#whatever he and Cam had going on really had him in a trance

[pretty-vizitor]

2016 really was his year huh

[aphrodisiac-siren]

Ettore X Fem!Reader

Summary: A deadly virus has begun spreading, a disease attacks the brain and causes victims to lose their humanity, rendering them violent and insane creatures. You were chosen, along with a bunch of others, to help find a cure for the same. Along your journey at the organisation, you meet a certain someone who is as daunting as he is captivating.

18+ Minors DNI

AN: I read the interview Claire Denis did in which she spoke about Ettore and based on that, I've written Ettore as this boy who was thrown into the harshness of the world too early. According to her, he had an abusive childhood and spent most of his early teenage years in juvie. From that, it’s a bit obvious why Ettore craves physical intimacy so much because that’s the only time he will feel any sort of physical affection. She also mentioned he does feel the pressure, as a young adult, of never experiencing sexual intimacy. Warnings: swearing, mentions of abuse, masturbation.

Masterlist

Part 3

Ettore watched you from where he stood, silently, by the entrance of the large library that was in truth off-limits for him. His gaze never wavered as he watched you fully lost in whatever it was you were reading, your lips slightly parted. He watched as you occasionally mouthed certain sentences, sometimes swiping your tongue over those pretty lips of yours and he wished it was his tongue tasting your lips instead. He continued to stare as your small hands gently turned the pages of the book, nibbling on your bottom lip whenever you had to turn a page.

You weren’t in your white uniform. When you were enjoying your free time off work, which was in the evenings after dinner, you wore your casual attire. He liked the sage green hoodie you wore, a bit oversized but it made you look cute. He couldn’t tell if you were still wearing your signature white trousers since you were sitting down at a table, white as snow. Even the bookshelves were white, and in all honesty, the excessive use of the colour was starting to make him go mad if it wasn’t for you who was sitting amidst the endless sea of white, adding a pop of colour with your green hoodie and your flushed cheeks.

It was taking everything for him to not reach into his trousers and get off while you were right there, before his very eyes, looking as pretty as ever. He would’ve done it if he hadn’t heard footsteps approaching from behind him. He took a few steps away from the glass doors and toward the shelves behind which he could hide. Thankfully, whoever was walking through the hallways didn’t enter the library but just walked past the room. Ettore winced when his back collided with one of the shelves when he was walking backwards and a single book fell off the shelf; the sound snapping you out of your trance.

You looked up, startled. You remembered being the only one in the library and even though you had heard the distant sound of the doors sliding open earlier, no one had entered.

You slammed your book shut, standing up to go and inspect where the sound came from but you were saved the trouble when Ettore gingerly walked out from behind the maze of the bookshelves.

"What are you doing here?" you whisper-yelled as you dashed toward him, dragging him by the sleeve of his black hoodie, and back toward the shelves. You were glad there were no security cams set up in this room "this library is for elites only. How'd you get in?"

He simply raised his hand up, holding an access card in between his index and middle finger, grinning slightly.

"Nicked it off that elite by the med lab earlier this evening, dumb cunt" he chuckled with an undertone of pride, taking a moment to notice that instead of full-length trousers, you were wearing a pair of hot shorts that were barely visible under that big hoodie of yours.

"Shut up" you shushed him when he began to talk louder "you aren’t allowed in here"

You turned around to peek through the spaces in the shelves, just to make sure that it really was just you and him here. If anyone found the two of you together, you both would get into serious trouble- him more than you.

You suddenly felt Ettore's hands on either side of your waist before he dared to slip them under your hoodie to rub slow circles on your hips with the pads of his thumb, his chest now pressing against your back. Your breath hitched in your throat and Ettore felt you shudder.

"Not a fucking sound" he leaned in to whisper into your ear, his lips brushing against the skin right below your jaw "don’t scream"

"Wasn’t going to" you said almost immediately before you turned fully to face him. His hands still lingered on your hips but he seemed to be confused by your reaction.

"You aren’t afraid?" he asked as if he wasn’t expecting you to allow him to be in such close proximity to you. He expected you to push him away, or at the very least, snap at him with an 'Ettore what the fuck?'

In truth, you too were just as surprised by your own reaction. Under normal circumstances, you would’ve smacked the living shit out of someone who dared to slip their hands so casually under your shirt. But Ettore's touch was so gentle and it didn't help that you were already rather captivated by his mysterious nature. You knew you sounded so pathetic but you didn’t care, Ettore was, in his own way a very interesting person who you wanted to know more about.

Not to mention how touch starved you were ever since you started working for W.I.C.K.E.D. Sex was prohibited for both subjects and elites. The only way to relieve oneself was to take care of it themselves within the walls of their room.

"I'm more intrigued than afraid" you whispered to him, letting your hands rest on his chest.

Full of surprises indeed, Ettore thought. This was not at all how he was expecting this conversation to go. Any ideas he had of what he was going to do with you, all vanished the moment you told him you were not at all afraid by him, nor were you trying to escape from his touch. If anything, you seemed to want to be close to him in the same way that he did.

"I've done things, terrible things" he said, as if he wanted you to rethink your words. Deep down, he wanted only to tell you with hopes that you will want him anyway, despite his flaws. That was unlikely though, he thought, no one wanted him when he was perfect, why would anyone take him in when he was imperfect?

"We've all done terrible things" you softly spoke, fiddling with the chords of his hoodie that hung down his chest "some more than others, but no one is truly good-"

"I was in juvie before I came here" he blurted out, though he was sure you knew that much about him; so he proceeded to tell you why "pressed under charges for battery against my step-dad"

This seemed to send a shiver down your spine. You had suspected for him to have some sort of charges pressed, but you were expecting it to be things like theft or vandalism.

"Why" was all you asked, fully expecting him to simply scoff and not give you any further details but to your surprise, that was not what happened.

"He was abusive" he muttered under his breath "the regular thrashing I could endure, but one day he took it too far by hitting me with a wrench. I finally snapped but for some reason, I found myself behind bars instead of it being him"

"And your mum?" you dared to ask.

"She left" he said with a scoff, looking away "she took off and didn’t bother to bring me with her. No, she just left me to fucking die with that abusive bastard she married for the money"

You immediately wrapped your arms around him and rested your cheek against his chest. You felt him turn rigid as you held him in a close embrace, as if he wasn’t expecting this.

He wasn’t.

"What are you doing?" he asked, sounding almost like he was repulsed.

"Hugging you" you mumbled before you pulled away to look at him. He had a look of pure confusion plastered on his face, like you were suddenly speaking in a foreign language "have.. have you never been hugged?"

His cold demeanour faltered, his scorn vanishing as his blue eyes found yours- filled with so much sadness that it made your heart clench.

"Oh Ettore" you sighed sadly as you hugged him again, this time he too melted into it, hesitantly holding you close.

You didn’t want to let go of him, you really didn’t but you knew it would be curfew in a few minutes and you didn’t want to get into any trouble so you pulled away.

"We should head back before we're found" you cleared your throat "we can’t be seen. Subjects and elites-"

"Can’t be friends" Ettore finished with a chuckle though this time, you could swear there was some sort of sadness laced with it "don’t worry Y/N, never said that we were"

He gave you a playful wink before he turned around to leave but you caught his arm.

"I'll need that card you stole" you crossed your arms and Ettore heaved a dramatic sigh as he handed it to you half-heartedly. You watched him with an amused smile before you reached into your pocket to retrieve your lanyard. You unclipped your own access card and handed to him, which he took from you with a raised brow "the other guy will make a fuss about his card being stolen, I won’t. I've got a spare one anyway"

"Is this you inviting me to come to meet you again tomorrow?" he asked cheekily but answered even before you could "I'll see you tomorrow then after dinner, sleep well Y/N"

The next day you were assigned the job of collecting sperm samples.

It was an easy job since you didn’t really have to do anything besides put away the labelled containers of sperm into the acrylic tray that was then taken to the lab.

One by one each one of the male subjects handed you their containers before leaving, there being no further reason for them to stay in the room.

The last person to walk out was Ettore who, much to your surprise, handed you an empty container.

"I think you missed the point of the container," you said smugly "you had to spill your release into this and not into your hand"

"I never came" he bluntly said with a shrug, hopping off the floor to sit on the counter next to you, where you were busy writing the records in your folder "I was having some trouble"

"Some trouble?" you cocked a brow as you repeated his statement.

"With imagining," he said smugly, as always with his gaze fixated on you "it would be a lot easier if I were to receive some help"

You rolled your eyes, thinking he was only fooling around until he caught you by your arm and jerked you toward him. He was strong no doubt, as he easily managed to pull you toward him and in between his legs. He pressed his knees into your sides, entrapping you as his hands came to rest at your sides.

"Ettore wait-" your words got caught up when you felt him lean in and burry his face in the crook of your neck, his nose brushing your skin, leaving you ticklish.

"We've got fourteen minutes before your shift ends" he whispered darkly into your ear as he looked toward the digital wall clock "you can either make this hard for us by protesting or, you can be a darling and make me hard instead"

You let out a breathy sigh when you felt his hands reaching up to shrug the jacket off your shoulders, his bulge pressing against your core.

"Hard already?" you chuckled, trying to sound unfazed even though your heart was pounding in your chest "looks like you’re doing just fine on your own-"

"The way I see it, you can help me get off so that I can give you that sperm sample you need" his hands came to untuck your blouse from your pants "or we can both stay like this for the remaining fourteen minutes until we're caught"

"We-" you took a minute to breathe when you felt him kiss your neck as he starting to unbutton your blouse "we can’t.."

"I know we can’t, Y/N" he said teasingly, parting your now fully unbuttoned shirt and sliding it off your shoulders so that it could join your jacket on the floor. His lips parted as he lustfully eyed you, your top half covered only by your bra that he was quick to discard as well "but that’s what makes it so exiting, don’t you agree?"

Yes.

"No" you said, even though your mind was telling you the exact opposite. Doing something so scandalous, something against the rules was indeed making this whole thing rather exciting. But at the end of the day, you were an elite and you had an image to uphold.

An image that was getting ruined before Ettore's very eyes.

"Lies" he chuckled menacingly as he unzipped his trousers to free his cock. He wrapped his one hand around it, slowly pumping while his other arm firmly held you by the small of your waist. Your eyes involuntarily looked down toward his length and you bit your lip when you saw how big he was.

"You like what you see, Y/N?" he asked as he tugged you closer, his hot mouth latching on to your nipple and you let out a whimper before you slapped you hand over your mouth.

Push him away, a voice in your head screamed.

More, I need more, another begged.

"No" Ettore mumbled as he switched from your left to your right tit "I need to hear you"

His mouth moved expertly against your breasts, his other pumping himself rigorously. You tangled your fingers in his hair, pulling him closer as you moaned his name. You knew this was wrong but the excitement it gave you made your blood rush and your heart race, not to mention the wet spot that began to form in your panties.

"Ettore~" you whimpered, gently nibbling on his earlobe as you tugged his hair, eliciting a growl that made you even wetter. You shamelessly slid your hand into your panties, rubbing your wetness over your clit in slow, circular motions.

"You liking this baby?" he grunted, trying to maintain a steady pace as he watched you pleasure yourself "yea of course you do. That's it, go on touch yourself"

Another moan involuntary escaped your lips.

"Fuck, you’re driving me insane with those pretty noises" he gently bit your nipple that made you gasp "you like when I suck your tits huh? Thought you said we can’t do this? Such a bad girl"

Your mind was blank from the euphoric sensation of Ettore's tongue flicking and swirling around your nipples accompanied by the ecstatic feeling of your fingers playing with your clit which you were imagining as his hand down there. You couldn’t form a single sentence to save your soul but that was okay, he didn’t want you to talk; he only wanted to hear your sweet moans.

"Where’s that fucking container" he grunted against your skin before his hand left your waist to hastily grab it off the counter. He quickly brought it toward his cock before he came undone, his hot liquid spilling into it.

He wiped his hand on his trousers and you immediately scooted back to dress yourself, slightly disappointed that you didn’t get to finish.

"Two minutes still on the clock" he said as he tried to catch his breath. He zipped his pants before he screwed on the lid of the now full container while you buttoned up your blouse again. You didn’t bother tucking it into your pants before you put on your jacket.

Ettore hopped off the counter, walking backward toward the door so that he could face you as he spoke.

"I'll see you later Y/N" he winked "I'm curious to see where this not-a-friendship is leading"

Taglist: @sahvlren @greenowlfactif @tinykryptonitewerewolf @babyblue711 @afro-hispwriter

[whump-mania]

Barely Human: Chapter 1

TW: needles, body horror, gore, monsters, medical whump

Connie typed away at her computer, finishing up her studies for the night. She smiled with pride, proud of the research she had gotten done about the Noxes: the terrifying eldritch creatures that plagued the island Connie lived on.

She was getting closer and closer to finding something that could kill them. Everyone was counting on her: she WAS the renound scientist that figured out a cure for a Nox transformation, after all. Why wouldn’t they expect this of her?

Connie felt that she was just one puzzle piece away from finding the solution. All of the deaths and trauma caused by those monsters would finally cease, and the island would be itself again. Nox scientists could be scientists, Nox hunters could be hunters, Nox victims could be…well, not victims.

Connie closed her laptop when she finished up her last note, yawning deeply and rising from her office chair to get ready for bed. A full day of research could really tire someone out.

She made her way up to her bathroom, washed her face, and put pajamas on. Connie started pulling her long, black hair out of the messy bun she wore when—

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Connie jumped at the noise, almost screaming. That noise…that was the emergency tone. She checked her phone: it was 12:30 in the morning, who would be needing her so late?

She rushed to the small, silver communication device that was beeping loudly and violently on her work desk. She picked it up and pressed “answer”, effectively stopping the beeping.

Connie yawned. “Hey, who is th—”

“CONNIE!”

The scientist yelped and almost dropped the device. But she recognized that voice (of course she recognized it, she fantasized about it every day): it was Micah.

“O-Oh, Micah, hey, what’s—”

“C-Connie, are you—fuck, he’s BLEEDING, oh god—Connie a-are you free?”

Micah Saunders was the leader of the 3rd Nox Hunter team. He was confident, friendly, headstrong, and the most brilliant team leader Connie had ever met.

So it sent chills up her spine to hear such raw fear in his voice.

“Yes, I’m…I’m free, what do you—”

“C-Cameron, he’s…oh god…” Micah’s voice was muffled, as if his hand was covering his mouth. “A Nox, he got…he got bitten, Connie, he’s turning.”

“Oh, o-oh shit. Come here right away, I-I’ll get a room ready.” Connie started rushing down to her lab.

The call ended before she made it down the stairs to her laboratory. Connie hastily gathered the essentials for this kind of situation: a few syringes, leather restraints, and a beaker of light purple liquid: the serum that she herself had created.

Connie panted and waited down in her lab for the doorbell. She looked around her and sighed. “Cameron,” she whispered out loud. Cameron. Why was it always Cameron?

Cameron, the rookie. Cameron, the boy who joined Team 3 only two months ago. Cameron, the only member of all of the teams to never have sedated a Nox. Cameron, the “cute little readhead” that Micah was always raving about now.

Why. Did she always. Have to hear. About. Cameron.

Of course he got bitten, inexperienced little—

The doorbell shook Connie out of her thoughts. She pulled on a dirty lab coat, rushed up the stairs, and opened the door.

“Connie, thank god!” Connie was face to face with the fearless team leader, now with bloodshot eyes and tear-stained cheeks. Micah rushed inside, urging the rest of his team inside.

Connie was passed by Micah, then Yvonne, then Oliver, then Russell: and in Russell’s strong arms, was Cameron.

Cameron looked horrible.

His face was coated with sweat, eyes uncontrollably leaking with tears. His hair was matted, his uniform was dirty, and pained moans left his pale lips.

But the worst thing of all was Cameron’s arm. His uniform was torn through, and on his freckled skin was a deep gash, pulsing and leaking blood that was pure black. The wound was spreading to the rest of his arm, his veins turning black and swelling to the surface of his skin.

Connie wanted to throw up.

The scientist rushed the five of them down to her laboratory and quickly strapped Cameron into an examination chair with the leather restraints. The rest of the team did whatever they could to help.

As Connie filled a syringe with her serum, Micah leaned over Cameron’s chair.

“Cam, can you hear me? You’re gonna be okay, I promise, just—just stay with me, okay?” Micah’s voice rang in Connie’s ears. All of that fuss for him.

She shook her head. Don’t think about that right now, you have a job to do. The scientist strode over to the boy strapped in the chair, and without any hesitation, stabbed the pulsing wound with the needle.

Cameron’s scream was inhuman. It ripped from his throat, probably shredding it to pieces, and even Yvonne jumped back. Oliver screamed too, Russell covered his ears, and it took everything in Micah’s power not to rip Connie away from his teammate.

The syringe was finally pulled away when the serum had effectively seeped into Cameron’s wound. It stopped pulsing, and became slightly less swollen. His veins began to turn back to their normal color. Cameron took deep gasps of air, still hazy from the pain.

Connie stepped back, and turned to the rest of the team. “Um…yeah. First dose is done.” She gave them an awkward smile. She just wished they would stop looking at her like she just killed him.

Micah snapped out of whatever trance he was in and cleared his throat. “Thank you, Connie. Thank you so, so much, you’re a lifesaver.” Connie couldn’t hide the redness that formed st her cheeks, or the smile that crept onto her face. “O-Of course…”

Yvonne scoffed. “It’s her JOB, Micah, chill.” She turned to the scientist. “How long’s this gonna take?”

Connie shrunk a little at Yvonne’s harsh tone. The strong, stoic woman had always intimidated her. “Uh…probably, like, two? T-Two weeks? Maybe three.” She turned back to Cameron. “It’s…not as bad as it could be.”

“It’s late.” Russel’s deep voice filled the room. Oliver spoke up as well, wringing his hands nervously. “He’s right…our boss will get worried.”

“Then let’s go,” Yvonne snapped, turning to leave. Russel and Oliver quickly followed her up the stairs, and Micah trailed behind.

“You promise he’ll be okay?” Micah asked the scientist. Connie gave him the most reassuring smile she could.

“Promise.”

Micah returned the smile and ran up the stairs, leading his team home. Connie was alone again…no, not alone. He was still here.

Connie sighed and found her clipboard. The first dose was just given, the second would be tomorrow morning at 8, the third at 6…

Cameron’s pained whines broke Connie’s gaze from her clipboard. “C…Con…” His voice was raspy and weak, his attempt to say Connie’s name dying in a cough.

Connie put her clipboard down and walked in front of Cameron. “Do you need something?” She asked, keeping her distance even though he was tied down.

Cameron’s whole body shook. “H-Hurts…need…” Another cough. Connie tried not to roll her eyes as she sighed deeply.

“I can’t give you anything. The serum’s all you get. Sorry.”

She tried to block out Cameron’s whimpers as she packed up her supplies and headed back upstairs. “It just HAD to be him,” Connie whispered to herself before getting in bed.

She dreamed of Micah.

~

By the fourth dose, Cameron had improved. A little bit.

The wound was still gory, the pain was still intense. That wouldn’t change until about the tenth dose. But it wasn’t spreading anymore, and that’s all Connie really cared about. The world didn’t need anymore damn Noxes.

Connie made her way downstairs to deliver the fifth dose. She was irritated: she didn’t like having someone in her lab, it was her safe space. Her place to be alone with her thoughts. And now, it was occupied by the last person she wanted to think about.

Cameron let out a weak “Hey” when Connie came downstairs, which was promptly ignored. She wanted to get this stupid drug into this stupid kid and get this stupid situation done and over with.

“I’m glad you’re—” Cameron paused to cough. “—H-Here. It’s, um…it’s getting k-kinda… bad.” Silence. “How…are you?” Cameron tried again. He wanted to make conversation, to feel more like a patient and less like a test subject. But he was only ignored again as the syringe filled once more.

Connie made her way to the redhead strapped to the chair. She grimaced at his wound: the one thing keeping her from having a fairly peaceful week. Her eyes trailed up to Cameron’s: they weren’t that green, like Micah had said.

Connie’s heart fell a little when she thought about Micah. When she thought about how he constantly talked about Cameron, how he got so attached to the boy only days after meeting him when it took herself years to get close with Micah.

Connie looked at the syringe in her hand. Her finest work. The serum that had won her numerous awards, and endless praise, and that made her the one spark of hope for the island.

The serum that was being wasted on some boy.

Connie looked Cameron dead in the eye. Cameron’s eyes filled with confusion, and he laughed nervously. “Are you gonna…”

With that, Connie turned around. She strode to the trash can she kept near her work table, and opened it. Cameron strained his neck to watch her.

Their eyes met. Connie narrowed hers as she angled the tip of the syringe into the can. Cameron’s widened.

“W-What are you—”

SPLAT.

The rememants of the syringe landed in the bottom of the waste basket. Connie turned, and without a word, she placed the empty syringe on the counter with a clang and left.

Cameron’s breath quickened. He shot a look to his arm. He hadn’t lied: the wound was swelling, and leaking more than it should be. And the serum that was supposed to be in his arm was in the trash can.

“No…no, no, this can’t…” Cameron started to struggle. His stomach turned and he suppressed a gag when something began to creep out of the wound. A small, black tendril inched out, waving around before growing in length and slowly constricting around Cameron’s arm.

“Help! HELP! COME BACK, PLEASE!” Cameron cried desperately. He sobbed as more small tendrils broke their way through his skin. He was screaming at the top of his lungs for Connie, for ANYONE, to help him.

An hour passed.

Two. Three.

Seven. Eight.

An entire day.

Two days passed, and Cameron was still strapped to that chair.

Except it wasn’t exactly Cameron anymore.

Now, there was a Nox in that chair.

Next

[hoffkk]

Dance With Me

Deception Drabble

Requested by: Anon

Quote requested: “Dance with me?” (Kaymeron)

********

Kay stood in the corner of the ballroom, drinking from a champagne flute and scanning the area. She was wearing a long, black gown with a sweetheart neckline and a killer slit up the side, allowing for easy access to the gun in her leg holster. She and the team were undercover at a charity auction to protect some valuable jewelry from being illegally obtained. The rumor was that a well-known and highly sought after thief would be here to do just that.

So, for the past twenty minutes, Kay had been mingling and keeping an eye out for trouble. However, the only trouble she could find was in her mind. She realized recently that she had feelings for Cameron. Big time. Kay thought he had felt the same, but just didn’t want to cross the line because of Jonathan, which was totally understandable. However, when they were finally able to free him last week, nothing happened. Cam didn’t ask her out or even suggest the idea. The only thing he had said was thank you.

Kay didn’t know what to do. All she knew was that she loved being around Cam and didn’t want their partnership to end. That’s why she got him and the team invited in on the case. She wanted to see him again and hopefully figure out where they stood.

Kay realized she was about to get her chance when she caught Cameron’s eye across the room and saw him begin to make his way over. As he did, Kay took in his tuxedo and slicked back hair style. He looked like a GQ model, all sexy and polished. Kay also noticed Cam’s eyes look her up and down and a dimple form in his left cheek as he gave an appreciative smirk. Apparently, he liked what he saw too.

Coming to a stop in front of her, he turned his face back to a more neutral expression and said, “Hey.”

“Hey.” She repeated back with a smile.

“You look nice.” He complimented with a nod, thinking to himself that it was the understatement of the year.

“Thanks.” Kay replied. “You clean up pretty well yourself.” She added half-heartedly.

Nice? What kind of compliment was nice? A generic one at best. She was just saying, he could have been a little more colorful with his words. He usually was. So, why not now? I mean, they were on a case... the case. Kay slapped herself mentally for getting off task. How did she let Cameron get under her skin and become such a distraction.

Focus, Kay. Focus.

Getting her head on straight, she scanned the crowd, looking for anyone or anything out of place.

“Dance with me?” Cam asked suddenly, though it came out as more of a statement than a question. When Kay just quirked an amused brow, he added with a shrug, “you’ll get a better vantage point.”

After a moment, Kay set down her drink on passing tray and said, “Sure, whatever we can do to blend in, the better.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t count on blending in.” Cam told her as he took her hand. “Not in that dress.”

Stifling a grin, she rolled her eyes and followed him through the throngs of people out onto the dance floor. Keeping their hands intertwined on the one side, Kay moved her other one to his shoulder just as Cameron rested his free hand on her waist respectably. They then began to sway to the classical beat along with several other couples who were also enjoying the live band.

Kay tried her hardest to concentrate on the crowds. She really did... but it was difficult with the warmth of Cam’s hand seeping through the material of her dress and the bright blue of his eyes periodically boring into hers. She had managed to keep composure for a few minutes, right up until Cameron got fancy and twirled her outward then rolled her back in. Normally, it would be a simple, meaningless move. However, on the roll inward, she miss-stepped and fell into him, splaying both hands on his chest to keep herself from falling. With their noses almost touching and their breaths mingling, she found herself in a slight trance. For a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her, but instead he used the light grip he had on her upper arms to push her back a step as he did the same.

“Sorry.” He muttered sheepishly.

That was when Kay lost it. All her composure, all her calmness, all her aloofness was suddenly out the door. Raising her voice loud enough to make a point but not so much as to make a scene, Kay scolded, “What is wrong with you?!”

“I’m sorry?” Cam responded, caught off guard by her little outburst.

“Why do you keep pushing me away, Cameron? I just don’t understand.” She told him seriously, frustration evident in her tone.

“Um, Kay...” He began but was cut off before he could finish.

“Ever since our first case together, there’s been something between us, something I couldn’t quite explain... and I know I’m not the only one who has felt it.” Kay went on confidently.

“Kay—“ Cameron tried again.

“Just let me finish.” She interrupted once more, wanting and needing to get this off her chest. He sighed but pressed his lips together and let her continue. “You and I... we seem to have this undeniable chemistry between us, and it’s like the more I try to ignore it, the stronger it gets. I don’t know what to do about it. All I know is I can’t ignore it anymore. I don’t want to ignore it anymore. And now that Jonathan isn’t an issue, I think we should explore this...us... because there is a very good chance that I’m falling in love with you, Cameron.”

For the next few seconds, they just stood there staring at each other. Kay noted a flash of surprise in his eyes, but he didn’t say anything. After another moment, she saw a slight smirk appear as he questioned, “May I talk now?”

“Yes.” Smartass. Kay answered, adding the last bit silently as she returned his smile.

“You should know that I’m really glad you feel that way.” Cameron told her honestly. “You should probably also know that I’m Johnny.”

Kay’s face immediately deadpanned as she blurted, “What? No, no you’re not.”

“Yeah.” Johnny corrected. “I am.”

“But... how? What are you doing here?” Kay rambled, feeling baffled. Cam had told her that he offered Johnny his spot back on the team, but he decided to take a break and go his own way instead. He wanted the chance to live his own life for once. So why was he doing the exact opposite?

“Cam got food poisoning last night.” Johnny started to explain. “The only thing he can make disappear right now is the contents of his stomach. He didn’t want to leave you hanging though, so he begged me to step in and help out.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that before?” She questioned.

“I thought you knew,” He said with a shrug of the shoulder. “And then when you called me Cameron, I realized you didn’t, but by then you were off on your tangent and telling me to shut up so...”

“Oh, god.” Kay muttered, palming her face with her left hand. “This is so humiliating.”

“No,” Johnny argued. “This is good. You know exactly how you feel now, and with a super realistic practice run under your belt, telling the real Cam should be a cinch.”

“Yeah, I’m not so sure about that.” Kay replied unenthusiastically.

“Why? Because he’s been ‘pushing you away?’” He asked, air quoting her words from before. When she didn’t respond, he went on. “Look, I don’t know why Cam is being distant. Maybe he’s scared, or stupid, or both. What I do know is that he’s crazy about you. So, don’t give up on him.”

“Why do you care so much?” Kay asked curiously.

“Because he’s my brother, and I want him to be happy.” Johnny stated matter-of-factly. “And you make him happy.”

Kay thought on that for moment. She had no idea if it was true or not, but it didn’t really matter. The fact was he made her happy, really happy... and that was all Kay needed to know. And so, with a renewed confidence, she replied, “All right, I won’t give up. I’ll tell Cameron how I really feel.”

Johnny gave a grin and nodded his approval.

“Right after we catch an infamous thief.” Kay added quickly, reminding him of the task at hand.

“Right.” He said, coming back to reality and extending his hand. Kay took it, and they began dancing once more.

As they moved to the slow rhythm of the song, Kay took advantage of their closeness and whispered sweetly in his hear, “You are a really good brother, Johnny,” Pausing briefly to wet her lips, she added, “but if you ever tell anyone about what just happened... I’ll shoot you.”

[omgahgase]

Bonrin Week Day 4: First

Okay I know this is late, but it took longer than I thought. Since I got such nice comments on my last fanic, I wanted to write another! This one is kinda long, so bear with me. I hope you enjoy!

It’s all Shima’s Fault

Rin has never felt this sort of fear in his life. Not when Satan took over Shiro’s body and tried to kill him or that time during the Impure King incident back in Kyoto. Not even going up against zombies in the Illuminati headquarters scared him as much as this moment. But as he looked up at that the jumbotron displaying himself and Suguro surrounded by hearts with the words “Kiss Cam” right below, Rin’s pretty sure this sort of fear is one feeling he doesn’t like. If you look at things through Rin’s eyes, this whole ordeal was Shima’s fault. Two weeks earlier, Shima asked Rin if he wanted to go to a basketball game in Tokyo. Rin, being the eager little kid he is, jumped at the opportunity since he’s never been to a real game before. Shiro was always a basketball fan, he kinda pushed his love for basketball onto Rin while raising the twins. Neither of them actually played the sport though, Shiro always had missions and the boys to take care of while Rin was just bad at it. But that didn’t stop them from watching games on TV. The Saturday of the game, Rin bounded to his friends dorm, expecting him to be as excited as he was. “Shima!” yelled Rin as he burst through the room door. “C’mon, the game starts at five!” Rin had to duck down to escape the sneaker flying at his head. “Suguro, what the hell?” “Shut your trap Okumura!” Another sneaker flew from his hand. “Shima ain’t feeling well, Koneko took him to the doctors.” “What? Why? He was perfectly fine yesterday.” “The idiot drank some milk that spoiled sometime last month in the cafeteria this morning,” explained Suguro as he threw a pillow from his place on his bed. “How the hell? Not even Shima is that stupid to-” “He was too busy drooling over his new bikini mags.” Rin face palmed. “That pink haired perv!” Rin flopped down on the bed. “What about the game?” A swift kick to the side had Rin flailing off the bed onto the floor. “Here, Shima told me to give this to you.” Two tickets floated down onto Rin’s face. “He said to find someone else to go with.” “Haaah? Are you serious?” “Yes I am. Now get out of my room.” Rin sat bolt up. “But I can’t find anyone this last minute! Who’d want to go to a game that starts in an hour?” “Don’t know. Don’t care. Get out of my room.” “Maybe Shiemi would like to go.” Rin stood and started pacing the room. “But she doesn’t like big crowds.” “Okumura.” “I could ask Yukio-” “Okumura.” “-but he’s already pissed at me for not buying him his damn mineral water.” “Okumura!” “You think Izumo would like-” “For fucks sake, Okumura!” This time the sneaker didn’t miss. “I’ll go with you if it makes you shut up!” Rubbing the back of his head, Rin turned around. “What?” Suguro stood up from his bed and grabbed his jacket. “Jeez, it goes in one ear and out the other.” He made his way to the corner of the room to put his shoes on. “I said I’ll go with you. If it gets you to stop complaining and outta my room, I’ll go.” A smile appeared on Rin’s face. “Thanks Suguro.” “Y-yeah, whatever,” a faint blush tinted the taller boys cheeks. “Move it or else we’re gonna be late.” The two exited the dorms and walked the path to the campus gates. While Rin was telling Suguro about the bentos he made in case they got hungry, they ran into Kuro. “Hey Rin! Where you’re going?” The half demon ran a hand over his familiar’s fur. “We’re going to a basketball game in Tokyo.” “Oh, so you mean like a date!” A deep blush crawled its way up to Rin’s face. “What? N-no, it’s not like that! We’re just going to-” “Rin’s on a date! Rin’s on a date!” “Stop it you damned cat or else I’m not making you anymore tempura!” Suguro watched as his friend and his cat had a very heated argument turned fist fight (paw fight?) once Kuro jumped on Rin’s head and the boy started swinging. He didn’t understand what the cat was saying, but he was pissed. He kept hissing and digging his claws into the shorter boys scalp. After Suguro took out his phone and snapped a picture of Rin getting his ass beat by a cat, he pulled the two apart. “Alright, cut it out. Kuro, whatever this idiot did, I’ll make it up to you by picking up some sushi and milk before we get back. That sound good to you?” The little black familier perked up. He nodded his head and allowed Suguro to pet him before him and Rin walked off campus. Kuro said something to his owner before they were out of earshot, whatever it was made Rin flustered again. “That damn cat! One of these days I’m gonna completely cut his sake line.” “Sure, cut his alcohol supply and make him even more angry. That way, he can beat your ass while full sized.” Suguro laughed as the color drained from Rin’s face. As the two walked to the bus stop, Suguro asked, “What did he say to you to get you so riled up?” The color returned to Rin’s face as a blazing red. “Oh, it was nothing. He just insulted my cooking. He always says my yakitori is a little too burnt.” When the bus came and they boarded, he avoided eye contact the whole ride.

By the time they arrived at the stadium, the game was to start in ten minutes. They gave their tickets to the ushers outside and rushed to find seats. Fortunately, they found some a few rows above court side. During the bus ride, Rin explained who was playing, the players, and their current records. Suguro tried to seem interested, he really did, but he was never a sports kinda guy. Yeah he did play football with Juzo and Kinzo when they needed extra players, but that was about it. But while Rin was talking about the different plays, it made him smile, so Suguro pretended to listen. When the referee blew the whistle and threw the ball in the air, the game finally began. Throughout the first ten minutes nothing really happened. It was the same thing, one player has the ball. The opposing team steals it and so on. It was pretty interesting to watch a bunch of guys run after a ball. But when one team scored the first two points, that smile was back on Rin’s face. Suguro didn’t know why that smile made him feel lighter than air. It wasn’t because he liked that goofy look, or anything. Or the way his eyes would light up whenever an amazing pass was made. Or the fact that whenever Rin got too excited he would latch onto Suguro’s arm, jumping up and down. Nope, none of that. At halftime, they grew hungry so Rin pulled out some sodas and the bentos he made earlier that day. While the two ate, Rin looked at Suguro and couldn’t help but feel…something. Sometimes it’s a light flutter in his stomach, other times it feels like he’s doing twist and turns on a roller coaster. The only time Rin has these feeling is when he’s with Suguro. Rin must’ve been staring too long because Suguro poked him with his chopsticks. “Oi, Okumura, you alright? You look kinda funny. What, you gotta a fever?” The boy leaned over his seat and pressed his forehead against Rin’s. If the poking didn’t snap him out of whatever trance he was in, that definitely did. Rin was frozen in place. His heart was beating a little faster than usual and his hand that didn’t have the bento wouldn’t stop shaking. At one point he even forgot to breath. When Suguro pulled away, Rin had this feeling of losing something that’s supposed to be there. After a few seconds his heart rate returned to normal and he let out a big huff of air. But his hand wouldn’t stop shaking. He closed the bento and returned it to his bag, he tried to hide his shaking but failed miserably. “Okumura, are you cold? You’re shivering like crazy.” Suguro put his finished box back in the backpack, he then proceeded to remove his black hoodie. “Here take my jacket.” Rin nodded and slipped the hoodie on. It was a few sizes too big, so he swam in it, but other than that it gave him a sense of comfort. “Thanks Suguro.” For the second time that day, Suguro blushed because of that blue idiot. “S-shut up. I just don’t want you catching a cold out here. That’ll mean I gotta haul your sorry ass back to campus and get an earful from your brother.” The atmosphere turned awkward after a few minutes of not speaking. Rin was about to say that he was fine when the crowd erupted in cheers and excitement. The two looked above to see the jumbotron blinking red, white, and pink. When the flashing colors stopped, the screen was displaying a young couple on the east side of the stadium. The words “Kiss Cam” bouncing around the screen with hearts popping up. They smiled and turned to each other, dumbstruck looks on their faces. The guy leaned in and pecked his girlfriend on the lips, earning them hoots and hollers. “Wow, this stuff is so cheesy,” said Suguro, as his eyes followed the next victims. “It’s gross when couples do it in public, but now they have to kiss in front of hundreds of people.” “Y-yeah. It’s so dumb.” Rin started to fidget in place, looking anywhere else but at the boy next to him. “I feel sorry for the poor saps who-” “Oi, Okumura?” “Yeah, what’s up?” Rin turned to find a blushing Suguro. “You look like you wanna puke.” “Don’t look now,” He pointed to the jumbotron and Rin’s stomach dropped. “But I think those poor saps are us.” Rin hoped he was lying, he wanted it to be a joke, but nope. There they were, plain as day. A huge heart around their frame with smaller ones moving along the screen. The universe has decided to put the two in the worst situation possible. At this point, Rin started to panic. His face turned as red as Shura’s hair as Suguro looked from him to the screen displaying their blushing faces. His hands clutched his seat and his body felt heavy.

I want to die. I want to bury myself under a rock and die. I didn’t do anything to deserve this sort of punishment! Was it because I forgot Yukio’s mineral water? The crowd started to get anxious, they were chanting “kiss him!” and screaming for the two to get on with it. An elderly woman in the seat below looked at Suguro and yelled, “C’mon young man! Lay one on your boyfriend!” “W-what? He’s not my… We’re just friends!” Rin protested. “C’mon Suguro, tell her we’re-” Rin never got to finish his sentence because a pair of lips crashed against his. At this point in his life, Rin was supposed to have his first kiss by the age of ten. Sadly, him being unsociable never really helped him get any girls. But right now, he’s sorta glad that his first kiss was with his best friend, despite how awkward it is. Suguro’s lips moved Rins, they were slightly chapped and tasted like the orange soda he drank. The two didn’t pay attention to how the crowd exploded into cheers or how they cat called when Suguro placed a hand on Rin’s cheek. They were in their own little world. By the time they pulled away, both boys were breathing hard. Suguro scooted back a bit and cleared his throat. “Sorry ‘bout that.” It took a few seconds for Rin to come back down to Earth. When the world stopped spinning, he took a huge swig of his soda. He tried to stop his heart threatening to burst from his chest, but his heart didn’t want to listen to him. “No, no. It’s fine.” “Really? I acted on impulse. I didn’t the crowd to come after us.” He rubbed the back of his neck, the blush still present on his cheeks. “Really, it was… Nice.” Rin pretended like he didn’t see the spark that lit Suguro’s eyes.

The rest of the game went by in a blur. The two didn’t really pay close attention like they did in the beginning. After the whole Kiss Cam episode, they didn’t say much to each other, the tension was so thick you needed a knife to cut through. But after a few moments in the painful silence, they eased into comfortable conversation. After they exited the stadium and caught the bus, they went to buy Kuro’s sushi. They were walking back from the small store, when Rin, being one to speak before he thinks, blurted out, “You know, that was my first kiss.” Suguro looked at him in bewilderment. “Are you serious?” Rin let out a small chuckle. “Yes, I am. Why do you seemed so surprised?” “Well, to be completely honest, I thought you and Shiemi hooked up.” Now it was Rin’s turn to be shocked. “No you saw it, she shot me down. But I’m pretty sure she has a thing for mole face.” Suguro must be a horrible friend. Only bad friends would feel kinda…happy at this sort of news. He see’s the way Shiemi looks at Yukio, there’s a glint in her eye and a hop in her step whenever she’s around him. She doesn’t look at Rin the way he wants her too. “What about you? You had your first kiss yet?” Rin asked. “Oh yeah, I’ve been kissed before.” “I don’t think your mom counts.” A smile made its way to Suguro’s face. “Shut up!” He lightly shoved the boy, making him stumble. Rin laughed. Suguro felt responsible for making him laugh. He liked his laugh. “It was back in junior high, during my third year. Shima dared me to kiss a girl and I did it.” “Wow,” Rin deadpanned. “How romantic.” The two friends laughed at Rin’s remark. “Well, at least my first kiss wasn’t with a dude.” Rin smiled. That smile made Suguro feel funny. A good kinda funny. “It wasn’t just any dude, it was with you.” Holy shit. It was a good thing it was dark or else the blush on Suguro’s face would’ve made Rin laugh again. He lost count on how many times his cheeks flamed up while out with the shorter boy. It was hard to make Suguro crack a smile let alone blush. But when he’s with Rin, his face just decides to disobey what his brain tells it. The two didn’t notice that they reached Rin’s dorm, until he stopped walking. They both looked up at the building, there was a little pang that shot through Suguro as he walked the half demon to his door. He stood a step below Rin, making the boy a few inches taller. Silence hung in the air along with a gloomy feeling. “Thanks again for coming with me.” It must’ve been his imagination, but with the moonlight shining down on them, a halo appeared above Rin’s head. The son of Satan wearing a halo, the universe must think it’s funny. Suguro stuffed his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “It was nothin’. I had a good time.” “You did? Even though we were forced to kiss in front of a whole stadium of people?” “The bento boxes made up for it.” Rin snorted. “I’m happy you thought so. I’ll make another one for you if you want.” “Yeah, that sounds good. Here,” Suguro held up the plastic bag with Kuro’s food. “Tell Kuro that I couldn’t get him tempura, but I hope tuna will suffice.” Rin took the bag, making their hands brush against each other. “Don’t worry, he’ll eat about anything. Actually scratch that, he’ll eat anything except Shiemi’s grass sandwiches.” “But I ate those.” “Which tells me that your taste buds are broken. You better get ready to eat real food.” Rin’s eyes softened as Suguro laughed, his shoulders shaking with every breath he took. “I’ll be looking forward to it.” Suguro sighed. “I better be going. Shima and Koneko must be back in the dorms. They’re probably wondering where I am.” “Yeah okay. I’ll see on Monday.” Rin dug his keys out of his pocket. “Goodnight, Suguro.” “Goodnight, Okumura.” He turned and descended the steps. Suguro was on the last step when his mouth moved of his own accord. “Hey Okumura?” “Yes?” Rin looked over his shoulder. What the hell am I doing? “Would you like to, um.” Suguro scratched the back of his head, not looking up at Rin. Why am I speaking? I should shut up right about now. “I dunno now, go get some coffee tomorrow?” He glanced up to find Rin with a confused look. “ I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I get that you may need to catch up on work or Yukio might need your help on a mission. I just thought that we could- ” The sound of Rin laughing stopped Suguro from his ramblings. God damnit. You done fucked up boy. The sight of Rin clutching his stomach with tears in his eyes, only angered Suguro. He asked if the guy wanted to get coffee and what he gets in return is Rin laughing at him. The bastard. “Oi! Why’re you laughn’? Listen fuck face, you better shut up or else-” “Suguro I’d love to get coffee with you,” Rin said as he calmed down, he wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. That definitely shut him up. “Oh. Um, okay. I’ll meet you at the campus gates. Nine sound good?” That damn smile was back. “Yeah, sounds good.” It seems like that goofy smile of his is contagious because it found its way to Suguro’s face. “Great, I’ll you tomorrow.” “See you then.” Suguro took a few steps towards his dorms when he heard Rin call out. “Oh one more thing!” He turned back round. “‘Fuck Face’? Really? You couldn’t come up with anything better than that?” Suguro snickered. “What? I thought it was pretty good.” Rin rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Goodnight douche bag!” “Sweet dreams bastard!” Suguro headed in the direction of his dorms, the idiots smile still fresh in his mind.

As Rin opened his bedroom door, he expected Yukio to start at yelling him for being out so late, but he only found Kuro curled up on his bed. “Hey Rin, how was your date?” After dropping his backpack by his desk, the boy sat next to his cat, he’s in too good of a mood to put up with his teasing. “It was pretty good actually. We had a good time. Here.” Rin brought out the sushi from its bag. “Suguro brought tuna rolls if that’s okay.” “Yay! I’m starving! Nice jacket by the way.” Rin looked down and realized that he was still wearing Suguro’s hoodie. He completely forgot to return it to him before they departed, his mind was too preoccupied with sight of him blushing while asking him to coffee. Out of curiosity, Rin brought the sleeve up to his nose and sniffed it. It smelled like grass mixed in with the scent of books. It also had a faint hint of sweat and body spray. Overall, it smelled like Suguro. Rin slid out of the jacket and hung it on his desk chair. While Kuro ate, Rin told him the night’s event. Even though the cat was stuffing his face, he was listening to everything Rin told him. When he explained the Kiss Cam, Kuro almost choked on a piece of tuna. “Wait, you did what?” “I kissed Suguro.” By finally saying it out loud, Rin completely lost his shit. “I kissed Suguro.” His hands flew to his head, grabbing fistful of hair. “Suguro kissed me.” He jumped to his feet. “I kissed Suguro!” The boy started pacing the room, mumbling to himself. “Well he is a nice guy,” said Kuro with rice in his mouth. “I approve.” “You approve? What are you my mother?” Rin stopped his pacing to kneel in front of his friend. “No, I’m your familiar.” Kuro cocked his head. “I don’t know how I’d be able to birth you. I’m a boy.” Rin chuckled as he scratched behind Kuro’s ear. “Yes, that’s the reason. It has nothing to deal with you being a cat.” He leaned into the boys’ touch, purring as he laid on his stomach. “So this whole date was all Shima’s fault?” Rin smiled. “Yup, it’s all Shima’s fault. Remind me to thank him later.”

[syntaxeme]

BunnyRibbit: Facetime

[You got it, my dude. Though...it turned out a little long for a flash piece.]

           I’m here now, okay? Don’t leave yet! Hana was hastily texting as she got into her apartment, throwing her keys aside. Her computer was already on—naturally—so it just took a quick shake of her mouse to wake it up. Drills had gone on way longer than they should’ve, which meant that rather than having plenty of time to get home and clean up a little, she was already late for her planned Skype call with Lúcio. Their time zones were exactly twelve hours apart, so mid- afternoon for her was three in the morning for him. Still, he had answered her last few texts saying he would wait, so she figured this was better than nothing.

           Are you still up? she typed quickly as she got her webcam working.

           I’m here, don’t worry, Lúcio responded. He video called her, and she answered with a wide smile. Of course she knew he wouldn’t care that she was still in work mode, but she couldn’t help feeling bad regardless. When he saw her, he smiled back, and her stomach filled with warmth. “They’re really working you out there, huh?”

           “No kidding,” she said. “It wasn’t even a MEKA day. I’m exhausted—but I’m glad to see you! I’m sorry for making you stay up so late.”

           “It’s cool. I’ve had concerts keep me up later,” he assured her. When her eyes fell on his shirt, her smile widened.

           “Nice PJs, nerd,” she mumbled, though she was honestly pleased to see him sporting her B.Ny logo. It was one of her favorite designs, too! Had she told him that? Or did they just have similar tastes? 

           “What, this?” He glanced down at his chest before grinning back at her. “What can I say? I’m a fan.”

           “It looks too cute on you. My Synaesthesia Auditiva shirt hasn’t come in yet. You need to get your merch suppliers with the program,” she said with a pout.

           “Sorry! Will you still send me a pic when it gets there?”

           “Duh.” She rolled her eyes. “I’ll send you like, ten.”

           “I can’t wait.” The way he looked at her was just too much sometimes.

           “Quiiit, you’re gonna make me blush,” she muttered. “Hey! We need to talk about this email; what the heck?” He had sent it earlier that day with the subject line “TOP SECRET! DO NOT OPEN UNTIL INSTRUCTED!!” As tempting as it was, she had resisted opening it all day, certain that he would explain himself later.

           “Oh, you’re curious, huh?” he laughed. “That was the plan. You can go ahead and open it now.”

           She brought her inbox up on her computer and opened the email to find a single mp3 file. Her eyes immediately lit up. “Omg, is this it? The one you’ve been working on forever?” she asked.

           “That’s it. I, uh…wanted you to be the first one to hear it,” he confessed.

           “Uuuugh, you’re such a dork,” she said, covering her face so he wouldn’t see her turn pink. “I’ll listen to it when I let you go.”

           “Actually. Uh. I was hoping you would listen to it now?” he said. “It probably sounds stupid, but I wanted to…see your reaction. Is that too weird?”

           “No! No, I’ll listen to it right now!” God, why was he so cute and so far away at the same time? Hana played the file and settled in close to listen, making sure she was still in view of her webcam. She’d been a fan of his music before they had ever met, and this song was no exception. It started with the beat, like a lot of his music did, and the synth melody faded in next. For a few seconds, she was conscious of what her face was doing, what he was seeing from her, but she soon let her eyes slip closed and enjoyed the music as it came.

           It was kind of trance-y, kind of slow-build. When the bass dropped at 1:22, her surprise showed on her face, quickly followed by a smile as she moved to the rhythm. Lúcio watched and listened silently from his side of the screen, trying his best not to show how totally smitten he was with every curve of her lips, every laugh and hum. It only worked partially. By the time the song ended, he wished he’d written ten minutes more, just so he’d have longer to look at her smile.

           “I love it,” she told him plainly. “I knew I would, but it was even better than I expected. It’s so fun! It makes me wanna play it on repeat and dance all night.” Now that her eyes were open and she saw the look on his face, she cowed a bit in embarrassment. “Is that dumb?”

           “Of course not. I’m really glad you like it so much.”

           “I think…I might have something for you too?” she said, opening up her Pictures folder to see if there was anything good. She had hoped to give him something better than a picture, but when she was still gross from training, it didn’t seem doable anymore.

           “Oh yeah?” Lúcio asked. “Well, I’m not about to turn down a gift. Is it a surprise? Will I like it?”

           “You tell me.” Once she had picked out a few of her favorites, she sent them over in an email. She bit her lip and watched as he opened it, saw his eyes widen and his throat contract as he swallowed reflexively.

           “Oh. Um. Wow,” he managed, covering his mouth with one hand as he looked through the photos. “Babe, these are…wow. A-are you sure you want to share something like this in an email?”

           “I trust you,” she laughed. “So you do like them?”

           Lúcio let out a shaking laugh of his own. “Hmm. Definitely. Ahem, remind me when you can visit again?”

           “Haha! Soon, I promise. Our review is in like, a week, and then I’m all yours,” she said. “I’ll head over as soon as I can. We can go to a show or something and you can show me around town. And…whatever else we want to do. I’m already looking forward to it.”

           “Like I said, I really, really can’t wait.” Despite his genuine smile, Hana was quiet for a few seconds and turned her eyes downward. “Hey, what happened? Is something wrong?”

           “…I miss you,” she said after a moment longer in silent thought. “A lot.”

           Again, he smiled. “I miss you too, D.”

           “I mean it,” she insisted. “Like, I really…I can’t stop thinking about it. Are we just supposed to be on hold any time they need me here? They always need me here! I don’t want to wait a month after every time I get to see you for a few days. I’m tired of it.” Some part of her knew she was being childish, throwing a fit like this. But she couldn’t just keep pretending this was an okay way for their relationship to function. Now that they weren’t working together as often, it had become so difficult to meet face-to-face; the sudden deficit was weighing on her.

           “Come on, it won’t always be like this,” Lúcio said, sitting up and leaning in a little closer to his cam. “I’ve been touring, you’ve been working—that stuff happens. But it’ll calm down soon enough, and then we can spend more time together. Until then, we’ll see each other like this or we’ll talk on the phone or send emails or homing pigeons or whatever we have to do. You’re not gonna give up on me, are you?”

           “No! Don’t even say that,” she protested quickly.

           “Then it’s no big. We’ll be okay.”

           “Yeah. Okay. I’ll try not to be such a big baby about it.”

           “Hey, watch it; that’s my girlfriend you’re talking about.”

           “Uh-oh, what are you gonna do, fight me?” she grinned. “Find me irl, scrub, any time.”

           “Nah, you can just fight her,” he said, punctuating the sentence with a poorly-covered yawn.

           “Mm. It’s getting really late there, isn’t it?” A glance at the clock confirmed her suspicion; she was keeping him up way too late. “You should get to bed.”

           “Look who’s talking!”

           “No, that’s the point. Go to bed now, and you can call me back in twelve hours. It doesn’t bother me to stay up forever.”

           “How am I supposed to argue when you hit me with that kind of logic?” he laughed. “Sorry I’m kind of useless right now.”

           “Pf, whatever. Go get some sleep. And make sure you text me when you’re up.”

           “Will do. I’m glad I got to see you for a minute, anyway.” Again, that look in his eyes… “Good night, coelhinha.”

           “Good night.”

           In an effort to work herself out of the sadness that invariably came with telling him good-bye, she went back to his email and played the new song on single repeat. It made her feel a little closer to him, at least.

[peaches-of-1]

666 So Fresh: Chapter 11

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[DAWN OF MAN]

Biblical shit. The creation of sin. Blah, blah, blah. They never really go into detail about that stuff, huh? That or I just didn’t pay much attention in church when I was a kid. Anyways, I’m not important but also very important. Everywhere if you like or nowhere at all. Call me Mara, little colts.

Anyways, I’ll tell you how each Sin came to be and what it means to be a Sin or have a Vice. It’s more literal than you think. Demons are borne of sin, and because every human does it in one way or another, there are a lot of Demons. This is also why they’re called Hell Spawn because all demons are borne in Hell and reside there unless their Sin calls them towards somewhere else...like the surface world. Hehe

Humans are so easily food.

When a human sins, whether or not they repent, a demon comes out of it and gets assigned a level. The popular seven or maybe even Melancholy. A lot of those are youthful wrecks or people who stood a chance but never took it and so a demon claimed their heart with ease. So if the sinner repents, the Sin is small but still gets sent here. What a Sin does is claim a part of some human’s heart. If the Sin is repeated, then that human becomes a demon. Those are mostly rich folk and the people you see on TV. Yeah, I said it, some of your favorite celebrities are demons.

Hell Spawn are bound to their Sin, yes, but that doesn’t mean they can’t do good things. Lots of Vanity celebs give to charity to be praised even though they say it’s out of the goodness of their hearts. Even regular Spawn get “Hearts” which are just their Sin sustaining their physical form, whatever they choose.

Like this beautiful boy here, Yoongi. Just the cutest. I’ve been keeping my eye on him for a while. His heart was born of some human klepto who “tried” to get better and died while breaking and entering into some rando superstar’s home. So you see? He really can’t help what he does. Have some pity on his poor wittle sowl. Hehe.

See you around.

[8 YEARS AGO]

Police Chief Bang walked in and told Namjoon to stand up and meet his new partner. It was a tall and lanky man standing next to the chief. Broad shoulders and a handsome face.

“Detective Namjoon, meet Detective Seokjin. He just graduated in the top 10 of the police academy.”

The two gave each other a firm handshake.

Namjoon spoke, “With all due respect, sir, Detective SB is expected to survive.”

“Yes, but he wants to retire. Also, Seokjin has a thing for demons like you. He’s a hard worked. You two should make a perfect pair.”

Chief Bang went off to go attend to his own business, leaving the two men alone. They silently sized each other up. Namjoon was more curious about this unassuming and shy man who was now his partner after the secondary introduction.

Jin spoke, “So, you like demons? Chief wouldn’t stop talking about it on the way over.”

“I don’t like them, per say, just curious about them. Every few years I do dep research into something. There’s so much about angels and devils, so many interpretations that I’ve been on it for a while? And you?”

Jin shrugged, “Grew up believing in them, and I know they’re real. I know it’s my duty to protect humanity from their influence and evil deeds.”

“So is that why you became a cop?”

“That’s all your doing, Namjoon. All your good police work just compelled me to work by your side.”

He scratched the back of his head, “Me, really? I’m just doing my job. Couldn’t have done it without my partner...having my back.” The younger man was so upset at himself.

Jin put his hand on Namjoon’s back. His partner SB had gotten hurt having his back during their last case. Namjoon should’ve noticed the trip wire. Somehow Jin’s slight touch lightened his guilt just a little bit. There was nothing he could’ve done. Due to his new situation of having an injured partner, he’d been given pats and touches at least 12 times a day. None ever seemed to help until now.

“Thanks, Seokjin.”

“Just Jin is fine.” He gave a soft smile, leaving his hand there for half a moment more.

Namjoon returned his smile, “You’re going to be my new partner, huh? Good. Wouldn’t want anyone else.”

Jin felt Namjoon’s concerned hand on his shoulder, “Look who’s come to complain.”

It was the mother and father of the frat boy who had been mysteriously mauled in his own bedroom. They didn’t seem happy, but they had to know that the police were doing everything they could do find out who killed their son...with no leads of any kind.

“Don’t make assumptions. They could be here--”

“Trash! All of you!” The father spat, and the mother nodded.

Namjoon gave his partner a look, “Like I said.” He then went to go see the family. “Mr. Han, what can I do for you?

“How come you useless as police men aren’t out there looking for who killed my song? It’s been--”

The older cop watched from the side as his partner did his best to diffuse the situation. Parents who lost a child were going to be emotional, sometimes volatile. Although they weren’t showing kindness, to give them patience and understanding would work better for everyone. No matter how annoying.

Jin got a phone call and looked for a notepad, “Hello, Seoul Police Station.”

Their voice was deep, but a bit timid, “Uh, yes, hello. I’m Chwe Hansol, one of the brothers at the murder frat. We’re wondering when we can use the house again for parties. We’ve had to cancel some huge events and push back a lot because cops are crawling.”

“I’ll tell them to hurry up. No promises, but I’m gonna see if you can be up and running this Friday, ok?”

“Thanks, man. Who am I speaking to? Y’know, just in case I gotta call back. Also, there’s something I think you guys overlooked.”

Jin told his name and gave a number as Namjoon returned. The family seemed sated, but that didn’t stop him from sighing as he slumped into his chair.

“Why do the rich feel so entitled? We’re stretched in every direction, and we have no leads. We can’t work without a lead!” He grumbled.

“Thank you.” Jin hung up. “I think we got one. Do you know that teddy bears can have cameras put into them?”

Jungkook sat on his bed eating chips and waiting for his games to update. He looked through Instagram and Twitter. Zula’s accounts specifically.  He thought about what his brother said an decided to DM her.

Jungkook sighed, relieved that Zula didn’t hate him anymore. A smile even played on his face as he typed out his next message, adding an emoji of his own.

In all honesty, he was sad that she was taken. Her Insta photos were mostly of her holding hands with that guy with a mullet. Sometimes that other guy would be holding her too. Were they really dating? If so, which one? He decided not to ask for the sake of his own heart.

She obviously didn’t share his enthusiasm at getting to speak with each other. Jungkook was glad he had talked to her, though. He knew how Zula thought of him at least. A fanboy of sorts, nothing too special. At least she knew it was him. That was something.

“So, we finally have something.” Namjoon said, wincing at the screen.

Jin was throwing up in a nearby waste basket, “I hate demons!” He gasped. “They always make everything so gruesome.”

He wiped his mouth and looked at the screen again. The footage from the teddy bear cam clearly showed the dead frat boy getting mauled by a girl who had shapeshifted into a demon. Her body was mostly red and it was all covered with black scales. Her hand had black claws which matched the black horns sprouting from her head. Namjoon knew the girl.

It was Zula.

She had killed the man, even tried to get rid of the evidence once she returned to her human form. Jin kept going on and on about how violent demons were and how evil they were.

“They just kill and leave their messes, feeling no remorse!”

“She’s not like that. She obviously feels remorse...something once she turns human again. Rewind a bit.”

The AV detective rewinded the video until she was told to stop. It was at the moment all traces of demon Zula were gone, and she looked like if she had just woken up from a trance. She stares at the blood on her hands in fear.

Namjoon pointed at the screen, “See, she had no idea what just happened. The blood is a surprise and she starts panicking. His unwanted advances made her snap. It’s like what Jungkook did--”

“That could’ve been your brother, and you’re so ok with it?”

“She didn’t want their affections. This kid tried to rape her!” He raised his voice for the 5th time in all the years they’d been partners. “She fought back.”

“She’s a demon!” Jin stated and it explained his unwavering stance on this matter.

This is why they avoided the topic. Jin believed demons could only be evil and do wrong. Sin was their life and they’d do anything to do it. Namjoon saw them as mostly harmless, but would do almost anything to sin. If not, there’d be more strife in the world. Why else did that other one stop her from killing his brother?

It was deathly silent.

“What should I do with the footage?” The AV detective asked, slightly hesitant to say anything.

Jin spoke up, somewhat ignoring the second human, “We get word out that we need to bring her in.”

“For questioning.” Namjoon said.

He rolled his eyes, “And we get the public to help us find her. We can’t expose demons or there will be mass panic, so just give us the part with her cleaning up and stuff. When will it be done?”

“Thirty minutes, tops. And I won’t say a word to anyone about what I saw.”

With a nod, the men left the room. They never apologized after such topics because nothing changed, but they would for their temper. Namjoon went first, but only by a second.

“I’m sorry.”

Then they paused.

Jin sighed, “We’re gonna be fighting a lot about this one, aren’t we?”

“Probably. The one thing we agreed not to talk about is becoming the forefront of our investigation.”

“Then let me say this now.” The older man took on a kinder tone. “No matter how heated things get, you’re my partner, and I won’t stop caring about you.”

Namjoon nodded, “Same here.”

They then knocked on Chief Bang’s door to show him the original footage and get his approval on their plan.

[dbtrilogy2]

Fair(5)

Julian

We all laughed by the pool at uncle Chris and aunt Cam house. They having some cook out so the whole family is here. I had just got aunt becca throwing her in the water.

“Imma kill you Julian!”

Jogging off I run into Stanley. Her swimsuit was small but looked really good on her. “Sorry.”

“Nah you good.” She smiled walking by.

I watched as she sat in the chair next to Mona catching me as she sat.

“Julian stop drooling over Stanley and come help us throw Max in.” Maurice and Elias pulled me out my trance.

**days ago**

Taking my phone off the charger I trot down the stairs. Maurice and Elias just got here not to long ago now just chilling while we waited on the girls. Going in the kitchen I grab a soda.

“Man what’s taking them so long?” Eli groaned.

“I mean. Yo girls you mind hurrying up!?”

“Shut up we coming down.” Mona came first rubbing stuff on her lips.

“Man why you wearing that small ass shirt?” I flick her ear.

“Shut up its not small it’s a crop top…mom let’s me wear them.” She shrugged looking at her blinking phone.

“But dad hates them.” Maurice said making her cut her eyes at him.

“Anyway Sam just said they are leaving now.”

“Cool let’s go.” I grab my keys. As they start getting up Stanley came down.

She had her hair down which I thought made her look sooo fucking beautiful. She caught me staring and blushed. “Hey uh you don’t think my skirts to small or short do you?”

I shook my head a little faster than I planned making her blush harder. “Nah it’s nice you look good. I hope it’s not for the Ian nigga.”

“Thanks and of course not I dress good for myself not no boy.” She flipped her hair on one side.

“Well excuse me…ladies first.” I let her walk closing the door behind me.

“You know I get the front stop starting shit all the time and just get in the back!” Mona yelled. Her and Maurice fighting over the front yet again with Elias recording laughing.

“Look here yuck mouth I get front because I’m more important than you.”

“Man we not doing this again. Stanley gets front since y'all still acting like babies.”

They both mugged me getting in. The ride was smooth and we got there in no time. Sam and that Ian nigga met us at the front.

“I got the wrist band thing so we can get on all the rides and a few tickets to play the games.” Sam hands one to Mona.

“You want me to get your Stanley?” Ian went throwing his arm over her.

“I’ll get my own thanks.”

“Whatever I’ll keep my money then.” He shrugged walking off.

We all got the wrist bands then went straight for the roller coaster. It wasn’t nothing like at the amusement parks but it’ll work for now. We all got paired off. Mona and that kid, Maurice and Elias, Stanley and that nigga then me with some chick who kept looking at me while other got on the ride.

“I’m Shelly.”

“How’s it going.” I waved her off trying to see what Stanley was doing.

“Good are you here with anyone?”

“Yeah my cousins and their friends.”

“So no girlfriend?”

Just then Stanley looked back catching me starring again. I smiled winking making her blush. “Not yet.”

We went on every ride then decided to play some games.

“Imma win you something baby.” Ian winked as we went to the ring toss booth.

She rolled her eyes pulling out her phone. I went over to the basketball. I won and saw this little stuffed poodle. “Let me get the dog.”

“For a special lady?” The guy chuckled handing it over.

“Something like that.” I smirked.

“Dude give it up you about to break a twenty on some booth game?” Maurice laughed. “Clearly this is not the game for you.”

I tap Stanley from behind showing the stuffed poodle. “For you.”

“Awww it’s so cute. You won this?

"Yeah for you since ya boy can’t.”

“He’s not my boy.” She rolled her eyes.

“Man I give up this game rigged like a bitch. Let’s just get out of here.” He stormed off while we laughed.

“Yeah my mom just text me she here anyway. I’ll talk to you later babe.” That boy hugged up on Mona kissing her cheek.

“Hey what you doing man get off my sister!” Maurice pushed him. “I’m telling dad.”

“Uh shut up! I’ll text you bye.”

“Nigga stop cupcakin let’s go.”

We stopped for snacks since I still wanted that movie. Getting in Maurice and Elias went to set up the tv. Mona and Stanley went to change.

“Hey you won that dog for Stanley?” Eli asked me as I sat opening my chips.

“Yeah why?”

“Just asking. You be acting weird around her sometimes.”

“Yeah almost like you like her or something.” They both laughed.

“Would that be wrong? Not saying I do just asking.” I said like it was nothing even tho I honestly wanted to know.

“Dude she’s your cousin.” Maurice said frowning.

“Technically she’s not their not related in anyway.” Eli shrugged while Maurice looked at him before shrugging to as the girls came back. “Finally I almost started it without y'all.”

“Shut up. What we watching first?”

I sat in the bean bag I brought from my room in front of the couch. The boys laying on the floor with the girls on the couch. While watching the movie Mona phone rang and she went up to their room. The boys went up next saying their tired leaving me and Stanley alone.

“So uh…you have fun tonight?” I asked sitting on the couch not to far from her.

“Yeah it was fun. My favorite was that huge slide it was so cool.” She laughed turning facing me.

“Yeah I like that one ride we was standing in and it was spinning like crazy. Aye Maurice face when we got off was funny as hell!”

“It was.” She started messing with her hair.

“I heard you joined the cheer squad.”

“Oh yeah me and Mona are the first freshman. The captain said their gonna use our cheer for the next game.”

“Dope I guess that means you gonna be cheering me on at every game huh?” I more closer seeing her pinkish cheeks.

“I guess so. You do play pretty good so I’ll be cheering a lot.”

“True I’m the star of that team. You want a drink?”

“Yeah sure.”

I took her hand taking us to the kitchen sitting her up on the counter. Getting us both a soda she declined asking for a water.

“What you don’t drink soda?”

“Nope trynna keep this skin baby smooth as long as I can.”

Smirking I brush my hand over her cheek. “It is pretty smooth. What you use I might need some?”

“I use these homemade mask I found on Instagram and black soap. Works wonders.”

I cup her chin. “I see. Got you glowing and shit.”

“Stop….my face hurts.” She giggled pushing me back.

“Why is that what you smiling so hard for?” She looked at me before laughing. “I ever tell you how cute your laugh is?”

“Julian stooooop oh my god.” She covered her face. “You been acting real nice to me lately.”

Smirking I lean next to her. “Yeah….what you want me to be mean to you?”

“I’m just telling you I’ve noticed.” She shrugged playing with the cup she had.

“Good I was hoping you would.” She blushed hoping down. “Where you goin?”

“To bed.”

“Well goodnight to you to.”

Coming back she stood on her toes kissing my cheek. “Night.”

Hold her in place I lift her head kissing the side of her mouth inches from her lips. “Goodnight pookie.”

She giggled backing away bumping into the wall then ran off to the stairs. Standing here I just couldnt let her get away that fast. Eventually I’ll want to express myself to her but I can’t if whenever we’re alone she runs away. I mean I think she likes me back.

Stanley

“Wait Stanley.” He caught my arm midway to the third stair.

“Yeah?”

“Uh….what’s the rush to get in bed? Why don’t we just hang out for a while.” He asked looking down holding my hand.

I blushed biting my bottom lip. “O-oh ok…what did you want to do?”

He took us back to the living room still holding my hand. Butterflies have taken over my insides I feel like I could lift off at anytime. Turning back he smiled looking at our hands.

“You smoke?”

“Smoke what?” I frowned looking him up and down.

“Weed baby girl come on now.”

“Oh no never tried it honestly don’t know if I really want to.”

He nods squeezing my hand. “Do you plan any video games?”

“Yeah I play all those basketball football baseball games with Maurice and dad sometimes.” I shrug smiling.

“Cool we can play some 3k and uh make it a little interesting.” He chuckled going to set up the system.

“Oh no.”

“It’s all good nothing bad. If you win I’ll take you shopping-”

“Boy bye you can’t afford me.” I smirked taking the wireless controller from him sitting in the beanbag.

“We both know…you know I got bank lets not play that.” He winked sitting on the couch behind me. “Anyway like I was saying if I win you’ll smoke with me.”

Looking back I caught his little smirk. Rolling my eyes I blushed turning back. “I guess. Pick your team so we can get this over with oh and just so you know this skirt alone is $80 just a little heads up.”

He laughed nodding. We played the game doing some trash talk here and there. I’d push his controller he’d push my head or cover my eyes. It was just plain good old fun which I need usually having playing these since both dad and Maurice are sore losers. Not saying I’m that good just when I win it’s like the end of the world to them.

“Uh no fair how you do that!?” He made his player do some dunk trick I’ve never seen before.

“I guess Maurice and uncle Chris aren’t that good at this game huh?”

“Their ok I’ve just never seen that done before. Show me.”

He took my hand having me sit between his legs still facing the TV. His hands cover mine on the controller. Looking back I blushed yet again for probably the billionth time tonight.

“Ight so you just press this…these two at the same time and run. Try it.” Our fingers moved together as he helped me do this. Dad and Maurice are in for it next time I play one of them!

“What is this a cheat code?”

“Never that I just came across it one day. I was playin max and he was beating me so I just started pressing random buttons and that happened. It took me like a week to figure out what the hell I did.”

We laughed. He grabbed his controller wrapping his arms around me. Clearly neither of us were planning to move so I got comfortable. It was like one of those pictures you see on those relationship goals pages.

In the end unfortunately he won so I’m out of a free shopping trip. Watching the finale score come up he laughed while I elbow his stomach.

“Hey I won fair and square even showed you my special secret move. Don’t worry I’ll still take you shopping.” He kissed the side of my neck.

“Ah that tickles stop.” I whispered cringing away.

It was going on midnight and no one has come down to see where we were so I just guessed their all sleep.

“Oh you ticklish huh…good to know.” He poked my side.

“Julian stop it!” I jumped up. “I get very loud when I’m tickled and I don’t want to wake anyone up.”

“I guess but you better watch out now. Neck and sides are your tickle spots…got it.”

Rolling my eyes I stood going into the kitchen. In the fridge I took out another bottle of watch and took some grapes.

“What you wanna do now?”

“We could…smoke since you know I won.” He smirked putting his arms behind his head.

Sighing I plop on the beanbag. “I won’t die will I?”

“No why would I wanna kill you? It’s a great feeling trust me…I’ll be back.”

While he’s gone I took out my phone going to Instagram. My likes went up on a few pictures, more followers, more cute comments even some rude ones. I pay all those no mind. On my feed I came across a picture that kinda describes what I was talking about earlier and just had to like it. Biting my lip I chuckled low at the butterflies coming back.

I think I can stop doubting how Julian acts towards me. I think it’s pretty clear he likes me.

“Alright so I already rolled it all we gotta do is spark it up.” He came back with some rolled up paper looking thing.

“Ok…how do I do this?”

He sat pulling me on his lap. “Put it between your lips inhale not to much hold it for like ten seconds then just breath out its easy than you think.” Shrugging he puts the lighter to the paper thing inhaling like he told me then seconds later blew this white smoke out. “See. Try it.”

My heart was thumping so loud my hands were shaking. I took it doing exactly what he said. He counts down ten seconds and I let out the smoke watching it move through out the room.

“Wow…”

“You like it?” He took it back inhaling again.

“It’s…ok I mean I don’t feel any different.”

“I know just do it a few more times and you’ll start feeling something.”

Boy was he right! We sat together smoking for like fifteen minutes and my eyes got low and I just felt…calm.

“Does your mom know you smoke?”

“Yeah it’s prescription…she let me get it when I turned sixteen. Sometimes after chase goes to bed me my mom and max all sit out on the deck and share one. It’s the dopest shit ever.” He laughed taking another pull. “You want some more?”

“Just a little in getting tired and it’s going on one in the morning.”

“Ok just take a shower before you go to sleep and set your clothes somewhere so they can get washed.”

It was getting smaller and smaller by the second. We just laid back together in silence.

“Julian can I ask you something?”

“Go head.” He mumbled.

“Do you um…I mean I just been thinking you might I don’t know-”

“Like you?”

“Y-yeah. Do you?”

Looking back he smiled up at me. Just before his words could come out this loud noise came out of no where.

“What the-” I pick up my ringing phone. “Hello?”

“Hey I’ve called Maurice and Mona trynna get in touch with y'all!” Mom yelled making me run my head.

“I’m sorry mom I was sleeping still I don’t know where the others are.”

“Yeah well have all your things packed by five we’ll be there around that time.”

“Ok.”

“Did you have fun last night?”

“Yeah it was really fun we got on everything.”

“That’s nice well I’ll let you get back to sleep make sure you tell Mona and Maurice to be ready.”

“Ok I will…bye.” When hanging up I saw a text from Julian.

Juju💔:we went to get some breakfast and your siblings left their phones🙄we’ll be back

Me:ok can you tell them mom and dad are coming for us around five and want us to be ready

I got out of bed stretching. On the end of my bed were the clothes I wore to the fair. They didn’t smell like anything but my perfume. Shaking my head I go to the bathroom and handle my morning business. Getting my phone again I saw Julian responded.

Juju💔:sure thing pookie

This was tripping me out so I just asked-

Me:what happen after the movie last night?😳

He responded seconds later

Juju💔:we went to be bed y😕

It was just a dream?

[galivantingg]

Behind Those Eyes

Chapter 12

It had been three months.

Things weren't easy, for anyone.

Cole hated her job, but she refused to quit before finding Nessa. Unfortunately, they had no such luck. They were searching every abandoned building they could get their hands on but without permits their hands were tied. And to admit one of their strongest supers had been kidnapped by the villains was basically admitting defeat. All they could do was sneak around like the very people they wanted to stop.

Morale was low.

Cole was sitting in the lounge when Legion approached her. "I've got an idea on how to find Cammie, but we have to move quick. Waya vetoed this idea as soon as I brought it up"

. . .

Swirling. A mix between the past, the present, and was that the future? It didn't look like a good one. I laughed maniacally, not really there. Not really understanding. Some days were good, I could hold a conversation with whoever was in the room, or were they in the room? Other days were bad. All I could do was sit there and scream until my throat bled. But throats don't bleed, Chameleon. Hmm, you may be right. But you may be wrong. Are you insane? That's what I thought.

Am I insane? I'll ask the person in the room. No answer. Or is that an answer?

I didn't get along well with the recruits from before my group. Rebel, Ang, Rellik, Arctic and Artisto. Arctic thought he was so much better than me because he was inducted a year before me, but I was still on the Senior team so he could stick it.

Why didn't we get along? Was it him, or was it me?

I think it was him. He was haughty. I didn't like how he thought he was all that, he thought he was as cool as Swallow. Swallow who was collapsing on the ground?

Why did he do that?

I walked over, the others noticing now that our first member was currently face down on the ground. "Swallow?" I asked, pushing his shoulder. He rolled over, and looked like he was sleeping. His eyes shut peacefully, his chest not moving.

What.

His chest wasn't moving. Panic washed over me and my world started to crumble. "Waya," I called out. "Pull up the news, I think something's wrong but I need to double check."

Then Legion walked into the room. Seeing his best friend lying on the floor was cause for concern, but then he because hysterical when he noticed his lifelong friend wasn't breathing.

"Swallow." Legion said, the fear creeping into his voice. "Matt buddy come on." He knelt next to me, and started chest compressions. He counted out loud, not noticing the tears dripping down his face. All I could do was stare as this strong person slowly crumbled before me. He leaned down and breathed into Swallow, one breath, two breaths, three breaths, then started chest compressions again.

"Waya," I snapped. "The news."

He turned on the TV, and we got our answer.

Genocide.

. . .

I opened the door, mentally preparing preparing myself. "Hey Jacks," I said softly, seeing him sitting by the window. He didn't acknowledge me. I waled into the room, changing the flowers in the pot and tossing the old ones before sitting next to Jacks. He didn't even look at me.

"How have you been?" I asked, knowing I wasn't going to get an answer. He didn't even know what he was saying anymore. He refused the hospital clothes, not knowing why he wanted to keep his suit on. At least he knew it was important, that it meant something.

"Forty-two," he mumbled. I looked up, not expecting him to say anything at all.

"That's good," I agreed with him. I had no idea what he meant. "Ace is on ice now, we think it'll preserve her body. Waya couldn't stand to watch her waste away. It seems Mime isn't going to unfreeze her." I rambled slightly, not knowing how to fill the silence. I told him about missions, about new inside jokes. I reminisced with him, thinking back to our glory days. I missed him.

I wanted to try something. It was horrible, but I wondered if it would work.

"Peculiar," I whispered. At first I didn't think he had heard me. Then he snapped around to face me and grabbed my head with both his hands.

"They're closer than you think!" He hissed. His eyes were alight, and he was more alive in this small moment since we found him. "Beware, killer." Ah, so he wasn't really there. Unless I had killed someone, which I didn't think I had.

. . .

I was here again, I think. Maybe this was a memory too. I wonder what happens next. The door creaked open, and in walked Aella. "Hey, that's not right," I said leaning forward. "You're dead?" I didn't even know what I was saying anymore, it was like I didn't have control over my mouth. She looked at me, and I couldn't read her expression. There were no words on her face. No story being told. She advanced and I giggled, wondering what she was going to do.

Was I wondering out loud? Who knew. I certainly didn't!

"Cam," she said.

"That's my name, don't wear it out!" I tilted my head all the way to one side, putting my ear on my shoulder. Could I hear my blood flowing? Maybe if I listened hard enough.

"You need to listen to me," she said. I could barely understand her words. "I just found out who Genocide is. This changes what I previously thought."

"Soup!"

"Cammie," she knelt down in front of me and put her hands on my shoulders. Wheeeeee!

"Genocide is the Director."

Uh oh spaghetti o.

. . .

"Why are we at the hospital I thought we were going to save Nessa." Cole said, just a little annoyed.

Maybe more than a little.

It's been three months eight days and 9 hours.

"There's only one person who's survived the villains, but his mind isn't quite there." Legion explained, looking around before leading the way into the building. Cole didn't ask why he bothered to look around, their suits were drawing attention. The cape felt weird to her, she wasn't used to something so heavy on he shoulders. She did like the flow of it though.

They marched right up to the front desk. "We're here to see Jacks, please," he sad to the man behind the desk. He looked up for a second and did a double take.

"Ah," he said, clearly trying to mask whatever he was feeling. "Of course sir, go right ahead."

"Thanks," he said quickly leading the way down the hall to the elevator. "Jacks was inducted with Cammie, and is the only other surviving member of her team." Cole choked on her breath.

"What?"

"Jacks got captured by Peculiar years ago, and when we finally got him back his mind was beyond repair. Cammie used to come visit him every weekend, but, well you know." Avoiding the elephant in the room ever so eloquently, Cole thought drily.

"And why am I here with you then," Cole wondered out loud.

"Because," the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. "You can access his memories. Come on."

Cole now understood why Waya vetoed the idea, it was a horrible one. Let's do it!

. . .

Beware!

JACKS?

Swirling, falling, swooping, healing.

Healing.

Healing?

Was she healing, or was she dying.

Again? She'd done dying before, let's try something new.

Healing it is.

I pushed and pushed and pushed, and then a pop!

My eyes cleared, and I was face to face with Mime. Why is it always her like seriously. I was getting tired of it. I tilted my head to the side, and made weird faces. There is no was I am going insane again that was not fun.

"Chicken noodle soup. I! Want! Chicken! Noodle! Soup!" Mime cracked up, backing up a little.

"Man he is so funny when he's insane. I wonder what I have to say to get him to spill the secrets of the cave."

The cave? The cave.

"Where's my mommy?" I whined, hoping Mime wouldn't realise that I was playacting. Was I playacting? I didn't know, everything was still fuzzy. I couldn't remember much from before. Just something nagging at my mind, something important. Ah well, nothing I find out here can be of much importance.

"Mommy's in the basement," Mime cackled. Whatever than meant.

. . .

"Never again." Cole said, when she had finally regained control over her own mind. She felt weird, like her mind wasn't quite there. She didn't think it would be anymore. She had tried to sift through memories, but couldn't find anything solid. Just a lot of memories with Chameleon and a few people she barely recognised from the Wall of the Fallen.

"Did you find out anything?" Legion hovered worriedly over Cole. He had watched anxiously as Cole turned into Jacks, then watched as she went rigid. Her eyes had glazed over, and she swayed a little, seemingly in a trance.

"I never want to access someone's memories again that's what I found out." Cole muttered. She was still trying to settle her mind, her eyes kept switching between the hospital room and the months of torture Jacks had endure.

She was going to have nightmares.

"Cole please," Legion begged. He couldn't stand it much longer. Cammie was in trouble and she could have all the answers.

"I didn't see anything, just a concrete room and the villains. This guys mind, it's completely shattered. If they did this to Nessa she might not be able to come back from this." Cole murmured the last part.

"What do you mean by that. If she's gone insane, not even Geronimo could help her. She'll end up in here just like Jacks."

Cole shook her head. "I don't know what she's told you but she has healing powers, the strongest I've ever come across. She might be able to heal herself, as long as she doesn't let them get to her. But she may already be gone."

Legion looked out the window, thinking hard for a moment. "You know, she told me her real name is Hestia. Paired with the healing, I think I know who she is."

Cole turned to face Legion, eyes wide. "I know that name! Hestia Whitehead. The Whitehead Clan settled this land, didn't they? The name was mentioned briefly when I was in grade nine. But they were all killed, weren't they?" Cole started to connect some dots, understanding why her shapeshifting friend was so secretive.

That wasn't the only thing Cole found out when she copied Nessa. Her body, it was like it was at war with itself, there was so much inner turmoil, physical turmoil. Cole didn't understand how Nessa could walk let alone fight with all that going on inside.

"Lightning..." Legion muttered.

Lightning, lightning was an apt description. It was like there was lightning trapped inside Chameleon's body, destroying her from the inside out.

[therappundit]

I think the thing that bothers me the most about this year’s always controversial 2017 Freshman Class list, is how heavily they played to one specific “sub-genre” of hip-hop. At a time when hip-hop feels like it has splintered into many beautiful fractals of different sounds (from the resurgence of 90′s boom-bap, classic funk & soul, to alternate takes on trap bounce, to cloudy, emo-inspired, “trance-rap”...which I may have just made up?), XXL decided to play it as safe as possible: appeal to the younger demographic with the type of artists that pop up with the “sponsored” content tag on your social media feed.

My credo has always been whatever you do, do it well...so I’m not going to dwell on how mainstream potential factors into who lands the coveted XXL Freshman cover - because let’s be honest, it should play a factor. Just not the only factor. Years before the internet, a kid could depend on two publications for (mostly) non-biased  coverage of rap music: The Source and XXL. Oh my, how things have changed. The 00′s saw the decline of both the print industry itself and the reliability of these magazines to be a trusted source of what’s hot. So here we are rap fans...on our own, to discover the music that we truly love, without being able to find music in one or two specific spots...

But is that a bad thing? With the speed that our multi-tasking brains now demand, everything we love must be in front of us now-now-now, so it’s probably a good thing that we’re not able to parrot back to our friends whatever The Source/XXL told us are the best releases of the month. It’s probably a good thing that we all have so many tools at our disposal with the click of a button, and need to peruse XXL, Pitchfork, Stereogum, Pigeons & Planes, OnSmash, 2DopeBoyz, NahRight, FakeShore Drive, DJBooth, SoundCloud, Spotify, Pandora, Apple, TIDAL - and yes, THE Rap Pundit :-) in order to to pull together our own customized playlists, sampling music from all over the globe, for FREE (or a small monthly fee)!

So with that, I have had a few hours to cool my jets and turn my initial angst into productivity, and positivity. Keeping in mind that XXL is just ONE voice, and even though it might not feel like a familiar voice to me anymore...it’s still just one website’s take on the music they wish to support.

Now here’s mine. These aren’t all of my favorite artists of the moment, but they are all rap artists that I feel meet the ideal criteria of a “Freshman List” (many of them are veterans, only Freshmen/Freshwomen to the casual listener): skill, catalogue of music, longterm potential, and chance of a larger impact - or mastery of their own respective lane. With that, here’s THE Rap Pundit’s List...

Noname

(excels in the Chance the Rapper/Kendrick lane, capable of both sweet soul and sharply pointed lyricism)

ex. “Diddy-Bop” feat. Raury & Cam O’bi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUncXbXAiV0

Saba

(another skilled Chicagoan, exemplifies the city’s gift for cranking out talent that sound wise beyond their years...Saba is equal parts fierce spitter and socially conscious story teller)

ex. “Monday To Monday” 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm_WnWVNhQ4

Maxo Kream

(the Houston rapper has great presence on the mic, but he’s more than just a voice...he’s a great song writer, can flow his ass off, and when pushed - capable of sounding as menacing as the fiercest in the business today)

ex. “Grannies”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p4S9P1DFrE

Cousin Stizz

(has the skill to be the biggest rap star to ever rise out of the Boston area...his beat selection, charisma and ability to craft memorable hooks again and again, make him an easy pick for this Freshman Class)

ex. “Coulda Been”

https://soundcloud.com/cousinstizz/coulda-been

Tate Kobang

(like Stizz, Tate has big mainstream potential...maybe not as strong lyrically as Stizz, but the Baltimore MC’s hook game is wavy as hell - and I hate the term wavy, but I don’t know what else to call this!)

ex. “Tell Em”

https://soundcloud.com/dtlrradiofm/tell-em?in=dtlrradiofm/sets/tate-kobang-silent-waves

Dae Dae

(when it comes to future stars from the ATL...Dae Dae is near the top of the list for me. He rhymes with the conviction to push an average trap beat over the top, his energy’s straight infectious...)

ex. “Bullshit” feat. 21 Savage

https://soundcloud.com/daedaelovelife/bullshit-ft-21-savage

Kur

(the next in line to carry on the tradition of hungry, HUNGRY Philly MCs...)

ex. “Quick Money” feat. Chynna

https://soundcloud.com/kur-sound/quick-money-ft-chynna-prod

Young M.A

(in spite of a reeeeally lackluster EP, I haven’t given up on Young M.A and neither should you...”Oouuu” was one of the strongest NYC-centric tracks from a mostly unknown rap artist since A$AP came on the scene - if you weren’t feeling that, you really need to loosen up a bit)

ex. “Summer Story”

https://soundcloud.com/youngma/summer-story-prod-by-gsparkz

Benny

(quite simply the finest street poet to bless the mic since Beanie Sigel...)

ex. “Pissy Work” ft. Westside Gunn

https://soundcloud.com/user-5212897/pissy-work-ft-benny

Playboi Carti

(not much lyrically, his songs are more of a collection of adlibs than actual thoughts...but that’s what the kids are into these days, and Carti has enough contagious flow to crank out more club hits and lead the mush-mouth generation...“Magnolia” might end up being his biggest hit, but definitely not his last one)

ex. “Magnolia”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgbxbSSybmM

T.F

(coming with a strong Schoolboy Q co-sign, T.F is under too many radars right now...which is a shame, because his fierce No Hooks project had him coming off like the West Coast Roc Marciano)

ex. “Unprofessional Shit” 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LDl9en-MyQ

Mach-Hommy

(possibly the most distinct writer on this...Mach seems to play by his own rules, which has lead to some exclusive releases, and a pleasantly unpredictable rhyme style that makes every verse as rewind-worthy as whatever his next move will be)

ex. “H.B.O.”

https://soundcloud.com/mach-hommy/hbo-beats-by-august-fanon?in=mach-hommy/sets/hbo-haitian-body-odor

Joey Purp

(possibly the next to blow in Chicago, the next gifted artist out of the Save Money collective can swing wildly from explosively screaming a hook, to subtle picture painting...his pen game and vocal skills are strong enough to make it big even without his connections to Chance the Rapper and Vic Mensa)

ex. “Still Got It” feat. Vic Mensa & Two Fresh

https://soundcloud.com/maddecent/joey-purp-vic-mensa-two-fresh-still-got-it

Conway The Machine....

(if raw Wu-era, grimy hip-hop got an injection of steroids and transplanted into today’s era, Conway would be the embodiment of that sound. Capable of out-rhyming just about anyone in the game verse for verse right now, there are a whole lot of folks eagerly awaiting his G.O.A.T. album...)

ex. “Broken Safety” feat. Prodigy

https://soundcloud.com/user-5212897/broken-saftey?in=user-5212897/sets/conway-x-prodigy-hell-still-on

...and Westside Gunn

(the Ghostface to Conway’s Raekwon - they’re actually brothers - the Buffalo icon has helped build Griselda Records into an underground movement that might not stay underground for too much longer. Behind Westside Gunn’s distinctive voice and adlibs, you’ll find a business-minded rap artist that knows exactly what he’s doing over tracks....FLYGOD is a modern-day classic)

ex. “Vivian at the Art Basel” - feat. Your Old Droog

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcAsqwOrlOg

J.I.D.

(the J.Cole signee from Atlanta is racking up Kendrick comparisons, and not just because of the nasality in his voice...the kid can flat out bring it with bars, but he also has a positive energy about him that makes even his more experimental tracks prevail....and oh yeah, and he has one of the best rap projects of the year out, The Never Story)

ex. “Somebody”

https://soundcloud.com/jidsv/somebody-1?in=jidsv/sets/the-never-story