#alright so to explain Nicholas Scratch

[stars-obsession-pit]

While in college, Danny meets a boy named Nicholas Scratch, whom he quickly comes to consider a friend due to their shared pursuit of astronomy.

The friendship wasn’t to last though, as not too long later Scratch’s life seemed to rapidly undergo several major changes and he completely dropped off Danny’s radar.

Then a few years later, Danny happened to wonder what became of his onetime friend, and decided to try to track him down.

And needless to say, he was shocked to find that the once-unpopular boy was now a famous rockstar and religious leader. Especially once he started to notice some oddities in how easily the man seemed to sway people to his side.

Did he just follow in his parents’ footsteps and get his own Vlad equivalent?

[dean-a-mean-tae]

Behind The Scenes of Real | Stray Kids Additional Members

Listen to LIAM explain his fifth song in his album, Damage. - Achievement Goals

WARNINGS: Many intro attempts and Nicholas goofing around with the staff. Mention of haters. I don't think there are any.

Nicholas Ross Master List | Requested: Yes

Intro Attempt #4

"Is a hotdog a sandwich or a taco?" Nicholas asked.

Someone snorts as everyone shouts, "What?!"

"Is it a taco or a sandwich?" Nicholas repeated. One question caused so much chaos. Some people called it a sandwich, one person called it a taco, and everyone else called it a hot dog.

"Wait!" A redhead woman shouted from atop a table. After everyone was quiet, she pointed at Nicholas and asked, "What do you think it is?"

"Food," He giggled, shrugging his shoulders when everyone groaned.

Intro Attempt #9

"Alright, let's start," The director chuckled, shaking his head as he sat in his seat. After everyone was ready, he sent another man a thumbs up and watched him set the clapperboard.

"I'm Nicholas, and I'm here to- I have to use the bathroom," Nicholas huffed as he yanked his jacket off. The microphone attached to his jacket made scuffled noises as it rubbed against the fabric.

"Nick!" The director shouted as everyone laughed at the boy's waddle to the bathroom.

Intro Attempt #15

"Hello, I'm Nicholas Ross. You might know me as Liam from Stray Kids," Nicholas introduced as he waved at the camera. His hands flopped onto his lap as he continued, "I'm here with Achievement Goals to talk about my song Real from my album, Damage."

"Cut!" The director shouted, and everyone cheered for the perfect intro. The old man clapped his wrinkled hand onto Nick's shoulder, as he grinned, "Good job, kid."

𝙒𝙝𝙤 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨?

"The song is directed to the haters," Nick answered, stretching his fingers in thought. "I don't make music for people to just listen to it. I make music to convey a deeper meaning, and I want people to understand it."

"I know that's right," Someone cheered, and everyone chuckled at the interruption.

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙜?

"Like I said, I make music with deep meanings," He said, shrugging his shoulders as he scratched his chin. "I'm not making music about sex, doing drugs, or making money."

"With this song, I'm challenging people to look at their lives," He leaned his elbow onto his knees. "Does the life they're living match what they believe and imagine?"

"Music isn't a job to me. It's a passion."

𝙒𝙝𝙤 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙮𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙨?

"I did," He quipped, leaning back in his chair.

"He's so unserious," Someone whispered as she chuckled. The camera barely caught their voice, but Nick's laugh rang throughout the room as he threw his head back.

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙮𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙨?

"In the last scene, I'm on a plane and confused about how I got there," He starts. "I relax and enjoy the ride." 

"Stray Kids and my music will eventually make it to the top. My career is rising, and I'm enjoying it."

Real Tweets

Nicholas Ross Master List

©️DEANAMEANTAE2024

Tags: @bada-lee-ily @jinnie-ret @hwxnghyynjin @foxilsdenn @rensahazard @mynameisnotlaura @lucianidealz @ziipzeepzop-eez You can be added by asking in the replies, sending me a message, or doing an ask thingy.

[noforkingclue]

By Any Means Chapter 8 (Malcolm Bright x reader)

Prodigal Son tag list: @queenoffandom08, @imwithyoutiltheendofthelinebucky

Everything tag list: @greenrevolutionary, @byebyebreezywrites, @spngingerbread21, @layazul, @lov3vivian, @simonsbluee

The address Richard had given you led you to a bookshop. You had tried one more time to persuade him to join you but he was adamant not to. He had gotten out and wanted to remain that way. You were still on the inside and longed to get free. Still, you had this to complete first and then you could think about your life afterwards.

The bookshop was small and cosy. Customers milled about and you had to push passed several in order to get to the counter. The man behind it had greying hair and looked at you over the rim of his glasses. Sharp blue eyes narrowed at your arrival and he said,

“Hello. Is there anything I can help you with? A book you’re looking for?”

His voice held the well measured politeness of someone who was way too used to being in customer services. Yes, you could see why Joseph would fall for someone like him.

“I believe that there’s someone we have in common.” You whispered

“I’m afraid you’re going to have to speak up. My hearing isn’t quite what it used to be.”

“Joseph Murphy,” you said, “I’m one of his students.”

At Joseph’s name the man’s expression changed. Surprised quickly morphed into sorrow before changing to suspicion.

“His student or his student?” he asked

“Take a guess.”

“Alright,” he looked around, “Come round the back.”

The backroom was like every stereotypical bookshop storeroom. Books while piled high and some were quickly removed from a spare chair. When you were comfortably sat down with a cup of tea, the man said,

“So, I guess you know who I am. Introductions aren’t needed?”

“No they aren’t, George.”

George sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He looked around the storeroom with a sad smile.

“Joe always told me that I had too many books,” he said, “Used to call me Bernard. From Black Books. I guess you’re too young to have seen that.”

“I know the show,” you said with a small glare, “I’m not that young.”

“He used to talk about you, y/n.”

“Did he? He-“

“Never talked about me. No, I’m not surprised. Said you were too sharp for your own good.”

“Thanks.”

“But I’m guessing you’re not here to talk about Joe.”

“It’s linked to him but not about him.”

“Oh?”

“I’ve been accused of murder.”

“Murder,” George stuck his head out of the door to make sure no one was listening on (and to see if there were any customers), “Thought you lot only dealt with art thefts.”

“We do. Which was how I was dragged into this.”

“Hmm.”

“A man was killed in a position that mimicked classical art,” you said, “The NYPD believed that I might have something to do with it.”

“And did you?”

“Of course not!”

“And why might they believe you were involved?”

“They’re still suspicious,” you said bitterly, “Also, a painting was stolen.”

“Stolen?”

“Dick and I have gone through Joseph’s old contacts and couldn’t find anything. He then gave me your name-“

“And you think that I might be able to help.”

“Can you?”

“Depends,” George scratched his chin, “What’s the guy’s name?”

“Nicholas Smith.”

George paused for a second. Then he took a sip of tea, looked back out the door, before saying,

“Ah. Him.”

“You know him?”

“Joe had a… select group of clients.”

“What do you mean?”

“Who do you give the original paintings to when you fake them?”

“I don’t see how that’s relevant.” You muttered

“Well,” George gave you a knowing look, “With these clients Joe always gave them the original. Nicholas Smith,” he spat the name, “Was someone he stole from.”

“So he had a fake.”

“Is that important?”

“A painting was practically slashed from its frame,” you said, “Explains why.”

“Well this isn’t good.”

“You only just think that now?”

“No,” George snapped, “But it seems that someone is finally doing what they always wanted to do.”

“Destroy the fake works.”

“Correct.”

“Thank you George,” you stood up, “For everything. It’s been… it’s been nice.”

“Yeah, always good to talk about the old times.”

You gave George a small smile before leaving the store. You took a deep breath when you were outside as you rapidly blinked away the tears. Fuck, that took more out of you than you thought. Now you knew exactly what you needed to do.

[milliedazzledust]

Tell me you love me (Nick Scratch imagine)

Request from @starryblueeyesandstarryblueskies : Could you do a hurt/comfort Nick scratch fic? Like maybe the reader gets hurt by one of the villains in caos?

+ Request from anon: Just an INTENSE “oh my god thank fuck you’re safe” type of scene with nick 

---

“Okay, Y/N, that’s enough”

The girl turned her head to her friend. They were sitting on the stairs inside the Academy of Unseen Arts, talking about spells when the young woman had spotted Nicholas Scratch, talking to the weird Sisters.

“Enough ?” She repeated.

“Stop being distracted by Nick!”

“What ?” She straightened out. “What are you talking about, Brina ?”

“Are you kidding me ?” Her friend laughed. “Every time he walks in a room, your eyes go to him and your mind gets lost into this land of daydream you created to avoid telling him how you feel”

She puffed, averting her friend’s gaze before closing the book on her lap and getting up.

“Stop being so dramatic, Spellman. It’s not like that.”

“Oh yeah ?” She smiled. “Then why has he been staring at you with those love sick puppy eyes ever since he spotted us on the stairs ?”

Her eyes grew big and she took her friend by the hand, forcing her to walk.

“Spellman ! Y/L/N !” They hear Prudence called before they could disappear in the hallway.

Sabrina glanced at her friend, already annoyed, and turned back to the weird sisters and Nicholas.

“Hi, Prudence” She simply greeted her.

“And what is this book I see…” She pondered with a smirk. “Dark magic, huh ?”

“You do know it is forbidden to practice it” Dorcas reminded them.

“Who said anything about practicing” Y/N answered. “It’s called reading”

“Now if you excuse us, we have to go” Sabrina added.

Prudence looked them up and down before turned around, snapping her fingers at her sisters to tell them to follow her. And once again, before the two friends could go, someone stopped them. This time it was Nicholas. He grabbed Y/N by her wrist, forcing her to turn and face him.

“You’re not using any of those spells, are you ?” He asked.

“If I didn’t know better I’d say you’re worried about me, Scratch”

“I am”

“Well, don’t be.” She smiled at him. “You know I’m powerful. And besides, we have everything under control”

He looked between Sabrina and her, not entirely sure he believed them.

“If you need my help you know you can call me” He insisted.

“I know, Nick.”

“Please be careful” He called before she could get away.

“You know I always am” She sweetly smiled.

He pursed his lips, half satisfied by her answer and decided against his best judgment to let them go. Sabrina grabbed her friend by the arm, both of them making their way to the mortal realm. Half an hour later, they were sitting inside Dr.Cerberus’ coffee with Theo and Roz.

“When exactly did you noticed something was different about Harvey?” Y/N asked them.

“About two days ago. He started acting … weird” Theo answered.

“Weird how ?”

“Talking to a wall, having those spasms and drawing symbols”

“You have them ?” Y/N inquired. “The drawings”

“Yes!”

Roz got a piece of paper out of her bag. As soon as she put it on the table, the witches recognized it.

“We were right” Sabrina told her friend.

“What is it ?” Theo said.

“He’s possessed” Y/N explained. “It’s a sigil he’s drawing. It represents a lock in ancient Greek. Typically, when one’s possessed, they’ll instinctively try to protect their mind by making this”

“How … how do we help him ?” Roz continued, talking to Sabrina.

“I don’t know how to perform an exorcism guys” She admitted.

“I do” Y/N announced. “I’ll do it”

“You know it’s risky” Sabrina reminded her.

“I don’t see any other choices, Brina. Unless you want your friend to die, which will eventually happen”

She sighed, knowing the girl was right.

“How do we help you ?” Theo asked them.

“Staying away is the best option for you” Y/N told them.

“Why ?!”

“Once I’ll do the exorcism, the demon will be forced out of Harvey’s body. There’s a chance it might jump in one of yours to hide from me”

They nodded, understanding what was at stake.

“We’ll be a phone call away in case you need us”

“Don’t worry, it’s gonna be fine” Sabrina reassured them.

Once everything was settled, they made their way to the Spellman’s house. Sabrina had the idea to lure Harvey inside. The house would be empty that night so it was now or never. As the blonde witch wrote the message for her friend to come, Y/N started to prepare for the spell. Candles, cauldron with blood and ashes, a circle of salt and her book of Dark Magic were prepared for the ritual.

“As soon as he’s here, get him in the circle then close it with the salt” She explained to Sabrina.

“You sure about this ?” She asked one last time.

Her friend responded with a shrug. Before she could answer, her phone rang, distracting her. She sighed when she realized who was calling her and turned around for a bit of privacy.

“Nick” She answered.

“Hey! When are you coming back to the Academy” He inquired.

“Why ?”

“It’s almost midnight”

“So …?”

“Look, Y/N, I’m just making sure that you’re alright and not doing anything reckless”

“I told you I’d be careful, didn’t I ?”

“Yeah, well I’m aware of your definition of non-existent sense of self preservation”

“That’s offending”

“But true. Now when are you coming back ?”

“Later. I’ve got to go. Brina and I are kinda in the middle of something”

“Wait …”

She didn’t wait and hang up when she saw Harvey approaching the house.

“Ready ?”

“As I’ll ever be”

Y/N went to hide in the kitchen, waiting for Sabrina to give her a signal. She could hear them exchanged words and Sabrina kept talking to distract the possessed boy as she lured him in the living room. Everything was happening perfectly so far.

“Just sit here, Harvey” She told him. “Make yourself comfortable”

As he sat on the chair, she threw the salt she had in her fist, finishing the circle where he was now trapped.

“What is this ?” He asked, confused.

“Y/N!” She called.

The girl walked from behind him, putting him to sleep with a small incantation in latin. They exchanged one final look, ready to get to work.

“Once I’m inside, don’t come near me » She reminded Sabrina. « Do not touch me”

Her friend nodded. She took a deep breath and stepped inside the circle. Slowly, with all the patience she could conjure up, she started to prepare. Drawing signs on the floor with the blood mixed with the ashes, she started reciting a spell. Harvey started shaking, a small sign he was struggling. As she lit the large candle in front of her, she kneeled down, the last words of her spell pouring out of her mouth, sending her into a transe. Suddenly, she was gone. Her head thrown back, her eyes closed, she seemed in another dimension.

“Harvey!” She called inside her mind.

“The boy is not here” She heard a whisper behind her.

“Who are you, demon ?”

“You’re about to find out, witch”

And so her fight to free Harvey started. It was pitch black inside her mind and she could hear the demon laughing, waiting to attack. She tried to make a step but realized she could not move. Shaken, she look at her feet and saw a large pentagram, a witch trap.

“Shit” She murmured to herself.

She couldn’t reach Sabrina to tell her, she’d have to face him alone. Again, she heard him laughing. She turned around, trying to think of an escape but knew no spell would be efficient against a witch trap. Before she could realized what was happening, she felt what seemed like water on the floor. From outside, Sabrina knew something wasn’t right. Y/N couldn’t feel it in her mind but her body was shaking like crazy. Blood was rolling out of her nose and she almost seemed out of breath. Sabrina tried to call her but knew it was useless. She couldn’t help her, not from outside the circle and not by herself. Cursing, she knew who she had to call at their rescue.

“Nick, I need your help” She reached out to the boy through her mind.

“Where are you ?” She heard back seconds later inside her head.

“My house. Bring the sisters with you”

“Why ?”

“We used a spell and she’s not… I don’t think she’s alright”

“What spell ?” He asked.

“The exorcism”

“Who did it ?”

“…it’s Y/N. You have to hurry, Nick, please” She cried.

He didn’t answered back and she guessed he was rushing to get to the house. She turned back to her friend. Her eyes had turned wide. A large, empty white color staring back at nothing. It was like she had big electric jolts to her body. She could see Y/N trembling, the spasms so violent as she fought. Her body was in a tornado and Sabrina knew if she tried to even touch her it could have devastating effects.

“What the hell is going on” She heard behind her

When she turned around, the weird Sisters and Nick were standing there. The sisters stayed back, accessing the room, but Nick immediately rushed to Y/N once he saw her struggling.

“No!” Sabrina shouted.

He stopped right before crossing the line of salt encircling the young girl inside.

“What did you do, Sabrina ?!” He yelled back, his eyes glued to Y/N

“We had … we had to do an exorcism” She explained. “I didn’t know how but Y/N did. And once… once she started, her body just …”

“Why did you let her do it ?!” Nick cut her.

“Do you realize how dangerous this is ?” Prudence lectured.

“You have to help me” Sabrina said, ignoring their questions. “I can’t make her come back by myself”

Nicholas turned back to the girl, walking in front of her from a safe distance. He knew she couldn’t see him, but maybe she could hear him.

“Hey beautiful” He started to speak. “It’s me, it’s Nick. Can you hear me ?”

His heart broke when he saw her shiver more violently.

“I know you’re trapped, but I need your help Y/N”

Again, no reaction to tell him she was able to ear him.

“Try a memory, Nick” Prudence advised him.

He nodded.

“Do you… do you remember the first time we met ?” He knelt down in front of her. “You were on this rooftop, dancing by yourself. You were so beautiful. You looked like a mad woman, so I called your name but you didn’t hear me. I tried to come closer but I must’ve startled you, because you made me freeze on the spot with a flicker of your hand. I knew when you turned around that I was doomed to fall for you”

“Nick..” She whispered, almost as if speaking out loud was hurting her

“I’m here, Y/N, I’m right here love” He said back.

“I’m trapped with him”

“It’s alright, we’re here to help you get back”

“We need the demon’s name, Y/N” Prudence added, her sisters and her already in a circle.

The girl was looked straight ahead, distressed, almost conflicted by her choice.

“Once I tell you, you won’t have long” She told them.

“Why ?”

“He’ll do anything to keep us from casting him out”

“Makes sense” Agatha stated. “The power is in his name”

“Y/N” Nick called. “Which demon is with you ?”

“His name is …” She stopped herself, pursing her lips.

They could see her fighting a battle to open her mouth, to vocalize the syllable that could end her suffering.

“..B…Buka..vac” She murmured.

Prudence gasped, the simple name enough to horrify her and her sisters.

“What ?” Sabrina asked. “Who is it ?”

“He’s a demonic creature” Nicholas whispered, his eyes glued to Y/N. “He possessed people to torture them and drown them from inside”

Just as he said it, she started to hyperventilate. She opened her mouth to speak but only water came out.

“What’s happening ?” Sabrina shouted.

“Y/N, love, listen to me” Nick vehemently spoke, his eyes filling with tears. “You have to fight him back. Please, you have to…”

He couldn’t speak, his heart was breaking watching the girl he loved chocked on invisible water.

“C’mon Nick, get up” Prudence said. “Help us”

They formed a circle around her, locking their hands as they started chanting in an ancient language. Each of them in tune, they were giving strength to the young witch. Nick closed his eyes, keeping on reciting the words. He couldn’t watch her like this, it was too much. He could hear her struggle to keep the oxygen in her lungs, could guess the pounding of her heart and the fight in her head. In that moment he prayed Satan she’d keep breathing. There was a sense of urgency around them all that was more apparent than ever. They were close to losing their fight and all Nicholas could focus on was his love gasping for air. He let the tears freely roamed on his face, trying to shut the sound of her struggle.

And suddenly, it stopped. No more sound of heavy breathing or coughing, just a heavy silence. Fearful of what he would see, Nicholas slowly opened his eyes. He could swore his heart stopped beating right there when he saw her body laying on the ground. Without even thinking or realizing it, he crossed the circle made of salt and rushed to her side.

“No, no, no, no, no…” He kept whispering.

Her body felt cold, too cold to be alive. She felt like a ghost in his arms. He placed a hand of her chest, praying whatever entities could hear him to make him feel a heartbeat. He waited, but nothing happened.

“Move aside, Nick!” Prudence forcefully told him, pushing him away.

She started to pound on the young witch’s chest with all the power she could muster. Her sisters behind her were silently helping with a spell.

“C’mon, Y/N, breath” She shouted. “Breath!”

With a powerful fist she banged on her heart. The reaction was instantaneous and the girl woke up, taking a tremendous gulp of air as she regain consciousness. In doing so, and just as she arose, so did Harvey who had been asleep during the whole process of exorcism. Sabrina ran to him, wanting to make sure he was alright.

As of Nicholas, he didn’t waste a second before taking the girl in his arms, nodding at Prudence as a silence sign to thank her.

“Oh my god, thank fuck you’re safe” He whispered, crying.

Weakly, Y/N reached for him and hugged him as hard as she could.

“Thank you” She said, her head buried in his neck.

“Never, ever, do that again” He answered, taking her head between his hands. “I thought you were dead, Y/N/N”

A tear escaped her eye as she clasped her hands around his wrists, a simple way to ground herself to him.

“For a moment there I thought so to” She admitted.

Slowly, he helped her to sit.

“Harvey, are you alright ?” She asked, turning her head to the teenager.

“Yes, yes I am” He reassured her.

She closed her eyes, sighing in relief as she put her head on Nicholas’s shoulder.

“C’mon, you have to rest” Nick said. “I’ll take you back to the Academy”

She nodded.

“Sabrina, stay with Harvey to make sure he’s alright” She told her friend.

“You sure ?”

“Yes, I’ll be alright”

“I don’t want to leave you alone, not after all this” Her best friend confessed.

“She won’t be alone” Nick answered her. “There’s no way I’m letting her out of my sight”

Sabrina smiled as she watched the young boy bending to take the girl he loved in his arms. Hands clasped with Harvey’s, she watched the Sisters follow Nick and Y/N on their way back to the Academy. Through the small journey, Y/N slept. Safe in Nick’s arms, she knew she could rest peacefully. She woke up, several hours later, disoriented, in her bedroom at the Academy.

“We’re home” She heard a voice comfort her in the dark.

When she turned her head, she saw him. Sitting on her bed, his back to the wall, his eyes glued to her.

“You know it’s creepy to watch someone sleep, do you ?” She joked.

“I needed to make sure you were still breathing” He seriously stated.

She sighed, getting up to match his position. Slowly, she put her head on his shoulder and entwined their hand.

“I’m alright, Nick”

“I know” He said, closing his eyes. “But I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget the sight of you so pale and… and almost …”

“Hey, hey! Nick look at me”

She moved, kneeling in front him.

“I’m here, I’m alive”

She took one of his hand, putting in on her chest.

“Do you feel that ? …”

With a little force, he hugged her as hard as he could. His head on her chest, his ear on top of her heart, he listened closely. She let him have a moment, knowing it must have been rough for him. They stayed like that, in each other’s arms, her hand playing with his hair, for what felt like only two minutes.

“I love you, Y/N” He whispered, admitting his feelings.

“I figured” She joked.

He playfully slapped her thigh, making her laugh.

“Aren’t you going to say it back ?” He asked.

“I guess so”

“You … I’m sorry, « you guess so » ?” He straightened up, pretending to be hurt.

“Is that ego of yours bruised, Scratch ?”

“Very much so”

She laughed before looking at him dead in the eyes.

“Then I should probably tell you a secret”

“Is it a good secret ?” He asked.

“I’ll let you decide on that one”

“Alright, I’m listening”

With a wicked smile she leaned into him, slowly putting her lips on his. It was the sweetness of passion, a million loving thoughts condensed into a short moment, a statement from both of them admitting what they refused to say out loud before.

“I love you too, Nick” she whispered in his ear.

“Best secret ever” he answered, smiling, making her laugh.

[zeldas-cigarrette]

Now, I’ll drive alone past your street. (Ⅱ)

A/n: This is the sequel to my last post, I couldn’t write any smut, I wasn’t in the mood for it. Just wait for another story in which I’ll definitely include it !!! If you have any requests, feel free to leave them somewhere ^^ And thank you so much for the interaction on my last post:))

Part 1

Word count: 1,635

Warnings: none

Zelda Spellman x female witch reader

———————————————————————

It pained you when sudden thoughts about Zelda flickered in your head. Although you decided on leaving for a while, you missed her, Hilda, Ambrose, and Sabrina. The wittiness of Hilda when you came down for breakfast, looking like a complete mess. Sabrina when she was onto something, including you in every step of the way. And Ambrose, when he was fuzzing about the mess his younger cousin had caused again.

The sudden ring of your cell phone tore you out of thoughts. Hilda’s caller ID showed up just as it did the past week. You’ve always been too afraid to pick up, scared of listening to her ranting about you letting her sister marry this man. But unlike the other times, the Brit has called, now you were brave enough to answer the call. Maybe Zelda fulfilled her task and became High Priestess?

„Y/n, I tried to reach you all week” Hilda hastily explained. „I know, I know but-“

„There is no time for explanations, you need to come back. Something’s wrong with Zelda” she cut you off while unsteadily breathing into the speaker.

You hesitated to speak, not being sure what you shall say. You loved the red-headed witch too much to let her suffer. „I’ll be there Hilda,” you said and quickly ended the conversation.

You knew it was about time to go back and fight for your love and show Father Blackwood who’s in charge.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩

It didn’t take long for you to teleport you back to the mortuary, you left a few of your belongings where you’d stayed. You took a deep breath before knocking on the red front door. The familiar scent of your friends home crept up your nose and you started to loosen your tension. „Praise Satan you’re here, come in quick” the British woman rambled and pulled you inside.

„What’s going on?” You asked curiously. „My sister has changed during her honeymoon, it’s just as if she’s under some kind of spell.”

You nodded and hung your coat onto one of the hooks. „She does everything Blackwood asks her, Zelda would do anything to protect our family and now that bloke tries harms us and she just agrees with everything” Hilda explained and you knew immediately what she was trying to say. „And, Ambrose is said to have killed the Anti Pop. Nicholas Scratch helped him get away before Blackwood could lay his hands on him” she added pulling a grimacing face.

„I will go to the academy and inspect the situation myself, we will fix this mess” you tried to reassure her. The witch nodded and led you into the kitchen where the two cousins sat, pondering over how to help her aunt. „You’re back Y/n!” Sabrina exclaimed and hugged you tightly. A smile formed on your lips. Deep down you were happy to be back even though it took you some time to realise.

The darkness slowly came over Greendale and millions of stars peppered the night sky. „I will head to the academy and see what happened to your aunt and in which condition she is” you informed them and drummed your fingers on the tabletop. „Be careful, Blackwood is crazy at the moment. His misogyny went up to a new level” the young witch rambled worriedly. „I’ll take care.”

You grabbed your coat before leaving the house, inhaling the sweet scent that lingered in the house once more.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩

Arriving at the academy, a weird feeling spread in your gut. You entered the school for witches and warlocks, having an exact destination to where you wanted to go. You walked through the halls of the academy searching for either Zelda or Blackwood. A sharp pain shot through your arm when a hand grabbed you and pulled you into a room.

The facet of the person immediately let you know who it was. „Blackwood” you explained and freed yourself from his tight grip. „You ought not to be here” the sharp tone in his voice sent shivers down your spine. „I came to speak to Zelda.”

He eyed me. „Wife!” The High priest yelled and waited impatiently for Zelda to come. Seconds passed before a woman in a flower dress entered the room. „Would you give us a few minutes?” your voice thickly filled with annoyance. The warlock just nodded and left the room.

„Zelds, what happened?”

„I don’t know what you mean?” her voice almost pitching. „Honey, you can tell me” your hand reached for hers. „But there is nothing to tell. If you excuse me now, I ought to make tea for my beloved husband.”

Her words sounded surreal, fake just simply not like Zelda. A hopeless sigh escaped your lips, you should’ve told her how wrong it was to marry that bloke. The only thing to hear was the sound of her music box.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩

„It’s like she’s a doll” you took a sip of water before continuing, „no free will, and devoted to someone she said she’d overthrow.”

Hilda’s gaze wandered through the room. Footsteps echoed through the Spellman house, both of you looked at each other before stepping in the hallway.

You two saw her walking in the kitchen having her hand draped over something. Hilda followed her sister closely. The next thing you heard was high pitched screams from Sabrina who must’ve been in the kitchen. Your legs moved as fast as they could to see what was happening. Zelda stood there, wounding a mouse through the meat grinder. „Aunt Zel, why did you do that? That was our only chance to save Ambrose?” Sabrinas said stunned while her mouth fell agape.

I didn’t know what she was talking about, but surely Leviathan, who now was just a mashed version of itself, played its role in it. „I think I know what’s going on!“ Hilda exclaimed and it looked just as if a light bulb appeared over her head. „Sabrina, you have to get that music box from Zelda’s room in the Academy“ her aunt explained. The teenage witch nodded. Her aunt expected her to leave but that wasn’t the case, she somewhat teleported the box.

Zelda just stood there, staring at the mashed familiar. You couldn’t deny the fact that you were curious about how she teleported a box to her, but you suppressed the thought until you knew what was going on with your toner girlfriend. „Open it up darling” Hilda demanded her niece, „this has to be some kind of Caligari spell.” „What spell?” You asked genuinely interested. „A spell, typically used by old warlocks, to turn their wives into conscious witches aware of every action, yet, unable to make their own choices” the Brit explained and pulled out a photo of the music box.

„Just smash it and our Zelda should be freed from the spell,” Hilda told Sabrina who now held the picture in her hands. With a loud thud, the glass of the frame was broken, leaving a confused Zelda. You saw her facial expression change when she laid eyes on you. „Zelda is it you?” you asked nearly on the verge of tears.

You knew how stupid it was, leaving her alone with the whole situation, telling her she was better off without you. „Y/n...” the woman stuttered not daring to look away from you. You couldn’t contain your happiness and relive of having her back, you stepped closer and hugged her in a hurry. Her hands instantly sneaking around your waist, pressing you close to her body.

„I was an idiot, Zelda Spellman and I am sorry for how I behaved” you whispered in her ear. Her red locks were spreading on your face, you inhaled her scent. „Don’t worry, I must admit it was my fault too. How could I ask my girlfriend if I could marry another guy?" she mumbled in your shoulder and pressed yourself just a little closer to her body. „Alright, lovebirds” Sabrina sighed and let herself fall back on one of the kitchen chairs.

You loosened your hug and drew back to look at her. „Why don’t we get you something proper to wear?” You suggested and eyed her flower dress. „Satan, wearing this dress the whole time, internally drove me mad” Zelda admitted and tugged on the hem of her dress.

You took her hand in yours and softly moved your thumb over her skin. The fiery woman was broken, you saw it in her green eyes. Gently, you pulled her after you, scared she might break if you’d do it more hastily. Arriving in front of her bedroom door, you were hesitant if she’d even want you to come in put she slightly pushed you towards the door. „Don’t blame yourself, you had every right to leave. I wouldn’t want to see how you marry someone else” the witch remarked after a long silence. „I just feel like I could’ve prevented you from the pain,” you told her.

Zelda just shook her head and patted next to her on the bed. You followed her plea and sat next to the witch, staring down at your hands. „I haven’t told you this for weeks now, but I love you,” the older woman said and took your hand into hers. You slowly placed your head on her shoulder. „I love you too, but never ever marry anyone again as long as we are together” you had to add that. „Never” she mouthed before planting soft kisses along your jawline. „As dominant as ever” you giggled before the woman pressed you down on the bed beneath.

The room was filled with ecstasy and lust after Zelda was finished pleasuring you. You snuggled closer to her chest, not daring to leave her side again. Zelda’s red locks covering your face once more, made you feel comfortable with falling asleep. ‘You’ll be there for her on every step of the way, no matter how much strength it may take’ you thought to yourself before sleep hit you.

—————————————————————

[imgoingtohellsofuckit]

Christmas Cookies

Spencer Reid x Reader 

Warnings - uh none? 

summary - Reader tries to convince Spencer that christmas isn’t all that bad

Spencer was all about Halloween. The costumes, the decorations. He loved every single part of the holiday. He was having the most fun on Halloween enjoying his traditions. However, like most Halloween people he didn't exactly love Christmas. And his girlfriend is more than happy to help change his mind about the holiday.

"Isn't this all a bit much?" Spencer asks as you balance yourself on one of the dining room chairs to try and hang the stockings. "I mean it's just gonna be us."

"That doesn't mean we can't enjoy ourselves," You tell him. She smiles lightly as she steps off the chair to look over your work. "Alright, do you like it?" He smiles lightly.

"Yeah- you do know there are no written records of the origin of the Christmas Stocking?" He tells you. A dorky smile across his face. "people have tried to write the legend or match stories up to explain the lore- the most accepted one is about St. Nicholas wanting to help a poor family but because the father was so stubborn he couldn't just hand over anything to help. So he dropped gold into stockings that were hung by the fireplace to dry." You nod along to the words. Enjoying the fun fact.

"And now they are normalized for most countries," You add, "well- do you like these? The embroidery kinda got a little sloppy." Spencer gives you a soft comforting smile.

"I love them," He assures you. You nod lightly. Moving back to the tub of decorations. It was mostly leftovers of things that just didn't fit with everything else. "It's very winter wonderland in here."

"I love it," You smile, "alright I'm gonna start making cookies- which do you prefer chocolate chip or sugar cookies?"

"Sugar Cookies are more seasonal," Spencer starts, "am I supposed to be helping you?"

"Yes spencer," You tell him. He chuckles. You move to take his hand. Pulling him along to the kitchen. He groans slightly. Once in the kitchen, the two of you start pulling the ingredients out of the pantry. These were clearly your addition to the household. Spencer maybe cooked a handful of times and year and he baked even less than that. So when you moved in you filled the shelves with things to make it almost seem like the people in the house take care of themselves. You both set everything on the counter. "Alright let's do chocolate chip first- they are easier to make anyways."

"Who decided that?"

"Me- why Spence are you gonna argue it?"

"No no just wondering," He says as he pulls down the mixing bowl, "this thing hasn't been touched since my birthday."

"Is that your way of saying you want me to bake more?"

"I mean I wouldn't be opposed," He says chuckling lightly, "it's always a good time for cookies made from scratch." You nod as you grab the measuring cups. "I mean if it isn't too hard."

"Maybe I'll make more but only because you're cute," You say as you pull his hands into yours, "and I love seeing that smile." He chuckles lightly. You move to pull him into a quick kiss. After you break the kiss you move to start measuring out the flour. "Do you have something else you want? Maybe something to take to work with you?"

"We work together-"

"I know that but you travel- I just sit with Garcia," You tell him, "if you don't want any that's fine I just figured I'd offer-"

"No no- I want some," He assures you, "maybe those pumpkin cookies? I know you only really make them around Halloween." You nod lightly. "But they are my favorite."

"Pumpkin cookies it is," You tell him pouring the sugar in, "but I'm sending you with Peppermint candies. You'll have something festive." He chuckles. "I'll make you like this holiday damn it."

"By buttering me up with sweets?"

"If that's what it takes," You say at once, "can you hand me the chocolate chips?" He moves to hand them over. You add them into the bowl then hand it over to Spencer to stir. He takes it and moves.

"I don't know why you always give this to me it's not like I'm any stronger than you," Spencer says as he starts to stir the dough, "it's counterproductive."

"It's busywork," You tell him, "when you do stuff like this I get to hear you talk and I love listening to you talk." He smiles lightly. "So pretty boy tell me some more facts?"

"Alright- Modern Christmas cookies can trace their history to recipes from Medieval Europe biscuits that's when many modern ingredients such as cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, almonds, and dried fruit were introduced into the west," Spencer starts, "the 16th century they were popular around Europe. Each country tended to have one traditional biscuit. For Germany, it was called that Lebkuchen. It's mainly made from honey-"

"Oh speak more Germany to me, love," You say with a bright smile.

"Oh you're testing my knowledge," He says running through his thoughts to remember the translation. "Ich denke, du bist so schön." You smile. Not knowing what the words mean but just knowing that you love watching Spencer like this. Watching him show off how smart he is. Other people thought he was a show-off when he did this. You always loved watching him use that big brain of his. "Wanna know what it means?"

"Hmm depends."

"On?"

"If I'll think it was more romantic when I couldn't tell what you were saying," You tell him.

"I said that I think you are so beautiful," He tells you. You smile at the words.

"Thank you, Spencer- but that sounds like you're trying to score," You chuckle. A cocky grin covers his expression. You move to pull him closer to you. Tucking a strand of his hair behind his ear. "Is that what you want? To get in my pants, pretty boy?"

"Well, I'm never opposed-"

You chuckle loudly. Turning back to start placing the cookies on the baking trap.

"Think you can take over this part?" You ask him. He nods. Lining the trap along with the balls of cookie dough while you start on his pumpkin cookies. "can you hand me the flour Spence?" He moves handing over the bag. You give him a quick mischievous smirk as you grab a pinch full of flour and toss it at him.

"Really?!" He asks at once, "and you call me a child."

"You look so pretty- even covered in flour," You chuckle.

"Hmm let's see if that works both ways," Spencer says. He moves to grab a whole fistful of flour and tosses it over at you. You chuckle in a slight offense as you attempt to wipe off the flour from your clothes. "Beautiful even covered in flour." You roll your eyes lightly as you move to dump the cup of flour into the second mixing bowl. "You wanted my help love."

"Oh, I'm enjoying this," You tell him, "you having holiday fun. Absolutely amazing." He chuckles lightly. "wanna get those in the oven?"

"Sure," He says. He places the tray into the oven. Moving to set the timer. He turns back to see you working on getting his pumpkin cookies together. "I'll wash the bowl so we can work on the sugar cookies next."

"Doing the dishes- wow Spencer that is seriously hot."

"I do the dishes!"

"I never said you didn't- but by the way, I do them way more than you do," You say as you stir the dough, "you think the waters gross so you whine-"

"I wasn't whining-"

You nod lightly. Moving to cute the cookies into the shape of sweaters. Hoping to add some festive flair to them. Spencer moves placing the now clean mixing bowl onto the counter. He starts on the sugar cookie batter.

"Sweaters huh?" He asks.

"Like little Christmas sweaters- or your little sweaters," You tease. He nods. A light smile across his face. "I assume you remember the recipe?"

"Even if I didn't have an eidetic memory with how many of these we had to make last year I don't know how I could forget," He says as he moves through the recipe. You chuckle lightly.

"Hey all of our coworkers loved it," You point out. He nods lightly.

Last year the two of you made about 10 batches to hand out around work. It made your coworkers day. Plenty of smiles and laughs with the baked goods.

"Besides stuff like this means I get to spend more time with you," You smile.

"Always a good thing," He says moving to start stirring the batter, "why haven't we got a mixer yet?"

"Because I asked you for a mixer for Christmas," You chuckle lightly, "besides we always forget how much we want one until we bake anything which is only on birthdays and holidays."

"Okay well- I'm going to make sure that you get your stand mixer," He chuckles, "mostly because I hate all of the mixing." You laugh loudly. "But also because I love you." You roll your eyes playfully as he sets down the ball of dough. He moves to roll it out to cut out the shapes as you set the second batch of cookies in the oven. "Do you want more facts about Christmas cookies?"

"How dare you even ask- of course, I want more Christmas cookie facts," You say as you turn to Spencer. He laughs lightly. Always excited to share is knowledge. Especially when someone wants to know. Even more so when someone as beautiful as you asked.

"Gingerbread originated in the Crusades and was originally made using breadcrumbs, boiled with honey and seasoned heavily with spices," He starts, "It was pressed onto cookie boards which then was nothing more than carved slabs of wood with religious designs and dried. People were said to only be allowed to make the cookies themselves around the holidays because the rest of the year laws restricted its baking to guildsman."

"Guildsman?" You ask, "hmm well I guess that's one way to protect jobs. And cookie boards- kinda like cookie cutters."

"Yeah, that's how it evolved," Spencer tells you, "cool right?"

"Very," You tell him, "God I love that big brain of yours. Seriously Spencer." He gives you a big smile. You move cupping his cheeks.

"You love my brain?"

"I love all of you," You tell him, "but I adore your brain. I love listening to you talk."

"I knew you were perfect," He teases. You laugh lightly as you move into his arms. He wraps them around you tightly. "I love you so much."

"I love you too Spence," You tell him. He moves to tuck a strand of your hair behind your ear.

"Du bist die Liebe meines Lebens," He says softly.

"Mm, what does that mean?"

"You are the love of my life," He says quietly. You smile moving to pull him into a soft kiss. His hands fall to your waist. Placing them carefully. Making sure not to move them without permission. Your hands tangle in his hair. Pulling him into an eager kiss. He moves backing you up against the counter. Careful not to be too forceful that he hurts you. Still, he takes the chance to deepen the kiss.

You move back at once as the timer blares. You move to grab the cookies from the oven at once then shoves the other tray inside. Spencer helps set them on the cooling racks. Y/n chuckles as he yanks his hand back.

"Spencer, you okay?"

"Yeah the cookies are hot- you think I would have known that." You both chuckle lightly. He smiles. "I've got another cookie fact-"

"Oh well, please share my love," You tell him.

"Another place in history where we see the cookie shapes being significant for the holidays is in colonial areas where the Church of England was influential. They call it mumming Christmas stories were acted out and food was used to help depict the stories," He explains, "am i boring you?"

"Not at all," You reply as you watch him carefully.

"Alright well in the 1800s, Pennsylvania Dutch children created large cutout cookies as window decorations now they were made with tin cutters and shaped like people, elaborately decorated with icing the closest to gingerbread men since they weren't religious,"  Spencer explains.

"We should make gingerbread men then," You tell him, "go traditional... Spencer, we could make gingerbread cookies of ourselves!" He chuckles lightly.

"That's dorky-"

"You're calling me dorky?" You ask him, "really? Are you kidding me?"

"It's dorky!"

"You break my heart," You tell him, "we could make gingerbread people for all of our friends. Tell me that wouldn't be adorable."

"Yes it would be cute but I don't even think we have the supplies for gingerbread cookies-"

You look to him pouting lightly. He sighs.

"I'll run to the store," Spencer gives in.

"Thank you, baby," You say brightly.

He's quick about getting to the store. Working through the aisles quickly to gather everything his girlfriend needs.

"No Penelope he's at the store," You tell the blonde on the other line, "gathering cookie ingredients."

"Oh baker Reid," She starts, "awe I love when you two bake. You always get such cute pictures."

"And it's so nice to spend time with him," You tell her, "normally we get days like this every couple of months at best... I'm waiting for JJ or Hotch to call me and ruin my fun."

"Don't speak it into existence," Penelope says, "Kevin is on his way over with a bottle of wine and a good time- and if I lose that I might go berserk." You laugh lightly as you place the sugar cookies on the cooling rack. Before turning back to the homemade icing. "I need a night in my prince's arms."

"Tell me about it," You chuckle, "Between the cases and Spencer almost dying every other week I really need this time with him. Even if it's just us making cookies." Penelope chuckles.

"Don't you dare tell me there won't be more," She teases.

"I don't know for sure," You say honestly, "depends on if Hotch lets me have my boyfriend for the night." She laughs lightly. You could hear the door open. Spencer calls to let you know he's home. "That's him Pen."

"Oh please give me all the juicy details on our Doctor Reid later!"

"Bye Pen-"

"Bye Y/n!"

You hang the phone up and move to toss it onto the counter. Spencer hands over the bags.

"Who was that?"

"Garcia," You tell him, "she was asking me to share some juicy details about our sex lives."

"People actually talk about that stuff?" He asks clearly a little embarrassed.

"I mean yeah," You chuckle, "I don't tell her everything if you are worried about that."

"No, I'm not worried about it-" He's starting to get flustered. You take his hand gently. He sighs. "Did you tell all the girls at work?"

"Just Penelope," You tell him, "and it's only small things. Like romantic gestures. I try not to say anything that I know you wouldn't want me to." He nods lightly. "Now wanna start making the cookies while I get your pumpkin cookies iced."

"Of course Malady," He says brightly. You move carefully icing the cookies as he starts on the cookies.

"You never told me what you want for Christmas," You point out.

"I want a whole day just the two of us," Spencer tells you.

"That is out of my hands," You tell him, "but I'll try my best to make it work." He nods lightly. "Anything else you want?"

"Uh- books," He tells you.

"Books? Any book?"

"No - I'll make a list," He says at once. You nod turning back to the cookies. "Anything you want that isn't the mixer?"

"Your love."

"You already have that," He chuckles. You turn to finish icing the cookies before starting on the sugar cookies. Spencer watches you carefully as he works on the gingerbread cookies. "Come on you have to want something else."

"I want you to take me to go look at Christmas lights," You tell him. He smiles lightly.

"I can do that," Spencer tells you.

"I knew I picked you for a reason," You say brightly. He moves setting the dough on the counter so you both can cut out the shapes. After you get them cut out he tosses them in the oven. You look over to him eagerly.

"What?"

"You're so handsome," You say brightly, "and I love you." He chuckles lightly. You take his hand carefully. "Christmas movies?"

"Depends... Which one?"

"Hmm, Polar Express?"

"Perfect," He says softly. You move to pull him along to the living room. He gets the movie set up as you climb onto the couch excitedly. Wrapping your arms around him the second he lays back down. You move resting your head on his chest. Feeling the rise and fall of his chest. As you keep your eyes on the movie Spencer gently plays with your hair. "You're beautiful."

"Thank you, love," You say softly. He moves pulling you closer to him.

"You know if we get to be like this then maybe I'll start to like Christmas," Spencer starts.

"Oh we can be like this all the time for Christmas," You tell him, "even better- we can have matching pajamas."

"Matching pajamas?"

You stand moving to the bedroom. Digging through the bags until you pull out matching pajama sets.

"I was going to wait until Christmas eve to get these out but I think we can manage getting them now," You say as you toss a set over to him, "you like them?"

"I love them," He says.

"Perfect because I told JJ we'd wear them to her Christmas party," You chuckle.

"Pajamas?"

"Her and Will are wearing their own matching PJs," You tell him, "it's just a cute thing... We don't have to."

"No no I like it," Spencer tells you. You aren't convinced he's telling the truth but you don't mind. This stuff is more your speed anyway.

"Well then let's get them on," You tell him. He nods. moving to pull off his sweater and replace it with the red Christmas top. You smirk slightly as you look over him. "You're so pretty."

"You always call me pretty," Spencer says as you toss away your top.

"Because you're pretty," You shrug, "sorry love." You move pulling on the pants. Spencer adjusts his slightly. You were a little worried it wouldn't fit right considering how tall and lanky the bastard is. "Please tell me that fits. They didn't have anything that was longer the wasn't also bigger and I didn't want it falling off of you."

"It fits fine," Spencer assures you. You move to take his hand carefully. He smiles widely.  

"Come on we have to get the cookies," You tell him. He nods as you lead him out to the kitchen. Spending the rest of your night baking and watching holiday movies.

Spencer was sure that as long as you were by his side he'd give the holiday a chance.

[just-jordie-things]

She’s Changed - Nicholas Scratch

word count: 5295 warnings: rough breakup stuff summary: (y/n) goes through a difficult breakup, the guy just couldn’t accept both parts of her life, mortal, and witch.  But Nick Scratch is there to put the pieces back together, and remind her that love accepts all parts of a person.

(y/n) was so excited to have a night off from the Academy, so she could go to Greendale and visit her mortal friends, and more excitingly, boyfriend.  Ever since her sixteenth birthday, after she’d signed her name in the Book of The Beast, she’d been attending the Academy of the Unseen Arts, and rarely had the time to go into Greendale to see her friends.

She’d gotten ready to go while Nicholas Scratch, her best warlock friend and resident sweet talker, was studying in her dorm to keep her company.

“I hope we go to the cinema,” She said to him, while he pretended to focus on his spell book.  But he couldn’t help his eyes from wandering up towards where (y/n) was applying a bit of makeup at her vanity.  “The last time I saw a movie was before I came here… a year ago I suppose”

“Mortals and your fascination with filmed entertainment” Nick mused, and she turned to look at him, sprawled out on her bed like it was his own, surrounded by books and notebooks.

“I’m a witch, Scratch,” She said teasingly.  “Just as much as you”

“Mhm” He hummed, and diverted his eyes back to his work, while (y/n) went back to her mirror.  She smiled to herself as she put on a dark shade of lipstick, rolling her lips to spread the color before turning to Nick again.

“It’s been a year,” She repeated, and he looked back up at her.  “Would you ever want to come with me again? To Greendale?”

Nick pursed his lips.  Admittedly, he had a great time with her, because he always did.  But he couldn’t stand the mortal world she’d grown up in.  Her friends had looked at him like he was a threat, and her boyfriend looked at him like he was scum.  Usually, he wouldn’t care about other people’s opinions, especially those of mortals.  But these were (y/n’s) friends, her family, and it bothered him that they despised him so much, and looked at him so strange.

“I… don’t think so, (y/n/n),” He answered unsurely, not wanting to hurt her feelings.  But she frowned, turning around in her seat completely to look at him.  “Third wheeling you and your mortal boyfriend sounds like the biggest bore of the century”

(y/n) chuckled, shaking her head.  “It’s not just him, Roz and Harvey and Theo will be there too,” She assured.  “It could be fun, you could get to know them some more”

“I’d rather staying here and getting to know you more over a bunch of mortals” He said.  She rolled her eyes but there was still a smile on her face.

“Fine, send me alone,” She said, cleaning up the slight mess she’d made.  “I’ll be back around eleven, I think, if you’re still free later tonight” She told him.  Nick grinned as he gathered all his books to get going.

“Can’t get enough of me yet?” He asked, and she laughed nodding her head.

“Yeah, let’s call it that” She replied with a playful wink that made his grin widen.

“I’ll maybe come by, the big Astrometry test is tomorrow, so I might just stay in my room and study” He explained, and she nodded as they followed each other out her door.

“Make sure you sleep,” She warned him as she locked her door.  “No more staying up all night to memorize everything you can, it’s unhealthy”

“I’ll use a focusing spell,” He replied, and she gave him a bored look, making him chuckle.  “Alright, Alright.  I’ll try,” He said.  “Maybe when you come back I’ll bring my things around and you can tell me about your boring night with mortals while I study”

“So you can tune me out?” (y/n) quirked an eyebrow at him as they walked through the hall together.  Nick laughed, shaking his head as he was about to turn down the hall of his room, while she was heading to the front doors.

“I’ll see you later, (y/l/n),” He said, kissing her cheek quickly, “Have fun tonight, be back before the witching hour”

“I always am” She grinned back at him, her cheeks pink from his kiss.

“Tell your boyfriend I said hello” He called as he walked away, making her chuckle to herself and shake her head before heading to the doors.

Nick Scratch was something else. ____

(y/n) walked into Cerberus’s with a smile and a bit of a skip in her step.  She found her friends and boyfriend in their usual booth.  She broke into a light jog and threw her arms around him, pressing a kiss to his cheek before smiling at Roz, Theo and Harvey.  They smiled, happy to see her, but she could tell that they all looked a bit nervous.

“It’s been so long,” She sighed, trying to ease the awkward tension of her not being around for weeks.  (y/n) was certain that her distance from Greendale was the reason for the tension.  “I’ve missed you guys so much”

“We’ve missed you too,” Roz said sweetly, reaching over the table and setting a hand on (y/n’s).  “How’s… school?” She asked unsurely, and (y/n) nodded her head.

“Really good, I like it a lot, I wish I could bring you guys and give you a tour”

She looked to her boyfriend, who’d remained silent ever since she’d gotten here.

“Why can’t you?” Harvey asked curiously, brows furrowed as he drank his coffee.

“Strict no mortals rules” (y/n) replied, and her boyfriend took in a sharp inhale.

“Mortals?” He asked, finally saying something, but she felt her stomach twist with discomfort.

“Yeah… you know like.. Humans”

“Like normal people?” He asked, and she looked down at her hands, unsure of what to say.

“(y/n) we know it’s not like that,” Theo said, giving his friend’s boyfriend a pointed look.  “Did you want to order something? I’ll go up to the counter with you, I want a refill”

“Uh… yeah, sure,” (y/n) answered, and followed him up to the register to order a coffee.  “Can I ask you something?”

“Go for it”

“Is everything… okay? It seemed so weird back there” (y/n) asked, wringing her hands together while she waited for his answer.

“I think it’s just been really weird without you, (y/n),” Theo explained.  “Like… unbalanced.  (y/bf/n) never wants to hang around us even, this is the first time in a while that we’ve seen him”

“Really?” (y/n) asked, glancing back at the table, where Roz and Harvey were talking and giggling, while her boyfriend just sat there on his phone and sipping coffee.  “Why? Because of me?”

“I guess,” Theo shrugged.  “He must’ve only ever hung out with us because of you”

(y/n) frowned as she stepped up to order her drink.  (y/bf/n) had always had a good time going out with her friends when she was still living in Greendale, and attended Baxter High.  Maybe she wasn’t around as much these days, but nonetheless, that shouldn’t have changed the whole group’s dynamic.

“Hey,” Theo called when (y/n) was just standing there, holding her mug of coffee.  “Are you alright?” He set a hand on her arm, face contorted into a worried expression as he looked at her.  (y/n) forced a smile and nodded.

“Yeah, just… zoned out I guess” She shook it off and they walked to the table.

The rest of their time was spent chatting, catching up on everything they’d each missed in each others lives.  It wasn’t as awkward as before, unless you count (y/bf/n) barely talking the whole night.

When the gang packed up their things and were about to leave, (y/n) followed next to him, taking his hands and smiling softly up at him.

“Hey, are you doing alright?” She asked quietly so the others that were a ways behind them wouldn’t hear.  “You seem real quiet”

“Yeah.  I’m just... thinking, (y/n)” He sighed.  The witch frowned, worried about him, and hoped he’d open up, but he didn’t.  So she pried a little further.

“What about?” She asked, and he shrugged.

“To be honest, us” He answered bluntly.  She wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing, but he didn’t seem too happy, so she supposed bad.

“What about us…?” She questioned again, her concern seeping through her voice.

“About whether or not this is going to work” He replied, his words were harsh due to his annoyance with her pestering, and her eyes went wide in shock at the outburst.  (y/n) stopped walking.

“What?” She no longer sounded worried, but upset.  “(y/bf/n), what do you mean? What does that mean?”

“It means…” He trailed off, “I just don’t think this can work anymore”

“Why not?” She asked, brows pinching together as tears pricked her eyes.  She didn’t want to cry, it would be incredibly embarrassing if she did, but her boyfriend trying to break up with her in front of their friends would be even worse.

“You’re a witch now! It’s different!” He was angry, and the way he yelled made her skin crawl, the way he called her a witch, like it was unfamiliar in his mouth, made her bristle with anger.  “Are you a spawn of Satan?”

“It’s not like that!” She hissed back.  

Their friends were a few feet away, and could easily hear everything that was happening, but hung back so they didn’t have to get involved.  (y/n) and (y/bf/n) never fought.  Ever.

“All that’s different is I’m at a new school, so I’m not in town that much, how much of a difference does that make?” She asked, hands moving so much she was almost spilling her drink.

“Any time you don’t spend here, you spend with- with him! Your witch boyfriend!”

If she wasn’t pissed off before, she was now.

“Warlock,” Her voice was a growl.  “Are you suggesting that I’ve been cheating on you?” She spoke so low, that her friends could barely hear her from where they stand.

“If the witch sized shoe fits” (y/bf/n) muttered back.

With a large push, she shoved him in his chest, her vision was blurry from her tears now, but she no longer found it in her to care if she cried.  Her emotions clouded all her judgement.

“I can’t believe you would suggest something like that!” She yelled at him.  “I love you! I would never cheat on anyone, you know me better than that!” The tears ran freely down her cheeks now, ruining her perfected makeup and smearing mascara under her eyes.

“Do I know that!?” He yelled back.  “None of this is the same, (y/n)! Don’t be so naive to think it is.  Ever since you started going to that school you’ve been distancing yourself from here and you know it!” He accused, and she wanted to slap him across the face so badly, but refrained herself from doing so.

“You don’t love me, how could you? How could you love anything?” He asked, and she was certain that the wind was just knocked out of her.  “You’re a witch, (y/n), that makes you evil, and I want nothing do with it.  I don’t want to be anywhere around you when you snap someday and turn into full Satan-”

Now she slapped him.  Sharply across his cheek.

“I didn’t need Satan for that, did I?” She snarled.

“(y/n)!” Harvey called, walking towards them to interfere, this had gone on long enough.

“I’m going home,” She said, wiping the tears off her face and turning to walk away. “My real, home.  The Academy” She stopped part way down the sidewalk, looking at the mug she was still holding.  She groaned before just throwing it on the ground and leaving it there, shattered.

She teleported home so no one else could see her crying. ___

Nick was exhausted from all the studying he’d been doing, but he knew that (y/n) was probably back by now, so he decided to get up and head to her dorm to finish studying with her.

Did he want to hear about her night? Not really, he knew it’d be all heart eyes and sappy stuff about her boyfriend, the mortal prick, and the strange mortal things that they do for ‘fun’, but at least he’d get to be in her company and listen to her talk.  

He knocked on her door before letting himself in.  It was locked, but he had a special enchantment that let him in whenever he pleased, just like she had one into his.  It was originally for emergencies, but now they just used it whenever they pleased.

“Hey (y/n) ready to tell me about your mundane evening-?”

He spoke as he walked in and shut the door, but stopped when he realized all the lights were off, and she was in a lump of blankets on the bed.  He could hear her crying, even though she was trying to muffle it in her pillow.

“Woah, hey, (y/n/n),” Nick went over to her, pulling back the covers, but she pulled them up over her head.  “What’s going on?” He asked, hands caressing her shoulders and trying to prompt her to come out of the blankets, but she stayed put.

“I want to be alone” She mumbled.

“What’s that? I can’t hear you from under the blankets” He said.  She whipped them away, glaring at him, but it didn’t hide the fact that she’d obviously been crying for a long time.  Her eyes were red, as were her cheeks, and her lip was quivering with every breath and every word she spoke.

“I want to be alone” She said with more of a snap, before rolling over to face away from him. Nick sighed, and crawled over her to lay on the other side of the bed, where she was facing.

“What happened?” He asked softly, his hand cupping her cheek and wiping away her tears.  “Was it your friends?” He asked, but she just kept crying, and remained silent.  Nick frowned as she reached to pull the blankets up to her chin.

“I’m never going back to Greendale” She whimpered out, and fresh tears began to spill over her lashes.

Nick’s brows rose as his mouth made an ‘oh’ shape.  He hadn’t expected that.

“(y/n), you love Greendale, it’s almost freakish,” He joked, and pulled her blanket back a bit to uncover more of her face.  “Come on (y/n/n), talk to me” He said softly.

She sniffled, and pushed his hand off of her face as she wiped the tears off her cheeks.

“(y/bf/n) broke up with me,” She mumbled, meeting his eye for a moment before staring down towards her blankets.  “He said I was… evil… and that he doesn’t… doesn’t want to be around me anymore”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Nick sighed, and wrapped his arms around her blanketed self, pulling her close as she continued to cry into his chest.  “I’m sorry”

“He hates me, I know it,” She wept.  “He was so angry, you should’ve heard him, the way he called me witch”

Nick held her tighter, and tried not to let his own anger take over, so he could focus on comforting her.

“You should’ve made his teeth fall out” He told her, and he could feel her hands grasp the front material of his shirt.

“I pushed him”

“Pushed him?” Nick repeated.

“Yeah.  And then I threw a mug of coffee on the ground”

“You threw coffee on the ground?” He repeated again.

“Yeah”

Nick chuckled, and rubbed her back.

“You’re hilarious,” He told her.  “You really handled it like a champ”

She laughed, through heavy breaths and tears, but he was just happy to make her laugh.

“I thought so too” She said.  He laughed quietly again, and then they just laid there together in silence.

A long time passed, but at least she wasn’t crying anymore.

“It’s late, do you want me to go?” Nick asked after a while, but she shook her head against his chest.  

“No, I changed my mind,” She said, holding him a little tighter.  “I don’t want to be alone right now”

He nodded, but didn’t say anything else.  Just adjusted his hold on her so that he would be comfortable in his sleep. ___

It had been two months since (y/n’s) breakup, and she had to admit, she was doing pretty well.

She channeled all of her anger and hurt into doing better in her classes, and had risen to the top of her class.  And in her free time, she hung out more with Nick, which they both enjoyed, a lot.

But as good as things were going right now, they both knew that she missed Greendale.  She missed her friends, the place she grew up.  She tried to hide it, but Nick knew her better than that.

He brought it up one afternoon that they were on the front steps of the courtyard.  She had been drawing away in one of the textbooks she was supposed to be reading, and he had been pretending to be reading while thinking about the last two months with her.

“Why don’t we go to Greendale tonight?”

She scoffed, and continued drawing over an unimportant section of her book.  But then looked up to see the genuine look on his face.

“You’re serious?” She asked, brow furrowing when he nods.  “Why the Heaven would I want to do that?”

“Is me going not incentive enough?” He asked, and she laughed humorlessly.

“No, it isn’t,” She answered.  “Maybe when I’m dead, I’ll go back to haunt the place” Nick rolled his eyes, leaning against the railing wall of the stairs.  “Don’t you roll your eyes at me Nicholas I’m just… not ready, I don’t think”

“Yeah you are, it’ll be fun.  We’re going” He decided, and finally started to read his book.  (y/n) stared at him, her mouth agape and eyes wide.

“What? No we aren’t-”

“We are” He said firmly, a playful smirk on his face.  (y/n’s) expression turned into a bored one as she stared at him.  She knew he wouldn’t back down, and she also knew she was dying for something from Cerberus’s.

“Fine,” She grumbled, trying to hide her smile as she went back to drawing.  “But I won’t be happy about it”

“Mhm, sure” Nick hummed. ___

“I don’t get why you want to do this so bad,” (y/n) said as they walked side by side along the sidewalks.  “What do you get out of it?”

“Time with you, of course,” He grinned big, but she just rolled her eyes and stuck her hands in her pockets.  “You’ve been begging me all year to come into town with you more, and now I am”

“But I hate it here” (y/n) grumbled.  Nick gave her a look in response.

“No you don’t,” He stated.  “You want to, I know that, I get that, but you don’t”

“Why do you know me so well?” She asked, a slight roll in her eyes from feigned annoyance.

“Because you spend just about every waking minute with me,” He grinned, and again, she rolled her eyes.  “You’ve changed, (y/n), you used to beg me to come to town with you, and now I had to beg you” He nudged her arm with his elbow as they waked, and she shrugged her shoulders.

“Heartbreak will do that to a person,” She mumbled down to the sidewalk, and then glanced over at Nick.  “I’m not the same, but I’m still… me… I think I just needed some space from here for a while.  A little distance to… move on”

“Moving on doesn’t have to mean forgetting everything and leaving it behind” Nick said.  She smiled sadly at him, and nodded in agreement.

“Yeah,” She said softly.  “Cerberus’s is right up here, let’s get some co-”

She cut herself short as she looked into the small diner, and right there, sitting by the large picture window of the store front, was (y/bf/n).  With another girl, a junior that (y/n) recognized from Baxter High.

“(y/n)?” Nicholas questioned, and followed her line of sight into the coffeehouse.

The witch had frozen up as she watched the sight in front of her.  All she could focus on was how he smiled at her, how he was laughing at what she was telling her, how he leaned in across the table to whisper, his attention fully on hers.

“Ah… the ex,” Nick hummed, before taking her hand and forcing her attention back on to him.  She didn’t look like she was going to cry, but her expression was carefully crafted as not to let any of her emotions show.  “You want to go somewhere else?” He asked quietly.

(y/n) took a deep breath, looking back to the window, and then to Nick again.

“No,” She stated firmly.  “We came here so you and I could get coffee, and we’re gonna get coffee”

Nick smiled at her, and just as he was about to release her hand and walk towards the diner, she interlocked their fingers and tightened her grip a bit.

“Just don’t… vanish” She said unsurely, the nerves of walking into Cerberus’s with Nick, in front of her ex, were starting to eat away at her insides.

“Vanish? And leave you behind?” He asked, almost teasingly.  “I would never”

She laughed quietly as they walked inside, the little bell of the door ringing and announcing their presence.  (y/n) made sure that she didn’t even look (y/bf/n’s) way as they walked past and settled in their own booth.

“You look nervous,” Nick commented as he sat across from her.  “Relax, it’s just you and me here, and you have to tell me what I’m supposed to order because I don’t know what any of this means”

They were laughing as he handed his menu to her in defeat, and they both leaned in close while (y/n) told him the various types of drinks he could order.

“I can’t believe you drink this stuff so late,” Nick said, as he finally settled on a simple cappuccino.  “How does the caffeine not keep you up?”

“It does,” (y/n) answered, making him chuckle again.  “But it’s worth it”

They talked and laughed quietly amongst themselves while drinking their coffee.  It was nice, and for a little while, it felt like they were the only two in the the shop.

(y/n) almost forgot about her ex boyfriend that was just across the diner.

She’d been telling Nick adamantly about her studies in demonology, when a figure walked up next to their booth.  Nick had looked up before she had, and couldn’t help the smug look that came over him as he stared down the guy.

He looked him up and down as though it was his first time seeing (y/ex/n) and realized, perhaps for the first time, that not only could he take this guy, he had him beat in every single category.

(y/n) did not have the same reaction as Nicholas did when she looked up at him.  Her heart skipped a beat, and for a moment, her throat closed up, prohibiting her from forming any words.

Until eventually, “(y/ex/n)”

He smiled, albeit awkwardly, under the intense glare of Nicholas, and the confused glances that (y/n) was shooting at him.

“Hey, (y/n/n),” He greeted, and Nick rolled his eyes at the lame nickname.  “How’ve you been?”

(y/n) looked to Nick, as if she was asking if she should even say anything to him.  She opened her mouth, but then close it again, unsure of what to even say.

“Busy” Nick answered for her when she began to trace her fingers around her mug.  She tended to fiddle with things when she was anxious.  (y/ex/n) nodded, and licked his lips as he looked from (y/n) to Nick now.  His eyes narrowed for a moment, and Nick smirked back at him.

“Yeah,” (y/n) chimed in.  “Pretty busy.  Witch stuff, you know?”

Nick chuckled at her response, his fingers moving to cover his mouth, like he cared whether or not he appeared rude.

“You?” (y/n) replied, but he interest sounded incredibly fake a she batted her eyes and forced a smile on her lips.

“Also busy.  Girlfriend stuff, you know?” He mocked.  (y/n) only had a moment to be taken aback before Nick spoke up again.

“Right, why don’t you get back to that before you ruin it again, why don’t you?” He said, sitting up a little straighter.  And when (y/ex/n) squared his shoulders and opened his mouth to argue back, Nick stood up, and clapped a hand on the guy’s shoulder.  “I don’t repeat myself.  But I’m gonna give you this chance to walk back to your table, tail between your legs, and sit back down.  Satan doesn’t give you very many chances at these things”

(y/ex/n) grimaced, but the expression on Nick’s face was threatening now, and at least he was smart enough to give up and go back to his own table.

“Well.  You look great.  See you another time”

(y/n) watched him walk away, eyes wide as she stared at his back.  She was carefully steadying her breathing, but the rise and fall of her chest was obvious to Nick.

“Hey,” He said quietly, sitting back in his seat and reaching his hand across the table, setting it on hers.  “You wanna get out of here?”

She nodded, and they both placed some money on the table, and walked quickly to the door.  She kept her hand on Nick’s arm the whole way out, like he was grounding her.

“Thanks for making me come out tonight” She said, and he frowned, feeling terrible about how their night went.  He just wanted her to come back to Greendale for a little bit, and enjoy having some time together, but now he’d just made things worse.

“I’m really sorry, (y/n), I just wanted you to come home for a little bit, it’d been so long and I… I shouldn’t have gotten involved”

(y/n) stopped walking, and shook her head, a small smile on her lips.

“No, I meant it,” She told him.  “I’m glad you brought me out tonight, really, Nick” She said, her smile growing a little bit.  She squeezed both of his hands in hers for a moment.  “It was a little strange but… before that it was… nice” She spoke slowly, nervously, and her hands let go of his.

“Yeah?” He asked, smiling back at her, and she nodded, a pink blush now on her cheeks.  “Good” He grinned completely now, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, tugging her into his side as they continued their walk.  She giggled quietly, wrapping her arm around his back as they kept walking in that position.

“We going home?”

“Why don’t we go see a movie?” He proposed.  “Even if we run into more of your exes, they won’t be able to talk to us since we’ll be in a theater”

She laughed again, and nodded.

“Yeah, sure, why not” ___

The rest of the night was spent stuck close together.  Even throughout the movie, Nicholas kept his arm around her, and eventually she grew confident enough to lay her head against his shoulder.

The longer she rested the there, the less she focused on the movie, and more she thought about Nick.

He’d done everything he could to make sure she had a good night.  All he’d wanted was for her to have a good night, and be able to still enjoy her hometown, besides the bad memories that lurked in it.

And even before tonight, when she refused to leave the Academy, and she knew she was being difficult, he was still there, every step of the way as she got over (y/ex/n).  He never left her for a second.

(y/n) glanced up at him for a moment, and smiled to herself before tucking her head against his shoulder again, and reaching out to take his open hand.

Nicholas was a bit surprised, since he was always the one who initiated physical contact, but it was nice nonetheless, so he let her intertwine their fingers throughout the rest of the film. ___

“You know, for a mortal film, that wasn’t so bad,” Nick said as they left the theater, still hand in hand as they walked back towards the Academy.  “Maybe the mortal world isn’t a total waste of space,” He added, grinning down at (y/n), who hadn’t spoken since they left the theater.  “Hey, you alright, witch?” He asked, slowing down a bit as he realized that she hadn’t said a word.

“Why’d you want to come to Greendale if you hate it so much?” (y/n) asked curiously.

“What? So you’d come home for a little while and not completely abandon it,” He said, like it was obvious.  “You had me worried for a while, I really thought you’d lock yourself up in your dorm at the Academy forever- what is it?”

Her eyes had watered up, and the smile on her lips couldn’t stretch further if she wanted it to.  She was looking at him in a new light, in a new way, and he could tell.

“(y/n)?” He asked, brows furrowing as he watched as she just stood there, smiling at him.

She was still staring at him, before she stepped forward and held his jaw in her small hands.  He looked confused, but she was smiling and she looked so happy that he didn’t care what she was doing.

“Thank you” She told him, quietly, before leaning up on the tips of her toes, and pressing her lips against his.  Even though the action took him by surprise, he kissed her back, but just as his hands set on her hips, she pulled away, smile still on her lips.

“Not that I’m unappreciative, because here in a minute I’m going to do that again,” He spoke, making her let out a small giggle, her thumb swiping gently back and forth along his jaw.  “But what are you thanking me for?”

“Because you hate it here.  But you came here with me anyways, so that I wouldn’t shut out my mortal roots, and the life I lived before I came to the Academy,” She explained.  “(y/ex/n) was never able to accept both parts of me”

It took a minute, and his brows stitched together, still a bit surprised, but Nick smiled back at her, his hands reaching up to cup around her face before pulling her lips against his again, kissing her deeply this time.

The way he’d always wanted to kiss her.

When they parted, the blush on her cheeks was everything he’d ever wanted to see on her.

“Come on dork, let’s go home” He said, pulling her into his side and kissing the top of her head as they continued their walk.

“Let’s just teleport” She suggested, but he shook his head.

“I’d rather walk with you” He told her, only to make her giggle and grin again.  She leaned her head against his shoulder as they walked back home together.

“Okay” She murmured.

And they did just that, and walked home.

tagged: @reblogserpent @strawberryfields-forever

xoxo ~ jordie

[wrinkledparchment]

phantom; | [n.s.]

Summary: You had an opportunity to save Nick. You missed it. You will do whatever it takes to make up for it. 

Word Count: 3,204

A/N: MY FIRST FIC of 2020!!! This series has two of my most popular fics and it’s only fitting that I conclude this series in the new year :) Hopefully, you all enjoy this part! I already have the next few parts planned out, ending with part 6, and an epilogue. Enjoy!!

Warnings: Angst, what’s new?

Taglist: @ohmypreciousgavinyeet​ @bi-mama​ @wittysidecharacter​ @iknowrocknroll567​ @serpiente-s​ @janoskiansecondsofdirection​ @helen-of-troi @perseny-blog​ @vannalovesyou​ @coureurs-de-bois9​ @losers-club6​

ghost; - one | specter; two | phantom; three | [coming soon] - four | [coming soon] - five | [coming soon] - six | [coming soon] - epilogue

Your first moments with him--beautiful, blue sky, and two young children bathed in the afternoon glow of the sun; childish grins, naivety, and a blooming relationship. Meeting on a small playground, he’d stopped you from falling off a slide. 

You had offered your signature bubbly giggle, and he, a kind smile, something the other children had withheld from you. In the malleable mind of a child, you saw him as a friend and playmate. You’d hadn’t wondered about the future. 

You hadn’t thought about what it would be like to lose him until much later. You recalled the butterflies in your stomach as you saw him laugh after you’d thrown sand at him. It was a warm day, and you, at eleven-years-old, had made your first friend. 

Nicholas Scratch had offered you a childhood; presenting himself on a warm day where you were playing without supervision, without friends, without care. Within two hours, you had decided you had a crush on him. 

By the time he began school at the Academy of Unseen Arts, you had seen him as the potential for more; handing him a handmade card scribbled in your best cursive, reading: You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me. Happy Lupercalia, Nicholas.

You meant it without a doubt--he had stood up for you against the other young witches and warlocks, attending school dances with you if you weren’t asked, and you would celebrate every holiday together; riding your small bikes to stores to buy each other gifts. 

Nicholas Scratch was the first person to care, the first person you’d befriended, the first crush you’d had, and the first person you’d ever loved. He was mischevious, and only a part-time criminal, but you’d never expected him to steal your heart. Most definitely not your entire life. 

Nobody ever made you feel as happy as Nick did, and nobody ever will. 

Memories you shared, delicate snapshots of youth and innocence were playing in your mind, watching him give you a flower each morning, watching him help you cast charms. You began to catch up to more recent times. 

Feeling numb, feeling nothing, you desperately wanted to break free, knowing where it was going. You were limp, barely conscious as you watched it all. Him beginning to slowly slip into Sabrina’s life, and you watched as she began to slip into his heart. 

And suddenly, it was the night before he had sacrificed himself, and you watched his face, contorted in fear, ask you for his forgiveness. Tell you that he was going to do something dangerous, that he knew it would go right, but that he might not come back. 

“I might not come back, [name]. It’s dangerous but-- I have to.”

“You better come back to me, Nick. I don’t know where I would be without you. Promise me. Please.” 

“I can’t promise you anything. You know that.” 

Flashing to you apparating to Nick, after you had almost felt your world crack underneath your feet. And in a flash, you were standing in a ballroom, watching as Nick entrapped the devil inside of himself. 

Your screams echoed in your own mind like you were stuck in a glass cage, replaying the time, watching yourself miss the opportunity over, and over, to save the one thing in this universe that you loved.

You laid limp, on your bedroom floor, fighting a battle in your own mind. Begging yourself for mercy, pleading for yourself to please, please just release you from this hell, from this torture. 

Feeling the weight your own body was carrying, feeling the numbness seep through your veins, you wanted to scream. There was nothing physical about this--everything you saw was tied to your own regrets. 

You had an opportunity to save Nick. You missed it.

And oh god--  it replayed, over and over again. Replayed like a record stuck on a loop, scratching and aching against its holder. 

There was only a sharp reminder of him with you now-- not his words, or his first, kind smile or the bubbly, childish laugh he’d bestowed upon your memory. There was the feeling of him-- warm and enrapturing. 

It had an aura of its own-- covering you like a blanket and of course, you bathed in it. Like a warm bath on a winter’s day, an old friend’s hug after a particularly tiring situation. It felt like clouds and sunshine-- smelled like a fresh summer’s day and tasted--on the tip of your tongue--like childhood innocence.

It left you, along with him, over and over and over again. The same memory, the same words, the same missed opportunity drilling itself into your skull and etching itself into the fabrics of your being. 

Twisting like a serpent through your stomach, the guilt burrowed itself into the pit of your abdomen and waited--sharp and vengeful-- for your wake. It would stay, it would manifest until consciousness was regained to torture you, while in turn, you would be awake to remember it all. To digest, fully this time. 

. . . 

You opened your eyes quickly, ears ringing over every other sound as you struggled to get your body off the ground. You found your lungs aching, gasping for air and you felt even more suffocated than you had the first night he’d disappeared. 

The weight of your regrets, of the opportunity you had missed that cost your best friend his very own freedom, sunk deep into the pits of your stomach. He had offered you everything--saved you--and the one chance you had to save him, you missed it.

Nothing felt worse than how bloodied your hands felt, how all the ichor was stained like it was your fault that he was in hell. 

The dream floated through your head again, flashes of something much more innocent, a time when you felt safe. Giggles echoed in your mind and you yearned to see his smile just one more time. 

When they passed, along with your numbness as blood flew through your veins, pumping through as if high on adrenaline, you felt lighter. The pit in your stomach, the guilt, it was all there, but for the first time, you didn’t feel exhausted.

You didn’t feel like you were powering a whole other spiritual being in your body. You felt . . . light. Your heart was full of wide smiles and the feeling of sun on your skin, and you felt whole again. 

Your stomach was filled with warmth, filled with your much-sought-after youth, blue skies, and lemonade. You felt ready to save someone you loved. 

--

Another tear slipped down his cheek, “I’ve got to go,” he whispered. A moment of reflection, of debate, passed and you knew that if you held on for much longer he’d kill you.

The cold was slowly diminishing, fading, and so was he. He was leaving, you might not ever see him again, you would regret it forever if you didn’t speak up now.

Your hovering hand suddenly moved to cradle his frigid cheek, the temperature crawling and nipping throughout your whole body. You felt frozen, trapped underwater with ice above you, it felt suffocating.

You forced yourself to stay present, to ground yourself in his eyes, in the sorrowful look he gave you and you memorized his face. You could feel him slipping away underneath your fingertips.

“I love you, Nicholas Scratch,” you whispered before fainting, falling onto the ground with a loud thump, your heartbeat erratic but weak.

--

Sabrina’s wooden front porch squeaked underneath your feet, and you rapped your knuckles on her front door. With a few sounds behind the door, Sabrina pulled open the door, giving you a curious look. 

“Are you alright?” You nodded, and she gestured for you to come in. You’d been in her home once before, but before it was impeccably neat. You’d suspected that one of her aunts had done a lot of cleaning beforehand, and it was clear now that it was them who picked up. 

Books were in disarray all over her kitchen table along with a bowl of fruit. The room smelled of old books and dust like she’d gotten all of them from an untouched library. In one pile, she even had a bible, something you’d never see in a witch’s house. “What are you researching?” 

Sabrina’s downcast face shook sideways, and she stayed quiet. Her watery eyes danced everywhere around the room but avoided you, and as the sun peeked through the glass windows of her home, they cast shadows in the hollows of her face. Underneath her eyes were dark, tired circles, and you understood, but this time, you could help too.  

“I came to help you get Nick back,” you stated quickly, and for the first time since you’d entered her house, she looked you in the eye. It had a hint of either curiosity or suspicion--you weren’t sure which--and you knew you’d have to explain. 

“I did have his ghost attached to me, and I nearly died, trying to supply him all that energy. I think-- I think he wanted to apologize for having to leave you so soon. He misses all of us. He misses you.”

The sight of Sabrina’s eyes welled up with tears, flashed through your mind. The only other time you’d seen her like this was when he got carried into hell in the arms of Lilith, but this--it was different this time around. She was gazing at you, a plea in her eyes, begging you, begging anyone to bring her lover back to her.

Her eyes were a watery red, and you wanted so desperately to hug her, to let her sob into your shoulder, but Nick- he’d been the only one you’d ever held like that. Your heart--once full of all the warmth of a sun--felt broken. Like every day apart from Nick had been slowly chipping away at it, slowly whisking away until there would be nothing left. 

“I realized-- at that moment--that I love Nick. Not in the same way you do, of course, but I really do love him. Sabrina, you have my full support. I will do whatever it takes to get him back to us--to you. Just, please, let me help you.”

Sabrina, with a heavy heart and mind, put her palm out to you, face up. Your sight slowly shifted upwards, scanning through her own, teary eyes. Even with your hands violently shaking, you placed them in her own. 

Your skin met hers, soft, warm and comforting--though much smaller than Nick’s were, and less calloused, too. It was tender, like Nick’s old hugs when he would wrap his arms around you ever so tightly. His laughter rung through your ears, and putting all your trust in Sabrina, you gave her hand a squeeze. 

Despite your frequent jealousy, despite you barely trusting her until this very moment--she squeezed back. The gesture felt so similar to something Nick would do that your heart ached, and just like it used to when Nick would hold your hand, the feeling of being cared for, of being loved, washed over you like a wave.

Looking deep into Sabrina’s honey eyes, you smiled. It was meek, and barely there, being too damp with sadness to give warmth. And she-- she smiled back. Without a word, you sat down, and you knew now what she was looking for. 

. . .  

After a half an hour of scanning through various pages of the bible, you’d set your eyes on a familiar name. “Longinus,” you murmured underneath your breath, and Sabrina looked up. 

“What about him?” she asked, and her mind flashed through her previous attempt to actually kill Lucifer. Though in the heat of the moment she’d barely thought twice about his words, but after certain events, she felt like an idiot. 

“Nick--” you paused for a moment, feeling a pang in your heart at the mere mention of his name, “--he had mentioned before all of this that you’d already tried to fight Lucifer. Did he mention anything about Longinus’ lance?”

Sabrina felt her heartbeat against her sternum, feeling the steady thump as blood coursed through her veins, high on adrenaline. Suddenly, everything felt clearer. “Yeah, he said it was the only thing that could kill him. Why- why would that kill him?”

You looked over the bible passage once more, digesting every bit of information that could be useful before you answered. “Longinus is the Roman soldier that pierced Jesus’ side during his crucifixion. And that lance--the Holy Lance to be specific--is what he did it with. It was stained with holy blood.”

“I’m assuming he’s dead,” you concluded very knowledgeably, “do you think anyone knows where it is?” 

Sabrina bit her lip, wondering where in the hell you would find an old spear from the 1st century. She wondered if it would be in a museum, but suddenly and very conveniently, Ambrose wandered into the kitchen. 

“Hello cousin,” Ambrose greeted, pausing for a moment as he found you in the chair beside her, and Sabrina immediately began to ask him for advice. 

“Ambrose, you wouldn’t happen to know where the Spear of Longinus is, would you?” Sabrina leaned forward onto the table, propping herself up with her elbows just a few inches away from the open, dusty book that lay in front of her. 

Her cousin grabbed an apple from a fruit basket on their counter and took a generous bite, and even though most cousins, as far as you were concerned, would have to rewind for a double-take, he just nodded. 

“It’s in some mausoleum in Jerusalem that only high-ranking witches know the location of. They tried to hide it from children of the light so they can’t kill Lucifer or something. Why are you asking?” 

“[Name] and I need it to kill Satan,” Sabrina says nonchalantly, and you sharply turn towards her and furrow your brows, but Ambrose cut her off first. 

“There are so many flaws in that plan--”

And before he could finish, you spoke over him just as fast. “Firstly, you’d have to be--you know--not a witch to touch something called the Holy Lance. Second of all, how are we even going to find Satan? Are we just gonna saunter right into Hell and be like, ‘What’s up y’all, where’s the Dark Lord?’”

Sabrina struggled to hide her smile despite you trying to shoot her plan down, and she found herself understanding very well why Nick had become friends with you. Even in the most stressful, heavy-weighted situations, you still managed to be humorous and light-hearted, still managed to make people smile.

“Firstly,” she started, mimicking your tone, “I’ve been baptized because I’m a half-blood. And secondly, I already discussed where she was keeping them, obviously in the very center of the underworld, Hell’s Palace.”

Ambrose nearly spit out a chunk of his apple, “You do know that wandering through hell, even as a witch but especially as someone who was baptized is incredibly dangerous, yes?” 

“We have to try,” you reasoned, “Nicholas would have done the same for us. He would have gone to the ends of the Earth to save us, and we are going even further for him, even if it kills us.”

-- 

Aunt Zelda was sat at the table, across from the two of you, scouring over a few books she’d inherited from the barely-saved Blackwell Academy. “Why do you want to find this ‘Holy Lance’ anyways?”

Sabrina muttered something under her breath and Aunt Zelda raised an eyebrow, but at this point, she seemed so worn down by her niece’s antics to even try and stop her. 

“Very well,” she muttered, writing down coordinates and a small corner of wrinkled parchment before ripping it off and handing it to you. “Take Ambrose with you, just in case anything goes wrong. Sabrina, do you know any spells to cure burns?” 

Sabrina furrowed her brows, and without missing a beat, you supplied some information. “Touching a holy object would give you a third-degree burn if you’re not baptized or if you’re detected to be a witch. Just in case. Besides, I know a spell. We should be all good, Mrs. Spellman, thank you.”

Guiding you through her house to the top floor, Sabrina began to call out her cousin’s name. Surprisingly, a door opened quickly and her cousin, now not only in pajamas but also a silk robe, rushed back into his space. 

“Are you guys ready?” he asked, pulling out his wand, pointing it at the parchment in between your fingers, and beginning an incantation. You wanted to question exactly why he’d go to a mausoleum covered in dust and bones with a very expensive robe on, but you didn’t have time. 

The world spun underneath your feet, and wind whipped around your hair. You could hear Sabrina groaning, obviously off-put by traveling via teleportation, but this felt like nothing compared to having Nick’s ghost attached to you. 

Nothing compared to the seeking emptiness that swept through your abdomen, or the exhaustion that had seeped under your skin and burrowed itself in your bones. 

You finally landed, somewhere underground which was extremely dark, musty, and dirty. You lit up your wand and began to wander through the catacombs, with the two Spellmans following behind you. 

You could swear that Nick’s voice echoed through the dim, long hallways. Words that were coated with sugar, so soft and so sweet yet so far away. Every word swept a new piece of your heart away, and you just wanted to get out of here. 

Turning back, Sabrina had a similar, heartbroken and tear-struck look to her, as did Ambrose. This hallway, these catacombs, had obviously been tampered with to keep the lighthearted out. 

Nick’s voice, you felt it, planted phantom kisses on your skin. They were warm, and overpowering, the overwhelming feeling of I shouldn’t have this, I shouldn’t have this, I’ll never have this, drilled into your skull. 

But there was something in the core of your being that told you that a world without Nick was worse than your guilty conscience. That this torture of faux love, of being reminded of your scorching jealousy, was better than the emptiness of him being dead. 

And so you turned back around, and when the pelting of words into your ears got harder, you knew you were closer. Sabrina was close behind you, and unknowingly, you reached out and grabbed her hand like it was instinct. 

You finally trusted someone other than Nick. You could finally rely on a person that wasn’t him, and you felt free. Even with the warmth of his touch on your neck, and the prison that was never getting the real thing, you felt light. 

Something began to get lighter, and lighter, and soon, the inky hallways turned to flaxen-lit old brick, and you smiled. You’d found it. So Sabrina reached out her hand and grabbed onto something, and the light began to fade. 

There was no gasp, no scream, only diminished light, and a triumphant smile.

taglist/people who asked for a sequel:  @carostar2020, @wittysidecharacter, @grey-junior, @ohmypreciousgavinyeet, @palepaperfan, @marcelitachiquita, @onl-you, @cassidyiscool, @bi-mama​, @iknowrocknroll567​, @serpiente-s, @janoskiansecondsofdirection,​ @helen-of-troi, @perseny-blog,​@vannalovesyou​, @coureurs-de-bois9,​ @losers-club6​.

[fangirl--of-everything]

The Mortal (Nicholas Scratch x Reader) part 1

word count: ~4500

request: Nope, just wrote it for fun. Requests are still closed.

summary: The Weird Sisters are interested in playing games with some mortals, and they coerce Nick into joining them. But the girl they have chosen for him is more charming than he expected.

warning: I think one swear word, but that’s it for this part. 

A.N. The lack of Nicholas Scratch content makes me sad, so I decided to create some of my own. This is going to be a bit of a series, I have parts 2 and 3 done already, I’ll get those up soon. I hope you guys like it. 

part 1, part 2, part 3

Alright, enjoy :)

The bell above the door of the bookstore jingled, and in walked four strangers dressed in all black. It was early in the morning, and the shop was almost empty except for a small number of patrons near the back. Most of them looked up to acknowledge the newcomers, except for one tucked away in the back corner of the shop.

“Why are we here Nick?” Dorcas whined, leaning against Agatha. “It’s too early.”

“No one forced you to come Dorcas.” Nick rolled his eyes. “There’s a book here that I need for a spell I’m working on. I just have to find it, and then we can head home, and you can go back to sleep.”

She pouted and pursed her lips. “I didn’t say I wanted to go to sleep. I just meant, if we’re going to be spending our weekend interacting with the morals, we should be having fun, not coming to some silly bookstore.”

“Like I said, you didn’t need to come.”

Nick tuned out the whining of the Weird Sisters and turned his attention towards the shelves, searching for the book he needed. The bookshelves were not well organized, but finally he found the spot where the book should have been. Empty.

He bit back a groan. He needed the book to finish a divining spell for an assignment due on Monday, and if he couldn’t get his hands on it, it was going to make the rest of the day far less enjoyable.

Prudence was watching him with that look he didn’t like, the one that said she was reading the room around her and scheming about how to cause some chaos within it. She saw him looking and raised an eyebrow with a smirk. “Something wrong Nicky?”

He shook his head.

“Having trouble finding the book you’re looking for?” She asked sweetly.

“Yeah, it’s not here.”

“Would you like us to help you look for it?”

He sighed and raised an eyebrow. “What do you want in exchange?”

“Well, my sisters and I were talking, and we decided since we’re here, and since it’s been so long since we’ve had any fun, we’re going to find some mortals to play with tonight. You should join us.”

“Prudence, you know I don’t do stuff like that.”

“True,” she pursed her lips innocently, tapping one dark fingernail against her chin, “but can you really afford to fail this divining assignment?”

He couldn’t. He was the top student in his grade at the academy, and he needed to maintain that grade if he wanted to keep on track and one day become a high priest, or at least a high warlock. To do that he needed the book.

“Fine. If you get it for me I’ll join you guys tonight.”

She smiled sinisterly, ran her tongue over her bottom lip, and pointed across the room. “The book is over there.”

Nick followed her finger to the back corner of the room, where a teenage girl was curled up in an armchair. She was in a knitted sweater and a long floral skirt, which she had tucked her feet up into. On the armrest was an open notebook, which she was writing in, and in her lap was an open book. The book he needed.

He sighed. “How long have you known it was there?”

Prudence shrugged innocently. “I’m sure the mortal girl won’t mind letting you borrow it. And you can invite her to join us tonight too. It will be fun.”

-----/--/-----

(Y/n) was sitting in her favourite seat in the back of the bookstore, an old book on the theory of the night sky open in front of her. She needed it to help clarify a plot point in a creative writing project she was outlining. The problem was that since the book was so old, it was extremely difficult to decipher, making it a struggle to get the information she needed.

She was so intent on trying to decipher one particular footnote that she didn’t notice someone in front of her until that person cleared their throat. She jumped, so startled that her pencil fell out of her hand, and looked up to see a dark haired boy standing in front of her, eyebrows raised at her severe reaction.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” He picked up the pencil and handed it back to her.

“Don’t be. Thanks.” She took the pencil back. “Were you trying to get my attention for some reason?”

“Actually yes. I was wondering if I could borrow that book once you’re done with it.” He pointed to the book she had been working so hard at interpreting.

She nodded, even though she had been hoping to have access to it all day. The boy gave her a charming smile and then took a seat not far away, grabbing a book from one of the shelves and settling in to read.

(Y/n)’s relaxing Saturday of research and outlining had been ruined. She was all anxious now about not keeping the book too long since that other guy wanted it, and since she was stressed it made it harder to focus on the text and what she was trying to get from it. Within thirty minutes she was getting a headache and she was annoyed. When the boy closed his book and got up she was prepared to tell him that she had changed her mind and he couldn’t borrow the book anymore, but he walked past her and went up to the coffee bar.

He came back holding two mugs, and he put one of them down on the small table in front of her.

“Pumpkin spice tea,” he said in response to her raised eyebrows. He pointed to the other mug on the desk, which was empty. “I asked the barista what you were drinking. I figured since I’m stealing that book from you it was the least I could do to treat you to a drink.”

(Y/n)’s irritation faded, and she was left feeling stunned. She stammered a thank you, and moved to close the book and give it to him even though she wasn’t close to being done with it.

He shook his head. “No, no. Don’t rush. Take your time.”

“To be honest, I’m struggling to get through this.” She admitted. “It’ll probably be a long time before I finish with it. So if you need it you should probably just take it now.”

He crossed his arms and looked thoughtful for a second, and then he shrugged. “Why don’t I help? I’m pretty good with old books, and I’m not doing anything else. Might save us both some time.”

“Really?” Her eyebrows rose. “You want to help me do research?”

He nodded. “Is there any room for me on that couch?”

They spent the next two hours sitting side by side with the book balanced between them. It’s a little cramped on the couch, but Nick was friendly and charming and somehow it wasn’t too awkward. They ended up spending half the time just chatting idly, and she explained to him a little bit about what she was writing. She had found an old book about this crazy satanic cult in Greendale when the town was founded, and after reading it she came up with the idea for a novel that explored a society of dark witches.

When she mentioned that her research was for a spell in the book that she was trying to understand, Nick looked really impressed, but when she asked why he brushed it off.

He was right when he said he was good with old books, and he was able to decipher the book a lot more easily than she could have. He was able to figure out everything that had stumped her for the last couple of hours, and soon she was able to give him the book that he had been waiting so patiently for.

“Thank you for your help,” she said as she handed him the book. “And I’m sorry for it taking so long.”

“Not to worry.” He gave her a charming smile. “I’m sorry I have to steal the book from you. Maybe I could make it up to you?”

She raised her eyebrows.

“Some friends of mine are having a party tonight. You could come with me.”

Nick was charming. Extremely charming. And (y/n) couldn’t deny that he was attractive. But this was not the first time kids from the preppy boarding school came into Greendale, and (y/n) knew that anyone who was stupid enough to hang out with them ended up regretting it. The stories she had heard about kids who had gone out to party with them, only to wake up days later with bruises and no memory of what had happened, were more than enough of a warning.

She only felt a little bad when she turned him down. “I’m sorry, but I have plans for tonight.”

“Oh yeah? What are you up to?”

She explained that she and some friends were driving down to Sweetwater river for a party of their own, to have one last bonfire before they had to start studying for exams.

He didn’t seem to take the rejection too hard, giving her an understanding smile. “Any way you could swing by afterwards?” he asked.

She shook her head.

“Well, that’s a shame. I was looking forward to spending some more time with you. You seem cool.”

“Thanks.” She tried not to blush.

He gathered their mugs and brought them back up to the counter, and gave her a final friendly smile and a wave as he moved towards the door.

Hr stomach clenched, and she was already starting to regret the rejection. She sighed. “Wait.”

He turned to look at her, eyebrows raising. “Yeah?”

“I know you’ve got your party tonight, but if you wanted you could stop by the river for a bit. If you wanted.”

She could feel a flush rising in her face as she spoke, and she had to resist the urge to fidget nervously with the hem of her sweater.

Nick flashed her a grin and a wink. “Maybe I will.”

-----/--/-----

It was ten at night, and (y/n) and her friends had all gotten to Sweetwater river. Two of the boys had brought a bunch of wood, and (y/n) was getting the fire started, since none of the others knew how to do it. They were already drinking, and everyone was relaxing in the sand of the lakeshore, chatting before the night got too crazy.

“Hey,” her friend Dylan came and squatted next to her. “Want a beer?”

“Nope, I want a Sommersby, like I always drink when we go out. You know this dude.”

“True. How’s the fire going?”

“Good.” (Y/n) had the structure all set up, and she was now lighting the pieces of newspaper that she had tucked into the center, waiting for it to catch. “Hold my hand and pray with me.”

Dylan snorted, but he reached out and took her hand, and they both bowed their hands dramatically, waiting to see if the fire would catch. There was a faint whoosh, and then the logs caught, and darker smoke started rising.

“Yes!” They both shouted triumphantly, and the rest of the group cheered as the fire started to crackle and burn. It immediately got warmer.

(Y/n) and Dylan settled down in the sand, his arm draped around her shoulders. “So, when is the handsome boarding school boy gonna show up?”

“Nick?” (Y/n) felt her face flush, and she swatted at Dylan’s arm. “I shouldn’t have told you about that. He’s probably not going to come. We just hung out for a couple of hours at Cerberus’s, it was nothing.”

“But he invited you to a party, didn’t he? He probably thinks you’re hot.”

She rolled her eyes. “One of those crazy parties the preppies throw. Remember what happened to Dayton and Carl after they partied with some of the prep kids? Carl still has a tremor that he didn’t have before.”

Dylan rolled his eyes. “Okay yeah, they’re probably all freaks over there at that school, but still. You don’t need to date the guy, you can just hook up and have some fun before classes go to hell.”

“True, but--”

He elbowed her hard enough in the ribs to knock her sideways, forcing her to catch her weight on one of her arms. When she pushed herself back up, asking him what the fuck he was doing, he pointed to the road, where someone was walking towards them.

“Is that him?”

For a second she couldn’t tell, but then the firelight hit him, and she realized that it was. Dylan smacked her arm excitedly and practically dragged her to her feet, shoving her towards him. She swatted at his arm again, her face hot and red as she turned to Nick.

“Hey.” He smiled charmingly at the two of them.

“Hey.” (Y/n) tried to smile past the butterflies that had suddenly sprung up as soon as he flashed that dimple at her. “I wasn’t sure if you were going to show up.”

“I couldn’t stand up a pretty girl interested Sacasas’s theories on astrology and the night sky.” He winked. His attention turned to the bonfire, and the small crowd that was gathered around it. “This looks fun. What are you guys up to?”

“Getting drunk on the beach,” Dylan cut in, stepping forward and holding out a hand. “I’m Dylan by the way, nice to meet you.”

“Nicholas Scratch.” Nick smiled politely. He turned to look at (y/n), eyebrows raising. “Wanna introduce me to everyone else?”

(Y/n) nodded, and she led the way over to the campfire. She introduced all her friends and explained how they all knew each other, and then she asked Nick if he wanted a beer or anything. He said he had a family thing the next day so he wasn’t going to drink, and he had to get himself to that other party later so he had to be sober to drive. (Y/n) told him she wouldn’t drink either, in a show of solidarity.

“You don’t need to do that.” He laughed and shook his head. “I don’t want to stop you from having a good night.”

“You won’t.” She promised. “Bonfires are always fun, with or without alcohol.”

They ended up settling on the sand, chatting about nothing in particular. One of her friends started playing music through the speakers of their car, and some of them started dancing on the lakeshore. Nick raised his eyebrows at her, but she shook her head.

“I don’t dance.”

“You sure? You look like a dancer.”

She shook her head and tried to hide a smile, bumping his shoulder with hers. “You’re a bit of a flirt, aren’t you?”

“You’re just noticing now?” He raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. “I hate to tell you this, but I’ve been flirting with you all day.”

He shifted so he was facing her, and his gaze dropped down to her lips. Her stomach twisted.

“Want some food?” She asked, turning away and pushing to her feet. “I’m starving.”

“Uh, sure.”

“What do you want? A s’more? Spiderdog?”

Nick blinked at her in confusion.

“What?”

“I have no idea what either of those things are.”

“What?” Her mouth dropped open. “How do you not-- what?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I never went camping as a kid or anything, and I come from a pretty private community. What the hell is a s’more?”

(Y/n) shook her head and tried not to smile. She offered Nick her hand. “Alright, get up. I’m going to teach you how to make the perfect s’more.”

She grabbed two sticks which some of the guys had already sharpened and cleaned, and came back with the bag of marshmallows, and two hotdogs. Nick’s eyebrows widened, and she laughed and explained that the marshmallows were for him, and the hotdogs were for spiderdogs. She handed him a stick with a marshmallow on it and told him to hold it over the fire, and then she cut each end of the hotdogs into four pieces, and put both dogs onto her stick. When she turned around to hold them over the fire too, she saw that Nick’s marshmallow was on fire and melting off of the stick.

“Oh my god!” she tried not to laugh as she pulled the stick back, blowing on the marshmallow until the fire went out.

“Why are you laughing at me?” Nick asked, but he was laughing too. “Was I not supposed to burn it?”

She shook her head, still giggling. “No, not really.”

She pulled off the burnt shell of the marshmallow and popped it into her mouth. He raised his eyebrows, but she shook her head. She was going to offer him the warm middle of the marshmallow, but she decided that he was going to have to wait. She was going to make him the perfect s’more.

Nick got tasked with cooking the hotdogs, holding them over a spot where the fire had burned down to bright red coals, under strict instructions not to let them burn or catch fire. (Y/n) got to work toasting the marshmallow, spinning it slowly as it puffed up and turned a light golden brown. She explained to him what she was doing the entire time, as if she were cooking an extremely complex recipe, and he complied by asking a series of ridiculous questions. There was a near miss where they almost lost a spider leg, but Nick acted quickly and blew it out before it got too burnt.

Once the food was done (y/n) made the s’more, making Nick close his eyes so that he didn’t see the ingredients. Once she was done she held it up to his mouth and told him to take a bite.

“What is it?” He asked.

“Just try it. Trust me.”

He nodded, and took a bite of the s’more, ending up with melted marshmallow all over his bottom lip and the graham cracker falling apart.

“What the hell is that?” he asked, laughing and struggling to hold onto the collapsing s’more.

“Do you like it?”

“Yeah, it’s really good!” He shoved the rest of it into his mouth, and licked the melted marshmallow from his fingers. He still had some at the corner of his mouth, and (y/n) wasn’t able to hold back a giggle as she pointed it out.

“Where?” his tongue flicked out along his bottom lip. “Did I get it?”

She shook her head. “No, it’s just,” she gently tapped the corner of his mouth, and his tongue swiped out again.

“How about now?”

“Nope, still there.”

“Really?” his eyebrows rose, and he leaned closer to her. “Can you get it for me?”

“Uh, yeah.” She tried not to blush, and she reached up to wipe the marshmallow away. Once she got it she pulled away, but when she looked up from his mouth she realized how close their faces were. His eyes were really dark, but this close she could see that they were actually a really deep brown, not black.

“I, uh, I think I got it.” She said softly.

His voice was rough. “You sure?” His eyes flicked down to her lips, and then back up again.

She swallowed hard. “Uh, no, actually I think there’s still some…” She closed the distance between them and caught his mouth with hers.

He slid a hand into her hair, and he parted his lips, deepening the kiss from a light peck into something more. Her stomach flipped, and she shivered as his fingers tightened on her hair. (Y/n)’s tongue flicked out across his bottom lip, and he really did taste like marshmallows and chocolate. His other hand caught her hip and tugged her closer. She gasped against his mouth. The movement caused her to knock over the other stick with the spiderdogs, and it toppled into the fire, the food catching and burning. Neither of them noticed.

When they finally broke apart they were both smiling, and Nick laughed softly. “I was hoping you would do that.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” He slid his nose against hers.

“In that case, why didn’t you make a move?” She bit her lip and wiggled her eyebrows.

He raised his eyebrows in mock hurt. “Oh really? Is that how it’s gonna be?”

She shrugged. “Hey dude, it’s not my fault you didn’t make the first move, I was just--”

He growled playfully and pulled her into another kiss.

-----/--/-----

‘Nicholas Scratch, what is taking you so long?’

It was past midnight, the bonfire was burned down to embers, and everyone was snuggled up in a huddle against the cold. Relaxing music was playing through the speakers of one of the cars, and everyone was just talking.

Nick was sitting in the grass, Dylan pressed against his back, and (y/n) leaning into him with her head resting on his shoulder. Her blinks were slow and drowsy, and one hand drew lazy designs on his knee.

He hadn’t planned on staying this long. He had promised the Weird Sisters that he would meet them before the witching hour, and even though he didn’t like playing games with mortals, he had made a deal with them, and so he was going to keep his word. Prudence had chosen (y/n) to be his victim, and so he set his sights on her.

He had found her cute while they talked at the bookstore, and he had been genuinely interested when she explained that she was doing research for a book that seemed to be about the Church of Night, but when she turned down his invite to the party the only reason he pushed was because he knew he was expected to bring her to the sisters’ games. He had only come to the river because he knew that he could lure her away and teleport to the woods where the sisters were waiting.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t attractive, but it wasn’t until she was teasing him about not knowing what s’mores were that he realized he actually found her quite charming. And when he kissed her his stomach twisted in a way he wasn’t used to. He figured it was because she was a mortal, and he knew it was wrong.

He kept telling himself he was going to teleport them to the woods, but somehow the night wore on, and he and (y/n) continued to talk, and it just never happened. Now she was lying against him, tilting her head up to press a soft kiss to his jaw, and all he really wanted to do was stay here.

‘Nicky, where are you?’

The Weird Sisters were telepathic, but at a distance they could only project themselves into his mind, not read his thoughts.

‘I don’t think I’ll be able to make it, sorry girls.’

‘What?’ When the girls communicated telepathically they spoke in unison, but he could hear Dorcas’s voice above the others. ‘Why?’

He reached down to catch the fingers that were tracing a pattern on his leg, and tangled his fingers with hers, pressing a kiss to (y/n)’s wrist. ‘I struck out with the mortal girl and couldn’t get my hands on the book, so I have to work overtime on this diviner spell.’

‘But Nicky,’ that was Dorcas again, her voice a low whine. ‘You promised.’

‘Sorry girls. Maybe next time.’

The whining continued, but he muttered a quick spell and bit down on the inside of his cheek so blood filled his mouth, and their voices faded. He whispered another spell to protect himself from being summoned, and then he settled back, enjoying the smell of smoke and the sound of the water behind them.

“What was that?” (Y/n) mumbled softly, shifting against his shoulder.

“Nothing. Just talking to myself.” He reached a hand up into her thick hair and dragged his nails along her scalp. She sighed happily.

“Are you gonna head out soon? For your other party?”

He shook his head.

“Really?” She sat up to look at him.

“Yeah.” He nodded with a smile, and tugged her head towards him so he could press a soft kiss to her lips. “I’m enjoying being here with you.”

She smiled sleepily and rested her head back on his shoulder.

Nick didn’t have any plans beyond tonight, and in fact he was pretty sure after this he would never see this mortal girl again. He tucked her tighter against him. If this was to be his only night with this fascinating mortal, then he was going to enjoy every minute of it.

They ended up at the lake for a few more hours before they all piled into cars and drove home. (Y/n) was one of the designated drivers since she was sober, and Nick gave her a blessing to make sure that she was able to make it back to Greendale without falling asleep at the wheel.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” She asked. “I can drop you off at your school, it’s no problem.”

“No don’t worry about it, I have a friend who’s on their way to pick me up.”

She looked like she wanted to insist, but he said his friend was already on the road. Dylan leaned heavily on the wheel, the horn violently loud in the quiet night, and shouted for her to stop flirting and hurry up.

Her face flushed, and she bit her lip with a nervous smile. “I had fun tonight.”

“Me too,” Nick said honestly. It had been a fun, normal night, hanging out with drunk normal teenagers who talked about their small mortal problems and had parties that didn’t involve summoning demons or dangerous magic. He almost wished he could do things like this more often.

She looked like she wanted to say something, but then she thought better of it, and took a step closer. She pushed up onto her tiptoes, her hands on his shoulders, and kissed him, soft and gentle. His body moved on its own, his arms wrapping around her waist, and he tugged her closer. He sighed against her mouth.

The kiss was short and sweet, and when she pulled away they were both breathless. She kissed him again, quick, and then stepped out of his arms.

“I’ll see you around Nick.” She smiled.

Nick waited until the cars were out of sight before he teleported back to the academy, his lips still tingling from that last short kiss.

[brattonez]

allure | n. mara

“Cause when you wear them heels….its like your making a deal with the devil.”

***

“You look beautiful.” Is the first thing he says as she approaches the table. Red dress complimenting her skin under the dim lighting, and bringing out her smile that he adored so, so much. His eyes follow her as she takes a seat in the chair across from him. He leans on the table, clasping his hands together and stares. The two start a conversation about each other’s day while dining. Nick listens carefully as she explains her random stories about her co-workers, all while his eyes trace the outline of her lips. “How about you?” She asks him once she’s finished. He raises his eyebrows and shrugs. “Nothing much. Same old business antics.” He responds, looking down at her legs, then at her heels. They match her dress perfectly and he can’t seem to take his eyes off of them. He stares for what seems like forever before flickering his eyes back to her, reaching over to gently touching her hand. “Nick?” She ponders as she stares back at him with a questioning look.

He tilts his head slightly before speaking. “Take them off.” He tells her, his tone stern. She sits back her seat, sitting up straight. “Nicholas….here?” She replies, taking a look around the restaurant. He beings to grip her hand tightly, not enough to hurt her, but to send a signal that he was serious. “I said..Take them off, princess."

She inhales deeply and slowly opens her legs under the table. Nick closes his eyes as he hears her heels making small scratches on the floor. Carefully, she reaches down between her thighs and (as discreetly as she could) takes off her red lace panties. As the cool air hits her now unclothed heat, her breath hitches. She quickly balls up the panties and hands them over. His hand open to receive them.

"Good girl.” He says, bringing his arm back and slyly tucking the panties into his pocket. “You’ll have to wait till later on to take the other things off."  

***

She was on fire. The adrenaline that came from her most vulnerable area being exposed was taking its toll on her. And to add on to that, Nick didn’t stop there. Ever so often at the table he would gently caress her hand with his slender fingers and eye her up and down. And now, just as the two entered the elevator, he slowly crept his hand down to her thigh. She snaps her head at him and clenches on to his shirt. He chuckles at her reaction before putting his lips to her ear and whispering softly. "Those heels look amazing on you, baby.” He pauses, one hand creeping to her inner thigh while the other is in her hair. She throws her head back while mentally thanking god that there’s no one else in the elevator. “N-Nick…..please…” She whimper, holding onto the man’s shirt for dear life. He squeezes her thigh, hard, while finishing his statement. “God, I can’t wait to fuck you while you wear them."

And with that, the elevator door opens. He lets go of her completely and motions her to walk out first. She obliges and quickly, maybe a little too quickly, walks away towards his car. He follows behind, admiring his view of her as her heels click on the ground. The ride to the hotel room was intensely silent. Mainly due to the fact that her legs shook with anticipation of the activities the future possibly held. Nick spots this and drove with a saitisifed smirk on his lips.

***

"Dress. Off. Now.” He whispers hotly in her ear as he leads her into the bedroom. She automatically listens and takes her clothes off quickly. Reaching down for her shoes, Nick stops her by gripping her hair roughly. “Did you not hear me earlier, darling?” He asks. A soft gasp escapes her lips. She completely freezes as he makes her stand up straight. “I want you to keep the fucking heels on.” He says through gritted teeth. She nods slowly before walking over to the bed.

“Face down, ass up.” He commands and she shivers knowing what’s about to happen. She gets into position and braces herself and he comes between her legs. He traces his fingers down her deep brown skin. Softly tracing the outline of her thighs and stopping right at her ass. “Do you know your safeword, right?” He asks her, for the first time that night, his voice not hard as a rock. She makes the motion to nod but is cut off by a quick slap on her right cheek. She yelped and jerked forward before correcting herself. “Y-yes sir.”

“Good girl.” He says before rubbing both cheeks, admiring the way they look under the dim lighting. He lifts his right hand up and brings it down to deliever another hard slap. She immediately grabs for the bed sheets before stuttering out. “Thank you.” He follows suit with his left hand, leaving her to yell out again. “T-Thank you, s-sir…” She trails off.

This goes on for what feels like a lifetime before he leans over, his chest to her back, and takes kisses the nape of her neck. “Tell me, baby….” He pauses, snaking his hand between her legs. “Does it turn you on, hmm? That I want to fuck you with your heels on?” He gently brushes her clit, making her moan. “Mm it does, doesn’t it? You’re soaking for me, baby.” He says before sitting up and flipping her over. She exhales as she sees him undressing. “You know, when I saw those heels, the first thing I thought of was how much I wanted to fuck you so hard you wouldn’t be able to walk in them anymore.” He admits as he hovers back over you. Lips inches from yours. His hair touching your forehead. “Please…” She begs, squirming under him as he continues speaking. “I thought about how good they would feel driving into my back as I plowed you into the mattress. The pain just driving me to go faster until you can’t think straight.” He chuckles deeply, wrapping her legs around his waist. He poistions himself before sliding into her. Burying himself to the hilt. “Fuck.” She moans, reaching for his arms. He groans at her tightness, moving at an teasingly slow pace. “Nick, please.” She pleads. Rising her hips to get some type of friction, she moans loudly when he abruptly slams them back down.

His right arm going up to her throat and gripping it tightly. “What was that, princess?” He asks, his eyes burning into hers. She grips his wrist. “P-please, sir.” He smirks before snapping his hips into hers, earning a loud cry from the woman. He continues his pursuit, mercilessly thrusting into her. The room being filled with her mewls and moans, along with his grunts of effort.

Her eyes roll back as she opens her mouth wide, a scream from deep in her body emerging to surface. He groans as she begins to clench around him. He put his forehead to hers and pecks her lips. “You look so beautiful like this.” He says, letting go of her neck and gripping her chin. “Falling apart right under me. Open your eyes, baby.” He tells her. She tries to obey, but with the way he’s pounding into her, she fails miserably. “Open. Your. Fucking. Eyes.” He repeats, punctuating each word with a hard thrust. Her eyes shot open and the only word she could coherently yell out was please, please, please.

“Look at me while you cum.” He granted, holding her tightly as she begin to shake. “Yes yes yes.” She chanted as her orgasm took over. Nick groans loudly as his thrust get erratic, his orgasm taking over as well. “Oh fuck, baby.” He moans as he cums.

He pulls out of her and falls beside her nearly limp body. Her chest heaves as she tries to catch her breath. “Are you alright?” He asks her. She nods. “Y-Yeah…” She breathes out. He laughs at her weak state. She looks down at her heels. “Shit…” She starts, lifting her heels into the air slightly.

“I should definitely wear these more often."

A/N: For @realblackhottie @nickgurrmara and @hoodmara

[twoidiotwriters1]

Written In The Stars XVIII (Harry Potter xF!Oc)

A/N: I just want to thank all of you for reading this ;u; the story is so so special to me and the fact that you love it really makes me utterly happy. 

P.S. Book two starts next week! Hope you’re ready!

Words: 4,636

Warnings: None!

Series’ Masterlist

Previous chapter // Book II 

Chapter Eighteen: Fixing Mistakes.

It was a dream, it had to be.

She didn't feel pain, everything was silent.

Unless... unless she wasn't alive.

Mel opened her eyes at once and tried to sit up, she held her head in pain, closing her eyes to control the feeling.

"You're up," Someone said sternly.

Erick was sitting next to her bed. He was on the edge of his seat, scared of her sudden awakening.

"Flint?" She asked in confusion, "What?-How? "

"It's been a day," Erick sat back, "I mean, it's been a day since you visit the third floor. You fractured your skull."

"I'm alive?" She asked bewildered.

"You were lucky," He stated, "Dumbledore found you and Harry just in time"

"Harry," She sat again, trying to leave the bed, "where is he? Did he stop Quirrell? Ouch!"

"Stop!" Erick scowled at her, standing up and forcing her to lay again, "Pomfrey will kick me out if you get all lousy... Potter's fine."

He pulled one end of the curtain surrounding her bed and revealed the one next to hers: Harry was sleeping soundly, fewer scratches on his face.

"Why does my bed have curtains?" She frowned.

"I did it," The boy shrugged, "don't want anyone to see me"

"Oh," Mel mumbled, "if you don't want to talk to me then why are you here?"

"I didn't say that. I'm saying I don't want trouble. I shut the curtains so no one can spy while I'm here."

"Why are you here?"

"You saved the school."

"Harry did," Mel realized she didn't know what had happened after she lost consciousness, "Uhm, could you perhaps, explain to me how he did it?"

"You were there," Erick tilted his head, "but I guess you did fracture your skull, some memories must be fuzzy..."

Erick told her what he knew, most of it sounded like utter nonsense but she recognized some parts as true. The last bit was confusing, she hoped Harry could wake up soon so he could tell her the rest.

"Everyone thinks you're a hero. You and Potter. And let's say I... I felt guilty."

"Okay," She nodded, "well, I'm sorry I treated you badly. I was upset and things weren't going like I wanted to."

"I wasn't apprehensive either when I teased you about losing. I hope you still consider to keep our friendship"

"It would still be a secret, I suppose..."

"My parents wouldn't approve," Erick lowered his head, "my brother would kick my face if he found out, but you're worthy of my trust and I would be happy to have you around, I hope you can-"

"I do," Mel said, "it's nice of you to come and check on me, considering how you're not exactly used to care about others"

"We're good now?" He stretched out his hand, "You won't have to doubt me ever again"

"Alright," Mel shook his hand, "you should get out of here before any of my friends see you, though. They'll try to fight you thinking you're upsetting me."

Erick smirked.

"Have a good night, Miss."

"Goodnight."

Friends visited through the day, Miss Pomfrey allowed her to leave the hospital wing that night but Mel was reluctant to leave, she wanted to stay and wait for Harry to wake up.

McGonagall had to take her outside.

"You can come back tomorrow," McGonagall guided her to the Great Hall, "tonight you must go back to your tower."

When Mel arrived at the Great Hall, she was welcomed by a bunch of students that wanted to shake her hand and ask her about what happened, she was overwhelmed with the attention and couldn't sit down until the twins pushed the kids away and took her to Ron and Hermione.

She was glad to see her friends. Ron was healthy and good as new, he complained a lot when Mel hugged him and kissed his cheek, although he looked quite pleased afterwards.

When Mel arrived that night to the common room, Angelina Johnson was waiting for her.

"Mel! I'm so happy you're alright," The girl smiled, "I wanted to go to the hospital wing to give it to you, but Pomfrey wouldn't let me."

"Give me what?" Mel frowned.

"Harry didn't tell you?" She raised her brows, "Oh, I guess he didn't have time... he came to me one night and told me you were fond of Lucy, my cat."

"Oh, is she yours?" Mel beamed, "She's lovely! How is she?"

"Well, she had her kittens weeks ago, I already gave away most of them but Harry asked me to keep one so he could give it to you as an early birthday present, but the school year is about to end and..."

Angelina didn't say it, but Mel knew what she meant. Harry wasn't there, and they didn't know when he would return.

"Thanks," She said with a hoarse voice, "He... he really asked you?"

"Yes, look..." She grabbed a small box.

A tiny black cat was looking up to her, it had small green eyes and the cutest nose.

Mel teared up, holding the kitten on her arms.

"It's beautiful," She sniffed, "thank you..."

"Don't thank me," Angelina stroke her arm, "he'll get better, you'll see."

Mel couldn't sleep that night.

Next morning she asked Neville to look after her kitten -She named it Grey, thinking it was funny to call a black cat a different color, and as a way of honoring his mummy- and spend her entire morning next to Harry's bed, half-asleep and holding his hand, hoping he would grab it to let her know he was conscious.

When she woke up tense and sore, it took her a few seconds to notice she wasn't alone.

"I see you didn't sleep well last night," Dumbledore spoke up, "pitty, you have gone through plenty of trouble these days"

"Professor Dumbledore," Mel stood up, unsure of how to act around him, "I-Uh-I was worried. Harry, you see... He hasn't woken up since that night"

"I see," Dumbledore got closer, "maybe we can do something about it..." He put a hand on the boy's forehead.

Harry's sleepy eyes opened, he looked around and his stare landed on Dumbledore.

"Good afternoon, Harry," said Dumbledore.

The boy reacted fast.

"Sir! The Stone! It was Quirrell! He's got the Stone! Sir, quick –"

"Calm yourself, dear boy, you are a little behind the times," said Dumbledore, "Quirrell does not have the Stone."

"Then who does? Sir, I –"

"Harry, please relax, or Madam Pomfrey will have me thrown out."

The boy then noticed movement behind Dumbledore and his face mixed with both, confusion and relief at seeing his friend.

"Mel?"

"Glasses!" The girl hugged him, not as tight as she would have liked, she was scared of hurting him, "You've been unconscious for days! I thought... I'm so glad you're awake!"

"Days?" He wondered, when Mel stepped back he saw the table next to him, full of all kinds of gifts.

"Tokens from your friends and admirers," said Dumbledore, beaming. "What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows. I believe your friends Misters Fred and George Weasley were responsible for trying to send you a lavatory seat. No doubt they thought it would amuse you. Madam Pomfrey, however, felt it might not be very hygienic, and confiscated it."

"How long have I been in here?"

"Three days. Mr Ronald Weasley and Miss Granger will be most relieved you have come round, they have been extremely worried, just like my niece."

"But sir, the Stone –"

"I see you are not to be distracted. Very well, the Stone. Professor Quirrell did not manage to take it from you. I arrived in time to prevent that, although you were doing very well on your own, I must say."

Mel didn't know that part of the story.

"You got there? You got Hermione's owl?"

"We must have crossed in mid-air. No sooner had I reached London than it became clear to me that the place I should be was the one I had just left. I arrived just in time to pull Quirrell off you –"

"It was you."

"I feared I might be too late."

"You nearly were, I couldn't have kept him off the Stone much longer –"

"Not the Stone, boy, you – the effort involved nearly killed you two. For one terrible moment there, I was afraid it had. As for the Stone, it has been destroyed."

"Destroyed?" said Harry blankly. "But your friend – Nicolas Flamel –"

"Oh, you know about Nicolas?" said Dumbledore, sounding quite delighted. "You did do the thing properly, didn't you? Well, Nicolas and I have had a little chat and agreed it's all for the best."

"But that means he and his wife will die, won't they?"

"They have enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they will die."

Dumbledore smiled at the look of amazement on Harry's face.

"To one as young as you, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, very long day. After all, to the well-organised mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all – the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things which are worst for them."

"It still is a bit sad," Mel argued, "they weren't hurting anyone and yet they had to sacrifice their lives in order to avoid a bigger problem that didn't have to do with them"

"Some things are harder to quit than others. However, Mel, I recall you almost died trying to protect Harry from Quirrell. I know you understand how we can sacrifice valuable things for the people we love. My friend Nicholas loves the wizarding world as it is, and he does not wish to see more tragedies"

They stayed quiet for a moment, Dumbledore humming an unknown song.

"Sir?" said Harry after a while "I've been thinking ... Sir – even if the Stone's gone, Vol– ... I mean, You-Know-Who –"

"Call him Voldemort, Harry. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself."

"Yes, sir. Well, Voldemort's going to try other ways of coming back, isn't he? I mean, he hasn't gone, has he?"

"No, Harry, he has not. He is still out there somewhere, perhaps looking for another body to share ... not being truly alive, he can- not be killed. He left Quirrell to die; he shows just as little mercy to his followers as his enemies. Nevertheless, Harry, while you may only have delayed his return to power, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle next time – and if he is delayed again, and again, why, he may never return to power."

Harry nodded.

"Sir, there are some other things I'd like to know, if you can tell me ... things I want to know the truth about ..."

"The truth," Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer your questions unless I have a very good reason not to, in which case I beg you'll forgive me. I shall not, of course, lie. I should offer the same to you, Mel. If you also have questions, that is"

"Well ... Voldemort said that he only killed my mother because she tried to stop him from killing me. But why would he want to kill me in the first place?"

Dumbledore sighed very deeply this time.

"Alas, the first thing you ask me, I cannot tell you. Not today. Not now. You will know, one day ... put it from your mind for now, Harry. When you are older ... I know you hate to hear this ... when you are ready, you will know."

Mel didn't like that, it sounded hard, difficult. Something a child could not possibly understand without breaking apart.

"But why couldn't Quirrell touch me?"

"Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realise that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign... to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good."

Mel noticed that Harry had tears in his eyes. She'd never seen him cry, not in a long time and so out of the blue. It usually had to do with Dudley punching him, not with feelings. She searched for his hand, hoping he wouldn't push it away.

He didn't.

"And the Invisibility Cloak – do you know who sent it to me?"

"Ah – your father happened to leave it in my possession and I thought you might like it." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Useful things ... your father used it mainly for sneaking off to the kitchens to steal food when he was here."

"And there's something else ..."

"Fire away."

"Quirrell said Snape –"

"Professor Snape, Harry."

"Yes, him – Quirrell said he hates me because he hated my father. Is that true?"

'Well, they did rather detest each other. Not unlike yourself and Mr Malfoy. And then, your father did something Snape could never forgive."

"What?"

"He saved his life."

"What?"

"Yes ..." said Dumbledore dreamily. "Funny, the way people's minds work, isn't it? Professor Snape couldn't bear being in your father's debt ... I do believe he worked so hard to protect you this year because he felt that would make him and your father quits. Then he could go back to hating your father's memory in peace ..."

"That doesn't sound polite," She mumbled, "now that I think about it... I do have a question."

"Yes?"

"Before Quirrell attacked me, I did... well, I don't know if I did it"

"You did," Harry looked at her intently, "I felt it. It was... strange"

Mel looked at them before continuing.

"I did something without my wand," She explained, "it felt like the things I would do whenever I was scared or angry before I knew I was a witch, I couldn't control it..."

Dumbledore's eyes shifted for a moment, if she had known him better, she would've recognized that look as one of fear.

"Emotions are a powerful thing," Dumbledore said finally, "you were overwhelmed by the situation, and desperate to find a solution. Your body acted on its own. It has happened before, some cases... do not end well. I suggest to try and learn to control your mind, it should be you the one making decisions, not your emotions, Mel."

She understood most of it, and that only made her more anxious.

"And sir, there's one more thing ..." Harry said.

"Just the one?"

"How did I get the Stone out of the Mirror?"

"Ah, now, I'm glad you asked me that. It was one of my more brilliant ideas, and between you and me, that's saying something. You see, only one who wanted to find the Stone – find it, but not use it – would be able to get it, otherwise they'd just see themselves making gold or drinking Elixir of Life. My brain surprises even me sometimes ... Now, enough questions. I suggest you make a start on these sweets. Ah! Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans! I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across a vomit-flavoured one, and since then I'm afraid I've rather lost my liking for them – but I think I'll be safe with a nice toffee, don't you?" He smiled and popped the golden-brown bean into his mouth. Then he choked and said, "Alas! Earwax!"

Dumbledore left moments after, leaving them alone to talk in peace.

"Why didn't you tell me Angelina owned the cat I liked?" Mel asked.

Harry smiled guiltily.

"I wanted to give you a birthday present in advance. Owls might be dirty, but Emily can't say the same about cats!"

"It was nice of you," Mel beamed, "I named him Grey, he reminds me of you."

Harry frowned.

"You have it now? I wanted- wait, how can he look like me?"

"He's got messy black fur and green eyes"

"And you called him Grey?"

"I thought it was funny"

"Obviously," Harry rolled his eyes, grinning, "I'm sorry I couldn't give it to you personally"

"I'm just happy you're awake," She added, "I also think you're a hero..."

"You are too," Harry replied.

"Your Bloody Baron is perfect! Maybe you should consider working as a professional imitator," She teased.

"Bug off," He laughed, "you know, now that I remember... you never told me what you saw in the mirror"

Mel nearly choked with her chocolate frog.

"That's private."

"Come on! You know mine!" He insisted.

The girl hesitated, then, after finding a solution she replied:

"I saw myself as Headmaster. I was old and smart like Dumbledore, people looked up to me."

"That sounds like you," He agreed, "why were you so upset when you saw it, though? It isn't a bad thing"

"I thought it was embarrassing," She lied, "I know I'm not smart enough to be like him"

"I don't think that," Harry raised a brow, "I think that you could perfectly be it"

She hated his kindness, it wasn't helping the annoying thumping on her chest at all.

"Well, who knows," Mel shrugged, "maybe one day what I saw will be true, Glasses."

"I hope so, Dumby"

"Stooop," She groaned.

"I'll stop when you stop"

She knew that Harry wouldn't have said all those kind words if he had known the truth.

He would've been horrified to know Mel had seen them kissing.

"So the Stone's gone?" said Ron, "Flamel's just going to die?"

He and Hermione arrived at the last hour of the day, the visiting hours were about to end.

"That's what I said, but Dumbledore thinks that – what was it?" Harry asked her.

"To the well-organised mind, death is but the next great adventure," Mel quoted.

"I always said he was off his rocker-ouch!" Ron looked angrily at Mel, she had punched his arm, "Now what did I do?"

"Dumbledore's my uncle, be careful with what you say," She warned him.

"So what happened to you?" asked Harry to Ron and Hermione.

"Well, I got back all right," said Hermione. "I brought Ron round – that took a while – and we were dashing up to the owlery to contact Dumbledore when we met him in the Entrance Hall. He already knew – he just said, 'Harry's gone after him, hasn't he?' and hurtled off to the third floor."

"D'you think he meant you to do it?' said Ron. "Sending you your father's Cloak and everything?"

"Well," Hermione exploded, "if he did – I mean to say – that's terrible – you could have been killed."

"No, it isn't," said Harry thoughtfully. "He's a funny man, Dumbledore. I think he sort of wanted to give me a chance. I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here, you know. I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, he just taught us enough to help. I don't think it was an accident he let me find out how the Mirror worked. It's almost like he thought I had the right to face Voldemort if I could ..."

Mel thought differently. Sure, that was kind, but if it was the same with her; how he reacted after knowing what she did... that meant Dumbledore was hoping for the worst on her behalf.

"Yeah, Dumbledore's barking, all right," said Ron proudly, stepping away from Mel, "Listen, you've got to be up for the end-of-year feast tomorrow. The points are all in and Slytherin won, of course – you missed the last Quidditch match, we were steamrollered by Ravenclaw without you – but the food'll be good."

"Ah, need me a good feast," Mel sighed dreamily.

Madam Pomfrey bustled over.

"You've had nearly fifteen minutes, now OUT," she said firmly.

Harry came back just in time for the feast, people whispered and tried to take a good look at him. Mel didn't try to stop them, something told her it was bound to be a constant thing as long as they stayed in the castle. Long six years awaited.

"Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were ... you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts ... Now, as I understand it, the House Cup here needs awarding and the points stand thus: in fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw have four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, five hundred and twenty-two.'

The Slytherin table erupted in cheers and stamping. Mel caught sight of Erick, when he noticed her eyes fixed on him, he winked in complicity.

"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must be taken into account."

The room went very still. The Slytherins' smiles faded a little.

"Ahem," said Dumbledore, "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes ... First – to Mr Ronald Weasley, for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

The table burst in applause, Mel could faintly hear Percy proudly talking about Ron a few seats behind.

"Second – to Miss Hermione Granger ... for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

Hermione lowered her face and hid it on her arms. Mel was beaming, she was so proud! Her friend Hermione Granger was just the best.

"To Mel Dumbledore, who gave away her own safety in order to keep others well, loyal 'til the last minute... I award Gryffindor with fifty points"

Mel didn't feel like she deserved so many, comparing to the rest of her friends her actions were minimal, barely something to recognize.

Ron ruffled her hair.

"I guess we could also be not-awful together..."

She laughed, putting an arm around his shoulders.

"Fourth – to Mr Harry Potter ..." said Dumbledore. The room went deadly quiet. "... for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points."

The room was loud, Mel had never heard something like it before.

Dumbledore raised his hand. The room gradually fell silent.

"There are all kinds of courage," said Dumbledore, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr Neville Longbottom."

The kids cheered and jumped, covering Neville in hugs and kind words. Gryffindor had won the house cup, everything was perfect.

"Which means," Dumbledore called over the storm of applause, for even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were celebrating the downfall of Slytherin, "we need a little change of decoration."

The lion overthrew the snake, scarlet and gold now illuminating the room.

Hermione and Mel were top of the year. It wasn't a surprise, she was well aware of her own efforts, the results were good enough.

The way back home was delightful, louder than the first trip. Harry showed her the gift Hagrid had made for him and she admired the first few photographs.

"Why is it that you always get the coolest presents?"

"Hey, you got a cat that looks like me!"

"That was a very narcissistic thing to say, even for the boy-who-lived." Mel teased, "Grey is cool though, that's true"

"Next time I'll make sure to give you the best gift," He assured her, "in person, too."

"Don't even," She shrugged it off, "that would only make me feel worse. As if I could possibly top Harry Potter and his crazy ideas! You'd probably get me a gold cauldron..."

"That was ONE time-!"

"You must come and stay this summer," said Ron, "all of you – I'll send you an owl."

"Thanks," said Harry. "I'll need something to look forward to."

People jostled them as they moved towards the gateway back to the Muggle world. Some of them called:

"Bye, Harry!"

"See you, Potter!"

"Still famous," said Ron, grinning at him.

"Still a dummy," Mel added.

"Not where I'm going, I promise you," said Harry, "well, maybe the dummy part"

They passed through the gateway together.

"There he is, Mum, there he is, look!" It was Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister, but she wasn't pointing at Ron, "Harry Potter! Look, Mum! I can see –"

"Be quiet, Ginny, and it's rude to point."

Mrs Weasley smiled down at them.

"Busy year?" she said.

"Very," said Harry.

"I should know," A voice said from behind them, "yesterday I got the longest, most terrifying letter of my whole life listing all the things you did this year, Mel Dumbledore."

Mel froze, her mother circle the group of kids and stared at her expectantly, her arms crossed.

"You have a lot of explaining to do"

"Thanks for the fudge and the jumper, Mrs Weasley," Harry moved away from them, afraid of getting the same treatment.

"Oh, it was nothing, dear," Mrs. Weasley nervous too.

"I was worried sick! How could you hide all those things from me?" Her mum asked angrily, "Your uncle had to calm my nerves with a potion, Mel. A Potion!"

"I'm sorry!" Mel pleaded, "I didn't want to worry you!"

"I worry alright! Bloody worried!" She exclaimed, "You won't leave the house in a week- Is that a cat?!"

"I never leave the house!" Mel retorted, hiding the cat's basket behind her back.

"No Harry, then!"

"What?!" Both kids exclaimed.

"Do you want it to be two weeks?" She offered.

They stopped arguing.

"Ready, are you?" It was Mr Dursley, looking as angry and displeased as always.

"You must be Harry's family!" said Mrs Weasley.

"In a manner of speaking," said Mr Dursley, "Hurry up, boy, we haven't got all day." He walked away.

"I'll get the car as well," Emily sighed, controlling her nerves, "it was a pleasure to see you again, Molly. Give me..." Mel handed the trunk and bags to her, keeping Grey in her arms and staying to say goodbye to Ron and Hermione.

"See you over the summer, then."

"Hope you have – er – a good holiday," said Hermione, looking uncertainly after Mr Dursley.

"Oh, I will," said Harry cheerfully, "They don't know we're not allowed to use magic at home. We're going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer..."

"At last, you listen to me," Mel smiled, already planning to make Dudley's life a perfect little nightmare.

Next Part—>

Taglist.

@vampiregirl1797 @tiphareth2018 @siriuslysirius1107  @celestialhayi @omiwashere

[beyondconfessor]

The Infernal Contracts [10/16]

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Lilith/Zelda Spellman

Summary: It had seemed like semantics, but what did demons argue for in their contracts, if not the finer details?

N.B.: Also posted on AO3

Zelda laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling. The memories of last night repeated through her mind, reminding her sharply of every mistake. Her actions had been reckless. She should never have allowed Lilith into her home in the first place, she shouldn't have sat next to her, and she should never have kissed her –– amongst other things.

She almost ruined everything, and for what? Some superfluous addition to her magic?  

Not only was she hiding the Dark Lord's involvement from Sabrina (made easier by the fact that her niece was seemingly avoiding her) but she was emotionally and physically binding herself to the self-proclaimed Mother of Demons, expecting to not get bitten as a result.

How many times had she, herself, re-iterated the story of the Scorpian and the Frog to Sabrina, reminding her that hell-beings were never to be trusted.

And here she was, swimming across the river with the scorpion on her back.

No. She needed to terminate the contract before anyone found out.

Climbing out of bed, Zelda bathed and then moved to wardrobe to choose an appropriate outfit. It needed to sufficiently show that, yes she was attractive, no she wasn't attainable, not even by the Mother of Demon. Not any more.

It admittedly took longer than it should have to choose, but finally, she ended up deciding on a pair of tailored high-waisted trousers. This way, there was no skirt hiking, no slipping underneath the material. Lilith would have to get creative to seduce her.

Zelda sat at her dresser, choosing her jewellery carefully before pausing at her rings. She still wore the ring Lilith had provided her. It had felt more comfortable on her right hand than the wedding band did on her left. Fiddling with it, she considered removing it to make her decision apparent.

She turned it three times over and then decided that no. It had been a gift, and if Lilith wanted it back, she would need to ask for it.

Besides, it went with all her clothes––which was a rare find in rings these days.

Rising before the vanity mirrors, she looked herself over, ensuring that she looked desirable and unattainable before she left the room.

First thing first, she would drop in for morning tea with Hilda, having promised her the other day. It would make it easy to check on how Sabrina and Ambrose were doing, and then she would make her leave for Lilith's home afterwards, giving her plenty of time to return to the Academy before dinner.

When she arrived at the Mortuary, Sabrina took one look at her and returned upstairs to her room, under the guise of studying.

"Don't worry about her, love. She's just adjusting to change. We all are," Hilda said as she pushed a cup of tea into her hands.

"Adjusting is one way to put it. She's switched from my classes at the Academy. You'd think that I'd ruined her life rather than saving our family."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry. You know how teenagers are, melodramatic about every slight."

"Certainly true," Zelda agreed as she took a sip of the tea. However, she couldn't help but feel hurt by Sabrina's absence. She'd like nothing more than to move past this, but it seemed that was entirely up to her niece.

It made her less inclined to tell her the truth, knowing that it would be the final straw for Sabrina. However, the longer she held onto it, the worse the outcome would be.

She needed to tell her soon.

"Everything alright, Zelds?" Hilda prompted. "He hasn't…tried anything since Rome?"

Zelda looked up from her tea, shaking her head. "No, we're at a stalemate for the moment. He's liking waiting for an opportune moment to get retaliation, but as so far it seems we're held in a ceasefire." Except for how she was occasionally charming him with dreams to soothe their relationship. Eventually, he'd catch on to that too.

Zelda felt as though she was spinning a vast web, and if she weren't careful, she'd get tangled in her own lies.

"I see. And how did the dinner party go?"

Zelda drew in a breath, trying to forget the kiss she'd shared with the Mother of Demons. Or the feeling of the woman's hand, sliding up her thigh. Or how her body had–– "Quite well, I'll have the books returned to you later, during the week."

"Okay, well, not to push but you're bit with the fairies at the moment. Has something happened?"

Zelda stared at her sister, narrowing her eyes. Before she could assure her sister that she was fine and there was nothing discuss (because there wasn't), the sound of the front door opening and shutting interrupted her.

"Are you expecting someone?"

"I'll go see who that is," Hilda said before running off to the foyer.

Zelda rolled her eyes, drawing a sip of her tea. Within a few moments, Mr Scratch was entering the parlour with a book under his arm. "Lady Blackwood," he greeted politely, with a short nod of his head.

Zelda felt her chest constrict at the name. "Mr Scratch," she greeted. "I take it you're here to visit Sabrina?" she asked, hearing the sound of Hilda's footsteps climbing the many stairs towards Sabrina's bedroom.

"Yes, I…"

"With a book?" she asked, gesturing to it. She watched his hand curl tighter around it.

"Yes, uh. For us to study," Nicholas said, looking awkward as he forcibly tried to relax. Zelda rose, coming to stand before him. Nicholas had the look of a warlock trying to hide something and Zelda did not appreciate men coming into her house with the intention of hiding things from her.

She reached out and took the book, watching as the boy briefly fought her before thinking better of it.

"A book of prophecies?" she asked, turning it over. It seemed amusing at first and then realising that Sabrina was involved and Nicholas Scratch had clearly not wanted her to know his intention, her heart began to sink in her chest. "Why are you bringing a book of prophecies to Sabrina?"

"We're studying prophecies in class," he said in an abysmal attempt to lie.

Zelda narrowed her eyes, coming to stand tall before him. "Try again," she suggested.

Nick drew in a breath, looking over his shoulder as if Sabrina might appear at any moment and help, but her niece was still upstairs, likely arguing with Hilda going by the muffled sounds.

"I will not ask again, Mr Scratch, and I don't think I need to remind you as to just what I would do to ensure Sabrina's safety."

In a rush of words, Nick explained everything. Beginning with Sabrina's party, how Harvey and Theo interrupted and drew them to the mines, how there was a prophecy imprinted there depicting Sabrina of being the Herald of Hell. He went on to say how Sabrina had attempted to speak to Ms Wardwell about this (and Zelda felt herself grow cold at the mention of the teacher), but the woman had been strangely absent from her home, so Nicholas advised that he'd moved to the library for research and had found a footnote prophecy, likely discussing Sabrina.

"Which one?" she asked.

Nicholas reached for the book and turned to the page, pointing to the prophecy.

It took two reads to understands, and then Zelda could feel her growing anger and fury. Not only had Sabrina hidden this from her, but this was the goal the Dark Lord had planned.

How fucking dare he.

She snapped the book shut and looked at Nicholas. "Thank you, Mr Scratch," she said, schooling her features. "I appreciate honesty in this house." And then she reached out and placed her hand on his left shoulder, staring into his eye. "But I think you should forget this. After all, you're here to see Sabrina and help her study, are you not?"

The thrum of magic shot through her hand and Zelda watched as Nicholas' eyes became foggy, the spell eating at the memory until it turned to dust. "Sorry, could you say that again?" he asked.

Zelda smiled, drawing her hand away. "I said it's lovely that you came here to help Sabrina study. I expect she has a lot to catch up on with her new classes."

"Ah, yes," Nicholas nodded, turning to look over his shoulder at the sounds of Sabrina approaching. "She's doing well, though."

"I expect nothing less," Zelda said. "Now, if you don't mind, I have some business to attend to."

Zelda left, exiting out of the parlour to the foyer just as Sabrina was coming down the stairs. Zelda considered confronting her about the so-called Herald of Hell mosaic, but bit her tongue instead and smiled politely to her and Hilda both.

"You're leaving already?" Hilda asked. "I thought we might have a spot of lunch?"

"I'm afraid I have some business to attend to."

"Oh, is that why you're so dressed up?" Hilda asked.

"So you're off to some date with his Unholy eminence?" Sabrina snarked.

Zelda felt a sharp comment rise in her throat and then thought better of it. The last thing she needed to do was place any more kindling on that fire burning inside of Sabrina. Given everything that was revealed, no doubt her niece had an amount of pent-up rage, and instead of thoughtfully managing it like an adult, she decided that picking fights were a better use of her time.

"Goodbye. Enjoy your afternoons," Zelda said, before exiting out of the Mortuary to where her car was.

She placed the book of prophecy on the passenger seat before closing the driver's door and starting the car. Her own fury began to burn inside of her as she thought over the prophecy's words again, and what they meant.

Lilith raising her niece to be the Dark Lord's Herald was one thing, possibly something she could view as an honour if it were to happen far in the future, once Sabrina had completed her education. But the prophecy was advising that Sabrina was to sit at his side on the throne, and there was no way in Heaven she would allow her niece to become some child bride. Not to the Dark Lord, nor to anyone for that matter.

Did Lilith know? Was this her true intentions?

No, Zelda couldn't believe it. And yet, it made more sense than she wanted it to.

Arriving at the cottage on the edge of the forest, Zelda parked the car. She took two deep breaths, deciding to get answers first and then seek retribution, before exiting the vehicle.

Clutching the book of prophecy to herself, Zelda walked up to the house and rapped her knuckles onto the front door.

She heard the muffled sound of heels clicking from inside and then the lock turned, the door opening wide for Lilith to lean against the frame and run her eyes over Zelda's body. "Miss me?"

Zelda pushed past the woman into her home. She was too angry (and admittedly a fair amount of worked up) to engage in flirting. Setting the book of prophecy down on the table, she pointed to it and raised her eyebrows at the woman. "Did you know?"

"Did I know…what?" Lilith asked dryly.

"Did you know that about the prophecy?" she hissed.

Lilith's eyes narrowed, all amusement fading as she stepped closer and picked up the book, going to where the page had been bookmarked.

Zelda studied her expression, watching it harden into a neutral mask as she traced her fingers over the footnote prophecy (someone didn't want it to be noticed, but it was stated that all predictions must be written down). "I didn't know about this one," Lilith said as she looked up, snapping the book shut. All playfulness had left the woman, and for the first time since Zelda had met her, Lilith looked unsettled.  

No, she couldn't believe her because a few muscles pulled in a particular expression.

"So the miracles, the exorcism, fixing the mortal friend's blindness, that wasn't at your direction?" Zelda asked. "Because I distinctly recall you sauntering into my home-"

"Obviously, that was me, but I didn't know it would––" She cut herself off, drawing in a deep breath. "I thought she was to replace my position as the right hand, which would allow me to ascend to the throne. But obviously not." Zelda watched as the woman's lips pressed tightly, a familiar rage building and then simmering inside of her. "You don't need to believe me, but it is the truth."

"You didn't know?" Zelda asked

"Why would I throw away everything I worked for to some child?" she snapped and then recoiled, looking around the woman as if aware that someone might be listening. "I didn't lie to you, Zelda."

"How am I meant to believe that?"

Lilith gave her a tired look. "Do I need to repeat myself?"

Zelda closed her eyes, feeling a pulling headache surface. She didn't want to believe Lilith, and yet the idea of her stepping aside for Sabrina willingly seemed...wrong.

"Does she know about this?"

Zelda thought better of admitting the entire truth, (there was safety in ignorance after all) and instead stated, "This prophecy was discovered by Mr Scratch who's conveniently forgotten all about it for the moment, so we have time."

"When did this occur?"

"Only moments before I left for here."

Lilith stared at Zelda before a slow smile graced her lips. "And you came rushing to me with the book?"

Zelda flushed, discomforted by the change in mood, knowing where it was likely to go. "I was already planning to visit if you recall. We have matters to discuss. And I came here to accuse you, not do whatever you're inferring."

"Is that so?" Lilith set the book on the table and stepped towards Zelda. "And what 'matters' do we have to discuss?"

Zelda resisted the urge to step back, refusing to allow herself to be corned again. "The contract for one, and that I need to reclaim Leviathan."

"Of course," Lilith nodded, now standing terribly close. "And what problems with the contract do you have?"

"I want to end it."

"I told you, you can end it whenever you desire to." Lilith's hand had begun playing with the collar of Zelda's blouse, smoothing it across her chest, so it sat flush. The touch was innocent enough, but it was pulling a strange desire in Zelda's chest, a longing for the fingers to draw against her skin. "Is that why you came here, to close our contract? Or did you perhaps come here in want of fixing a little problem?"

"I want it to end," Zelda said, but the words had thickened with arousal.

Lilith's smirk widened, "Ending this has nothing to do with want."

Zelda blinked, going to argue that she had explicitly stated only moments ago that contact was about her want to exit from it––and then Zelda realised that no, she hadn't. When they initiated the contract, Lilith had stipulated it was about desiring to leave, not wanting. Panic grew inside of her. "What do you mean it's not about 'want?"

"Oh, I think you know," Lilith said as she tilted her head to look at her. Her fingers began trailing down her blouse, over Zelda's ribs, down to her waist where the trousers rested. "Tell me, Zelda, do you desire to end our contract?" Lilith was leaning forward now, one hand pressing flush against her abdomen, the other coming to curl over the waist of her pants. "Be honest."

It had seemed like semantics, but what did demons argue for in their contracts, if not the finer details?

She drew a breath, feeling the woman's fingers begin to undo the top of the slacks, flicking the button undone.

She wanted the consequence of this relationship to cease. She wanted the desperation she felt when she was near the woman to disappear. She wanted to be lying in bed at night without daydreaming of Lilith next to a man she didn't care for. She wanted to wake up and not feel the sudden longing in her chest. Satan save her, she wanted so many things.

But the ending of this infernal contract? She was at war with herself, knowing that it would likely destroy her and knowing with great certainty that she would happily allow it to if it meant Lilith would look at her like she had last night.

The woman was everywhere in her thoughts. Zelda may not want it, but she did crave the woman's presence in her life. Her touch, her perfume, her voice. May Hell forgive her, she wanted to hear Lilith moan her name again.

"Lilith," she husked. "This will not end well for us."

"Few things do for women like you and me."

The quiet sat with those words, Lilith holding her waist firmly, looking up at her with wide blue eyes, asking her to say the words and Zelda looking down at her, feeling them on her tongue.

She should tell her no, tell her that she couldn't. That she must return to Sabrina and advise her of this prophecy, she must protect the Blackwood children. But her heart was pounding, and Lilith's hands felt as if they were made to hold her.

"Come now, Zelda, say the words," Lilith purred. "You may even get a reward."

"I want you," Zelda admitted. "I yearn for you every other moment of the day and right now all I want, all I desire, is to fall at your knees and worship you."

Lilith's eyes darkened with arousal, before she slipped her heels off, kicking them away. And then she slowly knelt onto her knees before Zelda, as if she were about to pray.

Zelda had only a moment to prepare herself, before she watched the woman's mouth part, her teeth catching the tab of the zipper from her pants, pulling it down with more eroticism than any one person had a right to.

Zelda couldn't recall the last time a lover had been on their knees before her, and as Lilith pulled down her pants, Zelda was sure she'd never been more aroused in her life. She couldn't think to say anything, only stare at the woman with awe as the woman's hands drew up her bare legs, coming to rest on her thighs.

Lilith held for a moment, looking up as if waiting for Zelda to say or do something –– when no response was summoned, she leant forward and pressed her mouth to Zelda's sex, her tongue slipping between her folds and tasting the growing arousal. Zelda moaned, feeling a rush of electricity run down her spine with each slow, firm stroke.

Zelda reached out and drew her hands through the thick mane of hair, encouraging her closer, and as Lilith's pace increased, she found herself falling back against the wall of the room, one hand curling tighter in Lilith's hair, as the other pressed against the wall, trying to hold herself steady.

"Lilith," she whined, feeling the tongue curl against her. "Lilith I-" the praise cut off in a strangled gasp as she looked down to find Lilith's eyes watching her. She knew the woman was smirking between her thighs, absolutely enjoying the hedonistic indulgence she was placing on her.

Zelda stifled a moan, her hand tightening in the woman's hair, eyes squeezing shut as she felt the wave ebb closer. Her body clenched and released, an exhaled breath barely leaving her before she was inhaling again in short-sharp gasps as Lilith began sucking on her clit.

"Satan in Heaven," Zelda hissed as she felt the wave rise, the climax within reach — and then Lilith was pulling away from her, and the Zelda felt as if she was falling.

No, she was falling.

Zelda gasped, her legs tumbling out from under her as she was tugged to the ground, thrown onto her back before Lilith straddled her torso, just over her clavicle, so the weight of her made it difficult to breathe.

Lilith looked down at her, grinning as if she was so delighted that Zelda had defied her. "Here I was offering you a grand prize, and you brought Him into it," Lilith tsked. "I thought I taught you better than that."

"I…" Zelda tried to speak, but the woman's fingertips pressed to her lips, a warning look in her eyes.

"Oh no, language like that will need to be punished." And then Zelda watched as the woman slipped off her clothes, the lingerie underneath being tugged of far faster than Zelda would like. "But I don't know if you really learnt your lesson last time, so I've decided that you're going to be a good girl and use your mouth until such a time as I think of a good lesson. Understood?"

Zelda nodded.

"Now, little witch, open up."

Zelda stared up at the woman, wondering if she was serious about the theatrics, before deciding very quickly that she was.

She parted her lips, looking up at the woman with raised eyebrows. Lilith grinned from above before pushing up onto her knees. There was a moment where she adjusted herself, moving her legs on either side of Zelda's body before she curled her hand into Zelda's hair.

"Remember, no sooner," she said, her tone carrying a warning.

Zelda lifted her head between the woman's thighs and obeyed. She drew her tongue over the woman, tasting the sweet arousal.

Lilith was quiet in pleasure, restrained almost (which only annoyed Zelda as she knew the woman was deliberately holding back her contentment). When she came, it was with a deep breath she held in her lungs, as her hips rocked against Zelda's face. The hand in Zelda's hair grew tight and then loose before she let go altogether and then exhaled with a warm chuckle as she looked down at Zelda.

"You know, I don't think I've thought of anything yet," Lilith said to her. "I hope you have nowhere else to be because you're all mine until I'm done."

Zelda grinned up at her, feeling the chuckle rise. The truth was, at this moment, there was nothing in her thoughts but Lilith. Lilith's body, Lilith's voice. She wanted to worship it all.

Her hands drew up the warm legs, as the sex lowered over her mouth again. She had places to be, she couldn't stay here for all eternity, and yet she wanted to, desired to.

It was as if she was in the most divine worship, and there was nothing that could make her leave this moment.

[stanathanxoox]

Wolf Royalty

gif is mine

Anonymous said:

Heya, could you do a Carlisle x wolf reader where she’s travels with a vampire and they are like family and they trespass on the Cullens territory, after some talking R imprints on Carlisle and he offers them to stay to get to know them more and one day they all meet the wolves to discuss things and one of sams pack go to hurt one of the Cullens and R steps forward and stops them, it turns out she’s a defendant form an old clan meaning she’s technically royalty and she guards Carlisle carefully

As you and your close friend Nicholas, a vampire you had met whilst searching for answers of the tribe you had once been a part of, cross the border into Forks Washington, you feel the hair on the back of your neck rise. You're in town for 48 hours and you constantly feel eyes on you and Nicholas, it was unnerving for the both of you. On the third day, you leave the hotel room you had been staying in when the two of you decided to go on a hunt. You didn't need to hunt for blood but you usually went with Nicholas to keep your skills up, and getting a chance to track and run after different animals in a little competition that you and Nicholas had was a great challenge. You enter a clearing at the top of one of the mountains when you there is a change in the air, another sickly sweet smell surrounds you and before you know it you are surrounded, Nicholas is nowhere in sight.

“Who are you? What are you doing trespassing on our lands?” one of them asks and you whimper, being in your wolf form you cannot communicate. When you don't answer and no one else speaks you let out a small howl. A warning to Nicholas. Within seconds, Nicholas is by your side and he tries to explain the situation to the group surrounding you. Eventually they explain to you about the treaty they have with the Quillette wolves and you look to Nicholas, you had heard rumours of these wolfs, you whimper and he nods

“Do you think there is a possibility we may get to speak with these wolfs? My friend here has questions she would like to ask them” they look between you and Nicholas before another vampire enters the clearing when he does you instantly feel your world shift, your heart picks up speed and you see a future where the two of you are together, him protecting you and you him. You shake, you'd heard of imprinting, it was how your parents had fallen in love with one another and how they had had you, you had thought that you were never going to get your chance to imprint as you'd always been unlucky in love.

“We would have to find a way to talk with Sam and the others, but with Victoria still hunting Bella it will be hard to get them to discuss anything civilly” the man says and you listen to him, eyes never leaving his form.

“Whatever it takes, it will be much appreciated” Nicholas says and you nod, agreeing with your friend. You watch as one of the members of the vampires surrounding you leans over and whispers into the ear of the man who had just entered the coven.

As Nicholas converses with the vampires, you notice the vampire you had imprinted on keeps looking at you, a look of concern and curiosity on his face. He makes his way to your side and meets your gaze, you can see his amber eyes clear as day up this close.

“I'm Carlisle Cullen, this is my family. Children that I created myself, most of them at least” he pauses as his gaze flickers to two other members of his coven before meeting your gaze again

“Edward here has the ability to read minds, he had quite the shock when he read your mind just minutes before Miss” you whimper as he stares deeply into your eyes, he holds out his hand to you and at first, you look between him and his hand before nuzzling into it.

“What happened Edward?” one of the other vampires looks at the man who is standing at the back of the circle, his eyes on you and Carlisle

“Y/N imprinted on Carlisle when he entered the clearing” he says and everyone turns there gaze on you.

“Are you serious Y/N?” Nicholas asks and you look over at your friend and whimper, trying to tell him that it hadn't been intentional. He looks deep in your eyes before looking at Carlisle, seeing the care he's showing towards you and he sighs

“Surely your not going to do anything with her Carlisle! What about Esme?” one of the female vampires asks and Carlisle looks over his shoulder at her

“Just because Y/N has imprinted on me doesn't mean it has to be romantic Rosalie” Carlisle says, and you nod, Carlisle turns back to you and Nicholas a gentle smile on his face, his hand never leaving your fur

“How about you come back to our house? Get yourselves cleaned, and then we can discuss things properly” he says and you look to Nicholas who is looking at the other vampires, when he meets your gaze he nods

“Alright, we'll follow you” Nicholas says.

When you arrive at the Cullen house, you're greeted by a beautiful female standing in the entranceway, Carlisle races up to her, wrapping his arms around her waist before whispering in her ear before they both turn to you, smiles on their faces

“It's nice to meet you both. I'm Esme. Come inside Y/N. I can have some clothes ready for you after you have a quick shower” she says and you nod, following her into the house. Once your alone, you change back into your human form before showering and changing into the clothes that Esme had left. Making your way into the hallway you're greeted by Carlisle whose been waiting for you. He sends you a gentle smile and you smile nervously at him

“I'm sorry for making things awkward. I didn't mean to imprint on you” you apologise and he chuckles

“It's quite alright Y/N. I just want you to know that I love my wife, but I will do whatever I can do to make sure that you are safe” he says and you nod, you had expected as much.

“That's fine Carlisle. And I promise you the same thing”.

You stay at the Cullen house for a couple of weeks, learning more about their coven and about the treaty that they share with the Quilettes. You and Nicholas would even go on their hunts for the red-headed vampire that was going after Edward's human. It was out on one of those hunts that you finally get to meet the Quilettes. You're running through the forest on the Cullen's side of the border when you can hear barking and lots of howling, you turn your head and see the wolves on the other side of the river. You can hear their voices in your head and it disorientates you from what your doing, all their questions and the harshness of their questions disorientate you “Who is she?”, “What is she doing with them?” they ask. You shake your head trying to rid yourself of the malice in their thoughts before picking up speed as you continue your chase on the redhead. You’re so distracted however that you accidentally barrel straight into Carlisle who had just managed to stop himself after the redhead had jumped across the border of the treaty line. You whine as you watch Carlisle fly into the riverbank on the other side, you race down the cliff face to meet him not caring about what's happening or the warning you get from the others. Whilst most of the other wolves had left to chase the redhead, three remain behind growling and snarling, not at you but at Carlisle who has only now gotten back on his feet. Nudging him behind you, you look up at them and growl fiercely at them, feeling a surge of protectiveness and hatred towards these wolves. You can hear their thoughts

“She imprinted on a vampire? That's horrendous. Sam we've got to do something” one of the wolfs says

“How dare you?”

“That's traitorous to our kind, our sworn enemy”

“Quiet Embry, Quill. I don't like it either, but we need answers from her” the leader a completely black wolf says before turning to you and asking

“You there, where have you come from and why are you siding with the vampires?” he asks a glare in his eyes, you feel a sudden rage, a shifting in your body, one that you hadn't even expected when conversing with a fellow wolf. As you stare at the wolf, he begins to shrink or you begin to grow or something and you scratch your foot along the ground as you let out a warning, your blood running fast and hot through your veins.

“It can't be?” one of the wolves say and you whine confused

“A descendant of the first wolves, the mother wolves before the Quilettes?” Sam whimpers, bowing his head towards you, the other two vampires do the same before they look up at you

“I guess we shall be taking our leave of you now” Sam says. When the wolves retreat you turn back around and look at Carlisle before looking back up at the others who are watching you.

“Is everything okay Y/N?” Carlisle asks, reaching and resting his hand on your muzzle, giving it a little scratch, you lean into his touch before you look up at Nicholas, he seems to understand and says

“How about we head back to your house and Y/N can explain”. You nod and the others seem to agree.

Once you're showered and changed, you make your way into the lounge and walk over to Carlisle who is sitting next to Esme on the couch.

“I apologise for pushing you into their territory. I was distracted by their thoughts” you say and he looks up at you and smiles, reaching out for your hand and giving it a gentle squeeze

“It's quite alright Y/N. Thank you for standing up for me” he says and you give a small smile, a slight blush on your cheeks

“You're welcome”. You turn around before making your way into the middle of the lounge, all eyes on you as they wait for you to explain what happened whilst you had been conversing with the wolves. You take a deep breath trying to steady your breathing

“Come on Y/N, you can tell us” Carlisle says encouragingly, you look at him and smile, giving a slight nod before looking at the others again

“After I accidentally ran into Carlisle and pushed him into their territory the wolves seemed to go into a frenzy, their thoughts were not friendly towards Carlisle because of me imprinting on him I had to protect him. A wolves absolute law is that once someone imprints on another no matter who they are they cannot touch them. This seemed to anger them more, they kept on asking me questions and when Sam asked me questions I couldn't just let them get away with talking to me like that, I felt this shift in my body, deep hot blood surged through my veins and suddenly they were bowing to me and calling me the mother of wolves, saying I was a descendant of the wolves from before the Quilette's”

“Wow, so your like wolf royalty?” Emmett asks and you look to him seeing the goofy grin on his face and you chuckle

“I guess you could say that” you say and you chuckle as he fist bumps the air and does a small bow

“Your highness,” he says with the most pompous English accent he can muster, the others all chuckle but Rosalie just rolls her eyes.

“So now what? How are you going to get your answers from the Quilette's now?” Nicholas asks and you look to him

“I have no idea, Nick, maybe there is some good to come from this supposed royalty thing” you say and he looks at you, a little unsure before he shrugs.

“Whatever you say Y/N” he says before turning around and walking out of the room. You want to follow him and ask him what's wrong when you hear Carlisle ask you a question, torn between your closest friend and your mate you look over at Carlisle and give a small smile before heading off to find Nicholas.

Tag List: @tiva-jenry-caskett-rizzles-densi, @jimmybpride, @dressed-up-just-like-z1ggy, @nikkiwierden, @samchelforever007, @kirkspockbones, @xoncisxncislaxncisnolaox, @lasalle-pride-sebastian-love, @haliannej, @brooklyn-99-amyxjake​, @mizzezm, @genius2050,  @twilight-twihard, @cullencoven2019

Tag List for Twilight: @jasper-babyxx

[smallmediumproblems]

They’d been gone too long.

Jon knew it in such a bone-deep, paranoid way that he almost discounted the feeling out of hand. He didn’t have instincts anymore, just information, and anything that he might have called a “gut feeling” was more likely to be coming from somewhere distant and cobwebbed than inside him. He shuffled farther away from Daria’s corpse. Towards the inside of the store. He could no longer hear Static Man carving through whatever had attacked Morgan, and, as he had observed previously, silence was not a good thing to hear from him instead. Morgan was gone, gone to get them a quick escape route when they were ready to leave, and if they weren’t fighting, it meant that one or the other party had been defeated and something was holding up the survivors.

What it all added up to was simply that they had been gone too long.

Jon examined the entrance. The corn snake from earlier, having been dislodged from Jon’s tape recorder, now observed him from near the door.

“I’m not totally helpless,” Jon informed it. “I can buy them some time. Enough for them to escape.”

A wave of nausea bubbled up through him as he spoke. “It’s not like I used any serious amount of energy, fighting that spider woman. I certainly didn’t overdo it to get back at her.”

The corn snake regarded him impassively.

“Look, I can still cause a distraction,” Jon insisted. “I’m not just the Archivist.”

The corn snake didn’t disagree.

“Right,” Jon said quietly, taking a step towards the door, and then another. “Right.”

The interior had been a very cozy workshop at some point in the recent past. Long, low tables were overturned over the splintered remains of wooden bench seats, and several plush armchairs had been eviscerated across the room. The place smelled of raw wood and thick leather. In the center of the chaos, a large green orb was embedded partly into the floor. Jon could just barely make out something that looked like a human inside.

“Nick,” he called out, running to the orb. The room was deserted, with no sign of whatever had caused the carnage. “Nick, is that you?”

“What-” Nick whirled around to face him. He didn’t look in as bad shape as Morgan had, but had clear scratch marks digging all the way through his shirt into his skin. “What are you- Get in! They’re still here.”

A clacking, rustling sound filled the air, and from underneath the destroyed furniture dozens of bodies began to emerge. They were only barely recognizable as the clerks from the fabric store. Some looked freshly made, with tattered gingham skin and crisp, clean aprons, while others were more plant matter than fabric. Jon was extremely distracted by one that had several googly eyes pasted over its face. Nick seized his wrist and dragged him into an opening in the orb, which closed up as soon as he was inside.

“Congratulations,” said Nick, “Now we’re both trapped. For as long as I can keep this barrier up, at least.”

“What happened to-”

“Gone,” Nick growled, “He’s gone, we’re on our own. They ambushed us just as we were about to leave.”

“...shit,” said Jon.

“Yeah,” Nick agreed. “I take it there’s nothing you can do to get these things off us?”

The swarm of clerks was growing larger as more and more of them emerged from hiding. The first wave had reached the barrier, but seemed unable to break through.

“Not this many,” said Jon. “There was someone out front I had to deal with. I’m a bit worn out.”

“Did Morgan make it out?” Nick asked immediately.

“She’s fine,” Jon assured him. “She put the finishing touches on that particular conversation.”

Nick nodded, doing some mental calculations. “Good. That just leaves us.”

From the looks of it, Nick was already well into brainstorming his escape plan. He had a fistful of small papers that he was now folding methodically and stowing into a shopping bag. Under his jacket sleeve, Jon could make out something that looked like runic symbols scribbled onto his skin in smudged marker. He didn’t take the time to See what they meant. It was safe enough to assume it wasn’t anything good.

Whatever stage his planning had gotten to, he seemed to think that Jon would be an addition to his resources rather than a drain on them. “You’re out of juice, so… The stories, you said you’re powered by stories.”

“Nicholas,” Jon said warningly.

“You know what I have,” Nick cut him off. The statement was back - Capital ‘S’, for Nick, his most valuable one - but Jon bit back his hunger and simply glowered at him. “Will it be enough?”

“Yes, but-”

“Do it,” said Nick. “Ask me about my father.”

Jon took a deep breath, trying to rationalize how this conversation would surely go. “No.”

“Excuse me?”

“I won’t do it,” Jon repeated. “Especially not that one. This is hurting you, whether or not either of us admit it, and I won’t do it anymore. Two is too many as it is. I should never have agreed to this in the first place, and neither should you.”

“I’ll be fine,” said Nick. “You know there’s more where that came from.”

“You’re not a bloody vending machine!” said Jon. “It doesn’t work like that.”

“Okay. This is cute, and all?” said Nick, “But now is not the time to feel bad for me. I don’t really get what you want out of this, this whole sappy-”

“I want to apologize,” Jon said over him.

Nick’s expression tightened. He took a step back to lean against the green, glowing barrier. It took Jon a second to realize that he was waiting.

“I’m sorry,” said Jon, not reluctantly but with no small amount of difficulty. “For trying to hurt you just to make a point.”

Nick stared into the open air over Jon’s shoulder rather than making eye contact. Jon took this as a sign that he shouldn’t be finished yet.

“I didn’t want-”

“You weren’t wrong,” Nick said at about the same time. They both stopped short, waiting for the other to continue, until Nick broke the silence again. “You and Morgan. She had a point. I should have told them. I got impatient, and I told myself I could protect them. No matter what happened.”

He waited for Jon to say something smug. There was a time not too long ago when Jon absolutely would have. Now, though, the whole thing just felt too familiar, and he could only think of what he would want to hear if he admitted the same thing. He settled on nothing at all.

“I’m sorry I called you a ‘thing,’” said Nick. As far as Jon could tell, this meant that nothing was exactly the right thing to have said. “You’re not, and I know that. It’s just easier to say than admitting I… Well.”

“You don’t trust people,” Jon finished for him.

“Yep,” said Nick, “That’s the one.”

Nick rested his head back against the barrier. If he was at all bothered by the half-dozen feral plant monsters clawing away inches from his face, then he didn’t show it.

“It’s not easy,” said Jon. “The whole trusting people thing.”

“It’s also not safe,” said Nick. “Some of us have people we need to take care of.”

“Some of us can only wish we still did,” said Jon.

They sat in the dim glow of Nick’s shelter in silence. Slowly, eventually, the clerks started to slow down to conserve their energy. Several of them shambled back into hiding, awkwardly pulling bits and pieces of debris over themselves.

“I’m so sorry about your friend,” Jon added. “You seemed very close.”

Nick lifted his head to give him a blank look. “Static Man? What about him?” he asked.

“Er… Isn’t he, um… dead?” Jon said.

“Oh. He’s fine,” said Nick, looking relieved.  “He’s probably going to be less dead than us when all this is over.”

“What?” asked Jon, “You said he was gone.”

“Yeah, back to his- It’s hard to describe. Back home, I guess?” Nick explained. “There’s a place you can summon him from. In order to have a corporeal form, Static Man needs to be recorded. They crushed my tape recorder, so -” Nick made a cartoonish popping noise with his mouth.

Jon started to laugh.

“What?” Nick asked.

“Can you get him back?” asked Jon, still grinning, “Here, right now?”

“Not really,” said Nick, “I can call him, but we don’t have a - oh! ”

Nick remembered Jon’s tape recorder at the exact moment that Jon pulled it out from his jacket pocket. The cashiers renewed their frenzy at the sight of it.

“You might have wanted to keep that hidden,” Nick pointed out.

“Trust me,” said Jon. “It’s not going to be a problem.”

Nick fumbled for his phone, jabbing in a few numbers on the screen. “Hey,” he said softly into the microphone, “It’s me.”

“Well, hi there, ‘me.’ I’m Static Man,” Static Man boomed from directly behind them in the bubble. His companions swore loudly and scrambled to make room for him, an effort that was complicated when he wrapped an arm around both their shoulders and hugged the whole group into a mound on the floor. “You’re alive! We all good? No more mind battles?”

“How are you this heavy ?” Jon wheezed.

“It’s- No, we’re alright now,” Nick laughed. “He was right.”

“In all fairness, so were you,” said Jon.

“I do that a lot,” said Nick.

“I’m so proud of you guys,” said Static Man, pulling them back to their feet. “Now, what’s popping?”

“This shield, in just a second,” said Nick. The break in his concentration had caused it to dent in several places under the clerks’ fists. “Get ready. Archivist, keep ahold of that tape recorder.”

“Really, it’s fine,” Jon insisted.

Static Man squared up at one side of the bubble, the edges of his barely tangible body fuzzing with anticipation. He was through almost before Nick had created an opening, and managed to tear apart a clerk before the lot decided to give him a wide berth. The three made slow progress toward the entrance. Static Man divided his attention between threatening the crowd in front of him and keeping the occasional straggler at bay. With every step there seemed to be more plant monsters pouring from their hiding places, and with every nervous scan of the crowd they appeared to be getting closer.

A hand closed around Jon’s ankle.

In an instant, he was ripped from the company of his friends and into the swarm. Hands tugged at his arms, his clothes, his hair, but - as he expected - didn’t move to harm him. He hurled the tape recorder away from him, and the distraction gave him just enough of a window to escape. All three of them looked on as the recorder was ripped to shreds.

“Welp, it’s been real,” Static Man said grimly. “Don’t know how you guys are going to get out of here without me.”

There was a short pause as Static Man realized that he was very much not discorporated.

“Wait,” he corrected himself.

The swarm looked around in confusion until one of them pointed to an overturned desk. They fell over themselves to retrieve a second tape recorder from underneath it, tearing it to bits. They looked expectantly to Static Man, who, to their collective disappointment, once again failed to disappear.

“Are you doing that?” Nick asked Jon.

“You know, I’m not sure,” said Jon. He pulled a third tape recorder from Nick’s shopping bag and tossed it to the crowd as well. “I’ve been blaming it on my boss, but at this point it seems far too helpful for that to be the case. Shall we?”

Half a dozen tape recorders and a couple especially aggressive clerks later, they emerged to find Morgan waiting for them with transportation. They were ushered into the cab of a ferret, and did not relax until Jon had punched in a destination and settled into a seat. Morgan started to dole out supplies to herself and Nick from the first-aid kit she’d retrieved from their bags. They moved quietly, but it felt more relaxed than solemn. There was a certain relief inherent in being alive to have injuries to recover from. Halfway through, something occurred to Nick, and he reached into his pocket.

“Oh,” he said awkwardly, “Should probably give you this back.”

He offered Shirley across the cabin to Jon. A large circular flake had been chipped out of her surface, on the side opposite her dark spot.

“No! What happened?” Jon gasped. He snatched up the rock and inspected the damage tenderly.

“It’s part of the ritual, from the tailors,” said Nick. “We needed a piece of a pet rock. I meant to ask you when we got there, but… Yeah.”

“Well, now you’ve gone too far,” said Jon, frowning. “Knocking me unconscious was understandable, but bringing an innocent rock into it is just cruel.”

As the others tried to figure out whether he was joking, Jon retrieved a band-aid from Morgan’s kit and applied it over the chip. Morgan was the first to laugh, although it was short and pained through some well-concealed injury. Static Man followed suit, then Jon, and finally even Nick contributed a smile.

“Do you want to see what they made?” asked Nick.

“Of- Of course!” said Jon, leaning forward eagerly. “I thought you said it was personal.”

“Consider it part of your payment,” Nick commented. He reached into a shopping bag and pulled out a large bundle of tissue paper. As he unwrapped it, Jon tried to formulate a way to tell him politely but forcefully that there was no way he was going to hold them to the original terms of the agreement. Maybe stress the point that he was getting quite tired of being just the Archivist. Consider reminding them that he hadn’t been entirely joking when he said that he needed a nap and some real, honest food. While he was at it, perhaps mention that the statements hadn’t been remotely as satisfying as just having something resembling a normal, human conversation with people who - in spite of all the pretense - seemed quite intent on treating him like a normal human.

Jon had distracted himself quite thoroughly by the time Nick revealed the contents of the tissue paper. He held a stunning green leather knapsack, constructed simply but very elegantly. It had one large pouch, and Jon recognized a piece of Shirley set into a bronze fixing on the flap that covered the top. To Jon’s continuing surprise, Nick held it out for him to examine. The leather was soft, and the silk-lined seams glistened slightly in the light of the directory screen. The whole arrangement was surprisingly lightweight.

“It’s a gift,” Nick explained. “We’re going to visit my sister in a few days. She’s pretty hard to get to, and I think I’ve finally found a solution. Watch.”

He pulled out a second, identical bag, dropped a roll of gauze into it, and gestured for Jon to open the one he was holding. Jon reached in and pulled out the very same gauze.

“You know, she’s always wanted to write you letters,” Jon commented. He tossed the gauze roll once in the air, then across to Nick, who fumbled it spectacularly. “She’s done it a couple times, when things were hard. Just thrown them out to sea. It did make her feel better, if it’s any consolation.”

Nick’s smile shifted tenor. Jon had startled something more genuine out of him, softer and less considered.

“Sure,” Nick said warmly. “Yeah, let’s call it that.”

By the time they were delivered to their destination, everyone had recovered enough energy to look forward to leaving. There was no lengthy walk this time, or even a storefront to navigate. Jon led them directly to a plain metal door set into the wall between two buildings, labeled simply “EXIT.”

A hand settled on his shoulder as he reached for the door handle. He turned to see a very concerned look on Nick’s face. Morgan would have looked much the same if she hadn’t been so exhausted. Static Man was barely watching, instead scanning their surroundings for any new threats.

“It’s alright,” Jon said gently, “We’re nearly there.”

The first thing that hit them was the smell. It was soft and sweet, like something beautiful had passed by leaving only the barest trace. It wasn’t rotten, although it was most certainly dead. Directly inside the door was a mountain of flowers so old and dry that they could have been made from paper. They were interspersed with sympathy cards that called out things like “I’ll miss you!” and “May you find comfort.” Despite the withered quality of the whole arrangement, the colors were still very vibrant. It probably hadn’t seen the sun in a while. At the center was a large stuffed bear giving structure to the flowers, its arms safety-pinned crudely together around a bundle of daisies. It held a sign that looked like someone had scrawled in crayon on the top of a cardboard takeaway box:

For the lost.

“Oh,” Static Man said flatly.

Nick didn’t comment, pushing past into the corridor. Morgan and Static Man left Jon to linger at the shrine a little longer. The corridor itself was unremarkable, as was the door at the end of it. If it weren’t for the shrine, it would also have been fairly unremarkable that the door was locked.

“What did we miss?” Nick muttered. He and Morgan approached to examine the door critically. “Were we supposed to buy a key somewhere?”

Jon crouched down and lifted one of the flowers, drinking in the history. The offerings had been left piecemeal over a long time. Some were from groups that had to leave their friends behind. Others were put there by people who lived and worked in the Arcade, witnesses to deaths that they didn’t like to be complicit in. The shrine didn’t belong to the Arcade. If anything, it existed in spite of it. It was equal parts protest and comfort against the grinding, bloody machinery that made this place - and places like it - function. A very familiar machinery.

He looked down at his mug.

He knew who it belonged to, of course. He’d known ever since he became the Archivist - properly and truly the Archivist, not just someone with the title. He knew she’d kept it after her first university roommate left for grad school. They both agreed their brief relationship wasn’t anything serious, but she could never bring herself to ship this last remnant of her out to Norwich after finding it in the cupboard. And so she kept it. She kept it when she moved into her own flat. She kept it when she started a job at the Magnus Institute. She kept it when she moved into her new office in the Archive, which was not the office she deserved, and in the back of her mind she even planned to keep it when she found somewhere new to go. After the Archive took that chance from her, it kept the mug instead.

Jon knew all about Sasha James. It made it even more hurtful that he didn’t have any memories of her.

He placed a few flowers in the mug and settled it next to the bear. From the far end of the corridor, he heard the unmistakable hiss of a door opening, and the shrine was lit with the soft, tentative first rays of a sunrise.

“By all technical measures, I’d say you’ve more than held up your end of the bargain,” Nick pronounced to Jon once they were outside. He looked nervous, and without being prompted he explained why. “There’s still the matter of what I owe you. I think I’m up to two more statements?”

Jon made a grandiose show of thinking this over.

“Strange. Not by my count,” he said lightly. “We did two, plus the one about your sister. Counting this one, that brings us up to four, which I believe was the number we agreed upon.”

“This… what?” Nick asked. Jon gestured broadly at the Arcade behind him.

“This whole mess,” said Jon. "I wouldn't believe any of this unless I'd seen it myself. I'm still not entirely convinced that this hasn’t been some massive hallucination.”

“That doesn’t sound-”

“I’m sorry, are you the Archivist?” Jon said petulantly. “I think I know what a statement is.”

“Fair enough,” said Nick, smiling.

“I do actually have one more question,” said Jon. “How did you all get here?”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” said Nick. He paused to acknowledge that Jon hadn’t made him answer, although none of them commented on it. Instead, he pulled out his phone and offered it to Jon. “Let’s get you home.”

Jon accepted it hesitantly, as though it might disappear from his hands in some further expression of his supposed madness. It remained solid and real when he punched in a phone number. Nick, Morgan, and Static Man watched with bated breath to see what terrible power the Archivist would call to his aid in this dire time of need. Jon did his best to ignore them while he waited for someone to pick up the phone. A curt, guarded voice answered on the second ring.

“Hi, Basira, it’s Jon,” he said. “How are things?”

There was a pause, and a confused response. His audience exchanged a reverent look at hearing his name. “That’s actually what I’m calling about. Do you think you could send Helen to come get me?

"That’s a bit complicated. The short answer is, I have no idea.

"It’s not- I mean, technically, I was abducted, yes.

"Again.

"No, no I’m alright.

"No, they’re right here. We're, er, friends now.

"They took me to a cafe? They did try to feed me some chips that were, frankly, unspeakable.

"Help with their shopping.

"They appear to be some kind of Americans.

"Yes, I know that's n- No, they’re not affiliated. Not with any of them. One is, ah… he’s something, but not our kind of something.

"Weird does not begin to describe it.

“Erm, hang on-”

He tucked the phone out of earshot and looked to Nick. “How did you get me out of the Archive?”

“Magic,” Nick said, as if this should have been obvious.

Jon looked at him like Nick had unexpectedly punched him in the face.

“Listen,” he returned to the phone, “Just- could you find Helen? I’ll explain everything when I get back.

"I don’t know. Wherever it’s narratively relevant for her to be. She might already be here.

"Sure. Thank you, Basira.”

They stood in silence for a few moments after he’d hung up, until Jon remembered to pass Nick back his phone.

“My name’s Jon, by the way,” he said awkwardly.

“Nice to finally meet you, Jon,” said Nick.

“So, Helen’s going to summon you back?” Morgan asked.

“That is not a thing,” Jon said, “If we’re lucky, she’ll find her way here and you’ll get to meet her. She’s… extremely interesting.”

“Dude, we gotta do this again sometime,” Static Man insisted.

Jon grimaced. "You all are lovely, really, but I would appreciate a bit more advance warning next time."

"Well, you’ve got my number now,” said Nick. “Next time you can call us.”

"That might be nice," said Jon. “I could use an excuse to get some fresh air. If you're ever in London, look up the Magnus Institute. You would legitimately be the first visitors I've had who haven't tried to kill me."

“Wait,” said Nick, stifling a laugh, “Just- London? You’re just, in London?”

“Where did you think I lived?” Jon asked, confused.

The others exchanged an apprehensive look. “An extraplanar prison, like the genie from Aladdin?” Static Man suggested.

“Some kind of library-based hellscape?” said Morgan.

“I thought you were a tulpa when you first showed up,” Nick admitted. “For at least half an hour.”

Jon scoffed. “Please. Some people live normal lives in normal places, like London.” He caught sight of a battered yellow service door in the side of the Arcade behind them. “Perhaps I’ll meet one of them if I stay there long enough. Now, if you’ll excuse me, that’ll be Helen.”

He strode over to open the door for her, and Helen unfurled from the corridors into the dusky sunrise of the parking lot. Her hair billowed as though underwater, and she adjusted her pant suit casually - or was it a pencil skirt? No, definitely a jumpsuit, the romper kind. It was more of an aesthetic concept than an outfit.

“We keep meeting like this,” she said, grinning, “I’m beginning to suspect you only like me for my intangible relationship with time and space.”

“Helen,” Jon said primly, “Good to see you, too.”

“Basira mentioned that you’d made some friends,” said Helen, towering over his shoulder. Jon followed her gaze to see the others huddled together, already reaching for various weapons. “So very lively! It’s nice to see you getting out of your shell more.”

Jon whirled around to face them. “It’s- It’s alright, she’s alright. This is Helen. Helen, this is Nick, Morgan, and…” He knew Static Man’s name, of course, but he hadn’t considered the possibility of saying it out loud until just that second.

“Static Man,” he said reluctantly. His tone, plus how much he appeared to relax once Helen had arrived, put the others at ease.

“Whatever, mister ‘I put a definite article in my name because I’m fancy and important,” Static Man scoffed.

“But I am the- There’s just the one. It’s not like-” Jon’s argument started to putter in a different direction in lieu of asserting that he was both fancy and important. “Look, Static Man is a fine name, it’s just excruciatingly American. You sound like you’re from a comic book.”

“Literally, you are the most British person I’ve ever seen,” Static Man said flatly.

“...yeah, that’s fair,” Jon sighed.

“Charming,” Helen said graciously. “Everyone’s quite cross with you back home. Are you sure you don’t want to go on the run for a while? You’ve got the right shoes for it - goodness, those are hideous, I’ll have to come back for some.”

“I’ve had enough running for today, thank you,” said Jon. "It's time for us to go home."

After their guests had left, Morgan moved to put a comforting hand on Nick's back. "You gonna be okay?"

"Uh, yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" He took a second to parse the look Morgan and Static Man were giving him, and contributed a disapproving frown. "Hey. No."

"Hey, yes," Static Man rebutted. "You got it bad."

"If by 'it' you mean a completely professional relationship with a guy I met literally hours ago," said Nick, "Then yes, I absolutely have got that."

“Please,” said Morgan, “‘You’ve got my number?’ You should have just written it on his arm.”

“Yeah, those were some pretty professional longing stares,” Static Man added. “Dude rescues you one time and you’re ready to take him home. I thought I was gonna have to distract him while you looked for a ring.”

“Look,” Nick started to argue. “I think I’m allowed to be a little impressed by a demigod of secrets and forbidden knowledge.”

“That’s it, buddy, let it all out,” Static Man said reassuringly.

“Which I might have been attracted to,” Nick continued, ignoring him, “If he didn’t - and I quote - ‘have someone he wanted to get back to’.”

“Duel them,” Static Man jeered. “Fight for your star-crossed monster love.”

“Don’t think I didn’t see you both checking out his friend,” Nick countered.

“She was so tall,” Morgan said wistfully.

“I already got one phone number out of this field trip,” said Static Man. “I’m not that kind of guy.”

“Hey, serious question: I wasn’t going to ask in front of him,” said Morgan, “But how are we going to get home?”

Nick did not reach for his bag, where the Spiral-bound travel pamphlet was safely nestled. Instead, he led a very leisurely charge towards the opposite end of the parking lot.

“I told you, it’s fine,” he reiterated, “Don’t worry about it.”

[just-jordie-things]

We Make a Pretty Pair - Nicholas Scratch

word count: 3529 warnings: none I think summary: the only thing that scares (y/n) is her unknown feelings for Nick, and his well known feelings for her

(y/n) finished drawing the circle on the floorboards in her room with chalk, sealing the symbol and smiling proudly at the perfect shape she’d made.  Normally, she wouldn’t be summoning demons and trapping them there in her room, but there was a bit of a situation that she needed to take care of tonight.

Sabrina Spellman, with her newly white hair and a nervous look on her face, was sitting on her bed, wringing her hands together as she watched her friend finish the emblem.

“You think it’ll work?” She hummed, feeling too awkward to raise her voice to anything above a whisper.

“You can talk normally,” She responded, a slight smirk on her face as she held her hand out to the witch.  “I’m gonna need your help reciting this”

She nodded, taking your hand as (y/n) pulled out the book of conjuring and banishing.  It was a notebook she’d written in herself, everything she’d learned and wanted to learn, written neatly on the pages.

“Wow,” Sabrina said under her breath, and (y/n) smiled a bit sheepishly.  “Did you learn all these yourself?”

“Some of them,” (y/n) answered a small smile on her lips.  “Some that I haven’t tried yet, some that Nick gave me” Sabrina gave (y/n) a look, a slight smile on her lips.

It was quiet between them as she found the right page, and pointed to Sabrina the words they needed to recite in order to conjure who Sabrina was looking for.

“Ready?” (y/n) asked, her own voice now as quiet as Sabrina’s, and her eyes looked into hers with absolute seriousness, relieved to find that Sabrina seemed absolutely certain.

Sabrina gave a curt nod, squeezing her hand, before they both began to recite the conjuring spell.

In a flash, three disgusting figures made an appearance in the figure on the floor, snarling and glaring at the witches in front of them.

Sabrina and (y/n’s) hands remained bonded.

“Asmodeus, Purson, and Beezlebub, demons of flies, vermin, and shadow,” (y/n) called, her voice loud and clear as she looked them each in the eye.  Sabrina couldn’t help but think that she was fearless in this moment.  “We’ve called on you to ask who summoned you, and gave you the orders to hunt Sabrina Spellman”

“We will not answer to the likes of witches” Purson snarled.

“Half witch” Beezlebub growled.

“Quia clauditis,” (y/n) snapped out a latin phrase, one Sabrina hadn’t heard before, but assumed it was shut up, seeing as the Lord of Vermin shut his trap.  “Now, we want our answer”

“I am under no obligation to tell you,” Asmodeus spoke now.  “And even if we wanted to… we’re under strict orders not to”

“Strict orders?” Sabrina spoke.  “You were spelled not to say anything?”

The demon with flies buzzing around him nodded, and Sabrina swore to herself.  (y/n) squeezed her and assuring her that they would still get to the bottom of this.

“We shall not let the half-witch ascend” Beezlebub grunted.

“Her blood is dirty” Spoke Purson.

“Her existence is wrong” Asmodeus finished.

“That’s enough” (y/n) asserted, finally releasing her hand from Sabrina’s.  With a look to her, she silently asked if she was ready to send them back to the Pit.  Sabrina nodded, her eyes sad, and a scowl on her lips.

She put her fist to the palm of her other hand, staring down the first demon.  “Asmodeus, I banish you”

WIth a flash, he disappeared, leaving his two brothers.

“Purson,” (y/n) moved her hands again, “I banish you”

Beezlebub, the last remaining demon, stared at her threateningly, a growl coming from his rancid self before she banished him as well.

The witches stood there for a moment in silence, staring at the place the Kings of Hell had just been, before looking to each other.

“I’m sorry Brina, I really thought it would-”

The white haired girl cut her off, stepping forward and hugging her tightly.

“Thank you, (y/n)” She told her before stepping back again.  “It means so much to me that you would do this”

(y/n) nodded, looking at her sincerely.  “Of course,” She said.  “Nothing like a little law breaking to kick off the morning”

Sabrina giggled softly, collecting her bag and slipping on her shoes.

“Really though, let me know if you need help with anything else, I’d be glad too.  More than glad, even” She wandered to her closet to grab her own shoes, muttering a spell that brushed her hair clean of tangles.  “I have to get going, I’m supposed to meet Nick for breakfast”

Sabrina nodded with a grin spreading across her red painted lips.  “Like a date?”

“Oh, no, Nick and I are just friends,” (y/n) explained like it was obvious.  She gathered her spellbooks in her bag.  “We have been since I started coming here” She added, a lively smile on her lips as Sabrina stalled by the door to listen some more.

“He’s the one that taught you how to deal with demons like that, isn’t he?” She asked, and (y/n) nodded her head from side to side.

“More or less,” She answered.  “He definitely has rubbed off on me though”

“Can I ask you something? Kinda… personal?” Sabrina asked, and (y/n) nodded, brows knitting together.

“Yeah, sure, what is it?”

“Do you… trust him? You know after all that stuff with the Weird Sisters he just seems… I can’t find the right words I’m sorry-”

“No, I know what you mean,” (y/n) said carefully.  “I do, trust him,” She told her.  “It took a while, if I’m being honest,”

The girls walked out of the room together, (y/n) locking up as they wandered through the halls of the Academy of the Unseen Arts.

“But he proved himself, time and time again, and we’ve been so close for so long now I… I couldn’t imagine not having him in my life.  He’s my best friend, and most trusted confidant”

“That’s sweet.  I’m surprised you two haven’t ended up together”

“I hear that a lot,” (y/n) chuckled.  “One time an underclassman witch came up to me to tell me how lucky I am that I have Nicholas Scratch on my arm” Sabrina giggled.

“They must all be incredibly jealous of you, (y/n)” Sabrina mused.  (y/n) looked over at her with a slight smirk on her lips as she casually shrugged a shoulder.

“It is amusing, but it gets tiring after a while.  You’d be surprised how many witches have weakly threatened me”

They came up on the grand dining room, where Nick was sat at his and (y/n’s) usual table, reading something.  But he still caught sight of her walking in, and she waved towards him before turning to bid farewell to Sabrina.

“Remember to come to me if you need to,” She said, taking her hands.  “My door is always open for you”

“And mine to you,” Sabrina agreed with a bright smile.  “Or just if you want to cause some heavenly chaos, or for coffee”

“You’re wicked, Sabrina Spellman” (y/n) winked, before saying goodbye and heading over to Nick while Sabrina went back to her own room.

The warlock looked at her questioningly, closing his book and setting it aside to give her all of his attention.

“What was that all about?” He asked her.

“Sabrina and I had some demons to summon and banish” She answered more nonchalantly than the average person would have.  Not that see was average, not even for a witch.

“Conjuring? At nine in the morning?” He asked with hilarity in his tone.  “Well aren’t you a busy witch?”

“I keep myself occupied,” She replied.  “Did you order-?”

“Already have, your favorite, by the way” He said smugly.

“Oh? And that would be…?”

He gave his answer, that proud smirk still stuck on his face.  (y/n) quirked an eyebrow, almost testing him, but smiled as she shook her head and decided against it.

“Lucky guess” She thought aloud.

“Perhaps, or perhaps I just know you that well,” He said, and his smirk only seemed to widen.  “Anyways, how did the banishing go, were you direct like I said?”

“Absolutely.  I’m not sure I’ve ever been so assertive in my life” She answered with a slight laugh.

“I’m certain it was a sight to see,” Nick said.  “Had I been invited, I’m certain I would have been proud.  But, I wasn’t invited”

“Are you jealous of me conjuring without you?” (y/n) teased, a large grin on her face.  Nick rolled his eyes, and was lucky that there food appeared in front of them from the magic waitstaff.

“Ah, perfect timing,” He said with a sly grin, making (y/n) shake her head before beginning to eat.  “I heard a rumor that the Weird Sisters are seeing someone new”

(y/n) hummed, pretending to be too focused on cutting a piece of her breakfast to show any more interest.

“Well I thought you’d find that more interesting, striking, seeing as the last time they were all involved with someone-”

“-it was you?” (y/n) finished for him, holding up her fork as she spoke, a piece of chocolate.  “Yes, fascinating, truly” She added dryly.

Nick rose his brows, abandoning his food as he folded his hands on top of the table, leaning forward as he watched her, rather aggressively, eat.

“Is everything alright, (y/n)?”

“Oh, absolutely, this is delicious” She answered, avoiding what he’d truly meant.

“Right,” He said unsurely, watching her carefully as she avoided his eyes.  “Are you sure, though? You seem… off” He asked again, much slower this time.  (y/n’s) eyes snapped up to his, stalling in her movements in cutting up more of her food.

“Absolutely” She repeated, a grand, fake smile on her lips.  “Would I lie to you, Nicholas?”

“Yes, on numerous occasions, (y/l/n).  You told me you didn’t spike my drink-”

“Well, you needed to lighten up, I did you a favor”

“Just a month ago you told me you wouldn’t get involved with the Greendale Thirteen and then you show up at that mortal boy’s home-”

“-to protect you, and Greendale,” (y/n) corrected.  “I’ve only ever lied to you for your own good, truly” She told him with a shrug of her shoulder.

“And so are you lying now?”

Her eyes narrowed a bit at him, before she set her fork down calmly and grabbed her purse.

“I almost forgot, I have a study session” She told him, and Nick’s head shook, confused.  She’d told him just last night she was free all morning to have breakfast with him.

“(y/n), what the Heaven is going-”

“Lanuae magicae” She muttered, her hands crossing over themselves, ring fingers curled and in an instant, she’d teleported away.

Nick cursed, slamming his own fork down, before taking his book and storming away from the commissary.

“Satan below!” (y/n) cursed when she couldn’t scrub away some of the white chalk that covered her floorboards.  If any higher witch or warlock were to see this, she’d likely be suspended for conjuring without warrant.

It took three different incantation attempts to get it to go away.  And when it finally did, she wanted to collapse of absolute fatigue.  It was the middle of the afternoon, and yet, she was convinced she could go to bed right at this moment.

She settled for resting and reading in a new book, that she’d found, coincidentally, in a mortal bookshop, in the town of Greendale.  It was a history, of sorts.  Witch history.

She was just starting to get into the Salem Witch Trials, eager and awake again with excitement for the story, but there was a knock on the door.

“(y/n)?”

Nicholas.

She rolled her eyes, leaving her book open on her bed to go open the door.

He looked nice, wearing a black button down and slacks, his hair all curly and pretty looking, and-

“Hey,” He greeted as mellow as he could, but of course she saw right through it.  She knew him better than anybody.  “Are you busy?”

(y/n) looked back at her book, then back to him.  “Yeah” She answered bluntly.

“Too busy to… go into Greendale with me?” He asked.  He looked nervous, but there was still a smile on his face.  “Maybe to that weird diner?”

“Nick I’m kind of in the middle of-”

“(y/n),” He stepped forward, taking her hands in his, making her look down at them, then back to him in surprise.  “I want to take you… on a date…” He trailed off, hoping she would say something.  But she blinked, staring at him owlishly, and silently.  “(y/n)?”

“Nicholas… I-I… I don’t know what to say,” She stammered, still staring at him.  Her hands, which were still in his, absolutely stiff.  “I don’t, um, I don’t… feel that way… for you” She mumbled.

Nick’s brows drew together as his lips pulled into a foolish smile.  He didn’t believe her.

“(y/n), we both know-”

“Don’t, Nick” She said seriously, she blinked a few times, willing away the tears that were pricking her eyes.  He let go of her hands, just to cup them around her face, smiling down at her.

“We both know,” He repeated.  “You and I? We’re something… and I want to know what”

“No, Nick, I can’t” Her voice was failing her.

“I’m in love with you”

She sniffled slightly, shutting her eyes so that she didn’t have to look at him.

“Don’t pretend that you don’t feel the same way”

Her inhale of breath was shaky, desperate not to begin to cry.

“I-I can’t Nick, okay? I can’t, and that’s it”

His features fell, once hopeful, now at a loss for words.  For a moment there, he’d thought he’d had her, thought he’d convinced her.  She finally opened her eyes, tearful and disappointed.

“You should go,” (y/n) mumbled, taking his wrists, and pulling his hands off her face.  “I… I have reading to do…” She stepped back into her room, while Nick still stood in the hall, looking hopeless, and confused.

“You’re lying to yourself, and I know that” He told her, and she could hear the heartbreak in his voice.

“Bye, Nick” She whispered, before shutting the door.

Once she knew he was gone, and couldn’t hear her, she began to weep quietly.  Curling back up in bed and forgetting about the Salem Witch Trials.

“Would you mind if I sit with you?”

Sabrina looked up from her notebook, the quick writing she was doing stalling when she saw (y/n) standing there, lunch in hand.  Something was wrong.

“Of course,” The white haired witch answered.  “You’d be the first to ask in a long time”

(y/n) chuckled faintly, but it was forced, and painful.  She sat down, barely making eye contact, and barely picking at her food.

“Is something going on with Nicholas?” Sabrina asked.

“You can tell?”

The white haired witch winced and nodded.  “You look pretty shaken up, and you always sit with him… and… there’s a mascara stain under your eye there”

(y/n) quickly took the sleeve of her black dress and wiped it away, before laughing bitterly.

“Yeah… I guess it’s obvious” She muttered, staring down at the lunch she knew that she wouldn’t even touch.

“What happened? Just yesterday you guys were… having breakfast”

“He… he loves me,” She whispered, and Sabrina looked shocked, but there was a smile on her face.  “He said he was in love with me”

“(y/n/n), that’s wonderful,” She spoke dreamily.  “What the Heaven happened?”

“I-” (y/n) couldn’t get herself to form the right words, and she began to feel her throat burn and tighten.  “I was scared”

The word came out in a whimper, and (y/n) held a hand over her mouth.  Sabrina reached over the table and took her other hand.

“Scared? Of what?” Sabrina asked.  “Of Nick?”

“Of not being enough,” (y/n) explained.  “After his involvement with the Sisters I just… I don’t know how I could ever… I just don’t think I could…” As she trailed off, she stared downwards at the table.  “I don’t think I could be enough for him”

“Oh, (y/n),” Sabrina sighed, taking both her hands and holding them tightly.  “I’m absolutely, positively sure that that is simply not true,” She argued.  “If he loves you, truly, completely, then you will be more than enough, and no one else would even come close, even make him question how much you mean to him”

It was a lot to take in, but (y/n) nodded, albeit unsurely.

“Look, (y/n), even if you don’t believe that, I’ve seen you two together.  There’s no denying that there’s something between you, it’s almost palpable, the bond you share”

(y/n) was quiet, but nodded again.

“I think you should talk to him” She suggested softly.

“I don’t think I could.  I made a fool of myself, Sabrina, and forced him away,” She admitted weakly.  “I would surely just upset him, if not myself-”

“Try,” Sabrina pressed on.  “Just try, what’ve you to lose?”

“Well, nothing, now” She muttered back.

“Then you must try, he’s hurting too”

(y/n) quickly composed herself, wiping at her eyes and steadying her breathing until her throat no longer burned.  Sabrina was right, she did need to try.  Nick was important to her, and enough so that she needed to fight for.

“Nicholas!” She was pounding on his door, even though he was probably asleep, and she was probably waking up each dorm in the hall, but she didn’t really care.  “Nicholas Scratch if you don’t open the door I’ll just teleport inside!”

The door finally opened, and boy, did he look more of a mess than she’d ever seen.  His hair was a mess, his eyes were red like he’d been crying, and there were wrinkles in his usually nice and pressed black shirt.

“To be truthful, which I wasn’t before,” (y/n) began to speak before she could get swallowed up by nerves.  “I was scared.  You-you terrified me, and I’ve never felt that way before, about anything, much less anyone”

Nick just looked dazed as he spoke, “You’re scared of me?”

“No,” (y/n) answered in a breath, a smile pulling on her lips.  “I was scared of not being enough, Nick, I was scared of you realizing that at some point, I just won’t suit you anymore, and you’ll want to move on to someone better, prettier, more powerful.  I was scared you would wind up leaving me for the Weird Sisters, or someone else, I don’t know,”

She was rambling now, desperate to tell him everything, all at once, even if it was jumbled and didn’t make sense.

“My point is, I lied, and I was pretending not to feel anything.  The truth is I do have feelings for you, Heaven, I love you too, Nick, and I was afraid I’d lose you if I acted on it-”

“(y/l/n), you’re a fool,” He told her, tugging her inside and shutting the door, practically cornering her against it.  “You’re an absolute fool, you think I could ever leave you? Even if I did go looking for someone better, I’d die a lost and idiotic man, because it doesn’t exist”

A breath of a laugh passed her lips as she smiled up at him, glorious tears in her eyes as he took her face in his hands, just like he had a few days ago when he’d begged her to admit the truth.  She knew now that she really was  fool to let him walk away.

“If I’m a fool you’re a hopeless romantic, Nicholas Scratch” She murmured as she looked up at him.  He grinned down at her, thumbs stroking along her cheekbone as his eyes searched hers, only to find joy and love.

Without further hesitation, he leaned down and collided their lips in a fiery kiss of sheer passion and lust.  (y/n’s) arms wound around his neck to keep her grounded as she kissed him back, before Nick lifted her up by her hips, making her wrap her legs around his hips as he pressed her against the door to keep their faces level.  She smiled at him for only a short moment as they caught their breath, and the next kiss he gave her was soft, and sweet.

“I’m not leaving you, (y/l/n),” He murmured against her lips as he carried her away from the door.  “You’re not losing me”

She felt him lay her down onto the bed gently, before roaming over her, hands on either side of her head, one leg between hers and the other on the other side.  She smiled up at him, nervously, lovingly.

“I would hope not” She whispered, before taking his chin in her hand and pulling his lips down to meet hers once more.

taglist: @reblogserpent @strawberryfields-forever

xoxo ~ jordie

[thedailyimagines]

Imagine dating Nicholas Scratch.

Anon requested: “Imagine being the son of Madam Satan and the Dark Lord and dating Nicholas Scratch”

.

Had to actively search who Madam Satan was because there are like 500 different people named Nicholas Scratch 😂.

~~~~~~~~

“Y/n dear, don’t forget you have a meeting with Father Blackwood tonight.”

“Yes mother.”

“And do try to be back before midnight. I’d hate to have to explain to the High Priest that you kept him waiting.” Y/n rolled his eyes and put on his jacket, shoving his car keys into his pocket.

“Alright mother. I’m late one time and you act like it’s the end of the world.” Madam Satan crossed her arms, one eyebrow raised at her son’s attitude.

“Last time you went out with that Scratch boy, you were nearly run over by a mortal.” Y/n turned to his mother.

“That was my fault mother, I ran in front of him.”

“Still, I don’t like that Scratch boy. You always seem to draw attention to yourself when you’re with him.” Y/n rolled his eyes again and headed for the front door.

“Look, it’s not that big a deal. I’ll be back home in time for a meeting with Blackrock.”

“Blackwood.”

“Whatever his name is.” Y/n left the house and headed for his car, so focused on meeting his boyfriend that he didn’t see the red eyes watching from the shadows.

<—>

A set of hands covered y/n’s eyes for a moment and a familiar voice spoke up.

“Hey there beautiful. Guess who?”

“The hands of Death?”

“Ouch. That cut me deep babe.” Y/n smiled and kissed Nick on the cheek.

“Where did you want to head to today?” Nick pointed over towards Greendale’s outskirts, where y/n could just make out a Ferris wheel against the setting sun.

“There’s a small carnival in town this week. I was thinking we could head there.”

“Perfect.” The two walked towards the carnival talking and laughing amongst themselves. They were just entering the fairgrounds when y/n heard the whispering.

‘...y/n...’ It was barely there yet clear as day. The voice reminded y/n of dry leaves blowing around. He looked around for the source of the voice.

“Did you hear something?” Nick frowned and gave y/n a concerned look.

“No, why?” Y/n was about to tell him about the whisper, but thought against it. He shook his head and shrugged.

“No reason. Just thought I heard something.”

“Alright then. Where do you wanna head?” Nick pointed at one of the carnival buildings. “How about the hall of mirrors?”

“Let’s go.” The two entered the hall of mirrors, laughing at their reflections in the warped glass. Y/n wandered over to one of the mirrors, making a face at his reflection.

“I think I understand why mortals like the mirrors.” Hearing no reply from Nick, y/n turned only to find his boyfriend gone. “Nick?”

‘...y/n...’

“Okay seriously not funny Nick. I swear if you’re trying to prank me it’s not going to work.”

‘...y/n...come...’ The dry whisper was louder now. Y/n walked deeper into the maze of mirrors. Trying to find the source of the whispering voice.

“Hello?” A flicker of movement caught the corner of y/n’s vision. “Seriously, whoever’s idea of a joke this is, it’s not funny!”

‘...time to come home...’ Y/n whipped around, only to face his reflection in the mirror. But the reflection was warped, off somehow. It crossed y/n’s mind that his reflection shouldn’t look normal.

“Who are you?” His reflection grinned, and the teeth were sharp and bloody.

‘You know me y/n.’ The voice was sharp and clear now. And y/n knew exactly who it was. The voice had haunted him in his childhood.

“...father?” His voice sounded small and scared. The voice let out a low chuckle that sent chills up y/n’s spine.

‘Well done my little halfling. Has it really been so long that you don’t know your own father’s voice?’

“What do you want?”

‘What do you think? It’s time for you to come home y/n.’ Y/n’s eyes widened, and he shook his head.

“No. I won’t. You can’t make me.”

‘Trust me, I can my child.’ It’s voice was low and menacing, the words speaking a promise through the thinly veiled threat. Taking a step back, y/n’s mind raced as he looked for a way out. He thought he heard something off to his left but he couldn’t be sure.

“You’re just a shadow of Him, you’re not actually here.” The reflection tilted its head to the side.

‘Oh I’m not, am I?’ Suddenly the mirrors around y/n shattered, glass flying everywhere. ‘I think you know better than that y/n.’

Y/n screamed and ducked down, covering his face as the glass flew faster and faster. From what sounded like a million miles away came the sound of Nick yelling for him. Then everything froze, the glass hanging in the air around him.

Y/n looked up, and wished he hadn’t. The reflection in the glass was no longer y/n. It was now a large humanoid goat, taller than any mortal man, with sharp teeth and horns. It reached through the glass to y/n just as a hand grabbed his shoulder, and everything went black.

<—>

“What the hell happened to him?” Madam Satan took a sip of her drink and stared nonchalantly at the aggravated teen in her living room. He had brought y/n home half an hour ago, the boy shaking and pale as if he had a fever.

“This happens occasionally. He’ll be fine in a few days.” Nick looked taken aback by the woman’s lack of concern.

“A few—lady, a few days isn’t fine!” Running a hand through his hair, Nick paced around the room. “He should be taken to a healer, or Blackwood, hell even a hospital!” The sound of breaking glass filled the room. Nick looked over at y/n’s mother in shock, her wineglass shattered in her hand.

“I’m his mother you little wretch. I know what’s best for him, not you. Or perhaps you think you can do better than a full-fledged witch?” She glared at the boy, letting the challenge hang in the air. Neither spoke for some time.

“I’ll have to ask you to leave now. I have some calls to make, plans to cancel.” Nick didn’t budge an inch. “Run along now boy. You don’t want to meet my poppets.”

On his way out Nick looked up the dark staircase that led to y/n’s room. He hoped his boyfriend was alright.

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