#a guy without a leg won in a wrestling match

[fyreflakes]

Musiciantale! sans ref

I name him Dj as his nickname since Music is aready taken lol ANYWAYS -

I'm finally gonna start ATTEMPTING to put up more of my au on here so say hello to the sans of this world! :D

I had an older refrence but it looks cugly (Ccute+ugly) and I don't like it that much so this is the updated vers XD

Anyways uhhh INFO TIME >:D (I hav eno idea what I'm doing lol)

name: Sans/DJ

Age: Seventeen

Preffered music genre: Techy/elextro type things

Abilitys: Gaster blasters (Of course) Swing time (He basicly throws giant CD or Record disks at you) Musical talent (Everyone in this au is good at playing instruments, his is Trombone, guitar to an extent, Piano, and the Dj turntable thingys) Can read very fast (Yes) Can play pretty much any song after listening to it after a total of two times

Likes: His family, Making puns, listening to music, napping, occasionally helping his dad out with making stuff

Dislikes: Losing people he cares for, Getting close to others, Flowey, Flowey's very existence, Flowey's smile, He basically just REALLY does not like Flowey, The past (Some traumatic events happened to the boy 😔😔), Cheese curds

Fears: He's afraid of losing anymore people and of being useless.

Fun facts: I didn't intend for this but Dj looks like Music!sans (I haven't looked at that au yet, I just know what sans from there look like :, D) And the two could be twins in some alternate universe X,D

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So uh yeah, I need to make more refrences so I can share them, but for now Have snas musiciantale :D

[inbabylontheywept]

i did wrestling in middle school. on one hand, i was actually quite good at it, which was nice. being good at any sport was a new achievement for me. on the other hand, i was bi, and i was trying very hard not to notice that i was bi, and getting folded into knots by very kind, very muscular dorks made that task somewhat difficult.

adding fire to the problem was that my parents and my grandparents wanted to watch my matches, because they were very proud that their Gangly Nerd Son was actually Sporting, and they wanted to cheer me on. which would've been sweet and all, but if there are four people you do not want there during a key part of your Burgeoning Sexual Awakening, it is your mom and your dad and your grandma and your grandpa.

right? i mean, imagine some guy's got your head in his armpit, and you're going you know, old sweat smells bad, but fresh sweat has a sort of and then you make eye contact with your grandpa in the stands and you remember you're swearing spandex so if you pop a boner people aren't just going to be able to see the outline, they're going to be able to count the veins, and the only way you will be able to restore your family's honor after that would be by moving to siberia and renouncing joy, forever. that, or lift your entire body up by your kneck then twist 180 degrees without paralyzing yourself.

it’s a lot of pressure, is what i’m saying.

still it did motivate me to win my matches really fast. because i was so tall and skinny, i was stupidly good at the double leg takedown, and then once someone was knocked down, i'd just do the half nelson and kind of flip em over for the pin. then the ref would count to three and i’d win. EZPZ.

i had one match where that went great. won in the first ten seconds, sat back down, and prepared myself for a good hour or two of doing fuck all. didn't even feel bad the parents/grandparents were gonna be bored. the matches went up from me in 5 pound increments (i was in the 115 lbs division) and it was going great until we got to the 145 lbs division. the other school's wrestler stepped onto the mat, and she turned out to be a girl so our guy flipped, because for straight guys, wrestling a girl is not a pleasant experience.

i'm not entirely unsympathetic. my experience wrestling dudes was definitely a little traumatic. but also, i dealt. guy could've dealt too. instead, he refused to wrestle, and the coach went - fine. not even worth fighting over.

so he went to the 140 pounder, and that guy said, nosir, my mom said mormons can't wrestle girls. next guy down, 135 pounder, now he knew he could pull the same card and thus did. 130 pounder, 125, both tapped out. he got to the 120 guy, and that guy was catholic, but he said he was considering being mormon, and thus would have to pass. as a precaution.

coach blew up a little at that. he said "is there anyone - anyone - on this entire goddamn team that is willing to wrestle a girl?" and then he pointed at me and said "YOU. MAT. GO."

and i'll be real, if i'd been paying more attention, i'd have pulled the mormon card too, but i'd just been putting all that audio into a buffer file because i was reading, so i was halfway across the mat before i even processed what had been said and by then it was too late to turn back.

still i had a plan. and my plan - my beautiful, perfect plan - was to do what i'd always done. tackle, flip, pin, win. sit down. read. bore my family to death. move on.

i got the first part right. she was bigger than me, but she wasn't taller. just an incredibly stout woman. god built me like a snake with glasses, just as he built her like a combat cube. the problem was the half nelson. soon as she was down, i tried hooking my arm under hers from behind and for both genders, the defense for this move is just clamping your arms really fucking tight against your sides. if you're a guy, that's whatever, but if you're a girl - especially if you're god's chosen combat cube - that pins your opponents hand right against your boob.

so, i got the hook in, she clamped, my whole arm pressed against something soft, my coach was yelling THE HALF NELSON. BABYLON! JUST FINISH IT! FINISH THE HALF NELSON! and i was just trying to press hard enough to finish, when then my brain went

...oh.

and i flipped out. of course i flipped out. i like girls, and touching a boob is an elemental experience, and i was not ready. i was not prepared. i had not committed the sacred rites. i recoiled like i'd just brushed my arm against the surface of the sun, stood up, and backed away. nobody in the room knew why i'd given up. all they saw was me, right about to win, suddenly flailing around and scrambling. so everyone started screaming at me to just get the half nelson again, and i couldn't really yell back there's a fuckin' boob in the way and it was very distressing, and the only way i could think of to make them stop was just doing it over again the right way.

so i did.

i hunkered down and prepared myself for Wrasslin' Attempt #2: The Sequel.

i knocked her down again, EZPZ. i went for the half nelson again, but she knew what i was about to do so she super clamped, and i knew she was gonna super clamp, so i wound my arm back like a pop-eye cartoon punch before swinging my arm through the gap between her bicep and her side, but the amount of time i spent winding back super signalled what i was about to to do, which gave her time to clamp even harder, which somehow redirected the entire force of the popeye punch to the bottom of her bra.

it spat out a single boob the same way an action hero might spit out one single tooth after getting a solid crack across the jaw. as if to say:

*ptooie.* "that all you got?"

i did not actually see this. my experience was that first there was an arm, then there was a bit of boob, but i was braced, i was ready, forward at all costs, tatakae motherfuckers, and then the boob went away, and i didn't know where it went but my team, and the audience, and everyone who was in front of me, they all gasped like i just kicked them in the stomach. except for my coach. he was behind me, and thus one of the four people in the room who did not see the boob. now my mom, my dad, my grandma, and my grandpa, they all got flashed but nooooooo, coach thunderbutt was behind me, and he didn't see shit so he was still yelling NOOOOOO BABYLON WHAT ARE YOU DOING JUST FINISH THE NELSON! GO FOR THE KILL! BABYLON! BABYLON!

but i did not go for the kill. i stood up and she stuffed her boob back real fast, and we just kind of circled each other awkwardly until time ran out and i won on points. that's not technically allowed, but the ref had some mercy on me.

my coach did not.

i barely had time to sit down before he strode over to the bench to chew me out.

"babylon," he said, in that very calm way people get when they're too pissed to yell. "why didn't you pin?"

and i didn't know how to say well coach, i tried, but there was a boob, and it kept getting in the way, and my mom was watching, and so was my dad, and so was his dad, and his mom, and god (like bible god) and that's a can of worms because i'm pretty sure he was already mad at me, and i'm wearing spandex, and i think i might have to move to siberia, so instead i said

"i uh. i forgot how to do the half nelson."

which is actually impossible. forgetting how to do the half nelson is like forgetting how to swallow your spit.

and he looked at me, like i was the dumbest person in the entire world, and i looked through him like i'd just survived my 250th day in a trench at verdun, and he said: fine.

fine.

but we're all going to practice it for an hour tomorrow because you forgot.

and then he left.

and my buddies had the gall to be salty about it. i got so many comments saying "dude, why didn't you just tell him the truth?" and i said "you can if you care so damn much. you could've wrestled the girl too. maybe someone else should do the hard thing today."

but they didn't. so the next day, we did an hour of half nelson drills, and i spent a decent amount of time getting thrown around the mat, and it was pleasant in exactly the way that i hated and the year after that, to the surprise of everyone but myself, i quit wrestling and joined the trivia team.

and if you want more reasons to love my mom, my grandpa joked after the match that i might have to talk to my bishop about it, and my mom told him he would be allowed to make jokes after he stood in front of a crowd of 110 people in spandex underpants while wrestling a woman that was not his wife.

he paused for almost five seconds after that. then he said: aw. hell. sorry babylon.

and i'd have preferred my apology from god, but getting it from him was pretty good too.

[damiansgoodgirll]

Jey and Jimmy x platonic r where she’s like a little sis to them and she followed them outside the bloodline and when someone (charlotte or dakota you choose) try to attack her backstage they go into protective mode please

the usos x reader (platonic)

tw : reader being attacked behind her back and a little injured reader

i love charlotte so please forgive me for making her the bad guy here

backstabber

starting off in nxt was the step to succeed into the main roster, well, not for everyone was like that but you knew you had potential to achieve that. barely 21 you had been wrestling since you were 18. not that much but you were good, you had talent and people saw that in you.

that’s how you found yourself being recruited by the bloodline right after the match you won in nxt. no one told you that so you were a little surprised but you knew you couldn’t let that opportunity go away so you accepted.

from nxt to raw and smackdown.

the usos were the one who saw the potential in you and they wanted you in the team. roman really didn’t care but he agreed that the bloodline needed a female gaze and he liked the way you fight, the way you were able to speak without fear and how people liked you.

you started getting more matches and one night you won the smackdown female title against charlotte.

oh she was mad.

she couldn’t understand how someone like you, with little to no experience and only 21 could beat her, the queen, the most perfect woman on the roaster. she was beyond pissed and she wanted to get revenge on you but she knew she had to work on a way to hit you when you were at your lowest.

she thought it would be hard but then the usos lost their title and the bloodline fell apart. you were shocked but you always knew you would stick with the twins. they were the reason you were champion now and you couldn’t let that go away.

you stayed with the twins and they showed you so much gratitude for sticking with them, knowing their whole family turned their back on them.

you were now a trio. the twins and you and even if the feud kept going on you still retain your title. you fought against so many big names you always admired and couldn’t be happier.

in reality everyone loved you. rhea ripley was a menace in the ring but she turned out to be one of your best friends. becky loved you, she always said how your happiness could light up her days. bailey took you under her protective wing. she trained you and even if you fought her a couple of times she was beyond proud of what you were achieving. you even tried to talk with charlotte but she would simply ignore you.

so while you were waiting for the twins to finish their gym session so you could train together you felt something or more like someone hitting your back from behind.

there were no cameras, no shows going on. it was just a simple day backstage where everyone was working for the upcoming show.

you dropped your phone on the ground and you let out a loud and pitched scream. you’ve never felt so much pain in your life. you knew something was wrong, your back was in so much pain you fell and couldn’t even stand and breathe properly.

jey and jimmy heard the scream. and they knew it was you.

they left the gym and ran into your direction.

they saw you you laid on the ground with charlotte hovering over you. she kept kicking you and giving you punches you thought you were going to die. there was blood coming out your nose and head. your legs where both shaking from pain and you knew your left shoulder was dislocated.

as jimmy went to remove charlotte from your body, jey got down at your height and saw your bruised body.

“that was my title you fucking bitch!” charlotte kept screaming as jimmy and some security tried to keep charlotte away from you.

you didn’t even care about what she was saying. you were in too much pain and all you wanted to do was sleep the day off.

“hey y/n…can you hear me? can you talk to me please?” jey softly asked you.

“can’t…breathe…” you whispered.

he knew it was serious when he heard your voice. you were struggling to breathe and he had no idea of what to do.

“i’m gonna lift you in my arms okay?” he said and you nodded, he also motioned someone to call an ambulance “one…two…three” he picked you up and tried to be as gentle as possible but you let out a small scream that broke his heart.

“shh…we’re getting you help” he said as he moved away from the backstage.

charlotte was taken under custody and jimmy joined his brother.

“shit where the fuck is the ambulance!” jimmy almost shouted.

you were in so much pain you had no more tears to cry, all that was left where your sobs and your body shaking and whimpering with you.

“you’re gonna be okay sweetheart…” jimmy said while trying to clean the blood off your face.

they were beyond mad and wanted charlotte to pay for what she did but right now their first priority were you.

they got inside with you in the ambulance and both of them held your hands, whispering soft words.

you knew you were in good hands so you let yourself fall asleep. that made everyone alert. you were losing too much blood and you fell unconscious.

once at the hospital you were treaded with the utmost care and respect and only after a few hours but what felt an eternity for the twins the doctor managed to patch you up.

you had a dislocated shoulder, a few broken ribs, a concussion and a lower back pain. you got lucky charlotte didn’t hit you higher otherwise you could have remain paralysed.

“so that means…” you whispered. the twins both in the room with you.

“no wrestling for at least three months, you need to recover and get back in shape” the doctor said. you felt your heart breaking into million pieces.

“but - but what about the title…and summerslam and…” you whispered.

“hey hey don’t think about those things right now…you need to recover and recovering needs time” jey said holding your hand “you need to focus on yourself…not on wrestling”

“but…” you tried to speak but jimmy stopped you.

“jey’s right…you need time for yourself and we’re always gonna be here for you, always”

“thanks…” you whispered.

“now my dear you need to rest…we’re gonna be outside while we exchange a few words with the doctor…” jey said, kissing your hand and then your head.

you waited for them to exit the room before you let yourself cry, all the tears from what happened before. your dream falling into pieces and knowing you couldn’t do anything about it made you even angrier, but eventually all the crying tired you out and you quickly fell asleep.

jey and jimmy were talking with the boss, telling them exactly what happened and that some people saw the scene too. they wanted charlotte’s career to go into oblivion and they were ready to fight for it.

[amostdelectablescribbler]

Another oddly specific set of tips for fight scenes;

1–Weight Classes

“I’m 260lbs tho” yes, and in an untrained street fight, a smaller, trained fighter even with fairly elementary knowledge of fighting and grappling avoidance, the bigger fighter will be shown a helluva time. Especially once the big guy with big muscles gets gassed out. If you have more muscle you need more oxygen, and so stamina becomes far more of a factor. This is why heavyweight fighters need to train stamina hard, as getting caught out of breath means you’re gonna blink and wake up on a stretcher. The little guy is gonna have more stamina, especially if they run a lot in the story. They won’t feel it so bad, but the big guy maybe has 30 seconds of swinging until they need a breather. At which point the little fighter’s weaker punches can chip away at the big one’s chin.

Additionally; muscle hurts more when it gets hit. A leg kick will start cramping up if you don’t check it and are muscular. Fat is the opposite. Build in armour, meaning only headshots mean anything. That extra weight means punches hit harder too, as Ek= 1/2 m v^2

This also means the little guy hitting super fast is gonna do big damage, while the big guy needs a bit of distance to get up to (higher) speed. Your fat boy, though, is almost certainly gonna be low on cardio without training. They only have a few swings of high power before technique dissolves.

2–Mismatching Strength.

Zuko vs Azula is a good example. Zuko, even with the comet, could never match azula in raw power. Volume maybe, but her flames burn hotter and more efficiently, so Zuko, knowing this, used his gas tank to his advantage. The size of fire she output meant it was unsustainable, and so he waited, matching her attacks and using the minimum fire needed to deflect or block her strikes. You can even rewatch the fight for more detail, but Zuko who is unable to, pardon the pun, fight fire with fire, had to adapt his strategy and play to his strengths—his persistence and tenacity. He’s used to running on empty, azula has never had to as far as we know.

This leads me to; if you put your unstoppable force against the immovable object, they cancel. For an interesting fight, you need a bit of diversity of style. Another example is episode 3 of Arcane. The fight on the walkway means Vi’s smaller stature cannot be used against her, as it’s opponents 1 at a time conveyor belt style. Her weaker 14 year old girl punches can never match the strength of a 30 year old huge bald man. She knows that his size slows him down, so she waits, blocks the stab and goes for a hard and clean uppercut. Precision and speed won her that fight, along with vander’s old gloves.

There’s always a bigger fish, and that means eventually someone’s gonna be better than the hero.

Unrelated, in my own work; Claudia only punches. She’s a brawler, and likes hitting stuff. She also can’t shoot a gun to save her life. Awful shot. I threw her in against a guy with a gun. She had to use a table, filing cabinets, another goon, etc, as shields and projectiles. You have to get creative with this, but if you succeed, it is good. Always throw opposites in the ring together. Wrestling and boxing, swords and guns, etc.

3–Counters

Striking and grappling counter each other. If a grappler is past a striker’s guard, the striker is done for. Only elbows can save them now. If a striker keeps distance, the grappler can do nothing but get pieced in the chin and hope they don’t fall over.

Is all.

[coxzuckermachine]

Okay so story time. Went to a sexy wrestling event at the sex club! It was awesome. There was a rubber chicken that people kept hitting each other with. The wrestlers were:

- The Stroker, who wore a BDSM wrestling mask, a thin mesh top (tits out kinda look), and had a neon pink strap-on harnessed to her thigh

- The Cluck Cousins, who had the rubber chicken

- Hot Rodney, the sexy mechanic (who was EXTREMELY sexy, my GOD)

- Dickolas Cage

- The Skullcrusher (badass sexy cheerleader).

First, the Cluck Cousins fought The Stroker. It was a hard fight, but the Cluck cousins won, and one of them face-fucked her with her own strap-on

Next, Dickolas Cage fought Hot Rodney, who I honestly was kind of enamored with. I'm a Hot Rodney from the Sex Club stan now. Hot Rodney won.

Then, The Cluck Cousins fought The Skullcrusher. They caught her and stripped her to her underwear, but she turned the tide and got them both lying on their backs on the ground, head to head... she proceeded to climb on top of them and hump both of their faces at once in victory. I hooted and hollered

And finally... the last fight.... Skullcrusher vs Hot Rodney. So good. Ugh... most of the wrestling match was really fun and silly and camp but when Hot rodney tugged down the zipper a little bit more on his jumpsuit, showing off all of that happy trail, before body slamming Skullcrusher into the mat... hot. The sexy ref started timing it, but Hot Rodney was like tch. No need. (Hes SOOOOOO confident) and he fully stripped the Skullcrusher and thrust his cock into her mouth. At this point, the girl who was running the show (not the hot ref, the organizer) stepped in, saying - "hey hey -- getting too rowdy guys!"

Of course, shes part of the fun, and they grabbed her and threw her on the mat. Skullcrusher rode her face while Hot Rodney finger fucked her intensely. After a while of a fun threesome (with all of the crowd cheering in glee), Hot Rodney declares it's time to get The Steel Chair

Hot Rodney grabs The Steel Chair.

"WAIT" says the hot ref, "IT'S NOT SAFE!"

"...awww :(" says everyone.

"....without a CONDOM!" the hot ref finishes, triumphantly holding a condom above her head. She applies the condom to the leg of the chair. AND THEN THEY FUCKED HER (the event organizer) WITH THE STEEL CHAAAAIR

It was awesome. The most fun show I've seen in ages. God bless our troops (sex workers)

I have a date for the sex club tomorrow!! Boutta get dicked down

[maximoffslilwitchintraining]

Come on, lets join the fun

Part 8 

Mommy I mean Wanda series

Warnings: sexual, alcohol, swearing

Summary: New years eve is coming up. Since it was requested, I also included a short snippet of what happened at Yelena's 21 birthday party. 👀

“I did not expect her to invite this many people.” Natasha sighed, wrapping her arms around Wanda as they hid in their kitchen.

“I know, malyshka, but it's her twenty-first and she needs to enjoy herself.” She tries to reassure her.

“I think she is.” she laughs, watching her sister drunkenly cheer as she beats yet another one of her friends at arm wrestling. 

“Come on lets, join the fun,” Wanda smirked pulling her wife with her.

“Hiii, you guys! Did you see me?!!” she cheered. “No one can match my great strength.” She shrugged falling onto the couch, trying to look aloof.

“No one?” Natasha looked at her with disbelief. Yelena frowned.

“No one.” She spoke placing her elbow back on the table while giving the redhead a challenging look.

“No arm wrestling, come on let's do it properly.” Yelena did not hesitate, getting up on her feet.

“Oh no, no let’s not.” Wanda tried to intervene but neither listened. Yelena was the first to take a swing. Missing, Natasha grabbed her arm twisting it behind her back. Yelena got in a kick to the older woman's knee causing Natasha to lose balance, falling back and releasing her arm. Nat didn't stay down for long rushing towards her sister. Yelena in turn backed up falling back on the table by accident but using it to her advantage to attempt to kick Natasha. Unfortunately for her Natasha manages to get ahold of her leg and tries to pull her down. In reflex Yelena grabs ahold of the chandler hung above the dining table. Strong as she was, she managed to pull herself up, but Nat wouldn't give in. And so down the younger girl went along with the chandelier that could no longer take the abuse. Fortunately, it missed both but let out a loud bang as it hit the wooden table.

The two panted on the floor looking at each other with shocked expressions, before bursting out in laughter. It fell short as their eyes met Wanda, who stood in the corner of the room with her arms crossed.

“Alright everyone, the party continues in the living room, THESE two have some cleaning up to do.” Wanda spoke. All the guests made their way out of the room, with a giggle and concerned faces. She gave Natasha a look before closing the door, leaving them alone.

“Oh your fucked!” Yelena let out a big laugh, which was followed by a punch from nat.

“Hey!” She hit her back, Nat wanting the last punch gave her another one and they were yet again getting in to fight, when someone cleared their throat, getting their attention.

“Just grabbing the wine.” Wanda carried the bottle, silently eyeing the both of them. 

………..

“And that’s why we don't move the cloth on the dining table. And why we have a hole in the ceiling.” Wanda finished her story, eyeing Natasha. You burst out laughing

“That does sound like Yelena. God, I'm sad i missed that. All through the party, I threw for her 21 was pretty wild too.” You laughed remembering the night. “God we were so drun...” You stopped yourself as you noticed Wanda's raised eyebrows. 

“So who won?” You shifted the attention to Natasha.

“Well, I got her down on the floor.” Natasha smiled

“And the chandelier,” Wanda added getting off the couch to collect your glasses.

“Yes exactly so won,” Natasha smirked at you. You moved closer to Nat getting on her lap, and leaning in for a kiss.

“Don't start without me.” Wanda came back to the couch. She played with your hair, gently grabbing ahold to direct your face to her, before kissing you as well.

“Did baby need some attention?” Nat cooed against your neck before kissing up to your ear.

“Actually... um, it goodbye kisses.” You struggled badly wanting to stay and their facial expressions didn't help. “I have to go home before they get concerned.” Natasha's grip around your waist tightened.

“Will you text us when you get home?” She spoke reluctantly letting go of you as Wanda pulled you onto her lap.

“Of course. “ You smiled at her as Wanda squeezed you. 

“Good girl.” Natasha said. 

“Mm very good.” Wanda agreed, letting you go. “And very pretty when you blush for us.” That only made your cheeks hotter. You decided to get up before you caved and stayed the night. They followed you to the door, kissing you goodbye. You were about to leave when an idea struck you.

“Wait.” You blocked the door.

“Back already?” Nat smiled.

“What are you to doing for new years?” They looked at each other.

“I suppose we don't have any plans really. Why?” Natasha said. 

“Oh, no reason. Just curious.” You smirked, walking away. “I’ll text when I’m home.”

Next part>>>

[a-bang-for-your-bucky]

Welcome Home Part 4

Summary: Winter is here. Peyton has her match against Shida, Kenny has his match against Moxley, Brandi shares some information with Peyton.

Pairings: Cody Rhodes x OFC (Sister), Brandi Rhodes x OFC (sister), Kenny Omega x OFC

WARNINGS: 18+, explicit language, allusions to smut, a heated make out sesh, heel turn.

Word: 1,957

A/N: y'all i'm sorry this took so long. I hope this is as good as the other parts. <3

Tonight was the night. “Winter is Coming” had an action packed card. There was a rumor going around that someone was making their AEW debut, but only a certain few knew who. (Here's a hint: IT'S STIIIIIIIIIING).

My match against Shida was after Cody’s tag match with Darby against Team Taz. Brandi and I watched the AEW Dynamite Diamond Ring Battle Royal as I prepped, put my gear on and stretched. I rolled my eyes watching as MJF weaseled his way into a win. “One day, Wardlow is going to kick his ass.” I bet as I turned to Brandi. She nodded in agreement. She had been acting different lately. “You alright, sis? You seem off.” I asked her, genuinely concerned.

Brandi looked around the office space we were in, before getting up to close the door. “You can’t say anything, especially to Cody.” She made me promise before continuing. She was starting to scare me. “I’m pregnant.” She beamed, pulling a scan photo out of her bag.

My jaw dropped, eyes wide open. “I’m gonna be an aunt again?!” I all but squealed, taking the black and white photo from her. “Brandi, that’s so exciting! I know how much you guys have been wanting this.” She enveloped me in a hug.

“I haven’t came up with the best way to tell Cody yet, but it’s gonna be this weekend. So, you won’t have to keep the secret for long.” Brandi was positively glowing. This was the best news to get right before my match.

“Thank you for trusting me. I can’t believe this. It’s gonna bring me good luck, I just know it.” I smiled, hugging her again. A knock on the door pulled us back to the night at hand. “It’s open.” I yelled.

It was Cody. “You’re up, Pey.” He said as he walked in over to Brandi. “Hi, honey.” He whispered sweetly, giving her a kiss. I mock-gagged telling them to get a room before I left. It was time; My time.

A twenty minute long, extremely physical match later and I did it. By the skin of my teeth, I was able to get Shida in a roll up. For good measure, I used the bottom rope to my advantage, leveraging more pressure on the pin. Luckily, Rick Knox didn’t see it.

“Here is your winner, and new AEW Women’s Champion, The Dream Killer, Peyton Rhodes.” Justin bellowed into the microphone. The crowd was split between cheers and boos. Tony had met me at the stage.

“Peyton, any comment on the match?” He asked, obviously hinting at the rope thing. I smiled and shook my head.

“What Tony? You mean the match I just won? The one where I became champion? I think it went great.” I flashed him a toothy grin.

“But the rop-”

I cut him off. “Let me stop you right there, Schiavone. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I won that match, fair and square, with blood, sweat, and tears.” I growled into the mic, “Excuse me, I have a celebration to plan.” I stalked off down the heel tunnel. I only had about fifteen minutes before spot with Jon and Kenny.

Shit, I thought. I almost forgot about the conversation a couple of weeks ago. When Cody said he wanted me to turn on Jon, really solidify my heel turn, I didn’t think he’d want me to help take his title. Tony Khan wanted Kenny and I to play a ‘Power Couple’, basically take over the show.

I quickly changed out of my ring gear, back into my street clothes. The black skinny jeans were distressed and paired well with the grey tank top and tight leather vest I had pulled over it. My feet were clad in black combat boots.

I stood at the Gorilla monitors, watching Kenny’s match. I was still feeling high from winning my match and becoming AEW Women’s champion. I was waiting for my cue from Kenny to rush out. The last few weeks, Kenny had been dropping hints that he was turning heel. Tonight, I was sealing that turn and helping him win the AEW title.

Kenny had climbed to the top rope, looking like he was about to attempt a moonsault, but Jon rushed him. Kenny noticed and jumped to the outside of the ring. I gasped, worried he had landed wrong on his knee. Only relaxing once I saw him jump back up on the apron. Jon hit him with a forearm, knocking him off balance long enough for Jon to slide out of the ring and pull a foot out from under him.

Kenny went face first into the apron. Jon grabbed him, looking like he was going for the paradigm shift, but did a slightly awkward snapdragon into a speaker. Kenny laid there, defenseless. I grabbed my mic, and got ready to run out onto the stage. The ref was trying to keep Jon back, while the ringside medic checked on Kenny.

More referees came out to assess Kenny, and I could tell Jon was getting pissed. He stalked back over and tossed the extras out of the way, trying to get to Kenny. Jon rolled him back into the ring and began pounding on his head. Kenny brought his hands up to protect his head, shooting a signal that only I knew to look out for.

I rushed out the heel tunnel, mic in hand. “Jon, stop. Please, stop.” I begged as I got closer to the ropes. Jon paused, confused as to why I was out there. “He’s down, Mox, stop.”

He moved off of Kenny, walking over to me. “What the hell are you doing?” He asked, throwing his hands up. He turned his back to me, doing Kenny’s signature finger gun gesture. I reached over the top rope, grabbing at his shoulder. He turned angrily, causing me to jump back, strategically dropping the mic into the ring for Kenny. “Get out of here, Peyton!” Jon yelled at me before turning back to Kenny.

I had the referee distracted long enough for Kenny to grab the mic, and smack Jon in the head with it. He had busted Jon wide open, the blood staining his face. Kenny pulled down his knee pad, hitting a V Trigger one, two, three, four times. I was sure Jon was unconscious. Kenny pushed him into a corner, fatigue settling in. He used the turnbuckle as leverage to lift Jon up, preparing for a One Winged Angel. He slammed Jon into the mat with such force, that the entire ring shook. Kenny grabbed one leg, all but laying over Jon, pinning him.

“Here is your winner, and NEW AEW world heavyweight champion, Kenny Omega.” Justin Roberts announced, and the crowd booed. I slid into the ring, taking the title from the ref, giving it to Kenny. I went to raise his hand, instead Kenny pulled me close. One of his hands grabbed the back of my head, pulling me toward him. I froze as his lips met mine. Quickly, after recovering from the shock, I pulled away. Kenny kept me close as he raised the belt. My mind still blank from the kiss, he moved us towards the rope, carefully holding them open for me to step through.

Once we were backstage and out of sight, I turned to face him. “Care to explain what the fuck that was?!” I fumed. Kenny’s face went beet red. He swiped a hand down his face. I knew he was exhausted, but I needed answers.

“Look, I promise I will explain, but Callis has a chopper ready to get me the fuck outta here. Come with me.” He swore, gesturing to the back door. I nodded and let him lead me outside. As we neared the chopper, Alex Marvez stopped Kenny to ask what happened. Callis stepped out of the chopper, telling him that he, along with everyone else, can find out Tuesday on Impact.

They must have anticipated my joining them as I found my duffle, along with my title and phone on the floor of the chopper. The pilot flew us to an undisclosed location, which I soon found out was the landing pad at Kenny's hotel. Callis ran straight to his room, hunkering down from the fall out of tonight's show. Kenny opened the door to his room, gesturing for me to come in. I walked inside, getting comfortable on the couch.

I quickly pulled out my phone, letting Cody know I was with Kenny. He immediately responded stating they were about to send a search party. I huffed out a laugh and Kenny looked over at me.

"I guess I have some explaining to do huh?" He sighed, running his fingers through his blonde curls. I nodded sharply. "I want to apologize first. I shouldn't have kissed you, especially without your permission and I'm truly sorry." He amended, " second, I really wish our first kiss would have been under better circumstances." He smiled sweetly. This man always finding a way to melt my heart.

"I accept your apology, this time Omega." I teased. "What made you do it though?" I asked, unsure if I wanted the answer.

"You know, the adrenaline was coursing through my veins, and there you were looking like a damn angel. And I thought to myself, the only thing that would make this better would be to kiss you. Before I could stop myself, my lips were on yours." Kenny blushed, explaining himself.

The man looked like a damn dream. Still clad in just his wrestling tights, blonde hair a mess of curls, chest red from the hits he took. And to top it all off, his lips looked down right kissable. Only Kenny Omega could look this good after a grueling wrestling match. I thought, smiling to myself. And even though I was upset that our first kiss happened on Live TV with millions watching, I wanted nothing more than for it to happen again.

“Can we get a redo?” The words fell from my lips as a whisper. Kenny’s head snapped up to look at me. He took three big strides to the couch where I was sat, pulling me up to my feet. One of his hands, which I never noticed were so big until they were cupping my face, tilted my mouth up toward his.

Torturously slow, Kenny brought his lips to mine. My eyes fluttered shut as my hands came up to tangle my fingers in his curls. Impossibly, Kenny pulled me closer, causing a small gasp to leave me. He took the opportunity to slide his tongue against my own.

The kiss was sweet, passionate, and full of emotion. When we finally parted to breath, Kenny was the first to speak. “That was,” he stopped, trying to find the right word.

“Breath-taking.” I finished his sentence and he nodded in agreeance. “Ken,” I started. He cut me off by kissing me again. I quickly melted into the kiss. My hands began to roam his body, slipping under the tight T-shirt, feeling the taut muscles of his back.

I pulled away from his intoxicating kiss and pushed him back toward the couch. Once back in a seated position, I straddled him. “Fuck, Pey.” Kenny moaned as my lips attacked his neck. He pulled my face back so that our eyes met. His blue eyes were almost black with desire . “Can’t have you leaving any marks there, princess.” Kenny growled. I cocked a brow and ground my center down on him. Kenny immediately flipped us, so that he was hovering over me. “You’re playing a dangerous game, Princess.” Kenny had started to unzip my vest when we were interrupted by banging on the door.

Tags: @rach-supreme93

[yikeswtfmate]

Jenga

previous part // It’s All Fun and Games Series Masterlist // next part

main masterlist

Summary: The gang goes to Tony’s pool party. Y/N finds out that Bucky lost at Jenga.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: swearing; threats of violence

A/N: ok, i’m having so much fun with these that i don’t even care they became an entire series without me even realising it; plus, who cares i’ve already posted 4 parts in a week already????

ironic how i’m writing about a heatwave when we’re literally going through a huge storm rn tho....i miss summer so much 😭

Y/N loves Tony. What she loves most about Tony, however, is his pathological need to throw a party for the most insignificant of reasons. It is no wonder then that he’s now invited all of his closest friends to his penthouse, that has a casually built-in pool, to celebrate the first day of the heatwave that’s supposed to torment New York for the next week.

Making her way out to the patio, idly chatting with Maria about a book they’ve both read, Y/N notices how there’s now a huddle of people right outside the glass doors. She can hear Wanda’s shout of surprise, while Clint doubles over in laughter, Viz just puts a hand over his mouth in shock, but she can’t see anything because Thor and Steve are right in front of what they’re looking at. Tony leans back, enough so he can see Y/N from behind Nat, and wiping away at a corner of his eye under his sunglasses, he calls them over.

“What’s going on?” Maria asks as the others break rank to let them notice it’s Bucky they’ve been judging.

“Aw, babes, I was wondering when you’d get here. I thought Sam’s gotten you hostage or something.” Y/N goes to hug Bucky, but she stops in her tracks when she notices the cap on his head.

There’s complete silence, as every gaze is trained on her, watching her narrow her eyes, a frown deepening between her eyebrows. She senses something is wrong, but she’s too focused on what’s wrong with Bucky to comment on their silly behaviour. He’s completely still, his breathing coming out in short bursts, as if afraid to scare her if he’d make any loud noise or move too fast. He licks his lips while one of her hands slowly grabs his cap and yanks it off.

Her mouth falls open, unhinged from its socket and someone takes the cocktail glass from her hand before it slips from her fingers. The blood drains from Y/N’s face and with an animalistic growl in his direction, she turns around and storms back inside. A door slams somewhere inside the apartment, before Bucky can even shout after her.

“Aw, man, come on! I thought she was gonna lose it!” Sam shouts in disappointment, suddenly breaking the eerie silence.

“Well, it could’ve gone so much worse.” Nat says, taking a swig of her beer. “I was expecting broken glasses and maybe a concussion.”

“Shouldn’t someone go after her?” Pepper asks, tone laced with concern, still looking into the direction Y/N’s disappeared.

“No, don’t worry.” Bucky replies. “She’ll come back out to punch me after she’s processed it.”

He brushes a hand through his hair, trying to get used to the short strands himself. He guesses he could’ve handled it better, maybe given her a warning before she took off the cap, maybe even told her before he’d done it in the first place. But he lost at Jenga, and the rules were set by Sam, which he now realises in hindsight were stupid to begin with. There’s nothing to be done now, he thinks with a shrug. Besides, hair grows back, and if she really hates it that much, he’ll just wear a cap around her until it grows back.

Tony slaps him on the back, congratulating him for not looking like a ‘ratty hobo’ anymore, although he himself concedes that Y/N’s going to kill him eventually and with that, everyone disperses into different directions to entertain themselves and enjoy the sunshine and the pool. Steve’s the only one left next to him, arms crossed in front of his chest, water still dripping from his trunks, and yet he still looks like a disappointed parent. Bucky sighs and moves towards the bar, trying to ignore his best friend who just follows him determinedly.

“I just want to say that for all I appreciate you finally deciding to give that ridiculous bun up, do you really think it was the right choice to do it because you lost at Jenga?”

“Hey!” Sam shouts, right behind them. “Last time I lost I had to wear all my shirts inside out for a week. This is fair. A loser’s a loser and he agreed beforehand.”

“Man, these were so easy on them, give me a break.” Thor’s head pops over the counter of the bar. He hands them each a bottle of beer and as they all sit on the stools, he points his finger towards Steve in warning. “Y/N made me tattoo a smiley face on my butt when she was playing, so be grateful she wasn’t there last night.”

As the conversation falls into the typical subjects like jobs, holidays, and how they can annoy the girls next time, Bucky realises half an hour later that Y/N still hasn’t come out. Just then, Nat places a hand on his shoulder, shifting his attention from the debate on who would win in an arm wrestling match.

“She’s in the last guest room on the right. You better go and talk to her or I’ll rip your eyelashes out.”

Bucky nods, leaving them behind as Clint announces that none of the guys would win because Nat would just beat them all up with her eyes closed. He makes his way through the apartment that feels more like a mansion, until he finds the room, which surprisingly is open.

Y/N is laying on the floor, head turned toward the windows, probably watching the fluffy clouds. There’s no point in him questioning her choice of position, considering there’s a perfectly made, heavenly looking bed a few inches away from her, so Bucky just lies down next to her, right in her line of sight. They look at each other for a few minutes, neither saying a word, and Bucky interlaces their fingers together between them.

“What did I say?” She finally grumbles.

“You say a lot of shit, baby. You’ve gotta be more specific here.”

“Don’t be a smart mouth with me, you little asshole.” Her free hand pokes his ribs, hard enough to make him wince. “What did I say?”

“You said I’m not allowed to ever cut my hair.” He sighs.

“And what did you do?”

“I cut my hair.”

“Why?”

“Because I lost at Jenga.”

Y/N sits up a bit straighter, leaning on her elbow, a frown still on her face. “No. You cut your hair because you’re an asshole. You could’ve agreed to literally anything else.”

“Fine, babe. You’re right.” He concedes. “Now, can you stop being mad at me and come out? The pool is really nice and I can’t chicken fight without my best partner.”

“I’m still mad at you, Barnes!” She pouts, trying in vain to escape Bucky’s arms as they lean on the side of the bed, but he manages to grab her and tuck her under his chin, blocking her with his legs.

“I’ll grow it out again if you really hate it that much.” He whispers with a kiss to her temple.

She looks up at him, her hand yet again going to his hair and she tugs at the strands in her usual manner. The curls bounce back, and she smiles softly. “I don’t hate it. It’s just…that bun was so you. I guess I just have to get used to it.”

“Hey, at least I didn’t shave the beard as well.”

Y/N’s eyes nearly pop out of her head and she punches him in the shoulder, earning her a laugh. “Don’t you fucking dare. I will end you, Barnes.”

“Eh, you’d live.” He shrugs. “You’d love me even bald.”

“Debatable.”

“Wanna bet?”

“Do you really want me to cut your balls and you don’t know how to ask?”

“Why do you insist on being so violent with me?” He asks.

“Because I love you?” She offers with a shrug.

“That’s a good reason.” He concedes. “But it’s not the answer to everything.”

Y/N shrugs again and extracts herself out of Bucky’s arms. She stands up, offering him a hand. He throws an arm over her shoulders, and with their fingers interlaced, they make their way towards the pool again.

“How the fuck did you lose at Jenga anyway?” She pipes up, a flare of anger emerging again. “Didn’t I teach you everything you need to know?”

Bucky just stops in his tracks, and leaning to the side in order to look at her, he frowns. “You’re shit at Jenga. You literally won only once.”

“And it was enough to bestow the best sentence in history!” She declares.

“I don’t know about that. Thor seems to love the tattoo.”

“That fucker. I’m going to so beat him at chicken fighting now.” Y/N yells, nearly dragging Bucky behind her now.

“Ah shit, here we go again.”

***

Taglist:

@imma-new-soul​ | @feelmyroarrrr​​ | @bxrnsfeyson​ | @welostkirsten​ | @free-as-fishes​​ | @jessyballet​ | @fckdeusername​

[sunsetbxbyy]

Heyo! I'd love a hc with Izuku~! His S/O breaks their leg after training one day and they’re left to walk around with crutches for the next few months? How would this shweet cinnamon roll be until they’re back to normal? Thank you and I hope it’s not too much!

My Crutch

Thank you so much for requesting this! Here’s a lil info before we get started

This story will start off with background on how you broke your leg, then get into how our bby boi would be during this time and how he’d help you!

You guys have been dating for about two months

Your Quirk : Shapeshifting

You can change into any mammal you so desire

Drawbacks

It takes about 10 seconds to shift

Shifting into to many animals drains your energy

Over-usage leads to passing out, blood loss (if there are claws or other extremities), etc

I hope you enjoy! 💚💚

It was literally just a regular day of training, and to be honest, it was going pretty good. You’ve faced Mina, Kirishima, and Tokoyami and won. But, your final sparring match was against your boyfriend’s best friend, Todoroki Shoto.

Just like any other normal person, you were nervous to high hell. After seeing what he did to poor Izuku at the sports festival, I’d be scared too. “Y/n, Todoroki, you’re up,” Aizawa Sensei said. He sounded extremely tired, like always.

As you walked up to the platform with Todoroki, you glanced at him. He had his normal straight face, no emotion whatsoever. You took a deep breath as you and him went to either side of the arena. “You May start,” Aizawa said once the two of you got situated.

It was Todoroki to throw the first attack. 1. He looked like he just wanted to get it done and over with. You dropped to your knees and put your head on the ground as hot air flew over you. 2. You glanced up and focoused on his face. 3, 4, 5, 6... Four more seconds. Four more seconds until you could shift. 2 more, now! While the smoke was covering you, you shifted into a cheetah.

When you dug your paws into the ground, you pushed off, hurdling yourself towards Todoroki. He looked slightly surprised, but masked it instantly by throwing up an ice wall in front of him, but you expected it. It was just tall enough for you too jump over it. Once you leaped, you landed right on top of him. When he fell to the floor, you two started wrestling.

You bit down onto his shoulder; not hard enough to cause serious and long-lasting damage, but just enough to draw blood. Without realizing it, Todoroki ended up getting his arms under you and onto your stomach, which ended in him launching you off of him with a burst of fire. !SNAP! You roared in pain as you landed on the ground.

As you rolled on the floor a bit, you looked down at your left leg. It was in a very unnatural position. As you looked up, your eyes widened as a ball of fire and ice cane hurdling towards you. The last thing you heard was your beloved boyfriend screaming your name.

——————————————————————————

Time for head-cannons!

When you woke up, you couldn’t move or feel your left leg

There was also a weight on your right hip

When you looked down you noticed 3 things

1. You were in Recovery Girl’s office

2. Izuku was asleep on your hip, which was cute as all hell

3. Your left leg was in a cast

As you looked more at your boyfriend, he looked so tired. When you started raking your hand through his curly hair, his eyes slowly fluttered open

“OH MY GOD YOU’RE OKAY!!!” He yelled, shooting up. Obviously, this almost made you shit your pants

“Of course I’m okay! Why wouldn’t I be?” You said calmly, lightly laughing as well

“Y-YOU BROKE YOUR LEG AND I WAS JUST SO W-” “Izuku, baby lower your voice, people in the states can hear you,” “O-Oh, I’m s-sorry. Well! How are you feeling? Do you need water? Do you need more pain meds?”

As your golden retriever of a boyfriend asked you questions, the door opened and in came recovery girl

“How are you feeling sweetheart?” She asked as she waddled over, lightly putting her hand on your head. “As good as I can right now,” You said and she nodded, lightly smiling

“Well, you’re going to be using crutches for about a month, a month and a half. You almost shattered your whole lower leg,” She said as she examined your cast.

“Make sure not to get this wet,” She said and you nodded. “And you,” She said, pointing at Izuku. “You better take care of her, when these pain medications wear off she’s going to be in a great amount of pain,”

“Yes ma’am!” He said, causing Recovery Girl to smile. “I’ll give you both crutches and a wheel chair,” She said as she walked towards the corner of the room. When she grabbed it, she turned around and rolled it towards Izuku

“Get her in that while I go get her pain medication,” She said, then walked towards the door

“Can you sit up?” Izuku asked, standing up. “Yeah, yeah I can,” You said as you sat up. You lifted your right leg up and around the bar on the hostipat bed so it was hanging off the side.

“Holy shit this is heavy,” You mumbled as you tried lifting your left leg. “Here, let me do it,” Izuku said as he gently grabbed your left leg. God you were so lucky you couldn’t feel your leg right now

Once both of your legs were hanging off the side of the bed, Izuku positioned the wheelchair to where you could easily get into it. As you were about to lift yourself up to hop into the chair, Izuku leaned over you and wrapped his arms under your knees and your back

You lightly jumped as he swiftly picked you up and set you down in the wheelchair. “Thank you baby,” You said as you quickly kissed him on the cheek, causing him to light up red. “N-No problem!”

Honestly, he wouldn’t let you do anything alone. Except shower and change of course. But if you needed help with that to, he’ll push his overwhelming shyness away and do it. Because that’s what a hero would do!

All in all, he would treat you even more like a baby then he already does!

[alias-b]

sins of my youth. 005

Billy Hargrove x OC! Evie Fenny~ Also posted to my AO3

Summary: It was common knowledge that Billy Hargrove hated Hawkins. Hated Cherry Lane. Even loathed the strange girl next door. Evie Fenny wasn’t too fond of the chaotic Cali transfer either. An awful high school tradition sparks a chain of events that changes everything, ultimately bringing two frayed souls together.

A/N: Well. It's time for the dance. Sigh. TW: Teenagers can be evil. Also head's up, light will be shined on an unhealthy relationship Evie is navigating. I won't get explicit with it, but we as readers are going to see red flags that our girl cannot see. Or is ignoring. Taglist open :)

Chapter 5: Skirt Safari

   Evie didn’t tell anyone she was going to a dance with Billy Hargrove for New Years. Just said some party in the city. Didn’t tell her mother. Not even Heather. 

   Floated through the holidays with her guitar on the porch swing.  Bundled up as snow fell. Little, perfect flurries. Open notebook next to her as she crossed her legs and exhaled into cold. Strumming idle tunes away from her mother’s indoor phone chatter.

   A car skidded up to Billy’s house. Day before the party. Tommy’s freckled face popped out of the driver’s side with Carol getting up too.

   “Hey, Fenny!” Tommy couldn’t resist prodding. “You stay on the nice list this year?”

   “Don’t spend all your coal in one place.” She set one leg down. Head cocking. Billy came out of his house shrugging a jacket on. He stopped to gawk at the snow. Let it fall into his curls. Rough and ethereal.

   “Let’s go.” He didn’t glance at Evie there as Tommy approached her porch steps. “Gimme the keys, I’m driving still.”

   “Little birdy told me you were gonna be around on New Years.” Tommy leaned against a brick post. A broad smile.

   “Oh, you guys are going too? That really makes me want to go.” Evie replied flatly. Billy smacked Tommy’s chest with a hiss at him.

   “I got shit to do. C'mon.” He warned, not wanting the annoying boy to ruin his chances here.

   “Don’t worry, Evie, I already have plans that night. I probably won’t be around that joint. I don’t qualify.” Carol’s bracelets clinked together when she swept her styled hair aside, undaunted by Billy's steel glaring. Tommy chuckled with her and Billy gave a growl low in his throat.

   “You take requests on that thing?” Tommy continued. “Got a song for me?”

   “Sure. How about this?” Evie straightened up. Strummed and tapped one foot to a beat.

  “Don't stand, don't stand so… Don't stand so close to me...” Evie flashed a smile and kept playing. “How’s that?” Tommy hitched to laugh until Carol hit his chest, tugging because she was over this conversation.

   Billy paused to smile at Evie there. Looking so pretty in the snow, it was criminal. Evie touched the strings to stop the flow of vibration.

   “She isn’t bad.” Tommy stumbled as Carol pulled him away.

   “Come on, you don’t even know what that song is about.” She peered back to glower at Evie. Lethal.

   “You see? I can’t sit on my own porch without being bothered.” Brown eyes lifted to Billy as she sat back to idly move the swing with one foot.

   “Never actually heard you sing.” Billy had observed instead, twisting the ring around his middle finger. No compliment or insult followed him back down the steps. Evie plucked a few cords, watching him go. 

   Billy wrestled Tommy for the driver’s seat. Won. Skidded off to raise hell somewhere else. 

   It was a clock ticking down each lazy hour as her secret hung in the air. Heather parents stole their daughter away to the Holloway's lavish cabin for a family New Years Party which took the heat off the lie.

   Evie spent the whole day preparing in her bedroom. Tossed dress after dress upon her bed like she cared what Billy Hargrove thought. Decided on something short and maroon. Sleeves just above her elbows and a slight poof to the little skirt. Gave her waist a little pull and didn’t make her cleavage look half bad. Matched her nails and lip color too.

   Makeup spread all over her dresser. Glittery gold shadow with a smoky haze. The dress was a metallic foil maroon, seemed fun enough for New Years. Big hoops and a necklace completed her look. Evie hurried to grasp a jacket before Billy could come to her door.

   “I’m going to a New Years thing mom, I’ll be safe.” She called on the way out.

   “Have fun, baby!”

   “I will.” Evie sprayed amber perfume and was lotioning her hands rushing out of the house. Almost bumped into Billy on the doorstep ready to knock. His eyes narrowed.

   “You didn’t tell anyone.”

   “Bet you didn’t either. Do your parents know?” She slipped her jacket on. Billy blew smoke in response. He seemed annoyed today which did nothing for her nerves. “So, I put on a dress...don’t get me murdered.”

   The joke seemed to go over him.

   “Well, let’s go.” He turned and went toward his car, stunning in the cold and twice and rude. “Let’s just get this shit going.” A cigarette hit the pavement.

   Evie didn’t move.

   “Are you alright?” She asked slower.

   “I just want to get there.” Billy snapped. “C’mon.”

   “Listen, I really don’t have to go anywhere if you’re going to be an ass the entire time.” She crossed her arms and Billy flared up. “I spent hours getting ready for this stupid thing. This stupid thing that you pestered me to go to!”

   His shoulder dropped.

   “Hours, huh.” Billy came around and opened the door for her. “We can’t waste that.”

   The charm reeled back.

   Evie stood unmoved.

   “Look, I just got into it with my old man. Wasn’t you.” Billy explained. “You lost the bet, Angel.”

   “I did.” She sighed and crossed to get in. He shut the door and joined her. Turned the music down when it blared. “What’s this bar called?”

   “The Dogfight.”

   “Charming.” Evie stuffed a tiny wallet into the bodice of her dress. Billy eyed her chest. “Watch the road, Hargrove.”

   “You spent hours getting ready for me.” He mused, rubbing his chin. “I like when a girl admits it.”

   “And how long did it take you to get this hair just right?” She reached and tugged at a curl as he’d done with her so many times. He’d doused himself in that sex cologne he liked so much. A red shirt opened and tucked into the tightest jeans he could have picked out. Leather jacket again today. “We both wore maroon.”

   “Looks more wine on you.” He fussed at that.

   “Just saying.” Evie broke to smile. “I meant it, don’t get me murdered.”

   “We get in, we snag some drinks, we get out. The streets are going to be chaos; it should be fun.” Billy turned onto the main roads. Sped beyond all the other cars.

   “I’m not letting you drive drunk.”

   “A motel is always an option for me, sweet cheeks.” Billy clicked his tongue.

   “With two beds, ponyboy.” She only grinned, undaunted. “I lost a bet, not all my morals.”

   Billy laughed, picking up speed.

   “We can loosen those up tonight.”

** ** **

   “What do you drink, Angel, an appletini?” Billy dragged Evie into a dark lit bar. Pink and yellow lights shooting all directions. Metallic streamers hanging and swaying with the dancers already smashed on the floor. Evie looked down at his hand as he peered around and brought her all the way to a corner table near the window.

   Even settled a menu on the other side like they might be hiding behind it.

   "Something with a little pink umbrella?" He continued, eyes on the window. Drunks sang along the streets in their party clothes. 

   “Try whiskey. I’m going to need one for this.” She caught Billy’s head whipping around. “Who are you looking for?”

   “No one, I-fuck!” The gorgeous boy lost all composure and skidded out of his chair when a bare ass pressed the window. Evie gasped and covered her eyes, pouty lips slack. Kind of enjoyed Billy losing his cool. “Asshole!” Music overlapped the chaos. Tommy fucking H howled with laughter on the other end, pulling his pants up.

   "Fuck." Billy sank back into his chair. "Shithead."

   Tommy swaggered in still laughing, had a woman on his arm that wasn’t Carol.

   She was clearly older, wrinkled and fatigued. Maybe forty. Wearing a tight purple lace number that was not keeping her warm or fitting correctly. Jean jacket. Fishnets. Smudged makeup. Big beehive hairstyle. She smelled like sweet pineapple and chain smoked her teeth brown and broken.

   Billy and Evie exchanged looks because she was also clearly a lady of the night.

   “Tommy...who is your new friend?” Billy asked slower. All teeth.

   “Her name’s Bubbles.” Tommy was shorter than her in those heels. Head on her shoulder with the cheesiest grin. “She’s a real winner.”

   “Charmed, handsome.” The woman rasped and reached for Billy’s hand then Evie’s. “Like the shadow, sweetie, it suits you.”

   “Thank you,” she blushed. “I like your beetle hairpin.”

   “We’re going to hit the dance floor,” Tommy scanned Evie, “good to see you here, Fenny.”

   “Right.” She glanced at Billy as they left. “What was that about?”

   “He’s drunk. Probably sad about some dumb shit with Carol, they’ll be screwing again before school starts.” Billy said that quicker than intended. A light bulb went off in his head. “Drinks. Wait here.”

   “Thanks.” Evie recognized teens from her school and rivals.

   “Fenny!” A couple football players spotted her inside. Poked until the window tilted open. “What’s a pretty girl doing in this dump?”

   “Our girl who brought Tannen down a couple pegs.” 

   Questionable Hawkins High Fame.

   “Just enjoying New Years.” Evie giggled there fiddling with her nails.

   “If someone messes with you, let the guys know, we’re down the block. That bar on the corner.” They started off. 

   “Will do, boys.” She jilted when Billy smacked a drink down, sitting. “Thank God.”

   “He ain't here. Thank me." Billy leaned over to see her. Crossed his arms as she drank. "You don’t party this hard?”

   “We snuck into a bar, did you even get carded?”

   “Told you, no one cares.” He gulped his own glass down. “Stop worrying.”

   Evie just drank more in response.

   "You established I only go to lame high school parties." Evie paused to see him. "Kind of waiting for a rain of pig's blood here. I guess I actually want a good night."

   "I wouldn't say it's asking a lot." Blue eyes went to the table, paint chipping away from wood. There was an uneasy beat before he softened. “Another? It’s open for the party. Free shit even after twelve.”

   “Please.” She followed him this time. Felt the burn in her throat as they leaned there together. "So, why-?"

   “Hey, Fenny.” Brock Tannen’s sculpted face craned over her shoulder. Billy tensed, jaw twitching. “Boy, am I shocked to see you here. With Keg King Billy Hargrove. Apply enough heat and even the ice queen melts. Must be a Cali boy thing.”

   “You’d be about Antarctica.” Evie replied. He only smiled. Eyes shifted to Billy.

   “Hope you stick around to midnight, have fun you two.” Brock pulled a girl off with him, staring at him like he was a pot of gold at the end of a spring rainbow. Little blonde with some acne scars she tried to cover with make-up. An eyeshadow look in blue to match her dress that must have taken hours to perfect. Two missing teeth in her mouth. Skin and bone thing. Young looking.

   “Asshole.” They said at the same time. Tension broke. Billy chuckled and she peered in the direction Brock had gone into.

   “Did you see that girl with him?”

   “No, who?” Billy scratched the back of his neck. Kept looking around.

   “Ah, nothing.” Evie brought the glass to her lips again and sipped. Screens all over this bar and the city played the party in New York. Commotion in the streets marked with loud party goers. “So, what’s there to do before midnight hits?”

   “Whatever the fucking fuck hell we want.” Billy tapped his glass to hers and downed it. Relished the burn.

   “You like to swear.”

   “No, I like to drink.” He corrected, offering her a menu. “Eat something.”

   “We gotta pay for food.”

   “I’m buying, I invited you.” Came a shrug. “Pick some shit out.”

   “You want food, honey pie?” A man flocked over.

   “Damn right, I do.” Evie peered at Billy. Amused. “I’ll take the fucking chicken tenders with a side of bitching fries.”

   “Ketchup?” They were writing, amused because she was cute even still.

   “Fuck yes. Um, please.” She gestured to Billy with his jaw slack open. “And who knows what this asshole wants.”

   “Blondie?”

   “Ah...I’ll just have another drink. Fucking beer.” He batted his lashes.

   “Wonderful.” The man slid off snickering. 

   “What was that, Fenny?”

   “I swear, but not like you. It sounded like fun to try it out.” She covered her lips to giggle. “Why didn’t you get food? We’re drinking and it’s going to be a long night.”

   “Long night, you say? So, you want to stick around for the whole party.”

   “I put on a dress and makeup. People are going to see me and the effort I made.” She set her jaw on her chin. “Avoided the question.”

   “I only had enough cash for one meal. Rest is if we need the motel.”

   “Billy, you should have said something! I have a few bucks on me somewhere.” Evie frowned when he got his beer.

   “Doesn’t matter, you’re probably a lightweight. Get food in your stomach before you down more free whiskey.” He brushed it off quickly, blue eyes on the windows. Evie’s food came and she slid it between them.

   “It’s hot, have some. Don’t make me feed you, I won't be my mother..” She pressed and pouted until Billy snagged a piece of chicken. They shared the basket, licking warm fingers clean. Billy took the thumb he licked and fixed her lipstick, earning a snort of protest.

   “Ick.” She cocked her head away, amused. “Thanks, mom.”

   “You know, it took me ages to place that tiny accent you got. But, it’s so Louisiana. Mona rubbed off on you.” Billy pointed when Evie had gotten a new drink.

   "It's not."

   “Let’s get air, I think some idiot is setting off fireworks in the street.” They got up to get away from the crowds. Evie noticed the odd couples. Scanned before Billy was pulling at her wrist through the mess of dancing bodies. Cool air chilled her pink cheeks as they got down the block to pause. Billy sighed and set one foot on the brick behind him to light up.

   “Don’t have an accent," Evie picked up again, "that’s all mom.”

   “Born and bred in Louisiana, it’s sticking to you too.” Billy offered the smoke.

   “Not good for the singing voice.” She declined so he puffed again. Groups were already tossing balloons and confetti about. Bar hopping from club to club. Evie pulled her coat closer. “I don’t have an accent. You have one, west coast.”

   Billy watched her look up at the few stars that decided to come out over the city. 

   “I haven’t been to California. Been to Vegas a couple times. All the women in my family descend upon that city every few years and I always had to tag along. Not much for me to do but look at the lights.”

   “My dad says Vegas is full of swindlers and whores.”

   “He strikes me to think that about most places.” She chuckled and Billy agreed, stepping on the butt of his cigarette. “This your first time out here?”

   “Yeah.” He sucked in some air, tongue sweeping his lip.

   “Hargrove's never been to New Orleans. I bet you’d like the food, it’s unreal.”

   “You haven’t had the food in Cali.” Billy quipped, scooting in next to her to see the sky that had her so enamored. “Never really have to deal with the fucking cold.”

   “I always wondered how you stayed warm in those clothes.” Evie’s giggle cut the second he pressed into her.

   “I just tuck in next to a warm girl, Fenny, it isn’t rocket science.” A breath touched the air and Evie felt herself spark. Saw those same stars glittering brighter within Billy’s eyes. A distant shore calling them both home. 

   Evie felt those flower petals whirling around her stomach like butterfly wings. Burrowing deep to bloom with new life inside her. Vibrant colors she hid from the world spinning to unfurl. Billy looked into her soul and saw the colors dance neon. Wind picked up their curls with gentle caresses. A pull of vines and thorns bubbled up too. Twisted every way to protect Evie in the only way they knew how. 

   She could feel Billy’s chest heaving with air. Hard and flush into her skin, stealing warmth. Admiring the echo of lights behind her brown eyes. If she opened her mouth, a rose might blossom on her tongue. Billy wondered about tasting it for himself. He dared to inch in and she spun out.

   “It’s a nice night. Beautiful.”

   “Let’s get a beer to go take a hike from this place. We’ll make it back before the ball drops.” Billy figured he could just keep her from the main party and she wouldn’t notice the odd couplings within. They delved in and out of bars. Watched the mayhem in the streets. Even caught a totally illegal race or two. Sparklers on every corner underscored by laughter and jeers.

   “What’s next for you, after school?”

   “Save money to hightail it out of here. See the beach again and get a shitty job.” Billy gulped, licking his lips after. “You going to college?”

   “Probably just the local community college, more focused on my songs. My mom and I keep trying to put it out there. Something’s holding me back.” Evie saw him peer at her to continue as they clicked along the cool sidewalks. Decorations scattered all over the buildings and streets. “What if these big time producers don’t like them? My songs. I mean, what if they tell me I’m no good?” She paced ahead to ramble. “I just don’t think I can take that kind of rejection.”

   “So, you find some asshole who wants to put you on the radio.” Billy chuckled. “You had entire albums on your walls. You want it bad, chica.”

   “What about you?” Evie gestured with the bottle. “What secret hobbies and talents does Billy Hargrove hide away?”

   “I care about my car and that’s about as deep as I go, Angel.” He winked, tossing his empty into the trash so she finished her own and followed. Swallowed the froth down. Evie hurried to nudge into him.

   “C’mon. You’re a good enough student. I see the grades you get in our classes.”

   “All to keep my old man off my shit. Not like that works.” Billy stopped at a crosswalk, settled his hand on the bar so Evie slipped under it to lean there and make him look at her. He couldn't help the smirk at this playful side.

   “Who will I tell?”

   “Heather, most likely.” Came the quick reply.

   “I don’t tell her everything,” Evie trailed off with her eyes wandering, a sly smile pressed, “I sing, sew, play the guitar, and collect little trinkets. Buttons. Rocks and crystals. Old coins and keys. Little vintage ceramic and porcelain figures. And I needle felt.”

   “What’s that?”

   “You stab wool with a special needle until it makes a pretty shape. You probably caught a few things in my room. On the bookcase.”

   “You’re a hoarder.”

   “I’m very organized.” Evie giggled as they crossed the street. In their own little bubble, ignoring all the festivities around them. 

   “What can’t you do?”

   “I can bake alright, but it's messy. Not a great cook. I’m hopeless, my mother gave up trying with me. I also can’t get my leg behind my head. But, I’m close.” Her joke brought a full laugh out of him. Angelic sort of sound. “I’m serious.”

   “You’ll have to demonstrate, I don’t believe it.” Billy stood in front of her, walking still and chuckling as he went.

   “Fat chance.” Her heels picked up to get beside him. They passed a window full of TVs and stopped to see all the parties playing within each screen. “You ever think the world is too big? We don't have enough time to experience all of it, I mean.”

   Billy only puffed.

   “So, what can you do?” Evie pressed again.

   “I can cook alright. I don’t know, I just do good in school because the shit’s never been hard on me. Used to surf,” he glanced at her, “back in Cali.”

   “I’m not a strong swimmer.” Evie said, looking up at him and the lights playing on his stunning face. Followed the curve of his jaw down his neck. “You know, Heather lifeguards at the pool every summer. She’d help you get a gig if you need a job when school is out. Probably prefer you over the other jerks that apply.”

   “Not as bad as the other jerks, I like that.” Billy mused, eyes flicking all around. Caught in stars again. “Hey, there’s the LA bash. Miss that shit. Music scene raged pretty hard.” The way he smiled melted Evie all the way to the pavement. Billy standing there lax and missing home. Displaying his own lush colors. Dreaming and feral.

   “You’re always writing in class when you’re not drawing dicks in textbooks.” Evie observed, earning an amused look in response. “Do you like that stuff? Stories?”

   “My mom used to say I told better stories than she did. I’d tell her them to help her sleep.” Billy admitted, blinking a couple times before the illusion shattered and he went stony again. Paced around Evie to continue.

   “You could write books, get more into English. Make some money being an author. Sell stories to the big screen.”

   “Burn out and go broke, sure.” Billy lit up another cigarette, gave this entertained puff. His wall went up higher and Evie stayed too soft. “End up teaching some snots like that jerk, Bowers.”

   “He’s not a jerk.”

   “Not to the girls in class.” Billy flicked his ashes. “Probably likes you and Carol fighting for his attention.”

   “We don’t…” Evie went red as an apple. “I don’t. Carol’s just jealous of the attention he gives me.”

   “Still weird. She hates that you’re a teacher’s pet. Don’t know why you’d want to be.” Smoke edged from his lips.

   “It’s nice when someone is respectful once in a while to a girl like me. When they listen, you know?” Evie held herself as they walked along a bit slower. “He respects me and what I have to say.”

   “Shouldn’t trust someone just because they’re being nice to you, Evie.” Billy had this distant expression when he said that. Full of ocean waves rolling into a peaceful shore.

   "Nice is still better than..." She never finished and Billy didn't ask her to.

   They peered at all the buildings illuminated before them. The skyscrapers pointing straight to heaven. Music boomed from several clubs, mingling all the celebrations together. 

   “Want to head back? Get another hard drink.”

   “I’d like that.” She admitted, shuffling some. 

   “Move it, Fenny, free alcohol doesn’t happen every day for us.” Billy snatched her by the hand, picked up the pace until they were both laughing and out of breath. Reeling around drunk groups of friends to squeeze back up to the bar. 

   The hard notes of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear us Apart” began after the second round. Evie was swaying already as they stood at the corner of the bar counter. 

   “Do you dance, Angel?” Billy cocked his head.

   “Sometimes. If I’m supposed to be onstage one day, I have to.” She giggled, bubbling and pink like champagne. “You?”

   “Fuck, no. Just bounce around and smash into people at concerts.”

   “That counts!” Her voice picked up over the ruckus. People dressed in glitter and metallic moved together above a floor that lit up. Gave the place an opulent vibe.

   “You look like you want to get out there!” Billy leaned toward her. The third round came.

   “We don’t have to!” Evie was pressed all the way into him. Both shouting at each other out of necessity. A pulse pounded their flesh apart. Jackets were left on a chair next to Tommy and his date.

   Billy sank his drink in one go so Evie followed.

   “I asked you here, I’ll ask you to dance if I want!”

   “Fine!”

   “Fine!” Billy echoed, sweeping Evie by the waist out with him. Bodies swayed all directions. Smashed them even closer together. Curls bounced. 

   Evie got swept up in the lights dancing on her skin. Blue and red glows now. She let her head tip back and moved with Billy there. He watched her intently, felt the whole world slow. Smiled brighter than he should have. Hot and sparking. 

   Electric and dreamy. Fizzling neon in their hungry veins. Bodies heating and sweaty. Nothing mattered in these lights though, something freeing there.

   Didn’t even care that it was fucking Cyndi Lauper blasting.

  “Girls just wanna have fun!” Evie sang along. She came alive under these glimmers in the crowds. Like she was the only one there. Every song change, they banged to each beat and never seemed to tire of it. 

   And then the mood tipped. Tempered with that damn Foreigner song about love. Billy and Evie stilled with it. Looked out at the couples coming together for a slow dance. 

   “Uh,” Evie swallowed harder and tucked some unruly curls behind her ear, “did you want to…?”

   “We’re doing this fucking party right. You asked for two things. A good night and no murder, I can manage that much.” Billy stole her forward. He tried to blame the alcohol. 

   Dipped a palm around the small of her back to bring her into his chest. Inches shorter, her eyes popped open. Lips parted with no words in sight. The alcohol in their bellies caught fire. He grabbed her hand and she laced their fingers without a thought about it. It was bold, how he touched her and Evie wasn't used to that.

   “There ya go. Just sway some.”

   Evie pressed her lips and broke that eye contact because it was turning her back to mush. Stared at the saint chain around Billy's neck. There was a pleasant glisten upon his taut chest from sweat. She got drunk off his stupid cologne. Let him inhale her perfume in turn. Boiling amber gleaming to stunt all his senses. Hint of sweet vanilla lotion.

   Unabashed, Billy pressed into her body. Not thinking she took up too much space or she wasn’t desirable. No, Evie Fenny was perfectly covetable. With her batting lashes and lights highlighting a glow upon her high cheeks. They swayed together between couples so Evie brought her arm over his shoulder. Gathered the bravery to see his eyes again, already looking at her face.

   “Billy,” Evie curled her fingers into his shirt, “why am I here?"

   “Because I asked you.” Billy spun her around under all the stars and streamers. 

   “Why’d you ask me?” She searched him. Saw his eyes flicker beyond her a couple times.

   “Because I wanted to, Evie.”

   “Why’d you want to?” Her tone etched into him, gentle as she could with another change of songs. Something older from the 70s by Kate Irving. Her little voice filling the space around them. 

   Billy just kept spinning Evie there at the center of the floor and they looked at each other without even getting dizzy. Let the world tilt while they stayed static. Silence crept and it was stunning.

  I'm afraid 'cause it feels too good

  And I want it too bad

   “Because you called me pretty.” Billy winked that time. Devilish. “At that party on Loch Nora.”

   “When we yelled at each other?” Evie felt the tension break and spill out. “I said your eyes were pretty.”

   “Same thing.”

  I never dreamed someone like you

  Could want someone like me

   Her head came to his collar when she laughed that time. The heart under his skin picked up. 

   “Evie.” Billy pressed then so she came up. The syllables died on his tongue. “We’re here and I like it. So, it doesn’t fucking matter.”

   “No, I guess not.” She let herself smile into his skin when her head dropped again. A slight giggle. “I like it too.”

   “Good.” Billy hit that word hard. They spun and spun to the flow of sound and lights. Drank it all in. Until it was seconds to midnight. Couples were stilling to count. 

   Billy looked at Brock raising his drink across the way.

   Twenty seconds.

   He peered down at Evie when her eyes lifted to see him. 

   Just one kiss, he could have stolen it.

   And he couldn’t do it. 

   Their hands dropped away. Evie smiled at the scene. Everyone celebrating the birth of this new year. It felt magical. Too good to let flutter away.

   Billy just looked at her and Evie breathed.

   It happened too fast.

   Soft hands on his jaw while she came to her toes and gave him one peck upon his lips. So inordinate in sweetness that Billy felt his eyes water.

   Instantly she slipped back down. Still beaming brighter than any star this night.

   A thank you for every single smile he’d painted upon her face in these short hours. For his boldness and his touch without fear.

   A kiss where there were no thorns for the first time in all her life.

   Billy had never been given such a kiss. It was gift wrapped. Something so signature for him from this girl. This girl he decided he liked to be around. He gasped the moment she let him go. Caught Brock laughing all the way across the room.

   “No.” He said. Crushed somehow.

   “No?” Evie’s head cocked in confusion.

   “Happy New Year!” Echoes and fireworks blasted. Everyone jumping up and down while Billy and Evie remained still as marble. Locked into each other.

   "Ah, I mean..." With midnight gone, Billy pulled her in. Decided to make this one count.

   Palms cupped Evie’s face. Brought her back with the slightest gasp he drank down. Kissed her full on the mouth like he'd been thinking about it all night. Billows of shiny confetti fell over them. Stuck to hair and clothing. Caught on flushed cheeks. Even tickled the kiss and made them laugh into it. Evie held his wrists, tried to remain steady until she had to part and angle to go back in.

   “Why?” She hitched the hot word against him.

   “Because I want to.” Billy uttered, mouth open just a little to coax her back in.

   This candied confetti kiss she’d remember forever. And the beautiful boy who opened his heart just enough to share it with her. Evie shined at him when she drew out enough to see his eyes. Billy’s thumbs drew shapes into her cheeks. 

   A finger had to playfully swipe a bit of caught confetti from her bottom lip so he could taste her again. Utterly divine.

   Evie’s arms slipped around his neck. Pulled.

   “Let’s get out of here,” Billy spoke between kisses. “Yeah? Let’s just go somewhere.”

   Her lashes fluttered at him. Same sensation drew up her stomach before she was nodding.

   “Okay.” Nerves crept. Billy smacked their lips together one last time. Like he wanted her and only her for the rest of this night. “I have to, um...restroom.”

   “I’ll grab our coats.” Billy’s hands brought hers down. Held them. He seemed in a hurry. “Meet me at the door. We’ll go.”

   Evie floated off into the wave of bodies so Billy sped to Tommy’s table. Bubbles must have excused herself too.

   “Man, you tongued, Fenny. It was actually kinda hot.” Tommy raised his hand for a high five that was ignored. “I won the pot, you know.”

   “You paid that girl.” Billy snatched their coats up.

   “Yeah, no one has to know that. Don’t get me disqualified.” Tommy leaned over. A hand clapped Billy on the back.

   “I’m so impressed. She kissed you, man. Whatever you did, I want that power.” Brock laughed loudly. “She was all over you, and that bit after midnight. Poor girl. Thinking anyone would ever-”

   “Man, just shut up.” Billy shoved to pass him. "Let's just forget this shit ever happened."

   “Oh, no, B. I don't think we will. You probably just want your reward. You earned it.” The horrible boy made it a point to count each bill carefully until he pressed it at Billy’s chest. “Good work. Maybe you can get a blowy out of her before you drop her off at home. My date’s good for one too before I call her a taxi.”

   Billy shoved the money into his pocket. Felt like trash. Eyes anywhere else.

   “Whatever, man.”

** ** **

   At the same time, Evie stumbled to the sink and washed her hands. Cloud nine. Sang to herself out of habit.

  “Oh, but anyone...who knows what love is…” She looked at that reflection. This breathless, kiss smothered girl who was grinning. Happy. Dabbed under her eyes to fix the makeup with a cold paper towel. “...would understand.”

   “Pretty pipes you got there, sweetie pie.” The scratching voice called before a stall opened. Tommy’s date. “Nice night, huh?”

   “The best.” Evie was still dancing in a dream, showered in confetti.

   “Wasn’t as bad as I thought. Free meal. Pretty guy who treats you right for a night. Not a bad gig. Not at all.” The lady came to the mirror. Washed her hands and started to apply some extra make up. “Stupid name though. Skirt Safari.”

   “What?” Evie’s head cocked. Hip leaning into the sink.

   “Oh, baby. You should open those big eyes.” The woman puckered up and put a lipstick into her tiny clutch. “Tommy told me everything. Tradition. These boys bring a date. The ugliest girl gets them the win and they get some money. Stupid high school thing. And I won. Tommy said I’d get a bonus for that.”

   “They…” Evie felt her entire heart sink. The vines and their thorns wrapped tighter around her heart until it bled. Like it never wanted to be touched again. “Wait, Billy…he...we-” No breath came into her lungs, it was all punched out. Ruthless and swift.

   “The world is unkind to us, sweets.” Bubbles sighed at her reflection. “We have to find that kindness where we can. While we can. Just enjoy it because you never know what the next day will bring. Husbands who like to hit. Women who walk out on their babies.”

   “It’s not fair.” Evie tremored there. Unable to move so Bubbles gave her cheek a pat.

   “I know. But, we don’t let them see they’ve beaten us down. Do we?” Bubbles smiled at her without fear in her heart. And it was tragic because no one cared about her strength, all they saw was how she looked. “My ma always said to be brave and kind. Not everyone’s parents give that advice. But, they should. Be a better world.”

   “My mom says that also.” Evie’s fists closed. Passionate tears sprang to be blinked away. “I really hope the world is kind to you tomorrow too.”

   The woman paused. Gave this fluttered smile when her eyes watered. Evie was marching away from her. Shoving through the crowds where Billy stood with Brock and Tommy. 

   Billy saw her expression and she caught fire.

   “Skirt Safari, huh,” Evie shoved him into the bar, ripped her coat from his arms. Billy just gave this opened mouth look of horror. She laughed cruelly and Brock joined her, tugging some of his friends to see. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

   “It wasn’t like that.” Billy pushed up.

   “No, Evie, he’s right. Your boy didn’t take you because you’re ugly.” Brock was still chortling, holding his stomach. “Three hundred bucks to get him to take the Hawkins Ice Queen. And you were so easy, girl. We all took notes.”

   “Shut up!” Billy had snapped.

   “You didn’t disappoint, he was supposed to kiss you before midnight. But, you earned him the win all on your own!” They clapped and laughed at her there. Evie shook and growled. Shoulders raised. Cackling hyenas.

   “Three hundred, wow.” Calming, brown eyes snapped to Billy. “You should have held out. Tannen hates me so much, I bet you could have gotten five. Maybe seven.”

   “She’s right, man!” 

   “Evie, it-”

   “You’re all disgusting!” She swept her hand out. Came to Billy’s face. Her tone thickened, but she didn’t cry. Not one drop for any of them. Vibrating so hard with fury that her hand came up. Billy saw it. Waited. Didn’t flinch the way he did at home. Figured he deserved this one.

   Silence drowned the boys behind her.

   “I want to hit you,” she let her lip wobble, “you know why I’m not. You know.”

   “Evie.” Billy had nothing. Nothing to give her. Nothing to make her stop shaking.

   “You’re all horrible. Disgusting, pieces of shit. Bet Tannen gave you an earful about me. Fuck you both.” Evie leaned out, looked around. “You know, I don’t care why I’m here. What’s awful is every stunning woman you animals brought here will always deserve more than the world can ever give them. You’re the fucking beasts.”

   She tore away to go outside. Marched through all the jubilation. Steaming.

   “Evie!” Billy was running after her. Yanking at her wrist after she got her coat on.

   “Don’t touch me!” A shriek had him skidding backwards. 

   “Let me fucking explain this.”

   “Nothing to explain. Brock paid you to thaw the ice queen. Jokes on you! I’m not even a virgin! I’m not a prize, I’m not anything to you.” She shoved him again because he kept grabbing at her. Trying to slow her down.

   “Let me drive you home.” Billy insisted. “Let me get you home safe. I won’t even talk. Hate me forever. Evie, wait, damn it!”

   “Leave me alone!” Her scream sparked some attention. She got colder. Sneered at his eyes. “You’re not worth it, Billy.”

   Something about that struck an arrow to his heart.

   "You talked all this shit about fire's starting and getting out and I..." She hitched to get lower. "I trusted you. I believed it, you made me believe it...you're disgusting." A scream perched in her throat, but never left.

   "Just let me-"

   "No! I don't have to listen to any of this, so just leave me alone!" Evie kept pushing back at him.

   “Hey, hey, back off the lady!” Those football players from Hawkins were descending. Grasping Billy by the arms. “Hargrove bothering you?”

   “Yes!” Evie shot out, eyes on Billy’s face. “He’s bothering me!”

   “Let go of me!” Billy struggled so Evie began to run. As far and as fast as she could until she couldn’t hear him anymore. Fireworks banged over their heads. Exploding to rain down. 

   Her chest seized so she went to the first payphone she saw. Dialed a number she shouldn’t have.

   “Mmm, yes? Who is this?”

   “I know you said not to call, I need you. Can you pick me up?” Evie shut her eyes so tight. One tear fell. “Please.”

   A sigh.

   “Evie? What happened? Where are you?”

   Evie finished the call. Went into an alley so Billy wouldn’t find her. Waited there in the cold. Tried to hide from the pretty explosions in the sky. 

   They rang too loud upon her ears. Started to sound like thunder. Evie shut her eyes. Began to rock. Felt out of her skin and trapped in it at the same time. No control. Nothing. Just an ache while the vines crushed her heart. Hands covered her ears.

   A lighter palm touched her shoulder.

   “Evie.”

   “Fredrick.” She reeled up. Tossed herself into his arms. Sobbed so hard and betrayed herself. 

   “Hey, hey. I got you.”

   “Can we go? Can we go home?” She wept, ruining his shirt with makeup and glitter. “Can you take me to your place? I didn’t...I didn’t tell my mom where I was. I don’t want her to know. I don’t want anyone to know.”

   Bowers was already buckling her into the car. Evie curled up under his coat when he offered it. The air conditioning calmed her some until she was biting her fist to stop the flow. Blood welled under teeth.

   “What happened?”

   Evie sniffled.

   “They...They all laughed at me.” 

** ** ** 

  Curls ruffled out on a towel that smelled of pine an hour later. Feet padded out of the bathroom. Evie in a soft grey robe. Cloth dragged upon the floor until she saw Fredrick in bed. Seated up with little reading glasses to mark some papers down. Handsome.

   “You really won’t tell me what all happened?” He mused.

   “Just some stupid boys.” Evie played with the tie at her waist. “You told me to go out with a stupid boy my age. Remember? At the end of summer. After everything I let you do to me. Did...Did you get bored of me? Was that it?”

   "No, Evie. You don't understand."

   "You told me we had to stop, why did we start?"

   “I remember.” He sighed, settling his work aside. “It was for the best. I thought. You're all I think about, did you know that? I want to be with you, but there are rules in place. They don't believe what we have can overcome.”

   Wearing nothing but some boxers and a clean, white tee. His feet touched the floor before he rubbed his head.

   “You still look so good in my robe.” He sounded bashful when he said that. Eyes drinking her in and averting. "You're all sin, Evangeline."

   She shuffled. Shy. Uneasy. Ignoring it.

   “Used to say that a lot.” Evie pressed her lips up.

   “And I mean it every time.”

   “I meant what I said...before summer ended. You remember that too?”

   “You know I do, Evie.” Fredrick rubbed his eyes. Swept his hair between those soft fingers. Evie crossed to him.

   “We were together the year. You weren’t my first, but you were the first man I ever loved. We spent all of that summer together and you told me we had to stop. Out of the blue. You talked of us running away from this place and getting married and it hurt me.”

   “I’m your teacher. If people found out about us... They'd never understand.”

   “You waited a year to stop us. Why kiss me if you knew we'd end? I didn’t tell anyone. Not even my best friend.” Evie reached out. Touched his shoulder. “You miss me and I miss you.”

   “I’m weak for you, Evie. You know that.” Fredrick let her climb into his lap. “You’re so different and special. Not like other girls. You heard me. You listen to me.”

   “I want to be with you. And I said I loved you, but you…”

   "What if I said I loved you? Huh? Those boys don't matter, a girl like you needs someone mature to match." He pecked her cheek. "I do love you."

   Evie's resolve melted. He shut out the red lights. Burned her thorn covered vines. Words held power because we gave the syllables a charge.

   And all Evie Fenny could put out into the world was lightning.

   "You do?"

   He smiled. Her prince. Braving so much to be with her. Wasn't that magical?

   "How many boys have seen you like this?" Fredrick asked in a peculiar way. Charged.

   Evie bit her lip. Couldn't look anymore. Didn't answer the question.

   “I was scared of us.” He soothed now. “I should never have let you go. I’m always going to want the best for you, Evangeline. I hope you believe that. I’ll take care of you now, but you have to let me.”

   Evie leaned in. Kissed him lightly. Wondered how Billy would have touched her in that motel room if they made it. How he'd feel in return.

   "Will you let me?" Fredrick pressed. Wanting all the control she clawed to keep for herself in this skin and marrow. Devouring her without shame or remorse because he was older and knew best.

   But, nice was better.

   Evie had nothing. Head full of static. Body pulsing against her will. She wanted to scream. She wanted to eat more flower petals. A man loved her and she felt ugly and blaring. Out of control. No longer held to this world. Is that how it should feel?

   “Okay."

   His chest heaved like the sun might have just come out.

   "Can we go to bed now?” She pecked his cheek. Felt his hands going under the robe to open it.

   Wordlessly, Fredrick Bowers reached and turned the lamp off. The blaring in Evie's head never ended that night.

   Darkness loomed to snuff out every star.

~~~~~~~

Next up, we learn how the rest of Billy's night went. It's been an odd week. Thanks for reading :) Feel free to chat. TAGGED::: @80sbxtch​ @nottherightseason​  @orxhidshavana​​  @alagalaska​​ @alongcamedolly​​

[slut4barzy]

fight night | jack hughes

“i could totally kill you with that move,” cheesecake from segman’s on friday’s has always been you and jack’s favorite tradition ever since you guys started dating eight months ago, this friday was no different. in your matching white sweat sets you stood in the tiny green and white bakery waiting to place your order.

jack was referring to the japanese pro wrestling match that was showing on the tv hung up on the wall. nothing made him smile more than big buff men in too tight, colorful speedos, plummel each other into a concussion. “hmm, what has you so confident that you could pin me in wrestling?” you watched the replay: the wrestler in pink wraps his arms around the one in the dazzling yellow’s waist, throwing him over his shoulder folding the both of them backwards.

raising your eyebrow you look at your smirking boyfriend, “sorry sweetie i would kill you, literally.” “what makes you so confident?” he says mocking what you had just said to him. rolling your eyes you punch his arm causing him to laugh, “asshole.”

“since you’re so self-assured, let’s have a little match. first person to pin for five seconds is the winner. how about it hotshot?” with his hands in his pockets jack cockily shrugs, “and the prize?”

“winner gets to decide.”

he nods liking the criteria, “i’m down, but don’t get so butthurt when i win.” you chuckle, “we’ll see about that.”

the second the two of you stepped into the apartment the cheesecake was shoved into the fridge and the round ash oak coffee table that sat in your living room was moved to the side.

blankets and pillows were placed on the floor to help soften the falls and you were praying that your neighbors downstairs weren’t home because knowing you and jack things could get out of hand real quick.

standing there in neutral position you two stare each other down waiting for the other to make the first move. “what are you waiting for yln?” you fake a move watching him flinch, “waiting for you.”

“ladies first.” pursing your lips as you comtemplate, if you wait for jack you’ll be here forever so you decided to make the first move wrapping your arms around his neck. “this is the best you could do?” jack laughs putting his arms around yours as you two start to move in a circle. you slap his side, “and what about it?”

jack tries to grasps on of your legs but you move them quickly for his to only wrap his arms around your waist, “you made a very bad mistake.” he chuckles and your eyes widen knowing what he was about to do next and you were not about to let him slam you on your floors. without even thinking you took your leg sweeping his feet from right under the him, bam! you and jack hit the floor.

instantly you pin his shoulders down, “1! ... 2! ... 3!” but something didn’t feel right. by now jack would be running his big mouth about how all this was unfair and how he wasn’t ready but he was quiet and when you looked at him his eyes were closed, mouth was slightly opened where he was softly groaning.

oh my god, i killed him!

immediately you got off of him and hovered over his body, “babe are you okay? can you hear me?!”

“fuckkk,” he softly groans you push your hair behind your ears before holding his face in your hands, “jackie baby, talk to me please.”

then the roles were switched — jack was on top of you and your were on the bottom. and it finally you about what had just happened, you’ve been pranked.

“jack hughes!” you yell, “you had me fucking worried, you asshole!” as he counted down to five through his laughter, he finally let go of your shoulders where you started moving your hands like a madwoman hitting his biceps.

“i won!” he pursed his lips which you looked at disgusted, “a kiss for the champ?” you placed you middle finger on his lips which he kissed. “that was so mean of you, i was worried.”

“it was funny as hell though.”

“no i wasn’t. by the sound of the fall i thought i put you into a coma.” jack chuckles, “don’t give yourself too much credit. i banged my head but it didn’t hurt that bad.” you looked up at him with a soft smile rubbing the back of head, “i’m sorry about that baby.”

“i’m sorry about tricking you to win.”

“yeah even though i should have won fair and square. i’ll let you have it.”

“truce?” you ask offering a kiss that he happily obliges to, “truce.”

a wide smirk comes on his face, “now about that prize.”

(𝐬𝐞𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬 👩🏽‍🌾💗)

“wow sea posting two days in a row?!”

i guess i owe it to you all since i pop up with a story every couple of weeks. quarantine has me bored and i don’t want to do my homework. how are you all?

i noticed that no one is really writing for jack anymore or am i just not looking in the right places? i had this sitting in my drafts for a while (among many other things) and decided to polish it up a bit and post it. i like how it came out, so i hope you do too.

as usual sorry for any mistakes, and enjoy! 🤠🦋

[rigmarolling]

Five Things Abe Lincoln Did That Prove He Was A BAMF

I love Lincoln. You probably know this if you’ve listened to me talk for more than two seconds. I have a literal entire bookshelf filled with Lincoln stuff. I teared up in Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln at Disneyland. I cried so hard when I watched Lincoln (2012), that I almost started dry-heaving. I was Lincoln (sort of) for Halloween.

Is it a problem? No. It isn’t a problem, Mom. Because Lincoln was a 100% USDA-certified badass.

Don’t believe me? Here are ten things Abe did to prove he was absolutely a BAMF.

1. That time he jumped out a window to prevent a vote.

In 1840, the Illinois legislature was voting on whether or not to fund the state bank. Lincoln was a member of the Whig party, which did not require members to wear wigs, contrary to what the name suggests, but which did support saving the state bank. The opposing party, the Democrats (different political beliefs from modern-day democrats, do NOT come at me, Reddit dudebros) wanted to shut the State bank down.

It all came down to a vote...and it looked like the anti-state bank democrats were going to win. Abraham Lincoln, then a 31-year-old legislator who looked like the pioneer version of a Tim Burton character, was getting nervous. 

Above: Jack Skellington, 1840.

“Shit,” he thought, probably, “We Whigs are screwed if we lose this vote. And we don’t even get to wear wigs.”

The bank-hating democrats scheduled a vote to adjourn the session, which would effectively be the nail in the state bank’s coffin. Abe was panicking. He was the de facto leader of the Whigs; he had to do something. 

“Prove your mettle, boy,” he probably thought to himself in a folksy, backwoods kinda way. “Show ‘em you ain’t gonna give up.”

So Abe did what any self-respecting legislator would do when stuck between a rock and a hard place:

He jumped out the window of the legislature to stop the vote.

To be fair, Lincoln wasn’t the only one to opt for a morning act of defenestration: a bunch of the other Whigs joined in, too. The rationale was, essentially, this:

Which is peak Internet comedy, but unfortunately, it was 1840 and the Internet didn’t exist yet, so nobody appreciated the gesture and the democrats eventually wound up closing the bank, anyway. 

But at least Abe showed the entire state that he appreciated Looney Tunes-esque escape tactics.

2. That time he roasted a guy during a debate with good-old self-deprecating humor.

You ever rely on self-deprecating humor to beat people to the “yes, I KNOW I am offensive” punch?

So did our 16th president, Abraham Nicole Lincoln.

(Not his real middle name.)

When Lincoln was campaigning, his biggest rival was Stephen Douglas, the Democratic contender who was nicknamed “the little giant” because he was short but a heavy hitter in politics, and also because he looks like the kind of guy that just wouldn’t shut up at parties:

Above: “Actually, I’m not racist, BUT--”

In 1858, Lincoln and Douglas held a series of seven famous political debates called, brilliantly, The Lincoln-Douglas Debates, coming to you LIVE at Rockefeller Center, with performances by the Rockettes, Anna and Elsa on Ice, AND with special guest, Seal!

These debates were THE go-to political show of the season. If you were super into who would be elected to the Illinois Senate in the mid-19th century, then holy shit, you have got to watch these two men go at each other, man, it’s like watching a tree and an angry little dog slap each other across the stage.

During the debates, Lincoln quickly became famous for his one-liners, and also because no one had ever seen a talking tree in a suit before.

In one of the debates, Douglas accused Lincoln of being two-faced. Without missing a beat, Lincoln, who had been mocked his entire life for his ungainly, scarecrow-like appearance in the same way that I just mocked him a few sentences ago, whoops...

ANYWAY.

Lincoln turned to Douglas and went, “Honestly, if I were two-faced, would I be showing you this one?” 

And then the audience did this:

And then Lincoln was like:

Check. Mate. 

3. That time he was so strong and such a good wrestler that nobody messed with him.

When I say “wrestler,” what do you think of?

Is it this?

Maybe this?

What about this?

Huh? What’s that you say? “What the hell is...is that Lincoln? What...what the hell is Lincoln doing in a list of wrestlers?

“Um,” I answer, “Being a wrestler.”

Because Abraham Lincoln, 6′ 4″ and all of 150-something pounds, was, in fact, an incredibly talented wrestler.

So talented, in fact, that when it came to wrestling matches, he went undefeated for most of his life.

See, Lincoln grew up in the middle of butt crack-nowhere, out in the sticks of the American frontier. Ain’t no room for sissies out on the frontier. This here’s hard-scrabble country, see, rough-livin’; you gotta spit to live; you gotta live to spit; Neosporin? I think you mean weak-ass bitch cream.

So how did rootin’ tootin’ frontier folk blow off steam? Well, when they weren’t dying of dysentery or tuberculosis or minor infections that could today be cured by steady application of Neosporin, they were wrasslin’. And when it came to the act of picking someone up and throwing them back down, nobody wrestled like 21-year-old Abraham Justine Lincoln.

(Not his real middle name.)

One look at the guy and people were like, “The hell? What’s this ancient Egyptian mummy doing in the ring?”

But the second he got going, everyone shut up. Because this guy was nuts. He was a berserker. He could defeat a guy three times his size in seconds. He could bench the Rock, probably, and not even break a sweat.

He was the nicest guy in town. But nobody--and I mean nobody--messed with Abraham Ashley Lincoln.

(Not his real middle name).

One time, Jack Armstrong, the local heavyweight champion who was the Big Bad in town and undefeated in the wrestling and “I’m a giant asshole who smashes my way through problems” arena, challenged Lincoln to a match. 

“Uh oh,” everyone in the little town of New Salem, Illinois thought, “That’s it for ol’ Twig Legs Abe. He might be good, but there’s no way he can defeat Jack Armstrong. Nice knowing you, kid; it’s a shame, because you might have made a solid president.”

But Lincoln, who knew no fear and ate chains forged in the heart of a dwarven cavern for breakfast, was like, “Bring it on, bitch.”

Above: Playin’ with the boys.

Jack and Abe started sparring and Jack threw insult after insult Abe’s way. I don’t know exactly what Jack said, but it was probably the 19th century equivalent of, “You may have 2,300 Facebook friends but nobody cares about the pictures of your homemade Shake ‘N Bake chicken that you post, eggwad.”

Abe didn’t relent. 

See, he was getting angry.

Really angry.

So angry, in fact, that in one fell swoop, he suddenly slammed big Jack Armstrong to the ground so hard that Armstrong passed out, cold.

Abe had won. Everyone stared at the panting, growling, 6′4″ pine tree man in reverent awe. 

A fun epilogue to this story: after Jack Armstrong recovered from getting his ass handed to him by a guy who looked like an extra in a movie about the Amish, he and Abe remained steadfast buddies for the rest of their lives. 

Jack just never ever insulted Abraham Jessica Lincoln again.

(Not his real middle name.)

4. The (many) times he went off into long, rambling stories during Cabinet meetings to illustrate a point.

You know how grandma and grandpa sometimes go off on tangents and you’re like, “okay, okay, get to the point.”

But grandma and grandpa don’t even respond and just keep talking about that one time in 1953 that Anne-Marie told George that no, she hadn’t gone to the corner store, why do you keep asking, George? And then I said to George, I said, George, you need to listen to Anne-Marie because she knows that the corner store is the only one in town that sells fresh-laid eggs and Butterick circle skirt patterns, but did he listen? Did he listen to me? No, he didn’t, so I went to---

You get it.

So did every single member of Lincoln’s cabinet. Because Lincoln was a consummate storyteller, for better or for worse. 

(Sometimes for worse, depending on who you asked.)

Above: “One time, at band camp...”

Lincoln would interrupt important meetings about, you know, saving the Union and the soul of the country itself with anecdotes that started something like this:

Lincoln: You know, Sec. Stanton, that reminds me of a fur-trapper I knew back in Illinois--

Stanton: Great, except, Mr. President, everyone is dying--

Lincoln: Now this here fur trapper was the best fur trapper in the entire state. Not the entire country, mind you, on account of we didn’t really have a way of measuring fur-trapping skills nationwide--

Stanton: *neck turning purple* Mr. President--

Lincoln:--but definitely the best fur trapper in Illinois. Now one day, this fur trapper set out to do what he did best: shoot some raccoons, or maybe a bear, or a wolf if he was lucky, or a deer, or some moose, or a beaver, or a mongoose, or maybe a possum--

Stanton: OH MY GOD--

Lincoln:--or a cat, if times were desperate, but not a dog, never a dog, because this here fur trapper loved dogs; had six of ‘em himself, all hound dogs, loyal to a fault, see, because this here fur trapper--

Stanton: JUST STOP--

Lincoln: --this here fur trapper could be short-sighted. See, he set his sights one day on shooting the biggest bear in the mountains--and this bear, why, this here bear was a Goliath of a bear, the biggest bear anyone ever did see, the biggest bear in the state; not the biggest bear in the country, mind you, on account of we didn’t have a way of comparing bear sizes nationwide, but--

You get the gist.

Above: “So I’m sitting there, barbecue sauce on my tiddies--”

Eventually, Lincoln would get to the point of his story; in this example, for...um, example...maybe the moral was, “Don’t get so focused on one goal (shooting that big bear) that you loose sight of other objectives in the war (getting rid of the wolf pack killing all the sheep or whatever).”

I would like to explain to you why telling long, rambling grandpa stories was such a power move:

Abe Lincoln was the president. 

So his whole Cabinet had to listen.

And Abe Lincoln knew it.

They had to listen to this backwoods guy go on and on about how that one time the local long boatsman fell into the river actually serves as a metaphor for Gen. McClellan’s inability to take control of the troops; or how the rabid raccoon that lived in the local blacksmith’s shop can serve as a metaphor for acting too hastily when trying to take down the South. 

Or, like, whatever.

Above: “All here in favor of me performing the entirety of Les Mis starring me as everyone, raise your hands.”

Apparently, Lincoln was also the kind of storyteller who, if there was a funny punchline at the end, took forever to get to the punch line because he’d start laughing hysterically at his own joke, and while many people thought it was incredibly endearing, others were like, “Boy, I wonder what it would be like if I dumped this entire fucking bottle of ink over the president’s head to get him to shut the fuck up.”

Spoiler alert: Lincoln did not, in fact, shut the fuck up. He was determined to teach folks a lesson through the the power of storytelling and also to help break the tension of a legitimately horrible war with the power of laughter.

Monopolizing the conversation to prove a point with anecdotes about frontier living that no one can escape?

Power. Move.

5. Those times he let his kids run amok in the White House and thought it was hilarious.

Lincoln had a four kids, all boys, who moved into the White House after he was elected president.

And these boys were little terrors.

To be fair, a vast majority of boys are terrors. Kids are terrors. They are small harbingers of chaos and discord with little regard for their fellow humans, which means they fit right in in the White House EYYYY POLITICAL COMMENTARY.

But Lincoln’s kids, apparently, were especially out of control.

Above: “Alright, enough pussy-footin’ around, Pops, fork over the dough and no one gets a kick in the nuts.”

Lincoln adored his boys, partly because he was a good dad and partly because he’d already had one child die tragically, so understandably, he was like, “Life is short and antibiotics haven’t been invented yet so we’re all going to die from getting paper cuts, probably; I’m just gonna let my boys do whatever the hell they want.”

And he kind of...did.

Willie and Tad Lincoln, his two youngest, brought tons of pets into the White House. Dogs, cats, birds...when people objected, Lincoln just sort of shrugged. He, too, was a huge animal lover and didn’t really care if ponies were clomping around the Oval Office. “My White House, my rules, my indoor ponies.”

The two Lincoln boys would dress up in military uniforms and have fake military drills and stage fake (LOUD) battles all over the White House, including when Dad was in a Cabinet meeting.

What did Dad do, you ask?

Laugh his head off.

While his kids would burst into Cabinet meetings, crawl under the table and kick important Senators’ legs and feet, generally causing a grade-A ruckus, Abe would try and fail to stifle his laughter.

Which, you know. Objectively isn’t the best parenting, but for Pete’s sake, they were at war, can’t they have a little fun? Jesus, lighten up, folks, they’re kids.

The Lincoln boys particularly irritated Sec. of War Edwin Stanton, but to be fair, almost everything irritated Sec. of War Edwin Stanton.

Above: “I have never had fun once, ever, in my life.”

Once again, Lincoln’s rationale was, “Life is fragile, one of my children already died, the country is at war, and kids make me laugh, so if they want to punch Sec. Stanton in the balls under the table, who am I to stop them?”

Also, Lincoln was the president, so nobody thought it was appropriate to go, “Um, hey? Mr.--Mr. President? Maybe you could tell your sons to, you know...not crawl under the table and interrupt, um...important...war strategy meetings?”

ALSO, Lincoln once wrestled a man twice his size to the ground without batting an eyelash, so you go tell him to make his kids behave. I dare you.

[repulsivepangolin7]

Fic: Barbeque

A/N: Alright, so I played nice last time and I didn’t hurt anyone in that fic. Not even Luca. Well, then I made this little thing. Hope you enjoy it.

Word count: 1 782

 All different sorts of meat was cooking on the grill. Hondo was taking the responsibility of chef seriously, and kept an eye on it. He had barbeque forceps in one hand and a glass of whiskey in the other.  

Chris sat with her legs crossed under her, she had a cold beer resting on the table in front of her.

Deacon had some whiskey in a glass in front of him, chilled down by a couple of big ice cubes. He had one elbow rested on the table. The thumb of his other hand was hooked in his front pocket.  

Tan had his hands wrapped around a drink he had mixed, squinting up at the sun above them.

Street held a glass bottle of coke up to the side of his face. He had his feet kicked up on the edge of Chris’s chair. The left side of his face still stung a bit from acquiring a new shiner the day before.

Luca had his right arm balanced on the table, like he was getting ready for a shadow arm-wrestling match. The fresh cast covering his lower arm promised that he wouldn’t do any arm-wrestling with that arm for the next couple of months. Next to his elbow a glass a tiny bit larger than a regular shot glass stood, golden tequila filling about half of it. In his left hand he held a bottle of beer by the neck.

“Anyone up for a burger?” Hondo called out, “I think they’re ready now.”

Deacon nodded and stood up,

“Anyone else?” Hondo asked looking over at the table.

Street nodded against the cool bottle. Tan also nodded and got up.

“So, how’s the head?” Chris smirked over at Street.

“Well, the doctor said I didn’t have any signs of a concussion, but I still have a slight headache…” Street shrugged.

“Well, guess it is like that sometimes.” Luca shrugged, “Getting someone’s fist slammed into your face is never a good day.”

Street hitched up one shoulder, “Guess not. Speaking of arms, how’s your wrist?”

Luca shrugged and took a swig of his beer, clearly considering his answer before he swallowed, “It’s fine. And it’s not really my wrist that took the brunt of it.”

Street nodded.

“Whatever, I’ve had worse…” Luca served up a lopsided grin, “I grew up back when child passenger safety meant your dad’s arm coming at you at the speed of light if you were about to crash into something. Not exactly the same as an airbag.”

Chris chuckled, “Let me guess, your biggest idol was Evel Knievel as well…”

“Hey, every boy growing up in the 70’s had him as their idol.” Luca shrugged, “You can bet I’m not the only one in this backyard with a couple of Evel Knievel scars from their childhood.”

“He’s right about that!” Deacon admitted as he sat back down by the table, one plate with a freshly grilled burger for him, and one for Street. “You know that scar I’ve got on the back of my left shoulder?”

The others by the table nodded, “A couple buddies and I had built a ramp, we were going to jump over each other. You know, like if the ones laying on the ground was the monster trucks and the guy with the bike was Evel… Well, I was first out as Evel. Turned out that we had grossly oversized the ramp.”

Luca grimaced, “Hey, we’ve all done that mistake. That always left you with roadrash. I remember once we built a ramp. I was the last ‘monster truck’, so to speak…”

Deacon frowned before Luca had gotten around to explaining how it all ended. He knew where it was going.

“Well. My younger brother, Terry, didn’t build up enough speed or the ramp was too small.” Luca shrugged, “Landed rear tire on my stomach. That was not fun.”

Street frowned and looked over at Chris, “Alright, that’s it. I wouldn’t have survived growing up with those two…”

Chris nodded, “Yeah, me neither.”

“Oh, come on!” Hondo chuckled, “It was a fun time! The world was a pretty safe place, or at least it felt like it.”

“It just felt like it!” Tan shook his head, “Do you know how many kids died in accidents back then compared to now? The statistics are pretty clear and obvious.”

Luca shrugged, “Yeah? Somehow I still want to claim that we were always fine…”

Tan shook his head a little, chuckling a bit.

“Hey, Chris. Luca…” Hondo whistled to get their attention, “Do you guys want burgers to start with, or?”

“Nah, I’m waiting for the pork chops…” Luca grinned over at their team leader.

“Yeah, same here!” Chris nodded.

“Alright, those are still a few minutes out.” Hondo shrugged and flipped something on the grill.

Luca nodded and took another sip of his beer, “Thanks for inviting us! That’s really cool!”

“Hey, had been too long since we just hung out together.” Hondo grinned back, taking a generous sip of his whiskey.

“Sure had.” Chris nodded and grabbed a tortilla chip and some salsa from the table.

Luca smirked and flexed and extended his fingers a few times. He knew it was important to help out his circulation like that, and to work on keeping the mobility of his fingers while his arm was in a cast. He couldn’t move his thumb though, it was trapped in the cast allowing a small break near the base of his thumb to heal, along with the breaks further up his arm.

“Good burger Hondo!” Street grinned and raised his coke bottle towards Hondo.

“Thanks!” Hondo grinned as he assembled a burger for himself, “There’s more of them if you want more.”

“Well, first I have to finish up this one…” Street chuckled, “But believe me, I will swoop in for seconds.”

Chris chuckled, “No one’s surprised… You food wreck.”

Street grinned and jerked one thumb towards Luca,  “No, that’s him…”

“Can’t really argue with that…” Luca shrugged a little.

“Then why ain’t you chomping down on a burger right now…” Chris raised her eyebrows questioningly.

Luca waved the fingers of his casted arm a bit, and Chris dipped her head in embarrassment.

“Did not switch on my brain for that one…” she rolled her eyes.

Luca nodded, “Nah, looks like you didn’t. Thick homestyle burgers ain’t exactly the easiest thing to eat when you’re one arm down.”

Chris nodded. “Yeah, and not exactly something you eat with knife and fork either.”

Luca nodded and placed his beer on the table, looking down at the half full shot glass near his elbow. He picked it up and took a sip of it. Causing Deacon to shudder.

With a mischievous grin he looked over at Deacon after he had swallowed the golden liquid. “What?”

“I don’t get how you can drink that stuff..”

“Tequila?”

Deacon nodded with a sour grimace.

“It’s good.” Luca shrugged, “You know, as long as you don’t drink it like a college student during spring break.”

Deacon shuddered again, “Nope. I still have PTSD from a soaking wet night filled with tequila when I was Street’s age. I can barely look at it without my stomach disagreeing with me.”

Luca grinned and leaned over to pick up the tequila bottle, “Sure you don’t want some?”

“Completely sure.” Deacon nodded.

“Anyone else?”

“Yeah, I could go for a shot.” Chris nodded and picked up one of the clean shot glasses from the middle of the table.

“Me too.” Tan smiled, “Thanks.”

“Street?”

“No. I’m not going to drink today.” He shook his head a little, “I don’t want to wake up with a hangover on top of this slightly annoying headache tomorrow.”

“Alright, that’s fair.” Luca nodded, “I would probably have made the same call.”

Street nodded, “But if you need help pouring, I’m up for that.”

Luca looked up from where he had the bottle of tequila trapped between his knees in an attempt to unscrew the cap one handed. “Well, I can do it myself…”

“Yeah, and I’m pretty sure it’s easier for me.” Street shrugged.

Luca shrugged a little, but handed the bottle over to Street, “Thanks man…”

“Don’t mention it…” Street shrugged back and undid the cap, then poured up shots for the three who wanted tequila.

“Thanks.” Luca grinned once more as Street filled his shot glass with tequila.

“Hey, I bet we could make him agree to let us draw on his cast if we get him drunk enough…” Tan thought out loud as Street poured into his glass.

The three young teammates and Deacon immediately looked over at Luca.

“Oh, NO WAY!” Luca shook his head, “Not going to happen!”

“Come on, a little cast art don’t hurt…” Chris teased.

“Not going to happen.” Luca shook his head, “Drawings and get well messages on casts are for kids and people who’s never broken anything before.”

The four others at the table looked at each other. The bet was on.

 SWATSWATSWAT

 An alarm started blaring next to his head and it almost felt like it was trying to notify him that this was Pearl Harbor and planes were incoming. He reached out with his left hand and managed to kill the alarm. His head and right arm was throbbing like it was a competition.

He had no recollection of the second half of the barbeque at Hondo’s place, nor how he managed to get home afterwards. He had no doubt Street was the one to thank for not waking up in a ditch somewhere.

His stomach started to churn, and he knew the signs well enough to know that he had about 30 seconds to get into position in front of the toilet before the liquor of yesterday took the speed elevator back up.

He got up in a hurry and rushed to the bathroom.

 SWATSWATSWAT

 “Praying to the toilet fairies?” Street smirked as he opened the door a bit.

“Shut up.”

“Hey, I thought about getting some hangover grub for you. How does a GREASY hamburger sound?”

“I hate you…”

Street chuckled, “Served up in a dirty ashtray of course…”

Luca started heaving.

Street stood by the door, leaning on the frame and studying the damage he had caused with an amused smirk.

“Really hate you!” Luca followed up once his stomach had stopped evacuating its contents for long enough that he could answer.

“You’re going to hate me even more.”

“Yeah?”

“Check your cast.”

Luca looked up from the bowl, groaned and sighed. “Alright, you won…”

“I’ve got a couple of bottles of coke for you, and salt pretzels. Figured you would have the hangover of all hangovers.

“Thanks.”

[moltenhair]

Since I’d gotten a few asks asking about my continuation of the story.... I wrote a little more. I combined ideas for 2 different things into one long addition. Taking place after they get the Captain of the Guard back from Terapi Island and exploring more of the backstory I gave him and Cass.

Also I gave him a name.

[Part 1]  [Part 2]

Memories

Corona… A sickening saccharine symbol of corruption and greed. Where the every-man is tricked into believing their king cares for their needs and wants what is best for them. Where they are forced to love their ruler or face the consequences. Where anyone who dares shine a light on that ruler’s misdeeds is vilified and cast out. 

Cassandra had seen it before. Seen it and stood by to let it happen. She’d been a part of the problem as much as anyone, hadn’t she? She had defended the beliefs of their king, had charged into battle in his name. Never realizing then how the system that cared so little for her had been exploiting her for its own gain.

She stood at the forest’s edge, looking out over those vibrant hills to where the castle towers stood proud against the sky. Those towers she once called home… And she would again soon. Once she cleared out all of the obsolete leaders and established a new order. One where people like herself could finally thrive.

But first…. She had a stop to make.

--

“Captain, I know this must be hard for you… Coming back without Cass..” Princess Rapunzel put a hand on the man’s shoulder as their balloon carried them across the sky and away from Terapi Island. The world beneath them peaceful despite what has happened. Blissfully unaware of the rising darkness. “But we’ll figure this out. We’ll stop Cass before anything else bad can happen. We’ll talk some sense into her-”

“Cassandra has never been the ‘do as she’s told’ type.” The captain spoke at last. His first words for the entire journey back to Corona. And he said them with a sorrowful laugh as he recalled his child. The fondness of a father in his eyes. “Even when I first found her she was a fighter.”

Rapunzel pulled back her hand slowly, glancing over to Eugene with a shared knowing look. This was the first time anyone had ever spoken of the day Cassandra was adopted. There had always been some understanding that they didn’t need to know.. It never mattered where she came from.. Until now, at least. 

“I always assumed Cass got that from you.” Eugene moved to the Captain’s other side, leaning on the edge of the balloon’s basket. “No offense, but you seem like a dad with a lot of rules.”

The captain laughed brighter, looking sidelong at the former thief, “Haha- No, no. Cassandra was always a brave girl.. I just taught her to be brave for the right reasons. Why, when I first met her, I was amazed at the strength this sweet, little thing was hiding.”

A smile curled Rapunzel’s lip as she watched the Captain talk about his daughter. Her best friend before all this happened. It was a side of Cass’ life that the Princess had never gotten to know in the past. It wasn’t Cassandra’s style to reminisce like this. In fact, there were few things Rapunzel knew about her childhood at all.

“Captain.” She began, putting her petite hand over his as she smiled warmly up at him. “Would you… tell us that story?”

There was a pause, a thoughtful silence that hung in the air like their balloon. The Captain of the Guard hummed, his eyes locked on the horizon in contemplation… But soon enough he looked at the Princess and returned her smile.

“I’d be happy to.”

--

It was a dark and stormy night. Weren’t they always when something bad was doomed to happen to an innocent person? Lightning flashed and thunder boomed in the skies of Corona. Rain fell heavily on rooftops, cooling them from the harsh beating of the summer sun just hours before. Out in the streets bakers stowed their bread carts and women ran with their aprons held over their heads to keep themselves dry. But in short time the stone roads were empty.

The rain had a way of lulling Corona to sleep. The kingdom always seemed to fall with the sun. Soon enough the citizens were tucked in their beds to the rattling lullaby of the rain. All except the royal guards of course… And one curly haired little girl.

Cassandra stood tip-toed on her mattress, fingers curled around the high windowsill to pull herself over it. Her olive green eyes peeked out through the rain spattered glass at the kingdom beyond. At the castle she could always see from the orphanage windows. She wondered if everyone in the kingdom could see it from their houses or if she was just one of the lucky ones. 

Beyond the rain and fog, Cassandra could see familiar armored shapes. A recognizable crest of a helmet she’d seen almost every day since she was brought to this place. A Guard on Patrol. It was raining cats and dogs but he was still out doing his job. The guards must have been really good people. They protected Corona even if it meant they had to get wet. Cassandra was only five and a quarter , but she already knew… She wanted to be just like them when she was big. 

There was something else familiar about those Uniforms, too… Something she felt like she should remember but couldn’t.

The little girl let go of the window and dropped backward onto her bed to sit atop the covers. Around her the sparse other children slept comfortably. Dreaming of the parents they someday hoped to have. Or maybe of the parents they once had. In the next room, the director of the orphanage had drifted off, embracing a bottle of ‘mead’. Cassandra didn’t know what mead was, but she figured it was something that made grownups sleepy. The director drank it only after the children went to sleep. Nothing ever woke her in the middle of the night. 

A sudden racket made Cassandra jump with a start. A thumping clatter like wood rattling against wood. The girl hopped up once more to look out the window. She could see that same guard as before but he was moving much faster. Frantic as he spoke to another guard before splitting off to run separately down the dark Corona alleys. But there was no one else in sight.

Then the sound came again. But, if there was no one outside, that sound had to come from inside. Cassandra climbed out of bed slowly and quietly. She reached under her bunk to pull out a wooden sword she’d won from one of the boys in a wrestling match. She held it high the way she’d seen the Guards do as she treaded carefully toward the hallway. 

When she rounded the corner, she couldn’t see anything. It was pitch black as far as the eye could see. Which wasn’t very far with all the lanterns out. But there was a flickering of orange fire light from beneath the crack of the door of the director’s room. Cassandra walked toward that light on tip-toe, planning to pass it and go to the kitchen… But then she noticed a shadow crossing that orange light from inside the room. The shape of legs carrying a person back and forth. 

Was the director actually still awake? Were they the one making noise?

Cassandra lowered herself to the floor to lay on her belly. With her hands pressed to the old floorboards she did her best to look under the door. What she saw almost made her gasp loudly, but she put a hand over her mouth to silence herself.

There was a stranger in there! A big ugly one. Looking through the director’s things while they slept! Taking her jewelry and coins and putting them in a bag. The child watched in horror as this person- this criminal- uncovered the safe where the director kept all the money she used to take care of the children.

He was gonna take the money for the kids!

Not on Cassandra’s watch, he wasn’t.

In moments she was back on her feet, sword in hand. She scurried quickly and quietly away and toward the kitchen where she’d originally heard the noise coming from. When she got there, she found the window left wide open, rain pouring in from the outside. Ew, and he’d tracked mud in from outside. 

Think, Cassandra, think. What would a Guard do? A guard would keep the bad guy from escaping! The lock on the safe will only keep him busy for so long.

She ran to the window and jumped up to grab it and pull it closed. 

As Cassandra climbed down she set her hand in something really GROSS! A bucket of cooking grease the director sometimes used to cook. It made her hands all slippery. Yuck! … Wait a second. She could use this. If only she also had some… string!

In the corner was a roll of thick twine used for preparing roasts. It wasn’t cuffs but it would do in a pinch. And to a child it was as good as rope.

Cassandra gathered her items and hurried back down the hall. She could hear the groaning of the safe’s iron door as this thief managed to finally break into it. All without the director stirring an inch. Not wasting any time, the little girl turned over the grease bucket and let it slop out down the hallway.  It was thick and goopy, but it covered enough of the floor that there was no way this crook wasn’t going to step in it. Then, Cassandra took a length of the twine and strung it across the hallway a few inches from the ground. She’d seen the boys in the orphanage trip each other like this all the time. Hopefully it also worked on grown ups.

When the door began to open Cassandra ran behind it and hid against the wall. She held her breath as this larger person came into view, carrying a sack of things that didn’t belong to him. He didn’t even consider looking down at where she hid. He probably didn’t think anyone was awake. And why would he worry about a KID catching him?

He was about to learn to be worried.

Outside, the guards were searching the alleys high and low. They’d spotted him. A serial robber who had robbed five families in a week. Taken everything of value they owned in the dead of night. But he’d vanished from under their noses somehow.

Dammit!

Was this how the new Captain of the Guard was to be known? As the man who took over and couldn’t even catch a common thief? He was better than this… But he needed to prove that as the new captain he would take care of the people’s best interests while also fulfilling the will of his king. He inherited this position after a great tragedy. His first year as captain had been nothing but struggles.

Captain Roland wiped the rain from his face as he glowered through the fog. His crossbow hung in his hands, relaxed. His boots creaked as he crept quietly behind the businesses and homes of Corona. His eyes, piercing and narrow, flicked high and low.. He was getting closer. He could feel it.

The sole of his boot slipped against the wet stone and he looked down. Muddy footprints. Headed down a second alley and behind the orphanage. He followed the steps and found they led to a window. Shut. But he could see the mud trail ended inside.

Gods… No. Roland shuddered to think about a criminal breaking into a building full of children. Children who had already lost so much.

The Captain tried to yank the window open to pursue the criminal inside. But it must have latched when it was shut. It wouldn’t budge. And the captain wasn’t about to break the window of an orphanage.

Instead he ran as fast as he could around to the front door. He took the handle in his hands and pulled. Locked. Of course it was. He rattled the door, he hammered his fist against the hard wood.

“Open up! This is the Captain of the Guard!”

There was.. Some kind of sound inside. Then the smallest of footsteps drawing near to the door. He raised his crossbow as he heard the lock click. He was prepared for anything when that door opened… Everything but a curly haired little girl. She was smiling up at him so brightly. His crossbow lowered immediately as he glanced around. There was no one else, just this child. 

“You’re finally here!” she grinned, bouncing on her little legs before grabbing him by the hand to pull him inside. “C’mon, c’mon!”

Roland followed, hunched over with his hand in hers. He looked about as this child led him towards a back hallway. Nothing looked damaged. He could see children peeking out of their bedrooms, rubbing the sleep from their eyes. Woken up by whatever had happened. Same as the director who seemed far less coherent. And then… the Captain found his criminal.

Laid out on the floor, feet tied together. He was covered in what looked like… lard. And it appeared that he’d slipped in it quite a bit while trying to make his get away. Beside him his bag of stolen goods was spilled across the floor. Everything that was taken from the Orphanage and more. The man himself… was unconscious. Out cold from what looked like a blow to the head from a wooden toy sword. He was going to have a bump, but he’d be fine. 

“I made sure he didn’t get away. All by myself!” The little girl proudly boasted before moving around the Captain to push on his legs from behind. Urging him on, “Now you can arrest him!”

Roland was… impressed! He’d never seen a child stand up to a criminal like this and come out unscathed. It would have been so much easier for her to hide and wait for an adult to show up. The Captain would have shown up regardless… But it might have been too late if she hadn’t acted like she did.

“You did very well, little one.” He praised, kneeling down and putting a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “And you’re not hurt?”

“Nuh-uh.” She shook her head, her mess of dark curls bouncing.

He couldn’t help but chuckle. This was one special kid.

“You acted very bravely tonight.. What’s your name?”

“Cassandra.”

The corner’s of Roland’s eyes wrinkled as he warmly smiled down at her. He held out a hand to the child. Her small hand landed in his, gripping his fingers tightly as they shook hands.

“Thank you for your help... Cassandra.”

--

Rubble.

All that remained was rubble.

No one had even come to claim the land in the twenty years since Cassandra and her Mother left it. It wasn’t rich enough soil, or a big enough plot for anyone to want it. They hadn’t even bothered to clean up the mess.

Fractions of walls remained of what once was a farmhouse. Cass’ farmhouse. The home she had forgotten. The home she knew before her mother was given no choice but to leave her at an orphanage. In the hopes that someone, anyone, would find her and be able to afford to give the child a better life. A happier life. 

Where her mother went after that… Cass wasn’t sure she’d ever know.

But someone had found her, just like Mother planned, hadn’t they? At least one of their dreams came true.

Cass could vividly remember each visit he made to get to know her. She remembered the moment he walked back through those doors to tell her she was going to be living with him from now on. At the moment she never wanted anything more in her whole life… Because she’d made herself forget the life she’d had before… She never even realized she was adopted by the newest leader of the guards that chose their king’s orders over her mother… The people responsible for the way her life turned out.

Cass scowled and stomped at an old plank of wood, breaking it into splinters. She kicked the remains aside then paused at what she found beneath.. A little wooden cup. Somehow it survived the fire and all these years in the elements..

The woman bent to pick it up, holding it in her armored palm. It was so tiny compared to how it once looked in a four year old’s hands. 

She stood in somber silence, her eyes prickling with tears she stubbornly refused to share. 

Without a word, Cass walked to what remained of her mother’s old dinner table. The cup was set at its center neatly and then… Cass picked one of the purple wildflowers that had overtaken the homestead. Grown healthy and strong in the ashes of her life…The only good thing to come out of this mess...

Cass left the flower and the cup in the center of the table…. 

And left to finally fulfill her destiny.

[anxiety-trademark]

The week in review:

Raw 09/21 NXT 09/23 NXT UK 09/24 Smackdown 09/25 Clash of Champions 09/27 + Main Event 09/24

Raw:

Billie’s not wrong. None of these people are wrong. That title has fallen so fucking far since Becky held it, Jesus.

Interesting to see Billie Kay be somewhat (?) supportive of Peyton. Manager?

I implore women to stop using red eyeliner unless you’re trying to look possessed.

Oh at least Mickie’s gonna have her last match with her snazzy pants on.

God that theme music is so outdated.

If there was one person on the roster that could convince me they wrestled in the Diva’s era, it’d be Mickie James.

Beautiful Octopus, dare I say best in the division. Look at those crossed legs. Just beautiful, Zelina.

Man it was cool watching Zelina reverse the powerbomb attempt into a rollup, but Mickie couldn’t be bothered to get her shoulders down for a 2 count before the reversal. Shame.

Zelina needs an increase to her speed to pull off the style she’s going for, but it’s a fun style.

oof I think Mickie actually caught Zelina’s forehead with that high kick.

Seated Senton off the top rope is garbage and I hate it.

Lmfao Zelina won with a backstabber. She’s literally Sasha-lite. Okay.

Word was Bianca was the star of the pc combine, right? So if you wanna showcase her strength, do it against someone I fucking know lmao. Who was this bro? Of course she’s stronger than a nobody in the pc. Friggin Alexa Bliss can effortlessly give piggy back rides to Sheamus. That’s impressive, because I know how strong and big he is. This could’ve been done better is all I’m saying. Maybe do a sitdown interview with her pc peeps hyping her up, or show footage of her blowing everyone in the combine out the park. Idk.

Ruby stop hyping up Nia and Shayna individually, individually they suck lol lesbireal.

So did Ruby just give Liv her shirt? …You know what, it works, I’m not gonna dig into this.

I feel like all women use the same starting moves against Nia and it’s a little tired ngl. They do this headscissors into a standing crucifix hold, and then slide down to try and roll her up. Then she picks them up and headbutts them. Come on peeps.

Mk just throw Lana through another table, she’s as useless in the ring (kf wise) as Liv is on commentary (non-kf wise)

Let me rewind, how did Nattie get taken out this time? A punch again. COOL. Nattie confirmed worst tag partner in the history of the division.

Lmfao rip Lana. Bye.

Wow we just said fuck entrances huh? Ugh God. Imagine Becky not getting an entrance as a damn champion.

So Peyton forgoes jumping for the German suplex, which could’ve resulted in her landing on Asuka’s head, and her reaction is to laugh. Consummate professional. Becky Lynch’s optic cranial nerve injury (caused by a failed German suplex) called, it can’t seem to find the humor.

Idk what that double underhooked move was by Peyton, but it was nice.

What bothers me about Peyton’s spinning heel kick, is as high as she gets it, she only hits people with her calf. Awkward to see.

That attempted transition into the Asuka Lock was... something.

Highlight: Lana going through the table

---

NXT:

Did Tegan say “why me” to Candice fucking her knee up with a metal pipe? Somebody get this girl some tissues.

Haha watching Tegan writhe in pain is funny. Candice gets points. And I do not like giving Candice points.

Really appreciate Rhea’s theme after hearing so much generic garbage lately. She’s so done with nxt as a performer, she has passed literally all of them by.

Not to be that person, but seeing so many people in the ring together bothers me. If one person was sick, literally all of them are sick now. It’s just kinda yikes.

Did they forego having a crowd? If so, wise. There’s enough ppl in the ring and at ringside.

Rhea fucking yeeted that girl into the barrier lmaooo.

“...Marina Shafir who’s done some great things on Raw Underground recently,” lmao sure.

The absolute half-assed attempt by that girl to pull herself up before Rhea booted her down to the floor was questionable.

So adding all these random peeps from the pc to this battle royal was done solely to have Raquel and Rhea flex for their feud in 4 months, huh.

Kacy does cool shit, wbk lmao. Gets kicked out, lands on her back, rolls into a handstand, rotates, pulls herself up into the ring using her feet on the ropes; gets kicked out, lands on the side of the guardrail, pulls herself up, uses the plexiglass to help balance herself, jumps onto the stairs; gets kicked out, lands on the side of the guardrail, stands on Kayden’s shoulders and gets chauffeured back to the ring. Brilliant. Would be overkill in a Royal Rumble, but it works here.

R&R eliminate each other/themselves together. Fitting. Dakota “help me I’m useless on my own” Kai is shook.

Why is Indi in the top 5? Or top 7? How is this girl so damn prestigious??

Kacy really just slung herself around the ringpost. I’m becoming a fan of her antics/performances in multiwomen matches.

I see Shotzi’s character is, “I come so close yet cannot manage to touch the gold.” I feel for her... cuz I can’t stand Candice.

Boooo

I love how Io carries herself. She’s a shining example of not allowing her heritage to hold her back or make her feel unimportant. She responds in Japanese, and without missing a beat, translates in perfectly spoken and quick English. Never dances, never smiles, never looks like a chump. Serious and answers the damn question. She gets points.

Highlight: Kacy shenanigans

---

NXT UK:

Lol I love KLR so much. Just ducks out of the ring the first time she’s bested.

“KLR is well versed in mental manipulation,” that she is. She’s honestly a top competitor in that sense; equal to the likes of Sasha and Charlotte when it comes to psychology.

Piper’s got power. Ragdolling KLR here.

That’s right, performing with Charlotte Flair at wm is an accolade one can only hope to achieve (I’m annoying I know) no but seriously, KLR vs Becky Lynch? Take my money.

Nice Superkick, nice Tornado ddt.

Dear ref, stop yelling at her and restart the count. Dweeb.

Lmao self inflicted wreckage of her knee. 

This ref is a walking headache. We’re now getting into the autumn of overbooked women’s matches. And UK’s first title match back. Yikes.

That senton was awkward and looked painful af for KLR’s neck. If you’re gonna risk that move while selling a leg injury, make sure you have more space to correct your landing.

I almost wish that turnbuckle came undone naturally because KLR is already such a good seller, but I’m gonna assume this is a worked move since it’s been left exposed.

Yeah see there are issues with that spot. Positives: KLR didn’t purposefully undo the turnbuckle, so it’s not on her to give another title match; the spot has potential, as I’m guessing that would be genuinely painful. Negatives: Piper is too big of a woman to hit the lower turnbuckle doing the cannonball, so she ended up hitting the middle... which was padded. Good ending on paper if you don’t do the equations, but poor execution. Not Piper nor KLR’s fault though.

Slow pacing and I hate overbooked garbage, but this obviously isn’t the only match they’re having so *shrug*

Highlight: Clean tornado ddt, and I do love KLR’s selling

---

Smackdown:

Lol Bayley has her chair. She automatically gets a point every time I see it.

Top of the ramp this time? Okay, sure.

Stop cutting to the fancams, production. I don’t care about their reactions.

A fine enough promo to move along both of her angles, but production sucks. Wbk though.

“...one of the most complex personalities,” which personality of Alexa’s are we referring to, though?

Their timing on her pyro was off and now I’m sad. The pops during the breakdown leading into the fountains are fucking amazing and honestly cannot be topped by any of the other women.

When did Alexa stop wearing her gloves to the ring? Probably when she turned face. Shame.

She just called Lacey bitter, southern tea, and you know what? What a fucking drag. Imagine bitter southern tea. As someone who was raised in the south, that is a disgrace to southern tea. Sweet sun tea or pass.

Look at Alexa: selling Lacey’s strength, full of agile speed, and yet here’s Lacey not even bothering to put her shoulders down for her pin attempt. SAD.

A problem I consistently have with SD in particular is how they set up commercial breaks. They always do something dramatic, cut to commercial, come back and shit’s always completely different. How you gonna cut from Alexa leading and hearing the Fiend’s laugh, to return to Lacey in charge ???

Dear Cole, why are you calling her Alexis lol. Like I know that’s her real name but, hello??

oof Alexa’s midsection is beet red.

Lacey has not been putting on a “clinic” stop tossing that term around, Cole. Good bump by Alexa though.

Love how Lacey doesn’t mind landing flat when her moonsault misses. Respect. Her and Charlotte both eat that so perfectly.

LOVE how the monitors of people turned into Fiend’s face. POINTS.

It’s like she’s reverted back to her heel persona. This is literally 2016 Bliss, right? Right??

Roman is a large, strong, intimidating guy... but holy shit the visual of 5′1 Alexa staring daggers into the back of his head is intense af. I almost complained that he cut off her exit, but well done with the continuity.

Highlight: I’m really digging the Alexa/Fiend story

---

Clash of Champions:

Loving the red roots, hate the eyeshadow.

See, if Asuka wants to fuck around in the ring, you won’t hear me complain. I just wish she took her non-wrestling segments more seriously.

The patience Asuka gave Zelina to set up the arm kick was dumb.

“A hard arm bar by Asuka,” he says, even though her legs were completely bent. Easy on the credit given plz.

Zelina telegraphs too much. None of the bumps she takes ever catch me by surprise.

In the spirit of being fair, put your fucking shoulders down and let her attempt a pinfall, Asuka.

Haha Sasha-lite did meteora in the corner.

Nice roll into a kick, half point for Zelina.

No you don’t get to sell frustration or disbelief yet, that’s not buyable.

I don’t know wtf Zelina was going for with that counter before the Asuka Lock, but honestly idc. Could’ve been a kickoff match indeed. State of Becky’s title btw.

Every week it’s the same shit with Asuka. She gets on the mic, speaks Japanese, barely accomplishes anything, then gets interrupted/slapped/attacked... with dancing and smiling inbetween. I really wish she was more like Io.

Nikki isn’t “medically cleared to compete”, and the tag team titles aren’t being defended. My memory is fuzzy but wasn’t there some covid concerns going around back then? Was that just baseless speculation?

Love that Bayley turned this into an opportunity to be a bigger douche than she already was lol.

IS SHE DOING A VICTORY LAP LMAO

I want to hate this from a smarky “give other women a chance” perspective, but Bayley is an ass and this is great for Asuka to build credit as a face, and after being made to look foolish yet again. Lesgo.

Lol sounded like Bayley said, “you think you can cuck me?” I’m sure she didn’t. I’m choosing to believe she did though.

I never know exactly who to blame when Asuka’s Codebreaker looks ugly, but I swear Charlotte is the only one it looks impactful with. Sell job isn’t the problem, but taking that actual move is always dicey af.

Great kick by Asuka. Rekt.

Bayley says nah fuck this rofl. Fair ending; a fun little sprint of meaningless jabs.

“Chairwoman of SD” I like that too, Graves. Points to you.

LMAOOO Bayley set that shit up perfectly kekekek what’s up Sasha.

She be looking fucking incredible, but that neckbrace is a mega bummer.

Character wise, I’m surprised Bayley’s choosing to dole out punishment rather than taking her title and bolting.

Welp maybe she should have, Sasha going to town lmao.

oof peep that red line going down Bayley’s arm. eesh. Welts all over her back.

Highlight: Sasha beating the shit out of Bayley with a kendo stick

---

*BONUS*

Main Event:

You don’t pan the camera over to fucking commentary during Bianca’s entrance. Do better @ production.

Ruby puts her confidence in Liv even though everybody knows Bianca is winning this match lmao.

LOVE Liv’s boots.

like 20 seconds into the match and it’s already 10x better than the Bianca vs Billie Kay one. Don’t even waste a spot on Main Event for Billie Kay. No, I’m not not sorry for saying that.

It’s not that I hold issue with Bianca’s showboating or mannerisms, but it’s all so much more fitting for a heel.

Beautiful stalling suplex, but Liv is rather small.

Beautiful distance on that dropkick to Liv. Liv gets points for throwing herself so far.

We have enough women who rip their shirts off deep into matches, me thinks. Don’t need it from Liv as well.

Momentum could’ve been split better, but that was a decent match.

---

*Clash of Champions would be my highlighted event mostly thanks to Bayley, but if that’s a cop out, I’ll give a slight nod to Smackdown’s handling of Alexa.

[bvidzsoo]

Dizzy Hearts

 Author: bvidzsoo

 Warning: cursing

 Pairing: Kim Mingyu x female reader

 Word count: 9, 048

 Summary: You and Mingyu have been friends since you were little, but without realizing, your hearts started beating differently for each other.

 A/N: Ay, I’m back with this Mingyu one shot! I’m so glad I finished it before leaving AAA! I hope you enjoy it and don’t be shy to leave feedback! :) 

     It was the big night. And when I mean the big night, I mean, THE big night. It was the homecoming match, our school against a neighboring school, both having the best teams in the city. Now, this isn’t like your usual homecoming thing...it’s just the school match, but since everyone makes a big deal out of it...we just call it THE homecoming match. 

To be honest, I would have liked staying inside my warm room on this cold evening, but having my best friend as the Quarterback of the team, that wasn’t an option. So, wearing a long sleeved sweater, my warmest coat and the stolen beanie from my best friend, I am ready to freeze against my seat and cheer as loudly as I can. People were already antsy around me, murmurs of how ‘We must win this match’ reached my ears. I turned towards Jihoon, one of my friends, and grimaced.

“They should start already, I’m going to freeze”

“Why didn’t you dress up warmly?” Jihoon rolled his eyes, chewing his gum rather loudly.

“You think, this--” I gestured towards myself “Is not dressing warmly?”

“If you are cold” Jihoon only shrugged as I huffed and slouched down in my seat. My eyes went back to Jihoon again as he popped his gum loudly, irritating me. No wonder he wasn’t cold, he’s wearing a freaking winter coat! It’s not even winter yet!

“Excuse me--yeah, uhm, sorry! Move your leg--please, oh! Sorry dude, I told you to move--”

“No” I groaned, covering my face with my cold hands, wishing for my seat to swallow me up.

“Oh, hey!” The guy exclaimed loudly, spilling a little popcorn on the ground.

“You can’t sit with us, Soonyoung” Jihoon rolled his eyes, popping another balloon with his gum.

“I don’t want to sit with you” Soonyoung rolled his eyes, brushing past Jihoon rather harshly, almost knocking him down from his seat.

“I said, us” Jihoon muttered, eyes falling on me as I tried to protect my feet from Soonyoung stomping on it.

“Hey, Y/N” He grinned widely at me as he plopped down in the, unfortunately, empty seat beside me.

“Hi” I muttered, eyes going back to the, still, empty field.

“How are you feeling?” Soonyoung asked, still grinning at me.

“Great, freezing” I muttered, burying my hands back in my pockets. Can someone make Soonyoung disappear? Thanks.

“Oh! I have just what you need!” Soonyoung exclaimed, again, as he messily placed his popcorn on the ground and reached inside his pockets.

“You gone and my room? I’d love that right now” I snapped at Soonyoung making Jihoon chuckle.

“Hot packs” Soonyoung grimaced as he handed me two. I eyed him for a second before taking them.

“Won’t you be cold?” I asked quietly, more to myself, as I gripped the hot packs, feeling grateful to them.

“Don’t worry” Soonyoung nudged my shoulder as he gave me a small smile. I offered him one back, sighing quietly to myself. I think it’s been two years now that Soonyoung won’t leave me alone. He probably liked me, but the problem is...I like someone else, so he has no chances.

“It’s starting!” Jihoon exclaimed as suddenly the horns went off, the lights shone onto the field brigther and the players ran out onto the field. I screamed loudly when I spotted my best friend, waving my little flag around. Yes, the team even had their own flag. And yes, my best friend does have a name, Kim Mingyu. A giant, who started towering over me when we turned fifteen, the clumsiest person who I’ve ever known, he broke my fish tank not once but twice and a person I never thought I’d have in my life, without Mingyu I’d be a loner honestly.

“Kim Mingyu!” I shouted at the top of my lungs, making people stare at me. Yes, I am the biggest supporter of Kim Mingyu, Quarterback and Idiot of Diamond High School.

“I’ll go deaf if you shout again like that” Jihoon complained loudly, trying to shout over the cheers around us, making me laugh.

“You think they’ll win?” Soonyoung asked rather uninterested, nodding his head towards the field.

“I’ll pretend you offered some popcorn for me if you want to live for a long time” I grinned threateningly at Soonyoung for questioning Mingyu’s talents, and the teams of course, before grabbing a handful of Soonyoung’s popcorn.

“Great” He muttered with a glare as the coach blew the whistle. 

Before I knew it, they started out in full force, getting those goals like they were nothing. I tried not to, like I always do, but my eyes couldn’t help it and found Mingyu, even from a big distance. I’ve seen him train so many times, but he was always more fascinating when it was a real match. All the hours I watched him excercising while it was blazing hot outside. I was hiding underneath a tree usually, but Mingyu was running in the hot sun, sweat dripping from his body. The many times he took his shirt off and I had to force my eyes to stay away from his torso and the times when I tried not to salivate at the way his back muscles were flexing was really hard. Those times, I wished I was blind. But seeing him playing so passionately tonight really did no good to my heart. If it was beating quickly for him before, it was beating even faster right now. I wish the heart listened to the brain first before deciding on its own.

The game was a success, to our school at least, just like everyone expected it. We won, and we won big. We became the school with the best team in the city. If all is true, the boys could make it far and go play in the nationals. Mingyu’s dream would come true, but that thought scares me. I’m not sure if others are allowed to go and I don’t think I could last longer than a day without physically having Mingyu beside me. But pushing that thought quickly to the back of my mind, I also quickly pushed the people in my way away. It was like wrestling when wanting to go on the field after the game, everyone filling it up. But my priority was to reach Mingyu before he’d retread to the locker room and congratulate him.

I groaned as someone elbowed me hard in the stomach, but it was worth it when Mingyu’s back was right in front of me. Thanks to the pushy people, I stumbled and fell against his back, circling my arms around his torso tightly. Mingyu’s yelp was loud and high pitched as he jumped, his hands gripping my arms tightly.

“Y/N?” He asked loudly, head turning to the side to get a glimpse of me.

“The only one” I cackled and let go of him to let him properly turn around.

“Y/N!” He exclaimed, his face lighting up like a puppy’s, and before I knew it, his strong arms went around me and lifted me up in the air. I shrieked, gripping his arms for support and out of fear of him dropping me, before I managed to hug him to myself.

“We won!” He exclaimed, still having me lifted in his sweaty arms.

“I know!” I screamed back, laughing while enjoying the hug. It was pretty disgusting but this is Mingyu, and I’d do anything for him...even accept a sweaty hug where I feel like I’m flying and dying at the same time because he’s squeezing me too hard.

“My blood circulation is in danger though!” I patted his shoulder with a laugh and he was quick to put me back on my feet.

“Sorry” He chuckled, a little embarrassed, as he looked down at me.

“You idiot” I chuckled, caressing his cheek before getting on my tip toes, “I told you that you’d win”

Mingyu’s smile only grew as he watched me lean closer to him, my lips touching his cheek for an affectionate peck.

“Congratulations” I finally said, staring into his beautiful eyes.

“I’ll see you after I wash up, don’t leave” Mingyu’s voice was soft as he nuzzled his cheek into my hand, quietly adding, “Please”

“Don’t take too long” I winked at him, taking a step back to let him go. Mingyu grinned and nodded before turning around and running off towards the locker room. I sighed as I watched him go, the people around me still pushing. 

“Are you his girlfriend?” A girl beside me asked, surprising me.

“His?” I motioned towards where Mingyu just ran. The girl’s eyes narrowed as she nodded.

“Yeah, I am” I lied, shrugging as she continued watching me.

“Really?” She asked, eyebrows raising. 

“No” I faked a smile as I turned around and started walking towards the exit. I wish I were his girlfriend.

I thankfully managed to find Jihoon, and Soonyoung unfortunately, again but they left me alone after fifteen minutes. It was freezing and Mingyu was taking too long. He’s always done in ten minutes. Pushing off the brick wall, I decided to head towards the locker room, hoping I would see no naked butts while trying to find Mingyu. The halls were quiet and barely lit as I walked inside, taking a turn towards the locker room. I could hear loud boy voices, half of the team probably is still here. I opened the door and placed a hand against my eyes, leaving a tiny crack to still see something. I walked towards where the loud voices were coming from. Knocking on a locker to get their attention, I grinned awkwardly.

“No one’s naked, right?” I asked, making the boys laugh.

“No” Someone answered and I let my hand fall, offering them a normal smile. The boys greeted me and I waved back at them, looking around but seeing no trace of Mingyu.

“Anyone knows where’s Mingyu? He’s taking too long…” I trailed off, biting my lower lip as the boys shrugged.

“He’s by the back lockers” Jeonghan, a friendly and handsome boy, spoke up as he nodded his head towards the back.

“Oh, thank you” I smiled at him as he returned it and quickly took off. He tells me to wait for him but then he makes me wait for too long for him. Opening my mouth, and ready to call Mingyu out, I turned the corner but quickly stumbled back, placing both hands against my mouth. Fuck! Thank God my mouth wasn’t fast enough. Taking another peek, my heart gave a hard thump. Fuck, I wish I didn’t see this. Mingyu pushing up some girl against a locker while they suck off each others faces, and his hand down her shirt. My heart ached for what I just saw and I felt jealousy flooding my brain. Why is he making out with that girl? He told me to wait for him, in the cold, and he was making me freeze to death because sucking someone’s face off is more important than leaving your best friend alone in the cold and dark? I scoffed as I turned my back towards them, trying to ease my aching hurt. Yes, I am jealous, because I wish that was me. And no, this isn’t that cliche scene where I just realize I like my best friend, because no. I’ve been conscious of liking Mingyu for the past five years. But I’m not confident enough to tell him and I don’t think he likes me back, or at least not more than a friend. And maybe, to try and hide my feelings, I’ve friendzoned him many times. Sighing loudly, I let my feet take me back to where the other boys were sitting.

“Found him?” Jeonghan asked when he spotted me leaning against the wall.

“Yeah” I muttered, crossing my arms in front of me.

“He’s busy?” He asked with a smile, it almost looked evil.

“Pretty much” I said with a chuckle, sending a small glare towards him.

“Well, you can stay with us until he’s done” Jeonghan offered, scooting over and making space for me on the bench. I eyed the other boys but they seemed unbothered by my presence so I took the seat beside Jeonghan, thankful that I didn’t have to wait in the cold anymore...and angry at Mingyu. Screw him, he ruined my good mood and night.

   My white ceiling never got boring, always helping me think or helping me ignore people who I wanted to ignore. My messy ponytail rested on my left shoulder as I lay on my back, hands on my tummy and legs crossed at my ankles as I hummed quietly to myself. My bed moved as the person beside me did too, and I felt eyes on me. I continued to hum, tracing invisible paths with my eyes on my ceiling.

“Y/N?” But I ignored the voice, like I’ve been doing since he came over. This is the best remedy to soothe the ache I felt yesterday and all night, and I’m feeling even now.

“I’ve been telling you about the possibilities we just got by winning this game but you didn’t even pay attention?” He pressed on, but I still couldn’t care less. He didn’t care about me last night enough, did he? Why should I care about his useless possibilities?

“Y/N” His voice was firmer, slightly demanding. I scoffed in my head, annoyed by the thought of him wanting to dominate me. Mingyu lost that title and power.

Before I could react, I felt large hands wrap around the sides of my head and turn it forcefully to the right. My eyes widened when I stared up into Mingyu’s eyes, his face hovering close to mine. I scoffed and tried to pull my head back but he wouldn’t let me. Mingyu’s eyebrows furrowed as I fought against his grip with a glare, now gripping his wrists to pull his hold off.

“Let go of me!” I huffed, finally, letting my nails sink into his skin. Mingyu hissed as he let go of my head with a push, sitting up. It’s not like the first time we do something like this, we always end up physically fighting because of something. But that’s usually playful, this is more aggressive.

“What the fuck?” Mingyu cursed, his hard glare on me as I returned to my initial position of staring up at my ceiling.

“Do I get to know why you are ignoring me? It’s not funny” Mingyu hissed as he leaned closer to me, still glaring at me. I only sighed, biting my lip to keep the answer from coming out.

“Fuck you” Mingyu scoffed and the bed dipped, and for a second I was ready to call out to him thinking he was leaving, but then he was on top of me, his knees blocking mine.

“Mingyu!” I shrieked, sitting up abruptly, pushing at his chest.

“Oh, finally” He scoffed, rolling his eyes as he gripped my hands, stilling me, “Will you stop ignoring me now?”

“Can you get off me?” I hissed, glaring as hard as I could.

“No, because then you won’t answer me and I’ll leave” He said, tugging on my hands a little.

“Leave, I couldn’t care less” I snapped, actually regretting it not even a second later after it left my lips. Mingyu’s eyes widened and it was obvious he felt hurt by my words as his eyebrows furrowed and eyes averted from my face.

“Wait, Mingyu--” He let go of my hands and raised up to his knees, getting off me. Panicking that he really would leave, I raised onto my knees too and quickly hugged him preventing him from moving.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that. You know that” I quickly said, tightening my arms around him as I let my head rest against his shoulder, “Please stay…”

He stayed quiet and I thought he’d really leave me, that I finally did it this time, hurt him profoundly, but his arms went around me and he pushed me backwards, almost falling on me. Facing each other, with our arms still around each other, we stared into each others eyes.

“You know you could have fallen on me and killed me. You are too heavy” I snapped, after a long silence and Mingyu laughed quietly, his teeth showing. I bit my lower lip, feeling like my heart just grew a little.

“I wasn’t going to fall on you, I knew what I was doing” He said after calming down, giving me a warm smile.

“I’m upset with you” I muttered, chewing on my lower lip as I looked away from his face.

“Why?” Mingyu asked just as quietly, snuggling closer to me.

“You left me alone in the cold yesterday, Mingyu”

“I said I wouldn’t stay for long--” My eyes snapped back at his and I saw the guilt in them.

“But you did!” I snapped, kicking him with my leg, “I had to wait for fifteen minutes and you still didn’t come!”

“I’m sorry, I got caught up” He muttered embarrassed, his hands slowly caressing my back.

“I saw you...kissing that girl” I cleared my throat as Mingyu’s eyes widened.

“It wasn’t anything--”

“Honestly Mingyu--” I laughed, trying to mask the hurt I started feeling suddenly “I thought you’d tell me if you liked someone, I’m your best friend”

“It’s not like that...it was nothing, really” Mingyu said seriously, nodding his head, “She just...came onto me and we ended up kissing. I don’t like her...at all”

My eyes narrowed as I continued to stare at him without saying anything.

“I’m serious” Mingyu whined, nudging my forehead with his.

“I still hate you” I muttered, nuzzling into his chest and closing my eyes.

“I still love you” He said with a chuckle while resting his chin on top of my head. I love you too, idiot, just not like how you love me.

     Monday mornings were never kind to me, and neither is today’s morning. I woke up with a headache and after eating some cereals I took some pills to soothe the ache, but even after two hours I can still feel it. Mingyu decided it was a good idea to blast music loudly in his car while we rode it to school, even though I asked him not to. He was still excited over his win and probably won’t shut up about it for another week. And then there came the tiring people from our school. While walking to our lockers, which were by pure coincidence beside each other, people didn’t stop coming to us and talking to Mingyu like he was some kind of superstar. Which he kinda is, but no one outside this school knows about him...so he’s not really one, do you get me? And then, my day could only get worse as Soonyoung, obviously, showed up too, just to annoy me.

We were waiting for our English teacher when Soonyoung ran inside with at least five books in his hands.

“Y/N!” He exclaimed loudly, our classmates unbothered as they were already used to it.

“Help me” I mouthed towards Jihoon, who was sitting beside me and typing away on his phone.

“When he gets too annoying” He muttered back, chewing lazily on his gum. I groaned and was about to slam my head against our desk but Soonyoung was faster. He slammed the five books in his arms against our desk loudly, waking the sleeping Mingyu behind us. Jihoon yelped as he looked up at Soonyoung wide eyed.

“Damn, those books are so heavy” Soonyoung muttered, eyebrows furrowing as he massaged his wrists.

“Your seat is in the front…” I trailed off, really wishing for some peace before my headache gets worse.

“I know, but--” Soonyoung grinned, leaning against my desk as Jihoon eyed the books curiously “Wonwoo said these books were really good, you like to read, right?”

I could feel Mingyu leaning over my shoulder, supporting himself on his elbows as he breathed onto my neck, “Yes, I like to read”

“Great!” Soonyoung exclaimed again with an embarrassed laugh as Jihoon threw him a small glare, not before his eyes fell on Mingyu behind me, hovering over me. I sighed as I looked at the book titles, Soonyoung and Mingyu having a staring contest in the meantime.

“I read this one!” I said excitedly once I spotted my favorite book, “Pride and Prejudice is my favorite book”

“Really?” Soonyoung’s grin grew as I looked up at him, a grin of mine matching his. His cheeks became slightly red as they were puffed out thanks to his big grin. Honestly, he looked pretty cute.

“Really” I chuckled, opening the book with a smile, “Tell Wonwoo he has a great taste...I read these books already”

“Oh shoot” Soonyoung hissed, eyebrows furrowing, “I gotta find new ones then...I’ll bring some new tomorrow--”

“Why don’t you try and read at least one of these?” I spoke up, placing the book back on top of the others, “If you want me to read a book...give me something you liked and not Wonwoo, okay?”

Soonyoung remained quiet and chewed on his lips as I continued to smile at him warmly. He might be annoying most of the time, but gestures like this really warm my heart.

“I don’t read too much…” He muttered but I shook my head.

“It doesn’t matter...something you read, I’m sure you’ll find one” Soonyoung’s eyebrows remained furrowed until he gave a firm nod and took the books off my desk.

“I’ll make sure to find something” He called as he walked to his seat, leaving me chuckling to myself. Okay, this is the first cute thing he does that I actually liked and wasn’t bothered by. Unlike last year when he brought flowers for me on Valentines Day and I accepted them because I didn’t want to humiliate him in front of everyone.

“This dude, seriously…” Mingyu snorted, still hovering over me, “He’s pathetic”

“Just because he’s not the famous Quarterback doesn’t mean he’s pathetic” I snapped, turning my head only to come face to face with Mingyu, “At least he goes out of his comfort zone and does something he knows I enjoy doing”

“Are you assuming I only do things I like and you don’t?” Mingyu fired back, eyebrows furrowing.

“I never saw you bringing me a book you thought I’d like to read” I muttered, watching Mingyu’s reaction. He scoffed, raising his hand.

“I don’t like to read” He flicked my forehead but I only turned around.

“Soonyoung doesn’t either” I muttered and Mingyu scoffed, probably wanting to say something but Jihoon sighed loudly.

“How about you continue this lovers quarrel when I’m not around, okay?” He said, popping his gum loudly before the teacher walked in, preventing me from punching Jihoon.

Thankfully lunch was quick to approach and by now my headache stopped, making me able to function properly. I was quietly eating my sandwich and listening to Jihoon’s conversation with Mingyu about some new football technique Jihoon just learned. It was rather boring so I tuned them out until Soonyoung was standing in front of me with a big smile.

“So...you told me to find a book I really liked…” He sat down across from us, hands still behind him.

“Yeah, don’t tell me you read a whole book in like...three hours?” I chuckled as Soonyoung shook his head with a little tint to his cheeks.

“I found this book in my grandparent's library when I was little” He placed an old book on the table, I placed my sandwich down to take the book in my hands, “It’s old and from a foreign writer but I know I enjoyed it a lot. I don’t remember much because I was little but I know it stuck with me”

I hummed as I opened the book, reading the title. The Paul Street Boys, written by Molnár Ferenc.

“Do you mind if I borrow it for a while?” I asked with a smile, looking back at Soonyoung. By now, Mingyu and Jihoon were paying attention to our conversation too as Soonyoung fidgeted in his seat, trying to contain his happiness but was failing hard.

“Sure!” He exclaimed finally, giggling when I snorted, “But I’m warning you...the ending is really sad”

“Don’t spoil it!” I yelped, throwing a glare at him and covering my ears with my hands. Jihoon chuckled beside me but Mingyu’s eyes were sharp as they watched us.

“I wasn’t about to, don’t worry” Soonyoung chuckled as I lowered my hands and resumed eating my sandwich.

“I never took you for one that likes to read” Mingyu commented rather coldly as Soonyoung shrugged.

“I never took your for one that messes around with girls either” I almost choked on my food as Mingyu started to laugh loudly, Soonyoung’s smile looked bitter.

“Y/N” I hummed, wide eyes looking at Soonyoung as he called my name.

“Go on a date with me” Jihoon’s gum pop was loud as both Mingyu and I stopped breathing. Jihoon’s eyes were darting from one to another as Soonyoung stared at me seriously.

“Uh…” I chuckled, trying to find the right words, “I--”

“I was just joking” Soonyoung exclaimed, starting to laugh loudly as I nodded, staring down at my sandwich. Well, that wasn’t funny.

“Fuck off, Soonyoung” Mingyu suddenly snapped, voice harsh as Jihoon snorted beside him, earning an almost slap from Mingyu, if only he wasn’t a coward when it came to hitting Jihoon.

“You’re funny” Soonyoung winked at Mingyu and took out his lunch, giving me a small smile. I smiled back but had a hard time enjoying the rest of my lunch because of the tension between Mingyu and Soonyoung. I really wish Mingyu stopped being so protective of me, it gets out of hand sometimes and it’s definitely not funny.

   Classes were finally over and I quickly walked towards the parking lot, knowing Mingyu would be there by his car, waiting for me to drive me home. I couldn’t be more thankful that school was finally over for today, I can’t wait to take a nap.

Greeting a few people on my way to Mingyu’s car, I fished out my phone and didn’t really pay attention to my surroundings until I heard a car’s horn. I bowed to apologize as the guy inside shook his head at me, pushing up his glasses as he drove off. Gripping my phone in my hand, I bit my lip at the sight. My feet stopped as the ache returned to my heart, as if someone suddenly started squeezing it. Fucking great, I hate my life!

Mingyu and the same girl were leaning against Mingyu’s girl and making out, again! What if when Mingyu excuses himself to the washroom in class he’s actually just sneaking off to make out with this girl? At that thought, I felt sick to my stomach as I forced my legs to take me closer to them. The many times I daydreamed about Mingyu in class, but he was actually busy sucking off someone else’s face. 

I cleared my throat once I stopped close enough that they could hear me and they instantly broke apart. When Mingyu’s eyes landed on me he cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair. The girl’s hair was in a ponytail this time, blond and silky hair, and I couldn’t help but spot the darkening hickey on her neck. My jaw clenched as I forced out a smile at her.

“This is embarrassing” She chuckled, cheeks going red, “My name is Rose”

“I’m Y/N” I said politely, trying not to direct my anger at her. She has no fault.

“I know” She chuckled, turning towards Mingyu a little bit, “This giant told me all about you?”

“Really?” I asked a little surprised, eyes going to Mingyu as he just shrugged, “Cool, I hope he didn’t bore you with it”

“Nah” Rose chuckled, waving her hand, “You sound like a really cool girl”

“Thanks” I nodded my head a little as she looked at Mingyu and gave him a peck before turning back towards me.

“It was nice meeting you but I’ll be going now” She waved at me as she turned to leave.

“See you around, I guess” I waved back as she ran off, going back inside the school. It was quiet between Mingyu and I as I refused to look at him, afraid that he’d see the tears that started to well up in my eyes and his hard stare wasn’t helping either.

“I want to go home” I finally forced out, my voice a little shaky. Fuck. Mingyu nodded and ran his hands through his hair again before going around to the driver’s seat. I blinked quickly, to get rid of the tears, while getting inside the car. Once Mingyu started the engine I turned the radio up, hoping it’d tune out my thoughts screaming at me and aching heart. Can he really not see how much I like him? Will I always be heartbroken? I can’t even be mad at Rose because she’s nice.

“I thought you said it was nothing serious” I finally spoke up, sniffling as I ran a hand through my long hair, definitely not blond nor silky.

“Yeah, it’s not” Mingyu muttered, turning down the volume of the radio, “We are just...kinda dating”

“And that’s not serious?” I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

“It’s not serious to me” Mingyu pressed on, glancing at me as he took a turn towards my street.

“But it is to her” I muttered, gripping my phone tightly, “I just wish you told me earlier...spoke to me about her like you spoke to her about me”

And maybe then I could have prepared my heart and the aching wouldn’t be this bad, because I’d know what was coming my way. But now, I’m left feeling like an idiot for thinking maybe I had a chance with him.

“She’s not that important” Mingyu snapped, hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.

“You are insulting her by saying that and I don’t like it” I snapped back, head turning towards him as Mingyu pressed on the breaks, the car stopping with a rather harsh jolt.

“Bye” I said before he could say anything and got off, slamming the door a little harder than usual. I walked inside my house without a wave or a wink like I usually do, slamming the door closed and locking it, making sure Mingyu couldn’t come inside if he decided to follow me. I need to be alone. Just looking at him right now hurts. Fishing out my phone from my pocket, the tears welling up again, I typed in Soonyoung’s number. He picked up after the third ring.

“You said you wanted to go on a date” I said, the tears starting to fall one by one.

“Uh, I--” Soonyoung stuttered but I didn’t let him speak.

“Okay, let’s go on a date!” I said shakily, nodding my head to reassure myself, “You can choose the place and hour”

“Really? You want to go on that date?” Soonyoung sounded shocked and I chuckled, finding him funny and rather shooting right now.

“I do, so...don’t forget to text me, okay?”

“I definitely won’t!” Soonyoung exclaimed too loudly in the phone and I hung up with a chuckle. I whipped the tears off my cheeks and walked to my room. Maybe it’s time I try and get over Mingyu. It should take time but it shouldn’t be impossible.

     It was a cold evening, but not as cold as on the night of the match. I nuzzled into my coat as I walked beside Soonyoung, following him to the nice dining place Mingyu, Jihoon and I often visit.

“I like this place” I spoke up, amused that Soonyoung was being so quiet.

“Really?” His voice was squeaky, making me snort quietly.

“Really” I nodded, looking at him. He became flustered as he opened the door and held it for me and after followed me inside.

“You are being weird” I spoke up as we looked around for a free table. It was rather full tonight.

“I just never thought you’d do on a date with me...I feel like I’m dreaming” He muttered, eyebrows furrowed as I started laughing. I gripped his wrist and pulled him towards an empty table by the big windows.

“I’m surprised it took you so long to ask me out” I teased him as we took our coats off. Soonyoung scoffed embarrassed.

“Well, I know you don’t particularly like me…” He shrugged and I felt a little bit bad for being so harsh to him all the time.

“Well, you always annoy me so how did you expect me to like you?” I chuckled and Soonyoung shrugged as he picked up the Menu.

“You are too quiet and still, is this Kwon Soonyoung I’m speaking to?” I narrowed my eyes playfully at him as a smile instantly appeared on his lips.

“I have all your attention here, I don’t need to show off” He stuck his tongue out, making me laugh. Soonyoung isn’t even that bad...who would have thought. The waitress came up to us and took our orders quickly, Soonyoung knowing her so I listened quietly as they exchanged a few words.

“You are quite popular, huh” I teased, glancing outside before looking back at Soonyoung.

“You could say that” He grinned and raised his chin a little bit.

“Other than annoying me...what do you like to do?” I asked, growing curious of this boy who seemed to be so different outside of school.

“Dance, I love to dance. I’m the happiest when I can dance” He smiled fondly and I couldn’t help but smile as well.

“I hope I’ll get to see you dance one day” I winked at him as our drinks were served.

“Well, there’s a party this weekend, so if you want to come--”

“Y/N! Soonyoung!” Someone exclaimed, getting our attention. My eyes widened when they fell on Rose and Mingyu, whose hands were intertwined, and were walking towards us. Soonyoung looked at me with his eyebrows raised, before grimacing a little.

“Hey!” I greeted back with a confused smile.

“What a coincidence” Rose chuckled, leaning into Mingyu’s side as they stopped by our table. Mingyu’s jaw was clenched as his eyes went from Soonyoung to me but I ignored him, focusing on Rose only.

“Are you on a date?” I asked while forcing a friendly smile on my face. It hurts even more to see them now.

“Yes” Rose giggled, nudging Mingyu who glanced down at her, “Are you on a date too?”

“Actually, yeah, we are” Soonyoung nodded proudly, grinning widely at Rose who nodded happily. I smiled at Soonyoung before looking back at Mingyu, but he was glaring at the ground.

“There are no empty tables anymore though…” Rose trailed off sadly, my eyes wandering around.

“Well…” I looked at Soonyoung for permission and when he nodded reassuringly I offered him a small smile, “You could sit with us then…”

“Really?” Rose’s eyes grew wide as she looked at Soonyoung and then at me, “We really don’t want to bother--”

“It’s not a bother” Soonyoung and Mingyu spoke up at the same time

“If they say so, let’s stay” All eyes landed on Mingyu, who looked tense but tried to brush it off with a tight smile, “I mean, they already offered, didn’t they?”

“I guess it’s a double date then” Rose giggled and I chuckled. Great, I just wanted a Mingyu free night where I could get my mind off things and now here they are, Mingyu and Rose, both about to fuck up my good mood and pleasant date with Soonyoung. Mingyu made a move to sit beside me but Rose was faster and slid on the seat beside me, smiling at me when I helped her take off her coat. Soonyoung ignored Mingyu as he loudly plopped down beside him, eyebrows furrowed at me and Rose.

“I never thought I’d see you two on a date” Rose spoke up, eyeing Soonyoung and me.

“Me neither” Mingyu muttered with a scoff, earning a glare from me while Soonyoung and Rose seemed not to hear it.

“It took me by surprise too” Soonyoung chuckled, shrugging a little as I rolled my eyes playfully.

“You asked him out?” Rose asked excitedly, her big eyes falling on me.

“Uh...no, he asked me out” I answered, taking a sip of my water awkwardly.

“Oh...it would have been fate if you did…” Rose chuckled, taking the Menu in her hands.

“Why? You asked Mingyu out?” Soonyoung raised his eyebrows, a little teasingly as he threw a glance at Mingyu who only glared at him.

“Yeah, and I had so much convincing to do too…” Rose pouted as she looked at Mingyu who smiled at her.

“Yeah, he can be rather difficult” I muttered with a grimace, glaring at Mingyu when his eyes snapped at me.

“You are not in our classes though…” Soonyoung trailed off, eyes narrowed at Rose.

“Oh, because I’m in art class” She explained and Soonyoung nodded impressed.

“See? You should have gone there too with your passion for dancing” I nudged Soonyoung’s foot underneath the table and he chuckled, scratching the back of his head.

“Yeah, perhaps once I get to college” He muttered, playing with his fingers.

“Wow, you can dance” Mingyu spoke up with a bored tone, running a hand through his hair, “Impressive”

“Truly, it is” I snapped as I looked at Mingyu, “More impressive at least than playing the Quarterback position in the school’s football team”

Mingyu huffed as an annoyed smirk crossed his lips, Rose and Soonyoung eyed me. Fuck Kim Mingyu, why is he so annoying lately? I seriously can’t stand him ever since I’ve seen him making out with Rose against the lockers. And he made me wait in the cold…

Things were going smooth, with Mingyu barely speaking, as Rose and Soonyoung did most of the talking. It was rather funny to see them and I did share stories of mine. Getting to know Rose better was maybe a bad idea, because now I can’t even hate her for dating Mingyu. She’s nice, understanding and really accepting. It’s all Mingyu’s fault for being oblivious towards my feelings for him. 

After we ate dinner, I excused myself to the washroom to freshen up a little bit as I was getting sleepy. I didn’t take a nap today and I’m starting to feel more and more tired. Maybe I should ask Soonyoung to walk me home soon. Drying my hands with the paper, I threw it into the dashbin and opened the door to exit. I stopped, however, when Mingyu was leaning against the wall across from me, near the male washroom entrance. I looked at him for another second before starting to walk away but a strong grip on my arm pulled me back and pushed me up against the wall. 

“What the fuck?!” It was Mingyu who spoke up first, finally letting go of his facade, finally able to see just how angry he was. His jaw was clenched tightly and his eyes were shaking as his grip was strong.

“I don’t see what’s your problem” I said calmly, eyebrows raising. I was only angering him more, and angry Mingyu is scary. Especially when he’s angry at you.

“You don’t?” He chuckled, licking his lips quickly, “What the fuck are you doing with Soonyoung?”

“Why the fuck are you questioning me, Mingyu?” I snapped, brushing his hold off as I pushed at his chest to get him away from me, “Who are you, my father?”

“Why are you on a date with Soonyoung? He’s a loser and an idiot. He always annoys you and you can’t stand him--I don’t understand!” He exclaimed, eyebrows furrowed as I stared up at him confused.

“What is there for you to understand, Mingyu?” I shook my head and crossed my arms, “He asked me out on a date and I said yes”

“Even after I told you not to” Mingyu scoffed and I laughed sarcastically.

“Really? You can’t tell me what to do”

“Yes, I can. And you have to listen to me” Mingyu said lowly, taking a step towards me.

“Fuck you, Mingyu” I pushed him backwards as hard as I could, trying not to raise my voice, “Ever since you started dating Rose you are a fucking pain in the ass. Leave me alone already, okay? You can’t tell me what to do and who to go out with, you are not my boyfriend! You are just my friend”

“Just your friend?” Mingyu’s voice turned quiet as he ran his hands through his hair.

“Just my friend” I repeated my words, ignoring the strong punch like feeling I felt in my gut. 

“What about your best friend?” He whispered, hand reaching out to grip my hand.

“You ruined my night, Mingyu. I can’t do this right now” I shook his hand off and quickly walked back to the table before he could pull me back and continue arguing with me. I really wish I didn’t have feelings for him.

   After that night Mingyu ignored me in school and didn’t take me to school for three days. I was missing him like crazy but I wasn’t going to give in first. He needs to understand he can’t tell me what to do and define me. If he can date whoever he wants to, I can date whoever I want to. We are best friends after all and shouldn’t act like this towards each other. After three days Mingyu was waiting for me in front of my house in his car, the window rolled down. I was about to walk past him and ignore him but he spoke to me, acting like nothing happened. It was hard for me to ignore everything that has happened, but if he wanted that, I could do that for him. Our fights never lasted longer than a day, this was the longest we fought for. But that party Soonyoung invited me to was approaching fast and I figured Mingyu wanted to go as well. Maybe that’s why he made up with me, just so he could go with me. But who cares...having Mingyu back felt good.

     The music was loud and the house was already full with people. We were only two hours late and the party was in full swing. It was all Mingyu’s fault though that we were late as he took almost an hour to gel his hair back and then choose between a red or a green shirt. In the end I started hitting him with a pillow and we ended up fighting and then he pulled my hair and ruined my ponytail and I had to redo my hair and then...okay, you get it. It took us two hours because of both of us. I left some new clothes at Mingyu’s place as his parents were gone for the weekend and I’d sleep over. My pajamas got lost in some mysterious way, Mingyu at least says so, but I just think he’s hiding it from me somewhere in the laundry room because he thinks the pants are too long and make me look like a grandma. 

“Let’s get something to drink!” Mingyu shouted over the loud music and I nodded as I held his hand in order to not lose each other. Mingyu led the way to the kitchen, greeting the people he knew while I covered behind his wide back, thankful that I didn’t know as many people. The kitchen was just as crowded and Mingyu poured some vodka and cola in a red cup before handing it to me. I thanked him and looked around, searching for Soonyoung. He was the one that invited me after all and I really want to see his dance skills. When turning around to speak to Mingyu, I was taken aback that Mingyu was nowhere to be seen. I squinted and slowly looked around the kitchen, even walked a little out before going back but he just magically disappeared. He’s probably with Rose, great. I sighed for getting ditched so fast and decided to down the remaining Vodka I still had in my cup in one go. As I threw the cup away a smiling face entered my line of vision.

“Soonyoung!” I exclaimed, hugging him. He laughed and hugged me back happily. We got closer these past days and I’m glad I offered him a chance because he is really different from how he always seemed to be. He’s collected and very nice, accepts my opinions and doesn’t pressure me. Unlike Mingyu does when he’s being impatient, which is almost every day.

“It’s your chance to see me dancing!” Soonyoung exclaimed and I nodded excitedly as I took his arm.

“Let’s go and dance then!” Soonyoung and I laughed as I led the way to the living room, colliding with a hard chest in the meantime. I was too busy laughing with Soonyoung so I didn’t pay attention, but any other time I would have recognized Mingyu’s chest in a heartbeat.

The music was even louder in the living room and it was full with dancing students, the bass thumping in my chest. Soonyoung walked us closer to the crowd but not inside of it as he had more space here to dance. I swayed to the music timidly as Soonyoung didn’t hold back and started to dance, moving around funnily but each of his move was smooth and amazing. I kept laughing at the faces he was making at me and started feeling more at ease when he complimented my dancing so I started to become wilder as I hopped around Soonyoung all the while laughing. It didn’t take long, however, until I spotted Mingyu and Rose dancing together, rather close to us, Mingyu glaring hard in our direction. Oh God, he’s back at it again.

“Watch this!” Soonyoung exclaimed as the song was changed to a slower one and a rather...for grinding one. Soonyoung did a slow body roll before doing a smooth spin and then ending it with a hip thrust. I burst out laughing as I swayed my way towards him, jokingly circling his neck with my arms and I started swaying with him to the music, our bodies close as Soonyoung’s hand was guiding me by the waist. It wasn’t anything intimate, it was just a friendly dance even if it looked like more to others. I didn’t want to give Soonyoung false hope, so I told him about my feelings for Mingyu and he said he knew and understood. And then he told me he genuinely wanted to be my friend because he thinks I’m cool, and not really my boyfriend because he doesn’t like me like that. Boys are so confusing.

“I think we have lots of chemistry, Miss Park” Soonyoung jokingly said, twirling me around.

“I think so too, Mr. Kwon” I winked at him, making him laugh and was about to show off my own body roll when I was pulled away from Soonyoung and dragged upstairs towards a bathroom. My eyes widened as I stared at the back of Mingyu’s head as he kept on dragging me, grip tightening more and more until he finally found the bathroom. He pushed me inside, turned on the lights and locked the door, glaring at me quite scarily. I don’t feel good about this to be honest. I stood facing him, panting a little from dancing, as I remained quiet. Mingyu ran his hand through his hair harshly and then looked away before looking back at me.

“We made up and then--you just make me want to smash everything in this room” Mingyu breathed out, trying to control his voice.

“Let me leave before you smash everything” I muttered, still haven’t learned to shut up when Mingyu is this angry.

“Fuck, I swear to God you are so--” He groaned loudly, letting his head fall against the door forcefully.

“You are annoying, Mingyu. I hate you, I swear to God, why are you doing this to me!” I exclaimed, marching up to him and punching his chest hard, “I wanted to have a good time and there you go ruining it for me. What the fuck has gotten into you?!”

“I told you to stop seeing him, Y/N” Mingyu breathed out, palms turning into fists on his sides, “But here you are, fucking grinding on Soonyoung. Right in front of me, after I told you to stop seeing him. And you hate me? I’ve known you for longer than that shithead and you still go against my words!”

It was like someone poured ice directly onto my brain. It stopped functioning and I all I could do was blink. And then I started to analyze Mingyu’s words and my confusion became worse. My eyebrows furrowed as I replayed his words in my mind. Why is he telling me such things? God, he really thinks he is that good, doesn’t he? I looked at him, seeing his anger still hasn’t subsided, and I only scoffed and rolled my eyes at him. But it was almost as if something snapped inside of Mingyu. He lunged towards me, gripping my cheeks tightly and turning us around before smashing his lips on mine. My eyes widened as I gripped his wrists, whole body freezing. Did Kim Mingyu just--kiss me? My body was pushed up against the bathroom door as Mingyu pressed his whole body against mine, hands holding my head firmly as he moved his lips against mine. Finally realizing this really was happening, my eyes closed and I started to move my lips against his. His anger was fueling the kiss as he pressed his lips harder against mine, almost making it hurtful as he tilted my head for a better angle, one hand gripping my chin in a dominating way while his other hand rested beside my head against the door. I circled my arms around his neck as I pulled him closer, tugging on his hair as he bit my lower lip harshly. I hissed and pulled him back into the kiss, slipping my tongue inside his mouth as I tried dominating him for once in my life. But Mingyu wasn’t having none of it as he pulled back, breathing hard.

“Go on, hate me now” His voice was lower and all I could do was scoff. I was at a loss of words and breath as my heart couldn’t decide if it was time I die or get a stroke.

   The morning was nothing better. I was still angry at Mingyu and he was probably still angry at me. After the kiss we ignored each other for another hour before deciding we had enough of the party and walked to Mingyu’s house. I wanted to sleep in her sister’s room, as she was with their parents, but Mingyu dragged me back to his room and locked the door, hiding the key underneath his pillow to prevent me from leaving his room. Then I tried to sleep on the floor but he started shouting some horrible lyrics about him hating me and I had to give up on that idea if I wanted to get some sleep. So with our backs turned to each other, we both quickly fell asleep, tired thanks to the party. But we still woke up in each others arms, making me groan when Mingyu wouldn’t let me go in his sleep. I really needed to use the bathroom but he kept on squeezing me tighter to his chest until I bit his shoulder and woke him up, getting a bite back which was definitely harsher than mine as it made me squeal. After using the bathroom, we went downstairs to have breakfast, still no words exchanged as we kept glaring at each other. Will he pretend the kiss never happened? Was he too drunk to remember now? Probably not because something feels different now between us.

Mingyu prepared two bowls while I took out the milk from the fridge and the cereal from the cupboard. Pouring the milk first into the bowl, I threw a glare at Mingyu as he kept on watching me insistently. Just as he raised his hand to run it through his hair, he knocked the empty bowl over, it was a china one too, and sent it flying to the floor. Thanks to my fast reflexes, I was quick to catch it and placed it back onto the counter with a glare sent at Mingyu. He is so clumsy I’m surprised he didn’t trip and fell on his face while playing.

Mingyu’s lips started to pull upwards as I glared at him until he couldn’t contain himself anymore and threw his head back, laughing loudly.

“This isn’t funny” I muttered, pouring milk in the empty bowl too, “Your mother would have blamed me if you broke it because it’s my job to keep the house intact and away from your clumsiness”

Mingyu continued to laugh until I punched his stomach, making him cough a little.

“I still hate you” I snapped at him, but didn’t really mean it. How could I hate him? Mingyu turned his body fully towards me, stepping closer to me.

“Sometimes I look at you and wonder how I got to be so damn lucky” He muttered before leaning down and planting his lips on top of mine. I chuckled quietly, raising on my tiptoes to reach him better, circling my arms around his neck as he pulled me closer to him.

And well, this is where it gets cliche, when we finally both realized we liked each other and...got together, I guess.