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bucket-girl · 6 years ago

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Chapter 2-1 Personal Info logs

In chapter 2, it’s possible to buy the personal info of Nao, Reko, Gin and Q-Taro with tokens, but it’s easy to miss. Reloading saves and redoing minigames is a hassle so I wrote them down for convenience. Most of them are in the form of conversing with AIs, I’ve put Sara’s lines in italics. Text under cut.

Gin > History ...History? What should I talk about, woof? "Hm... Just an introduction would make me happy." Gin Ibushi from Heiwa Elementary Class 6-3! I'm 12 years old, meow! I take care of the animals, meow!! "Is school fun for you?" Hmm... It's not that fun 'cause of some guys I don't like, meow. But it's fun to meet friends, woof! We play games together, meooow! "Do you wear that outfit to school, too?" Nah, because people get mad. It's only when I'm at home, woof! ...It's kinda easier to talk when I wear this, meow. But I can't wear it to school, so I get uneasy, woof. So people at school tell me I'm obedient, woof! But that's wrong... meow... My aspirations are to live with animals all the time, meow! "Heehee... What kinds of animals?" I'm way into gators right now, meow! They're cute, wooooof!

> Physical Info I'm 138 centimeters and 35.5 kilograms, meow! That's 4 foot 6 inches and 78 pounds, woof! And I grew 2 centimeters at my last checkup, meow! "Your growth spurt and voice change must be coming up soon." Obviously, meow! I'm gonna be bigger than you, big sis Sara! "Ahaha, I'm sure you'll look really cool. I've got high hopes for you." Yeah! I'll sweep you off your feet, meow! Be grateful, woof! "Okay, let's make it a promise." Got it, meow! A promise for when I outgrow you, woof!

> Relatives My family's a double-income household, meow! I don't have siblings, so... It's lonely when I'm there by myself, meow... My mom's super nice even when she's exhausted, woof. No matter how late she gets home, she always makes dinner... And no matter how much I tell her not to overwork herself... "Do you like your mom?" I love her, meow! I'm worried how she's even busier lately, woof... "What about your dad?" I don't like some things... but I like him, meow. But I super hate when he's a drunkard who causes trouble, meow! It's embarrassing, woof! And he's always getting yelled at by mom and apologizing, so it's like he's got no dignity, woof. I don't wanna be that kind of pathetic grown-up, meooow! ...But I'm sure I won't, meow. 'Cause I'm not blood-related to dad, woof. "Huh...?" I heard he married mom when I was 2, meow! So that genetics stuff won't make me turn out like him, woof! "Is that so...?" Well, it's not like I hate dad, woof. It's true, meow!

> Death Game info I dunno, meow... It's scary, woof... What's dying feel like, meow...? "I... don't know either." I don't wanna never meet mom and dad again, meow... Big sis Sara... are you scared too, meow? "...Yeah, I am." "...Really scared..." .......... I'll definitely protect you, meow! Come see me anytime, woof! "Heehee... Thanks..."

> What he holds dear What I hold dear...? That's hard, meowww. Hm... It's gotta be mom and dad, meow! I'd be sad if they went away, woof! Ah! And the Mew-chan cushion I'm always with! They're super precious to me, meow! We're always together, so I forgot, meow! Sorry, Mew-chaaan! Woof... "Mew-chan is family to you too, huh?" That's right, meow! I got seriously mad when dad was gonna throw them away, meow! Unforgivable, woof! Get me a new one?! No way, meow!! You're a dummy, woof! I'm getting furious just remembering, woof! Mom should yell at him again, meowww!

Q-Taro > History I was raised up in an orphanage that's just a mite bit weird. Had people from all sortsa countries. I got a lotta dialects and stuff mixed in me... 'Course, they sent me to compulsory education up 'til high school. Can't thank the place enough. An' now, I'm a pro baseball player. ...Kiddos at the orphanage root for me, too. I wanna hurry up and show 'em... That even guys in situations like ours can get on a mound and have the stadium roarin'... Well, point is, I got no history yet. I'm about to be makin' some radiant records! Better get yer autographs early, Sara!

> Physical Info 6 foot 4 inches! 230 pounds! And lemme tell ya, it's all muscle, not fat! My position's pitcher, but I got confidence in my batting, base-running, and fielding! But my greatest weapon's my head. Gotta be smart to be a first-class athlete. "Is that how it is?" 'Course, I'm reflecting on the time I tore apart those puzzle rings by force, but...

> Relatives .......... "Is it hard to discuss?" Nah... there's just nothing to discuss. 'Cause I've never seen my birth parents' faces. Only place I knew was the orphanage. That's why... the people there were my moms and dads. Doesn't matter our blood relation. But, well... I do get thinkin' sometimes. What kinda people was I born to, and what kinda genetics do I got...? I started baseball jus' for fun, but... I've thought how if I pitch as a first-string pro... maybe my birth parents'll be watchin'. "...Do you want to meet them?" If we could talk and laugh it up, that'd be the best. All at ease, like "I'm havin' a great life"...

> Death Game info Huh, you're doin' this Death Game, right...? Knowin' me, I doubt I got even the slightest notion of dyin'. Hell, to a second-stringer, baseball's a Death Game with my life as a player on the line! But to do some self-analysis... I wonder if maybe I'll try an' win within the rules of the game... In the saga of a sports player, ya tend to forget about breakin' the rules. Maybe somebody like you, young and not knowin' fear, is more suited to findin' a path to survival. "...Is that so..." ...Sorry to make it sound like it ain't my business. I mean look, I'm an AI, y'know?

> What he holds dear Hold dear, huh... The caretakers at the orphanage, the kiddos... Of course, baseball, and... Myself... probably. I ain't gonna sugarcoat it. I don't wanna die, and I don't want the people I like to die. So I don't like to kick people... But if I gotta, I got the resolve. But I hate the kinda asshole who's got that as their first thought! ...Sorry for gettin' all fired up. Shouldn't have said that all cocky-like when you're involved in it... Don't you mind me.

Reko > History Err... I'mma super cool, 23-year-old singer-songwriter... Something like that? I've liked music since I was a kid. Classical, folk, heavy metal... I listened to all of it. Think around grade school, I found myself starting to compose and write lyrics. My instincts moved my body. That was a fun time... People praised me, and my parents were just plain happy... Once they started calling me a gifted kid... Then there started being more noise. Old bastards in the music industry wanting money... My pops craving the limelight... Before I knew it, I was making music that my heart wasn't in. In middle school, I rebelled. I was a rocker! I made tons of songs nobody even wanted! But even then, noise swarmed around me. Man, even my spirit had to give in. From high school on, all the spice was gone... Didn't even have anger... My activity dried up. I had tons of chances to be famous. But I smashed 'em all. I was totally just the industry's problem child. Everybody kept their distance from me. Once I couldn't even gather members, I borrowed Alice to make a band... Hahaha. Then two and a half years ago... He caused that incident... ... Well, at any rate, I am who I am now 'cause of that shitty past. Learn something from that, Sara?

> Physical Info 5 foot 7, 121 pounds. Pretty proud of my reflexes! And I can remember choreography in a snap, so... My memory's bangin'! Well... I'm not great at baseball and stuff... Hell, maybe I'm not great at anything that's got nothing to do with music. "By the way, what are your measurements?" N-No reason to tell you that, right?

> Relatives Family... Well, uh... ...I like my mom. Though she's a little weird. She's affectionate... and I cause her lots of trouble. Yeah, I gotta show my appreciation more. My old man... Well, he's a good guy... But let's say he gives in to temptation. He's not the most true to his convictions. I hated him for the longest time... But he's woken up now, and gone back to his plain and simple personality. After them is... Alice, huh. He's... what should I say? Why'd he do something like that...? A while after he got arrested... I left music Ahh... I just remembered. At the time, I wrote in my diary, which is rare... I wrote that music, the thing I'd poured my soul into all this time... suddenly felt like a cold series of notes... this inorganic thing. I wondered, was this how music sounded to people who didn't care about it...? ......... I always thought I didn't care about my brother, and never listened to him, but... Truth is... Maybe I was a little jealous of my normal brother. And acted that way out of spite. ... ...You shouldn't ever murder somebody...

> Death Game info Why do I gotta go through this shit...? Do we have anything in common...? I haven't got a clue...

> What she holds dear Believe it or not... I think family's important, right? I wanna show appreciation to my parents. But like, right now... The original me is being put through this Death Game, yeah? If she dies, she can't do... anything. So when you think of it like that, what's important's my own life, ain't it? "...What about your instruments?" Instruments...? "When I first met Reko... I heard she treasured her bongos." Bongos...? Well, sure. I'm playing bongos in my new band, but...

Nao Unlike the others, Nao's personal info comes as documents you can read wherever. > History Egasaki Elementary School ... Graduated Egasaki Middle School ... Graduated Third Kurotsuki Private High School ... Graduated Takesasa Private College of Art ... Currently 1st year Middle-class, born and raised by a very ordinary family. School grades below average. Focused on art starting in high school, and now seems interested in pursuing only that. Looks up to an art club advisor she met in high school, staying deeply intimate with him even post-graduation. Often seen going to the man's atelier. Doesn't appear to have many friends, but has a long association with most she does have, so it's suspected she values relationships. Also, refrains from going out at night, generally staying at home even on days off. No information known on what men she associates with.

> Physical info Nao Egokoro Age: 19 Gender: Female Height: 162cm (5'4") Weight: 55kg (121lb) Has little experience in sports and the like, limited to P.E. classes in compulsory education. Even so, her reflexes are poor. Perhaps due to her inclination toward art, she has very good eyesight. Her ability to remember a scene for a long time or recognize the individual flaps of a bird's wings is within reason, yet superb. Since much of this comes from practice, about the only thing that can be called a born talent, it is thought, is her passionate love for art. No other notable characteristics, although she has a large bust. (Sara will remark that the last line is harassment and tear it out)

> Relatives Born to a middle-class, extremely average family. Both parents are in good health. Having good relations with them, her situation is common yet happy. The father has been an office worker for 20 years. The mother has carried various jobs. No siblings. The father is under his wife's thumb. When they fight, it appears Nao Egokoro often defends her father to resolve the conflict.

> Death Game info Safely cleared the First Trial. Survived the first Main Game. Greatly affected mentally by death of her teacher. Took off with teacher's head and ran amok. This could be taken as mental weakness, but endurance of great shock could make her that much more mentally sturdy going forward.

> What she holds dear Most likely, Nao Egokoro treasures the artworks she has created, and brushes et al. received from her high school teacher. Due to minimal desire for money, she does not seem the type to want expensive things.

#your turn to die #kimi ga shine #yttd #gin ibushi #q-taro burgerberg #reko yabusame #nao egokoro #yttd spoilers #I'm not sure how to structure this any better #my posts

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themurphyzone · 6 years ago

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Absolutely Disastrous Ch 3

Listen, is that a reader’s tears I hear? Sounds to me, loud and clear! On the web, through text, in your ear! Breaking hearts at breakneck pace! Dashing happiness, putting angst in its place! A rose by any other name still has its thorns! When everything’s worse you’ll have no time to mourn! Jessie! James! Meowth’s the name! Putting readers in their place! We’re Team Rocket, and we’re in your face!

Ch 3: Strength in Numbers! Rescue Professor Underwood!

The boulder apparently had a homing system, because it wouldn’t stop chasing them even though they’d tried backtracking, circling, and making zigzags to lose it.

“Does this happen often?” Zack yelled. A shoelace from the sneakers Diogee carried came loose and wrapped itself around Milo and Zack’s ankles.

“Someone getting attached to me by shoelace? Not really,” Milo replied. “I use slip-ons. Less hassle that way. Did you know the plastic tip at the end is called an aglet? I learned it from Aglet Awareness Day!”

Zack’s eyes only grew wider, and Milo worried they’d just pop out of his head if he kept it up. “How are you people so calm about this? We’re gonna get pancaked here!”

Melissa shrugged. “You act like this is your first time being chased by a runaway boulder.”

“That’s because it IS my first time!”

“To be fair, this area’s a forest,” Milo said. “When you live at the base of a volcano, you learn to dodge falling Geodude and Graveler pretty early on.”

“You live around a volcano?” Zack asked.

“Don’t worry. Mt. Chimney’s last eruption took a sizable chunk out of it. It really just spews ash nowadays.”

“Yeah, because that’s reassuring.”

“Alright, boys! Act like you just won a three-legged race!” Melissa aimed her phone at Milo and Zack. While Milo pumped his fist in the air, Zack kept glancing over his shoulder to make sure the boulder wasn’t looming over them. The shutter went off several times.

Melissa flicked through her pictures, clicking her tongue in disapproval. “This looks more like you’re paranoid over something trying to kill you.”

Zack glared at her. “Do you really want me to point out the obvious?”

Running with his leg tied to someone else’s was getting exhausting. Zack had never been in this type of situation before, and Milo was feeling somewhat guilty for dragging him along. The boulder was about twenty feet behind them, gaining speed as it rolled down a steep incline.

Thinking fast, Milo noticed a lone sneaker in Diogee’s mouth. The laces were still intact.

“Diogee, sneaker now!” Milo ordered.

Diogee dropped the shoe into his hand. Milo freed the laces from the holes, adding a rope from his backpack for extra length. Once the makeshift lasso was complete, he twirled it above his head.

“Hold on, everyone!” Milo shouted, taking aim at a thick branch just ahead of them. Melissa and Zack latched onto Milo’s sides, while Diogee sprang onto his back. The sneaker wrapped itself around the branch, the momentum carrying the group upward.

The boulder passed underneath them. It plowed into a cliff’s side, becoming nothing more than rubble.

Now that the danger had passed, Milo became aware of a high-pitched shriek in his ears.

Melissa punched Zack in the arm. “Boulder’s gone. Stop screaming.”

“You don’t wanna blow out your larynx,” Milo added.

Zack inhaled, though he kept his eyes squeezed shut. “Just get us down from here. We need to help Dad.”

Zack knew the forest better than Milo and Melissa. Now that they weren’t being pursued by Crazy Shoe Lady or a killer boulder, they had a better appreciation of the verdant scenery around them. Bug and Flying types soared overhead, while Zigzagoon enjoyed the abundant berry bushes below.

“My mom and I moved from Olivine City in Johto so we could be closer to Dad’s work,” Zack explained. “Mom prefers to work in the city, and Dad prefers the natural habitats. She’s a Pokémon Doctor, so she travels around the region as needed.”

“So you’re a city boy out in Hoenn country. No wonder you freaked at a tiny boulder,” Melissa smirked.

Zack folded his arms. “First, that boulder was not tiny. Second, I can handle both city and country just fine. And Littleroot isn’t that far from other cities.”

“You should see Murphy Ranch sometime,” Milo suggested. “That’s where I’m from. My family raises Absol.”

“So your family gave you Diogee?” Zack asked. “Dad told me Absol were rare.”

Milo shook his head. “They didn’t give him to me. A Murphy and Absol bond at a young age and we take the one we're closest to on our Pokémon journey. But you’re right about Absol being rare. Wild Absol were nearly hunted to extinction in Sheriff Murphy’s time, and the surviving ones retreated into mountainous regions where humans aren’t likely to go.”

“Milo’s practically an Absol connoisseur,” Melissa said. “Just ask him if you want to know anything.”

“Alright. I’ll test it out,” Zack grinned, turning to Milo. “How big can Absol grow and what’s the largest on record?”

“Absol’s average height is 3’11, give or take a few inches. Diogee is on the smaller end of the scale,” Milo said. “The largest Absol on record was 5’2, owned by a man named Jeremiah Black. An old Kalosian king is rumored to have one bigger than that, but the debate on that claim is still ongoing.”

“Told ya,” Melissa said, punching Zack’s arm again.

Zack rubbed his shoulder, moving to Milo’s left so he wasn’t next to Melissa. “Does she always do that?”

“It’s how she shows her affection,” Milo replied. “That was her friendship punch.”

“I got plenty of ‘em,” Melissa bragged, blowing on her knuckles for good measure.

Magikarp were everywhere. Some arched high above the lake’s surface in not-so-graceful Splash attacks, while others were content to remain submerged. Zack pointed to a small rowboat in the middle of the lake.

“My dad took his rowboat out. I, uh, kinda have a fear of Magikarp and some other Water Pokémon so I stayed over there,” Zack said, gesturing to a nearby picnic table. “I was writing songs, Dad was fishing. Then the Magikarp started acting up. I didn’t have a way of getting to Dad, so I ran back to the lab for help. Guess things haven’t calmed down yet.”

Diogee paced around the shore, occasionally stopping and pawing at the water. A Magikarp sprang up and smacked him in the face with a tail. Diogee growled and made a grab for it.

“This isn’t natural. There has to be a cause somewhere,” Melissa said.

“Like over there?” Milo asked. He pointed to a man who maniacally laughed as a group of Magikarp splashed around him. His blue and white striped shirt reminded Milo of cheap pirate outfits in the costume store, though he didn’t recognize the strange logo on the man’s black bandana.

“SWIM! SWIM, ME HEARTIES! SHOW THEM LANDLUBBERS WHO THE REAL SCOURGES OF THE HIGH SEAS BE!”

“Well, that was easy,” Melissa shrugged.

The man obviously suffered from a lack of spatial awareness. Somehow he hadn’t noticed a group of teens standing fifteen feet away.

Milo was prepared to challenge the wannabe pirate to a Pokémon battle. But Zack shook his head, motioning for the group to follow him behind a thick oak tree. He picked up a thick, leafy branch and tossed it aside, revealing a large duffel bag.

“Is Diogee the only Pokémon you two have?” Zack asked.

“Afraid so,” Melissa admitted. “My dad never let me own one. Believed I wasn’t responsible enough.”

Zack unzipped the bag. Three Poké Balls laid inside. “These balls contain the starters of Hoenn. Dad was going to let them out for exercise once he was done fishing, but now there’s a Magikarp debacle and he can’t get to shore. There’s too many Magikarp for Diogee to handle alone. I know they’re supposed to be reserved for new trainers, but in this situation, we don't have much of a choice."

He grabbed the ball marked with a leaf sticker.

“I’m putting myself at a disadvantage here, so I’m counting on you guys,” Melissa said. She took the ball with a flame sticker.

The remaining ball was covered in raindrop stickers. Before Milo could touch it, the ball opened on its own. Seconds later, Milo felt something chewing on his hair.

“Right, Mudkip kinda does that,” Zack laughed. “Forgot to mention it.”

Milo carefully tugged his cowlick out of Mudkip’s mouth. “Sorry, we’re kinda in a hurry right now.”

Mudkip whimpered, pawing at Milo’s face as it tried to get to his hair. Diogee growled sternly, and Mudkip settled down.

“Alright, I’ve got a plan,” Melissa declared. “Milo, you confront the pirate guy. Zack and I will knock out the Magikarp and clear a path so Professor Underwood can come to shore. Capiche?”

“Capiche!” Milo and Zack agreed. Mudkip cheered, jumping from excitement. Diogee nudged him away with his back leg.

The group split up. Melissa and Zack headed for the docks, figuring it would put them out of range from Murphy’s Law.

“We’re gonna have to work together to defeat this costumed clown,” Milo said, pacing back and forth in front of Diogee and Mudkip. Diogee sat up straight, taking in every word. But Mudkip seemed more interested in Diogee’s claws than Milo. Diogee huffed and removed his paw from Mudkip’s mouth. “Mudkip, we’ve only known each other for ten minutes, but I need you to listen in battle. You know Water Gun, right?”

Mudkip opened his mouth, firing a Water Gun at Diogee. Milo quickly jumped in front of him, opening an umbrella to shield them from the sudden torrent.

“Okay, that’s a yes,” Milo said. He tossed the umbrella aside. “But next time, say it. Don’t spray it.”

The light scolding didn’t deter Mudkip in the slightest. Diogee growled again.

“And Diogee, you’re working with Mudkip for the time being. Be nice,” Milo added.

Diogee stuck a front leg out, holding it towards Mudkip. Mudkip licked his claws, and Diogee quickly pulled back.

“Good enough,” Milo said. “Let’s get on with the confronting!”

“Argh, if anyone be callin’ ye weak again, they be walkin’ the plank!” the pirate exclaimed, cackling as he waded in the shallow water. Several Magikarp followed him around, occasionally pausing to nibble at the Pokémon food he tossed at them.

“Excuse me!” Milo called, stepping out from behind the large tree. “Did you have something to do with these Magikarp acting up? Cause there’s a guy trapped in the middle of the lake and he’s my friend’s dad and we kinda need to get him to shore-“

“I only be releasin’ Magikarp into their natural habitat,” the pirate sneered. “So get, ye knave.”

Suspecting that he wouldn’t be getting anywhere with his current approach, Milo decided to switch tactics. “My name’s Milo Murphy. This is my partner Diogee. And Mudkip is…Mudkip, stop chewing on that Magikarp’s whiskers and get over here!”

Mudkip sauntered back to Milo, trying to chew on his shoes. Milo was just glad he didn’t have laces.

“Yer scurvy Mudkip has soiled me treasure. Ye shall pay for this insolence. Ye, nay, the world shall know the wrath of Patchy! Into battle, me hearties!”

“Diogee! Mudkip! Let’s go!” Milo shouted. Diogee lowered his horn, ready for action. But Mudkip continued to gnaw on the front of Milo’s shoes. Milo picked him up, turning him so he faced Patchy and the Magikarp.

“Argh, how can ye be a trainer if yer gilly friend there don’t listen to ye?” Patchy laughed. “Magikarp, keelhaul ‘em!”

A horde of Magikarp swarmed Diogee and Mudkip, splashing them with their fins and tackling every part of their body. They swept Diogee’s paws out from under him, and for every Magikarp taken out with a Cut attack, three more took their place. Mudkip fired Water Gun at oncoming Magikarp, twisting and tackling anything that came near him. Even Diogee wasn’t spared from Mudkip’s pummeling.

“Mudkip! Focus your attacks!” Milo called. But Mudkip was half-submerged and couldn’t hear his directions. “Diogee, there’s too many for you to handle with close range moves! Try a Razor Wind!”

Diogee’s horn glowed as he reared back, pressure building in the air behind his head. Then he released several sharp blades of energy. The blades connected with five Magikarp, and they sunk beneath the water in defeat. But their brethren replaced them just as quickly.

“See ye, knave!” Patchy crowed. “I be takin’ me leave!”

Patchy fled, a school of Magikarp trailing behind him in search of more handouts.

“Hey!” Milo shouted. “I’m not done battling you! Get back here!”

A flailing Magikarp slammed into Milo, knocking him onto his back. Diogee growled, placing himself in front of Milo as he caught his breath.

“We need to go after Patchy,” Milo said, using Diogee’s back to steady himself. “He’s heading for the docks. Hope Melissa and Zack are doing okay.”

“We’re not doing okay!” Melissa shouted. Milo winced at the sound of splintering wood. “Zack won’t come anywhere near the docks and Treecko and Torchic aren’t used to working together!”

“Melissa, the guy we saw earlier is heading towards you! Don’t let him get away!” Milo said. “Sorry, we couldn’t stop him in time. His name is Patchy and-“

“Stick to Ember so you don’t fall in!” Melissa ordered. “Sorry, you said his name is Patchy?”

“That’s right,” Milo confirmed.

He could practically hear Melissa’s smirk. “How convenient. There just so happens to be a boat with Patchy’s name on it here. Treecko, I want you to cover Torchic. Torchic, use Ember on the boat next to us.”

“Is Professor Underwood closer to the shore?” Milo asked.

“He’s closer, but there’s an entire wall of Magikarp out there and I don’t think he’s gonna be able to break through,” Melissa said. “Okay, boat’s destroyed. Won’t be as easy for Patchy to escape via water.”

“I’ll be there in a bit,” Milo promised. He slipped his phone halfway into his backpack before it fell out of his hand and dropped into the water. Sparks flew out from the casing, and Milo knew it couldn’t be salvaged. “Aw, man. That was the third one this week!”

Mudkip panted as he tried to keep up with Milo and Diogee, but he keeled over just as the docks were in sight. Milo scooped him up. “You were great out there, Mudkip,” he said. “You earned a rest.”

Mudkip smiled tiredly as he returned to his Poké Ball.

“Can you keep going, Diogee?” Milo asked.

Diogee nodded, brushing up against Milo’s side. His fur dripped water onto Milo’s sweater vest.

“Easy boy, you’re all wet,” Milo laughed. “Come on, we’d better go help Melissa and Zack.”

Up ahead, a thin trail of smoke rose into the air. Milo and Diogee followed it until they reached the docks, where Patchy was trying and failing to hitch a rope to a team of Magikarp.

“Aye, work with me!” Patchy grumbled.

He didn’t seem to consider fleeing into the forest at all.

Milo high-fived Melissa, and together they watched the remains of a small rowboat burn away. Torchic ruffled her feathers proudly, while Treecko fingered the twig in his mouth.

“Pirate down. Now we need to break up those Magikarp,” Melissa said, pointing to the wall of fish Pokémon that surrounded Professor Underwood’s boat. “And coax Zack out of hiding too. Apparently, he had some traumatic childhood incident with Magikarp. AND TREECKO HAS TO BE ABLE TO HEAR YOU WHEN YOU’RE COMMANDING HIM!”

She raised her voice, glaring at a berry bush that Zack wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding in.

Zack popped out of the bush, nervously glancing at the Magikarp. “They’re not natural. The gills, the mouth flaps, the vacant stare that lulls people into a false sense of security….”

“Ignore him,” Patchy spoke up, surprising everyone. “Magikarp be hurtin’ nobody, right me hearties?”

A Magikarp smacked him in the face with its tail, and Patchy toppled over. The rope he was using wrapped around his ankles and wrists, binding them tightly. Milo and Diogee dragged a stunned Patchy onto the bank.

“I rest my case,” Zack said.

A waterspout shot out from underneath the lake, dislodging the Magikarp that prevented Professor Underwood from reaching the docks. Then something large and blue shot out of the lake, stretching far above the treetops. Everyone covered their ears as it let out a deafening roar, the sound wave alone threatening to knock them off their feet.

The Magikarp settled down, quietly sinking beneath the surface. Their orange scales shimmered, and within minutes there was no trace of them.

The Pokémon turned, its violet eyes scrutinizing them closely. Zack waved at it. “Hey, Gyarados! Thanks for the help!” he exclaimed.

Milo and Melissa could only stare as Zack stroked the Gyarados’ whiskers. Gyarados rested its head on the docks, growling in contentment.

A few seconds passed before Melissa found her voice. “Wait, so you freak at Magikarp, but you aren’t intimidated by Gyarados?” she asked.

Zack shrugged. “Only when they’re rampaging. Gyarados is pretty cool most of the time though. Why? Don’t tell me you’re scared.”

He smirked in triumph.

Melissa folded her arms. “I’m not scared! I was just concerned! Don’t read too much into this, Zachary Scaredy-Skitty Underwood.”

Her proximity to the forest said otherwise.

“Gyarados, would you mind pushing my dad back to shore? He kinda got stuck out there,” Zack said.

Gyarados nodded, giving Zack one last nuzzle before swimming to Professor Underwood’s boat. It flicked its tail several times, creating small waves that gently pushed him to the docks.

“Dad, are you okay?” Zack asked as Professor Underwood tied his boat to a post. The boat had a few scratches from the Magikarp smacking into it, but it still functioned perfectly.

“Don’t worry, son. I’m fine. You and your friends really saved the day,” Professor Underwood chuckled. “And I take it this is the guy who caused all the trouble.”

“I only be providin’ homes for water-dwellin’ Pokémon. Tis not a crime,” Patchy retorted.

Professor Underwood glared at him. “Yet you disrupted the balance of the forest. The lake can’t sustain this many Magikarp. Too much competition. We’ll have our hands full relocating them to other habitats. And there’s the question of how you got all those Magikarp here in the first place. But I think that would be best reserved for police work. I'll give Officer Elliot a call when we get back to the lab.”

Melissa rolled her eyes. “Cherry on the cake. We get to deal with Elliot.”

“He was our crossing guard in school,” Milo offered. “He always lets us know when the ice cream shop was having a special!”

“Yeah, but not before shoving his stop sign in your face,” Melissa muttered.

Professor Underwood cleared his throat. “Right. As much as I’d love to stay, I gotta get back to the lab. The starter Pokémon need to be prepared for tomorrow. I’m expecting new trainers.”

“Uh, Dad? These are the trainers you were expecting,” Zack gestured to Milo and Melissa. “You were supposed to register them today.”

“Oops, forgot about that. My bad,” Professor Underwood said. “And I guess you used the starters and your Absol to deal with the Magikarp?”

“That’s right!” Milo exclaimed. “And they were all pretty awesome too. I had to put Mudkip in his Poké Ball cause he got tired, but they all did really well even though they were outnumbered.”

He tussled the fur on Diogee’s neck. Diogee stood up straighter at the praise.

Professor Underwood smiled. “You three have just made my job a lot easier.”

AN: This chapter took a while to write, I admit.

Poor Zack. Get used to it kid, you’re a main character in this story.

Melissa and Zack banter is fun.

Zack has the opposite problem to Misty in the original series. Misty was afraid of Gyarados because she crawled into one’s mouth as a baby. She didn’t overcome her fear until after she returned to her post as gym leader, and then in Sun and Moon turns out she can Mega Evolve it. You go girl.

#absolutely disastrous #milo murphy's law #melissa chase #zack underwood #oras au #absol #diogee #hoenn starters

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ahgasescenarios · 7 years ago

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Take My Hand- Jisung Secret Admirer! Au

Word count: 1.8k

Genre: Pure fluff

Plot summary: When you start high school, you know you'll be in for a ride. What you don't know is the secret admirer you'll attract along the way.

A/N: I'm back from the dead everyone! I'm so sorry I haven't been able to write, I was so swamped with exams and school:(( I hope this story makes up for it though! This made me so soft, hopefully, you'll feel the same way. Sorry for all the time jumps, I didn't have the time or patience to write more. Thank you so much for always supporting me, I can't believe I'll be hitting 300 followers soon! I appreciate it so much and I'll work hard to bring better stories in the future. Requests are always open my loves

Your first period was science. How great, you thought. It was your first day of high school and you were going to start it off with a subject you absolutely loathed (well from what you could tell from the course description). You had a feeling you'd be in for quite a year already.

You walked alongside your friend Chenle, who was a first-year student as well. High school didn't frighten you that much since you adapted to new environments quite well, but you still had some concerns about it all. If everyone starting high school had one thing in common it was this: fear of the unknown. Which you could relate to yourself.

You were lucky enough to have Chenle in your first class, so you had some kind of consolation. You sat down next to your friend, not too in the front because then you'd seem like a teacher's pet, but not too in the back either since you'd seem like you don't care about your education. There were stereotypes and judgments all around you, yet you had never seemed to notice them until now. The world was a strange place, you thought.

Before long, your teacher stepped in and went forward with the lecture. Most boring hour of your life, that was for sure.

The second period went by in the blink of an eye, thank god for that.

"(Y/N), come let's sit with them!"

Before you could protest, Chenle was dragging you towards a table filled with unfamiliar faces. Apparently, Chenle knew these people which gave you little to no reassurance.

"Hey guys, mind if we join you?"

They gestured for you two to sit down as Chenle introduced you to the gang.

"(Y/N), this is Renjun, Jeno, and Jisung."

You bowed slightly, growing shy by the way they were staring at you. You proceeded to eat lunch, answering a few questions here and there.

You had already survived your first week of high school which you were quite proud of. You were starting to know your way around the school, but you still got lost at times. You weren't too close to Chenle's friends but you were courteous with them still. You had gotten to know their personalities a bit and as much as you liked them, you just wanted to focus on school and working hard.

"(Y/N), there you are!"

A panting Chenle ran towards you.

"We're all going to hang out at McD's after school, wanna join?"

"Sure. Let me just get my stuff."

You opened your locker only to find a pink note resting among your schoolbooks. You grabbed it, your curiosity piqued.

"Ouhh, what's that?"

Chenle tried to sneak a peek but you hid it away before he could see anything.

"Nothing, let's go."

You made a mental note to read it the second you got home.

And so here you were, back home after a long night, reading the pink sticky note.

Roses are red

Violets are blue

You're so beautiful

Do you see it too?

You were surprised to feel your cheeks heat up at the kind words. Was it because you had never been told you were beautiful before? You didn't know, but whoever had written the note had succeeded in putting a smile on your face.

You hadn't received another note since and you were slightly disappointed. You didn't have time to be disappointed though as you had a math exam coming up and you needed to study hard for it.

After countless study "dates" with Chenle or Jeno -who was actually tutoring you in math- you passed your exam with flying colors. It didn't take you long to find the boys to share the news.

"Guess who just got an A on her math exam?"

Everyone's faces lit up at the good news, congratulating you one by one. Jisung looked at you with the biggest smile on his face, not that you noticed this.

You were walking with a friend of yours when you remembered something.

"Shoot, I forget my textbook in my locker. Go ahead, I'll be right back."

You rushed to said locker and opened it in a hurry. What you weren't expecting was the bouquet of roses waiting for you. Your eyes were wide in astonishment as you reached out for the card.

Congratulations on your exam, you deserved it after all your hard work. Keep it up and remember, I'll always be here to cheer you on. Yours, -J

Your smile widened upon reading it. At least now you knew one of your secret admirer's initials. You have to start somewhere, you thought as you grabbed your missing textbook and hurried to class.

You were wandering the halls after school when someone caught up to you.

"(Y/N), hey!"

"Oh, hey Jisung, what's up?"

"Nothing, I just felt like being alone."

"Is everything okay? Do you want me to leave?"

He turned to leave, but you grabbed his wrist gently.

"It's fine, you can stay." You smiled, making him melt out of fondness (how are you this oblivious y/n).

You spent the afternoon in Jisung's company, getting to know the boy. You had always hung out as a group, but it was a very rare occurence for you to hang out with the boys individually, Chenle excluded. Jisung had made you laugh all afternoon, something you hadn't done in a while.

You had Friday off the next week, which you would have greatly appreciated if it wasn't for the fact that you had to go to school to finish a project due that same weekend. You had to meet up with your partner as she wasn't available at any other time which was a hassle for you.

You spent the whole day in the library and managed to wrap up the whole thing by 3 o'clock. Feeling like a weight had been lifted off your shoulders, you gathered your things and exited the library. As you were about to leave, you recognized a familiar face.

"Jisung? What are you doing here?"

His eyes widened when he acknowledged your presence.

"Oh, you know, I just- uh- forget a textbook at school, yeah! I need it for the homework due Monday so yeah, bye now!"

He stormed off as quickly as you had talked to him for. You shrugged and went back home.

The next morning, a red note was awaiting your arrival. You took it out and read it after having secured the premise from anyone possibly eavesdropping.

I want to hold you in my arms

Close enough to make you feel

What you do to my heart

I want to take your hand

And walk you through my dreams

Just to show you, just to prove

How much I want to be with you

I want to tell you who I am

But I'm scared you won't understand

That without my secret identity

I'm nothing grand

"What are you looking all happy for?" Your friend Nari snapped you out of your reverie.

"Oh, it's nothing." You put the note back in your locker.

"You're blushing." Nari inspected your features.

"I am not." You shoved her lightly before walking off.

You had been in a daze all day, zoning out in all of your classes. You couldn't figure out who your secret admirer was (seriously are you dumb y/n), despite the hint of the letter J. You found yourself daydreaming about your secret admirer's identity all day, imagining all the possible outcomes. You were dying to know who was the author of all those heartfelt notes in order to thank him/her properly for having uplifted your mood countless times.

You were just about to walk home when a hand grabbed your arm.

"Wanna get some ice cream? My treat!"

A radiant Jisung stood before you with puppy dog eyes and you found yourself unable to refuse. You followed him to the ice cream parlor, looking around hungrily.

You were seated almost immediately, ice cream in hand. Jisung had ordered a Cookies and Cream flavored ice cream while you had gone with a simple strawberry flavor. You made small talk for a bit before Jisung cleared his throat.

"Listen, (Y/N), there's something I have to tell you."

You nodded, giving him the "okay" to go on.

"The truth is, I haven't been honest with you, I'm actually-"

Before Jisung could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by exclamations coming from afar.

"Oh, you guys are here too!" Jeno exclaimed before making his way over, followed by the two others.

Jisung sighed loudly, voicing his disapproval of the additions to the group.

You ended up spending your evening with the group just as you had grown accustomed to doing which resulted in a sulky Jisung who had had a different plan for the evening. He was trailing behind, kicking at the ground frustratedly. Seeing this, you decided to stay back a bit.

"Everything okay, Jisung?"

"Yeah."

He pouted, continuing his previous activity. You had dropped everyone off at their respective homes and it was now your turn. You lived the furthest away from the group so it was only natural to finish with your place. Except now it was only Jisung and you.

You walked in awkward silence until Jisung finally had the guts to speak up.

"What I was saying earlier is that..."

"Hmm?"

"I'm your secret admirer." He said it all in one breath, talking way too fast for you to grasp anything.

"What?"

He repeated it, slower this time. The words started to make sense in your head now and you connected the dots one by one. The recurring smiles, the displays of affection that had seemed natural for you at the time as well as the one time he had been at the school for a sketchy reason. Only now did you realize that you felt the same way about him. You had always liked him the best out of the boys and you had always wanted to know more about him. Maybe that was what explained the butterflies you were currently feeling in your stomach.

"It was you?" You repeated, still in disbelief.

"Yeah, I'm sorry if you're disappointed." He scratched the back of his neck nervously, suddenly looking down.

"No, no, of course not! I'm glad it's you actually."

You took a step forward and waited until he was looking at you.

"I happen to like you too, dummy."

You reached up on your tippy toes and pecked his lips gently. His eyes widened before he engulfed you in a massive hug.

"You know, I spent a lot of times composing those poems."

You giggled, thinking about how concentrated he must've been while writing them.

"I bet. Now that you've held me in your arms, are you going to take my hand next?"

You teased, earning a blush from his part. You both laughed as he escorted you to your home. You knew that your first year of high school meant a series of new beginnings from new classes, to a new school and new friends. What you didn't know was that it would also bring you your first boyfriend.

|Masterlist|

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thirstygirlclub · 7 years ago

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Duchess - 6

Chapter 6 – no, I’m a vegetarian

Work was really hard. I never actually realised how hard it was before my trial shift at The Velvet Lounge. It wasn’t like, mentally hard but my whole body hurt after about 2 hours and my feet were killing me. I was told that all I had to do was take drinks from the bar to the table which was easy enough but I couldn’t sit down until I had been there for 4 hours. It was horrible but literally everyone else that worked there was so nice! I met a few people from town and they were really friendly and funny. I had been partnered with a girl called Katherine (with a K) which had made me laugh. She said that people called her Kathy though.

At 7pm I was told that Theo wanted to see me. I dropped my last tray of drinks down to table 5 and skipped over to the bar where he had been working all afternoon, making drinks and greeting people. On my way up I saw about 4 girls walking passed me with what looked like dance bags. Weird but I didn’t think too much about it.

“You wanted to see me?” I asked Theo as I approached.

“Hey Catherine,” he greeted easily, “how are you doing?”

“Oh my feet are in so much pain!”

Theo laughed and nodded, telling me that it was bound to happen after 5 hours on my feet without a sit down. I had nodded as more girls with bags walked by. I looked at them confused and they smiled and waved at me as they walked by. I waved back then turned back to Theo

“So,” Theo continued, “how would you feel about coming back the same time tomorrow? I’ve spoken to the other girls and some of the guests and everyone seems to really like you.”

“Really?” I asked in disbelief, “me?”

Theo laughed and nodded, “yes, you.”

“Oh gosh! I mean, yeah. Yeah I’d love too!”

“Great! You can get going now if you want, rest up a bit before tomorrow.”

“Thanks! Thank you so much Theo! See you tomorrow.”

I smiled then turned to make my way to the staffroom to grab my stuff. On my way through I saw Kathy talking to some of the girls with the bags. I told her I was going but going back the next day and it turns out she was as well. I was kind of grateful that she would be in so she could show me how to do everything again; I know it wasn’t hard but still…

I waved to them all then to Theo as I walked out the front door. It was Friday. I had been invited by Mrs Chibs to a party with that motorcycle club. I can’t believe I had forgotten about it but I guess I had been so busy with learning how to work that I wasn’t even thinking about it. As I hurried home I called Jack to tell him to get dressed because we had been invited to a party. When he asked whose I told him Jax and I could almost hear his heart beat speed up at the mention of the older man’s name. It didn’t matter how much I told him that Jax would never go for him because Jack was way too young for him and Jax wasn’t gay or even bi (we think), my brother still kept hoping he would be noticed. It was kinda cute though to be honest.

“You think I should wear my leather jacket?” Jack asked, “would it be too much? Like, try hard?”

“Uh, yeah,” I scoffed, “just wear a cute shirt and jeans. If you wear a leather jacket you would look stupid. I’m just gonna wear shorts and a cute top. You think I should wear boots or wedges?”

“I dunno. You think I know anything about girl clothes? Just wear whatever is quick to put on. What are we gonna tell Dad?”

“That we’re going to a party with Jax and his sister?”

“Uh no. You really think he’s gonna be happy about us going to a party with the people that are making him lose money? Nah. I’ll tell him I’ve been invited to a high school party and you’re coming because… I dunno, you’re worried about me drinking alcohol. I’ll tell him now, just be quick. Bye.”

“Bye.”

I hung up and put my phone in my handbag as I almost ran back to the house. I had no idea what time this party started but I guessed these guys were big drinkers and would start early. As long as we were there between 7 and 9 we should be fine.

Finally, I got home and Jack literally pounced on me. He was already dressed and ready to go. I wasn’t even through the door and he was already pulling me up the stairs to get showered and stuff. I told him that I needed to feed Romeo and talk to Greta about my day but he didn’t want to listen to me. I just gave up with a sigh and dragged my feet towards my shower. Jack told me he was going to feed Romeo for me while I got ready. I made sure to lock my bedroom door then the bathroom door, just in case you know?

I washed away all the alcohol smell out of my hair and off of my skin. I was just thinking random things like, about how I basically had a job and Katherine with a K, Kathy. She was nice, I liked her. She showed me how to do everything and introduced me to everyone. I still wondered what those ladies with the dance bags were doing though. I loved dancing; I wanted to dance with them if that was even what they were doing.

“Come on Catherine!” Jack shouted through the door, “you’ve been in there for an hour! I want to get there early and talk to Jax.”

I laughed to myself, finished washing the conditioner out of my hair and wrapped the towel around my body only to see Jack sat on my bed and my bedroom door wide open. My heart thumped in my chest and I shouted at my brother for leaving it open and even coming in in the first place.

“Jack,” I scolded, “how did you even get in?”

“Dad gave Uncle Jerry the key,” Jack shrugged and looked up at me, “I just got it off him if I promised to bring it back.”

Why does Uncle Jerry have a key to my room? Why did Daddy have a key? Only I should have a key to my room. Maybe Greta, but not Daddy or Uncle Jerry. Especially Uncle Jerry. I looked at my door unsurely and held the towel closer to my body and shifted uncomfortably.

“Come on Catherine,” Jack sighed again, “it’s gonna take you forever to get ready if you just stand there.”

“Can you get out?” I asked, trying to hide the shake in my voice, “I can’t get changed if you’re here.”

Jack rolled his eyes and stood up, leaving the room. I heard the lock click as he locked it again. What was the point in even having a lock if everyone else but you had a key. I tried to forget about it and concentrate on getting a cute outfit together. I had literally no clue what the dress code was going to be but Jack looked kind of smart-casual. I wanted to look pretty though. I was deciding between a cute dress or a crop top and skirt combination. The second one made me look more grown up though. It was a dark red silk top and skirt, you know like matching. It was kind of slutty but I knew that Daddy and Mom wouldn’t mind that the skirt was kind of short and the top was really low cut if I wore some like, short black bicycle shorts underneath to hide my underwear. I looked kind of good once my hair and makeup was done. I added on a pretty diamond choker and some black high heels and I was good to go.

I was ready just in time for Jack to tell me that the cab was outside. I sneaked out of my room, looking around for Uncle Jerry or Daddy but they must have been in the office though because there was no one downstairs except for Jack. I made sure to collect my clutch bag with my money and phone, how was I supposed to buy myself and Jack cokes if I had no money, you know?

“Come on,” Jack stressed and pulled me outside.

((I want to split up the story but FFN will literally not let me do anything that I usually do so here))

Happy/3rd Person POV

Viv had been hassling him all day about the party that evening and Happy was getting reasonably annoyed but wasn’t brave enough to argue with her about it; he knew she would only tell him off for shouting at her.

“Are you nervous?” She asked him in a moment of seriousness, “I know you like her.”

“I don’t get nervous,” he told her with a shrug, and it was true, “and I don’t like her.”

Viv snorted with quiet laughter and he just glared at her. She shot him a sympathetic smile and put her hand on his arm, rubbing it gently. He knew that she knew that he was lying but didn’t want to say anything. Viv knew him too well, it seemed.

“She’s a vegetarian,” he told her quietly, “that doesn’t believe in killing things. That’s what I do for a job.”

The young woman was obviously speechless; she didn’t know what to say to make him feel better about that. Happy knew it was bad when Vivania, who was one of his best friends and was almost like his club mother, didn’t have any advice for him. She settled for giving him another gentle pat on the arm and a small, sympathetic nod as Chibs approached to kiss her cheek.

Happy looked away, back to his beer and sighed softly. He liked Catherine; he thought she was pretty and adorable when she got confused. Happy knew though that on the small chance that she did like him back as much as he liked her, she would run a mile when she found out what he did for a living; he was probably not even the kind of guy she would go for. She would probably go for a guy like Jax if any of them, he thought, since he was blonde with blue eyes but also charming. All the things that Happy knew he wasn’t. He didn’t know how to flirt with women, he never needed too; they just seemed drawn to him.

“Come on Hap,” Chibs chuckled, slapping him on the shoulder light heartedly, “cheer up. I’ve got a lot of money on you tonight, don’t forget.”

Happy had forgotten. One of the hangarounds had been out talking shit a couple of weeks before saying that he would be able to beat Happy in a fight but when Chibs had called him out on it, he was getting even more aggressive. Happy hadn’t even said he would do it, Chibs had just bet the guy $200 that he would be able to beat him. He hadn’t cared; he was gonna win the fight easily, even if the guy was a pro-wrestler, but now he knew that Catherine was going to be there to see it he wasn’t so sure about it anymore. Catherine didn’t seem like the kind of girl that would appreciate violence, especially when it was bare knuckle fighting with little to no rules. He just had to make sure he won by a landslide.

He tried not to wonder whether she would look after him when he inevitably took a few hits to the face. It didn’t work though. Happy was imagining her pretty eyes looking at him in the rabbit in headlights kind of way and that she always did, he thought about how she would probably be so gentle with him, she would be too gentle for a guy like him. He found himself smiling at the thought.

Suddenly, something shiny caught his eye from across the room and his mouth fell open when he saw her walking into the bar wearing clothes that actually made her look like an adult instead of a kid. She looked beautiful, he thought, he had never thought anyone was beautiful before but Catherine was. She looked expensive. Her entire outfit and jewellery probably cost more than his rent for the month.

“Hey Cat!” Jax shouted, waving and beckoning her over to where he was sat with Tig and Clay.

Clay stood up and moved to the bar when Jax had shouted the two Duke-Dillinger’s over. That left three seats. Viv grabbed Happy’s arm and pulled him over with her, pushing him towards the chair beside Catherine while her and Chibs cuddled up in the corner of the booth. Jax rolled his eyes with a smile and Chibs winked at him. Happy averted his gaze from the happy couple and looked down at Catherine. She was smiling and talking to Jax and Viv, unaware of Happy’s gaze and the looks that other partygoers were giving her. Happy wasn’t nervous like Viv thought; he just didn’t know what to say to make her talk to him. She seemed happy enough to talk to Viv, Jax and Chibs.

“Oh my gosh!” She gasped suddenly, looking down at her phone screen then back up to her brother, “Jack! Maddi Christie just commented on my new picture! What do I do?”

“Who?” Jack asked with a frown.

“Maddi Christie! You know, tall, blonde, getting married to a like, famous footballer or whatever. She was like, so popular in school. She came to my 21st birthday? We were, like, friends and stuff until she slept with Hannah’s boyfriend and there was just… all this drama. You don’t remember?”

Jack looked as confused as Happy felt. Did it matter who had commented on a new picture?

“Oh Mr Lowman,” Catherine sighed, looking at him for the first time, “what should I write? Here, look.”

Happy lent over to look at her phone to see a picture of her on some social media site or other. She looked like a model, he thought. She wasn’t smiling, looking almost seductive and sexy as she posed underneath a light that he recognised as one that was on the wall outside the club house. Underneath someone had typed “you look beautiful babe, meet up soon? xxxxxxxx” with a bunch of weird picture things and hearts. Happy looked at her and shook his head. He had absolutely no idea what any of that meant.

“What if,” she had turned back to Viv and Chibs, “I just put like, thank you and some kissy faces? You think that would be ok?”

“Yeah sure,” Chibs shrugged and smiled at her, “go for it.”

“Ugh, what if she wants to meet up though? Like, I don’t mind her coming here but I don’t know if I want to deal with all that drama, you know? Shall I just put, ‘thanks babe, lets arrange something for when I get back to la’ with kisses and hearts?”

Happy didn’t know why it was such a big deal but it seemed like it mattered to her so he decided he would take it seriously, her brother, Viv and Chibs didn’t look like they were taking her seriously. He reached over for her phone. Surprisingly, she let him take it and lent closer to him as she watched what he was doing. Mostly he was just looking through the cute little smiley faces on the bottom of the screen.

“Mr Lowman?”

“Hang on,” Happy said, concentrating on the social media.

He typed out a simple, “thanks, will let you know when I’m in LA” and put some X’s afterwards, eight like the other girl had put and showed her the screen. She looked over it and smiled with a nod before taking her phone back and showing him the things that she called “emoji’s” and told him what they were for. Happy was genuinely interested and listened intently as she talked to him as she chose the correct ones that fit the mood of the message.

When he had glanced up, he saw Viv looking at him with a pleased smile and gave him a thumbs up while Chibs and Jax talked to the teenager. Happy sent a small smile and a nod before turning back to look at Catherine’s phone.

“Hey,” an unfamiliar voice said, “you a croweater?”

Happy looked up at the same time the Catherine did to see a kind of drunk man stood behind Jax and Jack. Catherine frowned slightly, clearly not knowing what that meant and Happy felt his blood boil at the thought of her becoming a croweater.

“Oh, no thank you,” Catherine said with a smile, “I’m vegetarian.”

She thought he was talking about an actual person that eats crows. Happy thought it was cute. There was a moment of quiet as her comment sunk in then everyone burst into laughter, everyone except for Happy. He saw that she was looking around at the people around the table with a blush on her cheeks and a small frown on her face and she swallowed, clasping her hands in her lap then looked shyly over to Happy and she looked a bit happier to see that he hadn’t laughed at her.

“Mr Lowman?” She asked quietly, “have I just been really dumb again?”

Happy scowled and waved the guy away angrily before turning in his chair to face her fully. She straightened up and looked at him hopefully.

“No Catherine,” he reassured her with a small shake of his head.

She smiled. She seemed to love it when he had said she wasn’t dumb just like a few days ago. He wanted to make sure that she never felt dumb because she wasn’t. Just because her dad and brother told her she was and treated her like a little kid, it didn’t mean she was stupid. She just didn’t really get some things as quickly as other people did. He gently patted her on the head, careful not to mess up her hair this time and she laughed but didn’t pull away. Her eyes were sparkling now and she looked happy. Maybe she did like him.

Eventually, Jax had taken Jack to show him around the clubhouse since the teenager was looking bored with just talking but his face had lit up when the concept of spending time alone with Jax was mentioned. Catherine had seemed to perk up after Chibs had told her what a croweater was.

“So they’re like your own personal prostitutes? But like, free?” She asked him, nodding when he did to make sure she had got it right.

“Not for me Lass,” Chibs laughed, “I’ve got my girl here. She would kill me if I went with anyone else.”

“Uh huh,” Viv agreed, “the other girl too.”

“What about you Mr Lowman?” She asked, turning to him, “do you sleep with them?”

Happy didn’t know what to say, just gulped and blinked at her.

“I’m not gonna judge you Mr Lowman,” she clarified, putting her hand on his arm just as gently as he imagined she would be.

Happy looked up, panicked, at Viv and Chibs who were smirking at him.

“Yeah,” Happy admitted, “sometimes.”

“Cool. Hey Mr and Mrs Chibs? How long have you been married? You’re like super cute together and I am so jealous.”

They laughed and Happy felt a small sense of relief when she turned back to the couple. She was looking at them with a kind and warm expression that Happy couldn’t stop looking at. Chibs and Viv laughed. They loved her.

“We’re not actually married sweetheart,” Chibs told her, then lent forwards when Catherine looked embarrassed, “but we might as well be right Sweet Girl?”

Viv smiled with a nod, “yeah. We’ve been together for a couple of years now.”

They started telling her about how they met and Catherine was on the edge of her seat with her hands covering her heart and smiling the entire time they talked through their memories together, leaving out all of the illegal and potentially scary details of course. A couple of times she would wipe tears away from her eyes.

What is happening? Happy thought, why was he so captivated by her?

“That’s so cute! I can’t believe how cute you are! I’m literally crying!”

The couple laughed with her and Happy couldn’t help but feel jealous how easily they were talking to her. He was content just listening to her though.

((I want to split up the story but FFN will literally not let me do anything that I usually do so here))

Catherine POV

I was literally in love with Mr and Mrs Chibs. Mr Chibs was such a dad and Mrs Chibs was so obviously such a mom kind of person. I wanted them to be my parents. They didn’t get angry when I was being stupid; they were just really nice and patient and I think I could trust them a lot. I think Mr Chibs looked like he would be really clever.

“Hey, Mr Chibs?” I asked him, interrupting his conversation with Mrs Chibs, “do you know lots of stuff?”

“Uh, that depends sweetheart. What do you need?” Mr Chibs asked, looking at me with a raised eyebrow while I shuffled in my seat.

“Well,” I looked around and saw that Jack was still talking to some people at the other side of the room, “I- ok. Do you know anything about like… locks and stuff?”

“What kind of things about them?”

“Like, changing them. I have a lock on my bedroom door but Daddy and Uncle Jerry have a key so when I go to bed and stuff, I lock the door but then I found out that they had a key so there was kind of no point in it, you know?”

I looked between Mr and Mrs Chibs to Mr Lowman. Mr Lowman was looking at me kind of angrily and I shrunk away from him, not wanting to be looked at like that.

“Why are you locking your door sweetheart?” Mrs Chibs asked me, “has something happened? We’re not gonna tell your dad or brother, don’t worry.”

I swallowed and looked away. I didn’t want to tell them about how I was scared of how Uncle Jerry had grabbed my leg and how I was scared of what else he might do or be doing if he ever came into my room at night. Mr Lowman said my name and I looked up at him. He was looking at me kind of concerned and I found myself spilling out all my worries to him and Mr and Mrs Chibs; telling them all about it and even pulling up my skirt to show Mr Lowman the darkish bruise on my upper thigh. I tried not to cry but I couldn’t really hide it.

“Oh sweetheart,” Mrs Chibs said gently and put her hand on mine, “we’re gonna see what we can do ok?”

I nodded and thanked her a lot, like way too much and she smiled at me with Mr Chibs nodding thoughtfully and when I looked over to Mr Lowman he was still looking at my leg and frowning. I went to recover my thigh with my skirt but he put his hand on my leg to stop me. he tugged it back up and held my knee, moving it so that I was facing him and he could take a closer look at it.

“Mr Lowman…” I mumbled, “it’s not that bad, right?”

“He grabbed you here?” he asked, putting his hand over the obvious finger marks on my leg.

I swallowed and looked at him in shock. I had been scared when Uncle Jerry had grabbed me but when Mr Lowman had, I wasn’t. It was kind of weird but I think I knew that Mr Lowman was a good man, you know? I mean, he saved a dog’s life. I mean, I thought that Uncle Jerry was a good man too though. When I realised I hadn’t actually replied to him, I nodded silently.

“It’s ok though Mr Lowman, don’t worry. Uncle Jerry hasn’t ever done it before and I’ve basically known him since I was born. He sees me like a daughter, I think anyway,” I said quickly, “and he’s always been really kind to me. It was once though, you know? I probably should have just done as I was told and not have tried to leave, ok?”

Mr Lowman shook his head angrily and I looked back down to where his hand was still on my leg but Mr Lowman put his hand on my cheek. I jumped slightly and felt my face go red and I think I stopped breathing when he forced me to look up at him. His face was kind of hard to read but I think he was angry. I don’t think he was angry with me though.

“No one is allowed to do that to you,” he said quietly, “you’re an adult. You do what you want. No one controls what you do.”

I felt tears in my eyes and running down my cheeks. No one had ever said that to me before. Daddy always told me what to do and I did as I was told. That’s just how it was. I lent forwards slowly and put my arms around his neck; pulling him so that I was hugging him tightly. The only other person that I had ever hugged (other than Daddy and Uncle Jerry) was Jax that one time after that meeting. I was nervous but just kind of buried my face in his shoulder and sighed.

“Thank you Mr Lowman,” I whispered to him, “but Daddy said that when I get married-”

“You don’t belong to anyone,” he said to me, reading my mind, “you belong to you.”

I was about to pull away from him when his arms went around my waist and one of his hands stroked my hair and patted the back of my head gently. I think he was maybe nervous about hugging me too? I don’t know but he was kind of hesitating when he was doing it. I liked it though. He was strong feeling, you know? I felt… safe. I don’t know what I felt safe from.

“Hey Hap- oh shit, sorry. You ok? The ring is all set up for you…” it was Jax.

I pulled away from Mr Lowman and looked away embarrassed and red faced. I don’t know what they were talking about but when Mr Lowman took my hand in his I looked up. He wasn’t looking at me though; he was looking at Jax. I blinked, shocked when he stood up and gently pulled me up with him. I followed him wordlessly as he dragged/led me through the crowd and smiled when he noticed me almost running to keep up with him so he slowed down.

“Mr Lowman?” I asked him quietly, “where are we going?”

“The ring,” he said with a shrug, “I’m fighting tonight.”

“Really? Are you gonna win?”

He looked down at me with a small smile and nodded. I grinned up at him and let go of his hand to link my arm through his as we walked outside. He led me to the boxing ring that I hadn’t noticed before. I had worried that maybe it was too cold but I the small cool breeze was kind of nice on my skin. I watched as he climbed up the small steps to the platform, about to step back into the crowd when he started speaking.

“Come on,” he said with a smirk, “you’re gonna be my cheerleader.”

“I was head cheerleader in high school!” I told him, laughing and trying to hide my blushing cheeks with my hair.

I followed him up the steps, grateful of my safety shorts, and blushed even deeper when he took his white t-shirt off and threw it to me. I gasped when I saw his body. He wasn’t like, over muscly like the guys I had seen on Venice Beach but he looked… strong. I tried literally so hard not to stare at him but I couldn’t help it. He was just covered in muscle and tattoos and I couldn’t take my eyes off of him; he was beautiful

“Ready Hap?” Mr Chibs asked from beside me.

I jumped. I hadn’t even seen him come up with me. Mr Lowman nodded and jumped over the ropes into the ring and Mr Chibs followed him; I guess he was being the referee.

“This way Cat,” Mrs Chibs said, took me to one corner where we stood for the whole fight.

Mrs Chibs was shouting and cheering for Mr Lowman and telling her husband (or not husband I don’t know) to be careful. I couldn’t look away from the fight no matter how many times Mr Lowman got hit in the face, stomach and chest. It was violent, way more violent than the fights that Daddy watched on the TV. It was so scary but the way Mr Lowman moved around the other guy, in the same way I had seen tigers on documentaries do, made me feel kind of… warm I guess. I swallowed and flinched as Mr Lowman hit the other man so hard in the mouth that he spun around and fell to the floor in a heap. The roar from the watching crowd was deafening and I had literally forgotten that they were even there.

I joined in, clapping politely as Mr Lowman lifted his arms in the air in victory. He was covered in sweat and blood which I would have usually found disgusting but I was mostly worried about him. He looked bad even though he didn’t look like he was that concerned about it. When he walked over, leaning against the ropes in front of me and breathing heavily, I looked down at his bloody knuckles then back up to his face.

“Mr Lowman,” I whispered, looking up at him with wide eyes, “you’re… you’re beautiful.”

He looked surprised then let out a small sigh.

“Mrs Chibs?” I asked her, “do you have a first aid kit? I think Mr Lowman needs medical attention.”

“Yeah of course. Come on Hap.”

((I want to split up the story but FFN will literally not let me do anything that I usually do so here))

Happy/3rd Person POV

It was everything Happy had wanted it to be. Catherine hadn’t shied away from him after the fight and she didn’t look too scared. She actually looked impressed and she had called him beautiful and now she was tending to his many wounds gently and carefully.

“You’re doing pretty good there Lass,” Chibs said, sipping his whiskey.

“Thanks Mr Chibs,” Catherine said with a smile but didn’t take her eyes off of the cut on Happy’s temple, “I was trained as a paramedic, you know? Surprised? I volunteered with an ambulance crew for like, 2 years after high school but it was so stressful. I hated it. It was useful though you know? Jack used to get beaten up a lot.”

Happy and Chibs exchanged looks; thinking the same thing. That it would be extremely useful to the club and its members when they were ever in trouble and couldn’t get to a hospital/if Tara wasn’t available. Chibs nodded, signalling that he would speak to Clay about it.

“No way, how are you so innocent?” Viv asked her from where she was sat on Chibs’ knee, “you’re a vegetarian; you’ve never dated and you volunteered to help sick and injured people.”

Catherine shrugged like it was nothing but Happy had been thinking very similar thoughts. He felt kind of panicked when Chibs and Viv stood up and left to sit with Jax and Jack; letting him have some time with the girl they suspected he liked.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, Mr Lowman, but you’re kinda scary. Not really scary, but kind of scary. I’ve not offended you right?”

Happy shook his head, wanting her to explain.

“Ok cool because that’s not what I mean, I don’t know what I want to say. I just- I don’t know.”

“I’m different,” Happy nodded in understanding.

“Yeah! Yeah no totally! You’re literally so different to everyone we knew in LA, you know? Like they were so… empty.”

“Empty?” Happy chuckled and she nodded with a small laugh herself as she sat down in the chair across from him.

She reached out and hesitantly put her hand in his arm to trace his tattoos gently. If she noticed him tense at her touch she didn’t show it; instead she gently turned his palm upwards and followed the lines with her finger.

“Plain,” she murmured with a nod and looked back up at him, “no tattoos, you know? No personality and stuff. I didn’t realise until we came here that they were so boring. Everyone here is so... interesting.”

“I’m interesting?” Happy asked with a laugh.

“Yeah totally! You don’t think you’re interesting?”

Happy shook his head. She was still holding his arm in her hand with her fingers on his palm but she didn’t look like she noticed and he wasn’t going to pull away; she was so soft and warm. She looked at him with... sympathy, almost like she felt sorry for him.

“That’s ok,” she giggled, “I’m not very interesting either. We’re just two boring people sat at a table.”

Then, despite everything, he found himself laughing with her. He could see Viv and Chibs cuddled up in their booth smiling over at him. Viv gave him another thumbs up and Happy rolled his eyes but smiled down at Catherine.

“I don’t think you’re boring,” he told her with a nod.

“You don’t?”

He shook his head at her; he found her very intriguing and wanted to know everything about her. She was still looking at him with a smile but then it fell away from her face when she looked behind him towards the door. When Happy turned to look where she was, he stood up immediately in defence of her as Mr Duke-Dillinger and who he assumed was Jerry stalked into the room towards her.

“Catherine Duke-Dillinger,” Jerry bellowed across the room, “what the fuck do you think you’re doing?!”

Happy saw her flinch out the corner of his eye and felt himself bristle up; ready for another fight. Before Jerry could reach her, Chibs and Clay had stepped forwards, stopping him and talking in low, threatening voices.

“Thanks for a nice evening Mr Lowman,” she said quietly and ducked around him to go to her dad who was now roughly dragging Jack away from the pool table towards the door.

“Catherine stop,” Happy said quietly, “do you wanna stay?”

She looked conflicted between him, Viv and her dad. Viv had come to stand beside her and put her arm around her while she watched her own dad and her man arguing with the two business men.

“I need to go, Mrs Chibs,” Catherine said softly and pulled herself away, “I can’t make a scene. I’m sorry. Tonight had been fun though. I’ll probably see you around.”

As soon as she got close to Jerry, he grabbed her by the arm so hard that she yelped and tried to move away in pain. Happy stepped forwards but Viv grabbed onto his arm, looking up at him and shook her head. He could tell that she was heartbroken about Catherine being in pain, especially since Viv’s own childhood was full of that kind of thing.

“You’ll get her in more trouble. We’ll see her soon though, ok? We need to fix the lock on her door. I don’t want her in that house without a safe place.”

Happy watched as the two Duke-Dillinger kids got marched out of the clubhouse. It looked like Catherine was crying.

“I’m gonna kill him,” Happy growled and let himself get pulled back into the chair while Viv patted his shoulder gently.

Clay ordered all non-members out of the clubhouse, excluding his daughter, and told the members to get into the chapel for an emergency meeting. Happy stood up and rubbed his face, ignoring the stinging on his skin.

I’m sorry!!! – I didn’t desert you I promise! To make up for the lack of activity on here, I made this chapter extra extra long! How interesting that she has some medical training huh? How convenient. She isn’t as dumb as we may think she is!

Also apologies because this is gonna be a slow burn romance story! I think it’s the best option since Catherine is so innocent and nervous and Happy doesn’t know how to express his feelings for her even though he is so in love already, lets be honest!

I kind of love the part where she was showing him emojis and how he took her interests seriously! I think it was really cute!

Anyway, the writers block has gone! I love the way this story is going and it’s inspiring me to write more and more!

Thanks for being so patient. See you on the flip side

Lots of love from Doe xxxxx

#happy lowman #happy lowman x oc #happy lowman fanfiction #happy lowman headcanon #happy lowman imagine #sons of anarchy #sons of anarchy fanfiction #sons of anarchy imagine #sons of anarchy headcanon #sons of anarchy prompts

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gladerwolfstarkimagines · 7 years ago

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Imagine being patricks little sister and the loser club being scared of you. Beverly tries to befriend you but richie isnt happy.

——

Being the little sister of a protective bully was always going to be difficult. Half the kids hated you the other half of kids sucked up to you. Your brother was Patrick Hocksteader, part of henrys crew of dickheads. Ever since he walked you to school on your first day people treated you as his sister not as your own person. People you’d know since you were 5 were now too scared to talk to you let alone be friends with you. The only kids who wanted to be your friend were the kids as bad as Henry who assumed you were as bad as your brother. At first you didnt mind being friends these kids, having crap friends was better than none? But as the year went your dislike for them grew, especially when you saw what they did to the other kids. It took you a whole year to realise it was better to eat lunch alone than with kids who got a kick out of teasing 10 year olds.

Your old “friends” took you leaving as an insult but as you were Patrick’s sister never dared approached you on the subject. The only teased from afar and never up close. All the other kids didnt know what to do. They saw you ditching the group of assholes as a good thing but were still scared of you brother. Seeing it as too much hassle to talk to you all the kids just pretended you didnt exist. You could go days without speaking at school. You’d learn and eat in silence, never speaking to anyone after learning long ago there’s no point in trying to make friends. Patrick ignore this and all his friends banished the rumours you were a loner, leaving you as a pointless person in school.

On your first day back at school after the summer you had science with a new class and a new seatig plan. The teacher sat you next to beverly. Youd know beverly partially, as in you heard a lot about her, mainly from henry, but knew it wasnt true. Your first science assignment in your new seat was to do a project with your partner, which unfortunately for you required talking.

“Hi” she smiled “im Beverly”. “I know…i mean yeah I’ve seen you…I’m y/n”. Beverly grinned at your babbling. You weren’t used to people being nice to you and found it intimidating. You worked hard on the project in class but when the week was up you still hadn’t finished it. You offered to take it home and finish it but beverly said that wasn’t fair and suggested you meet up to finish it. You didn’t want beverly around at yours, henry would be there and well it would t be pretty. Beverly sensed this and asked why didn’t you meet up at the park tomorrow at 12. You agreed and beverly grinned when you said you’d come. “Ill see you there” she smiled patting your arm before she hurried away.

You were ten minutes late to the park and you were very nervous. You weren’t completely sure beverly was going to show. You’d convinced yourself she was just teasing you, she wasn’t really being nice to you, nobody was unless they wanted something from you. You arrived at your agreed spot and looked around. You felt a sinking feeling in your stomach as you couldn’t see her. Embarrassment rushed through you as you felt colour rise into your cheeks. “Y/n”. You turned around and to your surprise beverly marsh stood before you. “Your here” beverly smiled. It took you a while to talk and when you did all you could do was stutter. “Beverly….hi…hi im yeah, sorry im late”. Beverly grinned telling you it didn’t matter.

You were both laid on the floor staring up at the sky. Youd finished the project hours ago but it was such a nice day you both decided to stay for a while. Beverly was so nice to you that you decided she must be a nice person. You were still very cautious of her but came t the conclusion that you liked her. Beverly laughed “i love that book but did you hear about the movie?”. Your turned as you heard people call to beverly, your heart sinking as you saw it was bill and the loser club. They ditched their bikes and stopped when they saw you sat next to her. Bill recovered the fastest “hey bev weve been looking all over for you”. “Ow me and y/n had a science project and then decided to hang out for a bit”. “Ow cool” bill nodded sitting next to beverly. Stan smiled at you sitting down next to bill but thats where the pleasantries ended. The others all sat behind bill and stan, not even near you, richie and eddie sitting the furthest away. The other four seemed to not even want to breathe in your presence and treated the situation as if beverly had befriended a grenade. Stan and bill felt bad and chatted with beverly about random things but made sure to include you. You noticed the looks richie was shooting bill and stan so decided to leave. “Thanks for today beverly but i think im gonna go now”. “Aw really?” Beverly asked “are you sure you cant stay?”. “Ow i don’t wanna intrude” you shrugged. “Your not” stan smiled “were just hanging out”. Richie and eddie threw each other looks and you glanced to them making them go red. “No i really should go”. “Well it was nice meeting you” bill smiled and stan nodded “bye”. The others echoed a bye and you walked away when beverly caught you up. “Hey y/n” she said “it was real fun hanging out with you today”. You smiled “i enjoyed it too”. She grinned “so were going to the lake tomorrow and i wanted to know if you wanted to come with”. “I don’t think your friends would like that very much” you laughed awkwardly. “Ow no stan and bill are cool with it and the others don’t mind really there just boys”. “Its fine really im busy tomorrow” you told her “maybe another time”. “Aw okay but heres my number” she said writing it on your wrist “call me if you want to hang out or anything”.

A few days and you managed to use your compulsive over thinking to convince yourself that beverly was only being nice to you because of your brother and that she didnt really like you. And so you never called her not until your mom brought up the fact you hadn’t been out of the house on weekends for 2 months. Your dad had got 4 free tickets for a fun fair from work and your mom thought it would be a great idea for you to take some friends. You said you would just to please her but had no intention of going. You decided to give them to beverly so rang her. You were so nervous you actually jumped when she picked up the phone. “Hello beverly…its y/n” you said meekly. “Y/n” beverly said happily “ive been wondering if you’d call how are you?”. “Im good erm listen i have some free rickets to a funfair and i wondered if you wanted them”. “Dont you want them?” Beverly asked. “Well…erm i haven’t been in years and just thought you’d like the tickets and could go have fun”. Beverly paused for a moment and then agreed “the funfair would be fun which is why i think you should come”. “But i only have 4 tickets”. “Hey thats cool me and you could go and then bill and Stan said for ages they’ve wanted to go too, wed have so much fun”. You hesitated and beverly could sense your nerves. “Listen i know richie and eddie were dicks the other week but i promise stan and bill arent like that i promise wed have fun”. “Okay” you said kicking yourself. “Really?” Beverly asked “awesome”. You laughed “so when do you wanna go?”.

You and beverly walked to bills house on your way to the funfair. Him and stan were waiting outside and they both greeted you like your brother wasn’t a prick which you appreciated. Stan smiled at you “hey y/n thanks so much for the tickets”. “Yeah its real cool how your dad them for free”. Bill agreed “Ow its nothing” you shrugged and beverly steered you all in the direction of the funfair. Stan and bill were as nice to you as beverly and you found they were nice to talk to. You were soon confident enough to chat to them and you found you had lots in common with them. You were starting to actually look forward to the fun fair until you spotted richie and the others up ahead.

“There you you shitheads are my grandmother walks faster than you”. “Richie?” Stan asked “what the hell are you doing here?”. “Heard you were going to the funfair and me eddie ben and mike thought that sounds like a great idea”. “Ow cool” bill said but beverly and stan looked angry. As you lined up for tickets stan said something to richie who replied “i can do what i want alright”. You used your free tickets and got the four of you in and stood awkwardly by beverly. “so what do you want to do?” She asked “did we say ghost train first?”. “Yeah” stan laughed reluctantly “come on lets get it over with”. “So death drop first yeah?” Richie asked separating bill and Stan from you. “come on bill you’ve got to try it with us, i thought you could come with me and ben”. “And stan you could do with me and mike” eddie finished. Bill stuttered trying to make everyone happy but stan shook his head “nah thats okay you all go together were gonna go this way”. Richie laughed “is someone a chicken”. “No someones pissed because you werent invited but classic Richie you had to show up”. Bill grabbed stan “okay we’ll see you around bye guys”. Richie gave up and let you go glaring until you were out of sight. “Sorry hes such a dick” stan said and you shook your head “hey its okay dont worry about it”. “Yeah lets just forget about them and have fun okay?” Beverly asked and you smiled.

An hour later and you actually having fun. Richie and Eddie kept appearing trying to get Stan and bill to join them but the boys kept refusing. Even after you’d told all three of them they could if they wanted to. Stan was the first to respond and told you he didn’t want you to leave which made you embarrassed. You decided you liked Stan almost as much as beverly and felt comfortable with all of them. You were walking across the grass when all 3 of them stopped and looked behind you. You followed their gaze and saw it landed on Henry. Henry smirked as he saw them and then saw you. You saw him look to your brother and Patrick said something to him. Henry shook his head and Patrick stood up looking angry. Henry went to walk towards you but Patrick grabbed his arm. You could see they were arguing when eventually henry slunk off away from you. Patrick looked up at you and then followed his friend. “Wow” Stan said “your brother made Henry back off”. “Yeah well my brother isn’t always a complete dick”. Beverly smiled “i can see that, it was nice of him”. You looked down awkwardly and bill cut in. “Hey y/n wa…wa…want to go on the bumper ca…ars”. You nodded at him gratefully and walked towards them.

All night patrick managed to control henry and keep him from going near you and the others but the same couldnt be said for richie and the rest. You heard yells come around the back of a rollercoaster and Stan frowned. “That sounds like ben”. A string of curses followed by a grunt told you richie was there too. You ran around to the back and saw your brother and his friends beating richie eddie mike and ben up. Patrick had richie against a wall amd had his knife to his cheek. Patrick had eddie in a headlock and the others two laughed as he went through eddies bag. Ben was on the floor with one of the guys foot his chest and mike was trying to help eddie. Patrick shoved mike on the floor and henry howled with laughter. “You're an asshole you know that?” Richie spat. Henry laughed “you know eye surgery can help you see better, why don’t why try that?” He asked looking at his knife. “Henry stop” you yelled running forward. You yanked his arm away and stepped between him and Richie. “Back off y/n” he said “just walk away”. “No you need to leave these guys alone now!”. “Y/n” Patrick said “just go away okay, these people aren’t your friends”. “So its fine for you to beat them up? No they don’t deserve that its not fair”. “Okay y/n if you don’t move ill beat you up too” henry snarled. “You’re not touching my sister” Patrick yelled. “I will if she doesn’t move”. “If you even try to touch her” Patrick said yanking henry away from you. Henry turned around and looked at him “what?”. “I said you just try to touch her”. “Look i know shes family but shes being a bitch”. “If she says we cant touch them then we cant, were not hurting my sister, got it?”. Henry squared up to Patrick and time seemed to slow down as they stared at one another. Eventually henry sighed “lets get out of here, its lame”. Henry barged Patrick and walked away. Patrick followed him and so did the others. You let out your breath and turned around to Richie. You held out a hand to help him up “you okay?”. “Why did you do that?” He asked after you’d yanked him up. “Because i wanted to” you shrugged. “But you didn’t have to. Nobody asked you to”. “Richie for god sake cant you just be grateful!” Stan spat. “No I’ve been nothing but rude to her all night, i didn’t include you i tried to ruin your night so why would you help me?”. “I might be my brothers sister but that doesn’t mean i like what he does” you frowned. “But still like you could’ve easily have just walked away and let them beat me up after how i acted, i deserved it”. “People always act weird because of my brother” you shrugged “so no offence but if you think how you acted tonight is anything special your wrong”. Richie looked down embarrassed “Well thanks for helping me not get my ass kicked”. “Its okay” you shrugged. “And I’m sorry for being such a dick to you”. You laughed “like i said its nothing major”. “Still though its not right” Richie said awkwardly. “No its not” beverly said “You shouldn’t have to take that”. “Well i know its not great but like what can i do?” You asked “i cant change how people feel about me”. The others didn’t really know how to reply to that and looked down. “No i know you cant, trust me i do” beverly nodded “but you don’t have to go through it alone” she smiled “not anymore”. “What?” You asked. “Yeah” Richie nodded “were not scared of you anymore, i wont act like i did again i promise, you can hang around with us…i mean if you want”. “You don’t have to do this” you frowned. “No y/n” Stan said “we mean it, we like you”. You smiled. Bill nodded “yeah we do” he smiled. You grinned and beverly laughed putting an arm around you “so its decided”. “Welcome to the losers club” Richie announced.

#the loser club #it #it 2017 #pennywise #beverly marsh #richie tozier #stanley uris #bill denbrough #eddie #mike hanlon #patrick hockstetter #henry bowers #loser club #the loser club imagine #it imagine

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universitykpop · 8 years ago

Text

Reputation; Series (Part 8)

Summary: Zhang Yixing was a typical jock. He had the looks, athleticism, and cockiness, all the makings of a football boy. Though he was popular and had people around him at all times, he didn’t talk much. There had to be another side to him, and you needed to find out.

PART 8

Genre: Fluff, Angst

Member: Chanyeol, Lay, and Xiumin

Words: 2,164

A/N: This part has been such a pain in my ass. Please enjoy it.

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7

The silver rhinestones stitched into the dress glimmered under the fluorescent lighting in the dressing room. Your reflection was beautiful, but the hem of the dress was shorter than what you would have liked. You tugged on it only for it to retract back into place. Throwing the curtain to the side, you stepped out into the lobby of the dressing room.

“Chanyeol, I’m not feeling this one.” You gave him a look of uneasiness.

“You look really pretty in it. What’s wrong with it?” He stood from the bench to get a closer look.

“It’s too short. What if I drop something? I can’t bend over.” You pointed out, glancing down at the dress.

“I don’t see what the problem is.” He sent you a greasy grin, to which you punched him in the shoulder. “I’m kidding. My aunt can fix the length.”

You sighed, “Do I have to go to homecoming?”

“Yes! How is Yixing going to be jealous if you’re not there to show him what he’s missing out on?!”

“He already doesn’t like me because of you! The fact you asked me to homecoming didn’t help with that either!” You shouted, making the tall boy droop.

“I’ve already said I’m sorry. I can’t take back what I did. But you’re just as much at fault as I am. You let it happen too. If I had known you liked Yixing, I wouldn’t have let it go as far as it did… You know what? Just forget it. You don’t have to go to the dance.” Chanyeol turned to leave the dressing rooms.

You acted quickly before he could exit. He reluctantly looked into your eyes as you began, “I’m sorry. I’m just frustrated. You’re putting a lot of effort into helping me. I shouldn’t be complaining. I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me, even if all of it didn’t go right.”

He stared down at you for a moment and then tugged you into a tight hug. “I know we’ve only been friends for a little while, but I love you. Not romantically but like family, you know? I would do a lot for you.”

“Thank you, Chanyeol,” You mumbled into his sweatshirt, “But I’m still gonna kick your ass for how you asked me.”

Half time was almost over, and the cheer team’s routine was coming to a close. You watched slightly zoned out until the cheerleaders lifted up posters with the question, “Go to HoCo with me?” You snorted at the poor person who was being asked. This was as embarrassing as it gets. The speakers cracked before Chanyeol’s voice came over.

He walked to the middle of the cheerleaders’ formation with a bouquet in one hand and the mic in the other. His hair was sweaty and plastered to his face. The black paint on his cheeks was smudged. Who in the world was he asking? You didn’t know of anyone he was interested in.

“Y/N, I wanted to show how much you mean to me, and what better way to do that than in front of almost the entire school?” He spoke, earning praise from the crowd.

Your face felt like it was on fire, your eyes wide in fear.

“So, will you go to homecoming with me?”

“Y/N, go down there!” Jia nudged you out of your seat. You hesitantly hurried to the nearest gate to the field and jogged to Chanyeol with the crowd cheering for you.

“Will you?” He smiled widely at you. Well, you kind of couldn’t say no in this situation…

You nodded, accepting the flowers and wrapping your arms around his waist. As the crowd freaked out, Chanyeol pressed a kiss to the top of your head.

“Why are you like this?” Chanyeol whined.

“Because. Now go get your aunt so we can get the dress fixed.” You waved him off.

His aunt owned a successful formal dress store which made it easy to find a dress. School dances were just a bunch of hassles disguised in sparkly dresses, heavy makeup, and unnecessary hype.

A kind, short woman entered the room with a familiar smile. She asked you about lengths you were comfortable with as she measured you. Chanyeol appeared in the doorway, leaning against the frame.

“Chanyeol, when are you going to actually date a nice, sweet girl like Y/N?” His aunt piped up when she noticed his presence.

“You promised you weren’t going to meddle!” He immediately devolved into a child.

“I know, but seriously, Yeol. I want grand nieces and nephews one day, and that’s not going to happen if you keep up your silly playboy phase.”

You glanced up at him with a suppressed grin to see him stood, arms crossed and lips pressed into a thin line. This obviously wasn’t the first time he had heard this from his aunt.

Never having a boyfriend meant never having to deal with everything that was homecoming. Mums and garters were ridiculous. There were so many things that had to be added, and you were starting to wonder if it was worth all the trouble.

There was a mess across your kitchen table; ribbons, glitter, bells, and bows everywhere. Adding a stuffed toy mascot to the center of the flower, a bit of hot glue landed on your thumb.

“Son of a bitch!” You jerked your hand back, surprisingly not messing up the garter, “Why is this necessary?!”

Just as you felt like throwing the garter across the room, your phone rang with a text from Chanyeol telling you he was outside your house. You sprang from your seat and opened the front door. His eyes widened before a smile broke out on his face.

“Well, don’t you look cute.” He looked you up and down.

“Stop.” You whined, knowing he was mocking your comfy clothes. He didn’t look too bad himself in those sweatpants.

“Is that him?!” Your mom excitedly yelled from the kitchen, “Invite him in!”

Chanyeol followed you inside, holding a giant mum. How were you supposed to pin that to your shirt without the fabric ripping?!

“Oh, my! It’s so beautiful.” Your mom said once she caught sight of the mum.

“Thank you. I had to get my mom’s help for some of it. I didn’t mean to make it so heavy.” Chanyeol chuckled, “I made it so that you can put it over your shoulder instead of pinning it.”

“You made this?” You were shocked. It never occurred to you that he could create something so artistic.

He nodded proudly, and you felt bad that the garter you made couldn’t come close to the same quality.

“I just finished your garter, but it’s not as good. I did it myself.” You trudged to your dining room table, picking up the pathetic excuse.

“What are you talking about? It’s amazing!” Chanyeol’s grin was ear to ear; you had to keep yourself from pinching his cheeks.

“Put them on, so I can take your pictures!” Your mom pulled up the camera on her phone.

You helped Chanyeol slide the garter up his arm, and he laid the mum over your shoulder. His arm rested around your waist, giving a light squeeze as the picture was being taken. After your mom took more pictures than necessary, she was quick to invite him for dinner.

“Chanyeol, are you staying to eat?”

“Oh, n-”

“Sit, sweetheart. You’re staying. It’s almost done.” She smiled before going back to the kitchen.

“I am so sorry.” You nervously laughed.

“Don’t be. Takeout isn’t healthy anyway.” He watched your mom buzz around grabbing bowls in amusement.

“So, did that girl say yes to Yixing?” You asked quietly.

Chanyeol’s head snapped in your direction, “You didn’t see it on Twitter? She said no, like not even a gentle let down. Someone videoed it. Apparently, she has a boyfriend that no one knew of. Yixing is going to homecoming solo for once.”

The school dance was so hyped up for the past month, you were pretty let down when you actually arrived at the school gym. The football guys had wanted to show up for the last hour of the dance, and now you understood why.

“Just wait for the afterparty,” Chanyeol spoke into your ear, guiding you to one of the lunch tables with a metallic table cloth and an ugly centerpiece with balloons.

Hani sat beside you while the guys went off to get drinks. Your eyes followed Yixing, admiring the way his body looked in slacks and a button up.

“Stop, you might start drooling.” Hani nudged your leg with her knee.

“I can’t.” You whine, “How does someone say no to him?”

“Someone who has tall, dark, and handsome from the soccer team.” Hani pointed toward the dance floor where the female lead of the musical slow danced with Choi Minho.

Ah yes, Minho; amazingly athletic and charismatic. A smile that could make anyone swoon and a body that could make anyone faint. What was keeping you from crushing on him?

And there, you could hear why. His laugh, the most annoying thing you’ve ever heard…

Before you scrutinized her boyfriend any more, Chanyeol sat a cup of punch in front of you. The seats on either side of you and Hani were occupied by your dates. Chanyeol’s arm rested on the back of your chair naturally.

Your foot tapping along with the music, your gaze wandered around the room and noticed Ahn Hyejin peeking over at Chanyeol. You quickly nudged him, almost making him spill punch in his lap.

“What?” He asked as if there was an emergency.

“Have you ever been with Hyejin?” You whispered into his ear.

His body tensed at the question, and he hesitantly nodded.

“She keeps looking over here. You should go dance with her.” You discreetly gestured in her direction.

“She probably wants to kill me, not dance with me.”

“What are you even talking about?”

“We hooked up a few times. She really liked me, and I think I liked her too, but I pushed her away.”

“Do you still like her?”

“I don’t know.” Chanyeol squirmed in his seat, avoiding your attentive gaze.

“Go dance with her. Maybe this is a second chance.” You nudged him with more force. He turned to protest, but you pointed a finger in his face. With an exasperated sigh, he stood and unsurely made his way to the short girl.

You watched as he asked her to dance, her looking back at you in confusion. You quickly gestured for them to go out on the dance floor, giving her assurance to dance with your date. His awkwardness melted in no time as the two of them fell back into a familiar comfort.

“Hey, would you be mad if I went out there with Minseok?” Hani asked in your ear.

You faced your friend with scrunched eyebrows, “Why would I? Go have fun.”

Once they left, you realized you were alone. Though grinding on random classmates wasn’t the most fun thing to do, you felt left out. Ever since Chanyeol kissed you at that party, you’ve begun to feel like you were a part of something, and now even that ‘something’ was leaving you behind. You downed the rest of your punch hoping that somebody had spiked it. While you looked into the empty cup, someone tapped your shoulder.

“Yixing?” You exclaimed in surprise.

“I noticed your date isn’t with you.” He stated… with a hint of disapproval?

“Yeah, I told him to go dance with Hyejin.” You explained.

“I see… Do you want to dance with me?” He asked nervously.

There had to have been alcohol in that punch. Yixing had been actively avoiding you for a few days and now he wants to be a friend?

“It’s a slow song though.” You reminded him, but he only held his hand out for yours.

Yixing led you into the crowd of hormonal teenagers and placed his hands on your hips, keeping a decent amount of space between you. He rocked the two of you side to side to the beat of the cheesy love song. Your heart was pounding against your chest; this was the best thing to happen out of the blue. You just hoped your hands weren’t shaking where they rested on his shoulders.

“How have you been?” Yixing questioned over the music.

“Good. What about you?” You answered as casually as you could.

“I’ve been pretty busy,” He shrugged, “I need to ask you something though.”

“What?”

“Do you-”

“Students, please clear the floor, so we can announce homecoming court.” The principal abruptly interrupted the music and, unfortunately, Yixing. The crowd started to disperse, and Yixing took your hand to guide you back to the table.

“What did you want to ask?” You tried to get him to return to your conversation.

“It can wait.” He smiled weakly and abandoned you at the table for football players with dates.

316 notes · View notes

impalafortrenchcoats · 8 years ago

Text

Coming Apart On Top of You: Ch. 2

Author: impalafortrenchcoats

Chapter: 2/?

Summary:

Seokjin is trying to piece together a life while tearing down his past one brick at a time. Namjoon is fighting to build his future while struggling to handle the present.

It wasn’t a very convenient time to fall in love.

And when the skeletons in the closet are much more literal than most, the challenges of their relationship could prove deadly.

Ships: Namjin, Jikook/Kookmin, Sope/Yoonseok

Category: Hitmen + Assassins AU, Coffee Shop AU, Non-Linear Storytelling

Chapter Wordcount: 9430

Previous: Part 1

Ao3 Link: here

Journal Entry 4 (This is numbering business is beginning to be a hassle)

April 24, 2013

I am dating a Neanderthal. And I think I like it.

Over my dead body would he hear it from me, though. I seriously did not need to know manhandling is a kink I have. My days are now haunted by the idea of him tossing me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and slapping my ass as he drags me back to his cave.

It’s the muscles, I’m going to say it’s the muscles. Who would have thought photography could get you biceps like those. Maybe I’m in the wrong field. It’s probably from dragging all the camera equipments… or he’s just a gym enthusiast.

Also, general life update: In case it wasn’t clear, Kookie and I are officially going out. Fuck yeah. It's been five dates and only two disasters. A much better ratio than that tornado romance freshman year, so I’m counting that as a win.

Overall life is finally looking good, but it’s definitely time to hatch out some game plans because this isn't going to work. The situation is dire, and I just can't take it anymore.

It's been over a month. Downstairs Jimin needs some love as well.

Pros:

Kookie is bae, so bae He’s got a well paying job and doesn’t judge me for my shitty financial affairs Kookie is hot, so hot, fire of my loins (if only) He is really fun, once we hacked through the shy streak He can kiss I’m going out with a gorgeous human being who is so out of my league it’s not even funny (I am not drawing hearts because I am an adult man, I am just going to mentally note this is a heart drawing situation)

Cons:

Kookie is too bae, guy won't let me live I'm not a gold digger, how do I tell him to calm with the gifting Seriously too caliente… Mr. Right-Hand has been embarrassingly intimate with my dick, I'm surprised the guy ain't raw by now I low key miss shy Kookie. He's after my soul now, the little shit. He can fucking kiss, but my dick is still living the life of a monk I feel like he’s keeping a distance, but I want to show him how much I like him… WITH MY DICK!

OPERATION CLIMB THAT MAN-TREE INITIATED.

Will update on progress.

Side note: Entry 3 has been destroyed because even I'm too ashamed to reread the blabberings of my blue-balls.

+++

Rows upon rows of storage units lined the pier in a facsimile of a gridlock. The faulty lights which haphazardly sprinkled the layout flickered at random intervals, and the hum of their wiring was only occasionally drowned out by the lapping of the water nearby. Ayao Industries had a few warehouses with lots similar to these which generally served as housing for excess goods and were maintained by a small crew.

So much so that when three figures ran at breakneck speeds down one of the many pathways between the units toward the building of the warehouse, it was perhaps the most action seen at any of these locations. One of the slighter figures, a young woman, broke ahead, making a beeline for doors.

“Momo, get the locks! Hurry!” a feminine voice called from the second figure, who was still some distance away.

Just as Momo slammed into the door and began to work at the padlock, the clang of what sounded like an empty can being kicked across the cement broke through the night, echoing from some undefinable place in the yard. They all froze, terror apparent on all their faces.

Momo was the first to break out of the paralysis and continued to grapple with the lock in her trembling hands. The third figure finally stumbled toward the second woman, grabbing her by the shoulder. In the flickering lights of the yard, the worried face of the man was beaded with sweat as he gripped the young woman’s shoulders.

“Jihyo, listen,” he panted, “I'll try to buy you two some time, but you need to go, now. Don't look back.”

“Jeongbong!”

“No arguing. Go. It's been a pleasure working with you girls,” he smiled kindly, and shoved her forward.

Jihyo didn't have time to say much else, when the rattle of the padlock falling signaled Momo’s success with the door.

“Jihyo! Pinky! Let's go!” Momo called as she tugged the door open.

Hesitating for just a moment, Jihyo turned to give their mentor a questioning look, but when he only smiled and nodded, she had no choice but to purse her lips and move forward. Making her way to Momo, she shoved the other woman into the open doorway and slammed the door behind her.

She never looked back.

Momo’s ragged breaths rang loudly in the silence of the warehouse, “Jihyo, what about Pinky?”

“He's not coming.”

+++

Bang Si Hyuk was just finishing up with the counters, wiping down the culmination of day’s messes. He just had to put away some glasses and do another run through of the cafe before closing for the day. It was Christmas Eve’s eve, and he was definitely looking forward to closing up for the next two days. He had even sent Sejin home early. It was sweet of his nephew to keep stopping by to see how his cafe was going, but given that he's been in business going on six months now, he was a little suspect of how much of it was the man checking up on him and how much was just him trying to binge on some free coffee. Still, the man was pretty helpful around the shop and usually helped him clean up for the day, so he couldn't say anything. Considering Sejin had his own full time job and family, Si Hyuk did appreciate the extra time the man gave to his bachelor uncle.

And since he was entertaining himself with plans of how he would like to spend his nice quiet Christmas Eve before heading off to his brother’s for Christmas, when the chime of the front door signaled a customer’s arrival, Si Hyuk couldn't help but groan a little. Sejin must have forgotten to flip the sign on his way out.

Closing the cupboard he was rummaging in, he glanced at the clock they had in the back kitchen and let out an exasperated sigh. It was well past ten. The person must really be jonesing for a cup of coffee, but they were just going to have to go somewhere else. He had a date with his couch and TV tonight.

He sighed again and headed to the register, ready to tell whoever it was that they were already closed for the evening.

And he quickly changed his mind the second he caught sight of the person.

The young man was definitely a new customer. While his little cafe might be new, the majority of his customers were regulars, mostly from surrounding businesses or people living close by. And Si Hyuk can say with certainty that they were definitely not the sort of people who looked like the man who was standing in the middle of his shop.

In fact, he briefly wondered if the man was an idol. The young man was very slender, but with a solid physique, and his bleach blonde hair was pulled back into a messy short man-bun, which worked surprisingly well despite his light business attire. His business could do with a popularity boost that a picture and signature from an idol would bring.

However, he quickly shot the idea down when he got a good look at the man’s face. Sure he was handsome, but the sheepish smile he sent Si Hyuk seemed oddly calculated and unnervingly detached.

No, he didn't think this man was an idol.

Bang Si Hyuk was not a trusting man, he would be the first to admit. He didn't believe all that nonsense about all men being good, that it was only with the corruption of society that brought men to do evil. Everyone is born capable of all manners of horrendous acts. This Si Hyuk firmly believed in.

What he never subscribed to, however, was the saying that no good deed goes unpunished. No matter what evils others were capable of, he would never allow those actions to affect his own in trying to be a decent human being.

So when Bang Si Hyuk got a good look at the man and every bone in his body all but screamed that this man was dangerous, he also took a good look at the man’s eyes, and all he saw was something raw.

If this man wanted a coffee at ass o’clock in the evening, then Si Hyuk was giving him that damn cup. He clearly needed it.

Throwing on his most welcoming smile, Si Hyuk used the usual catchphrase that's gotten him enough groans to know he'll never let it die, “Hello, first time with Bangtan Cafe?”

The man tilted his head as he blinked in obvious confusion, “Do you say that to all your customers?”

Si Hyuk grinned, “Yup.”

“Do you still have customers?”

He had to laugh at that, “I'll have you know at this establishment we pride ourselves on our customer service! And first impressions are everything. We strive to give our customers an experience like no other, here.”

“Well, consider yourself successful there. You haven't said anything about your coffee, though.”

“Because it's a given. We’re the best. Nothing but the freshest brews for our lovely customers.”

For the first time since he walked in, Si Hyuk could say the man had an honest smile in his face.

“Selling yourself a bit high, aren't you?”

“What do the kids say these days? Don't diss it before you taste it? You're going to love our coffee, satisfaction guaranteed.”

“I'm pretty sure that's not how that goes.”

“You get the idea. So, what will it be?”

“What do you recommend?”

Si Hyuk busied himself turning on some of the machines, when inspiration hit, “You know what? How about I surprise you? Just answer a few questions for me.”

“Ooh! Sounds fun.”

“So, hot or cold?”

“Hot, please.”

“Any allergies?”

“Nope,” the man popped his ‘p’ when he answered.

“How sweet do you like your drinks?”

“The sweeter the better.”

“Really? I didn't take you for someone with a sweet tooth. Alright, last one, caffeine, how much can you handle.”

“I'm not planning on sleeping tonight.”

“Great! I have something in mind, then. Have a seat, it'll take a few minutes.”

The man slowly approached the counter, and Si Hyuk realized his hair looked a tad damp, and he was only wearing a button up, which was rather out of place given the snow outside. He just hoped drugs weren't involved, since the last thing he wanted to deal with before the holidays was a druggie in his shop. But again, he quickly tossed that idea out, when the man gave him a knowing smile. His confusion about the man’s dress must have shown on his face.

He had to ask, “You always go out in subzero temperatures like that?”

The man gave a short laugh and answered, “No. Actually, had a run in with an… ex, I guess you could say. She and her friends weren't too happy to see me.”

“What did they do? And what did you do for that matter?”

“We used to work together. I'm using the term ex very generously here, but basically, I was good at my job, and she was a jealous bint. Long story short, I don't work there anymore, but she’s still as annoying as I remembered.”

“And what does that have to do with your coat?”

“She and her gang of harpies made a mess of it. Some things are impossible to dry clean, so I gave it up as a lost cause. Had to rinse the shit out of my hair, too. I wasn't going to walk down the street looking like that.”

“My god! You should file a police report.”

“Nah. I don't think my pride can take that kind of blow. It's just a coat, and I doubt I'll see the lot of them, again.”

“Hm. Look I don't support violence against women or anything, but next time, if you're ganged up on, consider throwing a shove and running for it. It'll save you a coat, at least. I'm going to assume it was expensive.”

The man smiled, “I'll keep that in mind.”

Si Hyuk disappeared under the counters for a bit as he dug around for something, and as he popped back up, he continued, “Sounds like you had a long day.”

“Yeah, as far as shitty days go, it's been a bloodbath.”

“Well, I have the perfect cure for that. Ta-dah!” Si Hyuk proudly presented a steaming cup of coffee. He tried with the foam art, but that was seriously something the younger staff excelled at. He was just the coffee guy… and the boss.

The man gave the cup a rather skeptical look and indicated the foam, “What is that supposed to be?”

“It's a bunny.”

“Did it get eaten? Half its face is kind of -”

“Just drink the coffee.”

The man gave Si Hyuk a smirk that he swore was the epitome of slappable. Kids these days. No respect for their elders at all.

He watched as the man took a sip and had to gloat a bit when he saw the familiar look of surprised pleasure. Yup, he still had it, world’s best coffee brewer for you. He was mentally brushing his nails against his shirt, when the man’s voice interrupted his inner musings.

“What did you put in this?”

“I can write it down for you if you want to order it again, although you might want to have one of the more experienced staff handle it. The secret ingredients are mandarin water and coconut milk.”

“It's not much of a secret anymore, is it? But if you don't mind, I would love to have the order. I know I'm holding you up enough as it is.”

Si Hyuk shook his head, “Don't worry about it, I have to close up and clean anyway. It's nice to have some company.”

The man nodded. Both of them ignoring the fact that the tables were cleared and kitchen was visibly spotless. They lapsed into a comfortable silence, as the man sipped at the coffee while Si Hyuk busied himself turning the machines off again, but not before brewing himself a simple cup of black coffee.

When he was done, he grabbed his cup and made his way to the other side of the counter and sat on one of the empty stools by the man, “So, you look like you have a lot on your mind. Sometimes it helps to talk, you know?”

The man gave him a side smile that once again brought attention to how unusually attractive he was, before asking, “Is this part of the usual customer service? I have to say you're really winning at the one of a kind experience thing you were talking about.”

“Well, you can think of it that way, but it's the holidays. And something just doesn't sit right by this old fart to leave a young man like you stewing in your thoughts.”

He snorted, “Okay, one, you're not that old, and two, it's just personal things, nothing you can help with.”

“Who said anything about helping? My customer service only goes so far. But like I said, sometimes it just helps to talk, and I'm an old stranger. Drop your trash here and boom, you're good to go!”

The man just stared at his coffee for a while in lieu of a response.

Si Hyuk took a sip of his own before continuing, “If you don't want to have a go, you're just going to have to listen to this old man ramble. So, for Christmas, I'm going to be popping by to see the extended family, you know, my brothers, the wife, girlfriend, kids. Great bunch. But damn, if I have to hear another round of whining about misbehaving kids, I will just grab a bat and put the fear of God in them myself! This is why I never married--if you don't want to deal with baby shit, don't have the babies, is what I say!”

“They sound great, actually. It must be nice to have a large family.”

“No siblings for you?”

The man paused a moment. His voice sounded softer when he answered, “Just a little brother.”

“Speaking as a middle child, my little brother was a shit head.”

“Mine has his moments, but usually he's great. Always tries to help with the home and stuff. It’s only the two of us, you know. I basically raised him.”

“Well, I have to say I'm a bit jealous. You two sound close. Between the three of us, my brothers and I had nothing in common. I still love them, don't get me wrong, but I have mixed feelings about this Christmas gathering, let me tell you.”

“Yeah. But honestly, I wouldn't really say we had the same interests. We worked in the same company for a while. Then, he got a boyfriend.”

Si Hyuk gave the man a stern look, “I hope you didn't let something like that get in the way of your relationship with your brother. It’s 2014!”

He was pleased to see the man break out into wild chuckles, “No, no! Nothing like that! I love the kid, the both of them. Those two dumbasses deserve each other!”

“Then what happened? Sounds like you're not seeing them this Christmas,” Si Hyuk asked and immediately regretted it when the man’s face fell.

“Let's just say the company didn't approve of his choices. They ended up leaving, my brother and his boyfriend.”

“You can't sue the company for discrimination?”

“Nope.”

“Well, good for them, your brother and his guy. Sounds like a shit company, anyway. Wait, is this the same place that your ex works at?”

“Yup.”

“Fuck them. I still don't see what's your problem, though.”

The man took a big sip before answering, “They just left. One day, I get home and all I have is this note. Something about not wanting to cause me trouble. What the fuck, you know? Like, didn't I always say that they meant the world to me? That there's not enough trouble in the world that would stop me from helping them?”

The man paused and added very quietly, almost to himself, “I just wonder if I didn't make it clear enough that they’re the most important things to me, more than any job, any half-assed relationships. I would drop all of it for them.”

Si Hyuk stared, surprised at what the man was sharing, “You probably made yourself plenty clear. That's probably why they left; younger siblings are stupid like that.”

The befuddled look the man gave him would have been hilarious under different circumstances.

“Look, I don't know how it was for you two growing up, but as the older sibling, I'm sure you had to give up a lot for your brother. Considering how close it sounded like you two are, it's probably just some unnecessary guilt manifesting itself. Like for me, I love my job, but let me tell you, I needed help getting started. But did you see me going to my big brother for help? No, because I didn't want to bother the man. It wasn't until he all but shoved an envelope with a check down my pants that I realized he had already saved a fair bit of money to help me.”

“Down your pants?”

“I love the guy, but he's an ass.”

“Wow.”

“You ever tried calling him? Your brother, I mean?”

“I missed him. It's a little late now.”

“He left the country?”

“Something like that.”

“Your brother doesn't do things half-way, does he?”

“No, that he doesn't.”

“You know what, though. He knows how to get in contact with you. You'll probably hear from him in no time.”

“Somehow I doubt that, but thanks,” he leaned back to finish off his coffee and said, “Your coffee really is the best, but I really should head out now and let you close up.”

“It's no problem. And I hope the talk helped,” Si Hyuk said, then jumped up, “Oh, one second, wait here.”

He ran off to the back room, leaving the man wide eyed to his quick disappearance. When he reemerged, he had in hand a thick winter coat.

“Here, for the road,” he said, shoving the coat at the young man.

“What? It's alright, I can't take your coat.”

“It's not mine. Lost and Found. It's their own fault for not picking up their coat. And I insist. If you want, you can just bring it back later.”

“Is this your way of trying to get a returning customer.”

“You've seen through my schemes.”

“Well, with that greeting, I can't blame you for trying to keep a customer or two.”

“Take the damn coat, brat!”

The man laughed and finally gave in. He threw on the coat and headed to the door, pausing before opening it, “Oh, and sir, thanks for everything. The coffee, the talk, the coat.”

“Yeah, yeah. You give me less lip service next time and I'll consider us even. Merry Christmas!”

“To you, too.” And then, he disappeared out into the night.

Si Hyuk sure hoped he would see the man, again. But if not, he felt at least he did something holiday appropriate.

Maybe he should call his brothers tonight.

+++

Jihyo allowed Momo a moment to fully grasp the situation and Jeongbong’s sacrifice. She saw a haze of grief pass over the woman's eyes, but as quickly as it appeared, it was gone just as fast, and Momo nodded.

“The truck should be in the back,” she said instead.

“Let's hurry, I don't think Jeongbong can keep him off us for long.”

And with that they both took off. The warehouse itself was dimly lit, and both women had to depend heavily on the moonlight filtering through the rows of windows and catwalks above them. They were both used to working in less than desirable circumstances, but given the haphazard set up of the complex, it was much slower going than either of them wanted.

Momo was the first to see the vehicle, “I found it!”

Jihyo let out a breath, “The keys should be on the dash.”

Momo made her way to the driver’s side of the truck, while Jihyo slammed down on the button to open the gate to the driveway as she ran past.

“I got the keys; get in here, Jihyo,” Momo called, while reaching over and throwing the passenger door open.

She didn't need to be told twice, as she was already running towards it. Jihyo had just climbed into the seat, when in the distance, the unmistakable sounds of gunshots rang out. Six bursts and suddenly, things were silent again.

“Start the car, Momo.”

Jihyo whirled around to stare out at the darkness behind them. She could make out the muffled sound of gunshots on the warehouse door, and she knew the lock wouldn't hold.

“I said, start the car, Momo! What are you doing?”

“I'm trying, I'm trying! It's not starting.”

Both women jumped when the bang of the door opening sounded from behind them.

Momo desperately tried turning the key over and over, but the vehicle remained silent and dead. In frustration, she tossed up her hands and slammed them on the wheel over and over, as she gritted her teeth, “Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!”

Rather than give into her rising panic, Jihyo searched frantically around the truck, when her eyes fell on two tool boxes in the back.

“Momo, stop! Come on, follow me,” she said as she grabbed one of Momo’s flailing hands to get her attention. She nodded her head in the direction of the tools, and while Momo sent her a puzzled look, she still opened her door and followed Jihyo to the back of the truck.

“We don't have a choice,” Jihyo said while pulling the boxes toward them, “look in here and see if there's anything we can use.”

Despite her mounting horror, Momo was quick to comply. It seemed hopeless, but Jihyo was right, they really didn't have any other options right now. Besides, she was never one to argue with her leader before, and she sure as hell wasn’t about to start now. They didn't have much time, so rummaging through the boxes was a chaotic task, but eventually, they both came away with the best of what they could make of the contents: two solid steel hammers.

It wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible.

Jihyo lamented the fact that she couldn't turn up any knives. She had always been much more comfortable with them. It was just too bad hers were broken in the earlier scuffle. The only other knife user in their group was Tzuyu and -

No, it best not to think of her, or any of the others. Jihyo gave herself exactly one second to acknowledge her grief for their loss, but this was not the time for mourning. The right to grieve was owed to the victor, and between Momo and her, she could only hope for that chance.

As they were both were having a feel for the weight and balance of their impromptu weapons, they immediately stopped and turned toward the source when soft echoing footsteps became audible. The shared a glance, and Jihyo nodded, signaling to Momo to hide and wait for her call.

Momo disappeared, melting into the shadows with practiced ease that Jihyo had to stifle a rising sense of pride for; their team was trained for stealth. Hit quickly and leave no trace behind. While they weren't the heavy hitters, they were very good at what they did, and that was the thought that settled her nerves as she, too, took position.

They didn't have to wait for long. The lean figure made his way leisurely down the central path of the warehouse. Jihyo couldn't help but feel the burn of the insult that the man was approaching them so openly. He wasn't even trying.

This burn gave way to unadulterated rage as he approached, and she was able to make out the weapons in his hands. In his left hand was a familiar M3C combat knife; the combination triple A-Titanium and Inconel blade was easily capable of cutting through skin, bones, and armor. This was the main reason why she had bought it for Tzuyu last year. It had become a favorite of the younger girl, and the two hadn’t been parted since she was given it, until now.

Even worse, in his right hand was a .45 AMT Hardballer, Jeongbong’s gun of choice.

In that moment, Jihyo truly knew what it was to hate someone with her entire being.

She was going to make him pay for this. Tightening her grip on the hammer, she waited for her chance to spring on him. Even in the darkness, it was easy to make him out with his bleached blonde hair. It was always a dead give away, and despite how many times headquarters had requested he change it to something less conspicuous, he'd stubbornly maintained the color out of spite.

There was a time when Jihyo had found the rebellion attractive, charming in a childish way. Now in retrospect, that should have been the first sign.

She waited for him to come, when suddenly, he stopped.

“So, are we really going to do this?” He twirled knife in his hand, his voice remaining light. “I mean, have I ever said how much I appreciated Pinky? Always liked a man who knows the value of my time. Saved me the trouble of coming for him, unlike you ladies.”

All Jihyo could hear was the grinding of her own teeth.

“Look,” he continued, “we all know how this is going to end, so let's skip this whole song and dance, okay? I can make it quick, for all of us, you know? Places to go, people to see, well, that's more for me. I guess it depends on your spiritual outlook, you might have places to go and people to see, too, actually.”

He always fucking rambled. Why the fuck did he always have to fucking ramble? Even now? Holy fuck, how did she forget, he basically talked non-stop that time she convinced him to fuck.

And he had the gall to tell her it was only a one time deal when she asked him why he didn't stay the night. He actually looked her in the eye and told her it was boring. To add insult to injury, he told her he was ‘cool with her telling the office he was a bad lay,’ and proceeded to wink conspiratorially at her.

Why hadn't she killed him earlier?

She was pulled out of her musings when he continued.

“So, what I'm trying to say is that we all have things we really ought to be getting to. How about we get a move on it, ladies?” He waited a moment, looking around in an obviously exaggerated manner. “Or did you want me to come to you? Because knowing Jihyo, she does seem to have a thing for letting other people do all the work. Right, babe?”

Oh, that motherfucker really had to bring it up, didn't he? That was the last fucking straw, and she was tired of waiting, anyway.

Taking advantage that he was facing away from her, she ran at him from her hiding spot, taking aim at him with the hammer. It didn't come too much as a surprise when he simply dodged her attack, but she couldn't help the mounting frustration when each of her subsequent swipes and stabs were constantly and seemingly so easily avoided. She was putting her all into each hit, but with simple, effortless body movements, he managed to negate all her actions.

They continued this pattern for a few more moves; the whole time, he wasn't exerting anything more or less than what he had been doing. And during the whole exchange, that irritating ass grin didn't move an inch, stretched wide on his face, and for the first time, his eyes were peering, unblinkingly, at her struggle. And with every missed strike, the frustration was giving to desperation and fear.

She knew she was getting sloppy, but there was a rising sense of panic with every failed hit. She flipped the hammer around to use the sharp end and tried to hook it into his calf, but he easily sidestepped her swing. This time, however, she was ready and used her momentum to follow her movement, completing her spin but standing up to dig the claw in his face.

It was shocking when this time her move was stopped prematurely, and she jerked both because of the interruption and the surprised.

Looking at the face that was now inches from her own, she realized he had at some point tucked away the gun and his free hand was grasped tightly around her forearm, while the curve of the knife was hooked around the neck of the hammer, both solidly stopping it from doing any damage.

Before she could react, he shoved her back into the shelving behind her and quickly slammed her head several consecutive times against the metal. She collapsed to the floor, momentarily stunned, and distantly registered the clang of the hammer hitting the floor.

She struggled to see through the pain when she felt a heavy foot step on her chest, so close to her neck, effectively holding her in place while stopping just short of suffocating her. She blindly clawed at the man’s foot and leg.

“Look, sweetheart,” she heard him say, “I’d love to say I hate to see things end this way, but that would be a lie.”

The clicking of the safety on the gun being pulled back was so loud despite the pounding in her ear. She struggled harder.

Her vision had just barely cleared. Above her, right over her face was the barrel of a gun, and behind it was him, smiling gently. She wished he would just gloat, just give her the villain they all deserved. But he was just smiling, an ironic and somewhat pitying smile, like it was she who was in the wrong. Coming from the man who was still drenched in the blood of her friends, her family in all but blood, she could just couldn’t accept it.

It was him, not them, not her, who was wrong.

“Do you even remember them?” she had to ask.

“Who?”

“Everyone. You’re killing every last goddamn person who mattered, and for what,” she screamed. “Your own fucking pride, that’s what. Everyone to make up for your one fuck-up. Well, you know what? Nayeon, Mina, Tzuyu, every last one of them was worth ten of him! And they never betrayed us. Do you even remember them?”

Her pants echoed through the warehouse when she was done. She didn’t even know if he was going to respond. He just kept staring at her, the hand on the gun steady. The smile was still there when his eyebrows furrowed in slight befuddlement.

“Why should I?” He shrugged.

Jihyo had nothing. There was no point. The worst was realizing there was nothing she could do or say in this situation. Tears she had been holding finally spilled over, and she looked away. She didn't need his face to be the last thing she saw.

But as she peered into the darkness, she caught the vague hint of movement in the shadows.

Oh, thank god.

“Well, if you've got nothing else to say,” he continued, “bye, Jihyo.”

She turned back to him and smiled, “Bye, Jinnie.”

She didn't blink when the shot went wild as Momo managed to hook the claw of hammer around his wrist and tug his hand out of the line of aim. The younger woman ducked under his arm and attempted a few hits, but he evaded it all.

However, he was forced to back away and Momo paused long enough between them to kick the dropped hammer over to Jihyo before zigzagging away, just as Jin began shooting at her.

Jihyo grabbed the handle and dove behind a shelving unit, scrambling away as fast as she could despite the pounding in her head and her still blurry vision when he turned the gun back on her.

He stopped shooting rather quickly, and she assumed it was either because he was out or, more likely, he was trying to save the rounds. She was just extremely grateful that the .45 AMT only had a 7-round magazine, but it didn't help that she didn't know how much he had started out with.

She found a dark nook to gather herself, when a thin hand reached out from the darkness beside her to cover her mouth. Jihyo started, but thankfully, Momo’s hand was recognizable even to her frayed mind. They didn't have time to do much else besides sharing a gaze, when the echoes of his footsteps approached.

Jihyo and Momo remained still, barely daring to breathe when Jin finally came close enough for them to strike. They shared one more look and nodded their mutual understanding. It was their last shot.

When he was in position, Jihyo and Momo moved as one. It was strange to attack like this, both women feeling the absence of the other seven weighing heavily on their conscious.

They both turned the hammer to the claw end for the strike. Momo moved quickly and attacked Jin’s legs, while Jihyo took the top. Swipe, punch, kick, block, the three engaged in a strange dance with stakes too high. Jin managed to dodge almost all of the women’s attacks, with Momo coming closest to landing a hit when the tip of her claw caught his coat sleeve and tore into it.

This caught him by surprise, and Jihyo took the opportunity to land a solid punch to his rib. Unfortunately, rather than slowing down, Jin seemed to thrive off the hits, and the fight picked up pace.

He twisted away from her, grabbing hold of Momo’s arm and tugging her forward as he did so; Jihyo made to slash at his face, but with Momo’s arm caught and his momentum tipping her forward, it was only Jihyo’s quick reflexes that stopped her, barely centimeters, from burying the hammer into her own friend’s face.

Their shock was their undoing. With their close proximity, he used it to his own advantage, taking Momo’s arm, still holding the hammer, to knock away Jihyo’s own, and sent her crashing down with a kick to the side of her head.

Her world broke into white lights and ringing, over which she could just make out the sound of Momo’s continued struggle against him. She tried to stand - she had to help, but her equilibrium was shot, and her vision was wavering between doubles and triples. She shook her head and blinked several times when she fell for the second time.

She was on her hands and knees when her vision cleared enough for her to see what was happening.

Jihyo looked up just in time to see Momo get caught in a mockery of a back hug, and he, with one hand holding Momo’s own on the handle of the hammer, forced her to bury the claw into her own throat.

The scream ripped itself from Jihyo’s throat much like the way Jin ripped the hammer from Momo’s.

He dropped the hammer and Momo’s body to step slowly toward her.

It was a hopeless sort of madness that drove her to attack. It was pointless, but she had to hit him, she had to kill him, for them. Even if she knew it was pointless and there was no chance of her succeeding, she had to go down fighting, for everyone.

She distantly noted that he had taken the knife from wherever he'd had it and was now on the offensive. Ignoring the protests of her own body, and the blood dripping steadily from her nose ever since she took the kick to the head. She grabbed Momo’s hammer as well, all the while ignoring the grisly scene of her former ally.

With a hammer in each hand, Jihyo glared at him, spitting, “You're going to pay for this.”

“Somehow, I highly doubt that.”

She was exhausted and hurting, and each of her attacks were getting sloppier the longer they went. With a hammer in each hand she kept trying to hit her target, but to no avail. It wasn't too long before Jin caught her left arm long enough to dig the knife into the flesh just above her elbow and sliced, severing the tendon. She ignored the clang of the hammer falling from her now useless hand, instead, spinning to swipe at him with her right. He ducked under her swing and expertly swung the knife twice, first cutting through the back of her right knee and second through the Achilles' tendon.

Her body crumpled, but Jihyo struggled to remain upright. Instead, she collapsed to one knee and turned to Jin. It was demeaning to look into his eyes and realize she didn't even register as anything of value.

Fuck him.

She glared at him as he walked toward her. Her temper was still boiling, so she made one last swipe at him. He quickly ducked away, slashing her wrist as he went. The hammer fell, and he was finally standing in front of her kneeling form. With a light kick to her shoulder, he sent her crumpling back. She could do nothing from where she lay. Every fiber of her being burned with hatred when he stood over her and tilted his head to examine his work.

Jihyo couldn't even register her pain for the rage consuming her.

“Well, good on you,” she spat, “but before you put that bullet in my head, let me ask you one thing.”

“Yes, the sex really was that bad. I was going to spare you that tidbit, but since you're so adamant, the answer is no. It really wouldn't have worked out between us. You know the spiel, it's not you, it’s me, blah blah blah.”

“Really funny, Jin. But no, I just wanted to know, how does it feel to know that he didn't trust you? I said he betrayed us, but I've got to know, how does it feel to realize, after all you've done for him, all the time you've dedicated to him, he went and chose an outsider over you?”

Jihyo was pleased to see him freeze. She continued, “Poor Jinnie. He owes you his life and what do you get in return? And good job on you for training him so well. I heard it took five teams to get them. You know you could have helped them? Oh, wait. You didn't. That stupid little boy wanted to fly on his own, didn't he? Got sick of you, probably. I really applaud him for putting up with you as long as he did. But just so you know, you may kill every last one of us, but who’s the loser here? We always had each other’s backs, but look at you. Baby boy didn't even bother to tell you he was leaving, huh? Didn't even trust you enough for that small courtesy. So I'm curious, what does being discarded feel like?”

Even in the darkness of the warehouse, she could makes out the trembling of the man. She may have not been able to get him physically, but she could take some pleasure from dealing this kind of damage. However, her satisfaction gave way to confusion when her ears picked up his familiar squeaking laughter.

“Oh, my god, Jihyo, really?”

“Huh?”

“What was that? Were you trying to play mind games or something, or were you just trying to hit some cliched speech quota? Like, are you being serious right now?”

“What are you talking about, you fuck?”

“Okay, one, you don’t get to talk about him. Unlike you, I know when I fucked up, okay? Yes, I could have helped. But I could have done more to convince him he could have depended on me, so holy shit do I realize I'm a loser. I worked with you lot, didn't I? Look, I'm not killing everyone to make up for him, it's not gonna fix shit. But it does fucking make me happy. Simple.”

He smiled at her once the laughing fit ended.

“And just so you know, just for that though, I'm going to let you in on a little secret.”

He knelt down beside her and leaned in close to whisper, “I was quick with everyone else. But just for old times sake, I'm going to take my time with you.”

He tossed the gun aside and twirled the knife, smiling brightly.

“Shall we begin?”

+++

Kim Namjoon stared at the pages upon pages of statistical diagrams, shipment logs, charts, and analytics which all essentially boiled down to the same thing: their startup was doing well enough to not crash and burn like they all feared, but not well enough to be considered stable by any stretch of the imagination. He sighed. If he were the type, he would have blamed karma. But he wasn't the superstitious sort, and that kind of mumbo-jumbo always rang too much like excuses.

Besides, it wasn't as if he had been responsible for the Ayao Industries’ failure.

Namjoon had started CYPH Inc. at the end of 2014 in the aftermath of the series of disasters that almost sent Ayao to its knees. They were fortunate to have branched out to their overseas offices, since numerous accidents and oddly unlucky investment fall throughs almost bankrupted them in their home country. They had all but disappeared with the exceptions of a few minor holdings and offices, but the vacuum that was left became fertile grounds for many businesses and other start-ups to scramble and fill.

Namjoon was nothing if not an opportunist. He had actually been in a lower, generally insignificant position at Ayao in the finance department where he dealt mostly in book-keeping. He had enough smarts to realize they were dealing in some shady practices, and possibly some questionable business ventures. At the same time, he trusted his instincts enough not to go digging.

It came as no surprise to him that the company went the way it did. He just hoped he never has the misfortune of crossing paths with whoever Ayao Industries managed to piss off. He could appreciate the efficiency and thoroughness, but with the reported body counts, and who knew how many others went under the radar, he was just thankful he was so successful in remaining unremarkable.

Namjoon had been plotting, though. He had known there was the possibility of this exact thing happening, so he had taken certain steps to ensure he could make the most of it.

One good thing that had come from the number of deaths, was that it eased whatever moral qualms he might have had about implicating a co-worker in a security breach so that he could make off with several moderate to high profile accounts. They definitely eased the transition into starting his own company, and while some had been wary of trusting someone so seemingly untested, the combination of having a clear record and just enough connections to Ayao meant that a decent amount of clients had been willing to take the risk, giving him a head start on other businesses.

As for the unlucky co-worker, he was never very bright to begin with, and if Namjoon hadn't, someone else would have taken advantage of him and probably for something much worse. The man may have lost his job, but he kept his life, which was more than what a significant portion of Ayao’s employees could say.

Namjoon had jumped ship as soon as shit started hitting the fan. The day after the death of one Lee Byunghun, he put in his two weeks notice and just prayed he would last the rest of his time there when the fire broke out a few days later.

With the young heir’s death, the media coverage was largely sympathetic to the Lee family, as was expected, but Namjoon thought the whole thing felt too convenient, too personal to be anything but intentional. This was pretty much confirmed when the fire happened, followed by publicity response efforts which effectively rewrote the events. He was well aware there were no remodeling plans, much less any reason why those men were in the building to begin with. Not like he was going to tell anyone this.

So, here he was, almost three years down the line, still struggling to make a name for himself. He didn't regret his decision, and he was well aware he was better off than most, but god, he just wished some things came to him a bit easier.

Which was why he was still working at this hour. The shipment plans in front of him were blurring together to the point of being almost cryptic when he heard his phone vibrate.

It was Taehyung.

Thank god.

He needed a distraction.

“Hello. This is Kim.”

“Yo, Namjoon, I know you have me saved on your phone, so drop the business bullshit. I got to ask you something.”

“I'm in the office.”

“Way too late in my opinion. No one’s there, don't even try lying to me. I always know when you're lying.”

“What do you want?” Namjoon sighed and gave up. It was hopeless trying to argue with Taehyung. For whatever reason, from the moment the two met in college, Tae had attached himself to Namjoon like a barnacle and hadn't let go since. Namjoon had learned through exposure that sometimes it was best just to ride out the crazy that was Tae’s schemes. Half the time they turned out pretty genius, but considering the other half were spectacular disasters, it was best to approach it all with caution.

Still, he wouldn't have started his business with him if the guy was completely mad.

“I just had a stroke of genius.” Taehyung’s whisper was so loud that it grated painfully against Namjoon’s ear from the speaker.

“Yeah, well now I'm worried.”

“No, it's true. It's real genius this time. But you have to answer me one thing first.”

Namjoon sighed and pinched his forehead in preparation, “Alright. What is it?”

“Are you asexual?”

“What the actual fuck, Tae?”

“I mean, it's cool. Some people just aren't into some things, and you're my buddy, so I won't judge, dude. Bros before… a nonexistent libido?”

“Tae. I've had sex before.”

“Well, it never seemed like you were all that into it.”

“Of course I - wait, how the actual fuck do you know that? I swear to god, if you were spying -”

“No! It's not that, man. You just seem disinterested in people. Even friends with benefits would be better than what you do.”

“Is there a point to this?”

“Well, as your friend, I have to say I am worried about you and your choices.”

“Have you been talking to my mom?”

“Maybe. But that's not the point. The point is you suck at relationships, and it's time for an intervention.”

“If this is the point where you volunteer as tribute, the answer is no.”

“Okay, for one thing, my dick is too precious to be allowed anywhere near you, and two, I have a genius, genius plan. And you will go along with it.”

“And why would I do that?”

“I would mope if you don't.”

“Yeah, you're going to have to try harder than that.”

“And I am the one who has been keeping shipment on track. If you think I won't start some shit just to fix your bachelor ways, you have another thing coming. Don't try me, Namjoon.”

“Are you serious right now?”

“Dead serious.”

“You're not playing with the company!”

“I wouldn't have to if you weren't wasting your life!”

“What the fuck, Tae…”

“I'm going to assume that's a ‘yes, Tae, thank you for helping me fix my life,’ so that means, put your jacket on. I'm picking you up in five.”

“What?”

“I'm driving over. You're coming with me. End of story.”

“Where the hell are we going exactly.”

“Coffee shop. It's cute, it's small, it's delicious, you'll love it.”

“I thought you weren't volunteering.”

“I'm not, you dick.”

“Fine. See you in five.”

“Four.” Taehyung clicked the phone off with emphasis somehow.

Namjoon was left speechless, staring at the paperwork that still needed to be completed. He heaved another sigh and got up, grabbing his jacket as he left.

+++

“Well, this is a god damned mess.” Cha Hakyeon stared at the gory remains of his coworker and the other member of her team. Some days he absolutely loved his work. Today was not one of those days. An entire nine member team and their mentors were eliminated in one night, and they had no way of getting to the perpetrator.

Hakyeon was not looking forward to making the call to Headquarters.

“Should we call the police?” The trembling voice of the morning crew’s manager echoed in the grisly chasm of the warehouse.

“You haven't already?” Hakyeon turned to look at the five white faced men behind him.

“We thought it was better to call the office. These were our people, right? Gunho here recognized the man outside.”

“That was a good call on your part. Was there anyone else here, this morning?”

“Oh, no. It's a slow season, so we keep the staff minimal.”

“I see. Well, thank you, gentlemen. On behalf of Ayao Industries, I’d like to commend you for your discretion.” Hakyeon barely completed the sentence when he quickly shot four of the five men with the gun he always kept hidden but on hand.

He didn't like to use all his bullets unnecessarily, so for the last man, the frozen manager, he quickly finished him off with his team’s signature weapon, a redesigned Japanese war fan.

As the body crumpled, only seconds after the man's severed head touched the ground, Hakyeon spun the fan in a well practiced move to rid it of blood and snapped it closed. Flicking absentmindedly at some blood which unfortunately splattered on his brand new shirt, Hakyeon spared himself a moment to mentally organized what he was going to say and dialed.

The ringtone barely had time to finish, when a familiar husky voice asked, “How bad?”

“Pretty bad. The entire team is gone, all nine and their mentors.”

“Fuck.”

“On the bright side, no need to get the police involved this round. I already took care of the witnesses. There were only five workers, so we could always make up an accident, again. If they have family, we’ll just have to make sure they are well compensated. It shouldn't be too much of a hassle.”

“Let's avoid starting another fire this time. The publicity was a mess.”

“Oh, I know, sir. I am the spokesperson. However, it was unavoidable with the mess that he left. There was too much evidence to even try to clean, so a fire was our best option.”

“I agree, but this time, do try to keep things a little less dramatic.”

“Of course, sir. I also need to put in a request for our specialists for the clean-up at the warehouse. The others won't be too difficult to clean, but we’re going to need to be thorough here.”

“Do I want to know?”

“It's a mess. The upside to this was that Jihyo lived long enough to confirm his identity.”

“She survived the attack?”

“I would say it was intentional on his part. Formal cause of death would probably be exsanguination, but given the extent of her injuries, things probably got personal.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Among other things, her tongue had been removed and placed in her line of sight. He had turned her on her side to prevent her from choking on her own blood.”

“I see.”

“One last thing, sir. He had tampered with the facility's vehicle. Given that this is not his branch, I'm anxious to know how he found out about our protocols.”

“It just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it? Anything else you would like to add? I'm going to need to get properly drunk before I report this shit myself. Corporate has been on my ass since the start of this whole mess.”

“I'm sorry to hear that, sir.”

“You can keep your sorry. I need this guy taken out ASAP. How does no one have any leads?”

“We’ve put out the order, but he wasn't a part of any teams, only the kid, and we know how that turned out.”

“Don't ever mention that bastard to me again.”

“Sorry, sir. That was foolish of me.”

There was a heavy sigh from the other side of the line, then, “You let your team know? You were on the hit that night.”

“I will inform them after this call, sir.”

“Good, good. You lot have done well by me. Take care. I don't want to be burying anymore of my people.”

“We’ll be prepared.”

“You say that. Don't let hubris be your undoing.”

“I'll keep that in mind. If that is all, sir, I have a few more calls to make.”

“I'm sure you do.”

“Goodbye, sir.”

“Hm.”

+++

Journal Entry 5

May 2, 2013

It’s happening tonight. We’re going to make this happen.

By we, I mean I and the dubious involvement of one obnoxiously pushy She-Hulk, Seulji. Mind your own love life, woman! Or lack there of.

So, I'm inviting him over for dinner. We moved the goddamn TV into the bedroom. I've made a bit of the mess in the living room and kitchen, so I have an excuse to drag him to the bedroom. Seulji is staying over at a friend’s, thank you.

Condoms, check.

Lube, check.

Lucky boxers, check.

It's going down.

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

juvi-lockster, dharyism, and allourheroes for cleaning up my hot mess!

Next: Part 3

#bangtan #bts #bts fanfic #namjin #jikook #yoonseok #kookmin #sope #my fanfic #fic: coming apart on top of you #myfanfic

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