#CAROL HAS HAD TWO MOVIES...

[biitchcakes]

wait wdym angar the screamer has been in an mcu property before jess has... 😶

[morganbritton132]

Even more Steve Has Older Siblings AU add-ons:

1. Steve wanted to be a ninja so bad when he was little but Hawkins didn’t have any martial arts classes he could take. Jason offered to ‘teach’ him. This was just an excuse to throw him around a bit but they had to stop when he accidentally dislocated Steve’s elbow two weeks before basketball tryouts.

2. Anytime his dad decided to be a good father, he’d send Steve to his grandparents for the weekend that the other kids were at their house and then do activities with them. Steve didn’t mind this at the time because Grandpa Otis told him cool stories about the war, but when he got older he realized that it was a really fucked up thing to do.

3. Steve thinks that Richie is spearheading fixing their relationship because his own kids live in a different state now, but it’s actually because Will Byers went missing. He called the house six times in between Will going missing and being found, and no one picked up the phone once. It genuinely scared him, especially because he heard their dad bitch about Barb going missing at their house. Steve was mainly screening the calls but for one of them, he was fighting a monster.

4. Carol fucking hates Steve’s siblings so much. She used to cut tiny holes in their bedsheets with fingernail clippers when she’d come over on the weeks that they weren’t there. Later when she worked the summer at the movie theater, she’d spit in their drinks.

5. The first time Steve’s siblings meet Eddie Munson (sans Richie) is after the murder charges are dropped. It’s also in the middle of a forced family dinner. They’re all sitting there awkwardly and then heard the door fling open, and Eddie shout out as he moved through the house, “Harrrrrington, let’s go! I’ve got beer in the cooler and a lunchbox full of - bibles. Hi!” Steve’s out of his chair and dragging Eddie back out the house like, “Sorry, gotta go. To church. Bye mama, love you. Bye.” Eddie is crackling the entire time and Steve comes home the next morning smelling like weed and a good time, and is promptly handed a cup to go piss in. Jason takes the drug test for him. Fails it.

[sp0o0kylights]

Has anyone explored the idea of sort of S1/S2 AU wherein Eddie, or Corroded Coffin as a whole, are out smoking in the woods and encounter the combined military unit that is Steve Harrington, Nancy Wheeler, and Jonathan Byers, standing around a corpse?

(“We didn’t get a close enough look, we can’t say for sure that it was a corpse.” Grant is saying, voice high and frantic in his panic. 

“Two legs, two arms,  torso, greyish skin tone?” Jeff counters in a mutter, because unlike his friends he goes rabbit-quiet when terrified. “What else could it be?”

“Maybe they got into filmmaking.” Gareth says pleadingly, over Grant’s half-hysterical muttering about aliens. “Harrington’s rich enough to have a camcorder.” 

He then cringes under the three, disbelieving stares he gets for his stupidity. 

"You really think King Steve and his priss of a girlfriend joined forces with Jonathan Byers to make a horror movie?" Eddie scoffs, his voice eerily even despite the tremor in his fingers as he grips his third (fourth?) cigarette "In the middle of the woods? After Byers rearranged Harrington’s face?"

“It doesn’t have to be a horror movie!” Gareth counters, defensive. “It could be a murder mystery!” 

“Guys.” Jeff says abruptly, in a much louder voice than the one he had been talking in. “You know how they found Benny shot in his diner? You don’t think…”

He trails off, and his friends can only share horrified looks back.) 

Problem 1: No one is ever going to believe them. 

Even if it was an actual serial killer looking, well, serial killer out there in the woods and not three teenagers, Eddie knows damn well the police would think they’re being prank called. 

And sure, maybe that’s because they have been pranked called, but Eddie can’t see anyone taking him seriously even if he hadn't fallen prey to that little crime. Not unless they thought he did it, and he is not going down for a crime King fucking Steve committed! 

Problem 2: The body is gone the next day. 

Eddie knows, because he went back, dragging Jeff and a tire iron along with him.

Jeff halfway manages to convince him they simply smoked too much weed and shared some sort of hallucination, until they find the clearing. The same one with splotches of dark, sticky liquid splashed all across it. There's long gouge marks in the trees, like something with claws had gored them and yeah, nope, no sorry Jeff, they definitely didn't hallucinate it!

Problem 3: The killers are planning something. 

Now that they know, it’s easy to see the already weird relationship between Byers, Harrington and Wheeler in a new and horrifying light.

They’re not in some sort of “freaky threesome situation” like Carol Perkins keeps crowing, but they’re definitely secretive.

Jumpy.

Nervous--and blatantly up to something, given all the hushed whispers and the way they keep piling themselves into empty classrooms and sneaking out through the side doors. 

Which leads directly into Problems 4 and 5, two problems that Grant loudly floats during band practice.

“Guys it’s been a week and the news hasn’t said anything. So…who exactly did they kill--and who are they after next?” 

(“You really think they’re going to kill again?” Jeff asks, but it’s pleading, the tone of someone who watched Harrington pace around his car that morning with a fucking walkie talkie and hiss into it like a man possessed, and knows a storm is coming.

“I think if someone doesn’t do something,” Eddie says slowly, feeling the truth of the words fall like rocks down a cliff as he speaks them, “we're going to find Hawkins staring in one of those true crime documentaries. The really fucked up ones."

“You’re saying 'someone' like you mean us. You don’t mean us, right?” Grant says, with large, pleading us. 

“I mean…” Eddie trails off, before visibly steeling himself. “We don’t have to stop them in the act. We just have to find indisputable proof that they did it.” 

“Oh, God.” With a moan, Gareth dramatically slides off the stool of his drumset, sinking to hide behind the round form of his base drum. “We’re gonna die.” 

“We’re not gonna die.” Eddie responds, and now there’s a fire in his eyes, a feverish look that his bandmates know all too well. “No one is going to die. Not on our watch.”

“We’re fucked.” Grant morosely tells Jeff. 

“Yeah.” He says in response, because they all know they’re going to following their DM and friend to the pits of doom and despair.  “We are.”) 

There’s a Problem 6 of course, and that problem is that Steve, Nancy and Jonathan are not in fact, murderers, but unfortunately for Hellfire, that problem comes into play much, much later into their investigation.

[fairytaleendingss]

Room For One More?

Chapter 3

Summary: You have an unsuspected guest join you on your walk home from work.

CW: None.

Pairing: Poly!Marauders x fem!reader

Chapter 1, Chapter 2

__

“So Remus hates me.”

You were leaning against the water cooler in your office, chatting with Mary as she took a longer than necessary break from her desk.

Her head shot upwards.

“What?”

You sighed. “Remus. He doesn’t like me. I don’t know what I did to him but ever since I’ve moved in he’s been super standoffish.”

“I’m sure that’s not true!” The girl attempted to sooth. “Remus doesn’t hate anyone. Sure he can be grumpy and a bit off-putting at times. But deep down he’s a sweetheart.”

You scoffed. “Yeah well I’ll believe it when I see it.”

You looked out the window at the snow-covered trees that surrounded your office building. It had begun to snow for the first time this year over-night, something you’d been very excited to discover this morning when you’d woken up.

You loved winter. The snow covered buildings, Christmas decorations, carols playing in the living room as you drank eggnog by the fire. It was your absolute favourite time of year.

“Oh look at the time! I’d better head off soon,” Mary exclaimed. “I have that date to get ready for!”

You smirked and nudged her shoulder gently. “I still can’t believe you won’t tell me who you’re going out with!”

She shrugged playfully. “It’s early days yet. I don’t want to jinx things.”

“Well, let me know how it goes, anyway.”

She nodded enthusiastically. “Of course! I’ve got to run but see you tomorrow.”

You bid her goodbye before making your way back to your desk to grab your coat. You weren’t looking forward to the walk home today. Despite your apartment being only a few blocks away from where you worked, the temperature had dropped drastically over the last few days and a 20 minute walk home in the winter air was bound to be unpleasant.

You loved winter time, but only when you didn’t have to be outside, in the heart of it.

You made sure you were huddled up in your coat as you exited the building, however, you still weren’t prepared for the blast of cold air that hit you as you stepped outside onto the street. You shivered, wishing you’d brought a thicker jacket for the journey.

You glanced around the frost bitten streets and an icy gust of wind rustled through you. Then you stopped, eyes narrowing as you observed a figure leaning against the side of the building.

“James?” You managed to call over the noise of the traffic.

He looked up from where he’d been scrolling on his phone, smiling widely as he met your eyes.

“Hey!”

“What are you doing here?” You questioned, making your way over to him.

“I finished early with my trainer,” he explained. “And your building is on my way, so I figured I’d walk you home.”

You couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corner of his lips as you imagined him getting off the tube a stop early just to walk you home in the cold.

“You didn’t have to do that,” you sighed.

He shook his head, a few stray curls falling in front of his eyes. “I wanted to.”

He held out an arm and you linked your own through his as the two of you began to make your way down the bustling London streets.

“So how was your session today?” You asked, subconsciously pressing yourself closer to him. The man was like a walking radiator.

“It was great!” He exclaimed. “How was work?”

You shrugged. “Same old, same old I guess. Mary has another mystery date tonight though.”

James’ brows raised. “I can’t believe she still hasn’t told anyone who she’s seeing. I wonder if there’s something off with this mysterious suitor or hers. Maybe she’s embarrassed by them.”

You chuckled lightly. “Maybe. That’s definitely one explanation.”

You walked along in silence for a while, taking in the scenery around you. London was beautiful in the winter time. All festive, snow layered streets and colourful wreaths hanging on front doors. It looked like something out a Christmas movie.

Then, after a moment, James stopped suddenly, dragging you to a halt alongside him.

“I just remembered,” he exclaimed. “There’s this amazing little cafe around the corner. It does the world’s best hot chocolate! You have to try it. Fancy stopping in?”

You looked up at him for a moment and couldn’t help but smile at the way his eyes lit up when he was excited. He had a particularly boyish charm about him, one you found awfully hard to say no to.

“Sure, that sounds lovely.”

“Great,” he said enthusiastically. “Let’s go.”

When you stepped into the cafe, you were hit with a burst of warmth, stark in contrast to the biting chill outside. The cafe was a small hole in the wall but immensely cosy. It was decorated in festive Christmas decorations and a deliciously chocolatey aroma hung in the air.

“James! So good to see you darling!” There was an older woman standing behind the counter, dressed in a red dress with a green apron tied around her waist. Her salt and pepper hair was pulled back into a low bun and she had motherly energy about her as she rounded the counter to pull James into a warm hug.

“Hey Margo,” he responded fondly. “It’s good to see you.”

“And who’s this lovely thing?” She directed a warm smile at you as she pulled away.

“This here is y/n. My new roommate and friend.” You smiled at the introduction. “We were walking home and I told her that we couldn’t carry on until we stopped for a famous hot chocolate here.”

“Well it’s wonderful to meet you, dear,” she pulled you into a hug as well. “Any friend of James, is a friend of mine. Now, go and take the table by the window. I’ll bring you over the usual in just a moment.”

She hurried back into the kitchens and James gestured for you to follow him. You sat down in a cozy little booth in a bay window, that looked out over the crowded streets.

“This is beautiful,” you exclaimed, watching people passing by, going on with their day to day amidst the snowy London winter.

“It’s good isn’t it.”

“How did you find out about this place?” You pried. It wasn’t really a Main Street attraction.

“Peter actually introduced us to it,” James explained, pushing his glasses further up his nose. “Back in school. His Mum is friends with Margo. The four of us used to come here all the time after class in winter.”

You nodded gently. “That’s really nice.”

James chuckled. “Yeah, Sirius claims this place is why our friendship has lasted so long. A lot of arguments were settled over this table.”

You bit your lip thoughtfully. There was a question playing on your mind. It had been sitting there for a while but you never quite knew how to ask it.

You took a deep breath, eyes settling on the sweet boy across the table. He gave you a lopsided grin and you figured now was as good a time as any.

“James, I was just wondering. Is there something… going on between Remus and Sirius?”

You thought back to the way they looked at each other that night at the bar a few weeks back. Like there was some unspoken language between them that you couldn’t quite understand.

James huffed good-naturedly. “You picked up on that, did you?”

You nodded in return.

“Yeah, they went out for a while in high school but it didn’t really last very long. To be honest I’m not 100% sure why they ended things. I they were good together, truth be told.”

“That’s good to know,” you muttered, smiling softly. But there was a twinge of something else burying itself within your gut at the thought and you didn’t fully understand why.

At that moment, Margo returned, two steaming hot chocolates in hand.

“Here you go, loves. Enjoy.”

She placed the cups on the table, sending you a wink before heading off to deal with some other customers.

“Cheers,” James jested, raising his mug to clink against yours.

You took a sip and your eyes widened.

“James, you were so right. This is incredible!”

—

With bellies full of warm chocolatey goodness, you ventured back out onto the cold streets.

You’d been so comfortable inside Margo’s cafe that you almost forgot how freezing the temperature was. It jumped out and bit you like a venomous snake as you exited the threshold.

A harsh shiver ran down your spine and you wrapped your arms around yourself in hopes to fend off the cold wind. It was then that you realised it had started snowing.

“You look freezing!” James stated as you began the rest of your walk home. “Here take this.”

In a swift movement, the man had shedded his winter coat and wrapped it around you, leaving only his hoodie to stand between him and the brisk air.

“James, no! You’ll freeze,” you protested, attempting to rid yourself of the garment with frozen fingers.

“I’ll be fine,” he responded earnestly, that warm, charming smile of his overtaking him as he rubbed his hands up and down your arms.

“We’re only a few minutes away from home. Besides I run hot anyway. You need it more than I do.”

You felt something flutter inside of you at his sincerity. He looked down at you, a twinkle in his hazel eyes as his hands still sat on your forearms, holding you as if you were made of glass.

There were snowflakes settling in his dark curls, his nose and cheeks slightly flushed from the bitter chill.

“Thank you, really. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“You can make it up to me by getting out of this cold wind before you get sick. Come on.”

Mindlessly, he clasped your hand in his and began to guide you down the street towards your home. A smile tugged at the corner of your lips and for the first time that afternoon, a warmth began to fill you. Only this time, you knew that it had more to do with the boy beside you than anything else.

—

Taglist:

@hisparentsgallerryy

@navs-bhat

@shushbruv

@magicwithaknife

@eeviee4

[just-j-really]

So I've been rotating this idea in my brain since December. It is WIDLY out of season but I am posting anyway. Time has no power over me.

Dream as the boyfriend who gets dumped 90% of the way through the Hallmark movie. Dream is, even in his own mind, this arrogant, moody guy who's a little too obsessed with his job (very high up in the publishing industry). He's not entirely sure how he managed to convince Hob, who's this cheerful, bouncy extrovert and has essentially been Dream's personal Manic Pixie Dream Boy the entire time they've known each other, to go on a SINGLE date with him, let alone be his boyfriend.

And Hob always goes home to see his family for like two weeks at Christmas, it's super important to him. Dream can't afford to be away from work for that long but says Hob should go before him, he'll be there for Christmas itself. Only, the day before Hob's supposed to leave, Dream stands him up for a dinner date (he was at work) and they get in a huge fight about it. The air between them is still very frosty as Hob packs his things and leaves the next morning.

And then Dream spends the next few days with his social media being just. Flooded with pictures of Hob doing Hallmark Christmas activities. He's clearly having a great time. This woman keeps popping up in his photos, and they look so happy together, covered in snow from a snowball fight, sipping hot chocolate at a crowded bar, one video someone else must have taken of them chasing each other around a skating rink, laughing so hard they crash into each other and fall over. Between the photos and the fact that Hob's still texting Dream this whole time, Dream puts together that this is Eleanor, Hob's childhood best friend who he lost touch with when her family moved away unexpectedly.

Hob's talked to Dream about Eleanor before, how close they were and how horrible it was that he never got a chance to say goodbye, or figure out a way to stay in touch (she had super strict parents). Dream has always kinda suspected that there was a layer of 'mutual first crush, but neither of us were really sure where to go from there and the whole thing got brutally ripped out from under us before we could figure it out' to the whole situation as well.

And here they are. They've found each other again, against all odds, they're so clearly happy together, and Eleanor's doing all this fun exciting stuff with Hob that Dream would only be a huge grump about. By the time Dream goes to meet up with Hob, he's already got a whole story in his head of how this is going to go: Hob will tell him he's found someone much better for him and dump him, as Dream deserves.

So when he approaches Hob's parents’ house at like 7pm on December 23rd, and finds Hob and Eleanor talking quietly on the porch, he's just resigned, and fully expecting to end up standing there and watching while they have a Hallmark-movie snow-gently-falling kiss.

Instead, Hob looks up, notices Dream, and immediately just BARRELS into him and hugs him so hard his feet lift off the ground, and before he's really processed that he's the one getting the snow-covered, end-of-the-movie, I-missed-you-so-much kiss. Hob's incredibly enthusiastic and smiling too hard to kiss him properly, and eventually they both wind up in a snowdrift.

And Dream’s just. Not entirely processing as Eleanor greets him (and seems genuinely happy to meet him). And then Hob introduces him to his parents (and they seem happy to meet him, too). And everyone’s acting like he's a wanted part of this gathering, and they're so happy he was able to make it, and Hob's gotten them tickets for some community theater Christmas Carol thing because he knows how much Dream likes earnest-if-amateur art… And a few hours later Dream and Hob are cuddled together on a couch with coco doing some excessively cute Christmas Activity. Wrapping the last few presents while a Christmas movie plays quietly in the background or something. Eleanor has gone home, Hob's parents have gone to bed, so it's just them when Hob softly thanks him for being able to make it at all, and apologizes for the way he left things.

And none of this is how the story is supposed to go.

And I think Dream just breaks down, and Hob's eventually able to get the whole ‘I assumed you'd want to break up with me and date your obvious One True Love, I am terrible’ story out of him. 

And there is a certain amount of genuinely upset ‘ok it hurts that you think I think something so horrible about you’ from Hob. But he pretty quickly figures out that no, Dream’s self-esteem is actually that low; he genuinely thinks ‘so terrible that you'd be morally correct to cheat on him’ is just. An objective fact about himself. 

Which leads to Hob being like “You realize I'm dating you on purpose, right? I like how passionate you are about your job. I like your confidence. I like that you keep me grounded.” And basically just runs down all these traits Dream assumes are his own flaws, only Hob’s talking about them like they’re desirable. As though Dream is his happily-ever-after perfect love.

So, just for a moment, Dream lets himself believe that he could be. And it gets easier and easier to believe as the welcome he received from Hob’s family and friends just continues for the rest of his visit, as he’s easily brought in to assorted Charming Hallmark Christmas Activities and realizes Hob was specifically saving the activities he thought Dream would like for when Dream would be there, as he and Hob return to their normal lives in the Big City and Hob is still happy to be with him, still willing to resolve whatever conflicts come up instead of just giving up.

(And he finds it very easy to believe on New Year’s Eve, when Hob goes for an absolutely over-the-top grand gesture stroke of midnight proposal.)

[hoonieyun]

the apple ₊ ⊹

pairing: park sunghoon x reader genre: angst, romance, sorrow, lovers to exes warnings: religious themes, kissing, profanity, skin ship, cheating but its just a misunderstanding, mentions of death and suicide, yn and her mom get slutshamed by the church, talks of an arranged marriage, yn and sunghoon both have daddy issues, a lot of internalized trauma and mental issues, major character death, 18+, not proofread lol pls lmk if i need to add anything

synopsis: if life was anything like an apple, it'd be sweet, crisp, and bloomed on your tongue. being with sunghoon started off like that but after one incident, you find yourself teetering at the edge, a rotten apple staring back at you with a singular chunk bitten out of it.

wc: 10595

you’re sitting in a grassy field, leaning against a large tree, fingers grazing past the ink on the worn out pages of your bible. your eyes are attentive as they take in every word on the page, absorbing god’s graces and holding it close to yourself. 

you were always taught to follow in our lord’s footsteps, that his guidance alone will lead you on the right path, and that you’ll find salvation. 

but no matter how long you spent in the church, how long you spent reading the bible, and how long you spent on your knees praying at night– none of it ever stuck to you. 

“yn!” your mother calls your name from the trunk, you hadn’t even realized the car stopped, indicating that you had arrived to where your mother has been driving the two of you for the last 13 hours. “honey, come help me, please. stop daydreaming.” she says with a grunt as she pulls out one of several suitcases from the trunk. 

you blinked several times as a way to ground yourself, taking in your unfamiliar surroundings, the new neighborhood that had white picket fences, cars that were squeaky clean, and well kept lawns. it was something out of the movies; a picturesque neighborhood– the only thing was that usually in those movies when they show these perfect neighborhoods, there was almost always something wrong with the people that lived there. you pushed open the car door with a sigh as you walked to the trunk of your mom’s car to help unload your belongings into your new home. 

the decision that came with moving to a whole new state was all your mother’s. she didn’t really consult you about her decision, just told you that you guys would be moving in one month and to start saying your goodbyes to everyone. 

not that you knew that many people that would care about you were moving away. 

except for your old neighbor, mrs. carol. she was the old lady that lived next door, 3 cats; all of them well fed and you can tell because they wobble when they walk, she had pretty bad eyesight so you often helped her with chores and things during the weekends. she’d always thank you with a freshly baked apple pie, a squeeze on your cheek, and then send you off– but not before she asks if you’ll be going to church that following sunday. 

you nodded in response and left, but the both of you knew that you were lying. 

the last time you saw mrs. carol was the wednesday before you moved. she had noticed your mom was giving away a lot of the things in your apartment and she thought it was just a simple spring cleaning but when she saw you with moving boxes she instantly knew you were moving away. 

“you’re moving away, darling?” she asked, hunched over as she peeks through her front door; her three cats lingering around her ankles. you give her a half smile and nodded, mrs. carol doesn’t do anything but nod back. you thought you wouldn’t see her again but as you and your mom were putting the last of your things into her car, mrs. carol appeared at the top of the stairs at the front of the old and slightly rundown apartment building. 

“yn, sweetie. come here.” she said softly. you quickly excused yourself from your mom and walked over to mrs. carol, telling her goodbye and thanking her for her company whenever you were lonely. “oh, dear. i should be thanking you, you’re such a blessing.” she says, pulling you into a hug. she was like your grandmother in many ways but also not like her at all because it was just you and your mom. 

you didn’t have any other family besides each other so mrs. carol felt like family to you. she subtly places something in your hands before curling your fingers over it, “keep this with you at all times and you’ll never be alone. okay, dear?” she says and you nod, tightening your grip on the item surrounded by your fingers. you couldn’t quite tell what it was but you could feel the metal in your hands. 

she gives you one last hug and sends you off. your mom was standing by the car waiting for you, a small smile on your face as you walked down the steps, “thank you for taking care of my daughter, mrs. carol. i promise to write to you for the holidays.” your mom says as you get into the passenger seat, shutting the door behind you. 

you wave at mrs. carol through the window as the car begins to drive away, a bittersweet smile on her face as she watches your mom’s car get smaller and smaller in the distance. mrs. carol also didn’t have a lot of family. she was an orphan who was brought to the US and when her adoptive parents passed away, she didn’t have anyone else. the extended family of her adoptive parents didn’t claim her, she never married and had no kids, and she was also an only child. 

mrs. carol saw herself in you and oh how she prayed you wouldn’t end up like her. she prayed for you to have a happy and fulfilling life and as sad as it was to see you leave, she continued to pray and hope that this new place would bring you joy unlike how your life was in the town you had grown up in. 

you’re carrying the last box from your mom’s car when you see a boy on a motorcycle pull into the driveway next to yours. the roaring of the motorcycle catches your attention and you find your footsteps slowing down as you watch him park his bike and remove the helmet off of his face. his hair is windswept as the helmet reveals his face, a sharp nose paired with an even sharper jawline. his brows are thick and eyes filled with allure. 

so much so, you find yourself accidentally tripping on a pebble, groaning and the sounds of pots and pans clanking together as you drop the box in your arms. your clumsiness catches your handsome neighbor’s attention and he’s running after you to help you up off the ground. “hey, you alright?” he asks, gently grabbing your arms to pull you up. you wince slightly as you get back on your feet, watching as his hands leave your skin and move to pick up the box you dropped. 

“uhm– yeah. thanks, sorry about that.” you huffed, dusting off the dirt from your jeans. 

“you guys just moving in?” he asks and you nod, telling him that you literally just got there and it’s not starting off as good as you would’ve liked. “oh– i can take that, thanks.” you muttered as you attempted to grab the box from his hands but he refused, walking over to your front door so you have no choice but to follow him so you could open the door for him. 

he follows you around your new house and the two of you wander around a bit too long before one of you says anything else, “hey, i don’t wanna complain but this is kind of heavy.” he says and you start to panic because you couldn’t remember where the kitchen was in your new house. the two of you had walked through the foyer, living room, and dining room but you just couldn’t find the kitchen. 

“shit, sorry! you can just set it down right there.” you say and he squats to put the box down. “sorry, i’m not entirely sure where the kitchen is.” 

“honey! did you grab the last box, i think it’s the pots and pans– oh! who is this, hon?” your mom says, emerging from the back of the house. she walks up to the two of you and you aren’t completely sure how to answer her as you didn’t even know him. 

“oh– hi, i’m sunghoon. i live next door, um i saw her fall and trip so i thought i’d come and help bring the box in. sorry if i’m intruding.” you finally learn of sunghoon’s name as he introduces himself to you and your mom. she thanks him for his help and spots the box of pots and pans she was looking for. she attempts to pick it up but because it’s so heavy she decides to just push it through the house with her foot. 

she returns to wherever she was, somewhere in the back of the house where you assume where the kitchen is. 

“thanks by the way, i’m yn and that was my mom.” you inform sunghoon as the two of you walk back to your front yard. “don’t mention it.” he mumbles and you’re both walking in an awkward silence for a moment until a deep voice calls from a few feet away. 

“sunghoon! dinner is almost ready, your mother is waiting.” the man calls as he stands, hands on hips waiting by the front door of what you assume is sunghoon’s house. “i’ll see you around, yn. let me know if you need someone to show you around town.” sunghoon says with a small smile, before walking back to his house. he sends you one last glance as he walks inside and his dad lingers just a bit longer, menacingly watching you retreat into your home. 

great, not even 24 hours in your new town and you’ve embarrassed yourself in front of your handsome neighbor and now his dad seems to be suspicious of you. 

“did your friend leave already?” your mom asks as you enter the kitchen, leaning on the counter and taking a look at your surroundings. the kitchen was practically the size of your old apartment, you were absolutely baffled at the stark difference of your old life in the city to this new one in some small town you didn’t even bother looking up before you moved. 

“he’s not my friend, just some guy who saw me trip and eat shit on the pavement.” you muttered, fidgeting with the knifecase your mom had unpacked onto the kitchen counter. your stomach suddenly grumbles and your mom sends you an amused look, “hungry?” she asks with a chuckle as you pull your hoodie tightly around your body. 

“a bit, are you cooking anything?” 

“not tonight honey, i don’t think we’ll have everything unpacked for me to cook and i still need to find the market in town. why don’t you take my car to that pizza place we saw just a few blocks away? grab a box of pizza and maybe some wings if they have it?” 

you nod at her instructions and do some finger guns, catching her keys as she unhooks them from her jeans and tosses them over to you. “drive safe! just let me know how much it costs when you get home.” 

the air has gotten much colder since you were last outside just a few minutes ago. weird, you thought. it was spring, damn near summer, but this little town seemed to send chills like it was winter down your back. you throw on the hood of your jacket and jog to your mom’s car, sliding into the driver’s seat and buckling up before starting the engine when a knock on the passenger door window startles you, “shit!” you exclaimed as a hand flew to your chest in shock. 

you look over to see sunghoon hunched over with a smile on his face as he waves at you from outside. “can i help you? you fucking scared me.” 

sunghoon laughs at your remark before answering, what a nice laugh you thought to yourself, “heading somewhere? want company?” he asks and you narrow your eyes at him. was it a good idea to let a complete stranger into your car and drive around a town you hadn’t even been in yet for more than an hour or so, maybe not– but since you knew where he lived and he didn’t give you any reason to doubt him, you unlock the car and sunghoon smirks when he hears the car unlock, pulling the door open and plopping down in the seat next to yours. 

“where to?” 

“pizza, i’m starving.” 

“perfect, i’ll show you where to go.” sunghoon says, smiling even wider when he hears the word pizza. 

“holy shit, this pizza is really good.” you say after swallowing a bite. you notice sunghoon stiffening up after what you said, contemplating on whether you should ask him about it because you were worried of offending him. “did i say something wrong?” 

sunghoon wipes his mouth with a napkin before responding, “no, you didn’t. i just have never heard anyone say holy shit before.” he responds, whispering profanities like he was a small child speaking in secret, afraid he’d get caught by his parents. 

you tilted your head to the side at his words and soon realized that he must come from a religious family, one so religious that those types of profanities weren't something he had ever heard uttered– and considering that he looked like he was in his 20s, that was a really long time. you muttered a small apology and he shakes his head, telling you that it’s fine and he doesn’t really mind. sunghoon explains that he comes from a church family, his dad was the deacon and his grandfather had founded the local church in town. 

sunghoon found himself telling you more about himself than he had anyone else in his life, maybe it was because you were a complete stranger or maybe it was the fact that sunghoon felt instantly connected to you, he’s not entirely sure. 

“wait, so you sound like you come from a picture perfect family but why am i getting the feeling that’s not entirely the case?” you asked. 

sunghoon laughs and nods at your question, “there’s honestly nothing wrong– well, aside from the fact that my father wants to control everything in my life including who i marry; nothing really wrong.” he jokes and now it was your turn to laugh. 

“and the motorcycle?” 

“ah, that was just to piss off my dad because he was pissing me off.” the two of you laughed as sunghoon recalled the story. his dad originally gave him his credit card to buy his first car and usually his dad would’ve been there but he was preoccupied with the church so he trusted sunghoon to go alone. 

bad idea. 

sunghoon was already mad at his dad about an argument before that but because his dad kept nagging him about the type of car to buy, what color, what model, making sure that the license plate didn’t have any sort of resemblance to anything blasphemous– sunghoon decided he’d buy a motorcycle instead. 

and because the bike shop doesn’t do returns– he got to keep it. 

that was just a lie he and the shop owner came up with to ensure that sunghoon got to keep it. 

“i should probably get going, i need to bring this box to my mom for dinner.” you say, wiping your hands with the napkin before scooting out of the booth, box of pizza in hand. “here, i’ll carry it.” sunghoon offers and you let him because a part of you feels like he wasn’t going to take no as an answer since the two of you got into a fight on who would be paying for the pizza. 

you eventually agreed that he’d buy you a slice but you’d be the one to pay for the box of pizza you were taking home to your mom. sunghoon agreed reluctantly and all you could do was smile at his friendly eagerness. 

“thanks for the pizza, sunghoon; and for welcoming me into town.” you muttered as the two of you got out of your car. the sun had dipped past the horizon and the moon was now high in the sky when you returned home. you checked your watch to see that it was only half past 8, but it felt so much later. 

“no problem, welcome to edenville yn. enjoy your night and the best pizza in town.” he smiles before walking off and slipping through his front door. you smiled at sunghoon as you watched him enter his home but your eyes traveled to the window in the far side of the home, slightly startled when you see a figure watching you from behind the curtains. 

you recognized him as sunghoon’s dad and as his gaze bore into yours, you duck your head low and rush back into your home, fidgeting with the keys so you could unlock your door and get inside– away from his dad’s piercing gaze. “creepy..” you muttered and your mom suddenly rounded the corner in her pajamas.

“what’s creepy– ooh, pizza. finally.” she says, eyes beaming at the box of pizza as she grabs it from you, taking it into the living room where she’s already got the tv setup with a random show playing it on it. you follow behind her and take a seat on the floor next to the couch, leaning your body and resting your elbow on the cushion. 

“ooh– what’s this?” she asks, pulling out a piece of paper when she flips open the pizza box. “i think someone at the pizza shop likes you, that why you took so long?” she asks, handing you the slip of paper that had a phone number on it with a note that reads, “thanks for hanging out with me, i’ll show you some more spots. text me?” 

you smiled at the note and knew who it was from. 

“well?” 

“uh– no, it’s from sunghoon. the boy next door, he ended up coming to get pizza with me, told me about the town and stuff.” your mom smiles at you teasingly and you’re instantly rolling your eyes at her, telling her that it’s nothing and he was just being nice. 

“yeah.. sure, hon.” she says before taking a bite of pizza, not believing a word you say– and perhaps you don’t believe yourself either. sunghoon was sweet and kind, made you feel welcome and something about him being a complete stranger drew you to him even more. 

him living next door didn’t help your natural curiousity to want to get to know him more. 

and you just might. 

settling into your new home was pretty easy, a few neighbors would stop by at random times to introduce themselves and it was nice– however it just made you think of mrs. carol, hoping that she was doing fine and hasn’t forgotten your reminder of making sure to turn off the stove whenever she was done heating her kettle. 

you learned that the family to the left of your house was the kim family, they had a son named sunoo around your age and assumed similar to sunghoon’s as well. the house across the street from yours was the sim family who you learned had a cute dog named layla and a son named jake, who you later learned is sunghoon’s best friend. 

it was nice that people took the time out of their day to introduce themselves and welcome you and your mom into town but they all had a shocked expression when they’d see the two of you and you knew it was because you and your mother looked close in age. she had you during high school and because her pregnancy came as a surprise, your biological dad told his parents and they put him into boarding school in a whole other country– leaving your mom alone to raise you on her own at just 16 years old. 

you didn’t care what people thought of you and your mom, but you could tell it bothered her so you tried your best to protect her when you could. it also didn’t help that it seems everyone would ask where your father was when they meet you and you’d just have to awkwardly smile before telling them he wasn’t in your life. 

sunghoon’s mom had stopped by very shortly to introduce herself, sunghoon awkwardly standing behind her as he waved at you, cheeks slightly puffed out making him look like his face was made of bread. you couldn’t help but laugh at him. 

“this is my son, sunghoon, he’s told me you’ve already met?” she says, pulling herself forward as he greets you and your mom. you explain to sunghoon’s mother that he helped you move a heavy box into your house and then you two got pizza afterwards. 

she smiled at your words but it wasn’t one of amusement, the smile was more one of irritation that she tried to mask with joy. “didn’t know you liked that place, sunghoon. we’ll talk about that over dinner with your father. speaking of my husband, sorry he couldn’t be here to introduce himself; he’s very busy with the church but i’ll extend his welcome to you both… 

uhm, welcome to edeville.” she says, another fake smile on her face as she walks down the stairs to go back home, turning around and tugging sunghoon’s sleeve when she realizes he doesn’t instantly follow her. 

you and your mom go back inside the house but you watch the two of them walk away from your window, you can faintly see sunghoon’s mom scolding him as they got closer to their house, sunghoon’s head hanging low as his mother scolds him, her pointer finger directed at him with so much aggravation you could almost feel it. 

“what a strange lady.” your mom mumbles, shaking her head before walking to the kitchen to start preparing dinner. you silently agreed and followed her, telling her about how you saw sunghoon’s dad a few times when you first moved in, leaving out the part of when you saw him staring at you menacingly from the window. 

you tell your mom you were going to freshen up before dinner but she stops you before you could leave, “oh, by the way. we’re going to church tomorrow so don’t be up so late.” and you weren’t really sure why you were going to church. it wasn’t until high school when you stopped attending a religious school that had a church open 24/7. that was where you learned of things in the bible like salvation, adam and eve, when god said let there be light, and the garden of eden. 

it’s been maybe 6 years since you’ve last stepped into a church and because you weren’t sure why your mom suddenly wanted the two of you to start attending again, you chose not to question and decided to just see it through. 

observe your mother at church and see why for yourself. 

church the following day was filled with awkward glances and short greetings as your mom introduced the two of you to random churchgoers. you smiled and nodded, keeping it cordial as you didn’t want to cause any problems while at church even if you could tell they were all judging you. 

you spotted sunghoon sitting at the very front of the seat and you could see his mother to his right; you were wondering where his dad was but when he emerged from behind a statue of jesus, bible in hand, you remembered that he was the deacon. 

sunghoon briefly stretches his neck and sees you from the corner of his eye, eyes widening as he waves over to you. a smile on his face that revealed his sharp canines. you waved back at him but his attention is quickly averted to the front of the room when his mom nudges him to straighten up and focus. 

this was going to be one long sunday service. 

you and your mom are walking back to your car when you hear a faint whistling sound, so you look around to see where it’s coming from and you see sunghoon hiding behind a brick wall, waving you down when you finally spot him.

“oh, mom. i think i forgot something inside, i’ll be right back.” you tell her, running off before she could even respond. you round the corner and find sunghoon pacing back and forth, thumb in his mouth as he anxiously bites on the nail. 

“mysterious… is there a reason we’re hiding behind this random brick wall right now?” 

sunghoon looks up when he hears you speak, a smile on his face when he sees you; “hey..” he breathes out. “sorry, need to hide from my parents.” he explains and you nod in response, puckering your lips at the awkward silence. 

“why haven’t you texted me?” he suddenly asks and you giggle at his cute expression. looking up at you through the strands of hair blocking his eyes, a small pout on his lips. “sorry, i guess i’ve just been taking it all in.. why? did you miss me already?” you tease and from the way you could see the blush creep on his cheeks and the way sunghoon shyly turns away from you, you had guessed right. 

“my mom is probably looking for me but i’ll text you tonight, ok?” 

“wait– meet me at this place at 9? ok?” 

he grabs your hand suddenly and pulls a pen out from the pocket on the front of his dress shirt. he quickly scribbles an address on your palm and blows on it briefly to dry it so the ink doesn’t smear. “please come.” he says and you smile, nodding your head before walking back to your mom’s car. 

smiling to yourself as you look at the writing on your palm but before you could get to your mom’s car, a figure stops you in your tracks. you look up to see who was standing in front of you and crane your neck upwards to see sunghoon’s father. 

“yn! how nice of you and your mother to join us for sunday service. welcome to edenville.” he says, a somewhat sinister smile on his face. you returned with a smile of your own, yours much smaller than his. “i know you and your mother are new to town so here’s some advice.” he says before leaning down and getting closer to your ear. 

“i know the kind of girl you are, stay away from my son.” he whispers and it sends a shock to your system, his breath tickling your skin in the most uncomfortable way possible. when sunghoon’s father pulls away, he’s got the same wicked smile like he was trying to put on a face for those around who may be watching the two of you as anyone outside of this conversation would just be seeing the kind deacon of the church welcoming the new girl into town. 

you swallowed the lump in your throat before walking off and staring at the address on your palm again, only now it feels less exciting and more unnerving. 

you had been contemplating on whether or not you’d go out and meet sunghoon at this address. you decided to write it down in your phone just in case the writing on your hand would smear and become unreadable. you had looked up the address and found out it was a waterfall just a few minutes on the outskirts of town. 

it was around 8:30PM and you still hadn’t decided if you were going to show up or not. you stared at the ink on your hand and then back at sunghoon’s contact in your phone. you weighed the options and the warning from sunghoon’s father weighed heavily on your mind, on the other hand; a part of you naturally gravitated towards sunghoon and you’d be lying if you said you didn’t want to see him. 

that’s how you found yourself telling your mom that you were going out for a quick drive and that you’d be back soon. sliding into the driver’s seat and inputting the address into your phone so you could follow the GPS. it was only 15 minutes away so you’d definitely get there by 9PM, you just hoped that you could find sunghoon quite easily. 

before you drove off, you took note that there was only one car in sunghoon’s driveway, his motorcycle nowhere to be seen so you assumed that he was already there. you made the drive to eden falls silently, wondering about what the night will bring and how you were really hoping sunghoon’s father wouldn’t catch wind of your secret rendezvous with his son. 

the drive doesn’t take long before you’re pulling onto a dirt path, your headlights shining over a boy leaning on his motorcycle, he uses his hands to block the lights and you quickly shut it off before stepping out of the car. 

“you came.” sunghoon says enthusiastically and you can’t help but smile at him. you jogged over to sunghoon and are surprised to see him extend his hand out for yours, so you accept it. he gently wraps his hand around yours and guides you to a small bench just a few feet from the falls. you could see the large waterfall to your left and assumed that below would be a large pool of water where the waterfall led to. the loud rushing of the waterfall fills your ears but not enough to drown out sunghoon. 

“i almost thought you weren’t going to show up..” 

you shyly look away for a second before turning back to him, “i almost didn’t…” you confess and sunghoon looks at you, urging you to elaborate. you weren’t sure if you should tell sunghoon about what happened with his dad but because he didn’t give you any reason not to trust him and given his relationship with his dad that he’s told you, you decide to tell him what happened. 

sunghoon was shocked to find out the news and he’s shaking his head in disappoint when he listens to what you have to say. he’s profusely apologizing and explaining to you that his father had previously mentioned not approving of the new neighbors because your family was incomplete– meaning he didn’t like you and your mother because you didn’t have a dad present. 

you scoffed at his words but couldn’t be too mad when sunghoon rubs the back of your hand with his thumb. “im sorry… but if it makes you feel better i definitely don’t feel the same way as my dad. as a matter of fact, i think you’re probably the best person i’ve ever met.” sunghoon doesn’t know why he’s telling you this, his naturally shy demeanor melting away whenever he’s with you. 

“sorry– i don’t know why i said that, please forget what i just said.” 

you laugh at him, squeezing his hand slightly, “don’t apologize– it’s cute. plus, you’re also probably the best person i’ve met in this town, by a large margin might i add.” 

you and sunghoon spend the next hour or so learning about each other. you learn that he was a figure skater as a child but had to stop when he turned 18 because his father told him it was time for him to man up and follow in his footsteps, it irritated you that everything you’ve learned about sunghoon’s dad was something terrible and it hurt you to know that sunghoon had to deal with such an overbearing father. 

outside from the daddy issue’s that you and sunghoon bonded over, you also learned that he really like tiramisu, he had a small dog when he was little named gaeul, and he also had a small interest in fashion but it never went anywhere because he knew his dad would just shoot it down. you frowned at his words but sunghoon seemed to be optimistic regardless. he came off as shy at first but he warmed up to you fairly quickly, whenever he laughed it was hearty, he loved to crack corny jokes, and he had a habit of zoning out randomly. 

“we should get going, it’s pretty chilly.” 

sunghoon agrees and the two of you walk hand in hand back to your vehicles but not before he quickly shrugs off his coat and wraps it around you. once again you try to refuse but sunghoon insists on you wearing it because you mentioned being cold. you smiled at him with a small thank you and he smiles at you, eyes crinkling as he watches his large coat cover up most of your body. 

“thank you for tonight, sunghoon. i had a lot of fun.” 

“me too. i’m glad you showed up.” 

“i’m glad i did too..” 

you and sunghoon part ways as you walk over to your car that is parked just a few feet away. as you’re turning the key in the engine and starting the car, you’re startled when you hear a knock on your window, jumping at the sound. 

sunghoon laughs to himself when he sees your reaction, apologizing when you lower the window down, “you really gotta stop doing that..” you chuckle and he apologizes again. “don’t show anyone this spot, ok? it’ll be our own little oasis.” sunghoon says while he sits on his bike, helmet hanging from his arm before he slides it over his head. 

your own spot with sunghoon. you liked the sound of that. 

two months into living at edenville and everything seems to be normal. the judgemental glances have died down for the most part, you only noticed it most when you went to church with your mom since church was only one day out of the week for only an hour, you choose to just ignore them. plus, seeing sunghoon in his sunday’s best was a great way to balance out the awkwardness at church. 

“man, my dad was on one today.” sunghoon huffs as he takes a seat on the bench. the two of you would text each other every day and fall asleep on the phone every night, sunghoon was becoming a regular part of your routine and you would become the highlight of his day. you weren’t necessarily one for relationships, the only boyfriend you’ve ever had was the boy who gave you candy during valentine’s day when you were in the 4th grade but aside from that, you weren’t ever interested in dating. 

being with sunghoon felt so innocent and calm yet he revitalized you and made your days brighter. whenever the two of you needed to relieve some stress or just wanted some time alone together, you and sunghoon would send each other a water emoji, indicating to meet at your spot at eden falls in the next 10 minutes– and every sunday after church, you’d meet there too. 

“his service was extra long today, thankfully i had some coffee beforehand or else i probably would’ve snoozed through all of it.” you muttered, kicking around a pebble on the ground with your shoe. sunghoon hums in agreement, you could tell there was something on his mind and you wanted to tell him that he could tell you anything, that you'd listen and be there for him no matter what. 

“cmere.” he says, offering his hand out to you and you take it eagerly. sunghoon’s hand basically covers yours as he takes your hand in his and it surprises you when he pulls you into his lap instead of the empty spot on the bench next to him. you fall into his lap with a small hum and he laughs in admiration. scanning your face, sunghoon’s eyes trailing from your lips to your eyes that were already planted on his. 

“you look so pretty..” he whispers, slowly brushing some of your hair behind your ear so he could get a better view of your face. he smiles at you when you get shy but he holds you firm but gently to stop you from hiding away from him. “your lips look really soft.” sunghoon says, causing you to bite down on them momentarily and you can feel and hear sunghoon take in a sharp breath. 

“ca– can i kiss you?” 

your lip falls from in between your teeth and sunghoon’s eyes are glued to them, almost like he was studying their shape, every line and engraving on your lips– his eyes flutter upwards to yours and you blink several times at him before nodding.sunghoon’s hands travel from your waist to the back of your neck and he pulls you closer, connecting your lips with his. 

soft. 

sunghoon was right, your lips were soft. incredibly soft. 

as humiliating as it may sound, this was your first kiss– but as your lips matched sunghoon’s rhythm and as your mouths melt, and blend, and fit into each other's, all you could think about was the fact that you’re pleased to have sunghoon as your very first kiss. 

when you pull away from sunghoon and your eyes flutter open, you find that sunghoon has a dazed expression on his face– like he was in some dreamland while he relished the feeling of your lips on his. a string of saliva keeps the two of you connected for a brief moment before it eventually breaks as sunghoon sighs at the absence of your lips. 

“i was wrong..” he says and you furrow your brows at him. 

“your lips aren’t just soft, they’re really soft.” you laugh at his remark, playfully slapping him on the chest as the two of you laugh. he holds you close to him for just a moment longer before you both decide to go home for the day. since it was still sunday, sunghoon’s dad would be expecting him for dinner. his family had dinner every night but on sunday’s it was mandatory for him to be there per his father’s orders. 

as you’re walking away, sunghoon quickly grabs your wrist and pulls you back towards him, your hand lands on his chest again and he kisses you some more. lips dancing together with more passion than before– “hoon, come on. your dad’s probably gonna be upset.” you say after pulling away. 

“fuck that guy.” he huffs and you laugh in amusement at his use of profanity. sunghoon wasn’t one to use them often but you found it funny that when he did use them, it was to damn his father, the deacon of the church. 

you shoot him a wink before getting into your mom’s car and driving off, sunghoon riding on his motorcycle in front of you. his broad shoulders covered by his black leather jacket, his long legs straddling each side of the bike, and the feeling of your lips lingering on his face. you couldn’t tell because of his helmet, but sunghoon had a smile on his face the whole time he was driving home. 

sunghoon gets home before you do because you’ve decided that you guys can’t arrive home at the same time to avoid suspicion, specifically from his parents. you get home about 5 minutes after he does when he sends you a text that he’s arrived home. you send him a heart emoji before pulling into your driveway and heading inside. 

you spend the rest of the night just lounging, doing minor house chores and having leftover soup for dinner. your mom was working overtime so she wouldn’t be home until much later in the night but you didn’t really mind because it was nice to be home alone every now and then. 

it’s around 10pm when you’re suddenly awoken by someone yelling outside, their voices were loud enough that you could hear it but still faint that you couldn’t fully comprehend what they were saying. you were planning to just go back to sleep until you hear a string of profanities followed by the sound of a door slamming. you decide to look out the window and find sunghoon’s dad pacing back and forth in their backyard pulling out a cigarette and lighting it, irritation clear in his actions. 

you could only assume that sunghoon must’ve been arguing with his dad and that’s where all of the noise was coming from and from what you’ve heard about his dad from sunghoon himself, you were worried for him– but you didn’t want sunghoon to know that you were basically eavesdropping on him and his father. you ultimately choose not to do anything about it but you keep it in the back of your head all night.

over the course of the next few days, your interactions with sunghoon have decreased to just short stolen glances and the occasional text message. whenever you ask if he wants to talk on the phone when you go to bed or meet at your spot, he gives you some excuse of why he can’t, one that you don’t fully believe but choose not to argue over. 

you’re chewing on your bottom lip as sunghoon’s father is going over the service, extending god’s praises to everyone at the church as they all hail in his words. you weren’t paying attention because all you could think about was how it’s been a whole hour of being in this church and sunghoon has not once turned around to glance at you, even when you sent him a text saying that he looked handsome, he just looked down at this phone and quickly stuffed it into the pocket of his trousers. 

you weren’t sure what was going on with him but it was getting to a point where it bothered you more than it should. you and sunghoon weren’t official but you spent so much time together that it felt like those moments were special enough to mean something. it did to you but you weren’t sure if it did to him. it also didn’t help that it seemed like sunghoon was suddenly distancing himself to you right after you kissed, it was humiliating honestly– to have your first kiss with a boy that you were starting to really like and all of a sudden he’s barely even speaking to you anymore. 

sunghoon sat upright, face forward, and shoulders back as the service was ending. you were going to talk to him one way or another, just not here. you couldn’t risk causing a scene at church of all places, you weren’t religious but you had enough respect not to start any problems there. 

you weren’t sure how you were going to get sunghoon alone to talk but the opportunity arose when you saw him head to the back of the church once service was over. you figured that if you could quickly slip away before his parents were to find him then you could quickly talk about what’s going, maybe figure out what’s been going on with him and get clarification on the distance that’s been created between the two of you. 

you tiptoed towards the back of the church, glancing behind you to make sure there wasn’t anyone following or watching you. you pick up the place slightly out of fear that you would be caught or the small window of privacy would slip away but you’re halted in your steps and crouching behind a wall when you see sunghoon standing there. 

for a second you think he’s alone but when he shifts slightly, you can see him crouch downwards and hug someone. a girl. you didn’t really know her but you recognized her from church. she was always there every sunday, sitting in between her parents as she wore a white frilled dress with matching shoes. 

you’re left speechless at the sight before you and you didn’t know what to think. were they dating? just friends? but your mind went to the worst possible option as you come to the conclusion that sunghoon has probably stopped talking to you because he no longer found interest in you now that he was with this new girl. she was beautiful, her skin appeared as soft as silk, her hair was done perfectly, and her smile could rival the sound of an angel singing. 

she was perfect and you were far from that. 

you’re about to run away when your body collides with someone behind you, sunghoon’s father. you fall to the ground with a grunt as the gravel pinch into your skin– gathering sunghoon and the girl’s attention. 

“yn?” he asks, letting go of the girl in his arms. 

“what are you doing here? are you ok?” he asks, running over to you in an attempt to help you off the ground much like he did the first time you met– but this time his father stops him. putting out his hand to prevent sunghoon from getting any closer as they all watch you. 

your eyes bounce from sunghoon to his father, a scoff leaves your lips as you stand onto your two feet, dusting the dirt off of your clothes. you couldn’t be there any longer so leave, pushing past the deacon and ignoring sunghoon’s attempts at calling your name to stop you from leaving but his dad holds him back. 

“let me go!” he shouts, snatching his arm away from his father. 

“why do you insist on going after that girl? she’s nothing!” his father yells and thankfully you’re far enough that you don’t hear any of it, which also means you don’t hear sunghoon’s defense. 

“i don’t give a damn. she’s everything to me even if i have nothing.” sunghoon says, jaw tightening as he glares at his father. sunghoon and his dad have gotten into arguments several times but lately it’s gotten more frequent as he’s noticed you and sunghoon have become closer even in your attempts at hiding it. 

the argument that you had faintly heard between him and his dad before all of this went down was about you and the girl that stood just a few feet away from all of this. she didn’t play a part in any of this, at least not willingly. when sunghoon got home that night he and his dad got into an argument because sunghoon was late to dinner, now it would’ve been fine if it was just any other dinner but this wasn’t just an ordinary dinner. 

sunghoon’s father had invited a good friend of his and his family to have dinner with them. this man was of high status as he was the town’s mayor and with his attendance came the attendance of his wife and daughter. the dinner was filled with tension as sunghoon would attempt to push back at his dad whenever he could to try to embarrass him in front of his uptight friend but that was when his father dropped the bomb on sunghoon. 

“sunghoon, mayor kim here and i have been talking and we think it would be a good idea if you and his daughter were wed. we’ve gone over all of the details already.” those words were ringing in sunghoon’s ears, vision beginning to be tainted red as he could feel his blood boiling. marriage? with a random girl? when he had you? he wasn’t about to let that happen. 

he looked over at the girl who seemed to be just as shocked as he was but before sunghoon could fully process everything, he abruptly slid out of his chair, the wooden piece of furniture slamming to the ground as he left the room without a single word, his mother apologizing on his behalf. his actions at dinner, although justified, is what led to the huge argument with his dad that you had witnessed and what would eventually lead to him distancing himself from you when his dad ends their argument with a few simple words. 

“if you don’t stop seeing that girl, i’ll make sure you don’t see her ever again.” 

sunghoon didn’t know what his dad meant by those words but he had never seen his father so angry before. his eyes bore into his son’s with a type of fury that instilled fear inside of sunghoon. so much so that he decided to stop talking to you out of fear that he’d lose you completely if he did, at least this way he could admire you from afar. 

“sunghoon if you follow that girl you’re only damning yourself. she’s corrupt and i refuse for my son to be corrupted by some whore.” his dad says and this sets something off inside of sunghoon. his vision turns red again and before his dad could react, sunghoon’s left fist is connecting with his dad’s face, a cracking sound emitting from the contact. 

his father stumbles back onto the back of the church, leaning on the wall for support as he clutches his jaw in shock. the girl standing to the side gasps and runs over in shock, making sure that sunghoon and his dad are okay. 

“sorry, you had to see that.” sunghoon mumbles to the girl. 

“it’s fine… go..” she says, pulling out the handkerchief from her purse. sunghoon furrows his brows at her words for clarification. 

“go after her.” she says, giving sunghoon an encouraging smile. 

so he does. sunghoon runs after you, knowing exactly where he could find you. he wished that he brought his bike but his dad insisted that they all arrive together to church in the same car so that they appeared to be the perfect and well put together family that they tried so hard to look like. 

sunghoon had been running through so many things in his head while his father was at the front of the church doing his usual service. all sunghoon could think about was you and how guilty he feels for ignoring you and how hurt you must’ve felt but because he was afraid of his father and wasn’t sure what he’d do to you if he continued to see you, you chose to silently protect you– but he was growing tired of it. 

he craved you more than you could think. he missed the way you laughed at his stupid jokes, the way you smiled at small things like seeing a caterpillar scooting across the surface of an apple, and how your lips felt against his. 

sunghoon wanted to feel the softness of your lips against his so badly and he’d make sure that your kiss from before wasn’t going to be the last. when the service ended, sunghoon hurriedly rushed out of the church and told mayor kim’s daughter to meet him back there. he was planning to apologize to her and tell her why he acted that way and surprisingly enough, she understood him. 

she mentioned how her father was setting them up for an arranged marriage because both of their fathers didn’t approve either of their lifestyles and who they fell in love with. sunghoon, who fell in love with a girl from an incomplete family but found a way to complete the missing puzzle pieces in sunghoon’s heart and kim minjeong, the daughter of the mayor who had fallen in love with yoo jimin, the chief of police’s daughter. 

sunghoon was relieved to hear that minjeong was as opposed to the idea of an arranged marriage as he was and they decided to hug it out in solidarity with each other– and that’s when it happened. sunghoon’s father somehow had seen you creeping behind the church and was going to put a stop to whatever you had planned and eventually that’s how it all played out. you saw sunghoon hugging a girl and paired with his father’s intimidating aura, you felt so small and could feel yourself crumbling under all of their gazes. 

sunghoon’s lungs were burning as he continued to run, the pavement under him made his feet sore with each step he took but he didn’t care. he was going to get to you no matter what, he was going to explain everything, and he was going to kiss you and show you how much he loves you. 

his father was wrong. you weren’t corrupting him, you weren’t a bad seed or the temptation of the apple that the snake gave to eve. you were his salvation, his light, and you’re the only person who has shown him true happiness. 

and he wasn’t going to let that go. 

you had made it to eden falls fairly quickly, your mother not questioning on why you wanted to take the car but she could tell something was bothering you and decided that she’d talk to you about it once you’ve had some time to clear your head. your mom wasn’t privy to all of the whispers of the people in town and especially not to those in the church. 

she heard their comments about how she was a slut or a whore because she didn’t have a husband and it didn’t help that people took notice of your closeness in age; adding more fuel for them to judge you and your mom when they figured out that not only did you not have a dad, but your mom also had you when she was a teenager. 

but your mom didn’t care. sometimes it would bother her but then she thought about you. her beautiful daughter who smiled through adversity and the mundane, you were an inspiration to her and when she heard about your budding romance with sunghoon she was elated. she gave you the usual mother daughter talk when it came to boys but she pushed you to go after what you loved. 

she wasn’t going to stop her daughter from finding love just because she didn’t have someone to call husband. you didn’t deserve to live in the mistakes that she made but if you heard her call these things a mistake you scold your own mother and tell her that everything is the way it should be and you were happy to have her as a mother. 

you’re wiping the tears off of your face as you sit on the bench, letting the loud rushing sounds of the water drown out your thoughts but your heart is pounding too loud and your head is aching too hard for any of it to be drowned out. 

was this what heartbreak felt like? 

but no matter how hurt you felt, you couldn’t just let sunghoon go like that, you refused. your mother told you to fight for what you believed in and for those you loved; your mom was a testament to that as she showed you day in and day out how much she cared for you, going as far as working so hard that she was able to move you out of your small one bedroom apartment to the house you lived in now. 

you decided you would fight for sunghoon, show him how much you loved him and wouldn’t stop at anything to get him back, not even if his father or anyone else at the church tried to keep the two of you apart. sunghoon came into your life like a miracle. everyday was the same back in your hometown and you were starting to think it would be like that for the rest of your life but when you moved to edenville and met sunghoon, everything changed. 

you smiled more, you laughed more, and for the first time ever; you felt what love was like from someone other than your mother. 

that feeling was too good to let go of and you sure as hell weren’t going to let go of it. 

with a deep breath in and out, you close your eyes to gather yourself before deciding you’d take the car to find sunghoon and tell him everything you’re feeling; but the sound of a soft thud catches your attention. your head turns toward the sound and you find no one there and just as you’re about to get up and leave, you see an apple fall from a tree just a few feet away. 

you hadn’t noticed that there was an apple tree at eden falls but since you were usually engrossed with sunghoon you hadn’t really paid attention. you looked around to find that there was only a single apple tree in all of eden falls. you find yourself walking over to the apple tree but are careful in your steps because of it’s closeness to the edge of the falls. 

the tree seemed to be calling to you as the wind that blew past sounded like a song. the apple in your hand snapped off as you lightly tugged on it, like it was ready to be pulled off and eaten. you weren’t sure what came over you but you found yourself shutting your eyes as you brought the apple to your lips and took a bite. a crunching sound from the bite filling your ears as you chew on the apple. it was sweet and crisp, almost blooming on your tongue. 

however, when you open your eyes and look down at the apple in your hand, a horrendous gasp leaves your lips as you see the inside of the apple was black and rotted, maggots crawling throughout the crevices of the fruit. you spit out the apple in disgust, wiping your mouth of the feeling as the idea of the rotten fruit and worms cause you to gag.

you drop the apple in a startle and before you could react, your feet are slipping on the mud that surrounds the base of the tree and you feel yourself falling over the edge of eden falls with nothing to hold onto to pull yourself back up. 

the fall is slow, you can hear the water in your ears before you can feel it but the impact of the freezing cold water was enough to shock you out of your trance. you flailed underneath the water, fighting to get out and poke your head through the surface before you ran out of air but it seemed like eden falls led to an endless pit of water and despair. 

they say when you die that your life flashes before your eyes and when you take your final breath as your eyes close shut, all you could see was sunghoon and his smile. a smile appears on your face as your body continues to sink lower into the body of water. your body is dragged around until it couldn’t be moved any further, leaving you floating in the basin of eden falls. 

when sunghoon arrived at eden falls, his eyes lit up at the sight of your mom’s car, it gave him enough energy to run even faster to your spot at the bench but when he got there; you weren’t anywhere to be seen. 

he looked around, yelled out your name, called and texted your phone, but nothing. 

maybe he was too late but your mom’s car still being there left more questions than answers. he dropped his head in disappointment but not in defeat, he was going to fix all of this but he just wasn’t sure how. when he finally opens his eyes, tears begin to fall onto the dirt below him and that’s when he sees an apple with a single bite taken out of it. sunghoon looks at the fruit and wonders where it could have come from since there weren’t any apple trees in all of edenville. he wipes his eyes with the sleeve of his blazer as he sniffles, picking up the perfectly good apple that glistened under the sun. 

no maggots or signs of rotting to be found. 

for the next week or so sunghoon does everything he can to get in contact with you but they all fail. he eventually walks over to your house to talk to you but your mother answers the door with tears streaming down her face. 

when he asks her if everything is alright she goes to explain that she hasn’t seen you since last sunday. it’s now saturday afternoon and sunghoon realizes that the car isn’t in the driveway, meaning it’s probably still at eden falls, but where were you? 

he extends his care and worry to your mother before going back inside his house to grab his phone and call you once more, but something on the tv catches his attention as the newscaster’s voice boldly says, “breaking news: deceased body has been found at the edge of eden falls on the other side of town.” 

sunghoon easily recognizes the sweater of the deceased girl, it was you. 

his world is instantly crumbling and he blinks at the tv, hoping that it would just miraculously disappear and that the news wasn’t true. he can hear your mother wailing from outside as she runs out of your house, running over to where they had mentioned you were found. 

this can’t be true.

you were gone and it was his fault. 

the next day at church, sunghoon is forced to sit through his father spewing some bullshit about your passing. your mother hadn’t shown up to church because she was in too much pain dealing with your death. sunghoon could barely stand to listen to his father and his lies, telling the people of the church of how much he prays for your mother, that you were a good girl even though he said you were corrupted, but it isn’t until his father says a certain thing that sunghoon finds himself storming out of the church. 

“she was broken… and she’s in a better place now.”

“what the fuck did you know about her?” sunghoon spits at his dad, the people of the church gasping at him. “you didn’t know anything about her, you called her corrupt and said she’d ruin me and look what fucking happened. 

you drove her away from me and she’s gone! it’s your fucking fault!” he shouts, veins protruding from neck and forehead as he yells at his father. “i loved yn. i still love her and that isn’t going to change, even if she’s gone.” sunghoon grits his teeth as he stares at his dad with so much anger his ears were turning red and his jaw would start to tremble as the anger surged through him. 

sunghoon’s father was making it seem like you had killed yourself because you were “broken” and “corrupt” and whatever bullshit he knew that townsfolk would believe but sunghoon wasn’t having any of that. sunghoon knew you had your fair share of issues but you never showed any signs that would lead you to killing yourself, he just knew you wouldn’t but there was no way to prove him wrong. 

he knew that he was to blame for some of this, that if he didn’t distance himself away from you and if he just fought for you harder then none of this would’ve happened. that you’d still be here, he’d be able to hold you in his arms, feel your soft lips, and tell you just how much he loved you. 

sunghoon’s father made it seem like you were the apple that was used to tempt adam and eve but he knew better than that. you were eve, a beautiful woman who held the world in her heart and sunghoon was the apple and your eventual downfall. 

the garden of eden

copyright 2025 - present © hoonieyun all rights reserved all writing here is fiction & not in any association with characters mentioned. if you enjoyed reading this please consider reblogging and following <3

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[wandascosmic]

enough for you

wanda maximoff x fem!reader, natasha romanoff x fem!reader

summary: in which your girlfriend natasha makes you feel like you're never enough. (based off enough for you by olivia rodrigo)

word count: 2069

tags: angst, toxic relationship, insecurity, arguments, cheating, reader feels unloved (and unworthy of love), poor reader can never catch a break, cryptic mention of reader's mother being dead, self- hatred, reader's so sad, nat sucks (like a lot), but wanda comes through at the end like she always does and they have a little meet-cute :), i wrote this in one sitting while listening to enough for you on a loop

part two: so american

You sigh as you try to do your makeup in your mirror as flawlessly as possible. Every blemish or mark on your face needed to be covered up so you could look perfect for Nat. You were desperate to measure up to the gorgeous women Nat has dated before you and for that, you needed to look absolutely pristine.

In the past year, you’ve done so many new things you weren’t fond of just for Nat to like you. From nearly destroying every single muscle in your body at the gym just to measure up to her rigorous exercise routine, all the way to learning how to cook and bake every single one of her favorite foods until it was all you two ever ate despite your dislike for the majority of her preferred meals, you’ve tried so hard to be everything that Nat liked so she wouldn’t get sick of you. 

You frown slightly, Nat has never once acknowledged your kind gestures and actions, nor reciprocated them. 

“I’m just not the compliment type, Y/N, just drop it,” she had told you one time when you had confronted her on why she never acknowledged your efforts. 

You bit the inside of your cheek and nodded wordlessly. 

***

“I made you your coffee,” you told Nat as she entered the kitchen in the morning. 2 creams, no sugar, just how you like it. 

Nat nodded and took the mug from you, sitting down at the table and barely paying any attention to your gesture. 

Clearing your throat, you tell her, “I also got up early this morning to buy tickets for us to go to that band I know you’ve been wanting to go to for a while.” You cross your fingers behind your back, hoping for her to tell you you’re good enough for her just this once. 

“Sorry, babe, Carol already got them for me,” she responds, your heart falling to your stomach. Putting her empty mug in the sink, she plants a kiss on your lips. “Besides, you don’t even know the lyrics to their songs.” She leaves you on your own in the kitchen. 

I know all of them by heart because of you. 

***

“Hey, Y/N?” Nat asks you one night on the couch. 

“Yeah?” you respond, turning to face your girlfriend. 

“I don’t really feel like myself these days.” Nat pauses. “Do you know what might help?” Despite the content of her question, you still smile, because this was your chance. This was your chance to show her that you might truly be worth loving. 

“First, I’m always here if you need to talk,” you say softly, but Nat makes no sound of acknowledgment next to you. “And second, make your own decisions you believe will be beneficial to you, just for yourself, and do the things that bring you fulfillment,” you explain. 

Nat finally turns and looks at you thoughtfully. “How did you figure that one out?” 

“I read your self-help books,” you reply sheepishly. I read all of them. 

“Wow, you’re pretty smart,” Nat replies, going back to the movie the two of you were watching together. 

And you smile for the rest of the night because that’s the first compliment Nat has given you since you first started dating a year ago. 

***

You and Nat had a fight. It isn’t the first time, but it’s the first time it’s hurt you this much as you truly take in your current reality. 

You’re crying in your shared room, Nat leaving you to go out for drinks you assume. 

Earlier tonight, you made the stupid mistake of asking why she was never there for you, it was during the heat of the moment, but your outrage felt justified due to the fact that she missed your award ceremony for your article in medical research (the third time this year she’s missed one of them but you did your best to forgive her before this), and she had simply scoffed at you telling you that it wasn’t even a big deal anyways. 

But this one was a big deal to you. 

It was research that could have saved your mother. 

“I nearly get killed every time I go out on the job, Y/N! Some stupid neuroscience article is nothing compared to that!” she yelled at you, exhausted from her day at work. 

Your eyes flooded with hurt as Nat’s filled with regret. 

“Wait, I’m sorry,” she said remorsefully. 

The first sign of remorse she’s ever shown you. 

“It’s fine, Nat,” you reply, trying to keep your tears at bay. You weren’t even in neuro, but that didn’t matter. Not to her. “Just go out, like you wanted.” You wave her off to go upstairs to your room. 

“Y/N, wait-” 

You didn’t listen, shutting the door before collapsing to your knees as you started to sob. 

Stupid, emotional, and obsessive. That was what you were. 

***

Nat has been home late for the past few nights, your worry increasing with each passing day. It’s probably something to do with work, but something feels off. 

“Where were you?” you ask Nat as she enters the front door. “I was worried sick.”

“I’m fine, Y/N. I just got held up at work,” Nat doesn’t make eye contact with you. 

“Oh, okay,” you say softly, feeling oddly small compared to your girlfriend. “Couldn’t you have called?” 

“For god’s sake, Y/N, my phone was dead. God, you’re so clingy,” Nat bites back, walking past you to go straight up to your room and slamming the door. 

You sigh, heading for the guest room since you know Nat won’t let you sleep next to her tonight. 

Suddenly, you hear Nat’s phone go off. And you realize that she had left it by the front door. 

Picking it up, you notice, that it’s at nearly full charge. 

Your brows furrow as you see the message your girlfriend received. 

Carol: Had a great time tonight, Nat. 

You don’t stop crying until the sun rises, one phrase ringing through your head the whole night. 

What are you doing wrong? 

***

“Am I not as interesting as the girls she’s dated before me?” you cry to Yelena as she rubs your back in comfort. 

“My sister is an idiot,” Yelena mutters, seeing how your relationship with Nat is tearing you apart. 

“What?” you choke out through your tears. 

“I think you love her more than anyone she’s ever had, and she couldn’t care less.” 

“She’s breaking my heart, Lena,” you sniffle. “But more than that, she’s breaking me.” 

You cry harder into your best friend’s arms.

“I don’t know who I am anymore,” you sob into her shoulder.  

***

“Where were you?” you ask Nat as she comes home past midnight once again. 

“I was at the compound, we had a villain that got out so we had to take care of him.” 

You nod, but Tony already sent you the camera footage for tonight after you told him about your issues with your girlfriend and you know she was with Carol. 

“Are you sure?” you inquired. 

“Yes, Y/N,” Nat says exasperated. “For god’s sake, why are you never satisfied with whatever I do?” she says walking past you. 

“I don’t think that’s true,” you tell Nat from behind her. 

“What?” she says, turning around to face you. 

“You’re never satisfied with me,” you state. “The only thing I’ve ever wanted is to be good enough for you, but nothing I ever do for you seems to make you happy.” 

Nat scoffs. “That’s ridiculous.” 

“I know you were with Carol tonight,” you reveal. 

“No, I wasn’t,” she denies. 

“Tony sent me the footage, I know there was no villain. I know you’re cheating on me, and I know that you never cared about me,” you state. 

“Fine, whatever, I’m going to bed,” Nat says, completely disregarding you and everything she’s done to destroy the person you once were. 

“We’re done, Nat,” you tell her as she walks up the stairs to your once-shared room. 

Nat waves you off like you’ve never meant anything to her. 

And maybe you never did. 

***

“I loved her so much, I still do, and all she did was use me, then throw me away like I meant nothing to her,” you tell Yelena at the drink bar. Nat was away on a mission, so Yelena thought it might be fun for you to join her at one of the Avengers parties. 

“Don’t worry Y/N,” Yelena tells you. “I could tell her to apologize to you, but clearly she’s got some issues to figure out within herself before she can resolve any outside.” 

You nod wordlessly. 

What Yelena says then surprises you, “But honestly? She should be the one feeling sorry for herself.” You look at her curiously. “Someday, there will be someone out there who will love you as deeply as you love them.” 

“I don’t know, Lena,” you say softly. “Nat was everything to me.” 

“Someday, Y/N, you’ll be everything to somebody else.” 

***

1 year later

You’re running late for work, rushing out the door of the coffee shop, and you don’t notice the fact that you’ve bumped into someone until your coffee spills all over the floor, making you gasp. 

“Oh, my god, I’m so sorry,” you tell the figure in front of you, and suddenly you freeze, at the sight of her glimmering emerald green eyes. Like Nat’s, but eternally softer. Eternally more curious. 

“Oh, no worries,” she says with a smile, pulling a few napkins out of her purse. 

“I didn’t spill any on you, did I?” you ask the woman, your mind a mess due to your embarrassment at spilling your coffee, but still quite fuzzy at the sight of her undeniable beauty. 

If you weren’t so much of a useless homosexual, you would bend down and help her clean the coffee she’s currently wiping away. Much like how she’s wiping away your ability to form any sort of cohesive thought. 

“No, I’m ok,” she laughs, standing up once more once all the coffee’s gone. “C’mon, let me buy you a new one.” 

Your eyes widen. “Oh, no, it’s not a big deal. Besides, it’s completely my fault for bumping into you-” 

“I want to,” she cuts off with a soft smile. 

“Oh,” you say softly. “Okay,” you finally resign to the comforting look she gives you.  

“Let me just make a quick phone call,” you let her know, hoping she doesn’t leave. 

“Take your time,” she assures. 

You smile gratefully. 

Your phone call was to call in sick to work for the second time in your life –you didn’t have a busy day today and you were running late anyways– and it was all to spend time with a pretty girl.  

On any other day you’d probably laugh at how pathetic you were, but this woman made you feel an odd sense of uncertainty within your life. 

Like nothing had ever made sense before her. 

Once you hang up the phone, you turn to see the woman already standing there, a white to-go coffee cup with a bit of steam escaping the spout. 

“Here’s your coffee,” the woman hands you the cup with a big smile as you pocket your phone. You inspect the label, your mouth parting slightly in shock once you see all of your preferred customizations. Done perfectly. 

“How do you know my coffee order?” you ask. 

“I took the label off the old one,” she says, showing you the sticker in the palm of her hand. “Want to sit?” She points to the array of round tables within the cafe.  

“I don’t even know you,” you say slowly. I called in sick to work for you, it’s a little too late for that. 

The brunette woman laughs before holding out her hand for you to shake. “Hi, I’m Wanda,” she says. 

“Y/N,” you respond, shaking her outstretched hand as your face flushes slightly at its softness. 

“See? Now we know each other,” Wanda says cheekily. 

You nod with a shy smile, following her to the table in the back as the two of you settle down into a small conversation. 

Somehow, the two of you spend the rest of the day talking and laughing, and you think it might be the best day of your life. 

Little do you know, Wanda thinks so too.

part two: so american

[elliespassagerprincess]

What about Ellie taking readers first kiss?!?🤭 very nervous reader?? anxious somewhat but also super excitedd

Frostbite - (ellie williams x reader)

Hi anon!! i did it a little differently from your request, i hope you don't mind. I could not stop writing this, i might make a part 2 to this... I hope you enjoy <333

Pairing: ellie x fem!reader

requests are open! send me your silly thoughts

Warning: none

Summary: in which you shared a special moment with her

authors note: did i mention Christmas in this because I'm excited for December? yes.

masterlist

Jackson was covered in thick layer of snow. Everyone was wearing puffer jackets, mittens and beanies hoping that the cold air wouldn't affect them. You walked down the street seeing how people were hanging Christmas lights, and how the children stared at everything in awe. The children made snowmen, and you knew that soon the town would be buzzing with people as they started to buy gifts for their families.

As beautiful as the holidays were, you hated it. Every year you'd end up alone in your house, listening to carols being sang. You're be filled with a emptiness that you can't explain.

You missed your family every year. You'd always imagine the type of life you'd be living if the outbreak never happened.

You sat in the local garden, shivering slightly when the cool breeze blew past you.

"There you are, i was looking for you"

you turned your head to that voice.

Her voice.

Ellie Williams.

You rolled your eyes "you need to stop looking for me"

"i missed you though" she pouted

You hated when she did this.

When she'd come after you with nice words, pretending like she cared.

Maybe she did and you didn't believe her. At this point you don't know how to feel.

When Ellie first arrived in Jackson the two of you were inseparable.

"We were bound to be friends" she'd always say.

Sleepovers, makeovers, baking, watching old movies, you did everything together.

But the older the two of you grew, things became different.

You both got new friends, new interests. You used to spend every waking second of the day together, now the two of you only awkwardly said hi when you saw each other in public.

You both had reasons for the sudden distance.

You thought Ellie had outgrown your friendship. One day she'd be smiling with you, the next day she'd barley look at you.

Ellie on the other hand, was in love with you.

She suddenly became self-aware of how she looked, how she smelled, how she spoke. She didn't want to embarrass herself. The best solution to her problem (or what she thought was right) was avoiding you.

Now that she's older she has realized that damage her avoiding you caused.

Years had gone by and the two of you lived separate lives, but Ellie's feelings for you never went away. She was stuck on you.

No matter how many girls she dated, kissed or hooked up with, she knew her heart belonged to you.

The older Ellie grew, the more attractive you found her and some days you're actually glad the friendship ended.

Imagine you were best friends with the girl you loved?

Both of you assumed your feelings were one sided. Until the rumors started.

It all started when a girl randomly slapped you across the face saying that Ellie moaned your name while they were doing the deed.

She's been avoiding you but she's moaning your name?

You weren't sure if you should feel flattened or disturbed.

You'd hear more stories as the years went on.

"She liked you" , "She misses you" You weren't sure if this was even true. Maybe it was all just a sick joke.

Even with all the drama you missed her. The friendship. The cheesy jokes, the stupid stories. You just missed her.

You were actually happy when Ellie slowly started coming back into your life. It went from just saying hi occasionally, to small life updates to full sleepovers.

It was just like old times.

Your heart ached for her even more, now you're getting close again. As much as you enjoyed the friendship, you couldn't help but want more.

You noticed her lingering touches, the small glances.

Maybe you were being delusional? Maybe you were reading into it?

You could feel a connection, but does she feel it too?

Maybe the rumors weren't true.

"You saw me earlier els, you cant miss me"

"I just love spending time with you"

fuck, how many girls has she said this to?

"i want to-" she went silent, not finishing her sentence.

She seemed nervous.

From the corner of your eye you see her moving closer to you, her arm wrapping around your shoulders.

You shiver at the close contact.

"Why are you so close?" You ask in a whisper

"I'm keeping you warm"

It was winter and its really fucking cold but suddenly you were hot. You were almost sweating because of the close proximity.

This is closest she's been in years.

Ellie leaned closer towards you, so close you could feel her breathe on your cheek. Your heart races, you felt comfortable in her presence, you palms felt clammy.

You were nervous.

Why does she make you nervous?

"Can i kiss you?" Ellie suddenly asked.

Without hesitation you said yes.

Before your lips crashed into hers, your body turned hot, your breathing came out in short breaths. You turned to her and and her hand gently touched your cheek, you leaned in first.

Since when are you bold? Were you really this desperate?

As soon as your lips made contact, you felt butterflies explode in your stomach. She pulled you closer by the waist and you grabbed her face bringing her closer than she already was.

Your heart was beating so fucking fast, you assumed she could probably feel it.

"Your lips are...cold" you softly chuckle as your fingers brushed against your lips.

Did this just happen?

You were suddenly hyperaware of your surroundings.

Did you breath smell ok? Did you kiss ok?

Fuck now you were really nervous.

Ellie didn't respond and there was a comfortable silence between the two of you.

Ellie spoke up eventually "I've always wanted to do that"

You stayed silent blushing at her words.

"Do you want to come back to... my place so we can talk about us.... and i know you hate being alone during the holidays so can we perhaps... i don't know... go?"

"Yeah... I'd like that"

<3

[koalayoo]

ɢᴏɴɴᴀ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜ, ɢᴏɴɴᴀ ɢɪᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʟʟ ɪ ᴄᴀɴ, ʙᴏʏ

michael kaiser x gn!reader

content: pure fluff for the most part, soft! bf kaiser, reference to his backstory, kind of cocky, better than my last fic for sure

author's note: wanted to write a good christmasy bday fic for him. bit late, apologies. not really proofread or beta'd. apologies again.

wc. 1.3k

Kaiser had never celebrated Christmas.

Christmas was also his birthday.

That means Kaiser has never celebrated his birthday.

This was what had become apparent to you in your relationship with Kaiser, when all the walls between you two had become bulldozed and you realised, yeah, this is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. You had come to understand that with Kaiser’s upbringing and all that he would have probably never received a gift from his father. You wonder if at that age he knew what Christmas was.

Then you started tumbling head-first into a hole of unanswered questions. What would he have even done for his birthday? Was anyone there to ever celebrate with him? You knew how bad he had it growing up, you regrettably knew. Part of you wished you didn’t know how bad it was, hoped that sometimes his father grew to be lenient or that maybe the old women in town that would see him around knew his name. Knew him to be more than Michael “professional neighbour thief” Kaiser and instead as the kid he was. That was just wishful thinking though.

He had received gifts, which was expected. He was a pro athlete but he also had Ness from the age of 15 who had most definitely gifted him something you assumed but weren’t privy to the details. However, he hadn’t celebrated. Hadn’t experienced true Christmas joy. He doesn’t know the feeling of waking up early and ripping open the wrapping paper on specially curated gifts that sit under the tree you both decorated together. Hasn’t felt what it’s like making cookies with the radios ruffled Christmas carols sputtering in the background. Wearing matching sweaters while watching stupidly predictable themed rom coms. Making a wreath to put on the front door. Kissing under the mistletoe. Ughhh, there was so much you needed to show him.

So, you did just that.

As soon as December started, you did your utmost best to get him into the festive spirit.

On the 1st, you brought home a tree and excitedly decorated it with Kaiser. Putting various coloured ornaments on, some the typical solid coloured balls, others with stripes and patterns, differing sizes, differing shapes. Then, Kaiser had placed you on his shoulders so that you could place the star on the tippity top despite your insistence it be him.

On the 5th, you went shopping with two very important things in mind. A wreath, and some ugly sweaters. On the way you slipped in some ingredients for cookies too.

On the 14th, you had started wrapping some presents. You had both agreed 3 presents was a good amount to give one another but you couldn’t help but feel a gnaw at the back of your head. It was also his birthday, you just had to double it.

On the 17th, you had put the wreath up which welcomed him home from a long day at practice.

On the 22nd, you had finally worn the sweaters which you had taken a polaroid of before promptly taking them off, sweltering from the heat of the oven that was baking the cookies you both had put hours into making. Later that night, bad christmas movie #1 was watched.

The 23rd and 24th followed a similar routine. Jam out to a different song before you got sick of it and watch another bad christmas movie. 

Then, it was the day.

All the extra presents you hid from him were placed under the tree and you made hot cocoa for two. You had to work quickly, Kaiser was used to waking up at the odd early hours of the morning and there was no doubt he would feel you missing next to him.

Soon, he had stumbled down the stairs and was greeted with you wrapping a blanket around him. You had pulled him down onto the floor and planted a present in front of him, a chaste kiss pressed against his forehead.

“Happy Birthday, handsome.” You whispered softly into the air.

He had begun to wake up more and noticed the excessive amount of presents under the tree. He looked at the presents, then at you, and an eyebrow raised comically.

“And, Merry Christmas too, I guess…” You playfully rolled your eyes with a small smile appearing on your face. “Although that one’s of lesser importance.”

He sighs although he can’t help the small upwards tilt of his lips. “Thought we agreed on 3 each?” “Yeah, but it’s your birthday too! I wasn’t gonna be one of those people, ya know? The ones who just say the Christmas presents are also their birthday presents. You deserve to be celebrated twice.” 

“Yeah but-” And you briefly cut him off because if there was one thing you knew about Kaiser which was wrapped behind layers just like the presents was this feeling of foreboding. That he didn’t deserve this. However, your job as his brilliant partner was to teach him to sit there and take it.

So you started to celebrate, taking turns ripping the presents you both put love and care into wrapping. For every 2 gifts Kaiser opened, you opened one of yours in tandem. You giggled seeing him get you exactly what you wanted and teased him when a small blush appeared on his face when he got the same.

Although, there was one last present you wanted to give him.

A house full of love.

You wanted him to learn this holiday season that you were truly never leaving. Not like his mother, or even his begrudging father. That you were full of love for him and everything that came with choosing him. The arguments, the boundaries, the fear; you couldn’t fix it but you could help and that’s the sentiment you hoped to get across.

Later that day when you finished putting your gifts away and throwing the egregious amount of wrapping paper, you enter the living room to see Kaiser plotting. 

Before you can fully enter he spits out, “Stay right there.” You murmur in acknowledgement and stay put, eyes trailing the figure that is walking towards you suspiciously, one hand placed firmly behind him. You shoot him a questioning look to which he shakes his head, not budging.

“Should invite Ness over.” 

“Why would we do that?” He questions. “Fine with just me and you here, no?”

“Season of forgiveness, champ. Do I need to teach you how to be a good friend too?”

He’s stalked all the way over to you now. He towers above you and the hand he isn’t hiding comes to hold the top of the frame, leaning down towards you. His shirt lifts a little. You look. Then you look back at your boyfriend who has leaned in even closer.

His nose nudges against yours and you knew this was one of his ways of trying to assert dominance with the way a small brazen smirk made its way to his face. Could this guy try not to be a dick for one day? You notice the way his lips brush against yours slightly and you sigh, trying not to be pulled in.

“Answer?”

“Mmm, I’ll think about it?” He chuckles and leans in to swoop your lips against his in a passionate kiss. It didn’t last long because his smile broke the seal between you two apart. His eyes have a gleam in them and they flick up causing you to do the same.

Oh. 

A mistletoe.

“When did you learn about this one?” You whisper softly, genuinely curious.

“I had a tough childhood, doesn’t mean I lived under a rock.” He laughs again, this time more joyfully. You’re not sure whether it’s the fact that he successfully tricked you or that you truly rendered him this clueless.

Then, there’s a knock at the door. You see the sliver of magenta hair through the window panels near the door before you hear him.

Oh.

Maybe Kaiser doesn’t need you to guide him after all.

Likes, reblogs, and comments are always appreciated! Title is from December by Ariana Grande. Thanks for reading!

[luveline]

HEY JADE I HOPE UR DOING WELL ILY

im curious to hear ur thoughts on what an interaction between zombie!au steve and reader would look like had the apocalypse not happened. would she fly completely under his radar like in high school or would he be interested in getting to know her?? we know she knew who he was pre-apocalypse but does she really care? i keep thinking about what would happen if she walked into family video one day and if he would hit on her or not lmao

hi I love you! zombie au (ish) | fem, 1.3k

Voices force Steve’s attention. 

“I’ll be five minutes!”

“Two minutes or I’m driving off without you!” 

Steve’s more familiar with the second one. Eddie ‘The Freak’ Munson and his creaky shit van idling on the curb outside of the store. That sheds some light on the first voice —one of the club members. Or, honorary club members? When Steve decides to be kind and drive Dustin home in the winter after his games, you can be seen occasionally sitting on stoops waiting for Eddie to finish. 

Who knew The Freak could get a girlfriend? That makes Steve being single even sadder.

You say something else. Eddie laughs. “Do you want popcorn or not?” you quip. 

“Why, are you paying for it?” 

“Not for you I’m not.” 

“You got a minute and counting.” 

“If you drive off without me, you can forget about Friday night.” 

Steve angles his head to watch you through the open door. Summer heat has made a mess of Munson’s hair where he’s leaning toward the open door. You’re holding the car door, in a light chequered dress with bows on the shoulders and the cutest pair of socks and buckled shoes. How the fuck does Eddie get a girl like that? Also, Steve’s been wondering, where the fuck did you come from? Clearly you went to Hawkins High, and when Robin told him that he swore he could remember you, but there’s nothing in his head. It’s like Robin all over again, in the same homeroom for two years and he didn’t know she was awesome until the summer after high school ended. 

“Can you just go get your fucking movie so we can go?” 

You’re still glaring when you turn around, but you’re quiet as you edge into Family Video. “Jerk,” you mouth to yourself, taking a quick cut to the slasher moves at the back. You don’t spend much time browsing, Steve can see from the back that it’s Day of the Dead. You emerge and head to the blockbusters. 

You catch Steve watching at the desk. 

He knows he doesn’t have a chance, you already have a boyfriend, so all he says is, “Let me know if you need any help.”

You smile weakly and turn back.

Maybe he wasn’t nice to you. He can’t remember, is the thing. He was such a jerk, Tommy and Carol were such jerks. 

He’s not a miserable person, but he does hate himself more often than not. It’s easier because he actually has friends who love him. Robin might give him shit every day, but she’s the first person to teach him what being loved feels like, and it makes him better. He’s less cruel, less quick to anger, less selfish. But Steve knows he isn’t completely kind or patient in turn. He’s a fuck up. He’s nearly twenty three working for $4.50 in an hour with no degree and no prospects and— 

“Hey,” you say, setting three tapes down on the desk. 

“Hey.” He clears his throat. “Is this everything?” 

You look vaguely embarrassed to ask, “Do you guys still do the bags of popcorn, do you know?” 

“Sure, they’re by the window, let me just–”

“That’s okay, I’ll get it.” 

You speed walk for the popcorn. Steve finds himself with a weirdly dry mouth as you reach for one, swallowing hard as you make your way back. It’s just the one bag of popcorn after all. Eddie must’ve really pissed you off. 

Steve rings up your movies. The barcode on Pretty in Pink won’t work. He opens the window and starts to type it in with his keyboard. 

Outside, someone lays on the horn for three long beeps. 

“I’m real sorry about him,” you say, letting out a breathy, nearly-timid laugh. 

“Is he always like that?” 

“Every day of his life.” 

Steve works in customer service. He has mastered the art of the polite smile. “I don’t think you should put up with it. Nice girl like you,” he says lightly. 

“That’s what friends are for, right?” you say with chagrin. 

Steve glances over your shoulder. Just friends? Who the fuck would put up with Eddie voluntarily? Steve understands that love isn’t a choice, but if you’re not even kissing to soften the blow of things, you’re just crazy. 

He slides your tapes back to you. “How long did you want them for, just the one night?” 

“Two, please.” 

“Awesome, can I have a phone number and address?” 

You give them.

Steve uses his employee discount and doesn’t really know why as he clicks it out. “It’s four dollars when you’re ready.” 

You take the swing purse from your hip and clip it open, pulling out a ten dollar bill. “He’s not totally mean,” you say, “I know he seems rude. But that’s just his character.” 

“Sure.” 

You offer him the ten dollars, shifting around on your shoes, eyes over his shoulder toward the back. You seem a little put off by him. He really must’ve been mean to you. Maybe he laughed when Carol called you names. Maybe he ignored you as he put himself in Nancy Wheeler’s path. 

“Steve?” 

He looks up in surprise, still counting your change out. It should be easy, except he doesn’t have a five dollar bill in the register, and he had three one dollars, so he’s counting quarters he’ll have to apologise for. “Yeah?” 

“Are you okay?” 

He pauses. “I’m good. Why?” 

You gesture to your eye. “You have a cut. Did you get hurt?” 

“This? This is nothing. I threw Robin, you know Robin? Robin Buckley? She’s going to college, she actually already left, but I threw her a surprise going away party. When everybody yelled ’surprise’ she sort of panicked and her ring caught me.” He chews his lip. “Yeah, I’m fine though.” 

“Oh, shit. Eddie’s going to do this internship thing in Michigan at the end of the week, I hope he doesn’t get me with his rings when I give him his goodbye present.”

“Lot of rings.” 

“Right? He’ll blind me.” 

Steve startles both of you when he laughs heartily, grabbing the remainder of your change and shutting the register tightly. “Can’t let that happen.”

“So we both find ourselves without best friends for the autumn,” you say, holding out your hand for your change. “Maybe if you’re bored, you can call me. We can go to the movies or something.” 

“You’re serious?” 

“How else do you make friends?” you ask. “If you don’t wanna be my friend that’s fine, I’m putting you on the spot, just don’t call me, but my number’s in there.” 

“And when you come back to return the movies, and I still haven’t called, that won’t be awkward at all,” he says wryly, teasingly, enjoying the way your face has changed. He wouldn’t go so far as to say you’re flirting, but your smile is something else.

“So… call me?” you ask quietly, grabbing your movies, your popcorn, and waiting for an answer. 

Steve thinks that sounds more like a date being planned than a burgeoning friendship, and his grin probably shows that. “Sure. Yeah, I’ll call you. We’ll go to the movies.” 

You’re decidedly quick as you escape the store, rushing down off the curb and upto Eddie’s van. You open the door and climb in fast, Steve only hears a snippet of your conversation as Eddie turns the engine back on. 

“What the hell?”

“What?” 

“I fucking knew you had a crush on that jerk! Look at your face!” 

“Shut up, can we go?” you hiss. “This is why I didn’t get you any popcorn.”

“This is why you can't come to Michigan.” 

Steve presses the back of his hand to his cheek as the van leaves the parking lot. He’s hot as a burning hearth. Probably red as one too. God, who are you? Where have you been this entire time? You might’ve just saved Steve’s life. (Or, his social life.) 

—

I was curious and maybe this is like an au of the au and it’s not as cute as I wanted it to be but I think they’d accidentally trap themselves in the friends box for a while trying to survive being without their best friends together and Steve still falls slowly, I was gonna make this a bit longer but I thought I won’t bother unless it’s something people really want cos there’s a few requests I wanna do soon!! thank you for requesting

[jamilynfx]

Do You Wanna Build a Snowman? (No, the fuck, I don't)

This is part 2 of this post 💖

Summary: Winter has come to New York and that means only two things: being cold and putting up with Wade's obsession with the movie Frozen.

Pairings: Logan Howlett x Wade Wilson x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 1.6K

Warnings: sexual humor, mentions of oral sex, referenced drug use

Winter. 

A time for singing carols, decorating a Christmas tree and eating unhealthy amounts of gingerbread. For some, an ideal season for various, cold-oriented activities that include skiing, snowball fighting or drinking hot chocolate right after ice-skating on the overpriced ice-rinks in the city center. 

You hate it all passionately.

Well, maybe decorating a Christmas tree is somewhat enjoyable and worth looking forward to but other activities that require being outside during winter are a hard no for you. 

Which brings you to the problem you encounter every other time that the weather decides it’s high time to spawn tons of snow in the city, or, more accurately, a problem with Wade’s obsession over that godforsaken children’s movie.

“Do you wanna build a snooooowmaaan?! COME ON, LET’S GO AND PLAY.”

Logan growls for, what seems to be, the hundredth time in an hour. Al looks defeated and only Laura completely ignores Wade’s crazy bouncing and twirling in favor of cutting out a perfect circle out of the cookie dough.

“Shut the fuck up, bub. No one wants to build a snowman with you,” Logan grumbles lowly, getting the volume all the way up on the TV, since it’s difficult to hear anything through Wade’s singing. 

Laura makes a face. 

“Ouch, that was a bit harsh, even for you.” 

“Sorry if I’ve had enough of this performance that’s going on for two hours now!” he exclaims heatedly but without real irritation behind it. That’s his way of saying that Wade really got on his nerves and he’s almost reached his daily limit for Wade’s bullshit.

“It’s fine, Lo, don’t shout,” you say with love, cutting out your own shape in a dough, a crooked star with rough, uneven edges. Making cookies is something that you enjoy doing, mostly because it’s all done inside the house, not outside, where all hell breaks loose. “Why don’t you go by yourself, Wade?” 

He looks kinda cute with Elsa’s costume he’s thrown on his suit and a plastic tiara set atop a blond wig he’s stitched to his head but hearing the same song being performed over and over again starts to tug on your nerves, too, especially when you know Wade is completely serious in saying he wants to build a snowman.      

“Because it’s BOOOORING! I would ask Al, but, well, she can’t fucking see, can you imagine what the snowman would look like if I did that with her? A fucking carrot up his ass, that’s what would happen! And the only snow she likes ain’t the one outside, hot pups.”

Al, sitting beside Logan on the couch, sighs loudly and nudges Logan’s side with her elbow. 

“What’s on now?”

“Hot pups?” you question, raising your brows and smiling at Laura, who tries not to laugh.

“That’s new,” Logan comments on a nickname that Wade’s just made up, simultaneously switching between the channels. “A western, soap opera or reality…”

“Reality!” Both Al and Laura are unanimous on this one. Logan changes the channel to trash reality tv without any protest.

“Exactly, hot pups or baby girl, that’s basically the same thing. Anyway, I’m not asking Laura because she’s our guest and I for sure won’t ask peanut, don’t wanna end up with that claws up my ass today. Something else would be fine, tho.” Wade winks to Logan who only rolls his eyes, not once looking in Wade’s direction. “I was gonna ask you but you hate winter activities, besides that one time when you sucked my dick in the park after we went to a Jonas Brothers concert.”

You almost get a whiplash from the way your head turns to look at him, your cheeks immediately turning a deep shade of red. 

“Wade!”  

Althea looks visibly disgusted, Laura blinks a few times muttering damn under her breath and Logan stares at you with and you haven’t done that to me? look on his face. You stifle an urge to run to the bathroom and not come out for the rest of the evening, covering your face with your hands.

“Motherfucker, I wish I was deaf,” Al laments out loud with Wade’s sick laughter as her background before he starts do you wanna build a snowman all over again. 

“Someone has to go out and build that damn snowman with him, I can’t hear a fucking thing!” Logan shouts abuse, his patience running thin judging by the way his claws unsheathe in his left hand. 

“Rock, paper, scissors?” Laura suggests good-naturedly for you to only whine in surrender. That’s enough chaos for this evening.  

“No, I’ll go with him,” you sigh with exasperation and get up to go get dressed. “But you’re soooo going down on me after this, Wade!” 

As soon as the sentence leaves your mouth, Wade squeaks excitedly, running to get his brand-new Frozen mittens, which he managed to yank out of a little girl’s hands while you were at the thrift store last week. 

“You got it, baby girl!” he exclaims and high-fives Laura on his way out, not waiting for you to catch up. You can only hear his do you wanna build a snowman while he hurries down the stairs of your compound.

Al, Laura and Logan all seem to breathe out in relief, focusing all their attention on the TV show that’s currently on. 

Even Mary doesn’t perk up from Logan’s lap and you can’t help but feel a little bit betrayed. 

______________

You have to admit, it’s not all that bad.

Wade does everything in his power to make it enjoyable for you, despite the low temperature and cold wind that blows in your face every other minute. There’s a lot of snow outside which makes for a really long snowman-building session, turning Wade into a literal five year old, but he still manages to make you laugh multiple times. You can’t really be cross with him when he’s having such a good time and, after your initial reluctance, you find yourself having a great time, too. 

The snowman turns out really cute and quite big, three sizable balls of snow each atop of the other, now standing guard in front of the entrance to your building. Somewhere between creating the top ball and sticking branches into the snowman’s sides to imitate arms, Laura comes down and says goodbye, reminding you both how late it is and that you should probably wrap the whole thing up. 

Now, you’re so cold it’s difficult to think straight. Your hands are shaking, teeth clattering and you’re sure that your lips have the color of a ripe plum. 

“We’ve made one hell of a snowman together, baby girl.” 

Your body trembles involuntarily but you smile happily, once again inspecting your work. 

“Yeah, we did.”

Wade hugs you closely and kisses your forehead, then your blue lips. 

“Come on, hot pups, let’s get you back to the warmth.”

Thank god you don’t have to go far. As soon as you’re back in the apartment, you ditch your shoes and outside clothes, which makes you feel even colder than when you were outside. It’s quiet inside, which means that Al is probably already asleep. Wade is somewhere behind you when you find Logan already in bed, Mary snuggled in between his legs, your old man reading a book. 

“All done? How was it?” he asks, setting the book aside and immediately raising the covers for you to join him. 

“COLD! Fuck!” 

You jump on the bed, choosing the quickest way to find yourself in Logan’s warm arms. Mary definitely doesn’t approve, getting her little ass up and pattering towards Wade, who has just entered the room. 

“Fuckin’ A, that’s what our snowman is, peanut,” he says, taking Mary up into his arms, kissing her and then setting her back on the bed to undress properly. Logan gives him a foul look.  

“She’s freezing, you idiot,” he grumbles at Wade, then smiles at you encouragingly. “Come ‘ere, bub,” Logan spurs you on, opening his arms for you and offering his chest to be your private pillow. You gladly accept, letting your body tremble and your teeth clatter as much as they want to while snuggling up in Logan’s embrace, your cold arms finding their way onto his back, your head falling into place half on his shoulder and half on his chest, allowing you to glue the front of your cold body to his heated one. He weaves his fingers into your hair while his other palm comes to rest on your waist, pulling you as close as it’s physically possible. 

Wade follows quickly behind to lock you in between them. When glorious heat starts radiating from both of them, enveloping you on both sides, you sigh contentedly, kissing up Logan’s chest, then finding the best slot for your cheek and straight up fawning on Logan.  

“I still want that head, asshole,” you mumble already half-asleep, feeling Wade’s hands roam over your legs and belly when he’s aligning himself with your back, covering your body with his and slowly heating you up from behind, making you melt against him. He throws his arm over your body to reach Logan, who growls warningly. 

“One day, I’m biting it off, you fucker.”

“Yeah, do it, it’s gonna grow back anyway, Wolvie,” Wade says mockingly, then trails the kisses behind your ear. “I’ll wake you up with it, snookums. Deal?” he asks, his low tone is making you shiver but this time it’s not out of cold. 

You smile dreamily, pressing your butt into his hips.

“Deal.”

[hotvintagepoll]

Trying to get more into old movies because of this blog (I only know about half of these people and feel like a poser) do you have good recommendations on where to start or is it just a situation where you watch stuff and find what you like as you go?

you are not a poser <3 i myself am just here for the hotties.

here is my quick and dirty list of fun films to start with if you're new to old movies. and of course if you like one of these, do try to find more stuff as you go! there's no bad way to try out old movies.

(this list is not official and is SUPER quick. i'm tagging for content warnings where I can, but if I forgot something let me know.)

"I want to watch something SILLY!"

The Court Jester (Danny Kaye, Angela Lansbury, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone)—everyone in this movie is hot. everyone is in fancy medieval dress, which makes them hotter. everyone here is very silly. You can stream this on Hoopla, last time i checked, so you might be able to stream it through your library!

Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang (Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Frobe)—some people hate this movie and to them I say What Is Wrong With You. dick van dyke is a hot absent minded inventor who lives in a windmill with his two adorable children, his gorgeous sheepdog, and a grandfather who is categorically useless. it feels like the two films mary poppins (1964) and willy wonka (1971) had a baby and that baby was born on roller skates singing an old broadway showtune. this one has been showing up in some odd places lately—I think you can catch it on Tubi or Hoopla? It's definitely around.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Jane Powell, Julie Newmar, Howard Keel, Russ Tamblyn)—my problematic fave. everytime i watch this i change my mind whether it's a sexist pile of garbage or a feminist paean, and fellas, today we're on the feminist paean bandwagon!! jane powell's millie is truly the star of the movie, she is the hero she drives the plot the narrative is on her side, and besides all that there are seven very hot men dancing next to her and six beautiful ladies making me bisexual. (on Tubi last I checked.)

The Duke Is Tops (Lena Horne, Laurence Criner)—I get a huge kick out of watching Laurence Criner and Ralph Cooper swindle everybody while also trying to put on a show; there's just something silly and sincere here, plus you get a ~musical extravaganza~ at the end when all is right as rain again. Free on YouTube I think?

"I want to watch something DRAMATIC that may make me FEEL SOMETHING."

Witness for the Prosecution (Marlene Dietrich, Tyrone Power, Elsa Lanchester)—I love a campy twisty turny mystery, don't you? :) I'm not going to talk about this one much because it's better to go in blind, but if you like Agatha Christie stories you'll probably like this.

To Be Or Not To Be (Carole Lombard, Jack Benny)—always relevant, always makes me laugh, also makes me cry. this takes place in poland during wwii so big tw for nazi imagery and mentions. (don't worry. this movie fucking hates nazis.)

Seven Samurai (Toshiro Mifune)—this one is Great Cinema™™™™™™™™™™™ for a goddamned reason

"I want to watch some stuff with the scrungles in it!"

Mr. Washington Goes to Town (Mantan Moreland)—I've been checking out more of Mantan Moreland's stuff because every time I see him in something I think he's delightful, and I really enjoyed this silly-spooky comedy. Does this story have a brain cell? No. Are the special effects and goofy slapstick fun? Yes. This is a fun example of an all-Black cast in a film that was made for Black audiences, and is a striking counterpoint to the stereotypical representation Black actors were given in white-targeted films, showing the enormous amount of talent and artistry the racist studios missed out on by excluding these actors. This is not A Great Film™ but it's still A Fun Time,™ with a goofy Laurel and Hardy type vibe. (It's free on Youtube.)

The Red Shoes (Robert Helpmann, Leonide Massine, Marius Goring)—hey kid, you wanna watch something fucked up? This movie is so fucked up. It's about ballet, it's about art, it's about technicolor, it's about dance and toxic relationships and making theatre and nightmares and ambition and death. A lot of these recs tend on the silly side (because I tend on the silly side) but this one is actually Serious Film and will definitely help you chat up Martin Scorsese should you ever meet him. Big content warning if you can't handle dark themes right now—this movie's pretty dark, not in the gore way but in the Haunting Creepy Image way. (it's also free on Tubi and Kanopy most of the time.)

The Invisible Man (Claude Rains)—my favorite of the vintage horror flicks and a great introduction to Most Dunked On Hot Vintage Man of All Time, Claude Rains. (it helps that you barely ever see him!) Very very silly but the special effects are just plain fun. (I think this is on Internet Archive in full?)

"Can I just get more hot people please?"

Flower Drum Song (James Shigeta, Nancy Kwan, Miyoshi Umeki, Jack Soo)—there are so many unbelievably hot people in this movie which is somehow very good (thanks to its cast) and also incredibly, horrifically bad (thanks to its white team of writers, directors, and producers). on the one hand, it's a mostly Asian cast in a big budget, beautifully designed MGM style musical! there's dream sequences, lots of fun dancing, crooning Rogers & Hammerstein cabaret moments, and just charm galore. it is also freighted with so. many orientalist assumptions and stereotypes, absolutely ridiculous shit that the writers ABSOLUTELY should have known better about in the 60s and nonetheless carried into this. this is a hard one to recommend because I loved this cast, and I loved seeing them in a context beyond the usual stereotypical bit parts so many of them frequently were limited to—yet the movie itself perpetuates so many stereotypes on its own it can be a hard one to watch, and I totally understand if it does not work for most people. tl;dr watch for Shigeta, Kwan, Umeki, and the others, but content warnings galore for one (really bad) case of yellowface casting, orientalist tropes, extremely stereotypical character types, etc. (On Tubi/Kanopy last I checked.)

Charade (Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, James Coburn)—this movie feels like a Hitchcock movie except I had a ton of fun watching it, which I can't always say for a Hitch film. (I told you my taste was bad.) This one is free on YouTube and thank god because Audrey wears a lot of Givenchy, Cary Grant wears spectacles and keeps almost dying, it's very exciting and thrilling and funny and sexy. I don't think there are any content warnings but it's been a minute since I watched it. (I should go watch it right now.)

The Big Sleep (Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall)—they're so hot askjdljhjghladkghjksahkhgslkahgshskjhgsalhgsahgjh. i like this one a lot :)

[this is NOT A FULL LIST of all the hot vintage movies to start with but it might give you some starting places! i banged this out as quick as I could at 2 am, so apologies that it's sloppy and not perfect.]

[azzifuddslover]

༯ OFF THE COURT — CHAPTER THREE 𝜗𝜚

paige bueckers x azzi fudd

themes: jealousy, angst, pining

word count: 3.1k

tw: alcohol use, swearing

a/n: hii my lovely’s! i honestly dk how i feel about this chapter, but i hope u guys enjoy it regardless. also please ignore the shift from past to present tense 😭 i realized i fucked it up like mid way thru but oh well! the movies i mentioned are also so good GO WATCH EM. and if u cant tell i love blushing i find it so cutesy. ALSO ONE SHOT IDEAS PLEASEEEEE. anyway, enjoy and hope y’all have a good week!

paige has a problem. it wasn’t that her aim was off, causing her to miss shot after shot. it wasn’t that her coach was yelling at her to get her head in the game. no, it wasn’t any of that. it was the fact paige couldn’t stop thinking about the curly brunette, even if her life depended on it.

ever since practice a few days ago, when azzi’s body was flush against hers, azzi had owned paige’s mind. and since her head is elsewhere, she failed to focus on everything else, especially basketball.

“what’s wrong with you?” nika asks paige, confused as to why her game was off, which is extremely rare for her.

without basketball, paige had nothing. basketball gave paige life, ever since a young age. even after trying other sports, her heart was always set on basketball. so when paige’s game had been acting up, it made her teammates, as well as coaches, confused.

paige glances at nika, “what? nothing.”

nika gave paige a don’t bullshit me look, “paige, cmon. you’ve been missing shots all day. something’s gotta be up.”

paige didn’t, wouldn’t tell nika about paige’s tiny issue. “i don’t know. bad day, i guess.”

“well get your shit together. we need you for tomorrow’s game.”

paige looks over at azzi, who was on the opposite side of the gym with caroline, “don’t worry, i will.”

later that night, paige was already laying in bed when her phone buzzes. it was a text from aubrey, asking the team group chat if anyone wanted to hang.

dorka, paige’s roommate, was already quietly sleeping on the opposite side of the room. paige looks at the time, 9:41 pm; she figured hanging out with her friends wasn’t the worst idea.

paige soon arrives at aubrey’s dorm. she opens the door to find a variety of her teammates; nika was seated on aubrey’s bed along with aubrey, lou was on the floor, while azzi and caroline were on jana’s bed, who wasn’t present.

fuck. of course azzi would show up, despite it being late at night. it was as if azzi somehow knew paige had been thinking about her— appearing just to torment her.

the two met eyes, paige held eye contact a tad longer than she normally would. heat creeped up azzi’s neck.

since there wasn’t much room on either beds, paige slumps against the bed azzi was sitting on.

“so what were y’all doing before i came in?” paige questions her teammates.

“trying to decide on a movie, but nobody is agreeing,” nika replies, annoyance in her voice.

“i say we watch she’s the man, but everyone here doesn’t have good taste, so nobody agrees with me,” aubrey says, rolling her eyes.

paige turns her head up to azzi, “what was your suggestion?”

azzi was caught off guard by paige’s question, “uh, i said about time.”

“oh my god, i love that movie. i agree with azzi,” paige announces.

azzi was shocked, to say the least. she never imagined a world where paige would agree with her.

they settle on about time. nika grabbed a few snacks and passed them around, while lou brought a few drinks in from the tiny kitchen.

a couple minutes into the film, paige grew uncomfortable with her spot on the ground. azzi noticed it by the constant shifting she had been doing. azzi reaches down to tap paige’s shoulder.

“you can come up here if you’re uncomfortable,” azzi whispers so the others wouldn’t be disturbed, while softly patting the spot next to her on the bed.

paige notices that her and carol had already shifted down, making room for paige. her lips curled into a small smile.

without a second thought, paige lifts from the floor and gently sets herself next to azzi, thighs nearly touching.

“thanks,” paige whispers. azzi simply nodded her head.

throughout the movie, paige’s thigh would occasionally graze azzi’s, sending butterflies to her stomach. there was a spark between the two, surely azzi felt it too.

caroline passes a bag of popcorn over to azzi, who instantly begins consuming it.

“can i have some?” paige questions lightly so she didn’t cause distractions for the others.

“of course,” azzi smiles, placing the popcorn in the middle of them.

their hands would graze while both going for the popcorn, paige let her touch linger longer than she should. she knew better. but her secret azzi fudd obsession got the better of her.

“sorry,” paige mutters, pulling her hand away after embarrassment covered her features.

“i don’t mind,” azzi looks at paige, a soft expression on her face.

paige had always been beautiful to azzi, but in this lighting, in aubrey’s small dorm, sitting on the same bed, mere inches apart, paige looked unreal. her blonde hair was the perfect kind of messy, lips were light pink, eyes so blue that they were practically transparent. paige’s cheeks flush at azzi’s eyes solely focused on her.

“okay guys! i’m exhausted, i’ll see y’all tomorrow,” nika jumps up from her spot, causing heads to look over at her.

paige and azzi took their attention away from each other, despite it being the hardest thing paige had to do.

“yeah, i should go too,” azzi agrees, beginning to move off the bed.

“same,” paige says, also moving from her spot.

the three say their goodbyes before leaving out aubrey’s dorm door. during the short walk down the hallway, the girls discuss their excitement for the first game of the season. they came to the end of the hall, where they could go either left, right, or continue straight. nika headed straight, off to her room. paige was going left, while azzi was going right. but both didn’t make any hints to move yet.

paige leans against the wall, azzi mimics her by doing the same on the opposite wall. a small smile crept onto her lips.

“you ready for tomorrow’s game?” paige questions the younger girl.

“beyond ready,” azzi’s smile only grows. she’s been waiting for this moment since before she could remember; her very first game in college basketball.

“you better be. i’m definitely gonna need you,” paige says without thinking. her eyes widen at her use of i’m. “we, i mean.”

azzi’s cheeks redden at paige’s comment about her needing azzi. not the team— her, accident or not.

“are you ready? you seemed kinda distracted at practice,” azzi brings up.

“i’m fine,” paige says harsher than she meant.

not wanting to deal with paige’s attitude, azzi sighs, “alright. see you tomorrow.”

paige desperately wanted azzi to stay with her. she wanted to grab her by the hand and pull her close; but she knew she couldn’t do that.

“yeah, see ya.”

the next morning, paige immediately shuts down any azzi thoughts from the previous day. she needs to focus on the game. it was the first of the season, and she eagerly wanted to make it a good one.

she brushes her teeth, washes her face, dresses herself, as dorka did the same.

“ready for this, p?” dorka smiles, excitement buzzing off her tall frame.

“always,” she matches her smile.

the two girls grab their bags and head down to the dining hall to grab some breakfast. nika, aubrey, jana, lou, carol and azzi were already seated and eating away.

paige prepares her meal before taking the spot besides jana, directly across from none other than azzi. they quickly lock eyes before looking away equally as quickly.

the team discusses plays they wanted to run in the upcoming game, all participating and giving suggestions. they soon finish eating before heading down to the gym for some smaller workouts, to get somewhat warmed up.

paige was still struggling to make her shots that she’d normally be making. when azzi notices, she casually walks over.

“can i suggest something?” azzi asks.

paige looks over at her, “hm?”

azzi strolls closer to the older girl, close enough to where paige felt her breath on

the back of her neck.

“what are you doing?” paige asks, breathlessly.

azzi places her hand on paige’s, adjusting it to where she liked. she then moves her elbow, “fixing your form.”

once azzi was done, paige shoots the ball, and is surprised to see it actually go through the basket.

“thanks, i guess,” paige grins.

the two girls continue shooting, getting their reps in when the time came to begin actual warm ups.

the game was about to begin; paige, nika, aubrey, azzi and jana were the starting 5. azzi feels an intense amount of pressure to do well, since she’s the only freshmen starting tonight.

the five girls huddle together, wide grins on their smiles, beyond ready to get this season going. paige speaks words of encouragement to her teammates as they all get into position.

uconn was up by 31 points, azzi having 19 while paige has 21.

paige runs the ball up the court, eyeing each teammate of hers. she passes the ball over to nika, who throws it over to azzi. she effortlessly makes the open 3, causing loud roars from the uconn student section.

the team was on a 9-0 run in the third quarter when paige sprints near half court and collides with a member from the other team.

azzi watches it happen and rushes over a little too quickly, for someone who claimed to hate her. azzi appears in front of the older girl, who was lying on the floor face up, and gently places her hands on her knees.

“are you okay?” azzi asks, worry laced in her tone.

paige was silent for a moment, still dazed by the impact. but when she glanced up at the brunette, a sense of calm quickly washed over her.

“yeah,” she answers, grabbing azzi’s hands that were being held out to her.

their hands held onto one another’s a moment too long. their bodies were slightly touching; neither made any movements.

it wasn’t until coach auriemma yelled at them did either of the girls make a move. paige was substituted for ashlynn to rest, and eventually, azzi was also subbed out for caroline to give other players a chance to play, as they were dominating the opposing team.

azzi settles down next to paige, the only spot open on the bench. their thighs were full on touching since the seats were so tight.

azzi rests her elbows on her knees before turning to paige, “you sure you’re okay? that fall looked like it hurt.”

paige smiles at azzi’s worry, “why? do you care or something?” she teases.

azzi’s face lit up with red, “um, no. of course not.”

paige lets out a soft chuckle before playfully pushing the brunette’s face, who who responds with a wide grin, dimples and all.

paige matches her smile with one of her own. god. she was otherworldly.

“you’re so fucking pretty,” paige mumbles, barely audible for azzi to hear, while dropping her heads, wrapping her arms under.

“sorry, what’d you say?”

“nothing,” paige replies, definitely not repeating her words.

the game ends, the teams high five one another before heading to the locker rooms.

“guys, since we played so well today, we should definitely celebrate,” jana suggests.

“what are you thinking?” nika asks, a smile tugging at her lips.

“ted’s, of course,” she laughs, “is everyone good with 7?”

each team member agree to meet at ted’s, the bar most uconn students attended, around 7. paige was buzzing at the idea of a dirty shirley temple, desperately needing one to get her mind off someone.

paige showered, applied light makeup, and picked out a comfortable but nice outfit.

around 6:55, paige leaves her apartment with dorka at her side, heading to ted’s.

the bar was absolutely packed with uconn students as well as the women’s basketball team. nika was talking to the bartender, aubrey was laughing at something jana said, while azzi was throwing back a shot.

the air seemed to shift when paige’s gaze lands on the young brunette. her heart instantly quickens as she took in her outfit. a light purple tank top that fit her in all the right places, paired with jean shorts that were doing wonders for her ass. her curls were down, slightly messy but in the most beautiful way possible.

making eye contact with paige causes azzi’s breath to hitch. heat floods her cheeks as she remembers the moments between them from earlier today.

stepping closer to the bar, paige lowers herself into an open seat, directly across from azzi who was completely surrounded by teammates. dorka took the spot next to her while lou made herself over to the two girls.

“dorka! p!” lou greets them, clearly already drunk.

“hey lou lou,” dorka smiles at her friend.

paige waves over the bartender, “can i please have a dirty shirley temple?”

the bartender nods, immediately reaching for a glass. paige was dying for a drink in her hand to take her mind off everything and everyone.

the shirley burns her throat as she took several gulps, downing nearly half the glass.

“calm down there, p,” dorka laughs at paige’s urgency to consume the drink as fast as possible.

“just thirsty,” paige replies.

after finishing her second shirley temple is when she noticed a tall man talking to azzi. her azzi. her fists clench at her sides as she throws a glare their way.

the man then lowers himself into the open seat next to her while casually shifting close, making their faces mere inches apart. azzi fidgets with her fingers, suddenly nervous from the attention.

paige presses her lips in a line to hold back her growing anger that was screaming to come out. all she wanted to do was walk over there and take what’s hers.

paige orders several more drinks, shots, whatever she could to hopefully get rid of the scene in front of her.

when a piece of azzi’s hair falls in front of her face, the man reaches out and brushes it behind her ear. his hand lingers for a moment too long, only causing paige to become more aggravated.

azzi laughs at something he said and paige decides she’s had enough. although she was completely aware she shouldn’t be doing this, she was supposed to hate azzi, she couldn’t help herself. she clutches her drink tightly in her grasp, a idea trickling in her head, and marches over there.

azzi almost instantly spots the blonde moving towards her at a rapid pace. her eyes widen when paige accidentally trips, spilling her drink all over the man.

satisfaction covered paige’s features, proud of her doing.

“jesus fucking christ!” he yelps, quickly jumping up from his position next to azzi.

“i am so sorry,” paige pretends to be genuine and concerned, even though herself and azzi knew it was complete bullshit.

the man grabs napkins, desperately trying to pat himself down, but ultimately failing. he walks away without as much as a glance back at the curly brunette, who continues to remain silent.

“did you seriously have to do that?” azzi questions paige, annoyance on her face.

“it was an accident, azzi,” paige sighs.

“sure it was,” azzi mutters as she grips her drink.

“it was,” paige replies defensively.

paige allows herself to sit where the man once was, feeling the air grow electric with the two being so close. azzi looks almost shaken by their close proximity, her eyes roaming paige’s body.

“paigey!” nika slurs, suddenly grabbing paige’s shoulders.

paige turns to her friend who was beaming, “what’s up nik?”

“oh my goodness, you totally missed it…” nika rants on and on about the hot bartender who was totally checking her out.

“i’ll be back,” nika grins as she jogs off to talk with the bartender once again.

“at least she’s getting some action,” azzi says, rolling her eyes.

“oh my god, i am so sorry i ruined the two minute conversation you had with some idiot. if you’re so interested in him, then be my guest; go find the fucker.”

“maybe i will,” azzi bites out, getting up from her spot and taking off towards the crowd.

it shocks paige that azzi actually went through with it— disappoints her, too. did she genuinely like the guy?

regretting her words, paige follows azzi’s trail, quickly catching up to the freshmen. she grabs her arm, making her twist around to face her.

“please, wait,” paige slurs in her drunken state.

“what do you want?” azzi questions, desperate to know paige’s intentions.

“you,” paige whispers, so quietly azzi can barely make it out.

“speak up, paige,” azzi replies, annoyed.

“please don’t go after him.”

azzi’s eyes crinkle, “and why not? you’re not my keeper.”

paige rests her hands on either one of azzi’s hips, uncontrollably pulling the younger girl closer.

“i know. i know,” she whispers, “just stay. stay here with me.”

azzi was taken aback from paige’s soft tone and sweet words. it was unlike paige to be like this to azzi, so azzi pieced together she must be drunk out of her mind.

“you’re drunk, paige,” azzi says.

“i’m sober enough,” paige’s lips turn up as she moves her hands to azzi’s face.

with her face in her hands, paige rests her forehead against the curly brunette’s, while her gaze drops down to her full, pink lips.

“what are you doing, paige?”

paige closes her eyes, not wanting to think about everything wrong with what she was doing and how it’d be like tomorrow.

“i don’t know. fuck, i don’t know. i just want to be close to you,” she whispers.

azzi gently places her hands on paige’s waist, pulling the older girl impossibly closer.

“fuck, az,” paige mutters, “i can’t stop thinking about you.”

paige was all azzi could hear, despite the loud crowd and blasting music around her. and her words meant everything.

“no matter how hard i try, you’re always there. you with your perfect curls and cute ass dimples,” paige smiles, twisting with a singular curl with her finger.

“oh yeah?” azzi matches the grin.

“yeah,” paige says, gaze focused on her lips.

right as paige leans in, azzi suddenly jerks back, her eyes wide with panic.

“p— paige, no. you’re drunk. you’ll regret it tomorrow,” she stutters, frantically stepping out of paige’s touch.

paige reaches out for azzi’s frame, “no i won’t.”

practically tripping over herself, azzi rushes over to her previous seat with paige right on her heels. she grabs her belongings before giving a lone glance back at the blonde; she was breathing hard, hands slightly shaking, with a disappointed yet shameful expression on her face.

azzi turns away and is gone before paige had the time to blink.

“god fucking dammit,” paige mutters to herself, ashamed of her actions that caused azzi to run off.

paige finds an open spot at the bar and orders yet another round of shots, not caring about the concerned looks she was receiving from her teammates.

paige swallows shot after shot, trying to drown her sorrows and any lingering thoughts of azzi. of course she had to ruin whatever was happening between them. of course.

“paige, don’t you think that’s enough for tonight?” aubrey cautiously questions her friend.

paige drunkenly chuckles, “not even close,” throwing back another burning shot.

[andvys]

I knew you'd linger like a tattoo kiss | part 4

Warnings: angst, mentions of cheating, mentions of drugs, allusions to homophobia

Pairings: Steve Harrington x fem!cheerleader!reader , Steve Harrington x Nancy Wheeler

Summary: Steve finds himself yearning for your attention.

Word count: 7k+

A/N: @nemesis729 I had to put in one of your ideas/suggestions! thank you for the inspiration <3

series masterlist

-

Let go. Just let go. Let her go. He has been repeating those words in his head since, well, since he left you. He can’t understand what it is that just pulls him back to you all the time. Whether it’s all in his head or not. He keeps coming back to you and it irritates him because why does this keep happening? 

He left you because he didn’t love you, he left you because he fell in love with her but why isn’t it enough? Why isn’t his love for the other girl enough for him to finally push you out of his mind and out of his life? You seemingly had no problem doing it with him. You pushed him out of your life already so why can’t he do the same? 

The conversation with Billy only left him feeling more irritated. 

Shouldn’t he feel peace, knowing that you aren’t hurting anymore? Shouldn’t he be content with his life now that he finally got what he wanted? 

He doesn’t feel at peace and he doesn’t feel content and it causes anger to rise up in him because why? 

Why, why, why… 

Maybe it’s a good thing that he couldn’t find you anywhere after the conversation with Billy. He looked for you but you were nowhere to be found. He wanted to talk to you about the essay, despite you telling him that you’d call after school. He most certainly would have talked about something else, something that would make things even worse between the two of you. 

The tiny voice in his head that kept telling him to let go, eventually got to him. He gave up on trying to find you and he went to find his girlfriend instead. He took her out for a late lunch at Benny’s Burgers and then brought her to the book shop she loves so much before he ‘begrudgingly’ canceled their movie night– Nancy didn’t seem to mind it that much, saying that she would rather work on her project anyways. After he had dropped her off at her house, he went home, walked into his empty house and waited for your phone call. 

But you never called. 

-

“Is it just me or does Steve seem different?” 

Heather looks at you through the mirror, annoyance flashing in her eyes in an instant at the mention of your ex boyfriend. She lowers the dress that she was holding against her body and sighs. 

“Different how?” She asks as she hangs it back on the rack before she reaches for the purple one, the one you claimed as your favorite. 

You shrug, “I don’t know, it’s just, he seems less– nevermind.” 

Chrissy raises her eyebrows at you, “no, no.. keep going.” 

You blush a little, regretting bringing him up. You look around the bustling store, Heather isn’t the only one looking for a dress for the winter formal next week, a few girls from school are around as well. In fact, Carol Perkins is here too, currently holding up a baby blue dress, just the sight of her makes you want to throw up. 

You never liked her or her boyfriend. Steve had always been friends with Tommy. Carol only came along when she started dating the unfriendly jock. When you had only been friends with Steve, you never hung out with them, you didn’t like them and you didn’t get along with them, not even when you started dating Steve and you were forced to tag along. You always hated the way Steve behaved when he was with them, he always turned into someone else, he let them influence him into doing things that he normally wouldn’t do. They always laughed behind his back, they used him for money and for popularity. You tried showing him that they weren’t real friends but he didn’t believe you or maybe he just didn’t care about what you thought of them. 

She must’ve changed his mind after only one month of dating, he dropped his friends. She got through to him after only one fucking month. 

“He wants to work on the stupid essay with me– he never did that before, he always convinced me to write them for him, even when I wasn’t part of them and now he wants to write it himself and he started reading Pride and Prejudice, willingly!” 

“That’s because he’s already crawling back to you,” Heather mumbles, “they always do that.”

Chrissy nods.

“Not that I’d ever take him back but I don’t think that’s the case.”

“Then what is the case, y/n?” 

You shrug and look down, “I let go of things so I’m not holding onto him or what we used to have if you think that. I don’t want him anymore, not after what he did. It’s just, I’m starting to realize that he truly never loved me. He never changed for me. It’s not that I asked much of him, I just wanted him to drop his toxic friends and for him to start doing better in school so we could go to college together, I just wanted what’s best for him but he never cared about what I wanted. Yet, he cares about what she wants. He dropped his friends for her right away, he started doing better in school for her. That’s what you do when you love someone, you do better for them,” you pause, looking down, you play with the hem of your cheer skirt, “you are willing to change for the right person… So, I guess she is the right one for him. I never was.”

Heather and Chrissy share a look, one of pity. Both girls know that you have let go of your first love but the pain and the heartbreak is still fresh. Steve had always been there, all your life, he had been by your side. He was your friend and then he was more than that, you were hopelessly in love, blinded by it to see how bad he was treating you or how he never even deserved to have a chance with you. 

Neither of them can imagine the pain you are still going through– he was the one for you. 

“I don’t think that she is the right one for him, I think that he’s a blind fool, that’s what he is,” Chrissy says. 

Heather raises her brows, “he’s a real fucking clown, that’s what he is. He dropped the hottest girl there is because he set his eyes on some shiny new toy that’s no one touched before and now he is already crawling back. Not even two months in and he’s already back in your bedroom.”

You scrunch your face up at her words, raising your head, “don’t say it like that, makes it sound like we hooked up.”

“You wouldn’t, right?” Chrissy asks as she stares at you with big eyes, “h-hook up with him or, I don’t know.. kiss him?”

You instantly shake your head, “no! It’s bad enough that I have to do this stupid assignment with him. I don’t ever want him near me again, King Steve is dead to me– besides, he has her now so..”

“Yeah and he cheated on you with her,” Heather says with disgust in her eyes, “he’ll do it again– or, she will do it.” 

“Oh and she will.” 

At the sound of her voice, you all share a look of annoyance. Heather rolls her eyes, she throws the dress over her forearm, putting her other hand on her hip as she looks at the redhead.

You and Chrissy turn your heads to look at Carol, who as always, is chewing her gum and twirling her hair as her eyes flicker back and forth between the three of you. 

“I’m sorry but who invited you into this conversation?” You ask, giving her a false smile. 

“Oh, I just thought that you’d be interested in hearing about what I had to say but hey–”

“Tell us,” Chrissy says. 

Carol tilts her head, laughing a little. 

The cashier behind the counter raises her head, finally tearing her eyes away from the magazine she’s been staring at for the past forty minutes, she looks between you all, mumbling something under her breath that you can’t make out, the Christmas music is too loud. 

“Nancy has a new friend– Jonathan Byers.” 

“And?” Heather shrugs. 

“Well, they seem to be getting really cozy with each other. She is canceling date nights just to hang out with him and Steve is an idiot, I mean he always was so he is kinda blind to the whole thing but when Tommy made a comment about it, he blew up on us, he left us stranded on some parking lot–”

“We don’t wanna hear your sob story about why King Steve stopped being your friend, Carol.” 

She looks down at you where you are sitting on the couch, eyes flashing with irritation but the grin remains on her lips. 

“Well, all I’m gonna say is, their relationship isn’t going to last. Weirdly enough, she started being a little distant ever since he deflowered her. Wouldn’t it be funny if that’s all she wanted him for?” She giggles, giving you a pitiful look, “for sex? I mean, getting to have your first time with King Steve must be really special, right?” 

Irritation sparks inside of you but you don’t show it. A smile tugs at your lips and you shrug, “not really, Carol. There is nothing special about a man, ever.”

Your friends chuckle at your words. 

Carol lets a small laugh leave her lips, though it’s more sarcastic. 

“So, who knows, maybe she stole him from you to hop on his dick, maybe she has a thing for wanting things that she can’t have– although, she did get what she wanted,” she snorts, “but Nancy’s eyes are on the little freak and his eyes, well,” she pauses, smirking at you as she eyes you up and down, “they are elsewhere too,” she chuckles. 

Carol walks past you and Chrissy, staring at the dress in Heather’s hands, she touches the silk material with her fingertips before she brushes past her. 

“If I were you, I’d get him back, y/n.” 

You want to scoff and roll your eyes but that’s exactly what she wants from you. You tilt your head and raise your brows at her. 

She glances back at you over her shoulder, “I mean, losing your boyfriend to some loser is pathetic, especially for someone like you, y/n. I mean, the queen of Hawkins High losing to some little nerd?” She laughs.

You lean back against the couch and cross your arms over your chest. You couldn’t care less about your stupid title. 

Heather squints her eyes at Carol and steps closer to her, “you know what’s pathetic?” She asks, not giving her the chance to respond, “drooling over some guy who isn’t your boyfriend and walking around trying to stir shit up.” 

“Yeah, she moved on if you haven’t noticed,” Chrissy mumbles from beside you. 

Carol turns around, she looks at you before she eyes your friend, “with who? You?” She laughs. 

An exasperated sigh leaves your lips. The smugness on her face, the everlasting smirk and the amusement in her eyes is so irritating to you. 

You fail to notice the blush on Chrissy’s cheeks or the embarrassment in her eyes. Carol smirks, she notices the look on her face and so does Heather who narrows her eyes, glaring at Carol and eying Chrissy slowly. 

“I know what you are, Chrissy–”

“Don’t you have better things to do?” Heather interrupts her, “go and find yourself a dress, it’ll take you some time,” she says, eyeing the redhead up and down. 

Chrissy squirms in her seat, she begins to twist the ring on her finger. You frown when you notice it, knowing that it’s a nervous habit of hers. Carol’s words confuse you a little but you don’t think too much into them. She leaves after giving all of you her judgmental looks. 

Heather turns back to you both the moment Carol is out of eyesight. Rolling her eyes, she shakes her head, “I swear to god, she is everywhere– are you okay?” She asks you. 

You nod, “yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” You ask, plastering a smile on your face. 

Both of them look at you skeptically but instead of questioning you, they quickly change the topic, knowing that you desperately need the distraction. 

“You know what you should do? You should pick out the hottest dress,” Heather smirks as she looks through all the dresses, “show up at the snowball and make him see what he lost.” 

A smile tugs at your lips. 

“Yeah and make him regret everything,” Chrissy smiles, nudging your shoulder.

You giggle, shaking your head, “I don’t even have a date.” 

Heather laughs, waving you off, “I know a few guys who would be happy to take you to the dance.” 

“Yeah, me too..” Chrissy mumbles. 

You shake your head at them and get up, walking towards Heather, you reach for the dress in her hands, “how about we make you two look hot. I don’t feel like going anyways, so…” 

Heather sighs, her shoulders slump, “come on, we’ve been talking about this since the summer.”

“Yeah. We talked about our matching dresses,” Chrissy says as she gets up as well, “we can still find a pretty one for you, y/n.”

“And a date.”

You truthfully don’t care about the dance anymore, you only wanted to go there because of Steve, the thought of him picking out a tie that matches your dress and him inviting you for a slow dance seemed so perfect and romantic for you back then, now it’s just something that no longer matters to you. You don’t feel like going to the dance with someone who couldn’t care less about you and the thought of sitting at a lone table while your friends have the time of their lives makes you want to slam your head against the wall. 

Shaking your head, “no, there’s no one I’d wanna go with.” 

“Are you sure about that?” Heather mumbles as she squints her eyes at you. 

Furrowing your brows, you chuckle, “uh yeah, I am sure.”

Chrissy eyes Heather with a curious expression, “what do you know?”

“Nothing,” you snort, “she knows nothing, Chris.”

Heather smirks. 

“Is this about Billy Hargrove ‘cause if so, ew?” Chrissy mumbles, clearly not liking the idea of you going out with Billy. 

“Not Billy,” she smirks and turns around, “although he did tell me something very interesting,” she says, wiggling her eyebrows at you. 

Sighing, you turn away from your friends and chuckle, “you didn’t hear anything, Heather.” 

“Oh yeah?” She asks, “and what about the stoner you’ve been hanging out with?” 

Chrissy gasps, “what stoner!” 

“There is no stoner!”

-

Steve’s back aches when he wakes up, a groan falls from his lips, he opens his eyes, feeling a little disoriented when he looks around the living room. He fell asleep on the loveseat his mom always relaxes in when she reads one of her favorite novels. Rubbing his eyes, he frowns a little. Your book is lying on his chest, he must have fallen asleep while reading it– while he was waiting for your phone call. 

The phone call that never came. 

He waited and waited but you never called. Time wouldn’t pass, no matter what he did, it just didn’t pass while he waited for you to call him. Eventually, he reached for the book in his backpack and continued reading it, though his eyes kept straying away to the telephone. 

His thoughts kept going back to you just like they do now. 

What did you do last night? 

Where were you last night? 

Who were you with last night?

Why didn’t you call? 

Using a bookmark, he puts it in between the pages that he has to reread again. He closes it and puts it down. He feels a little irritated. What is this radio silence? You promised to call, you broke it, the promise. You were never one to break promises. 

He canceled his date with Nancy just for you, so you could both work on the essay, together. 

Frowning in annoyance, he walks towards the telephone, grabbing the receiver, he dials your number, still remembering it. But just like he suspected, you don’t pick up the phone. He calls you once, twice and a third time until he finally gives up. 

Why won’t you pick up? 

Sighing, he slams the receiver back into place. He runs his fingers through his messy hair and shakes his head as he makes his way into the kitchen to brew some coffee. His mind is occupied by you. Not her. You are not the girl he should be thinking about. He should be thinking about her, he should be planning a date or think about the right Christmas present he should get her, instead he thinks about you. It’s always you. 

The morning goes by and so does the afternoon. He takes a shower, he cleans his room, he reads, he starts writing the essay, he even cooks and still no call from you. 

By the time the evening rolls around, he is fuming. What is more important than an essay? You were never one to abandon school work, it was always your first priority. What changed?

He grabs his textbook, his coat and his car keys before he makes his way out of the house. Only as he steps out into the cold, does he notice the blanket of white enveloping the streets of Hawkins. Snowflakes are falling from the sky, the silence is almost eerie. 

The snow always reminds him of you, the way he kissed you for the first time after removing the snowflake from your lashes. 

He sighs, shaking the thought of the way your lips felt when they touched his for the very first time. He makes his way towards his car, removing the snow off the windshield before he gets inside. Throwing his textbook on the passenger seat, he rubs his hand together to warm them up a little before he starts his car. 

It’s only a five minute drive to your house, yet, tonight it feels longer than that. He doesn’t know why. 

He parks his car behind yours, which is luckily the only one in your driveway. But the house is dark, no lights are on. He doubts that you are home, he still gets out of his car.  Locking it, he puts the keys in his pocket. The snow crunches beneath his shoes. The cold air stings his cheeks a little. 

He rings your doorbell twice, the way he always used to do. 

You don’t open. 

He knocks and rings the doorbell again. 

Still you don’t open. 

Where are you? 

It’s on Monday when he finally sees you again. You are standing by your car, holding your backpack against your hip, rummaging through it. Your hair keeps falling in front of your face, you are muttering something under your breath. 

Steve approaches you with a frown.

You don’t notice him coming, only as he stops in front of you, accidentally kicking some snow towards you. 

“Where have you been all weekend?!” He asks, throwing his hands up. 

Raising your brows, you stop rummaging through your bag and lift your head to look at him. The stressed expression on his face makes you want to laugh. He has dark circles under his eyes, his hair is a little messy but that might be because of the wind. 

“I’m sorry?” You chuckle. 

His hazel eyes flash with confusion, he shakes his head a little, “where have you been?” 

“How’s that any of your business?” You mumble as you zip your backpack shut and pull the strap over your shoulder, brushing past him, he instantly follows you. 

“I– we were supposed to work together, remember?” He exclaims, staring at you in disbelief, “I waited for you all night on Friday, I showed up on Saturday night and you weren’t there!” 

You notice the curious eyes on you– not his but the ones of the students when you walk into the school with him hot on your heels. 

“I was busy.” 

“With what?” Steve asks, furrowing his brows, “I know school is your first priority, since when do you put anything else before it?” 

You shrug, looking over your shoulder to glance at him, “since I changed my priorities.” 

“And what are those?” 

“Those are none of your business, Steve.”

He follows you to your locker.

“We lost three days, y/n! We could have made some progress!” 

You squint your eyes and turn to look at him, he looks stressed. 

“Do you think I wanna work with you?” You mumble, “I got better things to do.” 

Steve shuts his mouth. Sighing, he leans against the locker next to yours and takes a moment to look at you. You abandoned your cheer uniform yet again. Your hair is open, you are wearing a sweater that looks way too big on you and a plaid skirt. He can smell your perfume, it’s not the same one anymore. 

“Like what? Hanging out with stoners?” He scoffs, rolling his eyes. 

“We got five days to work on this stupid essay, I can write it in one day!” You exclaim, not bothering to answer his question that he so desperately wants. 

You don’t look at him directly and you don’t tell him what he wants to hear, yet again. 

“I don’t wanna work on it on the last day!” 

Rolling your eyes, you shut your locker and put your hand on your hip, facing him again. 

“You know what, fine,” you sigh. You narrow your eyes at the redhead who walks past you, already wearing a smug look on her face when she looks between you and Steve. 

“Where do you wanna meet up today?” You ask with a bored expression on your face.

Steve blinks. For a moment, he stays quiet and he looks at you, he looks into your eyes, desperately trying to read them. What happened to you? You don’t seem like yourself, you seem different. He steps closer to you, your perfume isn’t the only thing he smells, there is a hint of smoke and weed lingering. He swallows, concern rushes through him. Your eyes are a little red rimmed, from crying or from smoking weed, he can’t tell. 

A part of him tells him to ask if you are okay, the other part tells him that it’s not his job to ask you this question, not anymore. 

“Hello?” You mumble, waving your hand in front of his face, pulling him out of his thoughts. 

“Uh, we could meet up at the coffee shop downtown?” He suggests. 

You nod, “yeah, sure. I’ll meet you there after school.” 

You don’t give him the chance to respond, you turn around and walk away before he can even utter a word. Steve frowns as he watches you leave. He might never get used to this, to the cold shoulder you are giving him. It’s been a long time since he had seen a side of you that he used to know, now you just seem like a stranger. You changed, it’s obvious you did. Every smallest thing about you is new to him. 

You used to be on time. Whenever he would pick you up for date nights or for school, you would already sit on your porch steps waiting for him with an excited smile on your face. He was the one who showed up late, now it’s you. 

It’s 5:25 pm when you finally walk into the coffee shop. I’ll meet you after school, you said. School ended two hours ago, he went straight to the coffee shop, he even chose your favorite spot and waited for you as he continually looked down at his watch. 

You look around and he has to restrain himself from rolling his eyes, he is annoyed. When your eyes find him, you take a moment to look at him, he sees the way you look at him, even from afar. You look irritated and annoyed, just like he does, still, you make your way over to him. Pride and Prejudice is lying open on the table, you see the page number; 301. Surprise is what you feel when you stare at the number, you raise your brows. Did he actually read that much? 

“Hi,” you mumble. 

Taking your coat off and scarf off, you throw it on the bench before sliding into the little booth. 

“Yeah, hi,” he mutters angrily, “I waited for you for two hours!” 

Leaning back, you raise your head to look at him. His hazel eyes are filled with anger and annoyance, it’s almost amusing to you. 

“Why?” 

“What do you mean ‘why’?” He exclaims. 

His brows knit together and his cheeks grow red. 

“We didn’t make any plans–”

“You said we’d meet after school, y/n.”

“Yeah but I didn’t say when,” you smile, “I’m here now so relax, Steven.” 

“Where were you?” 

Where were you, Steve? You had asked him this question so many times, yet you never got an answer so why should you give him one? 

“I was busy doing stuff.” 

He opens his mouth to speak but decides against it, he clenches his jaw and turns away from you to look out the window. He deserves it, he knows he does. It had taken him some time to realize some things but ever since Nancy and a couple of kids had stepped into his life, he began to see things a little clearer. He began to realize that he mistreated you, though he is still in denial because the guilt is just too heavy. 

He stood you up. He showed up late. He was awful to you. Now you are doing the same thing to him and he knows he had it coming. Deep down, he knows it. But he feels the ugly burning in his chest, the one he only ever felt when he saw Billy flirting with you or any other guy. 

Where were you? Were you with Billy? With the Stoner?

“Did you actually read it?” 

He turns back to you, you look at him in curiosity. 

“Yeah.” 

“Seriously?” You ask, “301 pages?” 

He nods, “yes.” 

You are genuinely impressed. For someone who always hated reading, he is quick. What did she do to him that you couldn’t?

Giving him a lopsided smile, you raise your brows, “impressive. Do you like it?” 

“Yeah, I mean, there’s some good quotes in there. I just don’t like the slow burn.” 

“Really?” You ask, leaning your elbows on the table, you move closer, “I love the slow burn– what quotes do you like the most?” 

He blinks as he stares at you, this is the first time you talk to him ‘normally’. 

“Uh, I’ve written some down,” he mumbles, squinting his eyes as though he tries to remember, “I think it’s uh – ‘they walked on, without knowing in what direction. There was too much to be thought, and felt– a-and… uh–”

“And said, for attention to any other objects.” You mumble, finishing the quote for him. You refuse to look into his eyes but your heart is bleeding in your chest.

“Y-Yeah.” 

“What’s your favorite?” 

“We do not suffer by accident.” 

He sucks in a sharp breath. He can see the way you stare at your hands, awkwardly, avoiding his eyes. The silence between the two of you is loud and awkward. 

“It’s a good one.” 

“Yeah..” 

Steve feels the urge to reach out and take your hands in his, he doesn’t know why. When you look up at him and your eyes lock with his, his heart stops beating for a moment. He can’t read you, not anymore. He knows that you have built up high walls around you, not letting him see you anymore. It bothers him because he wants to see you so badly, he wants to know what you are thinking about, what you are feeling. If you still have feelings for him.. 

“Y/n–”

“I started working on it already!” You interrupt him, “do you wanna read what I have so far?” 

He sighs, shoulder slumping and his expression sinking for a moment. “Y-Yeah, I wanna read it.” 

“Okay,” you whisper as you slide the notebook towards him, “I uh, I’m gonna get myself something to drink.” 

“Yeah sure.”

You push yourself up and smooth down your skirt before you take the first step away from the table. Your emotions are in overdrive, you still feel so much anger for him but deep down, beneath all the layers of anger and pain is the yearning, the longing in your heart that you still feel for him despite the way he treated you.

You preferred the radio silence between you two in those weeks you have pretended that he stopped existing. It was much easier to deal with all of this when you stayed away from him but now you can’t. The thought of spending time with him, every day for the rest of this week makes you want to cry. 

Having to look at him and feel yourself still wanting him, makes you hate yourself. It fuels the anger and worsens the ache in your heart. It makes you want to run away. At one point you even think it’s worth dropping the essay and risking failing the class just because you don’t want to be around him but you would only make things worse for yourself. Steve Harrington isn’t worth the bad grade.  

You make it through the evening, dodging questions that aren’t related to the essay. You continue giving him the cold shoulder, only speaking up when needed. You want this to get over with quickly. 

The next day goes by similarly, Steve asks questions and you stay silent. He tries to find out more about who you spend time with. He asks about Billy and mentions the Stoner, Billy told him about but he gets nothing from you, absolutely nothing. 

Why should you tell him anything?

Why should you tell him who you spend time with? Why should you tell him where you have been all weekend? You don’t owe him anything. He is not a part of your life anymore, yet he keeps acting like he is, he keeps prying and throwing questions at you that he knows he will get no answers to. 

You don’t care how annoyed or frustrated he gets with you, he has no reason to even ask those questions. 

On Wednesday, Steve finds himself in your bedroom again. He is sitting on your carpet, staring at all the chaos in front of him. You kept criticizing his texts, crumbling up all the papers and throwing them on the ground. It’s been hours and hours of writing and rewriting, you barely made any progress. 

Now you are rewriting his part.

The dark denim jacket is still in your room. Maybe it’s just yours. At least he hopes it is. 

“Why don’t you like Mr. Darcy?” You break the silence. 

“He’s arrogant.” 

You snort, “you should meet yourself.” 

A little offended, Steve scrunches his face up, “what is that supposed to mean?” 

“It means that you are arrogant and you’re a dick,” you murmur under your breath, thinking that he won’t hear. 

But he did hear, he doesn’t speak up, though. He wants to hear what else you will say about him. After weeks of no reactions, no arguments, no anger directed at him, he is left wondering what you think of him. The past few days you have been calm but the energy surrounding you tonight is tense. 

“You are wealthy and arrogant like Mr. Darcy and you can be condescending sometimes. That’s something I never liked about you, the way you treated people who are less popular and liked than you are. You can be mean.”

“Mean?” He asks. 

You push yourself up on your knees and look down at him, “yeah, you were mean to me.”

He looks up at you, a strand of hair falls in front of his eyes, his lips are set in a frown. He doesn’t look angry or pissed, he looks curious.

“When?” 

You promised yourself that you wouldn’t do this, that you wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of showing him that he got to you, that his actions hurt you. Another part of you doesn’t care, it’s all in the past, you don’t have to show him what you feel now, right? 

“All the time, Steve.” 

His face falls a little, his lips part, he looks like he wants to say something but he can’t form any words, right now. He stares into your eyes, the tugging feeling in his chest returns. The urge to apologize the way he wanted to do two days ago comes back. 

You look at each other for a while. The only sound being the howling wind outside. The music stopped playing a while ago. You watch the way his eyes soften, the way they flash with sadness and regret, it makes your heart hurt. 

Your hand itches to reach out to him, to run your fingers through his hair and smooth it out, to touch his cheek and feel him again. He looks at you differently now. He talks to you differently now and it hurts. 

He is much more gentle and kind. It hurts to know that it’s her whom he changed for.

He grew up with you, he was your friend first, he was your lover first, he was your boyfriend first but you were never good enough for him. You see the way he is with her, even when everyone, including him, thinks that you don’t look at him anymore, you do. You secretly watch him. He touches her gently, he kisses her softly, he stares at her and smiles when she isn’t looking, he kisses her hand and carries her books, he wraps his arms around her waist and he gives her his jacket when she is cold. He loves her, he genuinely loves her.

You wonder if he knows how horrible she is, how cruel her words can be – but then again, his words were just as cruel when he spit them in your face before he shattered your heart into a million pieces. 

Now he looks at you with those eyes that you longed for when he was still yours. Soft eyes. Now, you can’t stand them. You don’t want him to look at you like that. 

You force yourself to look away from him. You stand up and pick up all the papers on your bed, throwing some of them in the trash. 

Steve watches you, not taking his eyes off of you yet. 

“But also, you’re kind of a clown, so you’re very far from being like Mr. Darcy.” 

Steve tilts his head up to look at you with a frown on his face, a laugh tumbles from his lips, “a clown?” 

“Yeah,” you smirk when you notice the offended look on his face, “they call you King Steve but you’re really just a clown who entertains all the girls.” 

“Uh–”

“Really, I know college isn’t on your list of things to do in life but maybe a circus would do for you.” 

“Look who’s being mean now,” he murmurs as he stands up. 

“I’m not being mean, I’m just being honest,” you say, “you’re a clown just like all the other douchebags on the basketball team. Honestly, I don’t know how it just occurred to me that you all look ridiculous running after one ball – but then again, you also do that with everything else in life, you all see one desirable woman and you are all running after her like a hungry pack of wolves.” 

Steve looks a little caught off guard, though he doesn’t look mad, not even in the slightest. If you had said these things to him two months ago, he would have gotten off on you. 

“Yet you still go for clowns like me?” 

You laugh, “oh you admit to being a clown?” 

He rolls his eyes at you. 

“No, I don’t go for clowns like you anymore, Steve. I think I learned my lesson. I’d never do that again.” 

Instantly, his eyes flicker to the denim jacket on your chair. So it certainly isn’t Billy’s. 

“So.. you didn’t sleep with Billy?” 

A look of disgust that you can’t fight off this time crosses your face and you shake your head, “what ever made you think that I want to fuck Billy Hargrove?” You ask. “In what world would I touch that man?” 

“Well, he told me.” 

You snort and shake your head in disbelief. 

“Billy says a lot of things that aren’t true.” Except for the one time he did tell you the truth. 

He won’t argue with that, he knows you’re right. Still, a part of him believed him. 

You walk towards him and bend down to pick up the crumpled paper balls on the ground. You also throw them in the trash. 

“Who’s the stoner you’ve been seeing?” He blurts out as his eyes stick to the jacket again, “is that his jacket?” 

A part of you wants to laugh in amusement, the other part of you is pissed at him for sounding so jealous. If you wouldn’t have figured it out by the tone in his voice, then you would have known by the look on his face. 

You know Steve like the back of your hand. Right now, he is jealous. Why? You have no idea. He never loved you, he never actually wanted you. He wanted to own you and that’s what he still does in his head. That’s why he keeps asking you all these questions, that’s why he lets Billy’s words get to him. That’s why he hates the thought of you being someone else’s.

You walk towards him with a smirk on your face, “none of your business, Harrington.” 

To know that it troubles him so much to the point that his cheeks glow red makes you feel satisfied. 

“Just tell me, please.”

You snort, “no way.”

He steps closer to you and looks down at you with pleading eyes. What the hell? 

“Why should I tell you?” 

“Because I wanna know,” he mumbles. He pokes at your waist, making you flinch. He knows that you are ticklish. He does it again but this time, you grab his finger. 

“Stop that!” 

He uses his other hand, poking the other side of your waist, hard enough for you to giggle. 

“S-Steve, stop!” You snap at him, trying to keep a straight face but when he does it again, you flinch and try to step back but he pulls his finger out of your grip and wraps his arm around your waist to keep you from escaping. 

“I’ll stop when you tell me,” he says. His eyes light up when you giggle again. You squirm in his arms, trying to push him away. 

You don’t know how it happens but for a minute, you get so lost in the moment. For a minute, you forget about everything that had happened, you forget about the heartbreak and the pain that he had put you through, you forget about how he had cheated on you, how he had lied to you, you forget about the things he spit in your face, you forget about how he never loved you. For a minute, you forget it all. 

What starts off with him poking your waist, ends with him tickling your sides and making you giggle and laugh as you step closer and closer to your bed. Steve is chuckling as he holds your squirming body against his. You try to fight him off but he is much stronger than you, you poke his sides but you don’t get much of a reaction out of him, if anything, it makes him hold you even tighter. 

Tears from laughter well up in your eyes, your stomach begins to hurt from it all. As you near the edge of your bed, you stumble backwards when the back of your knees hit the mattress. Instinctively, you hold onto him and pull him down with you. When your back hits the soft cushions and he lands on top of you and you feel his chest pressed against yours for the first time in a while, you know that this should have been the moment for you to snap out of it and push him away but you are still in the bliss of the moment. Right now, you are in the past where things are still good. 

You are still giggling and he is still chuckling. His nose bumps against yours and it only makes you laugh harder as you look into each other’s eyes. He lets go of your waist but he stays on top of you. His heart is racing, you can feel it. 

Yours is racing too – and then, it flutters when his hand reaches out to cup your cheek. His fingertips graze your skin and his eyes roam your face. His other hand, pushes your hair away from your eyes, tucking it behind your ear. Steve is so lost in the moment, he admires you, your pretty eyes, your beautiful face, the feeling of your body against his, the racing of your heart. He finds himself moving closer to you. It only feels right to do it.

There is this feeling between the two of you. Neither of you can describe it but it only makes you yearn for more. It fills you with false hope knowing that it will crush you again, a moment later. 

While his smile lingers, yours falls quickly when you snap out of it and realize what is happening, right now. Your breath hitches in your throat, your heart stops beating and you freeze when you feel his lips brushing against yours.

Everything comes crumbling down, all the walls that you had built around you, all the strength you had found within yourself to push him out of your life, all the peace you have made with living a life without him. 

It all fell down and one minute is all it took.

next part

-

tagging friends and mutuals only

@mysticmunson @screammunson @wroteclassicaly @corrodedseraphine @corrodedcorpses @imjuststeddietrashatthispoint @hellfire--cult @sherrylyn628 @somethingvicked @take-everything-you-can

[montessori-grad]

As a fandom we do not utilize the fact Glen Powell is Polish enough since we’ve collectively decided that Ice is Polish. Here are my headcanons.

-Ice and Jake speaking Polish so they can talk shit about other people. Mostly Mav who tried to learn Polish when he and Ice started dating but failed.

-When Jake misses his family, (Glen says that he has good parents so I’m going to give him good parents.) Ice makes him come over for dinner where he makes traditional food.

-Or an alternative to the first is; while Jake was first crushing on Bradley he’d talk to his sister in Polish but Bradley knew what he was saying since Ice taught him. Bradley didn’t tell him and Jake found out two months into their relationship because Ice told him to do something in Polish and Bradley had to pick if he was more scared of an angry Jake or an angry Ice. (Ice is obviously a scarier option.)

-Jake is really into Eurovision and was absolutely livid when Jan wasn’t picked. (Because so was I.)

-Jake can handle his alcohol.

-He’s a terrible cook because the majority of Polish men do not cook.

-He played soccer as a kid and didn’t do any real work during the World Cup because Poland made it farther than usual and he was too invested.

-He loves pickles so much but forces Bradley to buy the expensive ones. (If you’re a pickle fan in America, I absolutely recommend Bubbies fyi.)

-He watched the movie Fanfik on Netflix and cried. (Super good, cheesy movie about a trans Polish teen and his partner. 10/10 I recommend.)

-Carol was also Polish so Bradley has some traditions he keeps going from her that Jake was really happy to participate in.

[newavengers]

Marvel's confirmed that Sam has already assembled his team. Meaning whatever publicity stunt is going on, there are Avengers who are formed, who probably have a base, who are already operating in the background already. I'm a 100% sure, his team ain't posting for photoshoots, but Joaquin's instagram is surprisingly full of random images of their base, the Cap cave, and the other teammates. Here are my predictions on who I think is going to be on his team and why: Joaquin - This is a given. This is Sam's partner, the kid he's mentoring, and Joaquin is THE Falcon. (Can we please give his suit some claws like he has in the comics? That shit would be so cool!) Bruce Or Jen - I think Bruce is pretty much still around. We got that confirmation at the end of Shang-Chi. He's still doing Avengers things, he's in contact with Carol/Wong. I think both Bruce & Jen should be part of team. And if not Bruce, I'm sure Bruce will point out his cousin. Thor - Hear me out, I know a lot of people think he's not gonna be on Sam's team. Hell yes he is. This man has been trying to fight with his teammates for like three movies now. He fought with the guardians, took directions from Quill, and then I think during his movie, after losing Jane and finding love he's at that space where he probably wants to be a part of something bigger. I don't know if Thor is earthbound, but if he is, it's a fucking given he will follow Captain America to the heart of every battle. Shang-Chi - This is a given. Absolute given. Marvel has done nothing with him and you know Sam's seen the bus footage. Also, he has connections with both Wong and Bruce, which means he will absolutely get recruited. Shang-Chi is the one I'm sure about, and I'm so excited to see how their dynamics will be. Black Panther - I think this is another given. Lemme tell you why. Sam's relationship with Wakanda is thriving. He has had multiple upgrades to his suit. He's been operating as Captain America for two years, and we've seen what that suit can do. It's incredible and it sure as shit wasn't that advanced at the end of Falcon and the Winter Soldier. He got the nanotech/vibranium helmet, he literally flies faster than a jet, and his suit is built to carry extremely heavy loads, his wings literally has blades that can slice through metal easy -- like all these upgrades didn't come out of nowhere. Shuri has been upgrading his suits, his tech, and everything is so entuned with him, so you can tell he's been at this for a while with how easy he wields the tech and fights. So yeah, him and Shuri probably have a really close bond off screen. Otherwise, the smartest person in the world ain't got time to be doing all of this. Okay back to Shuri and her role. So far, everyone I listed is broke as shit. Including Sam. Shuri is going to take up Tony's mantle (and I'm pretty sure T'Challa was the financial backer of the Avengers in the comics, right?). She's going to be the money person, the tech person, and the absolute asskicker as Black Panther. She's gonna be the heart of the group, I can feel it. And with a team -- I think she's gonna start to find herself again. Give me scenes with Joaquin and Shuri, PLEASE, I will bleed for crumbs. Ant-Man - We cannot forget Tic/Tac. Sam and Scott go way back and they're close friends, you can tell with how many times he was name dropped. But I'm sure we won't get the Wasp because Evangeline Lily quit acting (good, she's a scientology weirdo and antivax). --- Also I think the Avengers Compound they are using, isn't the one upstate. I think because Shuri's funding them, it's going to be in Wakanda and that works because Sam's Avengers aren't in the public view, they are working in the shadows, so it makes sense. IDK Maybe I'm giving the Russos too much credit for hoping for this, but we will see, but judging by the fact that Anthony is filming with the main cast + RDJ, I don't think they're going to sideline him.