#wait.. didn't i say just recently here that i probably wouldn't ever depict 'what if alaira is qifrey's sort-of ex'. What's going on

[lunarharp]

What led to this (orufrey comic, cw an uncomfortable/creepy scene)

[softboo]

love me, ever so gently - part III

pairing: austin x reader

summary: you recently moved to a new apartment, making some new eccentric friends along the way. but what you didn't expect was falling in love with a stranger. a stranger you somehow couldn't stop thinking about

words: 2.3k

warning: depictions of alcohol, dark themes of domestic abuse in relationships, *minors please don't interact*

author's note: hii here's part III of the story!! this one was a lot of fun to make omg and it wasn't even supposed to go this way at all... it kinda just happened lmfaoo. i'm already writing the next part heh. but yeah, it truly means the world to me that you guys read these stories. like it really warms my heart, so thank you. hope you enjoy <3

previous part // next part

part III

"he's being abused cassie," you wanted to be straightforward on the topic, especially with how delicate the issue was. you thought she would say something, but she paused. like the weight of your words were slowly sinking in. the realization and the possibility landing right in front of her.

you were just afraid she wouldn't see it.

and she didn't.

"sweetie, what makes you say that? he seems fine."

for the past few weeks, austin started attending more events. the cooking class being one of his favorites. you no longer sat with him anymore, feeling awkward every time you spoke to each other. the silence became so deafening that you soon changed partners. but a part of you always seemed to wonder how he was doing. if he had any new bruises. if he was still healing from past injuries. if his pain was still there.

and if he was genuinely okay.

from someone who knew nothing, like the rest of your friends, he seemed to be doing amazing. and he was pretty good at keeping that front up.

maybe he found a way to put his guard up even more after you.

you all were spending dinner in the kitchen; evelyn taking her proper position as cook, insisting on making everything by scratch. it took a long time to convince her that george was there to help and when she did accept, he never left her side. making sure she had every ingredient ready.

he genuinely looked like he was a cook working for the head chef, but you and cassandra both knew he was mainly doing it for the food.

"i promise you cassie, he's not okay."

"if he wasn't okay dear, then why is he coming here to spend dinner with us?"

your eyes widened at the news, which made cassandra smile.

"you invited him?" panic started to rise up to your throat, "but why?"

"george invited him because his girlfriend is out of town for two weeks. he's going to be alone and no one deserves to be alone at a time like this."

you gritted your teeth, the thought of seeing him again after so long and now he was spending dinner with your friends made you feel slightly uncomfortable by the idea. not because you didn't want to see him, but moreso because your heart was so desperate to talk to him again.

"cassie, his girlfriend is the problem. he's probably so excited that she's gone, which is why he's attending more events."

"my love, listen to me." she took your hands from across the table, eyeing you with such intent and comfort that she let out a sigh.

"you know why i don't believe you?"

your eyebrows furrowed in confusion, not knowing where she was going with this.

"because i know how you feel about him," she waited for your reaction, but all you did was blink at her. "let's say this is true, the girlfriend is an abuser, then what?"

"then we help him right?"

"sure dear, but you need to ask yourself if you're doing that because you care about him or because you like him."

you bit your lip. why did there have to be a difference? you can care about someone right?

"and if it's the latter, you need to wait and see if he'll reach out to you. because again, he is taken."

that last part stung because it was true. some little part of your heart thought that maybe, just maybe, if he left his girlfriend, you could come in and be everything he deserved.

but it wasn't that easy. and he wasn't single.

"elvis my boy!! elvis is in the building!!" george exclaimed as austin arrived, wearing a black suit blazer. his blonde hair was styled in a way that looked messy, but accentuated his curls. and his eyes had oceans again, overflowing with life.

but what got you was his smile. he looked genuinely happy, embracing george into a tight hug. something george wasn't used to since he was always the one initiating, but he was all for it.

and for the first time, you doubted yourself and your theory. maybe cassandra was right.

maybe he really was okay.

austin went around to evelyn, who soon grew fond of him as her little cooking mentee. austin learning dinner dishes to desserts from all the classes he attended.

"the food smells lovely evelyn," his lower tone enveloped your heart and you hated how much he really did affect you. evelyn thanked him for his kind compliment.

"austin come and sit, the table is already made." cassandra offered the chair next to you and you panicked once more.

"hi again," his voice was smooth as he maneuvered his way around you to sit at the chair on your left. something about his tone and the way he held himself now felt like he was a stranger to you. like the guy you met before wasn't him at all.

or maybe a part of you saw him as broken and thought that you could be the one to fix him.

but your heart still stuck to that possibility. that this was all a front somehow. but you had no real reason to follow that thought. all you had was that pull on your heart.

"i like your suit," you gave him a weak smile as he thanked you kindly, pressing against the little wrinkled areas and loosening his jacket and tie.

"i just came back from dropping my girlfriend off at the airport so... i'm all yours for two weeks." he exclaimed, leaning back in his chair. your heart fluttered when he said that, but you knew it wasn't what he really meant.

evelyn and george placed the food on the table, a beautiful dinner feast for all of you. cassandra followed suit with the rest of the desserts as george popped up from his chair, running to get something.

"we forgot the wine!" he screamed from the hallway, hobbling back with two bottles. he eagerly poured an outrageous amount of wine in everyone's glass, left standing to offer a toast.

"to our new friend elvis," his toothy grin wide and proud as everyone raised their glass too. austin getting flustered as he tried to turn down the compliment, but evelyn insisted.

"and to my first cooking mentee, who i am so proud of," evelyn added, squeezing austin's cheeks. he laughed and you weren't sure why that sound hurt you.

you were the last to raise your glass as everyone cheered.

something about him being a part of the group should be celebrated, but you didn't know why it felt so painful. why him being a part of your life was hurting you.

or why him being happy killed you.

maybe because you wanted to be a part of that in his life, but knowing you couldn't be.

by the time you were done flooding yourself with all your conflicting thoughts, the dinner ended and all that was left was the chocolate cake in the center of the table. and you, picking at the icing with your fork.

you didn't remember anyone saying goodbye though, which made you feel even worse. you weren't exactly sure how much wine you drank either, considering your glass was empty. but you could've sworn it was full just a few minutes ago.

and then you saw him, coming back to your table. his blazer long gone and just his white dress shirt underneath. he looked disheveled but in a good way. something that showed he had a good time with his friends, which he did. he just wasn't sure if he remembered all of it.

"you want to bring the cake upstairs?" his voice felt like a blanket around you.

you looked at him with such confusion because... why would a kitchen have an upstairs?

"upstairs? why am i going upstairs?"

"because you need to go to bed."

"but i don't want to go to your apartment."

and his cheeks flushed red at your firm decision, feeling suddenly embarrassed for what you assumed. he did offer his arms for you to hold onto though, but you were hesitant to take it.

"i'm taking you back to your bed."

you sat there quietly, like you were debating whether or not to trust him. but you couldn't feel your legs so you had no other choice. and he smiled at you as you sat there and contemplated.

it wasn't long until he made the first move, wrapping his arm around your waist to hold you up while the other hand made sure you draped your arm around his shoulder. it felt like you were floating off the ground, either you were so far gone now or he was a lot taller than you thought.

when you reached the elevator, he struggled with keeping you upright, multiple failed attempts along the way of you falling forward, which made him almost lose his balance. it was like trying to walk without knowing where to go and not feeling the ground beneath you.

austin finally made it to your door as he tried to fumble through your bag for your key, while you nodded off for a split second. he kept one hand on your head, placing you as close to his chest as possible so you wouldn't fall over again, which made you blush immensely. your arms limply fell around his neck and he didn't mind at all, not even reacting to the way you fit right into the crook of his neck. your face surrounded by the smell of his cologne and little wavy pieces of his hair. you wished you could stay here forever.

"you smell really nice austin..." your words slurring with wine in your breathe. "can i have your cologne?"

"of course you can."

he couldn't help but laugh, which felt like a sympathy in your ears.

he finally found your key, opening the door for you. he slowly let you move first as he followed suit, trying to hold on to the sliver of soberness he had left in him.

it wasn't until you saw your living room that you excitedly left the comfort of his arms and screamed at your furniture.

"oh my gosh... YOU HAVE THE SAME APARTMENT AS ME!!" you squealed, turning back around to pull him into a hug, almost knocking him back outside. he held you for a moment, convincing himself that this was the alcohol talking.

this was just the wine.

"we're in your apartment love," he remarked and you let go all of a sudden and he felt the emptiness with it.

"oh."

your voice sounded so heartbroken that he almost felt bad for smiling at you.

"then why are you in my apartment?"

"because i need to make sure you get to bed okay." the alcohol still wavering a bit in his balance as he tried to maneuver you towards what he assumed was your bedroom. and he assumed correctly.

"i can do it on my own." you protested, finding your bed covers. you felt the softness of your blanket before you collapsed onto the bed, letting out a long awaited sigh. your eyes closed as you tried to ignore him. him and your overly excited heart.

"do you want to change first?"

you perked your head up and suddenly felt the room spinning. you were adament in saying yes, but you couldn't move your legs again.

"go away. i can do it by myself." you whined, slowly getting up and then collapsing on the floor, giggling.

austin just looked at you, holding in a laugh. you tried to push him out of your room and it actually worked, but only because he fell over outside.

"and you stay outside until i'm done." you ordered, your voice stern but slurred.

getting dressed drunk was probably one of the most difficult tasks you had to do at this very moment. and you haven't drank like this since college so you were mixing which part of your shirt was meant for your arm and your head.

by the time you finally had yourself dressed, you opened the door to see austin lying on the ground. his eyes closed, sound asleep.

"austin..." you whispered, crouching over him. the alcohol making you see double for a moment before using the floor to ground you. "austin, you can't sleep here."

he fluttered his eyes open as he gazed back at you. oceans engulfing you in endless waves. his hair all messy now as he just looked at you with such intrigue. it was so inviting.

he was so inviting.

you could've done anything, but you couldn't. you knew you couldn't.

but he was just laying there, gazing up at you like he's never seen you before. like he was seeing you for the first time all over again.

you wanted to caress his cheek, play with his hair, tell him he could stay.

but you couldn't.

it broke your heart that you couldn't have him. that he was with someone else.

you mustered enough courage, enough strength for the both of you, and whispered ever so softly to him.

"thank you for taking care of me..." your words blending into each other, feeling as if you were so far away from him.

and without thinking, you let your hand fall on his cheek, moving the little strands of hair that fell onto his face. like it was something natural that you've done for years.

and he closed his eyes to your touch.

you started to tear up, pulling everything you had left in you just to smile at him. that somehow he needed reassurance for your heartbreak.

"your girlfriend is so unbelievably lucky to have you austin," your voice breaking at the end, wanting to so desperately do something. do anything.

but all you did was collapse on the floor next to him, your body feeling limp from all the alcohol. he hardly moved from where he was, your words sinking slowly into his chest.

the weight of everything settling into him.

and for the first time, you were the reason why his oceans went dry.

[whats-the-story-tc]

3rd of March, 2020

"The One with the Alpha and the Omega"

Another day, another flannel.

This morning, I got ready surprisingly fast, and went to school earlier than I normally do. As I was nearing the gates, I realised why the universe arranged that for me. In the crowd, my eyes immediately found V, wrapped up in her great big scarf, walking in. Though I didn't go up to her, as I didn't want to bother her, I couldn't tear my eyes away from her. It's entirely unfair that she's so beautiful in everything.

I was, once again, forced to realise how rarely we say hello to each other verbally. Today's form of non-verbal "hi!" was us locking eyes and smiling, as we went in separate directions. We did this twice, on two different stairways. Interesting dynamic, that of ours.

An hour before our upcoming test in her class, she came up to my class, a stack of papers in hand. "Are a lot of people absent?" she asked us. When I noticed the people nearer to her couldn't respond, I chimed in with the answer, specifying when she asked me to specify. "Thanks." she told me, then walked away, passing behind my back. While we were talking, there was a kind of sleepy softness in her eyes. Not the usual heavy sharpness when she's really tired, just... the morning coffee probably hadn't kicked in yet.

As we write our tests in English, V is grading at her desk. Me being me, I look up whenever she makes the slightest sound. The test, like all of V's tests, isn't hard at all if you studied properly, so I can afford it. She starts laughing at something, then shows it to us: someone drew flowers in place of an answer, because they admittedly didn't know anything. Huh. Blond Boy in the Back is, once again, sitting in front of me and often tries to cheat. V keeps an eye on both him, and another boy, calling them amateurs and lazy, and, at one point, she said she'd need one of those spray bottles full of water. "To spray water on them like on the cat when it starts eating the plants," she explains. It seems V's cat is every bit as extra as their owner. Meanwhile, I'm my own kinda extra, as per usual when it comes to V's essay questions. I roast Akaky Akakievich in one short essay, and in the other, about Onegin as a romanticism-era novel, I write: "It also contains many other attributes of romanticism, and my reason for not listing them definitely isn't that I don't know them." I said no, you know, like a liar.

Although V keeps reminding us that there isn't much time left until the bell, she ends up staying an extra five minutes after class, to wait for everyone to be done. "Guess I'm not having lunch anymore..." she mutters to herself, then checks her phone. "Oh, my battery's so gonna die..." she says. "Metaphorically, or...?" I ask her, and get a short, tired little laugh in return.

Next class' topic is drama and our own national theatre. I'm shouldering an unexpected anxiety attack, so I can't pay attention as much as I would've liked to, but I made it somehow. The fact that I won't have class with her for another week only worsened my mood. So after class, I trodded up to her saying "Oh, so period-accurate costumes were in style, that's why we didn't win!", referring to the drama competition I've been on last Friday. She tells me a bit about costumes, and that's when she starts getting curious. She asks me where we placed and who beat us, and calls the fact that the local team won "bias, you know how it goes". "Do you consider [third place] a disappointment?" she asks me, and after I answered I no longer do, but I did then, she tells me: "Well, you can't always win." I can't see her face, as she's packing as we speak, but I definitely heard that playful smile of hers in her voice.

Debate Friend enters stage right, and we start talking gaming. They talk Skyrim, and Life is Strange also comes up. When we discuss our choices, it turns out that V and I made completely different choices in the two biggest dealbreakers of the game — both of which entirely reflective of who we are as people. Then, this friend of ours in our year (from here on: Curly Friend, cuz I mention him often enough) shows up, and tells us that he'll be skipping class. "Let's pretend I didn't hear that," V says with a stage gasp. We remind her that the other class are attending this lecture, and she even remembers that our class has a similar lecture tomorrow. "We have to go to class while they're just sitting and listening to that lecture! Can you believe that, Miss?" I tell her. Bless her soul, she tries to encourage us that it's gonna be interesting. Then, as this girl asks V to look at what she painted, she's surprised when V recognises gore. "I'm not that old, you know." she tells her, grinning. "Not at all!" I responded, but I don't know if she heard it.

After all these groundbreaking things happening recently, I wasn't satisfied with how this day ended. It's a really ugly flaw of mine, no longer being satisfied with the little things. So when I went back for training, and saw that it was parents' evening, I got excited. I shit you not, I went outside every 20 minutes to try and catch a glimpse of her. But it took until the end of training until I actually saw her walk by, so I waited till she'd come back and see me there.

"What, are you not bored of school yet?" she asked me with a faint surprise when she saw me, eyeing my training gear, especially my shirt rather curiously. (It's my work uniform from this one sports event where I volunteered, you see.) After I explained her everything, and asked her how she is, she told me that they — as in the teachers — are, in fact, bored, but there were only a couple minutes left. She then proceeded to give directions/help out a lost seeming parent who showed up on the stairs beside us. As usual, I told her "Keep holding on, Miss!" when she walked away, to which she replied "Thanks! It won't be long now!" I think various forms of thank you might be what we say to each other most often.

You see, V is very different from all the other teachers who like me. Her grin, as we were talking, weren't the same as my Religion teacher's awe of me being an assistant coach, or A grinning at me like I hung the stars in the sky. I probably wouldn't even have noticed V being glad to see me if it weren't for me knowing her expressions so well. Because that's her. She doesn't put me on a pedestal higher than I will ever deserve to be on, unlike most people I meet. She just calmly enjoyed the fact that someone who likes her and is easy to talk to showed up, who isn't the same people she sat two hours in the same room with. It's like how cats like sunlight, in a way.

My day started and ended with her. How interesting. In honour of this, I want to quote a poem I know V loves:

"I remain a prison for myself,

For I am the subject and the object,

Oh, I am the omega and the alpha."

~ S ♡

[Every story I share here, no matter how specific I get with my wording, depicts actual events from my own life.]

[reaganscrown]

The Proof and the Witness - short story written by @reagansstuff

We all trotted along the forests pathway. Mother told me to never leave the pathway, to avoid getting lost. Amongst us were Callister, Navi and Riley. Callister is a spoiled brat who thinks he can do whatever he pleases and often takes a lot of dares as his own risk. Navi is a new girl from our school. She comes from India and it is fascinating to hear her talk about her country's diverse culture. Riley, nonetheless, is my best friend. He is like my second half. Singular as he is, he always keeps me warm company whenever my day isn't going well, as I do the same for him. As tired as we were, we hurried onwards to find a nice quiet spot where we could stop for lunch break. We found it... but I wouldn't necessarily say that it was pleasing to see. The forest was dark and gloomy and blurred our visions, but all I remember seeing was several shrubs covered of blood and all around were broken twigs and patchy grass. Not far from there, was found a swamp filled with dead fish.

- I propose we eat elsewhere. Suggested Riley.

I couldn't be against him on that. This place was disgusting and there was no point in staying.

- It's true. This place is unpreserved and highly unhygienic. I get the goosebumps just by being here. Added Navi.

It reminded me of this scene in this movie I've recently watched called "In the eye of the Beholder".

- You guys are just a bunch of babies. Grow up and put your big man pants. This place isn't bad at all. Do you know how many dares I can challenge Billy Marner at this spot? He'll loose all of them! That's for sure! Replied Callister.

He continued with an evil laugh, while the rest of us were staring in each other's eyes, wondering what we should do to convince him.

Billy Marner is another kid from our school. Between him and Callister, life has always been a competition. They always confront each other with stupid extremely dangerous (even deadly) dares. Don't know how all this started but all I know is that it all beginned ever since 4th grade.

-Alright, let's not quarrel and waste our energy on this. Len, what do you think of this? Questioned Riley.

They all turned their faces towards me. I stood by them like stone, fixed and rigid.

-Hm... Riley and Navi are right. We should probably find another place. This forest is broad and I've been hiking with father here multiple times (which was a lie). We might be able to find another location 30 mins from here.

-Urgh... fine. But you guys wait till I tell Billy Marner. Callister responded, with an irritated tone.

Riley rolled his eyes as we continued, on our way to some unknown location. I started gaining some worrying afterthoughts of whether we should have even come to this forest in the first place. It's strange... on all the hikes I've been to in my life, this place was like the somber disconsolate graveyards, the unwelcoming depictions of the bottom of the sea or even the engulfing ashes at the gates of the underworld... something didn't feel right.

Crunch!

-What was that? I asked.

Nobody responded but I wouldn't blame them. After all, they were all as confused and as frozen as I was. To break the silence, Riley finally said:

-Navi, are you alright? You look all pale, like you've just seen/met the devil in person.

Navi muffled. We could hear from her slow and steady breaths that she was petrified. We all were, as the man's worst enemy is the Unknown.

Callister slowly started looking down, and in his eyes we only saw pure terror.

-Um...guys, I think I stepped on something.

-What is it? Riley asked, in a hoarse voice.

- i-i don't know. Whimpered Callister, in a voice of uncertainty.

We were all scared. But all I knew was that this "thing" we found, was keeping us from moving forward and eventually one of us had to discover what it was. Took me some time but I took my courage at two hands and slowly crouched to where Callister's foot still stood. The "thing" we found was covered with dead leaves so I started brushing them off, one by one. When it was clear enough to see what it was, I stopped.

-Is this a sort of... mummy? I murmured to myself.

-A what? Questioned Riley.

-Nothing. I answered.

I stayed quiet.

I thought that maybe if I didn't say anything it would prevent from making matters worse but it certainly didn't.

Riley stepped up and knelt down towards it. He was looking down at the dead body... annoyed... confused.

-We shouldn't stay here any longer. He said in a rough voice.

-We shouldn't... I affirmed.

-I have to do something first...

We didn't know what he meant by that but all we could do was stay and watch. He slowly advanced towards Callister, one step... and another... and another.

He drawed his hand to his pocket. I didn't know exactly what he was reaching for, nor his true intentions, but i continued to observe him. At a slow pace, he got his hand out and instead appeared a fist. Even if I tried, I thought, I know that at this instant I'd be uncapable to get the object he was hiding, so firmly in his palm. He was still walking, in a leisurely way, slow and steady... slow and steady.

Suddenly, an obscure idea came to mind. And just as if he had read my face, he declared:

-Yes... that's right.

-No. I whimpered. Don't do it.

The words didn't quite come out like I wanted. Instead, I spoke each syllable with fear and delay. I closed my eyes for a minute, and imagined the ill-lit room I'd be brought to if it were to happen. The inspector trying to force the words out of me, as if I didn't have a say in what was happening.

A shriek occurred. Crows flew as fast as the wind, as if their lives were in game. A cold silence had been installed at that very moment. Navi's eyes and and mine grew larger with surprise.

-What have you done? I sobbed.

-Nothing. No one will know. The proof and the witness are gone now.