You can’t let the poor woman have a bath in peace!” He jokes and teases as you both laugh. “So did you decide to name the album Fine Line because it’s the first song you wrote together?”

“I know!” Harry chuckles “sort of...Fine Line actually came about after...well it was after a prank I tried to pull on Y/N which went horribly wrong, then she finally forgave me and I was talking to her in the kitchen about how I was struggling to write emotional songs at the time. And the words she said to me really stuck...that night I sat at the piano and tried to piece together our conversation in a song. Y/N came to help me and she just...she’s really the saving grace. So I think yeah...maybe that was one of the reasons we called in Fine Line.”

“That’s incredible...and Y/N you were actually going to give up music weren’t you? Thank god you didn’t” Graham smiles.

You blush softly “I was...I just as going through a rough time. I helped Harry with the song and then I said I would quit. Then a couple of weeks later, Harry declared his love for me after he’d told me he had a joint record deal contract for us, to include me in the album” you tease with a smirk.

Harry grins widely and laughs quietly “I think the details of that have been slightly twisted...” He teases as you blush.

“Well I can’t wait to hear that story later! Now are there going to be any more joint albums...?” Graham asks curiously.

“...” You both look between each other “Time will tell Graham” Harry winks.

“Well...we are goin to go to an ad break now, but stay tuned because you don’t want to miss the first ever live performance of Fine Line by Harry Styles and Y/N Y/L/N!”

The crowd cheer loudly as the cameras cut to an ad break.

“I’m not waffling too much right?...it is my first ever proper interview” You mumble slightly as Harry and Graham sat with you in conversation while you were having your makeup touched up.

“You’re doing great baby...everyone loves you. I told you I’d make it all up to you when I stole your clothes and you missed that audition...” He grins cheekily.

“Now that’s a story I definitely need to hear!” Graham laughs along with the audience

—————————

Tag List: @harryhoney-bee - @sunandherflores - @sad-capuccino @beachwood-cafe

[cinnamonrusts]

together, we can make it out alive - 1

[a/n: originally posted on my Ao3 and I decided to revamp my series some with my updated writing techniques. Hope you enjoy.]

                                                                  ⋆｡˚ ⋆｡˚ ⋆｡˚ ⋆｡˚

*BEEPBEEP BEEPBEEP*

The electronic chimes from your alarm clock blared loudly in your ear. Groans escaped your dry throat as the clock stirred you from your slumber, "Not yet--," your hand fished for the large snooze button on the top of the clock. Five more minutes, that is all you would need. Well, five minutes came and once again the alarm beeped in your ear. Your eyelids slowly lifted as you read the blurry red digits that stared in your face. "3:45 PM", it read. "Shit..." you cursed as you knew that you needed to get up and get around for your nightshift turn.

Your legs swung around the edge of your bed as you stretched with a loud yawn. Daylight peaked in through your blinds and shined directly into your eyes, "I really need some black out curtains," you mumbled to yourself as you made a mental note. This was just your daily routine now. You slept in the morning after getting off work from the Raccoon City Police Department and woke up around 3:00 PM. Ate, exercised, showered, and relaxed all before you pushed pencils on the clock at your desk.

Don't get it wrong. It was a job and you were thankful, but your duties weren't exactly what you expected them to be after the headache that was the police academy. You didn't hate your job, you just didn't -- like it. Also, you really fucking hated Raccoon City. It was not the same place that you remembered as a kid, not to mention all the weird things that had been going on lately. You just really wanted out of there. Maybe go to a warmer city... like Los Angeles or something.

You pushed yourself to a stand and turned around on the balls of your feet to head to the bathroom. When you reached the shower, you turned on the faucet and ran your fingers under the warm water. Just as it reached the perfect temperature, your phone rang. You ignored it and waited for the voicemail to pick up. But it just rang again.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" you yelled at the telephone as you stomped through your apartment to the device on the wall. "Hello?" you answered.

A familiar, yet unwelcomed voice barked from the other end of the line. "[L/N]! Where the hell are you?!" It was Lt. Branagh. "Home. My shift doesn't start until 10." your eyes rolled as you pinched the bridge of your nose. "Get your ass over to the station! We've had reports all day of violent attacks all over the damn city!" He couldn't be serious -- it was 6 hours now until your shift! "I don't come in until--," Branagh cut you off, "I expect to see you soon, [L/N]." the call ended.

You kicked the open moving box that sat in front of you in anger. It flipped onto its side and the contents spilled out onto the floor. It was a bunch of papers that you failed to file away and as you picked them up, you noted a familiar picture on top of the mess. The photo displayed two very recognizable faces that had smiles displayed happily.

You and Leon S. Kennedy.

He was your partner in crime during the police academy. Leon was the only one who didn't see you being a woman as a weakness. The two of you hit it off immediately after he introduced himself and complimented your skills.

On top of your heads were colorful party hats that seemed to be a bit too small. Both of your arms were slinked around his shoulders as you pulled him in for a close hug. His right hand was rested on your waist and the left held up a large mug of beer that was about to spill out onto the floor. Your thumb caressed the image of his handsome face and a smirk spread across your lips. You flipped the picture over and in faded pen was your handwriting: "Graduation Celebration! JULY '98"

Leon crossed your mind often. The two of you lost contact with one another after something happened between the two of you. It was as if that party happened yesterday -- the night that he kissed you. Your eyes closed and you could picture Leon's face perfectly - the way that his lips puckered and the way that they felt.

The two of you stood outside of the bar on that warm summer night. Leon was leaned against his shitty blue car that was wrapped in faded paint and rust. You stood in front of him with your arms crossed and your eyes focused on the clear sky that hovered above. Then the sensation of fingers over your skin drew your attention from the sky, to the man. Your gazes locked and his lids were half shut but a smile was on his lips. "Leon, you're drunk, aren't you?" you chuckled. His fingers wrapped around your bicep, "Maybe," he cooed as he brought you close to him. You could feel and smell his breath, it was warm and stunk heavy of booze.

With his free hand, he moved it to your cheek and tickled it lightly with his knuckle. Your [E/C] eyes stared deep into his moonstone ones, Leon's pupils dilated before they closed. His lips met yours. They were smooth but a bit chapped - he must be an avid user of Chapstick, you thought. The kiss was quick but meaningful. When he pulled away, you grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him in for another. When the two of you broke apart, you noted the way those moonstone pools in his head looked at you -- you could get lost in them -- forever.

The fond memories brought warmth to your heart that you lost the track of time. Pounds from beneath you interrupted your reminiscence. Your neighbor below screamed through the floorboards. "Hey, you fucking idiot! Stop using all the hot water! You're not the only one who fucking lives here!" he continued to pound and yell. "Shut up, you fuck!" you screamed back as you scrambled to your feet. Your clothing was stripped from your body as you dashed to the shower, and jumped directly into the lukewarm stream.

You knew that Branagh was most likely boiled over in anger because of how late you were already. Once you finished your shower, you pulled on your police uniform, styled your hair into a neat bun, grabbed a bagel, and ran out the door. Your car was parked pretty far down the road and rain began to fall from the sky. What a perfect start to the day. You shoved the bagel into your mouth and dashed for your car. The key slipped in your hands as you fiddled with them to get the door unlocked. Just as you grabbed the correct one, they fell onto the ground and so did your bagel.

"I've already had enough of today," you cursed and sighed to yourself as you bent over to pick them up. When you stood back up, a woman came from nowhere and threw herself onto you. She cried in panic and spoke incoherently. You noted the large wound on her shoulder and blood was seeped heavily into her shirt. "P-Please! Help me!" she grabbed onto your shirt with blood stained hands. "Ma'am!" you yelled and pushed her off of you for your own safety. She stumbled back and fell to her knee, "Let me call an ambulance!" you started to run to a nearby pay phone but she stopped you with a stutter that it was too late. "There's more of them!" her head turned in the direction of an alley to the left, then she took off from the ground in a haste. "Ma'am, wait!" you yelled as you watched her run away around the corner and into the city.

"Who's coming?" you whispered. With curiosity, you walked toward the alley that the woman had looked down but saw no one. Maybe she was one of the crazy people that were noted to be around the city and around the Arklays... If you saw her again, you'd probably call in some backup... the crazy look in her eyes... it unsettled you. You managed to shake the image of them from your mind and focused on getting out of the rain.

As you walked back to your car, you noticed the red stains that were now stained into your uniform. Whatever. You would worry about it after you made it to work. Once you got into your car, the radio started talking about more and more unrest that had spread more and more through the streets. Your finger pressed the power off, "Enough of that." the news was just the same and you just knew that you had to deal with it first hand once you arrived at the station, it just made it worse.

In front of the parking garage for the RPD were several cars that seemed to have been in an accident. Your car couldn't go any further than where you were at, so you hopped out of the vehicle to walk the rest of the way. People dashed around the streets in a panic and it seemed as if it were the apocalypse. You tried to flag people down to stop them but they all ignored you. What the hell is going on?! When you entered the station, there was even more chaos. Officers ran around like wild and some seemed to be injured as well. You felt anxious and confused by everything that was going on. What had gone on in your brief time away?

Phones rang, people yelled, doors slammed, and everything soon overwhelmed you, you could feel yourself going into an overload. But a strong hand on your shoulder was a saving grace. "There you are, [L/N]!" it was Branagh and a brief look of relief washed across his face. "I left a stack of paperwork on your desk. Sort through it and then you're going out on patrol. Some crazy shit is going down..." he gave you a light push in the direction of your desk.

As you walked to the back of the office, you noticed the banner that was spread across the ceiling in blue and yellow.

"WELCOME LEON"

Your heart pumped in your chest and you could feel your skin begin to turn clammy. There was only one Leon that you know of that was a cop. The man that you shared a kiss with and so many more feelings... Leon -- Kennedy? Was he actually on his way here? He always told you that after the academy he would eventually come find you in the city and be your partner again. You thought that it was just a joke -- but now, it didn't seem that way. How could he come here without saying anything to you? No call? No email? Nothing?

Your eyes remained on the banner and you asked your co-worker who sat on the desk beneath it, "Hey, Rita. Who's this, Leon?" She didn't look up from her desk, "I dunno. Some new guy from out of town. Last name starts with a K or something like that. Ask Neil, I'm sure he knows." You could feel a knot in your stomach and you darted to your chair. The desk that was across from you was normally piled high with boxes of paperwork, but now it was cleared off. You leaned over the divider and snatched the piece of paper on the desk. Your eyes darted across the text:

"Leon S. Kennedy, we're putting you on a very special case for your first assignment. Your mission is to... unlock your desk! The key to your success is in the initials of our first names."

The note confirmed it. It was indeed that Leon. You plopped back into your seat and gnawed on the nail of your thumb. Your thoughts were now consumed as to how both Leon and yourself would react when he arrived. You could see it now...

He would laugh with the other officers as they shot the shit with him. He would be in the center of the group, they would slap him on the back and tell him how happy they were to have him on the force. His gaze would eventually land on you and he would excuse himself from them. Leon would smile and show off his perfect teeth. He'd saunter over and slowly shake his head, "I didn't expect to see you here, [F/N]."

You swallowed hard but your thoughts were interrupted when the sounds of glass shattered right outside of the office's door.

The chatter and hubbub in the office halted as everyone's attention turned toward the door.  An officer who wasn't much older than you rushed toward the noise, he couldn't make out exactly what it was from behind the glass of the door but drew his gun in preparation. He looked back at the office filled with you and your co-workers before opening the door slowly. "Hello?" he called out. His gun was pointed out into the hallway but found that there was nothing there. Then a sound of something you had never heard before or ever would forget echoed loudly in the empty hall.

It sounded like a monster, there was no other way to explain it. It pierced through your ears and then the sounds of the officer's shrieks shook your core. A loud gurgle erupted from his throat as he was tackled by a person onto the floor. This - person, dug their teeth deeply into his throat and proceeded to rip it out. Bright, red liquid sprayed from the wound across the floor. Two male officers threw themselves onto the assailant and tried their hardest to pull him off but soon were attacked as well. Gunshots blasted off in the office which then were accompanied by more sounds of broken glass. The assailant dropped dead beside the officers on the floor and everyone exchanged glances of pure terror.

"More are out there!" yelled Branagh as he held his weight against the door to stop any more of these "people" from killing everyone his subordinates. "Pistols aren't going to keep us alive for much longer," Rita cried out. "But Irons insisted we hide everything else away, remember!?" your fellow officers shouted at each other as tension rose - fear and panic began to set in.

"I know where some are," you piped up. "I have the keycard for the weapons locker," you reached into your shirt pocket and pulled out a white, plastic card. "Perks of being the newbie, I guess. I'll go." you walked toward the back door but stopped when Branagh barked at you, "You can't go alone!" You shook your head, "I will be right back, I promise." you disregarded his arguments and with a deep breath, opened the door and took off on your mission.

The hall was dark and quiet, the electricity must had been cut out in this section of town. You swallowed hard and with your pistol in on hand with the flashlight in the other, you took quiet yet brisk strides down the long stretch of hallway. All you could hear was the sounds of your bootsteps and the groans of those things that lurked just outside of the fences that kept the building somewhat safe. You needed these guns, no matter what. Or you and your co-workers would end up just like those officers - dead. Your breathing was heavy and your heart raced which could be felt in your skull, "Easy girl," you spoke out, "Just a few doors and you'll be there."

Time was not on your side, so you took off in a sprint. The feeling of being so vulnerable next to a stretch of windows worried you as you could fall victim to whatever those things were at any time. They weren't exactly "things" they looked human and most likely were but maybe they were deranged with some sort of illness. But nonetheless, they were dangerous and deadly... Just as you feared, one of them crashed through the window. Their greedy palms reached for you over the broken glass and managed to snag you by your hair. You screamed in pain and terror as their strength pulled you in but when you pulled away, you only pulled them closer. Your pistol flew from your hands and slid across the floor, too far for you to reach.

Their bloody jaws snapped as they tried their hardest to sink their teeth into your soft flesh. You could feel their breath on your skin and you struggled but could feel your strength giving way to theirs. There was only one thing you could do and it was to grab the knife that was attached to the side of your right leg. Your fingertips were just barely able to reach the handle but with one quick lunge of your body, you grabbed hold of the weapon. The desire to survive charged your strength and you began to saw through the strands of your hair that were gripped tight in the clutches of the creature. Tears poured down the sides of your face as you sawed through the strands that were the barrier between you and certain death.

The creature was now halfway over the window and their hand still had your [h/c] hair in between their fingers, jaws still snapped at you as they begged to taste your flesh. You scrambled on all fours as you attempted to gather yourself so that you could press on. Your foot slipped on a large piece of broken glass which sent you across the floor, you then landed onto a large chunk of broken glass. The sharp piece embedded itself deep into your knee and you cried in pain as you held your leg close to your chest. The creature dug its nails into the tile floor and started to crawl toward you with dead eyes, and bloody teeth. You took several deep breaths as you prepared to yank the glass from your leg and with one last deep inhale, you yanked it out. You cried in pain but knew that you had to keep going, your muscle burned as it now was exposed to the air. You made sure to grab your pistol from the floor before you continued on.

Your sprint was now resorted to a quick limp but you managed to make it to the locker room. To your dismay, it was mostly empty besides a couple of shotguns and some ammunition. "Fuck! Fuck! This isn't enough!" you screamed as you pounded your fist against one of the lockers. Inside one of the open lockers was a weapons bag which you were able to fill with the lackluster amount of supplies. As you zipped up the bag, the metal door to the room opened and the sound drew your attention. Your pistol was ready and you limped around the corner to hide behind a row of lockers to hide from who or whatever it was. The room was dark but a flashlight flipped around the room, whoever it was, they were there to look for those guns or you. Your thumb slowly pulled the hammer back on the weapon and rounded the corner, "Stop right there!" you yelled.

It was a man and he seemed to be normal for the most part. He complied and raised his arms in the air. "Turn around!" Again, he complied and did a slow 180. Through the faint glow of his flashlight, your eyes caught a glimpse of a set of familiar moonstone pools.

"[Y/N]?!" his voice raised in shock. The entire city was faced with an apocalypse scenario or even the whole world for all you knew and the one person you run into is Leon -- Leon Kennedy.

He dropped his arms and grabbed hold of your, then pulled you into a tight hug. Leon smelled of sweat and cologne, the very cologne that you bought for him as a graduation gift. You breathed him in as it registered to you that this was real, he was really here. But you pulled away, "Leon, we have no time for chit chat. We gotta get moving, people need these guns!" you pointed to the bag that sat on the floor by your feet. As you tried to throw it over your shoulder, you winced in pain. "Here, let me get it." Leon attempted to take it from your hand but you paused before you surrendered the precious cargo, "I can trust you with this, right?" your grip was tight on the strap, "When have you ever doubted me?" he asked with a smile, "You don't want to know that..." your grip released as you responded but also pointed the fact that your leg was injured.

"Sorry to be a liability," you apologized, but Leon pulled you to his side, "Nonsense. I got this and you, just keep an eye out for zombies."

You led Leon down the hallway that you had your close brush with death in, the zombie, as Leon called it, was now gone. But when the two of you reached the door to the office, it was eerily quiet. Not a good sign. You pushed the door open to find the office void of any life, nothing but blood. Lots and lots of blood. Your heart hurt as you felt a pain in your chest, was everyone dead? The lifeless body of Rita laid on the floor with her eyes opened, her brown orbs were absent of the vibrant life she once had.

Tears welled in your eyes but as you turned to flee, you bumped into Leon's chest. A look of horror on Leon's face matched yours, "I-I left them not even an hour ago..." you cried into his shirt for a moment as he held you lightly with one arm. When you pulled away, you wiped your eyes and Leon took your hand from your face.

"I'm happy you're alive, [Y/N]," you examined your matured features and you did his. His hair grew a little longer than when you had seen him last and he examined your frazzled locks. Just as you opened your mouth to speak, a door behind Leon opened and shut. A man walked out from the shadows and into the light, it was Branagh. He held onto his side and you could see he was injured with his shirt heavily stained with what was most likely his blood.

Leon pulled his pistol out and pointed it at your superior while he had a protective hand on your arm. Branagh coughed a wheezed laugh and shooed his gun out of his face. He looked over to you and smiled, "Good to see you're still breathing, [Y/N]." The Lieutenant approached your male companion and placed a bloody hand on his shoulder,

"You must be Leon Kennedy -- well, son, welcome to Raccoon City."

[jaehyunhour]

for the first time... | lee donghyuck

summary: a collection of firsts with lee donghyuck.

warnings: suggestive at one point, but it’s mostly just cavity-inducing sweetness.

2.6k words. (a/n: i’m writing these for other members per request, so if you want to see another member please send me an ask! here you can find jeno’s.)

the first time donghyuck… kisses you.

johnny and mark had invited you to the 127 dorm for their weekly movie night, and you sat at the very end of the couch next to jaehyun. donghyuck was falling asleep while watching the movie, and finally decided to just call it a night and go to sleep. he gets up and yawns.

“i’m just going to head to bed everyone, i’m sorry,” he says, scratching the back of his head.

“wow, look who can’t hang,” johnny remarks.

“ah, hyung, i’m just tired. i don’t know how you’re all still alive right now, it’s been a long week.”

despite donghyuck being both physically and mentally tired, he still has the energy to annoy his hyungs just once more before heading to bed. he makes his round, hugging each one goodnight, and trying to get a kiss out of them and only succeeding to receive one from yuta. when he gets to you, he gives you a pat on the head and you grab his arm.

“what? i don’t get a kiss goodnight?” you ask, throwing a wink his way.

donghyuck’s eyes widen, and so do the eyes of everyone else in the room. the rumor floating through the nct dorm about you having a crush on donghyuck is true, but you never confirmed anything until now.

“d-do you want one?” donghyuck stutters.

you nod your head.

“in front of everyone?” he whispers.

“only if you’re okay with all of them seeing.”

“i-uh-um.”

you pucker your lips at him, and he quickly leans down to press a kiss on your lips. he pulls back just as quickly as he leans in. everyone is still staring and he clears his throat.

“goodnight, everyone,” he says and runs away to his room.

you lean back into the couch with a smug look on your face.

“so are we going to finish the movie?"

the first time donghyuck… takes you out on a date.

the only sounds you can hear are the clicking of mouses and keyboards, the sounds of frustrated groans, and a ton of pubescent boys screaming at their computer games. not an ideal first date, but one you knew that would bring you and donghyuck closer together. donghyuck was internally a nervous wreck when asking you out, but externally tried to play it cool. you walked in on him in the bathroom looking at himself in the mirror, fixing his hair and repeating “y/n, would you like to go out with me?” in different tones trying to find the perfect one. he stopped dead in his tracks when you walked in and you laughed at him, but not before saying “you want to know something? i would love to go out with you.”

which is how you ended up sitting next to donghyuck tucked away in a corner of the PC bang, watching him play his computer games. the setting was quite disorientating upon walking in, but you suck it up to spend time with donghyuck.

“y/n, are you sure this is an okay first date?” donghyuck asks, pausing the game to turn to look at you. you nod quickly.

“this is just fine, don’t worry! i enjoy spending time with you no matter what we’re doing.”

“do you want to learn how to play?” he sits up to switch spots with you, setting the headset on your head and pressing play on the game. you hear johnny’s voice through the headphones and start giggling.

“y/n?” johnny asks.

“that’s my name, don’t wear it out,” you respond, and then you feel donghyuck’s hands over yours pressing keys and moving the mouse.

“what are you doing?”

“hyuckie is teaching me how to play!”

“you two are so gross,” johnny says.

“what’s he saying?” donghyuck whisper-yells.

“he said we’re the cutest couple ever,” you respond, returning back to the game.

the first time donghyuck… says i love you.

you’d recently seen the tiktok trend where people were falling asleep on facetime with their significant others. normally when you facetimed with hyuck, he was the one to fall asleep but you wanted to switch it up on him. you facetimed him during the middle of the day while he was taking a break from practicing, sitting alone in another room to comfortably speak to you, and you lay in your bed comfortably. you sighed peacefully as you lay your head on your pillow, and shut your eyes.

for a second, you really thought you would fall asleep. donghyuck’s voice is always so calming to listen to, even if he’s complaining about not being able to get mark to kiss him, and your bed is just that comfortable. you stop yourself from really falling asleep, to see how he’d react.

“y/n? y/n?” donghyuck whispers.

you don’t budge.

“is my little baby tired?”

nothing.

he sighs but looks at you with a big smile. “you are so cute, baby. i’ll let you sleep.” he hesitates for a moment. “i love you,” he says, pressing a kiss to the screen and hanging up. as soon as you hear the call drop, you sit up excitedly.

“did he just say that?” you ask, dialing his number again. he picks up after the fourth ring.

“y/n? i thought you fell asleep,” he says, confused.

“i love you!” you shout.

“ow, baby, that hurt my ear. i love you, too.”

the first time donghyuck… makes love to you.

it wasn’t so much making love as it was trying to have sex as quickly as possible before everyone else got home. you and donghyuck had been extra touchy with each other in front of the other members all afternoon, and while you thought you were being discrete, everyone took notice of the way your hand seemed to linger on donghyuck’s thigh for just too long. the members offered to leave for half an hour, and only half an hour, to go pick up food for everyone and immediately donghyuck was all up on you.

the kiss was more teeth than it was lips, as you both clawed at each other’s bodies and rushed to get your clothes off. within five minutes of the boys’ departure, hyuck had you pinned down underneath him on his bed and his hand down your underwear.

“mm, hyuck, no time for that, just get inside me,” you say, pulling back from the kiss.

“are you sure?” he asks, catching his breath.

you nod. “absolutely sure, c’mon, we only have like 20 minutes left.”

“flip over,” he says.

with no further hesitation, you listen to his command and within seconds he’s entered swiftly. you both let out a loud moan as he starts to thrust.

let’s just say that the boys vowed to give you guys at least 45 minutes the next time they were to leave you alone.

the first time donghyuck… argues with you.

“y/nnnnn, y/nnnn,” donghyuck sang, poking your cheeks. you sat next to him on the couch of your apartment, staring at the tv with the worst scowl on your face anyone has ever seen. donghyuck invited himself over after you told him you were in a bad mood and didn’t feel like seeing anyone, in the hopes that he would be able to make you feel better. but when you said you didn’t feel like seeing anyone, that included him. but you weren’t going to turn him away because you knew your apartment wasn’t as close to the dorms as he wished.

having had enough of his attempts at comforting you, you get up and head to your room without another word. you close the door behind you and donghyuck sits on the couch stunned. he sits there for around 10 minutes trying to figure out if he should just leave or not. instead, he heads over to your room and knocks but you don’t open.

“baby, i just want to make you feel better,” donghyuck says through the door.

“you didn’t listen to me, hyuck, i told you i didn’t feel like seeing anyone and you came anyway. you never listen to me.”

he sighs and places his forehead on the door.

“why can’t you just take the time to listen to me? i do so much for you and it feels like you can’t even do that for me.”

“you’re right. i’m sorry, i’ll go home right now, but i don’t want you to think i’m mad at you for needing space okay? i will try to be better for you, i’m sorry. i love you.”

you stand behind the door and feel your heart soften, and when you finally go to open the door donghyuck is already gone. he texts you later to let you know he is home, but still doesn’t expect you to respond. a few hours after he’s left, you call him and he quickly answers.

“are you feeling better?” donghyuck asks.

“much better. thank you for listening to me,” you respond.

“i’m sorry for not being a better listener earlier, but i promise i will work on it for you. do you want to talk about what happened that got you in that mood?”

“nothing really happened, i just get like that sometimes… sorry.”

“never apologize for your feelings, baby, okay?”

the first time donghyuck… buys you a present.

while donghyuck always treated you to meals whenever he was with you, he had never gotten you an actual gift until it was time for your 100 days. after asking each of his hyungs what gift they thought would be perfect, he decided to go with johnny’s idea to get couple rings. johnny explained that they didn’t necessarily have to be promise rings, because you never know what could happen, but just something that you could both wear.

he opted for buying you both silver bands, but was able to find someone to engrave the inside. he engraved the coordinates to the PC bang where you had your first date. his mind went wild of places where he could get the coordinates to: the dorm where you had your first kiss, the park where he first realized he was in love with you, and so much more, but opted for the PC bang.

“hyung, are you sure she’ll like it?” donghyuck asks, while johnny closely examines the rings and the engraving.

“of course she will,” he responds. “look at our little donghyuckie, he’s all grown up.”

“gross, don’t call me that hyung!”

johnny ruffles the hair atop his head as he leaves the room, meeting mark in the living room and leaving. you arrive approximately 5 minutes later to an empty dorm, the only sign of life being donghyuck in his room. because 127 were in the middle of promoting, donghyuck only had so much time to spend with you and you opted for spending a couple hours in to celebrate your 100 days.

“hyuckieeee, happy 100 days!” you say excitedly, tackling him back onto his bed and pressing a kiss to his lips. when you pull back and settle on his lap, he grabs the ring box from the side of his bed.

“i, uh, got you this as a present,” he says, shoving the box into your hand.

“wooow, are you proposing already? after just 100 days?” you joke, opening the box and seeing the silver band. “it’s beautiful, baby. what are these numbers?” you slip it onto your ring finger and it fits perfectly.

“they are the coordinates to the place where we had our first date.”

“really, hyuck? the PC bang?”

“is it stupid? god, i thought it would be,” he panics.

you kiss him to get him to stop talking. “i’m kidding, dummy. it’s perfect.”

the first time donghyuck… goes away.

in all the time you had been dating donghyuck, you never had to spend more than a week apart from him. and now 127 were going on tour for over a month and you didn’t know what you were going to do. you were currently laying on top of him in an attempt to prevent him from leaving.

johnny came into the room briefly to grab something and mentioned they had to leave in 20 minutes to get to the airport on time.

“baby, i can’t breathe very well with you on top of me,” donghyuck says.

you sniffle and grab onto his shirt tighter. “yeah but if i don’t get up, then you can’t go.”

he plays with your hair as your tears fall on his chest, wetting his shirt. “baby, you and i both know that i have to go. i know it’s hard, but you’ll be fine.”

“no, i won’t. what am i going to do when you’re gone?”

“you just got that job working at the academy nearby, you will be plenty busy tutoring students. you can even tell them about me and play my music videos.”

“you just want views on your videos!”

“maybe, but i also love when you gush about me. you’re so cute.”

there’s a beat of silence and he hears you sniffle again.

“you’ll be fine, my love, don’t worry.”

“promise you’ll call me every night?”

“i promise.”

“and you promise you won’t meet and fall in love with someone random while you’re gone?”

“baby, i don’t even want to love someone if it isn’t you. you’ve got me forever.”

“okay,” you say softly, finally able to put an end to the tears dripping down your face.

“can we just lay here until you absolutely have to leave? like, until they come and drag you away from me?”

“absolutely, my love.”

the first time donghyuck… introduces you to his family.

donghyuck introduced you to his family little by little. not that he was hiding you from them and didn’t feel comfortable telling them about you, but between 127 and dream, he only had so much time to spare to be able to bring you to meet his family. each family member of his that met you instantly fell in love with you as quickly as he had fallen, your wit and ability to handle every single ounce of donghyuck’s loud personality quickly charming them.

however, the moment that was forever engraved in donghyuck’s heart was the first time he introduced you to his parents. he had invited you to spend korean new year with him and his family, and you quickly obliged. his parents welcomed you with open arms, walking you through the many traditions of the holiday and explaining to you the significance of each. he felt so proud when you listened attentively, taking in every bit of information his parents had to offer you. and he felt his heart warm when you stood in front of them, wished them good fortune in the new year, and performed a deep traditional bow.

he felt his proudest when he returned from a backroom break to see you in the kitchen with his mom, helping her prepare all of the food. he watched as your fingers folded the dumplings that you would later eat, and he came up behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist and placed his head on your shoulder.

“look at you, helping make all of the food,” he says, eyes still on the way your fingers are moving.

“i want to learn so when we have kids i’ll be able to make everything,” you respond.

“you think that far ahead in the future?”

“uh-huh,” you say. “and i want to make sure that i can cook well for our kids.”

he presses a kiss to your cheek and turns to look at his mom. “eomma, i want to help too!”

she quickly shoves him back into the living room with his father. “no no, this is time for me to bond with y/n. go sit with appa.”

he blows a kiss your way and joins his father in the living room, content knowing that his family loves you just as much as he does.

[wosoimagines]

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner - Kellex/Reader

I was going to post a lot this week, but then it turned out to practically be midterm week at school. I was surprised by the number of tests I had to take, so I ended up getting no writing done. I woke up today and was in a mood to write something, so here is more of future Kellex and their adopted daughter.

prompt: A squeal to New Home. 

warnings: Swearing.

words: 2333

(Y/N) POV

I couldn't help but look at the messages online as Skye kept her phone in my face to show me all the messages that I had gotten for good luck. I wasn’t entirely surprised about the messages. I had been meeting a lot of former pro soccer players and current pro soccer players. With Kelley and Alex being my moms now, I had met a lot of people that I looked up to.

Kelley and Alex had warned me that they would probably tweet to me today since they couldn’t be here. We had been spending a lot of time around their former teammates and I had become friends with some of them. My favorite to hang out with was Sonnett, so her tweet of good luck definitely didn’t surprise me.

“Dude, you have legends tweeting to you,” Skye said. I knew that she still couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that Kelley and Alex had adopted me.

“Skye, I’m just trying to get ready for this game. I need to focus,” I said. Skye shook her head and pulled the phone back to herself. I loved my best friend but we both had very different ways of preparing for our game.

“Who all is supposed to be here?” Skye asked again. This was about the tenth time the midfielder had asked me today who would be coming to watch me. I had gotten tired of repeating myself after the second time. I just wanted to listen to my music and go over the game plan in my head.

“My moms, obviously. They both said that their families were going to try to be here since they’re my grandparents, aunts, and uncles now,” I started. Skye rolled her eyes and I knew that she wanted to know who was supposed to be here that had played soccer. “Christen and Tobin are supposed to be here since they both live in LA. Ali and Ash said that they were going to try to come.”

“I cannot believe that you’ve met Christen Press and Tobin Heath,” Skye said. I chuckled at my friend because I had told her that she could come with me when I met them since Kelley had taken me to work with her one day. Skye had skipped to do something with some of our other friends.

“You do know that they’ve came out and practiced with me, right?”

“You’ve practice with them?” Skye asked. I pulled my headphones over my ears as I turned my music up. I tune Skye out and I knew that she would continue to talk.

It wasn’t much longer before we were supposed to go out on the field. All I wanted to do was play for the State Championship. I was about to get the chance to do exactly that. Kelley had told me that there would be scouts in the crowd, not just for college but for the national team and clubs. I knew that Kelley was pushing me to ignore the scouts that had came out from clubs and wanted me to go to college instead.

I couldn’t think about any of that the second I stepped onto the field. I took a deep breath before I walked out onto the field. I took my spot to play centre-back before the game got started. My only focus was winning a State Championship.

Things kept pretty much in line with how I figured they would go. I had predicated that we wouldn’t allow a goal before half-time. It wasn’t too surprising to me considering we had the best defense in our division. I was a little surprise that we hadn’t scored, however.

Katie was our centre-forward and she was amazing. She was going to go play at UNC once she graduated. Although Katie never said it, we all knew that she was going to be disappointed if we didn’t win the State Championship this year because she hadn’t been able to win it yet and this would be her last year to win. While Katie was the leading scorer of our division, our other two forwards, Olivia and Lauren, helped to allow our team to lead the scoring in the division. They all tended to start the game with an early goal. So, it was surprising that we hadn’t gotten a goal yet.

The most surprising moment was when Katie tumbled to the ground after one of the other defenders made a late tackle. The whistle was immediately blown, but Katie wasn’t getting up. I wasn’t surprised when our coach came onto the field along with one of the trainers. It was a little surprising when Katie was helped off of the field, but Coach didn’t replace her immediately.

“How bad do you think Katie is?” Skye asked me as we headed for the locker room at half-time.

“I don’t know,” I shrugged. It must not have been bad if Coach didn’t replace Katie. There was probably a chance she could continue. “We’ll just have to wait to find out.”

We mostly sat around the locker room as we waited to hear something about Katie. It was a little surprising when Katie came back into the locker room on crutches. Coach was following behind her. We all looked at them for the answers to our questions.

“My ankle is sprained,” Katie said drawing our attention to her. “I’m out for the rest of the game.”

Groans filled the locker room. Katie was our best player. Although, Olivia and Lauren were still playing as our forwards, we knew that our game just got 10 times harder.

“Hey, I know that losing a teammate is hard, but that doesn’t change anything,” Coach said. We looked at him. “We still have a game to win. Erin, you’re going to go in.”

I was a little confused by that because that meant that we would have 5 players playing defense. I knew that this was State, but I didn’t think that we needed 5 players in the back. Not with how good our defense was.

“(Y/N), you’re going to move to centre-forward,” Coach said and I froze. I hadn't played as a forward outside of practice. Although Coach had told me that he wanted to try playing me as a forward, I didn’t think he meant in the State Championship game. I couldn’t focus much on what Coach was saying as I tried to prepare myself to play as a forward rather than a defender. When we were heading out to the field Katie asked me to walk out with her.

“Nervous to play as a forward?” Katie asked.

“That obvious?”

“Kind of,” Katie shrugged. I couldn’t help but be nervous because it had been a while since I had played as a forward. “Just relax and don’t overthink things. You’ll do fine.”

“Thanks, Katie,” I smiled at the older girl. 

“Just kick their asses for me?” Katie asked me. I nodded because that definitely was the plan. “Get out there, (Y/N).”

I ran out to the field and joined Olivia and Lauren at the front. The two stopped to talk to me to give me some pointers. I glanced over to the bench to see Skye giving me a thumbs up. I wasn’t too surprised by the shocked looks of my moms. I had told them that Coach was wanting to play me as a forward, but none of us had thought he would this season.

I sighed as I turned my attention to the ball. For the next 45 minutes, my objective was to get the ball to each the back of the net. Things didn’t exactly go my way for about the first 30 minutes. Many of my passes had been intercepted and I couldn’t seem to win any challenges. There was an injury at the 75th minute and I saw Katie waving me over.

“What are you doing?” Katie asked me as soon as I reached her.

“I’m trying to play as a forward,” I said.

“No, you’re trying to play like me,” Katie corrected me. I knew that I had been trying to play like she would. Katie’s style of play worked with our team’s style of play. “(Y/N), you aren’t me. You aren’t Alex Morgan.”

“Thanks for reminding me.”

“You don’t try to play like Kelley O’Hara when you play defense,” Katie pointed out.

“That’s because I’m a good defender. I don’t have to try to play like Kelley did,” I defended.

“You don’t have to try to play like Alex Morgan used to and you definitely don’t have to play like I do, (Y/N),” Katie started as I ducked my head down. “You aren’t me or Alex Morgan, so don’t try to be us. You could be one of the best forwards in the world one day if you would relax and stop trying to play like other people. You aren’t them. You’re (Y/N) Morgan-O’Hara. Own it. Own it as a player. Own it as a person. Once you play like (Y/N) Morgan-O’Hara would, no one is going to be able to stop you.”

“How do you know that?”

“Cause I know (Y/N) Morgan-O’Hara the person, and if she doesn’t let anything off the field stop her, she sure as hell isn’t going to allow anything on the field stop her,” Katie said. She pushed me toward the field as I noticed that we were getting ready to continue playing. “Seriously, go kick some ass.”

I rolled my shoulders back as I sighed but headed out to the field. I rubbed my face before we started playing again. This time I didn’t try to play like anyone else. I just let myself play how I wanted to play.

Even though we kept the ball away from our goal and mostly near the other team’s goal, we weren't able to score. We had gotten some good looks, but we weren’t able to turn them into goals. It wasn’t until the 90+3′ minute that I had gotten the ball and started to head for the goal. The goalie came off of her line, and I nutmegged the defender in front of me before sending the ball soaring to the back of the net. I held my breath when the goalie’s finger tips brushed against the ball, but it hadn’t been enough to keep the ball out.

A lot of bodies collided into mine as my teammates gave me hugs. I knew that we could celebrate, but my focus was on holding off the other team for another minute or two until the final whistle blew. Once the final whistle did blow, my teammates were once again hugging me. Skye and I did our handshake before I made my way over to Katie.

“I told you, (Y/N). You just gotta play your own style,” Katie said.

“How does it feel to finally have a State Championship?” I asked Katie as I pretended to have a mic.

“Oh, it feels amazing. I’ve been trying to do this for the past four years, but this year was special so I’m happy that this was the year that we won. If you think I’m good, keep your eye on my girl (Y/N) Morgan-O’Hara cause she is gonna kill it and no one is gonna be able to stop her,” Katie said. We both started to laugh before we were able to control our laughter. We headed to the field to take a picture with the team and the trophy. “Seriously, (Y/N), you can be one of the best if you just play like yourself.”

“Thanks.”

“Now you just need to join me at UNC in a couple of years,” Katie said.

“I’m pretty sure my moms would die if I did that. One wants me to go to Stanford and the other wants me to go UC Berkeley,” I said. Katie laughed at me but I was just lucky that I didn’t have to decide for a couple more years.

We took pictures before I went to talk to my moms. I was wrapped into a hug by Tobin first. When she pulled back, Christen gave me a smile. I didn’t blame Christen for not wanting to hug me. I was sweaty.

“That was a great nutmeg,” Tobin grinned and I chuckled. “I could see you as taking up my title.”

“No one could ever do that,” I shook my head.

“It was a good goal,” Christen said.

“Thanks.”

I smiled and they let me go past them. Ali and Ash wrapped me into a hug before I could take a step past Tobin and Christen. I let out a small groan, but it only cause Ash to laugh.

“I would have stopped your goal,” Ash said.

“Sure, you would have.”

“You know you wouldn’t have been able to, Ash,” Ali added with a laugh. I let the two of them argue about it and I was a little surprise when Tobin and Christen joined in. I grinned when my parents hugged me.

“You did amazing out there tonight, (Y/N),” Alex started. “I don’t care what anyone else says, you were good.”

“Don’t listen to her, (Y/N). She’s lying,” Kelley denied. Alex slapped Kelley’s shoulder. Normally I would have been disappointed that Kelley had told me that I hadn’t done good, but I did just win a State Championship. “I don’t know what you're friend told you, but it worked. You have the potential to be a great forward if you work hard.”

“Thanks.”

“And, hey, you got a pretty good goal tonight too,” Kelley added. “Besides, you won so you know what that means. Winner, winner, chicken dinner.”

I laughed at that as they hugged me again. I may not have entirely wanted this at first, but now I wouldn’t change this for anything. Alex and Kelley were my parents and I knew that they would have my back through everything.

[sunriseskog]

That Don’t Sound Like You- Auston Matthews

Request: “Can you write an AM imagine based on that don’t sound like you by lee brice?”

Warnings: angst & cursing

A/N: i vote that we all just ignore the fact that the last time I posted was like 6 months ago uwu i also vote that we ignore the fact that this sucks

There is nothing about dialing a phone that makes it inherently difficult— it’s arguably one of the simplest, most mundane tasks one can complete. But sometimes those buttons become a little harder to push, each dial seems to require a little bit more force, a little bit more resolution behind the action so your fingers can be sure your brain knows what it’s getting itself into. This was one of those phone calls.

It had been almost 10 months since the last time you and Auston had spoken, and neither of you had anticipated ever speaking to one another again, at least not in this lifetime. But it was his birthday. It was also your birthday. Which was precisely what prompted the predicament you currently found yourself in. For as long as you could remember, you and Auston had celebrated your shared birthdays with each other. Through bedtimes and curfews, timezones and years, the two of you had never failed to be the first to wish each other a happy birthday, exactly as the clock struck 12. This time last year all you had had to do was roll over in your bed to be able to partake in the tradition. Today? Things couldn’t be more different.

There had been years when you had begged your mother to phone Ema, just to find out if Auston was home before you rode your bike all the way over to his house. There had been years when you had snuck your phone upstairs well-past your bedtime, just to fall asleep 10 minutes after he picked up the phone. Now every time you picked up your phone you wished you had never memorized his number in the first place. The irony of the situation was anything but lost on you.

For all you knew, Auston could be celebrating the occasion with someone far more qualified to comfort him tonight than you were. He could be high out of his mind or plastered beyond belief. He could be sleeping soundly or watching movies with his family. Or… or he could be thinking about you just as much as you were thinking about him. You didn’t think you wanted to know the answer.

Except, it didn’t seem you were given a choice. Your thumb felt have as you moved to connect the call, but before you had the chance, an all too familiar contact picture consumed your screen, disappearing before your brain had a chance to register that the vibration had even begun. Well, that answered one question at least. Wherever he was, whatever he was doing, he was thinking about you too.

You still had about 45 seconds until midnight, so there was the possibility that he merely hung up because he had called too early. But there was also a much more realistic possibility that he was overthinking this almost as much as you were, which meant the both of you were going to spend the next 45 seconds in absolute agony over who would have the balls to call first. You could always cut him a break, despite the fact that he had hung up almost immediately, he did still technically call first. You decided that being early just this one year wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, and pushed the green button towards the bottom of your screen. You couldn’t help but think that this might be the last time the two of you shared this moment together.

Any semblance of confidence that you had possessed before placing the call was immediately eradicated the moment you heard the line connect. Nothing could have prepared you for the overwhelming experience of hearing his voice again.

“(Y/N)?” He questioned, his voice rough and lower than you remembered. The weight behind his question, the hopeful but disbelieving lilt in his tone robbed you of any hope you had of forming a coherent response, your breath having been punched out of your chest as soon as you had heard his voice again. You heard his breath hitch through the receiver as soon as you moved to speak.

“…hey” you breathed lightly, barely loud enough for even your own ears to register.

A few deafeningly silent moments passed before you realized that he wasn’t going to respond any time soon.

“Umm,” you hesitated, unsure of where to lead the conversation, but already feeling desperate not to let it end. “Happy birthday, Auston,” you spoke quietly, moisture gathering around the edge of your mouth as you spoke, a thick sob settling quietly in the back of your throat. Somehow, you managed to keep your voice from wavering, despite the history and emotion weighing heavily on every word that you spoke. You could hear the air rush past the receiver as he inhaled quickly, and the hair on the back of your neck bristled in preparation of hearing his voice again.

“What did he do,” he demanded sharply, the aggression in his tone catching you entirely off guard.

“Excuse me?” You demanded with an offended quirk of your brow, not quite sure whether to take what he was saying personally or not.

“N-no,” he stuttered quickly, “That’s… that’s not what I meant. I just,” he huffed out an ironic laugh, and you could almost see the way you knew he was rolling his eyes at himself, his left hand perched on the brow of his nose in frustration. “This is not how I intended for this to go,” he lamented lamely, “I just meant that like…” he hesitated. Wherever this conversation was going, you could already tell it was going to be a minefield of trying not to offend one another while desperately avoiding anything that would remind the two of you of what had occurred all those months ago. You heard him sigh deeply as he prepared to explain himself.

“I just meant…” he trailed off again, and you were quickly becoming increasingly frustrated with how long it was taking this boy to spit out a single sentence.

“Spit it out, Auston,” you sighed, “You’re not going to offend me, and it’s not like we have a relationship to jeopardize in the first place,” you spoke reservedly, trying to keep your voice as non-abrasive as possible.

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about!” He exclaimed seeming to be ignited by what you had said. “That’s- That not how you fucking talk, (Y/N)! Whatever the fuck you’re saying that’s- that’s not you,” he rambled. “You’re way too fucking quiet and you’re not cussing or screaming at me or going off on me for calling you on your birthday and you’re not talking about what happened and you’re talking to me. today. Right now. You are talking to me. Which means he must have done something,” he finished, having run out of breath from how quickly and loudly he was speaking.

“Auston…” you trailed off, unsure of what to say. It wasn’t like he was wrong, the rebound— Luke— that you had met during a drunken tinder binge after you and Auston had split, had quickly turned into a hell of a lot more than you intended, and you had been in such a vulnerable emotional state that by the time you were cognizant enough to realize what was happening around you, it was too late to go back. Somehow what you had intended to be a one-night stand had turned into him staying the night, asking you to make breakfast, and then proceeding to continue to invite himself over until you weren’t even clear as to whether he was your boyfriend or not. After a few misinterpreted social media interactions, everyone else— including Luke— seemed to decide the two of you were dating, without anyone seeming to consider asking you.

“Why are you alone on your birthday?” He demanded, cutting off the half-formed response you had begun to stutter out in response to his previous line of questioning.

“Why are you?” You rebutted, matching his aggressive tone. As far as you were concerned, you were under no obligation to answer his questions, especially if he was going to continue acting like a complete ass when all you had wanted to do was have his voice be the first you heard on your birthday, especially if this was going to be the last time. You couldn’t help but notice that he still hadn’t said it back.

“You know why,” he stated simply, as if somehow you knew exactly what was happening inside of his brain despite the fact that it had been damn near a year since the two of you had spoken.

“Enlighten me,” you quipped sarcastically with a roll of your eyes, wishing for this conversation to end by desperate for him not to stop talking.

“I missed you.” You felt your heart drop inside of your chest. He stated those words so easily, as if it wouldn’t take every ounce of pride that you had managed to preserve over the past few months to reciprocate the statement.

“I answered your question,” he continued. “Now you answer mine.”

“Which one?” You cleared your throat, his confession still ricocheting around your mind, seeming to consume your being entirely.

“Why are you alone on your birthday?”

You took a deep breath before beginning, there was no point in lying, the only options on the table were that eventually he would find out the truth or this would be the final conversation you would have with him, and you didn’t want the last thing you said to him to have been a lie. It wasn’t worth it, you had nothing to lose.

“If I couldn’t talk to you, I didn’t want to talk to anyone,” you stated simply. The two of you knew this was as close to a confession as your pride would let you get, regardless of the circumstances.

“Wh-what about Luke?” He questioned hesitantly, the hopeful lilt from the first time he spoke returning at last.

“Especially not Luke,” you asserted, resisted the urge to groan at the mere mention of the omnipresent nuisance in your life. “That… that wasn’t what everyone thought it was, and whatever it actually was is over now… not that it matters.”

“oh…” he spoke quietly, seemingly unsure of what to say.

“…yeah,” you winced, visibly cringing at how the conversation had become so painfully awkward so quickly.

“That wasn’t my only question,” he began quickly, his voice seeming to allude to the fact that he wasn’t expecting an answer.

“I know.”

“Maybe,” he started apprehensively. “Maybe you could answer it over coffee sometime?” He inquired hopefully. You could practically feel him holding his breath. You choked on the breath you had been exhaling, your shoulders stiffening on their own accord.

“You- you don’t have to you know…” he trailed off. “You don’t have to answer the question, or even meet me for that matter. Just… just if you want to y’know.”

“Hows tomorrow sound?” You cut him off, mercifully putting an end to whatever else he was going to nervously ramble on about until you gave an answer. The breath of relief he let out sounded more like a laugh, and words couldn’t express how good it felt to be smiling with him again. There was every possibility that this was the first genuine smile you had let out since the last time the two of you had spoken.

“I couldn’t think of a better time if I tried,” he smirked, his cockiness exuding through the speaker despite the vulnerability of the previous moment.

“I’ll see you then,” you quipped, a similar confidence seeping into your tone.

As you moved to hang up, you heard him begin to speak again.

“(Y/N)?” He rushed quickly.

“Yeah?” You questioned, confused.

“Happy Birthday.”

A/N: it has been so so very long since i’ve posted so please let me know what you think!!! & thanks for sticking around through my semi-hiatus lmao

[ajholdsamb]

Petra- A world wonder that is truly deserving of the name

We have spent the past two days in Petra, a 2,000 year old Nabatean city that is carved out of ancient sandstone cliffs and looks like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It is the most famous site in Jordan, receiving over half a million visitors a year. Many people travel to Jordan just to see this site and I can see why. Made famous in modern times by movies like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Petra was famous long before that as the Nabatean capital city. The Nabateans came from nomadic tribes of desert people, who became extremely wealthy by controlling the trade routes between the Graeco-Roman kingdoms to the west and Indian and Chinese empires to the east. AJ want to insert more backstory here?

[Guy AJ: OK! Petra is to me a reminder of how fortune comes and goes and how it can build but also reduce empires. About 2,300 years ago a group of nomadic Arabs, later to be called the Nabateans, occupied parts of Southern Jordan and happened to be at the right place at the right time. The world was getting smaller and cultures were coming into contact with each other unlike ever before. Alexander the Great had just introduced half a continent to Greek society, sometimes after razing a town to the ground then building it back up with more floral patterns in their columns. Anyway, all this cultural exchange meant people wanted more things from further away places.

And what better place to be at that time than Jordan? It is located at the converging point of Africa, Europe, and Asia, a crossroads of significance since the first of our species left Africa. The Nabateans controlled trade routes through this important hub, and were able to acquire great wealth from Indian spices on their way to Alexandria and Greek statues passing through to a Red Sea port. They used their wealth to construct massive and awe inspiring tombs in Petra, which AJ and I stared at in amazement over 2,000 years later, but Petra is so much more than a valley for the dead.

Petra is thought to have been a city of several tens of thousands of people, who bartered over goods in markets, practiced religious rites in temples, and debated public policy in the city’s civic center. The remains of these institutions are mostly in rubble in Petra’s basin area, but the thousands and thousands of potsherds we observed walking around are testimony to the many people who lived here in the literal shadows of the dead from the tombs that ring the city.

Petra was incredibly cosmopolitan - the tombs incorporated stepped motifs from Mesopotamia, obelisks from Egypt, and ornate entablatures from Greece. The columns at Petra are distinctly Nabatean, however, with tops that point out like bull horns unlike any other classical style I’ve seen.

If fortune created Petra than a loss of fortune eroded it. By the time Petra was absorbed by the Roman Empire in the first century AD, new trade routes and greater confidence in seafaring made Petra increasingly obsolete. Although several earthquakes destroyed parts of the city in the following centuries, it is a ruin not from natural disasters but from money drying up and people gradually leaving to find better prospects elsewhere or to return to the way of life of those who founded Petra, herding in the Arabian desert like descendent Bedouin communities do to this day. Petra is a reminder that the good times don’t always last forever, cough, cough USA.]

Now that you have a little backstory, I’ll go into our experiences. Because we saw SO MUCH during our time in Petra, I’m going to write this blog post a little differently. Rather than chronicling everything, I’m going to narrow it down to the top five sites we saw and our top four practical tips. This should give a good overview of our experiences but also not take twenty years to write. Let’s start off with the practical and then get into the fun!

Top Four Practical Tips for visiting Petra

1)Go for more than one day, and stagger your entrance times

This probably increased our enjoyment of Petra tenfold. Through our Jordan Pass (which is a great deal by the way- it includes your visa fee and the entrance fees for every site we are going to visit in Jordan?!) we had bought two days in Petra. If you’re into archaeology, geology, nature, or just like to take it slower I recommend going for at least two days, because Petra is unique and wonderful and huge and there is just so much to see. You can check off the biggest of the sites in one intense sweaty day, but it is so much more enjoyable to take your time.

We decided to start off our first day super early, so we got into the park at the opening time of 6:00. Petra can get really crowded, but at 6:00 the only person there was the one sole ticket taker (we even got confused for a second, thinking that maybe the site was closed). This was such a good way to start off our first day because during the 40-50 min trek in we were often BY OURSELVES. This was especially cool during the walk through the siq, a box canyon with 500 ft. tall walls that meanders magically through to take you to the reveal of Petra’s most famous site- the Treasury. As we were leaving at 1:30 pm this walkway was packed with people and speeding carriages and decidedly less magical.

Getting in early we were also able to appreciate the main sites without being inundated by other tourists or salespeople. We actually got photos of the Treasury without other people in them! At one point on our first day I was like “wow AJ we’ve done so much already, it must be time for lunch” but it was 8am.

Starting early, we were able to do the intense hike up to the ceremonial high place while the weather was still cool. During the downhill hour and a half meander through the Wadi Farasa trail it started to get hot, so I was very happy to not have to climb a bajillion stairs again. After that we we saw a couple more of the big tombs, but then during the hottest and most crowded part of the day we were able to peace out without guilt because we knew we had another day. It was only 1 pm when we began the hour trek home, but by that point we had already had a full 7 hour day.

On our second day, we slept in and got started at 10. We actually began at the museum (which is really well done!) so we didn’t make it into the park until 11:00. Because we had already seen a lot of the main sites we were able to walk straight through to the parts we hadn’t seen and take our time. Then in the mid afternoon we began our all uphill hike to Petra’s Monastery.

I was worried about hiking uphill during the hottest part of the day but because we had gotten a late started we had energy, and a good chunk of the path was shady (side note-this is supposed to be one of Petra’s low seasons because it supposedly gets so hot, but it was in the 80s for us- not too bad!). We were able to have a picnic and enjoy the views, and then walk back through Petra during golden hour right before sunset. Again, there were almost no people! I think many visitors do a quick one day tour where they come in between 10-11 and only stay for a couple of hours. It was so nice to have the full two days in Petra, to get it when it was not crowded, and to see it in the different types of sunlight.

2) Think of the practicalities (you’re going to be doing a lot of hiking)

So real talk, AJ and I looked like dorks in Petra. We were wearing long sleeve tactical hiking gear with pants and had backpacks on with 10 liters of water and snacks (& when I say WE carried 10 liters of water I really mean guy AJ did, he’s such a beast). And yet we saw people in fancy dresses and high heels with no water?? Granted not everyone has to hike for 8 hours a day like we did, but it’s still at least a 50 min hike in through the dirt. You can buy water in the site, but it is way overpriced and it was nice to never have to worry about getting stranded somewhere without it. Plus we drank all of it and never got dehydration headaches👌🏻. It’s also fun to pack in a picnic to enjoy in the park. There are a couple restaurants in the site, but if you bring your own you can pick your spot (with lots of awesome views to choose from). There are also toilets on site, but it’s good to bring tp and handsanitizer because they are often not well stocked. Since it gets super sunny, wearing pants and a long sleeve t-shirt was clutch for the rocky trails, sun protection, and out of respect because despite tourist short shorts, we are still in a Muslim county.

If nothing else, at least wear tennis shoes and bring water.

3) Climb to some high places and get some views!

We did two uphill hikes while in Petra, one to the Ceremonial High Place (for ceremonies) and one to the Monastery. We took both slowly, and while they were steep & straight up hill, there were steps that made them doable. Each climb took about 45-60 minutes one way, with lots of breaks. The views at the end made them all worthwhile. It allowed us to pull back and really see the landscape of the wadi (valley). Both hikes ended up being two of our favorite aspects of Petra- so I’ll talk more about them later.

4) Don’t just try to check off all the main sites- go off the beaten path

Maybe because I had only really seen pictures of the Treasury, I didn’t realize before visiting how large Petra is. Since it was a complex city, the site is spread out and there are SO many places to see. On our first big day I realized just how exhausting trying to check off all the big ones in one day truly is. Some of our favorite aspects were going off the beaten path and exploring random less famous aspects of Petra. It’s fun to find your favorite tomb or take a rest on a side trail, all of which you don’t have time for if you’re trying to power through all the greatest hits.

Now on to the fun stuff!

Top Five Sites of Petra

5)Exploring the unnamed tombs

This fits in very well with our last tip from above. At around 7:15 am after hiking through the siq and spending some time at the treasury, we wandered off the main path to explore some of the unnamed tombs. Each tomb is different, it is fun to pick out your favorites and think about the people who would’ve been buried here or celebrated in these smaller places. They are more intimate than the larger tombs, and it feels really adventurous to get to walk around in these ancient buildings. The sandstone is often gorgeous, and it was really peaceful to take a break in these cool chambers. Also AJ named one the tomb of the drunken sailor cuz it was slanted.

4)Wandering through the Siq

Walking through the siq was a magical experience every time it happened, but especially without crowds and in the light at dawn and dusk. The first time it came as a surprise. We were hiking down from the visitors center when all of the sudden the landscape changed and we were at the entrance to the Siq, a 500 ft. tall canyon with imposing walls that almost block out the sun. Running along the path you can still see the distinct curves used for the Nabatean irrigation system. There are sculptures hidden along the pathway including the remains of what would’ve been a 10 ft. tall camel carving. You can see why the Nabateans would have chosen this geologic feature as their grand entrance, and it served to create a sense of magic for entering this special place.

3)Hiking the Wadi Farasa Trail

On the first day after I thought we’d be in Petra for months but it was only 8 o’clock, we started our hike up to the Sacrificial High Place. I’m glad we started early because it was a steep 45 minute hike and at 8am it wasn’t too hot. After a brief kerfuffle with a donkey (a Bedouin woman was trying to call it to her but we kept accidentally scaring it uphill), we made it to the top! There are panoramic views of Petra, including Aaron’s tomb. This was a sacred place where the Nabateans worshipped the sun and moon with a built in blood drain for sacrifices. It’s easy to tell why it is sacred- up there it’s so easy to feel close to the sky. AJ and I took a moment to lie down on the top to worship the celestial deities as the sun and morning moon faced off above us. Also, it was a tiring hike and we needed to lie down. Next, rather than going back down the steep way we came, we took the Wadi Farasa trail. There was all sorts of cool archaeology (a giant lion fountain!) and geology (sandstone with manganese and iron stripes!) to see on the way down. My favorite part was the the combination of the tomb of the Roman soldier and the garden triclinium because they are directly across from each other, and with the rubble from the column lined promenade it was easy to picture how the ancient people would’ve used this beautiful space.

2)The hike to the Monastery/the end of the world

Our second favorite site was on our other high place trek. This one we did in the late afternoon, and since it is through a canyon it was often shaded. We had a picnic lunch at the top in front of the monastery (one of the largest tombs in Petra that was later turned into a church). However, my favorite part was a spot beyond the monastery. We hiked 15 minutes further to the edge of the mountain to this little Bedouin tent & the views were INSANE! We could see so many mountain ranges come together to into this steep valley, with a convergence of different types of rocks. Guy AJ liked it because, in his words, “we’ve finally reached the edge of Petra.” In other words it was the first time we looked out and didn’t see any archaeology; we had found an end to this seemingly endless site. It was one of the prettiest places I’ve ever seen.

1)The Treasury reveal

The treasury (or the Khazneh) is the most famous site in all of Petra. Its location is featured in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, as well as countless other movies. In person the detail and scope is awe inspiring, and made all the more impressive by the long walk we had just had through the Siq. The first time the canyon opens up we saw this amazing 2,000 year old building. It was wonderful to get it almost to ourselves in the morning, and we also got to say goodbye without the crowds on the last day. It’s the most famous part of Petra, but for a good reason.

All in all Petra is one of the coolest places I’ve ever seen, a highlight of this trip and of my life.

Love,

The very impressed Ajs